In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Tianzi's authority had been greatly reduced. At the same time, the contradiction between Zhou Tianzi and the princes also began to sharpen.
In 770 BC, because Hojing (镐京, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi) was in ruins after the war, King Ping of Zhou was forced to move the capital from Hojing to Luoyi (present-day Luoyang, Henan) in order to avoid dogs. Because Luoyi was in the east of Hojing, it was known as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. At this time, after the "Zhou Zheng Jiao" and "Ge Battle" of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the status of Zhou Tianzi was greatly reduced, but it still preserved the false name of the co-lord of the world.
In 685 BC, the monarch of the State of Qi, Duke Huan of Qi, succeeded to the throne, taking Guan Zhong as the prime minister, implementing the change of law, determining taxes according to the fertility of the land, setting up salt and iron officials and minting money, increasing fiscal revenue, educating soldiers in agriculture, integrating grass-roots administrative organizations and military organizations, increasing the source of soldiers and combat capabilities, and quickly becoming the richest and strongest country among the Chinese countries. Then he started the slogan of "Honoring the King and Destroying Yi", and repeatedly assembled the princes to help or interfere with other countries to resist Yidi.
In 656 BC, Duke Huan of Qi led a coalition of eight princely states, Chen Bing "barbarian" the border of the State of Chu, questioned why the State of Chu did not pay tribute to the Zhou royal family, forced the State of Chu to sign the alliance of summoning tombs, and held the Kuiqiu Alliance in 651 BC, becoming the head of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons. Since then, the Qi Huan Gong has established a system of alliance overlordship.
However, what he did not expect was that the Duke of Qi Huan reused three traitors, Such as Diao Diao, Yi Ya, and Kai Fang. The three of them, self-harming, easy to kill their children, Kaifang is the prince of Weiguo, envious of the strength of the State of Qi, chose to be an official in the State of Qi, worked for fifteen years, and did not even go back to mourn after the death of their parents. Qi Huangong had great trust in these three fierce people, and at that time, because there was a sage guan Zhong, these three traitors still had some scruples.
In his later years, Duke Huan of Qi began to favor three famous traitors: Yi Ya, Kai Fang, and Shu Diao.
Folklore about these three traitors is vividly depicted.
It is said that Yi Ya is the most famous chef in the country of Qi, and his delicious dishes are famous all over the world. Once, Huan Gong said to his subordinates: "The widow has tasted all the delicacies of the world, but he has not eaten human flesh, so it is inevitable that he has some regrets." Yi Ya took this matter to heart after hearing about it. Not long after, at a banquet, Huan Gong tasted a meat soup, which was unusually delicious and different from what he had eaten before, and asked what kind of meat it was made of. Yi Ya knelt down and said, "This is made from the flesh of Wei Chen's four-year-old son." Huan Gong was taken aback, but he was very moved--it turned out that he was willing to kill his son in order to make me happy, and he was even more fond of Yiya from then on.
Kaifang was originally the son of Duke Wei Yi. When Duke Huan of Qi led his troops to fight Against Duke Yi of Wei, Kaifang took the initiative to surrender, saying that he was a super fan of Duke Huan and was willing to go to the State of Qi to serve him. After arriving in the State of Qi, he served Duke Huan like a slave, completely forgetting his status as a prince. His mother, an orphaned old woman, lived in Weiguo herself, but he never went back to see it once. Huan Gong was also very impressed, entrusted him with heavy responsibilities, and even let him take control of military power.
Shu Diao is said to be a child prostitute of Duke Huan of Qi. Because of this status, he needed to go in and out of the harem often, but he was afraid that outsiders would say that he had an adulterous affair with the concubines, so he bit his teeth and went from the palace to become a eunuch to serve Duke Huan. Huan Gong was also particularly fond of him, staying with him all day, and it is said that he also inherited a son to him.
These three people were all notorious figures in the qi state, but Huan Gong promoted them to high-ranking officials, and everyone dared to be angry.
After Qi Huan became hegemonic, after another six years, Xianxiang Guan Zhong became seriously ill and could not be cured. Qi Huangong was very anxious and personally went to see him.
Huan Gong asked Guan Zhong, "Who among the ministers can inherit your position?" ”
Guan Zhong said: "The monarch should know his subjects better than anyone, and you should know very well." ”
Qi Huangong asked, "How about Yi Ya?" ”
Guan Zhong said: "He killed his own son to please the monarch, and he was not humane and could not be appointed. ”
Qi Huangong asked again, "How about kaifang?" ”
Guan Zhong said: "He betrayed his parents to cater to the monarch, with ulterior motives, and he could not use it." ”
Qi Huangong asked again, "What about the vertical diao?" ”
Guan Zhong said: "He castrated himself for the sake of the monarch, and he had other selfish desires, which was even more difficult to trust. ”
After Guan Zhong's death, the Duke of Qi Huan did not listen to Guan Zhong's advice, and finally reused the three courtiers of Yi Ya, Kaifang, and Shu Diao, and the three of them took over the power of the government.
Duke Huan of Qi had three wives, but none of them had sons. In addition, Duke Huan of Qi also had many favored concubines, and these concubines bore him more than ten sons, including Gongzi Jiang Wuwei and Gongzi Jiang Zhao.
In 643 BC, Duke Huan of Qi fell seriously ill. The five princes (Gongzi Wufeng, Gongzi Zhao, Gongzi Pan, Gongzi Yuan, and Gongzi Merchant) began to fight and wanted to inherit the position of monarch of the State of Qi. During Guan Zhong's lifetime, Duke Huan of Qi made his son Jiang Zhao the crown prince and entrusted him to the care of Song Xianggong, the ruler of the State of Song. Yi Ya and Shu Diao put Huan Gong under house arrest in the palace, and a high wall was built outside the palace to prevent anyone from seeing him.
One day a palace maid climbed over the wall to Huan Gong's side. Huan Gong asked her if she had any food and water, and the palace maid had no choice.
Huan Gong sighed, "Whoops! What the saints saw is not far away! If the deceased knows, how will I see my father? ”
On October 7 of the same year, Qi Huangong fell ill and died, and the five princes attacked each other, and the state of Qi was in chaos, and no one dared to put qi Huangong's body into a coffin. As a result, the body was parked on the bed for sixty-seven days, rotting and raw maggots, and maggots even crawled out of the door. It was not until Jiang Wuwei ascended the throne that he put the body into the coffin, issued an obituary of mourning, and held a memorial ceremony.
The crown prince Jiang Zhao gained the sympathy of Song Xianggong in the Song Kingdom. Song Xianggong called on the princes to jointly send troops to quell the civil unrest in the State of Qi, escort Prince Zhao back to the throne, and the joint forces of the princes directly approached the State of Qi.
Yi Ya, who was in charge of the army, led his troops to meet the battle, Gao Hu and other old ministers defended the city, Gao Hu took Yi Ya to lead the troops out of the city, please put Diao into the palace to discuss, Shu Diao did not doubt that there was deception, was killed by the ambushed samurai, Ying Gongzi Zhao returned to the palace, Wu Wei was killed, Yi Ya fled to the Country of Lu. After that, he established The Crown Prince Jiang Zhao as the monarch, which was the Duke of Qi.
As one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Duke of Qi Huan died tragically in the palace because of the reuse of traitors, and the national strength of the State of Qi also declined, and the hegemony of the Duke of Qi ended.