Those who are familiar with the history of the mainland should know that Zhou was originally a small vassal state located in the west of the Shang Dynasty. King Wen of Zhou reigned for 50 years, implemented many correct policies, and gradually strengthened the national strength, and when he died, he had already obtained two-thirds of the world, laying the foundation for the destruction of Shang. After the death of King Wen Ji Chang, King Wu Ji Fa ascended the throne, King Wu of Zhou inherited the throne of Wen, and carefully cultivated the cause of King Wen, with Jiang Taigong as his teacher, his younger brother Zhou Gongdan as an assistant, and the virtuous minister Zhao Gong and Bi Gong as the right and left hands, so that the Zhou Dynasty continued to be strong.
At that time, the Shang Dynasty was already politically corrupt, but it was still militarily strong. When Ji Fa was actively planning to destroy the Shang, the king of Shang made a big move and used troops to the southeast. King Wu decided to take the opportunity to conduct a rendezvous exercise to understand his appeal and military situation. As a result, when the princes and small countries responded one after another, they led their men and horses to Mengjin to help in the war, and this event was known as "Mengjin Meeting" or "Mengjin Watching the Army".
Ji Fa, the second son of King Wen of Zhou
However, under the circumstances that the situation was very favorable to the Zhou Dynasty at that time, King Wu of Zhou did not take the opportunity to attack and immediately destroy the Shang Dynasty, but resolutely returned to the Dynasty.
1. I may have remembered the words of the I Ching "Qiangua".
As we all know: "I Ching" is the father of King Wu of Zhou, King Wen of Zhou deduced, as the heir of Ji Fa is of course very familiar with the "Book of Changes", perhaps in the "Mengjin Watching the Army", he remembered the Book of Changes "Qiangua" of the ninety-fourth line, "or jump in the abyss, no blame." "It was decided to withdraw the troops. Let's take a look at the interpretation and meaning of this line:
This line is the fourth line of the Qiangua, which is only one step away from the ninety-five lines of the great cause of the throne. This is to say that the dragon still has doubts on the eve of ascending to the sky, so he retreats to the abyss, and this retreat is to retreat as advance, and it is a strategic retreat made for the future ascension to the sky, so there is no mistake or disaster.
2. King Wu of Zhou learned to use the ninety-four lines of "Qiangua".
Let's go on to introduce the "Mengjin Watching the Army" incident in detail: in the ninth year of King Wu's reign, the ministers all said that it was time to conquer the king of Shang. Although King Wu had doubts, he thought about it and used it to observe the situation in the world, which was still beneficial. Therefore, he ordered people to erect a altar for the priest to worship the heavens in Bidi.
Portrait of King Ji Fa of Zhou Wu
After a month of preparation, King Wu held a great ceremony to worship the heavens in Bidi. After King Wu sacrificed to heaven and earth, he said to all the soldiers with a solemn expression: "We are here to swear! In order to realize King Wen's last wish and save the people of the world, we will launch an attack on the king of Shang! Those who bravely make meritorious contributions will be rewarded, and those who retreat in a cowardly position will be punished!" Jiang Taigong then commanded the 5th Army and marched forward in a mighty manner.
Since the day King Wu sent out his army, the people everywhere heard that he was going to conquer the tyrannical King of Shang, and they all rejoiced. Everywhere the army went, young people enthusiastically enlisted, and the people sent food and water. As soon as they heard that they were going to cross the Yellow River, the fishermen donated their boats one after another; when there were not enough boats, the common people took out their door panels and bed boards to make boats. A few days later, King Wu of Zhou's army sailed straight to Mengjin.
This military observation was actually a military exercise and review in preparation for the destruction of the merchants. King Wu of Zhou led his army west to the tomb of King Wen in Biyuan (present-day Chang'an County, Shaanxi), and then turned east to advance towards Chaoge. In the Chinese army, a large wooden plaque with the name of his father Xi Bochang was erected, and he only called the prince hair, which meant that King Wen was still in command.
The army arrived at Yujin (northeast of present-day Mengjin County, Henan) on the south bank of the Yellow River, and 800 princes rushed to participate in the news. The situation of the people's hearts to the Zhou and the Shang kings being isolated and helpless has been formed, and the princes all urged the king of Wu to immediately march to Chaoge. At the Mengjin Conference, the princes all promoted King Wu as the leader of the alliance and demanded that they immediately go to crusade against the king of Shang. However, King Wu said:
Ji Fa stills
"If you want to talk about cutting, it's long overdue. With today's army, it will definitely be able to defeat the king of Shang. But Yin Shang still has two sages, Bigan and Jizi, and if they go to crusade now, they will definitely hurt many innocents, and the time is not yet ripe. So, I decided to retreat to the countries with my army. ”
After discussing with Jiang Shang, King Wu agreed that the time was not yet ripe, and after the army crossed the Yellow River, he ordered the whole army to return, and warned everyone not to be in a hurry with the phrase "You don't know the destiny of heaven". As a result, the armies of all countries withdrew from Mengjin. "Mengjin Guanjun" is an important alliance of "the princes' orders", and since then, many princes have obeyed the command of Zhou, and the destruction of Shang has been fully assured.
In fact, when the situation was good, King Wu of Zhou only held the "Mengjin Observation of Troops", and did not immediately attack to eliminate the Shang Dynasty, which was the living study and application of the Nine Four Lines of the I Ching "Qiangua", because he knew that anything could not only be advanced without retreat, especially when ascending to the Ninth Five-Year Honor, creating a very prosperous cause, in which there must be advances and retreats, and retreat is for better advancement. This dragon retreats into the abyss, and its abyss is actually the basis of the "dragon leap", so this is a necessary retreat for the "in the sky".
Qianxia
King Wu met with 800 princes in Mengjin, and then withdrew the army and returned to China. Sure enough, two years later, when he found out that the king of Shang was even more mediocre and tyrannical. The good ministers were better than Gan and Jizi were loyal and admonished, one was killed and the other was imprisoned. Seeing that the king was incorrigible, the Taishi and the young master fled with the sacrificial vessels of the Shang Dynasty. The people all looked sideways and remained silent.
King Wu of Zhou studied with Jiang Shang and believed that the conditions for destroying Shang were fully ripe at this time, and in accordance with King Wen's will of "no doubt when the time comes", they decisively decided to send troops to attack Shang, and notified the vassal states to march to Chaoge. As a result, the Shang Dynasty was successfully eliminated in one fell swoop, the Western Zhou Dynasty was successfully established, and Ji Fa, the king of Zhou Wu, also became the founding monarch.
3. Inspired by the "Qiangua" 94 Yao and the "Mengjin Watching the Army" incident
King Wu of Zhou used the 94 Hexagram of the I Ching to successfully and wittily hold the "Mengjin Observation of Soldiers" two events to enlighten our modern people: First, decision-making requires wisdom. We need to make informed decisions based on our actual situation and external environment. This requires a keen insight, a wealth of experience and deep wisdom.
Second, timing is crucial. Timing is one of the key factors in a successful career. We should learn to seize the moment and show our talent and strength at the right time. At the same time, we must also learn to wait for the right moment, be patient and accumulate strength, and prepare ourselves for future success.
Sculpture of King Wen of Zhou
Again, leadership is the key to success. Leadership is not only the ability to command and manage, but also the power to influence and motivate others. We should learn how to bring out the best in our team and lead it forward.
Finally, life requires wisdom and courage. In the face of life's challenges and dilemmas, we need to deal with them with wisdom and courage. Wisdom can help us make the right decisions, while courage can help us overcome difficulties and challenges. Only with wisdom and courage can we go further and more steadily on the road of life.
In short, the incident of "Qiangua" 94 Yao and King Wu of Zhou's "Mengjin Watching Soldiers" provides us with valuable life enlightenment. We need to learn to seize the moment, make wise decisions, demonstrate excellent leadership, and have the wisdom and courage to face life's challenges. Only in this way can we continue to move forward, grow and surpass ourselves on the road of life.
Stills of King Wu of Zhou
This article was originally written by "Ruri Zhongtian 54", welcome to pay attention, learn together, and make progress together!