Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, there is actually only one theme: who is the big brother.
At the beginning, everyone had a legally recognized big brother - Zhou Tianzi.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Tianzi had land, money and a large number of troops, and none of the 70 younger brothers dared to sneer.
Once the Son of Heaven is not satisfied, the six divisions will cut it down, boil it in boiling water, and the end will be miserable.
For example, Qi Aigong, because of Ji Hou's false accusation, was stewed by King Zhou Yi.
Because the Son of Heaven wants to constantly reward the meritorious princes, some like to mess around, and there are a group of relatives in the family who also have to allocate resources. Gradually, there was less land, and the income decreased accordingly, so that they could not afford to raise so many troops, and the deterrent effect decreased.
By the Spring and Autumn period, the status had declined significantly.
King Zhou Ping was supported by several princes of small countries, and at the same time he was saddled with the notorious name of killing his father, and the most important thing is that he did not have his previous strength, and the younger brothers began to stop him, and they were busy with their own work.
The Jin kingdom occupied Quwo's doctor, bent on taking the position of king, and fell into 70 years of civil strife.
The states of Chu and Qin were developing, and the state of Qi was engaged in diplomacy and fighting the state of Lu, and this environment gave Zheng the opportunity to take the lead.
Zheng Zhuang Gong took advantage of the convenience of the Son of Heaven to savagely and shamelessly annex the surrounding small countries, and often coerced the eldest brother.
King Zhou Ping was more cowardly and endured it all the time, but his grandson King Zhou Huan couldn't bear it, and when he saw Zheng Zhuanggong, he spat and raised his middle finger.
Relations between Zhou and Zheng deteriorated, and the Son of Heaven gathered troops to crusade against Zheng. But the little brothers he is looking for are all parallel goods, Cai Weichen The three big treasures, in the history of nearly three hundred years, not only have they not won a battle, but they are also the enemy's breakthrough every time.
As a result, the Son of Heaven was defeated and was hit by an arrow in the shoulder. The incident of shooting the king in the shoulder seriously affected the prestige of the eldest brother, and there was nothing for him to do in the future, "the whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister" has become a good memory that the royal family can not let go.
Without the eldest brother, who will take over this position? Qi Huangong Jiang Xiaobai stood up.
With the assistance of the Duke of Qi Huan, the country's economy grew rapidly, crushing other princes, and he became the chief of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons.
The princes of Jiuhe, the world is a Kuang. Qi Huan Gong held a meeting at every turn, the younger brother didn't dare not go, Jin Xiangong was going to die of illness, and he still had to rush upside down.
At that time, the state of Chu also developed, and under the rule of King Wu of Chu for nearly fifty years, it occupied almost the entire Jianghan Plain.
Qi Huan Gong wanted to knock the state of Chu, so he took a group of younger brothers to the south, because there was really no reason to do it, and in the end he just showed his strength and withdrew.
Who knew that as soon as Duke Qi Huan died, his five sons seized the throne, and the State of Qi exploded. The Marquis of Qi in later generations basically loved partial peace, his strength regressed, and he had no ability to compete for hegemony again.
After the exiled son Chong'er returned to China, the Jin Kingdom changed its appearance and quickly became powerful.
The next 130 years belonged to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was a competition between Jin and Chu for the subordination of small countries in the Central Plains.
There were 13 decisive battles directly in Jin and Chu, an average of once every 10 years, and there were countless battles against small countries, estimated to be once a year.
Generally speaking, the Jin State occupied a relatively large advantage, and the Chu State only suppressed the Jin State during the period of King Chu Zhuang.
Therefore, Duke Wen of Jin is the second hegemon, and King Chuzhuang is the third hegemon.
As for Song Xianggong, he came to make up the numbers, and his only role was to prevent King Chu Cheng from becoming the hegemon.
Qin Mugong's domination of the western region did not have any impact on the pattern of the Central Plains, and strictly speaking, he was not considered an overlord.
After 130 years of fighting, no one could stand it, and the high-level leaders of Jin and Chu gradually became war-weary, and the younger brothers complained even more. Under the mediation of the Song State, the two sides formed an alliance. Although there are still small frictions from time to time, there are fewer and fewer major wars.
Around 460 B.C., the King of Chu and the Duke of Jin died one after another, and the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu basically ended, and the Spring and Autumn Period entered the late stage.
People, there is always no stopping, the external war is gone, and the internal struggle is fierce.
The four major families of the Gao family, the Tian family, the Bao family, and the Guo family seized power, and the six secretaries of the Jin State competed with each other, and the largest family of the Chu State, the Ruo Ao family, was destroyed by the King of Chu Zhuang, and it stands to reason that other families should rise up by the trend, but the Wu State gave the Chu State a battle of annihilation, which led to the reshuffle of the nobles of the Chu State, but there was no such thing as the Tian family representing Qi and the three families dividing the Jin.
Because of the tradition of martyrdom in the Qin State, if the family becomes bigger, the monarch will take them to share the grave, so the power of the Qin family is not enough to affect the fortunes of the country.
There are two major characteristics of the late Spring and Autumn Period: the alliance of soldiers and the infighting of doctors.
Another point is that Wu Yue competes for hegemony. The two emerging younger brothers, who have not experienced the devastation of the war, have just fully developed and are full of energy, and they are fighting again for who is the big brother.