Far from the fertile land of Guanzhong, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty took root in Luoyang. It's a pity that King Ping, who is in the position of emperor, has lost his authority to the vassal states. As a result, a young man inherited the throne of the powerless and powerless Son of Heaven, who had the ambition to revive the royal family, but failed in the confrontation with the princes, and finally died for a long time. This is the story of Zhou Huan Wang Jilin.
Zhou Huan Wang Jilin
In 770 BC, King Ping of Zhou was forced to move east to Luoyi and lost the vast land of Guanzhong. Due to the lack of financial resources, the Zhou royal family had to rely on the power of the princes.
Not only that, but the power of the court fell into the hands of Zheng Guo, and the dignity of the Son of Heaven was lost. After the death of King Ping, his grandson Ji Lin succeeded to the throne as King Huan of Zhou. As the lord of the new branch, King Huan is deeply dissatisfied with the status quo, and he is determined to defeat Zheng Guo and regain his rightful authority.
Sun Jilin
King Huan was self-reliant and neglected the Hajj Zheng Zhuanggong. Zhuang Gong was furious and handed over the land to other countries. In the years that followed, King Huan spared no effort to consolidate his relations with other princes. In 707 BC, he finally made a decisive step and directly removed Zheng Zhuanggong from his position as secretary.
Zheng Zhuang Gong
The Zhou Dynasty and Zheng Zhuanggong turned their faces, and the two sides could not be separated. King Huan judged that the time had come, so he sent troops to attack Zheng Guo. However, when the decisive battle broke out in the (now Changge, Henan) Gange, King Huan's coalition army was in a difficult situation.
The Zheng army first routed the left and right armies of the vassal states, and then launched a fierce attack on the Chinese army. In the fierce battle, King Huan was shot in the shoulder by the enemy and was almost captured! In the end, Zheng Guo won a complete victory, and King Huan fled with shame.
This battle gave King Huan a hard slap in the face. The ambition to revive the dynasty was in vain. He could no longer command the princes, so he could only sit back and watch the power gradually drain away from his hands. The most ironic thing is that a generation of heavenly sons has become the object of ridicule by the princes. The tragedy of King Huan is a microcosm of the decline of the Zhou royal family, and the former hegemony only exists in a dream.
Although the talents of King Huan Jilin are limited, what is more worthy of our reflection is that the prestige of the king has declined to a certain extent? The princes were divided and the royal family was weak, and the dignity of Zhou Tianzi became a false name that could be overridden. The destiny given by the Creator is an empty shell in the hands of the corrupt and incompetent descendants. This is nothing less than the greatest irony in the world! It's a pity that King Huan's efforts to save face were in vain, and on the contrary, the entire dynasty was left in the long river of history for 10,000 years.
Overall, this article sheds light on a little-known piece of history. When the Zhou Dynasty was in decline, a young man who was self-willed tried to regain the dominant power by force, but in the end suffered a shameful defeat. This not only highlights the incompetence of the royal family at the time, but also heralds the end of this once glorious dynasty. Although King Huan Jilin had the ambition of revitalization, he lacked wisdom and eventually became the laughing stock of history. Perhaps, his story is worth pondering, the abuse of power will eventually lead to decadence, and only benevolence can be immortalized.