Because of a battle of Muye that no one could afford to lose, Zhou Wu Wang Ji sent to destroy Shang, after the death of Emperor Xin, he took advantage of the situation to establish the Zhou Dynasty, and set the capital in Ho, although the Zhou Dynasty existed for more than 700 years, but the Western Zhou Dynasty only occupied more than 200 years.
Only a few years after the destruction of Shang, King Wu of Zhou died, and then King Ji Yu of Zhou Cheng succeeded to the throne, because King Zhou Cheng was young, so the Duke of Zhou came to be regent.
Previously, King Wu let his three younger brothers be responsible for supervising Wu Geng, the son of King Shang, and after learning that King Zhou Cheng succeeded to the regent of Duke Zhou, the three of them refused to accept it and decided to launch a rebellion, and the rebellion of the three eunuchs broke out.
At that time, the many problems left by the Shang Dynasty had not yet had time to be dealt with, and the Duke of Zhou had no choice but to lead an army to quell the rebellion of the Three Prisons, and then continued the eastward crusade to eliminate the rebels and the remnants of the Shang army.
Because after the Zhou destroyed the Shang, most of the people were still merchants, and the number of the Zhou people always occupied a minority, so in order to consolidate the rule of the Zhou Dynasty and prevent the resurgence of the Shang Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou began to divide a large number of vassal states in large numbers.
However, in the many feudal vassal states, the Duke of Zhou did not let merchants manage various places, but people with merit in the army, or trusted people around him, only in this way could the rule of the Zhou Dynasty be completely stabilized.
In order to prevent the Zhou Dynasty from following the old path of the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty took its essence and removed its dross, inheriting the good aspects of ritual music, and abandoning some tyrannical and bad habits of the Shang Dynasty, such as human sacrifice.
Although the regency of the Duke of Zhou lasted only seven years, the first three years were used to quell the rebellion and eliminate the forces that could threaten the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, and in the fourth year, the vassal states were divided to further consolidate the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, and in the fifth year, the eastern capital Luoyi was built, and in the sixth year, the Lile was formulated.
Zhang Mingde, the princess of Zhou, punished prudently and ruled the country with "rites", which laid the foundation for the later rule of Chengkang and laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of the Western Zhou Dynasty for a hundred years.
Subsequently, during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou and King Kang of Zhou, the whole country of the Western Zhou Dynasty was socially stable and the people were harmonious, and this period was the strongest stage of the Western Zhou Dynasty, with economic prosperity and cultural prosperity.
But since King Yi of Zhou succeeded to the throne, the state of the Western Zhou Dynasty began to decline, and even the capital was forced to move, and when King Li of Zhou succeeded to the throne, there was a riot in the country, and the royal power completely declined.
During the reign of King Yi of Zhou, the power of the dog Rong secretly became powerful, and then began to meddle in the affairs between the Zhou Dynasty and some countries, and even directly hindered the exchanges between the Zhou Dynasty and the northwestern countries.
Under the tyranny of the dog Rong, the people of the Zhou Dynasty were already overwhelmed, and when King Zhou Li succeeded to the throne, not only did not solve the problem of the dog Rong violating the border of the Zhou Dynasty, but instead imposed tyranny on the country, as long as someone talked about the affairs of the country, they would be punished.
Under the war and tyranny, King Zhou Li also looted the wealth of the people, and if anyone dared to resist, he would kill the chickens and monkeys, he thought that this would scare the people into not daring to resist, but he did not expect to brew a riot of the people.
After King Xuan of Zhou succeeded to the throne, with the experience of King Yi of Zhou and King Li of Zhou, he quickly sent troops to the dog Rong to defend the border of the Zhou Dynasty, and also changed the policy internally, which eased the situation of the Zhou Dynasty to a certain extent.
But after King Xuan of Zhou was in his later years, the Zhou Dynasty was completely lonely, and it was King Zhou You, the "princes of the Beacon Opera", who really brought the Western Zhou Dynasty to its demise.
Although many people have the impression that the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty was the death of King Youyou of Zhou in order to please him and play the princes, causing the vassal states to no longer believe in him and not save himself in time, but in fact it may not be the case.
Because before King You of Zhou, his father King Xuan of Zhou fought everywhere, and even interfered in the succession of thrones in other countries, etc., which led to the princes already dissatisfied with the Zhou Dynasty.
Later, he continued to send troops to war, attacking Tiaorong and Benrong, and as a result, King Xuan of Zhou suffered a crushing defeat in these wars, which led to the further damage to the already declining country.
After King Zhou You succeeded to the throne, Yu Shi's father was appointed as the secretary of Zhou You, Yu Shi's father was a good and profitable person, and when he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, it increased the exploitation of the people of the Zhou Dynasty, causing the people of the whole country to complain.
At that time, the Western Zhou Dynasty also encountered natural disasters and a severe drought, which affected a huge area, resulting in a sharp decline in the population of the Zhou Dynasty and a further decline in national strength.
In the face of foreign invasion, the Zhou Dynasty at that time had its own power due to the division of a large number of vassal states, and their only connection with the Zhou Dynasty was to pay tribute on time and fight against foreign enemies.
However, as the vassal states gradually grew in power, more and more vassal states began to want to guard their own one-third of an acre of land, and chose to ignore many of the requirements of the Zhou Dynasty.
It can be said that the king of Zhou You at that time was like the king of a small vassal state, although the country was big, but there was no one to dispatch, but he also abolished the daughter of Shenhou and the prince Yijiu, and set up Bao Xi as the queen, and his son as the prince.
Yijiu fled back to Shen Guo at that time, and after telling the truth one by one, Shen Hou was furious, and Yu Shi's father at that time also took the opportunity to offer slander, so that King Zhou You was ready to send troops to destroy Shen Guo in order to prevent future troubles.
After Shenhou knew, he knew very well in his heart that although the Zhou Dynasty had declined, it was still not his own small Shen State that could resist, so he united with the Dog Rong forces and decided to strike first.
At that time, King Zhou You had not yet sent troops, and he was caught off guard by Shenhou, and the allusions of the princes of Zhou You's Beacon Fire Opera also appeared during this period.
It is said that in order to praise and smile, King Zhou You listened to the slander of Yu Shi's father, lit the beacon fire five times, and played with the princes, which eventually led to the lack of reinforcements when Shenhou attacked, resulting in the killing of King Zhou You.
But in fact, after the investigation of historians, the princes of the Beacon Fire Opera can basically conclude that it is just a fabricated allusion, and the reason for the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty is only because the king of Zhou You took the initiative to attack the Shen State, and was killed by the Shenhou and the dog Rong.
In the Xia Shang and Western Three Dynasties, the Xia Dynasty sisters laughed at the sound of the columns, the Shang Dynasty Daji laughed at the punishment of cannon branding, and the Zhou Dynasty praised and laughed at the princes of the Beacon Fire Opera were also known as the "Three Laughs of the Dead Country".
After the death of King You of Zhou, the vassal states of Shenhou and other vassal states were re-established as princes by the prince Yijiu, who was abolished by King You of Zhou, and the Eastern Zhou period was opened.