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Text: Yanyan
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Preface
The last king of the Shang Dynasty, after a crushing defeat in the Battle of Makino, he committed suicide in a hurry and ended his life. Why did an emperor who once controlled the world choose such a decisive way after a defeat?
For thousands of years, there have been many legends about the King of the Ring, but the real reason has always been mysterious. It was not until the gradual deepening of the archaeology of Yinxu that the mystery of this history was unveiled for us.
The Shang Dynasty unified the Central Plains, how could the foundation of the dynasty for more than 600 years collapse with a bang? King Wu of Zhou is a stone's throw away, why can he take the hegemony of the Central Plains alone? As the last monarch of the Shang Dynasty, why did King Su rush to self-immolation and die?
Was this just a fortuitous encounter? Or is there a more twisty story hidden? Under the dust of history, how many unsolved mysteries are there waiting for us to explore?
The tilt of the Shang Dynasty and the rise of the Zhou Dynasty
As early as after Pangeng moved its capital to Yin, the Shang Dynasty had begun to gradually decline. The withering of the economy and the intensification of social contradictions are all announcing that this once powerful dynasty is shrouded in dark clouds.
Despite this, the Shang Dynasty was able to maintain its dominance due to its strong military strength and strong economic base. However, the arrival of a turning point finally completely upset this balance.
This turning point was the rise of King Jichang of Zhou Wen. As a relatively small vassal state, the Zhou State gradually developed and grew under the careful management of Ji Chang. He paid attention to production and construction, and reused talents, which paved the way for the eastward expansion of King Wu of Zhou.
At the same time, King Wen of Zhou also skillfully eased the contradictions with the Shang Dynasty, maintaining submission on the surface, but in fact silently accumulating strength internally. When his son Ji Fa ascended the throne, the Zhou state was finally ready to fight to the death against the Shang dynasty.
Within the Shang Dynasty, the rule of the Emperor became more and more tyrannical and corrupt. This mediocre last monarch killed loyal ministers, appointed traitors, and constantly increased the burden on the people, making social contradictions increasingly intensified.
Even the ministers within the Shang Dynasty, such as Wei Ziqi, the elder brother of the King of Zhou, chose to defect to the Zhou camp because they could not bear the tyranny of the King of Zhou. Externally, the frequent wars of the Shang Dynasty also made the economic power of the Shang Dynasty worse. The dynasty's internal and external troubles finally became the fuse for its collapse.
"The general trend has gone, why not take this opportunity to win the Central Plains in one fell swoop?"
After years of careful planning, Ji Fa, the king of Zhou Wu, finally made up his mind and mobilized the strength of the whole country to launch this decisive battle.
The decisive battle plan of King Ji Fa of Zhou Wu
Ji Fa knew that in order to defeat the powerful Shang Dynasty, it was necessary to have careful planning and firm determination. In terms of military preparations, Ji Fa carefully organized an elite army and strived to achieve a decisive victory in the shortest possible time.
At the same time, King Wu of Zhou also actively maintained secret contact with disgruntled forces within the Shang Dynasty. For example, he cleverly took advantage of the betrayal of Wei Ziqi, an important minister of the Shang Dynasty. Wei Ziqi was originally the brother of the King of Zhou, but he was already dissatisfied with the tyranny of the King of Zhou.
At the instigation of Ji Fa, Wei Ziqi not only surrendered to Zhou Ying, but also revealed to Ji Fa the deployment of the merchant army and the battle plan of the king of Zhou. This undoubtedly won a great opportunity for King Wu of Zhou.
In addition, King Wu of Zhou also ordered caution against those merchant soldiers who voluntarily surrendered on the battlefield. He instructed the soldiers to influence them with kindness, so that they could join the ranks of the Zhou army and jointly target the king of Zhou. This shows Ji Fa's foresight, and he knew that in order to completely dismantle the Shang Dynasty, it would be necessary to cut off its social foundations.
When everything was ready, King Wu of Zhou decided to launch a general attack. His troops followed a smooth road to the heart of the Shang Dynasty--- Chaoge. And just as Ji Fa expected, the king of Su actually chose to face the Makino area 200 miles away from Chaoge. Why did King Su choose so much, the ruins of Yin Ruins gave the answer.
The Shang Dynasty's "no defense" and the fatal mistake of the Emperor Zhou
The excavation of Yin Ruins by archaeologists revealed a thought-provoking fact: Chaoge, the capital of the Shang Dynasty, had no city walls to defend it! This was undoubtedly a puzzling decision for a large country at the time.
Historically, most national capitals relied on strong walls for security. However, the Shang Dynasty chose a tradition of "most cities without cities", which made the defense of Chaoge extremely weak.
In the face of King Wu of Zhou's attack, King Zhou obviously felt helpless. He couldn't let himself and his core force hold on to Asagajo, so he could only hastily mobilize a large army and rush to Makino. This decision of King Zhou undoubtedly created an excellent fighter for King Wu of Zhou.
"An undefended court song will be the fatal weakness of the Shang Dynasty."
By the time King Wu of Zhou's forces approached Makino, King Wu had already gathered nearly 170,000 troops to meet him. In terms of numbers, the merchant army had an absolute advantage. However, this huge army contains deadly hidden dangers.
First of all, a large number of slaves and captives were forcibly confiscated, and they had no loyalty to the Shang king and were extremely weak in their will to fight. On the other hand, the morale of the Shang army has long been discouraged, and many important ministers have long defected to the Zhou camp, even Wei Ziqi, the younger brother of the king of Zhou.
These factors of civil strife doomed the merchant army to be difficult to gather combat effectiveness. In contrast, King Wu of Zhou's troops, although smaller, were brave and good at fighting, and their morale was high. Under Ji Fa's carefully arranged tactics, the Zhou army quickly broke through the Shang army's defense line and approached the command post of the king of Zhou.
"The army of the King of Su is already a plate of scattered sand."
The king personally commanded the battle, and watched the army he had worked so hard to cultivate retreat, and his heart suddenly despaired. He knew that the general trend had gone, so he could only flee back to Chaoge in a hurry, preparing for the final desperate fight.
The desperate situation and self-immolation of the king
When the Zhou army invaded the city of Chaoge, the king had nothing to do. With his family and cronies, he ascended to the deer platform, which symbolized the pinnacle of royal power, and prepared to carry out a desperate self-immolation.
This former domineering Shang King has now been reduced to a lonely and desperate poor man. His former pride and conceit were all in vain. The king was well aware that his rule had collapsed and could no longer be recovered.
On the deer platform, the king put on his most gorgeous jade robe, and a raging fire slowly rose. He stared at the flame, as if waiting for the final deliverance. Finally, the King leaped forward and disappeared into the flames.
"The peaceful and prosperous era reappeared, officially starting the long reign of the Zhou Dynasty." At the same time as the martyrdom of King Zhou, King Wu of Zhou led a large army into Chaoge. He first ordered the battlefield to be cleared, the people pacified, and order was restored. Subsequently, King Wu of Zhou convened his ministers to discuss the new policy.
The remnants and remnants of the Shang Dynasty surrendered their allegiance to King Wu of Zhou. King Wu of Zhou also accepted them generously, and ordered the establishment of a new administrative structure in Chaoge, and sent important ministers to various places to promote the new policy, in order to completely stabilize this new Central Plains dynasty.
epilogue
The suicide of the Emperor marked the end of a formerly powerful dynasty. But this is not a simple story of destruction, and there is a more tortuous and moving historical logic behind it.
This scene of the change of Shang and Zhou is not only a simple victory or defeat of a war, but also a critical moment of the alternation of civilizations for thousands of years. We trace history not only to understand the past, but also to gain insight into the future.
Although the Shang and Zhou changes have become history, the enlightenment it left behind is still worth pondering. When a dynasty goes into decline, is it the imbalance of power, ideology, or moral values that becomes its internal cause?
And does the rise of a new dynasty hold new hope? The lessons of history will eventually lead us to a more just and prosperous future.