The State of Jin was the century-old hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period, but its founder was not the Duke Wen of Jin of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons, but the Duke of Jin xian who "served 17 countries and served 38 countries".
Duke Xian of Jin reigned for 26 years, destroying the sons of the Gong clan, consolidating the position of the monarch, attacking the states of Li Rong, Geng, Huo, and Wei, eliminating the powerful enemies Yu and Yu, and greatly shocking the prestige of the Jin state.
However, the history books criticize him as a gentleman who listens to rumors and kills his heirs.
The "Chronicle of History" records that "the prince was confused, and the prince was killed." ”
The State of Jin was originally a small princely state in the north, and it could become a great power that affected the Central Plains, and Marquis Wen of Jin contributed to it.
He sent troops to attack and kill the King of Zhou, annexing his fiefdom, ending a 21-year confrontation between the two kings and being honored as "father" by King Ping of Zhou.
The "Records of History" records that "in the first year of Marquis Zhao, Marquis Fengwen became a teacher in Quwo, and Quwoyi was greater than the wing. ”
After the death of Marquis Wen of Jin, civil unrest broke out in the Jin state, and his brother Chengshi was enfeoffed with the title of Quwo, whose power was not weaker than that of Yicheng, and the two sides began to compete for the position of monarch.
In the following 67 years, five monarchs, including Marquis Zhaohou of Jin, Marquis Xiaoxiao of Jin, Marquis of Jin, Marquis Xiaozi of Jin, and Marquis Of Jin, were killed until Duke Wu of Quwo captured Yicheng and became the new Prince of Jin, who was the Duke of Jinwu.
After seizing the power of the Jin state, in order to prevent others from following suit, the Duke of Jinwu exterminated the former Jin state clan.
After the death of Duke Wu of Jin, his son Duke Xian of Jin ascended the throne, and at this time, only three generations of descendants of Qu Wo Huan, Qu Wo Zhuang and Jin Wu Duke were left, known as the "Huan Zhuang Clan".
In 669 BC, after the Jin Dynasty stabilized its power, he suddenly attacked the Huanzhuang clan and killed them all.
Since then, the Jin state abolished the gong clan doctor system, a large number of talents with different surnames, and most of the princes in the world at that time relied on the gong clan to govern and appoint nepotism, which was the fundamental reason for the strong and prosperous Jin state for a hundred years.
Since then, Jin Xiangong has no worries and opened the prelude to the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains.
In fact, a series of performances of the Jin state were quite eye-catching, successively eliminating the huo state, yang state, rui state, hao state, geng state and other states, especially annexing the two major powers of Yu and Yu, and becoming the four powers at that time with the state of Qi, the state of Chu, and the state of Qin.
At this time, Crown Prince Shensheng had reached adulthood and personally led a large army to destroy the three kingdoms of Huo, Wei, and Geng, and had a high prestige in the government and the public.
In the eyes of most of the courtiers, Prince Shensheng was already the second largest center of power now, the future monarch of the Jin Dynasty.
The emperor is not old, but the prince has become a talent, so the contradiction arises, and thousands of years of history have been confirmed.
Jin Xiangong was no exception, and he sent his three sons to the border areas, Shen Shengshu to guard Quwo, Heavy Ear Shu to Guard Puyi, and Yiwu Shu to Guard Quyi.
It is recorded in the "Records of History" that "The crown prince Shensheng lived in Quwo, the prince re-eared Jupu, and the prince Yiwu juju." ”
On the surface, it was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, but in fact it denied the inheritance right of the crown prince Shen Sheng, and some ministers thought that Shen Sheng was facing a catastrophe and suggested that he follow Wu Taibo's approach, but unfortunately Shen Sheng did not obey.
The situation of "one country and three dukes" is only a means for Jin Xiangong to induce his three sons to take the initiative to rebel, and he can eliminate potential threats once and for all and pave the way for his youngest son Xi Qi.
With the talent of the Jin Dynasty, the reason why Xi Qi was established as the heir, the favor of Li Ji was only a small part of the factor.
Most of the reasons are still nostalgic for the throne, hoping to stay in the position of monarch for a while, and when Xi Qi grows up, he is almost on the verge of death.
Therefore, Jin Xiangong made a decisive move, first forcing the death of Prince Shensheng, and then sending troops to hunt down and kill Zhong'er and Yiwu, all within the plan.
However, Jin Xiangong miscalculated one thing, did not expect that he would die so early, and died of illness in the fourth year after the false Dao cutting.
At this time, the crown prince Xi Qi was only 14 years old, the country had no chief, and most of the courtiers supported the outside Heavy Ear and Yi Wu, and the coup d'état occurred.
In this way, at the critical moment of the struggle for hegemony, the Jin state dropped the chain, until more than 20 years later, Jin Wen publicly dominated the Central Plains.
Therefore, The Duke of Jin became the culprit who delayed the hegemony of the Jin state, and was scolded as a dark prince.
In fact, Jin Xiangong, like Qin Xiangong, was a male lord who was covered up by his outstanding sons, and the civil unrest he caused in Jin could only be said to be "not as good as heaven".
(Reference: Chronicle of History)