Speaking of "Candle Martial Retreat qin division", I think everyone must be very familiar with it, this is a text that we have learned in high school Chinese textbooks, and it is a historical essay written by Qiu Mingzuo, a historian and writer of the Lu state in the Spring and Autumn Period, written in "Zuo Biao". This essay recounts a diplomatic struggle waged by Qin and Jin before jointly attacking Zheng Guo, and with his own strength, with his insight into the situation and his outstanding ability to defend zheng guo, his spirit of not being afraid of danger, relieving the country of difficulties, and his outstanding diplomatic ability to speak eloquently are admired. The whole text has a clear image, beautiful language, clear hierarchy, strict organization, thorough reasoning and powerful logic.
For the content of the article, the author will not analyze too much, as long as the people who have memorized the high school Chinese texts are very clear. Let's briefly talk about the causes, consequences and impacts of this historical event. Simply put, the retreat of the Qin Division of the Candle Martial Is an underestimated historical event. This was not so much a successful lobbying as a successful separation, and it planted a seed in Qin Mugong's heart, a seed of interests, a seed of division that buried the good qin and Jin, and a seed that made the two countries of Qin and Jin a feud.
Event background
(1) Qin Jin's goodness
Why did Qin and Jin ally with Zheng? This has to start from the good of Qin Jin.
In 676 BC, Ji Weizhu, the son of Duke Wu of Jin, succeeded to the throne, the Duke of Jin. In his later years, Gong Wu, the father of Gong Xian, married Qi Jiang, the daughter of Duke Huan of Qi, and Qi Jiang had an affair with Ji Wei, who was crown prince. After Ji Weizhu succeeded to the throne, he made his mother Qi Jiang a lady, and gave birth to a daughter Bo Ji and his eldest son Shen Sheng. Later, in order to seek friendship with the Central Plains in the future and marry the powerful Jin state at that time, The Prince of Qin Mugong, who lived in the western corner, proposed to the Jin Xiangong family, and the Jin Xiangong married his eldest daughter Boji to Qin Mugong as his wife, which was the beginning of the so-called "Good Qin and Jin".
In his later years, Jin Xiangong fainted, was seduced by beauty, and spoiled the beautiful woman Li Ji. In 665 BC (the twelfth year of the Jin Dynasty), Li Ji, the favorite concubine of the Duke of Jin, gave birth to his youngest son Xi Qi. After Xi Qi was a little longer, Duke Xian of Jin, instigated by his favorite concubine Li Ji(恿姬), deliberately deposed Crown Prince Shensheng and made his younger son the heir to the monarch. In 656 BC, Li Ji used a trick to force the death of the then crown prince Shen Sheng, and forced the other two famous princes, Yi Wu and Zhong'er, to flee to the Liang and Zhai kingdoms respectively. In September 651 BC, Duke Xian of Jin died and was succeeded by his son Xi Qi. Jin Guoqing Dafu Rick, Pi Zhengfu, and others, who had always supported Crown Prince Shensheng, took the opportunity to gather a crowd to cause trouble, and stabbed the young lord Xi Qi to death in the spiritual hall of Jin Xiangong.
In November 651 BC, Gongzi Yiwu received help from his brother-in-law Duke Mu of Qin and became the ruler of the Jin state, as the Duke of Jin. In 650 BC (the year of the Jin Hui Dynasty), the Duke hui of Jin betrayed his faith and did not return the Jiao and Flawed Cities of Hexi to the Qin State in return for his previous promises, and lost peace with the Qin State (this is what the "Candle Wu Retreats from qin division" says, "And the jun taste is given to the Jin jun, Xu Junjiao, flawed, and the dynasty is set up in the evening"). After that, the Qin and Jin countries went to war, and Hui Gong was defeated, so he had no choice but to send his son to the Qin state as a hostage, in the summer of the seventeenth year of Lu Gong (643 BC). This has reconciled the relations between the two countries. In order to win over Gongzi Yuan, Duke Mu of Qin married his daughter Huai Wei to him. Five years later, Gongzi Yuan heard that his father was ill and feared that the position of monarch would be passed on to others, so he fled back to the Jin Dynasty. In September 637 BC, Duke Yiwu of Jin died of illness, and his son Yiwu took the throne at Daicheng as Duke Huai of Jin.
At the same time, Gongzi Zhong'er was also recruited by Qin Mugong after a long period of exile. Qin Mugong's intention was to help Zhong'er return to China to seize power, so as to establish an alliance between Qin and Jin. In the spring of 636 BC, Gongzi Zhong'er, who had been forced into exile for nineteen years due to the rebellion of Li Ji, returned to the Jin state with the support of Mu Gongqin to kill the Duke of Jin huai, and established it for the Jin Wengong (this is the background of what the Jin Wengong in the text says that "Lady Wei's strength is not as good as this"). By this time, the relations between Qin and Jin had reached their peak. Duke Mu of Qin can be called a "good brother-in-law" in history, and has supported several successive jin monarchs.
After Duke Wen of Jin returned to China to succeed to the throne, the relations between Qin and Jin spent a honeymoon period. Under the leadership of Duke Wen of Jin, the State of Jin also seemed to have opened a hanging, and in just four or five years, the first logistics king Zhou Mu quelled the rebellion of the prince belt, the battle of Wei Wei, The Battle of Cao Cao, and the Battle of Chengpu defeated the Chu state, presided over the alliance of the land, and achieved the great cause of dominating the princes. In the Battle of Chengpu, Qin sent troops to help Jin and helped Duke Wen of Jin ascend to the throne of overlordship.
(2) The old grudges and new enmity of Jin and Zheng
In 637 BC (the thirty-sixth year of Zheng Wengong), the prince of the Jin state passed through Zheng Guo and reached Zhengcheng while fleeing. When Zheng Wengong learned that Gongzi Zhong'er was about to go to Zhengcheng, he summoned his courtiers to consult and said: "Prince Zhong'er of the Jin Dynasty rebelled against his father and fled abroad, disloyal and filial piety, and was not welcomed anywhere, and was repeatedly starved. We don't have to treat this unfaithful and filial piety with courtesy!" Zhengqing's uncle Zhan advised Zheng Wengong: "The prince of the Jin Dynasty has 'three helpers' in his ears, and he is a person blessed by heaven, and he will be crowned king of the country in the future, and he must not be neglected!" Zheng Wengong did not believe it and asked what "three helpers" there were. Shu Zhan replied: "Gongzi Zhong'er is born of the fox clan's daughter, fox and Ji are of the same sect, the same sect is married, the class is extraordinary, and it will become a great talent." This one helps. Since the eighteen years of exile in the country, the country has been uneasy and unmanageable, and it is Providence waiting for the sages to return to the country as kings. This two helps. Zhao Wan, Fox Yan, And Jie Zitui, who followed Gongzi's heavy ears, are all contemporary heroes Haojie. If you use it with a heavy ear, it will become a great cause. These three assists. The prince has this 'three helpers' in his ears, and he will be crowned king in the future. The lord should treat him with courtesy. Zheng Wengong did not listen to Shu Zhan's advice, saying: "Zhong'er has been in exile for eighteen years, nearly sixty years old, what to do!" When Uncle Zhan saw that the lord would be rude and heavy-eared, he said, "If the lord does not respect the prince's heavy ears, please kill him so as not to leave behind troubles." Zheng Wengong laughed and said, "What is the reason for what the doctor said, one moment let the widow treat him with courtesy, and the next moment let the widow kill him." What are the benefits of treating each other with courtesy? Killed him because of some vendetta!" He immediately ordered that the gatekeeper should close the city gate tightly and not allow the prince to re-enter Zhengcheng. When Prince Zhong'er of Jin and others heard that Zheng Guo would not let them enter ZhengCheng, they were angry and changed their route to the Chu State.
In 632 BC, the State of Jin and the State of Chu fought a major battle at Chengpu, resulting in a major defeat for the State of Chu. In the Battle of Chengpu, Zheng Guo assisted the State of Chu in attacking the State of Jin together, so Duke Wen of Jin added the old grudge to one piece (that is, the text says, "with its rudeness to Jin, and to Chu Ye"), and two years later (630 BC) united with the State of Qin to fight against the State of Zheng.
Event: Qin Jin cut down Zheng, and The Wu of Candles retired from the Qin Division
In 630 BC (the seventh year of the Duke wen of Jin), in order to prevent the state of Chu from advancing north, Duke Wen of Jin and Duke Mu of Qin led troops to besiege the state of Zheng, hoping to get Shu Zhan, the benefactor of Duke Wen of Jin when he was in exile in the state of Zheng, and Shu Zhan committed suicide after hearing about it. Zheng Guoren brought the corpse of his uncle Zhan to Jin Wengong, but Jin Wengong said, "We must get Zheng Jun to be willing." Zheng Wengong was frightened, and heeded the advice of the doctor You Zhihu and secretly sent Candle Wu to lobby Qin Mugong.
From the historical relationship between Qin and Jin, the candle martial arts re-mentioned the old events, clarified that the Jin state once crossed the river and demolished the bridge, was ungrateful, and analyzed the insatiable nature of the Jin state, and would "que Qin" in the future, thus touching the soft rib pain of Qin Mugong, making Qin Mugong realize that Jin Qiang would endanger Qin. Therefore, Qin Mugong made a pact with Zheng Guo, and also left Qizi, Fengsun, YangSun and others to lead an army to help Zheng Guo guard the gate of the country. After the Qin army retreated, The Jin Emperor Hu Yan and others were greatly dissatisfied with Mu Gong's treacherous behavior and advocated attacking the Qin army. Jin Wengong took a big picture view, believing that Qin had favors on Jin and that it would be unkind to attack the Qin army. At the same time, in order to maintain hegemony in the Central Plains, it would be unwise for Jin to lose such an ally as the State of Qin. The State of Jin, seeing the withdrawal of its allies, knew that Zheng Zheng would not succeed, and also made peace with Zheng Guo, and subsequently withdrew its troops. Although the Jin state did not destroy Zheng, Zheng Wengong no longer dared to be rude to the Jin state. Until the later reign of Zheng Mugong, Zheng Guo was always an important follower of the Jin state. The Jin and Qin Zheng incidents thus came to an abrupt end.
When Qin Mugong withdrew from zhengguo, in order to prevent the Jin state from eating alone, he left a hand, leaving the Qin army in zhengguo to help Zheng guo guard the gate. It was precisely this hand that sowed the seeds for the Qin and Jin armies and completely led the relations between Qin and Jin into an irreconcilable abyss.
The subsequent impact of the event
Candle Zhiwu successfully dissuaded the Qin army with his old political wisdom and three inches of uncorrupted tongue, which was not so much a successful lobbying as a successful division, and he quietly planted a seed in Qin Mugong's heart, a seed of interests. This seed is gradually sprouting and growing in the heart of Qin Mugong, who is trying to develop eastward to the Central Plains, and the political ambition to participate in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains is to water the fertilizer of the seeds.
(1) The Battle of Kun
Two years later, the opportunity came. In 628 BC (the ninth year of the Duke Wen of Jin), in December, the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Wen of Jin, died, and Gongzi Huan took the throne, known in history as the Duke of JinXiang. In the same year, Zheng Wengong died, and Gongzi Lan took the throne as Zheng Mugong. Shu Zheng's Qin grand master Qi Zi and others secretly reported to Qin Mugong that they controlled the defense of the capital of Zheng Guo, and suggested that Qin Mu Gong send troops to secretly attack Zheng Guo, and if they responded internally, then Zheng Guo could be destroyed. For many years, Qin Mugong had been deliberately seeking to develop eastward, and this proposal was right in the middle, if he could attack the State of Zheng, he could enter the Central Plains and share the hegemony of the Jin State.
When Qin Mugong learned of the new death of the jin and Zheng monarchs, he saw that the new monarchs of the Jin and Zheng countries had just established, and the political situation in the court was unstable, thinking that it was profitable, he did not listen to the persuasion of Uncle Jian and other ministers, and insisted on crossing the Jin border to secretly attack Zheng Guo and take the opportunity to annex Zheng Guo. In order to maintain hegemony, the Duke of Jinxiang was determined to attack the Qin state. In order not to alarm the Qin army, they prepared to ambush them at The Battle Ditch at Mount Kun (present-day Wangling Village, Dongsong Township, Luoning County, Henan Province) when they returned to their division. In December, Qin sent Meng Mingshi, Bai Yibing, Xi Qishu, and others to lead an army to attack the State of Zheng, and in the spring of the following year (627 BC), they successfully passed through the Kunshan Pass, crossed the southern border of the Jin Dynasty, and arrived at Hua (in present-day southeast of Yanshi, Henan), where they met Xiang Gao, a Zheng merchant who was selling cattle in Zhou. The alert Xiang Gao concluded that the Qin army must attack Zheng, that is, while pretending to be Zheng Guo's emissaries to treat the Qin army, he sent people back to China to call the police. Meng Ming thought that Zheng Guo was prepared and did not dare to enter again, so he returned to the division. When the Qin generals saw that the secrets had been leaked, Qi Zi fled to Qi, and Feng Sun and Yang Sun fled to Song.
In April 627 BC, the Jin state detected the movements of the Qin army, ordered Xianxun to lead an army to secretly rush to Mount Kun, and contacted the local Jiang Rong to ambush on both sides of the pass. The Qin army returned to Kunshan, but because it did not communicate with the enemy when it went, it was neglected. Seeing that the Qin army had all entered the ambush area, the Jin army immediately blocked both ends of the canyon and suddenly launched a fierce attack. Duke Xiang of Jin dressed in mourning clothes supervised the battle, and the soldiers bravely killed the enemy one by one. The Qin army was trapped in the pass, unable to retreat, terrified and chaotic, and eventually the entire army was destroyed, and the three marshals such as Meng Mingshi, Bai Yibing, and Xi Qishu were captured. Subsequently, at the request of Wen Wei (Lady Wen gong and concubine of Xiang Gong) to Xiang Gong, the three marshals of the Qin state were released and returned to China.
(2) The Battle of Pengya
Two years later, in 625 BC (the spring of the twenty-eighth year of King Xiang of Zhou), Duke Mu of Qin again ordered Meng Mingshi to lead an army to attack Jin, in shame of the defeat at Xuekun Mountain. Jin Xianggong led an army to meet the battle. The two armies met Peng Ya in western Qin. After the two sides lined up, the Che Right General Wolf Yao, who had been deposed by Xianxun, led more than 200 of his men to rush into the enemy position first, killing the Qin army in chaos. The main force of the Jin army then attacked. The Qin army was defeated, and the wolf was killed. In the winter of the same year, in order to further curb the eastward advance of the Qin forces and consolidate the hegemonic position of the Jin, the Duke of JinXiang ordered the Grand Master Xian and Ju to lead the army of Song, Chen, and Zheng to attack Qin again, and successively captured Qin Yiwang (present-day chengcheng west of Shaanxi) and Peng Ya and then withdrew.
The following year, Qin Mugong personally led an army to attack the Jin Dynasty, crossed the Yellow River, burned ships, and showed his determination to fight to the death, capturing the Jin state's wang officials (in present-day Wenxinan, Shanxi) and suburbs (Wenxixi). The Jin people did not go to war, the Qin army turned around and went south, crossed the Yellow River from Maojin, reached Kunshan, collected and buried the bones of the Qin army in Kunshan, and returned.
These two battles were the aftermath of the Battle of Kun.
The Battle of Kun was an important battle in the history of the Spring and Autumn Period. Its outbreak was not accidental, but the result of the conflict of fundamental strategic interests between Qin and Jin. Qin took the chance in the center of the Battle of Kun, lightly launched his troops, went deep alone, and attacked thousands of miles, encountering unprecedented defeats. Since then, the qin state's road to the east into the Central Plains has been completely stifled by the Jin state, and Qin Mugong had to use troops to the west, thus "benefiting the twelve countries, opening up thousands of miles of land, and dominating the western Rong", which can also be regarded as a blessing in disguise. Although the retreat of the Qin Division was not the root cause of the outbreak of the Battle of Kun, it could also be regarded as the fuse of this battle.
The Battle of Kun marked the transformation of relations between Jin and Qin from friendship to feud until the fall of the Three Jins. After the Battle of Kun, the State of Qin allied with the State of Chu and adopted the strategy of uniting Chu to control Jin, which became a major problem for the State of Jin in the West. The Qin and Chu countries began a strategic cooperation that lasted for four hundred years.
History always has unexpected foreshadowing, a seemingly ordinary historical event, sometimes it may be the butterfly that can only trigger the storm of history.