If you want to choose the most inspirational one from the kings of the past, it must be the Jin Wen Gongzhong. He ascended to the throne at the age of 61 and reigned for only 9 years, but achieved the most unquestionable hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period.
If you want to choose the most tragic one from the various princely states in the Spring and Autumn Period, it must be the Jin State. The end of the Spring and Autumn Period was marked by the division of the Three Houses of Zhao, Wei, and Han.
The Jin Dynasty can be said to be the most important vassal state of the Zhou Dynasty. The first prince was Tang Shuyu, the concubine of King Wu, and in terms of blood, the Jin state was the closest princely state to the Zhou Dynasty. From a territorial point of view, the Jin State was the largest princely state in the Central Plains. Emotionally speaking, Western Zhou was broken by Inuyasha, and after king Ping of Zhou moved the capital to Luoyi, the Jin state was a barrier to the north of Eastern Zhou, giving Eastern Zhou the most protection. For the Zhou Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty was like the institution responsible for supporting the newly issued funds, which was a security guarantee.
In 678 BC, the "Quwo Daiyi" ended with the victory of The Duke of Quwowu of Xiaozong, and the king of Zhou (Yin Tongxi) ordered Qu Wowu to be the Prince of Jin and listed as a prince, and the civil unrest that lasted for 67 years finally ended, and the Jin state once again ushered in internal unification.
In 676 BC, Duke Wu of Jin and Duke Xian of Jin succeeded to the throne. At this time, it was the era of Qi Huan's public hegemony. However, The Duke of Jin Xian did not hesitate to attack the states of Li Rong, Geng, Huo, and Wei, defeated Di Rong, adopted Xun Xi's strategy of "false road cutting down the Qi", and eliminated the strong enemies Yu and Yu, which the history said was "seventeen and seventeen, and thirty-eight". Compared with Qi Huangong, it was only a paper covenant.
Jin Xiangong is so strong, naturally very feminine. There are many women, and there are many sons. The first lady was a princess of Jia Guo, childless. After that, Qi Jiang Sheng Shen Sheng, Fox Ji Sheng Heavy Ear, Fox Ji's sister Sheng Yi Wu, Li Ji Sheng Xi Qi, Li Ji's sister Sheng Zhuo Zi. Among these women, Li Ji had the most cunning intentions, in order to let her son succeed to the throne, she used all kinds of conspiracies and tricks to force The Crown Prince Shensheng to commit suicide, and Zhong'er and Yiwu ran away into exile one after another.
History does not have a high evaluation of The Duke of Jin, probably for the following three reasons: first, he did not have the endorsement of the official covenant; second, he also made the same mistake as King You of Zhou on the issue of succession, which led to the rebellion of Li Ji; third, his son Jin Wengong's ears shone even more.
During the Li Ji Rebellion, a prince Shen Sheng died, leaving us with the allusion that "Shen Sheng died on the inside, and the heavy ear was born outside". Two monarchs who had succeeded to the throne but had not been recognized by history died, one was Xi Qi and the other was Zhuo Zi, both killed by Dafu Rick. A doctor committed suicide, but xun xi, who contributed to the strategy of "false dao cutting", was the minister of honor prepared by the Duke of Jin for Xi Qi.
Li Ji took great pains to send her son Xi Qi to the throne of the monarch, but she did not expect to send him to the guillotine herself. This is really a calculation by the organs, and it has mistaken Qingqing's life. Xi Qi and Zhuo Zi were killed one after another, and only Zhong'er and Yiwu were left to inherit the throne. At this time, Zhou Tianzi no longer had any authority, and whoever became the Emperor of Jin had to be decided by the big powers. Among the great powers, the state of Qi and the state of Qin have the right to speak. Whether a monarch supported by a major country can stand up depends on the opinions of the important ministers of the DPRK and China. The ministers with the most say were Rick and Pi Zheng.
So Yiwu sent people to pay bribes to Rick, Xu Yiyi, and sent people to pay bribes to the Qin state, allowing the land of Hexi. Qin Mugong asked the people who came: Who does Yiwu rely on to support in China? It was said that the prince had no supporters, no opposition, and had been introverted since childhood. When Qin Mugong heard this, he felt that it was more in the interests of the Qin state to let such an isolated and helpless guy be the Jin Jun, so he sent troops to escort Yi Wu back to China.
At this time, the overlord of the Central Plains was the Duke of Qi Huan. After the Li Ji Rebellion, duke Huan of Qi united with the princes to send troops to the Jin state. Therefore, in 651 BC, with the State of Qi as the head and the State of Qin as the second, the princes together established Yiwu as the king, for the Jin Huigong. Rick was originally going to set up a heavy ear, but the heavy ear refused, and had to accept Yi Wu as a king.
But perhaps Jin Huigong exercised his face extremely thickly in his long-term fugitive life. As soon as he took the stage, he began to turn his face and not recognize anyone. First he forced Rick to die.
Huigong said: There is no doctor you, and there is no widow today. But having said that, sir had killed two monarchs and a doctor after all. Isn't it too difficult to be a gentleman?
Rick said: If the subordinates do not kill those three people, how can the king return to the throne? Since you want to blame the courtiers, where are you afraid that you can't find the explanation, why bother with it? The minister heard the order!
With that, Rick drew his sword and committed suicide. (See "The Ten Years of zuo chuan and the duke")
At the same time as forcing Rick to die, Huigong also sent Pi Zheng to the Qin state to settle accounts. According to the "History of the Jin Dynasty", Huigong said this: Yiwu had promised your country the land of Hexi, and now it is reasonable to say that it should be honored, but the ministers do not agree. The ministers said that the land of our country was the first king. Yi Wu is just a prince in exile, who has the right to give it to people without permission? I'm sorry I can't beat them! Qin Mugong could only eat this dumb loss. Later, Pi Zheng himself, as well as Pi Zheng and Rick's subordinates, were also killed by Huigong's men.
Three years after Lai's account, there was a famine in the Jin state, so he bought grain from the Qin state. After studying the situation, the Monarchs of the State of Qin decided to carry out humanitarian relief. The State of Qin complained with virtue, and the fleet of ships transporting grain to the Jin State was huge, known in history as the "Battle of Pan boats".
However, in the following year, there was a famine in the Qin state, and the purchase of grain from the Jin state was rejected. When the Jin monarchs and courtiers discussed, the reason for the opposition was actually: The skin does not exist, and Mao will be an fu? This means that the land ceded to Hexi is "skin", and selling grain to the Jin state is nothing more than "mao". The skin is all gone, what is the use of giving a few hairs? This little favor not only cannot eliminate the resentment of the Qin state, but on the contrary, it strengthens their strength, and it is better to break the jar and break it and offend them to the end.
This kind of talk is very good for Huigong's appetite. But some people disagree, and the doctor who disagrees is called Qingzheng. He said: Ungrateful, unrelated; schadenfreude, unkind; greedy and cheap, ominous; offending neighbors, unrighteousness. The people understand this truth. If anyone does this, their relatives will all have a vendetta, not to mention that the Qin Kingdom still has a long-standing grudge with us? Unfortunately, Huigong did not listen. (See "The Fourteenth Year of the Left Transmission and the Duke of Shu")
The consequence of not listening to Qing Zheng's words was that the Qin and Jin countries formed a bond, and Qing Zheng and Hui Gong also had a disagreement. This eventually led to war between the Qin and Jin states. In 645 BC, in the ninth month of the Xia calendar, the Duke mu of Qin personally marched and led an army to attack the Jin Dynasty. Jin Huigong personally went into battle to meet the Qin army. The righteous And strong Qin army was highly motivated and pursued by victory, while the Jin army was defeated again and again, and three defeats reached Han. In the end, even The Duke Hui of Jin was captured by the Qin army. Later, after many efforts, Duke Hui of Jin was released by the State of Qin. The first thing Huigong did when he returned to China was to kill Qingzheng.
In 637 BC, Duke Hui of Jin. Crown Prince Huan succeeded to the throne as Duke Huai of Jin. However, under the continuous death of Duke Hui of Jin, the people's desire of the Jin state was actually in the ears of the prince. Heavy Ear exiled abroad, fox Tu (Heavy Ear Grandfather) son Fox Mao and Fox Yan followed around, which is really a problem for Huai Gong's confidants. Therefore, Huai Gong captured the fox and ordered him to recall the fox hair and fox.
Fox Tu refused to exchange principles, and he explained a truth to Huai Gong. Fox Tu said that the relationship between kings and subjects cannot be established at will, so it cannot be changed at will. To become a subject of others, first of all, you must write your own name on the simple policy, called "the name of the policy"; secondly, you must give gifts to the people, called "pledge". Both of these things mean that we agree with each other, and that once we establish a relationship, we will be loyal and never change our minds. (See "Twenty-three Years of zuo chuan and duke")
There were two relationships during the Spring and Autumn Period: public and private and monarchical. Position to position is public and private; individual to individual is a monarch. The relationship between monarchs and subjects is higher than that between public and private, and it is also heavier than public and private. Because if you cannot be loyal to the lord, you cannot be loyal to the country. Therefore, it is necessary to be loyal to the king first and then serve the country, even if the person is not a prince or even displaced. This is the mainstream concept represented by the foxes, and it is also the foundation of the Spring and Autumn Period that is more orderly than the Warring States.
However, HuaiGong was not even as good as his father Huigong, who killed Fox Tu. Huai Gong's move only fulfilled the fox and could not change his fate. In the spring of the following year, Gongzi Zhong'er was escorted back to China by the Qin army as a Duke Wen of Jin. To this end, the princes once again held an alliance meeting (the last time was Yiwu). The host of the alliance is the son of Fox Tu and the uncle of the heavy ear. As for Huai Gong, he fled the capital shortly after he set out for the country, and was later murdered, serving as a monarch for only three or four months.
Although the Jin state has been in constant civil strife since the death of Duke Xian of Jin, the camels that are thin and dead are bigger than horses. After Duke Wen of Jin ascended the throne, he appointed xianneng to correct the chaos, and the Jin state soon became strong again. In 636 BC, the Prince of Zhou led the United Di people to rebel, Luoyi was breached, and King Xiang of Zhou fled to the State of Zheng and asked for help from Qin and Jin.
In 635 BC, Qin Mugongtun soldiers prepared for Qin Wang on the banks of the Yellow River. At this time, although Jin Wengong had only been on the throne for more than a year, he already had a heart for hegemony. Fox Yan said, "If you want to dominate, it is best to support Zhou Tianzi and serve the affairs of Tianzi." In this way, it can gain the trust of the princes and be in line with the righteousness. To continue the cause of Wen Hou and spread credit among the princes, now is the opportunity. Therefore, Duke Wen of Jin led his troops down the river and defeated the Di army in one fell swoop in a short period of time, sending King Xiang of Zhou back to Luoyi. (See "Twenty-five Years of the Left Transmission and The Duke of The Emperor")
The next step was the opening and hanging stage of the Jin Dynasty, which dominated the Central Plains in the First World War. This war is the Battle of Chengpu. As for the cause of the war, it should start from the death of Duke Huan of Qi. After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the five sons "attacked each other in bundles of armor", and there was no one to talk to in the Central Plains. Song Xianggong, who had ascended the throne in the same year as Jin Huigong, wanted to taste what swan meat was like, so he put up the spectrum of the overlord himself.
Song Xianggong actually did a good job in domestic affairs, but the diplomatic and military aspects were too unsatisfactory. The only commendable thing is to send the Prince of Qi Zhao (Qi Xiaogong) to the throne. Later attempts to dominate only some small states such as Wei, Yi, Cao, and Shui were willing to serve Song Xianggong as overlords, and even the Duke Xiao of Qi, who had been sent to the throne by him, was unwilling to join him. In 639 BC, Song Xianggong made up his own mind, and without the consent of the State of Qi and the State of Chu, agreed to meet the alliance in Ludi in the autumn of that year, and self-righteously did not bring troops to participate in the alliance, but was arrested by the Chu Cheng king during the alliance, but fortunately was later released at the mediation of the Duke of Lu.
What is even more funny is that in the second year after the alliance (638 BC), the State of Song attacked the State of Zheng, and the State of Zheng asked the State of Chu for help, and the State of Chu sent the general Cheng Dechen to attack the capital of the State of Song, and the State of Song withdrew its troops and met the Chu army at Hongshui. At the beginning of the Battle of Hong, the Chu army crossed the Hongshui River, and Mu Yi said: "There are many Chu soldiers, but our army is small, so we will destroy them while they cross the river." Song Xianggong said, "We are known as the master of benevolence and righteousness, how can we take advantage of the fact that others cross the river to attack?" After the Chu army crossed the river, it deployed on the shore, and Mu Yi said, "You can attack." Song Xianggong said, "Wait until they have lined up their positions." When the Chu army was ready, the Chu soldiers rushed forward and defeated the Song army, and Song Xianggong was also shot in the thigh, resulting in his death from his wounds the following year (the same year as Jin Huigong). This is the "benevolence of Song Xiang".
Song Xianggong's attempt to dominate was unsuccessful, leaving a false name in history that may be one of the five hegemons. After the death of Duke Xiang of Song, Duke Cheng of Song succeeded to the throne, and the State of Song also submitted to the State of Chu. However, when Duke Wen of Jin helped King Xiang of Zhou quell the rebellion of the prince, defeated the Di army, and sent king Xiang of Zhou back to the royal city, a set of combined punches of the king of Zunyi came down, which impressed the Song people. As a result, the State of Song only attached itself to the State of Chu for two or three years, and then it became an ally of the State of Jin. Of course, King Cheng of Chu, who was gaining momentum, could not tolerate betrayal and united with the four kingdoms of Chen, Cai, Zheng, and Xu to besiege the Song state.
Song Guo was in a hurry. Tuba's Jin Wengong naturally would not stand idly by. Moreover, the Song Kingdom was beaten because they "rebelled against Chu and Jin", which is reasonable; when Duke Wen was exiled abroad as a shipwrecked prince, along the way, Wei Wengong was rude, Cao Gonggong was rude, Zheng Wengong was also rude, but Song Xianggong gave him twenty cars and horses, which was love. Therefore, when the Great Disaster of the Song Dynasty was approaching, Jin Wengong could not sit idly by and ignore it. (See "Twenty-three Years of zuo chuan and duke")
Duke Wen of Jin decided to first take over the Chu state's henchmen, Cao Guo and Wei Guo, and wait for the Chu State to save Cao and Wei, and Song to break the siege. To this end, The Duke Wen of Jin expanded the upper and lower armies established by Jin Xiangong into the upper, middle, and lower armies. In the spring of 632 BC, Duke Wen of Jin invaded Cao Fawei. The terrified Wei Chenggong asked for an alliance, but the Jin state did not agree, wanting to curry favor with the Chu people, but the Wei people did not agree. In the end, the Wei people expelled Wei Chenggong to please the Jin state. Cao Gonggong was even more miserable, and was captured alive by the Jin army that invaded Cao Du. Even Duke Lu was so frightened that he killed the doctor sent to defend the country in order to flatter the Jin state.
However, the State of Chu did not withdraw its troops from the Song. The Jin Dynasty judged the situation and allowed the State of Qin and the State of Qi to join the war. In this way, it was the combined forces of Chu, Chen, Cai, Zheng, and Xu against the combined forces of Jin, Qi, Qin, and Song. When King Cheng of Chu saw this situation, he had already begun to retreat, but Yin Ziyu disagreed, and repeatedly asked for a battle to fight with the Jin people. From the perspective of later generations, I really don't know where Zi Yu, the commander of the Chu army at that time, came from with the courage to launch this big war. The evaluation of Ziyu as "rigid and rude" in the "Left Biography" does have some truth, at least "just". (See "The Twenty-Seventh Year of zuo chuan and the duke")
The Chu army advanced, but the Jin army retreated. Because when Duke Wen of Jin went into exile, he not only received the favor of Duke Xiang of Song, but also received the hospitality of King Cheng of Chu. At that time, King Cheng asked Zhong'er: If the prince returns to China as a king, what are he going to repay me with? The heavy ear said: Slaves, concubines, sacrifices, jade veils, the king has some. Precious jade, yak, ivory, rhinoceros skin, the product of your country. The only thing that the heavy ear can repay is that in the future the two armies will meet and retreat (ninety miles). If after retreating ninety miles, Junshang still refused to forgive the heavy ear, he had to bend the bow with a horse whip in his left hand and a bow bag in his right hand, and rotate with Junshang.
Jin Wengong fulfilled his promise, but Ziyu did not know it. If you believe what you say, you will be righteous; if you take a step back, the sea and the sky will be wide. The two armies had not yet gone to war, and the Jin had already gained the psychological upper hand. Ziyu of the head iron ignored the opposition of everyone and chased all the way to Chengpu. In the final Battle of Chengpu, the Chu army collapsed, and Ziyu committed suicide. The victorious Duke Wen of Jin came to Zhengdi to practice the land and made an alliance with the kings of the Seven Kingdoms of Qi, Song, Lu, Cai, Zheng, Wei, and Chen, which is known in history as the "Alliance of The Land of Jiantu". At that time, when Qi Huan was the hegemonic meeting of Kuiqiu, King Xiang of Zhou only sent someone to give him meat. In the alliance of the land, King Xiang of Zhou personally attended the scene and also crowned Duke Wen of Jin as "Hou Bo", that is, the chief of the princes. There are both documentary records and cultural relics as evidence, which is the true overlord. (See "The Twenty-Eighth Year of the Left Transmission and the Duke of Shu")
The Jin Wengong of the old Ji Futuo had revenge, revenge, grace, renewed promises, and kept promises. It can be called a model of the spring and autumn overlord.