Today I would like to share with you a historical story in which a mother's preference for her younger son caused a long period of chaos and semi-division in a country. In 744 BC, Zheng Wugong's illness worsened, and he insisted on choosing his eldest son Yusheng as his heir, while her wife Wu Jiang opposed Yusheng's succession.
Zheng Wugong's wife was the daughter of Shen Hou named Wu Jiang, we know that the queen of King You is also the daughter of Shen Hou, and the King of Zhou Ping is also the daughter of Shen Hou, which shows that the relationship between Shen Hou and Shen Guo and the Zhou royal family at that time was very unusual and powerful. And why is Madame's name Wu Jiang? Because at that time, the woman's name was: the front word follows the husband, the back word follows the father, because the husband is Wu Gong, and the father's original surname is Jiang, so it is called Wu Jiang. Zheng Wugong and Wu Jiang were both called by later generations after their deaths, which was their nickname. We pull back to the main topic, Wu Jiang gave birth to two sons for Zheng Wugong, the eldest son Was born that is, Zheng Zhuang Gong was born when it was difficult to give birth, Wu Jiang was very painful when he gave birth to him, so he hated Zhuang Gong very much; the younger son Duan Shun gave birth and favored him, according to the principle of inheritance Zheng Wu Gong appointed the eldest as the prince, during which Wu Jiang repeatedly advised Wu Gong to change his mind and change his younger son Duan, and finally Wu Gong still adhered to the principle.
After Zheng Zhuanggong successfully succeeded to the throne, under the influence of his mother Wu Jiang, he sealed the most prosperous capital of zhengguo (Xingyang, Henan) to his younger brother Duan, it can be said that the capital is a larger city than the capital, and why is Zhuang Gong? Sell it now and reveal it later. After Shu Duan arrived in the capital, he prepared an army and plotted with his mother Wu Jiang to attack Zheng Du. In the 22nd year of Duke Zhuang, that is, in 722 BC, Gongshu Duan thought that the time was ripe, and indeed attacked the capital of Zheng and Wu Jiang responded internally in the capital. Later, Duke Zhuang conquered the capital, and Gongshu Duan fled to Yan (Yanling, Henan), where he defeated Uncle Duan, and Shu Duan fled to Gongdi (Hui County, Henan). Duke Zhuang therefore hated his mother for moving her to Chengying (Xiangcheng County, Henan), and also said a harsh sentence "No more seeing each other until Huangquan", which means that he will not meet his mother unless he dies, and soon after Zhuang Gong regretted it and missed his mother, but such a poisonous oath was difficult for him as the king of a country to take back. At this time, Uncle Yingkao was in town to keep Yinggu and asked to see Zhuang Gong, Who gave him food, Uncle Yingkao picked out the meat and said that he kept it for his mother, and Zhuang Gong touched the scene and told Uncle Yingkao about missing his mother and the things he regretted swearing. Uncle Yingkao suggested, "When you see the spring water in the ground, who can say that you didn't meet in the Yellow Spring?" So Zhuang Gong took his advice and met with his mother, after which the mother and son reconciled as before.
Wu Jiang's preference for his young son caused a 22-year-long family and national tragedy, in which brothers were jealous and at odds with each other, and the country was semi-divided. Fortunately, Duke Zhuang had a strategy to defeat Gongshu Duan and maintain the unity of the country, and at the same time reconciled with his mother Wu Jiang. At the beginning, when it was said that Zheng Zhuanggong had just succeeded to the throne, he sealed the most prosperous capital to Shu Duan, and I sold a guanzi, that is, why did Zheng Zhuang Gong not kill Gong Shu Duan in the first place to avoid the trouble? Why wait until 22 years to attack your brother? I think there are several reasons for this:
1. Shu Duan did not have a rebellious heart at the beginning. Before Shu Duan was sealed, he simply did not have the strength to resist the rebellious heart of Duke Zhuang.
2. At the beginning of Zhuang Gong's reign, he was not able to confront Wu Jiang. Wu Jiang was the daughter of Shen Hou, and behind him was the powerful Shen Kingdom, and it was difficult for Zhuang Gong to shake his unstable foothold. Zuo Chuan records that when Zhongzhong asked Duke Zhuang why he had sealed the most prosperous capital to Shuduan, Duke Zhuang seemed helpless and said that this was Wu Jiang's request, and from here we could see Wu Jiang's strength.
3, Zhuang Gong is far-sighted, confident and confident (zha) Zhongjin advised to eradicate Shu Duan, Zhuang Gong said that "many acts of injustice will kill themselves", Shu Duan arrived in the capital after the army to expand the territory, Gongzi Lü suggested monitoring Shu Duan was vetoed by Zhuang Gong, Zhuang Gong said "unrighteous, thick will collapse" that is, it is unjust to the monarch, disrespectful to the brother, the more land, the faster the collapse. Duke Zhuang was very calm about the courtier's suggestion, and it was obvious that he was ready for all the counter-rebellion, and it was most appropriate for him to use his foresight and confidence.
4, waiting for the opportunity to be famous in everything, uncle Duan and Zhuang Gong in 22 years although mutual suspicion, but the common uncle Duan is still nominally very obedient and did not do anything special, so he is waiting for the time when the division is famous, Shu Duan immediately quelled the rebellion as soon as he moved out of Zhuang Gong.