Zheng Ligong (郑利公), courtesy name Tu, was the second son of Zheng Zhuang. In 701 BC, with the help of Duke Zhuang of Song, he coerced the grand master Ji Zhong to drive out his brother Zheng Zhaogong and establish himself as the monarch, but after wanting to get rid of The Sacrifice Zhong, he left Liyi to wait for the opportunity. Zheng Guo also went through the three monarchs of Zhaogong, Ziqi, and Zibao. In 680 BC, the powerful minister Ji Zhong died, and Zheng Ligong led his troops to restore the throne successfully.
<h1>The chaotic thief created by the times</h1>
Some people think that what Zheng Ligong did was not just a traitor and thief. From the patriarchal system of the Zhou Dynasty, Zheng Zhaogong was the eldest son of Zheng Zhuang and the prince chosen by Zheng Zhuanggong, but you did not honestly do your duty as a courtier, but only wanted to replace him, and indeed you were a national thief in the eyes of orthodoxy.
However, from the historical background at that time, after the Zhou Ping King moved east, the zhou royal family's ruling power over the princes was greatly reduced, unable to recruit the princes who were not subjects, and at this time there was no absolute overlord to maintain the rules formulated by the ruling class.
The Jin dynasty Quwo's family worked tirelessly to plot the office, and finally was able to take the wing when Duke Wu was in power; Wei Guozhou called for the killing of Duke Huan of Wei and succeeded in seizing the throne; although the state of Lu was called a state of etiquette, there was also the killing of Duke Lu Yin; Zheng Guo had a rebellion against Gongshu Duan when he was Duke Zhuang, fortunately, Zheng Zhuang had far-reaching plans and had already taken precautions to keep the throne.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, the ceremony collapsed and the power was supreme
Therefore, under the circumstances at that time, the political struggle was less and less about the distinction between good and evil, and it was only a matter of success and defeat. As a prince, the courtiers may not swear allegiance to the death; if the usurpation is successful, it may be converted to orthodoxy. For Zheng Ligong, in such an environment at that time, it was probably difficult for him to be a submissive subject with peace of mind, not to mention that he was still a very capable person, and I felt that Li Gong was even more suitable to be a monarch than his brother Zheng Zhaogong.
<h1>It is a general and a handsome talent</h1>
Zheng Zhuanggong's two sons, Zheng Zhaogong and Zheng Ligong, were actually very good at leading soldiers to fight. Zheng Zhaogong once led troops to help the State of Qi defeat Northern Rong, and in comparison, Zheng Ligong was more powerful. At that time, wars were generally about etiquette. When the two countries are at war, even if they win, they generally turn a blind eye to the opponent and will not lay a dead hand, so compared with the "beheading" war that occurs frequently during the Warring States period, the spring and autumn war is still relatively mild, and the so-called famous generals rarely appear in the spring and autumn. But Zheng Ligong definitely has the quality of a famous general.
The "Zuo Biography" records that in the ninth year of the Reign of Yin, Beijong invaded the Zheng state. Zheng Zhuanggong was worried that the Rong soldiers were highly mobile in combat, and his chariots might not be useful, so Gongzi Tu (that is, Zheng Ligong) suggested that some brave but not resolute soldiers be selected, and as soon as they fought with the Rong soldiers, they would immediately retreat, and set up three groups of ambush troops on the way to retreat to wait for the Rong soldiers to throw themselves into the net. Because "the rong is light and not tidy, greedy and unrelated, victorious does not give in, defeat does not save each other", when the soldiers in front see our army retreating, they are certainly greedy and adventurous, and when they encounter ambushes, they will definitely flee, and if the people behind them cannot be saved, the soldiers will have no successor, so they can win. Zheng Zhuanggong took his advice and used an ambush to cut off the pursuing soldiers, attacked back and forth, and won a great victory.
Zheng Ligong commanded the army to fight
This battle fully demonstrated Zheng Ligong's military ability. When the editor saw this paragraph, he immediately remembered the section in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in which Zhuge Liang burned the vine armor soldiers, which was almost the same. Zheng Ligong analyzed the characteristics of Rong Di very thoroughly, making full use of the weaknesses of his opponents to win victories, which can be described as "knowing oneself and knowing the other", it can be said that he not only has general talent, but also has handsome talent. After his first ascension to the throne, he also united with Ji and Lu to defeat the four alliances of Qi, Song, Wei, and Yan. When he occupied Zheng Guo queyi and waited for the opportunity to plot rebellion, Zhaogong did not dare to raise an army to fight, and the later sons and daughters could not do anything with him.
<h1>See through the nature of power</h1>
Maybe it was related to his origin, because he was not the eldest son, and from an early age he knew that the future to take the throne should be his brother Gongzi Kuo, so he understood very early on that power was not easy to come by, and once it was obtained, it could not be easily let go, all obstacles had to be removed, and all the forces that could be used should be fought for.
This is completely different from his brother Zheng Zhaogong, Qi Gong begged Zheng Zhaogong to be his son-in-law, Zheng Zhaogong did not agree, such a large patron was let go; Gao Qumi and him had an old grudge, he did not act first, and as a result, he was killed by Gao Qumi. Zheng Zhaogong was politically naïve, and it is estimated that he did not understand how to be a monarch until his death.
Zheng Ligong
Zheng Ligong was completely different, believing that power was everything, not counting means, which was also the common feature of many successful usurpers at that time. Zheng Ligong's mother was a Song monarch, and he used the Song people to support him as the monarch and drive away Zheng Zhaogong, the legitimate monarch. Song Zhuanggong helped Li Gong become the monarch, thank him for no problem, give him benefits, but you can't blame Li Gong for being ruthless, Zheng Guo is Li Gong's Zheng Guo, not a vassal of Song Guo, and has enough property for the Song Kingdom, and will never give it again in the future, and if you don't obey, you will start fighting. The Song Dynasty united the State of Qi, the State of Wei, and the State of Yan? Then Zheng Guo united with the State of Lu and the State of Ji. "Left Transmission": "Qi Shi, Song Shi, Wei Shi, and Yan Shi were defeated. "The power of the priest is too great, and he does not obey Li Gong's orders, then he only has one way to die, but unfortunately, yongjie, this fool actually leaked the matter to his wife, and as a result, he was preemptively eliminated by the priest."
Zheng Guo's famous courtiers are sacrificed to Zhong
<h1>Diplomacy is good, regrouping the weekly chamber</h1>
The State of Zheng is located in the land of the Four Wars in the Central Plains, with the State of Qi in the east, the State of Jin in the northwest, and the State of Chu in the south, surrounded by small and medium-sized princes such as Song, Wei, Chen, and Xu, and the diplomatic princes are the strategy that the State of Zheng must adopt, otherwise there will be the disaster of destroying the country. During zheng zhaogong's reign, relations with the state of Qi and the state of Lu were not very harmonious, and before Zheng Zhuanggong offended Zhou Tianzi again, Zheng Guo could be said to be in a crisis-ridden international situation.
Zheng Ligong had a keen understanding of the stakes between the princes and was well versed in the diplomatic rules of "no eternal enemies, only eternal interests". He first took advantage of Song Zhuanggong's desire to interfere in Zheng's internal affairs to make himself successfully ascend to the throne, and then he broke with Song Guo by taking advantage of song guo's excessive "bribes", not only winning back the heart of Zheng Ren, but also occupying a moral high point. Zheng Ligong also took advantage of the contradictions between the State of Qi and the State of Ji and the State of Lu, allied with Ji and Lu, and confronted Qi and Song, which was quite effective.
Moreover, Zheng Ligong is a very flexible person, can flex and stretch, as long as it is favorable to the situation, the enemy can also become a friend. Didn't the State of Song fight with Zheng Ligong, after Li Gong left Liyi, he was able to make the State of Song join forces with other princes to attack Zheng Guo and help him restore the throne, although it failed, but it also made the Zheng Guo Gong's family dare not take any action against LiYi, and the State of Song also distributed some soldiers and horses to Zheng Ligong to help him guard Liyi.
At the beginning, Zheng Zhuang did not respect the Zhou royal family, stole the wheat of Zhou Land, and also shot Zhou Tianzi in the Battle of Qiange, and the relationship between Zhou and Zheng fell to a freezing point. Zheng Ligong saw the benefits of honoring the Zhou Chamber. When the Rebellion of Prince Hui of Zhou occurred, Zheng Ligong actively helped Zhou Tianzi quell the rebellion, and joined forces with Yu Guo to kill Prince Hui and five doctors who conspired with him, so that King Hui of Zhou could be restored to the throne. Because of the merits of King Qin, King Hui of Zhou gave Zheng Ligong the east of the Tiger Prison Pass in the era of Zheng Wugong, and zheng guo was revived.
Zheng Ligong escorted King Hui of Zhou to the throne
<h1>epilogue</h1>
Zheng Ligong was actually a rather powerful monarch, and in such a chaotic era of "collapse and happiness" at that time, he could be said to have proved his ability with a lifelong struggle. However, due to the limited potential for regional development of Zheng Guo, coupled with the rise of great powers such as Qi, Chu, and Jin, after Zheng Ligong, Zheng Guo inevitably began the tragic national fortune of "Jin Dynasty and Twilight Chu".
[The author "Expired Great Dan" for you to deeply analyze the legendary figures and events in history, please correct the axe!]
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