The decline and fall of things is not completed in an instant, it all needs to go through a slow process, the Zhou Dynasty from the initial strength to the final decline to the demise, spanning more than seven hundred years.
In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, under the rule of King Cheng of Zhou and King Kang of Zhou, the dynasty was further consolidated. However, the Zhou Dynasty could not escape the fate of "prosperity and decline", the Western Zhou Dynasty collapsed, the centralized power was destroyed, and the country was destroyed; the Eastern Zhou regime was established, and although Zhou Tianzi coexisted with the princes for a long time, it was difficult to command the world.
Its last monarch, King Zhou Zhao, reigned for 59 years, and the position of co-lord of the world has long existed in name only. But he was not willing, and again and again explained to the world what is the helplessness of "sending people under the fence".
King You of Zhou was killed for offending Shen Guo for favoring him, and during his reign he was absurd, ignoring the frequent natural and man-made disasters, and the people were miserable.
After the death of King You of Zhou, some powerful princely states supported the new Tianzi to ascend the throne and established Eastern Zhou. Since then, the new regime has always been under the control of the princes, and the abolition of the monarch and the promulgation of decrees all need to look at their faces, and the position of Zhou Tianzi is really difficult to sit.
Since the power between these princely states has not yet appeared a large gap, it can reach a relatively balanced and stable state, and there has not yet been a powerful country that can unify the world, so it is still necessary to maintain a so-called "co-lord of the world" to maintain the apparent harmony.
The Eastern Zhou Dynasty was divided into two phases by later generations, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States. After a long war of annexation, weak and small countries were gradually annexed by powerful countries, and eventually formed seven princely states that dominated the world.
During this time, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was not worth mentioning at all, and later the rise of the Qin State, this lingering regime was about to enter the countdown. In 315 BC, the twenty-two-year-old King Zhao of Zhou ascended the throne, and the majesty of the Zhou royal family was long gone after the chaotic wars of the princely states. After the rule and reform of successive monarchs, the comprehensive national strength of the Qin State gradually led the Six Kingdoms, and the King of Qin had the intention of replacing the co-lordship of the world.
In the eighth year of the reign of King Zhao of Zhou, King Wu of Qin intended to go to Eastern Zhou to try to raise a ding, representing the nine dings of power and status, which had always been the object of contention among the princes. In doing so, King Wu of Qin first wanted to show the strength of the Qin state to the whole world, form a deterrent to other countries, and at the same time inspire future generations to complete the great cause of reunification.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the ceremony, King Wu of Qin did not rush directly to Eastern Zhou, but sent Li Li to inquire about the meaning of King Zhao of Zhou.
In fact, here the King of Qin still gave Zhou Tianzi face, otherwise with the status and strength of the Qin State at that time, even getting rid of Eastern Zhou was as simple as crushing ants, and there was no need to consult the King of Zhou Zhao on the matter of lifting the Ding, and it was okay to inform him.
But for King Zhou Zhao, Ding was the last fig leaf of the royal family, and he could not agree to it anyway, so he rejected The Disease very seriously. Who knew but angered the State of Qin, and Li Li ordered to lead an army to drive King Zhao of Zhou out of the palace.
People under the eaves had to bow their heads, not to mention the weapons. So king Zhao of Zhou swallowed his anger and fled with all his belongings and family members, and moved to the royal city where the Duke of Western Zhou was located. Even if he had a hundred unwilling in his heart, in the face of the Qin State's step-by-step approach, Eastern Zhou could not compete with it, and could only understand current affairs.
Forced to "move", king Zhao of Zhou finally weighed out how many pounds he had, so he began to act cautiously, because in addition to the powerful State of Qin, six other countries were also able to threaten themselves, and sleekness and compromise were the only way for King Zhou zhao to prolong the life of Eastern Zhou.
The State of Qin wanted to attack Korea through the area between Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou, so it wanted to take the road. This can be sad for the King of Zhou, whether borrowing or not borrowing will offend another country.
In order not to offend both sides, King Zhao of Zhou first sent someone to meet the King of Han, asking him to give some land to Eastern Zhou and exchange hostages with the State of Chu. In this way, the State of Qin did not believe in Eastern Zhou, and at the same time doubted the State of Chu, and would not send troops to attack Korea.
Then he sent people to see the King of Qin, pretending to be forcibly given land by Korea, hoping that the Qin state would misunderstand Eastern Zhou. Although King Zhou Zhao didn't do much, he played tai chi well and skimmed himself clean.
Eastern Zhou actually became a tool for the use of the princes to compete for hegemony, and in order to break off the qin state from eastern Zhou, Korea also took the initiative to send a capital city to provoke relations between them.
In order to survive under the oppression of the Qin state, the king of Zhou Zhao constantly tried to curry favor with the king of Qin and gain trust, hoping to make the king of Qin leave a place for Eastern Zhou. Although this practice is very nestled, the effect is surprisingly good.
Although King Zhou Zhao temporarily stabilized the King of Qin, this was never a long-term solution, and he was only superficially obedient, but in fact, Yang Fengyin violated the law, and had been thinking about how to overthrow the Qin state.
In line with the principle that "the enemy of the enemy is a friend", the King of Zhou Zhao had the opportunity to unite the princes of the Six Kingdoms and wanted to use their strength to eliminate the huge threat of the Qin State. It just so happened that the State of Chu wanted to curb the growth of the Power of the State of Qin, so it smoothly signed an alliance agreement with the Six Kingdoms.
Although Eastern Zhou has been humiliating and seeking perfection, it can be seen that King Zhao of Zhou has never given up the struggle. After deciding to unite the six kingdoms against the Qin state, he was very happy and ordered The Western Zhou Jundong to piece together five thousand soldiers and assemble them into a team.
On the appointed day, King Zhao of Zhou led five thousand troops to meet at Yiqu, and as a result, only the Chu and Yan states sent some soldiers and horses, and the other four countries were not found at all. King Zhao of Zhou was bent on attacking the State of Qin and relieving the crisis, but he did not expect to break Zhang Yi's strategy, which led to mutual suspicion of the Six Kingdoms Alliance and inability to unite.
The combined number of troops on the three sides was only tens of thousands, how could they defeat the hundreds of thousands of elite generals of the Qin State? King Zhao of Zhou, who still had the last glimmer of hope, waited in the same place for more than three months, hoping that a few more armies would appear, and the results could be imagined.
King Zhao of Zhou returned with five thousand soldiers and horses of poor Baba, and the creditors awaited him. In order to assemble this army, he borrowed a lot of money from the rich clans of eastern Zhou and promised to win, but not only did the battle not succeed, but the money was also lost.
He did not dare to face the creditors who came to ask for explanations, and could only hide in the palace every day, gradually losing faith to the ministers and the people.
Eastern Zhou had no choice but to cancel the attack on the State of Qin, but the State of Qin did not spare it, and soon after sent an army to attack Korea, and then directly approached the capital of Eastern Zhou, and finally the King of Zhou had to personally come to the door to apologize, and Eastern Zhou was temporarily destroyed by the State of Qin.
Unfortunately, Eastern Zhou was able to hide from the first day of the first year, but could not hide from the fifteenth, and in 256 BC, the elderly King of Zhou died depressed after this incident. Zhou Tianzi was dead, the already unstable political foundation of Eastern Zhou collapsed, the royal family and the people fled overnight, and the Qin state took advantage of this to attack Eastern Zhou and destroy it effortlessly.