Among the vassal states in the early Spring and Autumn Period, the relationship between Zheng and the Zhou royal family was relatively close and frequent. When they moved eastward, Zheng Wugong escorted King Ping of Zhou to Luoyang. For his meritorious service in escorting him, he was named a minister, participated in the political decision-making of the Zhou royal family, and also He received a lot of land as a reward. In the second year, Zheng Wugong moved the capital of Zheng State to Xinzheng, which is today's Xinzheng North in Henan Province. Due to the fertile soil and convenient transportation, Zheng State soon became the most powerful state at that time. vassal states.
Zheng Wugong's wife was Wu Jiang, the daughter of the king of Shen State. She gave birth to two sons for Zheng Wugong. The eldest son was born in his sleep. There is a saying that she gave birth to him in dystocia. Therefore, it was named Wusheng. Because the birth of this eldest son was not smooth, Wu Jiang has always disliked this eldest son. Because "the people love Yao'er", Wu Jiang favored his younger son Shu Duan very much.
In fact, it does not matter which child a mother prefers. What is important is that Wu Jiang's attitude caused a civil strife in Zheng. The reason was that Wu Jiang tried his best to persuade Zheng Wu Gong to make his youngest son Shu Duan the prince, and he would inherit it a hundred years later. The foundation of the Zheng Kingdom was established, but in the early Spring and Autumn Period when the patriarchal system still had its remaining power, in people's eyes, abolishing the elders and establishing young ones was simply equivalent to opening the door and bowing down to thieves.
So when Zheng Wu Gong died in 743 BC, he successfully inherited his father's position as the eldest son of Huan, and was known as Zheng Zhuang Gong in history. Wu Jiang felt very heartbroken when he saw that his beloved youngest son failed to become the king of Zheng. So she put on her mother's pretense and asked Duke Zheng Zhuang to transfer the city, which is today's Hulao Pass area near Surabaya, Henan Province, to Shu Duan as a fief.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng refused, so Duke Zhuang persuaded him through tears and asked him to grant another place in Jingyi, which is near today's Xingyang, Henan Province, to Shu Duan. From then on, Uncle Duan was known as the fief. Uncle in the capital.
At that time, Ji Zhong, an official of the Zheng State, pointed out to Duke Zhuang of Zheng that the territory of the capital city was too large, exceeding 1/3 of the entire Zheng State. It violated the aspirations of the late king and divided the capital city to the uncle of the capital, which was a danger to both the State of Zheng and Duke Zhuang of Zheng. After hearing about the incident, Duke Zhuang pretended to be helpless. That was my mother's request. What can a son say?
Ji Zhong said: "There will never be a day when Mr. Jiang will be satisfied. Please make plans early and don't let his power spread, otherwise the consequences will be unmanageable." Zheng Zhuanggong, who seemed to have already made up his mind, said with a smile: " Don't be anxious, you will be punished if you do too much injustice, just wait and see and take your time."
Soon after, Taishu of the capital ordered the western and northern borders of Zheng to surrender to him, and later simply added them to his own fiefdom. Seeing that the uncle in the capital was unscrupulously expanding his sphere of influence, Prince Lu warned Duke Zheng Zhuang many times, "There are no two days in the sky, and there are no two masters for the people."
On the surface, Duke Zheng Zhuang was indifferent to his younger brother's efforts to expand, but in fact, he had secretly sent an informant to snoop around the uncle in the capital. As soon as their plan to launch a rebellion was finalized, Duke Zhuang of Zheng soon learned the news and decided to strike first. He ordered his son Lu to lead 200 chariots to attack Jingyi. After all, the officials and people in the capital were still loyal to the just and righteous Lord Zheng Zhuang. At this time, they saw the mighty 200 chariots and the menacing troops approaching the city, so they all betrayed the uncle in the capital. The uncle Duan who had betrayed his relatives fled in panic to Yanyi, now Yanling, Henan. Nearby, Duke Zhuang of Zheng sent troops to attack Yanyi again, and Uncle Duan had to flee again to a distant Gongyi. In order to completely eradicate the scattered forces, Duke Zhuang of Zheng returned in triumph and drove his mother Wu Jiang out of the palace.
He also swore an oath: "If you are not as good as Huangquan, we will never meet again." Regarding the civil strife in Zheng State. The record in "Spring and Autumn" is very simple, with only 9 characters. The nine characters "Xia Yuyue, Zheng Burke and Duan Yuyan" are very rich in information. Uncle Duan is the younger brother of Zheng Zhuanggong and the son of Zheng Wugong. However, his identity as a younger brother or son is not mentioned here. This is because the author of "Spring and Autumn" believed that Shu Duan, as a younger brother, led troops to rebel and attack his elder brother, which violated the meaning of filial piety, so he expressed his condemnation in this way.
The reason why Zheng Zhuanggong is a duke and is called Uncle Zheng here is because the author believes that as the elder brother, Zheng Zhuanggong did not teach his uncle Duan well and did not fulfill his eldest brother's responsibilities, but instead caused people to watch his younger brother embark on a negative path. It is obvious that He is just scheming, so he is being mocked by calling him this.
After the rebellion ended, Duke Zheng Zhuang was criticized for not treating his mother well. So, at Uncle Yingkao's suggestion, he sent people to dig a tunnel deep underground where underground water could be seen, and then asked his mother Wu Jiang to dig in the tunnel. When they met, Wu Jiang and Duke Zheng Zhuang had a mother-son relationship after all, not to mention that Duke Zheng Zhuang was her only hope, so she quickly followed the people sent by Duke Zheng Zhuang to the tunnel to wait for her eldest son, who was looking forward to his son.
What happened after that was also very ceremonial. When he saw his mother, Zheng Zhuanggong wrote a poem excitedly: "In the big tunnel, the joy is also harmonious." Wu Jiang also wrote a poem accordingly: "Outside the big tunnel, The joy is also vented."
After this friendly meeting, Wu Jiang was well served, and Duke Zhuang of Zheng was freed from the charge of unfilial piety and became a praised wise king again. The civil strife in Zheng also came to an end.
Personally, I feel that both parties still put their own personal interests first. Wu Jiang was thinking about the rest of his life. As for Zheng Zhuanggong, he just wanted to consolidate his rule in the name of filial piety. The two are in the same boat and complement each other, which is a good choice.
