One of the manifestations of the collapse of etiquette and music in the Spring and Autumn Period was the civil strife within the Zhou royal family and the public offices of various countries. Just as the civil strife in the Zheng Kingdom and the Zhou royal family subsided, the civil strife in the Wei Dynasty recurred. After the Zhouxu Rebellion, Wei State welcomed back the young master Jin who was living in Xing State and ascended the throne as Wei Xuan Gong. However, this Duke Xuangong of Wei did not lead Wei Guo to gain the upper hand in the battles between the Central Plains princes, and watched Zheng Guo ascend to the position of overlord. Not only that, in the last years of his reign, Duke Xuangong of Wei brought a civil strife to the country of Wei that brought the country to its knees.
All struggles involving inheritance rights are related to the lack of repairs in the palace, and Weiguo is no exception. As early as when Wei Xuangong was a son, he had an affair with his father Wei Zhuanggong's concubine Yi Jiang and gave birth to a son, named Jizi - also known as Jizi. In other words, he was cuckolding his father, and this news was only known to everyone after Wei Xuangong succeeded to the throne. After the Zhouxu Rebellion ended, Duke Xuang of Wei returned to the country to inherit the throne and established Yi Jiang as his royal wife, so Ji Zi naturally became the eldest son. In fact, long before Yi Jiang, Wei Xuangong had already married the daughter of the king of Xing as his royal wife, and Yi Jiang was his father's concubine. Therefore, Wei Xuangong's move not only violated Zhou etiquette, but was also suspected of incest. .
However, Wei Xuangong's incestuous behavior did not end. After Jizi came of age, Duke Xuang of Wei married him as his wife, Xuan Jiang, the eldest daughter of Duke Xi of Qi - this Xuan Jiang was the sister of Wen Jiang mentioned in the previous article. However, when the bride came to Wei State, Wei Xuangong saw Xuan Jiang's beauty, and he was so lustful that he wanted to replace her. He used to cuckold his father, but now he wants to cuckold his own son. However, he also cuckolded his own son, who was brought out by his own father. At that time, he was a big laugh in all countries.
Duke Xuang of Wei sent Jizi to the Song Dynasty for an excuse, but he built a new platform in Qihe and married Xuan Jiang as his stepmother. This is the famous "Xintai Story".
After Jizi returned to China, he was not dissatisfied with his father's move. However, if you sit at home behind closed doors, disaster will come from heaven. After Duke Xuang of Wei married Xuan Jiang, they actually gave birth to two more sons, Gongzi Shou and Gongzi Shuo. Jizi's position as crown prince originally benefited from Wei Xuan Gong's favor for Yi Jiang; but now that Xuan Jiang was favored and Yi Jiang was neglected, Jizi's position as crown prince became increasingly unstable. In addition, in order to make his son the king of the country, Xuan Jiang was blowing the wind in front of Wei Xuangong every day, so as to alienate the relationship between Wei Xuangong, Yi Jiang and Jizi. As things went on like this, Wei Xuangong actually wanted to kill people and silence him. He wanted to get rid of the anxious son and install another son of Xuanjiang.
Although Wei Xuangong had such an idea, due to the pressure of public opinion, he did not dare to take action openly, so he discussed a strategy with Xuan Jiang: pretend to send Jizi to the Qi State, but secretly send assassins to Jizi. Ambush in advance along the only way to give people the illusion of encountering robbers on the road. The anxious man did not doubt his presence and went happily. However, Xuan Jiang's poisonous plan was found out by his son Gongzi Shou.
Although Gongzi Shou was Xuan Jiang's child, he grew up under the care of Wei Xuangong's two younger brothers, known as Zuo Gongzi and You Gongzi. When Jizi was born, Duke Xuang of Wei, who was living abroad, also gave him to the left and right sons to raise him. Therefore, the two have a very good relationship. Although they are far apart in age and have the same father and mother, they are still brothers and sisters and are very harmonious. Gongzi Shou knew that his mother wanted to get rid of Jizi. In desperation, he hurriedly left the city at night and caught up with Jizi who was on the mission without knowing it. He told him what had happened and asked him not to go to Qi but to escape to other places. National asylum.
Unexpectedly, Jizi is kind and filial by nature. Although he knows everything, he is not willing to disobey his father. He didn't even care about his father snatching his wife, so how could he escape so casually? So he rejected Gongzi Shou's proposal and planned to go to Qi State as originally planned. Gongzi Shou, who was eager to save his brother, had to pretend to be a farewell party for his brother, and got him drunk at the banquet, while he drove forward in Jizi's motorcade and died happily.
Sure enough, when the assassins sent by Wei Xuangong saw Wei Guo's motorcade, they mistook Gongzi Shou for an anxious son, swarmed up and killed Gongzi Shou. After Jizi woke up, he found that Gongzi Shou and the convoy were missing, and he immediately guessed what was going on. So he hurried to the scene of the incident and saw that the assassin had just killed Gongzi Shou and was about to leave. Jizi said loudly: "You killed the wrong person. I am Jizi!" Seeing this, the assassin simply killed Jizi Killed together. Returned to Weiguo to resume his duties.
Seeing this, everyone must have thought, Oh my god, their own brother has sacrificed his life for his own brother, but this brother did not care about his brother's sacrifice at all. Seeing this, someone finally mourned this good brother.
Due to this oolong incident, Wei Xuangong's conspiracy was exposed. The two princes of the Wei Kingdom loved each other and their spirit of seeing death as home was also written down in the Book of Songs by the Wei people and will be passed down to future generations forever. This is the famous "Book of Songs, Wei Feng, and Boating". After Wei Xuangong learned about this, he was moved by the behavior of Jizi and Gongzi Shou, deeply regretted his behavior, and died in grief soon after. This incident is known as the "Xuanjiang Rebellion" in history.
In the Xuanjiang Rebellion, the only person who benefited was Xuanjiang's other son Gongzi Shuo. Due to the accidental death of his elder brother Gongzi Shou, the identity of the heir to the throne of Wei fell naturally to him. After the death of Duke Xuang of Wei, Prince Shuo succeeded him as Duke Hui of Wei. However, because the people of Wei were grateful for the virtues of the two young masters, most of them did not support Duke Hui of Wei. The two young masters left and right, who had raised Jizi and Gongzi Shou, deeply hated Duke Hui of Wei. overthrow.
Three years later, the left and right princes joined forces with the doctor Ning Qiu to launch a coup, and the prince's brother Qian Mou succeeded to the throne. The unpopular Duke Hui of Wei had no choice but to flee in a hurry and seek asylum in his mother's home state of Qi. At this time, the king of Qi was Duke Xiang of Qi, the son of Duke Xi of Qi. Although Duke Xiang of Qi was dissolute and shameless, he was quite ambitious. He knew that this was a good opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the country and gain benefits and prestige for Qi. So he took in his nephew Wei Gong Hui, and a few years later he gathered the princes and fought back to Wei under the banner of Emperor Zhou. The Wei State, which had suffered many civil strife, could not compete with Qi, so Wei Hui Gong regained the position of king with the support of Qi Xianggong. The two sons on the left and right were killed, and the son Qian Mou escaped because he was the son-in-law of the King of Zhou. One life was driven to Chengzhou.
However, Qi Xianggong knew that Wei Huigong's throne was still unstable and might overthrow. In order to bury Qi's power in Wei State, Qi Xianggong actually came up with a ridiculous method: he claimed that Xuan Jiang was originally going to marry Jizi, but it was only because Wei Xuangong went back on his word that he could not implement it. Although So, the engagement is still there. Now that Jizi is dead and Wei Xuangong is no longer alive, this engagement should be fulfilled by Jizi's other brother, Gongzi Nuan, that is, Gongzi Nuan should marry his stepmother Xuan Jiang.
Faced with this proposal that was close to incest, the young master stubbornly refused to comply. However, Qi Xianggong relied on the power of the Qi State and took advantage of the opportunity when the young master was drunk. The helpless young master had no choice but to obey. Later, the descendants of Gongzi Wan became kings of the country and maintained close relations with Qi.
It can be said that the ethical relations in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were too confusing. First, the daughter-in-law was robbed by her father-in-law, and then the father-in-law’s other son married his stepmother. The relationship is too complex.
From the Zhouxu Rebellion to the Xuanjiang Rebellion, the Wei Dynasty suffered frequent internal strife and was repeatedly invaded by hostile vassal states. It gradually declined due to internal and external troubles. However, Wei's misfortune was not over yet. After the death of Duke Hui of Wei, under the rule of his son Wei Yigong, Wei's country experienced another disaster of annihilation. Although it was restored with the help of Qi, it never came back. Became a vassal of a large vassal state.
The civil strife in Wei State is inextricably related to Qi State. This vassal state, which was located in a corner in the early Spring and Autumn Period, gradually emerged during the period of Qi Xigong and began to actively participate in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, on the Shandong Peninsula, in addition to Qi and Lu, there was also a vassal state called Ji. Although Qi and Tongji are neighboring countries, their relations with each other are very bad. It turns out that as early as the reign of King Yi of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the then King of Ji State spoke ill of Duke Ai of Qi to the Emperor of Zhou. The Emperor of Zhou believed it to be true, so he boiled Duke Ai of Qi alive and made his younger brother Zijing the king, who was Duke Hu of Qi. In order to avoid the persecution of Ji State, Duke Hu of Qi even moved the capital for a time. From then on, the two countries of Qi and Ji formed a deep feud. By the early Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Qi gradually became stronger and stronger. In order to achieve hegemony, it was natural that it first targeted the State of Ji.
Although Ji State had gradually become a second-class small country at this time, Ji State, who knew Qi State's thoughts well, did not sit still and wait for death, but actively carried out diplomacy to deal with Qi State. In order to protect themselves, Ji State and Lu State formed a family alliance, and later formed alliances many times in an attempt to exploit the conflicts between Qi and Lu. Not only that, the king of Ji State dedicated his daughter to the Emperor of Zhou to become his queen, in an attempt to use the authority of the Zhou royal family to suppress the State of Qi. However, in the face of the powerful Qi State, Ji State's various diplomatic efforts had little effect.
When Qi Xigong was in power, Qi State began to expand outward. Duke Xi of Qi once tried to form an alliance with Duke Zhuang of Zheng to jointly attack the state of Ji, but failed for some reason, but Duke Xi of Qi did not give up. After the death of Duke Zhuang of Zheng, the State of Zheng fell into civil strife and had disputes with the State of Song. The State of Zheng united with the State of Lu, who wanted to mediate the dispute between Zheng and Song, and the State of Ji fought wars with Song, Wei, Nanyan and Qi and won. In fact, the State of Qi, which was on the side of Song and Wei in this war, originally had an alliance with the State of Zheng. The reason why it participated in the war was probably due to the State of Ji. Duke Xi of Qi hoped to fish in troubled waters and attack the State of Ji in the war, but Unexpectedly, it failed again. In the 22nd year of King Huan of Zhou Dynasty (698 BC), Duke Xi of Qi passed away with the regret of annexing Ji State. His son Gongzi Zhuer came to the throne and became Duke Xiang of Qi.
Relying on the political legacy left by his father, Qi Xianggong continued to devote himself to the cause of hegemony. He saw that under the protection of the Lu State, the Ji State could never be eliminated, so he turned against the Lu State. When Duke Xianggong of Qi came to the throne, Duke Huan of Lu wanted to mediate the conflict between Qi State and Ji State, so he summoned Qi Xianggong and the monarch of Ji State for an alliance. However, Qi Xianggong did not buy it. Not only did he not reconcile with Ji State, but he immediately sent troops to attack Lu. country, the two sides fought a battle in Xidi. Immediately afterwards, Qi Xianggong invited Lu Huangong to Qi State to preside over the wedding for him on the grounds that he was getting married to the daughter of the Emperor of Zhou Dynasty. Duke Huan of Lu happily went, but he did not expect that he would lose his life by doing so.
Although Qi Xianggong was quite talented in politics, he was extremely disorderly in his private life. Duke Xi of Qi had two daughters, Xuan Jiang and Wen Jiang. Xuanjiang was taken away by Duke Xuang of Wei, which triggered the Xuanjiang Rebellion; Wenjiang once planned to be betrothed to Duke Zheng Zhao, but failed; later, civil strife broke out in the Lu State, Duke Yin of Lu was killed by Duke Hui, and Duke Huan of Lu came to the throne. In order to stabilize the situation and make good friends with other countries, Gongzi Hui expressed his willingness to marry Wen Jiang on behalf of Duke Huan of Lu and expressed his willingness to marry Wen Jiang.
Like Xuan Jiang, Wen Jiang was also a famous beauty. As early as when she was still in the boudoir before she got married, she had an incestuous relationship with her brother, Qi Xianggong, who was still a prince at the time. This situation is recorded in the poems "Nanshan", "Weiji" and "Zaiqu" in "The Book of Songs: Qi Feng".
After Wen Jiang married into the state of Lu, he naturally cut off contact with Qi Xianggong and had no contact with him for more than ten years. Duke Xiang of Qi invited Duke Huan of Lu to visit Qi this time. On the one hand, there may be a political strategy of fighting and pulling. On the other hand, it cannot be ruled out that he will take this opportunity to reunite with Wen Jiang. Wen Jiang naturally knew this, so he not only encouraged Duke Huan of Lu to go, but also asked to go together in the name of Guining. Duke Huan of Lu naturally didn't know the inside story. He was blown away by Wen Jiang's pillow and agreed to Wen Jiang's request. As a result, the brother and sister got back together in Qi State. Wen Jiang simply stayed up all night and stayed in Qi Xianggong's palace.
When Duke Huan of Lu learned about this, he was naturally furious. He scolded Wen Jiang and decided to leave Qi. Wen Jiang cried out to Qi Xianggong about his past relationship. In order to vent his anger on his sister and lover, Qi Xianggong did not stop doing anything and even considered killing people. So, Duke Xianggang of Qi took advantage of the occasion to bid farewell to Duke Huan of Lu, and got the latter very drunk at the banquet. He also ordered his uncle Peng Sheng to drive for him, and took the opportunity to kill Duke Huan of Lu on the way. In order to cope with the accountability of Lu State, Qi Xianggong placed all the charges on Peng Sheng and killed him as a scapegoat.
Duke Zhuang of Lu, who succeeded to the throne, had no choice but to face this unreasonable uncle, so he had no choice but to acquiesce in the fact that Wen Jiang left home and never returned. A palace was built for Wen Jiang in Zuidi between Qi and Lu, and Wen Jiang lived there from then on. What's even more ridiculous is that in order to reconcile with Qi, Duke Zhuang of Lu went to Qi again and presided over the wedding of Qi Xianggong and Wang Ji. His biological uncle married his biological mother, my God, and this was supported by this biological mother's biological son. After all, it's all for profit.
The State of Qi had the upper hand in the overt and covert battles with the State of Lu. The so-called state of Ji was not immune to the so-called loss of lips and teeth. Seeing that Duke Zhuang of Lu had recently come to power and had no time to take care of himself, Duke Xiang of Qi freed up his hands to deal with Ji Guo. One year after the death of Duke Huan of Lu, the Qi army invaded and occupied the three cities of Ji, Qi and Qi. Under the pressure of Qi, divisions also occurred within Ji. Ji Ji, the younger brother of the king of Ji, surrendered to Qi and donated his land.
At this time, Duke Zhuang of Lu still wanted to protect Ji State, so he planned to form an alliance with Zheng State to fight against Qi State. But at this time, the relationship between Zheng and Lu was no longer what it used to be. During the civil strife after the death of Duke Zhuang of Zheng, the prince Qi, who was supported by Gao Qumi, had a personal grudge with Duke Xiang of Qi and was killed by the latter during the alliance. Even Gao Qumi was not spared. At this time, the country of Zheng was in civil turmoil. Prince Yi had just succeeded to the throne, so he naturally would not rashly start a grudge against Qi, so he rejected Duke Zhuang of Lu's request. At this time, the country of Ji's life was completely cut off. Another year later, the Qi army broke through the capital of the country of Ji, the marquis of Ji fled, and the country of Ji was declared destroyed.
The territory of Qi State, which annexed Ji State, greatly increased and it suddenly became a powerful force. Under the governance of Qi Xianggong, Qi State interfered in the internal affairs of Wei State successively, sent troops to overthrow the prince Qian Mou, and forced the prince to marry his concubine Xuan Jiang, and installed Qi's influence in Wei State. After that, Qi Xianggong united with Lu State to attack Ning State, and became the overlord for a while. However, Qi Xianggong's dream of domination did not come true, and it came to an abrupt end because of the outbreak of civil strife. The hegemony of Qi will be left to future generations to complete.
