While the state of Qi was on the rise, the state of Lu fell into civil strife, and this civil strife had nothing to do with Ai Jiang, the daughter of Duke Huan of Qi. After the death of Duke Lu Zhuang, Qingfu, the younger brother of Duke Zhuang of Lu, killed two kings of Lu successively, so it was called the "Qingfu Rebellion".
As the king of Lu State, Duke Zhuang of Lu is considered an alternative. The State of Lu is a country that abides by and pays attention to Zhou rites. However, after Lu Zhuanggong took office, he did not act in accordance with the etiquette system, which broke the tradition of Lu State's adherence to Zhou rites and made the people of the country very unconvinced. In the twenty-third year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (671 BC), Qi State broke the Zhou rites and held a ceremony to worship the gods. After hearing the news, Duke Zhuang of Lu did not listen to the dissuasion of his minister Cao GUI and ran to Qi State to watch the ceremony regardless of etiquette. The next year, Duke Zhuang of Lu went to Qi again. This time he married Ai Jiang, the daughter of Duke Huan of Qi. During this wedding, Duke Zhuang of Lu once again broke the etiquette system and even painted the pillars in the temple of Duke Huan of Lu red. According to Zhou etiquette, the pillars in front of the temple could only be black.
Before Duke Zhuang of Lu married Ai Jiang, he met Meng Ren. Meng Ren was the daughter of the Dang family. Duke Zhuang of Lu met Meng Ren by chance and was immediately fascinated by Meng Ren's beauty. So wherever Meng Ren went, Duke Lu Zhuang followed him. It can be said that he is a person of supreme beauty. When Meng Ren returned home, Duke Lu Zhuang also followed Meng Ren's home. Later, Duke Lu Zhuang made a blood alliance with Meng Ren and agreed to make her his wife. Duke Zhuang of Lu and Meng Ren had a son, who was like a young master. However, Ai Jiang, whom Duke Zhuang of Lu married from Qi, did not give birth to a son for Duke Zhuang of Lu, but Ai Jiang's sister Shu Jiang gave birth to a son, Gong Zikai, for Duke Zhuang of Lu. Because Duke Zhuang of Lu favored Meng Ren, he wanted Gongzi Ban to inherit the throne. However, Gongzi Ban was not the eldest son and could not be established. Therefore, Duke Zhuang of Lu did not establish a crown prince for a long time.
After Ai Jiang lost the favor of Duke Lu Zhuang, he had an affair with Qingfu, the younger brother of Duke Zhuang of Lu. Because Qing's father had an affair with Ai Jiang, Qing's father supported Kai, the son born to Ai Jiang's sister Shu Jiang, to inherit the throne. The contradiction between Duke Zhuang of Lu and Qingfu was constantly highlighted in this complicated relationship, and Duke Lu's delay in establishing a prince was an important reason for the Qingfu Rebellion in the future. In the thirty-second year of Duke Zhuang of Lu (662 BC), Duke Zhuang suddenly became seriously ill and could not be cured for a long time. So Duke Zhuang of Lu began to worry about the succession to the throne, so he invited his younger brother to discuss it. Duke Zhuang of Lu has three younger brothers. The eldest brother is Qing Fu, the second brother is Shu Ya, and the younger brother is Ji You. Duke Zhuang of Lu first invited his second brother Shu Ya to ask who would be more suitable to inherit the throne. Uncle Ya said to Duke Zhuang of Lu, "Qingfu is very talented."
Later, Duke Zhuang of Lu summoned his loyal younger brother Ji You and asked him who he supported to inherit the throne. Ji You said, "I am willing to die to support you as a prince." So Duke Zhuang of Lu told Ji You, "But just now my uncle Ya said that Qingfu is very talented." After Ji You heard what Duke Lu Zhuang said, he So Jie Yijun ordered Shuya to go to Zhenwu's house to wait for treatment. Later, Ji You ordered someone to send poisoned wine to Shu Ya, forcing him to commit suicide. Uncle Ya was afraid that his descendants would be implicated and be exterminated, so he drank poisoned wine, went home, and died in Kuiquan. After the death of Duke Zhuang of Lu, Ji You accepted the throne as a prince according to Duke Zhuang's wishes. After inheriting the throne like a prince, he began to keep vigil for Duke Zhuang. But within two months, Qingfu sent Nao to assassinate Gongziban.
There was a reason why Qing's father sent Nao to assassinate the young master Ban. In the year when Duke Zhuang of Lu died, the state of Lu conducted rain praying drills in the courtyard of Liang, the official, while Liang's daughter watched the drill. Nao, who was in charge of raising horses, saw Liang's daughter and took the opportunity to tease her, but was discovered like a prince. Gongziban was very angry when he saw Nao disobeying the rules, so he tied Nao up and whipped him. Duke Zhuang of Lu said to Gongzi Ban: "It is better to kill him than to whip him. Nao is very powerful and can throw the door leaf onto the wall of Jimen." But Gongzi Ban did not kill Nao in the end, and Nao also Because of being whipped, he held a grudge against the young master. Therefore, after Gongzilike inherited the throne, Qingfu took advantage of Nao's mentality and powerful ability to plan the assassination of Gongzilike, and succeeded.
After Gongziban was killed, Ji You was afraid that Qingfu would also kill him, so he fled to Chen State. After Qing's father killed Gongzi Bang, he supported Gongzikai, the son of Aijiang's sister Shujiang, to the throne as Duke Min of Lu. In June of the first year of Lu Min (661 BC), the body of Duke Zhuang of Lu was buried. This was due to the civil strife in Lu, so the burial of Duke Zhuang of Lu was postponed. In August of the same year, Duke Min of Lu and Duke Huan of Qi formed an alliance in Luogu. Duke Min of Lu took this opportunity to ask Duke Huan of Qi to help Ji You return home. Duke Huan of Qi agreed to Duke Min of Lu's request and sent an envoy to the state of Chen. Duke Ming of Lu was waiting for Ji You in Lang (now southeast of Qufu, Shandong). As expected, Ji You returned, so Duke Min of Lu praised him. Thanks to the efforts of Duke Huan of Qi, Ji You was able to return to the State of Lu and worked hard for the stability of the State of Lu.
In the winter of this year, Zhongsun Qiu, a senior official of the State of Qi, came to the State of Lu to express condolences over the disaster. Afterwards, Zhongsun Qiu returned to the country to meet Duke Huan of Qi and reported the situation in the State of Lu. Zhongsun Qiu said: "Unless Qingfu dies, Lu will not be at peace." Duke Huan of Qi asked: "Then how can we get rid of Qingfu?" Zhongsun Qiu replied: "The disasters in Lu will continue, Qingfu is just If you are looking for death, the king just needs to wait patiently!" So Qi Huangong asked again: "Can we attack Lu now?" Zhongsun Qiu said: "No, Lu follows Zhou rites, and Zhou rites are The foundation of the State of Lu. I heard: 'When a country is about to perish, its foundation must first be shaken, and then its branches and leaves are overthrown.' The State of Lu has not abandoned Zhou Li, so it cannot shake the foundation of the State of Lu. The king must take advantage of now When the country of Lu is in trouble, get close to the country of Lu. Get close to the polite country, rely on the stable country, alienate the discordant country, and overthrow the confused country. This is the way to be a king!"
Although Duke Huan of Qi had turned the state of Qi into a great country in the Spring and Autumn Period and became the overlord of his generation, Duke Huan of Qi was not arrogant when it came to dealing with the state of Lu. When the country was in crisis, he got close to the state of Lu but did not take the opportunity to invade and occupy the state of Lu. It must be said that this is another great contribution made by Duke Huan of Qi, which upheld the state of Lu, which respected Zhou rites, and thus maintained the discipline of the Zhou Dynasty.
Later, as expected by Zhongsun Qiu, Qingfu once again caused turmoil in the Lu state. At the beginning of the second year of Duke Ming of Lu (660 BC), Duke Ming of Lu's teacher seized Bu Ju's field, but Duke Ming of Lu did not take care of it. So on August 24th of this year, Qingfu sent Bu Ye to sneak attack Duke Lu Min in Wuwei and stabbed Duke Lu Min to death. Qing's father sent people to assassinate two Lu kings in succession. Knowing that he could not escape the blame, he fled the state of Lu and came to the state of Ju. Later, Ji You brought Duke Min of Lu's younger brother back to the State of Lu from the State of Lu and ascended the throne as Duke Xi of Lu. After Duke Xi of Lu came to the throne, Ji You bribed the state of Ju to return Qing's father to the state of Lu. Ju State agreed to Ji You's request and sent Qing's father back to Lu State. When he reached Mi (now north of Feixian County, Shandong Province), Qing's father sent Gongzi Yu to ask Ji You for forgiveness, but Ji You refused, and Gongzi Yu cried. Return to the secret place.
After Qing's father heard the cry of Gongzi Yu, he knew that his fate was over, and he immediately hanged himself from the beam. Ai Jiang, who had an affair with Qing's father, wanted to make Qing's father the king of Lu. After Qing's father escaped, Ai Jiang also fled to Zhu State because he was afraid of being punished because he knew the inside story of Qing's father's assassination of Lu Min. Later, Duke Huan of Qi felt that Ai Jiang was a shame to Qi, so he sent people to capture Ai Jiang and killed her in Yidi, and then sent her body back to Lu. Duke Xi of Lu buried her body, and the Qingfu Rebellion in Lu State ended.
Throughout the Qingfu Rebellion, Duke Huan of Qi never favored his daughter Ai Jiang. Instead, he killed his relatives out of justice, and finally killed his own daughter, completely clearing up the trouble for the Lu State. It was with the help of Duke Huan of Qi that the State of Lu finally gained stability, restored etiquette, and quelled civil strife.
Before the Zhou Dynasty, the northern ethnic groups that threatened the Central Plains mainly included Shanrong, Xianyun, Hunchu, Tufang, Guifang, etc. Among them, those who lived in the north were called Di, and those who lived in the west were called Rong. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Guifang and Xixun became the main powerful enemies threatening the Central Plains. "The Book of Songs·Xiaoya·Caiwei" mentions: "It is because of Xixun that the house and family are overflowing. It is because of Xixun that they are not neglected."
In order to wipe out powerful enemies and deal with the harassment of Rong Di, the kings of Zhou Dynasty sent troops to conquer many times. Although they won great victories many times, the strength of Rong Di reappeared many times. During the period of King You of Zhou, the Quan Rong were strong and the royal family declined. The Western Zhou Dynasty was destroyed by the Quan Rong, so that King Ping of Zhou had to move east to Luoyi to rebuild the Zhou Dynasty. At the same time, the Rong people also penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Central Plains. The Rong people were distributed in Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan. It was not until the rise of the Qin State that after the development of the Qin Gongs in the past dynasties, it was not until Qin's domination of Xirong during the Mu Gong period that the threat of Xirong to the Central Plains was resolved. .
Due to the decline of the authority of the Emperor of Zhou during the Spring and Autumn Period, he was unable to call on the princes to jointly resist the Rong and Di. The Di people intensified their invasion of the Central Plains. Their power spread from Shanxi and Shaanxi eastward to Hebei, Henan, and Shandong. And taking advantage of the opportunity of the Central Plains countries to conquer each other, they invaded southward, posing a great threat to the Central Plains countries. It was under this background that Duke Huan of Qi raised the banner of "repelling the barbarians" that the Zhou royal family was no longer able to raise. Using the excuse of fighting against the Rong and Di, he was able to unite the princes and rule the world.
The Wei State in Qishui and Weihe areas in northern Henan was a relatively large state among the princes in the northern Central Plains in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Its capital was Chaoge, the original capital of the Shang Dynasty. As a king of a large country in the Spring and Autumn Period, Wei Yigong neither liked to enrich the country or expand his territory, nor did he like to expand his territory. His hobby was raising cranes. In the palace and in the palace gardens near the capital, there were many people serving Wei Yi everywhere. The crane is carefully raised by the public. In order to show his love for cranes, Duke Yigong of Wei also specially awarded them a rank and salary. The best cranes were equal to those of doctors, and those who were less qualified could get the salary of a scholar. There was also a special "Crane General" who would go out every time. When playing, let them lead the way in front of the car, like a mighty general.
In 660 BC, the Di people invaded the south in a large scale and headed straight for the Wei Kingdom. Wei Yigong quickly summoned an army to fight, but no one among the soldiers was willing to fight. Because they fought hard on the battlefield, it was difficult for them to obtain titles even if they made meritorious deeds. However, Wei Yigong would only waste financial and material resources on knighting cranes. These soldiers were very dissatisfied, so they all said: "The king sent your crane General, go and fight!" Wei Yigong had no choice but to let go of all the cranes, and managed to gather the people's hearts to assemble the army. Then he handed the jade jue to the doctor Shi Qizi and asked him to use it to handle the country's internal affairs. He also handed the arrows to the doctor. Ning Zhuangzi asked him to lead the army to guard the capital, and Yin Yin told him: "This is to praise the country and do it for the benefit."
After Wei Yigong entrusted the capital to Shi Qizi and Ning Zhuangzi, he personally went into battle and ordered Qukong to serve as a military officer to drive his chariot; he ordered Zibo to be on the right side of the chariot to protect his safety; and Huang Yi was appointed to be the vanguard. , behind the Kong Ying Palace. At this time, the Di people had already arrived at the city. Wei Yigong led his men to fight with the Di people at Yingze on the outskirts of the capital city, Chaoge. The guardsmen were unmotivated and hurriedly responded to the battle, and were quickly defeated. Wei Yigong guarded the banner of Wei and refused to leave, so his body was cut into pieces by the Di people, leaving only a piece of liver.
Once Wei Yigong died, no one could stop the Di people, so the Di army invaded the capital of Wei State and destroyed the Wei State after burning, killing and looting. The Wei people who escaped were also attacked by Di people. The pursuit of people. When Duke Huan of Song Dynasty heard the news and came to the rescue, there were only 730 surviving guards left, and together with the residents of Gongyi and Tengyi, there were only 5,000 people. The cousin of Wei Yigong and the grandson of Wei Xuan Gong, Shen Gong, gathered the remaining people, summoned the remaining ministers, and ascended the throne in Caoyi (now southwest of Hua County, Henan Province), and was known as Wei Daigong in history.
When Duke Huan of Qi first heard that the Di people were attacking Wei State, he didn't take it seriously and did not send troops to rescue him. However, not long after, he heard that Wei State had been destroyed by Di people and Wei Yigong died, and he realized that the situation was serious. . He quickly sent his son Wu Kui to Cao Yi with 300 chariots and 3,000 soldiers to help maintain it. He also gave Duke Wei five sets of horses and sacrificial robes needed by Duke Dai, and gave Mrs. Wei a gorgeous fish palace. Cars and heavy brocade, in addition to three hundred each of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs and other livestock, as well as some wood for construction. With the support and protection of Qi State, Wei State was able to rebuild.
However, misfortunes never come singly. Duke Dai of Wei passed away less than a year after taking the throne. The country of Wei, which was waiting to be revitalized, once again fell into great panic. At this time, the prince who was in exile in Qi returned to Wei and took the throne, known as Duke Wen of Wei in history. At the same time, Mrs. Xu Mugong, the sister of Wei Yigong who married Xu State, was heartbroken when she heard that Wei State was destroyed. She immediately left Xu State and returned to Wei State to help rebuild it. At the same time, she also used her diplomatic skills to travel around to help Wei State. Reconstruction solicits aid.
The reconstruction of the Wei Kingdom was in full swing, and the Di people's iron hooves set foot on the Xing Kingdom again. The year before, the Di people had attacked Xing State, but Duke Huan of Qi was too content to send troops to fight. However, Guan Zhong advised: "You can't be tired of the Rong, Di and jackals; you can't abandon the intimacy of the summers. Comfort and enjoyment are like poison, don't be greedy. Don't you hear the "Book of Songs" says: 'Don't you want to return home and be afraid of this simple book? The so-called simple book is to warn all countries to jointly resist powerful enemies. Please follow the spirit of the simple book and send troops to rescue the Xing State." Duke Huan of Qi was so enlightened that he immediately did not dare to indulge in pleasure anymore and sent troops to repel the Di people. Saved Xing Guo.
This time, after the enemy ravaged the Wei Kingdom, they launched a massive attack on the Xing Kingdom. If the Qi Kingdom turned a deaf ear, how could they talk about respecting the king and resisting the barbarians? So Duke Huan of Qi invited the armies of Song and Cao to meet in Niebei (today's Liaocheng, Shandong) to rescue Xing. However, when the coalition forces arrived, the capital of Xing State had already been captured by the Di people. After a lot of looting, they set off a fire and burned the capital to the ground.
The coalition forces drove away the Di people and rescued the Xing people who escaped, but the capital of Xing was in ruins and could no longer be repaired. So Duke Huan of Qi ordered the coalition forces to move to Yiyi (today's west of Liaocheng, Shandong Province), where Xing State had a relatively large population, to help Xing State build a city wall here and establish a new capital. With the material assistance from Qi State and other countries, Xing State's new capital was quickly built. The people of Xing State happily moved into their new homes, as happy as returning home, so it is known in history as "Xing moved back home".
Then, Duke Huan of Qi called on all countries to work together to build a new capital for the Wei State in Chuqiu (now east of Huaxian County, Henan Province). The people of the Wei State who had returned to a stable and peaceful life soon took root in the new land and forgot about the subjugation of the country. The suffering was so painful that it was known in history as "Weiguo Forgot to Die".
Duke Huan of Qi took advantage of Qi's important position among the vassal states to gradually unite the countries in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to jointly resist the invasion of Rong and Di. Confucius said: "If I manage only a small amount of money, my hair will be left unkempt." He spoke highly of Qi's contribution to protecting the culture of the Central Plains and protecting the people of the Central Plains from humiliation and misery. Anlu, saving Xing, and preserving Wei were the three major achievements of Duke Huan of Qi on his way to hegemony. By convening all countries to jointly "repulse the barbarians", it also laid a solid foundation for the future hegemony of Qi's nine princes to control the world.
