Through a series of actions such as fighting against the Rong and Di, rescuing Yan, Wei, and Xing, and supporting the crown prince of Zhou to the throne, Duke Huan of Qi enhanced Qi's prestige among the vassal states and gradually gained the status of hegemon. In order to further confirm this de facto hegemony in name, Duke Huan of Qi, in the ninth year of Duke Xi of Lu (651 BC), the second year after King Xiang of Zhou came to the throne, held a memorial ceremony in Kuiqiu (now Kaocheng, Henan). Nearby), the princes of Lu, Song, Wei, Zheng, Xu, Cao and other countries gathered here to form an alliance.
The kings of various countries arrived as promised. In order to commend Duke Huan of Qi for his great contributions to the peace of the world, the newly enthroned King Zhou Xiang specially sent Zhou Gong Kong (also known as Zai Kong) to attend the meeting in person and gave the emperor Zhou the sacrificial meat used to worship his ancestors. Duke Huan of Qi. Since the Zhou royal family's surname was Ji and the Qi surname was Jiang, Zai Kong honored Duke Huan of Qi as his uncle in the name of Emperor Zhou: "The Emperor of Zhou had just sacrificed to King Wen and King Wu, and specifically ordered me to give the sacrificial meat to my uncle."
Duke Huan of Qi quickly bowed down and saluted, and Zai Kong said, "Wait a moment, the Emperor has another order. When the Emperor sent me, he said that my uncle is old and virtuous, and has great merit in hard work. He will be given an additional level. There is no need to bow down." Duke Huan of Qi heard this from Zai Kong. He said, he stopped saluting and planned to accept the sacrificial meat directly. Guan Zhong quickly stopped him and told Duke Huan of Qi to show the greatest respect to the Emperor of Zhou and not to violate Zhou rites. So Duke Huan of Qi said to Zaikong with a respectful look: "The emperor is so majestic that he cannot tolerate any offense. How dare Xiaobai obey the order, break the etiquette, and bring shame to the emperor? You must not fail to bow today!" So Duke Huan of Qi calmly bowed and bowed. , and then walked up to the altar to accept the reward from Emperor Zhou.
According to the Zhou rites, the sacrificial meat used by the Emperor of Zhou to sacrifice his ancestors could only be given to the princes named Ji. This time, he specially sent the Taizai to give the sacrificial meat to Duke Huan of Qi named Jiang at the princes' alliance meeting, expressing his support for Duke Huan of Qi in front of the princes of all countries. He was honored and favored, and this move demonstrated his recognition of Qi Huan Gong's dominance. However, Duke Huan of Qi insisted on kneeling down and saluting under Guan Zhong's persuasion, in order to continue to show respect to the king and achieve the effect of coercing the emperor to order the princes.
In the autumn of that year, Duke Huan of Qi once again gathered the princes in Kuiqiu and issued an order in the tone of the leader of the alliance: "Everyone who is my alliance must reconcile after they have sworn an oath." Then he stated to the princes attending the meeting the emperor of Zhou's prohibition: "No. Block the spring water! Don’t hide too much rice! Don’t change the heir! Don’t take concubines as wives! Don’t let women participate in state affairs!” Unlike the previous gathering of princes by Duke Huan of Qi in order to attack Rong Di and Chu State, this time the gathering of Kuiqiu The theme is to call for peace, to allow allied countries to end wars and rebuild, and to provide a stable external environment for countries to recuperate and resume development. At the same time, it also means that Qi State has at least nominally assumed the responsibility and power to restrain the princes on behalf of Emperor Zhou, marking the peak of Qi State's hegemony.
As the saying goes, "When the water is full, it overflows, and when the moon is full, it loses." The peak of Qi Huangong's hegemony also represents the coming decline. Zai Kong, who was sent by the emperor of Zhou to deliver sacrificial meat, saw this keenly. After Zaikong completed his task, he went back to report his orders to the Emperor of Zhou. It happened that Duke Xiang of Jin heard that Duke Huan of Qi was holding a gathering of princes in Kuiqiu, so he also came to attend. On the way, he met Zaikong who was returning and asked him to come and inquire about the situation.
Zaikong said: "You don't need to go to the alliance meeting. Duke Huan of Qi did not pay attention to cultivating morality and morality, but he only went to war in the north and south to expand the territory. Therefore, he conquered the Shanrong in the north, conquered Chu in the south, and conquered the country in the west. Call the princes for an alliance meeting here. I don’t know how effective Qi’s policy in the east is, but I don’t think the effect of the alliance in the west is very good. There is civil strife in Jin State now. You should concentrate on quelling the civil strife. There is no need to go out." After listening. Duke Xiang of Jin thought what Zai Kong said was very reasonable, so he ordered his people to return home.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhou royal family declined, and only Qi, Chu, Qin, and Jin were the major countries guarding the borders. In the later years of Duke Xian of Jin, the state of Jin fell into civil strife and was unable to develop its hegemony; Duke Mu of Qin still opened up territories in the west and did not participate in the alliance in the Central Plains; while King Cheng of Chu conquered the ethnic minorities in Jingchu, enjoyed vast land, and established himself as king. Only the state of Qi has the ability and willingness to preside over the alliance in the Central Plains, and Duke Huan of Qi can respect the king, resist the barbarians, and promote the king's way, so the princes will obey his orders.
However, Duke Huan of Qi did not recognize the important relationship between his achievement of hegemony and the timing and general trend. He only believed that he had conquered the north and south, made outstanding achievements, had a prosperous country, and had strong soldiers and horses. Therefore, no princes dared to disobey where the sword pointed. Duke Huan of Qi believed that the achievements of his nine princes were comparable to those of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties who were ordered by heaven, so he planned to grant the title of Mount Tai and entrust the father of Liang to the throne. Guan Zhong repeatedly tried to persuade Duke Huan of Qi but could not stop him. In desperation, I had no choice but to say to Duke Huan of Qi: "For the ancients to enshrine Zen, there must be millet from the land, grass from the north, three-ridged thatch from the Jianghuai area, flounder from the East China Sea, and winged birds from the West Sea. Then the auspicious spirits will disappear without summoning. To. Now the phoenix and unicorn have not appeared, and the beautiful grains have not grown. The fields are overgrown with weeds and crows are flying around. How can we be granted Zen in such a situation!" Duke Huan of Qi was speechless and had to give up. Who can know the helplessness in my heart?
Although Duke Huan of Qi did not really put Feng Chan into practice, this incident shows that Duke Huan of Qi's ambitions have grown bigger and bigger, and he was dazzled by the results he had achieved. Under such circumstances, Qi's hegemony declined.
After the meeting of Kuiqiu, although Qi's hegemony had gradually declined, it still maintained for a period of time. In September of the ninth year of Duke Xi of Lu (651 BC) (since "Spring and Autumn" is based on the chronology of Lu Gong, works on the history of the Spring and Autumn Period mostly use the chronology of Zhou Wang or Lu Gong), Duke Xiang of Jin passed away. Xi Qi, the son of Li Ji who was made the wife, succeeded to the throne. Rick, the official of the Jin State, believed that Xi Qi's throne was unfairly obtained and was dissatisfied, so he gathered his gang members to kill Xi Qi. Then Gongzi Zhuo, the son of Li Ji's sister and Xi Qi's younger brother, ascended the throne as the king, and was replaced by Rick and others. People kill. Several sons of Duke Xiang of Jin died and fled. The Jin Kingdom was leaderless and fell into civil strife.
Seeing this situation, Duke Huan of Qi summoned all the princes from all over the world to join forces to attack Jin to quell the rebellion of Jin. The army returned after reaching Gaoliang (now northeast of Linfen, Shanxi). After Rick killed Xi Qi and Gongzi Zhuo, he sent people to welcome the exiled son Chong'er back to the country to ascend the throne. Chong'er politely declined, and Rick instead welcomed the exiled son Yiwu back to the country. On the one hand, Yiwu wanted to return to his country, but on the other hand, he was worried about some conspiracy, so he sent people to Qin to ask for assistance. In exchange for Qin Mu's promise to cede land to Qin after he ascended the throne, he sent troops to send him back.
Later, Duke Mu of Qin indeed sent troops to escort Yi Wu back to the country. As the overlord, Duke Huan of Qi also sent Qi State official Xi Peng to lead his troops to join the Qin army and jointly escort the young master Yi Wu back to the Jin State. In April of the next year, Xi Peng, together with the Duke of Zhou's Jifu and the prince party sent by the Emperor of Zhou, jointly established Prince Yiwu as Duke Hui of Jin in Jin State. This is the first time that the Qin State in the upper reaches of the Yellow River has formal political contact with the vassal states in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. It can also be seen that the Qi State is still at its peak at this time and has the ability to participate in the abolition and establishment of the Jin State, which is comparable to it. thing.
Soon after, the Di people attacked again and destroyed Wen State. The king of Wen State fled to Wei State. The Di people also continued to invade and harassed Wei State and Zheng State. At this time, Duke Huan of Qi did not summon the princes to attack the Di people with great fanfare as usual. Instead, he united with Xu State to attack the Beirong people in order to contain the invasion of Rong Di people.
In the summer of the eleventh year of Duke Xi of Lu (649 B.C.), the princes who had failed to compete with King Xiang of Zhou for the throne were unwilling to accept the outcome of failure, so they colluded with Yangyi, Juyi, Quanyi, Gaoyi, Yi and Luo. A generation of Rong people attacked the capital of King Zhou and burned the east gate of the capital. When Duke Mu of Qin heard the news, he quickly gathered his troops and joined forces with Duke Hui of Jin to lead the army to rescue the Emperor of Zhou. Duke Huan of Qi also sent Guan Zhong and Xi Peng to represent the Zhou royal family and the State of Jin to negotiate for peace with the Rong people. Under this, the Rong people finally retreated.
King Zhou Xiang had a good impression of Qi due to his previous contribution to the establishment of Qi State. Now that Guan Zhong had made great contributions in quelling the rebellion, King Zhou Xiang gratefully hosted a banquet in honor of Guan Zhong. Guan Zhong declined in fear and said: "I am a junior minister of the State of Qi. I have a humble position and am not qualified to enjoy the etiquette of being a minister." King Zhou Xiang said: "I am here to commend you for your merits and virtues. There is no need to refuse. No need to do so." Disobey my order!" Guan Zhongjian could not refuse, but he did not dare to violate the etiquette too much, so he took a compromise and attended the banquet according to the etiquette of the minister. Later, someone praised Guan Zhong and said: "Guan Zhong gave in so humbly and did not look down on the king despite his great achievements. It is natural that he can enjoy the cigarette sacrifice for generations."
However, the crisis of the Zhou royal family did not end. The Yi people in the Huaihe River area continued to invade Qi State and also posed a threat to the Zhou royal family. Although the Rong people retreated, they always looked covetously at the Central Plains. In order to protect the safety of the Zhou royal family, Duke Huan of Qi sent Zhongsun Qiu to serve in the Zhou Dynasty to deal with relevant matters in a timely manner. He also invited the princes to gather in Xiandi and summoned the princes' troops to the Zhou king's Ji to defend themselves.
While the crisis in the Zhou royal family continued, the Chu State in the south was also ready to take action. With the gradual rise of the Chu State, it became a powerful force in the south, and all the surrounding small vassal states had to respect it. However, once the Chu State called a gathering of the princes and kings, Huang State was unwilling to obey the Chu State, so he joined the Qi State for a gathering. The four-state alliance of Qi, Song, Jiang, and Huang was held to defend and attack Chu. Later, the power of Qi State became increasingly powerful, and the vassal states that were originally attached to Chu State turned against Qi one after another. The king of Huang State also thought: "The Ying capital of Chu State is nine hundred miles away from me. How can it harm me?" After betraying the Chu State, the Chu State originally wanted to compete with the Qi State. At the same time, in order to kill the chickens and scare the monkeys, and to warn the vassal states in the south, they sent troops to destroy them on the grounds that "the yellow people will not return to Chu Gong". To Huang Guo.
A few years later, the State of Chu sent troops to attack the State of Xu. In accordance with the spirit of the Kuiqiu meeting, the various vassal states gathered in Muqiu to plan for the rescue of the State of Xu. After the armies of the various vassal states gathered together, they did not go directly to rescue Xu State, but directly attacked Chu State's Yu Guo Li State, forcing Chu State to retreat to rescue Li State, so as to relieve Xu State's crisis. However, this strategy failed. Xu's army was defeated by Chu in Loulin (now northeast of Sizhou, Anhui). Duke Huan of Qi had no choice but to send troops to attack Li in person the next year. Although he failed to conquer, he successfully rescued Xu. country.
Faced with such a chaotic and difficult situation, Duke Huan of Qi did not seem to realize that the Qi State was no longer invincible as it had been in the past. He had not been able to suppress the threat of the Rong people and the Chu State, so he pointed the finger at Dongyi. . In the 16th year of Duke Xi of Lu (644 BC), Duke Huan of Qi met with the princes again on the Huai River to solve the problem of the country of Zuo (near today's Yixian County, Shandong), and at the same time demonstrated against Dongyi. So he used the power of the princes to build a city for the state of Zuo. Unfortunately, many of the servants involved in building the city fell ill. Some people climbed up high hills at night and shouted loudly: "There is chaos in Qi!" Not only the monarchs and ministers of Qi were panic-stricken, but even The various vassal states were also worried, so Duke Huan of Qi withdrew his troops back to Qi before the city of Zuo was completed.
Faced with the continuous harassment by Rong Di and the Chu State, Duke Huan of Qi had lost the heroic spirit of leading an army to pursue thousands of miles, and he no longer had the courage to say, "With this mass battle, who can resist it? With this attack, what city cannot be conquered?" Because of their lack of confidence, they did not dare to directly confront Rong Di and the Chu army. They could only exchange peace talks for peace, and rescue their friendly countries in a tortuous way by encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao. This shows that although Qi State still has the position of overlord, its strength is not as good as before. In October of the seventeenth year of Duke Xi of Lu (643 BC), Qi Huan Gong Jiang Xiaobai ended his legendary life, and at the same time, he also helped Qi State. The hegemony came to an end.
