Although the state of Jin has declined since the death of Duke Xianggang of Jin and is at a disadvantage in the competition with Chu for hegemony, it is a big country that has dominated for many years and is slowly recovering from dormancy. The key figure in this revival is a man who is known for his cruelty and mediocrity. The image of the king Jin Jinggong is fixed in people's hearts. In fact, the real Jin Jinggong was not as cruel and tyrannical as in the legendary story "The Orphan of Zhao". When Jin Jinggong was in power, it was a time when Jin was experiencing domestic and foreign troubles. Internally, there are many factions in the government and the opposition, and there are many conflicts; externally, the Jin State is gradually falling behind in the struggle for hegemony with the Chu State, and there are many nomadic tribes that invade from time to time. After Jinggong came to power, he reconciled the conflicts among ministers and prevented the country from being trapped in internal strife. He used troops to conquer the Rong and Di, clearing the external environment for Jin, so that it could free up its hands to compete with Chu for supremacy.
Jin Jinggong faced a mess left by his father Jin Chenggong. Zhao Dun made trouble in the court and formed parties for personal gain, destroying the always good political atmosphere of Jin; His character also earned the Jin State a lot of infamy. Many small countries alienated the Jin State and moved closer to the Chu State because of Zhao Dun's existence.
The exclusive power of the Zhao family at home will inevitably affect the ineffectiveness of Jin's foreign affairs. In the third year of Jinggong's reign, the State of Chu attacked Zheng. The State of Zheng could be regarded as a die-hard ally of the State of Jin in the Central Plains. Naturally, the State of Jin could not sit idly by. Therefore, the Jin State put Xun Lin's father in command and led troops to aid the Zheng State. Under Xun Lin's father's tent, there should be twelve generals, one third of whom were the Zhao family, and the Han, Que and other families who were dependent on the Zhao family. As a result, Xun Lin's father was sidelined, and all military power returned to the Zhao family. The Jin army underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and was severely defeated, which seriously dampened the spirit of the Jin state.
The failure of the Jin State not only caused it to lose the confidence of many small countries in it, but also gave many nomads the idea of taking advantage of the situation. There are many branches of these nomadic peoples, and they are collectively called "Di" by the Chinese state. Among them, "Chang Di" and "Red Di" are the two more powerful ones.
Until the Central Plains countries have not declined in strength due to constant attacks on each other, these "Di" will not pose a substantial threat to them. Although the need for survival made these ethnic groups continue to invade the Central Plains countries, the results were often disastrous. Showing off their victory in the battle against Di suddenly became a popular activity among the Central Plains princes.
There were frequent frictions between Jin State and Chi Di. Jin Chenggong, the king of Jin State, formulated a strategy of retreating in order to advance. He ignored Chi Di's small-scale harassment, but secretly visited Chen Cang, formed an alliance with other Di tribes, and took the initiative to put down his status. Befriend them, and just like that, Chidi is isolated.
After all, Chi Di has deep strength and cannot be annihilated in one fell swoop. The Jin State also used soft and hard tactics to barely control it. Time came to the sixth year of Jinggong, and something happened in this year, which became the trigger for the Jin Dynasty to decide to attack Chi Di.
There was a marriage between the State of Jin and the State of Lu, one of the most powerful branches of Chidi, and the sister of Duke Jinggong of Jin married into the State of Lu. Feng Shu, the minister of Lu State, was extremely hostile to Jin State and killed Jin Jinggong's sister. Jin Jinggong was furious and determined to destroy Chi Di to avoid future troubles. The ministers of the Jin State believed that the current situation of the Jin State was not good, and Feng Shu was a very capable minister. At this time, Chi Di was not a weakling.
But the doctor Zong Bo believed that it was time to attack Chi Di. He said that although Feng Shu was indeed a capable minister, he used his ability in evil ways and did not benefit the people. In this regard, the greater his power, the more sins he commits, and the faster he destroys himself. If Jin does not attack Chidi now, it will be difficult to find an excuse to attack Chidi again in the future.
So Jin Jinggong ordered the troops to be sent out, and Xun Lin's father took command again. The conquest process went very smoothly, and the Lu Kingdom was wiped out in less than a month. Fengshu fled to the state of Wei, who escorted him to the state of Jin, who executed him.
After this battle, Jin regained its confidence as a great and powerful country. Jin Jinggong rewarded the three armies and granted Xun Lin's father a thousand households. Rewards were also given to Shibo who had interceded for Xun Lin's father who was defeated. When summarizing the reasons for this victory, the official Yang Shizhi believed that it was reasonable for the "Shangshu" to warn the king that he should appoint respectful and rigorous people. Shibo pleaded for Xun Lin's father, and Jinggong accepted it and entrusted him with important tasks, which reflected Jinggong's kindness and wisdom. The reason why King Wen of Zhou was able to rule the world was because of his moral governance. If the king implements virtuous governance, he will win the support of the people, and the country will be successful.
Jin did not stop there. The following year, the Jin State sent troops to attack the Jia family and other countries in Chidi and annexed them. Jin Jinggong presented the prisoners to the Emperor of Zhou, and requested the title of Minister of State for the soldiers leading the battle, and the Emperor of Zhou agreed. As a result, the scholars were named ministers of state and Taifu, and the military and political power of the Jin Dynasty were consolidated into one body. The Scholars Association has a high prestige and has a strong deterrent effect on other ministers of the Jin State.
In terms of governing the country, Jin State fully embarked on the road of etiquette education. Duke Jinggong of Jin once appointed a man named Qi Yong, who had extraordinary ability and could identify loyalties and traitors from the subtle expressions between people's brows. So Jinggong ordered him to catch the thieves, and the effect was very good. However, Zhao Wenzi disagreed with this and told Jinggong that this method was difficult to implement for a long time, and Qi Yong himself could not even live long. Sure enough, Qi Yong's extraordinary ability brought disaster to him. All the thieves in Jin knew that there was such a person who was responsible for arresting them, so Qi Yong was killed.
Jin Jinggong was horrified by this and asked Zhao Wenzi how to govern the country. Zhao Wenzi suggested that Jinggong should vigorously implement education and appoint wise talents, so that the country's atmosphere can be purified and everyone knows etiquette, justice and integrity, so that the Jin country can be peaceful and peaceful.
In the 16th year of Lu Xuangong (593 BC), there was strife among the officials of the Zhou royal family. Wang Sunsu had his political enemies Mao and Zhao assassinated and fled to Jin. Jin sent scholars to Zhou The DPRK conducted mediation and calmed the situation. After the scholars returned to the country, they governed the country according to the etiquette standards of Emperor Zhou, which brought the national style of Jin to a higher level.
A few years later, the Jin State united with other vassal states to eliminate the last branch of Chidi, completely eliminating the threat of homeless people around Jin State.
Jin Jinggong brought the Jin Kingdom out of darkness and put the Jin Kingdom back on the road to upward growth. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the evenly matched hegemony pattern between Jin and Chu was once again formed.
After Jin defeated Chidi, its strength greatly increased, and it carried out several small-scale expansions, causing friction with Qin and Qi.
In the 17th year of Lu Xuangong (592 BC), Jin sent Chuke as envoy to Qi to invite Qi to participate in the alliance. The king of Qi laughed at Chuke because of his inconvenience, but Chuke held a grudge. After returning home, he asked Jin to send troops to attack Qi. Jinggong believed that the time had not yet come to conquer Qi, so he did not agree to Chuke's request. Chuke asked that he only lead his own people in the crusade, but Jinggong did not allow it.
When the king of Qi heard that Jin was already discussing the conquest of Qi, he hurriedly sent envoys to Jin to participate in the alliance. He refused to go out of fear, which angered Jin even more. So Jin State arrested all the envoys sent by Qi State. Jin State, Lu, Wei, Cao and other countries formed alliances at Duandao and Juan Chu twice, excluding Qi State.
Minister Miao Benhuang advised Jin Jinggong not to be too harsh, which would cause the princes to think that Jin had no good intentions, so Jinggong deliberately relaxed the supervision of these envoys from Qi to allow them to escape smoothly. At this time, Shihui was already old. He knew that Chuke was eyeing his position and was eager to use his power to mobilize the Jin army to attack Qi. So the scholars retired and returned home, giving up their seats to Choke, who immediately organized an attack on Qi. Jin's attack on Qi failed, and the fearful King of Qi quickly made peace with Jin, using his son as a pledge in exchange for Jin's withdrawal.
At that time, both Lu and Wei hoped to take advantage of the conflict between Jin and Qi to take advantage of Qi and vent their anger on Qi's usual bullying. Unexpectedly, there was no fighting between Jin and Qi. The State of Lu did not want to let it go, so it persuaded the State of Chu to send troops. Unexpectedly, the State of Chu was in mourning due to the death of King Zhuang of Chu. Not a single soldier could step out of the country, and the plan of the State of Lu went bankrupt again. . The State of Qi was very angry after knowing these actions of the State of Lu behind the scenes, so it formed an alliance with the State of Chu, and when the mourning was over, they joined forces to attack Lu.
For the Lu State at this time, the Jin State was its only life-saving straw. On the one hand, the king of Lu State organized his troops to prepare for war, and on the other hand, he ordered his people to be ready at all times. As soon as Qi and Chu entered Lu State, he immediately went to Jin State for help.
Soon after, the Qi army indeed invaded the state of Lu, but it was not successful. When attacking the border city of Longyi, the Qi King's favorite was captured. The people of Longyi did not listen to the Qi King's request and beheaded the favored minister. The Qi King was furious and ordered the army to attack San. On the same day, the city was destroyed. The Qi army marched all the way to Chaoqiu.
As an ally of the Lu State, the Wei State had always been closely dependent on it. This time it could not sit idly by, so it sent troops to rescue. In the newly built place, the Wei and Qi armies met and fought. The Wei army was defeated, and the Qi army rushed into the territory of Wei State. Sun Liangfu, the general of the Wei army, had no choice but to rush to Jin for help. In the capital of Jin, he unexpectedly met Zang Xuanshu, who was sent by Lu to ask for help. The two defected to Chuke, a militant in Jin. After Jin Jinggong considered it, he felt that allowing Wei and Lu to be annexed by Qi would be too disadvantageous for Jin, so he agreed to send troops to participate in the war. Chuoke opened his mouth like Duke Jinggong asking for eight hundred chariots, and Duke Jinggong agreed.
The Jin army attacked the Qi army in a mighty manner. After receiving strong support, the two countries of Lu and Wei regained their strength and organized their troops to fight again. Jin's old ally Cao also sent troops to help, and the situation was good for a while. The State of Qi was not afraid, and with the momentum of its previous victories, the State of Qi opened up a battle line with the State of Jin at a place called Tao at the foot of Miji Mountain, and fought against each other.
Qi Qinggong was full of pride and clamored to have breakfast after defeating the Jin army, so the Qi army swarmed forward, not even caring about wearing armor on their horses. The Jin army was suppressed for a while, but the commander was wounded by an arrow, and blood flowed to his shoes. However, he insisted on not retreating, and kept ordering drums to be beaten to let the Jin army advance. Jie Zhang, the driver of Chok's chariot, was even more seriously injured. His arm was pierced by an arrow, and the blood stained the wheels. However, he fought with gritted teeth, driving the car with one hand and beating the drum with the other. The commander's bravery was a huge inspiration to the entire army. The Jin army reversed its decline and the Qi army was defeated. The Jin army pursued them and circled the mountain three times. The doctor Han Jue took the lead and drove straight towards the King of Qi. The King of Qi shot the soldiers on Han Jue's chariot one after another, but Han Jue still refused to let go. But King Qi had no choice but to exchange places with his minister Feng Chou's father, and Feng Chou's father was eventually captured.
The King of Qi was not a timid person. After escaping from the pursuit of the Jin army, he quickly organized his forces and reentered the enemy's formation. He entered and exited three times, hoping to rescue Feng Chou's father, but he failed. The Qi army had no choice but to fight and retreat, but the Jin army persevered. The King of Qi had no choice but to admit defeat and seek peace. After Feng Chou's father was captured by Choke, he spared his life out of pity for his loyalty and bravery.
The King of Qi sent people to the Jin military camp and promised to pay bribes to cede territory, hoping to stop the war and stop the troops. The Jin State was unwilling to give up, and it must take the mother of King Qi as a hostage, and demanded that the fields in Qi State be changed. Such a request was far beyond the bottom line of Qi's acceptance, and did not bring much practical benefit to Jin and its allies. With the mediation of Lu and Wei, Jin relaxed the conditions slightly, and all parties negotiated peace.
In this war, Lu and Wei were both sad and then happy. First, they were severely attacked by Qi and almost destroyed their country. Later, they found Jin in time and not only regained their lost territory, but also shared the victory in the overall victory. With a piece of the pie, he not only vented his anger on the Qi State, but also gained a lot of practical benefits. It also consolidated the alliance with the Jin State and ensured its own security. It was indeed a great harvest.
As for the Jin State, they just put into practice what they had always wanted to do but had not dared to do, and the results were good. During the war, the Jin State tested its quality as a great power in the Central Plains. At the same time, the victory of this war proved the correctness of the development path it had always taken, and laid confidence for its future hegemony with Qi and Chu.
However, the Chu State in the south has been watching this war with cold eyes. They will never sit back and watch the Jin family become bigger. The state of Chu was like the oriole behind the mantis, dormant and watching. No matter who wins or loses between Qi and Jin, Chu will be the winner, because the defeated big country will not only be weakened in strength, but will also be eager to seek a stronger and more stable military alliance, and Chu is their only choice. As for the victorious party, while being complacent, it is inevitable that there will be omissions and it will be easier to lose the support of international public opinion. This will provide Chu State with an excuse to conquer them.
Sure enough, when Jin was still immersed in the joy of victory, Chu took action.
