Jin's victory in the Alignment War was undoubtedly like a declaration, signaling its return as an established power. On the other hand, the Chu State, which was quiet during the Qi-Jin War, also completed its own strategic layout and decided to make use of the new Central Plains pattern to seek some war benefits for its country while ensuring that the balance between Jin and Qi was not broken. .
So in the winter of the Battle of Qi, Jin and Qi, the Chu State attacked the Wei State and the Lu State successively, and occupied the Shu cities of the Lu State. The State of Lu was forced to sue for peace from the State of Chu, and donated a large number of craftsmen to the State of Chu, and also sent Gongzi Heng to the State of Chu as a hostage. The Chu State immediately held an alliance in Shu with the participation of 13 vassal states, which effectively offset the beneficial impact of the Battle of Qin on the Jin State.
Naturally, Jin would not sit back and watch Chu challenge Jin's hegemony, so it would unite with Lu, Wei, Song and other countries to attack Zheng again the next year. Although the initial attack was unfavorable and was defeated by Zheng, the national power of Jin was much stronger than that of Zheng. On the other hand, due to the discord between Zheng Aogong and Xu Linggong, the latter slandered him in front of the King of the Communist Party of Chu, so he also Decided to submit to Jin again. In response to the Chu State, the Jin State took advantage of the situation and held an alliance. During this period, Jin and Chu were basically in a balance of power. Neither side had the strength to completely defeat the other. They could only hide behind the scenes and maintain a stalemate.
Even so, Jin Jinggong's behavior of relying on national power to invade the princes' countries gradually made the princes alienated. Although Qi and Jin fought fiercely in the Battle of Qin, Qi is a big country in the east after all, and it is the target of Jin's efforts to win over, especially in the situation where Qin and Jin are always hostile. So the Jin State actually forced the Lu State to return the Wenyang Field that Qi State had returned to Qi State after the Battle of Qin. This piece of Wenyang land is sandwiched between Qi and Lu and has gone through many battles. It was taken away by Duke Huan of Qi when he was hegemony. Later, Cao Mo, the official of Lu State, used a trick to get this land back. Later, Qi State captured this land again, but was forced to return it to Lu State after the Battle of Qin. . Now, in order to have good relations with Qi, Jin asked Lu to give up. Jin Jinggong's move not only made the Lu State very angry, but also chilled the other vassal states. Jin's hegemony gradually declined.
However, an incident in Chu during this period also led to changes in Jin's strategy for hegemony. While Jin's influence declined, Chu itself was unable to protect itself. This is where Shen Gong Wuchen, a senior official from the state of Chu, came to surrender.
Shen Gong Wuchen was originally the chief of Shen District of Chu State. When the King of Chuzhuang put down the civil strife in Xia Zhengshu of Chen State, he kidnapped his mother Xia Ji and brought her back to Chu State. Xia Ji was a princess of the State of Zheng, a famous beauty in the Spring and Autumn Period. Duke Shen and the witches fell in love with her at first sight. But with such a beautiful woman, the King of Chuzhuang naturally wanted to be the first to attack. For his own selfish desires, Duke Shen and the witch ministers used their sharp tongues to say that Xia Ji had caused civil strife in the Chen Kingdom, which was an ominous sign, and the princes also Therefore, they will doubt the motives of King Chuzhuang in attacking Chen State. Duke Shen and his witches were so excited that King Chuzhuang gave up the idea. However, Sima Zi of Chu State saw that King Zhuang of Chu did not marry Xia Ji, and expressed his hope to get the latter. Duke Shen, the wizard, had to repeat his previous words to him. Finally, King Zhuang of Chu gave Xia Ji to General Lian Yinxiang of Chu State.
Unexpectedly, Elder Lian Yinxiang died in the Battle of Bi soon, which gave Shen Gong Wu Chen an opportunity to deceive Xia Ji. On the one hand, he secretly encouraged Xia Ji to return to the state of Zheng. On the other hand, he openly falsely claimed that the body of Mr. Lian Yinxiang was in the hands of the Zheng people and that Xia Ji needed to retrieve it personally. King Chuzhuang was deceived by the tricks of Duke Shen and his witches, so he ordered Xia Ji to return to the state of Zheng.
Not long after, King Zhuang of Chu passed away and King Gong of Chu succeeded to the throne. When Shen Gong Wuchen saw that the King of Chu was young, he decided to flee Chu and live happily with Xia Ji. He took advantage of the opportunity when the King of the Communist Party of Chu ordered him to go to Qi State, fled to Zheng State halfway, and took Xia Ji to defect to Jin State. The Jin State naturally welcomed talents from enemy countries. Not only did they make him a doctor, but they also gave him the land of Xing.
When the news reached Chu State, the government and the public were naturally shocked. When the prince found out that he had been deceived, he was so angry that he gritted his teeth. So they jointly ordered Yin Zizhong to ask the king of the Communist Party of Chu to kill all the people of Shen Gong Wuchen. Zizhong also had conflicts with Shen Gong Wuchen. In the early wars between Chu and Song, Zizhong had made many meritorious deeds and once asked King Chuzhuang for part of the land of Shen Yi and Lu Yi as a reward. However, the witch ministers of Shen Gong believed that Shen and Lu Nai were the strategic buffer zone in the north of Chu State. If they were given to their ministers, they would be at a disadvantage when facing the attacks of Jin and Zheng. Therefore, King Zhuang of Chu did not agree to Zizhong's request.
In order to vent their anger, Zifan and Zizhong, who had long-standing grievances, killed Ziyan and Zidang, the clansmen of Shen Gong Wuchen, and divided their property among themselves. To be fair, although the actions of Shen Gong and Wu Chen were despicable, the actions of Zi Fan and Zi Zhong were also a bit excessive. What's more, although Shen Gong's witch minister was full of tricks, he was capable of both literary and military skills. He was heartbroken when he learned that his family was destroyed in Jin State, and he hated Zi Fan and Zi Chong deeply. He wrote to the two of them, saying that he must take revenge on the Chu State and make the two of them exhausted and die badly.
What is the idea of Shen Gong Wuchen? It was suggested that Jin Jinggong contact the Wu State in the southeast to jointly deal with the Chu State. Although the Wu State claims to be the descendant of Taibo Wu, because it is far away from the Central Plains and its culture is relatively backward, it has always been regarded as a barbarian by other countries in the Central Plains and does not interact with them. The witch minister Shen Gong believed that if he could contact Wu and form a pincer attack on Chu, Chu would be in dire straits and would be unable to compete with Jin in the Central Plains, so he volunteered to be sent as an envoy to Wu.
Jin Jinggong appreciated the idea of Shen Gong Wuchen and agreed to his request. Before this, Jin had invited Wu in the alliance, but Wu did not respond. The Shen Gong Wuchen changed the Wu people's complacency. After all, he was a famous general of the Chu State, capable of both literary and military skills, and proficient in the art of war. He brought thirty military chariots from the Jin State and taught the Wu Army how to use them, how to set up formations, and how to make and use weapons. After a period of training, Wu's military strength improved by leaps and bounds, enough to compete with other countries in the Central Plains. The efforts of Shen Gong Wuchen were also appreciated and loved by King Shoumeng of Wu, who expressed his willingness to cooperate with Jin and attack Chu.
From then on, the state of Wu began to move north frequently, attacking the state of Chu and its vassal states, and actively expanding its power. This new situation made the Chu State embarrassed. The King of Chu Communist Party did not expect that there would be a fire in the backyard. Zifan and Zizhong had no choice but to lead their troops to run east and west to resist the Wu army's attack. They actually ran to seven places in one year. They were really "dying from exhaustion".
Since then, Chu State has been trapped in successive wars with Wu State, and had to devote a lot of energy to deal with the latter, which also laid the root of Chu State's decline; and Wu State, with the help of Jin State, gradually developed conflicts with other countries in the Central Plains. connect. Finally, under the mediation of Duke Dao of Jin, King Shoumeng of Wu held an alliance. He officially became a member of the vassals of the Central Plains, laying a solid foundation for Wu's later hegemony.
The Battle of Jin, Qi, and Qi dealt a heavy blow to Qi, which wanted to compete with Jin, and strengthened Jin's dominant position in the Central Plains; and the strategy of uniting Wu to control Chu also effectively diverted Chu's attention, leaving it too busy Then compete with Jin for hegemony in the Central Plains. It seems that Jin's hegemony has been revived in the hands of Jin Jinggong. But as the saying goes, people who have no long-term worries must have short-term worries. Behind the temporary prosperity of the Jin State, there is an increasingly fierce political struggle between officials and ministers.
It may not be well-known to everyone, but if we talk about the Zhao orphans, it is undoubtedly a well-known historical story in the country. "Historical Records: The Zhao Family" records that during the reign of Duke Linggong of Jin, Zhao Dun of the Zhao family was in charge of the power of the Jin State. Because of Jin Linggong's absurd behavior, Zhao Dun repeatedly admonished him. Unexpectedly, Jin Linggong actually held a grudge and conspired with the treacherous minister Tu Anjia to assassinate Zhao Dun many times. Zhao Dun had no choice but to run away. However, before leaving the country, his younger brother Zhao Chuan had already killed Jin Linggong in Taoyuan, allowing Zhao Dun to regain power.
After Zhao Dun died, his son Zhao Shuo continued to rule the Zhao family. At this time, the king of the Jin Kingdom had been replaced by Jin Jinggong, and Tu Anjia, who had lost power for a while, was re-elected and was quite favored. Tu Anjia hated the Zhao family deeply because of Zhao Dun's incident. So they claimed that the Zhao family had committed regicide and should be punished. Although Sima Han Jue of the Third Army strongly opposed it, with the acquiescence of Jin Jinggong, Tu Anjia secretly led his troops to attack the lower palace where the Zhao family lived, and killed Zhao Shuo and Zhao Dun's younger brothers Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo (not Zhao Kuo). The one who talked about military affairs in later generations), Zhao Yingqi and others were killed, and the Zhao clan was destroyed in one fell swoop. Only Zhao Shuo's wife, Zhao Zhuangji, who was also Jin Jinggong's sister, escaped to the palace in advance under Han Jue's warning and survived.
Because Zhao Zhuangji was pregnant at this time, she soon gave birth to a baby boy. When Tu Anjia heard the news, he came to search repeatedly in an attempt to eradicate the root cause. In order to preserve Zhao Shuo's bloodline, Zhao Shuo's two disciples Cheng Ying and Gongsun Chujiu made a plan. Cheng Ying replaced Zhao Shuo's child with his newborn child, and pretended to betray Gongsun Chujiu. Cheng Ying's son killed him, thinking that he would be safe from now on. Cheng Ying took the real Zhao orphan and lived in seclusion.
Fifteen years later, Jin Jinggong fell ill by chance, and the divination revealed that the ghost of the Zhao family who had died was causing trouble. Jin Jinggong felt guilty and asked Han Jue what he should do. Han Jue, who knew that the Zhao orphan was still alive, took the opportunity to tell the truth. Jin Jinggong then changed his mind, summoned the Zhao orphan into the palace, and ordered him to attack Tu'an Gua to avenge the Zhao family, and restored the Zhao family's status. Cheng Ying finally committed suicide to thank Gongsun Chujiu.
This legendary story has been repeatedly adapted and reinterpreted by later generations, and has now become a historical story with international influence. However, few people know that the truth behind history may not be as recorded by Tai Shigong. In fact, different historical records have different records on the history of the Disaster in the Palace, and even the records in "Historical Records" themselves are inconsistent. Not only are the relevant plots in "Historical Records: The Jin Family" very different from those in the "Zhao Family", but the records in "Zuo Zhuan" are also very different from those in the "Zhao Family".
First of all, the identity of Tu Anjia is extremely suspicious. Except for the "Zhao Family", this person is not found in any historical records. Historiography emphasizes that evidence cannot stand alone, so the existence of Tu Anjia has become a question. Secondly, Zhao Wu’s age is inconsistent. According to the records of "Zuo Zhuan", when Xiangxu was defeated, Uncle Sun Bao, a doctor of the Lu State, once mentioned that Zhao Wu was not yet 50 years old at that time. From this, it was deduced that Zhao Wu should have been born in 592 BC at the earliest. However, according to "Zhao Wu" Family", Zhao Shuo died in 597 BC.
Thirdly, there are also contradictions about the whereabouts of other members of the Zhao family. According to the records of "Zhao Shijia", Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo had died at the hands of Tu'an Gua in 597 BC, but in "Zuo Zhuan" they both However, there are records of activities after that; while "Zuo Zhuan" records that Zhao Yingqi and Zhao Zhuangji had committed adultery and were sent to Qi State, there is no record in "Zhao Shijia".
According to the conclusion reached by later generations, the records of the difficulties in the palace in "Zhao Shijia" are not credible. On the contrary, the records in "Jin Shijia" and "Zuo Zhuan" are closer to history. The reason is probably that when Tai Shigong wrote "Zhao Shijia", he used the official historical materials of Zhao State. However, the historians of Zhao State rewrote a disgraceful history out of the consideration of "keeping taboos for the nobles", and it was written into the "Historical Records" by Tai Shigong. This is how the legend of Zhao's orphans came about.
The history that the Zhao historians wanted to hide was actually the adultery between Zhao Yingqi and Zhao Zhuangji mentioned above. The difficulty in leaving the palace was not a stereotyped confrontation between loyal and traitor, but a concrete manifestation of the conflict between the officials and officials at that time.
After Zhao Dun took power in the Jin State, the Zhao family became the most powerful family in the Jin State. However, after Zhao Dun's death, there were policy differences between Zhao Shuo, Zhao Tong, and Zhao Kuo. Zhao Shuo saw the rise of the Xun family and the Fan family and advocated getting closer to them; but Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo insisted on having good relations with the Que family and the Xian family, and alienated and attacked the Xun family, Shifan family, Luan family and other families.
The differences between the Zhao clan members were most obvious in the Battle of Jin-Chu-Bi: In the military meeting before the war, Zhao Shuo and Chu Ke both agreed with Xun Lin's father, Shi Hui, Luan Shu and others to withdraw their troops and avoid the war. However, Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo, together with Xian Gu, insisted on fighting the Chu army, and ignored Xun Lin's father's orders and privately led troops to fight against the Chu army. In the Battle of Bi, Jin suffered a disastrous defeat, which was directly related to the conflicts and divisions among the officials.
The power of the Jin State was later transferred to Chu Ke. Chu Ke originally had a similar political stance to Zhao Shuo and had a close relationship, but at this time Zhao Shuo unfortunately died early. After that, the relationship between the Que family and the Zhao family gradually became estranged, and they became friendly with the emerging Xun family, Fan family and Luan family. This resulted in the Zhao family being isolated and helpless in the court.
As the saying goes, when the house leaks, it rains all night. After the death of Zhao Shuo, there was a scandal of adultery between Zhao Zhuangji and her uncle Zhao Yingqi. When the Dongchuang Incident happened, Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo decided to exile Zhao Yingqi to Qi State. This is undoubtedly a rather unwise decision. After Zhao Yingqi left, the power of the Zhao family was further weakened. This incident also deeply angered Zhao Zhuangji. As Jin Jinggong's sister, Zhao Zhuangji's influence on the former is also obvious. In anger, she reported Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo for conspiring to rebel.
Jin Jinggong, who was dubious, immediately summoned the officials to discuss the matter. At this time, the chief minister of Jin was Luan Shu. The Luan family, which had been suppressed and marginalized by the Zhao family for a long time, finally came to the fore. Luan Shu took the opportunity to join forces with Qu Qi to add fuel to the fire, insisting that what Zhao Zhuangji said was true. As a result, the Zhao family's accusation of rebellion was confirmed. Zhao Tong, Zhao Kuo and others were massacred, and only the young Zhao Wu survived.
Looking at the whole story of the Xigong Troubles, it can be seen that the downward trend of Jin's political power was becoming more and more intense at this time. As the ministers and officials attacked each other, the power of the Jin Dynasty gradually declined, and finally ended up being divided into three families.
