But at this time, Jin was still the strongest among the vassal states, and Duke Zhao of Jin wanted to re-form an alliance to consolidate his overlord status. But at this time, the strength of Qi State was also increasing day by day. Duke Zhao thought that the people of Qi might not be so happy to join the alliance, so he came to Liu Xiangong and said: "Qi State is not willing to form an alliance with us. Do you have any good ideas? "
Liu Xiangong replied: "One of the elements of alliance is to show the credibility of a big country. If the king is an honest person, how can the vassal states have second thoughts about others? So you have nothing to worry about. Manage them with words. , if it is no longer possible to use force to supervise, even if Qi is unwilling to join the alliance, it proves the many efforts you have made for this. The emperor's ministers asked the emperor to lead the army, 'Ten carts will lead the way' sooner or later They will only listen to your orders."
Duke Zhao of Jin felt that Liu Xiangong's words were reasonable, so he sent his uncle to see Duke Jin of Qi and said: "Everyone is now asking for an alliance. You, the State of Qi, think that it is in your own interest not to form an alliance. But we, the State of Jin, want to make an alliance with you, the State of Qi. See if you agree?" Jin's momentum was aggressive. Qi Jinggong said: "The princes from all walks of life asked for an alliance because they were half-hearted. If everyone is united, is there any need for an alliance?"
Shuxiang said with a serious expression: "The decline of the country is because there is no reasonable legal system. Many things become abnormal because of the lack of tribute; with tribute but without etiquette, the order of elders and younger ones is lost. With etiquette, the order of elders and younger ones is lost. If there is no majesty, the order of seniority will not get the respect it deserves. If there is dignity but it cannot be shown, although there is respect for the gods, the gods will not know it. If the gods do not know it, the respect will naturally disappear, and then any Everything we do will not achieve the results we want in our hearts, and the country will decline day by day."
"So the purpose of forming the alliance is to let each vassal state understand their responsibilities and abide by each other's trust. Now, the Jin State presides over the alliance in accordance with traditional etiquette, clarifies each other's rights and obligations, and demonstrates majesty and trust. Now the alliance The sacrifices used in the ceremony have been prepared. Please consider whether to join the alliance." Qi Jinggong felt a panic in his heart after hearing this, and quickly answered his uncle Xiang: "Whether to join the alliance or not is up to the great powers. , as a small country, how dare you not listen? We will definitely join the alliance in accordance with Jin's request, you can just set the time."
Uncle Xiang, who returned to Jin State, said to Duke Zhao of Jin: "Now some of the vassal states are half-hearted and want to rebel. We, Jin State, should take the opportunity of the alliance to show them our military strength and suppress their attempts to rebel." Heart." So Jin Zhaogong led the princes of various princes to review the troops, and the princes of all countries were greatly impressed by the military strength of Jin.
At the beginning of the alliance ceremony, Zichan argued about the ranking order based on the value of the tribute items: "Back then, the Emperor of Zhou established different tribute levels according to the different levels of the feudal princes. The higher the level, the higher the level of tribute. The tribute should be higher, and the small countries surrounding the emperor should pay less tribute. Of course, it is not impossible if these small countries have the strength to pay more and more valuable tributes. But the more noble the status, such as the public If you are a prince, you should pay more; for those with low status, such as Bo Zinan, you should pay less. We, Uncle Zheng, are not princes, so why should we pay so much tribute? This is really unfair, like Zheng A small country like China simply cannot afford it. Besides, if we want to pay tribute, it will take a certain period of time. It is really difficult for us to come up with so much at once. There must be at least a month's deadline."
"The reason why Zheng Guo joined the alliance was to seek the protection of the big countries. If collecting such high tributes all year round will overwhelm these small countries, then what's the point of forming an alliance?"
Finally, Zichan and Jin started negotiations on tribute, which started at noon and ended in the evening. In order to reduce the tribute, Zichan negotiated with the Jin people bit by bit, and the two sides reached an agreement.
After the alliance was formed, the Jin State gained prestige in terms of face, while the Zheng State benefited from Zichan's negotiations. However, Uncle Zi Tai was a little worried about Zichan's rash negotiation with Jin. He was afraid that Zheng's bargaining with Jin would arouse Jin's dissatisfaction and end up sending troops to attack Zheng. Such losses could not be compensated by the saved tribute money. of.
As a seasoned politician, Zichan would naturally think of this issue before negotiating. He thought that the current Jin State was just a skinny camel. To become the ruler of the imperial court. At this stage, how can the Jin people still care about the small Zheng State? That's why he dared to negotiate with Jin boldly.
But not all vassal states have such diplomatic masters as Zichan. The State of Lu was also a small, poor and weak country. It did not have that much money to pay tribute, and more importantly, it lacked a lobbyist to bargain, so the State of Lu stood on the opposite side of the State of Jin. At this time, the kings of Zhu and Ju reported to Jin Zhao that Lu often sent troops to harass their borders. They were bullied by Lu and were about to perish. They used this as an excuse not to pay tribute to Jin. Endowment. Duke Zhao of Jin believed the words of the two monarchs without conducting in-depth investigation. He was very sympathetic to their situation and put all the responsibility on the state of Lu.
After the kings of Zhu and Ju retreated, Duke Zhao of Jin was very angry and expressed that he did not want to see the king of Lu again, so he sent his uncle to Lu and threatened Lu Zhaogong: "We in Jin have four thousand chariots, and we also We can support the people in your country who are against the monarch to rebel, and we can also unite with Zhu and Ju who hate you to attack Lu. We can do whatever we want." Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaogong immediately expressed his surrender to Jin. , obey any orders of Duke Zhao of Jin.
After several days of thinking, Duke Zhao of Lu felt that he had been wronged. In fact, the State of Lu had not invaded the borders of Zhu State and Ju State. It is really hard for people to accept that he has reached the point of being unkind and unjust, and has arrested the minister of Lu State, Ji Sun Yiru. In order to repair the relationship with Jin, Duke Zhao of Lu went to see Duke Zhao of Jin in person. However, when he arrived along the Yellow River, he was blocked by the guards of Jin.
In desperation, Duke Zhao of Lu had to send someone to meet him. The envoy met Jin Zhaogong and said that Jin and Lu had always had friendly relations, and that Jin should not listen to a few small states and fall out with Lu, a brother country. It’s not like the State of Lu failed to pay tribute, so how could the State of Jin listen to the villain’s slander? Lu is also a vassal state with some influence. If it falls to Qi or Chu, what good will it do to Jin?
When Jin Zhaogong heard this, he felt that it made sense. His previous decision was too arbitrary. However, the Jin State has put the Lu State in an opposing position in front of other countries. If it only secretly reconciled with the Lu State, it would be unfair to the Lu State. The State of Lu demanded that Ji Sun Yiru be released and "clear his name" at the alliance meeting. But wouldn't this embarrass the State of Jin? Duke Zhao of Jin was troubled by this diplomatic problem. At this time, Zishu, a minister of the Jin Dynasty, asked his younger brother Shuyu to settle the matter privately.
Shuyu once sought refuge in the State of Lu and had a very good relationship with the monarchs and ministers of the State of Lu. Shuyu said to Jisun Yiru, if you don't leave if you are asked to leave, then you may not be able to return to the State of Lu, but will be resettled in another place. No one knows where exactly, maybe it is a deserted place, maybe it is a deserted place. It’s a cold place, so it’s said that “he who knows the current affairs is a hero”, so it’s better to leave quickly.
After hearing what Shu Yu said, Ji Sun Yiru was also very worried and left quickly. The State of Lu could only endure the insults of the State of Jin.
Since ancient times, the Rong Di and other ethnic minorities have been living in the surrounding areas of the Central Plains, and have been at war with the Huaxia people. In particular, the Di people in the north have been rivals that have troubled the northern vassal states for many years. The Di people are mainly active in today's Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei areas. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, they were very powerful and often invaded Zheng, Yan, Qi and other countries in the Central Plains. The capitals of Xing and Wei were even captured by Rong Di. The Di people are mainly divided into three branches: Bai Di, Red Di and Chang Di. They are all scattered around various countries in the Central Plains. Bai Di was mainly active in the present-day northern Shaanxi and Shanxi Jiexiu areas, and was one of the main enemies of the Jin State.
In "Zuo Zhuan", there are many records of Di's attack on Jin: In the eighth year of Duke Xi of Lu (652 BC), "Di attacked Jin, and Jinli's commander defeated Di in Caisang (now Ningxi, Shanxi Township). ", "In the summer, Di attacked the Jin Dynasty to report on the mulberry picking campaign"; in the 16th year of Duke Xi of Lu (644 BC), "in the autumn, the army invaded the Jin Dynasty, captured Guchu (now northwest of Linfen, Shanxi Province), and entered Fen. and Kundu (now Linfen, Shanxi Province), because of the defeat of Jin"; in the 33rd year of Duke Xi of Lu (627 BC), "Di attacked Jin, and Ji (now Xi County, Shanxi Province)", in August of the same year, The Jin army "defeated Di at Ji, but failed to capture Bai Dizi."
It can be seen that Bai Di was once quite powerful and attacked the Jin State many times. However, in the 33rd year of Duke Xi of Lu (627 BC), the leader of Bai Di was captured by the Jin State, and Bai Di's branch declined. After that, the Bai Di in Shaanxi were attacked by the two great powers Qin and Jin, so they sometimes submitted to Qin and sometimes to Jin. In the eighth year of Lu Xuangong (601 BC), the Di people joined forces with Jin to attack Qin. In the ninth year of Lu Chenggong (582 BC), the Di people turned to attack Jin together with Qin. .
From the third year of Lu Xuangong (606 B.C.) to the third year of Lu Chenggong (588 B.C.), the Jin State also had conflicts with Chi Di who was active in the Changzhi area of Shanxi today. During this period, Chi Di's power was also quite strong. In the sixth year of Lu Xuangong (603 BC), Chidi invaded Jin and besieged Huai and Xingqiu. Subsequently, the Jin State adopted an arrogant and isolated strategy towards Chi Di, which reduced his arrogance. In the third year of Lu Chenggong (588 BC), the Jin State finally wiped out all the Chidi tribes, and then successively wiped out all the Chidi tribes, finally eliminating the Chidi intrusion.
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, the power of the Jin Dynasty's royal family gradually weakened, and the autocratic power of the Qing officials further developed, resulting in frequent internal battles in the Jin Dynasty, and there was no time to worry about dominance among the princes. Therefore, the Jin State focused its power mainly on Bai Di. In the twenty-seventh year of Lu Xianggong (546 BC), after Xiangrong was defeated, the war in the Central Plains subsided slightly. In order to expand their territory to the northeast of Shanxi and enrich themselves, the six ministers of Jin launched a war against the three Baidi tribes who moved eastward. The so-called three tribes of Bai Di are actually three countries established in this area by Bai Di who moved eastward, namely Xianyu, Fei and Gu.
In the first year of Lu Zhaogong (541 BC), Jin general Xun Wu defeated the Wu Zhong tribe and Qun Di in Taiyuan. In the twelfth year of Lu Zhaogong (530 BC), Zhongshan Muzi went to meet the Qi army under the guise of borrowing a road from Xianyu, and took the opportunity to capture Xiyang (now west of Jin County, Hebei Province), destroy Feiguo, and capture Feijun. Mian Gao and brought Mian Gao and his ministers back to Jin. Later, the Jin army took the opportunity to attack Xianyu, but the Xianyu people held on and the Jin army returned without success. In the second year, after Jin held a gathering of princes in Pingqiu, Xun Wu led his army back to Jin and passed through Yongshi. He attacked Xianyu and pursued the Xianyu people to Zhongren (near today's Baoding, Hebei Province). The Jin army returned with a complete victory.
Two years later, Xun Wu led troops to attack the Gu Kingdom belonging to Xian Yu. The Jin army divided into three groups and surrounded the drum army. In the end, the drum army ran out of food and was forced to surrender. In the 22nd year of Lu Zhaogong (520 BC), the drummers rebelled and once again surrendered to Xianyu. Attack and eventually eliminate the Drummen.
Two of the three Bai Di tribes who had moved eastward had been wiped out at this time, while the remaining Xianyu tribe was still quite strong. In the third year of Duke Dinggong of Lu (507 BC), Xianyu took advantage of the opportunity of Jin's troops to move south, launched an attack on Jin, defeated the Jin army in peace, and captured Jin's official Guanhu, which shows the power of Xianyu of strength. The following year, in order to retaliate against Xianyu, the Jin State asked Fan Yang to lead his army and the guards to conquer Xianyu. In the same year, Xianyu established the Zhongshan Kingdom. However, this conquest by the Jin State had no results. During the civil strife in the Jin State ten years later, the Zhongshan State jointly sent troops with Qi, Lu, and Wei to rescue the Fan and Zhonghang families of Jin. During the Warring States Period, the Zhongshan Kingdom still existed and became a powerful northern country besides the Seven Heroes.
In Jin's conquest against Bai Di, they were basically in an advantageous position. However, in addition to war, there were also many reconciliation policies between Jin and Bai Di. The most typical one is the marriage policy, where both parties agree to marry each other. Li Ji, the favorite concubine of Duke Xian of Jin, was from the Rong ethnic group. Dayongzi, the mother of Duke Wen of Jin, and Xiaorongzi, the mother of Prince Yiwu, were also from the Rong ethnic group. In addition to Rong Di women marrying into Jin, some Jin clan girls also married Rong Di leaders. For example, Jin Jinggong's sister married Lu Ziying from the Di tribe. In addition, the Rong Di tribe was also a refuge for Jin ministers who lost in political struggles. Jin Wengong once lived in Di for twelve years when Li Ji conquered the Jin Dynasty. Later, Hu Shegu fought with the Zhao family. After Quan was defeated, he also moved his entire family to Di Kingdom.
In the fourth year of Lu Xianggong (569 BC), Chen State surrendered to Jin State, and the Rong people also came to Jin to seek peace, but Jin Daogong did not want to make peace with the Rong people. However, Wei Jiang advised Duke Dao of Jin not to lose the opportunity to dominate the princes by dealing with the Rong tribe, but to reconcile with the Rong tribe, which would have five major benefits. After hearing what Wei Jiang said, Duke Ao of Jin thought it was reasonable, so he sent people to make peace with the Rong people.
It can be said that it was the reconciliation between Jin and the Rong that enabled Jin to fully compete with Chu for hegemony.
