Ling Yin Family·Part 1·Xing Chu Ling Yin Dou Bobi
Tang Benqing/author
King Ping moved eastward, and the Western Zhou Dynasty returned home. As time went by, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which represented centralized power, also declined. The vassal states relied on the strong to bully the weak, and there were constant disputes. The Chu people, who were greatly discriminated against by the Zhou Dynasty and even the vassal states in the Central Plains, traveled through the mountains and forests, and continued to strive for self-improvement. After years of arduous struggle and hard work, Chu's territory has continued to expand, its national strength has continued to increase, and its influence on neighboring countries has continued to rise. However, the course of history has not been smooth sailing. Just when Fu Mao, the 19th generation king of Chu State, was alternating with the next generation king, the rolling torrent placed a major historical decision in front of everyone. At the critical moment, Xiong Tong, King of Chu Wu who later became the 20th king of Chu State, stood up bravely and shouldered the important historical responsibility. He was another king who rejuvenated the country after Xiong Qu, the ninth king of Chu State, and made outstanding contributions to the development and revitalization of Chu State. As an important adviser, the first Ling Yin Doubi played an important role in advising King Wu of Chu and played an important role in the development and revitalization of Chu State. Their appearance opened the historical curtain of the Chu State's dominance and hegemony... Since then, the Dou family, as a descendant of the Ruao family, a branch of the royal family, has been active in the Chu State's political stage during the Spring and Autumn Period for a century and a half. For a long time, he made important contributions to the revitalization and strength of the country and became one of the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period".
Background: In the autumn of about 760 BC, Yun Ji, the wife of Xiong Yi, the 17th king of the Chu State, left Danyang, the capital of Chu, with her six-year-old son Dou Bobi in order to escape the palace battle and went to her son's fiefdom Dou Yi. The story begins. Expand from here…
1. Interception and Killing in the Valley
On the mountain road leading to Douyi, three carriages drove slowly from east to west, with soldiers on both sides guarding them. Although it has entered late autumn, the midday sun still makes the marching soldiers sweat profusely.
In a car in front, a five or six-year-old boy was nestled in the arms of a woman. This is a mother and son. From their gorgeous clothes, it shows that the mother and son do not come from ordinary families. When the car passed a slope, it bumped a little, and the boy in his arms seemed to be shaken awake. He stood up subconsciously, then lifted the car curtain in front of him, and a desolate scene in the mountains immediately came into view. At this moment, their car was driving on a high cliff. On the left is a bottomless cliff, and on the right is a dangerous peak pointing straight into the sky. The mountains are covered with ancient vines stretching horizontally and vertically, and pine trees everywhere cover the sky and the sun. Except for mandrills and muntjacs, there is no one in the mountains. There is a huge gap between the wilderness of the barbarian land and the prosperity of Chudu. The boy raised his head and asked in a childish voice: "Mom, how far is Dou Yi?"
The woman said: "It's not far. After passing the mountain in front, we might be there."
In fact, Dou Yi is a strange name to both mother and son. They have never heard of it in the past. Except for one of the children of the emperor's family who inherited the throne, the rest were sent to fiefs. This boy was no exception, because he was Xiong Bobi, the second son of Xiong Yi, the seventeenth king of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period. A few years ago, when Chu Jun Xiong Yi, who was already in his 60s, visited the neighboring country of Yun in the northeast, he heard that Yun Ji, the eldest princess of Yun, had the appearance of a moon-shy flower, and he fell in love with her. Yun was a small country next to Chu. At that time, the Duke of Yun wanted to rely on Chu to strengthen his country's prestige, so he agreed to the marriage. Not long after Yun Ji married into Chu State, she gave birth to her son Xiong Bobi. When Bobi Xiong was three years old, Xiong Yi, the king of Chu, died, and his eldest brother Xiong Kan, who was thirty years older than Bobi Xiong, inherited the throne. After Xiong Yi died, he was buried in Ruao, so his posthumous name was respected as Ruao. Not long after Bobi Xiong was born, his mother Yun Ji asked for a title for him, and the fiefdom was in Douyi, west of Chu State. In fact, Xiong Yi had a purpose in setting Bobi's fiefdom in Douyi, because it was not far from Yun Ji's natal country, Yun State, and he might be able to take care of him in the future. People at that time usually took their fiefdom as their surname, so Bobbi Xiong was also called Bobbi Dou. After the new king Xiong Kan ascended the throne, Yun Ji knew that the harem was dangerous and worried that future palace disputes would be detrimental to mother and son, so she had to leave Danyang, the capital of Chu, with her son and go to Douyi, the most remote and barbaric place in Chu at that time.
This was at the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period. As the vassal states became stubborn, the Zhou Dynasty, which represented a symbol of centralized power, had been emptied out and was unable to control and manage the vassal states. Disputes between the vassal states continued one after another, with the big bullying the small and the small. The phenomenon of relying on the strong to bully the weak occurs from time to time. The original surname of the king of Chu was Mi, which was derived from the Xuanyuan family, after Sun Jilian, the ninth generation of the Yellow Emperor in ancient times. According to historical records, the Yellow Emperor gave birth to a total of twenty-five sons, fourteen of whom were named. The eldest son was Shaohao. After the death of Huangdi, he was buried in Qiaoshan. His grandson Zhuanxu succeeded to the throne and built the capital in Gaoyang, which is now Gaoyang County, Hebei Province. After Zhuan Xu's death, his son Emperor Ku ascended the throne, and Emperor Ku appointed Huang Emperor's seventh grandson Wu Hui as the official in charge of heavenly fire and earthly fire, who was later the legendary fire god Zhurong. When Zhu Rong's son Lu Zhong died, he gave birth to six sons. The first was named Kunwu, the second was named Shenhu, the third was named Pengzu, the fourth was named Huiren, the fifth was named Cao, and the sixth was named Cao. His name is Ji Lian, and his surname is Mi. The Chu people are the descendants of Mi Jilian, so they have the surname Mi.
The ancestors of the Chu people first moved in the Central Plains region of the Yellow River Basin. Amidst the whirlpool of ancient ethnic conflicts and the expulsion of the Shang Dynasty, one of their branches gradually moved south. That is, they migrated from present-day Xinzheng, Henan to southwest Henan and southeast Shaanxi, and arrived at the intersection of Danshui and Xishui in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. Then continue southward, and finally reach the Jingshan area in Hubei Province, where the hills and plains are combined near Jingshan Mountain. Later, at the end of the Shang Dynasty, a person named Mi Xian emerged from the surname Mi, also known as Wan Xiong, Wan Xiongzi, and Wan Zi. He was one of the earliest known Taoist figures. He was very knowledgeable at the beginning of the book. According to historical records, Mi Xian wrote the book "Veng Zi", with a total of twenty-two chapters. Today, "Veng Zi" is only passed down in two volumes. Mi Xian's teachings had a profound influence on the Taoist teachings later established by Laozi, the founder of Taoism. It is said that Mi Xian was ninety years old when he went to see King Wen. King Wen regarded him as his teacher. Later, King Wen's son King Wu and his grandson King Cheng also regarded him as their teacher. In 1042 BC, when King Zhou Cheng enfeoffed a large number of princes with different surnames, Mi Xian had already passed away. His son Mi Xiong Li and grandson Mi Xiong Kuang also died one after another. King Zhou Cheng had no choice but to make his great-grandson Mi Xiong Yi a viscount and live in Danyang. , which is now the Zigui area. Mi Xiongyi's great-grandfather Mi Flea was also known as Wan Xiong, so Mi Xiongyi took his great-grandfather Wan Xiong's name "Xiong" as his surname. When the People's Republic of China was first founded, the State of Chu not only had a low status, but also was a very small country, with an area of only 50 square miles. Although Xiong Yi was made a viscount by the Zhou royal family, he was greatly discriminated against. When the princes gathered in the capital, not only was he not given a seat, he was also assigned to guard the torch in front of the court. After Xiong Yi, the king of Chu who was discriminated against and neglected, returned to his country, he said sadly and solemnly: "The reason why Chu is being bullied by the Central Plains is because the Chu country is poor in wealth and has few soldiers. If you fight with the Central Plains now, you will be destroying yourself." . If you want to survive and not be bullied, you can only start a business together and work hard!"
So a group of civil and military ministers, under his leadership, wearing tattered clothes and pushing a firewood cart made of roadside branches and bamboos, worked with the whole clan to open up wasteland and create wealth in Jingshan Mountain, which has extremely poor natural conditions. After years of hard struggle, Chu's territory continued to expand, its wealth increased, and its military strength continued to increase. While creating wealth and enhancing national strength, Xiong Yi also passed on the spirit of hard work and hard work as the foundation of the country from generation to generation. After Xiong Yi, it passed through Xiong Ai, Xiong Da, Xiong Sheng, and Xiong Yang to Xiong Qu. It took about a century and a half. The situation has greatly improved, showing the momentum of turning from weakness to strength. By the time of the ninth monarch, Xiong Qu, the Chu State took advantage of the weakness of the Zhou royal family and the turmoil in the Central Plains to begin the process of expanding its territory, successively attacking Yongguo (today's Zhushan County, Hubei), Yangyue (today's central Hubei), and Hubei. (today's Ezhou and Wuhan areas in Hubei Province), pushed the power of the Chu State to the Jianghan Plain, making the Chu State gradually prosperous. At that time, when Chu State destroyed a vassal state, it was not to destroy the country, but for the purpose of long-term peace and stability, to preserve its ancestral temple, move the country's monarchs and people to other places, and then establish a city and appease the local people. Dou Yi also came from this.
Sitting in the car behind were the two maids serving Yun Ji. The two maids were given to Princess Yunji by Duke Yun as a dowry when she married into Chu State. Yunji treated them as close as sisters. The person in the car behind who served as the escort was Qu Naifu, a middle-aged general. Qu Nai's father was nine feet tall, with Yao eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and his eyes were like lightning. Qu Nai's father served as a doctor during the reign of King Xiong Yi of Chu, and was the leader of the Royal Forest Army. He was extremely alert and had superb martial arts skills. He was awarded the title of Dou Bobi, so Xiao Ao Xiongkan asked him to serve as his escort and go with him.
When the car reached a slope, a huge boulder suddenly rolled down from the cliff and smashed a carriage in the middle to pieces. When Qu Nai's father saw this, he immediately jumped down from the chariot and quickly stepped in front of the smashed chariot. He saw that the hind legs of the cart were broken and it was struggling violently under the overturned chariot shaft. The two palace maids in the car were smashed to pieces and were already dead. He looked towards the top of the cliff and saw heads moving above. Yun Ji, who was sitting in the car in front, heard the noise and didn't know what happened. She quickly opened the car curtain and was stunned by the tragic scene in front of her. At this moment, arrows were flying like locusts on the cliff. Most of the escorting soldiers were killed and injured, and the driver was also shot to death by random arrows. An arrow shot towards Yun Ji's face. It was too late but not too late, Qu Nai's father stepped forward and blocked it with his body. The arrow did not hurt Yun Ji, but hit Qu Nai's father's left arm. Qu Nai's father reluctantly pulled out an arrow and shot towards the mountain. A black shadow hit the arrow and fell down the cliff. Seeing that the situation was critical, Qu Nai's father jumped onto the carriage that Yun Ji and her son were riding in. The horse neighed, threw its mane and raised its hooves and galloped.
Just after turning a corner, a group of people blocked the way at the intersection ahead. Who is this person? Why intercept them? Qu Nai's father was puzzled.
The person blocking the way was a big black man, more than ten feet tall, with a face like the bottom of a pot, bulging eyes and a beard. He was wearing a black robe and holding a double-celestial halberd. He looked like an evil Tai Sui. He shouted to this side: "General Qu, we'll wait." I know you are a good man and cannot bear to hurt you. As long as the mother and son are left in the car, you and the rest can leave!"
It turned out that they were coming for Yun Ji's mother and son, and now Qu Nai's father was even more confused. Yun Ji is gentle and virtuous, and she has never fought against the world. His son Bo was no more than a five- or six-year-old baby, and he was less likely to offend or hinder anyone. The gang first hit the car with rocks. Fortunately, the two cars switched places midway, and then set up an ambush to intercept and kill him. What was the reason? What kind of purpose?
