I, compose the 5000 years of China

Chapter 310 The king of Chu lifted the table and stopped playing with Zhou Tianzi... (subscription required)
"It's just that although Xiong Yi founded the Chu State, there is only one country in the Chu State that is less than 50 miles away. This 50 miles was the measurement unit in the Zhou Dynasty at that time. Now, it is more than 20 square kilometers. The entire Chu State is basically equivalent to A slightly larger village is so big. Therefore, Chu State still has no status for the Zhou Dynasty. But it doesn’t matter, this is much better than it was back then. At least, Xiong Yi established his own country, and it seems that it was also ruled by Zhou Dynasty. The dynasty accepted it. So, that year, Xiong Yi brought tribute to the Zhou dynasty to pay tribute."

"Originally, Xiong Yi thought that when he went to the capital, he would be able to sit on an equal footing with other princes of the Zhou Dynasty. Even if their status is not very high, their strength is not very strong, but at least their status is the same. However, let Xiong Yi not What comes to mind is that when Xiong Yi came to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor of Zhou did not invite Xiong Yi to participate in the alliance of princes. Not only did he not invite Xiong Yi, but instead let Xiong Yi take charge of the wine shrinking ceremony, and later let him guard the fire to sacrifice to heaven. Such a position, In fact, it is equivalent to a job of a waiter, not a job done by the king of a country."

"This made Xiong Yi's self-esteem extremely insulted. It also reminded Xiong Yi of his great-grandfather's situation when he followed King Wu of Zhou to defeat Zhou. It turned out that they were Chu people who were actually from the Central Plains. It was only because of their blood with the Shang Dynasty It’s different. In the end, they were chased by the Shang Dynasty continuously, and then they fled to Chu. For hundreds of years, the Chu people have always dreamed of returning to the Central Plains and being recognized by the people of the Central Plains. It’s a pity that even if the Chu people helped King Wu of Zhou Crusade against the Shang Dynasty, but the Zhou Dynasty did not pay much attention to the Chu people. Even, they still regarded the Chu people as barbarians."

"It's just that Xiong Yi is an extremely forbearing monarch. Although he feels that his self-esteem has been insulted, he also knows that the strength of the Chu people is still very weak at this time. Not only are they not the opponents of Zhou Tianzi, they are also not the same as the princes. opponent. There is no way, he can only endure it and do things that the king of a country should not do."

Chen Fan slowly talked about the founding history of Chu State.

It is different from many Zhou Dynasty vassal states.

All the vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty were either of the Zhou Dynasty's own blood, or some in-laws, and some were great heroes at the time, like Jiang Ziya.

However, the Zhou Dynasty naturally did not pay attention to vassal states like the Chu State that did not belong to the blood of the Zhou royal family and did not make any great achievements.

also.

In addition to the issue of ancestry, there is also a cultural difference.

Although Chu people were originally authentic Central Plains people, after they moved to Chu, they have been gradually influenced by Chu culture.And this kind of culture has accumulated to a certain extent, then, after hundreds of years, the culture of Chu State is very different from the culture of the Central Plains.Therefore, the major vassal states in the Central Plains did not recognize the Chu people, and always regarded him as a barbarian.

"The history of the founding of Chu State is really difficult."

"Well, if you want resources but you don't have resources, you need connections but you don't have connections, and you don't even get approval, what can people from Chu do?"

"Seeing the current environment of the Chu people, and thinking about how Chu became a superpower later on, I really can't believe it. Chu people, how did they develop from a poor and a poor country to a superpower?"

For Chen Fan's explanation, everyone was eye-opening.

At the same time.

They also became more interested in Chu people's road to self-improvement.

after all.

It is normal for a rich second generation to become a powerful country.

Just like Qi.

They are already strong and capable, even if the monarchs behind them don't need to work hard, they are still strong.

But Chu State is different.

People are simply poor second generations.

Not only the poor second generation, but their status and class are different from those of the major vassal states in the Central Plains.

The story of such a poor boy finally getting rich is even more attractive.

"However, being regarded as a barbarian by the major vassal states of the Central Plains is not necessarily a bad thing. On the bright side, the Zhou Dynasty and the vassal states of the Central Plains did not pay much attention to Chu, nor did they deal with them much, and they did not even think about Chu. This part of the country. This also allowed Chu to have a very long period of self-development. Although the conditions in Chu are relatively difficult, the people of Chu have exerted their hard-working spirit and continued to develop in Chu."

"In fact, although the Chu land has always been regarded as a barbarian by the vassal states of the Central Plains, they have always believed that the Chu land has no resources. But in fact, the Chu land has not been developed. It has sufficient water sources and a good climate environment. Among Chu people Thanks to the hard work of the state, the land of Chu gradually became prosperous. At the same time, because the Zhou Dynasty did not pay much attention to the state of Chu, gradually, the people of Chu did not pay much tribute to the Zhou Dynasty."

"This aroused the anger of the Zhou Dynasty. For this reason, King Zhao of Zhou personally marched south to attack Chu. Of course, this was not just a crusade against Chu. In Chu, besides Chu, there were other people who were regarded as barbarians by the Zhou Dynasty. King Zhao of Zhou achieved great victories in both the first and second expeditions to the south. But the third time, there are fewer records in the history books. Although many history books also believe that King Zhou Zhao’s third south expedition The expedition was also a victory, but in the third southern expedition, King Zhou Zhao died during the southern expedition."

There are many theories about the death of King Zhou Zhao.

One is that after the victory of King Zhou Zhao, because a large number of bronze wares were seized, the ship's branches disintegrated for a while, and finally fell into the water and died.

Another theory is that on the way back to the teacher, there was a sudden natural disaster, the ship capsized, and King Zhao of Zhou fell into the water.

Another theory is that King Zhou Zhao was secretly tampered with by the Chu people, and finally let the boat disintegrate.

But no matter what.

King Zhou Zhao died during the third Southern Expedition.

"The death of King Zhou Zhao was a very heavy blow to the Zhou Dynasty. Although on the surface, the Zhou Dynasty won the Southern Expedition. However, through these few battles, this also made the people of Chu discover that the original Zhou Dynasty It is not as powerful as imagined. Even the Chu people did not expect that they would be able to defeat the mighty Zhou Dynasty one day, or be able to compete with them. Through this battle, it also made the Chu people deeply understand a Reason. Only when you are strong, can you protect yourself. Only when you are strong, you will not be bullied by the Zhou Dynasty and other countries in the Central Plains. Only when you are strong, all status, all identities, and all recognition will follow."

"And when the state of Chu came to Xiongqu, Xiongqu directly called himself a barbarian and did not share the name of China. At this time, the people of Chu were truly awakened. They no longer wanted to be recognized by the emperor of Zhou, nor did they want to be recognized by the vassal states of the Central Plains. Even at this time, they still called themselves barbarians, and drew a clear line with Zhou Tianzi and various vassal states in the Central Plains. However, during the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty was in decline. Chu State, under the leadership of Xiong Qu, successively captured Yong State, Yang Yue, and E State have pushed Chu State's sphere of influence to the Jianghan Plain."

"Not only that. While Xiong Qu's power expanded, Xiong Qu did something deviant.

"He entrusted his three sons successively as kings."

Yes.

is the king.

When they heard this, all the students in the audience let out a wow, and instantly boiled up.

"I'll go, only Zhou Tianzi can be called king. The others are princes, at most they are princes, or they are princes."

"Yes, the highest title of the king of Chu is not even a marquis, but a viscount. Now being a king, does it mean that he is directly equal to the emperor of Zhou?"

"Now I understand why all the later kings of the Chu Kingdom are called King X of Chu, while the kings of other vassal states are called Dukes."

"Isn't that obvious. Damn, if you, Emperor Zhou, don't take me to play, and I overturn the table, then I won't play with you, I'll play alone."

have to say.

Xiong Qu's pioneering work had a great influence on Chu State.

This also gave Chu State the ambition to conquer the world for the first time.

Although later, after King Zhou Li ascended the throne, Xiong Qu canceled the title of king for his three sons.

But later King Wu of Chu inherited Xiong Qu's mantle and officially became king.

"How should I put it? The strength of the Chu State was stimulated by the internal and external environment. In addition, this is also related to the culture of the Chu State. We all know that the people of Chu were not originally from the south. They are from the Central Plains, and they have the same ancestors as all the vassal states in the Central Plains. Therefore, Qu Yuan wrote in his Lisao that Emperor Gaoyang is the descendant of Miao Xi, which means that Qu Yuan is the descendant of the ancient emperor Gaoyang. And Qu Yuan has the same surname and the same ancestor as the king of Chu, so the Chu people and the Central Plains people also have the same ancestor."

"But culture will change. Originally, when Chu people came to Chu, they still adopted the Central Plains culture for a short period of time. However, after arriving in Chu, because of the environment of Chu, the customs of Chu, and the In the end, a unique culture of Chu was formed. This culture is already different from the culture of the Central Plains. Compared with the etiquette emphasized by the Zhou Dynasty, the culture of the Chu people is more Simple and effective. Or, they no longer obey the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty, or even don’t care about the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty. Because of this, Xiong Qu took the measure of dividing his three sons into kings. This is impossible for the country. Even if Duke Huan of Qi is so powerful, he would not dare to do this, and he still has to maintain the dignity of Emperor Zhou."

"This cultural difference not only makes Chu people no longer abide by the etiquette of Zhou Tianzi. At the same time, Chu people have a more efficient management model. For example, for the king's ascension to the throne. Generally speaking, the king's The succession system is the eldest son system, which means that the eldest son of the direct line inherits. Although this model has many shortcomings, it is more convenient, and it is not easy for the throne to be contested. Because he has determined who will inherit the throne from the beginning, and the others If you want to fight for it, it would be unfair. Therefore, although this model has a lot of shortcomings. But in order to maintain the rule, basically the Zhou Dynasty and all the vassal states implemented it in this way. But the Chu State is different..."

"The people of Chu clearly discovered that the system of eldest sons has a very big flaw. This flaw is that once the heir is a fool, he will still inherit the position of monarch because he is the eldest son. This is very important for those who have This is unacceptable to the people of Chu who want to take control of the Central Plains again. Therefore, after Xiong Qu's death, his sons clashed for the position of king. In the end, Xiong Qu's youngest son killed My second brother has become the king of Chu."

Such a change caught the students unexpectedly.

A student raised his hand and asked, "Teacher Chen Fan, wouldn't this kind of strife between monarchs plunge Chu into chaos? How strong is Chu?"

have to say.

Good question.

Chen Fan nodded and replied: "Generally speaking, if there is a conflict in the position of the monarch of a country, it will affect the development of a country to a large extent. Just like Qi Huan after the death of Duke Huan of Qi, all the His son fought for the position of king, and Qi State declined. But Chu State is different, because Chu people have stronger personalities. Basically, as long as he wants to grab the position of king, he is very capable and ambitious. In order to divert the attention of the people when he snatched the position of the monarch, the monarch of the Chu Kingdom was even more determined to become stronger and devoted all his energy to governing the country. In this way, although the monarch of the Chu Kingdom has been constantly But every contender has allowed the strength of Chu State to develop tremendously for a long time."

This is what makes Chu State different.

If other vassal states of the Central Plains fight for the position of king, the country may be destroyed.

But Chu State is different.

The more the monarchs of Chu fought for the position, the stronger their national power became.

"In this way, the king of Chu State was passed on to King Wu of Chu during the struggle all the way. Well, in fact, the position of King Wu of Chu was also obtained by killing his nephew, so that he became king himself. But even so, Chu Wu But King Wu knew it. It doesn’t matter if he robbed the position of the king, if he robbed the position of the king but didn’t make the state of Chu strong, then he would be a sinner.”

"For this reason, King Wu of Chu carried out a series of reforms. His biggest move was to launch the first county in Chinese history. Yes, the system of prefectures and counties did not start from the Qin Dynasty, but from the State of Chu It was the first to implement it. And why it was implemented is also very simple. Previously, the emperor of Zhou divided the countries, and the countries were relatively obedient to the emperor of Zhou in a short period of time. But after a long time, they began to ignore the emperor of Zhou. And the vassal states received After enfeoffing the land, they generally imitated the emperor of Zhou and enfeoffed the various doctors who served them. As a result, these doctors became stronger and stronger later, but they were not controlled by the monarch. So in the end it evolved into Tian's Dai Qi, The three families are divided into Jin."

"King Wu of Chu saw such disadvantages a long time ago, so he established Quanxian County after destroying Quanguo. County originally means hanging, which means that the county has always been hanging in the hands of the king and is under the management of the king. County The highest officials of the county, they only have the right to manage the county and have no ownership. It is through such reforms that the political system of the entire Chu State is suddenly superior to the northern Central Plains vassal states. This also gives the future of the Chu State A strong foundation has been laid.”

At this moment.

Listening to Chu State's series of measures, the students, the fans in the live broadcast room, and the leaders at the scene all exclaimed inwardly.

"Wonderful, wonderful."

"I didn't expect Chu to go through so much."

"It's no wonder that Chu State can become a powerful country. With the prefecture and county system alone, it is ahead of all other vassal states."

At the same time.

This is for the leaders of the Chu land.

They also gained a lot from the system reform of Chu State explained by Chen Fan.

This also made them nod secretly.

For a country to be strong and a region to be rich and strong, a superior system is more effective than any management.

(End of this chapter)