China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 6

In the end, Taibo resolutely took his second younger brother Zhongyong away from Zhoudi in order to get rid of other people's idea of ​​proclaiming him king, and rushed to the wild land in the southeast far away from his hometown.Seeing that Tai Bo was determined, the people of the Zhou tribe had no choice but to enshrine Ji Li as king.This is the story of the famous "Tai Bo Rang King" in history.Although Taibo lived in a barbarian land, he was able to mingle with the local people, gradually made contributions in Wu, and was proclaimed king, with the country name "Wu", and he was the ancestor of Wu.

●Zhouji calendar opens up new territories

Zhou and Shang had a relationship very early on.In the inscriptions of Wu Dingshi, there are records of "Ling Zhouhou" and "Pu (cutting) Zhou". "Book of Changes" records that Wu Ding defeated ghosts, Zhou people also participated, and was rewarded by Shang for his military exploits.These historical materials show that Zhou Zhiwan had accepted the title of Border Marquis of the Shang Dynasty when he was in Wuding.

After Ji Li ascended the throne, he continued to develop production, and Zhou's strength grew day by day.At that time, the king of Shang was Wu Yi.Wu Yi once granted Ji Li the power of conquest to assist Yin Shang in conquest of the Quartet.Ji Li led the army to destroy Cheng in the west (now Xianyang, Shaanxi) and attack Yiqu (now Guyuan, Ningxia) in the north, and captured the leader of Yiqu alive and dedicated it to Wu Yi.

When Wu Yi's son Wen Ding became the king of Shang, he appointed Ji Li as the "pastor", that is, the leader of the princes, and let him take charge of the conquest in the western part of the Shang Dynasty.With the power of conquest and a famous army, Ji Li began to send troops in large numbers, surrendering Shihu Zhirong, Yitu Zhirong and other tribes. His prestige was greatly boosted. Many nearby tribes took the initiative to vote, and the strength of the Zhou tribe grew rapidly.

Of course, during Ji Li's reign, the main targets of attack were the northern tribes in Shanxi. Although they had many tribes, they did not have a strong state power. Their forces were scattered and they were easier to conquer.

It was absolutely correct for the Zhou people to choose these weak tribes as targets of conquest when they opened up their territories.Moreover, these Rong people invaded everywhere and threatened the Yin and Shang regimes. These military actions of the Zhou tribe were naturally approved by the King of Shang.Through these wars, the actual power of the Zhou tribe was greatly strengthened, and their status in many Shang kingdoms was also greatly improved.

Later, Shang Wang Wending died of Ji Li.However, Ji Li's death did not weaken Zhou's strength. On the contrary, Zhou's successor Wen Wang Jichang developed great hostility towards Shang.Moreover, having learned the lessons of his predecessors, Ji Chang has been very wary of Shang ever since.In order not to repeat the tragedy of his ancestors, Ji Chang has always adopted a low-key strategy to divert the attention of Shang and Zhou, and at the same time secretly expanded his own strength, and later successfully overturned the rule of the Shang Dynasty.

●Wen Wang of Zhou worked diligently to resolve differences
After Ji Li's death, his son Ji Chang succeeded to the throne as Xibo, the famous King Wen of Zhou.On the one hand, King Wen inherited the governance policy of Hou Ji and Gong Liu, that is, to develop agriculture; on the other hand, according to the methods of Gu Gong Dan Fu and Ji Li, he tried his best to govern the state of Zhou to avenge the killing of his father by the Shang Dynasty.When governing the government, he kept in mind the legacy of the ancient father and his father, recruited talents widely, and respected those with real talents and learning, even entertaining "talented talents" even if they didn't have time to eat lunch.According to the records of "Historical Records": King Wen "followed Houji and Gongliu's career, followed the law of Gugong and Gongji, benevolent, respecting the elderly, and being kind to the few. The sages under the courtesy, have no time to eat and treat scholars, and scholars return to them more .”

At that time, many well-known capable people went to the state of Zhou to belong to him when they heard the news that King Wen of Zhou Guangqiu was seeking "talented talents". Even the famous ministers of the Shang Dynasty also went to the state of Zhou.King Zhou was licentious and immoral, and his minister Xin Jia had tried to remonstrate him many times, but he had no choice but to speak harshly. The fatuous and tyrannical King Zhou didn't listen to him at all, and even sent someone to kill Xin Jia.Seeing that the situation was not good, Xin Jia abandoned business and went to Zhou in order to avoid the disaster of killing himself.King Wen of Zhou greeted Xin Jia in person, treated him like a god, and made him a minister.Like Xin Jia, Ge Zi was also a courtier of the Shang Dynasty. It is said that he had advised King Zhou 75 times, but King Zhou ignored it at all.Therefore, Pengzi also came to Zhou and was reused by King Wen of Zhou.In addition, Tai Dian, who used to hunt as a career, was also a virtuous person in the world. After being discovered by King Wen of Zhou, he took the initiative to invite him to be an official in the court, not because of his humble background.

As a result, outstanding talents at that time, such as Hong Tian, ​​San Yisheng, Jiao Ke, etc., all defected to King Wen of Zhou.King Wen of Zhou was as good as he was, inspecting them separately and appointing them according to their ability. "The Book of Songs · Daya · Xibo" said: "Jiji toast, Xibo Yining." Soon there was a grand occasion of talents in the state of Zhou.With the assistance of these sages, King Wen of Zhou formulated and adopted a series of policies and measures beneficial to the development of the country.The land of the state of Zhou was originally fertile and suitable for farming, and the people of Zhou were good at planting, so agriculture developed unprecedentedly.King Wen of Zhou took protecting the interests of the people as the starting point, governed the people with virtue, and adopted many policies to enrich the people by developing production.For example, people are allowed to hunt in the mountains and forests, fish in rivers and swamps, and so on.The strength of the Zhou clan is growing stronger and stronger, and they are constantly expanding their territory.

●Ji Chang imprisoned as Zhou Yi
Jichang, King Wen of Zhou, implemented moral government, developed production, and recruited talents in Zhou, which attracted the attention of some other princes at that time.

Chonghou Hu, a prince of the Shang Dynasty, received a report from his fiefdom (Huxian County, Shaanxi Province), saying that King Wen of Zhou at the foot of Qishan Mountain in the west was practicing benevolence and righteousness, and his power was expanding rapidly.Chonghouhu didn't dare to neglect, and hurried to Chaoge to report the situation to King Feng, so as to show his merits.

After hearing this, King Zhou ordered Xibochang to come to Chaoge to have an audience, and then "imprisoned Xibo in Xianli" (now north of Tangyin, Henan), that is to say, put Xibo in prison. This test lasted for seven years.King Wen of Zhou was imprisoned, and he had nothing to do every day, so he transformed the gossip created by Fuxi into eight eight sixty-four hexagrams, and made hexagrams and lines for it, representing everything, endless, and containing the information of yin and yang. machine.In this way, the "Book of Changes" was formed, and this book had a huge influence on Chinese culture later.

●Bo Yi Kao sacrificed his life to save his father

When Xibo was imprisoned, Zhou's officials were of course extremely anxious.Bo Yikao is the eldest son of King Wen. When he learned that his father was imprisoned, he decided to go to Chaoge to meet King Zhou, hoping to rescue his father.Minister San Yisheng strongly objected after hearing about this incident. He thought that King Zhou was fatuous and immoral, and he didn't care about the words of the old ministers around him. With the qualifications of Boyi Kao, going to Chaoge would be tantamount to moths flying into the flames and seeking their own death.Bo Yikao said: "I think King Zhou is a lustful man, why don't you give him some beauties and gold and silver treasures, maybe he can bring my father back."

Everyone thinks this method is good.But some ministers thought that it might not be enough to just give Zhou these things, and he might not be willing to let Xibo back.This sentence reminded Bo Yikao, he said: "I think the only way to get my father back is to take me as a hostage." At that moment, he decided to go by himself.The ministers thought it was inappropriate to do so, fearing that not only Xibo could not be exchanged, but also Bo Yikao might not be able to return.But Bo Yikao's determination was made, and no one else could stop him.

Bo Yikao came to Shang, offered gifts to Zhou, and said that he was punished on behalf of his father.But the cunning and vicious Zhou not only did not release Xibo, but also detained him.Later, Zhou ordered him to drive a horse for himself.

Once, Zhou heard people say that many people now say that Xibo is a saint. He was furious when he heard it, and said, "What kind of saint is he? I will kill his son and feed him to see if he knows."

Poor Bo Yikao not only failed to save his father, but also lost his own life.When killing Boyikao, Zhou asked him if he regretted throwing himself into the trap, and Boyikao said, "For the sake of my father's survival, why should I regret it? I regret that I can't kill you with my own hands."

The meat of Bo Yi Kao was made into cakes and sent to Xibo in prison.At this time, Xibo already knew that his good son had been brutally murdered. Looking at his son's flesh, he seemed to be very calm, took a piece of cake, and ate it with big mouthfuls.He knew in his heart that he had to endure the most unbearable thing in the world.After the visitor left, he vomited out all the food he ate with tears in his eyes.He prayed to the sky, and he hoped that the sky would forgive him for his sins.

Here, King Zhou laughed wildly when he knew that Xibo ate his own son's flesh, and said, "Whoever said that Xibo was a saint who ate his own son's flesh didn't know that yet."

One day, Xibo's four ministers Taidian, Hongyao, San Yisheng and Nangongshi went to see him.Surveillance was very strict at that time, and Xibo couldn't speak a single word of truth to them. He blinked his right eye at the four of them, meaning: Zhou is a womanizer, hurry up and give him beautiful women; Belly, meaning: This stupid king wants the most precious treasure in the world; finally stood up and walked a few steps quickly, which means: You must act quickly.The four ministers understood the meaning of Xibo's actions, and finally they nodded and left the prison.

After they returned to Zhou, they searched for beautiful women and gathered treasures.San Yisheng went to the Quanrong country in the west, and found a BMW. It was white all over, but had a red mane around its neck.He went to Youhua country again, and found dozens of beauties, all of whom were like angels.Nangong Shi waited and gathered a large number of treasures.

Finally, they filled dozens of carts and gave them to Zhou.When King Zhou saw the gold and silver treasures, he was already smiling; seeing so many beauties again, he was even more fascinated; when he saw the BMW, he was so surprised that he almost fell to his knees and shouted: "Who is this?" Your treasure?" San Yisheng hurried forward and said, "It was sent by Xibo to atone for his own sin." Zhou was in a good mood at that time, and he let Xibo go.Before leaving, he also said to Xibo: "I think you are an honest man, and you are all bad things said by that Chonghou tiger, otherwise why would I lock you here." He also gave Xibo a bow and arrow, a big axe, and Allow him to have the power to crusade against princes.He was completely bewitched by Sieber's scheme.

Xibo returned to Zhou and was warmly welcomed by the people.Since then, he has devoted himself to the preparations for the destruction of business.

●Jiang Taigong Weihe Fishing
During the period of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, Jiang Ziya often went fishing by the Weihe River when he had nothing to do. He used a straight hook and never put bait on the hook.While fishing, he sang: "Grandpa Jiang fishes, and those who wish to take the bait." Although he did not catch a fish for several days, he still came to the Weihe River to fish on time every day. Jiang Taigong's behavior finally attracted people's attention.One day, a woodcutter named Wu Ji sat beside Jiang Taigong curiously and chatted with him.Jiang Taigong introduced himself and said: "The old man's surname is Jiang, his name is Shang and his name is Ziya, and his Taoist name is Feixiong." Wu Ji thought it was ridiculous when he heard that Jiang Taigong called himself "Feixiong".Then he said: "Sitting like your old man sitting by the Weishui River fishing all day long, and using a straight hook, not to mention fish, I'm afraid he can't even catch shrimp. A person who can't even catch fish, how can he be caught by himself?" Flying Bear, it's really ridiculous." Jiang Taigong only smiled faintly after hearing Wu Ji's words.Later, King Wen of Zhou heard that there was an old man fishing with a straight hook by the Weishui River, so he knew that this man must be a genius.So he brought a generous gift to hire Jiang Ziya.After Jiang Ziya entered the court, he was made a grand prince and became a military adviser. Later, he was promoted to a prime minister, and assisted King Wen and King Wu to defeat Zhou and establish the Zhou Dynasty.

●King Wu of Zhou defeated Zhou and destroyed Shang
A few years passed after King Wu of Zhou observed the troops at Mengjin. After offering sacrifices to King Wen, King Wu went east to inspect the troops. When he arrived in Mengjin, he offered King Wen’s corpse, that is, he sat on a high position in disguise as King Wen. For people to sacrifice.He said to his subordinates: "I am Prince Fa. I was ordered by my father, King Wen, to attack Shang. How dare I make my own claims." He also declared to Sima, Sikong, Situ, etc.: "We all have to work hard. He is a person with no achievements, and he only acts according to the virtues of my ancestors. Today, I inherit the methods of my ancestors and set up various systems of rewards and punishments, for the common cause of all of us." After listening to this speech, everyone, They all feel that King Wu is really their master.Jiang Taigong said: "Soldiers, everyone, take action, sail the boat and paddle, those who move slowly will be punished."

So King Wu led his army across the river. In that era, people were very superstitious, and King Wu was no exception. When the boat reached the middle of the river, a big fish suddenly jumped onto King Wu's boat.On the other side, another ball of fire fell from the sky, and when it was about to fall on King Wu's head, it suddenly turned into a crow with a bright red color and a strange cry.King Wu thought it was an unlucky omen, so he led his troops back home.

Two years later, Zhou's rule had reached the point of madness. He killed Bigan and imprisoned Jizi. "King Zhou's crimes are serious, and he has to be eliminated quickly."

So he led tens of thousands of soldiers and more than 300 military vehicles to crusade against Zhou in the east.During the march, King Wu also wrote a "Tai Oath", declaring to everyone: "Now Zhou only listens to his woman Daji, kills himself in heaven, kills his three virtuous officials in a cruel way, and alienates everyone. The relatives below his grandparents abandoned the music of his ancestors and produced a lot of obscene music, so now I, Ji Fa, are going to fight against the sins of this world in place of the heavens, and the victory or defeat depends on it."

Everyone cheered in unison. At this time, the soldiers of King Wu's army were united and their morale was high, which laid the foundation for the victory of the Eastern Expedition.

When King Wu was crossing the river, when he arrived at Mengjin, a strong wind suddenly blew up, and big waves rolled up in the river. With a yellow ax in his left hand and a white flag in his right hand, he waved it back and forth in the wind and said, "I am now leading the soldiers of the Son of Heaven, following God's will, who dares to stop me!"

So the strong wind stopped, and the waves in the river disappeared, and the soldiers felt very strange.

More than two months later, they arrived at the outskirts of Chaoge where King Zhou of Shang was. King Wu held a swearing-in meeting with a big yellow ax in his left hand and a white banner in his right. Those who don’t announce the dawn, the hen will go bankrupt when the hen announces the dawn’. Now King Zhou of Shang only listens to women’s words, only cares about sex all day long, and ignores the government. He treats the people cruelly, and they have no way of life. Zhou, this is something that is in accordance with the destiny and people's hearts. You must work hard. Otherwise, we will be sorry to the people, our ancestors, and even more to the sky."

After taking the oath, the armies of the princes assembled tens of thousands of people and four thousand chariots, and they stood in Muye to fight Zhou to the death.It is only 70 miles away from Chaoge where King Zhou was.

When King Zhou heard that King Wu had raised troops to attack him so soon, he pulled him back from the gentle and rich hometown of Lutai to the cruel reality, and hurriedly dispatched troops to fight.But his elite troops could not be mobilized at all for a while, so he had to arm a large number of slaves and prisoners of war and marched to the pastures in embarrassment.

Just as the horn of battle sounded, Jiang Taigong rushed forward with hundreds of elite soldiers, and King Zhou dispatched thousands of troops to fight.After several rounds of battle, Jiang Taigong's troops gradually lost to King Zhou's soldiers, so he led the troops to flee to his own camp.When King Zhou saw Jiang Taigong's defeat, he immediately ordered the whole army to fight and chase him to a valley.Suddenly, a sound like thunder sounded from here, and King Wu's soldiers and horses rushed out from all corners of the mountain together, and the merchants and soldiers were in chaos for a while.

Not only were these soldiers assembled improvised, but King Zhou did a lot of evil, and the slaves hated him deeply.King Zhou ordered them to charge, but they didn't move forward; no matter how urgent the drums were, they turned against each other and shot arrows at King Zhou's troops. In this way, tens of thousands of soldiers collapsed.Seeing that the situation was not good, King Zhou immediately killed a bloody road and ran away on horseback.

Zhou fled back to the city, boarded the deer platform, put on splendid clothes, gathered the treasures of the deer platform together, sighed, and ordered his men to set up dry firewood, and burned him, together with the things he had looted from the people. Countless treasures were sent to heaven together.

King Wu led his soldiers and horses to attack Chaoge, only to see black smoke billowing in the city, and the soldiers reported that Zhou committed suicide by throwing himself into the fire.King Wu and the princes entered the city, and when they came to King Zhou's body, they shot three arrows at him, then cut off his head and hung it on the big white flag to show the public.

The soldiers found Daji's body on a big tree again. This woman, who had brought disaster to the country and the people, had hanged herself.King Wu also shot three arrows at her body, cut off the head and hung it on a small white flag for public display.

●Wu Wang Jian Zhou feudal princes
After King Zhou of Shang was completely wiped out, King Wu entered the capital of Shang and divided the territory of Shang into three states: Bei, Yong and Wei. Xian and Cai Shudu were controlled separately, and they were collectively called the Three Supervisors. In addition, it was said that Guan Shu Jianwei, Cai Shu Jianyong, and Huo Shu Jian Bei, to monitor Wu Geng.After the arrangements were made, King Wu sent troops to conquer the princes of the Shang Dynasty who had not yet surrendered. According to records, there were 99 conquerors and 652 kingdoms.In the fourth year of King Wu (about 1066 BC), King Wu returned to the west and held a large-scale ceremony in his newly moved capital, Haojing (Zongzhou, now east of Fengshui, northwest of Chang'an, Shaanxi), officially announcing the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty.

After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the political situation faced was very severe. King Wu ruled such a large area as the king of a "small state", and the princes rebelled at any time.In order to consolidate the regime and adapt to the needs of the new situation, King Wu decided to reward according to merit, straighten out the internal relations of the ruling group, and implement the enfeoffment political system centered on the Zhou royal family.First of all, the main heroes who were awarded are: Jiang Taigong, Zhou Gongdan, Zhao Gongshuang and others.In order to control the vast newly conquered areas, the Zhou Dynasty still followed the method of the enfeoffment system of the Shang Dynasty, entrusting the royal family, meritorious officials and nobles of the previous generation to various places as vassals and established vassal states.There are 71 vassal states including Lu, Qi, Yan, Wei, Jin, Song, and Guo that have been granted successively.The feudal vassals have their own army and people, but they must be responsible to the emperor of Zhou, wait for the dispatch and rewards and punishments of the emperor, and pay tribute and congratulations to the emperor regularly.

Duke Zhou vomits candied fruit three times a day
Duke Zhou was gifted and intelligent, with outstanding talents. He grew up in the royal family and received a lot of teachings from the late King Wen.When King Wu was dying, he entrusted the infant Prince Ji Song and military affairs to Duke Zhou.Zhou Gong buried King Wu and made Ji Song the emperor, who became King Zhou Cheng.Because King Cheng was young, Duke Zhou took care of all the affairs of the country, big or small.

(End of this chapter)