There are four place names in Duan Yanyu by Zheng Boke, namely: Zhi, Jing, Yan and Gong. Let's take a closer look at the location of these four place names on the map and what kind of relationship they have with the geographical structure of Zheng State. (see the picture below)
First, the background of Zhuang Gong's accession to the throne
My mother sincerely hopes that her youngest son Duan will inherit the throne, but the problem is that she doesn't agree with this. Especially when Zheng Wugong died, Zhuang Gong, who succeeded him, had just turned 15 years old (nominal age). In the eyes of the ancients, this age can only be regarded as "the year of dancing elephants", that is, just enough to go to the battlefield, and Duan's age is obviously underage (three years younger than Zhuang Gong).
It is not a good decision to hand over a newly stabilized new country to a minor son, besides, it is against etiquette. From this perspective, it is reasonable that Mrs. Wu Jiang's request has not been met.
However, there are always variables in the battle for the throne. Even before the royal family moved to the capital, there were palace coups in various countries. For Zhuang Gong, his growing younger brother is his biggest threat.
Second, Wujiang's thinking and Zhuang Gong's response
When Zhuang Gong ascended the throne, Duan was only eleven or twelve years old. At this time, it is not a good idea to plan a coup mainly with him. So it is a safe way to find a fief with geographical potential for him and accumulate strength.
Wujiang's fief chosen for his youngest son is called Zhi, which is Hulao Pass, the hometown of Dongguo. Zhuang Gong, who was not loved by his mother since childhood, certainly understood the meaning. Giving such an important strategic place to his political opponent is tantamount to giving his life to the other side.
Therefore, Zhuang Gong refused this request in a tactful way. According to historical records, it is "the system, the rock city, the uncle's death, the city is smooth." Hulao Pass is a dangerous place, and the monarch of Dongguo died because of it (that is, I don't want my brother to take risks). If I want to go somewhere else, I will listen to my mother.
We know that the core area of the new "Zheng" country is the hometown of Dongguo and Taiguo. Among them, there are three most important cities, and the northernmost one is "Hulao Pass" (also called "controlled" by Zheng people); In the middle is the capital "Beijing", which was first built eastward; At the southernmost tip is Xinzheng, a new capital built by Zheng people near Guodu.
Since the "system" land has been rejected by Zhuang Gong, and the reason seems so cordial. However, it is unconventional to "rob the building" from Zhuanggong and take the capital "Xinzheng" as the fief of Duan, no matter from which aspect. So no matter who it is, it will lock the second plan in "capital".
Thanks to the careful management of Wu Heng and Kung Fu, the scale of "Beijing" has been very grand. So that when the administrative level was designated as "county" in later generations, a wall had to be built in the middle of the city so that it would not exceed the size of a "county" city. If such a large-scale city located in the center of the core area is handed over to Duan, the risk index will not be lower than the "controlled" land. It's just that since Zhuang Gong has promised his mother, he can only accept such a result.
It is quite possible that Wujiang wanted a "capital city" at that time, because this city located in the center of the state of Zheng was better able to cut the land that Zhuanggong could control, and it was only a skill to put forward that "controlling" the land first. This practice of setting traps for each other. No matter in life or in shopping malls, it is not uncommon.
? Three. The function of paragraphs and Zhuang Gong's response
The final result is also in favor of "Duan". After occupying the center of Zheng, Duan naturally began to eat into the north and the west. If nothing happens, Zheng will split north and south and form a confrontation. There is no similar case to follow for Wu Jiang and his beloved little son. Because at the same time, a small clan drama is being staged in the State of Jin, and the nobles of the State of Jin, known as "Uncle Qu Wohuan", took the lead in challenging the throne, which undoubtedly has the power of example. (Note: Uncle Quwo Huan was awarded Quwo in 745 BC, and Zheng Zhuanggong succeeded to the throne in 743 BC).
We don't know when Duan was sealed as Beijing, but in 722 BC, the contradiction between the two sides finally began to break out. It has been 23 years since Zheng Zhuanggong succeeded to the throne. For Duan, he needs time to accumulate strength. For Zhuang Gong, he also needs time to lay out.
Although in later generations, the emperor often only needs to find someone who has an attempt to rebel, he will ruthlessly kill it in the bud. At this time, the blood relationship with the emperor will not be a straw to save lives. On the contrary, many times, this is the cause of fatal disasters. However, when Zhou's etiquette is still in full swing, he is unwilling to take moral risks. In other words, he needs to wait until the intention of the paragraph is clear. This is related to the fact that their common mother, Wu Jiang, is still alive.
Zheng Zhuanggong's waiting also made his ministers feel uneasy. His answer was that "if you do more injustice, you will hang yourself, and your son-in-law will wait". Of course, just because Zheng Zhuanggong creatively summed up this famous saying doesn't mean that he really just waited for the result to happen. For a man who is about to start a hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period, he is just waiting for the opportunity.
The last attack was launched by Zheng Zhuanggong. So Duan had to go south to a place called Yan State. According to the consistent practice of China people, this place name has also been preserved, and now it is called "Yanling" County, which belongs to Xuchang City, Henan Province.
However, as we have already analyzed, the south is the direction of Zheng's expansion. Whether it was annexed by Zheng at that time or not, there was no other big country to protect it nearby. So, Yanzhou was quickly captured, and Duan had to ask a big country for political asylum this time. The other three great powers in the Central Plains, Lu, Song and Wei, are all countries with the strength to provide protection for him.
? Duan's last choice is to cross the Jishui Yellow River and seek protection in Weiguo. Later generations may not understand this large-scale transfer from south to north. Won't this be stopped by Zheng Zhuanggong?
There are two reasons for this phenomenon: first, the low population density in the Spring and Autumn Period is not enough to cover every inch of land. In other words, the city and its surrounding areas are densely populated, and there is a lot of undeveloped land between cities. Although nominally belonging to a feudal country, many times, not to mention the army, even ordinary residents will not have it. In this case, if your horse is fast enough, the breakthrough is not difficult.
Another reason is that the hinterland of the Central Plains is flat, and there is no natural mountain range to provide pass defense, which makes the idea of "one person guarding it, ten thousand people can't force it" an extravagant hope, and also makes it impossible for the rounders to predict the movement direction of the rounded people.
Weiguo placed the escaped section in a place called Gong (now Huixian County, Henan Province) in the southwest. "Duan" is also called "Uncle Duan", probably because he took refuge in "Uncle Duan". Just like when he was in Beijing, he was called "Uncle Beijing". But the word "Duan" is his real name after all, so it became the ancestor of the surname "Duan".
About who initiated the war between Zhuang Gong and Duan, the actual situation is a bit like the Soviet-German war. In that war, the Soviet Union suffered heavy losses in the early stage because they originally wanted to attack, that is to say, the strategic deployment of the Soviet front was to prepare for attack. In this case, in the face of the German lightning attack, the initial failure is inevitable.
And Duan is also ready to take the initiative to attack Xinzheng, and Zhuang Gong is waiting for such an opportunity. One can make Duan's rebellion real; Second, it can catch others off guard. If Duan can get the news in advance and defend himself, then it is obvious that this civil war will become a seesaw battle.
4. Why did Zheng Boke become a classic?
Zheng's "Warring States Policy" is cited as a classic, mainly because it fully embodies the foresight. His foresight also made Zheng stand out in the Spring and Autumn Period.
After three generations of governance by Zheng Henggong, Zheng Henggong and Zheng Henggong, Zheng has become the overlord of one generation. And they are also regarded as ancestors by "Zheng", collectively known as "Zheng's three fairs".
Zheng was able to feel at home in the early Spring and Autumn Period because he could use the power of the royal family. On the one hand, the Luoyang basin occupied by the royal family can relieve the worries of Zheng people; On the other hand, Zheng people can also gain political advantage by virtue of the golden signboard of the royal family.
When defending Cao Cao, Yi Zhongtian mentioned that Cao Cao was "serving the emperor as a vassal", not "relying on the emperor as a vassal". Based on the relationship between Cao Cao and Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, this explanation is obviously unconvincing.
However, the royal family in the Spring and Autumn Period should be worthy of the word "Feng" if they can have a world of their own. It's just that the world is uncomfortable to be "served" by others as a puppet. Being able to give orders by yourself is what a king should do.
Therefore, when Zheng people completed internal integration and became more and more overbearing, the royal family began to hope to get rid of this situation.
In the third year after Zheng Zhuanggong put down Duan Shu rebellion, Zhou Pingwang decided to reuse Xiguan. At that time, Zheng Zhuanggong's position in North Korea was "Qing history", similar to that of the later prime minister and the current prime minister. And Zhou Pingwang's idea is to divide the post of "Qing history" into two posts, which is similar to the method of later generations to control the prime minister, and it should be said that it is a normal practice to maintain the balance of power. Only the "right" was respected in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the "left" was respected after the Sui and Tang Dynasties. And the position of this "right celebrity" is prepared to be taken by the "western country" monarch who moved to Shaanxi county (that is, south China).
This kind of thinking will certainly make the people of Zheng feel indignant, but in the face of questioning, all they can do is deny it. It's just that Zheng Zhuanggong obviously didn't believe this answer, so an unprecedented miracle happened. Zheng He's royal family exchanged protons with each other, which means giving their sons as hostages to gain mutual trust. Although these practices were very common in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (Qin Shihuang's father was a hostage in Zhao), Zhou, as the co-owner of the world, had to make people feel sad to exchange protons with a vassal state.
This is equivalent to showing the world that "Zhou" has actually reduced himself to a member of the vassal state, and the aura hanging over "Wang" has begun to fade, and chaos in the world is inevitable.
Zheng Guo is the winner of this political struggle, but can they really have the last laugh?
For the royal family, things will not come to this. Geographically, the people of Zheng are in the Central Plains, and Qin, Jin and Wei should be able to play a balanced role.
The problem is that the Qin people who just joined the ranks of governors are still conquering the Weihe plain, and it is impossible for them to get involved in this struggle before the dog Rong is destroyed in their land. Jin has always been the most important minister of the royal family, so it stands to reason that they should stand up for the royal family for the first time. At this time, a dispute between clans of large and small was being staged in the state of Jin. For the royal family, the big head of all orthodox positions is of course the object of support. Only the small clan based in Yuncheng basin has an advantage. Even if the Grand Duke of Jin had the intention to help the royal family, he could not bypass the small clan.
Now it seems that only Weiguo can be relied on, and it is indeed Weiguo who finally stands out for the royal family.
Before the reunification, Zheng people gained political advantages by virtue of their status as "clean people". Although other big countries are worried about Zheng's expansion, it is not easy to blame Wei because of the relationship between the royal family and Zheng. But now it seems that the relationship between Zheng He and the royal family has broken down irretrievably. Therefore, the neighboring powers finally have the opportunity to attack this new "upstart" group.
Of course, the first leader was Wei, which was also highly valued by the royal family. Wei ren's reception period is to prepare for the establishment of a monarch under the control of Zheng in the future. This practice is no different from that of modern politicians. We will see many similar examples in the future. In the spring and autumn period when there are few people and many people, destroying a country is not the best choice. Fostering a country that poses no threat to itself as a buffer is a common means of control for big countries.
From Zheng's point of view, it is certainly an honorable thing to blackmail the royal family, but it is obviously unwise to do so.
From the purely defensive point of view, the Central Plains where Zheng Guo is located is actually a place of four wars. The only thing we can rely on is two small mountains in songji in the west and two rivers in Ji Huang in the north. This can certainly give them a certain advantage in the Central Plains countries, but it is not enough to make Zheng the only vassal country.
From the geopolitical point of view, it is too early to abandon the banner of the royal family without the strength to defeat the public. Although the authority of the royal family has gone from bad to worse, taking the lead in breaking this enough paper will only make A Zheng a target of public criticism. The concrete consequence is that Zheng has to face geopolitical pressure from all sides. Especially in Luoyang basin where the royal family is located and Weiguo in Hebei plain.
Guo Wei, who is also a diligent king of the Four Kingdoms, certainly won't feel comfortable with Zheng's desire for expansion, but because of the royal family's support for Zheng, he can only wait and see. Now the balance of power between the two sides has begun to change. Even if the power of the royal family cannot be used by Wei people for the time being, it will not be used by Zheng people.
As I said before, after that festival, Duan went to defend the country and took refuge. There is a saying that Duan did not get away, and it was his son "Gongzi Liu" who ran over. But it doesn't matter who goes there. The important thing is that Weiguo took in Zhuang Gong's political opponents.
It is normal for politicians to take in dissidents from other countries, and it is also common in real international politics. This is actually an investment. For the host country, if the admitted person has the opportunity to return to China to be in power, then the benefits can be obvious, at least reducing the national security threat to himself.
However, not everyone can do this business. At the very least, you should have the strength to counter each other's pressure. You can imagine if Dahl went to Nepal instead of India; Sihanouk went to Laos instead of China. What will happen? Of course, this kind of situation will not actually happen, because a country without Jin Gangzuan will not take this porcelain job.
It can also be seen from the passage that was brought into Zheng State that the contradiction between Wei State and Zheng State is actually irreconcilable. On the one hand, because the two countries are both powerful countries in the Central Plains and adjacent to each other, geopolitical contradictions are inevitable; On the other hand, because everyone is a member of the four countries, wei ren has reason to think that he should have the same status as Zheng people politically.
Duan just saw this and took refuge in the countryside from the south. Maybe applying for the country in Nanyang basin can be an option, because Wujiang, his mother who loves him deeply, is from the country. But the problem is that Zhuang Gong is also Wu Jiangsheng's. Although he is so unpopular in front of his mother, it can still guarantee Shen's "uncle" status to Zheng. For politicians, this realistic blood relationship is enough, and there is no need to make trouble for a married daughter's personal likes and dislikes. To be sure, Zheng Zhuanggong won't alienate her from Shen Guo because of her mother's attitude towards herself.
If Zhuang Gong was not born in Wu Jiangsheng, the situation might be very different. On that day, in order to ensure that the prince, who was born in Shenyang, could inherit the throne (that is, born after Shen), the people of Shenyang did not hesitate to lead dogs into Haojing, which directly caused the collapse of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Can't blame Shen ignorance, it's just a political instinct. Only this time they have no chance and there is no need to stand up again. Since Wei accepted this opportunity, the war between Wei and Zheng was inevitable.
The war between Wei and Zheng did not begin after the handover of Zhou and Zheng (724 BC). In the period of Zhuanggongke (722 BC), after Duan's son Gongzi "slipped" to Wei, the two sides were doomed to conflict.