Among the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin Wengong (Zhong Er) had the most unique experience. He was originally the son of Jin Xiangong, and was forced to flee because of his stepmother's deception. At that time, he was 43. In order to avoid disaster, he traveled to Germany, Qi, Qin, Cao, Song, Zheng, Chu and other countries. Until he returned to China at the age of 62, he lived in exile for 19 years, during which it was difficult and tortuous. After Jin Wengong ascended the throne, he made great efforts to manage the country, appointed talents, and used ingenious domestic and foreign strategies to make a state of Jin on the verge of collapse rise rapidly. In just a few years, he became the second generation hegemon after Qi Huangong. His experiences and miracles are amazing. What is his life like?
1. Zhong Er broke his sleeve. The father of the Jin Dynasty childe gave birth to three sons: Shen Sheng, Yi Wu, Qi and Zhuo Zi. When he was old, he fell in love with a concubine, cheated her, tried to make her youngest son Ji a prince, and killed the original prince. After the death of the Prince, Gong Xian's other two sons, Zhong Er and Yiwu, felt dangerous and fled to other vassal states for refuge. There is a record in Historical Records of the Book of Jin: In twelve years, I cheated Ji Sheng and Qi. Offering public will is to abolish the prince, but he also said: Quwo is the ancestral temple of my ancestors, and Pubian Qin and Qubian Zhai are not allowed to live in, I am afraid. So the prince lived in Quwo, his son lived in Pu, and his son conquered me.
In 65 1 year BC, Jin Xiangong died and the state of Jin was in civil strife. Jin Xiangong's concubine Li Ji hoped that her son would inherit his throne, and was soon killed by Minister Rick. Zhuo Zi was made king, and Rick killed Zhuo Zi. The monarch had no heir at that time. In order to dominate the Central Plains, Qin Mugong wanted to interfere in the politics of the State of Jin, so he helped Yiwu, who had fled to the State of Qin, to return to China and become the emperor, that is, the State of Jin. After taking office, Kim killed innocent people in China and left his family behind. Foreign and treacherous.
In 648 BC, Jin suffered a serious natural disaster. Prissy said: There are different fates. Besides, our country lent grain to the State of Jin, not just for Yiwu, but for the benefit of the people of the State of Jin. Therefore, it was agreed to transport a large amount of millet to gold by water. This humanitarian act of righteousness conquered the hearts of the state of Jin, which is called boating in history.
In 646 BC, there was a famine in the State of Qin. Instead of providing food relief to the State of Qin, the State of Jin sent troops to attack the State of Qin. Qin Mugong could not bear to see such an ungrateful monarch, so he sent an army to meet the Jin army. The Jin army was defeated and Jin Gonghui became a prisoner. Later, under the mediation of Muji and others, Qin Mugong released Jin and asked the State of Jin to send the Prince to the State of Qin as collateral.
Zhong Er is a very talented person. When he fled to Di Guo, a group of ministers who admired him, such as Jie Zitui, followed closely. They were trusted by Zhong Er and loyal to Zhong Er, which played a great role in the success of Zhong Er's cause. After I came back from Qin, I was afraid of competing with him for the throne, so I sent someone to assassinate Di Guoxing.
Fox Mao and Fox Yan, who followed, told the news of their father immediately. Zhong Er discussed it with everyone and decided to flee to Qi. The next day, Hu Yan and I both received a letter from our father, saying that the assassin had arrived one day earlier. Zhong Er was in such a hurry that he ran away without telling others. There was a man named Clue, who was in charge of luggage and travel expenses, but he ran away with something.
Zhong Er, a group of homeless people with nothing, is going to defend his country in Qi. Wei Wengong ordered the gatekeepers not to let them into the city. Zhong Er and everyone went to Lu Wu (now northwest of Qingfeng, Henan) hungry and saw several cultivators eating at the edge of the field. Zhong Er, they were greedy and asked for something to eat.
The cultivators were too lazy to pay attention to them, so one of them played a joke on them and picked up a piece of mud for them. Zhong Er was so angry that his men wanted to hit someone. Hu Yan, a follower, quickly stopped him and comforted Zhong Er with dirt, saying: dirt is land, and the people gave us land. Isn't this a good sign?
Zhong Er also had to take this down the steps and made her way forward with a wry smile. After walking more than ten miles, I couldn't walk any further, so I had to sit under the big tree and have a rest. Zhong Er lies down and puts her head on Fox's leg. Everyone else pinched wild vegetables and cooked some wild vegetable soup. She didn't drink it herself, so she gave it to the son first. Zhong Er tasted it, frowning, and couldn't drink it.
Later, Zhao Shuai caught up with a bamboo tube porridge for Zhong Er. Zhong Er said: You eat! Zhao Shuai didn't want to eat alone, so she had to take some water and put it in the porridge for everyone. Everyone took a bite.
Zhong Er, they managed to get to Qi. At that time, Qi Huangong was very polite to him, gave Zhong Er many chariots, horses and houses, and married a local girl to Zhong Er.
Zhong Er thought it was good to stay in Qi, so he didn't plan to go back to Jin, but his followers didn't think so.
Behind Zhong Er's back, his followers gathered in the mulberry forest to discuss going home. I didn't expect a slave girl in Sanglin to eavesdrop on their words and tell Zhong Er's wife, Chiang Kai-shek. Jiang said to him, it's great to hear that you are going back to the state of Jin!
Zhong Er quickly defended himself and said, How did this happen?
Jiang advised him to return to China many times, saying that it is useless for you to pursue pleasure here. But Zhong Er doesn't want to leave here. That night, he and his entourage agreed to get drunk, put him in the car and send him out. When he woke up, he had left Qi.
Later, Zhong Er went to Song State again. Song Xianggong just ate the battle, his thigh was injured and he was ill, so he sent GongSunGu to meet him, and Song Xianggong treated them like Qi Huangong. A few days later, Gong Sungu told Hu Yan, his entourage, that he hoped to send troops to escort the son back. I'm afraid Guo Song can't do this!
In desperation, he left Song for Zheng. The monarch of Zheng thought he must be a worthless man who had been wandering outside for so many years, so he ignored him. They have to go to Chu. The king of Chu regarded Zhong Er as a noble person and treated him with hospitality. The two became friends.
Once, the King of Chu hosted a banquet in honor of Zhong Er and jokingly said: If you return to the State of Jin, how will you repay me in the future?
Zhong Er said: Your country has a lot of treasures. What can I do to repay your kindness?
King Chu Cheng smiled and said, So, won't you repay me?
Zhong Er said: Thanks to your majesty's permission, I can return to Jin, and I would like to be friends with your country, so that the two peoples can live a peaceful life. If the two countries go to war and the two armies meet, I will definitely stay away. In ancient times, marching called a dormitory every thirty miles. If you return three homes, you will automatically return 90 miles. )
King Chu Cheng didn't take this to heart, but annoyed the nearby general Chu. After the banquet, after Zhong Er left, Cheng said to King Chu Cheng: If you don't speak properly, you must be an ungrateful guy in the future. Don't kill him now, lest you leave a disaster in the future.
King Chu Cheng disagreed with Cheng, and when he sent someone to pick him up, he sent him to the State of Qin (the capital is Yong, southeast of Fengxiang, Shaanxi).
In 636 BC, the troops escorted by Qin crossed the Yellow River and returned to China in exile 19. This is Jin Wengong.
At first, Jin Wengong chose exile because he saved himself by retreating and gaining power. During their exile, Zhong Er and his party endured cold and hunger for a long time, as well as ridicule, rejection and blows from others in neighboring countries: many times in distress, several times in despair, embarrassed all the way, begging everywhere. Passing by Weiguo, Wei Jun told the gatekeeper not to let him into the city. Begging for food from farmers on the roadside, farmers not only refused to give it, but threw clods to tease them: in Cao Zhou, they received a very cold reception and were humiliated by Cao Gong. In the face of all kinds of difficulties, Zhong Er did not give up and retreat, but led his entourage to survive, successfully returned to China and acceded to the throne, and quickly promoted the rise of the State of Jin after taking office.
Zhong Er's experience from exile to returning to China to become king left a profound inspiration for people. The long-term civil strife in the state of Jin provided objective conditions for coming to power to dominate. After 20 years of flight, Jin Wengong and his followers honed their will, accumulated their political talents, and formed a United and powerful political group, which prepared good subjective conditions for their hegemony.
Second, the battle of Chengpu, Jin Wengong's long-term tempering, made him have outstanding political talents and quickly promoted the rise of the State of Jin. But how did he become a generation of outstanding hegemons? What kind of military talent did he show? Let's take a look at the battle of Chengpu, stay away!
Historical Records of the Jin Dynasty records that in four years, the King of Chu and his vassals besieged the Song Dynasty, and Song Gongsun was in a hurry.
Chu got angry, hit Kim, and Kim retired. The officer said, Why did you retreat? Jin Wengong said: Before I was in Chu, I gave up three houses, which was twice as good! Teacher Chu wanted to go, but I refused. On the fifth day of April, Song Gong, Qijiang, Qinjiang and Jinhou Temple Chengpu. I fought with Chu Bing, and Chu Bing was defeated, so I had to recruit the rest of the soldiers.
After Jin Wengong acceded to the throne, he reorganized his internal affairs, developed production, and made the state of Jin more and more powerful. He also wants to be the overlord of the Central Plains like Qi Huangong.
One day, when Jin Wengong was dealing with state affairs in North Korea, someone came to report that the great Sima Gongsungu of the Song Kingdom asked to meet him. Jin Wengong immediately got up to meet him. When he fled to Song Dynasty, Gong Sungu respected himself very much and treated himself well. Jin Wengong was overjoyed when he heard that Gong Sungu had come to the State of Jin. To his surprise, he knew that Song had something urgent to do. Happily, I can meet my old friend. Jin Wengong saw GongSunGu, immediately invited GongSunGu into the palace.
GongSunGu greeted with Jin Wengong so, the in the mind is very touched. Before he had time to rest, Gong Sungu said to him, Now the Chu army has surrounded Song Cheng for more than 10 days, and there are no other friendly neighbors in Song State, so we have to ask for troops to clear the gap as soon as possible. If we don't send troops, the kingdom of Song will not be far from extinction.
Hearing this, Jin Wengong felt in a dilemma. He remembered that Song helped him a lot when he fled, not to mention the kindness of dripping water, but he fled to Chu and was very considerate to himself. What should I do? If you send troops to clear up, you will be an enemy of Chu. If you don't send troops, there's nothing to say to Song. People laughed at me and said I was ungrateful.
So he called ministers to discuss ways. Xian Zhen, a newly-appointed general, said: Chu is tyrannical in the Central Plains and covets hegemony. Sooner or later, he will meet us in the war. This is a good opportunity for us to establish our prestige in Wang Zizhong. We can't miss it!
So, how to solve the siege of Song State? Jin Wengong asked again.
Hu Yan said: Cao Wei has a close relationship with Chu, and Wei recently married Chu. If we send troops to attack Cao and Wei, the Chu army will certainly come to save us, and then the State of Song will naturally be solved. Speaking of which, I have to mention Hu Yan. Because his relationship with Jin Wengong is extraordinary. Hu Yan (? ~ 630 years ago), also known as son, uncle, monster, mortar, fox, fox's son, Jin Wengong Zhong Er's uncle, so it is also called uncle. In the twenty-second year (655 BC), Jin Xiangong fled with Zhong Er 19 and became the confidant of Wen Gong. From official to master sergeant. In the summer and June of the sixth year of Jin Wengong (before 63 1 year), the state of Jin, the state of Yan, formed an alliance with Zhou, Song, Qi, Chen, Cai and Qin, which established the status of the state of Jin as the leader. In the autumn of the seventh year of Wengong (630 BC), Yan Suiwengong took part in the battle between Jin and Qin and died in. Buried in Jiuyuan, 20 miles north of Xinjiang County.
So Jin Wengong took his advice. Xian Zhen was appointed as a marshal. In 632 BC, he set out to cross the Yellow River south and conquered the Five Deer of Weiguo.
Besides, at this time, the Chu army had arrived in Suiyang, the capital of Song State, and suddenly received the news that the country was in an emergency. King Chu sent troops from Shen and two towns, leaving Marshal Cheng as a minister, a group of generals such as Dou Yuejiao, Dou Bo and Wan Chun, and various governors to continue to encircle and encircle the Song Dynasty. He led his own army to save Wei. On the way, the army reported that the capital of Cao was occupied by 8 jin j, and Cao Jun was also occupied. King Chu Cheng decided to temporarily withdraw his troops and not fight recklessly with the 8 Jin Army.
After Chu Wangcheng returned to China, he sent someone to inform Cheng to withdraw his troops around the Song Dynasty. Cheng is a very brave and proud general. He felt that Song had been besieged for so long and was about to be breached. How could he fall short? He sent messengers back to tell the king of Chu: I'll take Song Du right away and come back. If I meet Jin Jun, let me fight them to the death. If I fail, I am willing to accept the punishment of military law!
General Wan Chun of Chu put forward a plan to Cheng, saying, "We can send people to negotiate with the Jin army and ask them to take back the land of Cao and Wei, so that we can withdraw." . In this way, the initiative is in our hands. If they don't agree, the Song people will hate them. If they agree, we won't suffer.
Cheng thought it was a good idea, so he sent Wan Chun to see it. So Wan Chun went to Jinying and said, Please restore Cao Cao, and our Chu army will lift the siege of the Song Dynasty. Hu Yan scolded him for being rude. Xian Zhen saw Yu Zi's plot and said to Jin Wengong: If we don't agree with this request of the Chu army, we will certainly offend the Three Kingdoms and the Chu army will gain a good reputation. Why not privately allow Cao and restore the country to alienate the relationship with Chu, and at the same time contain Chu's eternal spring to anger Chu, and adopt the strategy of seeking after the war first. Xian Zhen's opinion was adopted. The restoration of Cao and Wei immediately broke with Chu. Cheng is really angered. After he withdrew from the army that besieged the Song capital, he assembled the army and turned to Cao's territory, ready to fight to the death with the 8 Jin Army.
As soon as Chu Jun entered, Jin Wengong immediately ordered the retreat. Some Jin soldiers could not understand this situation. He asked: Our commander-in-chief is the monarch, and the other side is the courtiers. How can a monarch make his officials reason?
Hu Yan explained: Fighting depends on one reason, and only with confidence can we be strong. At the beginning, the king of Chu once helped the tetrarch, and the tetrarch promised in front of the king of Chu that if the two countries went to war, Jin would rather stay away. Today's retreat is to fulfill this promise. If we lose confidence in Chu, then we are wrong. We have withdrawn our troops. If they don't stop and push forward step by step, it's because they have lost their minds, and it's not too late for us to hit them again.
The Jin army retreated 90 miles in one breath and stopped in Chengpu (now southwest Shandong) to arrange the battle.
General Chu saw the retreat of the Jin army and wanted to stop the attack. However, Cheng refused, and pursued Chengpu step by step, away from 8 Jin Army.
Cheng also sent someone to challenge, and the wording was very arrogant. Jin Wengong also sent someone to answer: We have never forgotten your kindness, so we gave in here. Since you don't understand, you have to compete on the battlefield.
At the beginning of the war, the generals of Jin used two flags to command the troops to retreat. They are still dragging the cut branches behind the chariot. When the chariot retreats, waves of dust are raised underground, showing a very embarrassing appearance.
Cheng has always been arrogant and does not take Jin people seriously. He caught up with him regardless of the front and back, right in the middle of the ambush of 8 Jin Army. The elite of the Jin army rushed over and cut off Cheng's army. It turned out that the defeated Jin army turned around and attacked before and after, killing the Chu army to pieces.
Jin Wengong hurriedly ordered, told the men as long as Chu Jun away, no killing. Cheng returned halfway with the defeated soldiers. He felt unable to explain to King Chu Cheng, so he committed suicide.
The Jin army occupied Chu camp. After eating the food abandoned by the Chu army for three days, he returned home in triumph.
After the Battle of Chengpu, Jin Wengong made a pilgrimage to King Zhou in Jiantu (now northwest of Zhengzhou, Henan Province), where he was a vassal of the League, and presented 100 captured four chariots and horses and 1000 infantry to King Zhou. King Xiang of Zhou officially named Jin Wengong Hou Bo. Jin finally achieved the political and military goal of seizing political power and dominating the world.
The Battle of Chengpu was a key battle for hegemony in Jin Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period, which ended in the victory of Jin. Why did the powerful Chu army fail in this war?
Everything has internal and external causes. Cheng's military misjudgment is the internal cause of Chu's failure. As far as the number of the two armies is concerned, Chu is far superior to Jin. Chu has the support of other countries, and Jin also has allies. Judging from the strength of both sides, Jin is slightly inferior to Chu, but this does not affect the morale of Jin, but increases the arrogance of Chu. The general of Chu became a proud minister, thinking that the enemy was a little weak, that his army was stronger than Jin, and that he was too confident. When he went to the battlefield, due to poor command, he fell into the trap of Xian Zhen rashly, lost the initiative on the battlefield, and defeated Chu.
The external cause of Chu's failure is Jin's brilliant strategy and the operational strategy used on the battlefield. Xian Zhen is indeed an expert in combat and diplomacy. He first asked Song people to bribe Chyi Chin, and then asked Chyi Chin to lobby Chu not to send troops to attack Song. At the same time, he detained Cao Wanchun, an ally of Chu, which caused Cheng's dissatisfaction. Of course, he ignored other people's persuasion and went his own way, which led to a war. As a result, the Chu army was obviously in a passive state, while the Jin state was in an active position, and the morale of the soldiers was also high, so the result of this war can be imagined.
In this war, Xian Zhen formed the upper, middle and lower armed forces, and let Hu Mao, himself and Luan Zhi command them respectively. In addition, in front of this army, a Qi Manjun was arranged to cover the action of Zhong Jun in the State of Jin when Zhong Jun attacked Zuo Jun in Chu. It's really sweet. There's nothing missing. In Sun Tzu's Art of War, Xian Zhen also took advantage of the fact that the son of the State of Jin once lived in the State of Chu and was entertained by the State of Chu, explaining to the State of Chu that he would retreat to Sanshe Road to show his gratitude, but if he attacked again, he would no longer be polite, with a knife in his hand. At this point, the state of Jin really did it, withdrawing troops without soldiers. But this is a tactic, which is what we call luring the enemy here, and then taking advantage of the terrain to take the initiative and fight the enemy. This method really angered Cheng, who ignored the art of war and just fell into the enemy's trap step by step according to the meaning of the State of Jin. During the war, the state of Jin pretended to be a mess, planted branches behind the car, let the car drag out thick dust when it went forward, confuse the enemy's eyes, let the enemy really think that the state of Jin was defeated, and let the ministers fall into their trap step by step.
It can be seen that war has become a complex art in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the ancient methods of warfare have fallen far behind. War has more links, involves a wider range, requires higher wisdom, and conflicts and struggles are more complicated. Courage and foresight are not enough to win. We should be good at diplomacy and United front, win the hearts of the people, ensure that the backyard is not on fire, and turn all kinds of unfavorable factors into favorable ones. All in all, it's getting better and better.
In this case, it is not so easy to be a good ruler. What is required of him is almost a generalist: he must be an excellent politician as well as an excellent diplomat, strategist, agitator and strategist. He must be familiar with astronomy and geography, know how to behave and be polite, and have enough physical strength and energy to deal with all kinds of complicated things. And Jin Wengong, who dominates the party, can do this, which shows that he is a man who walks out of talented men!
As an outstanding politician, although Jin Wengong was in office for a short time, he influenced the historical development of China in the Spring and Autumn Period. Long-term exile and the test of political struggle in his early years tempered his political talent, and at the same time gave him a very profound understanding of the situation at that time, so he was able to follow the historical trend and launch a series of political activities. After he acceded to the throne, he adopted a series of reform measures, two of which are very important:
First: Shang Xian. Jin Wengong attaches great importance to Shang Xian. Under the original feudal system of Zhou dynasty, a person's political status can only be determined by blood relationship. By the Spring and Autumn Period, the patriarchal clan system had shown incompatibility with the development of the whole society at that time. Jin Wengong followed Qi Huangong's example of reusing Guan Zhong and gathered a group of talented people around him. Such as Zhao Shuai, Hu Yan, Jia Tuo and Wei Wuzi. , are the pillars of the country, and play an important role in the process of governing the country and maintaining peaceful hegemony. It is precisely because Jin Wengong avoided relatives and virtuous people that he had an undisputed lofty position in the ruling group of the State of Jin at that time, and being virtuous was a good atmosphere. If Zhao declined to be a minister, he said, "Luan is really cautious and resourceful, and Xu Chen has heard a lot, which can be used as a supplement, while the minister is full of enthusiasm." It can be seen that the sages are the first, and the ruling group of the state of Jin has always maintained a strong vitality.
Second: reward merit. Rewarding merit means rewarding people with merit. After Jin Wengong acceded to the throne, he rewarded those who followed him in exile and supported him to come to power. The big one is a fief, and the small one is an honor. After he ascended the throne, he no longer enfeoffed the children of clans and royal families, nor did he reuse the royal family politically. The principle of his selection of officials is virtue, ability and achievement, and the appointment is mainly the excellent quality of some women and the ability of different surnames. The system implemented by Jin State is the unity of military and political affairs. The generals of all armies are not only military leaders who command the army, but also ministers who participate in the decision-making of state affairs. They are the core of the ruling group, and these generals come from different clans. In this way, a group of non-public political forces entered the core class of the ruling group, blocking the way for the royal family to control the politics of Jin State. This move by Jin Wengong directly affected the historical development trend of Jin State. Since then, the history of Jin State has formed distinctive features different from other vassal states, which makes feudal factors appear earlier and faster in Jin State. At the same time, legalist thought also laid a deep foundation here.
Approaching Jin Wengong, people are always most concerned about his beginning and result, from the disaster of going out to escape to the glory of becoming the overlord, which makes people lament the great changes of fate. However, people ignore the huge link in the process. The process is long and real. Outsiders can talk and comment on the first thing, but the process is full of ups and downs, ups and downs, joys and sorrows, loneliness and hesitation. Only the parties themselves know, and only the parties have unforgettable and unforgettable experiences. Onlookers can understand, but they don't experience. Understanding and experience are completely different. In any sense, equality is impossible.
Looking at Jin Wengong's process from rough to brilliant, we can see that patience runs through his life. Too many frustrations, setbacks, loneliness, humiliation, failure, fear and so on. Can you bear it? How long can we stand it? If all these are invited, will we bear and endure them in 19? This question is worth pondering. Perhaps, when everything is logical, you will never understand. Perhaps it is the long and bitter exile that makes Jin Wengong stronger, just as the sage Mencius said: Heaven will bear a great responsibility to the Sri Lankan people, and it will certainly make them suffer, strain their bones and muscles and starve their skin. All these tempering have made them the hegemon of their generation.