Tracing China: Through history, dialogue between ancient and modern

Chapter 167

When the Shang Dynasty perished and Zhou Li was established, the emperor ordered Kyushu to rule the world concurrently, and established 71 countries, with 53 people surnamed Ji living alone.

Before Spring and Autumn.

The princes and kings conferred on the land of Kyushu are not affiliation of the Shang Dynasty, but family hierarchy and political affiliation.

During the Shang Dynasty.

The vassal states of the Shang Dynasty were conquered or voluntarily surrendered to the King of Shang. The leaders of the vassal states were canonized by the King of Shang, but basically had no blood relationship with the King of Shang; the control of the King of Shang on the vassal states was limited. Basically maintain an independent social structure, with great autonomy, and some dependent countries often have wars with Shang.

The Zhou Dynasty was different.

The feudal lords of the Western Zhou Dynasty were enfeoffed to the localities by the Zhou king, and the enfeoffed princes were either the clan relatives of the Zhou king, or formed a patriarchal relationship with the Zhou king through in-laws.

such as:

Qi State - Jiang surnamed, Marquis.It is the fiefdom of Sun Boyi, a descendant of Emperor Yan, and is now Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong.

Yan Guo - Ji surname, Earl.He is a hero with the same surname as Zhou, and he is called Junshi.The feudal land is now Ji County, Youzhou.

Wei Guo - Ji surname, Earl.He is a hero with the same surname as Zhou, called Bi Gonggao.The feudal land is now Gaomi County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province.

State of Jin—Ji surname, Marquis.He is the youngest son of King Wu, called Ji Tang Shuyu.It was sealed in Tang Dynasty and later changed to Jin Dynasty.The feudal land is the East Wing City of Jiangxian County, Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province.

Wu Guo - surnamed Ji, Viscount.After the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou, Ji Taibo.The feudal land is now Wujun.

……

It can be said that at this time the major princes in the eastern land had the same surname as the Zhou Tianzi in the center, or they were cousins ​​by marriage.

The second Jin Wengong who dominated the Spring and Autumn Period, in terms of seniority, was still the uncle of the Emperor Zhou at this time.

have such a close relationship.

Why were the princes and kings who were once related by blood unwilling to help the Zhou family after the decline of the Zhou royal family?

someone said.

This is how the later emperors entrusted all the kings. Those kings who were entrusted were like the great officials of the border. As the saying goes, "people do not destroy the world for themselves", how could they be so loyal to the emperor who is far away in the sky?

But don't forget.

It is spring and autumn.

This is an orderly period when the Zhou Dynasty system is still in operation, and the title of Zhou Tianzi still has a strong appeal.

You want to be a marquis.

You want to build a country.

You want to have freedom of conquest.

You want to be recognized by the people of the world.

All these things must be reported to the Emperor Zhou and must be approved by the Emperor Zhou.

modern web.

Regarding the second question raised by Lin Feng, the big guys also had heated discussions and gave their own guesses.

In the main hall of the lens, Duke Wen of Jin paced back and forth with his hands on his back. After a while, he said in a vicissitudes of life:
"Young man, in fact, King Zhou also wanted to rise again, but the general situation of the world is different from that of King Wu of Zhou."

Lin Feng asked, "Is the current king of Zhou not capable enough?"

Jin Wengong said, "It's because of the princes of various places. Since the early Zhou Dynasty, the princes have been continuously divided, and the land of Kyushu is actually no longer belonged to the king of Zhou."

Lin Feng asked, "You powerful princes, do you already disapprove of Zhou Tianzi from the bottom of your heart?"

"Not really."

"King Zhou is still the Son of Heaven in the Central Plains, but the land belongs to the king and no longer belongs to his rule."

Duke Wen of Jin walked alone in the hall, looking at the vast night outside, and continued, "Everywhere in the Central Plains, including Qin in the west, Chu in the south, and Wuyue in the southeast, why are they so powerful? In fact, they have little to do with King Zhou. , For example, this Marquis’s Jin land, before it was canonized, do you know what’s going on here?”

"Back then, this area was sparsely populated, wild beasts were rampant, and barbarians from the north often invaded. They also suffered from all kinds of terrible natural disasters. The people didn't have enough to eat, and most of them died of starvation."

"Who leads the people to cultivate? Who leads the soldiers to guard? And who builds the city? They are all generations of Jinhous in the fiefdom, and this generation is already the 22nd monarch of Jindi."

"Our Jin ancestors worked hard for hundreds of years to achieve today's prosperity. This is our foundation, and it has nothing to do with King Zhou!"

……

to be honest.

The prosperity of the princes' land is all done by others.

It has nothing to do with Zhou Tianzi. The people in the fief, the monarch they recognize is the highest ruler in the fief, not the Zhou Tianzi who is far away.

as princes.

How can it be possible to give away the foundation that has been hard-earned from generation to generation?
And at this time the Spring and Autumn period.

The princes don't need to get anything from Zhou Tianzi.

Not driven by profit.

Even if the royal family of Zhou was rotten into scum, few people would pay attention to it.

Regarding this, Lin Feng said with a wry smile, "It seems that King Zhou Wu's crusade against Yin Shang and the establishment of the enfeoffment system was a mistake."

Duke Wen of Jin was not angry either, and said:

"The times are like this. After all, the land of Kyushu is too vast. If there are no feudal princes, the King of Zhou will not be able to govern."

Lin Feng asked again, "Marquis Jin, did the King of Zhou of this generation make any efforts to rise up?"

"Have!"

Jin Wengong's expression became serious, and he said, "The king of Zhou once issued orders and united with many princes to try to rewrite the order of the world."

Lin Feng, "..."

What do you mean?
Is Zhou Wang going to take the lead in overthrowing Zhou Li this time?

Really want this.

I am afraid that King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou will be so angry that they will crawl out of the grave.

Moreover, the norms of Zhou Li are the last basis for Zhou Tianzi to be the co-lord of the world. If he takes the lead in overthrowing Zhou Li, then Zhou Tianzi will have no moral advantage, and I am afraid that he will be abolished by the princes soon.

Jin Wengong said again, "The king of Zhou needs too many things to reform, too many things! For example, the required money, food, horses, soldiers, armor, weapons, chariots, generals, etc. These are immeasurable sky-high prices. number."

"For the king of Zhou to rise successfully, all these materials, money and food must reach the level of crushing the major vassal states."

So even if Zhou had the same land and population, it would be difficult for him to become strong again.

Famous people in the world are not stupid, they have no money to pay wages, how to recruit famous people in the world? Even soldiers can’t get together, the system cannot be reformed, even if famous people are recruited, it’s hard for a smart woman to cook without rice.

Hear this.

Lin Feng couldn't help but asked curiously, "How big is the territory of Emperor Zhou now?"

Duke Wen of Jin replied, "The area around Luoyang is a hundred li."

Uh……

With such a small amount of land, in future generations, it will only be the size of a prefecture-level city.

Not to mention the comeback and rise, it is already stretched to maintain the expenditure of the Zhou royal family, right?

Lin Feng asked again, "Marquis Jin, you and the royal family of Zhou both have the surname Ji and share the same ancestry. Have you ever thought of assisting the royal family of Zhou and commanding the world?"

Jin Wengong nodded and said, "Of course I thought about it. This is what Duke Huan of Qi did. However, the princes of the world are growing stronger and stronger, and Jin is not alone. The surrounding crises almost make Jin unable to take care of itself; The Qin people who are my master, and the ambitious Chu people in the south, but there is no one who is good."

Jin Wengong can become the second overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period.

It was also after defeating Qin and Chu that his status rose and all boats rose, and only then did he embark on the great journey of dominating the Spring and Autumn Period.

But if it's a war of overwhelming power.

He is absolutely not sure of defeating the people of Qin and Chu.

This is the end of the conversation.

Jin Wengong suddenly changed the subject, and said with a strange expression, "Actually, decades ago, the King of Zhou at that time had both the wisdom of King Wen and the strategy of King Wu. He was a talented king who swallowed mountains and rivers. , and the troops are gearing up, starting to show signs of being strong."

Zhou royal family...

When humbled and downcast...

There was also a man who fell from the sky...

Lin Feng quickly asked, "What happened next?"

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, it seems that there is no such a period of history, right?

After the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, did there really appear a wise and powerful Zhou Tianzi who was not even inferior to King Wen and King Wu?
Jin Wengong said quietly, "In this era, it seems that the princes compete on an equal footing, and everyone shows their talents, but in fact, if the Zhou royal family shows signs of being strong again, the big guys will be very tacit and will secretly form an alliance. We will do everything we can to weaken the Zhou royal family."

Unspoken.

Decades ago, there was a great battle between the king of Zhou and the princes?
Hear this.

The audience who watched the show were all in high spirits.

If it is true, this is definitely a big event that has been forgotten by history!

(End of this chapter)