Sima Qian's " Records of the Historian " had a simpler record of King Xiao of Zhou than King Yi of Zhou: "King Yi passed away and King Gong's younger brother ascended the throne. This is King Xiao. After the death of King Xiao, the vassals supported the crown prince of King Yi, Xie. This was King Yi.”It only recorded the inheritance of the Zhou Dynasty's throne, and did not mention anything about the actions of King Xiao of Zhou. Why? This was because Sima Qian believed that King Xiao of Zhou had usurped the throne and violated the system of succession stipulated by the Rites of Zhou.
In fact, Prince Xiao of Zhou was an emperor with great achievements. If not for Prince Xiao of Zhou's efforts, the Zhou Dynasty would have perished even faster.
King Xiao of Zhou was called Ji Pifang. His brother, King Gong of Zhou, was a coward. He only knew how to curry favor with the nomadic tribes and the vassals. He reduced the royal army of the Zhou Dynasty and gave the land to the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty. This greatly weakened the strength of the royal family of the Zhou Dynasty. They could not fight against the nomadic tribes externally and could not control the vassals internally. The son of King Gong of Zhou, King Yi of Zhou, inherited his father's cowardice. He was afraid of the nomadic tribes and moved the capital from Haojing (Xi'an) to Huaili (southeast of Xingping County, Shaanxi Province).
The cowardice of King Gong and King Yi of Zhou caused dissatisfaction among the royal family and the ministers. King Xiao of Zhou was naturally dissatisfied as well. He thought that if he was in charge of the country, the country would not have declined to such a state. Therefore, after King Yi of Zhou passed away, Ji Pifang relied on his own strength and the situation to ascend the throne and become King Xiao of Zhou.
King Xiao of Zhou worked hard to make the country prosperous. He strengthened the political, economic and cultural construction internally and conquered the nomadic tribes externally. He sent the monarch of Shen State (now northwest of Tanghe County, Henan Province), Marquis Shen, to lead the army to conquer Xirong.
Xirong and the people of Zhou were originally a family, but later on, the people of Zhou changed from nomadic life to farming life, and Xirong continued to live a nomadic life. Shen Hou and Xirong had a deep relationship. Shen Hou's ancestor married a woman from Lirong, his daughter married a Xirong man, and his son married Shen Hou's daughter.
After Shen Hou received the order to conquer Xirong, he suggested to Prince Xiao of Zhou,""In the past, my ancestor married the daughter of the Li Shan family and gave birth to a daughter who married Xu Xuan of Xirong. Later, he gave birth to a son named Zhong Hui (the ancestor of the Qin and Zhao countries during the Warring States Period). Because of his mother, Zhongyu submitted to the Zhou Dynasty, so that the western border of the Zhou Dynasty was not violated. Now, I've married my daughter to Zhong Ju's descendant, Da Luo, and have given birth to a legitimate son, Cheng. If Your Majesty can guarantee that my grandson will inherit the throne, then the Shen and Hu tribes will be able to ensure that the people of Xirong will submit and the western border of Western Zhou will be peaceful forever.”
Da Luo was the leader of the nomadic tribe. His eldest son was called Fei Zi, and he was not born by the queen. Shen Hou's daughter was the queen, but her son with Da Luo was not the eldest son. What Shen Hou meant was that if Prince Xiao of Zhou allowed Shen Hou to inherit Da Luo's throne, Xirong would forever be at peace with the Zhou Dynasty due to their kinship, and there would be no war.
Fei Zi was good at raising horses. The horses he raised were all excellent and loved by everyone. Once, when he was selling horses, he met King Xiao of Zhou. King Xiao of Zhou saw that he was smart and capable, so he left him in the capital of Zhou Dynasty to be the minister in charge of animal husbandry. At that time, Prince Zhou Xiao liked Fei Zi very much. Shen Hou was worried that Prince Zhou Xiao would let Fei Zi return to the country to inherit the throne and compete with his grandson, so he made this suggestion. On the surface, he was giving advice for the court, but deep down, he was doing it for his grandson.
Prince Xiao of Zhou felt that this was a good idea. Not only could it reduce the casualties of soldiers and civilians, but it could also save military expenses. He immediately promised that he would not let Fei Zi return to the country, nor would he support Fei Zi to fight for the throne with Shen Hou's grandson. Thus, Shen Hou came forward to make peace with Xirong. Xirong accepted Shen Hou's mediation and agreed to stop fighting with the Zhou Dynasty. They also said that they would never invade the border of Western Zhou. Thus, Shen Hou resolved the imminent war.
Later, Shen Hou's grandson Cheng became the heir to the Xirong throne. However, Prince Xiao did not mistreat Fei Zi. He said,""In the past, Bo Yi was in charge of livestock for Emperor Shun. There were many livestock, so he was granted land and the surname Ying. Now that his descendants have domesticated and bred horses for me, I will also give him land to become a vassal kingdom.”He gave the land of Qin to Fei Zi as a fief and let him take over the sacrifice of the Ying family. He was called Qin Ying, and this was the ancestor of the later Qin country.
Shen Hou's grandson, Cheng, was in charge of Xirong and made peace with the Zhou Dynasty. In the first year of King Xiao of Zhou (891 B.C.), Xirong sent an envoy to the court and presented 100 good horses. King Xiao of Zhou was very happy. He rewarded the messenger and gave him many gifts such as food and cloth.
In the sixth year of King Xiao of Zhou (896 B.C.), before he could complete the great cause of reviving the Zhou Dynasty, King Xiao of Zhou died and was buried in Bimo (on the north and south banks of the Wei River near Xianyang and Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, the territory was very wide).
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