In 828 B.C., King Li of Zhou died in Zhidi (now northeast of Huo County, Shanxi Province). The next year, the crown prince of King Li of Zhou, Ji Jing, became the emperor. This was King Xuan of Zhou. Duke Ding of Zhou and Duke Mu of Zhao returned the government to King Xuan of Zhou, and the era of Duke Zhao of Zhou ended.
After King Xuan of Zhou became the emperor, he did not complete the identity transformation in time. He was greedy for fun and often got up late in the morning. His queen, Empress Jiang, was the daughter of the king of Qi. She was very anxious. She took off her hairpin and beads, spread her hair, took off her luxurious clothes, and wore plain clothes. She knelt down and begged King Xuan of Qi to get up and go to court to deal with political affairs. She also asked Fu's mother (an old woman who was responsible for tutoring and caring for the children of nobles in ancient times) to tell King Xuan of Zhou,"I caused King Xuan of Zhou to have a licentious heart, causing the king to neglect the government. This is the reason why I'm asking for forgiveness."
King Xuan of Zhou said,"It was my fault. Madam is not at fault."”From then on, he was diligent in government affairs.
King Xuan of Zhou selected virtuous and capable people, appointed Zhao Mu Gong, Yin Jifu, Zhong Shanfu, Cheng Bo Xiufu, Guo Wen Gong, Shen Bo, Han Hou, Xianfu, still uncle, Zhang Zhong and other virtuous ministers to assist the government, made great efforts to govern the country, determined to revive the Zhou Dynasty.
However, King Xuan of Zhou was a man of great achievements. He always felt that his subordinates had achieved too little and reprimanded them. He liked cockfighting. He heard that there was a master of chicken training in Qi State called Ji Zi, who asked him to quickly train a cockfighting that was always victorious. Ten days later, Xuan Wang asked,"Has the training been completed?" "Not yet," said Kiko."Whenever it sees or hears other chickens, it's eager to try.”After another 10 days, Prince Xuan asked if the training was done. Ji Zi said,""Not yet. His mind is still quite active, and his anger hasn't subsided.”Ten days later, Xuan Prince sent someone to ask,""Haven't you finished your training?" Ji Zi said," It's about time now. The arrogance is gone, and the mind is at ease. Although other chickens crow, it seems to not hear them and doesn't respond at all. No matter what sudden situation it encounters, it doesn't move or panic. It really looks like a wooden chicken. This kind of cockfighting was considered well-trained. When other cockfighting cocks saw it, they would definitely turn around and run away. They did not dare to fight.”
Prince Xuan of Zhou hurriedly went to check on the situation of the chicken. As expected, it was dumbstruck. It was not moved by the sound outside. Its spirit was concentrated inside. The other chickens did not dare to fight with it. When they saw it, they walked away. King Xuan of Zhou suddenly gained enlightenment from it and changed his impetuous and extravagant habits.
King Xuan of Zhou imitated the legacy of King Wen, King Wu, King Cheng, and King Kang of Zhou. He built infrastructure, opened up the way of speech, humbly accepted advice, formulated policies to pacify the people, let the people live and work in peace and contentment, developed agriculture, animal husbandry, cultural industries, and military construction, improved weapons, and dispatched the forces of the vassals to conquer the nomadic tribes that constantly harassed them. He subdued the vassals, restored the declining authority of the Zhou royal family, and the vassals once again met the emperor. The barbarians in the four directions were all convinced, and history called it "King Xuan's Resurrection".
In his later years, King Xuan of Qi became arrogant and arrogant. He did not listen to honest advice and acted arbitrarily, making many mistakes.
Once, King Xuan of Zhou returned to Haojing from Taiyuan. On the way, he met a group of children clapping their hands and singing a ballad."The moon is about to rise and the sun is about to set.”He felt that the ballad was ominous and returned to the court to ask the minister what it meant. The eldest uncle, Zhao Hu, replied,"It's the name of the mountain mulberry wood. It can be used to make bows." Ji, is the name of grass, can be made into a quiver. In my humble opinion, I'm afraid there will be a war in the country.”Taishi Boyang's father reported,"I observed the celestial phenomena. The ominous omen seems to be in the palace, not the matter of bows and arrows outside. The celestial phenomena indicate that there will be a disaster of the female lord in the future."”King Xuan of Zhou said,"Empress Jiang is in charge of the six palaces. The concubines are all very good. Where did the female disaster come from?"”He returned to the harem sullenly.
Empress Jiang said to King Xuan of Zhou,"A strange thing has happened in the palace." An old palace maid in her fifties had been pregnant for more than forty years and gave birth to a girl last night.”"Where is this girl?" asked King Xuan of Zhou.”Empress Jiang said," I'm afraid this is an ominous thing. I've already had someone wrap it in a straw mat and throw it into the Qingshui River twenty miles away."”Prince Xuan of Zhou immediately called the old palace maid over and asked her about her pregnancy.
The old palace maid knelt on the ground and replied,"I heard that at the end of King Jie's reign, a god in Bao City transformed into two dragons and descended to the royal court."We are the two lords of Bao City." The Grand Historian said,"When the gods descend, they will be in charge of good fortune."'King Jie ordered a sacrifice to be set up in front of the dragon. He took a golden plate to receive the dragon's saliva and placed it in a red box. It was stored in the inner treasury and had not been touched for thousands of years. At the end of the reign of the late king of this dynasty, there was a faint light coming out of the coffin, and the late king ordered it to be taken out to watch. The courtier opened the golden lid and presented it with a golden plate. The former king accidentally dropped the golden plate to the ground. The saliva hidden in it flowed down the court and turned into a small Yuan turtle (a kind of turtle). It circled in the court. The eunuchs chased after it, but the Yuan turtle ran into the harem and disappeared. At that time, this servant was only twelve years old. She accidentally stepped on the traces left by Yuan Yuan. She felt something and her belly grew bigger as if she was pregnant. The late king blamed me for being pregnant before marriage and imprisoned me in the secret room for more than forty years. Last night, her stomach hurt and she gave birth to a girl. The Empress said that it was a monster and ordered the attendant to throw it into the ditch. This servant deserves to die!" King Xuan of Zhou ordered the servant to go to Qingshui River to see the whereabouts of the baby girl. The attendant returned to report,"It has been washed away by the water."”
The next morning, Taishi Boyangfu reported after divination,""According to my analysis, although the demonic aura left the palace, it was not eliminated.”King Xuan of Zhou ordered: Inside and outside the city, go door-to-door to inquire about the baby girl. Because the ballad had the words "pressing arc dustpan", he ordered the officials of the city to patrol the market and not to make and sell mountain mulberry bows and dustpan grass quiver. Violators were sentenced to death. On the second day of the tour, a woman carried a few quiver made of dustpan grass. A man carried a dozen mountain mulberry wood bows and followed behind. The city official saw him and shouted,"Take him down!"”The soldiers captured the woman first, and the man ran away. King Xuan of Zhou ordered the woman to be beheaded and burned the mulberry bow and dustpan bag in the market.
Three years later, King Xuan of Zhou dreamed of a woman entering the palace. She laughed three times and cried three times. Bo Yangfu reported,"Three years ago, there was a nursery rhyme. I observed the celestial phenomena and saw the omen of a woman harming the Zhou Dynasty. There are words of crying and laughing in the lines. Your Majesty's dream should be a sign that the evil spirit has not been eliminated.”King Xuan of Zhou ordered Du Bo, a doctor, to investigate the witch and get rid of her.
Du Bo was a descendant of Emperor Yao and the lord of Du Di (now Xi'an, Shaanxi). He was loyal and righteous and made many contributions to the revival of the Zhou Dynasty. He advised,"I don't think you should believe the rumors. That girl won't do any harm to the Zhou Dynasty. Please don't disturb the people and kill the innocent."”King Xuan of Zhou was furious when he heard this and ordered the samurai to withdraw Du Bo and behead him. Zuo Ru hurriedly remonstrated,"No, no. If our king kills Uncle Du, I'm afraid that the people in the country will spread the heresy. When the foreigners hear it, they will laugh at us. Please forgive him, Your Majesty." King Xuan of Zhou did not listen, and the warriors pushed Du Bo out of the court gate and beheaded him. Zuo Ru returned home and committed suicide. Du Bo's son, Uncle Xi, fled to the State of Jin and became an official in charge of criminal law. He lived in Fan and became the ancestor of the Fan family, one of the six ministers of the State of Jin.
King Xuan of Zhou killed his ministers indiscriminately, causing a negative impact.
In the spring of 817 B.C.(the eleventh year of King Xuan of Zhou), Duke Wu of Lu, the king of the State of Lu, and his eldest son, Gongzi Kuo, and youngest son, Gongzi Xi, appeared before King Xuan of Zhou. King Xuan of Zhou loved Gongzi Xi and wanted to make Gongzi Xi the Crown Prince of Lu. Fan Zhongfu, the doctor of King Xuan of Zhou, dissuaded him."It's not polite to abolish the old and establish the young." King Xuan of Zhou did not listen and insisted on making his son play the prince of Lu. In the summer of the same year, Duke Wu of Lu passed away, and Gongzi Xi succeeded the throne as Duke Yi of Lu.
In 807 B.C.(the 21st year of King Xuan of Zhou), Bo Yu, the son of Gongzi Kuo, had always believed that his father should have succeeded the throne. He was dissatisfied with Gongzi Xi's succession and attacked and killed Duke Yi of Lu. Bo Yu was appointed as the ruler of Lu and was known as the "Duke Fei of Lu" in history.
In 797 B.C.(the thirty-first year of King Xuan of Zhou), King Xuan of Zhou attacked the State of Lu and killed the deposed Duke of Lu, Bo Yu. King Xuan of Zhou asked his ministers,""Who among the young masters of the Lu Country is qualified to be the monarch of the Lu Country?”Fan Muzhong said,"Duke Yi of Lu's younger brother, Gongzi Cheng, is solemn and respectful. He respects the elderly and must abide by the etiquette of the previous dynasty when handling matters.”King Xuan of Zhou established a son in the Yi Palace (the temple of King Xuan of Zhou's grandfather, King Yi of Zhou) as the monarch of the State of Lu. He was Duke Xiao of Lu. After this incident, the reputation of the Zhou emperor had greatly decreased, and many of the vassals had defied the king's orders.
In 783 B.C.(46th year of King Xuan of Zhou), King Xuan of Zhou died. It was said that when King Xuan of Zhou was hunting in the fields (now west of Zhongmou, Henan Province), the ghost of Du Bo rode a white horse and white chariot, wearing a red hat, galloping from the side of the road, holding a red bow and arrow, and shot the heart of King Xuan. After breaking his spine, King Xuan of Zhou fell on the quiver and died.
The mistakes of King Xuan of Zhou in his later years caused the revival of King Xuan to be short-lived, and also foreshadowed the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty during the period of King You of Zhou.
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