Ji Juetu, the son of the State of Zheng, joined forces with the State of Qin, the State of Jin, and the State of Wei to repel the Xirong soldiers. He also personally went to the State of Shen to welcome King Ping of Zhou to Haojing to ascend the throne. The King of Zhou Ping was very appreciative of Ji Juetu and allowed him to inherit the title of Duke Zheng. He was Duke Wu of Zheng and granted him the title of Minister and rewarded him with a large piece of land.
Later, Duke Wu of Zheng destroyed the State of Wei, the State of Guo, and the State of Hu, making the State of Zheng the most powerful country at that time. Duke Wu of Zheng had power in the government and the people, and all the vassals admired him.
In the 10th year of Duke Wu of Zheng (761 B.C.), Duke Wu of Zheng married the daughter of the king of Shen, Wu Jiang. Four years later, Wu Jiang gave birth to Ji Wusheng in her sleep and disliked him very much. Three years later, Wu Jiang gave birth to Ji Duan. Wu Jiang likes Ji Duan and hates Ji Wusheng. However, Duke Wu of Zheng still made his eldest son Ji Wusheng the Crown Prince.
In 743 B.C., Duke Wu of Zheng died of illness. Prince Wu Sheng inherited the throne as Duke Zhuang of Zheng. Duke Zhuang of Zheng inherited his father's prestige and continued to control the Zhou Dynasty.
However, Duke Zhuang of Zheng's family was not peaceful. Wu Jiang doted on his youngest son, Ji Duan. Now that Ji Wusheng had inherited the title of Duke Zhuang of Zheng, he said to Duke Zhuang of Zheng,""Give the land to your brother Duan.”
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said,"Zhiyi is a dangerous place. Uncle Guo died there. If you give it to other cities, I can do as you say.”
Therefore, Wu Jiang requested to change the capital (now Xingyang, Henan Province) to Ji Duan's fief. Duke Zhuang of Zheng agreed to let Ji Duan live there and called him the capital's Grand Uncle.
"If the city walls of the enfeoffed capital exceed 300 square meters, it will become a scourge to the country," said the great officer Ji Zhong. The system of the former king stipulated that the largest city in the country could not exceed one-third of the capital, the medium-sized city could not exceed one-fifth of it, and the small city could not exceed one-ninth of it. The city walls of the capital are illegal. I'm afraid it's not good for you.”
"My mom wants this, what should I do?" Zhuang Gong Zheng asked.”
Ji Duan wanted to become the king because of his mother's favor, so he secretly trained the army to expand his strength. Not long after, Ji Duan made the border cities in the west and north of the State of Zheng his own.
Childe Lu said to Duke Zhuang of Zheng," A country cannot have two monarchs. What do you plan to do now? If you intend to hand over the State of Zheng to Taishu, then I will serve him. If you don't give it to him, then please get rid of him and don't cause the people to have doubts.”
The Duke Zhuang of Zheng said,"There's no need to get rid of him. He's going to suffer disaster himself."”
Ji Duan then changed the border towns of the two countries into his own jurisdiction, extending all the way to Linyan (now north of Yanjin County, Henan Province).
Childe Lu said to Duke Zhuang of Zheng,"We should take measures against Taishu." With the expansion of the land, he would gain the support of the people.”
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said," If he is not loyal to the monarch and is not close to his elder brother, even if his land is expanded, he will still fall.”
Ji Duan repaired the city walls, gathered the people, fixed the armor and weapons, and prepared the chariots. In 722 B.C., he was about to attack the State of Zheng and seize the throne. Wu Jiang planned to open the city gate as a spy.
Zhuang Gong of Zheng heard the news that Ji Duan was going to ambush them, so he said,""We can attack now!" He ordered Zi Feng to lead 200 chariots to attack the capital. The people of the capital city betrayed Ji Duan, so he fled to Yan City (now Yicheng City, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province). Zhuang Gong chased him to Yan City to crusade against him. On the 23rd day of the fifth lunar month, Ji Duan escaped to Gong Country and died there. He never returned to the State of Zheng, so he was called Uncle Gong Duan.
Because of this, Duke Zhuang of Zheng placed his mother, Wu Jiang, in Chengying (now northeast of Xiangcheng, Henan Province) and swore,"We won't meet again until we're buried in the underworld!”
After a while, Zhuang Gong of Zheng regretted it. There was a man named Uncle Ying Kao, who was an official in charge of the border of Ying Valley. When he heard this, he presented the tribute to Duke Zhuang of Zheng. Duke Zhuang of Zheng gave him food. Uncle Ying Kao kept the meat when he ate. Duke Zhuang of Zheng asked him why.
Uncle Ying Kao replied," I have an old lady. She has tasted everything I eat, but she has never tasted the meat soup given by the king. Please let me bring it back for her."”
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said,"You have an old lady to show filial piety to, but I don't!"”
Uncle Ying Kao said,"May I ask what you mean?"”
Zhuang Gong of Zheng told him the reason and also told him how regretful he felt. Uncle Ying Kao replied,"What are you worried about?" As long as you dig a tunnel, dig out the spring water, and meet me in the tunnel, who will say that you have violated your oath?”Duke Zhuang of Zheng did as he said.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng walked into the tunnel to see Wu Jiang and wrote a poem,""Meeting in the tunnel, how harmonious!”Wu Jiang walked out of the tunnel and wrote a poem,"Meeting outside the tunnel, how comfortable and happy!"”From then on, they resumed their mother-son relationship.
In 720 B.C., King Ping of Zhou passed away, and the Crown Prince Ji Xiefu died early. The ministers supported the Crown Prince's son, Ji Lin, to inherit the throne. This was King Huan of Zhou.
King Huan of Zhou was very dissatisfied with Duke Zhuang of Zheng's control of the court. He promoted Duke Guo to the right minister, demoted Duke Zhuang of Zheng to the left minister, and finally removed him from the position of the left minister. In 717 B.C., Duke Zhuang of Zheng came to see King Huan of Zhou. King Huan of Zhou did not receive him according to etiquette.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng couldn't stand this, so in 715 B.C., he secretly exchanged Xu's land with Lu. The land of Xu was used by the emperor to worship Mount Tai. Duke Zhuang of Zheng did not pay tribute to King Huan of Zhou for five years in a row. He even sent people to harvest the crops of the royal family. A vassal dared to harvest the emperor's crops. This was something that had never happened before. Under the patriarch system, this was undoubtedly a treasonous act.
In 707 B.C., the young and vigorous King Huan of Zhou did not listen to the advice of Duke Guo. He led the six armies of the Zhou Dynasty and the allied forces of the State of Chen, the State of Cai, and the State of Wei to attack the State of Zheng. He wanted to destroy the arrogance of Duke Zhuang of Zheng and establish the dignity of the emperor.
However, Zhuang Gong Zheng was a very capable person and was not easy to deal with. He adopted a strategy of defeating one by one, first defeating the newly established monarch and the unstable Chen army. When Cai Jun heard that Chen Jun had been defeated, he did not dare to fight anymore.
In the end, Duke Zhuang of Zheng concentrated his superior forces in Ge (now northeast of Changge in Henan Province) and fought fiercely with the army of the Zhou emperor. Zhu Dan was a valiant general of the State of Zheng. During the battle, he shot an arrow at King Huan of Zhou's shoulder. King Huan of Zhou endured the pain and managed to command his army to escape.
Zhu Dan wanted to pursue and capture King Huan of Zhou alive, but Duke Zhuang of Zheng stopped him and said,"A gentleman doesn't want to push things too far, let alone bully the emperor. It was self-defense. It was enough for the country to avoid danger.”After the battle, Duke Zhuang of Zheng sent a doctor, Ji Zhong, to express his respect for the Emperor of Zhou, to sympathize with the injured King Huan of Zhou and his entourage.
The battle of Muge caused the dignity of the Zhou emperor to plummet. From then on, the Zhou royal family was unable to conquer those undisciplined princes. The historical prologue of the Spring and Autumn period of the feudal lords 'hegemony was also opened.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。