After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, according to the rule of destroying the country but not destroying the sacrifice, he enfeoffed the son of King Zhou of Shang, Wu Geng, in the old capital of the Shang Dynasty, Yin (now Anyang, Henan), to inherit the Yin sacrifice.
After the death of King Wu of Zhou, Wu Geng took the opportunity to rebel. Duke Dan of Zhou put down the rebellion and killed Wu Geng. The elder brother of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, Wei Zi, did not participate in the rebellion. Duke Dan of Zhou enfeoffed Wei Zi in the Song Dynasty (today's Shangqiu, Henan Province) to inherit the Yin sacrifice. Wei Zi was the ancestor of Song Country.
The title of nobility in Song Country was passed down to Duke Huan of Song. Duke Huan's eldest son was called Muyi, born of a concubine. The second son was called Zifu. He was the son of Duke Huan of Song's wife, Madam Song Huan (daughter of Wei Zhaobo and Xuan Jiang). He was appointed Crown Prince.
In 652 B.C., Duke Huan of Song was seriously ill and arranged for Zifu to succeed the throne. Zifu pleaded,"Muyi is my elder brother. He is loyal and righteous. Please make Muyi the king.”
Duke Huan of Song told Mu Yi about Zifu's thoughts. Mu Yi refused to accept the position of crown prince and said,"My brother wants to give the country to me. No matter how kind I am, I can't compare to my brother! Moreover, it was not in line with the system to abolish the legitimate son and establish a concubine.”Muyi fled to the State of Wei, and Zifu did not give up his position as Crown Prince.
In the spring of 651 B.C., Duke Huan of Song passed away, and Prince Zifu ascended the throne as Duke Xiang of Song. Duke Xiang of Song granted his brother Muyi the title of prime minister, who was in charge of military and political power and assisted the government.
Song Country was a small country, but Duke Xiang of Song played a big role in the political arena of the Spring and Autumn Period.
In 643 B.C., Duke Huan of Qi was seriously ill. His five sons fought for the throne, and Prince Zhao was forced to flee to the State of Song. In the spring of 642 B.C., after the death of Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Xiang of Song followed the instructions of Duke Huan of Qi before his death. He united Cao, Wei, and Wei to send troops to Qi to quell the civil strife in Qi and appointed Prince Zhao as Duke Xiao of Qi. Duke Xiang of Song became famous because of this.
Ba, that is, Bo, the sound turned into Ba, also known as Fang Bo, is the boss of the princes. After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the position of the leader of the vassals was vacant. Duke Xiang of Song wanted to imitate Duke Huan of Qi and form an alliance with the vassals to be the leader of the vassals. Muyi advised him,"It is a disaster to unite the vassals with the strength of a small country." Our Song Country is a small country, don't do anything risky.”Duke Xiang of Song did not listen.
In 641 B.C., Duke Xiang of Song detained Duke Xuan of Teng and invited Cao and Wei to meet in Caonan. Later, he ordered Duke Wen of Wei to take the king of the country of Wei as a sacrifice to the suburbs of Suishui for sacrifice, hoping to use this to threaten Dongyi to submit. In the autumn of the same year, Duke Xiang of Song sent troops to surround Cao because Cao was not convinced. However, the vassals formed two large groups. Chu, Qi, Zheng, Chen, Cai, and other countries formed a large group. They did not listen to Duke Xiang of Song. Duke Xiang of Song only had Wei, Wei, Cao, Hua, and other small countries to follow him.
The Chu clan was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. The ancestor of the Chu clan, Yu Xiong, had the surname Mi. He led his clan to seek refuge with King Wen of Zhou and participated in the struggle to destroy the Shang Dynasty. His descendants were granted the title of Viscount by King Wu of Zhou in the land of Chu (now Danyang, Jiangsu Province). After that, the Chu people continued to expand their territory and gradually developed into a great country that dominated the south.
King Cheng of Chu, surnamed Mi, Xiong, named Yun, was the youngest son of King Wen of Chu. In 675 B.C., King Wen of Chu passed away and Xiong Yun's brother, Xiong Jian, succeeded to the throne. In 672 B.C., Chu Du 'ao was afraid that his powerful and capable younger brother Xiong Yun would usurp the throne, so he wanted to kill Xiong Yun. Xiong Yun fled to Suiguo (now northwest of Suizhou in Hubei Province), attacked and killed Chu Duao with the people of Suiguo, and won the throne of King Cheng of Chu.
In the spring of 639 B.C., Duke Xiang of Song met with the vassals for the first time in Ludi. He met with the kings of Qi and Chu. Duke Xiang of Song claimed to be the leader of the alliance, which caused dissatisfaction between the kings of Qi and Chu. Duke Xiang of Song also made his own decision. Without the consent of Qi and Chu, he agreed to meet the vassals again in the autumn of that year.
Muyi once again advised Duke Xiang of Song,"Song is a small country. If a small country wants to be the overlord, it will bring disaster."”Duke Xiang of Song still did not listen.
Before leaving for Yu Land, Muyi advised him to bring the army with him in case of any changes. Duke Xiang of Song said,"I myself proposed not to bring an army. I have already made an agreement with the Chu people. How can I not keep my word?"”He did not bring his army to the meeting.
On the appointed day, Chu, Chen, Cai, Xu, Cao, Zheng, and the other six rulers had all arrived. Chu had already prepared an ambush. Duke Xiang of Song and King Cheng of Chu had a conflict because they were vying to be the overlord of the vassals. King Cheng of Chu suddenly ordered people to capture Duke Xiang of Song and bring him back to the State of Chu to be imprisoned, preparing to attack the State of Song. In the winter of the same year, when the vassals met in a remote place, Duke Xiang of Song was released under the mediation of Duke Xi of Lu.
After Duke Xiang of Song returned to the country, he heard that the State of Zheng supported King Cheng of Chu to be the overlord of the vassals, so he decided to attack the State of Zheng. Muyi dissuaded him, but Duke Xiang of Song did not listen.
In the early winter of 638 B.C., Duke Xiang of Song led his troops to attack the State of Zheng. The State of Zheng asked the State of Chu for help. The Chu Country sent General Cheng Dechen to attack the capital of the Song Country. Worried about the loss of the country, Duke Xiang of Song hastily retreated from the State of Zheng. The armies of Song and Chu met at Hongshui (the name of the ancient river, the old road was about to be northwest of Zhecheng County, Henan Province).
The Chu army began to cross the Hongshui River. Mu Yi said,""The Chu army has more soldiers than us. We should take advantage of the opportunity to destroy them while they cross the river.”
Duke Xiang of Song said," We are known as benevolent and righteous armies. How can we take advantage of others crossing the river to attack?”
The Chu army crossed the river and began to set up an array on the shore. Mu Yi said,""We can attack now."
Duke Xiang of Song said,"Wait until they are in formation before attacking."”
After the Chu army set up their formation, they launched a fierce attack on the Song army. The Song army was defeated, and Duke Xiang of Song was also shot in the thigh by the Chu army.
The Song army suffered a defeat and suffered heavy losses. They all blamed Duke Xiang for not listening to Young Master Muyi's opinion, but Duke Xiang said,""A gentleman with a benevolent heart will not attack an injured enemy in battle, nor will he attack an old man whose hair has already turned white. In particular, whenever the ancients fought, they did not rely on the dangers of the pass to win. Although my Song Kingdom was about to perish, I still could not bear to attack an enemy who had not set up a good array.”
Zi Yu said,"War is for the purpose of victory, and you still talk about the way of a gentleman!" If I really do as you say, Duke Xiang, I'll just be a slave. Why fight?”
The Battle of Hongshui had left behind a laughingstock for the ages.
In the summer of 637 B.C., Duke Xiang of Song suffered from an attack of pain and died without treatment. He was buried in Xiangyi (now Sui County, Henan Province).
King Cheng of Chu and Duke Huan of Qi fought for hegemony for more than ten years. Then, he fought with Duke Xiang of Song and the State of Jin. In the Battle of Chengpu, the Chu army led by General Ziyu was defeated by the Jin army.
In 626 B.C., King Cheng of Chu wanted to depose Crown Prince Shang Chen. Shang Chen led the guards in the palace to surround King Cheng of Chu and forced him to commit suicide. King Cheng of Chu requested to die after eating the bear paw, but Shang Chen did not agree. On October 18, King Cheng of Chu hanged himself. Shang Chen ascended the throne and became King Mu of Chu.
In 613 B.C., King Mu passed away. The struggle for the throne in Chu State was very intense, resulting in the rebellion of Gongzi Xie and Gongzi Yi. Xiong Lu pretended to be silly and was promoted to the throne of Chu State. He was King Zhuang of Chu. He was less than 20 years old. He continued to play dumb and indulged in sex. He did not care about political affairs so that others would not fight with him. He secretly observed the situation and distinguished between treacherous and capable officials.
Three years later, he had a basic understanding of the political situation and various people in Chu State. He immediately took action and appointed loyal officials such as Wu Ju and Su Cong to attack and destroy the invading Yong State. He expanded the power of Chu State to the northwest and appointed Sun Shu 'ao as the magistrate to develop the economy and enrich the national strength.
Once, after King Zhuang of Chu put down the rebellion, he held a banquet for his ministers. He did not enjoy it until dusk. King Zhuang of Chu ordered a candlelight banquet and specially asked his two favorite beauties, Xu Ji and Mai Ji, to take turns toasting the civil officials and generals. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and the candles on the banquet were extinguished. At this moment, an official grabbed Xu Ji's hand in the darkness. Xu Ji tore off her sleeve and broke free. She also tore off the tassel on the man's hat.
Xu Ji went back to King Zhuang of Chu and complained. She asked the king to light the candles and check everyone's hat tassel to find the rude person. When King Zhuang of Chu heard this, he ordered not to light the candles and said loudly,"Today, I have set up a banquet and will leave with everyone. Now please remove your hat tassel, so that you can drink more to your heart's content.”
Hearing King Zhuang of Chu's words, everyone took off their hats and lit candles. The monarch and his subjects left happily.
After the banquet was over, Xu Ji blamed King Zhuang of Chu for not standing up for her. King Zhuang of Chu said,"The purpose of this banquet is to celebrate and harmonize the relationship between the monarch and his subjects. It was human nature to lose one's composure after drinking. Wouldn't it be a great spoil of scenery if one were to hold him accountable?”Xu Ji finally understood Chu Zhuangwang's intentions. This was the famous "Banquet of Death" in history.
In 608 B.C., Song and Jin formed an alliance. When Chen Gonggong died, the State of Chu did not send anyone to attend the funeral, so the State of Chen also allied with the State of Jin. King Zhuang of Chu had allied with the State of Zheng to attack the two countries because they had betrayed the State of Chu and supported the State of Jin. Zhao Dun of Jin led his army to rescue Song and Chen. The Chu army and the Jin army met in Beilin (Xinzheng, Henan Province) and defeated the Jin army. Xie Yang, a doctor of the Jin State, was captured and the Jin army withdrew.
In the spring of 606 B.C., King Zhuang of Chu personally led his army north and arrived near the capital of the Zhou Emperor, Luoyi. He set up a demonstration at the border of the Zhou royal family. King Ding of Zhou was frightened and sent a doctor, Wang Sunman, to comfort King Zhuang of Chu. When King Zhuang of Chu met Wang Sunman, he asked,""How big and heavy are the nine cauldrons?"
The nine cauldrons were forged by Xia Yu and symbolized the nine states. Xia, Shang, and Zhou regarded them as the treasures of the country and the symbol of the emperor's power. When King Zhuang of Chu asked about the nine cauldrons, he was looking down on the Emperor of Zhou and had the intention of replacing him.
According to the rites of the Zhou Dynasty, Wang Sun Man should have reprimanded King Zhuang of Chu for speaking rudely. However, he saw that the State of Chu was powerful and could only answer tactfully,"Virtue is not the cauldron…Although the virtue of the Zhou Dynasty declined, the destiny of heaven had not changed, and the weight of the tripod could not be asked.”
At this time, King Zhuang of Chu knew that the conditions to replace the Zhou royal family were not ripe, so he withdrew his troops.
In 597 B.C., the State of Chu besieged the State of Zheng. The State of Jin sent Xun Linfu to lead the three armies to rescue the State of Zheng. The two sides fought over the land of Bey (now north of Zhengzhou, Henan Province). During the battle, the Chu army took advantage of the internal differences and weak command of the Jin army to attack at the right time and win a complete victory, thus washing away the shame of failure in the Battle of Chengpu.
After the battle of Wei, King Zhuang of Chu watered his horse on the Yellow River and forced the vassal states of the Central Plains to submit to Zheng and Xu. Then he destroyed the State of Xiao and attacked the State of Song, forcing them to submit to the State of Chu. In this way, the major vassal states of the Central Plains left the State of Jin and submitted to the State of Chu. King Zhuang of Chu became the overlord of the Central Plains.
In the autumn of 591 B.C., King Zhuang of Chu passed away and was buried in Jishan Town, the southernmost point of Shayang County, Jingmen City, Hubei Province.
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