Chapter 4 Lu Zhuanggong

In the history of the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Zhuanggong is undoubtedly a relatively special figure, because only his birth date is clearly recorded. Lu Zhuanggong was born on the 24th day of the ninth lunar month in the 14th year of King Huan of Zhou (706 BC), and was named Tong. It is said that this unique name was given by his father, King Lu Huan. He took it. I was also born on Ding Mao's day, and this guy was born on the same day as me, so let's call him Tong! Since he is also the eldest son of the king of Lu (King Lu Huan), according to the regulations of the ancestors, he was naturally established as the prince (the eldest son).Tong's mother, Wen Jiang, is the daughter of the monarch of the neighboring state of Qi. In the eyes of ordinary people, Duke Zhuang grew up in such a family of princes, and he should have enjoyed all the glory, wealth, and carefree. A huge shadow has always shrouded his young heart.This shadow has a direct relationship with the mother. It should be said that these rumors were like a bolt from the blue to the young Duke Zhuang.

Wen Jiang has an improper relationship with Duke Xiang of Qi! Duke Zhuang had already passed his tenth birthday when he first heard this rumor, and he was already able to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil in the world.Although Qi Xianggong is Wen Jiang's biological brother, it is said that she had already had an affair with her elder brother before she married her father (King Lu Huan).Although these were overheard by Duke Zhuang when others were whispering, it also brought great harm to the young Duke Zhuang and cast a shadow over his pure heart.However, the damage was far more than that. In the end, he actually heard even more unbearable rumors:

In fact, the prince (Lu Zhuanggong) is the son of Qi Xianggong! These almost vicious rumors kept pounding Duke Zhuang's young mind, making him feel like he was about to explode.As soon as I open my eyes every day, my mind will start to think wildly: I am not my father's son, and Wen Jiang married to the State of Lu after she was pregnant with Qi Xianggong's child.This kind of dirty thought has been tormenting the young Lu Zhuanggong. When Zhuang Gong was thirteen years old (Xu Sui), his father passed away. Of course, he was actually killed by someone, and the reason for this ending was also thanks to his mother Wen Jiang.That year, his father, Duke Huan, took his mother, Wen Jiang, to the state of Qi. Wen Jiang took the opportunity to sneak out to have a tryst with Duke Xiang of Qi. When he came back too late, Duke Huan of Lu noticed and was beaten by Duke Huan.So Wen Jiang went to Duke Xiang of Qi to cry and complain about Duke Huan beating and scolding him.

What?How dare he beat you so viciously!good!good!He is not benevolent, don't blame me for being unrighteous!I'm going to kill him! In order to vent his anger on his sister, Duke Xiang of Qi found an excuse to entertain Duke Huan of Lu. During the banquet, he kept toasting Duke Huan. In the carriage, the extremely powerful Peng Sheng smashed Duke Huan's bones one by one with his fists. In this way, Duke Huan of Lu died in Qi State inexplicably.Lu Zhuanggong who stayed in the country, the last thing he saw was the body of his father who was beaten like a jellyfish. Due to his father's sudden death, the young Lu Zhuanggong boarded the King of Lu Kingdom without any preparation. throne.

Although Duke Zhuang has become the king of a country, anyone who knows the inside story knows that the anguish and pain in the young monarch's heart cannot be described in words. When his father passed away, his mother Wen Jiang didn't even look at him, and she didn't return to the State of Lu, but boldly stayed by Qi Xianggong's side. Duke Xiang of Qi has always looked down on the State of Lu, and regards the State of Lu as his own vassal state.In the winter of the year when Lu Zhuanggong was 21 years old, Qi Xianggong was assassinated by people around him. In the second year, the assassin was also killed by his subordinates, and Qi fell into chaos.Due to his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, Duke Huan of Qi finally became the new monarch of Qi State. In order to avenge his father, Duke Zhuang of Lu confronted Duke Huan of Qi openly and led the army of Lu State to attack Qi State. The army of Lu was defeated.Like Duke Xiang of Qi, Duke Huan of Qi also looked down on the State of Lu. In order to make the State of Lu completely surrender to him, Duke Huan of Qi decided to lead his army to crusade against the State of Lu and began preparations for the crusade.At that time, no matter how you looked at it, Qi and Lu had no chance of defeating Lu when they fought against each other.

It seems that we can only stick to the capital now! All the ministers persuaded Duke Zhuang in this way, and Duke Zhuang himself had no better idea, so he had to listen to the opinions of the majority and start preparing for the defense of Cage City (the royal city of Lu at that time).As a result, the people of Lu State became more timid and almost lost their fighting spirit. At this moment, a young man named Cao GUI from the village bravely stood up: Those people (nobles) who eat meat are all cowards who are afraid of death!It will only give the king some bad ideas.Let me tell the king how to win this war!

Regardless of the dissuasion of the villagers, Cao GUI came to the capital cage city alone and asked to see Duke Zhuang of Lu.According to the laws of the vassal states at that time, commoners (common people) could not see the monarch, but perhaps it was because of the immortality of Lu, when he heard that there was a commoner asking for an audience, Duke Zhuang's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.So Duke Zhuang of Lu decided to meet this brave commoner named Cao GUI.After a long talk with Cao GUI, Duke Zhuang of Lu was deeply moved and decided to adopt his suggestion. We can't defend the cage city to death, but should attack the border and give the Qi army a head-on blow!

Duke Zhuang of Lu personally led the soldiers of the State of Lu to attack the Changshao on the Qilu border, and he obviously valued Cao GUI very much, so he let Cao GUI sit in his carriage. The person in a carriage is either the country's number one warrior, or a military division who commands the entire country's army to fight.It is the first in the world that Duke Zhuang of Lu attaches so much importance to Cao GUI, who he has only met once. Seeing that the Lu army dared to come to fight, the military officials of Qi State felt inconceivable. Duke Huan of Qi ordered the Qi army to also set up a battle at Changshao.At that time, when the two armies faced each other, the soldiers decided to advance or retreat based entirely on the sound of the war drum. Generally, the two sides would start fighting after beating the three-way drum.Soon, the first drum of the Qi army rang, and Duke Zhuang of Lu wanted to order his side to beat the drum as well, but Cao GUI stopped him with words. The second drum of the Qi army rang again, and the Qi army began to move forward. But Cao GUI still told Zhuang Gong not to act rashly, and finally the third drumbeat of the Qi army came to his ears, and the Qi army was already close at hand.it's time!Beat the drum and march!Cao GUI reminded Zhuang Gong loudly, maybe it was a bit long, and the drums of the Lu army were particularly loud.

The result of the battle was won by the Lu army, and it was a complete victory. Duke Lu Zhuang had never dared to think about defeating the mighty Qi army like this before, and such a scene has never happened since then. At the celebration banquet, Duke Zhuang of Lu curiously asked Cao GUI the reason for not sending troops for so long. Your Majesty, you should know that the role of war drums on the battlefield is mainly to boost the morale of soldiers. Usually, the three-way drum will follow the law of one to prosper, another to decline, and three to exhaust. When the enemy is exhausted three times, we will When the army is in full swing, there is no reason for it to be invincible!

After hearing Cao GUI's explanation, Duke Zhuang felt enlightened, and immediately promoted him to the post of general. This kind of direct promotion from a grassroots person to a general is unprecedented, but it was also the wise decision made by Duke Zhuang. As a result, Lu State did not become the territory of powerful Qi State, and because of Cao GUI's existence and his loyalty to Duke Zhuang, Duke Zhuang of Lu's withdrawn character improved a lot.Duke Zhuang died in the fifteenth year of King Hui of Zhou (662 BC) and reigned for thirty-two years. ︱ ︱ ︱ Note: A Brief History of the State of Lu

In the pre-Qin period, Ji's surname was vassal state.In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou conquered some of the former Yin and Shang vassal states that joined forces with Wu Geng's rebellion. King Cheng of Zhou enfeoffed the kingdom of Yan, the eldest son of the Duke of Zhou, Boqin.He also bestowed many cultural relics and books and officials in charge, making Lu an important stronghold for the Zhou Dynasty to control the East.At the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Lu was still a powerful country in the east. During the reigns of Duke Yin and Duke Huan (722 BC, 662 BC), they defeated big states such as Qi and Song many times, and continuously invaded small states such as Qi, Zhu, and Ju. , won Ji, Fang and other places, Cao, Teng, Xue, Ji and other small countries also often paid tribute to Lu.After the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, the power was transferred to the hands of the noble ministers. At that time, the three younger brothers Ji You, Shu Ya, and Qingfu were the descendants of Lu Zhuanggong's three younger brothers, known as Jisun, Shusun, and Mengsun ( They are all descendants of Duke Huan of Lu, so they are also called Sanhuan), the so-called government officials.The state of Lu was one of the vassal states that preserved more ritual systems in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Affected by the situation at that time, it also launched a series of reforms.For example, the Chu tax mu implemented in the fifteenth year of Lu Xuangong (594 BC), the Zuoqiujia implemented in the year of Lu Chenggong (590 BC), and the 12th year of Lu Aigong (483 BC). Years), the use of land taxes, etc., all of which represent important reforms in the Lu State's taxation and taxation system.The Zuo Sanjun implemented in the eleventh year of Lu Xianggong (562 BC) and the She Sanjun implemented in the fifth year of Lu Zhaogong (537 BC) represent the changing process of the military organization of the Lu State and the power balance between the monarch and his ministers. In the late Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Zhao of Lu was expelled by three families, went into exile and died in a foreign land.Soon thereafter, Sanhuan's retainers Yang Hu and others rose up again to hold the ministers hostage and control the state affairs, which once formed a situation where the accompanying ministers were in charge of the state's orders.During the reign of Duke Ding of Lu (509 BC, 495 BC), Yang Hu failed and ran away, and San Huan regained power.Later Duke Ai of Lu (reigned in 494 BC 467 BC) tried to restore the monarchy, and the conflicts with the three ministers intensified, and he eventually went into exile in Yue.In the early Warring States period, around the time of Duke Yuan of Lu (408 BC, 428 BC), Sanhuan gradually lost power, and after Duke Mu of Lu (reigned in 377 BC, 407 BC), the regime returned to into the hands of the king.Before and after that, Lu had contacted Yue, Han, Wei and other countries, and fought against Qi many times to compete for border towns.At the end of the Warring States Period, the State of Chu was forced by the State of Qin to move eastward, and the conquest of the State of Lu also intensified. was deposed.From Boqin to Qinggong, the state of Lu has been handed down for thirty-three generations, which lasted for more than 800 years.