Chapter 6 Song Xianggong

In his later years, Duke Huan of Qi, the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period, often discussed state affairs with his prime minister, Guan Zhong. Once, Duke Huan asked Guan Zhong: Who do you think will be in charge after my hundred years? At that time, Duke Huan was the leader of the vassal states, so he could marry the wives of the three palaces (middle palace, east palace and west palace) like the king of Zhou. Unfortunately, none of the wives of the three palaces gave birth to him, so he had to choose a position. The boy born to the concubine who was second only to Mrs. Sangong was established as the crown prince. At that time, Duke Huan had six concubines, and there was no difference in status among the concubines, so the children born to them also had no distinction of honor.Duke Huan was very troubled by this matter. After careful consideration, Guan Zhong suggested to Duke Huan of Qi that Zhao, the son of Zheng Ji (later Duke Xiao of Qi), be the crown prince. Duke Huan of Qi, who had always believed in Guan Zhong, once again adopted Guan Zhong's suggestion .

In order to reassure Duke Huan of Qi, Guan Zhong also suggested to him: entrust Chu Junzhao to Duke Song. The Song Gong mentioned by Guan Zhong is the protagonist Song Xianggong in this section. Song Xianggong was loved by everyone because he was smart and caring since he was a child, and he got along well with his brothers and sisters. As early as when he was born, he was established as the heir apparent by the king of Song.Song Xianggong once asked his father before his father's sick bed: Elder brother Muyi is broad-minded, both civil and military, and knows the pain of the common people in the world, please father make elder brother Muyi the heir apparent!

Seeing that Aiko actually wanted to give up the crown prince position to his elder brother, the king of Song was very surprised, so he sent someone to call Mu Yi in, and told Mu Yi the intention of the crown prince (Duke Xiang): Even if I am better than him in every aspect, I don't have the benevolence and righteousness that he would give up the position of the king of a country! Mu Yi greatly praised Duke Xiang, and rejected his younger brother's request to abdicate the position of crown prince. In addition, Mu Yi was originally born in a side room (not born to his wife), so Duke Xiang, who was born in the main room, naturally became the successor. traditional people.

After Xianggong ascended the throne, he immediately appointed Muyi as Zuo Shi (Left Minister). With the joint efforts of the two brothers, Song State gradually entered the ranks of powerful countries. Guan Zhong's foresight is recognized by everyone. He knows that after a hundred years after Duke Huan of Qi, his heirs will inevitably start a scuffle over the right of inheritance. The throne of the king of the country. Soon, Guan Zhong passed away, and Duke Huan of Qi also passed away. Sure enough, the princes of Qi State began to show their talents to fight for the throne. Qi State fell into chaos. With the help of Duke Xiang of Song, Prince Zhao escaped to Song Dynasty In order to fulfill his promise to Guan Zhong, Song Xianggong decided to help his son Zhao with all his strength.

Don't worry, I will help you become the king! So Song Xianggong assembled the army of Song State, and led his son Zhao to march towards Qi State in a mighty way. After learning the news that the Song Army had invaded, the four sons of Qi State who had fought for the throne stood together again and joined forces to fight the Song Army. Resisting the attack of the Song army, Song Xianggong soon sent his troops into the capital of Qi State, and assisted his son Zhao to ascend the throne of Qi State monarch. The whole thing looks beautifully done. It is precisely because of this that Song Xianggong is a little complacent. He thinks he has certain military capabilities and overestimates his capabilities, so he has the idea of ​​calling a meeting of all the princes.You know, after the death of Duke Huan of Qi at that time, the ties between the princes and states have been reduced. It stands to reason that everyone should be under the king of Zhou, and the king of Zhou should be the center, but the Zhou Dynasty at that time was already in a precarious state In China, there is no ability to resolve the disputes between the vassal states.The vassal states also recruited troops one after another, and all of them aimed at the leader of the vassal state. At this time, Song Xianggong also joined the ranks.

Three years after he sent his troops into Qi, Duke Xiang of Song held a meeting of princes and monarchs in Lushang as he wished. At that time, the state of Chu in the south was becoming stronger and stronger. The invitation to this meeting, but the king of Chu thought that if he went to the meeting, it would show that he had surrendered to the princes of the Central Plains, so he did not attend.In the same year, Song Xianggong held the second meeting of princes in Yu, and he once again sent an invitation to the king of Chu. King Cheng of Chu was in power at that time, and he did not refuse this time.

But at the party, King Chu Cheng was very dissatisfied. Song Xianggong, who presided over the meeting, was recognized by the Zhou royal family as the new overlord, that is, the leader of the vassal states, and the status of the other vassal states was naturally slightly lower than that of Song State.King Cheng of Chu, who never looked down on other vassal states, thought that his self-esteem had been hurt, so he ordered his subordinates in private: We must try to pull Song Xianggong from the position of leader! He secretly ordered the Chu army stationed near the meeting place to rise up and arrest Song Xianggong. However, because he was also in Song State, and the soldiers and civilians of Song State reacted strongly, King Chu Cheng had to release Song Xianggong and ran back to Chu State. .

Although he experienced a catastrophe, Song Xianggong became more and more happy. He thought it was because Chu State was afraid of Song State. After that, the Central Plains will never be bullied by Chu State again! In the second year, Duke Xiang of Song led an army to attack Zheng State, a neighboring country with a very good relationship with Chu State. After learning about the situation of State Zheng State, Chu State immediately sent troops northward. A formation was set up by the Hongshui River, and soon the Chu army on the opposite bank began to cross the river. Sima, who was in charge of the army in the Song army, suggested to Duke Xiang that he should seize the opportunity to attack the Chu army crossing the river.

no!That is so inhumane! Song Xianggong rejected the suggestion that he could change history. He had to wait for the Chu army to cross the river and form a formation before attacking. In his opinion, only in this way can he show his strength.The battle began, but the result was not as Song Xianggong thought. The Song army was defeated and fled. Afterwards, all the citizens of Song State accused Song Xianggong: Since ancient times, there has been a method of attacking the enemy by using dangerous terrain. Why can't we use favorable conditions to attack the Chu army? In order to remember this war, later generations specially called Song Xianggong's method of dealing with the enemy army as the benevolence of a woman.

Song Xianggong reigned for fourteen years and died in the fifteenth year of Zhou Xiangwang (637 BC). ︱ ︱ ︱ Note: Brief History of the Song Dynasty The sons of the pre-Qin were surnamed vassal states.In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, after the Duke of Zhou moved eastward to quell Wu Geng's rebellion, Wei Ziqi, the concubine brother of King Zhou, established the Song State and established the capital Shangqiu to rule the Shang people around the original Shang capital.The Song Dynasty preserved the most Yin and Shang cultural traditions, and was regarded as a model of ancient etiquette and respected by princes.During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Xiang of Song (reigned 637 BC 650 BC) attempted to inherit the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi, but was tricked by King Cheng of Chu (reigned 626 BC 671 BC).First, he was hijacked when he joined the League in Yu (now northwest of Suiyang, Henan). Fortunately, he was released because of domestic precautions.Later, when he fought Yu Hong with the Chu army, he lost his opportunity because he was stuck in the ancient military etiquette. He was defeated by Chu and died of serious injuries.At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Song State was often the center of competition between Jin and Chu, and suffered from wars. Therefore, it became the initiator of the peace movement with the slogan of eliminating soldiers in the late Spring and Autumn Period, which played a certain role in maintaining the relative stability among the countries in the Central Plains. .After that, the monarchy of the Song Dynasty declined, and noble ministers took control of the state affairs.In the middle of the Warring States period, Pigong (Song Huanhou) was replaced by Sicheng Zihan (Tiao Chenggan), which is the origin of the so-called Dai family's Duozi family in Song Dynasty.The newly established Song State became the powerful Song Dynasty of five thousand times, and it was a second-class powerful country after Qixiong.In the eleventh year (318 B.C.), Junyan of the Later Song Dynasty established himself as the king, that is, King Kang of Song Dynasty. Victory over Wei.Mencius said that he will be king, but big countries such as Qi and Chu are deeply jealous of it.In the later years of King Kang, the crown prince fled and the ministers came to power. King Qi Min took the opportunity to destroy the Song Dynasty in the 43rd year of King Kang (286 BC), and King Kang was killed.