Since King Zhou Ping moved the capital to the east, the Zhou Dynasty was called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. At this time, the Zhou Dynasty had been reduced to a "state of vassals", but it still enjoyed the "Son of Heaven" in name, and the territory under its rule was less than 600 miles. The various vassal states have cut off their claim to be the hegemony, and no longer see the king of Zhou.
The ancestor of Qi State was Jiang Ziya, who was named Duke of Qi for his meritorious deeds in destroying the Shang Dynasty, and enjoyed the privilege of crusades against guilty princes. Because Jiang Taigong managed the country well, it has developed into a great eastern country as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Duke Huan of Qi was the first monarch to dominate in the Spring and Autumn Period. His surname was Jiang, his family name was Lv and his name was Xiaobai. He was the twelfth grandson of Jiang Taigong and the fifteenth monarch of Qi.
The fourteenth monarch of Qi State, Duke Xianggong of Qi, was killed by Gongsun Wuzhi. Gongsun Wuzhi established himself as the monarch. In the spring of the second year after his accession, he was attacked and killed by Yonglin, a doctor of Qi State, and negotiated to re-establish the monarch. A minister secretly sent an envoy to the state of Ju (ju) to welcome the son Jiang Xiaobai back to the state of Qi to succeed him.
Because Duke Xiang of Qi had no sons, only two half-brothers, Guan Zhong assisted Jiang Jiu, the son of Lu, and Bao Shuya served Jiang Xiaobai, the son of Ju.
After learning the news, Duke Zhuang of Lu decided to personally escort the son back to Qi. He first asked Guan Zhong to bring some troops to intercept Jiang Xiaobai. Guan Zhong chased after him day and night, waiting for an opportunity to aim at Xiaobai. When he fell down, everyone around ran to rescue him, some shouted, some cried, Guan Zhong saw this scene and thought that Xiao Bai must be dead, so he slowly marched towards Qi State.
Who knew that Jiang Xiaobai was deliberately falling down and pretending to be dead. Guan Zhong's arrow just hit his belt hook. Bao Shuya said with joy, “Let's go quickly.” With the support of ministers such as Bao Shuya and Gao Zai, Jiang Xiaobai ascended the throne, and he was the famous Duke Huan of Qi in history.
A few days later, Duke Zhuangcai of Lu led his army and his son Jiu to the border of Qi. He heard that Jiang Xiaobai had become the monarch. After chasing after Lu, he forced Lu Zhuanggong to kill Gongzi Jiu. Bao Shuya knew Guan Zhong's talent, so he planned to bring Guan Zhong back to Qi, and said to Qi Huan, "If the monarch only wants to govern Qi well, it is enough to have me and Gao Zai. Now, if the monarch wants to dominate the world, he must be Guan Zhong." Duke Huan of Qi followed Bao Shuya's advice. Afterwards, Guan Zhong came to the palace and knelt down to plead guilty to Duke Huan of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi personally helped Guan Zhong up and asked him for advice on how to enrich the country and strengthen the army to establish a hegemony. One day and three nights, Duke Huan of Qi appointed Guan Zhong as prime minister.
In 663 BC, the State of Yan was invaded by Shan Rong and requested reinforcements from the State of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi personally led the army to the front line to fight against the incoming enemy with the troops of the State of Yan. Later, he also helped the State of Xing and State of Wei to fight against the mountains. Rong, and helped them rebuild the capital. After these few things were done, Duke Huan of Qi's prestige was greatly improved.
Later, there was a dispute in the Zhou royal family. Duke Huan of Qi helped the prince Ji Zheng to consolidate his position. After he ascended the throne, he was called King Xiang of Zhou. Covenant: Neighboring vassal states jointly build water conservancy and prevent disasters. Neighboring countries are not allowed to be used as a place for flood discharge. Neighboring countries must sell food to neighboring countries in case of famine. Allies must live in harmony. Duke Huan of Qi hosted more than ten times of similar alliances like this, and was known as the "Nine Harmonious Princes" in history.
When Duke Huan of Qi was in power for 41 years, Guan Zhong was seriously ill. Duke Huan asked Guan Zhong, "Who can be your prime minister? How about Yi Ya, Kaifang and Shudiao?" As a result, one year after Guan Zhong's death, Duke Huan of Qi appointed these three people.
In the 43rd year of Duke Huan of Qi, he also became seriously ill. His five sons competed for the throne. Yi Ya and Shu Diao took advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos. They blocked the palace gate, raised the palace wall, and did not allow anyone to enter the palace to take care of it. Duke Huan of Qi only left a dog hole, and every day he let the maid go in to see if Duke Huan of Qi was dead. Duke Huan of Qi regretted that he had used the wrong person at this time. Duke Huan of Qi, who was so wise and martial, was finally starved to death in the palace. middle. This shows how important it is to know and employ people! Guan Zhong once told Duke Huan of Qi: "Yi Ya killed his son and made delicious porridge for you to eat; Kai Fang Beiban's relatives came to be your ministers; and Shu Diao castrated himself to gain your trust. These three people are not friendly, they should not be reused and should be kept away from them." It seems that Duke Huan of Qi has no worthy ministers to assist him, his situation is really different! Beware of the villains around you who are unscrupulous and mercenary, at all times.
After Duke Huan of Qi died, the five sons only cared about competing for the throne, and no one cared about Duke Huan's funeral, so that the maggots from the corpse crawled outside the door. It was not until 67 days later that Yi Ya and Shu Diao supported Wu Li as the monarch, and then the body of Duke Huan of Qi was put into the coffin.
In the second year, Duke Xiang of Song helped his son Jiang Zhao to return to the state of Qi and successfully ascended the throne, established his son Jiang Zhao as Duke Xiao of Qi, and officially buried Duke Huan of Qi under the auspices of Duke Xiao of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi, the overlord of the generation, came to the curtain call.
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