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| The army of the Western Zhou Dynasty |
From 1046 BC when King Wu of Zhou destroyed Shang Dynasty to 771 BC when king you of Zhou was killed by Shen Hou and dog Rong, the Western Zhou Dynasty experienced 11 generations and 12 kings, which lasted about 275 years. In 770 BC, marquis Shen and some other princes established King Ping of Zhou (Yijiu) as king. King Ping moved Kyoto from Zongzhou to Luoyi (now Luoyang City, Henan Province). In history, the Zhou Dynasty after moving eastward was called the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Zhou nationality has a long history, long-term activities in the area of Shaanxi and Gansu, later to the south of Qishan Zhouyuan as the main base. By the beginning of the 11th century B.C., the power of the Zhou people had become increasingly powerful. On the one hand, it conquered the small countries nearby to expand its strength; on the other hand, it moved its capital from Zhouyuan to the West Bank of Fengshui in today's Chang'an County to build Fengjing. Its constant eastward trend aggravated the contradiction with the Shang Dynasty. Emperor Xin of Shang Dynasty once imprisoned xibochang (King Wen). Zhou Chen presented beauty and treasures to the king of Shang, and Emperor Xin released xibochang. After Xi BoChang returned to China, he further stepped up the preparation of logging merchants. At this time, the political corruption of Shang Dynasty, internal and external contradictions unprecedented sharp. King Wen thought that the conditions for cutting merchants were ripe, and asked Prince fa (King Wu) to actively prepare for cutting merchants before he died. After King Wu ascended the throne, taking advantage of the main battle of the Shang Dynasty, he sent out 300 troops, 45000 soldiers and 3000 Huben soldiers to the East. Yong, Shu, Qiang, Zong, Wei, Lu, Peng, PU and many other small countries also led their troops to cooperate. King Wu of Zhou swore in Muye, counting the sins of Zhou of Shang Dynasty. King Zhou of Shang temporarily organized 170000 slaves to fight against Zhou army, but the soldiers didn't want to fight and turned around to lead Zhou army to attack Zhou. King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty fled in a panic and died of self Immolation at Lutai. From then on, Chinese history entered the Zhou Dynasty era.
After conquering the Shang Dynasty, King Wu basically controlled the original ruling areas of the Shang Dynasty and conquered many small countries around. However, how to firmly control a large area of eastern territory has become a serious problem faced by King Wu. Therefore, he adopted the policy of "enfeoffment of relatives and protection of the Zhou Dynasty by vassals", and enfeoffment of his same family and meritorious officials and counselors to establish vassal states. Each vassal state became a stronghold for the rule of one side of the land, and they also played an important role in defending the Zhou royal family. King Wu granted Wu Geng (Lu Fu), the son of Zhou of Shang Dynasty, the capital of Shang Dynasty, in order to control the merchants; granted his younger brothers Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu as marquis to supervise Wu Geng; granted Duke Zhou to Lu, Jiang Shang to Qi and Zhao Gong to
Yan. After the death of King Wu of Zhou, his son succeeded to the throne. As king Cheng was young, he was Regent by Duke Zhou. Uncle Guan and uncle Cai were dissatisfied with Duke Zhou and spread rumors that Duke Zhou was seeking the throne. Soon after, Wu Geng colluded with Guan and CAI, and united with Xu, Yan and Bogu in the east to launch a rebellion. It took three years for the Duke of Zhou to mobilize the army to March eastward. He finally settled the rebellion between Wu Geng and Guan and CAI, killed Wu Geng and Guan Shu, and exiled Cai Shu. The overall victory of the eastern expedition consolidated the rule of the Zhou Dynasty.
After King Wu destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he returned to Haojing, feeling that it was too far away from the newly conquered area. He intended to establish a new capital in the Yiluo River area, the center of Xia people's activities. His idea had not been realized, and he died suddenly. According to the text of he Zunming unearthed in Baoji, after King Cheng ascended the throne, he inherited the will of King Wu and decided to build a new city near Luoyang, "Zhaizi China". To rule the newly conquered areas from here can greatly shorten the distance. For this reason, King Cheng once sent Zhaogong to "Xiangzhai" near Luoyang. Soon, Luoyi (Chengzhou) became the political, military and cultural center of the Western Zhou Dynasty, together with the Haojing (Zongzhou) built by King Wu. In order to completely eradicate the dream of restoring the country of the adherents of Yin, the emperor also moved the stubborn people of Yin to Chengzhou.
Since Zhou GongDan was Regent of Zongzhou, the Marquis of Lu was appointed by his eldest son Boqin. The site of Lu Kingdom has been found in Qufu, Shandong Province; the state of Qi granted by Jiang Shang has been found in Linzi, Shandong Province; the state of Yan granted by Zhao Gong has also been found in Fangshan, Beijing; after the Wugeng rebellion was put down, the site was granted to Kangshu, the brother of King Wu, as the Marquis of Wei, and the site of Wei Kingdom has been found in xunxian, Henan Province; the elder brother of Zhou, Weizi Qi, had not participated in the Wugeng rebellion, and he was killed As a descendant of the Shang nationality, he was granted the title of Marquis of the Song Dynasty. His land is in Shangqiu, Henan Province. To the west of the Wei Kingdom, there is a Jin Kingdom. After King Cheng conquered the Tang Kingdom, he granted his land to his brother Tang Shuyu. His site has been found at the junction of Yicheng and Quwo in Shanxi Province. The fiefdoms of these vassals often formed the situation of horns, which were interrelated and restricted each other. Therefore, they played a certain role in stabilizing the political situation in the early stage. It is said in the literature that "at the time of Chengkang, there was no wrong punishment for 40 years", which shows that after King Cheng calmed down the Wugeng rebellion, there was a stable situation in the Zhou Dynasty.
After a series of wars, Zhou people controlled areas as follows: Ba, PU, Deng and Chu in the South; Sushen, Yan and Bo in the north; Binhai in the East; Gan and Qing in the West. Its scope is larger than that of Shang Dynasty. The king of Zhou established a relatively complete state machine and effectively ruled the territory. The punishment was more systematic than that in Shang Dynasty. The number of standing army was more than that of Shang Dynasty. There were six divisions in Zongzhou and eight divisions in Chengzhou. The land and subjects of the whole country are nominally owned by the king of Zhou, that is, the so-called "under the heaven of PU, is it the land of the king; on the shore of the land, is it the land of the king?". Therefore, when the king of Zhou granted land to the princes and their subjects, he had to hold a ceremony of conferring land and people. The vassal states they were granted had the duty to defend the royal family by meeting the king of Zhou on a regular basis. They also paid tribute to the king of Zhou (including military service). If they didn't pay tribute to the king of Zhou, they would insult the royal family and be punished. However, with the passage of time, the land was often ceded or exchanged by the feudal lords, gradually turning the land into private property. At the same time, with more and more newly reclaimed land, the number of private land is also increasing. The emergence of private land erodes and impacts the public ownership of land based on the minefield system.
The social economy of the Western Zhou Dynasty was more developed than that of the Shang Dynasty. The extensive use of bronze tools provides more surplus labor products for the society and promotes the development of various handicraft industries. In addition to the bronze workshops controlled by the royal family, the vassal states also had their own bronze workshops. Bronze products are more numerous and more widely used, involving almost all aspects of social life. The development of bronze industry promoted the prosperity of other industries. In addition to inscriptions on oracle bones, inscriptions on tens of thousands of bronzes recorded many social events at that time. The most one has 499 characters, no less than a document at that time. There have also been many new advances in agriculture, animal husbandry, textile, metallurgy, architecture, astronomy, geography and other sciences and technologies. These achievements have promoted changes in people's production and life. Archaeologists found iron artifacts in the tombs of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, indicating that at least in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, people had mastered the technology of artificial iron smelting. This discovery shows that man has mastered another effective means in the struggle to transform the objective world.
By the time of King li of Zhou Dynasty, domestic contradictions became more and more acute. He abused the common people and did not let the people talk about the state affairs. In 841 B.C., the Chinese people finally revolted. King Li fled to * (now Shanxi Huo county). The first year of the Republic of China (841 BC) is the beginning of the exact chronology of Chinese history. After Zhou xuanwang succeeded to the throne, he learned a lesson and changed his policy. In order to remove the threat of Rongdi, he launched a defensive war against Rongdi and won the victory. In the war against Jingchu and Huaiyi, they also won some victories, so they are called "Zhongxing". However, all kinds of social contradictions still exist, and the whole society is still in turmoil.
The development of history is always unbalanced. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the Central Plains had entered the prosperous period of bronze age, and some surrounding areas were still relatively backward. Therefore, driven by wealth and interests, the wars between Zhou people and other nationalities were almost constant. Jianghan Valley is the base of barbarians. The king of Zhao led his army to invade the southern barbarians, which was strongly resisted by the barbarians. Almost all the troops of the Zhou Dynasty were destroyed, and the king of Zhao also died in the Han River. This was a serious failure in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, and from then on lost the ability to control the southern countries. King Mu and King Xuan also had a southern expedition, and neither of them achieved significant results. The Yi people in the East often invaded the Zhou territory, and there were constant wars. Unable to bear the enslavement of the Zhou Dynasty, marquis Wu Yu "led the southern Huaiyi and the eastern Yi to invade the southern and eastern states." he fought all the way to Chengzhou and shocked the government and the public. King Zhou sent West Sixth Division and East eighth division to fight, but they were still unable to resist. The victory was won only by the reinforcement of the troops of the princes of the same surname. The dog army in the northwest was the most important foreign invasion in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the reign of King Mu, the influence of the dog soldiers became stronger and stronger, which hindered the communication between Zhou Dynasty and the northwest countries. King Mu went west to invade the dog soldiers and "won their five kings", and moved a group of dog soldiers to Taiyuan, which opened up the road between Zhou Dynasty and the northwest countries. After that, the dog still repeatedly violated Zhou Jing. Youwang, the son of King Xuan, dotes on Baosi and wants to kill Yijiu, the crown prince. He makes Bofu, the son of Baosi, the heir to the throne. Yi Jiu's mother was the daughter of marquis Shen. Shenhou colluded with Canrong to attack the king of Zhou and kill you king under Lishan Mountain. Canrong seized a lot of treasure. The Western Zhou Dynasty perished. Yijiu ascended the throne with the help of the princes. He was the king of Ping and moved his capital to Luoyi the next year. From then on, history entered the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
From the Zhou Dynasty, the process of continuous integration of various ethnic groups and tribes in the territory was carried out. During this period, the Huaxia nationality gradually formed and became the predecessor of the modern Han nationality. There were many other ethnic groups, such as Yi, man, Yue, Rongdi, Sushen, Donghu, etc.
Boyi, the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou (Chang), died before King Wen (the cause of death is not recorded; it is said in Fengshenbang that he was killed by Zhou). After King Wen died, King Wu of Zhou ascended the throne. Later, King Zhou of Shang Dynasty became more tyrannical, and the contradiction of Shang Dynasty intensified sharply. King Wu of Zhou led the army to March eastward, crossed Mengjin, met with the princes and denounced Zhou's crimes. In the early morning of Jiazi day, Zhou army and Zhou army fought a decisive battle in Muye. Zhou Jun won. Zhou was forced to burn himself to death, and Shang Dynasty died. The Zhou Dynasty was founded.
After the death of King Wu, King Cheng of Zhou ascended the throne. King Cheng was a young man, and Zhou GongDan, the younger brother of King Wu, was Regent. Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Wu Geng rebelled against Zhou Dynasty. The Duke of Zhou was ordered to March eastward and put down the rebellion. The eastern capital was built into Zhou Dynasty, and the Duke of Zhou returned to power and became king. The Zhou Dynasty entered a period of consolidation, which was known as the reign of Chengkang in history.
After King Kang (Zhao) died, his son king Zhao (Xia) succeeded to the throne. In the 16th year of the reign of King Zhao, he personally led the army to March south to Jingchu and Jianghan. After three years of Southern expedition, King Zhao drowned when he passed the Han River, and his army was destroyed. After King Zhao, his son, King Mu of Zhou (man), reigned for 44 years. He is very successful and still wants to develop in all directions. King Mu liked to March, which led to the relaxation of the government. In the East, Xu led the nine barbarians to invade Zhou. King Mu's southern expedition was pacified by the United Kingdom of Chu.
After the Zhaomu era, the strength of the Zhou Dynasty weakened. During this period, Rongdi gradually flourished in Northwest China. During the reign of King Yi of Zhou Dynasty, there was a situation of military and di invasion and tyranny in China, which was deeply suffered by the people of Zhou Dynasty.
During the reign of King li of Zhou Dynasty, successive years of wars brought heavy suffering to the people. At the same time, King Li appointed Rong Yi Gong as his official, monopolizing social wealth and resources. In order to suppress the discontent of the people, King Li ordered the witches to watch and kill those who slandered the king. As a result, people were in danger and finally led to a Chinese uprising. In the first 841 years, the National People's Congress was riot, and Li Wang was forced to run to * (now Shanxi Huo county). Zhao Gong (Zhao Mu Gong Hu) and Zhou Gong (Zhou Ding Gong) were the two ministers in the court, and they were called the Republic.
In the fourteenth year of the Republic of China (828 BC), King Li died and Prince Jing ascended the throne. He was king Xuan of Zhou and reigned for 46 years. King Xuan made great efforts to govern the country, and the government improved obviously. In the late years of King Xuan, the decline of Zhou Dynasty appeared again. King Xuan interfered in the succession of the throne of the state of Lu and established the Duke of filial piety with his military strength, which caused discord among the princes. Thirty six years later, he conquered tiaoyong and benrong and suffered a disastrous defeat. In the 39th year, he fought with the other branch of the Jiang family of Xirong in Qianmu (now Jiexiu south of Shanxi Province), and was defeated miserably.
In 781 B.C., king you of Zhou succeeded to the throne and appointed Guo Shifu, who was good at profit, to be in power. The corruption of the government aroused resentment among the Chinese people. In 779 B.C., the army of Liuji was defeated. At the same time, natural disasters were frequent and the rule of the Zhou Dynasty was in trouble at home and abroad. The king of you abandoned the empress Shen's daughter and Prince Yijiu, and took Baosi, a beautiful woman, as the empress, and his son Bofu (one is Bopan) as the prince. Yijiu fled to the kingdom of Shen, and the Marquis of Shen united with the kingdom of ZA and the Western dog army to attack the king of you. You wang and Bo Fu were both killed in the opera by Gou Rong (now Lintong East, Shaanxi). In 771 BC, the Western Zhou dynasty fell.
After the death of you Wang, marquis Shen, marquis Lu and Duke Xu established the former crown prince Yi Jiu in Shen, and Duke Guo Han established another Prince Yu Chen Yu Dai (the place is not known). Yijiu moved his capital to Luoyi to avoid the dog army. It was king Ping of Zhou Dynasty. It was established in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In the 11th year of King Ping, Yu Chen was killed by Wen Hou of Jin in the 21st year (760 BC).
