Qi, capital of Linzi (today's Zibo City, Shandong Province), is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, fertile soil, close to the mountains and the sea, and has the advantage of fishing and salt. It is the largest vassal state in the East. The first ancestor of the king of Qi was Jiang Shang. Because his ancestor was granted the title of Lu, he was also called Lu Shang. Jiang Shang, known as Jiang Taigong, once made great contributions to the Zhou Dynasty and was granted the title of Qi.
From Jiang Shang down to the fourteenth monarch was Qi Xianggong, the elder brother of Xiaobai. When Xianggong was in power (697-686 BC), he was immoral and corrupt. He killed Duke Huan of Lu because he had an affair with his younger sister; he spent a lot of money to build a palace for him to enjoy; he hunted and played all day and ignored the State Administration. The lower level officials and the soldiers could not help but starve, and the people's life was even more miserable. He also didn't know the rewards and punishments, and killed his subordinates at will, which made everyone feel threatened. Even his brother fled abroad for fear of being killed. With the help of Guan Zhong and Zhao Hu, Gongzi Jiu fled to the state of Lu, while Xiaobai fled to Ju (today's Ju county, Shandong Province) with the help of Bao Shuya.
In the autumn of the 11th year of Xianggong (687 B.C.), Xianggong ordered the officials to call him Guan Zhifu and lead the soldiers to guard kuiqiu (now Zibo West, Shandong Province). Before leaving, I made an appointment to go when the melon is ripe this year and replace it when the melon is ripe next year. But a year later, Qi Xianggong did not send troops to replace him. Even said, Guan Zhifu several requests for replacement, were rejected. So Lian and Guan took advantage of the discontent of the guards, united with Gongsun Xiaoxue, Xianggong's uncle and brother, and launched a mutiny to fight back to Linzi and kill qixianggong. Gongsun Xiaoxue became the king of Qi. The next year, Gongsun was killed again in Yonglin.
When the state of Qi lost its monarch, the ministers nervously began to plan for the establishment of a new monarch. In the west of takamata, the Prime Minister of the state of Qi, he was very close to Xiaobai when he was young, so he secretly sent someone to Ju to call Xiaobai back to the throne. At the same time, there are also people who want to pick up the elder young master Jiu to return home as king, and the state of Lu is also preparing to escort young master Jiu back to Qi, and send Guan Zhong to lead the troops to intercept Xiaobai on the way home. When the two sides meet, Xiaobai is shot by Guan Zhong with an arrow and nearly dies. In order to confuse each other, Xiaobai pretends to be killed by an arrow and drives to Qidu in a light car day and night. He thought Xiaobai was dead and sure to win, so he slowed down the speed of returning to Qi and arrived six days later. At this time, Xiaobai had already been supported as the king of Qi, and he defeated the Lu army when he joined the army. Xiaobai ascended the throne of the monarch of Qi. He was the famous Duke Huan of Qi in history.
Reform
Duke Huan of Qi appointed Guan Zhong to carry out the reform, which led to the great rule of Qi.
Political affairs
In this way, the capital of the country is the country and other places are the wild. There are 21 townships in the state, including 6 townships for Industry and Commerce and 15 townships for scholars. Every five houses are one track, and the track length is set. Every ten tracks is a mile, and there is a division in it. Every four Li is a company with a company commander. Every ten companies is a township, where there are good people. Thirdly, the government set up three ministers, three clans for industry, three townships for commerce, three Yu for Ze and three Heng for mountain to strengthen management. For the wild, thirty families were set up as a city, and the city had a division. Ten cities are a unit, and the unit has a unit commander. Ten soldiers for a township, township set Township commander. Three townships for a county, county set up county commander. Ten counties belong to one genus, which has a doctor. There are five genera in the whole country, which are managed separately by doctors. In addition, the terms of reference of officials at all levels should be divided into the following categories: officials in charge of prison, county commanders in charge of field boundary, and township commanders in charge of general political affairs. They are required to be conscientious and not to neglect political affairs, otherwise they will be punished. In the first month of every year, the five subordinate doctors report to Duke Huan, who rewards and punishes him according to his achievements.
Military phase
We should implement the system of unifying the military with the government and unifying the army with the people. It is stipulated that the residents of Shixiang must perform military service. Each family has one soldier, and each track has one Wu, who is led by the track chief. Fifty people in every mile are a small army, which is led by Lisi. There are 200 soldiers in each company, and the soldiers are led by the company commander. There are two thousand people in each village. The brigade is led by a good man. Ten thousand people from five townships are one army. Fifteen townships are three armies. Duke Huan, Guozi and Gaozi lead one army each. They train in leisure time and March in war time. This not only improves the combat effectiveness of soldiers, but also does not have to pay the cost of supporting them. In addition, in order to solve the problem of insufficient weapons, it is stipulated that crimes can be atoned with weapons. If you commit a serious crime, you can make atonement with armor and halberd; if you commit a minor crime, you can make atonement with shield and halberd; if you commit a minor crime, you can make atonement with metal; if you use copper, you can make weapons; if you use iron, you can make farm implements. A successful lawsuit requires a bunch of arrows. From then on, Qi's weapons were gradually sufficient.
Start to dominate
After the reform of Duke Huan of Qi, the national strength of Qi was greatly enhanced, and Duke Huan of Qi began to seek hegemony. First, he repaired with neighboring countries and returned them to Tang and Qian, which were occupied by the state of Lu before, so that the state of Lu could be used as a southern barrier; then he returned to Tai, yuan, Gu and Qili, which were occupied by the state of Wei before, so that the state of Wei could be used as a Western barrier; finally, he returned Chaifu and barking dog, which were occupied by the state of Yan before, so that the state of Yan could be used as a northern barrier. In the spring of the fifth year of Duke Huan (681 BC), the princes of song, Chen, CAI and Ying were gathered to form an alliance in Zhenzhao. Duke Huan of Qi was the first one to be the leader of the alliance in history. In the name of the emperor of Zhou, Duke Huan of Qi led several vassals to attack the Song Dynasty and forced the song state to seek peace. In addition, Duke Huan of Qi destroyed small states such as Tan and Sui. In the fourteenth year of Duke Huan (672 BC), Duke Chen Li's son Wan, namely Tian Wan, fled to the state of Qi. Duke Huan wanted to appoint him as Qing, but he didn't accept it, so Duke Huan appointed him Gongzheng.
Respect the king and fight against the foreigners
In the 23rd year of Duke Huan (663 BC), Shanrong attacked the state of Yan, and Yan asked Qi for help. Duke Huan of Qi saved Yan and attacked Shanrong until Guzhu. Yanzhuang sent Duke Huan of Qi to Qijing. Duke Huan said, "it's not the son of heaven. You can't leave the country if you send them to me. I can't be rude to Yan." So he cut the place where Yan Jun went to the state of Yan, and told Yan Jun to learn how to summon the Duke for government, just as king Cheng of Zhou and King Kang of Zhou paid tribute to the Zhou Dynasty. When the princes heard about it, they all supported the state of Qi. In the 27th year of Duke Huan (659 BC), his younger sister Aijiang was the mother of Duke min of Lu. She was promiscuous with his son Qingfu. Qingfu killed min Gong, AI Jiang wanted to establish Qingfu, while Lu people established Fu Gong. Duke Huan recalled AI Jiang and killed him. In the 28th year of Duke Huan (658 BC), Duke Wei Wengong was harassed by Di people and asked Qi for help. Qi defeated the Di people, built Chu Qiu City for the state of Wei, and moved the subjects there.
In the 29th year of Duke Huan (657 BC), Duke Huan and Cai Ji were playing in the water. Cai Ji swayed the boat. Huan Gong was afraid and stopped Cai Ji. Cai Ji didn't listen and kept shaking. Duke Huan of Qi got out of the boat and sent Cai Ji back. Cai Guo was not happy either, so he married Cai Ji to someone else. Duke Huan was angry and launched a crusade. In the spring of the thirtieth year of Duke Huan (656 BC), Duke Huan of Qi led the princes of Lu, song, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Xu and Cao to attack Cai, and the officials and people of CAI rebelled. Then he attacked the state of Chu. King Cheng of Chu set up an army and asked, "why did you come to our country?". Guan Zhong replied, "once upon a time, the Duke of Zhaokang said to the former monarch of our country," you should attack the princes and assist the Zhou Dynasty. " Give us the land of Xianjun to the sea in the East, the Yellow River in the west, Muling in the South and Wudi in the north. The state of Chu didn't pay tribute to Bao Mao, so that the king of Zhou didn't have anything to drink. King Zhou Zhao did not return from his southern expedition. It's because of that. " The king of Chu said, "it's true that there was no tribute. It's my fault. King Zhao didn't come back from the southern expedition. Ask Hanshui to go. " Qi's army arrived at Xing. In the Xia Dynasty, the king of Chu sent Qu Wan to lead the troops to resist, and the Qi army returned to Zhaoling. Qu Wan said to Duke Huan, "you can be reasonable. If not, then Chu uses Fangcheng mountain as the city wall and the Yangtze River and Han River as the moat to fight against you. Can you still win? " So he talked with Qu Wan about peace and withdrawal.
In the summer of the 35th year of Duke Huan (651 BC), Duke Huan assembled the princes in kuiqiu. King Xiang of Zhou sent Kong to give Huan official documents, Wu Yu, Tong GONGYA, Da Lu (the vehicle of princes' Court Service), not to worship and receive the gifts from Duke Huan. Huan Gong wanted not to worship, Guan Zhong said: "No." So Duke Huan bowed down to receive the gift. In autumn, he met with the princes in kuiqiu, and Zhou sent zaikong to attend. Duke Huan became more and more proud, and many princes betrayed him. Zaikong said to Marquis Jin, "Duke Huan of Qi is too proud." In this year, Duke Xian of Jin died, and civil strife broke out in the state of Jin. Yiwu, the public son of Qin Mu, became the king of Jin, and Duke Huan sent troops to pacify the strife. At this time, the Zhou Dynasty declined, and only Qi, Jin, Chu and Qin were strong. The state of Jin was in civil strife, the state of Qin was remote, the king of Chu regarded himself as a barbarian, and Duke Huan of Qi became the overlord of the Central Plains. Duke Huan said, "I went south to Zhaoling and saw xiongshan. The northern expedition to Shanrong, Lizhi and Guzhu. The western expedition to the summer, deep into the quicksand. Mount Taihang and return to Beier. Don't go against me, princes. Three times I joined forces with the princes, six times I allied with the princes, and I became the crown prince of Xiang. The three kings used to be great. Now what's the difference between them and me? I want to do Zen in Mount Tai. " Guan Zhong tried to persuade him, but Duke Huan didn't listen. Guan Zhong also said that only when he got a rare monster in the distance could he be granted Zen, and Duke Huan didn't think about it.
Ren Xian's reform
Duke Huan of Qi became a monarch. He always wanted to kill Guan Zhong. When he attacked Lu, Bao Shuya said to Duke Huan, "do you want to manage Qi well? It's enough to have Gao Hou and me. If you want to seek hegemony, you must have Guan Zhong! "Duke Huan was magnanimous and gave up the past. He immediately accepted Bao Shuya's advice and sent him to meet Guan Zhong personally. He treated Guan Zhong with courtesy and entrusted him with an important task.
As Duke Huan was thirsty for talents, many outstanding figures such as Guan Zhong, Bao Shuya, Gao Hou and Xi (XI) Peng gathered around him. Especially after getting Guan Zhong, Duke Huan was like a fish in water, like a tiger adding wings, and found someone to help him revitalize Qi. With the great support of Duke Huan, Guan Zhong carried out the reform in a bold way.
In politics, the system of "participating in the country while serving the despicable" was implemented. "State" is the capital. "Despicable" is the country. "Shenqiguo" is to divide the capital into 21 townships, which are divided into three parts: Labor Township, business Township and scholar township. Among them, there are three industrial townships, three business townships and 15 scholar townships. "Wu Qi Bi" means to set up the rural residents, set up officials and strengthen control according to the organization of track, city, township, county and subordinate. The purpose is to make the people live in peace, keep their jobs, and not move into exile arbitrarily, so as to develop social production and consolidate their rule.
On the military side, the measure of "sending military orders for internal affairs" was carried out. That is to say, on the basis of the reform of the internal affairs, we should integrate the army with the agriculture, integrate the army with the people, and unify the military organization and the administrative organization. The residents are not only the people, but also soldiers. They should not only engage in their own professions, but also carry out military training in the spring and autumn. The officials are not only the chief executive, but also the military commander; they are in charge of both administration and military affairs. In this way, the source of troops has been expanded and the combat effectiveness has been improved.
On the economic side, measures have been taken to increase the tax revenue of the state. Huan Gong and Guan Zhong reformed the old tax system and implemented the method of "Cui, Cui, and levy" against the situation of the destruction of well field system, the rise of private land and the decrease of national tax revenue since the spring and Autumn period. That is to say, land survey should be carried out in the vast rural areas, and the amount of tribute should be stipulated according to the fertility and quantity of land. At the same time, it also advocated that money should be made from mountains and the sea should be boiled for salt, and encouraged the development of salt and iron industry. In addition, the system of "light and heavy nine governments" was set up to distribute goods according to the rich and poor years and the needs of the people, so as to adjust the price, accumulate money and increase the national income. It laid a material foundation for Qi to dominate the feudal lords.
As a result of the reform of Duke Huan and Guan Zhong, the state of Qi soon became rich and powerful, and played a major role in the political arena of the spring and Autumn period.
The first tyrant in the spring and Autumn Period
In the spring and Autumn period, the prestige of the emperor of Zhou was not as good as before, and he could no longer command the princes. In order to fight for labor, plunder wealth and annex land, the princes of all countries attempted to be the overlord of the world, forcing all the princes to bow down and pay tribute. In this way, the struggle of big powers for hegemony will inevitably be put on the agenda of history.
After he became powerful, Duke Huan of Qi actively fought for hegemony among the princes. In 684 B.C., the first army to attack the state of Lu in the southwest, the army of Lu fought in Changshao (now Laiwu north of Shandong Province). The Duke of Lu Zhuang adopted Cao GUI's suggestion, and when Qi's morale declined, he fought back and defeated Qi's division, which frustrated him in his fight for hegemony. However, after that, Duke Huan sent troops three times in succession to conquer Lu, and all of them won the victory and seized a lot of land in Lu. In 681 BC, Duke Huan of Qi called Duke Zhuang of Lu to hold an alliance in Ke (now near Acheng of Shandong Province), and returned the lost land of Lu according to the agreement, which made Duke Huan win a great reputation among the princes. In a short period of time, Duke Huan of Qi successively conquered Tan (Tan Tan, now the northwest of Tancheng in Shandong), Sui (now the south of Feicheng in Shandong), Ju, Xu (now the southeast of Sihong in Jiangsu), Lai (now the southeast of Huangxian in Shandong) and other countries. It is said that thirty-one small countries were subject to Qi. In 679 BC, Duke Huan of Qi called Duke Huan of song, Duke Xuan of Chen and Duke Hui of Wei to form an alliance in Juan (now the north of juancheng, Shandong Province). The princes promoted Duke Huan of Qi as the overlord, and the state of Qi began to seek hegemony.
Since the spring and Autumn period, Shanrong and di ethnic groups in northern China have become powerful, and often harass Yan, Xing, Wei and other countries. Under the slogan of "respecting the king and fighting against the barbarians", Duke Huan of Qi united with Yan to defeat Shanrong, and united with song and Cao to stop the disturbance of Di people. He built new cities for Xing and Wei, which made "Xing moved as before, but Wei forgot to die", and established a high prestige among the princes.
After Duke Huan of Qi won the hegemony of the Central Plains, he further developed his power to the south, so that Chu in the South would also recognize the hegemony of Qi. In 656 BC, Duke Huan of Qi led a coalition of eight vassal states, including Qi, Lu, song, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Xu, Cao, and so on. He first attacked the state of CAI, which was dependent on Chu. The CAI people fled in the wind. So he marched to Chu. King Cheng of Chu saw that the army of Qi was coming fiercely. On the one hand, he personally led the army to fight, and on the other hand, he sent the doctor Qu Wan to make peace with Qi. When Duke Huan of Qi saw that there was no room for Chu to take advantage of, he made an alliance with Chu in Zhaoling (now the east of Yancheng in Henan Province), which made Chu recognize his hegemony. After that, Duke Huan of Qi held several meetings with the princes, and once supported and established King Xiang of Zhou and respected the emperor of Zhou. In 651 BC, the emperor of Zhou also sent people to participate in the meeting of kuiqiu, and the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi reached its peak.
In 645 BC, Guan Zhong and Xi Peng died one after another. Duke Huan appointed Yi Ya, Kai Fang and Li Diao as the three flattering ministers in power, and his politics gradually became corrupt. In 643 BC, Duke Huan of Qi died. In order to fight for the throne, his five sons attacked each other and had no time to attend to the funeral of Duke Huan. As a result, the body of Duke Huan of Qi was stored for 67 days and rotted and gave birth to maggots. From then on, Qi's hegemony declined suddenly.
Duke Huan of Qi was an outstanding ruler with the ability of governing the country and great ambition. He carried out some rectification and Reform in his own country, and achieved the effect of enriching the country and strengthening the army. He became the first overlord among the countries in the spring and Autumn period. Although the war for hegemony caused great damage to the social economy and the working people paid a great price for it, it played a positive role in the unification of China, the integration of all nationalities and the development of ancient Chinese history.
Duke Huan of Qi and nine princes
Although the state of Qi lost a battle in Changshao, it did not affect the later hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi. More than ten years later, the northern state of Yan (whose capital is now Beijing) sent envoys to ask for help, saying that the state of Yan was invaded by a nearby tribe, Shanrong, and was defeated. Duke Huan of Qi decided to lead the army to save Yan.
In 663 BC, the army of Qi arrived in the state of Yan. Shanrong had robbed a number of people and treasures and fled back.
The army of Qi and Yan united and pursued north. Unexpectedly, they were led into a mysterious valley by the enemy. That Lost Valley is like the sea, no edge, no edge, no way to find the original way.
It's Guan Zhong who comes up with an idea. He said to Duke Huan of Qi, "horses may know the way. It's better to find some local old horses and let them walk in the head. Maybe they can get out of this place."
Duke Huan of Qi asked some old horses to lead the way. These old horses really led the people out of the valley.
After Duke Huan of Qi helped Yan defeat Shanrong, Xing was also invaded by another tribe di. Duke Huan of Qi took his men to drive away the Di people and helped Xing rebuild the city wall. Then the di invaded the state of Wei, and Duke Huan of Qi helped the state rebuild its capital on the South Bank of the Yellow River. Because of these things, Duke Huan of Qi's prestige was improved. Only the southern state of Chu (the capital of which is located in the northwest of Jiangling, Hubei Province today) not only disagrees with the state of Qi, but also opposes the state of Qi.
Chu was in the south of China, and had never been in contact with the Central Plains. At that time, the Central Plains princes regarded Chu as a "barbarian". However, Chu people reclaimed the land in the south, gradually accepted some tribes nearby, and gradually became a big country. Later, he called himself the king of Chu and did not pay attention to the emperor of Zhou Dynasty.
In 656 BC, Duke Huan of Qi made a date with the army of song, Lu, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Cao and Xu to jointly attack Chu.
When King Cheng of Chu heard the news, he also gathered people and horses to prepare for resistance. He sent an emissary to see Duke Huan of Qi and said, "our king asked me to ask, Qi is in the north, Chu is in the south, and the two countries have no contact. It's really not the same. Why do your soldiers come here? "
Guan Zhong asked: "although our two countries are far apart, they are both granted by the emperor of Zhou. When the Duke of Qi was appointed, he once accepted an order: if anyone disobeys the emperor, the state of Qi has the right to punish him. The state of Chu originally paid tribute to the emperor Baomao every year. Why don't you pay tribute now The emissary said, "we didn't pay tribute to Bao Mao. It's not our fault. We will pay tribute in the future."
After the envoys left, the state of Qi and the Allied forces of the vassals moved forward again and arrived at Zhaoling (now Yancheng County, Henan Province).
King Cheng of Chu sent Qu Wan to inquire. In order to show his military power, Duke Huan of Qi asked Qu Wan to get on the bus to see the original soldiers. After a look, it turned out that the army was neat and strong.
Duke Huan of Qi proudly said to Qu Wan, "look, who can resist such a powerful army?"
Qu Wan gave a faint smile and said, "only when you help the emperor, speak of morality and help the weak, can people admire you. If we only rely on force, our national strength is not strong, but we use Fangcheng (the Great Wall built by the state of Chu, from the south of the current river to the northeast of Biyang) as the wall and Han River as the trench. Even if you bring more people, you may not be able to get in. "
Duke Huan of Qi was very tough when he heard what Qu Wan said. He did not expect that he could easily defeat the state of Chu. Moreover, since the state of Chu had admitted his mistake and promised to pay tribute to Bao Mao, he also had face. In this way, the eight princes of the Central Plains and the state of Chu made an alliance in Zhaoling and went back to China.
Later, there was a dispute between the Zhou royal family, and Duke Huan of Qi helped Prince Ji Zheng consolidate his position. After the crown prince ascended the throne, he was king Xiang of Zhou. In order to repay Duke Huan of Qi, King Xiang of Zhou specially sent envoys to give him the sacrificial meat from the temple, which was regarded as a generous gift.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Duke Huan of Qi met with the princes in kuiqiu (now lankaodong of Henan Province) of the Song Dynasty to entertain the messenger of the emperor. The main contents of the treaty are as follows: building water conservancy projects and preventing disasters, it is not allowed to regard neighboring countries as puddles; neighboring countries should not be forbidden to buy food when there is famine; all the princes of the alliance should be friendly after the treaty is signed.
This was the last time Duke Huan of Qi met with the princes. There are many times of such a great meeting, which is called "nine combined Princes" in history.
In 645 BC, Guan Zhong died. Two years later, Duke Huan of Qi also died. When Duke Huan died, his five sons snatched the throne. Civil strife broke out in the state of Qi, and Prince Zhao fled to the state of song. The hegemony of Qi was over.
