PFC Chapter 213 Zhou Gong Spits Out Food
Chapter 213 Zhou Gong Spits Out Food
Unlike Weizi Qi and Jizi, Wang Shu Bi Gan was a tough guy. He would not leave until King Zhou listened to his advice. This behavior also angered King Zhou, causing him to utter the famous saying: "The heart of the unknown sage has seven orifices, is there any of them?"
King Zhou then dug out Bigan's heart to test its authenticity. As a result, not long after, the Shang Dynasty's national counselor group lost three pillars - Weizi Qi, Bigan, and Jizi.
When the old teammates went crazy, died or fled, King Zhou of Shang brought in a group of new teammates. However, the new teammates were not limited to nobles. Anyone with talent, whether nobles, commoners or slaves, could assist him and make a living under him.
The generals he appointed, Fei Lian and E Lai, were both the strongest fighters of the Shang Dynasty, capable of fighting against hundreds of enemies. Fei Lian was known for his running skills, while E Lai was a warrior who could fight tigers and leopards. With these famous generals, King Zhou was able to conquer the four directions with even more power.
It was not enough to just have people. If King Zhou wanted to be the boss of the Shang Dynasty, he also needed to take power back from the nobles. At that time, power and sacrifice were inseparable. If he wanted to take back power, he could only take the sacrifice into his own hands.
So King Zhou began to reform the sacrifices, trying to narrow the scope of sacrifices and take power back into his own hands. Unexpectedly, his reforms directly alienated the nobles and they did not want to follow the Shang Dynasty anymore.
This added fuel to the fire of the Shang Dynasty's decline. However, it was not only these factors that led to the demise of the Shang Dynasty, but also the warlike behavior of King Zhou of Shang.
Although the power of the Shang Dynasty was declining when he took over the country, as a monarch, he still had dreams. Conquering the surrounding barbarians was King Zhou of Shang's dream.
However, King Zhou of Shang did not target the Zhou Kingdom, but one side. According to records, in the 14th year of his reign, King Zhou conquered the Dongyi tribe, not only forcing them to kneel down and surrender, but also started a game of grabbing territory, directly expanding the territory of the Shang Dynasty to the Jianghuai region.
However, his act of mobilizing the entire country's strength for the expedition left the Shang Dynasty's defense weak.
In 1046 BC, when King Wu of Zhou led his troops to attack, the main force of the Shang Dynasty had no time to return for support. In a hurry, King Zhou could only mobilize slaves to fight. As a result, the Shang army was easily defeated by the Zhou army.
The defeat and destruction of the country seemed to be the main reason why King Zhou of Shang was infamous, and his crimes were widely spread by the victorious King Wu of Zhou who invited historians to spread them. But the interesting thing is that the crimes committed by King Zhou of Shang in later generations increased year by year.
In the Book of Documents, King Zhou had only 6 crimes, but in the Warring States Period, his crimes increased to 20, in the Western Han Dynasty to 21, and in the Eastern Jin Dynasty to 11. What do you think about this?
[Understand the life history of Zhou Gongdan in one breath - Zhou Gong of Shang and Zhou]
When talking about Zhou Dynasty idols, we have to mention Duke of Zhou Ji Dan. He was a role model in Confucius' mind, a Confucian saint, and a good brother who helped his brother conquer the world. Even when the throne was placed in front of him, he remained unmoved.
This video will let us understand in one breath how Duke Zhou became the top figure in the Zhou Dynasty step by step.
Around 1056 BC, King Wu of Zhou ascended the throne and took over the baton from his father. However, as a king, he not only had to deal with domestic affairs, but also had to compete with the Shang Dynasty.
The high-intensity life of a monarch made King Wu of Zhou increasingly rely on his younger brother and confidential secretary, Duke Zhou. After all, who wouldn't love a loyal subordinate who could take charge of government affairs, give advice, and be loyal?
In addition to being a "confidential secretary", Duke Zhou also had to play a guest role as a "tree hole". When King Wu wanted to win over the princes to "fight the boss" together, but didn't know how to start, he would often go to Duke Zhou to complain.
Duke Zhou not only listened to his complaints, but also gave him advice after listening to his problems. The so-called "Shun De Counsellor" was a method proposed by Duke Zhou to win over the princes.
He suggested that King Wu of Zhou should rely on the Mandate of Heaven, teach the princes, and be diligent in government affairs to accumulate strength. Only in this way can we lay a good foundation for defeating King Zhou. King Wu governed the country according to this operating guide, and the national strength was indeed flourishing.
In 1046 BC, with the help of Duke Zhou, King Wu successfully defeated King Zhou. The next day, he held a press conference to announce King Zhou's crimes. At this press conference, Duke Zhou stood beside King Wu holding a large axe.
The axe was a symbol of power at the time. The fact that Duke Zhou could hold the axe showed that King Wu valued and trusted him. In addition, when the "cake" was divided according to merit, he also reaped a lot.
King Wu gave him the state of Lu as a year-end bonus, and Duke Zhou suddenly became the founding monarch of Lu.
However, before he could take office in Lu, an accident happened. In 1043 BC, King Wu of Zhou completed his mission on earth and passed away. Before his death, he entrusted his son, the future king, to the Duke of Zhou for custody. This new king was King Cheng of Zhou.
When King Cheng of Zhou became the king and "worked" for the Zhou Dynasty, he was only a teenager, a typical "child laborer". In order to prevent the power from falling into the hands of others, Duke Zhou had to let his son go to Lu State to be a vassal, while he assisted the young emperor in attending court.
However, his efforts were seen by his brothers as an attempt to usurp power. His elder brother Guan Shu even hired a group of soldiers to spread rumors that he wanted to usurp the throne.
For a time, true and false news were flying everywhere, and ministers inside and outside the court were unsure of Duke Zhou's true thoughts. This also gave Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of Shang, an opportunity.
In order to demonstrate his benevolence, King Wu of Zhou did not kill all the royal family of Shang. Instead, he gave a fief to Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of Shang, and let him serve as a mascot for the rest of his life as a prince. He also sent three clan members, Guan Shu, Huo Shu, and Cai Shu, to supervise Wu Geng.
Unexpectedly, Wu Geng stabbed the Zhou Dynasty in the back. When Duke Zhou was being blackened by the entire Internet, he secretly joined forces with Guan Shu, Cai Shu, and Huo Shu to rebel, which is known in history as the "Rebellion of the Three Supervisors."
The situation was critical at this time, so Duke Zhou decided to go to the battlefield himself. In order to increase his chances of winning, he also invited two foreign aids for himself - Jiang Ziya and Zhao Gong.
With the two of them in charge, Duke Zhou attacked Guan Shu, the maker of the rumor, at lightning speed. After three years of fierce fighting, the "Rebellion of the Three Supervisors" was finally put down.
But what Duke Zhou wanted was not just to quell the rebellion. Since he had sent troops, there was no way he would return empty-handed.
As a result, almost all the countries that participated in the rebellion, such as Chu, Hufang, and E, were defeated by Duke Zhou. In order to pursue the rebels, the Zhou Dynasty's army even pursued them to the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea areas. Since then, the reputation of Duke Zhou and the Zhou Dynasty became famous far and wide.
Duke Zhou can be said to be an absolute "hexagonal warrior". In addition to leading troops to fight, he was also good at governing the country. Talents are indispensable to governing a country, and Duke Zhou can be regarded as a model for monarchs of all dynasties in terms of seeking talents. "Washing hair three times, eating three times" is a synonym for Duke Zhou.
It is said that when Duke Zhou was bathing and a talented person came to ask for an audience, he would interrupt his bathing and comb his hair to meet the other person; he would also interrupt his meal when a talented person came to ask for an audience, just to not keep the talented person waiting for too long.
This thirst for talent enabled him to recruit a large number of knowledgeable people, and the Zhou Dynasty prospered. Even Cao Cao became a "little fan" of Duke Zhou, and commented on him that "Duke Zhou spits out food to feed his guests, and the people of the world will be at peace with him", which means that if people were to treat the wise and humble as Duke Zhou did, the people of the world would naturally be at peace with him.
Although the famous Duke of Zhou was trusted by the people of the world, there were still people who disliked him. After Duke of Zhou retired and returned to power, this flatterer made slanderous remarks to King Cheng of Zhou.
When Duke Zhou heard about this, he was frightened and fled to the State of Chu for refuge, but King Cheng accidentally discovered Duke Zhou's loyalty.
It is said that when King Cheng of Zhou was reading a document, he accidentally saw a record of his serious illness. After King Cheng became seriously ill, Duke Zhou actually cut his own nails and threw them into the river, saying to the river god: "I am willing to die for King Cheng."
King Cheng was shocked when he saw this and immediately sent someone to bring back Duke Zhou. After returning, Duke Zhou continued to work hard for the Zhou Dynasty. Although he had announced his retirement and would no longer serve as regent, he still compiled the ritual and music system to maintain the stability of the Zhou Dynasty.
The so-called ritual and music system is to divide people into different classes, let them use different types of clothing, utensils and music according to their class, and thus strengthen people's sense of class. This system played an indelible role in maintaining the rule of the Zhou Dynasty.
But the ritual and music system was not Zhou Gong's most important invention. His most important invention even influenced China for nearly 3000 years. This far-reaching invention was the system of primogeniture. In short, the first heir to the throne must be the eldest son born to his wife.
This system was still in effect until the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty established by the Jurchens was also greatly influenced by it. Zhou Gong's two major inventions also successfully attracted countless fans. The Confucian scholar Confucius became his number one fan because of this, and regarded Zhou Gong as a role model throughout his life.
Even in his later years, he was very sad because he could not dream of Zhou Gong, and sighed, "How old I am! I haven't dreamed of Zhou Gong for a long time."
However, for Duke Zhou, his reputation after death may not be important. What really comforts him should be that he can be buried in Luoyi, assist King Cheng during his lifetime, and never leave the monarch after his death.
[The man that even Su Daji couldn't seduce is deified in history]
He is the author's favorite mortal character in "The Investiture of the Gods". He is loyal, filial, benevolent, righteous, and talented, with a noble status.
He was the leader of the hundred sons of King Wen of Zhou, and a person whom Su Daji could not seduce until her death. He was Bo Yikao, the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou.
Bo Yikao was the eldest son of King Wen of Zhou, and the elder brother of King Zhou, Jifa. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, King Wen gave birth to Bo Yikao when he was 13 years old, and King Wu when he was 15 years old.
He was the most filial son of King Wen and Tai Si, but because he was not as virtuous and talented as Ji Fa, he lost his status as heir. After being sent to the Shang Dynasty as a hostage, he was trusted by King Zhou because of his honesty and loyalty, and became King Zhou's full-time carriage driver.
In order to strengthen the control over foreign countries in the early days of King Zhou's reign, he appointed Ji Chang as Marquis of Xibo, ranking among the Three Dukes. However, Ji Chang took advantage of King Zhou's eastern expedition to the Dongyi to continue expanding in the west.
Ji Chang was different from King Zhou. He ruled the country with benevolence and virtue, and recruited talents from all over the world. For a time, Xiqi became a paradise that everyone yearned for. Princes flocked to it and the people praised him as a saint.
King Zhou saw that Ji Chang was growing stronger under his nose, so in order to curb his further development, he arrested Ji Chang and imprisoned him in Youli.
During his imprisonment, Ji Chang was not idle. In prison, he deduced Fuxi's Eight Trigrams into sixty-four hexagrams and 384 lines, and finally created the "Book of Changes".
This made his saintly name known to the world. King Zhou was furious and ordered the execution of Bo Yikao, who was cooked and made into a meat soup and sent to Ji Chang to eat. Although King Zhou's move was called a test for Ji Chang, it was actually a plot to destroy his heart.
Isn't it said that Ji Chang is a sage who can tell the difference? If he calculated that this is his son's meat and didn't eat it, it means that he really follows the way of heaven, so don't expect him to return to Xiqi.
But if Ji Chang ate the meat soup, it would prove that he could not see the destiny. Ji Chang was just a person who could sacrifice everything for the sake of survival, and he was not worthy of people's respect and following. In that case, even if he was released, he would not pose a threat to himself.
Although King Zhou's actions put Ji Chang in a dilemma, he finally chose to eat the meat soup. King Zhou completely relaxed his vigilance against him and said proudly: "Who said that Xibo Hou was a saint? He ate the meat soup made from his own son without knowing it."
So he released Ji Chang. Xiqi and Shang were enemies for generations. Ji Chang's father Ji Li was killed by Wen Ding, the grandfather of the previous Shang King Di Yi. King Zhou would never have thought that it was his release that turned the dispute between Xiqi and Shang from a moral dispute into a military dispute.
In the mythical novel "The Investiture of the Gods" by the Ming Dynasty writer Xu Zhonglin, Bo Yikao became an unforgettable white moonlight. He was not only a gentle and elegant man, but also the real successor of Xiqi.
In the interpretation, Ji Chang had predicted that he would suffer seven years of disaster before he went to Chaoge. He had arranged everything calmly before leaving, and told Bo Yikao not to come to Chaoge to find him no matter what, and when the seven years were up, he would return suddenly.
But when the seven years were up, Ji Chang and Ji Fa rushed to save their father. Without their father, life was at stake.
As a younger brother, Ji Fa certainly could not compete with his older brother, so Bo Yikao set out for Chaoge with the three treasures of Xiqi that he was going to present to King Zhou - the Seven Fragrance Chariot, the Sobering Felt and the White Monkey.
It must be said that Xu Zhonglin favored Bo Yikao. Bo Yikao, as the leader of the hundred sons of King Wen Jichang, was also beautiful. He was elegant and calm, the most beautiful man in Xiqi, with elegant demeanor, beautiful eyes, clear eyebrows, red lips and white teeth, and a face like a crown of jade.
Such a perfect young man is also a talented man with poetic and picturesque feelings and unparalleled friendship.
This was in stark contrast to King Zhou, who was nearly 60 years old. Even the knowledgeable nine-tailed fox could not help but be tempted by him, and repeatedly threw herself into his arms under the pretext of learning the musical instrument and flirted with Bo Yikao.
But Bo Yikao, who had been influenced by his father's loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness since childhood, certainly refused to submit. Daji, who was furious, based on the principle of destroying what she could not get, began to frame Bo Yikao in various ways.
Unable to resist the persuasion of his beloved concubine, King Zhou finally executed Bo Yikao and made him into meatballs according to Daji's request and had Ji Chang eat them.
After Ji Chang returned to Xiqi, he could not bear the pain of losing his son and could not help vomiting. As a result, all the vomited meat turned into lively rabbits and ran away.
The story of King Wen's rabbit not only gave rabbits a name, but the legend is still circulating in the Youli area. It is said that the people there have always retained the habit of not beating rabbits.
Bo Yikao was the low-ranking victim of Xiqi's attack on King Zhou, and a character in "Investiture of the Gods" whose moral character was close to that of a saint. Xiqi's war to destroy the Shang Dynasty chose to start with the killing of such a saint, which also foreshadowed the tragic ending of the battle in "Investiture of the Gods".
In the 99th chapter of "The Investiture of the Gods", Jiang Ziya returned to his country to be deified. Yuanshi Tianzun, remembering Bo Yikao's loyalty and filial piety, conferred him the title of Emperor Ziwei of the North Pole of Zhongtian, whose power was second only to the head of the stars.