Under the leadership of Xianggong of Jin, the Jin army defeated the princes of the southeast, northwest and northwest one by one, but no matter how strong the Jin State was, it was impossible to be invincible forever. In the third year of the reign of Duke Lu Wen (624 BC), Duke Xiang of Jin once again united with Song, Chen, Wei, Zheng and other allies to defeat the Chu allied Shen State. In order to retaliate, the state of Chu immediately sent troops to surround the state of Jiang, an ally of the state of Jin, although the Duke of Xiang of Jin sent troops to rescue the state of Jiang, but in vain, the state of Jiang and the state of Tate, etc., were destroyed by the state of Chu.

The expansion of Chu's power sounded the alarm bell for the Jin State, reminding them that although the powerful power in the south was temporarily dormant, it definitely did not submit to the Jin State, and if the Jin State relaxed slightly, the position of overlord might change hands. At this time, the Jin State suffered another serious blow, and the old ministers who had followed the Duke of Jin Wen to lay the foundation for the hegemony of the Jin State, Zhao Yuan, Luan Zhi, Xian Jiju, and Xu Chen, died one after another.

The serious consequences of the fall of the stars to the Jin State were not only the self-reduction of military power, but more importantly, the sudden emergence of a large number of political vacuums quickly caused the Jin State to compete for power and profit at the top of the Jin State. In particular, the struggle for power between the Zhao family, the family of Zhao Yuan, the family of Zhao Yuan, and the family of Hu Yan, who followed the exile of Duke Wen of Jin, laid hidden dangers for the future chaos and even the decline of the hegemony of the Jin State.

Due to the lack of excellent generals, Jin Xianggong had to cut the five armies of General Wei Hehe to the second army and restore it to the third army, and then select outstanding talents among the children of the nobility to serve as the generals of the three armies. Among the official positions of the three armed forces, the post of general of the Chinese army, that is, the marshal of the Chinese army, is not only a military position, but also similar to Xiangguo, who is also in charge of national politics and holds the power of military and political affairs in one hand. Therefore, it is an important official position of the first rank in the Jin Kingdom, and it is conceivable that its competition is also extremely fierce, and the two focal figures competing for the position of general of the Chinese army are Zhao Dun from the Zhao family and Hu Shugu from the fox family.

Zhao Dun is Zhao Yuan's eldest son, he was not born and raised in the Jin Kingdom, and his life experience is also very tortuous. When Li Ji poured into Jin, several sons of Jin Xiangong died and fled, and Gongzi Chong'er also avoided his father's pursuit, and took advantage of the chaos to escape from the Jin Kingdom and came to his mother's motherland Di Kingdom. The monarch of the Di Kingdom was very good to Chong'er, and gave the two daughters of the captive leader of the Chidi tribe, Shu Kui and Ji Kui, to Chong'er. In order to encircle the ministers who followed him, Chong'er only left his sister Ji Kui, and gave his sister Shu Kui to Zhao Yuan, who gave birth to his son Zhao Dun after marrying Zhao Yuan.

After Chong'er returned to China and ascended the throne, all the ministers who followed him into exile were also rewarded, and when the monarch of Di Guo heard that Chong'er had ascended the throne, he sent his wife Ji Kui, who had stayed in Di for seven years, to Jin, but Zhao Yuan's wife Shu Kui was not sent together. At this time, Duke Wen of Jin had already married his daughter to Zhao Yuan, and the two also gave birth to three sons, seeing that Ji Kui was sent back to the Jin Kingdom, Zhao Yuan also remembered the woman Shu Kui who accompanied him through those difficult years, and wanted to take her back, but he was afraid that the current lady and the princess of the Jin Kingdom would not agree, so he had to drag it down like this.

When the princess learned of this, she said very openly: "Please send someone to bring Shu Kui back, otherwise others will think that you are a person who likes the new and hates the old." Zhao Yu saw that the princess agreed, so he sent someone to pick up Shu Kui and Zhao Dun to return to China, and later the princess also gave up the position of Mrs. Yan to Shu Kui, and let Zhao Dun become Zhao Yu's heir as the eldest son.

Although Zhao Yuan, as a hero who followed and supported the Duke of Wen of Jin, gained a high status in the era of Duke Wen of Jin, the Zhao family still had a shallow foundation in the Jin Kingdom and could not compete with many old nobles. The fox family to which the fox shoots is different, the fox family was originally a big family surnamed Ji, and the monarch of the Jin State has the same surname, and later because its ancestors were sealed in the fox family, it was gradually changed from the surname Ji to the fox surname.

In the era of Hutu's grandfather, the fox family was even more prominent, and Hutu's two daughters, Darong Huji and Xiaorongzi, were married to Jin Xiangong, and Yiwu, the son of Jin Huigong, and Jin Wengong Chong'er were all Hutu's grandsons. Later, Hutu's two sons, Fox Mao and Huyan, followed Chong'er into exile for many years, and Hutu himself was killed because he defended Chong'er and refused to follow Jin Huaigong's order to recall his two sons. It can be said that the Fox family not only has deep roots in the Jin Kingdom, but also has won the trust of Jin Wengong, and this trust and attention was also inherited by Jin Xianggong after the death of Jin Wengong.

Therefore, in the process of selecting senior officers this time, Jin Xianggong held a military parade in Yidi, and did not hesitate to appoint Hu Yan's son Hu Shugu as the general of the Chinese army, and Zhao Dun as the commander of the Chinese army, but this appointment is not the end of the competition, but only a beginning. Jin Xianggong's teacher Yang Virgin has always supported the Zhao family, this time he heard that Zhao Dun did not get the position of general of the Chinese army, so he rushed back from Wendi, and tried his best to admonish Jin Xianggong that Zhao Dun was a capable minister, "enable it, and the benefit of the country is also."

Because Yang Zhi's father was the teacher of Jin Xianggong, Jin Xianggong attached great importance to his opinion, so he held a military parade in Dongdi again, and reappointed Zhao Dun as the general of the Chinese army, and Hu Shugu as the commander of the Chinese army. Fox Shooting Gu was unprovoked by Yang Virgin's father to take away the position of the Chinese army general, and he couldn't help but hate him to the bone, and he lost to Zhao Dun again in the struggle to support the new monarch later, so his head was hot, so he sent someone to stab Yang Virgin to death to vent his anger, and the innocent Yang Virgin Father became a victim of Zhao Fox's struggle for power. This murder case was quickly solved, and the killer sent by Fox Shooting Gu was also corrected, and Fox Shooting Gu saw that the matter would be found out to her head immediately, so she had to escape from the Jin Kingdom to the Di Kingdom.

Zhao Dun saw that Fox Shooting Aunt had left the Jin Kingdom on his own initiative, and he was very happy to get rid of a strong enemy, and no longer pursued the assassination of Yang Virgin's father, so he sent someone to send Fox Shooting Aunt's wife, children, and all the utensils and belongings to Di Kingdom to him, so that he could live in Di Kingdom with peace of mind and never return to Jin Kingdom for the rest of his life. This time, Zhao Hu's struggle for power ended with the complete victory of the Zhao clan, which seemed to be at a disadvantage, and the complete defeat of the Hu clan, which seemed to be in an advantageous position. Later, someone asked who was more virtuous between Zhao Yuan and Zhao Dun, the father and son, and the fox said with palpitations: "Zhao Yuan is like the sun in winter, shining on all things, making people warm; And Zhao Dun is like the summer sun, which is unbearable and inescapable. ”

After Zhao Dun took control of the Jin state, he made great efforts to make the country prosperous, and introduced a series of measures in the administrative, legal, and social aspects, including formulating rules and regulations, revising criminal laws, dealing with the backlog of criminal prison cases, hunting down fugitive slaves, stipulating the use of contract books in economic activities, improving people's livelihood, purging the hierarchical system, and selecting and appointing talents. Since then, the national political system of the Jin has been perfected, and it has become a fixed practice of the national economy and people's livelihood of the Jin State.

In the sixth year of Duke Lu Wen (621 BC), the overlord of the princes, Jin Xianggong, died of illness, and at this time, the concubine of Jin Xianggong, the crown prince Yigao, was still very young and could not preside over the state affairs. When Duke Wen of Jin died, Duke Xiang of Jin was already an adult, with the ability to control the political situation and even lead the army to the battle, which avoided a tragedy similar to the five sons of Qi vying for the throne. However, Jin Xianggong himself died young, leaving a situation of suspicion of the lord and the young country, which laid a hidden danger for the civil strife of the Jin State, and the once-prominent Wenxiang hegemony could only be declared to end.

When Jin Xianggong was dying, he was also very worried about his young prince, so he summoned Zhao Dun to his sickbed, and said to him with great encouragement: "I will receive this child; No, I complain. That is to say, if Zhao Dun can teach the prince Yigao to become a talent, then Zhao Dun is kind to the Duke of Jin Xiang; If the crown prince Yigao can't become a talent, then Jin Xianggong will also resent Zhao Dun's poor teaching under Jiuquan.

However, Zhao Dun did not take the last words of Jin Xianggong to heart, and after the death of Jin Xianggong, Zhao Dun, as the highest actual ruler of the Jin State at this time, discussed the matter of the new monarch. Zhao Dun spoke first, believing that in this troubled world, the country relied on Changjun, and the crown prince Yigao was too young to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Jin State, and the lord Shaoguo was suspected of easily causing civil strife. The Jin State is located in the Central Plains, the Qin State in the west and the Chu State in the south are eyeing each other, and the Di people in the north are also watching the opportunity to attack at any time.

Zhao Dun's words reached the hearts of all the ministers present, they were either meritorious ministers who had followed the Jin Wen Gong's road and bleak management, and opened up the hegemony of the Jin State, or the old nobles who served the Jin State in the past dynasties, and no one wanted to see the Jin Kingdom fall into chaos and suffer from the disaster of war. So the ministers discussed, nodded yes, and agreed to abolish the young orphaned prince Yigao of Jin Xianggong and set up Changjun instead.

Since the father cannot die and the son can succeed, then only the brother and the younger brother will be followed, and the candidates for the re-establishment will focus on the two younger brothers of Jin Xianggong, the two young sons of Jin Wengong, Gongzi Yong and Gongzi Le. Gongzi Yong's mother is Du Qi, a woman from Du State, who originally had a higher status among the wives and concubines of Duke Wen of Jin, but because Duke Wen of Jin doted on Duke Xiang's biological mother, she automatically asked to live under her; Later, Ji Kui, the wife of Jin Wengong in Di Guo, was sent back to Jin, because Di Guo was a strong opponent of Jin in the north, and it was also a benevolent country that supported Jin Wengong in exile, in order not to wronged Ji Kui, Du Qi had to give in again and agreed to let Ji Kui's position be above himself.

Because Du Qi is so empathetic, Jin Wengong has always felt guilty about her, so he is very fond of her son Gongzi Yong, and when he becomes an adult, he will recommend him to the friendly Qin State to be an official, Gongzi Yong also lived up to expectations, and was reused by Qin Mugong in Qin State and got Yaqing's high position.

And Gongzile's origin is not simple, he is the grandson of Qin Mugong, and his mother is Huai Ying, the daughter of Qin Mugong. When Jin Huaigong was a proton in Qin, Qin Mugong married his daughter Huai Ying to him as his wife, and later Jin Huai Gong broke off diplomatic relations with Qin State, and Qin Mu Gong remarried Huai Ying to Chong'er who came to Qin State to seek assistance. Chong'er originally disliked Huai Ying's nephew who had married him and was reluctant to marry her, but because he had a request from the Qin State, he had no choice but to obey his fate, and was later called Chen Ying. Because her mother was not favored by her father, her son Gongzile did not receive much love from his father, and when he became an adult, he went to the weak vassal state of Chen to be an official.

Therefore, when choosing the object of support, Zhao Dun chose Gongzi Yong, who had the support of the Qin State, and he said to the ministers: "We should make Gongzi Yong the monarch." He was willing to do good deeds and was older, he was very favored by his ancestors, and he had a close relationship with the Qin state. The Qin State and the Jin State have been friendly neighbors for many years, and the so-called 'good is solid, long is smooth, love is filial piety, and old is peaceful', and now we want to support an older monarch because the country is facing danger. As long as we act in accordance with these four virtues, establish Gongzi Yong as the king, and improve the relationship with the Qin State, the crisis of the Jin State will definitely be eased. ”

The Zhao family and the fox family are fighting for power and profit at this time, the fox shooting Gu lost to Zhao Dun last time in the battle for the position of the general of the Chinese army, if Zhao Dun is allowed to meet the monarch according to his own wishes, then where can there be a foothold for the fox clan in this Jin country? So the fox shot Gu stood up and sang the opposite: "In my opinion, it is better to be happy with the son." Huai Ying was favored by the two kings, and if she set up her son, the people would obey with peace of mind. ”

Before Zhao Dun could speak, Zhao Meng of the Zhao clan stood up and retorted: "Chen Ying has a low status, and he has married two monarchs successively, what is the majesty of the son of such a lascivious person? And Gongzile, as the son of the first monarch, did not go to a big country to seek a throne, but he was in a corner of the small country of Chen Guo, which was an ugly person with no ambitions. How can such a person be a ruler if his mother is lascivious and his son is despicable? Moreover, the Chen State was weak and distant, and the Jin State could not come to the rescue if there was something wrong, which would not be beneficial to the Jin State. Gongzi Yong's mother is virtuous, and she has the support of the Qin State, of course, she should establish Gongzi Yong! ”

After some arguments, neither the Zhao family nor the fox family could convince each other, so Zhao Dun ignored the opinion of the fox shooting aunt in a fit of anger, and sent Xian Jian and Shihui to Qin to welcome Gongzi Yong's return to China, and the fox shooting aunt was not to be outdone, and then sent someone to Chen to ask Gongzi Le to return to China. But after all, it was Zhao Dunqi who was a senior player, and he not only sent people to meet Gongzi Yong, but also sent a killer to assassinate Gongzi Le, who was stabbed to death by a killer in Piyi (present-day Jiyuanxi, Henan Province) on his way back to Jin from Chen. Seeing that Gongzi Le was dead, the fox shot Gu once again lost to Zhao Dun, and in a fit of anger, he sent someone to kill Zhao Dun's henchman Yang virgin, and then fled to Di Guo, and the fox clan withdrew from the political stage of Jin.

Seeing that the young prince Yigao was about to lose the position he deserved, Mu Huan, the wife of Duke Xiang of Jin, was very anxious, and hugged the prince every day and cried in the front court: "What is there to be sorry for you? What is there to be sorry for you? You have abandoned your son-in-law and gone abroad to find the king, where will you leave the prince! Mu Huan saw that her crying in the previous dynasty was invalid, so she took the prince to Zhao Dun's house and cried: "When the monarch entrusted the prince to you, he said, 'I will receive this son; No, I complain about the son', now that the first monarch has passed away, the words are still in your ears, you will abandon the prince, aren't you afraid of retribution? ”

Zhao Dun and the doctors were disturbed by Mu Huan, and people in the Spring and Autumn Period also believed in ghosts and gods, and they were very worried that Jin Xianggong's soul would come to repay him if his soul was uneasy under Jiuquan, so he decided to betray Gongzi Yong, or support the crown prince Yigao, this is Jin Linggong. Then Zhao Dun personally led the army to defend the Qin army that sent Gongzi Yonghui back to Jin, and defeated the Qin army at Linghu.

After the accession of Jin Linggong, Zhao Dun completely grasped the power of the Jin State, and even convened the alliance of Qi, Song, Wei, Chen, Zheng, Xu, and Cao as a doctor, creating the beginning of the Jin Doctor's main alliance. At the same time, there was also civil strife in the country because of the conflict of interests between the doctors, and since then, the Jin State has no longer dominated the world, and has fallen into the dilemma of the suspicion of the master and the young country, the dictatorship of the doctors, and the continuous civil strife.