After the end of the hegemony of the Qi State, the Chu State, which had previously fought against the Qi State, faintly had a tendency to replace it, not only the Zheng State, which had fallen to the Chu State in the era of Qi Huangong, once again approached the Chu State, but also the Chen State, the Cai State and other small states that had always wavered between the Qi State and the Chu State were attached to the Chu State, and even the Qi State formed an alliance with the Chu State. Song Xianggong saw that Chu was strong, but he did not realize it, but invited Qi and Chu to meet in Lushang, and said that he planned to meet the princes in Yudi in the autumn, and asked Qi and Chu to support him in his hegemony.

The state of Chu, which was quite hegemonic, unexpectedly agreed to Song Xianggong's request, and the state of Qi was weak at this time and could only follow the state of Chu, and the filial piety of Qi was supported by Song Xianggong and was more inclined to Song Xianggong, so the three countries reached a consensus to hold an alliance meeting of various countries in the autumn. Sima Gongzi of the Song State saw the crisis and sighed: "The Song State is a small country but wants to compete for the position of the leader of the alliance, this is the end of the trouble, and the Song State is about to die!" ”

In the autumn, Song Xianggong prepared to go to Yudi to participate in the alliance, and planned to take no troops with him as previously agreed. Gongzi Muyi persuaded Song Xianggong: "Chu is a barbarian country, although it is powerful, it has never been faithful, it is better for you to bring soldiers and horses to protect it." Song Xianggong raised the banner of faith and said: "I have agreed not to bring an army before, how can I lose my trust with the princes?" So Song Xianggong really set off without taking the army. It would be a disadvantage not to take the words of a counsellor at all.

When Song Xianggong rushed to Yudi with the joy of becoming the overlord, the kings of the vassal states such as Chu, Zheng, Chen, Cai, Cao, and Xu had already arrived, but Qi Xiaogong, who was more supportive of Song Xianggong, did not come. Song Xianggong also wanted to order the princes with the attitude of overlord like Duke Qi Huan did back then, but who knew that as soon as King Chu Cheng gave an order, the warriors of Chu rushed up and arrested Song Xianggong.

Gongzi Muyi saw that the monarch had been arrested, and he had no army to save the monarch, so he had to flee back to the Song Kingdom in a panic to report the news. The ministers of the Song State believed that the Chu State would use the Song Xianggong as a hostage to blackmail the Song State into submission, and that only by choosing a new monarch could they resist the threat of the Chu State. Because Gongzi Muyi is the eldest son of Song Huan Gong and the eldest brother of Song Xianggong, all the ministers unanimously elected Gongzi Muyi as the monarch.

Soon after, the army of Chu really took Song Xianggong hostage to attack Song State, and when they arrived in Song State, they found that under the leadership of Gongzi Muyi, Song State had reorganized its armament and was ready to resist, and it could not be easily conquered. So the people of Chu threatened the Song State: "If you don't quickly open the city and surrender, I will kill your king." The people of Song said unceremoniously: "We have a new king, and we will never surrender!" Seeing that the Song State was heavily guarded, the people of Chu threatened Song Xianggong's life but it didn't work, so they let Song Xianggong go and withdrew their troops back.

Song Xianggong knew that Gongzi Muyi had become the monarch of the country, and he did not dare to return to China after regaining his freedom, so he could only go into exile to defend the country. Gongzi Muyi sent someone to find him and said to him: "I am guarding the Song Kingdom for the sake of the monarch, and now that you are safe, why don't you return to China?" So he welcomed Song Xianggong back to the Song Kingdom and let him continue to be the monarch.

After Song Xianggong returned to China, he did not reflect on his actions, but he hated Chu deeply, but he did not have enough military strength to attack Chu State. It happened that the monarch of Zheng State went to Chu State to meet the king of Chu, and Song Xianggong summoned the armies of Wei, Xu, and Teng to crusade against Zheng State, so as to demonstrate to Chu State, and Zheng State hurriedly asked Chu State for help.

At this time, the state of Chu was in its prime, and it was impossible for a small state like Song to provoke wantonly, so it sent a large army to aid Zheng. The army of the state of Chu did not bother to go to the state of Zheng to fight against the Song army that attacked the state of Zheng, but drove directly to the state of Song and launched an attack. Song Xianggong purged the army and planned to fight a decisive battle with the Chu army, and the great Sima Gongsun Gu admonished: "Heaven has abandoned the Shang clan for a long time, and you insist on disobeying the will of heaven to revive the merchants, and God will not forgive you." At this time, Song Xianggong had completely ignored the advice, and was desperate to prepare for a decisive battle with the Chu State.

In November of the 22nd year of the reign of Emperor Lu (638 BC), the army of Song and the army of Chu fought a decisive battle in Hongshui (northwest of present-day Zhecheng, Henan). The Song army set up a position on the bank of Hongshui, and the Chu army crossed the Hongshui to attack the Song army on the opposite bank, when the Chu army was crossing the river, Gongsun Gu said: "It is difficult to win the enemy when I am outnumbered, and now the Chu army is crossing the river, please take the opportunity to attack." Song Xianggong said: "Don't take advantage of people's danger. "Refusing to attack. The Chu army quickly crossed the Hongshui and began to line up on the shore, Gongsun Gu said to Song Xianggong: "The Chu army has not yet set up a formation, our army seized this opportunity, quickly launched a charge, and can win." Song Xianggong still refused.

The army of Chu lined up and took the initiative to attack, where could the army of Song State resist the strong Chu army, and it was quickly defeated, Song Xianggong carried a spear in his hand, urging the chariot, and wanted to attack the past. But before he could rush forward, he was surrounded by the Chu Corps, and he was hit by an arrow in the thigh and suffered several injuries on his body. Thanks to the efforts of several generals of the Song Kingdom, he was rescued. By the time he escaped from the battlefield, the Song Dynasty's military vehicles had lost eight or nine out of ten, and all the weapons, grain and grass had been lost, and the soldiers were dead and wounded, and they could not form an army.

After returning to the city, everyone blamed Song Xianggong, but Song Xianggong still unrepentantly defended: "A gentleman has a benevolent heart, and the ancient law of marching is not to attack the enemy who has been wounded, not to capture gray-haired veterans, and not to rely on the dangers of passes to win." Although our military strength is not strong, we also pay attention to the principle of not launching an attack without beating the drum. ”

Gongzi Muyi angrily accused Song Xianggong: "You don't know what war is!" The enemy can't line up in front of the dangerous pass, this is the heavens are helping us, why not snipe in the dangerous place? Since we are fighting, then the opponent's army is all the enemy of our army, what scruples do you have about capturing and killing the elderly? Teach the army to be loyal and patriotic and fight bravely in order to kill the enemy, and if you sympathize with the wounded enemy, it is better not to hurt the other party; If you sympathize with the elderly, it is better to simply surrender. The most important thing in the whole army's combat is to be sharp, and bells and drums are used to boost morale, as long as the morale is strong, no matter whether it is a dangerous obstacle or a pass, you can beat the drum and march into the army. ”

It can be said that Song Xianggong completely ruined the road to hegemony of the Song Kingdom.

The Song State suffered a fiasco this time, its vitality was greatly damaged, and the last bit of capital for hegemony was also lost. In the second year, the state of Qi also came to the ground, and attacked the state of Song on the grounds that the state of Song did not participate in the alliance of the state of Qi, and besieged the state of Song. Soon, Song Xianggong's leg injury recurred, the treatment was ineffective, and he died in internal and external troubles, and all the arrogant ambition and illusory prosperity of the Song Kingdom disappeared without a trace with the death of this self-proclaimed monarch of benevolence and righteousness.

The hegemony of Qi came to an abrupt end with the death of Duke Huan of Qi, and the dream of Song Xianggong to seek hegemony was also annihilated without a trace in the Battle of Hongshui, but the princes of the Central Plains would not be without a leader for long, and a newly rising vassal state - the Jin State played an important role on the stage of history.

The Jin Kingdom began with Tang Shuyu, the younger brother of Zhou Cheng.

According to the Historical Records, King Wu of Zhou dreamed one day that the Emperor of Heaven would give him a son named Yu. "Zuo Biography" recorded: "Uncle Yi Jiang Fang. According to the records of various generations, Yi Jiang is the daughter of Jiang Taigong Lu Shang, and later the concubine of King Wu of Zhou. Not long after, he gave birth to a son with the word "Yu" on his hand, which was later Tang Shuyu. After the death of King Wu of Zhou, the young King Cheng succeeded to the throne, one day, King Cheng and Yu played, tore a sycamore leaf into the image of Yugui and handed it to Yu, jokingly said that he would be crowned the monarch of the Tang Kingdom, at this time, the historian around King Cheng immediately asked for Yu to prepare a carriage and horse to go to the Tang State to take office, this is the origin of Tang Shuyu.

Tang Shuyu's son, Marquis Xie's father, moved to Jinshui and renamed the Tang Kingdom as the Jin Kingdom. After the fifth emperor, in the era of the Marquis of Jin Jing, the history of the Jin Kingdom began to be accurately recorded. At this time, the world was turbulent, the people were rioting, the world was not peaceful, and the Jin Kingdom began to rise in this era.

Jin Jinghou's great-grandson Jin Muhou has a son, the eldest son is famous and the younger son is a famous teacher, it is rumored that the Jin people's teacher has predicted that the names of the two sons are reversed, indicating that there will be a turmoil in the Jin Kingdom. After the death of Jin Muhou, his younger brother Uncle Yan established himself as the king, the prince ran out of hatred, and civil strife began. Qiu was the later Marquis of Jin Wen. At this time, the Western Zhou Dynasty was wiped out by the dog Rong, and Chinese history officially entered the Spring and Autumn Period.

"Historical Records" contains: "When King Ping, the Zhou family declined, the princes were strong and weak, Qi, Chu, Qin, and Jin were great, and the government was governed by Fang Bo. It can be seen that the Jin Kingdom had grown in the early Spring and Autumn period. Soon after the death of Marquis Wen of Jin, his son Marquis Zhao ascended the throne and divided his uncle to Quwo City, and soon after the turmoil broke out in the Jin Kingdom, Marquis Zhao of Jin was killed.

After the son became a teacher, his grandson Qu Wo Wu Gong began to continue to compete with the Jin monarch for the main sect, "Qu Wo Wu Gong cut down the Jin Marquis, destroyed it, and bribed the king of Zhou with his treasures." The king ordered Qu Wowu Gong to be the king of Jin and listed as a prince, so he annexed the land of Jin." In the second year of Duke Lu Huan (710 B.C.), Duke Wu of Quwo led his troops into the court of Jin, united with the court to confront the state of Jin, and captured the Marquis of Jin in the spring of the second year. However, due to the lack of official recognition from the Zhou royal family, although the power of Quwo Wugong had already surpassed that of the Jin State at this time, Wu Gong still failed to ascend to the position of the monarch of the Jin State. In that year, King Heng of Zhou ordered Yu Zhong to crusade against Quwo Wugong, and Wugong was defeated and retreated to Quwo.

After 28 years of savings, Quwo Wugong finally launched another war against the Jin State, and finally captured the capital of the Jin State, Yicheng, and killed the Marquis of Jin. Quwo Wugong dedicated all the captured Jin treasures to King Zhou Yi in order to obtain the legitimacy of inheritance. Zhou Tianzi, who accepted bribes from Duke Wu, granted him the title of monarch of the Jin Kingdom, that is, Duke Wu of Jin. It was also the efforts of Wugong of Jin that greatly enhanced the strength of the Jin State and laid the foundation for the later Spring and Autumn Period to occupy a favorable position for hegemony.

After the death of Duke Wu, his son Jin Xiangong ascended the throne. At this time, in the east of the Jin Kingdom, the power of Qi Huan Gong was already quite strong. Jin Xiangong is a very accomplished monarch, under his leadership, the Jin State opened up territory, and successively destroyed Huo, Wei (this Wei is not the Wei State of the Warring States, but it is the land of its Longxing), Geng and other vassal states. "There is Hexi in the west, bordering Qin, Zhai in the north, and Hanoi in the east."

And Jin Xiangong is best known for marrying the beautiful Li Ji and her sister when he crusaded against Li Rong. Li Ji later gave birth to a son, the prince at that time was Shen Sheng, Li Ji wanted to try to make Jin Xiangong abolish the prince and make the son he gave birth to as the crown prince. In addition to the crown prince Shensheng, Gongzi Chong'er and Gongzi Yiwu are both adult sons of Gonggong, and they have good character and ability, and they are deeply liked by the world. Li Ji managed to transfer the crown prince Shen Sheng away from the capital first, and then designed to make a gap between Jin Xiangong and the crown prince Shen Sheng, and Shen Sheng finally committed suicide. Li Ji was afraid that Chong'er and Yiwu would pose a threat to her son, so she asked Jin Xiangong to kill her two sons for the crime of "Gongzi Chong'er and Gongzi Yiwu and the prince's accomplice". In order to avoid disasters, Gongzi Chong'er and Yiwu fled one after another. Soon, Jin Xian's strategy of destroying Yu with a false path destroyed the Yu and Yu states in the south, laying the foundation for the Jin state to become a great power in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After the death of the Duke of Xian, Xi Qi, the son of Li Ji, ascended the throne and was immediately killed by the minister Rick. In the end, Yiwu returned to the Jin Kingdom with the help of Qin Mugong and became the Duke of Jin Hui. Jin Huigong then executed Rick and killed many doctors in the country, losing the hearts of the people.

After Jin Huigong ascended the throne, in a famine year, Qin helped with rice, and the following year, Qin was famine, but Jin repaid virtue with resentment, and took the opportunity to attack Qin, and returned defeated, and Jin Huigong was captured. Qin Mugong's wife was the sister of Jin Huigong, and after some intercession, Qin released Jin Huigong and used the crown prince as a proton. Hou Yu fled back to the Jin Kingdom without permission. Jin Hui Gong, the crown prince is for Jin Huaigong.

At this time, Chong'er, the son of Jin Xiangong, was still on the run. During Chong'er's escape, he passed by Weiguo, was hungry and cold, and begged a farmer, who gave him a handful of loess, Chong'er was very angry, thinking that the farmer was teasing him, and his follower Hu Yan said: "This is the land that God wants to give us!" It shows that our restoration is in sight. He then took the clod from the farmer and moved on. Finally, the emperor lived up to his wishes, and in the twenty-fourth year of Lu Xi Gong (636 BC), Chong'er received the help of Qin, and Qin Mu Gong appointed Gongsun Zhi to lead the Qin army of 3,000 to protect Chong'er and return to Jin. Because Chong'er has long been famous abroad, and there are many domestic supporters, Chong'er killed Jin Huaigong and ascended the throne for Jin Wengong.

According to the "Chinese" record, after the accession to the throne, Duke Wen of Jin made great efforts to govern the country, appointed talents, cultivated government affairs, and distinguished rewards and punishments, and was recognized as a good monarch. He adopted a series of reform measures, "arranging for hundreds of officials, assigning meritorious posts, abandoning responsibilities and thinning them, and giving alms to widows." Lack of relief and stagnation, Kuang is poor and has no money. Easy to pass, trade and agriculture. The government and the people are not short of money". Duke Wen of Jin played a crucial role in the rise of the Jin Kingdom.

After the death of Duke Wen of Jin, he was succeeded by his son Duke Xiang of Jin. Subsequently, the friendly relations between Qin and Jin broke down, and after the death of Jin Xianggong, the young and ignorant Jin Linggong ascended the throne. At this time, the strength of the Jin Kingdom began to decline.

Subsequently, Jin Chenggong and Jin Jinggong ascended the throne. The Spring and Autumn period was tense for hegemony, the king of Chuzhuang became the overlord at that time, and the state of Qi continued to provoke the state of Jin, and then the two armies fought a decisive battle in the saddle, and the state of Jin defeated the state of Qi, and the three armies were organized into six armies, and the leaders of these armies became the six secretaries of the dictatorship of the Jin state in the future, and they were the six secretaries of the three armies.

In 403 B.C., Zhou Tianzi enshrined Han, Zhao and Wei as princes, and the Warring States Period began, the Jin State existed in name only, and in 349 B.C., Han and Zhao killed Jin Jun and Jin died.

This is the famous three divisions in history.