One

As a large country divided into the Western Zhou Dynasty, Qi was close to the East China Sea and had a vast territory.

It is said that at that time, in order to reward the heroes of the Zhou Dynasty and the clan and the clan, King Wu of Zhou made a great line of feudal system, and the first Jiang Shang, who was a master, Xiangguo, and father-in-law, was in Yingqiu, and the country was named Qi. Because the monarch is surnamed Jiang, it is also called Jiang surnamed Qi.

Taigong Jiang Ziya went east to the country, and Laizi, a neighbor, led an army to compete with Taigong for the camp mound. After Jiang Ziya arrived in Yingqiu, he adopted policy measures such as division, disintegration, and inspiration, and quickly pacified Laizi, and repaired the government because of local customs and simplified etiquette. The development of industry and commerce, taking advantage of the local fish and salt advantages, and the geographical environment of favorable wind and rain, gradually developed a remote area at that time, and the people lived a prosperous life and greatly increased the population, making Qi a big country in the Spring and Autumn Period.

The state of Qi has a high status among the princes, and King Cheng of Zhou once ordered Jiang Taigong after the rebellion of the three eunuchs: "East to the sea, west to the river, south to Muling, north to Wudi, five marquis and nine uncles, really have to levy it." "The state of Qi thus gained the power to conquer the vassal states. Since then, the state of Qi has had a special status among the vassal states. The "five marquis and nine uncles" here refer to the vassal states of the world. It can be seen that Taigong Jiang Ziya gained a lot of power at that time.

In fact, the Jiang surname Qi that King Wu of Zhou was divided at the beginning was not the highest title. Among the five titles of duke, marquis, earl, son, and male, Jiang surnamed Qi Guo is only a second-class marquis.

When King Wu of Zhou originally divided the eight highest dukes, there were very few countries in the Spring and Autumn Period.

The objects of the subdivision are the relatives of the Zhou royal family, meritorious heroes, ancient sages, and some distant tribes. However, the division of the highest-ranking dukedom is focused on advocating the ancient sages, and giving their heirs the highest titles. Specifically, the eight dukedoms are located:

Jiao Guo, the heir of Emperor Yan, surnamed Jiao Guo (now a suburb of Sanmenxia City, Henan Province).

The heir of the Yellow Emperor, Jiguo, surnamed Ji (now a suburb of Beijing).

Tang Yao's heir Zhu Guo, surnamed Qi Zhu Guo (now Changqing County, Jinan, Shandong).

Yu Shun's heir Chen Guo, whose concubine was surnamed Chen Guo (now Zhecheng County, Henan Province).

Xia Yu's heir Qiguo, surnamed Qiguo (now Qixian County, Henan Province).

Shang Tang's heir, Song Guo, was surnamed Song Guo (now a suburb of Shangqiu City, Henan Province).

King Wen of Zhou's uncle Yu Guo, Ji surnamed Yu Guo, the fief of the heirs of Taibo and Zhongyong.

King Wen of Zhou's brother Yu Zhong Guo, Ji surnamed Yu Guo.

The fiefs of the Yu State and the Yu State were both within the Zhou Wangji. It can be seen from the division of King Wu of Zhou that the heirs of Yan Huang, Yao Shun, and Xia Shang at that time were in a very high position, so they naturally wanted to be crowned as the highest-grade dukes. The second is the younger generation of the Ji clan, such as: Lu State, Yan State, Wei State, Jin State and so on. The State of Qi also belongs to this marquis rank, and can only be divided into second-class marquises. In the Spring and Autumn Period, most of these dukedoms were out of the country except for the Song Kingdom and the Chen Kingdom. There are many reasons, due to the self-confidence of the princes surnamed Ji, the barbaric seizure of land and the annexation of other countries, and the fact that the Qi State has the right to conquer given by King Wu cannot but be said to be one of the reasons.

During the reign of King Kang of Zhou, there was an important move in the Western Zhou Dynasty, that is, King Kang of Zhou once distributed treasures to Lu Ling, Duke of Qiding, Wei Kangbo, the second monarch of the Wei Kingdom, Marquis Xie, the second monarch of the Jin Kingdom, and Lu Gongbo, the son of Zhou Gongdan. It can be seen that during the period of King Kang of Zhou, among the princes, the kingdoms of Qi, Wei, Jin, and Lu were already prominent princely powers.

However, Qi also has times of bad luck. When the third Duke of Qi Ding reached the Duke of Qi Ai, he was killed by King Zhou Yi because of his slanderous words in front of King Zhou Yi.

This is a tragedy in the history of the Qi State. Qi and Ji were originally Jiang Shang's fiefdoms, and legend has it that Jiang Shang had two sons, so he divided his fief into two with Zishui as the boundary and gave it to the brothers, and since then there have been Qi and Ji. But after a few generations, the two countries have lost their kinship with the same roots. Because the Qi State is relatively large and the relative strength of the Ji State is weak, occasionally there is friction between the two countries, and the Qi State is in charge, and the Ji State swallows his anger.

But there are times when Ji Guo comes to work. Since Ji Yanghou, the monarch of Ji Guoguo, married his daughter to King Zhou Yi, Ji Guojun no longer wants to swallow his anger. But how can you shoot the arrow of revenge in your heart?

After Ji Yanghou had the son-in-law of King Zhou Yi, he had the opportunity to talk to King Zhou Yi at close range, and he wanted to play the book to King Zhou Yi, and he couldn't say that he was suffering such a trivial matter, so his eyes were fixed on Qi Aigong's disrespect for the Zhou royal family. Finally found an excuse for revenge.

It turned out that when the Qi State reached the period of Qi Aigong, because the country was rich and the people were strong, it began to inflate itself, not only bullying its neighbors but also often not taking the Son of Heaven in his eyes. The worship of Zhou Tianzi is also a match, and he doesn't pay much attention to it. And Qi Aigong himself doesn't think so, and often compares with Zhou Tianzi. I think I have high seniority and deep qualifications. In fact, it was a common ill of several powerful princes, that is, contempt for the Zhou royal family. Relying on their large territory, large population, and strong national strength, they began to grow a heart of indifference to the royal family.

And Zhou Tianzi, because he continued to divide the land to the princes, had already divided his royal family into a very small area. How many people can be raised in that limited area of Wangji? Although it is said that the world is not the land of the king, the princes of one side have their own forces of soldiers and horses. The Zhou royal family, which could only survive on the tributes of the feudal states, had a population of soldiers and horses far less rapid than that of the princes of the great powers. And the powerful vassal states began to have an arrogant mood towards the Zhou royal family, and even made the tribute worship dispensable. It was a great challenge to the dignity of the Zhou royal family.

From King Wu of Zhou, the Zhou royal family has been passed to King Yi of Zhou, who is already the seventh generation of emperors. When the dignity of the Zhou royal family is challenged, someone must come out to defend it.

On this day, King Yi of Zhou got a secret recital from the Marquis of Ji Yang, saying that the Duke of Qi Ai had trespassed the sacrifice to heaven and built the same sacrificial platform as the Zhou royal family, and the number of sacrifices to heaven was also implemented with the same specifications as the Son of Heaven. Isn't this a sin of great rebellion? But what can Zhou Tianzi do with Qi Aigong, the monarch of Qi who is far away on the coast of the East China Sea?

King Zhou Yi wanted to punish Qi Aigong, but he couldn't reach it. However, King Zhou Yi is the Son of Heaven after all. With a turn of his mind, he searched for a reason, and informed the princes on the grounds that he was ill. I hope to trick Gong Qi Ai into the royal family to rectify it. As a result, most of the princes brought generous gifts or brought their own imperial doctors to visit, but only Qi Aigong ignored them. This made King Zhou Yi even more hateful to Qi Aigong.

If this Qi Aigong is not present, he Zhou Yiwang will not be able to sanction him. How can King Zhou Yi's majesty be practiced in this way! So King Zhou Yi changed his trick again, saying that he would convene all the princes to discuss major matters, and specially ordered the important ministers around him to go to Qi to inform the Duke of Qi Ai.

Qi Aigong heard that King Zhou Yi was going to ask the princes to discuss royal affairs. I think this is an opportunity for me to show my face, and I can't miss it. Qi Aigong couldn't slack off, and hurriedly packed his bags, including seeing King Zhou Yi's tribute and a road to eat and escort to fill the thirty chariot fleet, and then drove to the Zhou royal family. Along the way, this Duke of Qi Ai was still thinking about being among the princes, and his seniority, qualifications, and the wealth of his country were all incomparable to other princes. How can he be glorious among the princes?

It's a bumpy and hard ride. Qi Ai Gongman thought that he should receive a certain amount of courtesy when he traveled thousands of miles to see him as the fifth king. I didn't want to get out of the car by myself, and I didn't see the team greeted by the Zhou royal family. As he approached the palace in front of the guards, he had an unexpected reality: he was stopped by the guards at the gate. Even personal guards are not allowed to bring in one.

Qi Aigong thought to himself: When I arrived at the palace, there was a certain reason why people didn't let the guards in. So this Duke Qi Ai didn't mind swaggering into the palace, he hoped to be warmly welcomed by King Zhou Yi.

However, to the surprise of this Duke Qi Ai, as soon as he stepped into the gate of the royal family, he heard a shout: "Take Jiang Buchen down for me!" ”

Hulala, the sword and axe men who were ambushed in the wall of the shadow wall swarmed up and tied Qi Aigong to a strong knot.

Outside the door, under the secret arrangement of King Zhou Yi, the weapons of Qi Aigong's guards had already been confiscated, and they were all taken to prison.

On this day, the princes of various countries gathered in the training square of the Zhou royal family under the command of the court doctor of King Yi of Zhou.

After the princes learned the news that the Duke of Qi Ai had been taken down and put in prison, they all exchanged ears, not knowing what King Zhou Yi would do with this Duke of Qi Ai. However, these princes all thought that Qi was a big country, and it was due to the Zhou royal family in history, and King Yi of Zhou would not treat Qi Aigong well, but just to teach him a lesson. I want to take this opportunity to watch the excitement, I want to see how he makes a fool of himself in front of the public, and I want to see how King Zhou Yi supports the power of the Son of Heaven in front of the princes. However, when they saw King Zhou Yi again, they already had a premonition that things were not so simple.

I saw that a large tripod was erected on the huge square that was usually used for military training, and several soldiers filled it with dry firewood under the tripod filled with water, and then lit it. The flames burned, clattering and sparks splashing in all directions. In an instant, a white mist began to rise from the surface of the water in the copper tripod, followed by a gurgling boiling sound. This scene not only made the princes suspicious.

At this time, King Zhou Yi's face was full of murderous anger and he sat on the high platform. The royal ministers standing on the side all focused their eyes on the audience. A minister stepped forward, opened a bamboo slip, read aloud, and counted the crimes of arrogance. Then several guards escorted Qi Aigong out of the prison and took him directly to the boiling Dading under the stage. The princes watched with fear at everything in front of them.

Qi Aigong completely lost his former self-satisfaction, and shouted loudly: "What is the crime of the widow, why do you arrest me!" The ancestors of my Jiang family are the greatest heroes of the Zhou royal family, you can't kill me, I haven't offended the court. Speaking of which, I, Jiang Buchen, am still the elder of your King Zhou Yi......"

King Zhou Yi's face had turned pale, and he shouted: "Full of nonsense! What else do you see, pass on my will to throw Jiang Buchen into the ding! ”

With an order, seven or eight sergeants with big shoulders and round waists set up Qi Aigong, who was bound.

Qi Aigong's body was lifted above his head by several sergeants, and he knew that his death time had come, and where was there a chance to defend himself. He struggled and cried out for help, but to no avail. Several sergeants shouted the order and threw it into the heights, as if throwing a ball. When Jiang Buchen's body was high on the top of the Ding, several people took advantage of the situation and threw ...... to the boiling Dading.

A piercing howl streaked through the air, followed by the sound of hot water falling to the ground, followed by the crackling of burning wood.

It was so terrifying, it was like a nightmare. When the princes of various countries saw this, they were frightened and stunned.

It should be said that everyone present had no shortage of high-flying and domineering monarchs, and they had to gasp, look at each other and be dumbfounded, and their backs were quietly in a cold sweat.

In the wailing of the Duke of Qi, all the princes fell to their knees together and fell to the ground. King Zhou Yi's strategy of killing chickens and setting an example for monkeys did play a very good role, and no prince of a great country dared to be arrogant and rude in front of King Zhou Yi from now on.

This is a shadow in the history of the Qi Kingdom. This move also made the Zhou royal family seriously powerful and sent a signal to the powerful vassal states. Although this move could not save the political pattern of the gradual collapse of the Zhou royal family, this move was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Qi State.

After the death of Duke Qi Ai, at the behest of King Yi of Zhou, Jiang Jing, the half-brother of Duke Qi Ai, was established as the Duke of Qi and was the Duke of Qihu.

In 866 BC, after his accession to the throne, the Duke of Qi Hu took a major migration. In order to prevent Ji Guo from plotting against himself again, he moved the capital from Yingqiu to a place called Bogu, which was located fifty miles northwest of Linzi, the later capital of Qi.

Qi Hugong hoped to stay away from the scene where Ji Hou had secretly accused him of trespassing. But Qi Hugong still made a mistake.

Because the people of Qi were not willing to follow this new monarch to build a capital in Xindi and work hard. After all, the comfortable life in the city and the fact that there was already a certain foundation for life, the subjects of Qi State opposed the imperial court's decision to move the capital. In fact, it was only his decision to Qi Hugong, because the important ministers of the imperial court were reluctant to move the capital. As a result, Qi Hugong's move caused the people of Qi to complain and laid the foundation for his resignation.

Qi Aigong's half-brother and younger brother Jiang Shan found that his opportunity had come.

Jiang Shan began to collude with several ministers to first express dissatisfaction with the relocation of the capital to Duke Qihu, and then when Duke Qi Hu led the people of Qi to move the capital to build the capital, Jiang Shan formed a sworn party with several important ministers of the court and the central government, and instigated the people of Yingqiu who were dissatisfied with the relocation of the capital to riot.

Just when Qi Hu Gong was busy building the capital, Jiang Shan Gongzi gathered his staff and party members, led the crowd to kill Qi Hu Gong, and expelled several of Qi Hu Gong's sons from the country, and since then he has established himself as the king, and he is the Duke of Qi Xian.

However, this Qi Xiangong also felt that Yingqiu was unlucky, and in his opinion, Bo Gu, who was under construction, was not very good, so he moved the capital from Bo Gu to Linzi. The waterfront is close to the river, and the geographical advantages are obvious, so Qi Xiangong began his own action to build the capital.

The descendants of Qi Xiangong passed on two generations to Qi Ligong, the grandson of Qi Xiangong.

Qi Li Gong Jiang Wuji was tyrannical, stupid and tyrannical, did not take the people to heart, sang and danced in the palace all day long, ate, drank and had fun, and used some greedy people to implement brutal rule over the people, and the people's lives were in dire straits.

So the Qi kingdom complained, and the people began to hate their king. Someone reported the news, secretly contacted the son of Qi Hu Gong to sneak into Qi State, and automatically organized an anti-Qi Li Gong armed force, and attacked and killed all the way to Qi Capital.

After a fight, Qi Li Gong died by the blade, and Qi Hu Gong's sons also fell in a pool of blood. Although the reason for this war is absurd and unruly, it is an internal competition between the ruling clans. Although Qi Li Gong was killed, Qi Hugong's sons were all killed in the battle with Qi Li Gong's men and horses, and several ministers within the Qi court had to come forward to clean up the mess. The people who were still alive in the Gong clan had no choice but to support Jiang Chi, the son of Duke Qi Li, as the monarch, which was what later generations called Duke Qi Wen.

When Duke Qi Wen ascended the throne, he did not forget the revenge of killing his father, and exterminated all the seventy people who participated in the killing of Duke Qi Li.

Although Qi Wen declared the family feud, the society of Qi was still in turmoil. Duke Wen of Qi ruled the state of Qi for twelve years, after which he was succeeded by his son Jiang Tuo. Jiang Tuo reigned for nine years and passed the throne to his son Jiang Gou, who was also the Duke of Qi Zhuang.

Jiang Gou, the Duke of Qi Zhuang, reigned for 64 years, not only ending the social turmoil and palace civil strife of the Qi State for more than 50 years, but also began to follow the governing law of Jiang Shang, the prince of the founding of the country, so that the Qi State gradually recovered the vitality of a great power.

Before his death, Duke Qi Zhuang left a message to his son Jiang Lupu: "Don't forget the revenge of my ancestor Mourning Gong's death, and ask Ji Guo to repay the blood debt." ”

Therefore, after Jiang Lupu ascended the throne, he had a clear principle of accidents, and he did not forget to ask Ji Guo to repay the blood debt, and ignored the affairs of the Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou royal family did not ask for half a tribute from the Duke of Qi. On the contrary, Zheng Zhuanggong, who dared to act against the Zhou royal family, regarded him as a confidant. Of course, the Duke of Qi was not the only one among the princes, but was hostile to the Zhou royal family and hated the Ji country, which made this bloody man look at the Ji country in the east with a pair of blood-red eyes.