"It's just that although Xiong Yi founded the Chu State, the Chu State only has a country of less than 50 miles. This 50 li was the unit of measurement during the Zhou Dynasty at that time, and now, that is, more than 20 square kilometers, the entire Chu State is basically equivalent to the size of a slightly larger village. Therefore, the state of Chu still has no status for the Zhou Dynasty. But it doesn't matter, it's a lot better than it was back then. At the very least, Xiong Yi established his own state, which also seems to have been recognized by the Zhou dynasty. So, that year, Xiong Yi went to the Zhou Dynasty with tribute to pay tribute. ”

Originally, Xiong Yi thought that when he went to the capital, he would be able to sit on an equal footing with the other vassal monarchs of the Zhou Dynasty. Even if the status is not very high, their strength is not very strong, but at least the identity is the same. However, what Xiong Yi didn't expect was. When Xiong Yi came to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Tianzi did not invite Xiong Yi to participate in the princes' alliance. Not only did he not invite, but let Xiong Yi be in charge of the wine reduction ceremony, and later asked him to guard the fire and sacrifice to the sky. Such a position is actually equivalent to the work of a waiter, not the king of a country. ”

This made Xiong Yi's self-esteem extremely insulted. This also reminded Xiong Yi of the situation when his great-grandfather once followed King Wu of Zhou to conquer the Central Plains. It was only because of the different bloodlines from the Shang Dynasty that he was constantly chased by the Shang Dynasty, and then fled to Chudi. For hundreds of years, they Chu people have dreamed of returning to the Central Plains and being recognized by the people of the Central Plains. It's a pity that even though the Chu people once helped King Wu of Zhou to crusade against the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty did not attach importance to the Chu people. Even, he still regards the Chu people as barbarians. ”

"It's just that Xiong Yi is an extremely forgiving monarch. Although he felt that his pride had been insulted, he also knew that the strength of the Chu people was still very weak at this time, and they were not only not the opponents of Zhou Tianzi, nor were they the opponents of the vassal states. There was no way, he could only endure it and do what the king of a country should not do. ”

Chen Fan slowly talked about the history of the founding of the Chu State.

Unlike many of the vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty.

The vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty were either the Zhou Dynasty's own bloodline, or some in-laws, and some were great heroes at that time, like Jiang Ziya.

And vassal states like Chu, which did not belong to the bloodline of the Zhou royal family and did not make any great contributions, naturally did not pay attention to it.

Another point.

In addition to the issue of ancestry, there is also a cultural difference.

Although the Chu people were originally authentic Central Plains people, after they moved to Chu, they were slowly influenced by Chu culture. And when such a culture accumulates to a certain extent, then, after hundreds of years, the culture of Chu will be very different from the culture of the Central Plains. Therefore, the major vassal states of the Central Plains did not recognize the Chu people, and they always regarded him as a barbarian.

"The history of the founding of the Chu State is really difficult enough."

"Well, if you want resources but no resources, if you want connections, you don't have connections, and you don't even recognize them, what can people do?"

"Seeing the current environment of the Chu people, and thinking of the future Chu State becoming a superpower, I really can't believe it. Chu people, how did they develop from being poor and white to becoming a superpower? ”

For Chen Fan's explanation, everyone was eye-opening.

At the same time.

They have also become more interested in the road of self-improvement of the Chu people.

After all.

It is normal for a rich second generation to become a strong country.

It's like Qi State.

The people are already strong and capable, and even if the monarchs behind them don't need to work hard, they are still strong.

But Chu is different.

They are simply poor second generations.

Not only the poor second generation, but also the status and class of the people are different from the major vassal states of the Central Plains.

The story of such a poor boy who finally made a fortune is even more attractive.

"However, being regarded as barbarians by the major vassal states of the Central Plains is not necessarily a disadvantage, on the good side, that is, the Zhou Dynasty and the various vassal states of the Central Plains do not attach much importance to the Chu State, nor do they deal with them much, and they don't even think much about the Chu State. This also allowed the state of Chu to have a very long period of self-development, although the conditions of the state of Chu were relatively difficult. However, the Chu people gave full play to their hard-working spirit and continued to develop in Chu. ”

"In fact, although Chu has always been regarded as a barbarian by the vassal states of the Central Plains, it has always been believed that Chu has no resources. But in fact, Chudi is just undeveloped, with abundant water and a good climatic environment. Under the hard work of the Chu people, the land of Chu slowly became prosperous. At the same time, because the Zhou Dynasty did not attach importance to the Chu State, slowly, the Chu people did not pay much tribute to the Zhou Dynasty. ”

This aroused the wrath of the Zhou Dynasty, and for this reason, King Zhao of Zhou personally marched south to crusade against the Chu State. Of course, this is not just a crusade against the Chu State, in the Chu land, in addition to the Chu State, there are other countries that are regarded as barbarians by the Zhou Dynasty. In the first and second southern expeditions, King Zhao of Zhou won great victories. And the third time, there is less recorded in the history books. Although many historical books also believe that King Zhou Zhao's third southern expedition was also a victory, but in the third southern expedition, King Zhou Zhao died in the middle of the southern expedition. ”

There are several theories about the death of King Zhao of Zhou.

One is that after the victory of King Zhao of Zhou, because of the seizure of a large number of bronze vessels, the ship disintegrated for a while, and finally fell into the water and died.

Another theory is that on the way back to the division, a natural disaster suddenly occurred, the ship capsized, and King Zhou Zhao fell into the water.

There is also a theory that King Zhao of Zhou was secretly manipulated by the Chu people, and finally let the boat branch disintegrate.

But no matter what.

King Zhao of Zhou died during the Third Southern Expedition.

"The death of King Zhao of Zhou was a very heavy blow to the Zhou Dynasty. Although on the surface, it seems that the Zhou Dynasty was a victory in the southern expedition. However, through these wars. This also made the Chu people discover that the original Zhou Dynasty was not as strong as they imagined. Even the Chu people did not expect that they would one day be able to defeat the invincible Zhou Dynasty, or rather, to be able to compete with them. Through this battle, this also made the Chu people deeply understand a truth. Only if you are strong, then you can protect yourself. Only if you are strong, you will not be bullied by the Zhou Dynasty and the Central Plains countries. Only if you are strong, all your status, all your identity, and all your recognition will follow. ”

And when the state of Chu reached Xiongqu, Xiongqu directly called himself a barbarian and did not overflow with China's name. At this time, the Chu people were truly awakened. They no longer wanted to be recognized by Zhou Tianzi, nor did they want to be recognized by the various vassal states of the Central Plains. Even, at this time, they called themselves barbarians, and drew a clear line with Zhou Tianzi and the various vassal states of the Central Plains. In the Western Weekend period, the Zhou Dynasty was weak. Under the leadership of Xiong Qu, the state of Chu successively captured the state of Yong, Yang Yue, and the state of E, and advanced the sphere of influence of the state of Chu to the Jianghan Plain. ”

"And that's not all. At the same time as Xiong Qu's power expanded, Xiong Qu did something deviant.

"He made his three sons kings one after another."

Yes.

He is the king.

When they heard this, the students in the audience screamed, and they instantly boiled.

"I'll go, Zhou Tianzi can be called the king, the others are princes, at most they are princes, or they are marquis."

"Yes, the highest title of the monarch of Chu is not even a marquis, just a viscount. Now to be the king, does it mean that he wants to be on an equal footing with Zhou Tianzi? ”

"I now understand why all the later monarchs of the Chu State are called King X of Chu, while the monarchs of the other princely states are all called dukes."

"It's not obvious. Damn, you Zhou Tianzi won't take me to play, Lao Tzu has lifted the table, then I won't play with you anymore, I'll play alone. ”

I have to say.

Xiong Qu's initiative had a great impact on the Chu State.

This also gave the state of Chu the ambition to conquer the world for the first time.

Although later, after King Zhou Li ascended the throne, Xiong Qu canceled the title of king for his three sons.

But the later King Wu of Chu inherited the mantle of Xiong Qu and was officially crowned king.

"How to say it, the strength of the Chu State is under the dual stimulation of the internal and external environment, which is why it has become strong. In addition, it is also related to the culture of the Chu State. We all know that the Chu people were not originally southerners, they were from the Central Plains, and they all had the same ancestors as the vassal states of the Central Plains. Therefore, Qu Yuan wrote in his Lisao that Emperor Gaoyang's Miao descended Xi, which means that Qu Yuan is a descendant of the ancient Emperor Gaoyang's clan. And Qu Yuan has the same surname as the monarch of Chu and is still the same ancestor, so the Chu people and the Central Plains people are also the same ancestor. ”

"But culture changes. Originally, when the Chu people came to Chu, they were still in the Central Plains culture for a short time, but after coming to Chu. Because of the environment of Chudi, the folk customs of Chudi, and the culture of Chudi. Eventually, a culture unique to Chu was formed. This kind of culture is already different from the culture of the Central Plains. Compared with the etiquette emphasized by the Zhou Dynasty, the culture of the Chu people was simpler and more effective. Or, they no longer observe the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty, or even don't care about the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty anymore. Because of this, Xiong Qu will make the measure of dividing three sons into kings. If this were to be applied to the various vassal states of the Central Plains, this would not have been possible. Even if the Duke of Qi Huan in the back is so powerful, he doesn't dare to do this, he still has to maintain the dignity of Zhou Tianzi. ”

This cultural difference not only made the Chu people no longer observe the etiquette of Zhou Tianzi. At the same time, the Chu people also have a more efficient management model. For example, for the enthronement of the king. Generally speaking, the succession system of the monarch is the eldest son, which means that the primogeniture of the lineage inherits. Although this mode has many drawbacks, it is more convenient and not easy to compete for the throne. Because he determined from the beginning who would inherit the throne, and it would be unjustifiable for others to compete for it. So, although there are big drawbacks to this model. But in order to maintain the rule, basically the Zhou Dynasty and the various vassal states did this. But the state of Chu is different......"

"The Chu people obviously found that the elder system has very big flaws. This flaw, that is, once the heir is a fool, but because he is the eldest son, he will still inherit the throne of the king. This is unacceptable for the Chu people who have strong ambitions and want to re-enter the Central Plains. So, after Xiong Qu's death, his son had a conflict over the throne of the king. In the end, Xiong Qu's youngest son killed his second brother and became the monarch of Chu. ”

Such a change was unexpected by many students.

A student raised his hand and asked, "Teacher Chen Fan, wouldn't such a battle between the monarchs make the Chu State fall into chaos, how strong is the Chu State?" ”

I have to say.

That's a good question.

Chen Fan nodded and replied, "Generally speaking, if there is a conflict in the position of the monarch of a country. To a large extent, he will affect the development of a country. Just like after the death of Duke Qi Huan of Qi, a group of sons competed for the throne of the monarch, and the state of Qi declined. But the state of Chu is different, because of the reason why the Chu people have a strong character. Basically, as long as he wants to snatch the throne of the king, he is a very capable and ambitious person. And he snatched the throne of the monarch, in order to divert the attention of the people. The monarch of Chu was even more angry and tried to be strong, putting all his energy on governing the country. In this way, although the monarch of Chu has been constantly fighting. But every contender has made the strength of the Chu State greatly develop for a long time. ”

This is the difference of the state of Chu.

The other vassal states of the Central Plains may be destroyed if they compete for the position of king.

But the state of Chu is different.

The more they fought for the position of the monarch of the Chu State, the stronger their national strength became.

In this way, the monarch of Chu was in the struggle all the way, and it was passed on to King Wu of Chu. Well, in fact, King Chu Wu's position as king was also obtained by killing his nephew and thus establishing himself as a king. But despite this, King Wu of Chu knew. It doesn't matter if you rob the throne of the monarch, if you rob the throne of the monarch but don't make the state of Chu strong, then you are a sinner. ”

To this end, King Wu of Chu carried out a series of reforms. And his biggest move was to launch the first county in Chinese history. Yes, the county system did not start with the Qin Dynasty, but was the first to be implemented by the Chu State. And why it is implemented is also very simple. Previously, Zhou Tianzi was divided into countries, and the countries were relatively subservient to Zhou Tianzi in a short period of time. But after a long time, they began to ignore Zhou Tianzi. And after the various vassal states obtained the fiefs, they generally followed the example of Zhou Tianzi to divide the feudal princes who served them. As a result, these doctors became stronger and stronger, but they were not controlled by the monarch. So in the end, this evolved into the Tian family's generation of Qi, and the three families were divided. ”

"King Wu of Chu saw such drawbacks very early, so he established Quan County after destroying the Quan State. Originally, the county meant to hang, which means that the county has always been hanging in the hands of the monarch and is under the management of the monarch. The supreme magistrate of the county, who has only the right to administer the county, not the ownership. And it was precisely through such reforms that the political system of the entire Chu State was suddenly superior to that of the vassal states of the Central Plains in the north. This also laid a solid foundation for the future strength of the Chu State. ”

At this moment.

Listening to a series of measures in Chu State, a group of students, fans in the live broadcast room, and leaders on the scene, they all listened to it secretly.

"Wonderful, wonderful."

"I didn't expect the Chu State to go through so much."

"No wonder the state of Chu can become a strong country, just because of the county system, he is ahead of the other vassal states."

At the same time.

This is for a group of Chu leaders.

They also got a huge harvest from the reform of the Chu State system explained by Chen Fan.

It also made them nod their heads secretly.

For a country to be strong and a region to be rich, a superior system is more effective than any kind of governance.

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