Jin Xiangong has eight sons, among whom the most beloved are Prince Shen Sheng, son Zhong Er and son Yiwu. After Jin Xiangong destroyed Li Rong, Li Ji was accepted. Li Ji is in favor. He has alienated Shen Sheng, Zhong Er and Yi Wu. After Li Ji gave birth, he named Xi Qi, which made great contributions to the abolition of Shen Sheng and the establishment of Xi. Shen Sheng was forced to commit suicide, and Zhong Er and Yiwu fled to other places. In this way, Zhong Er began to live in exile for more than ten years, when he was 42 years old. Because Zhong Er is always "kind and tireless, his father is Hu Yan, his teacher is Zhao Fei and his teacher is Jia Tuo", and he has a good reputation, so even in the process of exile, there are many people who follow him, even as Jie Tui "cut the stocks and cut the king" when he was deprived of food in Jin Wengong.
Zhong Er went to the land first. Rick and others killed Xi Qi and his brother Zhuo Zi at home and wanted to welcome Zhong Er back to China as a monarch. Zhong Er felt that he had no foundation at home, so he refused to return home. Yiwu succeeded to the throne after returning to China for Jin. Gong Hui was afraid that Zhong Er would compete with him for the throne and sent someone to assassinate Zhong Er. Zhong Er got the news in advance and fled to Qi. At that time, Zhong Er had been trapped in Dihua for twelve years. When he arrived in Qi, Qi Huangong was very polite to him, married him and gave him horses. In the second year, when he died, there was civil strife in Qi. Zhong Er, who longed for comfort, didn't want to leave and continued to live for three years. Zhao Shuai, Hu Yan and others tried their best to get him to leave the State of Qi and go to Chu, looking for a backer and waiting for an opportunity to return to China. I tasted hardships and humiliation all the way and arrived in Chu. King Chu Cheng was a far-sighted politician who treated Zhong Er with the courtesy of vassal states. At the banquet, King Chu Cheng asked Zhong Er, "If you become a monarch, how will you repay my kindness in meeting him?" ? Zhong Er replied, "Thanks to you, I can really return to China to be king." . Once Jin Chu is at war in the Central Plains, I will order the Jin army to stay out of it. Chu made Yin think it was arrogant and rude, and advised Chu to kill him. Chu Wangcheng believes that "Golden Childe is sensitive and cultured, but he is not flattering. It is only natural to wait on him with three materials." Who can abolish the prosperity of heaven? "Didn't listen to Yu Zi.
Later, Qin Mugong invited Zhong Er to the State of Qin, and the King of Chu sent him. Mu Gong is very kind to him. In the 14th year of Jin Dynasty (637 BC), Gong Hui died, and the ministers of Jin wanted to welcome him back to China, so they sent troops to escort him back to China. In the spring of the following year, he crossed the Yellow River and entered the State of Jin, and all parts of the State of Jin joined in succession. Zhong Er acceded to the throne for the sake of Jin Wengong. By this time, he was 62 years old.
Shortly after the accession to the throne, Shandong Province and Derui conspired to rebel. When Jin Wengong learned about this, he secretly met with Qin Mugong and asked for help. Qin Mugong promised to help quell the rebellion. Lu province, Rui ran away when he saw the news. Qin Mugong lured him to the Yellow River to kill people and sent 3,000 men to guard Jin Wengong.
At this point, after decades of chaos, Jin settled down and began to rectify and govern the country, such as rectifying official positions and instructing officials at all levels to do their duty, be frivolous, help the poor and develop agricultural production; Reduce tariffs, open up roads, promote business travel and trade, reward talents, reward meritorious service, encourage positive spirit, support the elderly, treat guests with courtesy, cultivate good social atmosphere, and so on. Furthermore, the principles of social class and enfeoffment system were clarified, such as "public food tribute, doctor food market, scholar food field, food right, industrial and commercial food official, jujube and pear food post, official slaughter and food addition", and the state of Jin became stronger and stronger.
After domestic stability, a series of foreign wars and diplomatic activities began. The most famous decisive event of Jin Wengong's hegemony was Chu Jin's "Battle of Chengpu". In the 19th year of King Xiang of Zhou (633 BC), the King of Chu led the armies of Chu, Zheng, Chen, Cai and Xu to besiege the State of Song, and the State of Song turned to the State of Jin for help. Jin Wengong seized this opportunity and immediately prepared for the war. He expanded the original left and right armies of the state of Jin into the upper, middle and lower armed forces, and appointed Qin, Qin, Hu Yan and Luan Zhi as generals. Jin Wengong first sent troops to attack the allies of the State of Chu, Japan and Korea, so as to attract the Chu army to come to the rescue and lift the siege of the State of Song by the Chu army. The Jin army crossed the Yellow River and captured Cao Gonggong alive. Jin and Chu fought in Chengpu (now southwest of Juancheng, Shandong Province) to avoid the Chu army and its edge. Yin Shi, commander-in-chief of Chu army, was eager to fight and sent someone to fight well. In the twentieth year of King Xiang of Zhou (632 BC), on April 4th, the Jin army fought a decisive battle, and the Jin army won a great victory. In this war, because Jin Wengong won the participation of Qin and Qi in diplomacy, he adopted the policy of "letting the enemy take the lead first, then attacking the enemy" militarily, turning inferiority into superiority and passivity into initiative, and finally won a decisive victory over Chu, laying the foundation for Jin to dominate the Central Plains.
After the "Battle of Chengpu" defeated Chu, who was fighting for hegemony in the north, Jin Wengong built a palace for King Zhou Xiang (now the northwest of Xingze County, Henan Province) and held a grand ceremony to present prisoners to King Zhou Xiang. King Xiang of Zhou ordered his minister, Wang Dengshu, to become another one after him, and Jin Wengong became another overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period. King Xiang of Zhou gave Duke Wen a ritual vessel symbolizing the authority of overlord and a large area of land south of the Yellow River. From then on, Jin Wengong can directly sacrifice to the gods and conquer freely. He immediately held an alliance meeting with the governors of various countries in the construction of the map, which was called "the alliance of building the map" in history.
Jin Wengong crossed the Yellow River to the north and returned to the State of Jin after the Land Training Alliance pacified the countries south of the Yellow River. He reigned for nine years and died in the twenty-fourth year of King Xiang Zhou (628 BC). As an outstanding politician, Jin Wengong's reign was short, but it had a great influence on the historical development of China in the Spring and Autumn Period. The long-term exile and the test of political struggle in his early years tempered his political talents, and at the same time gave him a very in-depth understanding of the situation at that time, so he was able to follow the historical trend and launch a series of political activities. After he acceded to the throne, he carried out a series of reforms at home, the most noteworthy of which are two points:
One is Shang Xian. Under the initial enfeoffment system of the Zhou Dynasty, a person's political status could only be determined by blood relationship. By the Spring and Autumn Period, the patriarchal clan system had shown incompatibility with the development of the whole society at that time. He followed Qi Huangong's practice of reusing Guan Zhong and gathered a group of talented people around him. Such as Zhao Shuai, Hu Yan, Jia Tuo and Wei Wuzi. , are pillars, followed him into exile. It has played an important role in the process of governing the country, helping the country and seeking hegemony. It is precisely because of Jin Wengong's avoidance of relatives and talents that the ruling group of the State of Jin at that time had a fine atmosphere of not striving for high positions and appointing people on their merits. For example, "Make (Zhao) decline into a noble minister, saying:' Luan Zhizhen is knowledgeable and resourceful, and Xu Chen has heard a lot, all of which can be supplemented, and the minister is generous. ""In this way, the sages go first, and the vitality of the Jin ruling group can be maintained.
Second, reward meritorious service, that is, reward people with military achievements. Jin Wengong returned to China after decades of exile, and he rewarded those who followed him into exile and supported him on the stage. The big one is a fief, and the small one is an honor. After he acceded to the throne, he no longer enfeoffed the children of the imperial clan, nor did he attach importance to the people politically. The principle of his selection of officials is based on virtue, ability and contribution, and some "good women" and "talented people with different surnames" are appointed to implement the system of military and political integration. The generals of all armies are not only military leaders who command the army, but also ministers who participate in the decision-making of state affairs. They are the core of the ruling group, and these generals come from different clans. In this way, a group of non-public political forces entered the core class of the ruling group, blocking the way for the people to control the politics of Jin State. Jin Wengong's reform measures directly influenced the historical development trend of Jin State, making the history of Jin State different from other vassal states, making feudal factors appear earlier and faster in Jin State, and legalist thought has a deeper foundation here.
Jin Wengong Zhong Er is the overlord. The war for hegemony and protection will inevitably bring disaster to the people. But it has also produced objective effects that are conducive to historical progress. It quickened the pace of unifying China, accelerated the replacement of old and new systems, and promoted the integration of all ethnic groups. It not only made Jin strong, but also kept the Central Plains relatively stable for a period of time, thus promoting the development of social production.