Recently, the movie "Fengshen" has been released, although most of the plot is fictional, but the movie makes us want to know more about the real Zhou Annihilation of Shang in history.
Without the help of immortals, the relay of four generations of ancestors and grandchildren, the process of the Zhou Dynasty's destruction of Shang is like an inspirational movie. Today, let's start with King Taiwang and look at the implementation process of Zhou's "Jianshang" strategy.
There will be a time when my family will prosper in the future, and that will be in Chang. Tai Bo and Yu Zhong knew that Gu Gong wanted to make Ji Li king, so they fled to the Jingman region together, tattooed and cut off their hair, as a sign of abdication to Ji Li.
This story shows that the two brothers, Tai Bo and Yu Zhong, realized Gu Gong's intention to establish Ji Li as king, so they chose to flee to the Jingman region.
In the ancient books of the pre-Qin period, "Jingman" generally refers to the state of Chu located in western Hubei, and this is also confirmed in the divination of the late Yinxu period. Guo Moruo believes that this "gui" country is "the country of Kui at the junction of Shu and Hubei", and it is the distant ancestor of Chu.
From the middle of the Shang Dynasty to the late Shang Dynasty, there were many strongholds of the Shang kingdom in western and northern Hubei, and the only way to eradicate these strongholds was to mobilize the local Fang states to rise up against the plunder and enslavement of the Shang kingdom.
The real purpose of the two Taibo brothers may be here. The oracle bone of the early Western Zhou Dynasty, "Chu Zi Lai Sue", reflects the close relationship between Zhou and Chu, which may be a continuation of the result of the early Zhou period's active efforts to seek contact.
Yong, Shu, Peng, and Pu, among the eight kingdoms mentioned in the Shangshu Pastoral Oath, also lived at the junction of Shu and Hubei, and without the trust that the Zhou people had built up through long-term exchanges with these Fang states, they would not have been able to actively participate in the Shang Destruction Coalition led by King Wu of Zhou.
Today, the ancient copper mines in Ruichang, Jiangxi and other places are important war road material bases of the Shang Kingdom, but the merchant power in this area has declined, and the power of the Zhou people has deepened, which may be because the Zhou people skillfully used the local residents to resist the enslavement of the Shang Kingdom at the end of the Shang Dynasty, and cut off its "copper road", resulting in a shortage of copper materials in the Shang Kingdom.
The Taibo brothers descended the river to the ancient land of Wu (present-day southern Jiangsu), where the indigenous population had been in frequent contact with the Yi people in the Huai River valley, so the Zhou people must have been able to pass on the activities of supporting the Huaiyi rebel merchants through the residents of Wu.
Although there is no textual evidence, this possibility is logical, so some people think: "I suspect that Taibo and Zhongyong in Wu is the beginning of the Zhou people's management of Nantu, and it is also the beginning of Taiwang Qianshang." ”
At present, the discovery of a large number of new archaeological materials on both sides of the Yangtze River basically reflects the roundabout outflanking strategy of the Zhou people and merchants.
Ji Li targeted the neighboring Bi Cheng clan and used their monarch to play the trick of "losing Lu and increasing the lord", losing the hearts of the people and causing discord within the clan. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ji Li marched east and destroyed the Cheng clan.
This record of "Zhou Shi's Expedition" is mentioned in the "Bamboo Book Chronicle" and the "Road History: The Chronicle of the Name of the Country". Ji Li not only occupied the land of the Bi Cheng clan, but also made Cheng the center of his rule for a time.
In pre-Qin literature, "Bi Cheng", "Bi Ying", or "Bi Yi" were all used to refer to the same place. The victory of the "Zhou Division" made Qi Zhou and Bi Cheng together, expanding the direct rule area of the Zhou people, and Ji Li established "Chengyi" here, moving the political center to the east for a time, and consolidating the achievements of the eastward advance.
The Battle of Annihilation occupies an important position in the history of the founding of the Zhou people. In the process of the development and growth of the Zhou people, Ji Li continued to eliminate the threat of the surrounding Rong people, and actively broke through the previous situation of being bound in a small area.
According to the Later Han Shu Xiqiang Biography, Ji Li successively conquered Xiluo Guirong and Yanjing Zhirong, and achieved a major victory, capturing 20 enemy chieftains. Although this war dealt a major blow to the Rong people and kept the peace of the western part of the Zhou people, the struggle against the Rong people was a long-term one, and once the vigilance in this regard was relaxed, there would be endless troubles.
After settling the rear, Ji Li turned his attention to Yanjing Zhirong in the east, but due to his lack of understanding of the economic and military strength here, he suffered a major defeat in the first expedition.
But Ji Li did not give up because of this, he learned his lesson, and no longer dared to march long distances to fight, but only fought a battle with certainty. After that, he successfully defeated Yu Wuzhirong, Shihu Zhirong and Pengtu Rong, and offered victory to the Shang king with the three major masters who captured the Rongrong of the Pingtu.
His success attracted the attention of the Shang king, but under pressure from the Shang kingdom, he had to pay tribute to the Shang king. Although Ji Li was killed by the Shang king Wending, his cause of destroying the Shang Dynasty will be known forever.
His descendant, Xibo Mingchang, eventually led the Zhou clan to destroy the Shang and was posthumously honored as King Wen.
Having learned the lesson of his failure in the confrontation with the Shang Kingdom, Xibo decided to change his strategy and strengthen the power of the Zhou people by cultivating Wende internally, stabilizing the rear, making allies, and expanding his influence.
Under the banner of supporting the Shang king, he gradually removed the wings of the Shang kingdom and implemented the strategy of great encirclement, paving the way for King Wu to destroy the Shang. However, in the second year of Emperor Yi, because he was eager to avenge his father, he rashly attacked Shang, but was counterattacked by the army of Emperor Yi, the king of Shang.
This defeat made Xibo realize that the only way to govern the country was to follow the laws of the prince and the king. Therefore, he actively advocated the social atmosphere of "benevolence, respect for the elderly, and kindness for the young", which won the support of the people and the improvement of his own prestige.
At the same time, he also won a large number of sages to return to Zhou with a modest attitude, forming a think tank for governing the country and a capable collective for carrying out important military and political affairs, assisting him in formulating correct domestic and foreign policies, and making Zhou State stronger and stronger.
These people later became important advisers and generals who assisted King Wu in destroying Shang, and were known as the "Ten Ministers of the Rebellion".
The loyalty and good strategy of Xibo Jichang and the courtiers of Zhou Bang enabled them to survive under the ** of the Shang king. They took advantage of the weakness of the Shang king's lust and greed to offer beautiful women, strange things, and good horses in exchange for the king's pardon and the power of conquest.
However, the greed and cruelty of the Emperor of Zhou led to his declining prestige among the princes, while the reputation of the Zhou State grew. Among the princes, they were willing to let the Zhou state intervene to settle the dispute, and the Zhou state also showed their courtesy and wisdom.
This event had a profound effect among the princes, causing more than forty countries to come to Siber, and some even called him the ordained king. This is all due to Siber's correct analysis of the situation, reasonable adoption of the advice of the advisers, timely and wise decisions and implementation.
In the long history of the Zhou Dynasty, Xibohou received the dual support of Tianshi and the people's hearts and achieved the throne. After a peaceful settlement with forces such as Inurong and Misu Yurui, Xibohou's prestige among the vassal states increased to a higher level.
At this time, the Zhou country had many talented people and a strong army, ready to serve the country. The Xibohou also held the power of conquest granted by the Shang king, and could strike at hostile countries if necessary.
However, when to go out and which countries to attack need to be decided according to the Zhou Dynasty's strategic deployment of Dayi Shang. In order to compete with the Shang kingdom in the east, Xibohou had to secure the western and northern borders.
Therefore, the dog Rong is listed as the primary target. The importance of defeating the chaos is described in Daya Mian: "Do not be angry with your enemies, and do not give up because of their opposition.
Knock down the bastards like uprooting the Evil Tree until it can no longer encroach on the borders. "The battle was timely, ruthless, and measured, and eventually made the Rong an ally of the warrior kings and the merchants, protecting the security of the border.
Another hostile force on the western border was the Misu State, located in present-day Lingtai County, Gansu. This place has long been the only way for the Western Rong people to enter Guanzhong, so the Misu State, which was founded here, has become a major threat to the western frontier of the Zhou State.
Coinciding with Misu's invasion of neighboring Nguyen Hoa Commune in the north (both in present-day Jingchuan County, Gansu), Sibohou seized the opportunity to lead an army to attack Misu. This battle caused the Misu to surrender to the Zhou division and eventually be relocated to Chengdi.
The Book of Songs, Daya, and Huang Yi describes the course of this battle in detail: "King Wen obeyed the will of God, and could not allow those who were arrogant to run amok, and could not allow those who envied other people's land to succeed, and made a decision early on such people." ”
Zhou ** was furious, and the whole army went out to fight, successfully stopping the invasion of the Misu army, greatly enhancing the security of the western border, and making Zhou's prestige even more far-reaching. Under the circumstance that the Zhou army pressed the border, the Misu people had to move the whole country to Chengdi, which was monitored by the Zhou people.
Later, the Zhou people changed the surname of the secret country to the old land of the secret country, and rewarded the Yin nobles who returned to the Shun here, named Jingbo, which strengthened the military defense of the northwest border and curbed the momentum of the Rong people in the northwest.
At the same time, Xibo implemented the policy of "practicing benevolence and righteousness and cherishing Xirong", adapted to the political needs of the Rong clan power and surrendered to Zhou, and participated in Xibo's overall strategic action of "Shuai Yin's treason to cause trouble".
After the security of the western and northern borders was secured, Xibo marched eastward with his army, crossed the Yellow River, and reached the Shang kingdom of Jin, where the spearhead was directed at the Li state, whose surname was Zi. The state of Li was the barrier to the western part of the Shang capital, and was originally an important military stronghold of the Shang kingdom.
Xibo took the opportunity to march eastward and conquer the Li State, which was known as "Xibo Jili" in history. The battle was quite fierce, causing panic in the Shang capital.
It turned out that the nobleman Zu Yi was worried about the fate of the Yin Kingdom, and he reported to the Shang King about the demise of the Li Kingdom, emphasizing that the heavens seemed to be going to end the fate of the Yin Kingdom. He was deeply worried about the unlucky results of the divination.
However, the king of Shang did not blame himself and insisted that he had received his great order from heaven. This created an opportunity for the Zhou dynasty to carry out a pincer offensive against Shang militarily. After the Zhou dynasty eliminated the Li state, it successfully attacked the Wei state.
It was one of the important locations in the Qinyang hunting area of the Shang Dynasty. Xibo's exploits were even more brilliant than Shang Tang, he used a strong force to attack the state of Xu, strategically seized the Yangjihan Road from Huaizhou (Qinyang) in the south to Luzhou in the north, and lifted the natural barrier in the west of the central area of the Shang Kingdom, making it the forward position of Zhou Hu and Shang, and could cooperate with the army of the Shang at any time.
This is very important for us to understand this passage of the Shangshu Tai Oath.
After some strategic layout, Xibo successfully severed the connection between the Shang kingdom and the western vassals, so that Shang's influence was limited to the area east of the Taihang Mountains. He then turned his attention to his long-cherished enemy, Chongguo, which had been isolated by the betrayal of the Shang king.
Siber used this as an excuse to claim that his actions were to save the people of Chongguo, and to call and organize fighting forces. However, Chonghou Hu was not an easy opponent, he built tall and strong walls, and piled up mountains of earth outside the city to form a fortification road to resist the attack of the Zhou army.
After several days of fierce fighting, the Zhou army finally broke through the city walls, captured a large number of enemies, killed many of them, and won the victory. Although the war was fierce, the Zhou state eventually won, and Xibo moved the capital to the strategically located west bank of the Feng River, paving the way for expansion to the east.
This victory allowed Zhou Bang's powerful image to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of many Fang states, thus building a broader alliance to destroy the merchants, and the trend of destroying the merchants was as inevitable as a matter of course.