The state of Cao, the most densely populated and strategically located vassal state that occupies the "middle of the world", did not show any bright spots in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Its successive monarchs did nothing, their strength did not grow, and their foundation was difficult to keep, and they eventually became "lambs to the slaughter", and destroyed the country after being bullied.
If it weren't for the scandal caused by the heavy bathing of the prince of the Jin Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period, I am afraid that few people would have noticed this small country with an infamous reputation.
However, the state of Cao was a strategic hub in the eastern part of the Zhou Dynasty, and its geographical location was extremely important, leading the river and controlling the Lu and Song dynasties.
Cao Guo is the feudal state of Ji Zhenduo, he is the half-brother of King Wu of Zhou, and his status is noble. After King Wu destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he drove a chariot symbolizing royal power to participate in the grand sacrificial ceremonies and became an important political role.
King Wu divided the Taoqiu to Ji Zhenduo, the geographical location of Cao is superior, the transportation is convenient, it is the eastern vassal states to go to the capital of the only place, but also the economic and commercial center at that time.
The rulers of the Western Zhou Dynasty set up barriers at the dangerous terrain to control traffic, and the construction of roads and the transportation of waterways were also important links in the national defense projects of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
King Wu of Zhou, Feng Ji Zhenduo, came here to defend it, and may have been given the special mission of controlling the strategic hub and economic lifeline of the eastern region.
However, why did Cao not develop into a strong country, but suffered the fate of national annihilation? Let's review the history of Cao and find the answer.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a rebellion that tried to emerge a new regime - the Guan Cai Rebellion aroused the suspicion of many brothers. After King Wu of Zhou died of illness, the young Ji Yu succeeded to the throne, and King Wu's younger brother Zhou Gongdan stood up as regent in order to stabilize the situation.
However, this move aroused Guan Shuxian's doubts, and he felt that Zhou Gong, as his younger brother, should not hold the power of the state. Eventually, Guan Shuxian and several other brothers colluded with Wu Geng, the son of the king of Xu, to launch a rebellion.
Although "Shangshu" and "Historical Records" both said that in addition to Guan Shuxian, Cai Shudu, and Huo Shuchu's dissatisfaction with Zhou Gongdan's regency, the "group of brothers" also became suspicious of Zhou Gongdan, but "Zuo Biography" only mentioned that Zhou Gongdan and Wei Kangshu had the best relationship.
So, does the "group of brothers" also include Shu Zhenduo?
Shu Zhenduo, as Zhou Gongdan's own brother, did not have any relevant deeds recorded in the course of Zhou Gongdan's Eastern Crusade. After the victory of the Eastern Expedition of the Duke of Zhou, there was no record of rewards and punishments for Shu Zhenduo, only his brothers Uncle Kang and Ran Ji were appointed as Sikou and Sikong respectively.
Therefore, it is speculated that Shu Zhenduo may have maintained a neutral attitude, or that Guan and Second Uncle Cai had contacted him to rebel together.
It is worth noting that Shu Zhenduo's fief was the residence of the "Three Horses" Fang Guo as early as the Xia Dynasty, and according to Wang Guowei and other scholars, the south of Cao was the location of the early capital of Yin Shang.
After the fall of Yin Shang, the Yin Shang forces in this area resisted stubbornly, and Guan and Cai Ershu may have wanted to win over Shu Zhenduo to join the rebellion, but judging from the results, Shu Zhenduo did not firmly support Zhou Gongzhao, nor did he participate in Guan Cai's rebellion, so it can be said that he did not play any role.
Therefore, after the rebellion of Zhou Pingding, he did not have any credit or fault, which can also be seen from the fact that he did not become a royal minister or be reused by the royal family in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
According to Shu Zhenduo's status as a concubine and his performance after the destruction of Shang, he should have been treated better, but this is not the case.
This raises the question: why was Shu Zhenduo left out in the cold, and the relationship between the Cao State and the Zhou royal family gradually became estranged? This estrangement meant that Cao had lost its political advantage in the relationship between the princes, and had neither appeal nor influence.
Even if the pattern of the world has changed several times, Cao Guo still cannot play a role. And the descendants of Shu Zhenduo did not appear to have a master with strategic vision and foresight, but enjoyed wealth and did nothing.
As a result, Cao not only did not develop into an economic power on the rich side, but even reduced to the point where he had no time to take care of himself and had to rely on the face of a big country to get by. What did the monarchs of the Cao Kingdom go through?
From the establishment of the Cao State to its demise, there was no virtuous monarch and master. This is a thought-provoking question and a reminder that we should be cautious in handling political relations and not take them lightly.
According to the "Historical Records", the Cao State has gone through 26 monarchs, starting with the first monarch Shu Zhenduo, and the monarchs are Cao Taibo, Cao Zhongjun, Cao Gongbo, Cao Xiaobo, and Cao Yibo.
After Cao Yibo's death, he was succeeded by his younger brother Cao Youbo (during the "republican administration"). In the ninth year of Cao Youbo (the second year of King Xuan of Zhou), there was turmoil within the Cao State, and his younger brother Xian killed Youbo and established himself as Cao Daibo.
At that time, the Zhou Dynasty presented a situation of "the four sides are peaceful, and the kingdom is fixed", why did King Zhou Xuan not ask for the crime? Moreover, Cao Daibo reigned for 30 years, and he did not see King Zhou Xuan ask for his guilt, or Cao Youbo lost his morality.
History, though, doesn't give us the answer. During this period, although the royal road was gradually declining, the Zhou kings were still very strong, and the vassal states were generally at peace except for occasional civil strife.
Cao Guo also followed the rules and did not make any big trouble. After Cao Daibo's death, he was succeeded by his son Cao Huibo. He experienced the historical event of "King Ping's eastward migration", when the king of Zhou lost power and there was frequent friction between the princes, and the state of Cao began to play the role of a bystander and did not participate in it.
After the death of Cao Huibo in the 11th year of King Zhou Ping, he was succeeded by his son Shi Fu. However, Shi Fu's throne was killed by his younger brother before he could sit on the throne, and he was called Cao Bo, and his younger brother was Cao Mugong.
Cao Mugong died after only three years as monarch (the fourteenth year of King Zhou Ping), and was succeeded by his son Cao Huan. Duke Cao Huan was the longest-reigning monarch of Cao during the Spring and Autumn Period, ruling for 55 years.
It is worth noting that during the reign of Cao Huangong, Cao Guo was passive about the changes in the situation in the world. Lu Yin Gong and Lu Huan Gong organized several alliances, but Cao Guo did not participate.
Even if he chose to join the alliance in Caodi, Cao Guo only did his best to be a landlord, giving away food, etc., which can be said to be a matter of concern. Duke Cao Huan died in the eighteenth year of King Huan of Zhou, and was succeeded by his son Duke Cao Zhuang.
Duke Cao Zhuang reigned for 31 years, died in the sixth year of King Hui of Zhou, and was succeeded by his son Ji Jiao. However, Ji Jian only reigned for one year, and when the Rong people attacked Cao State, Ji Jian was defeated and fled to Chen State, and Cao Ren had to take back the son who was mixed with the Rong people and set up the monarch for Cao Xigong.
Cao Xigong reigned for 8 years, and was succeeded by his son Cao Zhaogong after his death. In the second year of his succession, Chidi attacked Xing, and Cao Zhaogong sent troops with Qi and Song to rescue Xing.
After Xing moved to Yiyi, Cao Zhaogong also actively helped Xing build the city. Later, it was rare to participate in the princes of the Qi Huan Guild Alliance. However, from the perspective of the overall situation, the alliance organized by the Duke of Qi Huan was to rebuke Zhuyi for the sake of respecting Huaxia, and Cao Guo, as one of the vassal states of the Central Plains, naturally had to participate.
However, Cao's position has always been very "Buddhist", and he rarely takes the initiative to participate in the crusade between the princes. Or, at this time, Cao Guo was already just an insignificant participant, and his every move could not stir up any splash.
After Cao Gonggong, a monarch in the history of Cao State, succeeded to the throne, the story continued. Among them, there are three of the most famous: the first is in the twelfth year of the reign of the Duke of Cao, who was attacked by the Song State because the monarch of the State of Yan was late and did not agree with the punishment of the Duke of Song Xianggong to the State of Yan, although the siege was difficult, the Song army finally retreated.
The second is the sixteenth year of the reign of the Duke of Cao, he heard that the heavy ears and ribs of the prince of Jin were peculiar, so he took advantage of his bath to peek, so he was ridiculed by the princes, which also led to the deterioration of relations between Jin and Cao.
The third is the twenty-first year of the Duke of Cao, who, as an ally of the Chu State, was besieged by the Jin State.
In February** dynamic incentive plan In the face of the Jin army, he ordered the corpse of the Jin army to be hung on the city wall, which angered the Jin Wengong, and the Jin army then attacked the cemetery of the Cao State, and the Cao State had to put the Jin army killed in the battle into a coffin and send it out of the city, the Cao State was breached, the land was divided to the Song State, and the Cao Gonggong was arrested and imprisoned, and it took two or three years before he was released, but he still had to participate in the princes' alliance, and was even manipulated by the Jin State until the Cao State destroyed the country.
These behaviors of Cao Gonggong showed his rudeness and stupid tricks, which led to the Cao State in a difficult situation and was finally destroyed.
The history of Cao is full of helplessness and sorrow. After the death of Cao Gonggong, Cao fell into the dilemma of being sandwiched between the great powers of Qi, Lu, Song, and Wei, and the monarchs of Cao Wengong, Cao Xuangong, Cao Chenggong, and Cao Wugong were forced to participate in the alliance of the princes of the Jin Hui or fight with the Jin and Chu in the context of the struggle for hegemony in the Jin and Chu.
As a vassal of the Jin State, the Cao State has never been able to get rid of the coercion of the Jin State, and its national strength is weakening day by day. In the end, under the mediocre leadership of Cao Boyang, Cao State attacked the Song Dynasty behind the Jin Dynasty, attracting the attack of the Wei State and the Song State, and was finally captured, and the Cao State perished.
The tragedy of Cao is that the successive monarchs are inactive and ridiculous, and they are even more incapable of dealing with the situation of princes competing for hegemony in terms of diplomacy. Cao was on the verge of the affairs of the princes, but he could not escape this fact, and in the end he could only fall into the fate of decay.
The defeat of Cao Guo warns us that if a country wants to be strong, it must have a wise monarch and virtuous talents, and it must also be good at political mediation in order to gain a foothold in troubled times.