The Life of the Characters in Xia Ji's Works

Xia Ji, the eldest son of Zhao Ji, Zhou Kangwang. In the 25th year of Kang Wang (996 BC), Zhou Kangwang died, and Ji Xian succeeded him as King Zhao of Zhou.

After Cheng Kang, the first official in the history of China, took office, the Western Zhou Dynasty should have ushered in a prosperous time, but at this time, the leaders of the Western Zhou Dynasty were "short of kingship". In the fourteenth year of King Zhao of Zhou (982 BC), on the eighth day of the fourth month of summer, an abnormal natural phenomenon suddenly appeared in Haojing. The water in the river, well, spring and pool overflowed at the same time, and the water in the well actually overflowed outside the well, followed by palace houses, mountains and rivers, and the earth shook. At night, five-color phosgene seeps into the purple emblem constellation and spreads all over the square, making it blue-red, but the sky can't see for twenty-eight nights. The ancients believed that celestial phenomena and human beings were both exterior and interior, and the lack of kingship led to the overlapping of visions.

If the so-called astronomical phenomena are just the superstition and ignorance of the ancients, then King Zhao of Zhou's attitude in handling state affairs is undoubtedly "the lack of kingliness". In the autumn and July of the fourteenth year of King Zhao of Zhou, a coup took place in Lu. The younger brother Ji Fei of Lu Guogong killed his younger brother Lu Yougong and seized the throne, calling himself Wei Guogong. Such a rude violation of the Tao, Wang Zhao of Zhou allowed it to develop, neither sent troops to crusade, nor made a fuss, which caused the phenomenon of running rampant all over the world and led to the deviation of the Chaogang. In the 16th year of King Zhao of Zhou (before 980), Zhao Haoqi led an army to deter Dongyi (now Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui).

Dongyi is the collective name of ancient oriental nationalities. In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, these tribes rebelled against the Zhou Dynasty. After the Duke of Zhou and the Eastern Expedition, Zhou's influence reached the present Shandong, but peace remained stubborn. In that year, Fang tribes headed by Chu invaded the territory of Zhou Dynasty, and King Zhao of Zhou assembled an army to conquer Chu and Jing in the south. In order to stabilize the rear, invade Dongyi first. Foreign countries saw that they were outnumbered and gave in to each other. When King Zhao of Zhou conquered Chu, 26 countries from all over the world had surrendered to the court.

The Battle of Dongyi strengthened the Zhou Dynasty's control over Dongyi countries and isolated Jingchu. According to the Bamboo Book, Zhao Haoqi attacked Chu mainly for three times:

The first time was in the sixteenth year of King Zhao of Zhou (before 985). King Zhao of Zhou "attacked Chu and involved Han, which was a great disaster". It is generally believed that this war is the same as the above-mentioned "wallboard". King Zhao of Zhou led troops across the Hanshui River and went deep into Jingchu area. When crossing the Hanshui River, he also met Datong (rhinoceros).

The second time was in the 19th year of King Zhao of Zhou (in 982 BC). King Zhao of Zhou sent a sacrifice to Gong and Xin Bo to attack Chu, saying that "when a catastrophe strikes, all pheasants and rabbits will be surprised, and Han will lose six divisions". When Zhou Jun crossed the Han River, the evil wind suddenly blew hard, the weather was bad, the soldiers were frightened, and the army suffered serious losses.

The third time, "In the last years of Zhao Haoqi, the night was bright and the colors were shining, and his monarch did not return from his southern tour." According to Lu Jinian's calculation, it was the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou (before 977). It was a great blow to Chu, and the inscription on the "wall plate" unearthed in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province recorded: "I summoned Wang (Zhao) to visit Jingchu extensively and went south alone." But as a result, the whole army was wiped out, and Zhou confessed the matter, vaguely saying, "I will not return from my southern tour."

Wang Zhao's expedition to Chu has a very important relationship with the study of early Chu history and Chu culture. However, such an important event in the history of Western Zhou and Chu was shrouded in fog because of the concealment of Zhou people, and even the object of Zhou Zhaowang's conquest was controversial. According to modern scholars' research, the "Chu" hacked by King Zhao of Zhou was not the "Chu State (Zi Chu)", but the Chu people who stood side by side with Chu State (Zi Chu) in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

"Chu" has two meanings, one is Chu surname, and the other is southern Chu barbarians. In the 19th year of Zhou Chengwang, Xiong Yi, the ancestor of Chu State, was granted the title of Chu, and the title was in the land of Chu people, so Chu State and Chu people had an intersection. By the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the rise of Chu State and the annexation of Chu Man were mixed. During the reign of King Zhao of Zhou, the title of Chu was only Zi Chu, and the fief was only five miles, so it was lonely. In this case, it is impossible for King Zhao of Zhou to make good use of the strength of the Six Divisions and attack Xiao Zi Chu in the south, nor will he gain anything. All nobles, big or small, are happy to make contributions. Moreover, if King Zhao of Zhou really died because he conquered Chu, then Zhou and Chu are sworn enemies, and it is impossible for King Zhao of Zhou's son not to avenge his death. It is even more impossible to participate in the battle against Xu as a vassal of the Zhou Dynasty in fourteen years.

During the period of King Zhao of Zhou Dynasty, Chu people occupied a vast area, about Danjiang area in the middle and upper reaches of Hanshui River and Han Dong area in the lower reaches, and occupied Tonglu Mountain, the main producing area of copper mine. In the pre-Qin period, copper was an extremely important strategic resource, which was widely needed in politics, economy, war and other aspects. Although the Chu people are numerous and widely distributed, they have never formed a strong and unified political body like the former Sanmiao and the later Chu State, but only some scattered tribes. In this case, Truman is just suitable as the object of Zhou Zhao Wang Nanzheng.

Wang Zhaonan's statement that "Chu" is Chu first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Wang Yi noted "Chu Ci Tian Wen". Later scholars believed it and passed it on from generation to generation, and reached the conclusion that Wang Zhaonan was seeking Chu. "Chronology of Ancient Bamboo Books" contains: "In the last years of Zhao Haoqi, the night was bright and the colors were brilliant, and his monarch did not return from his southern tour."

The third attack on Chu dealt a great blow to the military strength of the Western Zhou Dynasty. King Zhao of Zhou fell into the Hanshui River and was wiped out. The official history polished by the brushwork in the Spring and Autumn Period is so secretive about this matter that it is impossible to know the details. During the Northern Song Dynasty, six bronzes of the Western Zhou Dynasty were unearthed in Anlu, Hubei Province, which were called "six weapons of Anzhou", revealing the relevant information of Zhou Zhaowang's southern tour.

In the 16th year of King Zhao of Zhou, Zhao Haoqi made a personal expedition to the south and conquered Jing Chu. In order to ensure the smooth March, he appointed a man named Nangong as the commander-in-chief and a man named Zhong as the pioneer. He led the army to contact the warlord named Ji in Hanyang to open the way for the army, and prepared two palaces in Dengzhou and Zengzhou. Along the way, with the support of the princes named Ji in the Northern Han Dynasty, the army grew stronger day by day and soon went deep into the hinterland of Jianghan. The big tribes and small countries that surrendered to Jing Chu surrendered to them one after another.

The vanguard troops reached the Yangtze River, followed by troops. Julian Waghann occupied Hubei, and the army went south along the east bank of Hanshui River. After arriving at the Yangtze River, Zhao Haoqi left a team to guard the ferry in the north of the Yangtze River and led the army to cross the river south. The main force of Yangyue's department retreated to the south mountain, and Zhan led the troops to Tonglu Mountain. Then Zhao Haoqi crossed the river and went north to the Tang Dynasty (now northwest of Suizhou, Hubei Province), where he met Hanyang governors and rewarded them with meritorious deeds. He gave many horses and bronze materials to the pioneers, and Marshal Nangong also won many awards. Later, Zhong cast a batch of bronze sacrificial vessels from the donated copper materials, and engraved words on them to record the war and the rewards he won. Zhao Haoqi distributed some copper materials to the nobles, and then shipped back a lot of copper materials. Most of these copper materials are used for casting bronzes, including Liu Qi, Anzhou.

After King Zhao of Zhou occupied Tonglu Mountain, he left several Julian Waghann guarding Tonglu Mountain and returned with a great army. However, when Hubei heard that Zhou Jun's main force had retreated and occupied Tonglu Mountain, Zhao Haoqi decided to personally expedition again.

In the 19th year of King Zhao of Zhou, Zhao Haoqi led his ministers to offer sacrifices to the public, and six divisions to the west guarded Haojing to attack Jing Chu. At first, things were good. Zhou Jun started from Tangzhou (now northern Suizhou, Hubei) and went south smoothly through Lizhou and Zengzhou. In order to gain momentum, Zhao Haoqi also sent envoys to countries in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to win support. Zhao Haoqi personally led his troops up the river and reached the border of Kuiguo (now Zigui, Hubei). However, when he returned to Hanshui, Zhou Jun was strongly resisted by Chu and Jing armies, and suffered from abnormal weather, and the whole army was wiped out.

Ji Xian ascended the throne at the age of 27 and reigned for 20 years. He died in the 19th year (977 BC) at the age of 46 and was honored as Zhou. The ancient book says that "the appearance is respectful, so posthumous title is the prince of Zhao".

After the collapse of King Zhao of Zhou, he did not tell his ministers about his funeral. The imperial clan leader asked Ji Man, the eldest son of King Zhao of Zhou, to inherit the throne of Zhou Muwang.