Chapter 57 The Five Princes of Jin
Jin State, Yicheng.
Since the first Duke of Jin built the city, it has gone through five hundred years of ups and downs. After the complete destruction of Quwo two hundred years ago, this city has completely become the pearl of Jin State.
The mottled old traces, under the gloomy sky and dark clouds, seemed to be telling of the somewhat depressing atmosphere in Jin State.
The contemporary Duke of Jin is a rare long-lived person. When he turned seventy, he invited many princes to come and congratulate him. As a traditional ally of Jin, Luo Yan came to celebrate the birthday of the Duke of Jin on behalf of his father Luo Ci.
Luo Yan is the crown prince of Luo State and the nineteenth generation grandson of Ji Zhao.
After Luo Xiu's death, Ji Zhao also fell into a deep sleep. The next three generations of Luo Hou all tried hard to maintain Qi's dominant position.
By the time of the 17th monarch, Qi's national strength was no longer sufficient to shoulder this responsibility. In addition, since the defeat of Yanling, Chu had been fighting with Wu on the Hanyang Plain and had no energy to take care of the Central Plains.
From the perspective of interests, Luo State no longer needed a hegemon to suppress the Zhou royal family, so it gave up supporting Qi State. Qi State gradually fell from a superpower to a first-class regional power.
【Luo Yan:
Ability attributes: Power struggle: 80; Governing the country: 80; Controlling people: 80; Command: 72; Military strength: 87; Military strategy: 74. 】
With the continuous decline of the Zhou royal family, the abilities of the royal family members of Luo State declined from generation to generation, especially Luo Xiu, who seemed to have exhausted the last resources of Luo State.
Luo Yan is the eldest son of the family. Even with the blessing of Ji Zhao's ancestors, he only has this attribute. This shows the shortage of talents in the royal family.
However, the descendants of the royal families of the Luo family branches broke free from the constraints of the Luo family, and talented people continued to emerge, such as the Xiang family of Chu.
But the old saying still applies, although the royal family of Luo State has no talent, their ancestors have left behind too much wisdom and have read too many books, so they are not inferior to those whose talents far exceed theirs.
At least before the Hundred Schools of Thought and the explosion of wisdom, relying on the wisdom that transcends the times, we were still able to manipulate this era at our fingertips.
After the birthday banquet, Luo Yan was ready to return to Luo State. Unexpectedly, the Marquis of Jin sent someone to invite Luo Yan to the garden. Luo Yan knew that there was something to discuss, so he packed up and followed the doctor of Jin State to the palace again.
As expected, the Duke of Jin was already waiting for him in the pavilion. He was surrounded by ministers and not even a maid. It was obvious that they were not there to appreciate the flowers.
After the two sides exchanged greetings, the Duke of Jin got straight to the point and asked, "Prince, since the time of King Zhao, Jin and Luo have been allied for four hundred years. During this period, we relied on Luo's help many times, so that the Jin clan could sit in Yicheng.
I have something unclear now, and I want to ask the Crown Prince about it."
Ask yourself about the political affairs of Jin State?
Luo Yan frowned slightly, but still said: "Jin Hou is too kind. Trust and loyalty are the foundation of the relationship between the two countries. Luo State is just fulfilling the alliance. If it is related to Luo State, please ask."
"My wife is a noble lady from Qi, but Qi Jiang has no children.
Now there are five princes, all of whom are illegitimate sons. I wonder which prince Luo State hopes will take the throne after I die?"
!!!
Luo Yan was shocked by Jin Hou’s words, Are you crazy?
You're asking me this?
But on second thought, he found that the Duke of Jin might be asking sincerely, because he didn't know who to establish, so picking someone recognized by the State of Luo would not be a bad idea.
But the Duke of Jin could think so, but Luo Yan could not respond to this.
He immediately said, "Jin Hou, the succession is a major issue for the state. Luo State has never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries. As long as the prince does not violate the Zhou rites and clan law, Luo State has nothing to object to."
Having said that, if the Duke of Jin wants Prince Yin to ascend the throne, Luo Guo will not agree, but the other four people really don't care.
The Duke of Jin also guessed that Luo Yan would say this, so when Luo Yan finished speaking, he immediately responded: "Prince Chong'er's mother was born in Qi State. Although she was only a concubine of Teng who married with Qi Jiang, she at least has Qi blood.
I had previously asked the Duke of Qi to look after me, but he died before me.
Now I want to entrust this child to Luo State, and I hope you can agree.
He has not yet come of age, and my body should be able to hold out for a few more years, so I will let him take the throne in the future."
Although Prince Chong'er was also a bastard's son, he was born in Qi State, which naturally gave him the support of Qi and Luo States, so the Duke of Jin wanted to make him the king.
Luo Yan saw that the Marquis of Jin had indeed chosen Prince Chong'er, who had the support of Qi and Luo. "Marquis of Jin, your choice is the will of Jin. Luo is your most loyal ally. King Su is my witness that Prince Chong'er will be protected by Luo."
Seeing Luo Yan's formality, the rulers and ministers of Jin all sang their approval and said, "Haotian is the witness."
This was a verbal agreement. Regardless of whether Prince Chong'er could finally ascend the throne, at least the State of Luo promised to protect him. This made the Duke of Jin, who had experienced a brutal struggle for the throne, feel somewhat relieved.
As Luo Yan left Jin, the news quickly spread among the high-level officials of Jin. Prince Chong'er and his mother were naturally overjoyed, but the other four were naturally dissatisfied. However, neither Qi nor Luo Yan were weak countries, so no one said anything on the surface.
But each of these princes was a tough guy, and each had his own followers and fiefdoms, and undercurrents were flowing in the State of Jin.
No one would have thought that the first one to launch an attack was not Gongzi Lin, Gongzi Yin, and Gongzi Wu, the three adult princes, but Gongzi Wuzhi, the only prince who had not yet reached adulthood.
Prince Wuzhi was the most beloved son of the Duke of Jin because his mother, Yan Gui, was very young and beautiful.
When people get old, they don't become sages, but their desires become magnified. This is what happened to the Duke of Jin.
Five years ago he was not confused, so based on the interests of Jin State, he agreed with Luo Yan to make Prince Chong'er the king.
As a result, after he became old and confused, he actually made Prince Wuzhi the king, and there was also a written will.
This made Luo State very embarrassed. As a foreign monarch, the Duke of Jin had not yet passed away, so it was impossible for him to just rush in with his troops and say that the edict was fake.
The most crucial thing is that the Duke of Jin did not establish Prince Yin as the new emperor, so the reaction of Luo State was not significant.
Prince Yin's mother was named Qin Ying, a woman from the State of Qin.
When the Duke of Jin took a woman from Qin as his concubine, the State of Luo tolerated it. But if a prince from Qin wanted to ascend the throne of Jin, that would be a dream.
The throne of Jin must never have anything to do with Qin or Chu. This is the bottom line of Luo State.
Because among all the foreign princes in the world, only Qin and Chu were capable of replacing the Mandate of Heaven of Zhou, the State of Luo had always been deeply wary of these two countries.
The reason why we made so many concessions to the State of Chu was that we had no choice but to do so due to the situation at the time. If the prince had any intention of coveting the throne of the State of Jin, he must die.
Either die in the war, or die in an assassination like Lu Wujiu. No one can stop Luo Guo from doing what he wants.
In fact, this will is indeed real, after the old but strong Duke of Jin ended his happiness with Yan Gui.
The gentle Yan Gui said in a soft voice: "Your Majesty, the four princes have all obtained the fertile land of Jin. When Wuzhi grows up, where else can he be granted? Why not give Yicheng to him? He is the only one who will not threaten his brothers."
The Duke of Jin thought about his troublesome sons and then thought about his most beloved son. It seemed that there was really no better place to give him except Yicheng.
Then he asked several ministers of Jin State, all of whom had been bribed by Yan Gui, and an underage monarch was easier to control, so he urged the Duke of Jin to sign a written document.
Not long after, the Duke of Jin passed away, and Prince Wuzhi ascended the throne of Jin with the support of the ministers.
When Prince Wuzhi ascended the throne, his elder brother would certainly not accept it. At this time, Prince Chong'er suffered the most, because his younger brother's ascension to the throne was legal, so the State of Luo would not help him. If the State of Luo did not move, then the State of Qi would not move either.
However, the ministers of the State of Jin who pushed Prince Wuzhi to the throne were not afraid of these princes, as they all had their own private armies.
As for Prince Chong'er, since the State of Luo had once vowed to protect his safety, and given the State of Luo's style of keeping its word, these ministers did not want to bring trouble upon themselves, so they did not target Prince Chong'er.
Just let him stay in his fiefdom and not come to Yicheng.
Prince Wuzhi's throne was not secure, as his brothers were secretly opposing him.
Especially Gongzi Wu, who directly and bluntly said that the will was fake. It was impossible for a father to leave four adult sons and let an underage child be the king.
This must be a conspiracy by treacherous ministers to undermine the monarch and seize power. This sounds true and anyone would think so.
"Prince Wu has raised an army in his fiefdom, and many of the royal families in the country have joined him. What should we do?"
Yan Gui anxiously asked the ministers who had jointly recommended Prince Wuzhi to the throne, and said in a hateful voice: "How can such an unethical child be a prince of Jin?"
Zhao Qing heard this and said solemnly: "Madam, please be careful with your words. Although Gongzi Wu started a rebellion, he was included in the genealogy of the Ji family and Jin family by our ancestors. He was originally a prince of the Southern Yan Kingdom and has a noble status. He is not an illegitimate child!"
Yan Gui knew she was wrong as soon as she said this. Seeing that the ministers all had unhappy expressions, she remembered that these people had also agreed to the Duke of Jin's adoption of Prince Wu.
Gongzi Wu is the one with the most special identity among the five princes of Jin State.
Because he was not the son of the previous Duke of Jin, he was the son of the Duke of Southern Yan.
His mother, Jin Ji, was a noble lady of the Jin royal family. She was suddenly married to the Marquis of Southern Yan by the Marquis of Jin.
This was really a marriage of downgrade. Although the title of Marquis of Southern Yan was high, his country was less than a hundred miles in area, and he was not even as good as a doctor in the State of Jin.
After Jin Ji married into the Southern Yan Kingdom, she gave birth to a very healthy son prematurely, who was Prince Wu.
After a few years, the Marquis of Southern Yan became tired of Ji Jin and Gongzi Wu, so Ji Jin returned to Jin, and Gongzi Wu returned to Jin with his mother.
Regarding the obviously unethical behavior of the State of Southern Yan, the Duke of Jin only verbally condemned it and did not take any substantive action. He even helped the State of Southern Yan in return for evil.
At that time, all the princes in the world felt that something was wrong. Later, the Duke of Jin changed Gongzi Wu's surname to Jin and included Gongzi Wu in the family tree.
It is said openly that Gongzi Wu is a hero beyond the world and has the blood of Jin family in his body. The Marquis of Nanyan does not know how to cherish him, and the State of Jin should not let him be lost in the wilderness.
This outrageous move made all the princes in the world dumbfounded. They had some reasonable suspicions, but there was no evidence. The Marquis of Nanyan did not say anything, but simply deleted Gongzi Wu from the genealogy of Nanyan.
As a result, Prince Wu was transformed from a prince of Southern Yan to a prince of Jin, and gained the right to inherit the throne of Jin.
Not to mention his father, his mother is a real noble lady from a royal family.
Her power in the State of Jin is simply incomparable to that of the mothers of other princes.
So although his identity is a little bit special, there are really many Jin royal family members who support him. Even in Yicheng, I don’t know how many royal family members are interested in Gongzi Wu.
With the support of the royal family of Jin State, Prince Wu arrived in Yicheng with unstoppable force in just half a month.
He pointed at Yicheng with some complacency and said: "After entering Yicheng, I will make the treacherous people admit that my father did have a will before his death.
But he was unaware that the will was forged by them, and afterwards he had no idea who his father had appointed as the king.
I should be nominated by the royal family, and I will definitely win."
Gongzi Wu did not want to kill Gongzi Wuzhi, as that would only make him bear the crime of regicide and give his other three brothers a chance.
"Sir, why do you say there is indeed a will? And why don't you say it's you who is on the will?"
Gongzi Wu laughed and said, “Father must leave a will before he dies, otherwise the throne will fall to Chong’er, which I cannot allow.
As for the name on the will, if it was mine, then my three brothers would also attack me on the pretext of forging the will, which would be stupid.
There is a will but I don't know who will be the heir. It is reasonable for the royal family to nominate him, which is beneficial to me."
Everyone admired Gongzi Wu's thoughtful consideration, so they began the attack and blockade of Yicheng, hoping that the ministers in the city could think carefully. Do they really want to be buried with Gongzi Wuzhi?
But Gongzi Wu thought too simply. The reason why the ministers supported Gongzi Wuzhi was because he did not have a strong maternal family.
In this era where a son’s status is determined by his mother, if you don’t have a strong maternal family, you are weak and will be looked down upon.
Prince Lin ruled the State of Song, Prince Yin ruled the State of Qin, and Prince Chong'er ruled the States of Qi and Luo, so they excluded these three princes and did not want them to become kings.
But the one that these ministers and officials disliked the most was Prince Wu. The maternal clans of the others were still in foreign countries after all, but you, whose maternal clan was the royal family of Jin, would ascend the throne.
Do we, the nobles, still have a say in the State of Jin?
Therefore, these ministers did not surrender as Gongzi Wu expected, but instead mobilized troops from their fiefdoms and fought a fierce battle with Gongzi Wu outside Yicheng.
Gongzi Wu failed to capture Yicheng and had to withdraw his troops. Before leaving, he said bitterly, "When I ascend the throne, I will eliminate these treacherous villains one by one."
After hearing this, the ministers in Yicheng were even more determined to fight to the death with Gongzi Wu.
A big drama in Jin State has begun~
Today is 10,000 words, end~
(End of this chapter)
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