After reading the "Second Family of Qi Taigong" in the "Records of History" today, I read the story of Qi Huangong, the first overlord of the Spring and Autumn Five Powers.
He was a prince of the State of Qi, named Xiao Bai, who escaped from the State of Qi during the civil strife in the court of the State of Qi, and then returned to the State of Qi after many hardships to become the monarch of the State of Qi. Guan Zhong, who assisted his brother Gongzi, did not care about his previous suspicions, appointed him as a minister, and through a series of reforms, made the state of Qi rich and strong. Diplomatically, he also presided over the political situation in the Central Plains for Zhou Tianzi through many meetings with The King of Zunyi.
Although in the process, he bullied others and insulted neighbors, he was also able to honor the king and give Zhou Tianzi enough face. In this shijia writing, Sima Qian, in the final commentary, compares him with Jiang Taigong, the founding monarch of the State of Qi, and expresses infinite emotion on the end of his later years due to the death of a pet villain and his death for 67 days.
From the text, we know that Duke Huan of Qi had more than a dozen children, five of whom were established as monarchs of the State of Qi after his death. After his death in the winter of October, the five princes formed gangs and attacked each other, so that the palace where Duke Qi Huan lived became an empty temple, and no one prepared a coffin for him. His body was left on the bed for 67 days, after which the corpses crawled from the door to the door. In December, one of his sons ascended to the throne without hesitation, prepared a coffin for him, and then reported to the nations for mourning. Unfortunately, the war between his sons for the throne was not over, and he was not buried until his other son, Duke Xiao of Qi, ascended the throne, in August of the following year of his death.
If it were not for the history books that recorded the life of Qi Huangong in such detail, it would be difficult for us to believe that Qi Huangong's final outcome was so tragic. The biggest reason for this situation was that he and Guan Zhong discussed to establish The Duke of Filial Piety as the future monarch, and as a result, because there was a villain around him, Yong wu, who was deeply favored by him and Wei Gongji, and Yong Wu also sent a lot of good things to Qi Huan Gong, and he changed his mouth to become the future monarch. With the death of Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi, the five princes made a pot of porridge.
It was his own fault that made a hegemon like him leave the scene like a spark. Sometimes I wonder if such a hegemonic level person is because the heavens have given them the most glorious life, just like the full moon is a loss, and the ending is very bad. After all, the incident between him and King Wuling of Zhao was so typical.
But looking back, if you think about it, a hegemon like him, a big family and many children, who doesn't covet the power in his hands? If he had not found a successor to the country in advance, it would have been inevitable that after his death, the chaos in the country would have been inevitable.
All the people who can be recorded in the history books, whether they have a good reputation or a bad reputation, have left their names in history, but most of their stories are like stars, small becomes larger, big becomes smaller, dark becomes bright, light becomes dark, like a flash in the pan...
