Reading Historical Records·You punch me, I kick you

The era of Duke Mu of Qin has finally passed, and Qin has ushered in its new king, Duke Kang of Qin. Reading Qin Kanggong’s story, I couldn’t help but think of a sentence: If you punch me, I’ll kick you. The fists and kicks here are not Huawo Piao Piao Fist, nor are they Foshan Wuying Kicks, but a tug-of-war between Qin and Jin. At this time, the two countries are fighting like two children, fighting each other, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, no one wants to lose.

During Qin Mugong’s last battle, the Battle of Wangguan, the Jin State avoided its edge and could not stand. Later, Qin also dominated Xirong. It seemed that Qin's power was even stronger. But the good times of Qin seemed to have disappeared with the death of Duke Mu. For the Qin State, the death of Duke Mu left the Qin State without a backbone. Fortunately, the king of Jin, Duke Xianggong of Jin, also went with him. These two monarchs fought fiercely when they were alive. I wonder if they can put aside their grudges and shake hands to make peace in that world? Or stand in the cloud, watch the children continue to fight, and then comment?

With the passing of the two monarchs, history has turned a new page for both Qin and Jin. On the Qin side, Duke Kang of Qin did two things during his twelve years in office. One thing was to send Ji Yong back to the Jin State, but he was counterattacked by the Jin State in the land of Linghu. The other thing is to continue to fight with Jin.

Before talking about these two things, let’s take a look at Qin Kanggong’s life experience. When Duke Mu was alive, Duke Kang of Qin was still the prince. It is conceivable that the prince's mother must be Duke Mu's wife. Who is Mrs. Mu? The daughter of Duke Xian of Jin, the princess of Jin. In other words, Duke Kang of Qin still has the blood of Jin people flowing in his body. If we were to marry according to the status of a small family, Qin Kanggong's uncle was Jin Wengong, the father of Jin Xianggong. In other words, Qin Kanggong and Jin Xianggong could also be considered cousins. Grassroots people who have no money and no status will fight with each other if there is a struggle for interests. If they have status, such as becoming a king, then fighting will not be as simple as fighting alone, and they must use weapons. Xiang Xiang, I have to kill you to death.

Let’s talk about this first thing now.

After Jin Xianggong passed away, Zhao Dun of Jin wanted to support Jin Xianggong's younger brother Ji Yong to succeed him. And this Ji Yong was born to the daughter of the Qin clan and lived in Qin. Zhao Dun sent a man named Suihui to Qin to welcome Ji Yong back. Duke Kang of Qin also supported this matter. After all, Ji Yong also has the blood of Qin's clan and lives in Qin. If he goes to Jin to become the king, there will be no harm to Qin. So Duke Kang of Qin sent troops to escort Ji Yong back to Jin. This delivery was sent to Linghu, which is now Linyi County, Shanxi.

However, Jin State obviously did not transfer power as smoothly as Qin State.

In the Jin Kingdom, although the Duke of Jinxiang had a prince, but the prince Yigao was young, there were other possibilities for choosing the king. In other words, there was a struggle for power in the Jin Kingdom at this time, and Zhao Dun was a decisive force in this. Who is Zhao Dun? Zhao Dun is Zhao Xuanzi, his surname is Ying, his family name is Zhao, his given name is Dun, and his nickname is Xuan. He served as a minister in the Jin State, combining military and political power. He had power over the government and the public, and was called the most powerful minister in the Jin State. He served three dynasties throughout his life and maintained the hegemony created by Jin Wen Gong. Of course, there is another force in the Jin Kingdom, namely the princelings. Of course, they are willing to support the prince and will not let go of the power in their hands. This force is not mentioned in the Qin Dynasty, but it is written clearly in the Jin family that she is the prince's mother. This woman who was closest to power knew how to overcome strength with softness, so she just held the prince in her arms and cried in the court day and night. After crying like this for a while, the effect was not obvious, so he hugged the prince and ran to Zhao Dun's house to cry, even using the name of the late king. As a result, Zhao Dun couldn't stand the tough talk, so he changed his mind, abandoned Ji Yong and supported the crown prince. He also sent troops to attack the Qin army escorting Ji Yong, in order to isolate Ji Yong from the circle of power. This is really Xiao He who succeeds and Xiao He who fails.

As a result, the Qin State did not expect that the Jin people were so unreliable. Instead of taking advantage, they were beaten up and beaten. The attendant who came to greet Ji Yong was unable to gain a foothold in the Jin State, so he came to Qin State.

In the second year after Linghu was attacked by the Jin army, Qin Kanggong launched a large-scale attack on Jin and captured Jin's Wucheng, finally avenging the evil of the Linghu battle. Next, these two countries, uncles and nephews began to fight each other with punches and kicks. Two years later, Jin attacked Qin and captured Qin's Shaoliang land. Two years later, Qin attacked Jin again and captured Jin's Jima City. The two armies fought a fierce battle in the land of Hequ, and Qin defeated the Jin army.

The Jin State had never fought against the Qin State in this battle, so it was too hard to use power and tactics. They were worried that Suihui's stay in Qin for a long time would be detrimental to Jin, so they used a trick to fake surrender and sent a man named Wei Yuyu to contact Suihui and deceive Suihui back to Jin. It is conceivable that if he returns to Jin soon, his future will not be good. But Qin Kanggong wouldn't go to a lot of trouble for a small Jin person. He would just leave and forget about it. Anyway, the Jin people are unreliable, so let them go back to fight in their nests.