Riding the wind of rebirth

"Xiang Zhong's son was called Gongsun Guifu, with the courtesy name Zijia. According to historical records, starting from the 18th year of Duke Xi of Lu, this Lu official named Xiang Zhong and his son Guifu presided over the government of Lu for more than 40 years, during the reigns of Duke Xi, Duke Wen and Duke Xuan. They were very active in Lu's internal and foreign affairs, and influenced the historical process of Lu through some important activities."

"During the reign of Duke Huan of Qi, our neighbor, Qi was very powerful, and Lu had always been dependent on it."

"But as soon as Duke Huan died, Lu immediately sought an opportunity to break free from control. This made the newly succeeded King Xiao of Qi very unhappy, so in 634 BC, the Qi army launched a large-scale attack on the northern border of Lu. Duke Xi of Lu staged a diplomatic drama of rewarding the Qi army, which made Qi withdraw its troops."

"After this incident, Lu realized that in order to eliminate the threat from Qi, it had to seek protection from a big country. So it sent Xiang Zhong to Chu to discuss an alliance with Chu to attack Qi."

"Xiang Zhong used his eloquence to successfully persuade the King of Chu to send a large army to help Lu attack Qi. The armies of the two countries attacked and occupied the valley of Qi, temporarily alleviating the threat of Qi to Lu."

"Xiang Zhong stepped onto the political stage and gradually became an important figure in Lu. In the late period of Duke Xi, he led troops on behalf of Lu to attack Qi, paid homage to the Zhou emperor, met with Duke Wen of Jin, joined forces with Jin to attack and divide Cao, and led troops to attack Zhu. After Duke Wen of Lu succeeded to the throne, he still controlled the government and implemented the foreign policy of relying on Jin and allying with Qi. He paid tribute to Qi, married Qi, went to Jin to bury Duke Xiang of Jin, held a meeting with Jin at Hengyong, joined forces to rescue Zheng, and held two meetings with Qi at Qiqiu and Gudi."

"It can be said that during his time in office, Xiang Zhong was constantly running between Jin and Qi to maintain a balanced relationship. Lu State once maintained its momentum, but in terms of domestic affairs, Xiang Zhong had several powerful political enemies, namely the 'Three Huans'."

"Duke Huan of Lu had four sons: Zitong, Qingfu, Shuya, and Jiyou. After Duke Huan died, Zitong succeeded him and became Duke Zhuang. The remaining Qingfu, Shuya, and Jiyou were ranked Meng, Zhong, and Ji among the concubines' sons, so their descendants were renamed Mengsun, Shusun, and Jisun. Because they were all descendants of Duke Huan, they were called the 'Three Huans'. They supported each other politically, ruled jointly, and became a powerful political force in Lu."

"As direct descendants of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the Dongmen clan would naturally have had fierce conflicts with the 'Three Huans'."

"This conflict has been going on for a long time. In the first year of Xiang Zhong's reign, the Three Huans gave Xiang Zhong a warning. Mengsun, one of the Three Huans, took advantage of the fact that Duke Xi was in Huai to participate in the alliance convened by Duke Huan of Qi, and took the initiative to lead the army to destroy the Xiang State. Duke Huan of Qi was furious and detained Duke Xi of Lu on the charge of destroying a small country without authorization."

"Duke Xi's wife, Sheng Jiang, was originally from Qi. When she learned that her husband was detained, she was very anxious and quickly went to see Duke Huan of Qi to plead for mercy. Only then did Qi release Duke Xi."

"In the seventh year of Duke Wen, Ju was attacked by Xu. Ju asked for an alliance with Lu. Mengsun went to Ju on behalf of Lu to attend the alliance. He also wanted to marry a woman from Ju for Xiang Zhong, the ruler. But on the way, he saw that the woman was very beautiful, so he had evil thoughts. He was very unhappy to think that such a beautiful woman would become the wife of his enemy. He took the woman back to his home, held a banquet and made her his wife."

"When Xiang Zhongfu learned that his fiancée had been married off to Mengsun, the woman he had been entrusted with, he flew into a rage and wanted to lead his men to attack Mengsun, but he was afraid that the Three Huans would unite and fight back. Later, someone mediated and the two men compromised by giving up the woman from Ju."

"But Mengsun's decision to give up was just a matter of power. He never took Xiangzhong seriously. After a while, he took the opportunity to come to Ju State and married this peerless beauty. Xiangzhong was helpless when he found out."

"After Duke Wen died, a dispute over the throne arose in the State of Lu. Duke Wen had two concubines. The eldest concubine, Qi Jiang, gave birth to two sons, the eldest son, E, and the second son, Shi. When Duke Wen of Lu was still alive, E had already been made the crown prince."

"The second concubine Jingying gave birth to a son, Ji Jue. Xiangzhong and Jingying were close, so the two conspired to make Prince Jue the king, but were opposed by Shuzhong Huibo and others."

"So Xiang Zhong sought help from Qi. Duke Hui of Qi had just ascended the throne and was considering winning over Xiang Zhong as his backup, so he acquiesced to Xiang Zhong's request." "Afterwards, the Dongmen clan sent people to kill Crown Prince E and Prince Shi, and designed to execute Shuzhong Huibo, and supported Prince Zhu to succeed him, namely Duke Xuan of Lu. Duke Xuan of Lu was supported by Xiang Zhong to succeed to the throne, and the two had a very close relationship."

"However, at this time, the Three Huans were already very powerful and no longer took the royal family and the Dongmen clan seriously."

"When Duke Xuan first ascended the throne, a major event occurred. The prince of Ju State, Pu, brought the national treasure to Duke Xuan."

"Duke Xuan, Xiang Zhong and others were very happy and prepared to grant fiefs to the prince of Ju. However, after receiving the order from Duke Xuan of Lu, Ji Wenzi ignored it and boldly changed the order of granting fiefs to an order of expulsion, sending officials to drive the prince away. This made the Dongmen clan very embarrassed."

"In the eighth year of Duke Xuan, Xiang Zhong died of illness on his way to Qi. After Xiang Zhong's death, his son Gongsun Guifu continued to be favored by Duke Xuan and became arrogant for a time."

"In the tenth year of Duke Xuan, Guifu led his army to attack Zhu and took the land of Yi. The next year, he led his army to join forces with the army of Qi to attack Ju. In the fourteenth year of Duke Xuan, Gongsun Guifu met with the Duke of Qi in Gu, met Yan Zi, and talked with him about the affairs of Lu. He was quite proud of his own country."

"However, at this time, the struggle for power among the nobles of Lu had reached its peak. Ji Sun Xingfu of the Ji clan used the power of the Three Huans to start taxing the land, which led to the rise of private farmland and a sharp increase in the number of 'hidden people'. He won the support of the common people of Lu and became a new political force."

"The old forces of Lu Xuangong and Gongsun Guifu saw that the Three Huans were growing stronger and stronger, and the people of Lu did not know their rulers, so they wanted to send troops to destroy the Three Huans."

"But now the people of Lu support the Three Huans, and their spies are everywhere in the country. Using domestic troops may cause problems. So in the 18th year of Duke Xuan, Gongsun Guifu went to Jin to borrow troops. But before the Jin troops arrived, Duke Xuan had already passed away."

"Ji Sun Xingfu took the opportunity to launch an attack, declaring that Xiang Zhong's enthronement of Duke Xuan was 'killing the legitimate heir and enthroning a illegitimate heir'. He also listed the shortcomings of Xiang Zhong's administration, accusing him of connecting with Chu in the south and failing to firmly serve Qi and Jin, leaving Lu without strong support. The Lu State's Sikou also expressed his willingness to follow Ji Wenzi to eliminate the rebellion, and Guifu became a traitor in Lu."

"When Gongsun Guifu heard about this, he immediately fled to Qi State for refuge. The Dongmen clan fell into decline in Lu State from then on."

"Later, the Dongmen clan gradually spread to various places, and some celebrities emerged, such as the Confucian scholar Dongmen Jing in the Western Han Dynasty. This person was good at judging horses, and he presented the method of casting bronze horses to Emperor Wu of Han, which was named the Bronze Horse Method. Emperor Wu of Han ordered to erect a bronze horse outside Lu Ban Gate, and changed the name of Lu Ban Gate to Golden Horse Gate."

"In addition, there was Dongmen Yun, a Confucian scholar in the Han Dynasty, who studied Gongyang Chunqiu and taught it to the King of Langya. He had many followers."

"This bronze Dun was found in Tang County. We can speculate that Guifu fled to Qi State after learning about the changes in his country on his way back from his mission to Jin State. As the journey was long, it was reasonable for the envoys to carry some necessary daily necessities. This bronze Dun might be one of the daily necessities that Guifu liked and carried with him." (End of this chapter)