In 744 BC, Zheng Wugong died.

On the occasion of his death, Zheng Wugong held the hand of the crown prince and said: "You have to remember: whatever is beneficial to Zheng Guo is a ceremony; Otherwise, it is indecent. The royal family has declined, the world will be in chaos, Qi and Chu are about to rise, you should work harder!

"Zheng must maintain a long-term alliance with Qi, and he must guard against Jin. The east of the river and the area of Hanoi are mixed, the people are fierce, and the country is dangerous and multi-horse. Once Quwo destroys Ji and unifies the Jin Kingdom, the surrounding small countries will be vulnerable; At that time, the mountains and rivers in the Jin Kingdom will be hegemonic.

"Zheng State is located in the throat of the Central Plains, sandwiched between the three great powers of Qi, Chu and Jin, and will inevitably become the target of competition among the great powers, and Zheng Guo will have no peace. You will inherit the widow and become the secretary of the dynasty, and you will have great power, and you must spare no effort to obstruct the unification of the Jin Kingdom. ”

Duke Zheng Wu died immediately, and the crown prince Kou Sheng ascended the throne as Duke Zheng Zhuang. That year, Zheng Zhuang Gong was thirteen years old, and Gongzi Duan was ten years old. In the early days of Zhuang Gong's reign, the power of the state was actually controlled by the prince Lu Hezu; But Wu Jiang's power is also very strong - in addition to the domestic henchmen, there are also the forces of Shen Guo and Western Zhou who secretly support her.

The relationship between the Zhuang Gong faction and the Wu Jiang faction is complex and delicate, the two are the monarchs and ministers in the country, and the children and mothers in the family. But Wu Jiang never deliberately concealed his arrogance and disgust for Zhuang Gong, and it was precisely because that emotion should not arise between mother and son that Zheng Cai felt very puzzled and worried.

Wu Jiang behaved very tactfully in handling the relationship with Gongzi Lu, while Gongzi Lu reciprocated with a respectful attitude. Gongzi Lu just hopes that Zhuang Gong will grow up quickly, and he will solve this big problem of mixing state and family affairs by himself.

The young Earl of Gilleson was a moody man, and no one could glimpse his inner world through his facial expressions; In terms of intelligence and intrigue, he inherited more of his maternal genes. This young man with the highest status in Zheng Guo had to disguise himself deeply and pretend to be harmless.

Zheng Zhuanggong showed unconditional obedience to his own mother, who was even more vicious than his stepmother, and was always gentle and polite to his ambitious brother, and exchanged a humiliating posture for the traitor's later chance to take his own life.

A few years later, Wu Jiang summoned Zhuang Gong and said, "Uncle Duan has grown up day by day, and he should have his own fiefdom." The terrain of Zheng is flat, and there is almost no danger to defend, only the system is a natural pass, guarding the western gate of the country. This place must be guarded by those closest to you; Looking at the whole country, who better to choose than your brother? That's why my mother wants you to give the edict to Shu Duan. ”

It is not only Zheng Guo's natural danger, but also the throat road connecting the East and West of the Central Plains, the reason why Wu Jiang did this is just to create a Zheng Guo's version of Uncle Qu Wohuan.

However, Zheng Zhuanggong was also very familiar with the history of the Jin Kingdom (which will be described later in this book), and this person, who had always been submissive to his mother, actually rejected her in an indisputable tone: "The system is the fortress of the Zheng State, and the first monarch has an order: 'The system is under the direct jurisdiction of the office, and it is not allowed to divide others. 'Kou Sheng did not dare to disobey his orders, and other cities and towns obeyed his orders. ”

Wu Jiang had no choice but to retreat and ask for the capital for Taishu Duan (perhaps the request for the city was just a trick played by Wu Jiang, and the capital was the real goal). Zheng Zhuanggong did not dare to refuse his mother twice in a row, and since his mother had already made "concessions", he had to make concessions, and as a result, he gave the title to Shu Duan.

"Jing" is an important town of Zhengguo, located between Xinzheng and Zhiyi, and controlling Beijing can cut off the connection between Xinzheng and Zhiyi, so that Zhiyi has become an "enclave" of Xinzheng. Therefore, Zheng Zhuanggong looked back and thought about it carefully, and the harm of giving Jing Feng to Shu Duan was probably even greater.

The reason why Kyo is called "Castle" is because it has the Jongmyo of the former monarch (if there is no Jongmyo Temple, it is called "Eup"). Gongzi Duan, who was sealed to the capital, immediately had another good name - Uncle Tai of the capital, and there are still two works touting him in the "Book of Songs", one is called "Uncle Yutian", and the other is called "Uncle Yutian". The content of the poem is not to praise Uncle Tai's love for field work, but to depict his sassy and heroic posture in field hunting activities.

At the instigation of Wu Jiang, the spoiled uncle kept doing things that usurped the monarchy.

Uncle Tai first expanded the establishment of the capital, so that the urban area of Beijing exceeded that of Xinzheng. The capital seems to have become Zheng Guo's Quwo, but Zheng Zhuanggong seems to disagree with this.

Saizu said to Zheng Zhuanggong: "If the length of the city's walls exceeds 100 zhang, it is a disaster to the country. The first kings had regulations: most of them did not exceed one-third of the national capital, one-fifth of the middle capital, and one-ninth of the small capital. Now that the scale of the capital has surpassed Xinzheng, the country will be unbearable, you must plan early! ”

Zheng Zhuanggong said slowly: "These are all done by the Jiang family, what can the widow do with her?" ”

"The Jiang family is insatiable, and he doesn't want to make Uncle Duan the king, and he vows not to give up if he doesn't usurp the throne." It is better for you to plan ahead of time, so as not to allow the calamity to breed and spread. The vines and weeds cannot be completely eliminated, let alone the disaster brought by the favored brother? ”

Zheng Zhuanggong still had that unhurried expression, and the teenage young monarch went on to say a famous aphorism that has been passed down through the ages: "If you do too much injustice, you will kill yourself." Just wait and see! ”

If it weren't for Wu Jiang's doting and instigation, Uncle Duan might have become a generation of good ministers, although he would not be as famous as he was later, but the end would not be as tragic as later, leaving so many words for future generations.

Uncle Duan's ambitions grew over time, and his mother's protection, Zhuang Gong's indulgence (or helplessness), and the helplessness of the doctors all made him mistakenly believe that he could do whatever he wanted, and would not pay for his crimes.

Taishu Duan then stretched out his hand to the west and north of the capital (suburbs). The land there belonged to the public office, but he stole the taxes of both places, and used the looted wealth and population to make weapons and equipment in large quantities.

Gongzi Lu couldn't sit still, he went to see Zheng Zhuang Gong angrily: "The country is unbearable to the two monarchs, and there will be chaos if there are two monarchs." What are your plans now? If he gives way to his uncle, the minister will serve him; If you don't let him, please get rid of him! Don't make your countrymen feel bad! ”

Zhuang Gong still maintained an angry and leisurely look: "Uncle, don't be nervous. Uncle Tai is going to bring disaster upon himself. ”

Seeing that Zheng Zhuanggong was still indifferent, Taishu Duan simply collected the taxes from the land from Liyan (now south of Qi County, Henan) to the capital, so that the land in the northern part of Zheng Guo was controlled by Taishu.

Gongzi Lu went to see Zheng Zhuang again: "It's time to get rid of him, his strength is getting stronger and stronger!" ”

Zhuang Gong smiled slightly: "There is no faith, no one is attached, even if it is thick, it will collapse!" ”

Although Zheng Guo still appears to be in a peaceful and peaceful state on the surface, the clouds of civil war are rolling and piling up. Everyone is choked by the danger that will happen, but they don't know when or where it will happen.

Uncle Tai needs to support his own forces and arm his own thugs, so he will inevitably have to go crazy to encroach on the interests of others. Since his rule in the northern part of Zheng was illegitimate, the methods he employed were all the more brutal. People who were persecuted by him and lost their relatives or property flocked to Xinzheng; Zhuang Gong took good care of the exiles, gave them land, and helped them rebuild their homes; In this way, Zheng Zhuanggong has an absolute advantage in terms of popularity.