Zhao Haoqi's Southern Expedition refers to the counter-insurgency conquest launched by King Zhao of Zhou in Hufang, Jingchu and Yangyue in the middle of the Zhou Dynasty, and the continuous expansion of China's territory to the south. It is recorded in the literature and verified in the bronze inscription. Zeng Guo, Deng Guo, E Guo and other central and southern Zhou governors sent troops to the vast area south of Jianghan.
In the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the tribes of Hufang, Chuman and Yangyue in the south of Jianghan began to rebel. In 980 BC (16th year), in a rage, the Emperor of Zhou took Zeng, Deng and Hubei vassal states as pioneers, led an army and crossed the Han River, and achieved a series of results. From the 16th year of Zhao Haoqi, he led troops to conquer Hufang, Jingchu and Hubei in the south.
In the 19th year of King Zhao of Zhou, Zhao Haoqi personally led the 6th Division south for the third time. At that time, 26 nationalities from Nanyi (a country in the Hanshui River Basin) and Dongyi (a country in the Huaishui River Basin) came to the court. King Zhao of Zhou conquered the south and won. When he returned to China in triumph and crossed the Hanshui River, he carried a large number of seized bronzes, which caused the bridge to collapse, fell into the water and died on the bank of the Hanshui River.
Background:
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, because the tribes such as Hu Fang, Chu Man, Yangyue, etc. kept the suzerain-vassal relationship with the Zhou Dynasty carefully, the surrounding areas of the two lakes in central and southern China were relatively calm.
By the time of King Zhao of Zhou Dynasty (reigned from 995 BC to 977 BC), southern barbarians such as Hu Fang, Chu Man and Yang Yue rebelled in succession, and the Zhou Dynasty began to sweep across the Central and Southern Lakes. Full-fledged tribes such as Hu Fang, Truman and Yangyue began to be restless in the southern part of the vast Jianghan Plain, adjacent to copper-producing areas such as Hubei and Zengguodong, with superior natural production conditions and rich mineral resources.
At the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the Southern Copper Road, which was opened in Shang Dynasty, was protected by many vassal states in Hanyang, such as Zeng State, Yun State and Guo State, so that copper materials were continuously transported to the royal handicraft base.
Powerful tribes such as Hufang, Chu Man and Yangyue are bound to compete with the vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty for copper, which can be confirmed by the inscription of the King of Chu awarded to the State of Jin by Zhou Xuanwang later.
The inscription of the anti-clock unearthed from the cemetery of the Jin State in Shanxi Province contains a collection of "more capture, 90,000 Jin of red gold in hometown", and the defeated pair presented "90,000 Jin of red gold", about 2.7 million Jin. The rebellion of the Na 'nan tribes, such as Hu Fang, Chu Man and Yangyue, posed a great threat to the strategic material sources of the Zhou royal family, which coincided with the heyday of national strength. King Zhao of Zhou wants to "learn French, make great achievements in martial arts and make a name for himself".
At the same time, in order to inherit the prosperity of Cheng Kang, King Zhao of Zhou constantly expanded the territory of Zhou Dynasty, and at the same time seized the rich copper resources and other non-ferrous metals in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which was bound to give a firm blow to the tribes such as Hu Fang, Chu Man and Yangyue who violated the rights and interests of the southern vassal States. From the 16th year of Zhao Haoqi, he led the army to conquer the southern tribes such as Hu Fang, Chu Man and Yangyue.
affect
Wang Zhaonan's "no return" was a blow to the southern countries of the Zhou Dynasty. From then on, when he arrived, Zhou people conquered the area south of Hanshui on a large scale (see Fang Shu's Attack on Chu). In successive generations of foreign wars, the Zhou Dynasty deployed certain financial resources and troops. It is in this situation that the tribes such as Hufang, Chuman and Yangyue were quickly pacified, and the strength of Zeng State, an important town in the south-central part of the Zhou Dynasty, was greatly enhanced.
The final outcome of this war was that the Zhou army put down the rebellion of Hu Fang, Truman and Yangyue tribes, but King Zhao of Zhou drowned because of the collapse of the bridge, which was the most serious setback since the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the national prestige was also affected. After Zhao Haoqi's death, Zhou Bing kept his funeral a secret because he was on his way to the team.
On the one hand, they are afraid of shaking their morale, on the other hand, they are afraid that other tribes in Hubei and Yangyue will take advantage of the funeral to attack. Hundreds of years later, from the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu gradually developed into one of the five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period, replacing the original position of the southern land as Zeng Guo, ranking high in the south and winning the title of Zhou Jiang.
King Mu and his courtiers, who acceded to the throne after learning from experience and lessons, not only shifted the focus of Zhou-centered military defense system from the northern line to the southern line, but also focused on training the whole army and strengthening friendly exchanges with neighboring nationalities, thus alleviating the pressure from the frontier to some extent.