Why Did Emperor Zhou Kill Jiang Ziya’s Descendants By Cruel Means?

With the help of Jiang Ziya, King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou established the Western Zhou Dynasty. King Wu of Zhou appointed Jiang Ziya as the king of the State of Qi. Jiang Ziya was not good at doing business, but he was very adept at governing the country. He adopted the policy of “keeping the country simple and courteous according to its customs, and opening the industry to commerce”, which laid a good foundation for the development of the State of Qi; As a result, with the unremitting efforts of the later emperors, by the time of the fifth monarch, Jiang Buchen, the State of Qi had become a big oriental country and stood out from the rest.

Of course, other vassal states are not idle, and they are struggling to become rich and powerful step by step. At the same time, the Zhou Dynasty, the old master of these vassal states, is slowly weakening. The strong and prosperous periods of King Wu, King Cheng and King Kang of Zhou no longer exist. Since the beginning of King Zhao of Zhou, they have been on the decline. By the time of King Mu and King Gong of Zhou, they have been surpassed by other vassal states.

By the time of the eighth generation of the King of Zhou Yi in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the national strength had declined, and naturally he was not popular with other vassals. Not only did he not come to court, but all the vassals also fought against each other to challenge the authority of the Son of Heaven, and even wanted to have the idea of the old master’s ancestors.
In particular, the State of Qi, who considered himself to be a powerful country and a descendant of Jiang Ziya, was once a revolutionary comrade in arms of his comrades, and did not set a good example. Now it wants to trample the Zhou Dynasty under its feet. It has been two years since it paid tribute to the Emperor of Zhou, so that other vassal states have learned from him. The King of Zhou Yi did not come to the ceremony of his accession, even the Kingdom of Shu thousands of miles away came to pay tribute, which made the King of Zhou Yi lose face, Prepare to make an example to Jiang Buchen.
Jiang Buchen, the king of the State of Qi, had a half brother, Jiang Jing, who had coveted the throne for a long time and wanted to replace it. So he enlisted Yang Hou, the king of Ji State, a neighboring country. The Ji State was also very strong under the governance of Yang Hou.
One day, Marquis Yang presented himself to King Yi of Zhou. In a small talk, Marquis Yang saw what King Yi was thinking. He took the opportunity to stir up the flames and said that Jiang Buchen was going to rebel. King Yi of Zhou also knew that Jiang Buchen had no such idea, but he could use Marquis Yang’s rumors to kill people.

Although the power of the Emperor of Zhou is great, it can not completely control these different kings, so that the relationship between the Emperor of Zhou and the princes is a little like brothers rather than princes. With the death of the older generation, the new generation of descendants inherited the family business of their ancestors. With the growing of the Young Zhuang Sect, these princes no longer accept the restrictions of the Emperor of Zhou, and conflicts broke out more and more frequently. After King Mu of Zhou, The princes didn’t take the emperor of Zhou seriously.
The king of Zhou Yi wanted to restore the majesty of the Son of Heaven through his efforts. Although the Zhou Dynasty has lost its former glory, after all, the thin camel is bigger than the horse. Only the dukes do not unite, the Zhou Dynasty has a chance of winning one-on-one.
In the third year of the reign of King Yi of Zhou, when King Yi of Zhou was ill, all the princes came to see him. Jiang Buchen, the king of Qi, was also very reluctant to come to see him. King Yi of Zhou hosted a banquet for all the princes. After they sat down, they greeted each other and talked happily. At this time, the guards under the court set up a big cauldron, poured water, lit firewood, and soon the water inside was boiling. When everyone was wondering, The king of Zhou Yi suddenly ordered Jiang Buchen, the king of the State of Qi, to be thrown into the boiling water and cooked him alive. All the princes present looked at each other in horror. Later, the Emperor of Zhou granted Jiang Jing the title of King of the State of Qi, namely, Duke Xian of Qi.