Chapter 5538 Slaves serve as ministers through the ages
The ancestor smiled slightly, nodded and said: "That's right. The silk and cloth of the Xia Dynasty were the main tribute at that time. Because at that time, there were mostly nomadic tribes and princes in the world, and there were very few people who knew how to farm, so the food tribute collected was mainly from cattle.
sheep and horses, and
Cloth and silk have always been the main tax for the eastern tribes. The task of collecting cloth, silk and silk fell on the Youmin family. They originally thought they had picked up a good job, but it turned out that because of Shi Meixi, they were unable to make ends meet.
A heavy burden."
"In the first few years, the Youmin family still reluctantly raised taxes to meet Xia Jie's needs. They expected that this would last for a few years and that Shi Meixi would be able to live a good life after she stopped making troubles. Unexpectedly, it continued
For about ten years, cloth and silk were collected in this way, and even more and more were collected year by year. Finally, the Youmin family couldn't bear it anymore, so they stopped paying the tax. The Shang tribe at that time also followed suit and refused to pay the tax.
Taxes.”
The black robe sneered and said: "It's been a long time since I mentioned the Shang tribe. Have they been waiting and watching and accumulating strength over the years? I guess this Eastern thing has something to do with them."
The ancestor said calmly: "Let's split the story into two parts. Let's talk about the Shang tribe first. Since Cheng Tang took over the Shang tribe, he also took advantage of Xia Jie's conquests from all directions. He had no time to take into account the opportunities of the Shang tribe in the Central Plains, and began to take advantage of the Shang tribe.
trade expertise, a large number of people came from the north, especially nomadic
The Hu people introduced a large number of cattle, sheep and horses, especially chariots, through caravan trade. They saw the power of the Xia Dynasty's chariots to sweep across all directions, so they followed suit and wanted to build a powerful war machine.
At this time, Chengtang invited his famous deputy, who was also the prime minister Yi Yin."
"This Yi Yin was born a slave. His mother was a female slave who raised silkworms and weaved cloth in the Youxin tribe. It is said that one day, she received an oracle in her dream and told her to see the rice vat.
Izuku wanted to escape. At that time, she had just given birth to Yi Yin and thought it was an illusion. However, within two days, the real rice vat appeared.
When the water came out, she hugged Yi Yin and fled out of the village. But halfway there, she couldn't bear the villagers, so she turned back to the village and shouted for everyone to escape. The whole village, including the slave owners, fled to the highlands.
Just when everyone was standing still, the dam broke and the Yishui flooded the entire village. It was this slave girl who saved everyone."
"But because she was the last one, she was swept away by the water. When she was in danger, she put Xiao Yiyin in the rice vat. The rice vat rushed to the high ground, and Xiao Yiyin escaped with his life. Everyone
Everyone believed that the slave girl was killed by the gods because she leaked the secret, but the gods
Xiao Yiyin was spared life as a reward for the slave girl saving the whole village. So the slave owner took the whole village and dedicated Xiao Yiyin to the king of Youshen State. While explaining her mother's righteous deeds,
, also said that this child is protected by the gods and will definitely become a great person in the future."
"This kind of luck was very common in ancient times. King You Shen also took this child in and asked his royal chef to raise him. At the same time, he sent nobles to teach the child culture. Therefore, although Yi Yin was a slave,
But he received an aristocratic education since he was a child, and because of his extraordinary talent, he became famous even when he was young.
He traveled all over the world and even became the teacher of the noble children of Yousin State. Chengtang heard about Yi Yin's reputation as a virtuous man, and invited him to serve as an official in Shang State with heavy betrothal gifts several times. He also gave many gifts to Yousin State.
The goods were used to redeem people. Finally, Yi Yin felt Cheng Tang's sincerity, so he went to the Shang Kingdom and took up the post of Yin, that is, the prime minister."
The black robe said in a deep voice: "The Shang tribe is very ambitious. At this time, it has become a big country in the East. It has invited such a talented Yi Yin as the prime minister. It is obvious that the intention of usurping the throne of Yi Ding is obvious. Could it be that the Xia Dynasty monarchs and ministers just looked at it?
Isn't it less than this? Instead of suppressing the truly ambitious Shang Kingdom, you are going to attack other tribes all day long looking for trouble?"
The ancestor smiled slightly and said: "Because the Shang State, or the Shang tribe, has not actively launched wars with other countries for a long time, nor has it attacked each other with other princes, and the tribute has always been paid on time and in sufficient amount.
For Xia Jie, there was no reason or excuse to attack the Shang tribe. It was not until Cheng Tang fought against the Shi tribe that he could not restrain his impulse for a while. He did not listen to Yi Yin's advice and took the initiative to attack the surrounding princes.
A war was launched."
The black robe frowned: "Why do you want to take the initiative to start a war? Isn't Xia Jie powerful? He has just taught a lesson to the Shi tribe. How dare Cheng Tang take the initiative to provoke the Xia Dynasty?"
The ancestor said calmly: "At this time, the Shang Dynasty's capital was located in the Jianghuai area. The Dongyi tribe near Huainan and Huaibei was far from Xunxun, the heartland of the Xia Dynasty at this time. This Xunxun came from Da
The core tribes of the Xia Dynasty have been loyal to the Xia Dynasty since the Yu era. In the last years of the Xia Dynasty, the land of Zhenxun was also the capital of the Xia Dynasty, but the Xia Dynasty
After Jie conquered the Shi tribe, Shi Meixi said that the water and soil in the Central Plains were not suitable for her, and because of the floods in the Yellow River, she had to move frequently. She was worried all day long and disliked the old capital of Zhenxun. So Xia Jie moved the capital to
A new capital was established in the Anyi area of Bingzhou. The large-scale construction and palace building I mentioned before were also completed in the new capital Anyi."
"As a result, the capital of the Xia Dynasty moved north to the land of Bingzhou. The distance to the Central Plains and the land of Qingzhou was much further. The Shang tribe was also far away from the center of power of the Xia Dynasty and began to make changes.
Originally, when Yi Yin first came, although he and Chengtang analyzed the general trend of the world in detail, saying that Xia Jie was cruel and warlike, extorted excessive taxes, indulged in wine and sex, and lost the hearts of the world, Chengtang should mourn him.
The people's attack on crimes was replaced by the right to attack the unjust. However, Yi Yin also said that although Xia Jie was unjust, the Xia Dynasty had been established for more than 400 years. In the hearts of the princes, he was still the common ruler of the world. Moreover, his army was strong and he was still the leader of the world.
The Nine Barbarians can be dispatched with the Hu people and Di as the backbone and the Eastern Barbarians from Qilu as the main force. Their power is extraordinary. It is not yet the time to destroy Xia, so we need to cultivate virtue internally and wait for the opportunity externally."
"But Chengtang was impatient after all. He saw Xia Jie taking the snatched Shi Meixi and the captured slaves from various places, and moved the capital to Bingzhou. The Central Plains left a vacuum zone, and the remaining Xia Dynasty survivors had to bear the responsibilities
Heavy taxes and labor, and complaints abounded. In Xia Jie claimed that he
Although he was the sun god, these people and slaves of the Xia Dynasty tribe cursed the sun every day and were willing to perish with it. So Chengtang thought that the time had come, and despite Yi Yin's dissuasion, he began to attack the neighboring Ge country.