In the middle and late Warring States period, the Qi people fled to the west and surrendered to Qin. They led their troops on several expeditions and helped Qin capture more than 90 cities in Korea, Zhao and Wei. They went through four dynasties: King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Xiaow

In the middle and late period of the Warring States , the people of Qi Meng Ao went to the west Qin and led their troops on several expeditions to help Qin capture more than 90 cities in Han, Zhao and Wei. After King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King of Qin Xiaowen, King Qin Zhuangxiang, Qin Shi Huang four dynasties.

Meng Ao's son Meng Wu , his grandsons Meng Tian , Meng Yi , are all famous generals who shocked the past and the present, and won the trust of Qin Shihuang. Among them, Meng Tian was assigned 300,000 troops to guard the northern border. Meng Yi often traveled with Qin Shihuang in the same carriage. It can be said that the three generations of Meng family were all famous generals. They were an important help for Qin Shihuang to unify the six countries, and their achievements were no less than Wang Jian!

Therefore, the relationship between Qin State and Mengshi, Qin Shihuang and Meng Tian is roughly that of a wise king and a good general. They trust each other and are a perfect match. There is no special relationship.

However, with the continuous unearthing of Shang and Zhou underground documents, people discovered that the two ancestors of the Ying family and the Meng family, or Qin Shihuang and Meng Tian, ​​were not only very likely to know each other, but they might even have fought in the same trench. battle.

The Mongolian character in Oracle

According to literature records, the surname Meng originated from Laotong, a descendant of Zhuanxu. He was sealed in the city from Mengshan to Shuangba (Mengshuangcheng), and his descendants took this as their surname. Due to the lack of historical evidence, later generations are not sure whether this is the origin of the surname Meng. However, after the oracle bone inscriptions were unearthed, the documentary records were corroborated to a certain extent.

The word "Meng" in oracle bone inscriptions is the pictogram of a person's head being covered (see the picture below). The author believes that the word "Meng" may be related to the clouds and mists in Mt. Meng. Being in the mountains, it was obscured by the clouds and mists, thus the word "Meng" came into being.

Judging from the glyphs of the Mongolian characters, it makes sense that the surname Meng originated from Mengshan. The picture below shows a person's eyes covered by cloth, but in fact, looking at its shape, it looks more like being covered by clouds.

The Mongolian Kingdom and the Mongolian Houhu in the Oracles

Regarding the Mongolian Kingdom, there is not much mention in the official history, but the oracle bone inscriptions show that there was indeed a Mongolian Kingdom in the East during the Shang Dynasty, and it was a highly respected Shang Dynasty Attention princes!

Oracle Oracle :

Bingxu divination, Gen, Zhenmenghou Hu Qiyu.

The Zhenyu Xiang ordered the return of Marquis Bimeng.

Zhen Jinzai...Wang Bimenghou, the tiger is cutting down the turtle, and he is blessed.

Wuxu divination, Qi Zhen, the king said: "Hou Hu, do not return, imperial."

Today, Hou Hu from Meng attacked the Qiang side.

Today, we understand "Hou" as a title, but in fact, during the Shang Dynasty period, Hou was one of the most important foreign service official positions. It was directly entrusted by the Shang Dynasty and often participated in important wars. During the Wu Ding period, he even participated in In response to the war against the Qiang people in the west, the oracle bone inscriptions say, "Today, the tigers from the Menghou attack the Qiang side." The "Meng Houhu" on the oracle bone inscriptions represents the important status of the Mongolian country and its status is very prominent.

Meng surnames were very rare in the pre-Qin period, with only the legendary descendants of Zhuan Xu. After the establishment of in the Zhou Dynasty, there is no record of anyone being canonized in Mengdi, and there are no other Mongolian surnames. Therefore, the surname Meng and Meng Hou in the oracle bone inscriptions should be of the same origin as Meng Tian.

The Shang Dynasty divided the territory into five parts, namely Zhongshang (the territory directly under the Shang Dynasty), the Northern Territory, the Southern Territory, the Eastern Territory, and the Western Territory. Among them, the Mongolian Kingdom was in the Eastern Territory, and the general scope of the Eastern Territory was central and western Shandong , as well as eastern Henan, Anhui, and northern Jiangsu. So, where is the specific location of such a prominent Mongolian country?

Today, the specific location of the Mongolian capital has not been 100% confirmed, but it is basically considered to be in the "Greater Mongolian City".

"A Gathering of Place Names in Shangqiu Area·Shangqiu County" records: "Dameng City is the old Mengqiang Temple 18 kilometers north of today's Shangqiu County. To the east is Mengze, named after it. To the north is Binshui, where is Jizi Tomb. During the Warring States Period, Chu established Meng County."

The famous historian Ding Shan, after a series of researches, pointed out in his article "Explanation of Mongolia": "The former capital of the Mongols is the Mongolian City south of Binshui." In other words, the Mongolian Kingdom. The capital is located in today's Shangqiu Liang Park, Liang Guomeng County in the Western Han Dynasty .

Of course, some historians believe that the capital of the Mongolian Kingdom was Mengyin, Linyi, Shandong.

In short, the area where Mongolia is located is roughly the central and western Shandong or the eastern Henan area.

The people of Qin Origin from the West or the East

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the people of Qin were despised by other countries in the Central Plains. "Xizui", Wang Guowei pointed out in "Qin Du Yi Kao" that "the ancestors of the Qin people originated from Rong and Di".

In 2008, Tsinghua University received a batch of bamboo slips from the Warring States Period. There were 2,388 bamboo slips in total, which were later called "Tsinghua Slips." The third chapter of " series of years " reveals the mystery of the origin of the Qin people.

Tsinghua Bamboo Slips "Xinian": "Fei (Lian) fled east to the Shang Dynasty (Shang Yan) family. King Cheng attacked the Shang Dynasty, killed Fei (Lian), and moved the people of the Shang Dynasty westward to Zhu to control the slave army. , is the ancestor of Qin. "

After King Wu defeated Zhou, Fei Lian fled to Shang Am, preparing to "return to business". The capital of Shang Am was in Qufu, Shandong. After the death of King Wu, King Zhou's son Wu Geng revolted to restore the country. Many former Shang Dynasty princes in the east rebelled, so there was Duke Zhou's Eastern Expedition. In the end, King Cheng of Zhou destroyed Shang Am, killed Fei Lian, and forced some of the people of Shang Am to move westward. They were the ancestors of the Qin people.

According to historical records, in the Battle of Muye , Feilian's eldest son Erai died in the battle, and his descendants made contributions to the Zhou Dynasty and established the Qin State. As for Feilian's second son Ji Sheng, he made great contributions during the reign of King Mu of Zhou Dynasty and was sealed in Zhao City. Later, the three families were divided into Jin Dynasty and established Zhao Kingdom. In short, Qin and Zhao are truly brotherly countries, and Fei Lian is their common ancestor.

Therefore, the Feilian tribe, the ancestor of Qin Shihuang, lived roughly near Qufu, Shandong, and was a die-hard ally of the Shang Dynasty. What people didn't expect was that the descendants of Erai who died fighting for the Shang Dynasty would avenge themselves 800 years later, successfully destroying the Zhou Dynasty and unifying China.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that Mongolia and Shang Dynasty are not far apart. They are important ministers of the Shang Dynasty and should not be strangers to each other.

More importantly, scholars believe that the Mongolian kingdom still existed after King Wu conquered Zhou, but was destroyed during Bo Qin's Eastern Expedition. When Wu Geng raised troops to restore the country, a large number of Shang princes in the east responded with troops. King Zhou Cheng, Duke Zhou, and Boqin (son of Duke Zhou) led their troops to march eastward, annihilating Mongolia and Shang Yan, and killing Feilian. wait. Among them, Lu Kingdom was initially located in the Lushan area of ​​Henan. After destroying Mongolia and Shang Am, its territory expanded to Shandong. Later, Qufu, the capital of Shang Am, was designated as the capital of Lu.

It can be seen that during the Wu Geng Rebellion, both Meng Hou and Fei Lian raised troops to respond. However, during Zhou Gong's Eastern Expedition, the Mongolian Kingdom was destroyed and Fei Lian was killed. Therefore, it is really possible that the ancestors of Meng Tian and the ancestors of Qin Shihuang were fighting for the "rebellion". Zhou Fushang" and fought side by side.

Perhaps it was the reincarnation of fate. Eight hundred years later, the descendants of Marquis Meng and Fei Lian joined forces again. From this perspective, Qin Shihuang's reuse of Meng Tian and the Meng family seems to have reasons in family history.

Reference materials: "Mongolia in Oracle Bone Inscriptions", "Tsinghua Slips", etc.