Shang Tang and Yi Yin

There is a tribe downstream of the Yellow River called Shang. Legend has it that the ancestor of the Shang, Qi (pronounced xiè), was a man of merit who ruled the floods with Yu during the Yao-Shun period. Later, the Shang tribe developed fast because of animal husbandry, and by the end of the Xia Dynasty, when Tang became the chief, it had become a powerful tribe.

The Xia Dynasty ruled for about four hundred years, and by the sixteenth century B.C., the last king of the Xia Dynasty, Xia Jie (pronounced jié), was on the throne. Xia Jie was a notorious tyrant, and he and the slave-owning nobles oppressed the people brutally, and suppressed the slaves even more heavily. Xia Jie also built a large number of palaces and lived a lavish life.

The minister Guan Long Pang (pronounced páng) advised Xia Jie that he would lose the hearts of the people if he went on like this. Xia Jie was furious and had Guan Longdang killed. The people hated Xia Jie so much that they cursed, "When will this sun die, we would rather die with you."

Shang Tang saw that Xia Jie was very corrupt and was determined to destroy the Xia dynasty. He outwardly obeyed Jie, but secretly kept expanding his power.

At that time, the tribal nobles were superstitious about ghosts and gods and regarded sacrificing to heaven and earth and ancestors as the most important thing. There was a tribe called Ge near the Shang tribe, and the leader of that tribe, Ge Bo, did not offer sacrifices on time. Tang sent a man to scold Ge Bo. Ge Bo replied, "We are poor here and have no animals for sacrifice."

Soup sent a batch of cattle and sheep to Ge Bo for sacrifice. Ge Bo killed the cattle and sheep and ate them, and did not sacrifice them. Tang sent another man to scold him, and Ge Bo said, "I have no grain, what will I sacrifice with?"

Tang also sent people to help Ge Bo plow the fields and sent some old and weak people to bring wine and rice to the plowers, but unexpectedly, halfway, Ge Bo took all the wine and rice away and killed a child who brought the rice.

When Ge Bo did this, it aroused public anger. When Tang seized this incident, he sent troops to destroy Ge Xian. Then, he captured several nearby tribes in succession. The power of Shang Tang grew gradually, but it did not attract the attention of the dim-witted Xia Jie. Among the accompanying slaves brought by Shang Tang's wife, there was one named Yi Yin (pronounced yǐn). According to legend, when Yi Yin first came to Shang Tang's house, he worked as a cook and served Shang Tang. Later, Shang Tang gradually found out that Yi Yin was different from other slaves, and after Shang Tang talked with him, he realized that he had the intention to come to Tang dressed as a dowry slave. Yi Yin talked a lot about ruling the country Tang, and Tang immediately promoted Yi Yin to be his assistant.

Shang Tang and Yi Yin discussed the matter of crushing Xia Jie. Yi Yin said, "Now that Xia Jie still has power, let's not go to the tribute first and test it to see how he is."

Shang Tang followed Yi Yin's plan and stopped paying tribute to Xia Jie. Xia Jie was furious and ordered the nine yi to send troops to attack Shang Tang. When Yi Yin saw that Yi was still obeying Xia Jie's command, he quickly apologized to Xia Jie and resumed paying tribute.

After a year, some of the nine Yi tribes could not stand the oppression and extortion of Xia Jie and gradually rebelled against Xia Jie, so Tang and Yi Yin decided to make a big attack.