Everyone knows that Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin were later known as the Seven Warring States.
Yet there was an eighth power during the Warring States period: the state of Zhongshan. Why did Zhongshan earn the title of the Eighth Warring State? At its height, its formidable military strength allowed it to expand its territory through conquest, ruling over a domain stretching five hundred li in each direction, with around thirty cities and a population nearing one million. According to the Strategies of the Warring States: “Zhongshan rose up in full force to confront Zhao and Yan. It fought Zhao in the south at Zhangzi and defeated them; in the north, it fought Yan at Zhongshan, routed its army, and killed its general. Zhongshan was a state with a thousand chariots, yet it fought two states with ten thousand chariots each, and won both battles.” This is an accurate portrait of Zhongshan at the time.
The Duke Wu Takes the Throne consists of fifty chapters, totaling nearly five hundred thousand words. Set against the history of the early Warring States period, from 434 to 414 BCE, the story opens with Duke You of Jin paying homage to his three powerful ministers. Gongzi Ji Ku, the only heir to the former state of Zhongshan, becomes a thorn in the side of Wei Qing, daughter of Marquis Wen of Wei, who later rules Zhongshan, after one of her maids gives birth to a son, Ji Sheng. Zhongshan’s acting chancellor, Di Huang, and the powerful minister Chi Zhangqiu send assassins after Ji Ku, but the attempt fails. Di Huang’s son, Di Jing, is instead killed by Ji Ku’s retainer, Le Shu. Zhongshan then sends troops to hunt down Ji Ku, while Duke Wen knows that his ministers have sent men to kill his own son but is powerless to stop them. Aided by loyal ministers and able generals, including the Eight Pillars of State, Gongzi Ji Ku, later Duke Wu of Zhongshan, steps onto the political stage of the Warring States period. His exploits include bringing the Three Jin states and Yue together to attack Qi, escorting Duke Huai of Qin back to his country, forming an alliance with the ruler of Yiqu, stirring up conflict between Qin and Wei over Hexi, helping Zhao Xianzi return to court, and putting down the treacherous chancellor Chi Zhangqiu.
