Rebellion of the Three Guards
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Was a civil war, instigated by an alliance of discontent Zhou princes, Shang loyalists, vassal states and other non-Zhou peoples against the Western Zhou government.
Chronology
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January 1041 BC: After the fall of the Shang dynasty, King Wu of Zhou had appointed his brothers Guanshu, Caishu and Huoshu as the "Three Guards" of the East to secure the newly conquered Shang lands. After his death and his young son King Cheng's coronation, King Wu's brother Dan, the Duke of Zhou, declared himself regent and took over the court. This aroused the anger of the Three Guards who suspected Dan of usurpation and thus seceded in the Eastern Territories.
January 1040 BC: Aided by the military strategists Lü Shang, the loyalists exterminated the Shang loyalists in the second year of the rebellion after hard fighting that saw the complete destruction of Yin and the death of Prince Wu Geng. The Three Guards' main force was also defeated, and Guanshu Xian and Huoshu Chu were captured, while Caishu Du fled into exile or was banished.
After crushing the rebellion of the three guards the Duke of Zhou conquered the regions of Feng and Pugu, that were allied with the rebels.
January 1040 BC: The Duke of Zhou campaigned against the eastern rebel allies that were located beyond the Zhou kingdom's borders. Shortly after the Three Guards' defeat, the loyalists advanced into Shandong, with Duke of Zhou personally commanding the conquest of Feng and Pugu.
January 1039 BC: In the war's third year, the Zhou royal army led by King Cheng and Duke of Zhou conducted a punitive expedition against the Huai peoples and thereupon attacked Yan again, finally defeating it.
