Alfred the Great his craving for what he desired the most, namely the liberal arts; for, as he used to say, there were no good scholars in the entire kingdom of the West Saxons at that time". In 868, Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini. The Gaini were probably one of the tribal groups of the Mercians. Ealhswith's mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family. They had five or six children together including: Edward the Elder who succeeded his father as king; Æthelflæd who became Lady (ruler) of the Mercians in her
King Gong of Chu nephew Jia'ao and usurp the throne. King Gong had at least five sons, four of whom became king. When King Gong died in 560 BC, he was succeeded by his eldest son King Kang of Chu, who died in 545 BC after 15 years of reign and was succeeded by his son Xiong Yuan (posthumous title Jia'ao). Four years later King Gong's second son Prince Wei murdered Jia'ao and his two sons when he was ill, and usurped the throne. Prince Wei was later given the pejorative posthumous title King Ling of Chu. In 529 BC when King Ling was