Chapter 20 Chapter 19

After Duke Huan of Qi came to the throne, he immediately united the big families represented by Guo and Gao and gained their support.Faced with the pressure of the army of the State of Lu, Duke Huan of Qi first sent a letter to Duke Zhuang of Lu, explaining that he had arrived in the country in advance, and now that the throne has been determined, if you help the prince to rectify, you are helping the rebellion, and so on.After talking about the big truth, the central meaning is to let Lu Zhuanggong go back to the country and stop fighting. Of course Duke Lu Zhuang would not agree, nonsense, he brought so many troops, did he come for an outing?So Duke Zhuang of Lu wrote back to the State of Qi, saying that he had made an appointment with the doctors of the State of Qi at the beginning of the year, and that he would send Prince Jiu back to the State of Qi to ascend the throne.Now that you have established Xiaobai, it is because you Qi people broke the contract first.If you want me to withdraw, there is no way!

Duke Huan of Qi asked Bao Shuya: "If Lu doesn't retreat, what should we do?" Bao Shuya said: "Fight, what else can we do?" So he organized the domestic army to fight back.Bao Shuya ordered the doctor Prince Chengfu and Ning Yue to lead the right army, Dong Guoya to lead the left army, Duke Huan of Qi and Bao Shuya to lead the central army in person, and sent five hundred chariots to Qianshi. When it was time to do it, the armies of both sides opened up their battles.Duke Huan of Qi said to his soldiers: "The state of Lu invaded our borders to help the rebellion. It is really deceiving people too much. I order the soldiers of the three armies to fight bravely and teach the people of Lu a lesson!" The state of Lu charged forward.Lu's army had been on the road for several days, and it was just when they were physically and mentally exhausted. Seeing Qi's army rushing forward, they were powerless to resist, and the formation quickly dispersed.

Duke Zhuang of Lu couldn't restrain the army, and saw that his army was about to collapse.At this time, some sharp-eyed soldiers of the state of Qi saw the banner of Marquis Lu, and fought hard to kill them.Qin Zi, a doctor of the State of Lu, knew that the big banner of Marquis of Lu was the cause of the trouble, so he hurriedly pulled down the flag and threw it on the ground.The doctor Liangzi next to him picked up the big flag again and put it on his chariot.Qin Zi asked him: "Are you crazy?" Liang Zi said: "I am here to lure the Qi army, you protect the monarch and run!" He ran, while he and Liang Zi hid in the small road holding the banner of Duke Zhuang of Lu.When the soldiers of Qi State saw the banner of Marquis Lu, they all rushed here to kill.Duke Zhuang of Lu took advantage of this time and ran back to the State of Lu.When the Qi army surrounded both Liang Zi and Qin Zi, Liang Zi announced loudly: "I am the doctor of the Lu State. Our monarch has long gone away, and you can't catch him!" Seeing that the general of the defeated army still looks like he has succeeded in his scheme and is proud of himself, he will not be angry at all.They rushed forward and captured both Liang Zi and Qin Zi.After the Qi State defeated the Lu army, it still felt that it was not enough, so it chased all the way and rushed to the territory of the Lu State.Duke Zhuang of Lu didn't dare to fight any more, so he sent someone to ask Qi for peace.

Bao Shuya replaced Duke Huan of Qi and wrote to Duke Zhuang of Lu, saying: "Young Master Jiu is my (referring to Duke Huan of Qi) brother, so you don't need to send it back to me. I don't want to get the bad name of killing my relatives. Let you do it and finish the job." Just ship your head to me. Gongzijiao’s teacher Zhaohu and Guan Zhong are enemies, so they must be handed over. Especially that Guan Zhong, who dared to shoot me with an arrow, I must cut him into pieces before releasing me. Hatred in my heart. Otherwise, we will attack your country of Lu." The envoy sent by Bao Shuya was Xi Peng, a doctor who is good at diplomacy.Before leaving, Bao Shuya told Xi Peng again and again: "Guan Zhong is a genius in the world, you must find a way to bring me back to Qi State. If Lu State uses this person, then our Qi State will not have a good life in the future." Xi Peng Naturally keep it in mind.

When he arrived in the state of Lu, Xi Peng took out the letter and showed it to Duke Zhuang of Lu.Duke Zhuang of Lu had just suffered a defeat, so he had no choice but to follow the request of the state of Qi, kill the son Jiu, imprison Zhao Hu and Guan Zhong, and prepare to be sent to the state of Qi. Zhao Hu felt that his political life was over now, and he would have to suffer from being useless after returning to China. It would be better to die clean, so he committed suicide.Guan Zhong wanted to die at first, but Xi Peng took advantage of the guards' inattention and quietly relayed Bao Shuya's words to Guan Zhong.When Guan Zhong heard that he still had a way out, he did not commit suicide.Xi Peng was still worried and watched Guan Zhong secretly every day.

The state of Lu handed over Prince Jiu's head and Guan Zhong to Xi Peng, and Xi Peng took them back home.However, the ministers of the state of Lu were not all fools. Shi Bo saw the horror of Guan Zhong, so he strongly urged Duke Zhuang of Lu not to let Guan Zhong go back to the country.Lord Zhuang of Lu was moved by Shi Bo's words, so he sent troops to pursue Guan Zhong, Xi Peng and his party. Xi Peng escorted Guan Zhong's prison cart, not daring to delay on the road, and hurriedly marched all the way to Qi State.But Lu's army was also chasing quickly, and it seemed that they were about to catch up.But at this time, Xi Peng's soldiers were too tired to walk because of the rapid march overnight.Xi Peng was so anxious that there was nothing he could do.

Guan Zhong in the prison car had a good idea.Now he made up a few lines of lyrics and sang them.When the soldiers of Qi State heard the song was catchy, they all sang along.In fact, this song is not too complicated. It is probably just a labor chant, like "Comrades, work harder!" or something like that.However, when a person is tired, being stimulated by singing can really easily stimulate the potential of the body.The fatigue of the soldiers of Qi State was swept away by the singing.Xi Peng led Guan Zhong, walking like flying amidst the singing, and soon crossed the Qilu border. As soon as Guan Zhong arrived in Qi State, Bao Shuya released him and recommended Guan Zhong to Duke Huan of Qi.

Guan Zhong, named Yiwu and courtesy name Zhong, was a very talented statesman.We know that Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms period was a popular idol. Many people worshiped him as the god of wisdom, and he was a role model for countless politicians.And Zhuge Liang's own idol is this Guan Zhong. Bao Shuya and Guan Zhong are good friends. It is said that they have done many things together.The two used to do business together. Every time they made money, Guan Zhong would take half more than Bao Shuya. If they lost money, Bao Shuya would bear it alone.Others couldn't stand it, so they told Bao Shuya, that Guan Zhong is too worthless, and he took you for a fool.Bao Shuya said, Guan Zhong doesn't care about the little money, but his family is poor and he has an old mother to take care of, so I let him take half more every time.

The two of them had been traitors for several years, quit this business, and joined the army to fight again.Every time Guan Zhong charged, he was the last one, and when he was defeated he was the first to escape.Many people laughed at Guan Zhong for being cowardly, but Bao Shuya said: "Guan Zhong has an old mother who needs to be taken care of, so he has to protect himself. Do you think he is really cowardly?" Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya have a good relationship, and they discuss everything they do.Guan Zhong's forecasting ability is also very good. Every time he says that this investment project is good and it will definitely make money, the final result will definitely be a loss.When encountering something, if Guan Zhong said that he should go east, then he must go west.For a long time, people laughed at Guan Zhong, but Bao Shuya said: "It is not Guan Zhong's forte to deal with these small things. He is a person who can do big things. When he becomes a state minister in the future, he will be able to govern the country without any mistakes."

With such a good friend, what regrets does Guan Zhong have?Long live understanding!So Guan Zhongfeng said to everyone: "The people who gave birth to me are my parents, but the people who understand me are Bao Shuya." If you want to make friends, you have to make friends like Bao Shuya, show loyalty!But on the other hand, Guan Zhong is really not a good business partner, let alone a good soldier.Everyone has parents and family members, but if a war breaks out and everyone uses this as an excuse to run back, can this army have combat effectiveness? However, the story of Guan Zhong has also given important inspiration to many commanders. In order to maximize the combat effectiveness of the army, they often find ways to solve the worries of the soldiers before the battle, and settle the soldiers' families so that the soldiers can never turn back. fought bravely.An army in which everyone is Guan Zhong is bound to be defeated.But if the worries of the soldiers are solved, the combat effectiveness of this army will be terrible, especially in the era of cold weapons.

Now Bao Shuya has become Duke Huan's assistant minister, while Guan Zhong is a prisoner.Bao Shuya still did not forget to help this good friend.He went to Duke Huan of Qi to recommend Guan Zhong. After Duke Huan of Qi succeeded to the throne, he tied up a little grass man in Guan Zhong's appearance, wrote Guan Zhong's name on it, and shot it with a bow and arrow every day.This time I heard, what's the matter, Guan Zhong was arrested and brought back, well, I just happened to be able to take revenge myself.This guy almost shot me to death with an arrow. If it weren't for my fate, I would have reported to Xianjun by now.Duke Huan of Qi gritted his teeth, wishing to cut Guan Zhong into pieces to relieve his anger. Bao Shuya said no, as the king of a country, you must be tolerant.Guan Zhong is a man who has the talents of the world, and whoever uses him will be able to stand out among the princes.You can't kill him. Instead, you should entrust him with important tasks and entrust the state affairs to him. Duke Huan of Qi was not convinced: "I can't live without him, Guan Zhong? With you and Gao Xi in charge of state affairs, master, are you afraid that the state of Qi will not be well governed?" Bao Shuya said earnestly: "If you just want to be the king of Qi, Gao Xi and I are enough to assist you. But if you want to achieve great things and dominate the Central Plains, you must use Guan Zhong. A country becomes a powerful country in the world, you must not miss this opportunity." Duke Huan of Qi was an ambitious and general monarch, and his eyes lit up when he heard the words "dominate the Central Plains".In the end, he put the overall situation first, suppressed his anger, gave up his personal grievances, and agreed to reuse Guan Zhong. The idiom "one shot at revenge" comes from this story.Ordinarily, the inspiration of this story should be to let go of past grievances and ignore old grievances in order to achieve great things.But when you use it, it becomes synonymous with hatred.We often hear people say: "I must avenge this arrow!" This really violates the original intention of "an arrow of revenge". So Bao Shuya arranged for Guan Zhong to meet Duke Huan of Qi, and Duke Huan of Qi appointed Guan Zhong as a doctor to discuss political affairs with Guan Zhong.Duke Huan of Qi had just ascended the throne, and his blood was young, which was the age when his head was prone to fever.He very much hoped that Guan Zhong could give him some inspiring suggestions, preferably to dominate the princes tomorrow.But Guan Zhong knew that if a country wants to become strong, there is no shortcut. It can only rely on unremitting efforts from top to bottom, accumulate strength bit by bit, and finally surpass the princes.Guan Zhong explained these truths to Duke Huan of Qi, but Duke Huan of Qi was very unwilling to listen. The impetuous Duke Huan of Qi wanted to do the most, to gain the recognition of the princes of the world by showing off his military power.He said to Guan Zhong: "I want to attack the State of Lu in retaliation for the war they attacked our country. They have just lost to our country and must be very afraid of us. I think if I can make the State of Lu surrender, then my dream of dominating the Central Plains will be fulfilled." It will happen soon.” Guan Zhong said: "You have just ascended the throne, the people in the country are unstable, and our civil strife has just subsided. It is really inappropriate to send troops to fight at this time." Duke Huan of Qi said helplessly: "If you want to fight, then forget it. If you were asked to command this campaign, you have no choice but to appoint Bao Shuya." Guan Zhong knew that Duke Huan of Qi did not fully trust him, and his current position was rather delicate.So I stopped admonishing Duke Huan of Qi, and it was useless anyway.So Duke Huan of Qi appointed Bao Shuya as a general, and led an army to attack the State of Lu.In the spring of 684 BC, he invaded the territory of Lu State.When Duke Zhuang of Lu saw that the Qi army was coming again, he hurriedly deployed his troops to fight.But his soldiers had just suffered a defeat in Qi State, and now their morale is low. It seems that this battle is difficult to fight.When Duke Zhuang of Lu was worried, a man who claimed to be able to defeat the army of Qi State came to see Duke Zhuang Lu.This gave Lu Zhuanggong a glimmer of hope.Who is this man?