Chapter 19 18 Exiled son Chong'er

Gongzi Chong'er is the son of Duke Xian of Jin.When Duke Xian of Jin was old, he doted on a concubine, Li Ji, and wanted to make Li Ji's youngest son, Xi Qi, the crown prince, but killed the original crown prince, Shen Sheng.As soon as the prince died, the other two sons of Duke Xian, Chonger and Yiwu, felt that they were in danger, and fled to other vassal states for refuge. After Jin Xiangong died, civil strife broke out in the state of Jin.Later, Yiwu returned home to seize the throne, and also wanted to get rid of Chong'er, so Chong'er had to flee everywhere.Chong'er was regarded as a prestigious son in the state of Jin.Therefore, a group of talented ministers are willing to follow him.

Chong'er first lived in Di State for twelve years, and then fled to Wei State because he was found to be assassinated.Wei Guo saw that he was an unlucky young man and refused to receive him.They go all the way.When I walked to Wulu (now southeast of Puyang, Henan), I was really hungry, and I saw a few farmers eating by the field.Chong'er and the others got even more hungry, so they asked someone to ask them for something to eat. The farmers didn't bother to pay attention to them, and one of them made a joke with them and gave them a piece of mud.Chong'er became angry, and his men wanted to beat him up.One of the attendants named Hu Yan hurriedly stopped him, took the mud, and comforted Chong'er, saying: "Mud is land, and the people have sent us land. Isn't this a good sign?"

Chong Er had no choice but to take advantage of this and went down the steps, smiling wryly and walking forward. A group of people from Chong'er came to Qi State in exile.At that time, Duke Huan of Qi was still alive, and treated him very politely. He gave Chong'er many chariots, horses and houses, and married a girl from his own family to Chong'er. Chong Er thought it was good to stay in Qi State, but the people who followed wanted to return to Jin State. The entourage, carrying Chong'er on their backs, gathered in the mulberry forest to discuss returning home.Unexpectedly, there was a slave girl picking mulberry leaves in the mulberry forest. She overheard their words and told Chonger's wife, Jiang Shi.Jiang said to Chong'er: "I heard that you want to go back to Jin, that's great!"

Chong'er quickly defended himself, saying, "That's not the case." Jiang urged him to return to the country again and again, saying: "You are here for pleasure, and you will have no future." But Chong'er was always unwilling to leave.That night, Mrs. Jiang and Chong'er's entourage negotiated, got Chong'er drunk, put him in the car, and sent him out of Qi State. When Chong'er woke up, he was far away from Qi State. After that, Chong'er went to Song State again.Song Xianggong was ill, and his officials said to Hu Yan: "Song Xianggong thinks highly of your son. But we really don't have the strength to send troops to send him back."

Hu Yan said: "We all understand this, and we won't bother you any more." After leaving Song State, he went to Chu State again.King Cheng of Chu regarded Chong'er as a distinguished guest, and entertained him with the etiquette of entertaining princes.King Cheng of Chu treated Chong'er well, and Chong'er respected King Cheng very much.The two became friends in this way. Once, when King Cheng of Chu was entertaining Chonger, he said jokingly: "If you return to Jin, how will you repay me in the future?" Chong'er said: "Gold and silver are precious and state-owned. What should I give to repay the king's kindness?"

King Cheng of Chu smiled and said, "So, don't you want to repay me?" Chong'er said: "If I can return to the state of Jin thanks to your majesty, I am willing to make good friends with your country and let the people of the two countries live in peace. If there is a war between the two countries, when the two armies meet, I will definitely Retreat three houses." (In ancient times, when marching, every thirty miles was called a "house". "Retreating three houses" means retreating ninety miles automatically.) King Cheng of Chu didn't care about it, but he annoyed Cheng De, the general of Chu who was next to him. minister.After the banquet was over and Chong'er left, Cheng Dechen said to King Chu Cheng: "Chong'er speaks without measure, and he will be an ungrateful guy in the future. It's better to kill him as soon as possible, so as not to suffer from him in the future."

King Cheng of Chu disagreed with Cheng Dechen's opinion. It happened that Qin Mugong sent someone to pick up Chong'er, so he sent Chong'er to Qin State (the capital Yong, in the southeast of Fengxiang, Shaanxi today). It turns out that Qin Mugong once helped Chonger's half-brother Yiwu to become the king of Jin.Unexpectedly, after Yiwu became the king of Jin, he turned against Qin, and a war broke out.As soon as Yiwu died, his son was at odds with Qin.Qin Mugong decided to help Chong'er return home. In 636 BC, the Qin State escorted Chong'er's army across the Yellow River, and Chong'er, who had been in exile for 19 years, returned to China and ascended the throne.This is Duke Wen of Jin.