Chapter 21 20 strings Gao Zhi retreats from the Qin army

Duke Wen of Jin defeated the state of Chu and joined the feudal lords. Even the kings of Chen, Cai, and Zheng, who had always been attached to Chu, also came.Although Zheng State made an alliance with Jin State, but because of fear of Chu State, secretly formed an alliance with Chu State. Knowing this, Jin Wengong planned to join the princes again to conquer Zheng Guo.The ministers said: "We have met the princes several times. Our own soldiers and horses are enough to deal with Zheng Guo, why bother him?" Jin Wengong said: "That's fine, but Qin Guo agreed with us to send troops together if there is something to do, so we have to invite him."

Qin Mugong wanted to expand his power eastward, so he personally brought troops to the state of Zheng.The soldiers and horses of the state of Jin are stationed in the west, and the soldiers of the state of Qin are stationed in the east.The momentum is very large.The king of the state of Zheng panicked and sent Zhu Zhiwu, an eloquent man, to persuade Duke Mu of Qin to retreat. Zhu Zhiwu said to Duke Mu of Qin: "Qin and Jin attacked Zheng Guo together, and Zheng Guo will surely perish. But Zheng Guo and Qin are far apart. Once Zheng Guo falls, all the land will belong to Jin State, and Jin State will become more powerful. It destroys the state of Zheng in the east today, and it may invade the state of Qin in the west tomorrow. What good will it do you? Besides, if the state of Qin makes peace with us, if you have any envoys in the future, we can pass through the state of Zheng. It won't do you any harm to be a host to host an envoy. You see."

Considering his own interests, Qin Mugong agreed to make peace with Zheng Guo alone, and sent three generals with 2,000 troops to guard the north gate for Zheng Guo, and led the rest of the troops back home. When the Jin people saw Qin Jun leaving, they were very angry.Some advocated chasing and fighting for a while, while others said to wipe out the 2,000 Qin soldiers left outside the north gate. Jin Wengong said: "If I don't have the help of Qin Jun, how can I go back to the country?" He did not agree to attack the Qin army, but tried to draw Zheng Guo to the side of Jin, signed an alliance, and withdrew his troops back.

The three Qin generals who stayed in the state of Zheng heard that the state of Zheng had defected to the state of Jin. They were so angry that they blew their beards and stared at their eyes.Qin Mugong was very unhappy when he got the news, but he didn't want to break face with Jin Wengong, so he had to bear it for the time being. Two years later, in 628 BC, Duke Wen of Jin died of illness, and his son Duke Xiang came to the throne.Someone once again persuaded Qin Mugong to attack Zheng Guo.They said: "Chong'er, the king of Jin, has just died, and the funeral has not yet been held. Take this opportunity to attack Zheng, and Jin will never intervene."

The general who stayed in Zheng Guo also sent a letter to Qin Mugong saying: "The defense of the north gate of Zheng Guo is in our hands. If we secretly send troops to attack, we will succeed in keeping it." Qin Mugong called the ministers to discuss how to attack Zheng Guo.Two experienced veterans, Jian Shu (Jian Yin jian) and Baili Xi, both opposed it.Uncle Jian said, "We are exhausted in mobilizing our army to attack such a distant country. The opponent has already prepared, so how can we win? Besides, the marching route is so long, who can we deceive?" Duke Mu of Qin refused to listen, and sent Meng Ming, the son of Bailixi, as the general, Xiqishu, the two sons of Uncle Jian, and Bai Yibing as the deputy generals, leading three hundred chariots to secretly attack the state of Zheng.

In February of the second year, Qin's army entered the territory of Hua (in today's Henan Province).Suddenly someone blocked the way, saying that it was an envoy sent by the state of Zheng, begging to see the general of the state of Qin. Meng Mingshi was taken aback, and personally met the man who claimed to be an envoy, and asked him what he was doing here. The "envoy" said: "My name is Xian Gao. When our monarch heard that the three generals were coming to Zheng State, he specially sent me a small gift to comfort your soldiers and show our heart." Then, he Offer four pieces of cooked cowhide and twelve fattened oxen.

Meng Mingshi originally planned to launch a surprise attack when Zheng Guo was unprepared.Now Zheng Guo's envoys have come all the way to reward the army, which shows that Zheng Guo has already prepared, and a sneak attack is impossible. He accepted the gift Xian Gao gave them, and said to Xian Gao: "We are not going to your country, why do you bother so much. You can go back." After Xian Gao left, Meng Mingshi said to his generals: "Zheng Guo has prepared, and there is no hope of success in the sneak attack. Let's go back to the country." After finishing speaking, he destroyed the country of Hua and returned to the country.

In fact, Meng Mingshi was fooled by Xian Gao.Xian Gao is a cattle dealer.He drove the cattle to Luoyi to do business, and happened to meet Qin Jun.He saw Qin Jun's intention, and it was too late to report to Zheng Guo.In his haste, he pretended to be an envoy of the State of Zheng to deceive Meng Mingshi, and at the same time sent people back to the State of Zheng overnight to report to the king. The king of the state of Zheng received Xian Gao's letter and hurriedly sent people to the north gate to observe the movement of the Qin army.Sure enough, it was found that Qin Jun had sharpened his swords and guns, and his horses were well fed, and they were preparing for war.He was honest and blunt, and issued an order to expel the three generals of Qin State, saying: "Everyone has lived in Zheng State for too long, and we really can't afford it.

I heard that you are leaving, so please go ahead. Knowing that the secret had been leaked, the three generals couldn't stay any longer, so they had to take the troops away overnight.