Chapter 52 Zheng Xiu's Pillow Wind

In 312 BC, the soldiers of Chu State divided into two groups and launched a large-scale northern expedition.On the one hand, Jingcui of Zhu State led the army to besiege the Yong family of South Korea (now Yuxian County, Henan Province); on the other hand, the general Qu Gai led the army to attack Shang and Yu. Qin Guobing counterattacked in three ways. Led by the famous general Chi Liji in the east, the troops left Hangu Pass and entered Sanchuan County in South Korea. Together with the Wei and Han armies, they carried out an anti-encirclement operation against the Jingcui army that besieged the Yong family.

The central route led by Wei Zhang, a commoner, left Wuguan from Lantian and stationed in Shang and Yu to resist Qu Gai's army. The West Road, led by the rising star Gan Mao, sent troops out of Nanzheng to attack the Han River Basin of Chu State. Among the Three Route Army, the Central Route Army has the strongest force, but the soul figure in charge of the overall situation is still called "brain tank" Chi Liji. Chiliji's Eastern Route Army advanced all the way, joined the Wei and Han armies, first conquered Quwo, and then passed through the Eastern Zhou border. Form a corner.

Jing Cui is ready to fight the Qin army. The two sides had a small-scale contact, and after feeling that the opponent was not weak, they unanimously began to build fortifications, hoard military supplies, and prepare for a protracted war. But this was just a feint shot by Chi Liji. He let the Wei and Han armies continue to confront the Chu army under his banner, but he himself led the main force of the Qin army to go southward at starry night, and together with Wei Zhang's army in the middle, attacked Qu Gai's army in Danyang (now Xixia, Henan Province) and won an unprecedented beheading of 80,000. He also captured more than 70 generals of the Chu army, including Qu Gai and Feng Houchou.

This battle was known as the Battle of Danyang in history. After the Battle of Danyang, the morale of the Qin army was greatly boosted.Xi Liji took advantage of the situation to fight back to the Yong clan, and together with the Wei and Han armies defeated the Jingcui army, winning the battle of the Yong clan. Now we can explain the question raised at the beginning of this chapter, why Han and Wei followed Qin to attack Qi——after the Yongshi War, Qi Liji led the coalition forces of Qin, Wei, and Han to continue eastward and was defeated The Qi army was at Pushui. Wei Zhang didn't waste time either.Chi Liji went east to rescue Yong, and he went west to cooperate with Gan Mao's march.The two armies fought together and won the six hundred miles of Hanzhong in Chu State in one fell swoop, and established Hanzhong County there.

So far, the Qin army has achieved success in one go, winning consecutive complete victories on the four battlefields of Danyang, Yongshi, Pushui, and Hanzhong. Because of this, Xi Liji's reputation shook China, and he was named Yan Jun by King Hui of Qin. King Huai of Chu lost his eyes, so he put all his eggs in one basket and increased his troops to attack the Guanzhong area of ​​Qin State. It should be said that King Huai of Chu's move was very beautiful.At this time, the Qin army was in Qili, and Wei Zhang and Gan Mao were in Hanzhong. The battle line was too long, and the country was relatively empty.Moreover, everyone in the state of Qin was immersed in the joy of victory, and they did not expect that King Huai of Chu would come so suddenly.

The Chu army quickly conquered Wuguan, approached Xianyang, and fought all the way to Lantian.It is less than a hundred miles away from Xianyang.But even here, the Chu army became the last of its strength, was strongly blocked by the Qin army, and failed miserably. Wei and Han seized the opportunity to take the initiative to attack southward, and attacked all the way to Dengcheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei Province).And Wei Zhang also cooperated with the Han army to attack Chu, Lianke Zhaoling (now Luohe, Henan Province) and Shangcai (now Shangcai, Henan Province) two cities. At this time, Qin Huiwang took the initiative to extend an olive branch.He sent someone to say to King Huai of Chu: Let's stop fighting, we have something to discuss.If you want the land of Shang and Yu in Qin State, no problem, you can exchange it with Qianzhong County in Chu State (now from the west of Dongting Lake in Hunan Province to the Qianjiang River Basin in Sichuan Province).

As soon as King Huai of Chu heard the words "Shang and Yu", his heart became numb, and he felt that it was a bait, and it would be dangerous to touch it.He made it clear: I don't want to exchange land, but if Qin State can hand over Zhang Yi to me, I would rather give Qianzhong County Bai to Qin State. How about changing a county for a person? Do you want to do it? Qin Huiwang was tempted immediately.He told Zhang Yi what King Huai of Chu said as a joke, and then said: "The King of Chu doesn't even think about it. Mr. is a minister of the widow. Don't talk about Qianzhong County. Even Wan County, Wu County, All of Xincheng County has been given to the widow, and the widow will not exchange it with the husband!"

After Qin Huiwang finished speaking, he let out a burst of unnatural laughter. A trace of sadness passed over Zhang Yi's heart.He said seriously: "Then let me go!" "No." King Qin Hui said, "The King of Chu hates you the most for teasing him with Shang and Yuzhi. How can he let you go so easily?" Zhang Yi said: "Qin is strong and Chu is weak. As long as the king backs me up, the king of Chu will not dare to do anything to me. Take ten thousand steps back and say that even if the king of Chu kills me, he can gain the land in the middle of Guizhou for Qin. I am also willing."

Speaking of this, King Qin Hui could only "reluctantly" agree to Zhang Yi's request. In this way, Zhang Yi came to Chu again. This is also the third time he has come to Chu.The first time was when he was unknown, he was a guest at Ling Yin Zhaoyang's house, and he was suspected of being a thief and was beaten violently; the second time was when he visited Chu a few years ago and played King Huai of Chu like a monkey.This time, he used himself as a bargaining chip to exchange land for Qin. When he entered the city gate of Yingdu, whether he had mixed emotions in his heart, later generations have no way of knowing.We only know that he secretly sent his henchmen to find someone.

A man named Jin Shang. When Zhang Yi was still a disciple of Zhaoyang, he had a good relationship with Jin Shang.Rely on parents at home and brothers when going out.This time, Zhang Yi has to rely on Jin Shang, his brother, to find a way out for herself. Because the relationship between Jin Shang and Zheng Xiu is very good.And Zheng Xiu is the wife of King Huai of Chu. No wind can compare to the wind on the pillow. If you understand this truth, you will understand more than half of the rules of the game in Chinese officialdom. When King Huai of Chu saw Zhang Yi, without saying a word, he ordered Zhang Yi to be tied up and put in death row.This time he was smart enough to prevent Zhang Yi from speaking, so naturally he wouldn't be fooled.

But he didn't expect that when Zhang Yi didn't speak, Jin Shang set off a storm of "vinegar" in his harem. "Don't you feel that the danger is approaching?" Jin Shang asked Zheng Xiu. "What danger?" "The king of Qin favored Zhang Yi very much, but the king arrested Zhang Yi. I heard that in order to save Zhang Yi, the king of Qin planned to dedicate the six counties of Shangyong to the king." "That's a good thing, what does it have to do with me?" Zheng Xiu continued to look at the bronze mirror and feel sorry for himself. "Hey, listen to me. The King of Qin also selected a beautiful woman, and selected ten court ladies who are good at singing and dancing from the Qin Palace as dowry, and they are about to send them to Yingdu!" There was a sound of "crash", and all the cosmetics on the table in front of Zheng Xiu were swept to the ground. Regarding Zheng Xiu, it is necessary to introduce that she is a famous vinegar jar in Chinese history. According to "Han Feizi" records, once Wei Guo sent a beautiful woman to King Huai of Chu. King Huai of Chu liked her very much and loved her very much.Uncharacteristically, Zheng Xiu loved this concubine Wei very much, even more than King Huai of Chu.As long as there are delicious, wearable, and fun things, they are always sent to Concubine Wei first. Seeing the grateful smile on Concubine Wei's face, Zheng Xiu put on a relieved look, and pulled her to say this and that. . What men enjoy most is the blessing of harmony between wives and concubines.King Huai of Chu saw Zheng Xiu's generosity, and often sighed: "Madam knows that I love newcomers, so I love her more than I do. This is the way for a filial son to support his relatives, and a loyal minister to serve the king!" One day, Zheng Xiu said to Concubine Wei: "There are so many women in the harem, I think you are the king's favorite. But the king once mentioned to me that he is not very satisfied with your nose... I would have liked this kind of thing. I shouldn't tell you, but who told us to be good sisters? If you want to maintain a good image in front of the king for a long time, you can put a flower in front of your nose to cover it up, which is elegant and natural. The king saw it, I don't know How obsessed!" Concubine Wei didn't know what it was, and when she saw King Huai of Chu again, she really held a plum blossom, pretending to be coy.King Huai of Chu was very useful at the beginning, but he became a little suspicious over time.He asked Zheng Xiu: "Concubine Wei always covers her nose with flowers when she sees widows, what's going on?" Zheng Xiu quickly said: "Don't ask me, I don't know." The more she behaved like this, the more King Huai of Chu chased her and asked her.She couldn't be forced, so she said hesitantly: "I heard people say that she hates the king's body odor." King Huai of Chu was so angry that he trembled all over, and without thinking about it, he ordered: "Keep it off!"Zheng Xiusheng was afraid that King Huai of Chu would go back on his word, so he immediately said to his servant: "Your Majesty has already issued an order, why don't you execute it quickly?" Poor Concubine Wei had her nose cut off for no apparent reason. From this story, it is not difficult to guess how annoyed Zheng Xiu was when he heard that King Qin was going to send beautiful women to Chu. She immediately went to King Huai of Chu and said, "Each person is his own master. Even if Zhang Yi offends you, it is only for the sake of the country. There is nothing to blame. Besides, King Qin will definitely use this as an excuse for how you treat Zhang Yi now. Raise troops to attack. Please move all the concubines, mothers and children to the south of the Yangtze River, so as not to become the fish of the Qin people." Then he began to cry. When Zheng Xiu cried like this, King Huai of Chu lost his mind.He locked himself in his bedroom and thought about it all night, and released Zhang Yi the next morning, and sent him out of the country. At that time, a senior official from the State of Chu was on his way back from his envoy to the State of Qi.When he returned to Yingdu, he heard that Zhang Yi had just been let go, stomped his feet angrily, and questioned King Huai of Chu, saying: "Zhang Yi has deceived us so badly that all the people in Chu country want to peel off his skin and eat his flesh. Why did you let him go again?" King Huai of Chu was speechless. This doctor is a descendant of a well-known family in Chu State. His surname is Qu, his first name is Ping, and his style name is Yuan.The world generally calls him Qu Yuan.