Chapter 8 Lu Zhaogong made a careless move and lost everything

In the autumn of 517 BC, Duke Zhao of Lu secretly summoned his ministers Zang Sunci, Qi Zhaobo, and Zi Jiaji successively, and asked them straightforwardly for their opinions on the matter of season reversal.The three people gave different answers.Zang Sunci thought that the time was not yet ripe and it would be difficult to accomplish anything; Li Zhaobo believed that there was a lot to do, so he tried his best to encourage Duke Lu Zhao to do it; Use your power to achieve your own goals. If things fail, they will blame you all and hide away. I am sorry to say that the government has lost power for many generations, and there has been no mass. The foundation, it is very difficult to achieve success. In contrast, Ji's foundation is very solid, I suggest you not to act rashly, so as not to cause trouble to your upper body."

Lu Zhaogong was silent for a while, and said, "You step back." Zi Jiaji said: "I have heard your plan. If I go back now, if the secret is leaked, I will not be able to tell. So before you start, let me live in the palace and accompany you more." You!" Historians of later generations have never been able to understand why Duke Zhao of Lu knew to contact the Zangsun clan, Qi Sun clan and Zijiaji, so why did he miss the Shusun clan and the Mengsun clan?You know, the only ones who can really compete with Jisun Yiru are Shusun and Meng!If the attitude of the Meng family is not clear, then Uncle Sunluo and Jisun Yiru are undoubtedly in opposition.At this critical moment, Lu Zhaogong should listen to the opinions of his uncle Sun Luo.

A more reasonable explanation is that Sanhuan has always held the power of Lu State.Although there are many conflicts among the three Huan, their interests are the same when it comes to the issue of the office.Lu Zhaogong had a clear understanding of this point, so he didn't say hello to his uncle. On the day he chose to do it, Uncle Sunluo "coincidentally" was not in Qufu, but was hunting in Kandi (Uncle's territory, in today's Shandong Province). What is worthy of recognition is that Lu Zhaogong did a good job of keeping secrets. Not only did Uncle Sun Ruo not notice any changes, but Ji Sun Yiru was also completely kept in the dark, unaware of the approaching danger.

In the early morning of September 11th, just after dawn, several guards at the gate of Ji's house rubbed their sleepy eyes, waiting for their shift to change.Suddenly I heard a slight sound of footsteps, and when I looked carefully, I saw Ji Gongruo walking quickly with a few entourages. "Open the door." Ji Gongruo ordered briefly and clearly. Just as the guard was about to ask a few questions, everyone had a cold knife on their necks.Ji Gongruo beckoned, and more than a dozen warriors ran out from the darkness, opened the gate at an extremely fast speed, and lowered the suspension bridge.

Ji Gongruo picked up a torch stuck obliquely on the wall, walked to the suspension bridge, and waved it towards the gray sky twice.What responded to him was the sound of horseshoes and wheels, and not long after, dozens of chariots rattled up, followed by thousands of heavily armed infantry, pouring into the gate of Ji's house like a torrent. Ji Gongzhi, who was in charge of guarding the front yard, heard the abnormal noise and had no time to put on his clothes. He ran out the door to have a look, and was stunned. He shouted "The enemy is coming!" and ran towards the inner courtyard.Just two steps away, a long arrow suddenly arrived, piercing his neck from back to front.

It was this "enemy attack" that saved Ji Sun Yiru's life.The defense in the inner courtyard of Ji's family is much tighter than that in the outer courtyard. Although there are not many warriors stationed there, they are one of the best fighters in a hundred, and their responses are very quick.They quickly extinguished the torches, bolted the courtyard door, piled up sandbags, opened the sluice gate, and filled the courtyard ditch with water.Some people climbed up the courtyard wall with bows and arrows, some people ambushed inside the courtyard gate to guard, some people held buckets to prepare for the fire attack, and some rushed to the gate tower, waiting for Ji Sun Yiru's arrival.In this case, if there is a strong attack, there will be heavy casualties, and it will be difficult to succeed.

By this time it was broad daylight.Lu Zhaogong stood on the military chariot, holding a sword, and behind him were Zang Sunci, Qi Zhaobo and Zi Jiaju in full military uniform. The black "Lu" flag fluttered in the wind, which was quite imposing. Surrounded by several personal guards, Ji Sun Yiru went up to the gate and asked to have a dialogue with Lu Zhaogong. Uncle Li Zhao raised his long spear and shouted: "The king is here, stop talking nonsense, open the door and surrender!" Ji Sun Yiru ignored him, bowed to Lu Zhaogong, and said: "The king himself came to attack me, presumably because he thought I had committed an unforgivable crime. Even so, I have the right to be judged. The retainers are waiting for your trial by the Yi River."

This is not unreasonable. Even if Ji Sun Yiru is guilty, he still needs to have an explanation, and he can be condemned or punished openly. Like Lu Zhaogong, he directly brought people to sneak attack, which is obviously not the action of the king, but like the behavior of robbers. Lu Zhaogong had long expected that he would ask such a question, and instead of reasoning with him, he said blankly, "No." Ji Sun Yiru said again: "Then, let me leave Qufu and imprison myself in Feiyi, waiting to be punished." "No way." Lu Zhaogong sneered in his heart, you think I'm a fool, let you go back to Feiyi, that's not letting the tiger go back to the mountain?

"Then please exile me abroad! I'm willing to give up everything, just let me leave with five times of followers." Ji Sun Yiru said. The five-carriage entourage, even including the coachman, is only fifteen people, which is really not many, and this request is not excessive at all.Immediately, Zi Jia pulled Lord Lu Zhao's sleeve and said, "Promise him! The Ji family has been in power for many years and has been working hard to buy people's hearts. There are many people who are attached to him. If this drags on like this, I'm afraid there will be long nights and dreams. It's better to cut the mess quickly and promise him." As long as he leaves the country of Lu, there will be no troubles, so what else do you have to worry about?"

When Li Zhaobo heard this, he quickly said, "It's absolutely impossible. If you don't kill him today, you will be troubled later!" Zi Jiaji said: "Ji Sun Yiru has lowered his conditions again and again. If we don't agree to him, it will appear that we have to be reasonable and unreasonable. Reasonable things have become unreasonable. They must share the same hatred and fight against each other. I'm afraid it won't be that easy to kill him." Lu Zhaogong hesitated.From the bottom of his heart, he agreed with Li Zhaobo's opinion, but if he attacked by force, he was really not sure.

Only at this time did Lu Zhaogong realize that if he had obtained the support of his uncles, grandsons, and Meng families in advance, things would not have happened so unexpectedly.More importantly, Jisun Yiru should not be given the opportunity to win over the Shusun and Meng families, otherwise there will be big troubles.Thinking of this, he said to Li Zhaobo: "Please go to Meng's house, how about inviting He Ji to help?" He Ji is Zhong Sun He Ji.A year ago, Zhongsun Jue, the patriarch of the Meng family, passed away, and his son He Ji inherited the family business.It is said that before Zhongsun Bi died, he entrusted He Ji and his younger brother Nangong Jingshu to a man named Kong Qiu, and asked Kong Qiu to be their teacher, responsible for teaching them Zhou rituals.But at that time, He Ji was only a fourteen-year-old child, and the housekeeping was naturally left to the retainers to take care of it. Old Master Confucius (31 years old at the time, not too old) probably couldn't speak. Li Zhaobo was taken aback for a moment, and immediately understood what Lu Zhaogong meant.He weighed it himself, now that Ji Sun Yiru is going to be forced to kill him, the strength of these people alone is far from enough, it would be best if he could get the support of the Meng family, otherwise the outcome would be hard to predict.So he agreed to Lu Zhaogong's request and went to Meng's house to rescue soldiers. They didn't know that at this moment, Shusun's family had already taken action. Uncle Sun Rao was hunting in Kan, and handed over the housework to Sima (the Sima at home, not the Sima of Lu State) to take care of the housework.Hearing the news of Lu Zhaogong's crusade against the Ji clan, Li Li gathered his retainers together and asked everyone what they thought. Everyone shook their heads, not daring to answer. Li Li said: "We are the retainers of the Uncle Sun family, and we really shouldn't be involved in state affairs, but we can't help but not worry about what happened before us. Well, let me change the question - do you think Ji's survival or disappearance, which one is right for us?" more favorable?" This time the question was on point, and everyone replied in unison: "If there is no Ji family, then there will be no Shusun family!" The three Huan depended on each other, and if one Huan was removed, the office would definitely grow bigger, and it would not be difficult to deal with the other two Huan one by one.Therefore, even if the Uncle Sun family and the Ji family are at odds on weekdays, at this critical moment, they should still help the Ji family. "Since this is the case," Li Li said, "then there is nothing to hesitate. Please take up your weapons, put on your armor, line up neatly, and prepare to save Ji Shi!" When Li Zhaobo came to the Meng family, the Meng family was actually watching.Hearing Lu Zhaogong's call, the Meng family's thinking was different from that of the uncle's family. They didn't have a sense of bitterness, but simply thought about it: given the current situation, which side has a better chance of winning?They help whoever is more likely to win. For this reason, while they stabilized Li Zhaobo, they sent several spies to climb the city wall of Qufu to check the situation. The spies happened to see the soldiers of the Shusun clan forming a battle formation and attacking the government troops.Since Ji Sunsu "became the Three Armies" nearly half a century ago, the regular army of the State of Lu has been basically controlled by the Sanhuan. The so-called public troops are just the palace guards. Che, how could it be possible to compete with the elite Shusun clan soldiers?As soon as the two sides came into contact, the public army was defeated. As soon as the spies reported the situation, the Meng family immediately knew what to do.They arrested Qi Zhaobo and took him to the south gate of Qufu to behead him publicly. When the news reached Lu Zhaogong's ears, he was so shocked that he was speechless for a long time, unable to accept the fact that half an hour ago he seemed to have grasped Ji Sun Yiru's fate, and half an hour later he was completely defeated and irreversible. Chance.He ran back to the palace in a panic with his people, packed up some things indiscriminately, and prepared to flee. At the critical moment, Zi Jiaju, who had advised him not to act rashly, held his breath and advised him: "You are a majestic monarch, why do you want to run away? Ji Sun Yiru is going to investigate the responsibility, so you push it to our officials and say We hijacked you, let us take the blame and escape. You stay in the palace well, and Ji Sun Yiru dare not do anything to you." Lu Zhaogong sighed: "I can't bear it!" The understanding of later generations is that Lu Zhaogong's intolerance has two meanings: one is that he cannot bear to shirk responsibility, and the other is that he can no longer bear to linger under Ji Sun Yiru's despotic power. Before leaving, Lu Zhaogong and Zang Sunci ran to the cemetery, cried loudly holding the tombstone of their ancestors, and then took a group of frustrated doctors to the Qi State.The last thing he did in the state of Lu was in line with Zhou etiquette: "If you go to the state, you will cry at the tomb before you go." This can be regarded as a farewell to the ancestors. On the evening of September 12, Duke Zhao of Lu and his party arrived in Qi State.When Qi Jinggong heard the news, he sent someone to arrange for Lu Zhaogong to live in Pingyin, and at the same time immediately set off from Linzi to Pingyin to clean up for Lu Zhaogong. Duke Zhao of Lu was so flattered that he insisted on going to meet Duke Jing of Qi regardless of the fatigue of traveling and traveling. As a result, the two met in Yejing on the east bank of the Yellow River.Qi Jinggong first expressed his condolences to Lu Zhaogong's experience, and then expressed his fear when Lu Zhaogong came to greet him, and said: "This is really the sin of the widow. I arranged for you to meet in Pingyin just because I didn't want you to be too tired. Who Knowing that you actually... this makes the widow feel very sorry." What else can Lu Zhaogong say?What can a king who has lost his country be so honorably received in the land of his neighbour, but be grateful? Next, Qi Jinggong said another word to him, which not only made him grateful.Qi Jinggong said: "Along the west of the border between Qi and Ju, I will set aside a thousand communes for you as your shelter. As long as you give an order to attack Jisun Yiru, I will devote all the strength of Qi to obey orders. From." In ancient times, there were twenty-five households in a commune, and a thousand communes had 25,000 households, equivalent to a small country.Duke Zhao of Lu was overjoyed, and was about to bow down to Duke Jing of Qi.But Qi Jinggong grabbed him and said: "Don't be fooled, Ji Sun Yiru committed the crime below, and the gods and men are all angry. Your sorrow is the sorrow of the widow." Qi Jinggong's hospitality made Lu Zhaogong and his ministers feel like coming home.Only Zijiaju didn't take it seriously.After Qi Jinggong left, Zi Jiaji said to Lu Zhaogong: "You should not accept the gift from the Marquis of Qi. How can a mere thousand communities be compared with the state of Lu's? You are a minister of the country, who will work hard for you to restore the country? Besides, don't look at Qi Hou's words are beautiful, but he is a man who does not believe in his words, you might as well make a plan early and go to the Jin country!" Zang Sunci and others opposed Zi Jiaji's opinion.These people were bullied by Jisun Yiru in the country of Lu on weekdays, and kept silent like cicadas. They finally had the courage to vote with Lord Lu Zhao, but they failed and exhausted their remaining courage.Seeing that Qi Jinggong is willing to provide food for 25,000 households, he suddenly feels that he is in a desperate situation. He wished he could hug Qi Jinggong's thigh and call him daddy. Why would he want to work hard for Lu Zhaogong's restoration of the country?Besides, anyone with a bit of a brain knows that even if Duke Lu Zhao can restore his country, he will only go back and continue to be his puppet monarch, and the power is still in Sanhuan's hands.Ji Sun Yiru might give Lu Zhaogong a face and not embarrass him, but those who followed Lu Zhaogong’s rebellion would not have this blessing. They could be detained at least, or beheaded at worst. How can it be compared to being a small landlord in Qi State? So carefree? Under the organization of Zang Sunci, the exiles made a blood alliance in Noi.The oath is written like this: "We work together, we love and hate the same, and firmly believe that those who follow the monarch in exile are innocent, and those who remain in the country are guilty. Let us resolutely unite around the monarch, and forbid fornication. Enemy!" Although the writing is weird, the meaning is very clear, we will stay here as an apartment, and no one is allowed to act without authorization and have contact with political forces at home and abroad. After the oath was written, Zang Sunci sent someone to take it to Zijiaji, and falsely spread the imperial decree saying that it was drafted according to Lu Zhaogong's intention, and asked him to sign it.Zi Jiajian looked at it and immediately said, "I can't sign because I don't agree with what you say. You regard those who stay in the country as sinners, and I just want to communicate with these so-called sinners and find out that both parties can agree." I accept the solution so that the monarch can end his exile life as soon as possible. You must firmly unite around the monarch, and I prefer to leave him and run between the Lu Kingdom and the princes. Only in that way can the monarch return to the country as soon as possible. Just sitting here and discussing Taoism will not produce results. You say you want to be consistent with your love and hatred, but you are content with your life in exile, but I only think about the country of Lu, so how dare I agree with your love and hatred? There is no greater crime in the world than selfishness, which makes the monarch fall into disarray!" Zi Jiaju resolutely did not sign the alliance letter. Let’s talk about the country of Lu, Uncle Sun Ruo learned that Lu Zhaogong had been expelled, so he hurriedly ended his hunting in Kandi and rushed back to Qufu. As soon as Jisun Yiru saw him, he saluted "Jiying (sang)" and said in a crying voice, "What do you want me to do, what do you want me to do?" The so-called "Jiying" is a great ceremony of kneeling down on both knees and touching the forehead to the ground.Generally, the ceremony of Jiying is only performed when there is a funeral at home, which is also called fierce worship. Uncle Sunluo didn't help him either, and said coldly: "No one dies? You became famous in one fell swoop because you expelled the monarch, and your children and grandchildren will never forget it. Don't you feel sad? You have been nailed to the pillar of shame in history." Come on, what else can I do to you?" Jisun Yiru said with a mournful face, "It's really not my will that such a thing happened. Please mediate for me. If I still have a chance to serve the king, you will be my reborn parents!" He couldn't help crying. As far as Ji Sun Yiru's acting skills are concerned, it is second to none in the world.At first, Shusun Luo thought he was pretending, but when he saw him crying, snot and tears, out of breath, he felt that he might be really sad.Uncle Sun Luo was a kind person, so he couldn't help but patted him on the shoulder and said, "If you really want to repent, I'm willing to go to Qi State to invite the king back for you." Ji Sun Yiru stopped crying immediately, and said, "Then I will trouble you to go there yourself!" Anyone with a little brain knows that Shusun Luo took a big risk when he went to meet Lu Zhaogong at this time.One is that his retainers participated in the expulsion of Lu Zhaogong, and it is unknown how Lu Zhaogong will treat him; the other is that Zang Sunci and others have just made an oath to regard all those who live in the country as sinners, and they must get rid of them quickly. For the sake of confidentiality, Shusun Rao did not bring any entourage, only a coachman drove him.Through Zijiaji's gossip, he met Lu Zhaogong in Pingyin.What the two monarchs and ministers said, there are no specific records in the historical materials, only that Uncle Sun Ruo gave Lu Zhaogong a promise: "I will quell the turmoil in the country and welcome the Lord back to the country!" The promise made is undoubtedly heart-pounding. The monarch and his ministers talked in secret all night.Zijiaji was responsible for the security of the talks, and deployed layers of defense lines around the Lu mansion, allowing entry and no exit, but anyone who attempted to approach the mansion would be arrested regardless of the reason. However, even so, Zang Sunci and others still got the news. As to where the news came from, readers may make bold guesses, but there is one person who cannot escape the suspicion, and that is Ji Sun Yiru. Zang Sunci sent a large number of assassins to ambush Shu Sunluo on the only way back to the country. Among the officials of the State of Lu who made an oath with Zang Sunci, one named Zuo Shizhan suddenly realized his conscience and reported the matter to Lu Zhaogong.Duke Zhao of Lu was taken aback, and urgently arranged for Uncle Sun Ruo to change his route and return home via Zhucheng (a place name in Qi State, in today's Shandong Province), avoiding the pursuit of Zang Sunci and others. Uncle Sun Ruo came back from the state of Qi, and immediately went to find Ji Sun Yiru and asked him to make arrangements for the meeting.However, Ji Sun Yiru's attitude has undergone a 180-degree change, and he said calmly: "Let's talk about this matter later, don't worry now." Ji Sun Yiru was completely different from Ji Sun Yiru who was crying bitterly people. "What?" Uncle Sunluo felt that he had been fooled by Jisun Yiru.Thinking of all the dangers of this trip, he suddenly understood: So Ji Sun Yiru coaxed him to go to Qi, not to meet Lu Zhaogong, but to kill him! It's fine for him to be fooled, but what makes it even more difficult for him to accept is that the promise he made to Duke Lu Zhao in Pingyin turned out to be nothing more than a dead letter.What will the world think of him?What would the historian say about him?Do people think that his retainers participated in the expulsion of Lu Zhaogong, but he secretly instigated it?And he went hunting in Kan, but he cleverly avoided the embarrassment of having to make a decision himself?In that case, wouldn't his uncle Sun Ruo become a despicable villain just like Ji Sunyi? The more Uncle Sunluo thought about it, the more angry he became, he stared at Jisun Yiru for a whole stick of incense.Ji Sun Yiru put on a posture that a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water, and met his uncle Sun Luo's eyes as if nothing had happened.For a moment, Uncle Sun Ruo wanted to draw out his sword and give Ji Sun Yiru a sword on the spot.But he held back. After returning home, Uncle Sun Luo locked herself in the bedroom, fasted and bathed, and stopped eating. Seven days later, on October 11, 517 BC, Shusun Rao, a famous diplomatic activist in the State of Lu, died of a hunger strike.In that age when decency collapsed and music was broken, Shusun Rao was one of the few people who could maintain political integrity. He may be pedantic, he may be out of date, and he may not be able to understand the situation clearly, but he is open-minded and loyal to his ideals and beliefs, which is praised by later generations . It was Shusun Luo's son, Shusun Dare, who inherited the Shusun family business.