Chapter 24 Huge damage to Qi State, Fu Chai's ambitions burst

In the winter of 486 BC, the envoy of Fucha, king of Wu, came to Qufu and sent Duke Ai of Lu a commanding order: "The widows will not be raising troops to attack Qi every day, and hope that the State of Lu will send troops to help." As mentioned earlier, the cause of this incident was that Qi State asked Wu Guoxing to attack Lu. Later, Qi and Lu shook hands to make peace, and Qi State asked Wu State not to send troops. country - of course, this is only superficial cause and effect.Behind the bloody plot is Fu Chai's long-standing ambition to take over the Central Plains. From the perspective of the State of Lu, it is obviously not kind to help the State of Wu to fight against the State of Qi at this time.But after comparing the strength of Wu and Qi, Lu quickly made a decision that was not too difficult.In the spring of 485 BC, Duke Ai of Lu led his troops to join Fucha's Northern Expedition and invaded the southern part of Qi.

At the same time as the frontal attack, another Wu army, the naval army led by the doctor Xu Cheng, entered the sea from the mouth of the Yangtze River silently, went north along the coastline, landed on the Jiaodong Peninsula, and went straight to the rear of Qi.This is also the first time in China's history that sea and land cooperate in combat. Wu's strength cannot be underestimated. Duke Mourning of Qi did not worry too much about military issues.When the coalition forces of Wu and Lu (as well as troops from small countries such as Zhu and Tan) arrived in the city of Xi (xi), a coup ended his short four-year political life.

"Zuo Zhuan" records: "The Qi people killed the Duke." Who is the "Qi people", but it is unclear. "Historical Records" refers to the name and surname, and believes that the murderer is Bao Mu.However, according to "Zuo Zhuan" records, Bao Mu was bestowed to death by Qi Yugong in 487 BC, and the words are conclusive enough to overturn the discussion in "Historical Records". "Yanzi Chunqiu" believes that the murderer is the Chen family, that is, Chen Qi. This statement is supported by most historians in later generations. The news of Duke Mourning of Qi being killed soon spread to the camp of the Wu army through envoys from the State of Qi.The meaning of the Qi people is very clear: there is a grievance and a debtor, and it is Qi Yugong who offended Wu Guo. Now that he has been killed by us, can you retreat?

Fucha's reaction overwhelmed the envoy of Qi State - he ordered the whole army to wear sackcloth and mourning, ran outside the gate of the army by himself, and cried for three days.Then tell the envoy of the State of Qi that the widow is indeed here for the Marquis of Qi, but you killed him. Fu Chai is very confident in the strength of the Wu army, especially has high hopes for the surprise attack force led by Xu Cheng.However, soon after, the news of the defeat came. Xu Cheng's troops were overwhelmed and were not acclimatized. Before they arrived in Linzi, they were defeated by the local troops of Qi State.After careful consideration, Fu Chai decided to withdraw his troops overnight.

Wu State's first Northern Expedition ended without success, and the unlucky one was Lu State. In the early spring of 484 BC, the troops of the State of Qi set foot on the land of the State of Lu to retaliate against the invasion of the State of Lu last year. Ran Qiu, a disciple of Confucius, was the elder of the Ji clan at this time. When Ji Sunfei asked his opinion, he replied: "One Qing guards the city, and the other two Qings follow the monarch to send troops to the border to resist." As we all know, the three ministers of the state of Lu are Sanhuan.Ji Sunfei said in embarrassment: "I can't control the two of them."

Ran Qiu said: "It's okay if you don't want to run so far, at least go to the suburbs of Qufu to fight." Ji Sunfei said, "I'll give it a try." So he went to Zhongsun Heji and Shusun Zhouchou to discuss it.Sure enough, when the two men heard that they were going to go to war, they shook their heads again and again, expressing their resignation. Ji Sunfei went back and told Ran Qiu.Ran Qiu said: "Since this is the case, the monarch cannot go to battle. Please lead the troops personally and fight against the city, and see if they are ashamed to hide in Qufu city. As far as I know, the number of Qi army chariots It’s not as good as my Ji family, so what are you afraid of? Even if the Meng family and the uncle Sun family don’t come to participate, we still have a chance of winning. And if they don’t come, you alone will have the final say on the major affairs of Lu State in the future, without them interfering It's up to you." Ji Sunfei was still hesitating, but Ran Qiu said: "You are now the leader of the Lu State, and it is your duty to protect your family and the country. If the people of Qi State come to your door, you will not be able to fight with them , how will the world see you?"

Ran Qiu's words moved Ji Sunfei.When he went to court the next day, he asked Ran Qiu to follow him and wait outside the palace.Uncle Sun Zhouchou saw Ran Qiu and greeted him from a distance, saying, "The Qi people have already reached Qinghe. Ran Qiu, what do you think?" Ran Qiu said loudly: "You gentlemen are far-sighted, how can I, a petty person, have any opinions." Zhongsun Heji happened to hear it when he passed by, and felt that there was something in Ran Qiu's words, so he also got involved and forced Ran Qiu to express his opinion.Ran Qiu replied: "A villain has self-knowledge. Before expressing an opinion, he must first consider the level of the other party. If the level of the other party is too high, the villain will not dare to speak nonsense."

Both Shusun Zhouchou and Zhongsun Heji could tell that Ran Qiu's words seemed self-deprecating on the surface, but in reality they were mocking them for their lack of courage and lack of words.The two were stimulated, and when they returned home, they ordered the collection of chariots and infantry, ready to send troops. The Lu army was divided into two groups.The right army was led by Meng Xi, the son of Zhongsun Heji, with Yan Yu as the imperial guard and Bing Xie as the guard on the right side of the chariot; the left army was led by Ran Qiu, with Father Guan Zhou as the imperial guard, and Fan Chi, another disciple of Confucius, as the chariot right guard. guard.Fan Chi was still young at the time. After inspecting the troops, Ji Sunfei said, "Fan Chi is too thin." Ran Qiu said, "It's a little thinner, but I won't disappoint you."

All 7,000 elite soldiers of the Ji family were sent to the left army, and they were ready to go at the south gate of Qufu.In contrast, Meng Shi seemed too hypocritical.The left army waited for five full days before Meng's right army arrived late. The two armies of Qi and Lu fought in the suburbs of Qufu. The Lu army hid behind the ditch and refused to take the initiative to attack.It's no wonder that since Sanhuan's "three divisions and four armies", each of the three armies in a country has its own calculations. Everyone wants to preserve their own strength. Who would be stupid?

Fan Chi was the first to break the deadlock. He said to Ran Qiu, "It's not that the people of Lu are not brave, it's that they don't trust you. Please issue an order, and I will be the first to attack." Ran Qiu said, "Okay!" Drum Tee.Fan Chi came out in response, leaped across Haogou, and rushed towards the Qi army without looking back.The soldiers of the left army were infected, and they followed them one after another, and rushed into the Qi army's position. Just as the left army of the Lu State was fighting the enemy bravely like a rainbow, the right army was defeated without hope.The right army had no intention of fighting, and the defeat was expected.Later generations even believed that the You Army was not defeated by the Qi Army, but fled on its own initiative.

But there are also people who show the demeanor of a samurai who is not chaotic.According to records: Meng Zhibian, the general of the right army, took the initiative to go to the rear during his escape, and was the last one to enter Qufu.When he was about to enter the city, he deliberately whipped his horse with an arrow, and said to others: "It's not that I dare to be the rear, it's that my horse can't run fast!" Let's save Meng's face. There is also a small man named Lin Buxuan, a corporal commander of the Youjun, who is in charge of four infantrymen under him.When the right army began to be defeated, his subordinates asked him, "Shall we run away too?" Lin Buxuan said, "Who wouldn't run away? It wasn't my fault." The subordinates said, "Then let's stay and fight against the enemy?" Lin Buxuan said Huan said: "Everyone has run away, just five of us with five guns, what a fart to resist!" He led his own team, maintained the battle formation, and retreated slowly, and all five of us died in battle. The fighting lasted from morning to noon.When the right army fled, Ran Qiu's left army fought alone and won a complete victory.That night, the Qi army fled at night.Ran Qiu got the information and asked for pursuit three times, but Ji Sunfei vetoed it. The most speechless thing is Meng Xi, the commander of the right army, who came back from a defeat and said to everyone he met: "My performance is indeed not as good as Yan Yu, but I am better than Bing Xie. Yan Yu is eager to try on the battlefield, and he can't wait to be at the forefront; I don't want to fight, but I know to keep silent; Bing Xie is the most useless guy, he kept yelling 'run away', so we ran away!" After speaking, he laughed again, without feeling the slightest blush. Fu Chai goes fast and comes fast.In the summer of the same year, the Wu army went north again to crusade against Qi. Goujian, king of Yue, heard the news and personally led Wen Zhong, Fan Li and other cronies to Gusu to wish Fuchai success.From Fuchai to ordinary scholars in the state of Wu, all received a congratulatory gift from Goujian. Everyone had a share, and the whole country was happy.Only Wu Zixu was frowning.Someone asked him, and he replied viciously, "Is the state of Wu a dog raised by Goujian?" The man was startled and said, "Why did Xiangguo say that?" Wu Zixu said: "If he throws a bone, we will have to bleed and die. Isn't this raising a dog?" The man quickly blocked his ears, not daring to listen any more.Still angry, Wu Zixu ran to the palace and said to Fu Chai: "For Wu, the State of Yue has always been a confidant. Gou Jian is now so gentle and docile, just to hide his evil intentions. Please be careful and don't fall for his tricks." A trace of displeasure flashed across Fu Chai's eyes, but he remained patient and asked intentionally, "If you follow Xiangguo's opinion, what should you do?" Wu Zixu said: "Stop crusade against Qi, and first deal with Yue. Qi is far away in the East China Sea. Even if we defeat Qi, we will not gain anything. Yue is next to Wu. If Wu does not perish, Yue will destroy Wu." .” Fu Chai said coldly: "Xiangguo's prejudice against Yue is really deep!" Wu Zixu replied, "Did your majesty forget the revenge of killing your father?" Fu Chai's complexion changed drastically, and he said, "I've made up my mind, so I have to stop admonishing you again!" In order to prevent Wu Zixu from nagging around, he simply sent him to the state of Qi as an envoy to fight.Since ancient times, when the two countries have fought each other, how can anyone send the prime minister to fight?Wu Zixu heaved a long sigh and followed orders.But he kept an eye out and brought his son Wu Feng there, and when he came back, he let Wu Feng stay in Qi. In May of the same year, the combined forces of Wu and Lu conquered Bocheng (now in Tai'an, Shandong Province).Qi State also sent troops to resist, and the two sides faced off near Yingcheng (now in Laiwu, Shandong Province).The formation of the Qi army was: Guoshu commanded the Chinese army, Gao Wupi commanded the upper army, and Zonglou commanded the lower army.And the formation of the Wu army is: Fu Chai personally commands the middle army, Xu Menchao commands the upper army, the prince and aunt Cao commands the lower army, and Zhanru commands the right army. This battle was related to the life and death of the Qi State. The soldiers of the Qi Army held their strength and vowed to let the people of the State of Wu never come back.Zonglou, the commander of the lower army, and Lu Qiuming, the doctor, encouraged each other and said: "A man will die eventually. If he can die for the country, he will die without regret." Gongsun Xia was very moved when he saw him, and ordered his subordinates to sing "Yu Funeral" (a funeral elegy) to see him off.Chen Ni ordered his subordinates to join the battle with Hanyu in their mouths to show their determination to die (the ancient dead Hanyu is said to keep the soul alive).Gongsun Hui delivered a pre-battle speech to his subordinates, and he said with pride, "Everyone must bring an eight-foot-long rope and prepare to take away the heads of the Wu army!" Dong Guoshu participated in the battle for the third time, and he said to his subordinates: "The ancients said that three battles lead to death. This is the third time I have come to the battlefield, and I have no intention of returning alive." He ordered someone to give his beloved Qin to his good friend Xianduo, and said, "I will never see you again." Chen Qi, the first official of Qi State, also participated in the battle.When everyone's patriotic enthusiasm was high, he also encouraged his younger brother Chen Shu: "Fight the enemy bravely, and don't come back alive!" Then he said: "If you die, Qi will be mine!" I want Chen Shu to use his life to win glory for the Chen family, so that the Chen family can successfully seize power.The thinking of the Chen family is always so different.Chen Shu replied simply: "In this battle, I will only hear the sound of drums advancing, and I won't hear that you have withdrawn your troops. Please take care!" The two sides fought in Ailing (now in Laiwu, Shandong Province).Although the morale of the Qi army was high, they still couldn't stop Wu Jun's gold and iron horses.The Wu Guoyou Army led by Zhan Ru first defeated the Qi Army Shangjun led by Gao Wupi.Qi's central army initially defeated Wu's Shangjun, but Fu Chai personally led the elite soldiers to rescue, and defeated Qi's central army, and then defeated the Qi army, killing Guoshu, Gongsun Xia, Lu Qiuming, Chen Shu, and others. Dong Guoshu and many other generals. Compared with the generosity of the people of Qi to die and the invincibility of the people of Wu, the performance of the people of Lu in this war can be described as "unbearable".According to "Zuo Zhuan", Fu Chai summoned Shusun Zhouchou before the battle and said, "What position do you hold?" Shusun Zhouchou said, "You are Sima." Fucha rewarded him with armor and a long sword, saying: "Serve your monarch well and don't disgrace your mission!" It means to ask him to fight the enemy bravely and not come back alive.Uncle Sun Zhouchou was trembling and didn't know how to deal with it.But Duanmuci was bold, and seeing that he was about to stand coldly, he quickly stepped forward to bow down, took the armor for him, and said: "Zhou Qiu accepts the armor and obeys the emperor's order." Accepting the armor but not the sword means of course that he only wants to protect himself, not Willing to die.Fortunately, Fu Chai didn't care about it. After the war, he dedicated 800 captured Qi army chariots and 3,000 Qi army heads to Duke Ai of Lu, including the head of the state secretary. Duke Ai of Lu did not dare to be negligent, so he ordered someone to carefully build a box, use red and black silk as a cushion, put the head of the state book, and tie it with a delicate ribbon, and sent Da Shigu back to Qi State with a letter , the letter said: "If God didn't know the details, how could the lower country (referring to the Lu country) win?" The words are very decent, but according to the "Guoyu" records, this sentence should be written by Fucha to Duke Jian of Qi—— After the death of Duke Mourning of Qi, son Ren was established as the king of the country, which was the Duke Jian of Qi in history. The Battle of Ai Ling was the most important battle for Fu Chai to dominate the world.From a military point of view, the Battle of Ai Ling was undoubtedly an unprecedented success, which can be seen from the 800 chariots that Fucha gave to Duke Ai of Lu.Eight hundred chariots, which are quite large military equipment in any era, are almost the entire military power of a medium-sized country, but they became the spoils of the Wu army during the First World War, which can be said to be unprecedented.Some people in later generations believe that an important reason why the Wu army won the victory was that it boldly broke through the routine. In addition to the traditional three-army formation, the right army was used as a guerrilla force, which played a vital role in breaking through the Qi army's front.And this tactic is exactly the embodiment of Sun Tzu's combat thinking of "cooperating with justice and winning with odds". However, the Battle of Ai Ling was also a key battle for Fu Chai's demise.After this war, Fu Chai's self-confidence was overwhelming, and he never looked down on the princes of the world. In the country, those who follow me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish, and he will not listen to any objections.The first person to die under Fu Chai's sword was Wu Zixu. According to the records of "Historical Records", Dazai Bopi had always hated Wu Zixu and wanted to replace him, so he went forward in front of Fucha and said: "Wu Zixu is violent, unkind, suspicious, and often complains. Sooner or later he will become a disaster. The last time the king attacked Qi, He thought it was impossible, but you finally sent troops and won the victory, and the whole country rejoiced, but he was dissatisfied, which deepened the resentment. This time you crusade against Qi, and he strongly opposed it, wishing that the Wu army would fail to prove his right. Unexpectedly You are so brave and powerful that you defeated the entire army of 100,000 in Qi State, and made the whole world tremble under your sword. What Qi Huan, Jin Wen, Qin Mu, and Chu Zhuang are nothing but ordinary monarchs in front of you, who are ashamed to be called overlords Not only is Wu Zixu not happy for you, but he is saying bad things about you everywhere, saying that the country of Wu is in danger, what a joke! Just stomp your feet, and the Marquis of Jin can feel the ground trembling in Xintian. What fool would think that the country of Wu is in danger? No! "Wu Zixu is not a fool. He has ulterior motives. The ministers heard that he took his son Wu Feng to the Qi State and took refuge in the Bao family. In order to please him, the people of the Qi State granted Wu Feng Rich land. As the Prime Minister of Wu, isn't he collaborating with the enemy?" Fu Chai was taken aback: "There is such a thing?" So he sent someone to investigate, and it was exactly as Bo Pi said.Wu Feng took refuge under Bao's family, not only got the land, but also was named "Wang Sun's family", living a very chic life.Fu Chai was furious, so he sent someone to send Wu Zixu a "zombie dagger", saying, "You can figure it out yourself!" The genus Lou is the name of the sword.As I just said before, the king bestowed swords on his ministers for only one purpose, to let him stop living.Of course Wu Zixu knew Fuchai's intentions, and he looked up to the sky and sighed: "I came to Wu for revenge and tried my best to make your father the king of Wu, and helped him defeat Chu and dominate Jianghuai. Now you actually listen to the villain's slander , I want to kill this old man! Come on, come on, come on, I don’t regret dying, I only have one thing to ask, after I die, please dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of the capital, so that I can watch how the Yue people are destroyed Destroy the country of Wu!" After saying that, he died by suicide. Fu Chai had Wu Zixu's body wrapped in grass leather and thrown into the Yangtze River. After Wu Zixu's death, Fucha's ears were quiet, and he accelerated his pace of dominating the world.In the summer of 483 B.C., Fu Chai and Duke Ai of Lu met in Tuogao (tuogao, present-day Rugao, Jiangsu Province) in the state of Wu. Grand Zai Bopi asked to review the oath of the alliance made five years ago.Duke Ai of Lu felt very embarrassed by this request.As we all know, at the city meeting, the state of Wu asked the state of Lu to entertain Fu Chai with the gift of a hundred prisons. Feeling ashamed, why would you want to revisit that oath? Duan Muci, a disciple of Confucius, went out again and said to Bo Chu: "Oaths are used to strengthen integrity, so you must remember it with your heart, express it with words, record it with cloth, and swear to ghosts and gods to maintain it." It. The widow thinks that the two countries signed a sacred covenant back then, and they have always abided by each other without any changes, so there is no need to bring up the old things again." Bo Pi was once again speechless by Duanmuci, this matter Just put it down. Fucha also sent someone to invite Wei Chugong to come to the meeting.The Duke of Wei didn't want to go, and the doctor Zimu persuaded him: "Although the state of Wu has no way, it is still enough to become a worry for the state of Wei. You should go! The big tree fell down, and a piece of it was knocked down; a good dog went crazy and bit anyone it saw. , not to mention such a terrible country!" Wei Chugong came to meet Fucha tremblingly. Fucha's wishful thinking is to first form a small international alliance in the east, including Wei, Lu, Song, Zhu, Tan, etc., but gradually develop westward to compete with Jin.However, after Wei Chugong secretly met with Duke Ai of Lu and Huang Yuan, the representative of the Song Dynasty, he suddenly became bolder and made it clear to Fucha that he could not form an alliance with Wu.Fu Chai was very angry, the huge state of Qi was defeated by the state of Wu, how dare the small state of Wei dare to challenge it openly?So he sent troops to surround Wei Chugong's residence, and wanted to be an overlord to force his bow. Zifuhe said to Duanmuci: "The princes meet. After the matter is over, the lord will give gifts to everyone. The host will arrange a banquet and bid farewell. Now instead of presenting gifts to Marquis Wei, the king of Wu has imprisoned him. You have to think Find a way! How about you go and communicate with Bo Pi?" Duanmuci said: "I have dealt with Bo Pi twice, and he respects me quite a bit. I can try it. But this person is greedy, you can't let me go empty-handed." Zifuhe said, "This is natural." Therefore, Duanmu bestowed "a set of brocades to go" and went to Bo Chu with a gift. He did not explain the purpose of coming, but just chatted, pretending to talk about Weiguo casually.Duan Muci deliberately asked: "I heard that your country sent troops to surround the residence of Marquis Wei, why is that?" Bo Pi said: "That's because Marquis Wei is too ignorant of flattery. The widow was kind enough to make friends with Wei Hou, but he came late. The widow was afraid that he would leave in a hurry, so he had to stay. " Duan Muci said: "That's how it is. I heard that before Marquis Wei came, he had discussed with his ministers. Some advocated his coming, and some opposed him. They couldn't make up their minds, so they were late. Those who supported him came from the state of Wu. Those who oppose his coming are the enemies of Wu. Now that your country has imprisoned Marquis Wei, isn’t it embarrassing your friends and making your enemies proud? Moreover, the King of Wu wanted to lead the princes, but he imprisoned Marquis Wei. Who would not Feeling afraid? Love and hatred are quick, and the princes are afraid, this is not the way to dominate the world!" Bo Pi was persuaded by Duan Muci for the third time, and asked Fu Chai to release Duke Wei.Presumably Wu's voice is gentle and soft. During the time when Wei Chugong was imprisoned by Wu people, he actually fell in love with Wu's language. After returning to Wei, he still imitated the Wu people's strange way of speaking.Wei Linggong's grandson, Gongsun Mimou, was still young at that time. Hearing Wei Chugong's voice, he said to others: "I am afraid that the king will not be spared. He has been imprisoned and still learns how to speak. This is a plan to go to the land of the Southern Barbarians for a long time. life!"