Chapter 7 bluff to scare the enemy away

In the autumn of 559 B.C., King Ling of Zhou sent Liu Dinggong, a senior official of the royal family, to the State of Qi, and issued a majestic oracle to Duke Ling of Qi: "The ancestor of Qi State, Jiang Taigong, assisted the previous king and became the king's arm and the teacher of the people. The royal family has rewarded the Taigong for his contributions and set him up as an example for the countries in the East China Sea. The reason why the royal family has not yet fallen is relying on Qi! Now I order you, Jiang Huan (Qi Linggong’s name Huan), to tirelessly follow the Taigong’s instructions Last will, inherit the cause of the ancestors, don't insult the ancestors. Be respectful, don't disobey my orders!"

The royal family of Zhou and the Duke of Qi have been married since ancient times.King Ling of Zhou issued this edict to Duke Ling of Qi, which was actually a letter of engagement to propose to Princess Qi.According to the system of the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor of Zhou is the co-lord of the world, and even if he proposes marriage, he cannot be condescending, and must issue orders with a condescending attitude.The princes who received the letter of appointment were very grateful and happily prepared for the marriage, and were very grateful that their daughter could become a queen. But that was a long time ago.Everyone knows that the Emperor Zhou at this time is just a puppet in name only, and he has to rely on the charity of the princes to maintain a relatively decent life.A poor nobleman proposes to a rich man, what else is there to do?In the spring of the next year, King Ling of Zhou sent Shan Jinggong as a representative to go to the state of Qi to welcome his relatives.It is also an ancient ritual for the emperor to get married and the courtiers to greet the relatives.Strangely, Shan Jinggong stopped advancing when he reached the State of Lu, and only sent his deputy Liu Dinggong to continue to the State of Qi to take the princess back to Luoyi.A wedding that was supposed to be lively and lively ended in "indecent".But the strange thing is that Qi State not only did not get angry because of this, but also acquiesced in this behavior.

Of course, there is a reason why Qi Linggong was hypocritical and obedient to the royal family, and made compromises.According to "Zuo Zhuan", a scholar of the state of Jin once borrowed a set of flags made of five-color feathers from the state of Qi, but refused to return them for a long time. But he had a second heart for the state of Jin.In the winter of 559 BC, Jin State held a meeting of princes in Qidi, but Qi State did not send representatives to participate, which was a clear signal of openly challenging the leadership of Jin State.Since Qi Linggong intends to break with Jin, it is reasonable to take the initiative to seek the favor of the royal family.

In the summer of 558 BC, Duke Ling of Qi brazenly launched an attack on the State of Lu and sent troops to surround Chengcheng City of the State of Lu.Under Qi's instigation, Zhu and Ju also invaded Lu from the south.Suddenly, the situation in Shandong suddenly became tense, and the State of Lu quickly sent someone to the State of Jin for emergency.At this time, an unexpected thing happened——the Duke of Jin Mourning, who was only 30 years old, suddenly fell ill and died. Duke Dao of Jin is modest and gentle, not good at intrigue and scheming, but he is inclusive and tolerant. Under his leadership, Jin's hegemony has continued in a tepid manner.The shortcomings of Jin Daogong are also obvious, that is, more than generous but not powerful enough, he is not strict with some rebellious ministers, leading to loss of speed.In 559 BC, the Eight Ministers of the Jin State crusade against the Qin State, losing troops and generals, and returning without success. This was the biggest failure during the reign of Duke Dao of Jin.The blatant rebellion of the Qi State was a symbolic event that the Jin State's hegemony once again fell to the bottom. At this time, Jin Daogong suddenly passed away.

After Jin Mourning Duke died, Jin Pinggong came to the throne.There are three fires for the new official to take office. After Jin Pinggong came to power, he first appointed his teacher Shu Xiang as the master to be in charge of the judicial affairs of the state of Jin, and appointed Zhang Junchen as the Sima of the Chinese army, Qi Xi, Han Xiang, Luan Ying and Shi Yang. The second is to hold a grand sacrifice in Quwo to ask for the blessing of the ancestors; the third is to strengthen the domestic security, and then go down the Yellow River to hold a meeting of princes in Wei (ju) Liang (place name) to order the internal affairs of the allies Coexisted peacefully, returned the invaded land, and arrested the monarchs of Zhu and Ju as punishment.

Qi Linggong did not attend the meeting of Huangliang, but still sent Shangqing Gaohou as a representative to attend the meeting.Jin Pinggong held a banquet to entertain princes from all over the world, and ordered the officials from all over the world to dance and write poems, saying: "The content of the song and the dance must match." It means that singing a red song must dance a red dance, and you can't hug a lady in KTV like many officials do now. Singing "Ten Sending the Red Army Away". For Gao Hou, the Huanliang meeting is the Hongmen banquet, the last lingering time before the complete separation between Qi and Jin.Gao Hou suddenly felt sad when he saw the officials from all over the world dancing on the stage drunkenly, or making eye contact with Duke Ping of Jin, or criticizing Duke Ling of Qi.When it was his turn to dance, he deliberately danced a folk dance of the Dongyi area, but sang a serious song from the Zhou Dynasty.Anyone who has a rough grasp of the melody knows that he is deliberately disobeying Jin Pinggong's order. Xun Yan, the marshal of the Jin State Army, was furious. He pressed his sword with one hand and pointed at Gao Hou with the other and said: "It seems that there are people here who have feelings for the State of Jin." Heart II!"

Duke Ping of Jin frowned, signaling Xun Yan to stay calm.Like Jin Gonggong, Jin Pinggong is also a calm person. He understands what the betrayal of Qi State means to Jin State. into a naked rupture. Gao Hou looked at Xun Yan contemptuously and continued his performance. According to the usual practice, the last part of the Huanliang meeting is to hold an oath. Representatives from various countries cut their fingers and drink blood wine to show that they treat each other sincerely and will not betray each other.Because Qi Linggong did not attend the meeting, Gao Hou could not sit on an equal footing with the princes of other countries. Jin Pinggong specially ordered the officials of various countries to hold an oath of alliance with Gao Hou in an attempt to win over Qi State for the last time.

As a result, Gao Hou left without saying goodbye.In desperation, important officials such as Xun Yan of the Jin State, Shusun Bao of the Lu State, Xiang Xu of the Song State, Ning Zhi of the Wei State, and Gongsun Pun of the Zheng State swore blood and swore: "If we discuss together, we will not be courted." That is to jointly crusade against those who do not respect the emperor of Zhou. The decline of Jin's hegemony was not obvious at first.Even with Qi's betrayal, in the eyes of other Central Plains countries, Jin is still an invincible overlord.This can be seen from a small incident.After Jin Mourning Duke died, Zheng Guo first sent Gongsun Xia to mourn, and then sent Gongsun Pun to participate in the funeral.According to the regulations of Zhou Li, when a prince died, other countries should send ordinary gentry to mourn, and doctors to participate in the funeral.Even if Jin Wengong and Jin Xianggong ruled the world back then, after their death, all countries only sent doctors to mourn and ministers to funeral to show their grandeur.Both Gongsun Xia and Gongsun Fan are Qing-level figures in Zheng Guo, which means that it is unprecedented for Zheng Guo to send two ministers to participate in Jin Yugong's funeral.

Before and after the death of Duke Mourning of Jin, some major events also happened in the state of Chu.In the autumn of 559 BC, the king of Chukang sent Yin Gongzizhen to crusade against the state of Wu, and the people of the state of Wu stayed behind closed doors.Because Gong Zizhen underestimated the fighting power of the Wu army and did not take strict precautions, he was ambushed by the Wu people in a place called Gaozhou.After returning to the country, Gong Zizhen couldn't afford to be ill. When he was dying, he called Gong Ziwu to explain the funeral, and emphasized: "We must strengthen the city defense of Yingdu!" Zuo Qiuming had a very high evaluation of Gong Zizhen, thinking that He did not forget the important affairs of the country even before his death, which is a manifestation of his loyalty to the monarch.

The defeat of Gao Zhou and the death of Gong Zizhen were great losses for Chu.Afterwards, Gong Ziwu succeeded Chu State Ling Yin, and under his auspices, Chu State appointed a series of important officials.The son Ba Rong was appointed as You Yin, the son Feng was appointed as the Great Sima, the son Tuo was appointed as the Right Sima, the son Cheng was appointed as the Zuo Sima, and Qu was appointed as Mo Ao. Ren palace stable Yin.These people worked together to maintain the political stability of Chu State. After the Huiliang meeting, Duke Ping of Jin sent Xun Yan and Luan Yan to lead troops to attack Chu State, and Chu State sent Gong Zige to lead troops to resist. The two sides fought in Zhanban (place name), Chu army was defeated, and Jin army took advantage of the situation to invade the northern part of Chu State The border, but did not dare to go deep, looted the Xu country that had been incorporated into the Chu country, and returned to the country.This incident shows that the strategic advantage of Jin and Chu's struggle for hegemony still remains on Jin's side, and Chu cannot pose a serious threat to Jin at this time.

It was Qi State that really caused Jin Pinggong a headache.Not long after Gao Hou fled from Huiliang, Duke Ling of Qi once again sent troops to besiege Chengcheng in Lu State.Meng Su, the son of Zhongsun Mie, led his troops to rescue. Qi Linggong was afraid of his courage, so he withdrew from the siege, and Chengcheng was saved by luck. Sensing the strong military pressure of Qi State, in the winter of 557 BC, Duke Xiang of Lu sent his uncle Sun Bao to Jin State, asking Jin State to shoulder the responsibility of the overlord, solve the problems of Qi State, and ensure the security of Lu State.The officials of the Jin State perfunctorily said to him: "After the death of the first king, the widowed king was busy with state affairs, and the ceremony for him has not yet been held, and the gods have been placed in the temple. In addition, the army and the people have not received good treatment from the recent crusade against Chu. Rest. Otherwise, how could we sit idly by Qi Guo's actions?" Uncle Sunbao stomped his feet and said, "It is precisely because the people of Qi are staring at Lu that I come here to ask for your help. The situation in Lu is critical, and it has reached a precarious situation. Everyone stretched their necks and turned towards the west. Looking at the autumn water, he said, "Jin's reinforcements should be here soon!" If you wait until you are free, the state of Lu will perish long ago." The Jin people were speechless. Later, Uncle Sunbao met Xun Yan and read a poem "Praying for Father": The translation is: Prayer, praying father, you are the right and left hand of the king, how can you make the people suffer from hardships and worries, and live without a fixed place? After hearing this, Xun Yan said with a face full of shame: "I know the crime, how can I not share your sympathy with the country and let the state of Lu fall into such a situation?" Shu Sunbao went to see Shigai again, and read to him the last chapter of Hongyan: It means: swan geese fly up and down, whining endlessly, only sensible people know that I am suffering and suffering, those stupid guys also say that I am arrogant. Shi Gai understood as soon as he heard it, and said, "With me here, how dare you disturb the peace of Lu?" However, even with the assurances of the No. 1 and No. 2 figures in the army, the Jin State still has not taken actual action.In the summer of 556 BC, new conflicts emerged within the Allies. The Wei State sent troops to invade the Cao State and captured the Chongqiu (place name) of the Cao State.The cause of the incident was that Sun Kuai, the son of Sun Lin's father, crossed the border and ran to the territory of Cao State to hunt.The residents of Chongqiu closed their doors and insulted him, saying: "Your father is the most vicious person who drives out the king with his own hands. You are not ashamed of this, why do you come here to hunt?" Because of this incident, The relationship between the two countries deteriorated, and eventually they met each other with swords.The Cao people couldn't beat the Wei people, so they went to Jin to sue, which added a little trouble to Jin Pinggong who was already in a bad mood. In the autumn of the same year, Duke Ling of Qi once again sent troops to invade the northern border of Lu State and surrounded Taocheng (place name); at the same time, he sent Gao Hou to lead an army to surround Fangcheng.Fangcheng was the territory of the Zang family, and Zang Sunhe was responsible for guarding the land, so he was trapped in the city by Gao Hou.In order to prevent important state officials from falling into the enemy's hands, Lu Xianggong sent troops to rescue Zang Sunhe from Yangguan and stationed in Lusong (place name).The doctor Shu Lianghe, the father of Confucius, took three hundred warriors to break through the siege of the Qi army at night, and entered Fangcheng. After taking Zang Sunhe safely to Lvsong, he turned around and killed again Enter Fangcheng, join the defenders, and hold on until the Qi army withdraws. The Qi people are not without gains.Zang Sunhe's younger brother Zang Jian was wounded and captured in the battle, and was taken back to Qi by Gao Hou.Duke Ling of Qi admired the courage of the people of Lu and knew that the sons of the Zang family were strong, so he quickly sent the eunuch Su Shawei to comfort Zang Jian, hoping that Zang Jian would not commit suicide. Speaking of this Sushawei, there is another story to tell: In the spring of 571 BC, the State of Qi sent troops to attack the State of Lai. A hundred horses and a hundred fat cows went to bribe him.Sushawei got the benefit and pleaded for Lai in front of Qi Linggong, which made Qi Linggong easily give up his plan to attack Lai and return his troops back to the country. "Through this incident, I know why Qi Linggong was posthumously called 'Ling'." Zuo Qiuming wrote in "Zuo Zhuan", "Ling" is an evil posthumous title, which means "chaos without chaos". damage".The ancients made a final conclusion, basically promoting the good and concealing the evil. As long as a person does not make too much trouble, he will not get a bad posthumous posthumous title anyway. Zang Jian said to Su Shawei: "Thank you for your kindness. He gave me immortality, but he deliberately sent a greedy villain who had been castrated to pay respects to a 'scholar'. It is really unacceptable." Su Shawei was so angry that his face was blue, and he pointed at Zang Jian and cursed: "You, you prisoner, don't be ignorant of flattery!" "Who lifts me up?" Zang Jian sneered, "You lift me up? Is there a greater shame for me than this?" After speaking, he took a sharp wooden stake beside him and stabbed it into his wound. Bleeding to death. The situation deteriorated further.In the winter of the same year, the state of Zhu, under the envoy of the state of Qi, sent troops to invade the southern border of the state of Lu.In the second year, that is, in the autumn of 555 BC, Qi Linggong personally led troops to invade the northern part of Lu State.This time, the state of Jin could no longer sit idly by.Duke Ping of Jin ordered Xun Yan to rectify the army and prepare to attack Qi. Just the night before the Jin army was about to set off, Xun Yan had a dream. He dreamed that Duke Li of Jin was fighting a lawsuit with him in the Heavenly Court, and Duke Li of Jin won the case.Duke Li of Jin swung a spear, chopped off Xun Yan's head, and dropped it to the ground.Xun Yan knelt down, picked up his head and put it back on his neck, clasped his hands tightly to prevent it from falling again, and ran away as if flying, and met Wu Gao from Jiyang (place name) on the road. As we all know, Luan Shu and Xun Yan were the masterminds who kidnapped and killed Duke Li of Jin 20 years ago. Xun Yan had such a dream, perhaps because of his subconscious sense of guilt.Strangely, the next morning, when Xun Yan led the army to set off, he met Wu Gao on the road.Xun Yan stopped to talk to him, and found that Wu Gao also had the same dream last night!This is simply the plot of "Inception".Wu Gao calculated with his fingers, and predicted two things to Xun Yan: First, Xun Yan will die within a year; Second, if "something happens in the East", you can succeed. Hearing what Wu Gao said, everyone was very sad.Xun Yan himself was very open-minded, and comforted everyone by saying: "Everyone is mortal, and I have lived to this age, and it doesn't matter if I die. As for the success in the East, isn't it about crusade against Qi? This is a good thing!" " When the army was crossing the Yellow River, Xun Yan tied two pairs of beautiful jade with red ribbons and prayed: "Relying on the dangerous terrain and the large number of people, the Qi State broke the oath of friendship from generation to generation, bullied neighboring countries, and abused the people. The emperor's entourage Ji Biao (Jin Ping Gong's name Biao) will lead the princes to crusade, and Ji Biao's minister Xun Yan will serve in front of the saddle and behind the horse. If the battle is won, the gods will not be ashamed, and Xun Yan, a subject, will not dare to cross the Yellow River again. Please ask the gods to watch !” After speaking, he threw the beautiful jade into the river. The so-called not daring to cross the Yellow River again means that Xun Yan knew that his death was approaching, so he dared not pray for two more years of life. In October of the same year, princes from Jin, Lu, Song, Wei, Zheng, Cao, Ju, Zhu, Teng, Xue, Qi, Xiaozhu and other countries gathered on the shore of Jishui in Lu State to review the oath of the Weiliang meeting and jointly Crusade against Qi.It is worth mentioning that the small countries in Shandong such as Ju and Zhu were originally guided by Duke Ling of Qi. As soon as the Jin army arrived, they immediately joined the ranks of the crusade against Qi. It may be a necessary means for small countries to survive. Duke Ling of Qi deployed his troops at Fangmen (the Great Wall built by the State of Qi, stretching from the sea in the east to Jishui in the west) near Pingyin (place name). A strong defensive position, ready to fight a protracted war with the coalition forces. However, Su Shawei believed that this position was still unreliable, and advised him: "The enemy army is strong, it is better to retreat to the danger of Mount Tai." Qi linggong did not adopt his opinion. Under the leadership of Xun Yan, the allied forces of the princes stormed the defense gate day and night, causing many casualties on both sides.Shi Gai had a long-standing relationship with the Zi family, a senior official of the State of Qi, and sent someone to send a secret letter to the Zi family, saying: "You and I have known each other for a long time, so I have nothing to hide from you. To tell you the truth, Lu Guo and Ju The capital of the country asks all parties to send thousands of chariots to raid Linzi from the southwest and southeast, and the Marquis of Jin has already agreed to them. If this is the case, Qi will surely perish, why don't you make preparations earlier?" Shi Gai's words are a bit like coaxing a child. First, there is no reason to reveal the secrets of the military easily. Second, Ju is only a small country. Even if the whole country gathers its strength, it can at most take out six hundred chariots. How can there be thousands of chariots?But Zijia's face turned pale immediately after reading the letter. He didn't care to dress neatly, and hurried to Qi Linggong's big tent to report.When Qi Linggong heard this information, he was also stunned, speechless for a long time.At that time, Yan Ruo was dead, and his son Yan Ying was waiting beside Qi Linggong. Seeing Qi Linggong's distraught look, he secretly said to others: "The king is timid, and now he hears about such things, I'm afraid he can't hold on." How long." As mentioned earlier, in the era of cold weapons, siege is a waste of money and people, and it is considered the last resort in "Sun Tzu's Art of War".The defense gate is the Great Wall carefully built by the people of Qi, plus a trench with a width of one mile, the danger is added to the danger, easy to defend but difficult to attack.The allied forces of the princes attacked the defense gate fiercely, and although they caused heavy damage to the Qi army, their own casualties must be higher than that of the Qi army.For Xun Yan, this was a bad deal. He had to get rid of the unfavorable situation of siege as soon as possible, so there was the letter that Shi Gai sent to Zi's family. The next day, Qi Linggong boarded Wushan to look at the Jin army.Xun Yan sent people to open mountains and build bridges. Even in extremely dangerous places, he ordered people to plant banners and pretend that someone was setting up the formation.He also ordered the soldiers on the chariot to go first with a big banner, and to drag a group of soldiers behind the chariot. Bundle branches and create a dusty formation.Qi Linggong gasped, and said to the left and right: "There are so many enemies!" He left the main force that day and fled under the pretext of going back to Linzi to arrange defense. As soon as Qi Linggong left, the fighting spirit of the Qi army dropped sharply.On a dark and windy night at the end of October, the Qi army who defended the gate quietly withdrew from their positions, and the defense gate became an unguarded gate. Xun Yan's trick blossomed, and the bluff was a complete success. Shi Kuang, the chief conductor of the Jin court band, was the first to notice the withdrawal of the Qi army.Let me explain here that most of the musicians in the Spring and Autumn Period were blind. Like Mei Chaofeng, they had no eyesight and excellent hearing.Shi Kuang heard the birds singing above Fangcheng in the night wind, and said to Jin Pinggong, "You are so happy to hear the birds singing, the people of Qi must have run away." The second person who discovered the situation was Xinghou, a senior official of Jin State. He said to Xun Yan: "I heard the sound of war horses circling, and the people of Qi State may have fled." Not long after, Uncle Taifu also ran over and said to Jin Pinggong: "There are birds in the city, and the Qi army must have escaped." At the beginning of November, the coalition forces took over the defense gate and entered Pingyin City.After a little rest, Xun Yan led his troops to continue chasing the Qi army.In the army of Qi, Su Shawei took the initiative to ask for the rear. He ordered the soldiers to connect the chariots with iron chains, blocking the roads in the mountains.From this incident, we can see the complexity of human nature. Although Su Shawei was an eunuch and had stains in history, he was not afraid of powerful enemies at critical moments and dared to take on great responsibilities. But Sushawei's bravery was not respected accordingly.Qi General Zhichuo and Guo Zui said: "You are the guard of the army. This is a disgrace to Qi. You should go first and let us be the rear!" Sad, he didn't say anything. After returning to his camp, he ordered his soldiers to kill all the horses and fill them in the narrowest part of the mountain path.Up to now, there is still a place in Changqing, Shandong called "Gema Mountain", which is said to be the place where Sushawei killed horses and blocked roads. Ironically, Zhichuo and Guo looked down on Sushawei the most, but their own performance was not satisfactory.Zhou Chuo, the vanguard of the Jin army, caught up with them.Zhou Chuo was an excellent archer of the state of Jin. He shot two arrows at Zhi Chuo from a distance, one on his left shoulder and one on his right shoulder. The two arrows clamped Zhi Chuo's neck firmly.Zhi Chuo was in so much pain that he kept urging Guo Zui, who was driving the car: "Run, run!" Zhou Chuo shouted behind him: "Stop! At worst, you will become a prisoner of our army, and I will not kill you. If you If you dare to escape again, I will shoot you in the heart!" Zhi Chuo turned around and said, "I don't believe it—unless you swear not to kill me!" Zhou Chuo said: "With the proof of the sun, if I deceive you, I will die a terrible death." While pulling the bowstring to the full.Zhichuo quickly said: "I believe it, I believe it." He stopped the car and asked Zhou Chuo to tie himself up behind his back.Zhou Chuo's guard on the right side of the car, Gu Bing, also threw away his weapon and tied Guo Zui up.Zhou Chuo dedicated them to Jin Pinggong, and Jin Pinggong ordered them to sit under the drum of the Chinese army. Allied morale was at an all-time high.None of the soldiers of the Jin army wanted to stop, chasing the deserters from Qi all the way.The troops of Lu and Wei also took the initiative to attack dangerous places.In mid-November, Xun Yan and Shi Gai led the Chinese army to capture Jingzi, Wei Jiang and Luan Ying led the troops to capture Bei, and Zhao Wu and Han Qi led the upper army to besiege Lu.Jingzi, Beidi, and Ludi are all strategically important places in the Taishan Mountains. After the fall of these three places, Linzi has no danger to defend, and Qi State is in jeopardy. In early December, the allied forces arrived at Qinzhou near Linzi, using Qinzhou as the bridgehead for the final general attack.Shi Yang of Jin State was in charge of besieging Yongmen (the west gate of Linzi), and the people of Qi State did not dare to go out to fight. Shi Yang's charioteer Zhuixi even went to Yongmen and killed a dog with a long spear, and returned safely.Meng Su of the state of Lu cut down the trees outside the city and made a harp for Duke Xiang of Lu.The allied forces flaunted their power outside Linzi City. First they set fire to the buildings outside Yongmen, then burned the woods and bamboo forests next to Shenchi, and then burned the outer city in the east of the city.Shi Yang turned to attack Yangmen (Northwest Gate of Linzi), Zhou Chuo attacked Donglu (East Gate of Linzi), stayed in the gate for a long time, and counted all the copper nails on the gate. Qi Linggong couldn't stand the fright, so he got into the carriage and prepared to flee to Tangdi.Da Ziguang and doctor Guo Rong stopped him.Da Ziguang grabbed the reins of his army chariot and said, "The enemy army is moving quickly and fighting bravely. They mainly want to plunder supplies and don't intend to stay long. What are you afraid of? Besides, you are the leader of a country, so you can't speak lightly. Give up, otherwise you will lose everyone's support, please stay in the city!" Qi Linggong's face was livid, and he shouted: "Get out of the way!" He was about to force his way through with his carriage.Da Ziguang suddenly drew his sword and cut off Ma Yang (the harness around the horse's neck) before blocking the military chariot.Left and right swarmed up, pushing and persuading Qi Linggong, forcing him back to the palace. Facts have proved that Da Ziguang's judgment is accurate.In mid-December, the coalition forces left some troops to continue to monitor Linzi, but the main force moved eastward and plundered the Weishui River Basin; then moved south, hitting the Yishui River Basin. No matter what, Linzi was saved for the time being.