Chapter 11 It's the fault of the wind again

In the winter of 550 BC, when Zang Sunhe cut off the door bolt and escaped from the State of Lu, the army of the State of Qi was returning from the victory of the State of Jin. When passing through the state of Ju, Duke Zhuang of Qi suddenly gave an order to attack Qieyu (the city of the state of Ju).There was no justifiable reason for this extravagant battle, it was all because of Qi Zhuanggong's whim.As a result, the Qi army stormed for a day, but not only failed to capture Qiyu, but Duke Zhuang himself was shot in the thigh by a stray arrow. Early the next morning, the Qi army assembled in Shoushu (the place name of Ju State), preparing to attack Jucheng, the capital of Ju State.In order to catch the Ju people by surprise, Duke Zhuang of Qi also sent the doctor Qizhi and Hua to lead a surprise attack force, and entered the valley between Qieyu and Jucheng the night before, preparing to raid Jucheng.

However, what Qizhi and Hua didn't expect was that after marching overnight, when they approached a small village named Puhou under Jucheng the next morning, they found a group of soldiers led by Juzi (the king of Juguo) The troops are already there in full battle. If the surprise attack force is discovered, it will lose the meaning of surprise attack.In addition, in order to cross the valley, the surprise attack troops are all composed of infantry, which can be said to be vulnerable to the phalanx of chariots waiting in full force.Juzi sent someone to send a carload of gold and silver treasures to Qizhi and Hua, saying: "Please don't die here, and form an alliance with me!"

From the perspective of Juzi, Qi State is far larger than Ju State. Even if the Ju army wins a temporary victory, it will not be able to change Qi State's military advantage.Therefore, Juzi didn't want to beat the Qi army too badly, but hoped to persuade the Qi army to retreat in a decent way and calm things down. "Abandoning your mission because you are greedy for money, isn't it something you despise?" Qi Zhihehua also replied to Juzi, "We came here last night by the king's order, and we gave up our mission before noon today to form an alliance with you. Even if we go back alive , where do you have the face to see people?"

For a true warrior, there is no such thing as a decent retreat, only victory or death, either. As a result of this battle, the Qi army's surprise attack force completely collapsed, Hua Huan fled, and Qi Zhi died in battle.After hearing the news, Duke Zhuang of Qi lowered his banners and drums, and accepted the truce agreement proposed by Ju State.The troops withdrew from Ju and continued to march toward Qi. Among the welcome crowd in the outskirts of Linzi, Duke Zhuang of Qi saw Qizhi's wife.Thinking that Qi Zhi's death was entirely due to his own troubles, Duke Zhuang of Qi felt very sorry, so he sent an envoy to express condolences to the woman.

"Qiliang (Qizhi Ziliang) was defeated and guilty. How dare the Lord Lao send someone to express his condolences? If he is lucky enough to be exonerated, his ancestors' dilapidated houses are still in the city, and the concubine dare not accept condolences in the suburbs." The woman refused. Duke Zhuang's condolences. According to the regulations of Zhou Li, only people with low status can accept condolences in the suburbs.Qi Zhi is a doctor, and Qi Zhuanggong sent people to mourn him in the suburbs. Although his feelings were sincere, his behavior was "indecent".Hearing the woman's reply, Duke Zhuang of Qi was ashamed. After returning to Linzi, he went to Qi Zhi's house to express his condolences.

Because of this incident, Qi Zhi's wife became a celebrity in Chinese history.Confucian scholars sought after her as a "martyr girl", and Zeng Zi, Mencius and others expressed their admiration for her without hesitation.Folklore even adapted her story, saying that after she learned the news of Qi Zhi's death in battle, she "cry to the city, the land collapsed and the city fell".There is no doubt that this cry traveled through time and space and became the original blueprint for Meng Jiangnu's story hundreds of years later. After returning from the state of Jin, Duke Zhuang of Qi began to seek to establish a military alliance with the state of Chu, sent people to visit the state of Chu many times, and even asked to meet King Chukang.In the summer of 549 BC, King Chukang sent Wei Qijiang as a plenipotentiary special envoy to visit Linzi to make preliminary arrangements for the meeting between the kings of Qi and Chu.

Have friends come from afar?Especially in the situation where Qi State is worried about Jin State's revenge, the arrival of Xie Qijiang will undoubtedly give Qi Zhuanggong a shot in the arm.In order to reflect the hospitality of the Qi people, Duke Zhuang of Qi not only gave Xie Qijiang the highest standard of reception, but also held a grand military parade for him. Behind the show of force, there is always a restless heart hidden.Seeing this scene, Chen Xuwu commented coldly: "Qi will soon be invaded. I heard that if you have something to show off your weapons, you will be cut off one day!"

Jin's revenge came faster than expected.In the autumn of the same year, Duke Ping of Jin convened a meeting of princes from twelve states including Lu, Song, Zheng, Cao, Ju, Zhu, Teng, Xue, and Qi in Yiyi in Jin to prepare for a crusade against Qi.When Duke Zhuang of Qi heard the news, he quickly sent Chen Wuyu, son of Chen Xuwu, to follow Xie Qijiang back to Chu State. On the one hand, he explained to King Chukang that the war was approaching and they could not meet as scheduled, and on the other hand, he asked Chu State to send troops to rescue him. A sudden heavy rain bought time for Duke Zhuang of Qi.This heavy rain fell from October to November, and the floods flooded the roads. The Twelve-Nation Allied Forces headed by Jin could only stand by in Yiyi, unable to move.When the rain stopped and the traffic resumed, King Chu Kang took action.He personally led the army from Yingdu to Xinzheng, the capital of Zheng State.The Chu army first surrounded the east gate of Xinzheng, launched several deterrent attacks, and then stationed in Jize in the southeast of Xinzheng, assuming a posture to face the coalition forces of the princes.

King Chukang's punch was very accurate.Zheng Guo is the heart of the Central Plains. If Zheng Guo loses, the balance between Jin and Chu for hegemony will be broken immediately.Duke Ping of Jin couldn't afford to lose to Zheng State, so he had to put Qi State aside for the time being and return to fight against Chu State. The two sides confronted each other on the outskirts of Xinzheng. Since 555 BC, when Yin Gongziwu, the order of the state of Chu, led an army to crusade against the state of Zheng, the state of Chu has maintained a military silence. In 552 BC, Prince Wu died, and Prince Zhui Shu succeeded as Ling Yin of Chu State.But the young master chased after Shu for only one year, and because of his arrogance and negligence in employing people, he was killed by King Chukang in the court hall.Then King Chukang appointed Xiongzi Feng as Lingyin.With the lessons learned from the young master chasing Shu, Xie Zifeng is much more cautious. He is submissive in everything and dare not go overboard. The courageous and bold spirit of the people of Chu can no longer be found in Xie Zifeng. ——This is probably the main reason why the Chu State has been willing to live in seclusion in the south and ignore the affairs of the Central Plains for these years.

If it wasn't for the Luanying Rebellion in Jin State and the people of Qi State who took advantage of it, it would be hard to say whether the people of Chu State would dare to go northward and fight against each other. Before the start of the decisive battle, Jin Pinggong sent his senior officials Zhang Gu and Fu Zhi to the camp of the Chu Army to "Zhi Shi". As mentioned earlier, during the Spring and Autumn Period, countries still retained the ancient customs of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. In every battle, the warriors would be dispatched to attack the enemy's position on bicycles to beat the morale of the enemy, which was called "Zhishi".

Zhang Gu and Fu Zhi made a request to Zheng Jiangong: send them a coachman.This request is reasonable, because the Jin people are not familiar with the terrain and can only rely on the locals of Zheng to lead the way. Zheng Jiangong did not dare to neglect, after careful selection and asking divination and fortune-telling, he found a son of the official family, Gongsun Shegou, who has good roots, strong political skills, and superb skills, to take on this important task. Considering that the people of Jin are arrogant and regard the princes of the world as nothing, Zheng Jiangong also specially sent his uncle to Gongsun Shegou to explain to Gongsun Shegou that he must be courteous to the warriors of the big country, do not try to fight against them, and give way to everything, so as not to cause trouble. Unnecessary international conflicts. Hearing what Uncle Zi said, Gongsun Shegou was very unhappy: "I don't care what kind of country is big or not, the position of the coachman is above other people, this is the universal axiom, why should we let them?" If the time is pushed back 2,500 years, someone will teach Gongsun Shegou that when it comes to dealing with big countries, there are three things that are reasonable and three things that are unreasonable, and it is not your turn to complain.But Uncle Zi obviously doesn't know such a profound theory, and probably has never seen a pole, so he can only say to Gongsun Shegou dryly: "That's not what you said, there are no pines and cypresses on the hills." It's a small mountain, and the state of Jin is a steep mountain. They can't be compared at all. Why do you have to argue about it? Gongsun Shegou held back his anger, and drove his chariot to the camp of the Jin army.It happened that Zhang Gu and Fu Chi were having breakfast in the tent, and when they heard that Gongsun Shegou was coming, they didn't tell him to come in, so they let him sit outside the tent and wait.After eating, let people bring out the rest of the food to Gongsun Shegou. Gongsun Shegou is Zheng Guo's "Gongsun" at any rate. Zhang Gu and Fu Li obviously did not regard him as a "shegou", but omitted the word "she".Gongsun Shegou suppressed his anger, picked up two mouthfuls of food randomly, and began to plan how to get revenge on these two arrogant guys. After breakfast, the three of them set off for Chuying.Zhang Gu and Fu Zhi asked Gongsun Shegou to drive the chariot first, but they themselves sat in a comfortable carriage (the usual light carriage) and followed behind unhurriedly. This is not going to teach a teacher, it is like going on vacation!Gongsun Shegou gritted his teeth with hatred when he saw the two people's leisurely look. They didn't get on Gongsun Shegou's chariot until they saw the flag of the Chu army, and then each took out a Qin from his rucksack, put it on the crossbar behind the chariot, tuned the strings, closed his eyes, Sing and play in harmony. Zhang Laosan, let me ask you, where is your hometown? (Zhang Gu ranked third, so he was called Zhang Laosan) My home is in Shanxi, three hundred miles away across the river... (Jin State is in Shanxi) Gongsun Shegou couldn't stand listening any longer, seeing that he was approaching Chu Ying, he shook the reins secretly, without notifying the two guys, the chariot galloped in. "Slow down, slow down!" The Jin people put the Qin in their pockets and took out their helmets to put them on. After entering the Chu camp, they jumped out of the cart with bare hands without weapons, and beat anyone they saw, and then lifted them up when they were knocked out, and threw them at other Chu soldiers like sandbags, or tied them up and put them under their armpits.I could only hear the Chu army screaming again and again, and in an instant, a large area was cleaned up. Gongsun Shegou saw this opportunity, turned his horse's head around suddenly, and rushed out of the camp at full speed.Bye bye you two!You guys stay in Chuying and continue throwing sandbags, I will not accompany you.Gongsun Shegou laughed secretly, and crackled his whip. When he rushed out of the camp gate and couldn't help turning his head to look, he couldn't help but gasped, and almost couldn't even hold the reins——I don't know when, Zhang Gu and Fu Zhi had already joined his battle The chariot is shooting at the chasing Chu soldiers with a bow and an arrow! The three ran wildly all the way, and after they were out of danger, Zhang Gu and Fu Chi took out their pianos to play again.Fu Li teased: "I said Gongsun, if you ride in the same car, you are brothers. Why don't you discuss it when you enter and leave Chuying?" Gongsun Shegou faltered and said: "When I went in, I just wanted to go in, but when I came out, I was afraid, and I didn't care about discussing it." Both Jin people laughed and said, "Gongsun is such a quick-tempered person!" After being hit by this division, and Wu Guo people instigated Shujiu, a vassal of Chu State, to betray Chu State behind the scenes, which caused a shock in Chu State. country. Although King Chukang's Northern Expedition did not take advantage, Duke Qi Zhuang of Shandong was greatly relieved.Taking advantage of the confrontation between Jin and Chu in Henan, he sneaked in and sent hundreds of craftsmen to Wangji to build the palace for King Ling of Zhou that was damaged by the flood last year. Duke Zhuang of Qi spared no expense to please the royal family, so he naturally hoped to get the support of the royal family and gain the moral capital to fight against Jin.Interestingly, when Duke Xiang of Lu heard the news, he quickly sent his uncle Sun Bao to visit Luoyi and congratulate King Ling of Zhou on the repair of the palace. "Zuo Zhuan" records like this: "Wang Jiaqi is polite, and he gave him Dalu." It is said that Zhou Lingwang praised Uncle Sun Bao for his courtesy, and gave him a "Dalu" car. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that the state of Lu is flattering the royal family this time, but it is indirectly showing favor to the state of Qi-you repair the palace for the emperor, and I congratulate you on your successful repair.This flattery is level!However, Duke Zhuang of Qi refused to accept this. Just after the Spring Festival in the second year (548 BC), he sent Cui Zhu to lead troops to invade the northern border of Lu State to punish Lu State for following Jin State against Qi State all these years. Duke Xiang of Lu was timid, so he immediately sent someone to Jin State for emergency.Doctor Meng Gongchuo analyzed: "The Qi army's invasion this time is different from the usual ones. They neither looted property nor forced to attack the city. Why? That's because Cui Zhu had other plans in his heart, and he didn't really want to attack our country. The troops will be withdrawn soon, there is no need to be so nervous." Let me add a word here, Meng Gongchuo is still a little famous in the Confucian circle.Confucius once commented on him: "Meng Gongchuo is more than enough to be a retainer of Zhao and Wei, but he is not qualified to be a doctor of Teng and Xue." Zhao and Wei are the Zhao and Wei families of the Jin State, and they were powerful in the Jin State for a while.Teng and Xue are small countries in Shandong, vassals of Lu.What Confucius meant by this sentence is that Meng Gongchuo is a clean and honest person, with no desires or desires. If he is a retainer of a high official in a big country, he has a high status and a light job. It must be unbearable, and I am afraid it will be difficult to do. Meng Gongchuo's analysis was very accurate.Cui Zhu only feigned a shot at the border between the two countries, and went back soon. What kind of "other plans" did Cui Zhu have in mind, so that Meng Gongchuo saw the clue? It turned out to be a romantic affair-- Cui Zhu had a retainer named Dong Guoyan.Dong Guoyan has an elder sister, who is called Tangjiang because she married Tang Gong, a doctor in Tangyi, Qi State. Many years ago, when Duke Tang passed away, Dong Guoyan drove Cui Zhu to express his condolences.Unexpectedly, when Cui Zhu saw Tang Jiang, he lost his mind and said directly to Dong Guoyan: "I want to marry your sister as my wife." Dong Guoyan was taken aback, not because he thought Cui Zhu was absurd—for a woman, it was very common in those days to remarry after her husband died—but because she thought it was against the rules. This rule is "no marriage with the same surname". "You are a descendant of Duke Ding, and I am a descendant of Duke Huan. We both have the surname Jiang. How can we get married?" Dong Guoyan said to Cui Zhu.Dinggong is Qi Dinggong, the son of Jiang Taigong and the second monarch of Qi.Duke Huan is Duke Huan of Qi, Jiang Xiaobai.It can be seen from this that Cui Zhu's surname is Cui, and Dongguo Yan's surname is Dongguo. They are indeed the same surname and cannot be married. Of course Cui Zhu also knew the reason why people with the same surname should not marry.However, Tang Jiang was so beautiful that even in black mourning clothes, there was a smell of ecstasy, which made him ecstatic and unable to stop.After returning home, he immediately ordered someone to have a fortune teller about marrying Tang Jiang, and the result was "the big fault of being trapped", that is, the hexagram "trapped" became the hexagram "big fault". The upper hexagram of the Kun hexagram is Dui (representing Ze), and the lower hexagram is Kan (representing water), which is the so-called "Ze Shui sleepy"; the upper hexagram of the Daguo hexagram is Dui, and the lower hexagram is Xun (representing wind), which is the so-called "Zefeng is too big". In the theory of "Book of Changes", Kan also represents middle-aged males (different from eldest males and young males), and Dui represents young girls.The fortune teller knew that Cui Zhu wanted Tang Jiang very much, so he said perfunctorily, "A middle-aged man matches a girl, this is auspicious." Cui Zhu was very happy, but he was still not at ease, so he went to Chen Xuwu again for analysis.Chen Xuwu pinched his fingers and counted for a long time, frowned slightly, and said to Cui Zhu: "This is the husband following the trend (Kan becomes Xun), and he fell under his wife (Xun Zai Duxia), in my opinion, you You must never marry this woman, or there will be future troubles!" Cui Zhu didn't take it seriously: "She's just a widow, she's not a young girl, so what can be the hindrance? Even if she is a husband, her first husband has already passed it, so it has nothing to do with me." So he ignored Chen Xuwu's advice and sent Tang Jiang married back home. Strange to say, after Tang Jiang married into the Cui family, Cui Zhu's luck in the officialdom skyrocketed, and the official became bigger and bigger. In 554 BC, when Qi Linggong was dying, he drove his eldest son Guang (that is, Qi Zhuanggong) to live in the eastern part of Qi State, and changed his son Ya to be the eldest son.With the help of Cui Zhu, the eldest son Guang returned to Linzi, hid in Cui Zhu's mansion, looked for an opportunity to launch a coup, and seized power. Cui Zhu thus became a minister under one man and above ten thousand. Perhaps it was during this hiding process that Duke Zhuang of Qi had close contact with Tang Jiang, and the relationship between the two became unclear.After becoming a king, Duke Zhuang of Qi often went to Cui Zhu's house, looking for opportunities to relive his dreams with Tang Jiangyuan. It's fine if it's just adultery, Cui Zhu wouldn't fall out with his master because of a remarried woman.The problem is that Duke Zhuang of Qi was so good that he acted like a good boy. He not only went to Cui Zhu's house to openly molested the hostess, but once brought Cui Zhu's hat back to the palace and gave it to others as a reward. Even the servants around him thought that Qi Zhuanggong had gone too far, and advised him not to make fun of Shangqing's hat.Duke Zhuang of Qi laughed loudly and said, "Cui Zhu can wear this hat, but others can't?" Is there anything more bullying in the world than this?Since then, Cui Zhu has had the desire to kill the king, but he has never been able to find a suitable opportunity. Because Duke Zhuang of Qi is always surrounded by a group of "big inner masters", all of whom are highly skilled in martial arts, and are dedicated to working for him. Duke Zhuang of Qi is fond of martial arts and is a "warrior fan". Collecting warriors is one of his lifelong hobbies.According to records: One day, when Duke Zhuang of Qi was out hunting, he saw a worm raising its arms to block his wheel. He felt very strange and asked the driver what kind of worm it was.The coachman replied: "This is a mantis! The characteristic of this kind of insect is that it knows how to advance but never retreats. It never underestimates its own strength and despises the enemy." Qi Zhuanggong sighed: "If a person has such courage, he will be invincible in the world." It’s gone.” So he ordered the coachman to return to the cart to avoid the praying mantis. Later generations use "mantis' arms as a cart" to describe overreaching, which is mostly derogatory.But in Qi Zhuanggong's view, the mantis' arms as a chariot is even more courageous and worthy of admiration. In fact, Duke Zhuang of Qi approves and even tolerates any form of courage.As I said before, Qi Zhi's wife refused to accept his condolences in the suburbs, so he went to Qi Zhi's house to express condolences in person. This is probably not only an affirmation of Qi Zhi's courage, but also an affirmation of this woman's courage.And Zang Sunhe said to his face that he was like a mouse, but he just left the table angrily, without giving Zang Sunhe any punishment.Most of the evaluations of Duke Zhuang of Qi in history were classified as a militaristic and faint king.But in my opinion, the preference for courage and tolerance for different opinions are the basic elements for a nation not to be reduced to a mob. Birds of a feather flock together.Because Qi Zhuanggong had such hobbies, all the warriors in the world yearned for Linzi at that time, and formed a small circle of top masters around him. Zhou Chuo, a warrior who fled from the state of Jin, was also among them and became the "Qi Dynasty". One of the eight masters of the Palace". With these people by Qi Zhuanggong's side, it was difficult for Cui Zhu to find a chance to attack. However, no matter how careful the precautions are, there will inevitably be loopholes, and the loopholes often appear in the links that seem to be the least likely to go wrong. Among the "Eight Masters of the Palace of Qi", there was a man named Jia Ju who was beaten by Duke Zhuang of Qi with a whip because of a trivial incident that made Duke Zhuang unhappy. In Qi Zhuanggong's view, beating is kissing and scolding is love. After the beating, he still took Jia Ju with him as if nothing had happened.Cui Zhu got in touch with Jia Ju secretly after hearing this information. Every move, word and deed of Duke Zhuang of Qi was continuously transmitted to Cui Zhu's ears through Jia Ju. In May 548 BC, Juzi came to Qi State to pay homage to Qi Zhuanggong in order to thank Duke Zhuang of Qi for letting go of a horse in Ju State last year.Duke Zhuang of Qi hosted a banquet in Beicheng for Juzi.Cui Zhu pretended to be ill and did not attend the banquet.The next day, Duke Zhuang of Qi went to Cui Zhu's mansion to express his condolences. When he entered the house to ask, he found that Cui Zhu was not at home. People with a little bit of political sensitivity can easily find something wrong with it.Since Cui Zhu was so ill that he couldn't even attend important state affairs, how could he not stay at home?But Qi Zhuanggong's first reaction was not suspicion, but joy.He walked to the backyard of Cui's house with ease, came to Tang Jiang's door, patted the pillar lightly and sang a love song with a long meaning. Seeing this situation, Jia Ju made a grimace, blocked the other masters at the backyard door, and quietly closed the courtyard door.No one doubted Jia Ju's actions—I stood guard when the leader slept, but I didn't care who he slept with, right? After Qi Zhuanggong finished singing, there was still no movement in Tang Jiang's room.He couldn't help feeling strange, it wasn't like this in the past!So he gently opened the door, one foot just stepped into the door, the other foot was still outside the door, a cold light struck in the darkness!He dodged subconsciously and dodged the knife.When I looked closely again, there was no Tangjiang in the room, only a mass of heavily armed soldiers! "Cui Zhu, where is Cui Zhu?" Qi Zhuanggong shouted loudly while stepping back. No one answered his question, only pressing harder and harder. Duke Zhuang of Qi ran into the yard and climbed up to the high platform above the rockery, only to find that Cui Zhu had used a hundred warriors to deal with him.These people surrounded the rockery, and someone had already aimed at him with a bow and arrow. "Don't kill me, don't kill me!" Qi Zhuanggong shouted, "Tell Cui Zhu, I know I was wrong." "No." Someone replied. "I am willing to form an alliance with Cui Zhu and give him half of Qi." "no." "I am the king, you can't treat me like this... Cui Zhu, Cui Zhu, where are you? If you want me to die, let me commit suicide in the temple. I don't want to die at the hands of these people." "Stop yelling. Your servant Cui Zhu is seriously ill and cannot come to obey orders. This is near the palace. We are ordered to patrol and arrest adulterers. Other than that, we will not accept any orders." people answered this way. Duke Zhuang of Qi gritted his teeth, made a run-up movement, and jumped directly from the high platform to the wall, trying to jump over the wall.Before the man could get close to the wall, an arrow shot through his thigh and knocked him to the ground.The warriors rushed up and hacked him to death. At the same time, the "Eight Masters of the Qi Palace" guarding the gate, including Jia Ju, were also attacked by ambushing soldiers with random arrows. Only Zhi Chuo, who was once called the big rooster by Duke Zhuang of Qi, escaped by chance. The incident in the Cui family soon shocked the entire Qi State. The doctor Zhu Tuo's father was ordered to hold a sacrificial ceremony in Gaotang at that time. When he came back, he didn't even take off the sacrificial clothes, and went directly to Cui's house to condemn Cui Zhu, who was killed by Cui Zhu. Minister of Fisheries (fisherman) Shen Kuai asked his retainers to flee with their wives and children, saying: "The country is in trouble, and I can only serve the country with death." Morality?" Follow him to the death. Qi Zhuanggong's uncle, Li Mie, was killed by Cui Zhu in Pingyin. Lu Pugui, Duke Zhuang's favorite, and Wang He fled to Ju. Just as the ministers were rushing to serve the country with death, a dwarf and his retainers stood outside Cui Zhu's door, neither giving a speech nor attacking Cui Zhu with a knife, and stood like that for several days. This person is Yan Ying. His retainers couldn't help asking: "Are we going to die to follow the late king?" "Nonsense!" Yan Ying said, "Could it be that he is my monarch alone? He is the monarch of all the people of Qi. If he wants to die, everyone will die together. Why should I die for him alone?" The retainer breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately said: "Since we are not dead, let's run away!" "Joke! I didn't kill the king, why did I run away?" "Then..." The retainer choked for a moment, "Shall we go back?" "The king is dead, where do we go back? The king is the king of the people, not a ruler over the people, but an important person who presides over the society. As a subject of the king, it is not for the salary, but Support the country. If the king dies for the country, his subjects should die too; if he flees for the country, his subjects should also flee. If the king dies for himself and flees for himself, why should others die with him except his personal cronies? , to escape? Besides, in this situation, even if I want to go back, where can I go back?" A few days later, the door of Cui's house finally opened.Yan Ying walked in, went all the way to the backyard, and put his head on Qi Zhuanggong's lap and cried loudly.After crying, he stood up and jumped up three times before walking out leisurely. Someone said to Cui Zhu, "Hurry up and kill this dwarf." Cui Zhu stared at Yan Ying's back in a daze, shook his head after a long time and said, "No. This man has a very high reputation among the government and the public. If I don't kill him, I can win the hearts of the people." As mentioned earlier, in the winter of 575 BC, the granduncle Qiaoru of the State of Lu fled to the State of Qi and dedicated his daughter to Duke Ling of Qi.This woman was called Mu Mengji in history, and she gave birth to a group of children for Qi Linggong, one of whom was named Chujiu.After the death of Duke Zhuang of Qi, Cui Zhu established Chujiu as the king, which was the Duke Jing of Qi in history.Cui Zhu himself served as the minister of Qi Jinggong, and appointed Qingke's son Qingfeng as the left minister, and held an enthronement ceremony for Qi Jinggong in the temple. The so-called enthronement ceremony is actually a loyalty ceremony. It is not to show loyalty to Qi Jinggong, but to show loyalty to Cui Zhu and Qing Feng.For this reason, even the sworn oath has been completely redesigned.When the master of ceremonies said "If there are people who are not attached to the Cui family and the Qing family...", Yan Ying suddenly stood up, interrupted the master of ceremonies, and said loudly: "If I, Yan Ying, are not attached to people who are loyal and patriotic , please God punish me!" Everyone present was taken aback.Qing Feng's face changed drastically, and he wanted to get angry at that moment, but Cui Zhu stopped him, saying: "Let him go, we don't need to compete with this dwarf." "Spring and Autumn" records: "Xia Wuyue Yihai, Qi Cui Zhu killed his king." According to "Zuo Zhuan", the Taishi of Qi State also wrote in this way: "Cui Zhu killed his king." After Cui Zhu saw it, he killed him.Then Taishi's younger brother was asked to write, "Cui Zhu killed his lord" again, and Cui Zhu killed Taishi's younger brother. At that time, Taishi was a hereditary official position, and the father died and the son succeeded, and the elder brother died, and no one else could interfere. Therefore, Cui Zhu found another younger brother of Taishi. Killed. When Taishi's last younger brother was called, there was no suspense. The young man wrote the words "Cui Zhu kills his king" on the bamboo slips.Now even Cui Zhu didn't want to recruit, so he had to let him go.If he kills this young man again, the history of Qi can only be written by Taishi's deputy, and Taishi's deputy is also ready, holding the bamboo slips "Cui Zhu kills his king" in his hand, just waiting Called by Cui Zhu. You can cut off the head of a historian, but you cannot cover up the truth of history. In June of the same year, Duke Ping of Jin once again mobilized the princes to form an alliance in Yiyi, preparing to attack Qi.Cui Zhu sent Xi Fu as an envoy to ask Duke Ping of Jin for peace talks.He also sent Qingfeng to the coalition camp in Yiyi to present hundreds of male and female slaves to Jin Pinggong, as well as a batch of ritual objects from the ancestral temple of Qi State.In order to bribe the Jin people, Cui Zhu spared no expense. From the top officials of the Jin State, down to the officials of the three armies, and even the left-behind generals in the Jin State, they all received generous gifts from the Qi State.Under such circumstances, Jin Pinggong agreed to the peace talks of Qi State, and sent the doctor uncle to inform the princes that the meeting of barbarians changed from a "meeting of soldiers and chariots" to a "meeting of clothes". As for the Duke Zhuang of Qi who died under the peony flowers, he was lying on the cold ground at this time.Cui Zhu buried him in a small village called Shisunli in the north of Linzi. Four long-handled fans and seven broken cars were used in the funeral. There were no weapons or armor. For Duke Zhuang of Qi, not having gold, jewels and jade may not be a problem, but having no spear to hold and no armor to penetrate is probably the most uncomfortable thing.