Chapter 15 first international peacekeeping operation

In 546 BC, the campaign to eliminate soldiers led by Zhao Wu and Qu Jian and matchmaking to Xu entered into a substantive operational stage.The so-called "removal of soldiers" is to collect weapons, eliminate wars, and call for peaceful coexistence among all countries in the world.As the prelude to the campaign to eliminate soldiers, in the spring of this year, Jin State took extraordinary measures to return the lost land to Qi, Lu, and Wei. Three years ago, in the summer of 549 BC, Wu Yu, a senior officer of Qi State, defected to Jin State and dedicated the territory of Qi State Linqiu to Jin Pinggong.At that time, Duke Zhuang of Qi was still in power, and Jin and Qi were in a state of hostility. Jin took a wait-and-see attitude towards Wuyu's defection, and did not send troops to take over Linqiu.Wuyu then became a third force independent of Qi and Jin. Using Linqiu as his base, he attacked Yangjiao (place name) in Wei State, and captured Gaoyu (place name) in Lu State when Lu State was unprepared. place name).

Wu Yu was a battle-hardened general.When attacking Gaoyu, it happened to be raining heavily, and the people of Lu thought that he would not be able to attack.However, he led his men to drill into the city through the drain holes of the city wall with bare hands, sneaked into the arsenal to obtain weapons and armor to equip himself, then climbed onto the city wall, killed the guarding soldiers, and easily occupied the city. In the winter of 547 B.C., Zhao Wu suggested to Duke Ping of Jin: "As the lord of the world, if the vassals invade each other, the state of Jin should crusade against him and let him return the invaded land. The cities controlled by Wuyu now belong to the The category that should be pursued, if we covet them, then we are not qualified to be the leader. Please uphold justice and return those lands to their princes."

Duke Ping of Jin said, "Okay, who will we send to do this?" Zhao Wu said: "Send Xu Liang to take him with him, he can handle things well without using weapons." In the spring of 546 BC, Xu Liangdai secretly summoned the troops of Qi, Lu, and Wei and brought them to the vicinity of Linqiu.He also ordered Wuyu to assemble his troops and go out of the city to accept the reward from the state of Jin.Wu Yu didn't know what to do, so he left the city happily.Xu Liangdai arrested him suddenly while he was not paying attention.Wu Yu's men were leaderless, and surrounded by armies of princes, they had no choice but to abandon their armor and surrender.Afterwards, Xu Liangdai returned Linqiu to the State of Qi, returned the horns to the State of Wei, and returned Gao Yu to the State of Lu, winning applause from all the halls.

In April of the same year, Xiang Xu came to the state of Jin to have talks with Zhao Wu.The theme of the talks is naturally to eliminate conflicts between countries and seek broader international cooperation.Xiang Xu formally proposed to Zhao Wu that the four major powers of Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin issued an initiative to eliminate soldiers, calling on the princes of the world to turn hostility into jade silk, and jointly establish a peaceful and prosperous world without war. Zhao Wu called a meeting of the officials of the state of Jin on this matter.Han Qi said: "War is a murderer of the people, a moth of the economy, and a catastrophe for a small country. Now if someone wants to advocate peace and eliminate war, even if it is not possible, we must agree to him. If we do not agree, the state of Chu will If you agree, then Chu will take the lead and use it to call on the princes, and we will lose our position as the leader of the alliance."

The state of Jin agreed to Xiang Xu's request. Xiang Xu went to the state of Chu again, and the state of Chu agreed.He came to Qi State without stopping. The people of Qi State were worried about this. Chen Xuwu said: "Jin State and Chu State have both agreed, why don't we agree? Besides, if we don't agree to the elimination of war, the people in the country will The common people will have opinions, how can we lead them then?" So Qi Guo also agreed.Xiang Xu came to Qin State again, and Qin State also had no objection.Therefore, the four major powers of Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin jointly issued a statement, notifying the princes of the world, and holding an alliance to eliminate soldiers in Song State.

In May of the same year, Zhao Wu first arrived in Song State, followed by Zheng State's Liang Xiao. At the beginning of June, Uncle Sun Bao of Lu, Qing Feng and Chen Xuwu of Qi, Shi E of Wei, Xun Ying and Duke Wen of Jin arrived in Song. In mid-June, Prince Heiji of Chu State arrived before the Chu State delegation, and held talks with Shu Xiang, agreeing on the terms of dismissing troops. In late June, Yin Qujian, the order of the state of Chu, arrived in the state of Chen.Xiang Xu set off from the State of Song to the State of Chen to meet with Qu Jian and agree on relevant terms.Qu Jian proposed to Xiang Xu: Jin and Chu have their own allies. From now on, the allies of Jin will make pilgrimage to Chu, and the allies of Chu will also make pilgrimage to Jin.

Qu Jian's proposal actually calls for the establishment of a new international order in which Jin and Chu are the common leaders of Qunlun, which has the color of great power chauvinism.Xiang Xu returned to Jin and returned to Zhao Wu. Zhao Wu replied: "Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin are on the same level. Jin cannot command Qi, just as Chu cannot command Qin. If the king of Chu can let Qin The king of the country comes to the state of Jin, how dare you not persuade the king of the state of Qi to go to the state of Chu for pilgrimage?" The implication is that even if Jin and Chu jointly lead the world, it is inevitable to give face to Qi and Qin, and to compete with other states. The princes are treated differently.

Xiang Xu went to Chen Guo to convey Zhao Wu's opinion to Qu Jian.Qu Jian sent someone to ask King Chukang for instructions, and King Chukang said: "Then put Qi and Qin aside, and other countries will follow suit." In the first ten days of July, Xiang Xu returned to Song from Chen.On the night of Xiangxu's return, Zhao Wu and Prince Heiji agreed on the wording of the alliance overnight.Two days later, Qu Jian arrived in Song State accompanied by Kong Huan of Chen State and Gongsun Guisheng of Cai State.Doctors from Cao State and Xu State also arrived one after another.At this point, all the representatives of the countries of the Elimination Alliance were present, and the armies of each country were stationed in divisions, and the boundaries were divided with fences.Jin and Chu have the largest number of troops, stationed in the northernmost and southernmost regions respectively.

Things have developed to this point, everything seems to be too smooth, too idealistic.The two countries have been at war for nearly a hundred years, and now they suddenly want to shake hands and make peace, which is a bit unaccustomed.When asking the cold and warm, there is always some unnatural demeanor;Seeing that the date of the oath is getting closer, the atmosphere between the two parties is getting more and more tense.Suddenly one day, intelligence spread to the camp of the Jin army, saying that the Chu people were preparing to launch an attack.It is said that Qu Jian said something like this: "If Zhao Wu and his followers are killed, the state of Jin will be greatly weakened." Xun Ying suggested that Zhao Wu strengthen his defenses, but Zhao Wu was very calm and said: "If the state of Chu is killed, the state of Jin will be greatly weakened." If the enemy launches an attack, we will turn the whole army to the left and enter Shangqiu, what else can they do to me?"

The Chu people also have a lot of worries.On the day of the oath of alliance, Qu Jian ordered the Chu people to wear leather armor under their coats in case of accidents.Bo Zhouli advised, "I'm afraid it's not good to do this. The princes hope to gain the trust of the Chu State, so they come to the alliance. If you don't trust others, it is tantamount to abandoning the things that make the princes come to obey." Qu Jian said disapprovingly: "Jin and Chu have had a long-standing grievance, and I have to think about what is beneficial to me. If I can achieve my goal, how can I care about trust or distrust?" Bo Zhouli said to others after he stepped back : "I am afraid that Ling Yin will not live for three years. If you only want to satisfy your will and discard your credit, can you succeed in this way? If you have will, you will form language, if you have language, you will generate credit, and if you have credit, you will strengthen your will. These three things complement each other. We depend on each other. Lost credit, can we still live for three years?"

The intelligence work of the Jin people was very detailed, and the news that the Chu people were wearing leather armor to attend the meeting spread to Zhao Wu's ears.Zhao Wu was worried about this, so he asked Shu Xiang to discuss it.Shu Xiang said: "What's so great about this? An ordinary person who does not keep his promise will die a bad death; a minister who is an alliance with the princes will not succeed if he does not keep his promise. Those who do not count , you can’t cause trouble to others, this is not something you should worry about. Calling others with credit, but in the end it is covered with a layer of hypocrisy. There must be no one who is close to him, so how can we hurt us? Besides, we are in the Song Dynasty On our territory, there are Song people to help us fight against the enemy, even if the Chu army is doubled, it will not help, so what do you have to be afraid of? However, the matter has not reached that point yet, so you can go to the alliance with peace of mind!" It's not just Jin and Chu who are intriguing and deceitful, and each other has its own little calculations.Although Ji Sunsu of Lu State did not participate in the alliance, he has been conducting remote control in the country.He sent someone to send a letter to Shusun Bao, the representative of the Lu State, in the name of Duke Xiang of Lu, saying: "We must find a way to treat our country the same as the State of Lu and the State of Teng." As we all know, the state of Lu is far larger than the state of Zhu and Teng, and the people of Lu state have always regarded themselves very highly. How could it suddenly occur to them to compare themselves with such small countries as Zhu and Teng?In the final analysis, the economy determines politics, and the pockets command the head—Ji Sunsu was worried that after the alliance, Lu would have to pay tribute to Jin and Chu at the same time, and would be overwhelmed, so he wanted to lower the level of Lu, and at the same time lower the standard of tribute. Shusun Bao was very embarrassed by this order.Coincidentally, not long after, the people of Qi State proposed to make Zhu State a vassal state, and the Song State people asked for instructions to make Teng State a vassal state. These two small countries could not participate in the alliance as vassals.Shusun Bao said: "The Kingdom of Zhu and the Kingdom of Teng are the private belongings of others; our country is an upright state of princes, why should we be like them? The Kingdom of Song and the Kingdom of Wei are equal to us." Because of this matter, "Spring and Autumn" does not record the family name of Shusun Bao, but only calls it "Leopard", which is regarded as punishment for his violation of the monarch's order. On July 5th, the Alliance of Eliminating Soldiers was officially held outside the west gate of Song Dynasty.At this time, the Jin and Chu countries were still competing with each other, arguing about the order of the blood alliance oath.It is no wonder that the arrangement of seats has been the most important thing for Chinese people since ancient times, and there is no room for carelessness. The people of Jin said: "Jin was originally the leader of the princes, and no country has ever been able to drink blood before Jin." The so-called blood drinking is to smear the blood of animals on the lips to show trustworthiness. The people of Chu State said: "Jin State and Chu State are equal in status. If Jin State is always in front, it means that Chu State is inferior to Jin State. Moreover, Jin State and Chu State have taken turns to organize vassal alliances for many years. Could it be that the state of Jin presides over it every time?" Uncle Xiang said to Zhao Wu: "The princes submit to the virtues of the Jin State, not to submit to the Jin State to preside over the alliance. You are committed to virtue, and don't argue about the priority. Besides, the princes will form alliances, and small countries should bear certain specific tasks. For affairs, let Chu, a small country, preside over the alliance!" In many cases, all you need to solve a problem is an explanation.Zhao Wu immediately nodded in agreement.Therefore, Qu Jian took the lead in drawing blood.After a series of foreplays, trials and frictions, the vigorous military campaign finally reached its climax without any risk. On July 6, Song Pinggong hosted a banquet for the officials of Jin and Chu.According to the etiquette at that time, when entertaining many guests, one person should be served as the main guest.Song Pinggong gave this honor to Zhao Wu, and Qu Jian did not object to this.Perhaps in Qu Jian's view, Zhao Wu had already given him enough face during the oath, and now making Zhao Wu the guest of honor would be reciprocal. On July 9, Song Pinggong held a banquet at the northeast gate of Shangqiu to entertain representatives from various countries.At this banquet, Qu Jian asked Zhao Wu a question: "What is the moral character of the former doctors and scholars in your country?" Zhao Wu replied: "This man's family affairs are handled in an orderly manner. For the Jin people, everything is open and frank. His family's priests sacrificed to ghosts and gods, and never said anything insincere." The Scholars Association has gone through five dynasties of Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Xiang of Jin, Duke Ling of Jin, Duke Cheng of Jin and Duke Jing of Jin. Duke Xiang dominates the princes, and the princes have no dissatisfaction with the state of Jin; as a minister, he assisted Duke Cheng of Jin and Duke Jing of Jin, and there were no problems in the army; Duke Jing of Jin was the marshal of the Chinese army in charge of the state of Jin, and also served as the Taifu. Amend the criminal law and organize the laws and regulations. There are no law-abiding people in the state of Jin, and future generations will take his laws and regulations as the standard." After Qu Jian went back, he relayed Zhao Wu's words to King Chukang. King Chukang was very moved: "Noble! It can make gods and people happy. No wonder the Shihui can assist the fifth king and become the leader of the princes." Qu Jian also sighed: "It is a matter of course for Jin to be the leader of the princes. Although people say that Jin's officials are not as good as Chu's, but there are uncle Xiang who come to assist their officials, but Chu has no talents comparable to them." , Do not compete with it!" After the meeting of the alliance, the delegation of the Jin State returned to the State of Jin through the State of Zheng.Duke Jian of Zheng held a banquet in honor of Zhao Wu in Chuilong (place name), accompanied by seven people, Gongsun Shezhi, Liang Xiao, Gongsun Xia, Zichan, Zidashu, Yinduan and Gongsunduan.These seven people are all descendants of Zheng Mugong, known as "Qi Mu", that is, representatives of the seven most powerful families in Zheng State.Zhao Wu was very moved, and said to them: "It is Zhao Wu's honor that the seven senior officials accompanied the prince to entertain Zhao Wu. In order to complete the reward from the prince, please write poems to express your aspirations. I, Zhao Wu, will listen attentively." Writing expresses Tao, poetry expresses ambition.If the Chinese nobles in the Spring and Autumn Period could not recite a few lines of poems, they would not be able to cope with big scenes.At present, Gongsun Shezhi recited a song "Grass and Insects": The chirping of grass and insects disturbs my heart; I am worried when I can't see my sweetheart; only when I see him and feel happy with each other can my heart be peaceful. ——This is a love poem recorded in "The Book of Songs Zhaonan". Gongsun Shezhi used this to express Zheng Guo's trust in Jin Guo, and also expressed his own respect for Zhao Wu.Zhao Wu heard this, and quickly stood up and said to Gongsun Shezhi, "Well, you are really the master of the people! It's just that Zhao Wu is ashamed not to be so." Then Liang Xiao sang a song "Quail's Run": Birds come in pairs, chasing each other. How can a prince be a prince if his conduct is bad? ——It is said that this is a poem written by the people of Wei to satirize Xuan Jiang's stubborn adultery with the son, and it is recorded in "The Book of Songs Beifeng". Sixteen years ago, in 562 B.C., Duke Jian of Zheng sent Liang Xiao to the state of Chu as an envoy to break off diplomatic relations with the state of Chu. As a result, the people of Chu state detained Liang Xiao and did not release him until the winter of 560 B.C. return home.Because of this incident, Liang Xiao has always had an opinion on Zheng Jiangong, so he took this opportunity to vent it. Of course Zhao Wu understood what Liang Xiao meant.But in this case, he couldn't respond to Liang Xiao directly, so he had to pretend to be stupid: "Oh, this is a conversation between the bed (zi), you can't go out, let alone this place far away from the capital? I dare not Listen!" It was Gongsun Xia's turn, and Gongsun Xia recited the fourth chapter of "Miao Miao": This is to compare Zhao Wu to Zhao Bo, a statesman in the early years of the Zhou Dynasty, and to praise his literary and martial arts.Zhao Wu said modestly: "This is all due to the widow, not Zhao Wu." Zichan recited "Xi Sang": The mulberry trees in the depression are graceful and graceful, and the leaves are lush and dense. I am so happy to see a gentleman here!After hearing this, Zhao Wu smiled and said, "I am willing to accept the last verse." The meaning of the last verse translated into modern Chinese is: I love this person in my heart, but I still want to talk about it; I have a deep love for this person in my heart, how can I forget it!This is a tactful way to tell Zichan, don't just say good things to me, I want to hear your teachings. Uncle Zi recited "Wild Grass": This is a young love poem, about the joy of falling in love at first sight when meeting a beautiful woman in the mountains in the early morning.Uncle Zi met Zhao Wu for the first time, so there is a comparison.Zhao Wu thanked: "You are too polite." Yin Duan recited "Cricket": Crickets chirp in front of the hall, and the year is coming to an end.If you don't enjoy yourself in time today, the years will slip away.But don't be too happy, you should be prepared for danger in times of peace, please be vigilant and beware of accidents.Zhao Wu said solemnly: "Well said, this is the character that a doctor should have to protect the family, I have been taught!" Gongsun Duan recited "Sang Hu": This poem is included in "The Book of Songs Xiaoya", implying that a gentleman is knowledgeable and rational, and is blessed by heaven.Zhao Wu said: "He is a bandit Ao (neither arrogant nor arrogant), where can this good fortune go? If you follow these words, even if you want to refuse Fulu, it is impossible!" So he raised his glass to Zheng Zheng. All the doctors of the country toasted, and the guests and the host enjoyed themselves. After the banquet, Zhao Wu and his uncle said to several officials who were talking about the state of Zheng: "Liang Xiao is about to suffer disaster. Poetry expresses ambition. His wish is to blame his own monarch. Can this last for a long time? Even if it is a fluke, I will definitely flee in the future.” Uncle Xiang said: "Yes, this person is too arrogant, and it will be known in five years." Zhao Wu also said: "The others are good, especially Gongsun Shezhi. Because he is in a high position and humble, his family will last forever. The second is Yinduan, because he is happy and restrained. Joy is for stability. Isn't it advisable for the common people to enjoy themselves without adultery?" The campaign to eliminate troops was the most commendable diplomatic activity in the Spring and Autumn Period.Through the Troop Elimination Movement, the two major military groups of Jin and Chu really came to the negotiating table for the first time to engage in dialogue to end the confrontation and seek peace.In the forty years since then, there has been no direct military conflict between the two major powers, and the countries in the Central Plains have therefore been given forty years to recuperate.If anyone scoffs at forty years of peace, I advise him to count the years between the Paris Peace Conference and the Second World War. The actual leaders of the campaign to eliminate soldiers are undoubtedly Zhao Wu and Qu Jian.However, because Xiang Xu did a lot of specific work in it, the main credit for the elimination of soldiers is generally attributed to Xiang Xu in history.But as the rulers of the two great powers at that time—Jin Pinggong and Chukang King—it seemed less important.In fact, the militarization movement also produced an unexpected result: due to the easing of the international situation and the reduction of the pressure of external struggles, the internal contradictions of various countries have become more and more prominent. power is generally weakened.It is generally believed that with 546 BC as the boundary, the Spring and Autumn Period changed from a period of feudal hegemony to a period of annexation by officials. Xiang Xu himself was quite proud of his feat.According to "Zuo Zhuan", after the alliance between Mi Bing, Xiang Xu took the initiative to ask Song Pinggong for a reward, that is, to ask for a reward.His original words were: "Please save the city of death." Literally, this sentence means "a city asking to be saved from death".One point of view is that this is Xiang Xu's self-defeating words, asking the monarch to reward him with the land he lives on; another point of view is that the elimination of the military alliance is a big deal, and there are still many variables until the moment before the bloodshed , if the matter is broken, Xiang Xu will not escape death, so Xiang Xu hangs his head on his crotch to handle this matter. Now that the matter is completed, it is called "the city of avoiding death"; "The city of death" is similar to the iron certificate of Danshu in later generations, which is the "guarantee of exoneration" issued by the monarch to heroes. If there is a capital crime, the hero himself "avoids three deaths", and his descendants can "avoid one death". Regardless of the understanding, it is an indisputable fact that Song Pinggong planned to bestow sixty towns on Xiang Xu.Before sending the land documents of these sixty towns to Xiang Xu, Song Pinggong showed them to Sicheng Lexi (Zihan) for a review.Lexi said: "Whenever the vassals are small, Jin and Chu always use force to threaten them, making them afraid. It is precisely because of fear that these countries live in harmony and strive for stability in order to survive among the big countries." Space. If there is no external threat, they will inevitably be proud. Pride will cause disasters, and disasters will inevitably perish. The five raw materials of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth grow in the sky, and the people use them all. None of these will work. Who can really throw away weapons? Weapons have existed since ancient times. They are used to deter evildoers and promote civility. Saints rise by force, and black sheep are punished by force. The world Rise and fall are all caused by swords and soldiers. Now Xiang Xu is trying his best to launch a movement to eliminate soldiers and seek to throw away weapons. Isn’t this fooling everyone? It’s good not to punish him, but he dares to ask for rewards, which is simply greedy!” Said Then he pulled out his self-defense knife, cut off all the words on the document, and threw it away. Does what Lexi said make sense?It should be said that there is a certain truth.As long as there are human beings, there will be wars. As a kind of good wish, the elimination of soldiers is often achieved through military balance rather than imbalance.That is to say, only when all hostile parties are afraid of the force of others, can eliminating troops become a possibility.The military elimination movement led by Jin and Chu was put on the agenda precisely because of the stalemate between the two countries for nearly a hundred years.Behind the handshake and talk, there is an imminent confrontation of swords and soldiers. As long as this military balance is broken somewhere, the war will definitely start again.For a small country sandwiched between two big countries, the elimination of troops is both a good thing and a bad thing. The disappearance of external pressure is often a precursor to the intensification of internal conflicts.It was precisely after Lexi saw this that he made a serious criticism of Xiang Xu. Regarding Lexi, there is a story that shows his character.In 558 B.C., a commoner in Song State sent Lexi a piece of precious jade, but Lexi refused to accept it.The person who presented the jade said, this is a rare piece of precious jade, and it is only dared to offer it to you after being appraised by the jade master. Please accept it.Lexi said: "I regard non-greed as my treasure, and you take jade as your treasure. If I accept your jade, then both of us will lose our own treasures, so why bother?" The man quickly knelt down and kowtowed and said "I'm just a commoner. It's really not safe to hold such a fine gem, so I dedicate it to you!" Lexi felt that what he said made sense, so he accepted the gem and gave that person considerable wealth. And sent someone to send him back to his hometown. When Xiang Xu learned that Lexi had destroyed the land documents, his mood was very stable. He just wrote a letter to Song Pinggong, expressing his willingness to resign from the sixty towns and not to grant rewards.But the rest of Xiang's family were very annoyed, and they discussed attacking Lexi.Xiang Xu stopped them and said, "I'm going to do something to kill myself. He let me survive. There is no greater kindness than this. Are you going to start a war against my benefactor?" Lexi's outspokenness and Xiangxu's kindness have been passed down as good stories in history. "Zuo Zhuan" commented on this: The gentleman said, 'that character is the one who upholds justice', he was referring to Lexi! 'Whatever rewards me, I will accept it' refers to Xiang Xu!