Chapter 17 The Diplomatic Wisdom of a Weak Country

In the spring of 545 BC, Qufu was unexpectedly warm and there was no freezing weather.Zishen, a doctor of the State of Lu, looked at the sky at night and predicted: "I am afraid that there will be a famine in Song and Zheng this year. The year star should have been in Xingji, but now it has reached Xuanzang (xiao). This is because the weather is not right. The yin and yang are therefore out of harmony. The snake rides on the dragon, and the dragon is the star of Song and Zheng, so it is these two countries that suffer from famine. Xuanzang, the empty place is in the middle of it. Zong, it is consumption. When the land is empty and the people are wasted, famine will naturally arise."

To explain briefly: First, Sui Xing is Jupiter, and its revolution period is 11.86 years. The ancients mistakenly thought it was 12 years, so Jupiter is used to record the year, and it is called Sui Xing. Second, Westerners divide the sky near the ecliptic into twelve areas, which are called the zodiac, which is what modern people often call the twelve constellations; ancient Chinese astronomers divided the sky near the ecliptic into two areas. Eighteen regions are called twenty-eight mansions. Third, the area where the star period is located is equivalent to Capricorn in the zodiac, and in the twenty-eight constellations, it is Dou and Ox.The area where Xuan Yang is located is equivalent to the Aquarius of the zodiac. Among the twenty-eight constellations, there are three constellations: female, virtual, and dangerous.According to Zishen's calculation, Jupiter should be in the position of the star period that year.But according to observation, it is in the position of Xuanzang, so it is called "the weather is not right".

Fourth, according to the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements in ancient China, Jupiter is a green dragon, and Xusu and Weisu are snakes.Jupiter ran too fast and inserted under the two nights of emptiness and danger, so it is said that "the snake rides on the dragon". Fifth, the ancients believed that the stars in the sky corresponded to the territory on the earth, which is the so-called "the sky has its constellations, and the earth has its states."The positions of Song and Zheng are exactly the territory corresponding to Jupiter.If the position of Jupiter is not correct, Song and Zheng will naturally be affected, and famine will occur.

Regarding the study of astrology and numerology, different people have different opinions since ancient times, and there is no conclusion, so I will not discuss it in depth here.Judging from the records in "Spring and Autumn" and "Zuo Zhuan", the harvest in the Central Plains was indeed not very good this year, especially in the Song and Zheng Dynasties.However, in the autumn of this year, according to the agreement in the Mi Binghui League that "From now on, the allies of the Jin State will make pilgrimages to the State of Chu, and the allies of the State of Chu will also make pilgrimages to the State of Jin", the princes of all countries could not care about the famine. , One after another sent representatives or personally went to Xintian and Yingdu to pay homage to Duke Ping of Jin and King Chukang.All of a sudden, on the main roads in and out of Shanxi and Hubei, there was an endless stream of gorgeous carriages flying the flags of various countries, and international exchanges were greatly activated.

Cai Jinggong, who has been in power for forty-seven years, went to Xintian to pay homage to Jin Pinggong regardless of his advanced age.From Cai State to Jin State, Zheng State is the only way to go.When Cai Jinggong went, Zheng Jiangong sent Gongsun Shezhi to comfort him outside the east gate of Xinzheng; when he returned, Zheng Jiangong hosted a banquet in Xinzheng City to entertain him personally, as a landlord.It should be said that Zheng Jiangong was quite humane, but Cai Jinggong did not know what kind of mentality he was, and he was not too cold about the enthusiasm of Zheng Guoren, and it could even be said that there was a lot of disrespect.

Zichan commented on this: "Marquis Cai is afraid that disaster will befall him. He passed by here a month ago, and the monarch sent Zizhan (Zizhan of Gongsun She) to comfort him outside the east gate. He behaved very arrogantly. Now he When he came back and passed by here again, the monarch personally received him, but he was still so careless. This is his nature. As a monarch of a small country, serving a big country, he should be trembling, but he is good. He was killed, and the man who killed him must have been his son." It is not groundless that Zichan dared to predict Cai Jinggong's fate so accurately.According to "Zuo Zhuan", this Mr. Cai Jing is old-hearted, and he has been adulterous with his daughter-in-law for a long time, and he does not avoid people's eyes and ears. It has been spread internationally as a strange story.Two years later, Cai Jinggong died at the hands of his own son, after all, there is a price to pay for picking up ashes.

When Cai Jinggong visited the state of Jin, Zheng Jiangong also sent his uncle Zi to visit the state of Chu.But Uncle Zi didn't see King Chukang, and was persuaded to go back by the Chu people as soon as he reached Hanshui.The people of Chu State said: "When the Song State formed an alliance (that is, the Alliance of Soldiers), the monarch of your country participated in person, but now he sent a doctor to come to the pilgrimage. The widow is confused by this. The doctor will go back now, and we will send people I made a special trip to the state of Jin to understand this matter clearly, and clarify whether the monarch of your country should come to the pilgrimage in person, and then I will tell you.” The words were very polite, but the meaning expressed was unambiguous: You are not qualified to make the pilgrimage to the King of Chu. The king of the country is coming!

Uncle Zi replied: "In the meeting of the Song State, the king of Chu clearly stated that he would do things that are beneficial to the small country, so that the small country can stabilize its society, appease its people, and accept the blessings bestowed by heaven with etiquette. This is all from the king of Chu himself. What I said is also the hope of our small countries. This year, Zheng Guo’s harvest is not good, so the widow sent me to present a gift to pay tribute to the staff in your country. Now you are telling me, what qualifications do you have to participate in Zheng Guo Is it necessary for the widow to abandon the responsibility of guarding the territory, trek across mountains and rivers, and brave the wind and rain, in order to satisfy the wish of the King of Chu? If so, the widow will only follow the lead of the king of Chu, how dare he disobey orders? It's just..." Uncle Zi changed the topic, "This is not in line with the spirit of the alliance, and it also makes the king of Chu lack of virtue, and it is not good for you. This is what we are afraid of! If it is not because of this level of worry, how dare the widow be afraid Toil, why don’t you come in person?”

People in that era were all master fortune tellers and forecasters.Uncle Zi did not go to Cheng Yingdu, but when he returned to Xinzheng, he said to Gongsun Shezhi: "The king of Chu is dying, and instead of devoting himself to cultivating Ming and moral government, he is asking the princes for a limitless attempt to get his way. Can he live for a long time like this? ?” He also explained his point of view with the knowledge of "Book of Changes", saying, "There is also such a situation in "Book of Changes", that is, 'Yu Fu Zhi Yi' (changed from Fu Gua to Yi Gua), that is, lost Going back on the road, the ominous phenomenon has appeared. This is the king of Chu! He wants to fulfill his wish but forgets the way he came, and he wants to return but can’t find the north. This is called "mifu". ?"

Prediction belongs to prediction, but the most urgent task is to give the Chu people a clear answer.Uncle Zi persuaded Zheng Jiangong: "You can go to Chu State to make them happy, and you should go to the Chu King's funeral, how about it? In my opinion, Chu State will not be able to strive for hegemony in the past ten years. , as long as we don't take the initiative to provoke them, there will be no wars and chaos, and the people of Zheng State can have a good rest." The doctor Pi Zao also said: "When you look at the sky at night, the year star is not in its proper position this year, but it has moved too far, which has already endangered the quail (chun) tail (quail fire and quail tail, which include willow, quail, and quail respectively. Xing, Zhang Sansu and Yi, Zhen two nights, corresponding to Wangji and Chu on the ground), if I am not wrong, I am afraid that Zhou Tianzi and the king of Chu will not live long."

Zheng Jiangong thought to himself, since you all said that, then go ahead, there is no need to make trouble over a dying person.With this mentality of Ah Q, Zheng Jiangong sent his uncle Zi to the state of Jin to report the relevant situation to the state of Jin, and then in September of the same year, accompanied by Zichan, he went to Yingdu to pay homage to King Chukang. According to the custom at that time, when a prince visited another country, he had to accept the other party's "suburban labor" before entering the other country's capital, that is, to go out of the city to condolences.To this end, it is necessary to find an open space, pull out the weeds, clean the land, then pile up the soil as an altar, and surround it with curtains to receive the opponent's personnel. Zheng Jiangong arrived outside the city of Yingdu, but only set up some tents for rest, and did not build an earthen altar.The foreign servant (official name) who was in charge of arranging the accommodation said to Zichan: "In the past, when the first doctor accompanied the first king to visit various countries, there was never a precedent for not building an altar. , I set up a tent, I’m afraid it’s not good, right?” Zichan said, "It's like this. When a prince from a big country goes to a small country, he builds an altar. When a prince from a small country goes to a big country, he just pitches a tent. What's the use of building an altar?" The servant was puzzled. Zichan said: "The princes of a big country have five good purposes when they go to a small country - to pardon the crimes of a small country, to forgive its mistakes, to relieve its disasters, to praise it for governing the country with virtue and to have laws to follow, and to teach it how to do well. The place where it is in place. The small country is not confused, and willingly obeys the leadership of the big country, so it builds an altar to spread merit and tell future generations not to slack off. And the princes of the small country go to the big country, there are five bad purposes - to listen to the big country to cover up their sins, Ask for what is lacking, take the initiative to obey the orders of the big country, donate goods to the big country, and obey the sudden instructions of the big country. If you don’t do this, the big country will increase the burden on the small country, and it will ask the small country to contribute money and effort regardless of weddings or funerals. These are all small countries Is it necessary to build altars to proclaim these scourges, and to tell future generations?" To put it bluntly, Mr. Zheng Jian didn't want to come to Chu State in the first place, he was forced to come here by the people of Chu State, so there is no need to seriously do enough homework, just deal with it. Pizao's prediction is very accurate.In November of the same year, King Ling of Zhou, who had reigned for 27 years, died.At this time, Song Pinggong, Lu Xianggong, Chen Aigong, Zheng Jiangong, Xu Mourninggong and other princes were busy going to Chu for a pilgrimage.Regarding the news of the emperor's death, everyone may just say "oh", like someone who has nothing to do with it, and quickly forget it.The history book "Spring and Autumn" of Lu State did not record this incident at all. "Zuo Zhuan" explained that the royal family did not send an obituary, so it is also "propriety" not to record this incident! As mentioned earlier, Zheng Guo is the heart of the Central Plains.The princes from all walks of life went south to the state of Chu, and the state of Zheng was the only way to go.When Lu Xianggong passed through Zheng State, Zheng Jiangong was already in Chu State, so he could only entrust Liang Xiao to go to Huangya (place name) in the north of Xinzheng to comfort Lu Xianggong. However, Liang Xiao's arrogant attitude aroused strong dissatisfaction among Lu's monarchs and ministers.Shu Sunbao even said: "If this person is not punished, there will be a catastrophe for Zheng Guo. Respect is used to maintain the hearts of the people, but he discards it. What else can he use to inherit the accumulated karma of his ancestors? If Zheng If the people of the country don't attack him, they will definitely be punished by heaven." Judging from what happened later, Shusun Bao was also a prophet. The prediction of the beneficiary was once again verified.When Lu Xianggong went to Hanshui, he heard the news of the death of King Chukang.His first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief, and immediately decided to go home.But Shu Zhongdai, the doctor who accompanied Lu Xianggong on the visit, thought it was not allowed to do so, and said: "We are here for the country of Chu, not for a certain person, so let's go on!" Meng Jiao didn't take it seriously: "A gentleman thinks about the long-term, but a villain only cares about the immediate future. But if the hunger and cold can't be solved, who will have the time to care about the consequences? It's better to go back now." Shu Zhongdai said: "We came to Chu country not because of its benevolence and righteousness, but because it has the title of leader and is afraid of its force. If it is for its benevolence and righteousness, of course we should celebrate it." Its joy, mourning its sorrow; because of fear, we should do this even more! We heard that there was a funeral in Chu State in China, but we went to mourn it. Now we received an obituary on the way and went back. This is not a blatant insult to Chu State. What? At that time, if the Chu people use this as an excuse to attack our country, do you have any way to resist? If so, then go back now; if not, just go forward honestly!" The two opinions collided, and Shu Zhongdai gained the upper hand.Shu Sunbao commented: "Shu Zhongdai can consider letting him take charge alone, and Meng Jiao needs to learn a lot before he can be appointed." Doctor Rong Chengbo also said: "Most loyal people have a long-term vision." In this case, Lu Duke Xiang gave up his plan to go back, and continued to advance, and arrived in Yingdu at the end of that year. Duke Xiang of Lu spent the Spring Festival in Yingdu in 544 BC.The cold spring in the south is colder than that in the north, which makes Lu Xianggong, who has lived in Qufu for a long time, feel very uncomfortable.What made his skin crawl even more was that the people of Chu State proposed that he personally honor King Chukang. The so-called "Zhi Ying" is to dress the dead, which is a necessary etiquette for the princes and envoys of the Spring and Autumn Period to participate in the funeral of the princes of other countries. Presenting clothes to the dead and placing them on the east side of the coffin is not really about dressing the dead. It is worth mentioning that the ceremony is done by envoys. From ancient times to the present, there is no precedent for the princes to present the ceremony in person.It is undoubtedly a great insult to Duke Lu Xiang himself and the state of Lu that the people of Chu state want Duke Lu Xiang to present an imperial concubine for King Chukang in person. He brought his uncle back and scolded him: "It's all your bad idea. If you returned to China earlier, how could you be humiliated today?" Uncle Dai was speechless. He complained to Uncle Sun Bao again: "Look how smart Xiang Xu is. He immediately persuaded Song Gong to go back to his home when he heard the news of the death of the king of Chu. We are so stupid to go to Yingdu to take the humiliation."——Song Gong is Song Pinggong and Xiang Xu accompanied Song Pinggong to visit Chu. Hearing the news of the death of King Chukang, he said to Song Pinggong: "We are here for this man, not for the state of Chu. We can't take care of the famine in the country. There is still time to appease the sorrow of Chu State. Go back for now, let the people recuperate, and wait for the people of Chu State to establish a new king and come to avenge their crimes." Song Pinggong followed Xiang Xu's advice and returned to Shangqiu. After all, Uncle Sunbao was more confident than Uncle Zhong. After Lu Xianggong finished complaining, he said unhurriedly: "The matter has come to this, let's find a way to face it!" "How to deal with it?" Duke Xiang of Lu was still angry. Shusun Bao said eight words to him: "When the coffin is buried, the coins are also distributed." Translated into modern text: first sweep away the ominous atmosphere on the coffin, and then send the coffin, which is like displaying coins during a pilgrimage. no big deal. "Is this... feasible?" Duke Lu Xiang hesitated. "Of course." A sly smile appeared on the corner of Shusunbao's mouth. On the day of the coffin ceremony, Shu Sunbao arranged for a wizard from the State of Lu to walk around the coffin of King Chukang with a peach stick and a broom in his hand without notifying the Chu people. The broom made several cleaning movements on the coffin.The incident happened suddenly, before the people of Chu could react, the wizard had already completed the exorcism ceremony.Only then did Lu Xianggong hold the clothes, walked to the east of the coffin in a leisurely manner, and placed the clothes neatly on the shelf. The people of Chu State did not take this matter to heart at first, but later some thoughtful people searched the classics of the Zhou Dynasty and found this sentence: "When the king attends the funeral of his ministers, he first sends a wizard to put a peach stick and a broom on the coffin. Let's sweep up the ominous..." Then it suddenly dawned on me: Dare to love the Lu people, they are mainly against customers, and they are taking advantage of us! Weak countries have no diplomacy since ancient times.For Lu Xianggong, the advantage is short-lived, and the humiliation is long-lasting.According to the ancient ritual of "the princes are buried in May", King Chukang's funeral was delayed until April 544 BC.According to the request of the people of Chu, Duke Lu Xiang, Duke Chen Ai, Duke Jian Zheng, Duke Xu Mourning and other princes obediently stayed in Yingdu and waited. They spent an extremely boring spring in order to attend the funeral and send funerals to King Chukang. "Zuo Zhuan" records that Lu Xianggong, Chen Aigong, Zheng Jiangong, and Xu Mourninggong sent the funeral of King Chukang outside the west gate of Yingdu.The ministers and officials of various countries were completely dutiful sons, and they were sent to the cemetery. After the funeral, King Chukang's son Xiong Yu (jun) came to the throne.At this time, Qu Jian had passed away, and Wang Ziwei, the younger brother of King Chukang, became Ling Yin.Duke Xiang of Lu and the princes of other countries attended Xiong Yun's enthronement ceremony.It was at this ceremony that Wang Ziwei's dominance and Xiong Yu's cowardice left a deep impression on everyone.Gongsun Hui of Zheng State commented: "This is the so-called incompatibility! Ling Yin will definitely replace the king of Chu, because it is difficult for grass to grow under the pines and cypresses." Pines and cypresses mean Wang Ziwei, and Xiaocao means bears. A powerful empire always reveals its fragile side during the period of regime change.However, Duke Lu Xiang was obviously not in the mood to gloat.Since leaving Qufu in November last year, he has been abroad for six months.In that era when transportation and communication were extremely underdeveloped, six months was enough for a person to suffer from incurable homesickness, and he missed Qufu.Not only him, Shu Sun Bao, Shu Zhong Dai, Meng Jiao and other entourage also became sad and unhappy, counting the days on their fingers all day long. In May of the same year, Duke Xiang of Lu finally embarked on a journey back home. Although returning home was like an arrow, when Lu Xianggong and his party arrived at Fangcheng Mountain in Chu State, they had to stop.A shocking news came from the country: Ji Sunsu took advantage of Duke Lu Xiang's absence, and sent troops to capture Biancheng, the direct domain of the Duke's office. It was none other than Ji Sunsu himself who passed the news to Lu Xianggong.He sent his retainer Ji Ye to Fangcheng Mountain in the name of welcoming Lu Xianggong, and delivered a letter from him to Lu Xianggong. In particular, I want to explain that Ji Ye does not know the contents of this letter.When he set off from Qufu and approached the border between Song and Zheng, Ji Sunsu had just captured Biancheng, and sent people to catch up with him day and night before handing him the bamboo slips with the seal of "Ji".In other words, before meeting Duke Xiang of Lu, Ji Ye had no idea about Ji Sunsu's occupation of Biancheng. The letter said: "I heard that the guard of Biancheng was about to betray the state of Lu, so I personally led the army to attack, and now I have captured Biancheng." After reading the letter, Duke Lu Xiang was so angry that he couldn't speak for a long time. It is not a matter of a day or two for the "Three Huan" to specialize in Lu.But for a long time, "Sanhuan" at least on the surface maintained respect for the public office, and no one dared to touch the meat in the monarch's pot.Now that I have only been abroad for more than half a year, Ji Sunsu has made such a big noise, what exactly is he trying to do? Shu Sunbao and others also felt that this matter was no small matter.Ji Sunsu blatantly seized the office's territory, which is tantamount to declaring war on the office, and it is likely to break the situation of the "Three Huans" who specialize in Lu, and become the Jisun family's dominance.In this case, it would be reckless for Duke Lu Xiang to continue returning to the country, and he must figure out the domestic situation before making a decision. This is a difficult time for Lu Xianggong.He once planned to return to Yingdu and borrow troops from Chu State to attack Jisunsu.The doctor Rong Chengbo promptly dissuaded him from this idea of ​​leading wolves into the house, saying: "For the subjects, the monarch should be the absolute authority. If you can't command your subjects, you have to rely on the force of other princes to strengthen yourself, who else will Come to get close to you? If you really get the support of the state of Chu to attack the Ji clan, the people of the state of Lu are likely to fight against the same enemy. If the Chu army can attack the state of Lu, then the princes of the world will not be in the eyes of the king of Chu, let alone you ?He will definitely send his own people to occupy the Lu State, and then plunder the countries in the Central Plains, and bring the world under his rule. At that time, will it be your turn? If the Chu army cannot attack the Lu State, then you It's even more troublesome, you have completely cut off your own escape route, and it is impossible to go back, please think twice before acting!" Lu Xianggong said helplessly: "Then what should I do according to your wishes?" "It's better to be a favor and give him Biancheng! In this way, he may restrain himself a little bit. You should lose your temper as if you were drunk, and you'll pass it when you're sober. Don't worry about it. Go back to the country of Lu happily." Lu Xianggong thought to himself, it's easy for you to say!I am willing to give Biancheng to Ji Sunsu, but who can guarantee that he has no other ideas and is satisfied with just getting Biancheng? Uncle Sun Bao saw Duke Lu Xiang's worry, and said, "I think that Ji Ye is a loyal man, you might as well ask him to talk a few words, maybe you can get some useful information." Lu Xianggong had this intention, so he ordered someone to bring Ji Ye over, and deliberately said to him: "Ji Sunsu is really, if you want this place, just tell me, what nonsense about the guard's rebellion? This one It can show that he is deliberately alienating me, which makes me feel very hurt!" Rong Chengbo also said at the side: "Jisun is the minister of Lu State, and the country's major affairs are actually controlled by Ji Sunsu. As long as it is something that he thinks is beneficial to the country, he can do it with confidence and boldly. Bian If the people in the city are guilty, they will go to punish them, and there is no need to report it to the king." Two soft knives pierced Ji Ye's heart, which produced obvious effects.His face was flushed, and he bowed his head without saying a word. "This matter has nothing to do with you, and you have been kept in the dark, so how can you blame you?" Lu Xianggong said, patted Ji Ye on the shoulder, "I just want to know, I can still go back to China now ?" Hearing this sentence, Ji Ye raised his head and said to Lu Xianggong in a firm tone: "You are the master of this country, who dares to resist your order?" "So I'm relieved." Duke Lu Xiang nodded approvingly, and secretly gave Uncle Sun Bao a wink.Uncle Sun Bao clapped his hands, and soon a servant came out from the back hall, holding Qing's coat and hat, and came to Ji Ye. "This is a reward for you." Duke Xiang of Lu personally took the coat and hat and presented it to Ji Ye.Ji Ye hurriedly fell on the ground, expressing that he did not dare to accept it.Lu Xianggong insisted again and again, and he reluctantly accepted. Ji Ye's performance made Lu Xianggong realize that even if Ji Sunsu had a rebellious heart, it would be difficult for him to get the support of the Lu people.But he was still worried, and wanted to stay in Chu and wait and see for a while.One day when eating, Rong Chengbo took the opportunity of toasting and recited a poem: This poem called "Shiwei" is recorded in "The Book of Songs Beifeng".The translation is: It's getting dark, why don't you go home?Who would want to sleep in the open air and crawl in the mud if it were not for your sake? After hearing this poem, Duke Xiang of Lu finally made up his mind to return home.In late May, he returned to Qufu. After Ji Ye followed Lu Xianggong back to the country, he returned all the land that Ji Sunsu had originally rewarded him to Ji Sun's family, and never entered Ji Sun's house again.Someone asked the reason, and he said bluntly: "He deceived his monarch, why use me?" Ji Sunsu went to his house to meet him in person, and he pretended nothing happened, and Ji Sunsu Su talked and laughed happily.But when Ji Sunsu was not present, he never talked about anything about Ji Sunsu.Later, Ji Ye was critically ill, and before he died, he told his servants: "After I die, I must not use the clothes and hats that the monarch rewarded me for burial, because this is not a reward for virtue, and don't let Ji's come. Bury me." From this point of view, Ji Ye is really a gentleman.