Chapter 22 International Federation

In the spring of 541 BC, Prince Yin of the State of Chu paid a state visit to the State of Zheng accompanied by Wu Ju, and married Gongsun Duan's daughter as his wife. Countries in the Central Plains are no strangers to Wang Ziwei. In 544 BC, when King Kang of Chu passed away, Zheng Jiangong and the princes from various countries attended the enthronement ceremony of the new king of Chu, Xiong Yu, and Wang Ziwei's domineering left a deep impression on everyone.Gongsun Hui commented at that time: "Ling Yin will definitely replace the king of Chu, because it is difficult for grass to grow under the pines and cypresses."

In the spring of 543 B.C., Xiong Yan sent a doctor, Xiong Ba, to visit the state of Lu to show his goodwill.Shu Sunbao asked about Wang Ziwei's governance during the banquet, and replied: "We small people are just listening to orders, doing our job, and fearing that we will not do our job well and be criticized all day long. How do we know about political affairs?" Shu Sunbao thought it was a polite remark, and asked again and again, but he kept his mouth shut and kept his secret.Shu Sunbao said to people in private: "I am afraid that the Ling Yin of the Chu State is going to rebel, and he is his accomplice. Otherwise, why bother to cover up the inside story?" Da Sima concealed it and took all his family wealth and land into his pocket.

Luo Jie was the son of Luozi Feng, who took over as Da Sima in 548 BC. He was famous for his orderly handling and was recognized as a good minister.His death caused a shock in the political arena of Chu State. There was a lot of discussion between the government and the opposition, and they were worried about Wang Ziwei's audacity. In 542 BC, Wei Xianggong visited Chu State accompanied by Bei Gong Tuo, and also felt the dominance of Wang Ziwei.Bei Gong Tuo said to Wei Xianggong: "Where is this Ling Yin? It is clearly the majesty of the monarch! I am afraid that he has already had a different heart, and he will soon put it into action."

It can be said that Wang Ziwei's desire to become the king of Chu is already Sima Zhao's heart, and everyone knows it.Zheng Guojun and his ministers did not have any good impressions of this distinguished guest, so they sent his son Hui to receive them outside Xinzheng City, and politely asked: "The hotel in the city is being repaired, can I ask Ling Yin to rest outside the city?" This is actually not going to let the prince besiege the city.Wang Ziwei was very angry, but he had no choice but to follow Zheng Guoren's arrangement.However, after the state visit, Wang Ziwei proposed that in order to show respect for the Feng family (Gongsun Duan is the head of the Feng family), he would bring all his entourage into the city to marry the bride.

The request was so reasonable that it was hard to refuse.The doctors of the State of Zheng got together to discuss, and most of them believed that the prince should not be embarrassed anymore, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.But Zichan insisted that he disagreed. In his opinion, Wang Ziwei was by no means a kind person. If Wang Ziwei was allowed to enter Xinzheng with thousands of armed entourages, accidents might happen.He sent Gongsun Hui out of the city again, and said to Wang Ziwei: "Xinzheng is a small city, I'm afraid it won't be able to accommodate your followers. Please allow us to clean the ground, build an altar on the spot, and then obey your orders."

According to the etiquette at that time, the wedding ceremony should be held in the ancestral temple of the bride's family.Zichan didn't want the princes to encircle the city, so he proposed to build an altar on the spot to replace the ancestral temple of the Feng family.Of course, the Chu people could not accept such an arrangement. Dazai Bozhouli replied on the spot: "Thanks to the king of your country who thinks highly of our Wang Ziwei, and offered to marry Feng's daughter to him as his wife. Wang Ziwei attaches great importance to this matter." , before leaving the country, solemnly offered sacrifices in the temples of King Zhuang of Chu and King Gong of Chu, and then came to marry the bride. Now that you propose to hand over the bride to us in the wild, this is throwing the favor of the king of your country on In the grass, we didn't treat our Prince Wei as a Qing, and it was tantamount to letting Wang Ziwei deceive the first king, and he had no face to go back to Chu. Please think carefully."

Gongsun Hui said: "Since you say that, I won't go around. A small country is not guilty, but it is a crime to rely too much on a big country and not take precautions. A small country wants to rely on a big country for stability, but a big country always harbors evil intentions." You have come to attack a small country, so you have to take precautions. We are worried that once your troops enter the city, something unexpected will happen, which will make the princes collectively panic, and all of them will have distrust of the big country. We are guilty of this kind of crime. But I can’t afford it. Otherwise, Zheng Guo is like a hotel in your country, how dare you begrudge Feng’s ancestral temple?” It’s like saying clearly: We don’t let so many people in because we are worried that you will take the opportunity to attack Xinzheng, because similar It's not that you Chu people have never done such things.

The two sides were at a stalemate, and finally Wu Ju thought of a compromise: all the people entered the city, but they did not carry any weapons, and even their bows and arrows were mouth-down, and they were inspected by Zheng Guoren.This proposal was approved by Zheng Guoren.So on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the same year, the prince entered Xinzheng with a stern face, married his bride in Feng's ancestral temple, and then withdrew. Wang Ziwei did not return home immediately.In addition to visiting the state of Zheng and marrying a bride during his trip, he also had another important mission, which was to represent the state of Chu and the vassal states to hold an alliance in the land of Guo in the state of Zheng, and review the oath of the alliance to eliminate soldiers. (Guo) Alliance".

Guo Zhimeng is an alliance at the level of ministers. The participants include Zhao Wu from Jin State, Wang Ziwei from Chu State, Guowei from Qi State, Xiang Xu from Song State, Qi E from Wei State, and Prince Zhao from Chen State. , Gongsun Guisheng of Cai Guo, Han Hu of Zheng Guo, and the doctors of Xu Guo and Cao Guo. This year, it has been five years since the Alliance of Elimination Soldiers.In the past five years, the countries have basically been able to abide by the agreement, and no major wars have occurred. Therefore, the people of the world have spent relatively stable five years.It should be said that it is a meaningful thing to revisit the oath at this time and continue the relationship.

Before the meeting, Qi Wu, a doctor of the Jin State, suggested to Zhao Wu: "When the alliance was held in the Song State, the people of Chu State had already taken the lead. Now it is known to the world that Wang Ziwei did not keep his promise. If you If we don't take precautions in advance, I'm afraid we will let him take advantage of us like in the Song Dynasty. Qu Jian is known as a sincere gentleman, and he still does that, let alone this is a habitual criminal who does not keep his promise? You have assisted the monarch as the leader of the alliance. So far It has been seven years. During this period, the princes of the two alliances and the officials of the three alliances made Qi and Di people submit to Jin, and the Central Plains regained peace. The army was no longer exhausted, and the country was peaceful. Heaven does not send disasters, these are all your credit. You have such a good reputation, if you are suppressed by people like Wang Ziwei instead, then it is too undeserved, and that is what I am worried about!"

"Zhao Wu has been taught." Zhao Wu stood up, made a bow to Qi Wu, and then said, "When we formed an alliance in the Song Dynasty, Qu Jian wanted to stand out, and I had a heart of love, so I let him I took the first opportunity. Now I still have the same heart. Even if the people of Chu do not keep their promises, they will not hurt me. I insist on taking credit as the foundation and doing it according to this. This is like a farmer farming. As long as you work diligently For weeding and cultivating the soil, although there will be occasional famines, there will be a good harvest in the end.” Qi Wu's worry was not unreasonable.The two countries of Jin and Chu are not equal, and the people of Chu were the first to shed blood in the military alliance, and this time it is the turn of the people of Jin to take the lead.But Wang Ziwei is notorious for not keeping promises, and he is very likely to play tricks to take advantage of the state of Jin in front of the princes.Zhao Wu's attitude is very detached: it doesn't matter who comes first, as long as the state of Jin insists on integrity, the princes will eventually return to the state of Jin. Sure enough, when the oath was about to be held, Wang Ziwei proposed to simplify the procedure and read the alliance letter instead, and then put it on the sacrificed livestock without drinking blood. For those Jin people who are still brooding about what happened five years ago and trying to regain their self-esteem through the blood-drinking ceremony, this proposal is a rascal.But all this was within Zhao Wu's expectations, so he didn't care, and agreed to Wang Ziwei's request. In March of the same year, the oath ceremony was grandly held in Guodi.As soon as Wang Ziwei appeared on the stage, there was a lot of discussion among everyone - he used the whole set of honor guards of the monarch, and there were two tall guards holding long spears in front of him to open the way for him. According to the regulations of Zhou Li, only the monarch is allowed to use two warriors to open the way when he travels.Wang Ziwei's move undoubtedly greatly overstepped his own identity.At that time, Uncle Sunbao of the Lu State said with emotion: "This man is so majestic, he looks like a king!" "That's right!" Zheng Guo's Han Hu also said, "The two warriors holding the sword are standing in front of him." "I heard that Ling Yin has already lived in the Pu Palace (the palace of the king of Chu) in Chu State, so what are two warriors who are fighting?" The speaker was Gongsun Guisheng of Cai State.When everyone heard this, they all laughed in a low voice. Hearing such a discussion, Bozhouli felt very uncomfortable, and interjected, "Ling Yin asked the King of Chu to borrow these things when he came out this time." "Oh, is that so?" Zheng Guo's Gongsun Hui reacted quickly, "I'm afraid he won't want to pay it back after borrowing it!" "You don't need to worry about this matter." Bo Zhouli was not to be outdone, "In my opinion, you should worry about whether your Gongsun Hei wants to make trouble!" So Bozhou Li said this. A sneering smile appeared on the corner of Gongsun Hui's mouth: "I would also like to advise you, the dangbi of your country is still there, and you are not afraid if you don't return what you borrowed from the monarch?" There is an allusion to the so-called "Dangbi". According to "Zuo Zhuan" records: The king of the Communist Party of Chu did not have an eldest son, but he had five beloved sons. He didn't know who should be the heir, so he worshiped the god of famous mountains and rivers, buried a pair of jade in the courtyard of the ancestral temple, and prayed Said: "The one who is bowing to the jade bi is the favorite of the gods, and he will be made the prince." Then let the sons come in to worship the ancestors.As a result, King Chukang stepped on the jade biscuit with his feet, and Wang Ziwei's arm was placed on the jade biscuit. Wang Zibi and Wang Zihei were far away.Only Prince Qiji was still young at that time, and was carried in by others, and he fell on the jade bi for two bows.This story is only circulated among the noble circles of Chu State, and "Dang Bi" also alludes to the prince's abandonment of illness.Gongsun Hui is good at collecting diplomatic intelligence, which can be seen. Hearing Gongsun Hui say the word "Dangbi", Bo Zhouli was stunned for a moment, and his momentum had already dropped a bit.Indeed, the biggest obstacle for Wang Ziwei to become King of Chu is not his nephew Xiong Yu, but his potential rival Wang Ziqi.This matter is also highly classified in the state of Chu. How did the people of the state of Zheng know about it?He said to himself: "The people of Zheng Guo should not be underestimated!" Standing in the back, Guo Ruo of Qi State heard their strife and refusal to give in to each other. He sighed and said to the young master Zhao beside him, "To be honest, I am very worried about these two!" He pointed to Wang Ziwei, He looked at Bozhou Li again. Young Master Zhao said: "Yes, but those two don't worry about it, they seem to be very happy!" "If they knew in advance, even if there was a danger, they would be able to resolve it, right?" said Qi E from Weiguo.He looked around and found that Xiang Xuzheng of the Song Dynasty was looking at the stage without saying a word, so he pushed him and said, "Do you have any opinions on this?" "What are you talking about?" Xiang Xu looked puzzled, "I didn't hear anything! All I know is that a big country gives orders, and a small country respectfully obeys. I just keep a respectful attitude and just obey the leader." Qi Nao thought, who are these people, just pretending to be stupid!Immediately feeling bored, he went to talk to King Le of Jin again. "You have heard the last chapter of the poem "Xiao Min", I like it very much." After Le Wangyu said this, he stopped talking to him, with an inscrutable look. "What are you trying to show off?" Qi cursed the words, and then abruptly took them back. "Xiao Min" can be found in "The Book of Songs Xiaoya", the last chapter is: Translated into modern language: dare not fight a tiger with bare hands, dare not cross a big river on foot, people only know that there is a danger, and do not realize how difficult the world is.Let's live with trepidation, as if standing beside an abyss, as if stepping on thin ice. The meaning of Le Wangyu is very clear, the world is dangerous, don't just see the danger of others, you must always be vigilant, control your own words and deeds, don't let others hold your braids and you will be lucky! After the meeting, Gongsun Hui talked about the matter with Han Hu, and made some comments on the officials from various countries: "Sun Sunbao discusses the matter, his words are accurate and euphemistic, Xiang Xu's words are concise and in line with etiquette, Le Wang is clean and self-loving and courteous, You and Gongsun Guisheng speak well, and you are both blessed people. Qi, Wei, and Chen Guo may not end well: the country is weak to worry about others, it is purely worrying about others; It will attract attention. Anyone who likes to worry about others, who is happy when others are in trouble, and who knows the troubles but is indifferent will inevitably bring troubles. These three doctors have a harbinger of troubles, how can troubles not come?" Now I understand why the Chinese are so sophisticated and tactful.As early as the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, people were already familiar with how to use an official accent, how to speak seamlessly, and how to pretend to be stupid so that people can't figure out their true intentions... The more you read history, the more you admire our ancestors. The love keeps flowing, and the only doubt is that if everyone is as tight as Xiang Xu, wouldn't this world become very boring? Guozhimeng is another important international activity after the alliance of eliminating soldiers.As mentioned earlier, although Jin and Chu have their own thoughts and secretly compete, the main theme of the meeting is still good.Ministers and officials from all over the world gathered together to review their oaths, exchange experience, and enhance their relationship. Everyone expressed that under the correct leadership of Marshal Zhao Wu and Prince Wei Lingyin, they must adhere to the principles established by the Alliance of Soldiers, so as to A pragmatic working attitude has continuously pushed international peace and cooperation to a deeper level. It was time to make a statement, and the slogan was to be shouted. Just as everyone was packing up and preparing to end the meeting, an unexpected thing happened.The state of Ju in Shandong sent envoys to the state of Guo in a hurry to report to the conference that just half a month ago, Ji Sunsu, a powerful minister of the state of Lu, led an army to invade the state of Ju and captured Yuncheng. That is to say, Xiang Shusun Bao is swearing peace on behalf of the State of Lu, while the army of the State of Lu is attacking the cities of the State of Ju and seizing the land of the State of Ju.This is a typical yang obedience and yin violation!When Wang Ziwei got the news, he immediately went to Zhao Wu to discuss it, and wanted to punish the Lu people. "Before our meeting was over, the State of Lu invaded the State of Ju. It was clearly a violation of the covenant, and they ignored us. If they are not punished, other countries will follow suit, and the world will be in chaos again," the prince said angrily. say. Zhao Wu also felt that the Lu people had gone too far.Since ancient times, committing crimes against the wind has been a taboo in politics. How could those Lu people who have read poetry and books not understand this?He said to Wang Ziwei: "I agree with your opinion. The Lu people must be punished, otherwise there is no way to give an explanation to other countries." "Well, let's kill the envoy sent by the State of Lu to attend the meeting!" Wang Ziwei said bluntly, and made a gesture of cutting his throat. Zhao Wu was taken aback.He thought to himself that this punishment was too severe.Not to mention that Shusun Bao is one of the "Three Huans" of Lu State, with a high position and power, killing him will definitely arouse the resentment of Lu State and even other countries; Sun Bao may not know about it either, because killing Uncle Sun because of Ji Sun's crimes, wouldn't it be a headache and a wrong person?Zhao Wu subconsciously glanced at Wang Ziwei, only to see that this man had a murderous look on his face, and he was putting on a look of being unreasonable and unforgiving.He couldn't help but secretly regret that he knew Wang Ziwei's plan earlier, so he didn't go along with him from the beginning. Since Duke Wen of Jin ruled the hegemony, the State of Lu has been a loyal ally of the State of Jin for nearly a hundred years.Shu Sunbao visited the state of Jin many times, made great contributions to strengthening the connection and communication between the two countries, and established good personal relations with the ministers of the state of Jin, and was an "old friend of the people of the state of Jin".Coupled with the fact that Shusunbao is cautious and has a good reputation, Zhao Wu never thought of taking Shusunbao under the knife, either rationally or emotionally. "This matter is no small matter, let me think about it and discuss it with Ling Yin tomorrow." He resorted to a tactic to temporarily send Wang Ziwei away. Jin people have business minds since ancient times.When Wang Ziwei was talking with Zhao Wu, Le Wangyu happened to be standing beside him. This shrewd Jin man immediately sensed the business opportunity. As soon as he turned around, he ran to Shusunbao's residence and told Shusunbao the content of their conversation. , said: "Your situation is already very dangerous, but I can find a way to make Marshal Zhao not kill you. As long as Marshal Zhao insists, the people of Chu will have nothing to do, and your life will be saved." "Oh?" Shu Sunbao's reaction was still as slow as usual. He played with a jade cup on the table, and it took a long time before he said to Le Wangyu, "If that's the case, I would be very grateful to you." "Look, you're offended by saying that?" Le Wangyu smiled cheerfully, "But having said that, I saved you, if you give me the belt you're wearing now, I won't opposing." One belt for one life sounds like a good deal.But Shu Sunbao heard the implication of Le Wangyu, smiled slightly unconsciously, and said following his words: "What does the doctor mean, my life is worth a belt?" "Where, where? You are the pillar of the state of Lu, the body of a thousand gold... no, the body of a million gold." Le Wangyu heard that Shu Sunbao would still joke, thinking that he had agreed, and his heart immediately blossomed. "Having said that, this belt of mine was a gift from a friend, so it cannot be given away lightly." Unexpectedly, Shu Sunbao changed the subject and pulled him back from his dream, "Doctor, please come back, I appreciate your kindness." gone." Le Wangyu left in a disheartened manner.Shu Sunbao's vassal Liang Qiqi had been listening to the conversation between the two people behind the scenes. At this moment, he came out to complain to Shu Sunbao: "Isn't money used to save lives? Why do you suddenly cherish money?" Shu Sunbao said: "We come to the international conference to defend the country. If I use money to escape my life, Lu will inevitably be punished. This is not to protect the country, but to lead the disaster to the country. People The reason why a wall is built at home is to keep out thieves; if there is a crack in the wall, whose fault is it? I was supposed to defend the country, but ended up harming the country. Isn’t my crime greater than that rotten wall? ?” Liang Qi stomped his feet and said, "If you want to blame, you can only blame Ji Sunsu!" "You're right. I really hate Ji Sunsu, but what is the crime of the Lu State? Over the years, it has become a custom for Ji Sun to guard the country, and his uncle and grandson are away. Now that something like this happened, I should go Whom to blame? I can only blame myself for my bad life. It’s just that Le Wangyu is greedy for money and good things. If he doesn’t satisfy him at all, I’m afraid it will go on forever.” Shu Sunbao said, ordering people to kill Le Wangyu The retainer called over, and tore a long piece of cloth from the clothes in front of him and handed it to him, "The belt on my body is too narrow, so I have to tear the clothes and make another for your master." The matter reached Zhao Wu's ears for some reason, and this person who had been struggling with how to deal with Uncle Sun Bao seemed to have suddenly found the answer: "It is loyalty to think of the country first in the face of a disaster; it is faith to not leave the post when it is aware of danger; To forget death for the benefit of the country is chastity; to think about problems from loyalty, faith, and chastity is righteousness. Should we kill such a person?" That night, Zhao Wu sorted out his thoughts carefully and prepared a long speech.The next morning, when Wang Ziwei urged him to make up his mind to kill Shusunbao again, Zhao Wu politely refused his request, saying: "The state of Lu is indeed guilty, but its staff, Shusunbao, did not escape. Disaster, he admitted his mistake under your majesty, and he is willing to accept the punishment." A tall hat was sent over, and Wang Ziwei's expression eased a lot. "But I suggest that you pardon this man." Zhao Wu strikes while the iron is hot, "In this way, you can use this man as an example to educate the officials of Chu State. Just think about it, if your officials are not afraid of difficulties at home, and do not run away from them abroad." Blame, what troubles does the country have? The reason why the country is stable is because there are sages. Shusun Bao is a sage in Lu, so I have the courage to plead with you. I hope you can pardon him so as to stabilize the sages in Chu. If you pardon the guilty country and appreciate its sages, in this way, even if the Chu State is far away, the princes will fall in and submit." Looking at Wang Ziwei again, he was pinching his fat three-tiered chin and meditating , it seems that he listened. Zhao Wu further said: "As far as Lu State invaded Ju State, it is not a serious crime. The land on the battlefield sometimes belongs to this country, sometimes it belongs to that country. When was there a decision? In ancient times, the three kings and five uncles demarcated the borders of various countries, set up signs, and stated in the decrees that illegal crossing of the border would be punished. Even so, Yu Shun also went to the Three Miao Kingdoms, and Xia Qi wiped out the Guan family and the Hu family The Shang Dynasty killed the Ji family and the Pi family. Even our Zhou Dynasty annexed Xu and Yan. Since the decline of the royal family, the princes have competed to expand and dominate the world alternately. Are there any certain rules? Let the big let go of the small, pay attention to the big disasters and ignore the small mistakes, this is enough to become the leader, how can you control too much? Which country has not experienced the invasion of the border? If Wu and the Baipu tribe have an opportunity Is it true that the Chu State will stick to the covenant and not take advantage of the chaos? It is not a matter of a day or two for the Lu State and the Ju State to compete for the land of Yun, so don't bother the Chu State, and don't bother the princes. Please think about it." To put it bluntly, what Zhao Wu said is the same: the law of the jungle is the norm in the world, and it is not worth making a fuss about.Under his insistence, Wang Ziwei was finally persuaded and let Shusun Bao go. In April 541 BC, the Guo Zhihui finally came to an end.According to the custom of the Chinese people since ancient times, after finishing business, it is customary to drink to one's heart's content. First, Wang Ziwei hosted a banquet for Zhao Wu.The ambitious Chu State Ling Yin wrote the first chapter of "Da Ming" during the banquet: The king's virtue is at the bottom, and the protection of the gods is at the top. God's will is so unpredictable, and it is really difficult to be a leader. ——"Da Ming" can be found in "The Book of Songs Daya". It was originally a poem praising King Wen of Zhou. When it was Zhao Wu's turn to write poems, he wrote the second chapter of "Xiaowan": Smart and wise people drink wine with gentleness; muddle-headed people always get drunk.One should still pay attention to etiquette in life, once the destiny is gone, it cannot be returned. ——This is a chapter in "The Book of Songs Xiaoya", which is intended to persuade people to be cautious in their words and deeds.Wang Ziwei's domineering is well known in the world. Zhao Wufu's poem is also thinking that Wang Ziwei gave him face in dealing with the issue of Lu State, so he tactfully advises Wang Ziwei to pay attention to his words and deeds, and not to be too sharp. However, Wang Ziwei didn't seem to understand Zhao Wu's kindness at all. After the banquet, Zhao Wu said to Uncle Xiang: "It seems that Ling Yin has already regarded himself as the king of Chu. What do you think?" Uncle Xiang said: "The king of Chu is weak, and Yin is strong. It should be possible to succeed, but it is difficult to have a good end." "why would you say so?" "Using the strong to bully the weak with peace of mind is to be strong without morality. A strong without morality will soon perish. It is said in the poem that the prestigious Zhou Dynasty was destroyed by Bao Si! It is said that it is strong without morality With Lingyin's character, if he becomes the king of Chu, he will definitely seek the support of the princes. However, the state of Jin has already begun to decline, and the princes can only obey the leadership of the state of Chu. In this case, his self-confidence will burst, and he will If he is more unscrupulous and more brutal than now, the common people will not be able to bear it. How can he get a good death? You must know that relying on force to win the throne is not in line with morality. Long term." After Wang Ziwei returned home, Zhao Wu, Shusun Bao and others were invited to visit Xinzheng again, and were warmly received by Zheng Guojun and his officials.Three days before the banquet, Hanhu was ordered to inform Zhao Wu of the time and place of the banquet, and Zhao Wu recited a song "Huye" to Hanhu.Gourd is a gourd family plant, its fruit is edible, but its leaves are discarded, or eaten by the poor as miscellaneous grains.Some people in later generations have also verified that "Hu Ye" narrates the scene when the lower nobles hold a banquet.Therefore, Zhao Wuyin's poem means that I appreciate Zheng Bo's kindness, and I hope that the banquet will not be too grand, and everything can be kept simple. But Hanhu doesn't seem to understand Zhao Wu's metaphor.Later, when he went to inform Uncle Sunbao, he also told Uncle Sunbao about Zhao Wu's poem "Huye".Uncle Sun Bao was taken aback for a moment, but soon understood, and said to Han Hu: "Zhao Wu is expressing to you that he hopes that the banquet will be simpler, and a gift is enough." The so-called "offering" means that the host proposes a toast to the guests, and every offering is a toast.According to Zhou etiquette, nine offerings should be used for entertaining dukes, seven offerings for entertaining marquises and earls, five offerings for viscounts and barons, three offerings for ministers, and one offering for scholar-bureaucrats.The more offerings, the more solemn the etiquette, and the richer the banquet.According to Zhao Wu's level, he should enjoy at least three offerings.Moreover, at that time, in order to respect the state of Jin, when entertaining the ministers of the state of Jin, countries often raised the treatment by one level and adopted five offerings. Hearing Shusunbao's explanation, Hanhu couldn't help but feel a little guilty: "Is this not very good?" "What's wrong?" Shusun Bao said, "This is his own request, you just follow it, you can't go wrong." On the day of the banquet, out of caution, Zheng Guoren still prepared five offerings and displayed them at the banquet.When Zhao Wu saw it, he frowned slightly, looked for Zichan, whispered in his ear, "Didn't I already ask Zipi (Hanhuzi Zipi) for instructions on using Yixian? Why do I have to do such a thing?" Extravagance?" Zichan was at a loss for words for a while, and he hesitated: "This is not extravagance and waste, it is a necessary etiquette..." No wonder Zheng Guoren.Generally speaking, when the leader is invited to dinner, the leader will say to keep it simple, it is best to eat some green vegetables and drink some porridge.But if you really make arrangements according to the leader's words, then you will not be far from being laid off.Zheng Guoren obviously also had this worry, and did not expect Zhao Wu to be serious. "Hey, Jin and Zheng are countries of brothers, why bother to be so polite?" Zhao Wu waved his hand to signal Zichan not to argue. The banquet was finally held at the standard of Yixian. While drinking, Uncle Sunbao presented a poem "Magpie's Nest" to Zhao Wu, in which there are sentences like "Wei magpie has a nest, and Weijiu lives in it. The son returns home, and the hundred liang guard it".The meaning of dove occupying the magpie's nest does not need to be explained, but the song "Magpie's Nest" in "The Book of Songs·Zhao Nan" is a cheerful song about marrying a daughter.Shu Sunbao compared Zhao Wu to a magpie and himself to a dove, which meant that the Jin State presided over the alliance, the Lu State was at peace, and he was saved from being killed by the Chu State, all because of Zhao Wu's credit. Zhao Wu hurriedly said, "I can't afford it." Shu Sunbao recited the poem "Cai Fan" again, saying: "The products of a small country are not abundant, but a big country can cherish it and use it carefully. How dare you disobey the orders of a big country?" Seeing Uncle Sun Bao flattering one after another, Han Hu couldn't sit still anymore, stood up and wrote the last chapter of "Death in the Wild": This is a love poem about the love between a man and a woman. The last chapter says to the man through the mouth of a woman: "Be gentle, slow down, don't mess up my scarf, and don't let the dog bark aside."— — Under what circumstances would a woman say such a thing, even though it is a bold guess.Of course, what Hanhu meant was that Zhao Wu appeased the princes with benevolence, righteousness and morality, and never did anything indecent. Zhao Wu gave Hanhu a song "Changdi" in return, in which there is a sentence "The glory of Changdi, Ebuwei (wei)wei. All people today are like brothers", which means: In today's world, is there still A more reliable man than a brother?After reading the poem, Zhao Wu smiled and said to Han Hu: "We are brothers and we are very close, we can stop the dog from barking." Both Shusun Bao and Han Hu stood up, bowed to Zhao Wu, raised their horn cups to toast, and said: "The small country depends on you, so it can be free from bullying." They all had a great time drinking. While drinking and drinking, no one noticed that there was a hint of sadness in Zhao Wu's eyes.According to "Zuo Zhuan", when Zhao Wu walked out of the banquet hall, he quietly wiped away his tears and said to the people around him: "I will never see such a happy scene again." People who are about to die have good words. This is also an important reason why Zhao Wu was so upholding justice at the Guozhi Meeting!However, the same attitude will have different interpretations in different eyes.On his way back to the state of Jin, Zhao Wu passed through the territory of the royal family of Zhou.King Zhou Jing sent Liu Dinggong to comfort Zhao Wu in Yingdi (the place name in Wang Jinei) and let him live on the bank of Luoshui.Liu Dinggong looked at Luoshui rushing away, and said with deep emotion: "How great Yu's achievements are! If there is no Yu, we will probably become fish. Now you and I are wearing top hats and dresses to govern the people. This is all thanks to Yu. Why don’t you inherit Yu’s cause and protect the people greatly?” Zhao Wu replied: “I’m a bad old man who is afraid of making mistakes now, so how can I have the energy to think about such a long-term issue Those of us who live by the day don’t think about it in the morning and at night, what are we going to do with such long-term things?” Liu Dinggong said to Zhou Jingwang when he returned, “Zhao Wu is not yet fifty years old, but he is already old and confused. As the Zhengqing of the Jin Kingdom, he presides over the affairs of the princes, but instead equates himself with those lowly people. He is always in the dark. This is abandoning the mission entrusted to him by God and the people. How can this last? I guess he will live But this year." But in my opinion, if a person has a high position and authority, he should naturally have the courage to aim high and feel responsible; but if his energy is low and his thinking has become dull, it is better to learn from Zhao Wu and do some real good deeds. Delusional thinking about the great achievements of Yao, Shun and Yu Tang.After all, people tend to be confused when they are old, and it is a disaster if an old man in high position makes a mistake.