Chapter 7 Two or three things about the iron-blooded prime minister Zhao Dun

Regarding Zhao Shuai and Zhao Dun and his son, we can use a short story to illustrate the difference between them. In 620 BC, the Di people invaded the western border of the Lu State, and Lu Wengong asked the Jin State for help.Zhao Dun remembered that Hu Shegu, a former colleague and political enemy, happened to be in the Di tribe, so he sent someone to Di to find Hu Shegu, and asked Hu Shegu to mediate between the Di tribe and the State of Lu on his behalf.Hu Shegu conveyed Zhao Dun's meaning to Feng Shu (the chief executive officer of the Di tribe at that time, whose position was similar to that of the minister or chief minister of the Central Plains), and Feng Shu laughed at Jin's suggestion. Instead of answering, he asked Hu Shegu a question: "Zhao Shuai, Zhao Dun and his son, who is more virtuous and capable?"

Hu Shegu's answer contained something very interesting: "Zhao Shuai is the sun in winter, and Zhao Dun is the sun in summer." The winter sun is warm and comforting, and the summer sun is fierce and intimidating.Aunt Hushe said a word, and the faces of Zhao's father and son appeared on the paper.It is worth mentioning that Hu Shegu went into exile in Didi due to a power struggle with Zhao Dun, and Zhao Dun still sent his family members to reunite with him.Because of this, when Zhao Dun asked Hu Shegu to mediate on his behalf, Hu Shegu also readily accepted the order and was willing to be driven by him.It is commendable that political enemies respect each other like Zhao and Hu.

As mentioned earlier, the focus of the dispute between Fox and Zhao is: should we establish the son Yong or the son Le?Now that the son is happy, Hu Shegu is in exile abroad again, and the obstacles for the son Yong to be the king are basically cleared, so there should not be too much suspense. At this time in Qin State, Qin Kanggong held a supportive and prudent attitude towards the son Yong's return to the country to inherit the throne.Qin Kanggong's mother, Mu Ji, is the daughter of Jin Xiangong and the half-sister of Jin Wengong. Therefore, in terms of blood, Qin Kanggong has half of the blood of Jin. He and Jin Wengong are nephews and sons.Qin Kanggong had a clear understanding of the ups and downs of the Jin people. When he said goodbye to his son Yong, he said: "When your father (Jin Wengong) returned to Jin from Qin, he didn't have a strong guard. I don’t want you to follow in the footsteps of your father.” So he sent an additional infantry to Prince Yong to serve as his bodyguard.

The so-called Lu and Que's difficulties refer to the fact that Jin Wengong returned to the Jin Kingdom to become the king, and Jin Huigong's former ministers, Lu Nephew and Qie Rui, conspired to set fire to the palace and murder Jin Wengong.When Qin Mugong helped Jin Wengong return to the country, as the eldest son, Qin Kanggong personally participated in the escort operation and experienced that period of history.There is a poem as proof: "I send my uncle's family to Weiyang." ("The Book of Songs Qin Feng Weiyang") Later generations verified that the "I" in the poem is Qin Kanggong, and the "uncle's" is Jin Wengong .

However, no matter how careful the consideration of the people of Qin is, it is not as secretive as the changes of the people of Jin.When the army of Qin State escorted the son Yong to march towards the Jin State, Zhao Dun suddenly changed his mind, overturned his insistence, and decided to support the eldest son Yigao. It was a political 180-degree turn, like a Ferrari doing a 200-kph U-turn on the highway, leaving everyone confused. As we all know, in order to persuade everyone to support Young Master Yong, Zhao Dun not only publicized the benefits of Young Master Yong with great fanfare, but even promoted Young Master Yong's mother to the sky.What was the reason that made him change course, forcibly withdrew his power of twelve successes, and supported the fledgling Yi Gao instead?

Because of a woman. This woman is none other than the wife of Duke Xiang of Jin and the mother of Yi Gao, who was called Mu Ying in history. Since the death of Duke Xiang of Jin, the officials of the Jin State have unanimously excluded Yigao from their sight.For the young and ignorant Yi Gao, this was a good thing.Because we said before that pushing an ignorant child to the throne of the monarch is equivalent to putting him on the electric chair, and it is only a matter of time before the electricity is turned on-Xi Qi and Zhuo Zi are examples of the past.However, this noble electric torture chair is so alluring that the mother of the child still pushes the innocent child to it out of love for the child.Li Ji's tragedy decades ago obviously did not bring any psychological shadow to Mu Ying. She tried her best to win back the lost rights for her son.

What means does Mu Ying have?Don't forget, she is a woman, she can make trouble. Every morning, all the ministers in Jiangdu city went to the palace to go to court.The courtiers of Jin State are famous for their diligence.Although the ruler of the country is temporarily vacant, under the leadership of Marshal Zhao Dun, no one dares to be sloppy. Get up before dawn, straighten your appearance, eat a simple breakfast, and drive to the palace in a carriage , rain or shine.He ran to the court hall to see that Xianjun's wife, Mu Ying, was already waiting for them with the child in her arms.

When all the ministers arrived, Mu Ying cleared his throat, and cried three times in an extremely high-pitched soprano: "Ah——" This is called the first voice, and it is also called excitement, which immediately attracts everyone's attention , and then into the subject: "What is the fault of the late king? What is the fault of the late king's son? You ministers, who were trusted by the late king, abandoned his son and went abroad to beg someone to be the king. Where is it?" Mu Ying was half crying and half singing. After singing this line, he burst into tears again.While listening to Mu Ying's crying and singing, all the ministers were discussing state affairs at the same time, not to mention how awkward they felt.

After dealing with the government affairs amidst Mu Ying's crying and singing, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly left the court, and returned home to enjoy half a day of peace.However, for Zhao Dun, the troubles are not over yet.In addition to crying in the hall, Mu Ying carried the child and followed Zhao Dun home and continued to cry.She kowtowed to Zhao Dun and said: "The Xianjun entrusted this innocent child to you and said, 'If this child is promising, I thank you for your care; if not, I only ask you." Although Xianjun is not alive now , whose words are still in my ears, you actually abandoned this child, how do you plan to face the late king?"

Zhao Dun and all the ministers felt that Mu Ying was very difficult to deal with, and no one could refute what she said.After all, it is not a matter of self-confidence to violate the last order of the late emperor and abandon the legitimate eldest son. If it is not done well, everyone will be charged with the eternal crime of "betrayal to the lord" in history. When Prince Yong entered the border of Jin under the escort of the people of Qin, Zhao Dun thought twice, called together several confidant ministers, and secretly agreed that he would obey Duke Xiang of Jin's last order and make Yigao king.

No objections were raised.However, everyone knew in their hearts that what Zhao Dun did was actually a triple betrayal. First, he betrayed Qin; Second, he betrayed Xianmihe Shihui who was sent to Qin to meet Prince Yong; Third, he betrayed Prince Yong. Perhaps, we should add, he also betrayed himself. Why did Zhao Dun make such a 180-degree turn?On the surface, it was because of Mu Ying, a woman. The records in "Zuo Zhuan" and "Historical Records" also basically support this view.However, if we analyze further, things may not be so simple. "Zuo Zhuan" said, "Mu Yingri hugged his eldest son and cried in the court", which started when Jin Xianggong just died.It's not a day or two for the ministers to be disturbed by her.Zhao Dun was not moved for a long time, and he was not moved for a long time. He waited until Hu Shegu fled abroad to be moved. Obviously it was not because of Mu Ying, but for other reasons. After "Yizhisou", Zhao Dun became the first person in the state of Jin under the monarch, and his limelight completely overwhelmed Hu Shegu, who was the deputy commander of the Chinese army.However, Hushegu's family is still very powerful, and Hushegu herself is very dissatisfied with Zhao Dun.Looking at the state of Jin, the Hu family is the only family that can compete with the Zhao family, and Hu Shegu has become a thorn in Zhao Dun's side. With Zhao Dun's character of "summer sun", of course, he must get rid of it quickly. The so-called battle to welcome the monarch can be understood as a conspiracy planned by Zhao Dun.Originally, according to Jin Xianggong's will, it is a matter of course for the eldest son Yigao to inherit the throne, and there should be no disagreements.However, Zhao Dun realized that he could use this incident to make a fuss, first lure the snake out of the hole (a very familiar political term), lure potential political opponents to jump out against him, and then deal a severe blow.When Zhao Dun proposed that Yigao was too young to be responsible for the great responsibilities, and that he should welcome son Yong as king, Hu Shegu really responded and sang against Zhao Dun.As a result, in just a few rounds, Zhao Dun beat Hu Shegu to the ground and fled, once and for all solving the problem of "how can others sleep peacefully on the side of the couch". As a powerful minister covering the sky with one hand, does Zhao Dun really want Young Master Yong to be his master?of course not.As he himself said, son Yong was deeply loved by Duke Wen of Jin. His backup——if such a son Yong becomes the king of Jin, how can Zhao Dun be able to manipulate and control him? In fact, the ideal master in Zhao Dun's mind is precisely the eldest son Yigao who is waiting to be fed. Young Master Yong is just a pawn played by Zhao Dun.Using this chess piece, he successfully drove away his greatest political enemy, Hu Shegu.And when Young Master Yong was about to return to China, he used the woman Mu Ying as an excuse to oppose Young Master Yong's coming to power. Turn your hands into clouds, turn your hands into rain, mobilize the people of the whole country today to wish you eternal health, and tomorrow you will be labeled a traitor and traitor. Throughout the ages, only the most brilliant politicians can do this. Under the command of Zhao Dun, the army of Jin State set out from Jiangdu to Linghu.Except for Marshal Jizheng who stayed in the capital, most of the important generals of the Jin Kingdom participated in this operation.Zhao Dun personally led the Chinese army, Xianke served as the deputy commander of the Chinese army, Xun Linfu led the upper army, Xianmi led the lower army, Bu Zhao served as Zhao Dun's military chariot driver, and Rong Jin served as the military chariot guard.Zhao Dun did a good job of keeping the secrets secret, until the time of departure, Xian Mie was still in the dark, thinking that this trip was to meet Prince Yong. The Jin army advanced to Jinyin (the land of Jin) not far from Linghu. Zhao Dun suddenly gave a speech to the whole army: "Soldiers, in front of us are Young Master Yong and the people of Qin. If we accept Young Master Yong, the Qin army will be our guests." ;If you do not accept the son Yong, the Qin army will be our enemy! According to the last king's will, we will make the elder son of the first king Yigao as the king, so the son Yong is not welcome now." Speaking of here , he glanced at Xian Mi, who was expressionless, "The people of Qin must be dissatisfied with this, but it doesn't matter, we preemptively strike them and catch them off guard!" That night, the Jin army had a full meal, and took advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack on the Qin army.Qin Jun was unprepared for this and was defeated.The Jin army pursued the Qin army, and they did not stop until they reached 刳 (ku) (the place name of the state of Jin). Zhao Dun achieved a military victory and a moral defeat in one fell swoop.Xian Mie and Shi Hui couldn't accept Zhao Dun's treachery, so they fled to Qin State one after another. In retrospect, when Xianmi was sent to Qin by Zhao Dun's order, his good friend Xun Linfu once stopped him.Xun Lin's father took his arm and said: "The wife and eldest son of the first monarch are still alive, and it is against common sense to welcome the monarch outside. I suggest that you resign this job under the pretext of being sick, how about it? Otherwise, , Disaster will affect you. Besides, it is enough to send an ordinary doctor to do this kind of errand, why do you need to do it yourself? I am telling you these heartfelt thoughts for the sake of my colleagues, please think twice before acting .” Father Xun Lin’s words were actually warning Xian Mi: the fact that the wife and the eldest son are both present, but looking for a new king outside, is very suspicious in itself, and there must be something strange in it.It's a pity that Xian Mi didn't understand what Xun Lin's father said, so he didn't take it seriously.Father Xun Lin couldn't dissuade him, so he shook his head and recited an ancient poem: "Although I have strange things, I am in the same room as you. I am conspiring with you, and listen to my clamor. I am convinced by my words, so don't laugh at them. The ancestors have words, ask them Yu Chuyou." This poem comes from the third chapter of "The Book of Songs Daya Ban", Xun Linfu means: "I advise you as a colleague, you should follow the advice." Of course, Xian Mi still did not listen . After Xianmi fled to Qin, Xun Lin's father tried every means to send all of Xianmi's family members and property to Qin, and asked someone to bring a message to Xianmi, saying: "I did this because of the friendship of my former colleagues. .” The Shihui has been in Qin State for three years and has not met Xianmi.The staff of the Scholars Association felt very strange: "Since you fled to this country with him and refused to see each other, why bother?" He had the same fate because he made the same mistake, not because of his noble character, so why did you meet him?" Until Shi Hui returned to China, he did not see Xian Mi again. Everything seems to be calm again.The eldest son Yigao, who was known as Duke Ling of Jin in history, finally ascended the throne trembling in his mother's arms.Theoretically speaking, this throne should belong to him, but due to the manipulation of some people, his journey to the throne has become treacherous and dangerous.Of course, he was just an ignorant child at that time, and he had no idea of ​​the danger in front of him.When he finally sat on the throne that belonged to him after going through all kinds of troubles, he would not feel any hardship.And neither he nor his mother realized that the luxurious throne under the buttocks was actually a terrible electric torture chair. In August of the same year, Zhao Dun held a meeting of princes at Zaihu (the place name of Zheng State), and officially announced that Jin State had a new master.The monarchs of Qi, Song, Wei, Zheng, Xu, and Cao attended the meeting on time, and only Lu Wengong, the ruler of Lu, was late. Lu Wengong's lateness was of course not due to traffic jams, but for other reasons: First, although Zhao Dun is the Marshal of the Central Army of the Jin State, with a high position and authority, but in terms of status, he is at best a "Qing" and cannot sit on an equal footing with the princes.The state of Lu has always been known for adhering to Zhou etiquette, and he is quite disgusted with the arrogant and rude attitude of the state of Jin, and has a feeling of resistance in his heart. Second, since the death of Duke Xiang of Jin, strong enemies from outside Jin have invaded, powerful officials have fought within, the national power has been greatly weakened, and its own problems have not been solved well. It is impossible to have more energy to take care of international affairs, and its hegemony has been seriously shaken. .In fact, as early as the spring of this year, the State of Lu launched a war against its neighbor, the State of Lu, regardless of the oath of the Alliance of Practicing the Land, occupied the city of Xuju in the State of Lu, and appointed the people who defected to the State of Lu many years ago The son of Duke Wen of Zhu was the guard general of Xuju.Regarding this practice of brutally interfering in the internal affairs of neighboring countries and encouraging rivalry between father and son, "Zuo Zhuan" unequivocally criticized: "It's indecent!" However, as the overlord of the world, the Jin State did not express anything against Lu State's bullying of the weak. The Jin people themselves obviously realized this.The main purpose of the Hudi Alliance seems to be to announce the rise of Jin Linggong, a little boy, but in fact it is to show the nations Jin's determination to return to the international stage and rebuild the international order after experiencing civil strife. Take a look at how loyal the allied countries are to Jin.Therefore, the Jin people will see and remember whoever actively attends the meeting and whoever treats them negatively. Not long after Hu Di made the alliance, he said to Zhao Dun, "It turns out that the Wei state did not obey our leadership, so we severely taught the Wei state a lesson and took their land. Judging from the performance of this alliance, The state of Wei has completely surrendered, and we can consider returning the land it occupied back then to the state of Wei. If someone betrays the state of Jin, but we don’t attack it, it will indeed damage the prestige of the state of Jin. On the other hand, if someone surrenders to the state of Jin, How can we show the grace of the state of Jin if we don’t win over? Without prestige and grace, how can we embody the virtues of a great country of Jin? Without the virtues of a great state, how can we command the princes? You are now presiding as the ruling minister of the state of Jin What is the intention of the princes to form an alliance instead of establishing virtue in the world? "Xia Shu" says: "Tell him happy things, restrain him with majesty, encourage him with nine songs, and don't let him learn bad things." ——Do you know what Jiuge is?" Zhao Dun shook his head with a dazed expression, but he still listened carefully. "Nine Songs is a song about nine kinds of merit. We call water, fire, gold, wood, earth, and valleys the six houses, and correct virtues, facilitate use, and pay attention to people's livelihood are called the three things. Follow the will of heaven and implement the six houses and three things, They are the nine kinds of merit and virtue, which are what we often call virtue and propriety. If a person does not have virtue and propriety, he is as unhappy as life without music. It is a pity that no one praises you for your great merit! Why don't you let those who submit to Jin praise you?" But the lack of these words is not only reasonable, but also flattering, and a bit like coaxing children.After hearing this, Zhao Dun was in a very happy mood, and readily agreed to Que Que's suggestion.To make a digression, this is the art of "being led". Since ancient times, leaders have been coaxed. In the second year of the Hudi Huimeng, that is, in the spring of 619 BC, the Jin State sent a senior official Xie Yang as an envoy to return the two lands of Kuang and Qi that had been occupied seven years ago to the State of Wei.At the same time, part of the land that had been occupied by Zheng State was returned to Zheng State to show tenderness. Where there is reward, there is punishment.In the autumn of 619 BC, the Jin State sent envoys to the State of Lu and delivered a harsh diplomatic note to Duke Wen of Lu, severely condemning Duke Wen of Lu for being late for the Hudi Huimeng.In response, in the winter of the same year, the Duke of Lu went to the State of Jin to meet with Zhao Dun, discussed the matter, and expressed his apology for Lu Wengong's late behavior when he was in Hudi for the alliance. After completing his mission, the young master stopped by the Rong people who lived between Yi and Luo.The son was then the son of Duke Zhuang of Lu.In history, Gongzi Sui was also known as Dongmen Xiangzhong, Xiangzhong, Dongmen Sui, Zhong Sui or Dongmen Clan.The surname, surname, first name, character and appellation of the ancients are an extremely complicated system. Taking Xiangzhong of Dongmen as an example, "Sui" is his first name, "Xiang" is his posthumous title after death, and "Zhong" is his posthumous title. "Dongmen" is because he lives in the east gate of Lu State. The Jin people accepted the apology from Prince Sui, and canceled the matter, and the reconciliation between Jin and Lu was as good as before.There is a reason why Jin people are so eloquent: First, in the summer of that year, in order to avenge Linghu, Qin State launched another war against Jin State and captured Wucheng; Second, the internal disputes in Jin State resumed. The root cause of the internal disputes in the state of Jin is still the "Yi Zhisou" back then.As mentioned earlier, in "Yizhisou", Jin Xianggong originally considered Shigu as the marshal of the Chinese army, Liang Yier as the deputy commander of the Chinese army, and promoted Ji Zhengfu and Xiandu two veteran ministers, but because Xianke disrupted the situation , had to be changed to Hushegu and Zhao Dun, Xianke offended the above four people.After Zhao Dun came to power, Xianke served as the deputy commander of the Chinese army. He used his power to snatch the land of the doctor Kuaide in Jinyin, and offended Kuaide. In the spring of 618 B.C., Shigu, Liang Yier, Ji Zhengfu, Xiandu and Kuai De allied themselves to rebel and sent assassins to assassinate Xianke.Later things came to light, and five people led by Shi Gu were sentenced to death successively. In just a few months, the deputy commander of the Chinese army (Xianke), the marshal of the upper army (Ji Zhengfu), and the deputy commander of the lower army (Xiandu) of the Jin State were successively killed. Shuai (Hu Shegu) and Marshal Xia (Xian Mie) lost a total of five senior generals, and the Jin army was seriously injured.Under the leadership of "Summer Sun" Zhao Dun, the people of Jin really felt deeply burned. House seemingly endless rain.Just when Zhao Dun was struggling to cope with Qin's attack and Jin's civil strife, the southern Chu State once again blew the horn to attack the Central Plains. Fan Shan, a doctor of the state of Chu, said to King Mu of Chu: "Jin Jun is young and ignorant, and his ambition is not to dominate the princes. It is the right time for us to go north to the Central Plains!" The State of Zheng sent an envoy to ask the State of Jin for help.Zhao Dun led the five armies of Jin, Lu, Song, Wei, and Xu to rescue, but their actions were slow. By the time the allied forces arrived, the people of Chu had already captured Zheng Guo's sons Jian, Gongzi Long and Leer, and signed a contract with Zheng Guo. After breaking the alliance under the city, An Ran returned to the country. In the summer of the same year, the State of Chu sent troops to invade the State of Chen again, captured Huqiu, and punished the State of Chen for submitting to the State of Jin. In autumn, Chu's son Zhu led an army to attack Chen from Dongyi. Without the help of Jin, the people of Chen resisted desperately, defeated Zhu's army, and captured Chu's son Fa.However, due to Jin's numbness and Zhao Dun's inaction, the people of Chen lost their confidence in relying on Jin, and offered to negotiate peace with Chu, and the two sides concluded an alliance. At the same time as the military offensive, the people of Chu State also launched a diplomatic offensive. In the winter of the same year, they sent a doctor, Dou Yuejiao, to the State of Lu for a state visit.Whether Duke Wen of Lu responded to the kindness of the Chu people is not recorded in historical materials.But one thing is certain, because of Jin's dominance, the people of Lu do not have any resentment towards Chu's wooing. During Dou Yuejiao's visit to the State of Lu, envoys sent by the State of Qin came to the capital of the State of Lu not far away.The purpose of the Qin people's trip was nominally to express their condolences to Lu Wengong's parents (Lu Xigong and Cheng Feng) and to present clothes and quilts to the deceased. In fact, they also wanted to get close to Lu and break up the alliance of Jin.You know, at this time Duke Xi of Lu has passed away for ten years, and Cheng Feng has also passed away for six years.According to the customs at that time, "the death should be given to the corpse, and the life should be mourned", that is to say, the gift of clothes and quilts to the deceased should be presented before the deceased is buried; When the family is still immersed in grief.It is very rude to ask about the funeral after this time.However, the late hospitality of the Qin people still moved the always rigid Lu people very much. "Zuo Zhuan" not only praised the Qin people for their "propriety", but also explained: The feudal princes congratulated each other. Spirit, so it must be recorded to show that the old feelings between the two countries will not be forgotten. Don't the people of Qin really know that it's against the rules to ask about funerals ten years after death?of course I know.The reason why the Qin people did this is actually a clever strategy of throwing stones to ask for directions.Its brilliance lies in its thoughtfulness. Since the death of Duke Wen of Jin, Qin and Jin have been at war for a long time.On the other hand, Lu and other Central Plains countries have always been allies of Jin on the surface, recognizing Jin's hegemony and accepting Jin's leadership.Qin State wanted to win over Lu State, Jin State was naturally nervous, and it was very likely to put pressure on Lu State, and even threatened it with force. In this case, it would be very uncomfortable for Lu State to be caught between Qin and Jin.In order not to make it difficult for the Lu people, the Qin people came up with such a way to visit the Lu country in the name of condolences to Lu Xigong and his wife, flirting openly under the eyes of the Jin people, and the Jin people can only turn a blind eye. One glance, as if you didn't see it. After all, it is a traditional custom of the Chinese nation to hang people, and no matter how domineering Jin people are, it is not easy to point fingers. Although Qin and Chu's diplomatic wooing of Lu State did not achieve any substantial results, it sent a signal to the world: Jin's hegemony was challenged by the two major powers in the West and the South at the same time, and it was seriously shaken. . In order to reverse the diplomatic decline, in the spring of 617 BC, Jin State launched a war against Qin State and captured Shaoliang City.Qin State immediately launched a defensive counterattack and sent troops to capture Beizheng City of Jin State in the summer of the same year. Seeing that the state of Jin was surrounded by enemies, Chen and Zheng, who first took refuge in the state of Chu, felt that it was necessary to further consolidate the good-neighborly and friendly relationship with the state of Chu. Gonggong Chen and Duke Mu of Zheng went to the state of Chu to make a pilgrimage at the same time. meeting.Cai Guo, who had been attached to Chu State for a long time since the time of King Wen of Chu, also returned to the embrace of Chu State. Among the former allies of the Jin State, the Qin State became the old enemy of the Jin State, and the Lu State watched the fire from the other side, flirting with Qin and Chu. The three kingdoms of Chen, Zheng, and Cai simply defected to the Chu State. The battle line has thus far been declared disintegrated. In the winter of 617 BC, the kings of Chu, Zheng, Chen, and Cai held a meeting in Jue Lai, Cai, and formed a four-nation coalition with the Chu army as the main force.Jue raccoon is a small place on the border of Song and Cai. The Allied Forces of the Four Nations held a joint military exercise here, and the spearhead was naturally directed at Song. Fifteen years ago, the battle of Chengpu between Jin and Chu for the world was kicked off with Chu's attack on Song.Fifteen years later, the people of Chu State made a comeback and once again brought the flames of war to the gate of Song State.