Chapter 17 In the internal strife of Jin, the biggest enemy is often its own people

The Chenling League is a symbolic event of Chuzhuang King's hegemony.However, the results of the Chenling League itself were not significant.Apart from King Chuzhuang himself, there were only two princes participating in the alliance, namely Zheng Xianggong and Da Ziwu of Chen Guo, who later became Chen Chenggong.Moreover, for Zheng Xianggong, who was struggling to survive in the cracks, the alliance had no binding force. If he participated in the Chu alliance today, he would send someone to report the situation to Jin tomorrow, and neither side dared to offend. After taking care of the affairs of the State of Chen, King Zhuang of Chu decided not to quarrel with the State of Jin and resolve the issue of the State of Zheng once and for all.

In the spring of 597 BC, the Chu army invaded Zheng State, surrounded Xinzheng, the capital of Zheng State, and attacked day and night.On the seventeenth day of the siege, the people of the state of Zheng couldn't stand it any longer. They wanted to ask the people of Chu for peace and asked for divination, but the result was unlucky; The so-called coming to the Grand Palace means going to the ancestral temple of Zheng State to cry loudly; leaving the chariot in the alley means displaying the chariot in the street.Both of these activities have the meaning of a fight to the death and no compromise.

Since it was God's will, the people of Zheng Guo gave up the idea of ​​surrender and prepared to die. All the people burst into tears together, even the soldiers standing on the city wall cried loudly, crying until the world was shocked, and weeping ghosts and gods.Back then, Zheng Zhuanggong fought all over the Central Plains with invincible opponents. After more than a hundred years, his descendants can only fight the trapped beasts by howling and crying. It is really embarrassing. The cry spread to the camp of the Chu army, and even the king of Chuzhuang heard it, and said in horror: "The two countries are at war, what is the crime of the people?" So he ordered the Chu army to stop attacking the city and retreat dozens of miles to set up camp.

This retreat has written a footnote for King Zhuang of Chu's "overbearing" and won praise from the world.The so-called overlord was originally someone who killed people in the name of benevolence and righteousness.Since ancient times, those who know benevolence and righteousness but do not kill people have been regarded as fools, such as Song Xianggong; those who can kill but do not understand benevolence and righteousness are regarded as tyrants, such as Qi Xianggong; those who know benevolence and righteousness but can kill people will become the overlord of the world , Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin and King Zhuang of Chu are such people.

The people of Zheng Guo didn't expect that this cry really worked. They thought it was the blessing of their ancestors. Taking advantage of the retreat of the Chu army, they hurriedly built a city wall to strengthen Xinzheng's defense.Soon after, the Chu army made a comeback and surrounded Xinzheng again.This time, Xinzheng's city defenses were much stronger than before, and the Chu army attacked for three full months before breaking through Zheng's defense. In the first ten days of June, King Zhuang of Chu led his troops into Xinzheng from the imperial gate. This was the second time since Ziyuan invaded Xinzheng in 666 BC that the Chu army had entered the capital of Zheng.Zheng Xianggong came to meet King Zhuang of Chu with his bare upper body and leading a thin sheep, and said: "It's all my fault. I have lived a long life in vain, but I don't know what the destiny is, and I am overestimated. Confrontation will bring disaster to the state of Zheng, humiliate the ancestors, let alone be ashamed to pay homage to the majesty's majesty."

King Zhuang of Chu leaned his body on Che Shi and watched his performance with great interest.It was originally invented by Wei Zi, the elder brother of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty.When King Wu of Zhou destroyed Shang, Wei Zi expressed his surrender to King Wu of Zhou in this way and was forgiven by King Wu of Zhou.For the people of Chu, such a surrender ceremony may not be unfamiliar. In 654 BC, Duke Xu Xi once performed it in front of King Cheng of Chu. "No matter how the king punishes me, I will obey. Even if you send me to the south of the Yangtze River, or migrate to the sea, I am willing, because that is what I deserve. Even if you destroy the state of Zheng, send the men and women of the state of Zheng As your servant, I don't dare to have any objection, because that is the end of fighting against you." At this point, Zheng Xianggong raised his eyes and took a peek at King Zhuang of Chu, who was listening carefully and looked at him with encouraging eyes. Looking at him, clearly saying: "Go on, go on."

"However," Zheng Xianggong cleared his throat, and continued, "If the king cares about the traditional friendly relationship between Chu and Zheng, if the state of Zheng is not broken, so that the ancestors of Zheng can continue to enjoy sacrifices, so that Zheng If the state surrenders to you and becomes a vassal of Chu State, all the people in Zheng State will be grateful for your kindness and virtue, and accept the leadership of Chu State wholeheartedly. This may be an unrealistic wishful thinking, but it is also my sincere words, my lord. consider." All the ministers of the Chu State persuaded King Zhuang of Chu not to accept the surrender of Zheng State, but to directly merge Zheng State into the territory of Chu State.Some people even said that the soldiers who came all the way from Yingdu to Xinzheng and fought continuously for half a year had put in too much blood and sweat, so how could they easily agree to surrender?

King Zhuang of Chu waved his hand and stopped the officials from discussing: "As a king, this man can beg me so humbly, and he will surely gain the trust of the people of Zheng. Because Zheng Guo refused to accept; now that we have accepted, our goal has been achieved, so what should we do?" So he accepted Zheng Xianggong's surrender, waved the battle flag himself, and commanded the Chu army to withdraw from Xinzheng. Immediately afterwards, the state of Chu sent Pan Yi (wang) as a representative to sign a peace treaty with the state of Zheng; At the same time when the Chu army besieged Xinzheng for the second time, the Jin army led by Xun Linfu was traveling day and night to rescue Zheng.

At this time, the Jin army was still under the system of three armies: Xun Linfu was the marshal of the Chinese army, and Xian Gu was the deputy; Shihui was the marshal of the upper army, but Ke Ke was the deputy;In addition, Zhao Kuo and Zhao Ying were officers of the Chinese army, Gong Shuo and Han Chuan were officers of the upper army, Xun Shou and Zhao Tong were officers of the lower army, and Han Jue was Sima.From the list of these thirteen people, it is not difficult to see that the military and political power of the Jin State is still controlled by the veterans of the Jin Wengong era and their descendants, and the children of the Zhao family accounted for four of them, and the limelight has not diminished.

When the Jin army arrived at the Yellow River, Zheng Guo had surrendered to Chu State and signed an alliance with Chu State.Hearing this news, the commander-in-chief Xun Linfu wanted to go back home. He said to the generals: "It's too late to reach Zheng Guo now, why should we travel day and night? It's better to wait until the Chu army returns to the country, and then we march to attack Zheng Guo , it's not too late." The Scholars Association agreed with Father Xun Lin's opinion: "It makes sense. I heard that the way to use troops is to find the enemy's loopholes before marching. If the opponent's moral character, criminal law, government orders, sacrifices, and etiquette are all kept normal, there will be no gaps." It can be attacked. The king of Chu attacked the state of Zheng. He was angry with his half-heartedness and pitied him for his low-mindedness. If the state of Zheng betrayed him, he would attack him, and if he surrendered, he would let him go. , the people do not feel tired, and the king does not attract resentment, which shows that the administration is good. The army is fighting in the front, and the domestic agriculture, industry, and business are not affected. The chariots, soldiers and infantry can also unite and live in peace , it is really rare!"

This statement by the Scholars Association is not an exaggeration.During those years, under the governance of Ling Yin and Sun Shuao, various legal codes were continuously improved, and military and political affairs were well organized, showing a thriving scene.Taking combat as an example, the Chu army is divided into five functional units, the right army follows the general, the left army prepares food and grass, the front army is responsible for opening the way, the central army focuses on planning, and the rear army is composed of elite troops, responsible for the fatal blow.Military officers perform their own duties, and military affairs are self-contained, and a complete code of law has been formed. Sun Shuao's management level is second to none in the world.A year ago, King Zhuang of Chu ordered Sun Shuao to personally supervise the construction of Yicheng.Sun Shuao first sent people to draw up the engineering design, reported it to Situ for approval, and then put it into practice. From measuring engineering, measuring dates, allocating materials, appointing personnel, calculating distances to construction site management, everything was done in an orderly manner, and it was successfully completed in only 30 days. tasks, without any waste and engineering quality problems. In addition, King Zhuang of Chu himself was diligent in political affairs. In terms of personnel, he not only reused his relatives from the royal family, but also paid attention to selecting backbones from nobles with foreign surnames. He reused those with high moral character and rewarded those who worked hard; , care about the treatment of lower-level officials; nobles and commoners are treated differently, nobles cannot exceed their powers, and commoners have dignity, which actively and effectively promotes the unity of all classes. The soldiers will go on to say that advancing at the right time and retreating in the face of difficulties is the principle of using troops. The commander-in-chief is requested to reorganize the army and wait for the opportunity. At worst, we can attack a weak and confused country. Why must we confront the Chu State head-on? This may not sound good, but it makes sense.The principle of war is to avoid the real and ignore the weak, to avoid the strong and attack the weak, not to be afraid of the hard, let alone the hard.At that time, the generals of the state of Jin listened to the speeches of Xun Lin's father and the scholars' association, and they still had differences.Xiangu, deputy commander of the Chinese army, advocated continuing to advance, saying: "The reason why Jin can dominate the world is because the army is brave and the soldiers try their best. If you abandon Zheng Guo today, you can't say you are doing your best; if you don't fight a battle, you can't be brave. It’s better to die! Besides, it’s not a manly thing to organize the army and retreat as soon as they hear that the enemy is strong. As a commander, but it ends up being not a manly man, everyone here can do it, but I can’t do it!” In the final result of the discussion, the retreat faction gained the upper hand, so Xun Lin's father ordered the whole army to stop advancing and prepare to return home.In the early morning of the next day, all the generals gathered in the army camp and arranged for the withdrawal of the army, but there was no one in Xiangu.Xun Lin's father sent someone to look for it, but found that not only Xiangu was missing, but also thousands of troops under him. It turned out that as early as the night before, Xiangu secretly pulled out his camp and crossed the Yellow River.If the estimate is correct, he should have been very close to the Chu army at this time. Xiangu's unauthorized actions made the entire Jin army passive.Xun Shou, a doctor in the army, said pessimistically: "This army is in danger! The Book of Changes says that when an army goes out to war, it must be governed by law, otherwise it will be a disaster. If you have a commander but can't obey the leader, if you really fight, you will definitely fail. Let's go. , even if you don’t die in battle, there will be a catastrophe!” Sima Hanjue glanced at Father Xun Lin, and said, "Xiangu took the risk by taking the risk, and you are the most responsible. As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, whose responsibility is it that the soldiers do not obey orders? Losing Zheng Guo and losing the army, this responsibility is too great It’s better. It’s better to simply march, even if you lose the battle, it’s better for everyone to bear the responsibility together than to stay here and let you alone bear the responsibility.” If the subordinates do not obey orders, the commander is indeed to blame.However, since the death of Duke Wen of Jin, the generals of the state of Jin have been known for their rebelliousness. They have repeatedly violated orders, and the parties involved have not been punished as they should.How could Xiangu's act without authorization be the result of Xun Lin's father's connivance? But the matter had come to this point, Xun Lin's father had no choice but to follow Han Jue's suggestion and ordered the whole army to cross the river to meet Xiangu. The army of King Zhuang of Chu was stationed in the city of Zheng in the state of Zheng. Sun Shuao was the commander of the central army, his son Yingqi was the commander of the left army, and his son Yingqi was the commander of the right army. He planned to return home after drinking the Yellow River.Interestingly, upon hearing the news that the Jin army had crossed the Yellow River, King Zhuang of Chu's first thought was the same as that of Xun Lin's father: the Yellow River was no longer to be drunk, and the troops returned to the court immediately. Is King Zhuang of Chu afraid of war?Of course I'm afraid.Since ancient times, the more talented and bold the monarch, the more awe he has for war.Because war is not a game, it is a life-and-death struggle that bets on the fate of the country and the lives of the people. If you can not fight, try not to fight.It is as far away as King Wu of Zhou's first attack on Zhou, and he summoned 800 princes to meet in Mengjin, with strong troops and horses. Everyone said "Zhou can be defeated", but King Wu of Zhou dismissed the team on the grounds of "unknown destiny"; it is similar to Duke Huan of Qi He led the Eight-Power Allied Forces to crusade against Chu State, mobilized the army and mobilized the crowd, but failed to shoot a single arrow, signed the Zhaoling Alliance with the people of Chu State, and then returned; for example, Duke Wen of Jin retreated before the battle of Chengpu, because he was afraid of competing with Cheng Dechen until the battle. The night before was still hesitating.It is a pity that people often only see the glory of the war, but do not pay attention to the ideological struggle and painful choices made by these people before the war. King Zhuang of Chu wanted to escape, but he had a "bi man" named Wu Shen under him, but he urged him to fight this battle. The so-called Yanren refers to favored ministers, especially those who are of low status and are favored by the monarch.It is conceivable that in a feudal society where the concept of family status was very important, people were actually not highly regarded.As a descendant of a famous family, Sun Shuao was very disgusted with Yan Renwu's discussion of military affairs. He said coldly: "I joined Chen last year, and this year I joined Zheng. There have been constant wars, and the soldiers are already very tired. If you fail to win this time, you Is Wu Shen's meat enough for us to eat?" Wu Shen confronted him tit-for-tat: "If you win the battle, you, Sun Shuao, have no plans; if you fail to win the battle, Wu Shen's meat has already been eaten up by the Jin army. Which round will we get you?" Sun Shu'ao was too lazy to play tricks with a scumbag, so he ordered his chariot to be placed facing south, and the flag of the Chinese army was also erected facing south, to show his intention to go south. That night, Wu Shen went to the tent of King Zhuang of Chu again, and said: "Father Xun Lin, the commander-in-chief of the Jin army, just took office not long ago, so he couldn't follow orders and prohibit them. His deputy, Xiangu, was self-willed and cruel, and he didn't listen to his command at all. The commander wanted to act arbitrarily but couldn't do it. He wanted to obey orders but he didn't have a superior, which made the soldiers at a loss. The Jin army will definitely lose in this battle. Besides, you, the king of a country, ran away in front of the officials of Jin. What is the face of Chu State?" What Wu Shen said hit the point.People in that era were very particular about status and rank. King Zhuang of Chu weighed it over and over again, and felt that the chances of winning this war were great, and he had a reason to fight, so he ordered Sun Shuao to change the direction of the chariot, and the whole army went north to Guancheng. , Waiting for the arrival of the Jin army.By the way, Wu Shen has a very famous descendant named Wu Zixu. After receiving the news of the advance of the Chu army, the Jin army also set up camp near Aoshan, waiting for a fighter. Since the Battle of Chengpu, Jin and Chu have fought many times, but they were all small-scale wars. This is the first time that such a large-scale decisive battle has been fought.For a while, the tense atmosphere before the war was permeated in the country of Zheng.The people of Zheng State, who were used to being foolish, felt that the future was uncertain, so they dared not bet all their treasures on the people of Chu State, so they sent the doctor Huangxu to the camp of the Jin Army and said to Xun Linfu: "The reason why Zheng State surrendered to Chu State The country is only for the preservation of the country, and it is not for the Jin country. The Chu army has won many battles in recent years, so they must be proud and underestimate the enemy. In addition, it has been half a year since they went abroad to fight, and they are already tired and not well prepared. If you attack Chu Army, if Zheng Guo is willing to cooperate, the Chu army will be defeated!" In all fairness, what the people of Zheng State did was very unkind, and what Huang Xu said was nothing more than fooling the people of Jin State.But Xiangu was very useful when he heard it, and jumped up and said: "Defeat Chu State and subdue Zheng State, that's all it takes, just listen to him!" Luan Shu, the deputy commander of the lower army, disagreed, saying: "Since the state of Chu quelled the rebellion of the Yong state, the king of Chu has not taught the people that it is hard for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, and disasters may occur at any time, so we must not relax our guard. He taught the army not to sit proudly on the results of the victory and underestimate the enemy, and never to imitate King Shang Zhou who won every battle but eventually subjugated the country. He also used the deeds of the ancestors Ruo Ao and Mao Mao to ride firewood carts and wear rags to open up mountains and forests. Such Chu How can the country be said to be proud and underestimate the enemy? In the battle of Chengpu, the former doctor Hu Tu once said, "If you teach with a famous teacher, you will be righteous, and if you teach without a name, you will be exhausted." The grievances are due to the state of Chu, so how can you say that the Chu army is exhausted? I heard that Chu’s personal soldiers are divided into left and right two provinces, each with 30 chariots. Take over until dusk, and then the close ministers will be on duty all night in case of accidents. Is this not careful precautions? "Pan Xie and Young Master Quji are both very high-ranking people in their respective countries. Pan Xie signed an alliance with Zheng State on behalf of Chu State, and went to Chu State as a hostage. The relationship between Chu State and Zheng State is clearly close! Now But they came to us to persuade us to fight, if we win, we will take refuge in us, if we lose, we will take refuge in Chu, the nonsense of the people of Zheng is completely unbelievable!" After hearing Luan Shu's words, Huang Xu was startled and his face turned pale.Zhao Kuo, a senior officer in the central army, and Zhao Tong, a senior officer in the lower army, stood up and said, "The purpose of leading the troops is to find the enemy for a decisive battle. To defeat the enemy and conquer the state of Zheng, why hesitate? We will follow Xiangu's leadership." This is another two lifeless.As a doctor in the army, he should obey the leadership of Commander-in-Chief Xun Linfu, how can he obey Xiangu's leadership? Xun Shou rolled his eyes at the two brothers, and said with disdain, "You two are nothing but self-inflicted wretches!" Marshal Zhao Shuo was the son of Zhao Dun, that is, the nephew of Zhao Kuo and Zhao Tong. He was very dissatisfied with the recklessness of the two uncles, but he didn't want to offend them, so he said vaguely: "Uncle Luan ( He refers to Luan Shu) is a good man, if you listen to him, you will be able to bring about long-term peace and stability in the state of Jin." Just when the generals of the Jin State were arguing, the King of Chu Zhuang sent Shao Zai (official name) as an envoy to the Jin army camp.Shaozai said politely: "Our monarch has experienced ups and downs since he was a child, and he is not good at eloquence. I heard that the two predecessors, King Cheng and King Mu, once traveled between Chu and Zheng to teach and pacify Zheng. I want to compete with Jin. Please don’t misunderstand me and don’t stay here for too long!” It means that it has nothing to do with the people of Jin who teach the people of Zheng from Chu, so please go away! The scholar association replied: "King Ping of Zhou once ordered my predecessor, Marquis Jin, to say, 'You and Zheng Bo assist the royal family, and don't abandon the king's orders! I came to question Zheng Guo about this matter, how dare I bother you to come and ask? Please go back and convey our thanks to the king of your country. It has nothing to do with the people of Chu that the people of the country teach the people of Zheng, so please don't make fun of yourself. This back and forth is very interesting, like two people grabbing a piece of sesame seed cake, but neither of them would admit that it was a robbery, only willing to say "I'm here to get the sesame seed cake, it's none of your business!"——If two people quarrel like this, it's normal I can't fight anymore. Xiangu thought that the Shihui was flattering the people of Chu, so he privately sent Zhao Kuo to follow Shaozai, and after he walked out of the camp, he pulled Shaozai and said: "What that person said just now does not count, he is not qualified to speak on behalf of Jin. Our lord sent us here just to drive you out of Zheng, and he repeatedly said, 'Don't evade the battle!' We cannot shirk our responsibility." As soon as Zhao Kuo said this, it was like two people robbing sesame cakes. They didn't want to fight at first, but they were just arguing. One of them suddenly became arrogant and said, "I'm here to beat you. What's the matter?" Personal fights are coming soon. Unexpectedly, when King Zhuang of Chu heard Shao Zai's reply, he laughed instead of anger, and sent envoys to the Jin camp to directly talk with Xun Linfu, commander of the Jin army, and asked for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.Xun Lin's father naturally couldn't ask for it, and agreed to Chu's request, and the two sides also agreed on the date and place of the alliance. Thinking about the Battle of Chengpu back then, Jin Wengong gave in again and again, endured again and again, and always put on a look of humiliation, but Cheng Dechen was aggressive and aggressive, and he clung to Jin Wengong, but it turned out that Jin Wengong The army won a great victory, which made Jin Wengong's hegemony.Forty years later, Jin and Chu met each other for the second time, and the situation was just reversed. The people of Jin pressed forward every step of the way, while the people of Chu kept making concessions.At this time, King Zhuang of Chu has not given up his efforts in peace talks. Is he timid and cowardly, or is he unpredictable?