Chapter 23 Feng Shui takes turns, and the advantages of Chu and Jin are shifted again

Let's go back to the romantic affairs of the peerless beauty of "August 18" - Xia Ji.As mentioned earlier, after King Zhuang of Chu occupied Chen State, he originally wanted to take Xia Ji as a concubine, but after listening to the advice of the witch minister, he betrothed her to Elder Lian Yinxiang instead.But the old man Xiang was not blessed, and was shot to death by Xun Shou, a senior officer of the Jin State, in the Battle of Bi in the second year. Even the body was taken back to Jin State by Xun Shou as a bargaining chip in exchange for his son. The shaman urges King Zhuang of Chu not to marry Xia Ji, because he himself covets Xia Ji, fearing that once her palace gate is as deep as the sea, he will never have a chance to touch her.After the death of Elder Xiang, Xia Ji became a widow again. Of course, she was only a widow in name, and she was not widowed—Old Xiang’s son, Hei Yao, quickly transformed the pain of losing his father into joy for Yu Fei, and gave Xia Ji "Zheng".

Although Wu Chen gritted his teeth with hatred, he didn't dare to express any opinions. He just sent someone to secretly send a letter to Xia Ji, and there was only one sentence written on the letter: "Go back to Zheng Guo, I will marry you!" What a smart woman Xia Ji is!When she saw Wu Chen for the first time, she could read the burning desire in this man's eyes.She has never been short of men, and even once had three lovers at the same time; she has no illusions about love, and is rarely troubled by family affection and ethics.For her, men are just playthings, they can be thrown away after use, no big deal.However, Wuchen's persistent spirit still touched her a little bit, and the words "I marry you" brought her even more satisfaction—you know, she was a woman in her forties after all, and at that time This is already a woman's menopause, and she has married several husbands, and her reputation is notorious; and Wu Chen is a descendant of a famous family in Chu State, the majestic county magistrate of Shen County... didn't think too much about her... , Xia Ji replied to Wu Chen with a word: "Okay!"

The word "good" made Wu Chen so happy that he didn't sleep well all night, he planned a plan intensively. A few days later, a guest came to the palace of Duke Zheng Xiang, Xia Ji's younger brother.This person came from the state of Jin and claimed to be a member of Xunshou's clan. He was ordered by Xunshou to discuss some private matters with Zheng Xianggong.Xun Shou is the younger brother of Xun Lin's father, Marshal of the Chinese Army, and Xun Shou's family members are naturally also Xun Lin's father's family members. "A month ago, Jin and Chu fought in Bi. Unfortunately, my young master, Xun Yu, was captured by the Chu army. The master loves his son so much, and when the army fell like a mountain, he did not retreat but advanced, and returned to the Chu army. Looking for the young master, he shot and killed the Chu general Xiang, and captured the young master Gu Chen." The visitor said.

Zheng Xianggong nodded, indicating that he had heard about it. "After the Great War, the Jin and Chu countries had no contact with each other. My master wanted to exchange the young master with the state of Chu with the body of Mr. Xiang and his son Gu Chen, but he had no way to go. He heard that Mrs. Xiang's wife was the sister of the prince, Now I live in the state of Chu. Therefore, I have been specially sent here to ask for something." "Please tell me." Zheng Xianggong said politely. "I implore you to mediate and arrange for Mrs. Xiang to return to the State of Zheng, and we will also send the body of the Elder Xiang to the State of Zheng and hand it over to her face to face to show our sincerity. The people of Chu State have obtained the body of the Elder Xiang, and they must also Agree to exchange Xun Yu for son Gu Chen."

Xia Ji is the elder sister of Duke Xiang of Zheng, so it is natural and reasonable to arrange for Xia Ji to come to Zheng Guo to receive Elder Xiang's body.Zheng Xianggong couldn't see any problems, and he didn't expect any problems. He just asked casually: "Why do you want to help Xunshou? What's the benefit?" "You will receive special respect from the Xun family. I won't say anything else, you understand." The visitor smiled and gave such an answer. Zheng Xianggong also smiled: "Then, please go back and report, the affairs of the Xun family are the affairs of the widow, and it is a duty-bound duty to handle it well."

The visitor bowed to the ground to express his thanks. After Xunshou's envoy left, Zheng Xianggong wrote a letter and sent someone to Chu to deliver it to Xia Ji.The letter wrote: "Old Xiang's body has a link, but it is inconvenient to send it directly to Chu State, please come and meet it in person." Xia Ji laughed secretly in her heart. Just one day ago, she received a secret letter from Wu Chen, which said: "The Zheng Kingdom will definitely have an envoy in the near future. If you ask, you must agree." She was still suspicious at the time, but now everything is clear. , that was Wu Chen secretly manipulating to create a chance for her to return to Zheng.

This unremarkable man actually has such means to drive Zheng Xianggong to serve him.Inadvertently, Xia Ji's affection for Wu Chen increased a bit.Now, with Zheng Xianggong's letter, he ran to the palace to see King Zhuang of Chu, reported the matter to him, and showed Zheng Xianggong's letter to him. "My Majesty, please allow my concubine to go to the State of Zheng and bring the body of Old Xiang back to the State of Chu, so that he can return to his roots and be buried in his native land." Xia Ji said, shedding two tears, her appearance was very charming. King Zhuang of Chu probably thought in his heart, this girl looks good when she cries, no wonder so many people are fascinated by her.But he quickly warned himself not to think wildly, and asked the officials in the hall: "You also express your opinions. Is what Zheng Bo said credible?"

No one answered for a long time. The shaman took a deep breath, stood up and said slowly: "You can believe it. Xun Yu's father, Xun Shou, was deeply loved by Jin Chenggong (Jin Xianggong's father), and he is also the youngest brother of Xun Lin, the current Marshal of the Chinese Army. Xun Shou has always had a deep friendship with Zheng Guo's doctor, Huang Xu, and he loves his son eagerly. He wants to use Zheng Guo's relationship to return the body of Xiang Lao and Guchen in exchange for Xun Yu's freedom. But the people of Zheng Guo are wary of Bi Zhi If you are afraid, you are afraid of revenge from Jin people, and you want to please Jin, you will definitely agree to Xunshou's request."

Hearing what Wu Chen said, King Zhuang of Chu agreed to Xia Ji's request and ordered her to go back to Zheng Guo to meet Lao Xiang's body.When Xia Ji was leaving, she especially said to those who saw her off (including Hei Yao, of course): "If I don't get the body, I won't come back!" The affectionate kindness came a bit suddenly. Xia Ji lived in Zheng Guo for eight years, but there was no news of Lao Xiang's body.Over time, the Chu people also forgot about this woman. In that era when there was no Internet, no telephone, no telegraph, no postal system, and inconvenient transportation, what did eight years mean to a woman who was waiting for her lover?Of course, with Xia Ji's flamboyant character, there shouldn't be a shortage of guests in eight years.It's just that when she looked up at the starry sky, she probably couldn't help but sigh softly: "That dead ghost of Wu Chen, has he forgotten the promise he made to me?"

Suddenly one day, someone from the state of Chu came to see Zheng Xianggong with a gift, saying that he came to propose marriage on behalf of Shen Gong and his witch ministers.Zheng Xianggong was taken aback at first, thinking that he had taken a fancy to one of his daughters.When I opened the letter of appointment, I couldn't help but smile.He asked someone to send the letter of appointment to Xia Ji for her opinion. This year, Xia Ji was almost fifty years old.Even with natural beauty, even with good maintenance, wrinkles still crawl all over the forehead unstoppably.After reading the letter of appointment, she smiled frivolously and said to the messenger, "I'm a woman, so I don't have any opinions. I'll go back and report to the king, and he will be the master of everything." After the messenger left, she shut herself in the room, tears flowing It flowed all afternoon.

Zheng Xianggong received the reward and knew that Xia Ji was acquiescing.What else could he say?An old woman, whoever loves it will want it!He agreed to Wu Chen's marriage proposal. But this marriage contract doesn't mean that Wu Chen can climb Xia Ji's gums immediately. He still had to be patient and wait, not daring to let the Chu people know what was on his mind.It was not until the death of King Zhuang of Chu and the accession of the Communist King of Chu that he found an opportunity——in 589 BC, the coalition forces of Jin, Lu, and Wei met the Qi army in Miji, and then fought in Andi.In order to support Qi State and attack Jin State, Chu State also planned a large-scale military operation, preparing to join forces with Qi State to attack Lu State from north to south.For this reason, the King of the Communist Party of Chu sent Wu Chen as a special envoy to Qi State to inform the date of the dispatch of the Chu army, and to communicate about matters related to the coordinated operations of the two countries. After receiving the order, Wu Chen set off from Yingdu to Linzi, and at the same time ordered his confidant to secretly go to Zheng State with his family and all his property.All this was done in secret, but when he passed the city gate of Yingdu, Uncle Shen, the son of Uncle Shen who happened to be passing by, saw the clue.Uncle Shen knelt down and said at the time: "It's strange, that old gentleman's face has both a look of war and fear and uncontrollable joy. I'm afraid he will run away with his wife and children." The so-called joy in the mulberry refers to the joyful mood of a man and a woman having an affair. It comes from the poem "In the Sang" in "The Book of Songs·鄘风": For whom is this old gentleman blushing?It's that beautiful Xia Ji!She had been waiting for him in Xinzheng City for eight years, she was waiting for him in the lonely deep palace, she was waiting for him on the couch that was warm and fragrant, and she wanted to take him to a fairyland on earth where he would be happy and forget to return. It is commendable that although Wu Chen was in a hurry to elope with Xia Ji, he did not forget his mission.He came to Qi State, completed the task assigned to him by the King of Chu, and ordered his deputy to take back the gift that the Qi people gave to the King of Chu, and then left the mission and rushed to Xinzheng. He originally wanted to take Xia Ji to the state of Qi, but when he heard the news of the tragic defeat of the Qi army in Andi on the way, he said, "I don't live in a country that has lost the battle." Due to his relationship with the same family, Quezhi, he found an official position in the state of Jin and became a local official in Xingdi (the place name of the state of Jin). The news of Wuchen's defection spread to Yingdu, and the court was in an uproar.The most irritating thing is the son's side.Back then in Chen State, King Zhuang of Chu wanted to reward Xia Ji to him, but he was coaxed and deceived by the witch officials, so scared that he dared not take over, so he gave it to Elder Lian Yinxiang.After a long time of commotion, it turned out that Wuchen himself had a ghost in his heart!Indignantly, he ran to the King of the Communist Party of Chu, and suggested spending a lot of money to bribe the powerful officials of the Jin State, and use the hands of the Jin State people to teach the witch officials a good lesson. "Why did you do this?" This year, the king of the Communist Party of Chu was only twelve years old, but he showed a rare maturity. "The sorcerer was planning for himself, and defected to the state of Jin. He committed a heinous crime. If you don't get rid of him, you will be troubled later." "What you mean by planning for yourself, do you mean for that woman Xia Ji?" "This... yes." The young master was taken aback, not daring to hide it. "About this matter, I don't think so. It is wrong for the shaman to plan for himself; but he is loyal when he makes plans for the former king." The meaning of the King of Chu is that Xia Ji is a beauty, and the shaman It is a show of loyalty that the minister refuses to let King Zhuang of Chu marry Xia Ji; as for him liking Xia Ji himself, that is his private matter, and the crime cannot be punished by death. "Having said that, if the shaman comes to the Jin country, I'm afraid it will be bad for our Chu country." The young master said relentlessly. "If the shaman is beneficial to the state of Jin, no matter how much money we spend, the people of the state of Jin will not do anything to him. If it is of no use to the state of Jin, the people of the state of Jin will abandon him. Why should we worry?" Communist Party of Chu Wang waved his hand, "This is the end of this matter, don't talk about it anymore." The young master was sweating profusely on his side, and retreated Weiwei. After the Battle of Saddle, the international situation has undergone major changes.Chu State originally planned to join hands with Qi State to attack Lu State from north to south. Unexpectedly, the Qi army was defeated in Andi and surrendered to Jin State instead, forming an alliance of Jin, Qi, Lu, and Wei.Under such circumstances, the people of Chu quickly adjusted their strategy and gathered troops in the autumn of 589 BC to prepare to attack Wei and Lu, and ordered Zheng, Cai, Xu and other slave states to send troops at the same time to form a coalition of princes. When the army was about to leave, Prince Yingqi suddenly proposed to postpone the plan at the state affairs meeting. The reason was: "The monarch is not yet of age, and our officials are not as capable as the officials of the previous dynasty. We must gather more troops to win. Moreover, the former King Zhuang once warned us that if we don’t have enough virtue to subdue a distant country, it’s better to treat the people better, be more considerate of them, and lead them well.” Young Master Yingqi's suggestion was approved by most people.So Chu State carried out a series of internal affairs activities, including census, exemption of arrears of taxes, relief for those in difficulty, amnesty for domestic prisoners, etc.It was not until the winter of the same year that the Chu army assembled again, with a larger number than before.Although the King of the Communist Party of Chu did not go out with the army, his personal troops-Guangdong and Guangxi were all dispatched.According to the tradition of the Chu State, the military chariot of the King of the Communist Party of Chu is within Guangdong and Guangxi. Peng Ming is responsible for driving, Cai Jinggong is the left shooter of the chariot, and Xu Linggong is the right guard of the chariot. It is pitiful to say that both Cai Jinggong and Xu Linggong were minors at the time, and in order for them to represent their respective countries on the battlefield, the people of Chu forced them to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for them.In those days, being a king was really not a good job. This mighty multinational force marched northward, first invading Wei, and then taking advantage of the momentum to attack the Lu army stationed in Shu.The people of Lu were very nervous and sent Zang Sunxu to the Chu army to seek peace.Zang Sunxu didn't dare to go, and played tricks: "The Chu army has worked hard to attack far away, from the south to the north. It can't support for a long time, and it will retreat soon. If I go to negotiate, the credit for the retreat of the Chu army will belong to me. . I dare not do such a thing as gaining a false name without actual credit!" The Chu people didn't want to retreat at all, and they fought like a broken bamboo all the way, and they hit Yangqiao (the place name of Lu State) again.In times of crisis, Zhong Sunmi volunteered and took 301 people to negotiate with the people of Chu State—including 100 carpenters, 100 seamstresses, and 100 weavers each. This was a meeting gift for Chu State; Lu Chenggong's younger brother, Gongheng, will be sent to Chu State as a hostage. The people of Chu accepted it as soon as they saw a good deal, and agreed to Zhong Sunmi's peace proposal.In November of the same year, under the strong military pressure of the Chu State, Lu Chenggong held a meeting in Shu with representatives from Chu, Cai, Xu, Qin, Song, Chen, Zheng, Qi, Cao, Zhu, Xue, and Mao. Alliance.Although there were many countries participating in this alliance, most of them participated out of the fear of the Jin State and under the pressure of the Chu State, so it was called "the League of Kui", that is, without sincerity and empty There is an alliance. Regarding this large-scale operation of Chu State, Jin State remained silent again.The reason is very simple, there are too many people in Chu, and they dare not mess with them.This also shows that after the Battle of the Antares, although the Jin State regained its national prestige and became increasingly domineering, it was still unable to confront Chu State head-on, and the strategic advantage remained in the hands of the Chu State. The people of Chu State gathered the princes in the land of Shu, and Jin Jinggong was not willing to be lonely, so he sent Gong Shuo to Luoyi to "present Qi Jie", who was the prisoner of Qi State captured in the battle of presenting the saddle to the emperor of Zhou. The act itself is vindictive.After the Battle of An, Qi State and Jin State signed a treaty of peace and friendship. As soon as the people of Chu State came, Qi State sent people to join the League of Shu.This kind of attitude of being both right and wrong made Jin Jinggong very unhappy.And when a person is unhappy, it is easy to do stupid things. As we mentioned earlier, Zhou Li has a set of rules for "presenting victory": 1. The feudal lords who have conquered the barbarians can offer victories to the emperor; 2. The feudal lords do not offer victories to each other; Third, the princes crusade against the princes, and they cannot offer victory to the emperor. In other words, the subject of victory is the princes, the object is the emperor, and the object is the barbarians.Other than that, there is no reason to offer victory. King Zhou Ding resolutely rejected Jin Jinggong's indecent behavior, and he sent Shan Xianggong to tell Gong Shuo: "The barbarians, Rongdi, do not obey the king's orders, indulge in wine and lust, and do not abide by ethics. The princes are ordered by the emperor to attack them. Victory Afterwards, captives were presented, and the emperor personally received them to express his condolences, in order to warn disrespectful people and reward meritorious ministers. The Huaxia countries, either as brothers or nephews, if they do not obey the king's order, the emperor ordered other princes to attack him, After the victory, it is enough to report. There is no need to offer captives to show the praise of obedient people and punish disrespectful ministers. Now that my uncle (referring to Jin Jinggong) can succeed and establish meritorious service in Qi State, he will not send ministers appointed by the emperor to appease the royal family , just sent the doctor Gong Shuo to comfort me, and he does not have any official position in the royal family. It is the country of my nephew, and it is also the descendant of Jiang Taigong. Uncle attacked Qi, because Qi's indulgence angered uncle, or did they not listen to persuasion and teaching?" But King Ding of Zhou still gave the Jin State a little face. He sent someone to entertain Gong Shuo with the etiquette of receiving a doctor, drink with him in person, and gave him some gifts, and deliberately said to the ceremony officer: "This is not in etiquette, don't record on file!" Jin Jinggong's attempt to use "King Qin" to deal with the "combined princes" of the Chu people seems to be too much force, which is counterproductive.After reflection, he also quickly adjusted his strategy, and in the spring of 588 BC, he launched a joint crusade against Zheng by Lu, Song, Wei, Cao and other countries. On the one hand, it is also to test Chu's reaction. Only a few months ago, the three kingdoms of Lu, Song, and Cao joined Chu's Shu League, and now they turned around and followed Jin to attack Zheng. of any substantive significance. What is surprising is that the people of the state of Zheng defeated the invasion of the allied forces of the princes and drove the people of the state of Jin back to Shanxi just by relying on their own strength.In order to humiliate the Jin people, Zheng Xianggong also specially sent his doctor Huang Xu to Yingdu to "present Jin Jie", which was a joke for a while. In the camp of Chu, the heart is in Jin, and in the camp of Jin, the heart is in Chu. For the princes living in that era, loyalty may not be the most important quality, but swinging willows with the wind is an essential survival skill. In the summer of 588 BC, nine years after the Battle of Bi, Jin and Chu finally reached an agreement on exchanging the prisoners of war: Jin returned the body of Lao Xiang and his son Guchen to Chu, and Chu returned to Jin Return Xun Yu.According to "Zuo Zhuan", the reason why the people of Chu State agreed to this deal was that Xun Yu's father, Xun Shou, had been promoted to the deputy commander of the Jin State's Chinese army, hoping to improve the relationship between the two countries through this matter. The king of the Communist Party of Chu personally saw Xun Yu off, and made a joke to him: "I have locked you up for so many years, do you hate me?" Xun Yu replied very seriously: "The two countries were fighting each other. I was incapable of doing my duty, so I was captured by your country. It is your favor that your men did not take me to sacrifice drums and let me go back to my country to accept punishment. I am immoral and incompetent, how can I dare to resent anyone?" The King of the Communist Party of Chu asked again: "So, are you grateful to me?" Xun Yu's answer is very level: "The two countries want to keep the people safe for their own society, control their anger, understand each other, release prisoners of war, and seek peace and friendship. The two countries are repairing, but I have not made any contribution. , who dare to thank you?" "Then how do you plan to repay me when you go back?" "I don't have any resentment, and you haven't received any thanks, neither resentment nor gratitude, I really don't know what to repay..." The King of the Communist Party of Chu smiled awkwardly and said, "Even so, I still want to hear what you really think in your heart right now." Xun Yu thought for a while and said, "Thanks to you, I, a guilty minister, can bring my bones back to the state of Jin. If the widow grants me a death sentence, it will be immortal. If the widow forgives me, I will Give it to your foreign minister Xunshou (according to the politeness at that time, the ministers of other countries are called foreign ministers). After Xunshou asked the widow for instructions, he killed me in front of the ancestral hall. If you die, let me continue the business of my ancestors, take care of the affairs of Jin State step by step, and lead a small army to guard the frontier. Even if I meet your subordinates, I will not dare to give up my duties. That's what I want to repay you." The king of the Communist Party of Chu put away his smile and said to his left and right: "There are such officials in Jin, we can't compete with them." So he raised the etiquette and sent Xun Yu back to the country. There is another tidbit about Xun Yu's return to China.According to "Zuo Zhuan", when Xun Yu was still a prisoner of war in the state of Chu, a merchant from the state of Zheng wanted to hide him in the goods and take him out of the state of Chu. An agreement was reached with Jin to exchange prisoners of war.Later, when the businessman came to the state of Jin to do business, Xun Yu received him very warmly and wanted to pay him a sum as agreed at the time.The merchant said: "I have no merit, how can I dare to ask for reward? I am a villain, and I cannot deceive a gentleman." So he left the state of Jin. Reading history to this point, I sigh again: the villain in the Spring and Autumn Period did not dare to deceive the gentleman, but the gentleman in later generations often deceived the villain. The so-called decline of the world probably refers to such things. Now that Xun Yu was released, the young master Gu Chen also brought the body of the old man (now presumably just a bone) back to Yingdu, where he had been away for nine years.All the civil and military officials of Chu State ran outside the city gate to greet him.Among the crowd, only the young master sneered secretly: If Mr. Xiang knew that his bones had been used as a prop by Wu Chen and Xia Ji for their elopement, he would probably die in peace.