Chapter 24 Countries in the Central Plains unite to boycott Chu

In 588 BC, the Jin State launched a coalition of princes to invade the State of Zheng, but was defeated by the army of the State of Zheng.However, Jin Jinggong, who has experienced many failures in the ever-changing international poker game, has become more and more mature and will not be easily intimidated by failure. He looked at the players on the table calmly, He glanced at the bystanders around him with the corner of his eyes, and played a few cards calmly. The first card: In the autumn of 588 B.C., together with the State of Wei, they sent troops to crusade against the Sie Jiuru tribe in Chidi, and completely defeated the tribe.Since then, the Chidi forces have been basically wiped out, Jin's rear line of defense has been further stabilized, and the alliance between Jin and Wei has also been further strengthened.

The second card: In November of the same year, Xun Geng, Marshal of the Army, was sent to visit the State of Lu to revisit the friendship of the Red Thorn Alliance two years ago.At the same time, Duke Wei Ding, the new ruler of the Wei State, also sent his minister, Sun Liangfu, to visit the State of Lu, hoping to deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries and establish a closer international cooperative relationship. Over the years, the struggle between Jin and Chu for hegemony has been complicated and confusing, and the positions of the countries in the Central Plains have also wavered. Even countries such as Qi, Lu, and Song have been in the Jin Dynasty and the Chu Dynasty, and they are impermanent.On the other hand, the small Wei State, since Sun Liangfu came to power, has been closely following in the footsteps of the Jin State and has become a staunch ally of the Jin State.This time, Sun Liangfu's visit to the State of Lu seemed to coincide with Xun Geng's, but in fact, it was most likely due to the arrangement of the State of Jin.

Facing the envoys of the two countries, the Lu people, who have always been known for adhering to Zhou etiquette, had a difficult time.The young and inexperienced Duke Cheng of Lu asked Zang Sunxu: "Xun Geng ranks third among the officials of the Jin State, and Sun Liangfu is the Minister of Wei. Who should I meet first?" Zang Sunxu gave a political lesson to Lu Chenggong: "The Shangqing of a medium-sized country is equivalent to the Zhongqing of a big country; the Zhongqing of a medium-sized country is equivalent to the lower minister of a big country; The upper official. The upper official of a small country is equivalent to the lower official of a big country; the middle official of a small country is equivalent to the upper official of a big country; the lower official of a small country is equivalent to the lower official of a big country. This has been stipulated since ancient times. In front of Zang Sunxu, even a medium-sized country is not considered, and Jin is still the leader of the alliance, you should first meet the envoys of Jin." Zang Sunxu said that the first paragraph is redundant, only the last sentence In fact, based on the situation at the time, even if Jin sent a doctor to visit, would you dare not put him first?

Duke Cheng of Lu met with Xun Geng and Sun Liangfu successively, and held an oath ceremony, expressing that he would strengthen the alliance with Jin and Wei, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the Central Plains. The third card: In December of the same year, the Jin State carried out military reform again, expanding the original three armies into six armies, and adding a new middle army, a new upper army, and a new lower army.This is also the first expansion of Jin's armed forces since Jin Xianggong reduced the five armies of Jin to three armies in 621 BC.As mentioned earlier, Duke Jin Xiang's downsizing of the troops was not really reducing the size of the troops, but to reduce the number of officers and weaken the power of nobles with different surnames; Approve official positions, solve the problem of the treatment of some generals, and let these generals better serve the country.In this expansion, Han Jue, Zhao Kuo, Gong Shuo, Han Chuan, Xun Zou, and Zhao Zhan became the chief and deputy marshals of the new army, and have since stepped into the ranks of Qing. The six ministers of Jin became twelve ministers. Zhou Tianzi's team is still thick.

The fourth card is also the most brilliant card: send the Chu State to send Wuchen to Wu State, persuade Wu State to form a strategic alliance with Jin State, and set a fire in the backyard of Chu State. As mentioned earlier, Tai Bo, the ancestor of Wu, was the eldest son of King Tai of Zhou.Tai Bo has a younger brother named Ji Li.King Tai of Zhou loved Ji Li, and he loved Ji Li's son Ji Chang (that is, King Wen of Zhou) even more, so he wanted to pass the throne to Ji Li so that Ji Chang could inherit the throne in the future.Taibo sensed his father's intentions, and in order not to make it difficult for his father, he took the initiative to go to the Jingman land in the south of the Yangtze River, cut off his tattoos, became one with the local people, called himself "Gouwu", and established the Wu Kingdom in today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. .

Later generations described the prosperity of Jiangsu and Zhejiang as "there is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below".However, during the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas were basically barren lands, with an underdeveloped economy, relatively backward production technology, and inconvenient transportation. There was basically no contact with the Central Plains, and social progress was very slow. From the perspective of the countries in the Central Plains, Wu State is nominally a prince surnamed Ji, but in fact it is just a barbarian state. Like Xirong, Beidi, Dongyi, and Nanman, it is classified as "four barbarians", that is, "not my race". , do not conspire with each other" object.Even the Chu State in the south had initial contact with Wu State and formed an alliance with Wu State in the era of King Zhuang of Chu, when it expanded its power to today's Anhui area.

The alliance between Chu State and Wu State is not firm and has no substantive content.Perhaps in the eyes of King Chuzhuang, Wu State, like Deng State, Ba State, and Yong State in the Yangtze River Basin, is just a union of dozens of tribes, and it is far away from Yingdu, so it is not enough to pose a threat to Chu State.In the era of the Communist King of Chu, the alliance between Wu and Chu became more and more loose, and the exchanges between the two sides became more and more rare. The so-called alliance became a memory of the past and no longer existed. However, Jin Jinggong saw the strategic value of Wu State with a unique insight. At the same time, he also knew that Wu State was a piece of rough jade, and if it was not polished, it would not be able to play its due role.He sent Wuchen as an envoy to the State of Wu. In addition to a letter of credential, he also brought many gifts representing the advanced productive forces of the Central Plains, including letters, agricultural tools, grains, weapons, and more importantly, a huge military force. Advisory group—thirty chariots.

Before Wu Chen came to Wu, Wu people would not use military vehicles.Wuchen easily gained the trust of Wu Zishoumeng (the king of the state of Wu, he soon called himself king, so he was also called Wu Wangshoumeng in the history books), and began to train the people of Wu in the skills of using military vehicles and forming formations.After the mission of the visit was completed, the shaman returned to the state of Jin to return to his command, and left half of the military advisory team in the state of Wu to continue training the people of the state of Wu to fight.In order to strengthen the relationship between Jin and Wu, Wu Chen also ordered his son Hu Yong to stay in Wu for a long time, and served as a diplomat in Shoumeng's court to keep the news of both sides informed.

Wuchen worked so hard for the state of Jin, on the one hand, to repay the kindness of the state of Jin for taking him in, and on the other hand, it was also out of personal grievances. According to "Zuo Zhuan", in 595 BC, King Zhuang of Chu led an army to surround Shangqiu, the capital of Song State, and forced Song State to sign an alliance under the city.In this battle, Prince Yingqi, the general of the Chu army, made great contributions. He asked King Zhuang of Chu to reward him with the fields in Shen County and Lu County.King Zhuang of Chu was about to agree, but the witch minister who was then the county magistrate of Shen County advised him: "No. These fields are the basis for Shen and Lu counties to become 'counties', and they are also an important source of national taxation and military service. The barrier of Chu to prevent the invasion of the northern enemy. If the land is rewarded to the ministers, it is tantamount to revoking these two counties, and the troops of Jin and Zheng can drive straight in and reach the Han River Basin." Wu Chen is the county magistrate of Shen County It is human nature not to want the interests of Shen County to be touched by Young Master Yingqi, and what he said makes sense. King Zhuang of Chu understood it as soon as he heard it, so he rejected Young Master Yingqi's request and rewarded him with money from other places. land.Prince Yingqi therefore held a grudge against Wu Chen.

In 598 BC, King Zhuang of Chu led troops to invade Chen State, and killed Xia Zhengshu in the name of revenge for Chen Linggong.King Zhuang of Chu originally wanted to reward Xia Zhengshu's mother Xia Ji to the son, but was dissuaded by the wizard.In 589 BC, Wu Chen eloped to Jin with Xia Ji, feeling that the prince who was being tricked hated Wu Chen. Prince Yingqi and Prince Fang have served as the main generals of the Chu army for many years, and they are powerful figures in Chu State.After the king of the Communist Party of Chu came to the throne, the two men unanimously demanded that the defection of the witch officials should be punished, and all the members of the witch officials' family who stayed in the state of Chu should be killed, and their property should be divided up.When the shaman got the news in the state of Jin, he sent someone to send a letter to Prince Yingqi and Prince Fang, saying: "You serve the king with greedy words and greed, and kill innocent people indiscriminately. I will definitely make you exhausted until Tired!"

Wu Chen was not joking.Under his careful management, Wu's national power grew rapidly, and he successively conquered small countries such as Chao State, Xu State, and Zhoulai State, which were originally subject to Chu State. The next expedition still couldn't stop Wu's expansion momentum, and he could only watch helplessly as Shou Meng swept away the barbarian tribes in the eastern part of Chu, and brought them all into Wu's sphere of influence.The country of Wu became a big country in the south, and it also wrote a footnote for the subsequent struggle for hegemony between Wu and Yue. At the end of 588 BC, Duke Qing of Qi let go of his airs as the head of state and traveled thousands of miles from Shandong to Shanxi to make a pilgrimage to Duke Jing of Jin.For Jin Jinggong, the great significance of this matter is self-evident-Qi, Chu, Jin, and Qin are called the four great powers of the world, even when Jin Wengong and Jin Xianggong were in power, the state of Jin The power is at the height of the sky, and I have never seen the king of Qi come to make a pilgrimage!While he was proud, Jin Jinggong couldn't help being grateful to Qi Qinggong, and deeply regretted his reckless behavior of sending Gong Shuo to Luoyi to "present Qi Jie" last year. The prime ministers of the two countries had a happy talk, and they settled their suspicions, and held a grand ceremony of "granting jade".Jin Jinggong stands on the west steps, and Qi Qinggong stands on the east steps, separated by an atrium.Qi Qinggong held the beautiful jade in his hand and solemnly presented it to Jin Jinggong; after Jin Jinggong accepted it, he saluted and bowed to each other.However, at this historic moment, an unexpected thing happened. I saw Chake, who was serving as the host country's concierge, lowered his head, walked quickly through the atrium, and said to Qi Qinggong, "You are not far away. I came to the state of Jin because the woman made fun of my subordinates, how dare I be a widow!" Queke's words are naturally revenge for the insult he suffered in Linzi back then.In fact, from the perspective of Chuoke, after the diplomatic turmoil in Linzi that year, he became the marshal of the Chinese army of the Jin State, excluded Qi State from the Duan Dao League, and led the Jin Army to defeat the Jin Army in the Battle of the Saddle. To defeat the Qi army and force Qi Qinggong to bow his head and admit defeat, no matter how you say it, it is revenge.Now that the two heads of state are shaking hands and making peace, he jumps out to bring up the old matter again, which makes people feel too petty, and there is suspicion of publicizing personal grievances.At that time, Miao Benhuang, a doctor of Jin State, saw this scene in the hall, and said to people secretly: "However, you can be brave but not polite, and use your own merits to humiliate the king's guests. Can this last long?" That night, Jin Jinggong held a grand state banquet in honor of Qi Qinggong.Han Jue stepped forward to toast Qi Qinggong, Qi Qinggong felt that this person looked familiar, so he couldn't help but give him a second look.Han Jue said: "You must know me, right?" Qi Qinggong took a closer look and recognized the person who let him go at the foot of Huabuzhu Mountain, and said: "Oh, you were wearing a military uniform at that time, and now you are wearing a formal dress. I didn't recognize it!" Han Jue respectfully raised his wine glass and said, "We fought to the death on the battlefield, and dared not cherish our own lives, just for the two monarchs to have a good talk in the hall!" But he was reckless and disrespectful, while Han Jue subtly made up for Queke's fault, not hurting Queke's face, but also making Qi Qinggong feel comfortable listening.In the diplomatic arena during the Spring and Autumn Period, the officials who were full of poems and books were personable, quick-witted, quoted from the classics, and responded appropriately, even compared with those glib politicians in ancient Greece, they were not inferior. Chok paid the price for his recklessness.Shortly thereafter, Jin Jinggong arranged for him to retreat to the second line (another theory is that Choke suffered sequelae in the Battle of Saddle and died soon after), and Luan Shu served as the marshal of the Chinese army. Duke Qing of Qi made a pilgrimage to Duke Jing of Jin in person, which made the Lu people feel the need to strengthen the alliance with Jin. It is also unknown whether they will unite to bully Lu.In the summer of 587 BC, the young Duke Cheng of Lu also trekked across mountains and rivers, bumping all the way to Jiangdu in a horse-drawn carriage to make a pilgrimage to Duke Jing of Jin. Perhaps it was because Duke Cheng of Lu was too young and Duke Jing of Jin disdain to talk to him; The reception of Duke Lu Cheng and his party by the monarchs and ministers of the state of Jin was also lukewarm, which can be summed up by the word "disrespect". Ji Sun Xingfu, who accompanied the visit, secretly said to Lu Chenggong: "I am afraid that the Marquis of Jin will have a disaster. The poem says, 'Respect and respect! Heaven only expresses thinking, life is not easy! It's not easy!)'Since the Marquis of Jin wants to dominate the world, his destiny lies with the princes, how can he not respect the princes?" When he returned to the State of Lu, the disgraced Duke Cheng decided to change his family and send people to the State of Chu to ask for friendship, but to break off diplomatic relations with the State of Jin.All the ministers of the State of Lu expressed their opposition to this kind of diplomatic decision-making like playing house.Ji Sun Xingfu persuaded Lu Chenggong: "Although the Marquis of Jin is rude, there is no need for us to fall out with him. The state of Jin is strong, the officials are harmonious, and it is close to the state of Lu. All the princes obey it, and we cannot betray it. As the old saying goes, people who are not of our race must have a different heart. Although Chu is also powerful, it is not of our same race, so is it willing to treat us sincerely?” Ji Sun Xingfu meant that the surname of Jin was Ji, and Lu was also Ji Last name, it is considered a family anyway, so bear with some things! Since Ji Sun Xingfu said so, Lu Chenggong did not dare to express any objection.The power of the entire Lu State is in the hands of the "San Huan", and the opinions of Ji Sun Xingfu represent the opinions of the "San Huan", just listen to it. The invasion of Zheng State in 588 BC had another consequence: the people of Zheng State, who had been struggling for survival in the cracks for a long time, defeated the multinational army headed by Jin State with their own strength, and their self-confidence doubled and their national pride Then he recovered, and he was not so cautious about the King of the Communist Party of Chu who was far away in Yingdu. In the summer of 588 B.C., Duke Xiang of Zheng sent his son to conquer the state of Xu. The reason was that it was disrespectful for Duke Ling of Xu not to come to the state of Zheng to pay homage to him. In history, there were some grievances between Xu Guo and Zheng Guo.When Zheng Zhuanggong ruled Heluo, Xu State was once occupied by Zheng State and became a part of Zheng State; after Zheng Zhuanggong's death, although Xu State regained its independence, it was still a vassal of Zheng State, and everything was subject to Zheng State.Xu Guoren always harbored resentment and dissatisfaction with Zheng Guo, and had once resisted, but they were all suppressed by Zheng Guo's troops.Later, the state of Chu became stronger and brought Xu and Zheng into its sphere of influence. Subtle changes took place in the relationship between these two countries. Xu Guoren thought, you are a vassal of Chu State, and I am also a vassal of Chu State, so why should I obey you?Therefore, since Xu Linggong came to the throne, he rarely went to Xinzheng to make a pilgrimage to Zheng Xianggong in an attempt to weaken the subordination relationship between the two and establish a kind of equality on the basis of mutual submission to Chu. Xu Guo's attitude naturally aroused Zheng Guo's strong dissatisfaction.In March 587 BC, Duke Zheng Xiang died and Duke Zheng Mourned came to the throne.After Zheng Xianggong's funeral, Zheng Mourning hurriedly dealt with Xu's affairs. In November of the same year, he sent Gongsun Shen to lead troops to Xu to delineate the border, intending to include the fields occupied by Xu's last year's crusade against Xu into Zheng's territory. .Xu Guoren rose up to resist and defeated Zheng Guo's troops in Zhanbei.Not reconciled to failure, Zheng Yugong personally led troops to invade Xu State again, and forcibly occupied the two places of Jiren and Lingdun. The king of the Communist Party of Chu took an attitude of watching the fire from the other side to the fight between the two little brothers.Jin Jinggong realized that this was a great opportunity to divide the enemy camp from within, so under the banner of rescuing Xu State, he sent the new Chinese Army Marshal Luan Shu to lead troops to invade Zheng State and captured the two cities of Fan and Ji. This time, Zheng Guo did not dare to face Jin's invasion alone, so he sent someone to Chu for help.The king of the Communist Party of Chu sent his son to lead troops to rescue Zheng Guo.Before the battle was fought, Duke Zheng Mourning and Duke Xu Ling were like two children fighting each other when they saw the teacher coming. They scrambled to the camp of the Chu army, complained to the prince, and told each other what was wrong with each other. In the eyes of the Chu people, it was justifiable for Zheng Guo to invade Xu Guo last year, and it would be too much to forcibly divide the land of Xu State into Zheng Guo's territory this year.Not to mention how the people of Xu State think about it, no matter how big it is, there is still Chu State who can come out to uphold justice!If it hadn't been for Zheng Yugong's blind recklessness, how could it have caused Jin to interfere and successfully extended its claws into Chu's influence? However, Zheng Guoren has always been known for his eloquence.The two sides started a debate in front of the young master, and Huang Xu spoke on behalf of Zheng Yugong. An obviously unreasonable matter was articulated by Huang Xu. So that he couldn't make a decision on the spot, so he had to say vaguely: "If the two monarchs are willing to present themselves in front of the widow, the widow and two or three important ministers can analyze and study together to make a correct judgment. Otherwise, I can't guarantee The two countries can live in peace." He kicked the ball directly to the King of the Communist Party of Chu. In the summer of 586 B.C., Xu Linggong really went to Yingdu, stated his views in front of the king of the Communist Party of Chu, and sued Zheng Mourn for being ignorant of the king of Chu and bullying the weak.The King of the Communist Party of Chu sent someone to respond to the lawsuit—Judging from this detail alone, Duke Zheng Mourning had already lost the lawsuit because he did not take the initiative to report the situation to the King of the Communist Party of Chu and obtain the understanding and support of the King of the Communist Party of Chu. Instead, he waited for the king of the Communist Party of Chu to announce him.Sure enough, as a result of the trial in Yingdu, Zheng Guo lost the case.As punishment, the King of the Communist Party of Chu imprisoned Zheng Guo's doctor Huang Xu and his son Fa, and asked Zheng Mourning Gong to go back and reflect on his mistakes. This matter finally developed to the point that Jin Jinggong hoped.As soon as Zheng Yugong returned to Xinzheng, he sent his son Yan to Jin to ask for peace talks.In August of the same year, Jin Jinggong sent Zhao Tong and Zheng Yugong to hold an alliance in Chuiji. Zheng Guo announced that he would break away from the control of Chu State and submit to the leadership of Jin State. Just as Jin Jinggong gradually reversed the decline in the international arena and once again achieved a strategic balance with Chu State, a major event occurred within Jin State-in the summer of 586 BC, Liangshan collapsed. The Liangshan here does not refer to the Shuibo Liangshan in Shandong, but the Liangshan in Hancheng, Shaanxi.Liangshan was originally a famous mountain in Liang State.Liang State was destroyed by Qin State in 641 BC, and was taken away by Jin State in 617 BC, and became the territory of Jin State. Therefore, Liangshan became "Jin Wang", which is a famous mountain of Jin State. According to the prevailing view at the time, landslides were not simply natural disasters, but were closely related to the prosperity and decline of a country.According to records, during the reign of King You of Zhou, earthquakes occurred simultaneously in the area of ​​Hanshui, Weishui, and Luoshui where the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Haojing, was located.Father Bo Yang, the official historian at that time, predicted that the Zhou Dynasty would perish because the yin and yang qi between heaven and earth were disturbed. The cracking of the ground is a harbinger of the country's demise.Sure enough, this year, the three rivers stopped flowing and Qishan collapsed.A few years later, Quanrong rebelled, King You of Zhou was killed, and the Western Zhou Dynasty perished. The collapse of Liangshan inevitably caused Jin Jinggong's high tension. He sent someone to the countryside to find Bo Zong, a doctor who was on vacation, and ordered him to take a transfer car (a special vehicle for post stations) to Jiangdu to analyze the matter. For Berzon, this is by no means a good job.Since ancient times, monarchs have always listened to flattery. If it is auspicious things like the arrival of a phoenix, it will be easy to handle, but landslides and ground cracks are obviously not a good omen. Then the head falls to the ground, and the old life is in danger.Bozong was worrying while he was on his way. He happened to encounter an accident with a cart full of goods, blocking the road, so he put on the airs of a court official and ordered impatiently, "Hurry up and get your cart out of the way." Drive, so that the passing car can pass!" The owner of the big car replied: "The purpose of passing the car is to move forward quickly. If I wait for my car to move away, it will take a long time. You might as well find another way!" When Bozong heard this, his heart skipped a beat, so he got out of the car and asked him where he was from.The car owner replied: "I am from Jiangcheng." Jiangcheng is Jiangdu.Bo Zong asked again: "Since you are from Jiangdu, have you heard of any major events happening in the court recently?" "Yes! Liangshan collapsed, and the monarch is going to call Bozong to inquire." "Is that so..." the skinny and dry Bo Zong pinched his beard and asked with great interest, "Then what do you think about this?" "When the soil on the mountain is loose, it will naturally collapse!" The man said carelessly, "The country regards mountains and rivers as the main objects of sacrifice. Wear gorgeous clothes, ride a simple car, live in a simple house, display sacrificial items, send a historian to read the sacrificial text, that’s all. Even if you ask Bo Zong to ask, it’s nothing more than these things, right?” Bo Zong's eyes lit up, yes, why make things complicated?Asked the person's name again, the person refused to tell. After meeting Duke Jing of Jin, Bozong looked relaxed, and repeated what the man said exactly, and said to Duke Jing that landslides and ground cracks are just natural phenomena, so there is no need to have any mental burden. If the monarch is really worried, Then please lower your salary, act in a low-key manner, and serve God sincerely, so that disasters can be avoided. Reading history so far, I can’t help feeling: the ancient monarchs were very nervous when encountering natural disasters, fearing that they had done something wrong and would make the gods punish them, so they had to adopt "not to act" (that is, not to kill animals for food, not to use dishes). too rich, and do not use music to add to the fun) to appease the wrath of God; people in later generations do not have this kind of awe, and after the disaster, they seldom reflect on what they did wrong, and push all the responsibility to God , and then continue to sing and dance to promote peace, trying to dress up a peaceful and prosperous age. Stop there. In the winter of the same year, because Zheng State surrendered to Jin State, Jin Jinggong summoned the monarchs of Qi, Song, Wei, Zheng, Cao, Zhu, and Qi to hold an alliance in Chonglao (place name) of Zheng State.Compared with the Shu League led by the Chu State three years ago, although not many countries participated in this meeting, all the princes attended the meeting in person, and the level was naturally much higher.This also shows that Jin and Chu have been fighting for hegemony for so many years, and the countries in the Central Plains still have the same kind of "like feelings" for Jin, and are more willing to obey the leadership of Jin; Both diplomacy and military have been weakened, and the country's power has declined smoothly since its peak. The Insect Prison League was held very successfully, and the atmosphere was quite warm. When this meeting was about to end, all the princes also agreed to hold another meeting in the near future to continue discussing specific matters concerning the establishment of international cooperation. Only Song Gonggong, the new monarch of Song State, spoiled everyone's interest. He euphemistically suggested that some things happened in Song State recently, and he would not attend the next meeting. Song Gonggong came to power three years ago.In August 589 BC, Song Wengong passed away. Under the auspices of Youshi Huayuan, the State of Song held a luxurious funeral for Song Wengong—using quicklime and charcoal to prevent moisture, and adding carriages, horses, ceremonies and daily necessities in the tomb , the first time a living person was used for burial, the outer coffin was in the form of a "four-a heavy house", and the inner coffin was decorated with the emperor's only.This behavior of arrogating the etiquette of the emperor was severely criticized at the time, and "Zuo Zhuan" also believed that Hua Yuan had lost the way of being a minister in this matter: "The minister is to solve problems and eliminate confusion for the monarch. You should stick to principles and fight at the risk of death. However, Hua Yuan indulged his bad behavior before Song Wengong was alive, and was extravagant after Song Wengong’s death. He put the monarch in an evil place. Where can there be such a courtier?" By the way, according to the "Lushi Chunqiu", Song Wengong's tomb was patronized by tomb robbers before the Song Dynasty perished, and it was completely excavated.In fact, throughout the ages, those monarchs or dictators who fantasized about enjoying the majesty underground brought a large number of human treasures to the tomb. Which one was not prepared for the thieves of later generations? In the autumn of 586 BC, Prince Wei Gui of Song State returned to Shangqiu from Yingdu after finishing his hostage career in Chu State.The Song State sent hostages to the Chu State according to the agreement reached after King Zhuang of Chu besieged the State of Song in 594 BC. At that time, Hua Yuan was sent; but two years later, Song Wengong sent his son Weigui to replace Hua Yuan, and It's ten years to go. Hua Yuan felt deeply guilty about this incident, and hosted a banquet at home to clean up the dust for his son.However, the prince Weigui who lived in the state of Chu was obviously tainted by the madness of the people of the state of Chu. Not only did he not accept Hua Yuan's love, but he also petitioned the Song Gonggong to bring his own clan soldiers, shouting with gongs and drums Rushed into Hua Yuan's house, and then came out in the same way.Song Gonggong was very puzzled and asked him why, he laughed and said triumphantly: "Practice attacking Huashi!" Of course Song Gonggong could not agree to such an unreasonable request, the young master surrounded the turtle and started messing around, but was arrested and beheaded. At the worm prison meeting, Song Gonggong proposed not to participate in the next meeting. The excuse was that the country was not stable because of the son besieging the turtle.But this excuse is very far-fetched, and everyone can guess that Song Gonggong just wanted to take a middle line and keep a certain distance from Jin, so as not to touch the sensitive nerves of Chu. In some cases, refusal to co-opt is more serious than open confrontation.In the second year of the Chonglao League, in March 585 BC, Jin Jinggong appointed Bozong as the commander-in-chief, and Xia Yang said as the deputy commander-in-chief, leading the Jin, Wei and Zheng allied forces, plus some Rong troops, to invade Song Guo.However, the war was not smooth, the Song people could not hold on, and the coalition forces were at a loss.After a long time, Xia Yang said that his heart became hairy. He said to Bo Zong: "According to the current situation, the possibility of capturing Shangqiu in the short term is zero. If we go back like this, we will definitely be punished. Why don't we capture more prisoners?" Going back, even if you are guilty, it is not a capital offense." The question is, if the war is not won, where will the prisoners come from?Bo Zong looked at Xia Yang in confusion and said.Xia Yang blinked his eyes and said mysteriously: "I found that the guards are not well-prepared. If we launch a surprise attack, we are absolutely sure to defeat them." Bo Zong was stunned. If he couldn't win the enemy, he would use his own allies to attack him. Is this what people say?Such a person was actually sent to be the deputy commander. I really don't know what the king thinks.He seriously criticized Xia Yang and said: "Because the state of Wei trusts the state of Jin, it does not fortify us. If we attack them, it is a breach of trust. No matter how many prisoners are captured, the state of Jin loses its integrity. How can we lead the princes?" This incident was known by the people of Wei.When the army of Jin State returned from the State of Song, when they passed by the State of Wei, the people of the State of Wei climbed up the city wall and guarded the Jin army carefully.As mentioned earlier, since Sun Liangfu came to power, Wei State has always been a staunch ally of Jin State, not only supporting Jin State on the battlefield, but also keeping pace with Jin State in diplomacy.Now, because of Xia Yang's muddled idea, the people of the Wei Kingdom became wary and alienated from the Jin Kingdom—Bo Zong's expedition this time can be said to be a double defeat. Among the officials of Jin State, although Bo Zong was valued by Jin Jinggong, his status was not high, he was not included in the ranks of Qing, at most he was a senior official.In the Song invasion in 585 BC, Jin Jinggong did not send the chief and deputy marshals of the six armies to fight, but sent Bo Zong to take the lead. The troops led by Bo Zong were probably just Jin’s motley troops, and they could not attack Shangqiu. As expected. In fact, Jin Jinggong did not focus on the war against Song at this time.Since Liangshan collapsed last year, he has been planning a major event, which is to move the capital.Regarding the location of the new capital, he has already solicited the opinions of his ministers many times.During the discussion, everyone's opinions gradually became unanimous, and they believed that it should be chosen between Xuncheng and Xiacheng, because this place has fertile land and is close to Yanchi. In March 585 BC, the state of Jin held its last state affairs conference on the location of the new capital.After Jin Jinggong listened to the opinions of the ministers, he did not express his position on the spot, but just bowed his hands to everyone, and walked straight to the harem thoughtfully. At this time, Han Jue was the marshal of the new Chinese army and the official servant (manager of palace affairs). He followed Jin Jinggong to the atrium. Jin Jinggong stopped suddenly and asked unexpectedly, "What's your opinion?" "My opinion is different from that of the ministers." Jin Jinggong took two steps forward, turned around, looked at Han Jue and said, "I just want to hear different voices, so you can say it anyway, it doesn't matter." Han Jue’s analysis: “The soil between Xun City and Xia City is actually thin and the water is shallow, so it’s easy to accumulate filth. It is not easy to get sick, and there are Fen and Hui rivers that can remove pollution, and the cultural level of the people is relatively high. If you move there, at least ten generations of monarchs in Jin can enjoy the benefits." Jin Jinggong was silent.Han Jue said: "Mountains, swamps, forests, and salt are all treasures of the country. If the country is rich, the people will be arrogant and extravagant; if the people are close to the treasures, the public office will have no appeal. What are you talking about?" At first glance, Han Jue's remarks contained many contradictions, and the logic was confusing.But after careful analysis, he has a main line of thought, that is, "the country is not strong if the people are rich", or more generally speaking, if the people have money in their hands, it is not so easy to control, and the ruler can't do whatever he wants. It's fun.This is also true. In today’s world, the governments of developed countries are animals kept in cages by the common people. They are equivalent to property management companies hired by the owners. The president of the United States is determined not to let the people live too comfortably, to keep them between abject poverty and food and clothing, and to run around for three meals a day. Naturally, he will not There is time and energy to consider too many issues of freedom and rights. Jin Jinggong was a wise man, and he felt that only Han Jue's words could penetrate, so he followed his advice.On April 13th of the same year, the state of Jin officially moved its capital to Xintian, which is today's Houma City.