When the State of Wu destroyed the State of Chu in one fell swoop, all the princes in the world were shocked. This shock included two aspects: First, Chu and Jin were the two heroes of the north and the south at that time.
With the exception of the Qi State in the east, the Qin State in the west, and the Song State, the initiator of the "Ceasefire and Alliance", the rest of the middle and small vassal states were affiliated with the two powerful states of Chu and Jin. At that time,
In the eyes of the princes, the only country that could defeat the Chu State was the Jin State, which had many vassal states. Therefore, when the Wu State quietly rose in the southeast and destroyed the powerful Chu State in one fell swoop, the princes in the world were naturally surprised. Secondly, Qin
The country has always been content in the far west and never seemed to participate in the disputes between the Central Plains princes. The Central Plains princes never seemed to care about the Qin State. Unexpectedly, such a vassal state that received no attention was able to help the Chu State defeat the Wu State in one fell swoop.
, and restored the state of Chu. This could not but arouse the astonishment of the princes in the world.
Among all these vassal states, the one that shocked the most was Qi. Because Jin had fought with Qin before, the people of Jin knew the power of Qin. But Qi was different. The people of Qi had neither fought with Qin nor had
He had fought against the state of Wu. So Qi Jinggong couldn't figure it out. He thought how could such a powerful state of Chu be defeated by the not-so-famous state of Wu in such a short period of time? He had always had this question in his mind.
In fact, before the war between Wu and Chu, Qi Jinggong had thought about Chu. But he didn't really understand it. To talk about this, we have to talk about a famous minister of Qi. This person is Yanzi, whose courtesy name is Pingzhong.
, so he is also called Yan Pingzhong.
Once, Qi Jinggong took Yan Zi (Yan Pingzhong) and other ministers, as well as his three warriors Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang, and Guyezi, to go hunting. On the way, he asked Yan Pingzhong, whom he admired very much, to ride in a car with him.
People were chatting while walking, and they started talking about the Wu Kingdom that had just emerged in the east-south at that time.
Qi Jinggong asked: "Doctor Yan, what is the reason for the rapid rise of Wu in the southeast in recent years?"
Yan Pingzhong said: "The first thing is to recruit talents. I heard that King Helu of Wu hired two people, one was Wu Zixu from the Chu state, and the other was from our Qi state, named Sun Wu. Especially Sun Wu, he was a good fighter.
.It is a pity that he was not reused in Qi State."
Qi Jinggong smiled and said: "Is Sun Wu as good as my three warriors?"
Yan Pingzhong was sitting in Qi Jinggong's car at that time. When he heard Qi Jinggong praising his three warriors, he couldn't help but look back at Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang, and Guyezi who were following not far away. Only one of them was seen.
All of them are tall and tall, holding weapons and riding on horses. Everyone looks majestic. Yan Pingzhong is short in stature. Every time he sees these three tall and powerful men, he feels very awkward in his heart.
Feeling of oppression. He shook his head and said to Qi Jinggong: "These three people have well-developed limbs and simple minds. It's okay to send them into battle, but that's it. If you want to compare them with Sun Wu, they are far behind."
Already."
Qi Jinggong liked his three warriors very much. Hearing what Yan Pingzhong said, he felt unhappy, so he said, "Why does Dr. Yan always look down on them?"
Yan Pingzhong smiled and said: "The courage of an ordinary man is nothing to mention."
Qi Jinggong also admired Yan Pingzhong very much. He felt that Yan Pingzhong looked down on Gongsun Jie and others because he was short in stature and envied those taller people. Therefore, he smiled and did not embarrass Yan Zi.
In 531 BC, when Chu State attacked Cai State and Chen State, Cai State sent Cai Wei to the Central Plains to ask for help, but the Central Plains princes headed by Jin State did not send troops.
Qi Jinggong believed that the princes of the Central Plains did not want to save Cai, but they did not dare to send troops because they were afraid of Chu. So he thought of a question: why is Chu, a "southern barbarian" who has always been looked down upon by the princes of the Central Plains,
Can it become so powerful in a relatively short period of time? Qi Jinggong wanted to figure this out.
Yan Pingzhong suggested that he send someone to visit Chu State to understand the situation of Chu State on the ground. As a result, Qi Jinggong handed over this task to Yan Pingzhong.
Yan Pingzhong was short in stature and unattractive in appearance, but he was very smart and capable. The ancients at that time valued appearance, and the fact that Yan Pingzhong could hold a high position with a "flawed" appearance shows that he was outstanding. Qi Jingzheng ignored Yan Pingzhong because of his resourcefulness.
After realizing his shortcomings, he finally decided to send Yan Pingzhong to complete this task.
At that time, King Ling of Chu was in power. The people of Chu were surprised when they heard that Qi sent envoys to visit. First of all, the princes of the Central Plains looked down on Chu for a long time and rarely dealt with Chu. Secondly, in the era when King Zhuang of Chu was hegemonic,
Almost all the princes in the Central Plains had enmity with the Chu State. Thirdly, the Qi State was once the overlord of the Central Plains and had never taken the initiative to visit the Chu State. Now it suddenly condescended to come. Why?
King Ling of Chu and the ministers gathered together and everyone agreed that the visit of the Qi people was a fake to find out whether the Chu country was true or false. King Chu Ling thought, since this is the case, then the Chu country should make a good statement. What kind of statement should be made?
?King Chu Ling felt that he just wanted to show his attitude - Chu State is not afraid of Qi State.
Diplomatic relations are sometimes very delicate. The people of Chu have to show that they don't take Qi seriously, but they can't make matters worse and become enemies with Qi. Therefore, this statement must be measured and clear.
When the people of Chu learned that Yan Pingzhong was short, King Ling of Chu decided to use Yan Pingzhong's height to make a fuss and tease the envoys of Qi.
The method used by the Chu people was quite humorous. They deliberately opened a short gate next to the city gate. When Yan Pingzhong came to the outside of the city with a staff and a majestic weapon, the Chu ministers who accompanied him stepped forward.
, led Yan Pingzhong to the short gate, and then said respectfully: "Ambassador of Qi, please enter the city through this gate. Please!"
How smart is Yan Pingzhong? He glanced at the tall and big city gate next to him, and then at the low side door in front of him, and he suddenly understood in his heart that the people of Chu were mocking him for his short stature, as if to say, short people only deserve
Entering the city through the short gate. Yan Pingzhong did not get angry and joked: "This is a dog cave. The door over there is for people to enter and exit. If I come to visit the dog country, then I will enter the city through this gate."
The minister of Chu who accompanied him was very kind. He thought, how can Chu be named after the country of dogs? Of course, the name of dog cannot be allowed to ruin the name of Chu. If this matter spreads, people in the world will definitely laugh at Chu. He
Thinking of this, he immediately put on a smile and asked Yan Pingzhong to enter the city through the city gate.
The teasing plan failed. King Chu Ling was very angry. He scolded the ministers who accompanied Yan Pingzhong, and then decided to confront Yan Pingzhong himself.
When he met Yan Pingzhong, the first thing King Chu Ling asked was: "Is there no one left in Qi?"
Yan Pingzhong was stunned and thought, what are these words? He said half-jokingly: "How can there be no one in such a big country like Qi? There are so many people, the streets are full of people, so crowded. They are
If they get together, they can blow into clouds and sweat into rain. Once they all crowd into the market, they will be crowded together. If you don't pay attention when walking, you will step on other people's heels. There are too many people in Qi.
"
King Chu Ling changed the topic and said: "Since there are so many people, why would they send you as an envoy?"
Be obedient. Yan Pingzhong knew as soon as he heard it that what King Chu Ling meant was that since there were so many people in Qi, why didn't he find someone decent? - He was still making fun of Yan Pingzhong's appearance.
Instead of being angry, Yan Pingzhong said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you don't know something. Qi State has a rule. When visiting a high-level country, send people with good looks; when visiting a middle-level country, send people with average looks;
Waiting for the country, they will send people with poor height and appearance. Your Majesty, please see what I look like. I am short, ugly, and have no skills. I am a useless person, so they sent me here to you."
After Yan Pingzhong finished speaking, he chuckled. King Chu Ling was dumbfounded by him and grinned awkwardly, which seemed to agree with Yan Pingzhong's "humor".
King Chu Ling did not get any advantage, but was ridiculed by Yan Pingzhong. He was unwilling to accept it and devised another plan.
When it was time to eat, King Chu Ling, Yan Pingzhong, and a group of accompanying ministers were sitting at the banquet, drinking and eating happily. Suddenly, several soldiers came in escorting a man tied up with five flowers.
King Ling of Chu deliberately asked: "Who is this?"
The soldier replied: "Your Majesty, this is a man from Qi. He was a thief in Chu and was captured by us."
King Chu Ling looked at Yan Pingzhong with a half-smile and said: "Your country of Qi produces thieves. Look, they all stole to our country of Chu."
Yan Pingzhong said: "The people of Qi State did not steal things in Qi State, but only stole things when they arrived in Chu State. Does your Majesty know what this means? Let me give an analogy, 'Oranges growing in Huainan will become oranges, and growing in Huaibei will become oranges'. What is the reason?
What? The water and the soil are different."
King Ling of Chu asked, "What do you mean?"
Yan Pingzhong explained: "Citrus grows south of the Huaihe River and is called tangerine. When it grows north of the Huaihe River, it is not called tangerine but is called tangerine. The same thing has different fruits because of the different water and soil. The one you caught
Why was he not caught in Qi State? Because he did not steal anything in Qi State. But when he arrived in Chu State, he was caught because he stole things. It can be seen that the problem does not lie with Qi State, but with your Chu State.
Water and soil. It seems that the water and soil here can change people's character."
Yan Pingzhong said, "The soil and water of your Chu State changes people's character." To put it bluntly, it means that the soil and water of your Chu State breed thieves.
Of course King Chu Ling understood, but he couldn't answer the words, so he had to take Yan Pingzhong's words as a joke. He thought, this man looks short, but in fact his intelligence is so high that he is completely above everyone else, and he can't take any advantage at all. That's all.
Forget it, why bother asking for trouble? So he waved his hand and asked the soldiers to take the kidnapped people out.
After this contest, King Chu Ling admired Yan Pingzhong's wit from the bottom of his heart. He picked up the wine bottle and said with a smile: "Forgive me, Doctor Yan, the previous things were all a joke."
Yan Pingzhong also toasted with wine and said with a smile: "It's okay to joke, it will not affect the diplomatic relations between our two countries."
After Yan Pingzhong left, King Ling of Chu said to the ministers: "Sages are not in the game."
This is a very high evaluation. In the eyes of King Chu Ling, Yan Pingzhong is a saint. Saints cannot be teased casually.
Yan Pingzhong returned to Qi State and reported on his visit. Qi Jinggong asked him: "How is the strength of Chu State?"
Yan Pingzhong said: "The land of Chu has many great people, but it lacks powerful talents. In fact, it is just a mess and not very powerful."
Qi Jinggong said: "Then, why are the princes afraid of them?"
Yan Pingzhong said: "The majesty of the Chu State was created by King Chuzhuang. But the era of King Chuzhuang has passed. The reason why the princes are still afraid of them is mainly because although the tiger is dead, the majesty is still there. In fact, the Chu State has long been
It just went downhill.”
Qi Jinggong asked: "How does Qi compare with Chu?"
Yan Pingzhong said: "In terms of territory, population, and products, we are no worse than Chu. However, we also lack talents. If we want to make the country rich and strong, we must have powerful talents. Back then, Duke Huan appointed Guan Zhong and achieved great success.
If my lord wants to dominate, he should treat his subordinates well and recruit capable people."
Qi Jinggong said: "Aren't my three warriors talents?"
Yan Pingzhong said with a smile: "Three warriors are brave but not resourceful, and of no use. The lord should recruit those who are resourceful, knowledgeable and worthy of big responsibilities. Those are the talents. Only brute strength and stupidity are not counted.
Excellent talent."
Qi Jinggong snorted and said, "Doctor Yan, don't look down on the warriors. I think they are talents."
Yan Pingzhong saw that Qi Jinggong could not understand what he meant and did not want to explain too much. He stood up, said goodbye and left the court.
Because Qi Jinggong was superstitious about his three warriors, he did not believe what Yan Pingzhong said. Yan Pingzhong advised him many times, but Qi Jinggong always believed that Yan Pingzhong had personal prejudice against his three warriors, so he never listened. This made Yan Pingzhong Yue
Lai Yue secretly hated Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang and Gu Yezi.