One day, the envoys of the State of Qi came to the State of Zheng excitedly with generous gifts and presented a letter of credence to Duke Zhuang of Zheng. The main idea was:
"Prince Zheng is a talented man. He is both civil and military. He is courteous and diligent. He is a rising star. The Marquis of Qi has a daughter, she is twenty-eight years old. She is beautiful and virtuous, and she is waiting for a maid. She is a talented man and a beautiful woman, which is suitable for a hundred years. The Marquis of Qi greets Uncle Zheng politely.
Goodbye!"
The State of Qi proposed marriage to the State of Zheng. For the State of Zheng, this was as good as pie in the sky. Because there were so many small vassal states that wanted to compete with a big country like Qi but could not.
To say why Duke Xi of Qi fell in love with Zihu, it was really not a whim, but a coincidence.
Once, the mountain rong living in the area south of Yan and north of Qi came to invade Qi. Duke Xi of Qi led troops to encircle and suppress them. Duke Zhuang of Zheng sent Prince Hu to lead troops to assist. Zihu performed bravely in that joint battle and won the honor.
He was appreciated by Duke Xi of Qi.
Duke Xi of Qi had two beautiful daughters, the eldest was named Qi Jiang and the younger was named Wen Jiang. Qi Jiang married to the state of Wei, and Wen Jiang was married to his wife. Wen Jiang was as beautiful as a flower and jade, and Duke Xi of Qi loved her very much and regarded her as a daughter.
As the apple of his eye, he wanted to find a good son-in-law for her to marry. Zihu fell in love with Duke Xi of Qi.
When Feng Gang, the prince of the Song Dynasty, came to the throne, Zheng Zhuanggong made an appointment with Duke Xi of Qi and the Guild of Lu Yin to form an alliance. Zihu also followed. Duke Xi of Qi was very satisfied with Zihu's performance. Privately, he
I mentioned my thoughts to Duke Zhuang of Zheng. Duke Zhuang of Zheng was very happy because being able to ascend to Qi State was exactly what Zheng State wanted.
Soon after, Duke Zhuang of Zheng fought a battle with King Huan of Zhou and became famous. This made Duke Xi of Qi feel that the matter must be dealt with quickly. So the woman took the initiative to come to propose marriage.
In the eyes of everyone, this was truly a good match. But unexpectedly, Prince Zheng did not agree to the marriage.
Zihu came up with a lot of excuses. He said: "Qi is a big country, Zheng is a small country. The family is not right and the household is wrong. If I agree to this marriage, the world will say that I am superior to others. Am I, Zihu, that kind of person?"
As a man in this world, he stands upright, so why should he look up to others?"
Duke Zhuang of Zheng was very angry, but he had nothing to do with the stubborn young master, so he asked the resourceful Jizu to persuade him.
Jizu was a princeling, and his relationship with Zihu was already very good. Jizu tried hard to persuade him, but Zihu still refused. Jizu was anxious, and he
Zihu said: "If you seize the state of Qi, it is equivalent to seizing a powerful army. In today's chaotic situation, what is more important than this? Think about it carefully."
Jizu added: "You are so unreasonable and unsophisticated."
Zihu raised his head and said, "This is my own business, so don't worry about it, Doctor Ji."
Jizu knew that once the eldest son became willful, no one could stop him, so he sighed, shook his head and walked away.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng also tried to persuade him, but it was of no use. Zihu refused, so Zheng had to politely reject Qi. But Duke Xi of Qi did not give up, and sent envoys to persuade him again, but the result was still the same. Qi Xi
I have no choice but to let the matter rest.
In 701 BC, the 43rd year of Duke Zhuang of Zheng, he suffered from a serious illness. Seeing that he could no longer survive, he called Jizu to discuss his funeral arrangements.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said: "Among my ten sons, the most talented are Zihu, Zitu, Ziyi, and Ziqi. Zitu is the most powerful one. Although Zihu has been a prince for many years, he is not a prince.
I am worried that if they fight in the future, Zheng will be in chaos. So I think it is better to solve this problem first."
Jizu asked cautiously: "My lord, what do you mean..."
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said: "Depose Zihu and make Zitu the crown prince. After my death, you support him to succeed to the throne."
Ji Zu said: "Abandoning the elders and establishing young ones will lay hidden dangers. Zihu has always made great contributions. He went to Luoyi to be a hostage and helped the Marquis of Qi to fight the mountain soldiers. Also, let's make an appointment with the Marquis of Qi and the Marquis of Lu to help the young master Feng Na.
This time, he also went. Even the Marquis of Qi valued him and wanted to recruit him as his son-in-law. In any case, Zihu was already well-known among the princes. I ask my lord to think again."
Duke Zhuang of Zheng sighed and continued: "What if Zihu becomes the king and Zitu refuses to accept it?"
Ji Zu said: "We can also learn from Song Mugong's approach. Didn't he send Young Master Feng to our country of Zheng? We can also send Zi Tu out of the country."
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said: "Where should I send it?"
Jizu said: "The Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty is Zitu's grandma's family; now the young master Feng is in charge. My lord is very kind to Song Gong Feng, and he will definitely not treat Zitu badly."
Duke Zhuang of Zheng said: "Okay, just send Zitu out. Send him to Song Dynasty. You can handle this matter yourself." He sighed again and said: "Hey, Zheng will never have peace again."
A few days later, the great hero Zheng Zhuanggong passed away and went to the west. Zihu presided over the national funeral as the prince. After that, Ji Zu led the ministers to establish the prince Hu as Zheng Zhaogong.
After Zheng Zhaogong succeeded to the throne, he was most worried about his brother Zitu. He felt that as long as Zitu was still there, he would not be able to sleep well. Because of this worry, he sent a priest to the Song Dynasty to understand the situation of Zitu.
Unexpectedly, Jizu was detained by Songzhuang Gong Feng as soon as he arrived in the Song Dynasty. When Jizu inquired about it, he found out that it was Zitu who was responsible.
Zitu was indeed not an ordinary person. He was not idle as soon as he arrived in the Song Dynasty. He took advantage of his grandmother's family connections and quickly became involved with the nobles of the Song Dynasty. When Prince Feng was in the Zheng Kingdom, they had a good relationship. Now,
His situation was quite similar to that of Young Master Feng, and the two grew closer. Zi Tu often said to Young Master Feng, "Your life is better than mine. When you met my father, he never
Treat you as an outsider. When the Song Dynasty sent troops to arrest you, my father fought them off just to protect you. When you returned home, he sent troops to escort you. Hey, you are not only lucky, but also blessed. I will
Not as lucky as you."
Young Master Feng comforted him and said: "Brother Zitu, don't be sad. What you are going through now is what I was going through back then. I can understand your mood. Let me tell you this, if there is a chance, I will definitely help you, just like your father did back then."
Do that for me. This is called repaying a favor." After saying that, he laughed proudly.
Zi Tu and Song Zhuang Gong were so good that they wished they could wear a pair of trousers. Therefore, as soon as Jizu arrived in the Song Dynasty, Zi Tu asked Song Zhuang Gong to detain him. He said to Song Zhuang Gong: "You said you would help me, and now the opportunity has come. Things happened.
Whether it can happen or not depends on this person."
Duke Zhuang of Song held Ji Zu for a few days and entertained him with good wine and food, but did not meet him. After he and Zi Tu discussed the whole plan, he and Dazai Hua Du met with Ji Zu.
Song Zhuanggong said: "Zi suddenly wanted to return to the state of Zheng, but Zi suddenly became the king and he did not dare to go back. I heard that the priest was very resourceful. I invited you here today. I just want to ask you what good ideas you have."
Jizu said, "I want to know, Mr. Song, what do you want to do?"
Duke Zhuang of Song said: "You established Zihu. You can establish him or depose him. As long as you help Zihu accomplish this, you can go back to Zheng."
Jizu raised his eyebrows and said, "Where does this come from? Zihu was established by the previous king, how could I dare to depose him? Even if I can depose him, I can't do it. I, Jizu, am a loyal minister.
How can you do something like this and be laughed at by everyone in the world?"
Hua Du smiled and said: "It is unwise to sacrifice to the doctor. I will tell you in detail. It is not uncommon to seek a king. If you have the power, you can succeed. Once it is done, who dares to say anything? There is a young master from Lu State in front of me.
Rail, there will be..." Hua Du wanted to say, and our lord, but when the words came to his mouth, he saw Song Zhuang Gong's eyes, so he stopped. He turned to say: "What are you afraid of? The sky is falling.
With Duke Song on your side, what should you fear?"
Jizu knew about Hua Du's murder of Kong Fujia. He thought that with Hua Du's involvement, he had no choice but to submit, otherwise he would not survive. So he broke into a cold sweat as he listened. He drooped his head and sighed.
Silent.
Governor Hua continued to put pressure on him and said: "I made my words clear. You should know it. Unless you can't hear this kind of thing, once you hear it, there are only two ways. Either do it or die."
Jizu still kept his head silent. Hua Du continued: "Actually, Song Gong can kill you first, and then ask Song General Nangong Changwan to lead troops to escort Zitu back to the country. By then, you will have turned into a pile of withered bones.
That’s it. It’s said that those who know the current affairs are heroes. Wouldn’t the minister be unable to distinguish the important from the important?”
Jizu quickly made a calculation in his mind: death would definitely not help, but living might still have a chance to make a comeback. So he agreed.
As soon as Jizu let go, Song Zhuanggong began to think about his own interests. He must not help in vain. This was very clear, but what he wanted after helping was not clear for a while. However, he was also very clear about one thing.
. He wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of supporting Zitu to get back the things he had given to Zheng Guo in recent years. This was a knot in his heart and a stone weighing on his heart. Because since he came to the throne, he has given to Zheng Guo every year.
He wanted to send a considerable amount of money and grain to the State of Zheng. At first he thought it was to repay Duke Zheng Zhuang, but as he sent it more often, he felt it was a burden. Sometimes, he even felt that he had fallen into the trap of Duke Zheng Zhuang. So he always thought,
It would be great if we could get back those things we sent out.
Duke Zhuang of Song thought carefully for two days and finally figured out a way to make Zi Tu surrender. After some preparations, Duke Zhuang of Song called for Zi Tu and said: "The gentleman of Zheng Guoxin suddenly sent someone here again. He called me
Kill you and promise to give me three cities."
Zitu was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and shouted repeatedly: "Song Gong, do you really want to do that?"
Song Zhuanggong said: "If I don't kill you, what good will I gain?"
Zi Tu said, "You give me a break. Don't talk about three cities. Just ask for whatever you want."
Duke Zhuang of Song couldn't help but laugh. He changed his tone and said, "If you want to return to the Song Dynasty, you can't do it without a sacrifice. I have already taken it for you." After saying that, he turned to the side and shouted: "Please sacrifice."
Doctor, come out."
Jizu and Hua Du came out from behind the scenes at the same time. When Zitu saw these two people, his mood immediately calmed down. He quietly wiped his sweat and quickly stood up.
Governor Hua explained Jizu's willingness to help. Zitu's face became cheerful. Then, Governor Hua explained Song Guo's request again. Jizu didn't say a word. When he was really forced to express his position,
He nodded. Zitu agreed to everything.
In this way, the so-called negotiation became whatever the Song State wanted, and Zheng Guo agreed to it. When all Song State's requests were answered satisfactorily, Song Zhuang Gong took the decision and Hua Du wrote an agreement, which mainly included two
Article content:
First, the main purpose was to sacrifice the feet, and with the support of the Song Dynasty, Zihu was deposed as king and Zitu was established as king.
Secondly, after the deed was accomplished, Zitu presented a thank-you gift to Song Gong, with three cities, one hundred pairs of white walls, and ten thousand taels of gold. In addition, he received twenty thousand shi of millet from the Song Dynasty every year.
Zitu agreed to everything without hesitation. Duke Zhuang of Song asked Zitu to sign and sign first, and then asked Jizu to sign and sign.
After doing all this, Duke Zhuang of Song was still uneasy. He put forward two more conditions:
First, he asked Zitu to agree that when he became king in the future, he would hand over the power of Zheng to Jizu. He said: "This will ensure the stability of the Zheng court."
Secondly, he knew that Jizu had a daughter, so he suggested that Jizu marry his daughter to Yongjiu, the son of Song Yong, a nobleman of Song Dynasty. He said: "After the marriage, you can arrange for Yongjiu to be the official of Zhengguo. You guys
See, how is it?"
Jizu had no choice but to agree. Finally, Duke Zhuang of Song proposed that the four of them swear an oath to the Heavenly Alliance. Only then would the matter be considered complete.
Jizu was released. He stayed at the National Military Hall that night and was treated with good wine and meat as before. But he stayed up all night. At dawn, he left Suiyang, the capital of the Song Dynasty, with his entourage.
After sacrificing his feet and walking on his front feet, Zi rushed off his back feet and ran to see Duke Zhuang of Song. He complained:
"Song Gong, Ji Zu just left like this? What if he regrets it?"
"Oh. I didn't think of this problem," Song Zhuanggong said with luck, "but I think he won't."
"We must not take any chances. If he goes back on his word, he will definitely send troops to attack. Then we will be defeated."
"Then what do you do?"
"Two ways. One is that I chase him and return to Zheng with him. The other is to ask Song Gong to send General Nangong Changwan to lead his troops. If we can solve the problem, we will do it. If we can't, we will do it."
, then solve it by force. Only in this way can there be nothing wrong."
Duke Zhuang of Song said with a smile: "They say your son is cunning. You are really as cunning as a fox."
In this way, Zitu caught up with Jizu and returned to the state of Zheng with him. On the way, Zitu told Jizu about his idea of a political coup, and Jizu only made one request, as long as he did not harm Zihu.
He cooperated in order to save his life. Zitu agreed.
When Jizu returned to Zheng, he claimed to be ill. Of course, he was pretending to be ill. He did not go to court for three consecutive days. On the fourth day, Zheng's general Gao Qumi and several ministers came to visit him.
Gao Qumi saw that Jizu's complexion was not sick, so he asked, "What disease does Doctor Ji have?"
Ji Zu said: "I am not sick, it is Zheng Guo who is sick. You still don't know that Nangong Changwan, the general of the Song Dynasty, has come to Zheng Guo with his troops and horses, and will soon arrive at the gate of Xingyang City. Do you think this is a disease?"
How to treat this disease?"
Gao Qumi and others were stunned when they heard the news suddenly. Everyone looked at each other, feeling that something was fishy and didn't know what to say.
Jizu continued: "There is a good medicine that can relieve Zheng Guo's difficulties. It just depends on whether everyone is willing to take it."
Gao Qumi was a military commander with an impatient temper, so he urged, "Master Ji, if you have anything to say, just say it."
Jizu said: "As long as we support Zitu as the king, Zheng will be saved." Without waiting for everyone's reaction, he turned to the backstage and said: "Come out."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zitu stepped out from behind the scenes. Gao Qumi was about to have a fit, but he saw people flashing out from all over the room, all wearing armor, armed with murderous intent. Gao Qumi didn't dare to move. He didn't move.
, the others also stood there honestly.
Jizu's fingers moved slightly. Zitu stepped forward, took out a memorial from his arms, shook it open with a bang, and said to everyone: "If you don't say much, just sign your names on this."
.”
Gao Qumi and others all looked at Jizu, and Jizu nodded. Gao Qumi knew that it would be impossible to do anything without Jizu's nod, so he took the lead and signed. Others followed suit.
At dusk that day, Gao Qumi led his troops to force the palace. Jizu, Zitu and all the civil and military ministers who had signed the memorial followed the army. The palace did not dare to resist, and the army broke in smoothly.
When Jizu, Gao Qumi, Zitu and others broke into the inner palace, Zheng Zhaogong (Zihu) was still directing people to collect gold and silver. When he saw Zitu, the first thing he said was: "I guess
There is today."
Zi Tu said: "Originally, my father planned to pass the throne to me."
Ji Zu said to Zheng Zhaogong: "Song Gong has sent troops to escort Zi Tu back. We have no choice but to ask the lord to abdicate."
When Zheng Zhaogong glanced at Jizu, he then looked at Gao Qumi and other civil and military ministers standing beside him. He couldn't say a word and was dumbfounded. At this time, Jizu came to his ear and whispered: "My Lord, first
Hide away for now. When the opportunity comes, I will definitely take you back. I will never break my promise. Please believe me."
There was still no expression on Zihu's face. He said to Zitu: "We are all brothers. Since you want this position so much, I will give it to you. I will leave."
This was a bloodless coup. After Zihu stepped down, he went to Weiguo. Adachi Zihu was sacrificed as the king of the country, and he was Zheng Ligong.
As soon as Duke Zheng Li took the throne, Duke Zhuang of Song sent someone to congratulate him. Duke Zheng Li knew clearly that he was here to congratulate him. He was clearly here to ask for gifts. But he pretended to have forgotten and did not mention a word. The envoy of Song Dynasty
The minister had no choice but to mention it in a vague way. Zheng Ligong neither denied nor agreed, and just sent the Song envoy away perfunctorily.
After the envoys retreated, Jizu reminded: "The main purpose of their coming is to remind us to honor our covenant."
Zheng Ligong said: "How can this be fulfilled? When I came back in a hurry, I agreed to whatever they said. Does it count? Besides, if we really give away the three cities, it will make the princes of the world laugh at us."
Jizu said, "Give them some gold, white jade, and grain. The rest will be given to them gradually in the future. Otherwise, it won't make sense."
Duke Li of Zheng said: "Then as you said, I will give you some first."
When the envoy from Song Dynasty returned to Song Dynasty, Duke Zhuang of Song Dynasty scolded Zitu, saying that he was an ungrateful man who crossed rivers and demolished bridges. When the scolding got so exciting, he decided to raise an army to attack Zheng.
The Song Dynasty official Gongzi Yu said that he should quickly come forward to persuade him. How could Song Zhuang Gong swallow his breath? He ordered Nangong Changwan to rectify his troops and prepare to use troops against Zheng Guo.
Just when the Song State was panicking about sending troops, Duke Huan of Lu came to the Song State. He claimed to be entrusted by others. It turned out that Zheng Li Gong also felt that it was inappropriate to break the contract rashly, so he discussed it with Jizu.
, please ask Duke Huan of Lu to mediate.
Duke Huan of Lu was indeed very hard-working. He helped Duke Zheng Li cut down the price several times. In the end, the price was not cut down, but Duke Zhuang of Song was angered. He said: "This is a matter between me and Zi Tu, not yours."
, why do you bother so much?"
Duke Huan of Lu felt very humiliated, but he was in the Song Dynasty and did not dare to have an attack, so he had to go back in despair.
Less than a month after Duke Huan of Lu left, Nangong's tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, as well as food and grass, were almost ready. So Duke Zhuang of Song planned to send troops to attack Zheng. Unexpectedly, flying horses came from the border to report that Zheng and Lu had soldiers and horses.
Invaded the Song Dynasty.
Duke Songzhuang was trembling with anger. He thought, Zi Tu was so unreasonable. He didn't even mention the money he owed, but he still came to the door. It was really unbearable. He immediately decided to face the enemy.
Gongzi Yushuo, a senior official in the Song Dynasty, tried to dissuade him, but Nangong Changwan pushed him back. Gongzi Yushuo was so angry that he didn't care anymore.
The Song army rushed to the battlefield in a hurry, but was severely defeated by Zheng and Lu. Only then did Song Zhuanggong wake up. Although he was extremely careful, in the end he was fooled by Zitu.