Before the Lu army set off, the Qi envoy arrived in Qufu first. The Qi envoy presented a letter of credence to the effect:
As the saying goes: There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. The young master Xiaobai has inherited the throne, how can he allow the young master to covet it? Guan Zhong shot an arrow at the Marquis of Qi, Xiaobai vowed to avenge his shame, and wanted to kill Guan Zhong to vent his anger. Therefore, Qi Xiaobai begged the Marquis of Lu to spare no effort to kill the young master.
Jiu, imprisoned Guan Zhong, sent one of his superiors and one prisoner to the State of Qi. The Qi army came from afar, not to attack Lu, but only for the sake of the two. If things go as planned, the troops and horses will retreat.
Lord Zhuang of Lu was worried about how to defeat the Qi army. When he saw this request, he immediately agreed. He immediately captured the princes Jiu and Guan Zhong, and showed them the documents of the State of Qi.
Duke Zhuang of Lu said to Young Master Jiu: "It's not me who wants to kill you, it's your brothers who want to kill you. They put a knife on my neck, so I can only do as they say."
Prince Jiu cried loudly that he was wronged, but he cried and cried, and in the end he was forced to commit suicide. Guan Zhong was taken into custody and was about to be handed over to the envoys of Qi.
The next day, the envoy from Qi State came to ask for someone, and the people of Lu State were handling the handover. Shi Bo, a famous counselor of Lu State, came to Duke Zhuang of Lu and said: "My lord, Guan Zhong cannot let him go. This person is very capable. Either stay, or do something for me."
Whatever I use, I can either kill them on the spot and never give them to Qi."
When the envoy of Qi State heard what Shi Bo said, he said: "Guan Zhong shot the Marquis of Qi with an arrow, and the Marquis of Qi already said that he had to kill him personally to relieve his hatred. The Qi State sent troops this time, in fact, for
This man is here. If you kill him, how can I explain it to the Marquis of Qi? I can’t say that the State of Lu doesn’t take Qi Marquis’ words seriously at all, right?”
Duke Zhuang of Lu just wanted to put an end to the matter as soon as possible. After hearing this, he hurriedly called for the handover. The soldiers of Lu put the head of Prince Jiu in a box, put Guan Zhong in a prison car, and handed it over to the envoy of Qi.
After the envoy of Qi got what he wanted, he did not dare to stay for a moment longer. He immediately said goodbye to Duke Zhuang of Lu and set off on the road with his fleet.
Guan Zhong was sitting in the prison car. As soon as he left Qufu City, he figured it out: he concluded that everything that happened before him was designed by Bao Shuya, because he knew Bao Shuya too well, and only Bao Shuya wanted a living Guan Zhong.
Guan Zhong guessed right, Bao Shuya planned all of this. It turned out that the first thing Duke Huan of Qi did after he came to power was to cultivate his own power. He asked Bao Shuya to help him identify and select talents, and the first person Bao Shuya recommended was Guan Zhong. Duke Huan of Qi
He had long heard about Guan Zhong's talents and knew that Guan and Bao had an extraordinary friendship. He suspected that Bao Shuya had selfish motives for recommending Guan Zhong, so he shook his head and refused.
He said: "Guan Zhong shot me an arrow. How can I use him?"
Bao Shuya said, "Guan Zhong was not wrong. Everyone had his own master at that time. Why couldn't Guan Zhong shoot that arrow?"
Duke Huan of Qi said: "Now that I am the king of a country, I am shot by an arrow by one of my own ministers, and yet I still reuse him. Aren't I going to be ridiculed by the world?"
Bao Shuya said: "Since my lord knows that he is the king of a country, he should know that you are responsible for the rise and fall of the country. Since you are the king, you are no longer a young master. You have to put aside personal grudges, have the world in mind, and serve the country."
It’s important.”
Duke Huan of Qi trusted Bao Shuya, but he still had emotions. He said, "I know you and Guan Zhong are good friends."
Bao Shuya said: "Yes, my relationship with Guan Zhong is indeed very good. But that is not the reason why I recommend him. If I help a friend and give him wealth, that is enough. But now I am helping the king of a country, I have to
Think about the country. There is no doubt that Guan Zhong is a talented person in governing the country. If the lord gets this person, he will be able to dominate the world in the future."
When Duke Huan of Qi heard this, he laughed and said, "What Doctor Bao said makes sense. Send someone to the State of Lu quickly and ask Guan Zhong to come."
Bao Shuya waved his hand and said: "This won't work. If you invite me like this, the person you invite back must be a dead Guan Zhong."
Duke Huan of Qi asked: "Why do you say that?"
Bao Shuya said: "There are also capable people in the Lu State. If they see through our purpose, can they still invite him back? I think it is better to send troops to invite him and say that he will bring Guan Zhong back to hold him accountable. The Lu State will definitely let him back."
.”
Duke Huan of Qi clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "Master Bao is really smart."
Then the Qi State sent troops to ask for people. It was from this point that Guan Zhong guessed Bao Shuya's thoughts. But once he figured it out, he became panicked. He thought, if the people of Lu regretted it, they would send troops.
Chase, what should I do?
At that time, the sun was shining brightly and the earth was steaming with heat. The soldiers were lazily walking slowly, dragging their heavy footsteps.
Guan Zhong thought, how can we go like this? He had to find a way to get the soldiers excited and speed up. So he thought about it and came up with an idea. He made up a song, hummed a few words to himself, and then said to the soldiers
, everyone was bored walking, so it was better to sing. The soldiers were really bored, so some people started to learn to sing from him. Guan Zhong taught everyone to sing in the prison car. After a while, everyone started singing. The soldiers walked together
Singing, I really got energetic, and my steps became faster unknowingly.
Speaking of Duke Lu Zhuang, he really regretted it. After the Qi envoys left, Shi Bo started nagging in Duke Lu Zhuang's ears again. Duke Zhuang of Lu finally understood that he had done something to let the tiger return to the mountain. He immediately sent people to chase him and
He ordered that he should be seen alive and his body should be seen dead. If that doesn't work, just take Guan Zhong's head back.
Unfortunately, Duke Zhuang of Lu woke up a little late. The Lu army pursued them all the way to the border of Qi but did not see Guan Zhong's shadow. Guan Zhong had entered Linzi City half a day ago.
Dear readers, why did Guan Zhong walk so fast? Even if he encouraged him and walked as fast as flying, he would not be faster than the pursuers of Lu. It turned out that Bao Shuya helped him.
Bao Shuya also thought about the problem that the Lu people might regret, so he personally led his troops to the border of Qilu. He also sent out exploration horses to search along the Qilu passage. As expected, the exploration horses encountered the escort convoy. The soldiers obeyed Bao Shuya's order, and the Qi envoy immediately
He released Guan Zhong from the prison car, changed to a fast horse, and galloped away to Qi State. In this way, Guan Zhong, escorted by several cavalry, rushed to the border of Qi State and met Bao Shuya.
Duke Huan of Qi was greatly excited by the arrival of Guan Zhong. He discussed with Bao Shuya what position to assign to Guan Zhong. The two had a dispute while they were talking. Duke Huan of Qi wanted to make Bao Shuya the prime minister. For one thing, Bao Shuya was his
Teacher, there is trust. Furthermore, he believes that Bao Shuya and Guan Zhong are just as talented as brothers, so of course he has to choose someone he is familiar with and trusts. Of course, there is another reason why he is unwilling to say it, and that is
, Guan Zhong was Gongzi Jiu’s teacher after all.
"My lord, are you worried about him?"
"I can't be as relieved as I am to you." Duke Huan of Qi made no secret.
"Don't doubt the people you employ, and don't use them if you doubt them. Now that you've invited him, don't doubt him." Bao Shuya said, "People like Guan Zhong are either not used or are of great use. Otherwise, it will be difficult to keep him."
"Hmph, it's very useful. How to use it?"
"The prime minister of Qi belongs to him."
"Master Bao really thinks so?"
"Guan Zhong is far more talented than me, Bao Shuya. If my lord wants to achieve great success, he must ignore past grudges and make full use of Guan Zhong."
Duke Huan of Qi thought for a while, nodded firmly, and made up his mind. Three days later, Duke Huan of Qi held a grand ceremony to formally worship Guan Zhong as prime minister. All the ministers of Qi State commented that the Marquis of Qi's courage was extraordinary.
Generally owned by the monarch.
The news of Guan Zhong's appointment as prime minister reached the State of Lu, and Duke Zhuang of Lu knew that Shi Bo was indeed smart. But he couldn't swallow this breath. First of all, Guan Zhong instigated him to help the young master solve the problem, but he failed to help, and he was defeated in the battle and lost.
Wenyang. What made him most angry was that the letter written by Bao Shuya, about wanting to arrest Guan Zhong and bring him back for punishment, etc., were all lies. Duke Zhuang of Lu felt that he had been greatly teased by the people of Qi. Whenever he thought of this
, I feel angry in my heart.
Therefore, Duke Zhuang of Lu often announced that he would go to war with Qi.