This old prince is Duke Xiang of Jin. His territory is in the Taiyuan area of Shanxi Province today. It was first granted by King Wu of Zhou to his brother Shu Yu, with the title of Marquis. The Kingdom of Jin is not far from the Central Plains, but the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous and transportation is inconvenient.
It’s not an easy trip. So I don’t have much time to deal with the Central Plains.
So, why did Duke Xiang of Jin go to great lengths to get to Kuiqiu over the mountains and ridges when he was old and frail? In fact, his main purpose was to go out for a walk, so as to relieve the depression in his heart.
To talk about his troubles, we have to start with his harem:
Duke Xian of Jin originally had a royal wife, who gave birth to a son and a daughter. The boy was Crown Prince Shen Sheng. The girl later married Duke Mu of Qin and was named Mu Ji. After the death of the palace lady, he did not establish a royal wife, so the position of the royal wife continued.
empty.
Around 662 BC, a tribe of Beidi went south to the Wei River Basin. Duke Xian of Jin defeated some of the tribes. The Beidi people sued for peace and presented two beauties to Duke Xian of Jin. These are two sisters named Hu. The elder sister gave birth to a son named
Chong'er, my sister gave birth to a son, named Yiwu.
Later, Duke Xian of Jin defeated Li Rong in the Lishan area. The Li Rong tribe presented him with a beautiful woman, Li Ji. Li Ji gave birth to a son named Xi Qi. Li Ji had a dowry sister who also gave birth to Duke Xian of Jin.
He had a son named Zhuozi.
The whole thing was caused by Li Ji.
Li Ji was young and beautiful, with a wild smile, and was very talented. She was very fond of Jin Xiangong. Jin Xiangong, who was over fifty years old, was fascinated by her. In order to please her, Jin Xiangong not only alienated the Hu sisters, but also
Li Ji helped him up. On several occasions, he even wanted to abolish Shen Sheng's crown prince position and make Li Ji's son Xi Qi the crown prince.
But Li Ji was very scheming. Her son was still young at the time, so she didn't want to expose her thoughts prematurely. She said to Duke Xiang of Jin: "Shen Sheng has been the prince for many years, and all the princes know him. Shen Sheng is quite capable.
, you didn’t make any mistakes. You shouldn’t have casually deposed the prince for the sake of our personal relationship, regardless of the safety of the country.”
Duke Xian of Jin felt that Li Ji was not only beautiful but also virtuous, so he doted on her even more.
There are only two things Li Ji has to do at the moment, one is to raise her son well, and the other is to wait patiently for her son to grow up. She heard that the doctor Xun Xi was a celebrity trusted by Jin Xian Gong, so she proposed to ask Xun Xi to be Xi
Qi and Zhuozi's teacher, Duke Xiang of Jin, all agreed.
Time flies, seven or eight years have passed. Xi Qi and Zhuo Zi gradually grew up, and Li Ji began to take action. She said to Duke Xiang of Jin: "My lord is getting old, and my two sons are not very old. They will have to rely on the prince in the future. You
Can you ask the prince to come, I want to see him."
Duke Xiang of Jin smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this? Shensheng is in Quwo. I'll send someone to call him tomorrow."
Two days later, Duke Xiang of Jin went out hunting early in the morning. At noon, Prince Shen Sheng came to Beijing. He did not dare to stay and entered the palace immediately. Li Ji met him.
She heard that Shen Sheng had not eaten yet because he was in a hurry, so she held a banquet in honor of Shen Sheng. It was inevitable to drink a few drinks during the banquet. After a few glasses of wine, Li Ji felt a little emotional. She praised Shen Sheng for his majestic appearance and that he was a good man.
The student didn't dare to answer the conversation, he just lowered his eyes and was just perfunctory.
"Is the prince's territory in Quwo?"
"Reply to your Majesty, I'm in Quwo."
"Hey, hey, we are about the same age, so don't be so formal. Don't always have your wife come to you, it sounds awkward."
Shen Sheng did not dare to answer. Li Ji asked again: "You are here, are you staying in the palace?"
Shen Sheng said: "According to the rules, you cannot live in the palace. I have to live in the National Military Hall."
Li Ji said angrily: "You are the prince, and you can't live in the palace even if you are one of your own?"
Shen Sheng said: "Yes, the rules cannot be broken."
Li Ji asked many questions, Shen Sheng answered few, and the atmosphere never became warm. Li Ji brought the wine and asked Shen Sheng to drink together. Shen Sheng brought the wine but said: "My child dare not drink with the queen, please drink first."
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Li Ji felt bored, raised her neck, and drank two big sips. Putting down the wine glass, Li Ji felt a little hot in her ears and her heartbeat was beating. She stared at Shen Sheng's face and said, "I've been sitting in the palace all day, and I'm really bored."
Shen Sheng said: "It's spring now, the wind is beautiful and sunny outside. Your Majesty, you can go out to relax, ride a horse, hunt, enjoy flowers and so on. It's better than staying in the palace."
Li Ji laughed and said, "Hey, that's right. I'm going to the Imperial Garden to enjoy the flowers tomorrow. Come and accompany me."
Shen Sheng quickly shook his head and said, "I don't dare, my dear. You can ask your father to accompany you."
Li Ji said: "He didn't go with me. Didn't you call me empress? How dare you not listen to empress?"
Shen Sheng said: "My child dare not."
Li Ji let out a string of crisp laughter and said: "That's right. Tomorrow afternoon, you will come to the Royal Garden to accompany me. Do you hear me?"
Shen Sheng said: "I obey."
The banquet ended quickly. Shen Sheng said goodbye and fled out of the palace.
Li Ji returned to her bedroom and fell on the bed. She was still thinking about the scene just now. Thinking about it, she couldn't help feeling resentful. After lying there for a while, she suddenly had a plan in mind, and a smile appeared on her lips...
That night, Duke Xiang of Jin came back from hunting and saw Li Ji lying on the bed gloomily. He asked her what was going on. Li Ji pretended to be aggrieved and said that the prince was teasing her. Duke Xiang of Jin did not believe it. Li Ji said: "He also made an appointment.
I will go to the garden to enjoy the flowers tomorrow. If you don’t believe it, you can hide in the dark and take a peek tomorrow.”
On the second day, Jin Xiangong actually hid in the back garden and took a peek. After a while, he saw Shen Sheng and Li Ji walking side by side. As they walked, they looked at flowers and fish, talked and laughed.
After climbing the rockery and walking through the woods, the two came to a place with lush flowers and grass. Here, flowers were in full bloom, and swarms of bees and butterflies were flying among the flowers.
Li Ji stopped and walked towards the flowers. She danced her sleeves lightly, then leaned over to pick a flower, put it in front of her nose and smelled it. Suddenly, several bees rose into the sky and circled around Li Ji
Turning around, and flying into her hair from time to time. Li Ji waved her sleeves, as if to drive away the bees, but unexpectedly, with a wave of her sleeves, more bees flew in. Li Ji shouted: "
Come here quickly and help me get rid of the bees on my head."
Shen Sheng hurried forward and waved his hand to help Li Ji drive away the bees. His wide sleeves brushed Li Ji's face inadvertently. Li Ji took the opportunity to close her body to Shen Sheng's chest. From a distance, she looked like Shen Sheng.
Sheng wanted to hold Li Ji in his arms, but Li Ji waved his hand to stop him.
When Jin Xiangong saw this scene, he was furious. Just as he was about to jump out, he saw the two separated again. Li Ji covered her face and walked back quickly. Shen Sheng froze in place, with a look on his face. Jin Xiangong wanted to show up again.
Going out, I saw Shen Sheng quickly catching up with Li Ji and following her. The two of them soon left the imperial garden...
So, why did the bees fly to Li Ji's head? It turns out that Li Ji was born in a nomadic tribe and played in the mountains since she was a child. She knew that bees like the taste of honey, so she smeared honey on her hair in advance and asked the prince to accompany her to enjoy it.
Flowers. As soon as she entered the flowers, the bees would definitely pounce on her. In this way, she cleverly directed a good show in which the prince moved his hands and feet on her head.
After returning from the garden, Duke Xiang of Jin went directly to Li Ji's palace. Facing the crying Li Ji, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to kill this traitor."
Li Ji said: "You must not kill him. Not only can't he be killed, but also don't blame him. I invited the prince into the palace. If I kill him for this matter, others will think that I have set up a plan to frame him. That way
, my reputation will be ruined, and the reputation of Jin will be ruined. After all, it is a family scandal, why bother to make it public? Anyway, I didn’t suffer any big loss, so let him be spared this time."
Duke Xiang of Jin suppressed his anger and agreed. The next day, as if nothing had happened, he called the prince, asked a few innocuous questions, and sent Shen Sheng back to Quwo.
Two months have passed and everything is the same as before.
One day, Li Ji sent a confidant to Quwo and brought a message to Shen Sheng. The story was that Li Ji had a dream that Shen Sheng's dead mother came to beg for food from her. Li Ji took this to blame her.
Shen Sheng said, your mother is living a life of begging in the underworld, which shows that you did not offer sacrifices to her properly. You should burn more incense for her so that she can live a better life.
So Shen Sheng sacrificed his mother. According to the rules at that time, the sacrificial meat should be distributed to relatives and friends. Shen Sheng gave a portion of the sacrificial meat to the messenger and asked him to bring it to Li Ji.
On the day when the sacrificial meat was delivered to the palace, Jin Xiangong went hunting again. When he came back in the evening, he went directly to Li Ji's palace. Seeing the meat on the table, he picked it up and started to eat it. Li Ji stopped him and said, "This is a gift from the prince."
Don’t eat the sacrificial meat that comes here, let’s test it first.”
Duke Xiang of Jin asked: "How can there be any problem with the prince's sacrificial meat?"
Li Ji said: "After all, it is something sent in from outside the palace, so be careful."
Duke Xiang of Jin then put down the meat in his hand. Li Ji asked someone to fetch a dog and threw a piece of meat to the dog. The dog ate the sacrificial meat and fell to the ground after a while, with its limbs twitching. Duke Xiang of Jin couldn't believe it.
Eye.
Seeing that he didn't believe it, Li Ji called a palace maid and forced her to drink the sacrificial wine sent by the prince. The palace maid saw the dog twitching on the ground and refused to drink it. Li Ji asked someone to forcefully drink the wine for the palace maid.
The palace maid took a sip or two of wine, her body went limp, and she collapsed on the ground. For a moment, she foamed at the mouth and started convulsing.
When Duke Xiang of Jin saw this scene, he raised his legs and left. After leaving Li Ji's palace, he ordered to summon all the ministers to go to court.
It was already time to light the lamps, and the ministers were all preparing to have dinner at home. When they heard that Duke Xiang of Jin had convened a court meeting, they all rushed over in a panic. When the courtiers were almost there, Duke Xiang of Jin said with a dark face: "The prince has rebelled."
Yes, the evidence is conclusive. Which of you will handle this matter?"
The ministers were shocked, but they did not dare to speak. Some people thought to themselves that if Hu Tu, Li Ke, Pi Zheng and others were here, they might be able to give advice. However, these loyal ministers were all because Duke Xiang of Jin was old and dim.
I didn't come to court to protect myself. Today's court is full of submissive people. No one dares to offend Duke Xiang of Jin. He can do whatever he wants.
When Duke Xiang of Jin saw that no one was speaking, he sent an envoy to Quwo with a pot of poisoned wine to kill Prince Shen Sheng.
The veteran minister Hu Tu did not go to court that night, but the news from the court could not escape his ears and eyes. After he got the news, he sent someone to notify the prince Shen Sheng overnight and told him to escape quickly. But Shen Sheng refused to leave.
, he said: "My father is getting old, and only Li Ji can still please him. If I expose the matter, my father will lose Li Ji. In that case, my father's life will be in danger. Why don't I fulfill my filial piety."
So Shen Sheng committed suicide.
The prince Shen Sheng gave death, and Chong'er and Yi Wu were worried about their own disaster, so they fled the Jin Kingdom with their retainers overnight. When Duke Xiang of Jin heard that Chong'er and Yi Wu had escaped, he thought they were the prince's accomplices and ordered a hunt.
Yi Wu fled quickly and hid in the Liang Kingdom. This was a count vassal state located in the Hancheng area of today's Shaanxi Province. As soon as he entered the Liang Kingdom, he blocked the news, so the people who pursued him never found him.
Chong'er was not so lucky. The person who was chasing him was the Jin general Bo Di. Someone gave Bo Di a clue about Chong'er's escape, so Bo Di refused to let go and pursued him all the way.
When Chong'er was escaping from Pucheng, he encountered a big river. As soon as he loaded his luggage on the boat and before anyone could hurry up, Bo Di arrived. One of Chong'er's men pulled out his sword and rushed up to meet him like flying.
After two rounds, he was kicked over by Bo Di.
Chong'er ran away. Bo Di caught up from behind and aimed a sword at him. Unexpectedly, the sword only pierced a hole in Chong'er's broad sleeve and did not hit anyone. Chong'er screamed in fright.
Bo Di was startled, drew his sword and stabbed again. However, Chong'er's disciples quickly surrounded him and forced Bo Di back in a blink of an eye. Chong'er took the opportunity to jump on the boat. The boatman didn't care about the others. With a long pole, the boat left.
Arrived at the shore.
Chong'er escaped. After being frightened, he did not dare to stay any longer. He took a group of retainers and ran all the way to Beidi's territory. Chong'er's grandfather was the chief of a tribe in Beidi, and he took in all Chong'er and others. From then on,
Chong'er lived in Beidi for more than ten years.
By this time, one of Jin Xiangong's five sons died, two ran away, and only Xi Qi and Zhuo Zi were left. Xi Qi was the son of Li Ji, so he naturally became the prince.
Justice Xian of Jin Dynasty was depressed because of these things. He heard that the princes of the Central Plains were holding a conference in Kuiqiu, so he wanted to join in the fun and relax. Unexpectedly, the relaxation failed, and he caught wind and cold on the way back, and he fell ill ever since.
Sorry.
After finally returning to the country, he felt that he could not hold on any longer. So he called Xunxi and explained the funeral arrangements. He entrusted Xunxi to support Xi Qi and take care of Zhuozi. A few days later, Duke Xiang of Jin died. Xunxi presided over
After the national mourning, the eleven-year-old Xi Qi was made king.
Ministers Rick and Pi Zheng had always been at odds with Xun Xi. During the mourning period, the two men conspired to murder Xi Qi. Xun Xi did not give up and made the nine-year-old Zhuo Zi his king. Rick simply refused to do anything and stopped.
He used a trick to kill Zhuo Zi and Xun Xi in one go.
At this point, all the three sons of Duke Xian of Jin who stayed in the country were dead. Only two who fled abroad were left, one was Chong'er and the other was Yiwu.
Li Ji not only lost her own son, but also her sister's son. Regret, self-blame and panic troubled her day and night. As soon as she closed her eyes, the shadows of Rick, Pi Zheng and others appeared.
Dancing in front of her eyes, besides them, there seemed to be countless pairs of eyes hiding conspiracy and hatred staring at her. Her heart was full of terror, and she often woke up in the middle of the night. After several months, Li Ji finally became overwhelmed and committed suicide.
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The power of the Jin State fell into the hands of ministers such as Rick, Pi Zheng, and Hu Tu. This was not a bad thing, because these ministers were relatively capable and managed the country well.
Some people also reported the affairs of the Jin State to Duke Huan of Qi, hoping that he, the overlord, would come forward to take care of it. However, Duke Huan of Qi was already old at this time. He had become famous and had no interest or energy to take care of those who could not.
The princes' family affairs were over. He just waved his hand and regarded it as an answer.