In 645 BC, the year when Duke Mu of Qin captured Yi Wu alive, and the year before Chong'er came to Qi, Guan Zhong died. Before his death, he told Duke Huan of Qi: "Those who will cause chaos in Qi in the future will definitely be dishonest.
Yi Ya, three people who prescribed prescriptions."
Duke Huan of Qi always obeyed Guan Zhong, but this time he didn't listen. Two reasons:
First of all, he is old, over 70 years old, and rarely cares about specific matters. When Guan Zhong was in poor health, he mainly relied on the three ministers Shu Diao, Yi Ya, and Kai Fang to handle affairs. And these three people also behaved conscientiously.
Qi Huangong felt that as long as he was alive, everything was under his control. Therefore, he was not very worried.
Secondly, Guan Zhong was worried about the problems after his death. Duke Huan of Qi thought that he himself could not figure out what happened after his death. Can you, Guan Zhong, take care of it? Let nature take its course.
The reason why Duke Huan of Qi thinks this way is actually related to his powerful sons. He really can't do anything to them. He has more than ten wives and more than ten sons, among whom there are five more powerful ones: Young Master Wugui, Young Master Yuan
, Gongzi Zhao, Gongzi Pan, and Gongzi Shang. Since he did not establish a prince, these five sons were consciously or unconsciously involved in overt and secret struggles. Qi Huan Gong could see it clearly, but he had nothing to do.
During the "Kui Qiu Conference", he listened to Guan Zhong's suggestion and made the most talented son Zhao the prince. But soon he discovered that the factions still existed, the battles continued, and everything was as it was before. What?
Nothing has changed.
There are four main forces surrounding the struggle for monarchy: one is the princelings with Gongzizhao as the core; the second is the princelings with Gongzi Wukui as the core and supported by the ministers Shu Diao and Yi Ya; the third is the princelings.
It is the Second Young Master Party with Young Master Pan as the core and supported by courtiers Kai Fang; there is also the Young Master Party formed by Young Master Yuan, Young Master Merchant and others.
When Duke Huan of Qi did not establish a crown prince, the most fierce fight was between Gongzi Wukui and Pan. When Duke Huan of Qi established Gongzi Zhao as crown prince, the other three forces all pointed their fingers at Gongzizhao.
There was no collusion between Gongzizhao and the important ministers in the court, such as Shu Diao, Yi Ya, and Kai Fang. In other words, Gongzizhao lacked support in the court. But he had already sat on the throne of the prince. It is scary to think about it.
This is the reason why Duke Huan of Qi has a headache.
Shortly after Guan Zhong's death, Bao Shuya and Xi Peng also died one after another. Duke Huan of Qi was in a very low mood, as if he had suddenly lost his right and left arm. In addition, he was old and sick, so he handed over all government affairs to Shu Diao, Yi Ya, Kai
Fang Lai took care of it. In this way, the wings of these three people gradually became fuller.
In 643 BC, Duke Huan of Qi was seventy-three years old. In the Spring and Autumn Period, his age was considered advanced. In the autumn of this year, he suffered a serious illness. He lay in bed all day and could not care about anything, not even eating or drinking.
He needed someone to take care of him. His condition gradually worsened. Anyone could see that Duke Huan of Qi had reached his final days.
Shu Diao, Yi Ya, Gongzi Wukui, and Wei Ji, the mother of Wu Kui, the son who had served Duke Huan of Qi for the longest time, conspired and sent troops to block the palace gate. Shu Diao, Yi Ya and others announced to the outside world that the old monarch
He needed to rest and no one was allowed to disturb him. In fact, Duke Huan of Qi, who was seriously ill, was placed under house arrest.
Three days later, in order to completely block the news, Shu Diao and Yi Ya drove away all the people serving in Qi Huangong's palace, sealed all the doors and windows, and only opened a hole at the root of the wall outside Qi Huangong's palace. The hole was as big as a dog hole.
There was just enough room for one person to get through. The entrance to the cave was guarded day and night. Shu Diao and Yi Ya arranged for a little palace maid named Yan Mo. Every night, Yan Mo would sneak in from the dog hole to inquire about the life and death of Duke Huan of Qi.
Yan Mo went in for three consecutive nights, and all he saw was a dark house, as silent as death, and an angry old man lying alone on the bed. Duke Huan of Qi was still alive.
On the fourth night, Yan Mo got in again. In the darkness, she vaguely saw an old man sitting on the bed with a skeletal figure. That was Duke Huan of Qi. He seemed to suddenly come to life, and there was something in his voice and momentum.
Showing the domineering spirit of the past.
Duke Huan of Qi said: "I know, it's you again."
Yan Mo shook his head and said: "My lord, it's me, the palace maid Yan Mo. May I ask, my lord, what are your orders?"
Duke Huan of Qi said desolately: "I'm very hungry. Bring me some food. Bring me some water too."
Yan Mo said with a cry: "Lord, I can't help it. They have blocked the door. Nothing can be brought in."
Duke Huan of Qi said angrily: "Who is it?"
Yan Mo said: "Shu Diao and Yi Ya. They asked the warriors to guard the palace gate so that no one could get in. They only asked me to crawl in through a 'dog hole' under the wall every night to inquire about you."
life and death."
Duke Huan of Qi let out a long sigh and burst into tears. He paused for a while and said to himself: "Oh my God! My little hero's life ended up like this. I have so many women and so many sons, but in the end, none of them came.
Farewell. If Guan Zhong was still here, why would this happen? Guan Xiang, Xiaobai really regrets not listening to your last instructions..."
Duke Huan of Qi howled for a while, suddenly stopped, called Yan Mo to him, and said to her in a dying voice: "If you can get out alive, please inform Master Zhao and tell him to escape quickly..." At the end of the sentence, he could only vent his anger.
Air intake...
Yan Mo was frightened and frightened, so she stumbled out of Qi Huangong's palace, and crawled out of the cave in panic. As soon as she stood up, she saw Shu Diao and Yi Ya appearing in front of her. Yan Mo said in a panic: "Death"
He, he, he is dead."
Shu Diao sneered and said to Yan Mo, "Okay, go ahead."
Shu Diao and Yi Ya reported the news to Young Master Wu Kui. The three decided to block the news and send troops to capture Young Master Zhao.
But they were a step too late. When Shu Diao led his troops to surround the Tai Palace, Gong Zizhao had already escaped. It turned out that after Yan Mo left the sight of Shu Diao and Yi Ya, he ran to Gong Zizhao's house as fast as he could.
She finished what Duke Huan of Qi had told her with his last breath.
Gong Zizhao escaped, which was exactly what Shu Diao, Yi Ya and others wanted. They did not send anyone to look for him, so they hurriedly discussed the matter of making him the king without any loss.
In the morning of the next day, Shu Diao announced in court that in accordance with Duke Huan of Qi's order, he would appoint Prince Wuqi as the new king of Qi.
This was explosive news. There was an uproar in the court hall, and many people searched the crowd. They were surprised to find that Prince Zhao was not in the court.
Prince Pan stood up first and asked, "Where is your father's edict? Take it out and take a look. Where is the prince? Why didn't he come to court?"
Shu Diao said: "When the late emperor was dying, he dictated his will, so there is no posthumous edict. As for why Gong Zizhao did not come to court, we also want to know. What is the reason? You can only ask Gong Zizhao."
The businessman was furious and stepped forward and said: "There is clearly a fraud. Who was by your father's side when he was dying? Is the prince here? Why don't we and others know about it? There are so many doubts, who can believe it?"
The eldest son Wu Kui shouted loudly: "Businessman, you are inciting people, don't talk nonsense."
The young master merchant shouted: "Then please explain to me why you heard the death sentence, but I and other young masters didn't know anything about it?"
Young Master Wukui was stunned for a moment, and then said: "When we rushed over, Junfu was already dead. He dictated his will and died. At that time, who knows where you will be waiting and enjoying yourself, or where you will get the urgent notice.
you."
When Gongzi Yuan heard this, he couldn't help but feel angry. He pointed at Gongzi Wukui and asked: "We don't have to notify Gongzi Zhao. How can we not inform Gongzi Zhao? He is the prince."
The businessman then shouted: "Yes, where did Mr. Zhao go? How did you replace him?"
Several young masters of Duke Huan of Qi started to quarrel in the court. They were arrogant and angry, and the young master became the target of public criticism. The situation was chaotic. Gao Hu, an old minister of Qi State, stood up. He glared angrily and scolded both sides, saying: "Roaring in the court."
, what kind of behavior is this? Shut up."
After everyone calmed down, he continued: "What results will you get from your endless quarrels? At the moment, the most important thing is to prepare for the national funeral."
The old minister Guo Yizhong came out and said: "Everyone is angry now. I think we should come here first today."
Shu Diao was eager to end this embarrassing and chaotic scene as soon as possible, so he immediately said: "The elder Guo is right, everyone should calm down first. We will discuss it tomorrow."
Yi Ya and Kai Fang also agreed. All the young masters also knew that continuing to argue would not solve the problem, so they dispersed.
That night, the Second Young Master Party headed by Young Master Pan united with Young Master Yuan, Young Master Merchant, and several other sons of Duke Huan of Qi. These people each mobilized their own retainers, servants, and the small number of troops they could collect, and then attacked the following.
The Grand Prince's party, headed by Gongzi Wukui and backed by Shu Diao and Yi Ya, launched an attack. The men from both sides fought fiercely in Linzi City.
They fought for several days without winning or losing.
Duke Huan of Qi's body was left in that closed dark room without anyone taking care of it. After a few days, the body rotted, the stench filled the sky, and maggots crawled out of the window.
Someone reported this situation to Gao Hu and Guo Yizhong. These two veterans were very powerful in Qi State and had high prestige. They discussed it and came forward. They jointly ordered both sides to stop fighting.
Then, they called the leaders of both sides together and held a peace meeting.
Gao Hu said: "Prince Gong Zizhao has escaped. You all have the same status. According to the traditional rules, the eldest son succeeds to the throne in all countries. What is there to fight about?"
Guo Yizhong said: "My lords, you have been fighting and killing for so many days. How can you ignore the body of your late emperor? How can you bear it even if the world doesn't laugh at you?"
Under the mediation of Gao Hu and Guo Yizhong, with Shu Diao, Yi Ya, and Gongzi Wugui on one side, and with Kai Fang, Gongzi Pan, Gongzi Yuan, and Gongzi Shang on the other side, the two sides reached an agreement and stopped fighting. Gao Hu and Guo Yizhong were on the other side.
Yizhong advocated that the young master should ascend the throne without any loss. The young master Pan Fang was afraid of the power of these two old guys and did not dare to object. The matter was settled.
Gao Hu and Guo Yizhong asked Prince Wukui to preside over the funeral. In fact, this was tantamount to publicizing the news of Prince Wukui's succession. When all the princes saw that there was no way to compete, they all gave up.
So a group of people put on mourning clothes and held a national mourning ceremony with tears and tears.
Let’s talk about Gong Zizhao. After he escaped, he went directly to the Song Dynasty. Because he still remembered that at the Kuiqiu Conference, Qi Huangong had entrusted Song Xianggong to help him.
When Gong Zizhao arrived in the Song Dynasty, he told the story of the changes in Qi Kingdom. Song Xianggong agreed to stand up for Gong Zizhao without saying a word.