The dispute between Song and Chu caused a group of people to have floating thoughts. They were the subordinates of Chong'er who was far away in Qi State. This group of people was represented by Zhao Shui. They believed that Song Xianggong helped Qi Xiaogong, but Qi Xiaogong was in the whole incident.
Instead of helping Song Xianggong, he instead turned to Chu. Leaving aside loyalty and looking at ambition alone, the domineering power of Qi has gone forever with the death of Duke Huan and Guan Zhong of Qi. Now Duke Xiao of Qi
It would never work, and don't expect him to help Chong'er return home. Zhao Shui and others felt that there was no point in staying in Qi.
One day, this group of people gathered in a mulberry forest outside Linzi City and had a discussion. Zhao Shui said: "We came to Qi State just to use the power of Qi State to return to Jin State. However, those who attacked Song Gong from the Marquis of Qi
Judging from the situation, this hope may be in vain. I think we should encourage the young master to leave."
Wei Jian said: "We have lived in Qi for seven years. Since the young master married Qi Jiang, he has become more and more greedy for enjoyment. It is difficult for us people to meet each other. If he is willing, he can live here comfortably.
Then let him live there. I don’t want to stay like this anymore.”
Hu Yan waited until everyone had finished talking, then slowly said: "Everyone wants to leave, but the only one who doesn't want to leave is the young master. But our group can't live without the young master. We have been following him for so many years, just for this reason.
One day I will be able to return to the Kingdom of Jin. Therefore, my idea is that we have to hurry up and put it on the shelves."
Wei Yan asked: "Why are you rushing to put it on the shelves?"
Hu Yan said: "Let's move our luggage out first and gather in this forest. When the time comes, we will ask the young master to come out for hunting. When we get here, we will ask him to leave. Everyone, what do you think?"
Everyone looked at each other and thought it was good.
Hu Yan continued: "The question now is, which country should we go to?"
Zhao Shui said: "Song Gong is determined to be the overlord. All the things he did before were very bad. I guess there is no one to help him. But at least this man is a bit ambitious. We can go to the Song Dynasty first to see if it doesn't work.
, let’s go to Qin or Chu. In short, it’s better than staying here all the time.”
Hu Yan said: "The great Sima Gongsun of the Song Dynasty is my friend. I think we should go to the Song Dynasty first."
Everyone agreed and the matter was settled.
Two days later, everything was ready. Hu Yan, Zhao Shui, Wei Ji and others went to Chong'er and asked him to go hunting in the suburbs. The guard at the gate passed the message in. After waiting for a long time, Chong'er's reply came from inside: "
The young master is still sleeping, but he said he doesn't feel well and won't go."
When Wei Yan heard this, he became anxious. He shouted that he wanted to go in and ask in person. After he made such a fuss, Qi Jiang came out after a while. She pointed at Hu Yan and said, "Come in. Everyone else is outside.
Waiting."
Hu Yan followed Qi Jiang into the living room. Qi Jiang asked the left and right to step back, and then asked: "What are you doing here to invite the young master?"
Hu Yan said: "In the past, when we lived with the young master at the Di people, he often went hunting with us. Now he always likes to sleep in and has not gone out for a long time. We are worried about his health and want to invite him to go hunting.
"
Qi Jiang sneered and said, "Are you going to Song to hunt or Qin to hunt?"
Hu Yan was secretly surprised and thought, when we discussed in the mulberry forest that day, they were all reliable people, how could the news be leaked? He forced himself to calm down and said with a smile: "I was just hunting, I didn't think about the Song Dynasty.
From Qin."
Qi Jiang said with a serious face: "Are you still talking about it? What you said in the mulberry forest has been passed on to me a long time ago. You are the young master's confidant, and I will not hide it from you. When you were plotting in the mulberry forest, I
A little maid here happened to be picking mulberries from a mulberry tree. She heard all your words."
After hearing this, Hu Yan couldn't help but sweat. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
Qi Jiang smiled and continued: "Don't be nervous. I can see it. You are loyal to the young master and want to help him achieve great things. This is a good thing. Not only do I not blame you, but I want to thank you. So, today
I will invite the young master to drink tonight and get him drunk. Then you can carry him to the car and take him away."
Hu Yan quickly stood up, bowed deeply to Qi Jiang, and then said: "Thank you, Madam, for understanding the righteousness. You can help him like this. I have nothing more to say. I will just follow Madam's arrangements."
That night, Qi Jiang set up a sumptuous banquet and invited only Chong'er to drink with him. Chong'er felt puzzled and asked.
"What kind of banquet is this, madam?"
"You're going out. I'll throw a farewell party for you."
"Who said I want to go out? I am loving my wife here, how can I be willing to leave?"
Qi Jiang's eyes turned red and he said: "If the young master wants to go out, this table will be a farewell banquet. If the young master wants to stay, this table will be a retention banquet. You can stay or go as you like, I will listen to you. Come and drink this cup."
"
Chong'er understood at least seventy-eight times. He started drinking. Qi Jiang suppressed the sadness of parting and forced a smile, drinking one glass after another. After a while, he said, how many drinks you can drink means that you are willing to stay for a few years, and then he said
, if you drink this full glass, it means that you really don’t want to leave. In short, you find various reasons to drink. Chong’er drank until he was eighty percent drunk, pretended to be drunk, and lay straight on the bed.
Qi Jiang hurried out and asked Hu Yan and others to come in. Hu Yan, Wei Yan, and Dian Jie came in. Without saying anything, they carried Chong'er out and put him on the carriage.
Hu Yan stayed at the end, comforted Qi Jiang a few words, and said goodbye. Qi Jiang wiped his tears and watched the carriage leave the city.
Hu Yan and others left Linzi and hurried on in the night. After walking for fifty or sixty miles, the sky gradually turned white. Chong'er opened his eyes in the car and deliberately asked Hu Yan: "What are you doing?"
Hu Yan said: "We want to dedicate the Kingdom of Jin to the Young Master."
Chong'er said: "Humph, if you succeed this time, don't say anything. If you screw up, I will peel off your skin and eat your flesh."
Hu Yan said with a smile: "If it doesn't succeed, there's no need to say anything. I know what will happen. But if it succeeds, the young master will have endless amounts of good meat, so there is no need to worry about my sexy and fishy meat."
"
Zhao Shui said: "Young master, this is our combined plan. We are afraid that you will hesitate. Don't blame Hu Yan."
Wei Yan said angrily: "When a man is born in the world, he should do great things vigorously. How can he hold a woman in his arms all day long without letting go?"
Chong'er then took a breath and said, "The matter has come to an end. I thank you all for your hard work."
Two days later, Chong'er and his party arrived at Cao State. Cao Gonggong was afraid that they would stay, so he only provided them with accommodation for one night, but did not provide them with food.
When Xi Fuji, the official of Cao State, saw how Gong Cao treated Chong'er and his gang, he felt very contemptuous of Gong Cao. When he returned home, he told his wife about Gong Cao's rudeness and petty attitude, and at the end he kept praising Chong'er and his gang for their abilities.
Xi Ningji's wife said: "Those people are so capable, and they will definitely make their mark in the future. Once they return to the country, you will see what happened today. I think you'd better make preparations early, and
Make friends with Chong'er and leave a way out for yourself."
Xi Fuji then asked people to prepare wine and food, put a piece of white jade in the food box, and sent a confidant to give it to Chong'er.
Chong'er collected the food and wine and said, "If I return to China one day, I will repay Dr. Xi Fuji's kindness even more." Then he picked up the piece of white jade and gave it to Xi Fuji's confidant, asking him to take it back.
After Xi Fuji received it, Bai Yu said: "Chong'er needs money, but he refuses to accept this piece of white jade. This shows that this person's ambition is extraordinary."
At dawn, Chong'er and his group left Cao State, and two days later, they arrived at Song State.
Song Xianggong's leg injury was not healed yet and he could not go out. He sent Gongsun Gu to greet him. Song Xianggong followed the example of Qi Huangong and entertained Chong'er and his party warmly, and also gave them a carriage. Chong'er and others
I was so grateful that I stayed here.
After staying for a period of time, they did not see any improvement in Song Xianggong's condition. Chong'er and the others could not express their original wish for Song Xianggong to help. Hu Yan was worried about this. When he and Gongsun Gu were together, he put this worry aside
Said it out.
Gongsun Gu said: "If Mr. Chong'er is willing to live in the Song Dynasty, we are very welcome. But we need to send troops to escort him back to the Jin Dynasty. Well, you have also seen that Song Gong's injury is still very serious. Besides, our country is indeed
I don’t have that kind of strength either. Please forgive me.”
Hu Yan said: "What the general said is true, and we understand it very well."
Three days later, Chong'er and his group left the Song Dynasty. After leaving, they embarked on the road of wandering.
They first arrived in the state of Zheng. Zheng Wengong thought that Chong'er must be a person with no ability after wandering around outside for so many years without making a name for himself, so he received him coldly and sent them on their way. Chong'er and the others had to swallow their anger.
Keep wandering.
Half a month later, they wandered to Chu State. King Chu Cheng had a conversation with Chong'er and felt that he was a capable person. So he received Chong'er grandly with the etiquette of receiving princes. Chong'er was grateful and expressed his gratitude to King Chu Cheng.
They were respectful and settled down in Chu State. King Chu Cheng and Chong'er cherished each other and soon became friends.
One day, King Chu Cheng joked to Chong'er: "How will you repay me when you return to Jin in the future?"
Chong'er said: "Your country has a vast territory and rich products, not to mention gold, silver and jade. I really can't think of how to repay the king."
King Chu Cheng continued to joke: "Then you have to show something."
Chong'er said: "Thanks to your Majesty, if I return to the Kingdom of Jin, I will make good friends with your country and let the people of the two countries live in peace. If there is a war between our two countries, I will definitely face you, Your Majesty."
Stay away."
King Chu Cheng laughed and didn't take it to heart. But Cheng Dechen next to him heard the smell. After Chong'er left, he said to King Chu Cheng: "Chong'er will definitely be an ungrateful person in the future. In order for us not to regret it in the future, I
I think it’s better to kill him early.”
King Chu Cheng said: "The general is too worried. Don't say that he is not the king now. Even if he becomes the king in the future, will the Chu State be afraid of him? Besides, he is a guest, so we should treat him well so as not to make people laugh."
After a while, King Chu Cheng said to Chong'er: "Uncle Qin sent people to invite the young master to come to them. It is said that he wants to send troops to help you return to the Kingdom of Jin. It seems that your brother-in-law is not bad. Your wish for many years is fulfilled.
It’s coming true. It’s worth celebrating.”
Chong'er thought quickly in his mind. He was not sure whether King Chu Cheng was testing him or telling the truth, so he pretended to say: "I would rather follow the king than go to Qin."
King Chu Cheng said: "Don't be polite. Your Jin State is too far away from Chu State, and there are Zheng State and Wei State in between. Even if I wanted to help you, it would be difficult for me to do it. Now that Uncle Qin is willing to help you, you should seize this opportunity.
, you should go to Qin as soon as possible. Don’t worry, I know you can succeed."
Only then did Chong'er feel relieved. He bid farewell to King Chu Cheng and hurried back with uncontrollable excitement.
The next day, he rushed to Qin with his group of loyal followers.