Jin Wengong returned to the Jin Kingdom and had just rested for half a month when the Song Dynasty's Great Sima Gong Sun Gu came to him for help.
It turned out that Song Xianggong (gongzi ruined) died, and his son succeeded to the throne, Song Chenggong. The Chu State took this opportunity to send general Cheng Dechen to lead the four vassal states of Zheng, Cai, Chen, and Xu to attack the Song State. Song Chenggong resisted Unable to survive, he sent Grand Sima Gongsun Gu to Jin to bring reinforcements.
Duke Wen of Jin held a court meeting. General Xian Zhen said: "The barbarians of Chu will bully the weak princes of the Central Plains whenever they have the opportunity. We should do the opposite and help whomever they bully. In this way, the princes of the Central Plains will gradually Support us. Why worry about not succeeding in your hegemony?"
Duke Wen of Jin asked the officials: "How do you think this battle should be fought?"
Hu Yan said: "If Chu attacks our allies, we will attack his allies."
Duke Wen of Jin asked: "Who are you going to hit?"
Hu Yan said: "When we were wandering, Wei and Cao were very rude to our group. Our creed is that we must retaliate for every grudge. Now that both Cao and Wei have surrendered to Chu, I think we should beat them. .As long as we defend, Cao and Chu will definitely come to the rescue, and the siege of Song will naturally be solved."
Duke Wen of Jin remembered the cowardice he had received from Cao and Wei back then, so he agreed to Gongsun Gu's request. While he asked Gongsun Gu to return to the Song Dynasty first, he issued an order and asked the generals of Jin to prepare their horses and troops to prepare for the expedition.
Zhao Shuai came out and said: "I have a suggestion. According to the rules of the Zhou Dynasty, a large country can set up three armies, a medium country can set up two armies, and a small country can only set up one army. During the reign of Duke Wu, the Jin State set up one army. By the time of Duke Xian, it had expanded into two armies. Later, Duke Xian annexed more than ten small vassal states such as Yu and Guo, and the land area expanded by more than a thousand miles. Now, it is a big country. Since it is a big country, it There should be three armies. I suggest that the country’s armies be organized into three armies: upper, middle and lower armies. In this way, the distribution will be orderly and easy to mobilize."
Duke Wen of Jin said with a smile: "Your proposal is exactly what I want. I agree with it. First reorganize the army, and then go out to fight."
After a large-scale army reorganization, Duke Wen of Jin appointed Hu Mao as the general of the upper army and Hu Yan as the deputy general of the upper army; Queyu as the general of the middle army and Queqin as the deputy general of the middle army; Luan Zhi as the general of the lower army and Xian Zhen as The deputy generals of the lower army. Zhao Shui, Xun Linfu, Wei Ji, etc. all serve in the army.
After the reorganization was completed, Duke Wen of Jin led the three armies to set out on a mighty expedition.
On the way, Hu Yan offered his advice and said: "We should change our slogan. Don't say we are going to attack Cao and Wei. We only say we are going to attack Cao. This will prevent them from uniting."
Jin Wengong said: "You are very thoughtful. You should change it. But, for what reason should we attack Weiguo?"
Hu Yan said: "To attack Cao State, we must first pass through Wei State. We can borrow a way from Wei State. I guess Wei State will not agree. We just have an excuse to attack them."
Duke Wen of Jin smiled and said: "Your idea is quite bad, but it is a good idea."
When the Jin army arrived at the border of Weiguo, Duke Wen of Jin sent envoys to Weiguo first and asked Duke Cheng of Wei to use the road. Duke Cheng of Wei was in trouble and wanted to refuse.
Yuan Xi, a doctor of the Wei State, said: "When Chong'er fled to the Wei State, the late emperor (the Duke Wen of Wei) did not allow him to enter the city. This incident made him an enemy. Now that he has come to use the road, it is clear that he is embarrassing us. If not Agree, he will definitely settle the old and new accounts together. I think we should find a way to let them go over and settle them."
Wei Chenggong said: "We surrendered to Chu together with Cao. If we borrow the road, don't say sorry for Cao. We will be in danger. And Chu, what will they think? Once we abandon Chu, we will be in danger in the future." Rely on whom?"
As Hu Yan expected, Duke Cheng of Wei refused to use the road. The Jin army took this as an excuse to launch an attack on Wei. Duke Wen of Jin personally led Quehu's Chinese army across the Yellow River and advanced towards Wei.
Their marching route happened to be the route that Chong'er and others used to enter Weiguo when they fled. Within two days, the army arrived at Wulu.
Duke Wen of Jin came to the bottom of the big tree where they rested. He stopped the car, looked at the tree crown, and thought of Jie Zitui in his heart. He was silent for a moment, couldn't help feeling sad, and sighed: "Just under this tree, Jie Zitui cut He cut off the meat from his legs and made me a bowl of soup." After saying that, his nose became sore and he shed tears.
The soldiers were silent.
Wei Yan said angrily: "Why bother lamenting here. Real man, you have revenge and complaints. Wulu City is ahead of you. Let's enter the city and all the grievances will be released."
Xian Zhen also made a noise and said: "General Wei is right. We didn't enter Wulu City back then because we didn't have the ability. Today, the soldiers are pressing down on the border, and it makes no sense if we can't get in. Let's do it quickly."
Wei Yan and Xian Zhen both wandered with Chong'er, Duke Wen of Jin, and they still had fresh memories of lying under the tree to rest with hungry stomachs. Duke Wen of Jin understood their feelings very well. He immediately ordered the siege of Wulu. .
Xian Zhen and Wei Ji took the lead in leading troops to attack Wulu City. The Jin army followed suit. There was a burst of killing, and the soldiers climbed up the city wall like ants carrying ladders. Wulu City had so few soldiers, how could it withstand it? Besieged by the Jin army? In less than two hours, the Jin army broke into the city.
Duke Wen of Jin sat on his chariot and rushed into the city. He proudly said to Hu Yan who was walking beside him: "Do you remember that farmer back then? He gave us a lump of earth to eat. What do you think? It is a sign of getting the land. Your words have come true today.”
Hu Yan laughed. He thought to himself, if I hadn't been worried about you making trouble, I wouldn't have made such nonsense.
After the Jin army rested for a day, Duke Wen of Jin asked the veteran general Quebuyang to guard Wulu, and then led the army to continue to advance deeper into Weiguo.
Another day later, they arrived at Lianyu (Puyang County, Hebei Province) in Weiguo. Lianyu was also a small city, similar in size to Wulu, but slightly richer than Wulu. After Jin Wengong captured Lianyu City, he stationed troops here. , take a temporary break.
At this time, the envoy of the State of Qi rushed to the camp of the Jin army. He reported to Duke Wen of Jin that the king of Qi, Duke Xiao of Qi (Gongzi Zhao), had died. After his death, another son of Duke Huan of Qi, Prince Pan, came to the throne. Duke Zhao.
This envoy had already gone to the capital of Jin, but when he heard that Duke Wen of Jin was away on an expedition, he rushed to the Jin army camp to report his funeral.
Duke Wen of Jin thought that the envoy from Qi State had arrived just in time, and he could take this opportunity to draw Qi State over. With this thought, he sent his envoy to express condolences to Qi State, and told him to invite Prince Pan to come to Lian Meng to meet him. alliance.
Qi Zhaogong (Gongzi Pan) had just ascended the throne, and he originally didn't want to cause trouble, but now Jin Wengong came to visit him, and he couldn't refuse. In addition, the funeral of his brother Qi Xiaogong had also been completed, so he rushed to Lianmen.
When the news reached the ears of Wei Chenggong, he couldn't sit still. He was already panic-stricken after losing Wu Lu and Lian Yu. Now that Qi State joined in, he became even more panicked.
Ning Yu (Ning Wuzi), the minister of Wei, gave him a suggestion: "We can't defeat Jin alone. Now Qi has joined in. The war can't be fought. To preserve Wei, the only way is to surrender.
.There is no other way."
Duke Cheng of Wei was helpless, so he sent Ning Yu to the Jin army camp to sue for peace. Unfortunately, it was too late. Duke Wen of Jin refused to agree. He said: "Wei's refusal to borrow the road means that it is not convenient for the princes of the Central Plains.
Not only that, you have also surrendered to the southern barbarian state of Chu. How do you look like the princes of the Central Plains? I am about to conquer Chuqiu now, and you are just here to ask for peace. It shows that you are not really asking for peace at all."
Seeing that they couldn't reach an agreement, Ning Yu had to return to the Kingdom of Wei in despair. Duke Cheng of Wei couldn't sleep now. He was on tenterhooks all day long. When he heard people fighting in the street, and even when he heard the braying of donkeys, he thought it was Jin soldiers.
The horse entered the city.
Ning Yu saw that he was distracted and said, "The Jin Kingdom is in great power and the Marquis of Jin is still angry. It's useless for us to say anything to him. Why don't we stay away from the edge for a while and hide for a while."
Duke Cheng of Wei had no choice but to do as he was told. He entrusted the court affairs to his brother Shuwu and asked the official Yuanxi to assist Shuwu. He took Ning Yu and fled to Xiangniu (Kuiqiu County, Henan). Then he sent people to ask for help from the Chu State.
During this period, the general of Jin's central army died. Duke Wen of Jin promoted Xian Zhen to the rank of general of the central army because of his contribution to the conquest of Wulu. He also appointed Xu Chen as the deputy general of the lower army, taking over Xian Zhen's original position.
After the Jin army rested for a period of time, Duke Wen of Jin prepared to march into the capital of Wei State and destroy Wei State in one fell swoop.
The new general of the Central Army, Xian Zhen, said: "We came here to save the Song State. Our original purpose was to support the weak princes. Now that the siege of the Song State has not been lifted, we have to destroy the Wei State first. This is not the behavior of an overlord."
Lord, let’s go to Cao Kingdom according to the original plan.”
Duke Wen of Jin thought that this expedition was originally intended to make a name for himself, win over people's hearts, and prepare for hegemony. He could not change his mind midway, so he adopted Xian Zhen's suggestion. He ordered the three armies to change their attack route and go straight to Cao State.
Grand Duke Cao of Cao State is a strange character. He likes beautiful women. It is not surprising that he likes beautiful women. He is different from other monarchs. He likes to bring his beauties out to show off in the market. For this purpose, he specially made three hundred caravans and brought them to him.
The beauties in the harem were sitting there. When he was happy, he took this fleet of cars with a strong fragrance of makeup and powder to travel around. Some people said that he was like Duke Yigong of Wei, a man who played with cranes until his country was ruined and his family was destroyed.
Others said that one day he would end up like Wei Yigong. But Cao Gonggong didn't care and continued to indulge in being surrounded by beautiful women.
On this day, Gonggong Cao was out playing with a beautiful woman again. His men came to report in a hurry, saying that Jin soldiers and horses were coming to kill him. Gonggong Cao hurriedly returned to the palace and summoned the ministers to discuss.
Doctor Xi Ouji said: "When Chong'er fled to us, we didn't give him food or wine. He must have remembered this grudge. Now that he has sent troops to fight, we'd better apologize to him and ask for peace, so as not to harm the people.
suffer."
Cao Gonggong said: "Weiguo asked him for peace, but he refused. We have offended him too much, how could he agree?"
Someone stood up and said: "Doctor Xi secretly sent wine and food to Chong'er back then, and now he is making peace for Chong'er. He is clearly having an affair with the Jin Kingdom. Traitors like this should be killed first, and then go to meet the enemy."
Cao Gonggong waved his hand and said: "In consideration of Doctor Xi's past merits, I am exempted from the death penalty and dismissed from my official position."
Xi Fuji was dismissed from office. Duke Cao mobilized his troops and went to meet the enemy.
Like Wei Yigong, Cao Gonggong was also very brave after going into battle. However, Cao was no match for Jin. In just one battle, Cao's entire army was wiped out. Cao Gonggong was made a prisoner. Wei Ji and Dian Jie took him and offered him as a sacrifice.
Gave it to Duke Wen of Jin. Duke Wen of Jin took one look at Duke Cao's drunken face, frowned, and ordered someone to escort him to Wulu City and imprison him, preparing to capture Duke Wei Cheng and imprison him together.
King Chu Cheng heard that Duke Wen of Jin defeated Wei and Cao in one fell swoop. He knew that Jin was indeed a serious matter, so he sent an order to Cheng Dechen to withdraw from Song.