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Chapter 53 Domination in one fell swoop

The general of the Chu army who was besieging the Song Dynasty was called Cheng Dechen. After he received the order from King Chu Cheng to withdraw his troops, he was very reluctant. He sent someone to reply to King Chu Cheng and said: "The people of the Song Dynasty can't resist anymore. Please give me more, my lord."

I will wait for a while and come back after I capture the Song Dynasty. If the Jin army attacks, I will fight to the death with them. If I lose, I am willing to accept military law."

Cheng Dechen did not want to come back, and King Cheng of Chu felt very uneasy. He went to consult Yin Ziwen, the retired magistrate of the Chu State, and asked him what to do. Ziwen said: "The Jin State is strong, and Chong'er goes to help the Song State.

He wants to make a name for himself and become the overlord of the princes. I think it is better to tell Ziyu (Cheng Dechen's courtesy name Ziyu) to be more careful. Chong'er is a mature and prudent man. He has been wandering abroad for many years and has an understanding of the conditions of the princes and countries. This

People are difficult to deal with. It's best to avoid them if you can, but if you really can't avoid them, it's better to make peace and never to quarrel with them. In this way, we can still get a situation in which the north and the south compete."

King Cheng of Chu fully agreed with Ziwen's opinion, and he sent someone to convey this meaning to Cheng Dechen.

Cheng Dechen received successive notices from King Chu Cheng, and his fighting spirit was shaken. He wanted to withdraw, but was embarrassed to return without success, so he stationed his army outside the capital of Song Dynasty, neither withdrawing nor fighting. He thought about it for two reasons

God, I thought of a way to regain face. So I wrote a letter and sent someone to deliver it to Duke Wen of Jin. The letter said:

"Chu is to Cao Wei, just as Jin is to Song Dynasty. If the prince of Jin restores Cao Wei's kingdom, I will abandon Song Dynasty. From now on, Chu and Jin will have good relations to prevent the people from suffering from war."

Duke Wen of Jin read the letter and thought about the benefits that King Chu Cheng had brought to him. He wanted to agree, but was a little reluctant. Just when he was hesitant, Hu Yan said: "Cheng Dechen is simply whimsical. He wants to use a beating weapon."

The Song State that cannot come down will be exchanged for the Wei State and the Cao State that were defeated by us. How can anything in the world be so cheap? Think of us as fools."

Jin Wengong said: "Back then, King Chu Cheng was very kind to us. Without him, I would not be able to return to Jin."

Hu Yan said: "We cannot restore Wei and Cao just for Cheng Dechen's words. In that case, what face will we have? Moreover, since we are here to relieve the siege of Song, we cannot give up halfway.

.If we give up, we will lose face."

Duke Wen of Jin said to himself: "Are we really going to break up with Chu?"

Hu Yan said: "My lord, if Cheng Dechen dares to ask us like this, it means that he doesn't take us seriously at all. If we want to dominate, sooner or later we will have to go to war with the Chu State. I suggest that we take advantage of Cheng Dechen's exhaustion to

Defeat them in one fell swoop. As long as we defeat Chu, which prince in the world will dare to fight against us?"

Jin Wengong decided to adopt Hu Yan's suggestion. The two discussed for a while and came up with a strategy to anger Cheng Dechen:

First, they detained Cheng Dechen's envoy and only released the envoy's entourage. Secondly, Duke Wen of Jin sent people to contact Qin and Qi, asking them to send troops to deal with the "Southern Barbarians" Chu. At the same time,

, he also sent people to notify Wei Chenggong and Cao Gonggong, and asked them to write letters to Cheng Dechen respectively, expressing their intention to break off diplomatic relations with Chu. The two monarchs wrote the letters in a polite manner.

After Cheng Dechen received the letters from Wei Chenggong and Cao Gonggong, he jumped up with anger. He said: "These two letters must have been forced by Chong'er, the old thief. They sent the letters to me, obviously to laugh at me.

We can't defeat the Song Dynasty. If we don't teach him a lesson, I really can't swallow this breath."

Cheng Dechen was so angry that he forgot King Chu Cheng's instructions. He decided to go to war with Jin directly without permission.

The Chu army turned north and entered the territory of Cao State to find the Jin army. Three days later, the Chu and Jin armies met in the area north of Cao State and south of Wei State.

Duke Wen of Jin took the lead in Zhen, while Hu Yan and others led troops to meet the enemy. General Zhen of the Chinese army prepared to attack. Hu Yan said to him: "My lord made an appointment with the King of Chu. In the future, Jin and Chu will start a war. The Jin army will retreat in return.

The King of Chu has shown you such kindness. We cannot break our promise."

Duke Wen of Jin said: "Yes, I said that."

Xian Zhen said: "The king of Jin wants to stay away from the ministers of Chu. What is it like?"

Hu Yan said: "We are here to show the king of Chu, not because we are afraid that he will become a minister. Besides, if we retreat, they will have to retreat too. This will give us a chance to make peace. If they don't retreat and catch up instead,

Then we are polite and they are rude. When the time comes, the Chu army will be proud and relaxed, while the Jin army will be confident, and the situation will definitely be favorable to us."

Duke Wen of Jin nodded and said, "What Hu Yan said makes sense, let's give him a way out."

On the first day, the Jin army retreated for thirty miles. Cheng Dechen, who was always arrogant, thought that the Jin army was afraid of fighting, so he chased for thirty miles. The next day, the Jin army retreated again

After a while, the Chu army continued to chase for thirty miles, and it was still the same on the third day. The Jin army retreated for ninety miles and reached Chengpu. This place belonged to the Wei State (south of Puyang County, Shandong today). At this time, Qin and Qi

The soldiers and horses of the state arrived one after another, and the strength of the Jin state far exceeded that of the Chu state.

General Dou Bo of Chu felt something was wrong. He said to Cheng Dechen: "The Jin army retreated continuously. I'm afraid it was a trick to lure the enemy. In my opinion, they retreated and we gained face. It's better to fight with them before we take action."

Let’s make peace. Anyway, the king has told us to avoid the Jin Kingdom if we encounter it.”

Cheng Dechen said: "It's too late to retreat now. I think we should fight."

Therefore, the troops of Chu State continued to advance and faced off with the troops of Jin, Qin and Qi in Chengpu. The two sides set up camps and prepared for war in the future.

That night, Duke Wen of Jin discussed the battle plan with Zhao Shui, Hu Yan, Xian Zhen and others. After everyone left, he fell into deep thought: Chu State has never lost a battle in the past few years since it left the Central Plains; Cheng Dechen is a powerful person.

The opponent Jin army retreated three times in a row. Unexpectedly, there was a real fear of the enemy among the soldiers. If this battle is defeated, the Chu State will become even more aggressive, and the princes of the Central Plains will follow them in the future. Jin

The dream of becoming the hegemon of the country will inevitably be shattered, and the prestige that has been established will plummet... He thought about it until he felt dizzy before falling asleep.

At night, Duke Wen of Jin had a dream. In the dream, he returned to the Kingdom of Chu. He and King Chu Cheng were talking, laughing, and playing together. Suddenly, King Chu Cheng proposed a wrestling match, and Chong'er had to accompany him. King Chu Cheng used a

He threw him over his shoulder, knocked him to the ground, and then lay on him, making him unable to move. Jin Wengong struggled for a while and woke up. He wiped the sweat from his head and could no longer fall asleep. He felt that this dream

Ominous.

After getting up the next day, he told Hu Yan the scene in his dream. When Hu Yan saw Jin Wen Gong's mood, he remembered the scene when someone gave them earth lumps to eat, and he started to make nonsense again. Hu Yan was pretending

He shouted excitedly: "I'm so happy, my lord. This is a good sign. You are facing up to the sky, which means God is helping you. And the King of Chu is leaning down, which means that he will bow to you. This battle has not been fought yet.

God’s will has shown. A good sign. A good sign.”

Duke Wen of Jin originally lacked confidence, but after hearing what Hu Yan said, he immediately became energetic. He immediately dressed up and walked out of the camp. First, he sent people to notify the princes of Qi and Qin, asking them to see the Jin army's movements and launch an attack together. Then they

The upper, middle and lower armies of Jin were ordered to dispatch at the same time to attack the Chu army.

According to the Jin army's battle plan, Xian Zhen led the Chinese army to fight first. Cheng Dechen personally led the army to fight. The two armies fought for a while, and Xian Zhen pretended to be defeated and fled to a nearby valley. Cheng Dechen had never encountered an opponent, so he

He chased after him out of habit. Unknowingly, Cheng Dechen entered the Jin army's ambush circle. When he realized that the situation was not good, he only heard a burst of drums on the hillside, and wood cannons and rocks rolled down from the mountains on both sides.

The soldiers and horses of Xia, Qin and Qi fought out from the side. Xian Zhen also turned around and fought back. The soldiers and horses of Jin, Qin and Qi surrounded the Chu army and killed them. The front army of Chu army trampled on the rear army and there was chaos.

They formed a group, and Cheng Dechen had no choice but to drive his chariot and fight with all his strength. When the Chu soldiers and horses saw that the commander ran away first, they followed him, and they fled all the way in such a mess.

When Duke Wen of Jin saw that the Chu army had been killed in pieces and was running wild all over the mountains and plains, he ordered to stop the pursuit and let them go away, as a way of repaying King Cheng of Chu for his kindness back then.

Under the protection of Generals Dou Bo, Dou Yisheng and Dou Yuejiao, Cheng Dechen broke out of the siege and fled along the Suishui River with the remaining defeated soldiers. After running for an hour, he saw that his pursuers did not come, so he slowed down.

I turned around to count the number of people and found that most of them had been lost. So I walked to the mountain col and prepared to bury the pot and make rice.

Just as I set up the pot and lit the fire, I suddenly heard the roar of war drums in the valley, and a group of men and horses came over like wild leaves. Someone recognized that the leader was none other than the Jin general Wei Wei. It turned out that Wei Wei had already raised

After recovering from his injuries, he was restored to his post. He originally wanted to take the lead in this battle, but Hu Yan was afraid that he was eager to perform meritorious deeds and failed to lure the enemy, so he ordered him to set up an ambush here. Wei Yan wanted to make meritorious service and atone for his sins, so when he saw the Chu army, he risked his life

Dou Bo stepped forward to fend off a few blows, but was no match at all. The Jin army had been waiting here for a long time, and now they were waiting for work, each of them fighting bravely. The Chu soldiers and horses were quickly killed and scattered. Wei Jian sent his troops to pursue him, just like hunting.

He was just like chasing a herd of deer. When he was in the mood, suddenly the soldiers arrived and ordered Wei Yan to stop the pursuit. Wei Yan held an iron halberd and sighed: "It's easy for them. It's a pity, it's a pity."

Cheng Dechen fled to Liangucheng in Chu State with his defeated troops and stopped. He did not dare to return to Yingdu because he said: "In case of defeat, I am willing to accept military law."

Cheng Dechen stayed in Liangucheng for three days. Chu General Dou Yuejiao urged him to go back. Cheng Dechen thought that it was not an option for the army to stay here, but he did not dare to return to Yingdu. After thinking about it, he decided

He sent his son Cheng Daxin to replace him and led troops back to Yingdu. Cheng Dechen himself stayed in Liangucheng, waiting for news.

Cheng Daxin returned to Yingdu with his defeated troops. He met King Chu Cheng, reported the situation, and made up some excuses to give Cheng Dechen some reasons to stay in Liangucheng.

King Chu Cheng said to him: "I have already sent an order to him to avoid Jin, but he refused to listen. Now that he has been completely defeated, how can he explain to the people of the country?"

Cheng Daxin said: "My father wanted to commit suicide to apologize, but I dissuaded him. I told him that let the king decide what is right and wrong. So he saved his life and lived in Liangucheng to listen to the king's decision.

.”

King Chu Cheng said: "The state of Chu has rules. A defeated general cannot come back alive. He promised me that he would be willing to be dealt with by military law if he loses. Send someone to tell him."

Cheng Daxin had no choice but to send someone to convey King Chu Cheng's words to Cheng Dechen who was far away in Liangucheng.

When the ministers heard that King Chu Cheng wanted to kill Cheng Dechen, some suggested: "Cheng Dechen is a tiger general of the Chu State. Although he was defeated, he will be the one who defeated the Jin State in the future. The king should spare his life."

.”

King Chu Cheng also felt it was a pity, so he quickly wrote an order and sent someone to Liangucheng. The order said: "In the battle of Chengpu, all the defeated generals will be exempted from death."

However, when King Chu Cheng's envoy arrived at Liangucheng, it was too late. Cheng Daxin's envoy arrived at Liangucheng first. Cheng Dechen committed suicide after receiving the first order from King Chu Cheng.

The news that Jin Wengong defeated Chu shocked the world. When the news reached Luoyi, King Zhou Xiang was mixed with joy and sorrow. Fortunately, Chu State did not dare to easily intervene in the Central Plains from now on. Worryingly, another all-powerful figure emerged in the world. He

Thinking of Duke Huan of Qi back then, isn't this Duke Wen of Jin now the second Duke Huan of Qi? King Xiang of Zhou thought that since he couldn't control him, he should win over him. So he sent his minister Wang Zihu to visit the Jin army.

Duke Wen of Jin received the news that the emperor's envoys came to express condolences. He felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He wanted to seize this opportunity and sit on the throne of the leader of the alliance in one fell swoop.

In 632 BC, headed by Duke Wen of Jin, he summoned the princes of ten countries, including Qi, Lu, Song, Zheng, Chen, Cai, Zhu, Ju, etc., and gathered in Jiantu of Zheng State (now Guangwu County, Henan Province) to hold a princes conference.

General Assembly.

Almost all the princes of the Central Plains have arrived. The main ones who did not come are as follows: Qin State was unable to participate because it was in the west and the journey was too far. Xu State was not able to participate because it was next to Chu State and always looked at Chu State's face and did not dare to participate.

Duke Cheng of Wei of Wei State was hiding in Xiangniu and did not dare to show his head. Duke Cao of Cao State was imprisoned in Wulu and was not qualified to come.

The Jiantu League was held as scheduled.

In the first item of the conference, Wang Zihu, as a representative of the royal family, received the participating princes. Then, headed by Jin Wengong, he led the participating princes to solemnly worship an empty chair placed in the middle of the meeting. Because that seat belonged to King Zhou Xiang

Although he did not come, a seat was enough to represent his presence. Jin Wengong and others bowed respectfully to that person.

In the second item of the conference, Duke Wen of Jin presented a gift to the royal family. Duke Wen of Jin presented a thousand Chu prisoners and a hundred chariots captured in the Battle of Chengpu to the Zhou royal family. Prince Hu represented Zhou Xiang in the sound of drums.

The king accepted the gift solemnly.

In the third item of the conference, Wang Zihu made an important speech on behalf of the royal family. He called on the princes of the world to respect the king's orders, support each other, and fight against foreign enemies. Finally, as a representative of the royal family, he recommended Duke Wen of Jin as the leader of the alliance. All the princes participating in the meeting raised their hands in agreement.

.

Next, Duke Wen of Jin read out the covenant as the leader of the alliance. The content was still the same as Duke Huan of Qi, which was nothing more than supporting the royal family, helping the weak, resisting foreigners, etc.

After the alliance treaty was read out, drum music was played at the venue. Amid the solemn and solemn drum music, a Jin general brought a large basin of cow blood. He slowly walked up to the rostrum and placed the cow blood on an altar.

, saluted the princes, and then quietly retreated.

Prince Hu stepped forward first, dipped his fingers in ox blood and smeared it on his lips, followed by Duke Wen of Jin, and then came all the princes. Everyone solemnly smeared ox blood on their lips. Then everyone followed Wang Zihu.

Under the leadership of Duke Wen of Jin, they knelt down to heaven and swore an oath together, completing the blood-forging ceremony.

Duke Wen of Jin suddenly ascended to the position of leader of the alliance and became the new generation overlord.


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