During the march, King Zhuang of Chu chatted with Sun Shuao about the affairs of the Chen State. He said: "The monarch of the Chen State is really dishonest."
Sun Shuao catered to him and said, "Yes, otherwise Chen Hou would not have been ruined."
King Chuzhuang said: "I think what Xia Zhengshu did is reasonable. This kind of thing can happen to anyone."
Sun Shuao did not answer, but turned to ask: "My lord, have you hesitated?"
King Chuzhuang smiled and said: "You really guessed it right. I do have some doubts about whether we should attack Chen Guo."
Sun Shuao said: "Actually, the romantic incident in Zhu Lin is not the point. The important thing is that we want to establish our reputation in front of the princes by defeating Chen State. This is a pavement for Chu State to dominate."
Qu Wu, a senior official in Chu State, heard the conversation between King Zhuang of Chu and Sun Shuao. He was afraid that King Zhuang of Chu would be shaken, so he hurriedly joined in and said: "In any case, Xia Zhengshu is guilty of regicide. We cannot ignore our righteousness because of sympathy for him. Now The army is already approaching Chen State, how can we give up halfway? We should continue to move forward."
Sun Shuao also advised: "It is the overlord's responsibility to quell the civil strife in neighboring countries. Your Majesty, let's hurry up and get on our way."
King Zhuang of Chu then no longer hesitated and urged the army to move forward.
The reason why Qu Wu was so anxious was because he had selfish motives. A few years ago, Qu Wu had been to Chen State and heard about Xia Ji's beauty. He made a special trip to Zhu Lin and met with Xia Ji. That's it. During that meeting, Xia Ji's voice and smile remained deeply in his heart, making him unforgettable for a long time. Qu Wu was a talented person, capable of both literature and martial arts. He felt that a talented person like him should be as talented as Xia Ji. To be accompanied by a beauty like Ji is called a talented man and a beautiful woman. Of course, this is just a dream hidden in my heart.
Unexpectedly, King Chuzhuang's move to send troops to Chen State suddenly brought this dream closer. For a time, he was full of desire and thought. That's why he was afraid that King Chuzhuang would back down.
On the day of the army's march, they met Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu who were rushing to Chu State. These two people said things that were beneficial to them, which dispelled the last bit of sympathy from King Chuzhuang. King Chuzhuang sent someone to escort him. Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu went to Chu State, while they continued to lead troops to Chen State.
Three to five days later, the Chu army entered the Chen state. The Chen army could not withstand it. The defenders along the way either surrendered or abandoned the city and fled. The Chu army did not encounter any decent resistance along the way.
The Chen Dynasty split into two factions. Most of the ministers advocated surrender. Only Xia Zhengshu advocated resistance. But no one listened to him. The ministers all believed that the military disaster was caused by him. Seeing that the situation was over, Xia Zhengshu ran back to Zhulin alone. Prepare to flee abroad with her mother.
As soon as Xia Zhengshu ran away, all the people in the court were surrendering. The ministers surrounded Chen Cheng and shouted endlessly. Chen Chenggong said: "As the king of a country, it is a shame that I cannot defend my territory. If I surrender without fighting now, how can I have the face to enter the ancestral temple in the future?" Of course, I know that war also means death, and the people will still suffer. If you want to surrender, then surrender."
That night, Chen Chenggong packed up the gold and silver, took several wives, concubines and followers, and fled to the Jin Kingdom under the cover of night.
After Chen Chenggong left, the court was leaderless. As soon as the Chu army arrived at the capital of Chen State, the ministers opened the door and surrendered.
The king of Chuzhuang came under the banner of quelling the rebellion, so naturally he wanted to capture the rebels, so as soon as the Chu army entered the city, he sent a team to Zhulin to capture Xia Zhengshu. Xia Zhengshu knew that he had been charged with regicide, and surrendering would mean death. , he led his servants to resist desperately, and finally died from random arrows. The Chu army captured Xia Ji and brought her back.
When King Chuzhuang saw Xia Ji, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: She is indeed stunningly beautiful. Although Xia Ji looked sad, he could not hide her natural beauty and the nobility and elegance in her movements - after all, she was Duke Mu of Zheng
The daughter of Chuzhuang King thought, no wonder Chen Hou and Kong Ning were crazy about her. It was really fascinating. For a time, Chuzhuang King felt pity for her.
Xia Ji knelt in front of King Chuzhuang, covered her face and wept, saying: "This little girl's country is ruined and her family is destroyed, her life is like an ant. It all lies in the hands of the king. If the king wants to kill me, it is like trampling an ant to death. If the king is pitiful
I am such a weak woman, and I am willing to be your servant girl and serve the king wholeheartedly." After saying this, I sobbed.
King Chuzhuang relented and said softly: "Get up and stand and talk."
Qu Wu, who was standing aside, was afraid that King Chuzhuang would accept Xia Ji. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please, never. Your Majesty is here to punish Chen for domestic chaos. If he accepts her, people will say that Your Majesty is
If you come here just for beauty, then your majesty and reputation will be damaged. So you can’t accept it, you can’t accept it.”
King Zhuang of Chu muttered: "It would be a pity to kill such a beautiful woman."
The general of the State of Chu, the Young Master, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I am middle-aged and have yet to marry a wife. Your Majesty, will you reward her to me?"
When Qu Wu saw the young master coming to fight, he became even more anxious. He said to the young master: "This woman is so charming that she can dominate men. Look, her husband Xia Yushu, his monarch Chen Hou, and his son Xia Zhengshu, who are not the same?"
Those who were killed by her? There were also Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu, weren't they also because they were contaminated by her and found it difficult to return home? General, there are many beautiful women in the world, why do you need to marry a widow? "
The young master listened to it, shook his head and said, "Forget it. I don't want it anymore."
King Chuzhuang didn't believe that at first, but after being sidetracked by Qu Wu and the young master, he was embarrassed to say anything about accepting Xia Ji. He thought for a while and said: "Some time ago, General Xiang died and his wife died.
Give her to Mr. Xiang. It is also a good destination."
Qu Wu half-opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't find the words. He then thought: Xiang is old, and even if Xia Ji marries him, she won't be able to last long. When the old guy dies, he will
There was still a chance. So he sighed secretly and stopped talking.
Xia Ji married Xiang Lao, the general of Chu State.
King Zhuang of Chu stayed in Chen State for a few days and saw that there was no resistance from the Chen people, so he decided to include Chen State in the territory of Chu State. He sent people to collect the household registration of Chen State, and arranged for administrative officials to stay.
Some soldiers and horses were stationed in the capital of Chen State. After completing these matters, they withdrew to Chu State with a large group of troops.
Returning to Yingdu, King Zhuang of Chu held a banquet as usual to reward the entire army. All the ministers from the court came to congratulate him. The small subordinate countries in the south also sent envoys to congratulate and pay tribute. King Zhuang of Chu felt that he had swallowed up a vassal state in one fell swoop.
, this was an achievement that was unparalleled. Coupled with the overwhelming praise surrounding him all day long, he felt elated.
At that time, Minister Shen Shushi was on a mission to Qi State and had not returned yet. When he came back and reported on his mission, King Zhuang of Chu was eager to say something congratulatory to him. But Uncle Shen Shi did not say a word of praise.
King Zhuang of Chu frowned and scolded him: "Xia Zhengshu killed the king, and no prince in the Central Plains dared to accuse him. I upheld justice, put an end to the chaos in Chen State, and added a large area of land to Chu State. Everyone came to congratulate me.
, why don’t you even have a word of praise? Did I do something wrong?”
Uncle Shen smiled and said: "It's not that I don't want to congratulate you, it's that I don't know something in my heart. I haven't figured it out yet, so I don't know what to say."
King Zhuang of Chu asked: "What can't you figure out?"
Uncle Shen said: "When I came back from Qi, I encountered such a thing: someone pulled a cow through someone else's crop field, and the cow trampled on other people's crops. The owner of the field was very angry, so he took the cow
He snatched it away and took it for himself. If your Majesty were to judge this kind of thing, how would you judge it?"
The king of Chuzhuang said: "The cattle trampled on other people's crops. It's enough to compensate for the damage. Why should we rob other people's cattle? It's too much to rob other people's cattle."
Uncle Shen smiled and looked at King Chuzhuang, but said nothing. King Chuzhuang was stunned for a moment, and suddenly came back to his senses. He thought, it turns out that Uncle Shen was using this incident to insinuate that I would destroy the Chen Kingdom.
matter.
King Chuzhuang smiled and said: "As you can imagine, you always talk in roundabout ways. However, what you said makes sense, but it is a bit too much. I will just return the cow to you."
Both the monarch and the minister laughed heartily when they said this...
Two days later, the king of Chuzhuang called for Yuan Po, the official of Chen State, and asked, "Where has your king gone?"
Yuan Po said: "When he left, he said he was going to Jin. He is probably there now."
King Chuzhuang said: "I plan to restore your country. You can go to Jin to bring him back. However, one thing must be explained. When I restore Chen, you must be my vassal state. Don't let me down."
This was the good news that fell from the sky. Yuan Po knelt on the ground and kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty has shown kindness to us, and the Chen Kingdom will remember it forever. No one dares to violate your will. We will obey your orders and pay tribute to you every year."
.”
After doing these things, King Zhuang of Chu thought of Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu who were taken in by the Chu State. He felt that these two people must be grateful to the Chu State because they were taken care of by the Chu State. Since the Chen State was to be restored, he should restore the Chen State.
Such people were arranged to be sent to the court of Chen State. So he ordered Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu to return to Chen State and continue to be officials.
Before Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu left, King Chuzhuang told them to assist the new monarch and not to do such sneaky things again. How could these two people dare to say no? They all kowtowed and thanked them repeatedly.
And go.
A month later, Chen Chenggong returned to Chen State. Thinking that Chen State, which had once ceased to exist, suddenly and miraculously recovered, he felt as if it was a dream. After the tossing of King Chuzhuang, who turned his hands for clouds and rain, Chen Chenggong completely
He was convinced. From then on, he wholeheartedly submitted to the Chu State.
After the news spread that King Zhuang of Chu had destroyed Chen and revived Chen, the princes of the Central Plains all said that King Zhuang of Chu had a profound understanding of righteousness and admired him very much. The reputation of Chu State suddenly rose.
Let’s talk about Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu. After they were released by the King of Chuzhuang, they claimed to the king of Chen that it was the King of Chuzhuang who arranged for them to come back. Chen Chenggong, because of the power of the King of Chuzhuang, did not dare to do anything to them.
In this way, they were also appointed as doctors.
Several of Xia Zhengshu's friends in the army were aggrieved by this, and several middle and lower-ranking officers secretly united to prepare to avenge Xia Zhengshu.
Within two or three months, Kong Ning fell into the river and drowned. Soon after, Yi Xing's father also died at home without any explanation. Some people say that the punishment that deserves it will come sooner or later, and no one can escape.