In 594 BC, the second year after King Zhuang of Chu conquered Chen, Zheng returned to Jin.
King Zhuang of Chu was very angry. He believed that the Zheng State had no credibility. As soon as the Chu State attacked it, it surrendered to the Chu State. As soon as the Chu people left, it surrendered to the Jin State. He simply did not take Chu State seriously. So.
King Chuzhuang decided to beat it hard, just like he did to Chen Guo, to make Zheng Guo completely surrender.
Ling Yin Sun Shuao said: "The reason why Zheng Guo keeps going back and forth like this is mainly because there is Jin State behind it. If you want to dominate, you must defeat Jin State. I estimate that if we send troops this time, Jin State may come to rescue. So we
We need to bring more troops and prepare to fight Jin."
King Zhuang of Chu said: "Yes, I also have this consideration."
Half a month later, the Chu army marched north.
Within a few days, the Chu army arrived at the border of Dongguo State, which was a territory of Zheng State. Beyond that, there was a dangerous entrance of Zheng State, which was later known as Hulao Pass. The Chu army conquered the natural barrier of Hulao in one fell swoop, and then marched straight in.
Within ten days, they reached the city of Xingyang, the capital of Zheng State, and surrounded Xingyang.
Duke Xiang of Zheng had just made an alliance with the Jin State, so he did not surrender this time. While guarding the city, he sent people to ask for help from the Jin State.
The Chu people attacked one after another for seventeen consecutive days, but could not break the city.
The Zheng army suffered heavy losses, but they gritted their teeth and stood firm. The wounded soldiers would continue to fight as long as they could move after being bandaged. The people in the city also participated in the battle, and the young and middle-aged men took up arms to defend the city with the army. The elderly and women
He and his children were responsible for delivering water and meals, carrying the wounded, and transporting weapons. The entire city's soldiers and civilians shared the same hatred of the enemy. The people of Zheng held a belief that as long as they persisted, Jin's reinforcements would arrive.
But reinforcements never showed up.
On the eighteenth day, the Chu army used a ram to create a gap in the northeast wall of Xingyang City. The gap was several battles wide. Once the gap was opened, the Chu army burst into a wave of cheers in the thick dust.
——The city is broken.
The generals of the Chu army were extremely excited and were about to beat drums and charge. Suddenly, they heard loud crying in the city. The crying was extremely fierce. It was not just one person, but the whole city. It was not women, but a mixture of men and women. When Chu was nearby,
Gradually reaching into the distance, it was like waves of ocean waves, continuous and shuddering. The soldiers and civilians of Zheng State collapsed. They threw away their weapons, knelt on the ground, and howled to the sky. Everyone knew that as soon as the gap opened,
, their fate is in the hands of the ferocious Chu people. They may be killed, or they may be enslaved, and they are unable to resist, and no one can be spared.
King Chuzhuang heard the cry and suddenly gave a strange order: stop the attack and the siege troops retreated backwards.
Chu general Gongzi Yingqi ran over angrily and shouted: "Your Majesty, we finally opened a gap, why did you order the withdrawal of troops?"
King Chuzhuang said: "The people of Zheng already know how powerful we are, so why kill them again. Not only do I want them to know how powerful I am, but I also want them to know that I am kind. This is called attacking the heart. You don't understand."
The Chu army retreated ten miles and set up camp. King Chuzhuang expected that the Zheng people would be grateful to him for conquering Xingyang but not going in to kill him. Such benevolence and righteousness would definitely make the Zheng people surrender. Within a day, the Zheng people would take the initiative to surrender.
But, he was naive.
When Zheng Xianggong and his subjects who gave up their resistance and were ready to kill them saw the sudden retreat of the Chu people, they thought Jin's reinforcements had arrived. They suddenly cheered up and took advantage of the Chu army's retreat to quickly repair the open door.
He took a breath, climbed up to the top of the city, and stood ready. The people of Zheng were all thinking that as soon as the Jin army appeared, they would launch a massive counterattack.
Only then did the King of Chuzhuang realize that his skills were not very clever. Compared with the methods of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin, they were indeed inferior. Back then, when Duke Huan of Qi helped Xing and Wei build the city, he first waited until Beidi
After defeating Xing and Wei, he called on the princes to build Yiyi and Chuqiu together. This was a blessing for Xing and Wei. The people of Xing and Wei would naturally be grateful and never forget it. Duke Wen of Jin attacked Yuan
When he attacked the city, he first ordered, "If the city is not breached for three days, he will withdraw his troops." Later, he did not breach the city for three days, and he indeed withdrew his troops. The people of the original city were grateful that he was true to his word, so Yuan Boguan took the initiative to offer his troops.
The city surrendered. But the King of Chuzhuang had no idea at all. He had no foreshadowing and just ordered the withdrawal of troops. The people of Zheng didn't understand what he meant at all, so naturally they couldn't understand his kindness.
Since the Zheng people had rebuilt the city wall, it meant that they wanted to fight to the end and had no intention of surrendering. King Chuzhuang surrounded Xingyang City again and continued to attack. After the shock of the Zheng people's destruction of the city last time, they became more powerful this time.
The soldiers and civilians in the city were more united and more tenacious, and they were determined to defeat the city and destroy it. The Chu army continued to attack Xingyang City for three months, but they still could not take Xingyang City.
At this time, the people of Zheng also understood that the Jin State would not come to the rescue at all. No matter whether it was official or private, everyone understood that the so-called "reinforcements are coming" was just a kind of comfort that deceived oneself and others.
Just when Chu and Zheng were exhausted from fighting and began to fight for will, confidence, and endurance, Chu State General Le Bo personally led his soldiers to break through the south gate of Xingyang City. Le Bo took the lead and rushed into the south gate with a long sword in hand.
.Behind his chariot, Chu soldiers stared in red eyes, howling and swarming in.
As soon as this opening was opened, the east, west, and north gates of Xingyang City fell one after another. In less than two hours, the entire Xingyang City fell.
King Chuzhuang ordered not to massacre the people. Then he led the follow-up troops and marched into Xingyang City in an orderly manner.
The streets were deserted, and the people were hiding in the corners of their homes. The men were holding iron tools they could find at home, lying on the cracks in the doors and looking out. The women were protecting their children, looking frightened and trembling. The girls got in.
They went into the cellar, or hid under the bed. In short, the people of Xingyang believed that they and the Chu people were fighting to the death, and the Chu people would not let them go easily.
Outside the door, on the street, the sound of the iron hooves of the Chu army's horses and the crushing sound of the chariots could be heard. The sound increased the fear of the Zheng people.
King Chuzhuang led his victorious army to the palace of Zheng State. As soon as the team arrived outside the palace gate, they saw the palace gate opened wide, and a group of people in court uniforms came face to face. There were no flags or carriages. Everyone was
They were on foot. Obviously, these people were all ministers of the State of Zheng. Surrounded by the ministers, the leader was shirtless, holding a goat in his hand, and walked in front of the team.
Someone shouted: "The king and ministers of the State of Zheng have come to surrender."
King Chuzhuang raised his hand and ordered: "Stop advancing."
King Chuzhuang's guards lined up on both sides to make way for King Chuzhuang's chariot. King Chuzhuang stroked his beard and sat in the chariot triumphantly, waiting for the king and ministers of Zheng to come.
The man with bare chest and flesh, holding the goat in his hand, was none other than Zheng Xianggong. The group of people following him were the ministers of the State of Zheng. Zheng Xianggong lowered his head, bowed his waist, and pulled the rope in his hand from time to time.
So that the goat could keep up with his pace. He walked to King Chuzhuang's chariot, knelt down with a bang, bowed his head and bowed. When King Chuzhuang saw this man, he had fine features, fair skin, and a neatly trimmed beard.
Especially his white and fat body, it shows that this person must be a pampered young man. King Chuzhuang almost laughed. He felt that Zheng Xianggong was really a talent, and he actually came up with such a ritual.
The surrender ceremony performed by Zheng Xianggong is known in history as "Leading the Sheep with Meat Bare". Taking off one's shirt and being bare-chested signifies giving up resistance, and also shows one's sincerity and having no second thoughts. Leading the Sheep means obeying and being slaughtered. This is
It is a very symbolic idea. It must be said that Zheng Xianggong was quite imaginative.
Zheng Xianggong said with tears: "I failed to serve your country well and made the king angry. It is all my fault. I beg the king to spare the people of the city. Now, the survival of our country depends on the king's words. If the king can see
Regarding our past friendship, if we do not destroy the ancestral temple of the Zheng State and allow descendants to worship the ancestors of the Zheng State, I am willing to abandon Jin and surrender to the Chu State. From now on, the Zheng State will be a subordinate of the Chu State. The kindness of the king is my wish. I
I don’t dare to have any extravagant expectations. I just speak from the bottom of my heart and ask for your understanding.” Having said this, Zheng Xianggong couldn’t help but feel sad and wiped away tears.
The general of the Chu State, Young Master Yingqi, was afraid that the King of Chu Zhuang would be soft-hearted, so he came up and said: "Your Majesty, the State of Zheng fought until the city was broken before surrendering. This is not a sincere surrender. If your Majesty accepts their surrender, as soon as we leave, and the Jin people come, they will
They will surrender to the Jin State again. This has happened again and again. It is better to destroy them to save trouble in the future."
Young Master Yingqi's suggestion makes some sense, but he only sees its benefits and not its harm. First of all, Jin is still very powerful, and Chu is currently not sure of defeating Jin. If Zheng is destroyed at this time, then Jin, Chu
There will be no buffer zone between them. The two powers of the north and the south will meet directly. Conflict is inevitable and the outcome is difficult to predict. Secondly, King Chuzhuang knows very well that if he wants to dominate, he cannot rely solely on force. He should also obtain the support of the princes of the world.
Learn from the practices of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. These are things that Young Master Yingqi would never have thought of.
King Chuzhuang was much smarter than Young Master Yingqi. He knew that Young Master Yingqi's words represented the thoughts of most people, so he did not refute, but said: "If Uncle Shen were here, he would tell me about the landowner robbing cattle again."
story."
When King Chuzhuang said this, everyone thought of his killing of Chen Fuchen. It was obvious that King Chuzhuang not only wanted to win the battle, he also wanted to win people's hearts and gain a good reputation. The civil and military ministers around King Chuzhuang
No more words.
King Zhuang of Chu got off the chariot, walked towards Zheng Xianggong, helped him up and said, "You are wholeheartedly returning to Chu. This is a wise move. I have seen your sincerity. I hope you will abide by your promise."
Zheng Xianggong said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Now that Your Majesty is protecting our country, I will keep my promise. How dare I go back on my word?"
King Chuzhuang smiled and said: "It is the responsibility of a king to defend his own territory. I won't make it difficult for you. As long as you don't collude with the Jin State, it will be fine."
Zheng Xianggong raised his hands to the sky and said: "If the king has any doubts, I am willing to swear an alliance with the state of Chu."
King Chuzhuang said: "Let's do this. I will retreat thirty miles first, and we will make an alliance in two days."
So the Chu army withdrew from Xingyang City and retreated thirty miles to set up camp.
This time Zheng Xianggong really understood the good intentions of King Chuzhuang. He did not dare to repair the damaged city walls anymore, but ordered his ministers to quickly draft a surrender and a covenant. Two days later, he took several ministers with him
, and at the same time brought a convoy loaded with supplies to reward the army, and arrived at the Chu camp.
When Zheng Xianggong saw Queen Chuzhuang, he obediently submitted a surrender letter to the Chu State. King Chuzhuang readily accepted it and made an alliance with Zheng Xianggong.