In 591 BC, King Zhuang of Chu died. On the stage of the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains, the death of King Zhuang of Chu and Sun Shuao was like the two brightest torches suddenly extinguished, and the entire stage suddenly dimmed.
Jin Jinggong became happy. He felt that this was an opportunity to return to the center of the stage. He had been really depressed in the past few years. After the death of Zhao Dun, Jin seemed to have left the country. He watched the King of Chuzhuang fight in the Central Plains. First, they destroyed the Chen State, then restored the Chen State, and then forced Zheng Wengong to "leave the sheep with his flesh naked". After that, they fought fiercely with the Song State for nine months, forcing the Song State to surrender. What annoyed Jin Jinggong the most was the battle at Bicheng. The army was completely defeated. The princes of the Central Plains took advantage of the situation and turned to Chu. Even Qi, a large country in the east, and Lu, which had always regarded Chu as a "southern barbarian", were getting closer and closer to Chu. Jin Jing I have been waiting for the opportunity, and now the opportunity has finally come.
Minister Zong Bo made a suggestion. He said: "If Jin wants to restore its hegemony, it should start with Qi and Lu, because the three countries of Chen, Zheng, and Song succumbed to the force of Chu, while Qi and Lu just followed the wind. We should send people to explore the situation in these two vassal states."
Duke Jinggong of Jin agreed with this suggestion and sent Choke as envoy to Qi and Lu.
Choke was the son of General Queque of the Jin State. He was born as a general and had a long history of military exploits. He once injured his eye on the battlefield. From then on, one eye was always closed and he became a one-eyed dragon. As a result, he came out of the army and served at court. He became a doctor in Zhong. Chuke was a man of literary and military skills. This mission to Qi and Lu was related to hegemony and was very important, so Zongbo recommended Chuke to take up this post.
The first stop of Choke's mission was the State of Lu.
This was the fourth year of Duke Xuangong of Lu. From the second year of Duke Xuangong of Lu, the State of Lu implemented the reform of the "tax mu system" and changed the original public land system to the "tax mu system", which was based on the amount of land owned by individuals. Collecting taxes. This increased the country's income to a certain extent, but it did not do much good to the people. When Choke came to visit, Lu's national strength had slightly increased. Lu Xuangong also wanted to improve relations with Qi, so Then he called Ji Sunxing's father for discussion.
At that time, Dongmen Sui and his uncle Sunde were dead in Chengdu. The power of Lu State was in the hands of Ji Sun Xingfu. Ji Sun Xingfu felt that Lu State could use the opportunity of Jin State Queke's visit to Qi State to make peace with Qi State. Therefore, he suggested that he also go to Qi State.
Lu Xuangong naturally agreed. So Ji Sunxing's father and Chuke went to Qi State together. On the way, they met Sun Liangfu, the minister of Wei, and Gong Zishou, the minister of Cao State. These two people were also on an envoy to Qi State. , so the four of them got together, talking and laughing, and went to Qi State.
A few days later, they arrived at Linzi, the capital of Qi State. The four envoys stayed at the State Guesthouse, and they all agreed to go to see the Marquis of Qi together early the next morning.
The next day, the four envoys went to the court of Qi State together. Qi Qinggong almost laughed when he saw these four people. It turned out that Chuke of Jin State was a one-eyed dragon, Ji Sunxingfu of Lu State was bald, and Wei State's Sun Liangfu was lame, and the prince of Cao State was hunchbacked. The four people stood together and saluted him at the same time. It was really funny. Qi Qinggong suppressed his laughter and received the envoys from the four countries according to the procedure. After the four people left, After the court ended, Qi Qinggong walked out of the court and couldn't help laughing.
He was happy for a while, then remembered that he should pay his respects to his mother, so he turned around and went to Mrs. Xiao's palace. After entering the door, he still looked happy.
Mrs. Xiao asked: "What is it that makes you so happy?"
Qi Qinggong said: "I encountered something strange today. I almost laughed in the court."
Mrs. Xiao asked: "What's so strange? Tell me quickly."
Qi Qinggong said: "Envoys from the four kingdoms of Jin, Wei, Lu, and Cao came to visit. What do you think they look like? A one-eyed dragon, a lame man, a bald man, and one with a hunchback. It's so funny."
Mrs. Xiao also laughed and said, "Is there such a coincidence? I want to see the excitement tomorrow too."
Qi Qinggong said cheerfully: "It's easy to handle. Tomorrow I will arrange for them to go to the Imperial Garden, and you can watch it on the flower-viewing tower. I guarantee that you will have a great time watching it."
Qi Qinggong liked to joke, so in order to increase the comic effect, he deliberately chose a one-eyed dragon, a bald man, a lame man, and a hunchback to accompany the envoys from the four countries when they visited the Imperial Garden the next day.
On the next day, the envoys from the four countries entered the imperial garden, and four attendants appeared together. The one-eyed dragon accompanied Choke; the bald man accompanied Ji Sun Xingfu; the lame man accompanied Sun Liangfu; and the hunchback naturally accompanied the young master.
These eight people walked in pairs in the imperial garden, looking like this, which made anyone laugh. When they arrived at the flower-viewing building, they suddenly heard a woman's laughter. The envoys of the Four Kingdoms raised their heads. When I took a look, I saw a group of women upstairs laughing in an invisible way.
Chuke frowned and asked the one-eyed dragon next to him: "Who is upstairs?"
The one-eyed dragon looked at him with one eye and said, "Sir, the one in the middle is Mrs. Xiao, the mother of Qi State. The one on the side is her maid."
When the four envoys heard this, they were all stunned. They looked at each other and then at the waiters around them. For a moment, everyone's face was full of anger. Ji Sunxing's father flicked his sleeves, turned around and walked out of the garden. Let's go. The other three people followed him and walked in a hurry. The minister of Qi who accompanied the visit saw that the envoys from the four countries changed their expressions on the spot. He looked upstairs again and shook his head. But he didn't know how to persuade him, so he had to follow Ji. Behind Sun Xingfu and others, the envoys from the four countries left the imperial garden angrily.
The envoys from the four countries did not get angry in front of the ministers of Qi, but as soon as they returned to their residence, they gathered together and cursed Qi Qinggong.
Ji Sunxing's father said: "The Marquis of Qi is really rude. He dares to tease us and ask those women to judge us. It's ridiculous and hateful. It's really ridiculous and hateful."
Sun Liangfu said: "The Marquis of Qi is making a big joke. He is not only making fun of us, but also an insult to our four countries."
The prince said: "This is an international joke. I'll see how it ends."
Choke said: "We, the four countries, unite and fight them together. Do you want to do it?"
The other three people all replied: "Why don't you do it? He doesn't take our four countries seriously, so why don't you show him some color?"
Ji Sunxing's father said: "I have the final say on the state of Lu. As long as the state of Jin sends troops, I will send troops."
Sun Liangfu and Gong Zishou also said that as long as Jin took the lead, they would encourage their country to send troops. The four of them made an agreement.
In the afternoon of the same day, the envoys from the four countries went to bid farewell to Qi Qinggong. Only then did Qi Qinggong realize that his joke had gone too far. But the matter had already come out, and he did not want to do anything to make up for it. He felt that the two small countries of Lu and Wei were not at all Don't worry about it. Although Jin is a big country, it has been defeated by Chu in recent years, so there is no need to worry about it. As for Cao, let alone mention it. So as soon as the envoys left, he forgot about it. .
When Chuke returned to Jin, he asked Jin Jinggong to send troops to attack Qi. Jin Jinggong was a little hesitant. Scholars would dissuade him and said, "The Marquis of Qi may have another intention. He is showing strength to us."
Choke said: "Whether he is joking or showing strength, in short, insulting my envoy is insulting my country. We must not remain indifferent."
Jin Jinggong waved his hand and said, "We will postpone this matter and wait for the opportunity."
In 589 BC, Duke Xuang of Lu died, and his son became Duke of Lu, who became Duke of Lu. Duke Cheng of Lu was young and energetic, and with the instigation of Ji Sunxing's father, he decided not to associate with the state of Qi but to go to the state of Jin. Make an alliance.
For this matter, Qi Qinggong sent troops to the State of Lu, and the State of Lu asked the State of Jin for help. After Qi Qinggong captured the two cities of the State of Lu, he did not march straight in, but came back, and then went to attack the State of Wei. Sun Liangfu He led his troops to meet the enemy, but was defeated. The Wei State also sent people to ask for help from the Jin State.
Lu and Wei came to seek help one after another, coupled with Chuke's constant instigation, Jin Jinggong decided to send troops to Qi. They found two reasons, one was that Qi had insulted the envoys of the four countries, and the other was that Qi had invaded Small country territory.
In mid-June 589 BC, the Jin army, with Chuoke as the chief general and Han Jue and Luan Shu as deputy generals, led 800 chariots and set off in a mighty manner. At the same time, they also notified Lu, Wei, and Cao. Ji Sun Xingfu of the Lu State, Sun Liangfu of the Wei State, and Cao Guo Gongzi led their troops from the capital in accordance with the original agreement. The troops and horses of the four countries converged at one place, and the troops were huge and stretched for more than thirty miles.
On June 16, the allied forces of the four countries arrived at a place called An (also written as Tao, now Licheng County, Shandong Province, so it was called the "Battle of Tao" in history) in Qi State. It was already late at this time. But Ke ordered his troops to set up camp. , rest for a night and move on tomorrow.
In the early morning of June 17th, the soldiers and horses of the Four Kingdoms got up early, fed their horses and had enough food, and were preparing to continue marching. A spy came to report that the soldiers and horses of the Qi Kingdom had arrived.
Choke was shocked and thought, how could Qi's army suddenly appear? But the situation was urgent and he could not think more about it. He immediately ordered the entire army to march out of the stronghold to meet the enemy.
It turned out that the people of Qi State found out that the Allied Forces of the Four Nations were stationed in Andi, so they set off in the latter part of the night on the first day, and came in a hurry under the stars and the moon. Originally, they wanted to make a surprise attack. Unexpectedly, by the time they arrived in front of the Allied Forces stronghold, it was already dark. Bright.
A general of the Qi army said to Qi Qinggong: "Lord, we can't make a sneak attack. It's already dawn. In order to run fast along the way, the horses' armor has been taken off. The soldiers haven't had breakfast either. I think it's better to rest. Let’s challenge it later.”
How could Qi Qinggong appreciate the hard work of soldiers and horses? He was excited and wanted to start a war. He said to his subordinates: "Why rest? With their patchwork coalition, do they need to be so worried? I'm just a man. Let’s kill these guys first and then have breakfast.”
Qi Qinggong wanted to fight, but none of the generals dared to object, so he ordered the drums to be beaten and marched forward. As a result, Qi's army did not wear iron armor, and people did not eat breakfast. They went to the battlefield with the spirit of not being afraid of hardship and not being afraid of death. .
The two sides set up a battle formation in an open field. Qi Qinggong personally went into battle. In his chariot, the driver on the left was called Bing Xia, and the one on the right who was responsible for the main attack was Feng Choufu.
On the Jin army's side, the person driving Chuke was Jie Yang's son Jie Zhang. The main attacker sitting on Chuke's right was Zheng Qiuxuan.
The Qi people took the lead in charging. On the Jin army's side, Choke beat drums and urged troops to meet the enemy. For a time, the drums were beating, the sound of killing was like a wave, arrows in the air were like locusts, and the men and horses on both sides were strangled together.
Qi Qinggong brought a large number of archers, and he said to his men: "Wherever I charge, you shoot." His move was very effective. Wherever his chariot rushed past, he was invincible to all who stood in his way.
When the two sides were fighting fiercely, Chok was hit by an arrow in his arm. Blood flowed down his shirt. Chok's drumming hand gradually slowed down.
Jie Zhang drove the car and turned around and shouted: "General, why did you stop?"
Choke said: "I was hit by an arrow."
Jie Zhang said: "I have been hit by an arrow a long time ago. I never said a word." Choke looked and saw that Jie Zhang's legs had long been stained red with blood. Jie Zhang shouted again: "The soldiers can't hear the drums. , how to be brave. Play the drum quickly. Play the drum quickly."
Chuke no longer hesitated. He gritted his teeth, broke the arrow, and shouted while beating the drum crazily. Jie Zhang whipped his horse and rushed towards the enemy formation. When the Jin army officers saw that the general was rushing to the front, they followed him. Charge forward. When the Jin troops behind heard the war drums in front and saw everyone moving forward, they thought the front had won, so they rushed forward with all their strength.
When the generals of Lu, Wei, and Cao saw the Jin army's bravery, they became emboldened and rushed forward to kill them. With such a crazy charge, the already exhausted Qi army collapsed. As the saying goes, a defeat is like a mountain. The Qi State formation was in chaos, and the coalition forces became more aggressive. The situation on the battlefield was one-sided. The Qi State army began to rout, with flags falling in disorder, helmets and armor scattered all over the ground, and they were soon defeated.
Qi Qinggong led a defeated army and fled in the direction of Huabuzhu Mountain. General Han Jue of Jin and his men were in hot pursuit. Someone shouted from behind that General Han was chasing the Marquis of Qi. This time, the pursuers There were more and more soldiers. As soon as Qi Qinggong reached the foot of Huabuzhu Mountain, Jin troops surrounded him from all directions.
Seeing that he could not escape, Qi Jiang Feng Chou's father said to Qi Qing Gong: "Master, please change clothes with me quickly and sit in my seat. Ask me to pretend to be you. Maybe you still have a chance to escape."
Qi Qinggong moved very quickly. He exchanged clothes and positions with Feng Chou's father in three strokes. Feng Chou's father hit the horse and ran away. After not far, the carriage was caught by a branch and could not run any further. At this time, Han Jue's pursuers also came to the front.
Feng Chou's father was worried that the fight would hurt Qi Qinggong, so he ordered the guards to throw away their weapons and not resist. When Han Jue saw that the Qi army had surrendered, he also reined in his own troops. Then he jumped off the chariot and attacked Qi Qinggong. Run over here.
He ran to Qi Qinggong's chariot, first gave a respectful military salute to Feng Chou's father, who was pretending to be Qi Qinggong, and then said: "We, the Marquis of Jin, agreed to the request of Lu and Wei and came to question your country. .As a soldier, I should obey orders. Please ask the Marquis of Qi to follow me to our country."
At this time, Feng Chou's father showed his genius acting skills. He assumed the posture of a king, glanced at Han Jue arrogantly, and ignored him at all. Then he looked at the person sitting on the right.
Qi Qinggong said: "I am thirsty, ugly father, go and get me some water."
Qi Qinggong agreed and immediately jumped out of the chariot and walked quickly into the ravine. Han Jue looked at his back and wanted to stop, but he was afraid that the "Qi Qinggong" sitting in the car would say that he was not generous enough and could not tolerate it. After a while, he didn't say anything. Han Jue thought, I held "Qi Qinggong" captive, so I'm not afraid that you won't come back. How did he know that he had fallen into Feng Chou's father's Jin Chao escape plan.
Han Jue waited for a while, but when he saw that the man looking for water did not come back, he ignored him. He thought that catching Qi Qinggong was his greatest achievement, and it didn't matter even if a general escaped. So he still called "Qi Qinggong" "Sitting in the car, I personally escorted him and took him back to the camp.
When Chuke heard that Qi Qinggong had been captured, he had been waiting at the gate of the camp for a long time. When Han Jue's men approached, he only glanced at it and his heart became cold. He pointed at Feng Chou's father and shouted to Han Jue : "This is not the Marquis of Qi."
Han Jue pulled out his sword with a swish sound, pointed at Feng Chou's father and asked, "Who are you? How dare you pretend to be the Marquis of Qi."
Feng Chou's father smiled and said: "I am Feng Chou's father, general of Qi State."
Han Jue asked eagerly: "Where is the Marquis of Qi?"
Feng Chou's father said: "That's the man I sent to find water. I guess he has escaped. Hahaha..."
Han Jue was furious and turned to look at Chuke. Chuke was also full of anger. Han Jue shouted at the soldiers and said, "Pull them out and chop them down."
Feng Chou's father shouted loudly: "I am a loyal minister. If you kill me, who else will dare to suffer for the king in the future? Now there is one, and you have to kill him. From now on, there will be no such person."
Choke stopped the soldiers, and then said: "This man is willing to use his own life to help his king. It is ominous to kill him. General Han, please spare his life."
Han Jue put away his sword and ordered his soldiers to put Feng Chou's father into a prison car until he could be dispatched later. Chu Ke left some people to clean up the battlefield, and a large group of people followed him back to the camp.
Let’s talk about Qi Qinggong. When he walked down the hillside, he happened to meet a group of fleeing soldiers. When this group of people saw that they were the king, they felt like they had found a treasure. Everyone wanted to make meritorious deeds. They protected Qi Qinggong and crossed the mountain stream. , got into the woods, climbed another slope, and jumped out of the siege of the Jin army. Qi Qinggong escaped like this.
When Qi Qinggong returned to Linzi, he sent his minister Guo Zuo to Andi to make peace with Chuke. Chuke made two conditions: first, to ask Uncle Xiao Tong (Mrs. Xiao) to come to Jin as a hostage. Second, he asked Uncle Xiao Tong (Mrs. Xiao) to come to Jin as a hostage. , changed all the fields of Qi State to east-west direction. What Chu Ke meant was that with this change, it would be easier for Jin’s chariots to drive into Qi State in the future. Chu Ke said: "If you agree, then make peace. Otherwise We will fight to Linzi."
When Guo Zuo heard these two conditions, he almost jumped up. He thought to himself, not to mention these two conditions, even one of them could not be achieved. He suppressed his anger and said: "General, this is wrong. Mrs. Xiao is from Qi State. The mother of the country. Disputes abound among the countries. The mother of the country has never been taken as a hostage. Furthermore, the furrows in Qi’s fields are based on the terrain. There are various directions from east to west, north and south, for the convenience of farming. If they are all changed to The people will never agree to the east-west direction. It seems that the general did not intend to make peace by raising these two conditions."
Choke glared at his one eye and said with a grudge: "I'm at odds with you, what can you do?"
Guo Zuo said: "Qi is a big country. No matter the land or population, it is not inferior to Jin. Although it was defeated today, it has not been defeated to the point of subjugation. If peace talks cannot be achieved, we might as well fight again. If it doesn't work once, then we will fight again. You can accompany us to the end and fight until the country is overthrown. Even so, it is better than taking the mother of the country as a hostage, and it is better than changing the ditch. If the general does not want peace, then let's not make peace." After finishing speaking, Guo Zuo stood up and left. .
After hearing the news, Ji Sunxingfu of Lu State and Sun Liangfu of Wei State ran to persuade Chuke. What these two people wanted was benefits. They felt that they had vented their anger by defeating Qi State. The most important thing was, It was to get back the land occupied by Qi State. Chu Ke also knew that they alone could not destroy Qi State. It was meaningless to just be vindictive. So he agreed with the two people's opinions.
But Guo Zuo had already left. Ji Sunxing's father volunteered and said, "I will chase him back."
Guo Zuo did not go far, and Ji Sun Xingfu quickly brought him back to the negotiating table. Ji Sun Xingfu and Sun Liangfu proposed that Qi should return the land that had invaded Lu and Wei. Guo Zuo naturally agreed. At this point, Choke had nothing to say, so he sent someone to invite the chief prince of Cao State.
After everyone arrived, the minister of state solemnly apologized to the four ministers of Jin, Lu, Wei, and Cao on behalf of Qi Qinggong. Then, the ministers of the five countries drafted a peace agreement and signed it, making an oath of alliance.
At this point, the war caused by a joke has been settled.