In 548 BC, the sixth year of Duke Zhuang of Qi, Ju State was conquered by Qi State, and its king Li Bigong came to Qi State to pay tribute.
Duke Zhuang of Qi was very happy to be flattered by Duke Li Big. After receiving the reception, he held a banquet and asked the ministers to drink with Duke Li Big. All the main ministers in the court came, but one of the most important people did not show up, that is
Xiangguo urged Zhu. When Qi Zhuanggong asked, it turned out that Xiu Zhu was ill at home. When Duke Qi Zhuang heard this, he was secretly happy because he could go to Zhu Zhu's house again.
The reason why Duke Zhuang of Qi wanted to go to Cui Zhu's house was not because he cared about Cui Zhu, but because he wanted to make an excuse to meet Cui Zhu's wife.
So, who is this Mrs. Cui?
Mrs. Cui's surname was Dongguo, so she could be called Dongguo. Because she married Tang Gong in her early years, she was called Tang Jiang. Tang Gong and Tang Jiang had a son named Tang Wujiu. After Tang Gong died, Tang Jiang married Xi Zhu.
He gave birth to another son and named him Cui Ming.
It can be seen from this that Tang Jiang must be a mature woman. Of course, Tang Jiang must also be extremely beautiful. Her beauty and grace are still the same as before. Maybe she also has thousands of unique styles.
In short, Duke Zhuang of Qi (Gongzi Guang) was fascinated by her the first time he saw her. He has been fascinated by her ever since.
Duke Qi Zhuang is the king, so he can naturally create opportunities to achieve his wishes. In this way, Duke Qi Zhuang and Tang Jiang secretly got together. The more they do this kind of thing, the bolder they become, so they often take advantage of the urging when Tang Jiang is not at home.
At that time, Duke Zhuang of Qi went to Zhu's house to urge him to have a tryst with Tang Jiang. Tang Jiang did not refuse. Anyway, with the support of the monarch, he could still get benefits, so why not?
After a while, Ji Zhu found out. Ji Zhu got angry with Tang Jiang. Tang Jiang was not afraid and admitted it directly. She also said confidently: "That young master is just a king, so he can do whatever he wants. I am a woman
How dare you disobey him? You are a grown man and can't even protect your own woman, how can you still blame me?"
Ji Zhu was silenced by Tang Jiang. From then on, he held a grudge in his heart and was always thinking about how to deal with Duke Qi Zhuang.
Tang Jiang had a brother named Dong Guo Yan. He was good friends with Tang Jiang's son Tang Wu Jiu, and the two were retainers of Cu Zhu. Dong Guo Yan and Tang Wu Jiu were both followers of Cu Zhu's eldest son, Cu Ming, so the three of them
A small gang was formed. They all knew about the relationship between Duke Qi Zhuang and Tang Jiang, and they all hated Duke Qi Zhuang.
Ji Zhu wanted to assassinate Duke Qi Zhuang, but he could only find the closest and most reliable people, so he gave the task to Ji Ming, Dong Guo Yan, and Tang Wu Jiu.
In order to carry out the assassination, Ji Zhu also found an insider. This person's name was Jia Ju, a minor leader in Duke Qi Zhuang's entourage. Jia Ju once made a mistake and was whipped a hundred times by Duke Qi Zhuang, so he held a grudge against Duke Qi Zhuang.
After many trials, Jia Ju was finally turned into an accomplice.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the opportunity.
When Duke Li Big of Ju State came to pay tribute, Ji Zhu came up with a plan. He deliberately pretended to be ill in order to lure Duke Zhuang of Qi to come to his house.
As expected, Duke Qi Zhuang was fooled. That afternoon, Duke Qi Zhuang was half drunk, so he took his entourage to Xi Zhu's house. As soon as he entered the door, Xi Zhu's housekeeper came up to him. The housekeeper reported that Xiang Guo had just taken medicine.
He was sleeping in the study. Duke Zhuang of Qi was secretly happy, God helps me. He asked: "Where is Madam Ji?"
The steward said: "Go back to my lord, my wife is in the inner room."
Duke Qi Zhuang said as if he was talking to himself: "Since it is inconvenient to see Xiangguo, let's comfort my wife." After saying that, he raised his legs and walked into the inner room. Xiu's steward hurried forward, ready to lead the way.
Jia Ju stopped him with his hand and said, "My lord knows the way, you don't have to follow." The housekeeper had no choice but to stop.
Duke Qi Zhuang continued to walk forward with a few guards. When he arrived at the door of the inner chamber, Jia Ju said to the guards: "Just guard at the gate. You will not be allowed in unless I tell you." A smile appeared on Duke Qi Zhuang's face.
, he felt that Jia Ju really understood his thoughts and was considerate enough.
Jia Ju followed Duke Qi Zhuang in and walked in. Every time he passed a door, he turned around and closed the door. When Duke Qi Zhuang entered Mrs. Ji's bedroom, he closed the door from the outside and quietly put a lock on it.
He ran out at a trot.
Let's talk about Duke Qi Zhuang. When he entered the bedroom, he saw Tang Jiang sitting alone at the round table. There was a tea tray on the table, and incense was burning next to it. The whole room was filled with fragrance. When Tang Jiang saw Duke Qi Zhuang come in, he stood up and said,
She curtsied. Qi Zhuanggong walked up and held her in his arms. As the saying goes, stealing fragrance and jade is all about heartbeats. The two looked at each other lovingly, and without any unnecessary words, they took off their clothes.
He took off his belt and poured it into the bed tent...
Just as the two of them were going to Wushan to enjoy the clouds and rain, they suddenly heard the clanging of swords outside the door, as well as shouts of death and screams. Duke Qi Zhuang was shocked. He pushed away Mrs. Ji who was shaking her flowers and branches, and got out of bed.
He jumped down and hurriedly put on his clothes. He rushed to the door and pulled hard, only to find that the door was locked. He turned around and asked in a hoarse voice: "Do you have a back door?"
Mrs. Ji was stunned and didn't speak. Duke Qi Zhuang asked again: "I want to ask you if you have a back door?"
Only then did Madam Ji react and said quickly: "No, no, no. Break the window and jump out from there."
Duke Zhuang of Qi picked up a wooden stool, smashed it against a carved wooden window, and the window flew outside with a click. He placed the wooden stool in front of the window, took a step forward, and moved like a cat.
, and got out.
As soon as Duke Qi Zhuang landed on the ground, he saw several of his guards mingling with the retainers and servants. He quickly ducked and ran along the wall to the backyard. As soon as he reached the door of the backyard, he heard Dong Guo Yan shout: "Hun Jun
Wherever it is, chase after it quickly."
Here, Tang Wujiu, Cui Ming and others chopped down the last two guards and rushed over. At this time, Duke Qi Zhuang had climbed up to a small pavilion in the backyard. Cui Zhu's retainers, retainers, servants, etc. were surrounding below.
. Duke Zhuang of Qi shouted: "I am the king, how dare you besiege me?"
Tang Wujiu said: "We were ordered by the Prime Minister to arrest the adulterer, but where did we find the king?"
Dongguo Yan said: "How can there be a king who does such a beast?"
Duke Zhuang of Qi said: "Please let me go. I promise not to hold you accountable."
Cui Ming shouted: "Don't talk nonsense. It's you who will be arrested."
As soon as Duke Qi Zhuang heard this, he climbed up the stairs. Tang Wujiu stretched out his bow and arrow, and hit him in the thigh with an arrow. Duke Qi Zhuang screamed and became unsteady. He wanted to grab the armrest, but he couldn't grasp it.
As soon as he tilted, he fell from the upstairs. Everyone rushed forward and saw that Qi Zhuanggong was bleeding from all his orifices and died.
As soon as Duke Zhuang of Qi died, the prime minister urged him to suppress him, and the ministers conferred the title. Yan Pingzhong and others made Duke Zhuang of Qi's brother the king, who was Duke Jin of Qi.
Ji Zhu was not worried about anyone asking him to accuse him, because he was the one who appointed Qi Jinggong. What he was most worried about was how the historians would write about this matter. Because he knew that the historians of all countries adhered to a principle called straight writing. He wanted to make them conceal it.
The truth is difficult.
One day, Ji Zhu found Tai Shibo, the historian of Qi State, and asked: "How did you write about the death of the late king Zhuang Gong?"
Tai Shibo felt that Ji Zhu was asking the question knowingly, so he straightened his neck and asked in a stiff tone: "Ji Zhu, prime minister, how do you think it should be written?"
Ji Zhu said: "Just write that the first king Zhuang Gong died of illness."
Tai Shibo shook his head and said: "I am a historian. I naturally know how to write."
Ji Zhu said: "Bring me what you wrote."
Tai Shibo calmly took out a scroll of bamboo slips from the case, slowly unfolded it, and pushed it in front of Ji Zhu. When Ji Zhu took a look, it read:
"In the fifth month of Xia, Cui Zhu murdered King Guang."
Ji Zhu was furious, pressed his sword with one hand, and said: "If you write like this, I will kill you. If you write according to my wishes, I will definitely reward you generously."
Tai Shibo said: "We who are historians have the duty of historians. We will write how things are. If I am afraid of death, I am not worthy of being a historian."
Ji Zhu rolled his eyes in anger, got up and left. A few days later, he fabricated a crime and killed Tai Shibo.
At that time, the historians were all hereditary. After the death of Tai Shibo, his brother Tai Shi Zhong took over as historian. Ji Zhu went to read the historical materials written by Tai Shi Zhong again. The bamboo slips still wrote: "In the fifth month of Xia, Cui Zhu murdered the king."
Light".
Ji Zhu sneered: "Don't you know how your brother died?"
Tai Shi Zhong also smiled and said: "He wrote straight and straight."
Ji Zhu said: "You are deliberately seeking death."
Tai Shizhong said: "Since ancient times, how many historians have been killed because of their straight writing? I don't know why my brother died. His death shows that he is a good historian. Since I have become a historian, of course
You can’t be afraid of death.”
Jizhu killed Taishi Zhong again, and then ordered his brother Taishi Ji to take over. Jizhu thought, I don’t believe it. Taishi Zhong is not afraid of death. With this paranoid idea, he specially sent an order to Taishi Ji to kill him.
I showed him the written historical materials. Taishi Ji took the bamboo slips and went there. When Ji Zhu opened the bamboo slips, he saw that it still read: "In the fifth month of the summer, Cui Zhu murdered King Guang."
When Ji Zhu saw this sentence for the third time, he couldn't help but his lips and hands trembled. He sighed dejectedly and silently put the bamboo slips back on the table. He really knew that these Taishi Orders were real.
They are not afraid of death. They risk their lives to uphold a principle - to write straightly.
Ji Zhu stared at the bamboo slips for a while, and then stared at Tai Shi Ji for a while. He saw that Tai Shi Ji had no fear on his face and stood calmly opposite him, as if he was looking forward to death.
Ji Zhu said: "Don't you cherish your life?"
Tai Shi Ji said: "Who doesn't care about his life? But what I write is to be passed down to future generations. I can't deceive future generations just because I care about my own life. Even if I die, the historians who follow me will still write straightly."
Ji Zhu sighed and said, "Okay. You can write whatever you want. It doesn't make sense to people like you. Just back off."
Taishi Ji thanked him, picked up the bamboo slips, and walked out slowly. As soon as he walked out of the gate, he saw Nan Shi, another historian of Qi State, waiting outside the door holding bamboo slips and knives. Taishi Ji asked in surprise: "You guard?"
What are you doing here?"
Nanshi said: "I heard that Ji Zhu asked you to go, and I thought you were going to die. So I'm waiting here to take your place."
Tai Shi Ji said: "Are you also prepared to die?"
Nanshi said: "If he kills you, I will continue writing."
Taishi Ji smiled faintly, passed the bamboo slips in his hand forward, and said, "But I am still alive."
The two looked at each other and smiled. Then they each hugged their own bamboo slips and said goodbye, and went back to their homes to continue writing history.