After King Chu Ling destroyed Chen and Cai, his ambition to expand the territory further expanded. He also took over the six small princes of Xu, Hu, Shen, Dao, Fang and Shen in one go. country, and gathered the nobles and bureaucracy families from these six countries and moved them to the Jingshan area of Chu State, allowing them to open up wasteland and cultivate land. Needless to say, this group of people complained and hated King Ling of Chu with gnashing of teeth.
In the process of conquering these small countries, Xu State refused to accept it. King Chu Ling sent Chu State General Sima Du to lead 300 military chariots to conquer, and he led the army to Ganxi (southeast of today's Hao County, Anhui Province) as a response. Before leaving, He entrusted the government affairs to the prince, and asked the veteran Wu Ju and the doctor Cai Wei to assist the prince in managing state affairs.
In 529 BC, in the middle of winter, the north wind was howling and the cold was biting. Sima Du's soldiers and horses surrounded the capital of Xu State. The people of Xu State waited for work and refused to surrender. Sima Du continued to attack for more than a month, but could not break the city.
King Ling of Chu saw that he could not win in the front, and the weather was cold and freezing, so he did not want to withdraw his troops, so he simply settled down in Ganxi, preparing to wait until spring next year when the flowers bloom before launching an attack. After he settled in Ganxi, he discovered , this place has a beautiful environment and a comfortable climate, much more comfortable than Yingdu. King Chu Ling probably had a natural interest in architecture. He thought this place was good, so he simply ordered people to build a palace in Ganxi. This palace Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the environment is beautiful and extremely exquisite. He has lived here for a long time since then.
King Ling of Chu lived a very comfortable life in Ganxi. He drank and hunted all day long, ate delicacies and wild game, and had beauties singing and dancing. He was more carefree than the Chu Palace in Yingdu. He simply regarded this place as his second capital.
At this time, far away in the perished "Cai State", Chao Wu was not idle for a day. He had become the confidant of Prince Qiji, but he spent most of his attention on the restoration of the country. Chao Wu paid close attention to the movements of King Chu Ling. Whenever there was an opportunity, he would incite the young master to abandon his illness and fight back to Yingdu.
Prince Qiji said to Chao Wu: "I know that Prince Wei (King Chu Ling) has become the target of public criticism, but it is not that easy to overthrow him. Let's wait for the opportunity."
Chao Wu saw that Master Qiji was relatively passive and felt quite disappointed. He thought, if Master Qiji keeps waiting like this, how many years and months will it take for him to get the opportunity? So he decided to do it himself.
Chao Wu had a subordinate named Cong Guan. This man was quick-minded and very capable. More importantly, like him, Cong Guan was a survivor of Cai State, and he also thought about restoring the country all day long. Chao Wu would follow Cong Guan. The two of them conspired several times before they came up with a solution.
Cong Guan said: "When Gongzi Wei (King Ling of Chu) murdered the King of the Communist Party of Chu, both Ziqian and Zixi ran away, but Gongzi Qiji did not run away. This is enough to show that he has an idea. It's just that he is too good at pretending. Ordinary people can't see it. Since he has ambitions, we might as well force him to do so."
Chao Wu asked: "How to force him?"
Congguan said: "You are a close confidant of Duke Cai (Gongzi Qiji). Why don't you pretend to pass on Duke Cai's order and ask Ziqian and Zixi to come to the state of Cai, saying that Duke Qiji wants to abolish Duke Wei and support them among them?" One of them will be the king. Ziqian and Zixi will definitely come. When the time comes, these two brothers will persuade Cai Gong together, and he will definitely agree to fight back to the capital of Ying."
Chao Wu smiled and said, "This is a very clever plan. Ziqian and Zixi are both in Jin now. Just go out and invite them in person."
Congguan said: "Okay, leave this matter to me. I will definitely invite them here."
Before departure, Chao Wu and Cong Guan found a master of calligraphy from Cai State and wrote a letter imitating the notes of Master Quji. In the tone of Master Quji, they sincerely invited the two young masters Zi Qian and Zi Xi to come to Cai State. They discussed important matters together. To be on the safe side, they deliberately did not say what they were going to discuss.
Chao Wu said: "When Zi Qian and Zi Xi ask you, you can tell me what Young Master Quji means. Just one idea. While Young Master is surrounding (King Ling of Chu) at Ganxi and the capital of Ying is empty, Young Master Quji will lead his troops to sneak attack Ying." All, and then help one of them ascend to the throne."
Congguan said: "I understand. Just look at my sharp tongue."
Three days later, Congguan went to the State of Jin alone and on horseback. He handed the forged letter to Ziqian and Zixi. After the brothers read it, Congguan conducted some lobbying, and Ziqian and Zixi immediately agreed. They He said: "We have been living under someone else's roof in Jin State and have been looking forward to this day for a long time. It doesn't matter who becomes the king. As long as we can return to Chu State, we are willing to do it."
Early the next morning, Ziqian and Zixi went to bid farewell to Han Qi, the minister of Jin. They lied that their son, who was serving as Cai Gong in Cai, was ill, and they wanted to visit Cai. Of course, Han Qi encouraged them and signed the contract for them. Customs clearance documents. In this way, Ziqian, Zixi, Congguan and their entourage rushed to the State of Cai at high speed.
Traveling over mountains and ridges, eating and sleeping in the open air along the way, it was an untold hardship. Needless to say.
Nine days later, at dusk, a group of people quietly entered the capital of Cai State. They took Ziqian and Zixi to Chaowu's mansion. He said to them: "Now, not only you want to return to the capital of Ying, but the people of Cai also want to go back to Yingdu." If the restoration of the country is to be a big thing, there is a key person who must be met. So I will take you to see Chao Wu first. He is the confidant of Young Master Quji. Let us discuss the strategy and then go to see Young Master Quji."
Ziqian and Zixi nodded, and followed Guan to Chao Wu's mansion. Chao Wu slaughtered chickens and sheep that night and entertained the three of them grandly. During the banquet, they drove away the servants and began to carefully discuss how to force the young master to submit. Method. Afterwards, the four people swore to the Tianmeng: work together as one heart and never betray each other.
The next day, the Wu generals Ziqian and Zixi were brought to the mansion of the young master Qiji. The young master Qiji and Ziqian and Zixi had not seen each other for two years. The three brothers told each other the pain of separation. When they talked about the touching scene, they actually held their heads. Cry bitterly.
Ziqian and Zixi were both older than Master Qiji, and as their elder brothers, they took turns encouraging Master Qiji to send troops. Master Qiji was forced to panic, so he said: "Don't be anxious, it's a serious matter. Let me think about it carefully." ."
That night, Chao Wu returned to his mansion and told Cong Guan about the situation of the young master Qu Ji's hesitation. Cong Guan was also worried. The two discussed it for half a night, and finally decided that they would continue to force the young master to submit. .
On the second day, Chao Wu and Cong Guan respectively spread the news among their subjects: "The prince of Chu surrounded himself with debauchery and immorality. He killed his lord, attacked his neighbors, and drove away his brothers. He lost the support of the people and made people and gods angry. Now Cai Gong is here." An army is about to be sent to conquer him. You, the people of Cai State, should join the army enthusiastically and help Cai Gong fight back to the capital of Ying. Only by overthrowing the faint king can we, the people of Cai State, restore our country."
The news immediately spread all over the sky. The people in the capital of Cai State were agitated. Many young and middle-aged people came to the Yamen to ask where to sign up to join the army.
Prince Qiji hurriedly called Chao Wu and asked, "Who leaked the news? Now the people have spread the news and say that I will send troops to attack Yingdu. What should we do?"
Chao Wu said: "My lord, we are on the verge of riding a tiger now. There is only one way, and that is to get this thing done. I have inquired clearly. The King of Chu is stationed at Ganxi with his army. The capital of Ying is empty. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A good opportunity.”
Young Master Qiji said: "It's easy for you to say. With just a few soldiers and horses like me, how dare I go to attack Yingdu?"
Chao Wu said: "It's okay. I can personally go to Chen State and persuade them to send troops together. The troops and horses of Chen and Cai together are enough to capture the capital of Ying."
Young Master Qiji hesitated and said, "Let's try it. If Chen's troops are willing to act together, I will send troops."
Chao Wu immediately returned and ordered Congguan to go to Chen Guo to lobby.
From Guande Ling, he hurried to Chen State with eagerness. As soon as he entered Chen State, he met his friend Xia Zhe on the way. This Xia Zhe was the great-great-grandson of Xia Zhengshu, who was working as a doctor in Chen State at this time. .As soon as Cong Guan explained his mission, Xia Zhe immediately became excited and expressed his willingness to work together to complete this matter.
Xia Zhe said: "You don't need to go to Chen Gong. In Chen State, he is just a decoration. I am the one with real power. I have the final say."
Congguan said: "So, when will we send out troops?"
Xia Zhe said: "Soldiers need to be quick, and it will take two days at most. You and I will go together to join Cai Gong, and then we will attack the capital of Ying."
Three days later, Xia Zhi gathered all the troops of the "Chen State" and arrived at the "Cai State" with Cong Guan. As soon as the Chen State soldiers and horses arrived, the young master Qiji had no way out. At this time, all the Cai State people knew that he was going to fight back. The capital of Ying was captured. Prince Quji had no choice but to do nothing but gather all Cai's men and horses, join Xia Zhe and his troops, and rush to the capital of Ying at the speed of a rapid march.
Chao Wu first sneaked into the capital of Ying and reported the news to Cai Wei. Cai Wei breathed a sigh of relief and immediately expressed his willingness to act as an internal response.
As soon as Young Master Qiji's army arrived, Cai Wei opened the city gate and let him in. The soldiers and civilians in Chu State had long been dissatisfied with King Chu Ling. When they heard that Young Master Qiji was attacking, they did not resist and allowed him to control the capital. The prince and another son of King Ling of Chu were killed. Several ministers in the court who were loyal to King Ling of Chu fled when they saw that the situation was not right.
Prince Qiji easily controlled the court. He worshiped Ziqian as king. But Ziqian repeatedly refused. Prince Qiji said: "You are the elder brother and I am the younger brother. No matter what, this throne is yours."
When Zi Qian ascended the throne, he worshiped Zi Xi as Ling Yin, and Prince Qi Ji became Grand Sima.
Chao Wu was puzzled by the young master's approach to Qi Ji. He privately said to the young master Qi Ji: "General, how can you give up the throne to Zi Gan? I don't know what problems will happen in the future."
Young Master Qiji said: "Yes, because I don't know what problems will arise in the future, I can't take this throne. Think about it, Young Master Wei is still in Ganxi, and he has the elite soldiers of Chu State in his hands. In the future, I can't take the throne." I don’t know what will happen.”
Only then did Chao Wu realize that the young master Qi Ji was not just an ordinary person, but a man with profound foresight. Chao Wu thought about it and made a suggestion: "The King of Chu will definitely come back. We might as well send people to neutralize him first." of the army.”
Young Master Qiji said: "What can you do?"
Chao Wu said: "I have a capable man named Congguan. This man is very resourceful. If you ask him to go, he will definitely have a way."
Sure enough, Cong Guan had a solution. He sneaked into Ganxi and spread the news among the Chu army: "Ziqian has won the throne, and the new king has an order. Anyone who returns to Yingdu first will be rewarded. Anyone who comes back later will have his nose cut off. Anyone who comes back later will have their noses cut off." Those who follow the young master and refuse to look back will not only be punished, but their family members will also be implicated."
The family members of the Chu army were all in the country. After hearing the news, many people deserted. Within a few days, as many as one-third of King Ling of Chu's army had fled.
A few days later, news came. The new prince Qian sent his son Qiji to lead his troops to suppress the enemy. King Chu Ling drew his sword and personally led the remaining troops to meet the enemy. King Chu Ling's soldiers followed him at Ganxi After living there for a long time, many of them had been fighting abroad for a long time and were tired of fighting. In addition, they were fighting against the people of Chu, and they were even more unwilling to sacrifice their lives. So once the battle started, King Chu Ling's side collapsed.
King Chu Ling escaped from the battle with the remaining soldiers. When he looked back, there were only more than a hundred people left. He looked around blankly, not knowing where to go. Because he knew that all the princes in the world hated him, and no country was willing to accept him.
He searched the crowd for a while, and even his most trusted subordinate Zheng Dan was missing. King Chu Ling sighed secretly, he did not expect that it would lead to people betraying their relatives. He just led people around blindly. Afterwards, everyone ran away. He didn't care and continued to wander around one person and one horse at a time.
Three days later, he was so hungry that he fell weakly on the roadside with stars in his eyes. In the haze, King Chu Ling seemed to see someone walking towards him. He stretched out his hand with difficulty and called the person over. The person approached him. King Ling of Chu said: "I am the King of Chu. I have been hungry for three days. Go and get me some food. I will definitely repay you."
The man said: "The new king has an order. If anyone helps you, not only will he be punished, but his family will also be implicated. No one will give you food."
King Ling of Chu said: "If you can't get anything to eat, please stretch your legs over and ask me to sleep on it for a while. I'm really sleepy and I'm going to sleep."
The man did not dare to disobey the order, so he put King Chu Ling's head on his lap and let him sleep on his pillow. After a while, King Chu Ling fell asleep. The man quietly touched a stone and replaced it with the stone. He picked up his legs and then quietly walked away from him.
When King Chu Ling woke up, he found that his head was resting on a stone, and he couldn't help but feel sad in his heart. He forced himself to raise his head, saw a car coming on the road, and shouted: "Come here, I am Chu King, come here quickly."
The driver of the carriage was an official. When he saw that it was King Ling of Chu, he quickly got out of the car and saluted him. Then he helped him into the carriage and took him back to a nearby village. The official did his best to entertain King Chu Ling for a meal. King Chu Ling devoured his meal and lay down in the room to sleep. Where could he sleep? All he could think about was the majesty, luxury and enjoyment of the past... In the second half of the night, he cried loudly and hung himself. committed suicide.
The young master abandoned his illness and went to Wu. Xia Zhe and his soldiers could not find King Ling of Chu everywhere. They only picked up the clothes of King Ling of Chu.
Prince Qiji rolled his eyes and came up with another plan. He called Congguan and explained the plan in detail. Then he assigned hundreds of Chu soldiers to him and asked the defeated soldiers from Congguan to pretend to be Prince Qiji and flee back to Yingdu. To confuse Ziqian and others.
Congguan followed the plan and set off with the "defeated soldiers". As soon as they arrived at the capital of Ying, the "defeated soldiers" panicked and spread the word: "Young Master Qiji was killed by King Ling of Chu. The army of King Chu followed. We are going to kill you all the way to Yingdu."
Rumors spread, and the whole city was frightened. Some people even vividly said that the king's army had entered the city from the east gate. The people in the palace were even more panicked. Some people said that anyone who followed the new king would be punished. Ziqian He Zixi was more scared than anyone else. The two of them were discussing where to run. Suddenly, a general rushed in and said, "Oh no, the king has entered the palace. Run away quickly."
With this shout, the people in the palace immediately ran around. Ziqian and Zixi knew that they could not escape. The two brothers hugged each other and cried. While crying, they also muttered: "Young Master Qiji was fooled. He was originally in Jin State." You stayed well, why did you come back to die?" After crying for a while, the two brothers committed suicide.
Not long after the death of Zi Qian and Zi Xi, an army wearing Chu armor did indeed enter the palace. However, this was not the army of King Ling of Chu, but the army of Prince Qiji. The leader was Cong Guan.
Young Master Qiji dealt with his two older brothers in this way. At this point, Young Master Qiji safely ascended the throne and became King Ping of Chu.
As usual, when King Ping of Chu came to power, he was the one who made great contributions. Xia Zhi, Cai Wei, Chao Wu, and Cong Guan made the most contributions, but they did not come to attend the ceremony. King Ping of Chu sent someone to find them and asked: " Why don’t you come and listen to the seal?”
Chao Wu said: "Back to your Majesty, we don't want to be officials, we just want to return to our hometown."
King Ping of Chu felt that Chao Wu and others must want something, so he said: "Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. You can tell me what you want."
Chao Wu said: "The former King Wei exterminated Chen and Cai and aroused public anger, so he suffered today's defeat. Your Majesty is a wise man, and I urge you to follow the example of King Chuzhuang's restoration of Chen."
King Chu Ping glanced at the audience and asked, "Do you all think so?"
Xia Zhi, Chao Wu, Cai Wei, Cong Guan agreed and said: "Please give me your permission."
King Ping of Chu said: "Okay, I will restore the state of Chen and the state of Cai. You can each go back to your own country and become officials."
As soon as King Ping of Chu said that, the matter was settled. The people of Chu quickly found Gongsun Wu, the son of Yanshi, the crown prince of Chen, and Gongzi Lu, the son of Prince You of Cai. King Chu Ping told them to stay in Chen, respectively. Cai became the king. Of course, they were puppets. Xia Zhe, Chao Wu, Cai Wei, and Congguan also left the capital of Ying and returned to their own countries.
The throne of King Chu Ping was taken from him. He was worried about opposition and did something to win people's hearts. He issued an order to allow the immigrants from the six small vassal states who were moved to Jingshan by King Ling of Chu to return to their home countries. This order Suddenly, many nobles moved with their families. Of course, many of them were grateful and praised King Ping of Chu.