King Chu Ping (Gongzi Qiji) was a fierce character. After he came to power, he began to purge the court. The princes and grandchildren of King Chu Ling were the first to bear the brunt. Some were killed and some were exiled. Among them, a very small number of people due to special circumstances The bloodline kinship relationship was able to preserve itself, but everyone was trembling with fear and kept their tail between their legs from then on.
Among the brothers of the same generation as King Ping of Chu, Ziqian and Zixi, the two closest to the throne, are dead. The rest of them dare not have any inappropriate thoughts, and everyone has become well-behaved.
The ministers in the court acted according to the wind and quickly fell at the feet of King Chu Ping. King Chu Ping's throne was thus firmly established.
Once King Ping of Chu was firmly established, his true nature was exposed. He began to covet all kinds of enjoyment, even to the point of debauchery. Since ancient times, when kings reached this time, they often liked flatterers, because only such People make them most comfortable.
Minister Fei Wuji became a close confidant of King Ping of Chu. Fei Wuji was a man who was very good at maneuvering. He was talented and ambitious, and wanted to be the magistrate of the Chu Kingdom. Therefore, he tried his best to flatter the king and wanted to succeed. He tried his best to please King Chu Ping. King Chu Ping was indeed very happy to be served by him and he liked him more and more.
Prince Jian disliked Fei Wuji very much and often advised King Chu Ping, hoping that he would stay away from villains like Fei Wuji. But King Chu Ping would not listen at all.
Fei Wuji was not an easy man. He knew that Prince Jian hated him, so he did not think of any way to remedy it. Instead, he secretly opposed Prince Jian. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would also cause trouble for Prince Jian in front of King Chu Ping. The strange thing is that , sometimes, King Chu Ping just believed him.
Fei Wuji and Prince Jian became enemies.
In 527 BC, the second year of King Ping of Chu, Prince Jian had reached the age of marriage. The ministers of Chu State discussed and planned to arrange a marriage for Prince Jian. Jin State was a sworn enemy, so there was no mention of it. Qi State was a big country, and it seemed that it had never been a marriage. The people of Chu looked down upon the other small vassal states. At the end of the discussion, the kings and ministers of Chu thought that the most suitable choice was to marry Qin.
In this way, King Ping of Chu sent envoys to Qin with generous gifts to propose marriage to Duke Ai of Qin who was in power at that time. The young Duke Ai of Qin felt that the marriage between Qin and Chu was a collaboration between two powerful forces, so he agreed. He was among the clan members of Qin. After a while, a woman named Meng Ying was finally selected.
Meng Ying was the eldest sister of Duke Ai of Qin. She was seventeen years old. She was born in a beautiful country and looked like a great beauty. Duke Ai of Qin accepted the betrothal gift, set a wedding date with the Chu envoy, and sent the Chu envoy back.
King Chu Ping was naturally very happy to receive the reward. When selecting relatives to pick him up, Fei Wuji took the initiative to ask to go to Qin to pick him up. Fei Wuji had two considerations. First, it was a good job. Once it was done, he would naturally Received a commendation from King Chu Ping. Secondly, he picked up Prince Jian's bride, and he could take this opportunity to ease the tense relationship between him and Prince Jian. King Chu Ping already trusted Fei Wuji, so it would be best if he was willing to go. .
In this way, Fei Wuji took the wedding team on the road. No one would have thought that just because Fei Wuji was sent to welcome the bride, the Chu State would be the root of trouble.
Fei Wuji's wedding in Qin went smoothly. The problem came on the way back.
The road from Qin to Chu was relatively long, and there were many stops and stops along the way, including food and accommodation. Fei Wuji had to greet the bride every day and take care of the needs of the bride Meng Ying at any time. During the contact, Fei Wuji discovered that Meng Ying Ying had a dowry girl who looked very similar to her. Not only were they similar in height and body shape, but their eyebrows, face shape, and beauty were also similar. Fei Wuji started to think crookedly. As the wedding procession approached Yingdu day by day, , a bold plan was formed in his mind.
When the wedding team returned to Yingdu, Fei Wuji arranged for Meng Ying and her guards to stay at the State Guesthouse of Chu State as usual. Then, he ran to the palace to report to King Chu Ping. After explaining the matter
Afterwards, he praised the bride.
"Your Majesty, this bride is extremely beautiful."
"Haha, how beautiful is it?"
"To put it more vulgarly, it can be said that it is rare on earth but only found in heaven."
"Hahaha, isn't that a fairy? Is she really that beautiful?"
"Your Majesty, she is so beautiful. Ordinarily, I, Fei Wuji, have seen beauties before, but I don't dare to look at Meng Ying. My heart beats loudly when I see her."
"Haha, what you said is amazing. I really want to take a look."
"Your Majesty, no. You can't look at it. Once you see it, I'm sure you won't be able to let it go."
"Humph, what kind of beauty have I not seen before? Even if she is a fairy, so what? I still have to see her." After saying this, King Chu Ping suddenly froze, half-opened his mouth, and said nothing.
.
Fei Wuji observed his words and asked, "Your Majesty, what's going on?"
King Chu Ping sighed and said: "It's a pity that she is the prince's bride. Forget it."
Fei Wuji smiled and said: "Actually, the king insists on meeting me, so there is no harm in meeting him."
King Ping of Chu asked: "What did you say?"
Fei Wuji said: "This Meng Ying has a dowry girl. She looks too much like her. We only need to exchange this girl for Meng Ying, and then the king can see Meng Ying? As for the prince, as long as no one tells her,
, he will never know what happened."
King Chu Ping felt itchy after being told by Fei Wuji, so he said, "Okay, you can handle this matter. You must do it flawlessly for me."
Fei Wuji nodded and bowed and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, it will definitely be perfect. Besides, who you want to marry the Crown Prince, isn't it just a matter of your words?"
King Chu Ping waved his hand and said: "Okay, don't be nagging, let's go and do it."
That night, Fei Wuji sent Meng Ying to the palace of King Ping of Chu. Here, he deliberately kept Meng Ying's girl and said to her: "The King of Chu fell in love with Meng Ying and wanted to marry him. I had to call you."
I will marry the prince of Chu in Meng Ying's stead. Are you willing?"
Of course the girl was happy. Fei Wuji added: "Only you know this matter. If you don't want to ruin yourself, never tell the truth. Can you do it?"
The girl said: "When I arrive in Chu State, I will listen to your Chu State. How can I tell the truth?"
That's how it got done.
A few days later, Prince Jian married Meng Ying's maid. Of course, he had no idea. He had always happily thought that he was holding a princess from Qin. For outsiders, especially for people from Chu, there was no such thing.
People felt something was wrong. Everyone thought it was a happy thing.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. I don’t know since when, there were gossips inside and outside the palace, saying that Prince Jian married a maid, while King Chu Ping married Meng Ying, the princess of Qin. There was nothing wrong with Prince Jian, but
The young and beautiful Meng Ying had a quarrel with King Chu Ping. In order to please her, King Chu Ping promised her that as long as she gave birth to a son, he would become the prince in the future.
Unexpectedly, Meng Ying's belly was quite promising. In the second year, Meng Ying really gave birth to a son for King Chu Ping, named Gong Zizhen. King Chu Ping was also unambiguous. When his brain got hot, he deposed the prince built by the prince.
position, and made Gongzi Zhen the crown prince.
After these changes, the original rumors had basis. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that King Chu Ping had indeed done something illegal. Prince Jian became depressed. He didn't say anything, but every time he saw his father,
He looked very uncomfortable. King Chu Ping also felt awkward in his heart.
Fei Wuji was afraid that one day the secret would be exposed and he would be in trouble. So he gave King Chu Ping an idea:
"Your Majesty, there are rumors outside, have you heard about them?"
"What rumor?"
"Some people say that Prince Jian married Empress Meng Ying's maid."
"Why don't I know? Who said that? Check it out for me."
"Your Majesty, we can't investigate. If we investigate, the matter will be exposed."
"Oh, what do you think we should do?"
"Your Majesty, have you noticed that something has been wrong with Prince Jian recently?"
"Yes." King Chu Ping nodded and said, "It's a bit. There is something wrong indeed. Did he hear something?"
"It doesn't matter whether he heard it or not. Since there are rumors, we can't take chances. Otherwise something will happen sooner or later." Fei Wuji said tentatively.
King Chu Ping stared and said, "What do you want?"
Fei Wuji quickly restrained himself, smiled and said: "I want to hide this matter for the sake of your Majesty, and I must hide it completely. It must not be leaked. I mean, we might as well transfer Prince Jian away from the right and wrong of Yingdu."
Vortex. As time goes by, everything will pass. What do you think?"
King Chu Ping thought for a moment and said: "This is a way. I also think he is an eyesore, so he should be transferred away from Yingdu. Yes, just transfer him away."
A few days later, the imperial court issued an edict from King Ping of Chu, assigning Prince Jian to guard Chengfu. This place was in today's Baofeng County, Henan Province, and was an important border town of Chu. The prince was expelled from the capital and sent to the border. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this
There's something a little bit derogatory about it.
Although King Chu Ping wanted to keep Prince Jian away, he also knew that national affairs should not be taken lightly. After all, Prince Jian was young and his experience and ability were not outstanding. It was a bit unsafe to hand over an important border town to him. Because
Therefore, he specially arranged for two capable people to assist the prince in his construction. One of these two people was named Wu She and the other was named Fen Yang.
Wu She's father is Wu Ju. He was very famous during the era of King Zhuang of Chu. Later, he assisted King Chu Gong and King Chu Ling. He was a veteran of the three dynasties. He was very famous. By the time Prince Qiji came to the throne, he was already dead.
Wu She inherited his father's position and became a senior official of the Chu state. However, in King Chu Ping's mind, Wu Ju was an old minister of King Chu Ling, and Wu She was not his direct descendant. Therefore, he was wary of Wu She.
The problem with Fen Yang is that he is too upright. Fen Yang dares to speak out and stick to his principles, which offends many powerful people. He is also an unpopular person.
King Ping of Chu originally wanted to clean up the court, so he took the opportunity of Prince Jian being expelled from Yingdu to purge these two people.
When Wu She and Fen Yang were appointed, King Chu Ping made an explanation: "You two are capable and stable ministers. I feel relieved to have you go. Although the father of the city is small, he is important. You must assist the prince well."
Wu She and Fen Yang both knelt down and worshiped, saying that they would fulfill their duties and serve to the death. They accepted the task.
On the day that Prince Jian, Wu She, and Fen Yang set out, it happened to be rainy and cold. There was a cold wind outside Yingdu City. Prince Jian and his team had just left the east gate when a young man came on horseback. At this time, Prince Jian's team
Zhongzheng had two sons from Wu She, one named Wu Shang and the other Wu Yuan. When the Wu Yuan saw the young man, he shouted happily: "Brother Shen came here in the rain, thank you for your hard work."
This young man's surname was Shen, and his given name was Baoxu. He was a minister of the State of Chu. He jumped off the horse happily, took off a baggage from the horse, and handed it to the Wu Yuan. Then he saluted Wu She and others one by one. After greetings for a while, he said to the Wu Yuan
: "I heard that you were going to Chengfu with your father, so I rushed here early in the morning. I didn't have any instructions, so I just sent you some food."
Wu Yuan said: "Brother Shen took the trouble."
Wu She came up and said, "You guys chat for a while, and we'll leave first. Wu Yuan, you can catch up by yourself."
The soldier said: "This is best. Father, you can leave first."
Prince Jian and his entourage continued on their way. Two good friends, Wu Yuan and Shen Baoxu, reluctantly said goodbye. Then they went their separate ways. Shen Baoxu returned to the city, and Wu Yuan (Wu Zixu) went to catch up with the team.
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Let’s talk about Yingdu City. Two months after Prince Jian left, Fei Wuji sent a message to Meng Ying in the palace, asking her to take this opportunity to lobby King Ping of Chu. Fei Wuji said: “I cooperated with the agitation outside and attacked from both inside and outside.
, I will surely seize the position of queen in one fell swoop.”
Meng Ying had been waiting for this day for a long time. After she got the news about Fei Wuji, she started to do her best to make trouble in front of King Chu Ping.
"Your Majesty, when you first married me, you promised me personally that you would make me your queen. Now that our son, Gongzizhen, is old, when will you fulfill your promise?"
"My dear concubine, don't worry. My words will definitely be fulfilled."
"Huh, you say that every time. You always fool me. I am the princess of Qin. In terms of talent, appearance and strength, I am no better than your Cai Ji. I think you are just fooling me."
"Things have to be done step by step. Prince Jian left not long ago. Just wait."
After hearing this, Meng Ying turned around and sat on the bedside, with tears streaming down his face. When King Chu Ping saw the beauty crying, like a pear blossom with rain, he was not angry in his heart, but felt pity for her. He went to comfort her with a smile.
…
Just like this, in the third month after Prince Jian left, King Chu Ping sent Queen Cai Ji back to the State of Cai. Prince Jian's mother was Cai Ji. His mother's queen was deposed, and Prince Jian suffered accordingly.
After that, the imperial court issued an edict from King Ping of Chu: to make Meng Ying the queen; to abolish the position of crown prince established by Prince Jian and to make Meng Ying's son Gongzizhen the crown prince.