I, compose the 5000 years of China

Chapter 295 Respecting the King and Fighting Barbarians
"Duke Qi Xi has three sons. The eldest son is called Zhu'er, the second son is called Jiu, also known as Gongzi Jiu, and the youngest son is Xiaobai, the youngest son. After his death, Zhu'er inherited the position of the monarch of Qi State as Duke Xiang of Qi. However, Duke Xiang of Qi was rather fatuous and incompetent. During his time as prince, he had an affair with his half-sister "Wen Jiang". Married to Duke Huan of Lu, once, Duke Huan of Lu and Wen Jiang came to Qi State again. At this time, Duke Xiang of Qi had an affair with Wen Jiang again. Unfortunately, Duke Huan of Lu found out about it. Duke Huan of Lu blamed Wen Jiang, but because At that time Qi was very powerful, so Duke Huan of Lu did not dare to do anything to Duke Xiang of Qi. However, Duke Xiang of Qi was afraid that Duke Huan of Lu would tell the world about this, so he sent his son "Peng Sheng" to kill Duke Heng of Lu. In order to calm down Out of the anger of the State of Lu, Duke Xiang of Qi killed his son Peng Sheng again.

"In the same year, Duke Xiang of Qi held a meeting of princes in the state of Wei. The monarch of the state of Wei, Zheng Ziqian, didn't want to go, but he was afraid of the strength of the state of Qi, so he went to the state of Wei to participate in the meeting. Duke Xiang of Qi was very happy to see Zheng Ziqian coming. .Because Zheng Ziquan had a fight with Qi Xianggong before, and Qi Xianggong secretly sent soldiers to kill Zheng Ziquan because Zheng Ziquan didn't apologize to him for the previous incident."

"After being governed by the previous monarchs of Qi State, Qi State has become very powerful at this time. Therefore, although Duke Xiang of Qi is arrogant and domineering, no country dares to do anything to Qi State. It's just that other countries dare not provoke Qi Xiang State. All the forces in the country were very dissatisfied with Qi Xianggong's behavior. Qi Xianggong had a cousin named Gongzi Wuzhi, and he joined other ministers. After Qi Xianggong was injured while playing, Gongzi Wuzhi sent people to surround Qi Xianggong's residence and killed him. Duke Xiang of Qi, proclaimed himself the king of Qi."

Court battles have always been bloody and brutal.

This is not only the case for later generations, but also the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Or rather, it has been like this for thousands of years.

"It's just that the position of the king of the son Wuzhi was unorthodox. After he ascended the throne, the doctor of the Qi State joined other ministers to kill the son Wuzhi. At this time, there was no king in the Qi country, and there were two other sons, namely the son Jiu and the prince. Young Master Xiaobai, they are going to return to the country to inherit the position of the king of Qi. But Young Master Jiu has a very powerful doctor named Guan Zhong. He told Young Master Jiu that if the two of you return to Qi, there will be chaos again. Although Young Master Jiu is older than Xiaobai, but if something happens, it is impossible for Young Master Jiu to ascend the throne. The only way now is to kill Young Master Xiaobai before he returns to Qi.

So Guan Zhong sent troops to stop the son Xiaobai in the middle of the road. When Guan Zhong saw Xiaobai, he shot an arrow into Xiaobai's chest.But it happened to be blocked by the hook on Xiaobai's chest.Xiaobai bit his tongue and vomited blood, pretending to be dead.Although Guan Zhong was skeptical, he wanted Prince Jiu to return to Qi to inherit the throne first.But in the end, Prince Jiu was very happy when he heard that Guan Zhong had shot Xiaobai with an arrow. He felt that Xiaobai would no longer be able to compete with him for the throne.On the way back to the state of Qi, young master Jiu traveled all the way to the mountains and rivers, and it took him 6 days to return to the state of Qi.But Xiaobai on the other side knows that this trip is very dangerous, and he should return to Qi State as soon as possible.In order not to be discovered, Xiaobai hid in the tent and did not come out for a moment.It took only three days for Xiaobai to return to Qi.And when Xiaobai returned to Qi State, he was supported by the officials and other ministers of Qi State. In the end, Xiaobai inherited the position of Qi State Monarch as Duke Huan of Qi. "

It has to be said that Xiaobai's succession to the position of the king of Qi is an element of luck, which also proves that Xiaobai is very smart and witty.

Clearing his throat, Chen Fan continued: "When Young Master Jiu returned to Qi, he found out after inquiring that his younger brother Xiaobai had already become the king. At this time, he knew that he had no chance, so he fled to Qi State. Lu State. And after Xiaobai inherited the position of Qi State King, he also knew that his position would be threatened by his elder brother. So he sent someone to threaten the Lu State King. The Lu State King was afraid that Qi State would attack them, so he killed the son Correction. Originally Xiaobai also wanted to kill Guan Zhong, the one who almost shot him to death with an arrow. However, the doctor Bao Shuya who has been following him said that if the king wants to govern Qi, then I, Bao Shuya, and the people of Qi Ministers are fine. However, if the emperor wants to achieve hegemony in the world, then he must be Guan Zhong. Guan Zhong is the most talented minister in the world. Whichever country he goes to, that country will be strong. Although Duke Huan of Qi was almost given a Afterwards, he sent someone to invite Guan Zhong back to the state of Qi, and then talked with Guan Zhong about the art of overlord in the world. After hearing this, Xiaobai was very excited, and then he worshiped him as a doctor. Appoint Guan Zhong as chancellor."

This story is almost the same as Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty, regardless of previous suspicions, and also reused Wei Zheng.

Both stories happened between brothers competing for the position of king.

It was the elder brother who was the prince who failed.

But in the end, both of them were broad-minded, and instead of killing the most important ministers their elder brother relied on, they reused them instead.

It is also because of their hearts, whether it is Duke Huan of Qi or Li Shiming, they are all famous in history.

"Here, while talking about Duke Heng of Qi, I want to tell you about Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya."

To say that Duke Huan of Qi became the number one tyrant in the Spring and Autumn Period, he would absolutely be inseparable from these two.

"Bao Shuya and Guan Zhong were good friends when they were young, and they were both descendants of the Qi family. It was only later that Guan Zhong's family fell into decline. In order to make a living, Guan Zhong partnered with Bao Shuya to do business. However, when he made money in business, Guan Zhong always paid more. Give it to yourself, and give less to Bao Shuya. But Bao Shuya never argues with Guan Zhong about this. People secretly say that Guan Zhong is greedy for money and doesn’t care about friendship. , he did this because his family was poor, and I would rather give him more money.

Guan Zhong participated in the battle three times, but escaped from the battle three times.So people laughed at him, saying that Guan Zhong was greedy for life and afraid of death, and had no spirit of brave sacrifice. After hearing the ridicule, Bao Shuya knew that this was not in line with Guan Zhong's actual situation, so he explained to people that Guan Zhong was not afraid of death because he had an elderly mother at home. , all depended on him to support, so he had to do that.

The friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya is very sincere, and he tried to do some good things for Bao Shuya many times, but he couldn't do it.Therefore, people think that Guan Zhong has no ability, but Bao Shuya doesn't think so. He knows in his heart that his friend Guan Zhong is a very capable person.Things didn't get done just because the opportunity wasn't ripe.During the long-term relationship, the two of them formed a deep friendship. Guan Zhong said to people many times: "It was my parents who gave birth to me, and it was Bao Shuya who knew me."Later generations commented on the friendship between the two, calling it the friendship between Guan and Bao. "

This story made all the students listen with great relish.

Although there were many heinous things in ancient times, there were also many friendships that later generations admired.

There is another story here.

At that time, Bao Pinya liked to eat a delicacy called shield fish. Because of Bao Shuya's fame, people later called shield fish abalone.

Correct.

It is the abalone that people like to eat very much.

"Guan Zhong later defected to Prince Jiu of Qi State, but Bao Shuya looked down on the political affairs of Qi State, and some did not want to be an official. At this time, Guan Zhong persuaded Bao Shuya. He said that although it seems that Qi Xianggong is in power But now the domestic political environment is not good, and Qi Xianggong is not a very good person. Once something happens to Qi Xianggong, then the latter position will fall into the hands of Young Master Jiu and Young Master Xiaobai. I am now defecting to Young Master Jiu, you can definitely Support son Xiaobai. In this way, no matter which of the two inherits the throne at that time, we will have a support. It is also because of Guan Zhong's suggestion that later Bao Shuya recommended Guan Zhong after son Xiaobai inherited the throne."

It is precisely because Qi Huangong had Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya that Qi Huan was able to dominate later.

With these two ministers, everyone has a clearer understanding of Duke Huan of Qi and the state of Qi.

"It seems that Duke Huan of Qi is about to achieve hegemony."

"Well, the king's virtuous name has a generous heart, and he has such an excellent minister, so he must be able to achieve hegemony."

Everyone chatted on the public channel while listening to Chen Fan's explanation.

Chen Fan continued: "At that time, it was the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the vassal states conquered each other. At this time, Duke Huan of Qi asked Guan Zhong, how did they dominate Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period? Guan Zhong said that although the strength of Zhou Tianzi has declined Many, even worse than a slightly larger vassal state, but Zhou Tianzi is still the ruler of the Zhou Dynasty, and he still has a certain influence. If Qi wants to achieve hegemony, he can use the strategy of respecting the king and fighting barbarians, as long as he plays this Banner, as the head of the princes, hold the emperor to cut down disrespect."

This story was used more perfectly by Cao Cao in the later Three Kingdoms.

"Xiaobai adopted Guan Zhong's strategy, and then began to prepare. However, although Qi State was powerful at that time, it was not that scary. At that time, there was a country called Hengshan, and Xiaobai wanted to destroy him. However, although Qi State was destroyed Losing the strength of Hengshan Kingdom, but he himself will also suffer some losses. Guan Zhong said to Xiaobai, Hengshan Kingdom is a small country, and the king is relatively stupid, and he has no long-term ideas. We can buy their weapons at high prices. After the acquisition, the weapons of Hengshan Kingdom sold very well, and other countries also came to buy them. The King of Hengshan Kingdom thought it was profitable, so he increased the price to 20 times the original price. As a result, the people of Hengshan Kingdom gave up agriculture at once. , Turned to blacksmithing.

When Guan Zhong bought seven or eight of the weapons of Hengshan State, Qi State sent troops to attack Hengshan State.Originally, Hengshan was a small country, and it was impossible to fight against Qi.In addition, they had sold out all their weapons a year ago, and now, in the face of Qi's attack, Hengshan had no strength left to resist.Within a year, Hengshan surrendered to Qi. "

This strategy got everyone to applaud for a while.

Through such a strategy, it is very clever to make Hengshan Kingdom surrender at once.

"After all, Hengshan is a small country. In the Spring and Autumn Period, some countries were relatively strong, such as Chu. At that time, Chu was very powerful, and its strength was only a little weaker than Qi. Qi wanted to dominate the Spring and Autumn Period, but Chu did not agree. At this time Then, Guan Zhong suggested another idea to Xiaobai, he said, there is a very rare deer in Chu State. If we buy deer from Chu State at a high price, then we can use up the national strength of Chu State.”

This strategy is somewhat incomprehensible.

"Mr. Chen Fan, buying deer from Chu State at a high price, how can this consume Chu State's national strength?"

A student asked a question.

It is understandable to buy weapons from Hengshan Kingdom.

If the weapons are sold out, then Hengshan Kingdom will naturally lose its fighting power.

Moreover, the production conditions were so low at that time, even if the weapons were sold out, it was impossible to produce them all at once.

Chen Fan replied with a smile: "Don't worry, let me explain slowly. Originally, the price of a deer in Chu State was 8 yuan, but after Qi State bought the deer at a high price, the price of the deer suddenly increased tenfold. At that time The incident caught the attention of the king of Chu, but the king of Chu didn't think it was a big deal. They thought the deer was just an animal, not a weapon, and not of much value. But the money was still very useful, and they could buy a lot of things .

As a result, the king of Chu let the merchants from the state of Qi come to the state of Chu to buy deer everywhere, but the king of Chu didn't know it.Because the value of deer has risen too high, many people do not farm when it is busy.They think that instead of farming, it is better to catch deer, and the price of catching a deer is much more cost-effective than farming.At this time, Guan Zhong sent people to Chu State to secretly buy a series of grains.In the second year, when Chu's food reserves were almost exhausted, Guan Zhong told Xiaobai that it was time to attack Chu.As a result, Chu State suffered a lot of defeats in the military soon because of lack of food.The king of Chu was very anxious, and they took the money and went to other countries to collect grain.But Qi State had been prepared for a long time and sent troops to block Chu State's way.In this way, in just three years, the vitality of Chu State was seriously injured.In the end, Chu State surrendered to Qi State. "

It has to be said that Guan Zhongzhi was truly unparalleled in the world at that time.

With Guan Zhong, Qi State can achieve world dominance.

"By this time, the national power of Qi State is already quite strong. However, if Qi State wants to achieve hegemony, it is impossible to attack all the countries in the Spring and Autumn Period. At this time, Guan Zhong proposed to let some other vassal states come to Qi National Congress League. And Duke Huan of Qi presided over this alliance as the leader of the alliance. Through the alliance, Qi State really began to implement the strategy of [respecting the king and eliminating barbarians] proposed by Guan Zhong. And in the following years, he proposed to allow A group of vassals made an alliance. Some vassal states disagreed, such as Song State. At that time, Song State rejected Qi State, and Qi State joined forces with Chen State and Cai State to send troops to Song State. Song State could not defeat Qi State in the first place. At this time, I saw three countries attacking me together, so I attached myself to Qi."

This strategy can be said to be very clever.

Under Guan Zhong's suggestion, Xiaobai, the more he uses it, the more enjoyable it becomes.

He felt that this method of playing other people's banners could achieve his dominance rather than sending troops directly, and it would not waste a single soldier. In the next few years, Xiaobai continued to act as the princes of the Spring and Autumn Period The leader of the country, to deal with matters between countries.

"In 651 BC, there was a problem within the emperor of Zhou. Duke Huan of Qi supported King Xiang of Zhou when the emperor succeeded to the throne. Finally, with the support of Duke Huan of Qi Xiaobai, King Xiang of Zhou succeeded to the throne. In this year, the State of Qi called again The vassal kingdoms met in Kuiqiu. King Xiang of Zhou, because Duke Huan of Qi took the lead in supporting him, sent his prime minister, Confucius, to give Duke Huan of Qi the sacrificial meat, bows and arrows, and the emperor’s chariots and horses. This move also marks that Duke Huan of Qi has been recognized by the Emperor of Zhou, officially dominating the Spring and Autumn Period..."

(End of this chapter)