In the fifteenth year of Duke Xi of Lu (645 BC), Guan Zhong, who had devoted his whole life to achieving the hegemony of Qi, came to the end of his life. Hearing that Guan Zhong was seriously ill and dying, Duke Huan of Qi went to Guan Zhong's mansion in person, regardless of his old age. Go to visit. After some greetings and condolences, Duke Huan of Qi asked Guan Zhong: "In your opinion, who can take over your position?"
Guan Zhong said very cautiously: "There is no better minister than you. Who do you like more?"
Duke Huan of Qi liked Bao Shuya, and Guan Zhong said sincerely: "Bao Shuya is a gentleman, but he is too clear-minded about good and evil, so he cannot be his prime minister."
Duke Huan of Qi asked, "How is Yi Ya?" Yi Ya was good at cooking and was a favorite of Duke Huan of Qi. One day, Duke Huan of Qi had a bad appetite and just said, "I'm tired of eating all kinds of delicacies, so I want to try steamed food." What does baby meat taste like?" So Yi Ya killed his son and cooked it for Duke Huan of Qi. Duke Huan of Qi learned the truth afterwards and was very moved. He believed that Yi Ya's loyalty to him even exceeded the love between father and son. From then on, he trusted him even more. Therefore, after the veteran Bao Shuya, Yi Ya was the first to be chosen as the prime minister.
Guan Zhong shook his head and said: "This Yi Ya even cooked his own son in order to please the king. Such an inhumane person, greedy for fame and profit, is not suitable for the prime minister."
Duke Huan of Qi asked again: "How about Kai Fang?" Kai Fang was the eldest son of Wei Yigong. When Duke Huan of Qi attacked Wei State, Wei Yigong sent him to Qi State to bring gifts to sue for peace. Kaifang saw that Qi's national power was at its peak, so he stayed in Qi as an official and did not return home for fifteen years. Later, the Wei State was destroyed by the Di people, and Wei Yigong died without a complete body. Even Wei Yigong's sister, Mrs. Xu Mu, who was married to Xu State, hurried back to Wei State to rebuild her homeland, but Kaifang remained indifferent and continued to stay. The state of Qi served Duke Huan of Qi. Qi Huangong believed that Kai Fang was more loyal to him than his love for his motherland, so he trusted him very much.
Guan Zhong replied: "Master Wei Kaifang gave up his position as the crown prince of Wei and served the king for fifteen years. He did not even go back to attend the funeral when his father died. How can such a ruthless and unjust man, who does not keep loyalty and filial piety, be sincere?" Loyal to the king? Moreover, if he gives up the fiefdom of a thousand chariots and submits to the king, what he wants in his heart must be more than the fiefdom of a thousand chariots, and the king must not allow him to become the prime minister."
Duke Huan of Qi asked again: "What about Shu Diao? He would rather mutilate himself to serve me. How could such a person be unfaithful to me?" Shu Diao was a favorite eunuch of Duke Huan of Qi. At first, Duke Huan of Qi was looking for capable people for himself. Shu Diao was in charge of the affairs of the harem. When he heard about it, he castrated himself and entered the palace to serve Duke Huan of Qi.
Guan Zhong said worriedly: "It is against humanity not to cherish one's own body. How can such a person be truly loyal to you? Please be sure to alienate these three people and trust them. The country will be in chaos."
The two talked for a long time, but could not decide on a successor to the country that both parties were satisfied with. Qi Huangong was a little dissatisfied. So Guan Zhong had no choice but to do the next best thing and recommended Xi Peng, who had gone with him to the Zhou Dynasty to complete the peace talks with the Rong people, to Duke Huan of Qi. He said that Xi Peng was loyal to the emperor, patriotic, kind-hearted, diligent, studious, not ashamed to ask questions, and did not work at home. Forget about official duties and be very responsible. Duke Huan of Qi thought about it and thought it was good, so he agreed to appoint Xi Peng as prime minister.
Not long after, Guan Zhong died of illness. When Guan Zhong was still alive, he often advised Duke Huan of Qi as Prime Minister. As a king, Duke Huan of Qi had many shortcomings. He was obsessed with success, greedy for pleasure, and indulged in women. It was precisely because of Guan Zhong's advice and even checks and balances that Duke Huan of Qi avoided many mistakes and embarked on the correct pursuit of respecting the king and repelling the foreigners. The road to hegemony will eventually lead to hegemony.
After Guan Zhong passed away, although Duke Huan of Qi was very sad, he also got rid of this rare person who dared to restrain himself. Originally, after Guan Zhong's death, Duke Huan of Qi expelled Yiya, Shu Diao, Kai Fang and other sycophants in accordance with his instructions before his death. However, at this time, Duke Huan of Qi was already over seventy years old and no longer had the ambition and enterprising spirit of his youth. Indulging in pleasure, he suddenly lost these few jesters and felt that he was eating nothing every day. So Duke Huan of Qi thought that Guan Zhong was wrong about them, so he quickly sent people to recall them. From then on, they gradually got lost in the flattery and sweet words of Yi Ya and other treacherous ministers.
In the seventeenth year of Duke Xi of Lu (643 BC), the elderly Duke Huan of Qi fell seriously ill, and his five sons began to openly fight for the throne. When Yi Ya and Shu Diao saw that Duke Huan of Qi had passed away not long ago, they blocked the palace gate and pretended to convey the emperor's orders. No one was allowed to enter, and no one even gave him food or water. A palace maid secretly climbed over the wall and entered Duke Huan of Qi's residence. Duke Huan of Qi, who had been hungry for several days, was overjoyed to see her and eagerly asked for food and water. The palace maid said: "I have neither food nor water. Now I am making trouble with my teeth and cunning, blocking the palace gate and not allowing anyone to come in or out. Where can I find food?"
After hearing this, Duke Huan of Qi sighed deeply and shed tears of remorse: "I regret not listening to Zhongfu's words. If the deceased is known under the spring, how can I see him?" After saying this, he covered his face with his sleeves and found himself alive. Starving to death, a generation of overlords died at the hands of villains. In shame, he died in depression.
What is even more tragic is that after the death of Duke Huan of Qi, his five sons were busy killing each other and vying for the position of king. No one had time to visit his funeral. The body of Duke Huan of Qi lay on the bed for more than two months. No one paid attention. It was not until later that the young master Wu Kui, who had helped the Wei people build a new capital after the Wei Kingdom was destroyed by the Di people, won the victory and obtained the position of king, had time to prepare a coffin for Duke Huan of Qi and arrange funeral arrangements. At this time, Duke Huan of Qi's The corpse was badly decomposed, and corpse insects crawled out of the palace doors and windows. Since then, "ignoring the corpse and attacking each other" has become the biggest warning to the king of a country about the issue of heir arrangement. More than two thousand years later, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty once lamented that he was troubled by the heir issue, worrying that he would Follow in the footsteps of Duke Huan of Qi.
It is recorded in historical records: "Gong Huan of Qi was fond of his wife, and favored many of his wives, including six wives." None of the three legitimate wives that Duke Huan of Qi married successively, Zhou Wangji, Xu Ying, and Cai Ji, gave birth to his legitimate sons, and only six of his beloved concubines gave birth to him. A few bastards were born. Among them, Gongzi Wukui, Gongzi Yuan, Gongzi Zhao, Gongzi Pan, and Gongzi Shang all served as kings of Qi and were killed by their own brothers within a few years. After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the chaos in Qi continued for more than forty years, and the dominance of the nine princes was no longer the same.
The Song Dynasty was a feudal state owned by Wei Ziqi, the royal family of the Shang Dynasty, and his descendants. Wei Ziqi was the eldest brother of King Zhou of Shang Dynasty. He had repeatedly remonstrated with King Zhou's tyranny. After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, Wei Ziqi, on behalf of the Shang royal family, bared his upper body, tied his hands behind his back, took the Shang ancestral temple sacrificial vessels, and surrendered to King Wu's military camp to plead guilty.
In order to appease the remaining ministers of the Shang Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou restored Wei Ziqi's title in the Shang Dynasty and gave him the area in the eastern part of Henan Province as a feudal state. This position is between Qi State, Lu State and other big countries, and the terrain is flat and undefeable. Therefore, Song State not only has a small territory, but also has little military advantage. It is almost impossible to rely on military strength to expand territory and expand territory. Dominate for a while. However, due to historical reasons, the monarchs of the Song Dynasty had high titles, respected etiquette and law, and often prided themselves on benevolence and righteousness.
In the seventeenth year of Duke Xi of Lu (643 B.C.), Duke Huan of Qi, the reigning monarch of Qi, passed away. Since he had no legitimate son, he negotiated with Guan Zhong, the prime minister, to make Zhao, the son of Zheng Ji, the crown prince. He also asked Duke Xiang of Song Dynasty to Mr. Zhao takes more care of him. But things went against expectations. After Duke Huan of Qi passed away, the sons of his five favorite concubines all wanted to succeed and colluded with the ministers to kill each other. In order to allow her son to succeed to the throne, Duke Huan of Qi's favored concubine Chang Wei Ji colluded with Duke Huan of Qi's favored ministers Yi Ya and Shu Diao to cause trouble, killed the officials who disobeyed her, and supported the young master to succeed to the throne without any loss.
Prince Zhao, the prince appointed by Duke Huan of Qi, was alone and unable to compete with the powerful Chang Wei Ji, Yi Ya, Shu Diao and others, so he had to lead his people to escape from Qi and went into exile. Gongzizhao remembered that his father had asked Duke Xiang of Song to take care of him, and that Song State was relatively close to Qi State, so he hurried to Song State and asked Song Xianggong for help.
Song State was originally a small country, and its national power was not outstanding, but its king, Song Xianggong, was a man with great ambitions. When Duke Huan of Song Dynasty passed away, Duke Xianggang of Song Dynasty succeeded to the throne as his legitimate son, so he named his concubine Mu Yi, a son with a reputation as a virtuous son, as Sima, that is, Prime Minister. The two brothers worked together and worked hard to govern, and implemented many measures that benefited the country and the people, enriched the country and strengthened the army, which was known in history as "East Palace Governing".
On the other hand, when Duke Xianggong of Song Dynasty saw the rise of Qi's power and Duke Huan of Qi becoming the overlord of various vassal states, he decided to follow Duke Huan of Qi. The Song State actively participated in a series of actions by the State of Qi to rescue the State of Wei, the State of Xing, and the crusade against the State of Chu, etc. The Song State actively participated. Later, the State of Zheng betrayed the State of Qi, and Duke Huan of Qi summoned an army of princes to attack the State of Zheng, and also occupied many places. The land of Shaozheng State was assigned to Song State. By participating in these actions, the Song State's national strength, status and reputation among the princes and states have been greatly improved. At the same time, Song Xianggong saw with his own eyes the authority of Qi Huangong's sword, and the princes did not dare to disobey it, and he felt very envious.
After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, Qi was overwhelmed by civil strife and unable to maintain its hegemony. At this time, Song Xianggong believed that the power of the Song Dynasty had increased significantly and was very influential among various countries. At the same time, he had a high title and was a representative of etiquette. Therefore, he was the best candidate to inherit Qi Huangong's dominance. It happened that Prince Zhao of Qi State fled to Song State to seek asylum. Song Xianggong believed that this was a good opportunity. If he could help Prince Zhao return to his country and ascend the throne, he would naturally be able to control Qi State. By then, he would use Qi State's former hegemony to conquer Song State. Naturally, he can legitimately become the overlord.
So Song Xianggong decided to escort Gongzi Zhao back to his country to ascend the throne. He issued an order to all the vassal states just like Qi Huangong did, asking all countries to send troops to escort Gongzi Zhao back to Qi. But Song is a small country after all. Although its national power has greatly increased by following Qi, it still cannot be compared with the big countries. Moreover, Prince Wu Kui of Qi State has already ascended the throne. If troops are sent to help Prince Zhao seize the throne, Prince Zhao will only be grateful to Song State if he succeeds, but will become enemies with Qi State if he fails. Therefore, no country wants to create conflicts and contribute to Song State. Therefore, only the three small countries of Cao, Wei, and Zhu responded to Song's call and came with troops.
Song Xianggong then led the four-nation coalition to march towards Qi State. Qi State had been fighting in the south and north for many years, and its troops and horses were strong. It was not something that the coalition forces of these small countries could easily defeat. However, civil strife continued in Qi at this time. Although Gongzi Wukui had ascended the throne, the gang members of the other four princes were still making trouble. Moreover, the successor designated by Duke Huan of Qi was Gongzi Zhao, so Gongzi Wukui's accession to the throne was unjust and unjust. After hearing that Song Xianggong led the coalition forces to attack, the ministers of Qi were unwilling to go to war with the coalition forces in order to preserve Gongzi Wukui's status as king, so they killed Gongzi Wukui and planned to welcome Gongzizhao.
However, the party members of several other princes did not agree to support the prince Zhao, so they obstructed him. In the end, the Qi army had to fight the coalition forces in the land. Due to the disunity of the people, the Qi army was unwilling to fight and soon returned with a heavy defeat. Duke Xianggong of the Song Dynasty took advantage of the victory and sent Gongzi Zhao back to Qi State, and supported him to ascend the throne as king. He was called Qi Xiaogong in history.
The coalition forces summoned by the Song State actually defeated the powerful Qi army, and Qi Xiaogong had to rely on the Song State. This made Song Xianggong's ambitions extremely inflated. He believed that the time for the Song State to dominate had arrived. So in the 19th year of Lu Xigong (641 BC), Song Xianggong arrested Teng Xuangong who disobeyed the Song State, and then held an alliance meeting in the south of Cao State, summoning the kings of Cao, Zhu and other countries to attend the meeting. The state of Zhu was an ally of the state of Zhu. The king of the state of Zhu was late because of the incident. Song Xianggong asked Duke Wen of Zhu to seize the king of the state of Zhu and use it as a sacrifice to worship the social god of Cisui. This was to demonstrate to the princes and also to the east. The barbarians gave a warning.
Seeing that Song Xianggong's actions were excessive, Mu Yi, the Sima Gongzi of the Song Dynasty, persuaded him: "In the past, Qi Huangong rescued the subjugated Wei and Xing countries, and extended favors to all countries. Some people still criticize him for his shortcomings in morality. Nowadays, You convened an alliance but mistreated the kings of two countries, violated the etiquette and used people to sacrifice ghosts and gods, and used this method to seek hegemony. It is really a waste of time." But Song Xianggong did not listen to the advice of the prince Muyi and insisted on killing him. The king of the state of Suo worshiped the gods.
When Duke Xianggong of Cao saw that Song Xianggong was not yet the overlord, but was acting so tyrannically, he became angry and walked away, no longer paying attention to the Song Dynasty. Song Xianggong found that his method of killing chickens to scare monkeys not only failed to make other vassal states recognize him as the overlord, but even Cao State, which originally supported him, left. He was very dissatisfied, so he sent troops to attack Cao State and besieged Cao State's capital.
Young Master Muyi persuaded him again: "The Poetry says: 'To punish the widow, to punish the brothers, in order to control the family.' Your virtue and government are not perfect at home, but you come to attack others, how can this be possible? What? Please reflect on your own virtue first before talking about anything else."
But at this time, Song Xianggong had been dazzled by his ambition to dominate, and he no longer wanted to listen to the good advice of his son Mu Yi. He ignored the weakness of his country and only wanted to achieve hegemony. This became the basis for his future defeat.
