Long before the Qin army set off for the expedition, the veteran minister Jian Shu had tried his best to persuade Duke Mu of Qin not to send troops. However, Duke Mu of Qin listened to the words of Qi Zi, the Qin general who stayed behind in Zheng State, and decided to go on an expedition to Zheng State. Among the three men, Meng Mingshi, Xiqishu and Bai Yibing, who were ordered by Duke Mu of Qin to lead the Qin army, the brothers Xiqishu and Bai Yibing were the sons of Uncle Jian, and Meng Mingshi was Baili, the official of the Qin State. Son of Xi. Uncle Jian and Baili Xi knew very well that the Qin army had violated a military taboo and would be in trouble, so when they saw him off, they each held their son's hands and mourned, crying: "My children, I'm looking at you. The army left, but I can’t see you coming back!”.
Duke Mugong of Qin was excitedly preparing to issue the order for the army to march out, but he was upset by the cries of the two veterans, so he said unhappily: "I sent the army out, but you stopped the army and cried to shake its morale. , what are you doing?" Uncle Jian and Baili Xi suppressed their grief, stopped crying and replied: "I don't dare to stop the army or shake its morale, but the army is about to leave, and our respective sons are about to leave; we are old and weak. "I'm sorry, I can't live much longer. If they come back too late, I'm afraid they won't be able to see each other again, so I'm crying."
Uncle Jian told his son in private: "Your army is about to be defeated. Then the Jin people will definitely stop you at Miao Mountain. There are two mausoleums in Miao Mountain. The southern mausoleum is the tomb of Hou Gao of the Xia Dynasty; the northern mausoleum is the tomb of Hou Gao of the Xia Dynasty; The mountain mausoleum is where King Wen of Zhou used to take shelter from wind and rain. If you die in battle, you will definitely be between the two mountain mausoleums. Then I will go there to collect your body."
No matter how Uncle Jian and Baili Xi repeatedly hinted that the Qin army would definitely be defeated, but considering that Qi Zi was working as an internal support for the Qin army in Zheng and opened the gate to the capital of Zheng for the Qin army, Duke Mu of Qin was still confident. He ordered the army to set off and headed east.
Later, the Qin army met Xian Gao, a merchant of Zheng State, on the road, and their plot to attack Zheng State was discovered. The Qin army could not attack Zheng State as originally planned, so they had to return to Qin State in anger. In order not to return empty-handed, they killed many people on the way. They arrived at Huaguo, a small country named Ji that was very close to the Jin State, and then continued towards the Jin State, which they must pass through when returning home.
At that time, Duke Wen of Jin had just passed away and had not yet been buried. Duke Xianggang of Jin, who succeeded him, learned that the Qin army had returned from the expedition without success, and believed that this was a good opportunity to combat the Qin army's arrogance and consolidate Jin's hegemony. Not even waiting until the mourning period was over, Duke Xianggang of Jin dyed the white mourning clothes black with ink and then joined forces with Jiang Rong's army to set up an ambush between the two tombs of Mt. The three generals Meng Mingshi, Xiqi Shu and Bai Yibing did not take their father's warnings and instructions to heart. They did not raise their vigilance when passing through this canyon that was extremely vulnerable to ambush, and easily entered the Jin army's ambush circle. , under the ambush of the Jin army and the Jiang Rong army, the entire army was quickly wiped out. Three generals, Meng Mingshi, Xiqishu, and Bai Yibing, were also captured by the Jin army. This was the famous Qin-Jin confusion in history. war.
Meng Ming regarded the three men as generals who had the trust of Qin Mu, and as the sons of Baili Xi and Uncle Jian, respectively, high-ranking officials in the Qin State. Naturally, the Jin State would not let them go easily if they were captured. Generally speaking, there are probably two fates waiting for the three of them. One is that as the enemy's generals, since they cannot be used by me, they naturally cannot let the tiger return to the mountain, leaving behind the trouble of his comeback, so the only choice is to eradicate the roots and kill them. Secondly, as the generals valued by Duke Mu of Qin and the sons of important ministers who hold great power in Qin, they can also use this value to negotiate with Qin in exchange for Qin to cede some land to Jin. . No matter what, the three Qin generals became prisoners of Jin and could not be released easily.
However, exceptions always happen. Although Duke Xianggang of Jin is a man of great talent and strategy, he is easily swayed by other people's words. Wen Ying, the wife of Duke Wen of Jin, the father of Duke Xiang of Jin, came from the State of Qin and was the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin. He was very worried when he heard that the three most important generals of the State of Qin were defeated and captured in the Battle of Confusion. She knew that although Qin's strength had increased sharply, it was still a border country. If the three were killed, it would be a serious blow to Qin's military and national strength, and might even cause civil strife, so she racked her brains to think about it. A good strategy, hoping that the three of them can return home safely.
Wen Ying thought of a way and went to see Duke Xiang of Jin and said to him: "The three of them are trying to instigate relations between Qin and Jin for their own fame and wealth. My father already hates them to the core. If you let them return to China, my father will definitely do it." I was very happy and cooked them to vent my anger, so why bother you to kill them?" Duke Xianggang of Jin thought for a while and didn't think there was anything wrong with it, so he nodded in agreement.
Later, Duke Xianggong of Jin sent Yang Chufu to hunt down the three men, but at this time Meng Mingshi and others had already arrived on the ferry in the Yellow River. Yang Chufu was so anxious that he could not find the ferry and chased them back. However, Yang Chufu was a man of great resourcefulness. He looked at the silhouette of the boat in the distance and came up with an idea. Yang Chufu untied the carriage he had brought and drove the horse on the left. He shouted to Meng Mingshi and others on the boat: "You three, please stay. This is a horse gifted to you by the monarch. Please come ashore and take it with you." Go back to Qin!"
But Meng Mingshi was not a brave man. He saw through that Father Yang just wanted to lure the three of them back to the shore for arrest, but it was inconvenient to expose his lies, so he saluted on the boat and said: "Thank you. The kindness of the king of the country has not killed us prisoners and allowed us to return to the country to accept our crimes. If the king follows the kindness of the king of Jin and pardons us, we will come back in three years to thank today's gift." After saying this, the boat drifted away. Once Crossing the Yellow River is the territory of the Qin State. Once the tiger returns to the mountains, it will never be able to catch up.
When the three returned to the capital of Qin, Duke Mu of Qin had already received the news and went to the outskirts to greet them in plain clothes. Meng Mingshi, Xiqi Shu and Bai Yibing quickly knelt down to apologize to Duke Mu of Qin for their defeat. Duke Mugong of Qin lifted them up one by one, and then said sincerely: "It was me who did not listen to Uncle Jian's advice and insisted on sending troops, which caused you to suffer the humiliation of defeat. This is my fault. What crime do you three have? ? And I can’t use this mistake to erase the previous merits and virtues of the three of them, and I will ask you to do your best to help me wash away this shame.”
This is what a wise monarch should do. Duke Mu of Qin, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, should not be underestimated.
Having said that, Qin Mugong ordered that Meng Mingshi, Xiqi Shu and Bai Yibing be restored to their original official salaries. He did not alienate them because of this defeat, but treated them more favorably than before. The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Confucius calmed down Duke Mu of Qin's ambition to dominate the Central Plains. He realized that the current strength of the Qin State was not enough to defeat the Jin State and open up a road to the east, so he concentrated on exploring westward, conquered the Xirong, and opened up an alliance in the western border. Qin's hegemony.
The disastrous defeat in the Battle of Confucius was the first heavy blow that Qin Mugong suffered on his way to hegemony. Therefore, Qin Mugong never forgot to defeat the Jin State and take revenge, so a year later he ordered Meng Mingshi to lead his army to attack the Jin State. Duke Xiang of Jin personally led the troops to resist. First, he was appointed as the general of the central army, and Zhao Shui was appointed as the assistant of the central army. The Qin army and the Jin army fought a decisive battle at Pengya. As a result, the Qin army was defeated by the Jin army again, and fled away with its armor removed. , the Jin people ridiculed the Qin army as "the teacher who was bestowed upon him".
Just when Duke Mu of Qin was helpless because he was defeated by the Jin army again, an opportunity to expand westward came to Qin. There are many Rong tribes living in the west of the Qin State. They have been haunting the Qin State like a nightmare since the establishment of the Qin State. They are a serious trouble in the development and expansion of the Qin State and also a worry for the Qin State's eastward advance. The King of Rong heard that Duke Mugong of Qin was a very wise and heroic king, and was worried that Qin's power would be detrimental to the Rong people, so he sent his minister Yu Yu to the Qin State to investigate the situation.
After Yu Yu arrived in Qin, Duke Mu of Qin took him to see his palace and the treasures and treasures from past dynasties. Yu Yu was speechless when he saw them: "If these palaces and savings were built by ghosts and gods, the ghosts and gods will also be tired; if they are allowed to be used, they will be tired." If the people build it, then the people will have to work hard." When Duke Mu of Qin heard that he did not praise his gorgeous palace and rich savings, but said that he worked hard for the people, he thought it was strange and asked: "The countries in the Central Plains handle government affairs with the help of poems, books, rituals, music, and laws. But troubles still occur from time to time. Now that the Rong people do not have these poems, books, rituals, music and laws, how can they govern the country? Isn't it very difficult? "
Youyu's ancestors were originally from the Jin State, but later fled to the Rong region for refuge. It was passed down to Youyu's generation who could speak the Jin dialect and knew the situation of the Central Plains countries better than most Rong people, so the Rong King Only then would he be sent as an envoy to Jin. Now when Duke Mu of Qin asked about the way to govern the country, he replied: "Ruling the country with poems, books, rituals, music, and laws is the fundamental reason why the countries in the Central Plains are in trouble. Since the ancient sage Huangdi created the rituals, music, and laws, and took the lead himself In practice, it has only achieved a small degree of governance.”
"In the later eras, the monarch will become more and more arrogant and licentious day by day. Relying on the power of laws to demand and supervise his ministers and people, people will be extremely tired and resent the monarch for not being able to practice benevolence and righteousness. At that time, the master and his ministers will not be able to blame each other. To satisfy oneself, to the point of usurping the throne, killing the king, and annihilating the entire clan, these are the root of the disasters planted by rituals, music, and laws. The Rong people do not govern the country like this. The Rong king treats his subjects well with honest benevolence, and the subjects are full of kindness. Serve the king with loyalty, and manage the political affairs of the entire country as naturally as managing your own body. There is no need to understand the way of governing the country. This is the way a true saint governs the country."
Although this is quite an exaggeration, can a small country of nomadic people be so good? These are all digressions.
After hearing this, Duke Mu of Qin bowed his head in thought and remained silent. Afterwards, he summoned Liao, the king of internal history, for advice: "I heard that there are saints in neighboring countries, which is a worry for the enemy country. Now that Yu is so virtuous, this is a disaster for me. I should What should we do?" Liao, the internal history king, thought about it and came up with a solution for Duke Mu of Qin:
"The King of Rong is in a remote place and has never heard music from the Central Plains area. You can give him a Kabuki girl and let him indulge in obscene music to kill his ambition. Then, on behalf of Yu Yu, ask the King of Rong to postpone his return to the country. This will alienate the relationship between their monarch and his ministers; at the same time, he will keep Youyu and not send him back to the country, so that he cannot return to the country on time. The King of Rong will definitely feel that there is something fishy in this matter, and will doubt Youyu. There is a gap between their monarch and their ministers. , you can defeat the Rong tribe. What’s more, if the Rong king likes music, he will definitely have no intention of dealing with government affairs. "
Duke Mu of Qin heard the plan of Liao, the internal history king, and felt that it was very reasonable, so he decided to act on it. So Duke Mu of Qin held a banquet for Yu Yu, and made an exception by connecting their seats to show courtesy. They exchanged cups with him and drank happily. After drinking for three rounds, Duke Mu of Qin began to ask Yu Yu about the terrain and military strength of the Rong people. Seeing Duke Mugong of Qin's hospitality, Yu Yu was moved, so he described the situation of the Rong people to Duke Mugong of Qin in detail. After the banquet, Gongmu of Qin ordered Liao, the king of internal history, to select sixteen singers and give them to the king of Rong. The king of Rong was pleased. Accepting it, he indulged in female music and ignored political affairs from then on, and did not care about nomadic migration, which led to the depletion of pasture and the death of half of the cattle and horses.
Seeing that the time had come, Duke Mu of Qin let You Yu return to his country. When Yu Yu saw that King Rong was despondent with his toys and no longer looked like the majestic and heroic hero he once was, he was so anxious that he tried to remonstrate with him many times, but King Rong refused to listen to any of his loyal advice. Instead, he made You Yu was very angry and helpless. When Duke Mu of Qin learned that there was a estrangement between King Rong and You Yu, he secretly invited You Yu to Qin several times. You Yu knew that King Rong was hopeless and that he would have nothing more to do in Rong. As a result, he had to leave the Rong tribe and submit to Qin. Duke Mu of Qin was very happy to see Yu Yu coming back. He treated Yu Yu as a guest and consulted Yu Yu about the attack on the Rong tribe.
The King of Rong had lost his ambition and was addicted to leisure activities all day long. After Qin Mugong got rid of his inner worries, he once again sent Meng Mingshi and others to lead the army to attack the Jin Dynasty. After the Qin army crossed the Yellow River, they burned the ferries used to cross the river to show that they could not defeat the Jin Dynasty. The army has no intention of returning. With such courage and no worries, the Qin army defeated the Jin army and captured the royal palace and the land of Jin, avenging the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Confusion. The nearby Jin army Hold on to the city and dare not go to war.
So Duke Mu crossed the Yellow River from Maojin, built tombs for the Qin soldiers who died in the Battle of Confucius, mourned them on a large scale, and cried bitterly for three days. Duke Mu of Qin also swore in front of the army: "Soldiers! Don't make any noise. Listen to what I swear to you: the ancients consulted the opinions of the elderly when doing things, and they would not make any mistakes. I have repeatedly thought about how I didn't listen to Uncle Jian and Baili Xi's words. , so I make this oath here, so that future generations will remember my mistakes!" When the knowledgeable people heard about this, they were moved to tears and said: "Qin Mugong treated people thoughtfully, and finally won a great victory from Meng Ming and others. The joy of the Jin army."
After the great victory over the Jin army, Duke Mu of Qin used the power of his army to attack the Rong tribe in the west, added twelve vassal states, opened up thousands of miles of territory, and finally became the overlord of the Xirong region. The Emperor of Zhou also sent Duke Zhao Guo to the State of Qin with trumpets, drums and other utensils for commanding the army in battle, and gave them to Duke Mu of Qin as a congratulatory gift for his victory over the Rong people.
Qin Mugong's ability to dominate Xirong has a lot to do with his recruiting talents, knowing people well, and being lenient to others. "Zuo Zhuan" comments on Qin Mugong: "Qin Mugong is a king, a ruler of people, and a person of integrity." In other words, as a king, Qin Mugong considers all aspects when selecting talents, and he is sincere in making friends with talents. The two doctors Meng Mingshi and Zisang who helped Duke Mu of Qin achieve his hegemony were one who worked tirelessly and knew how to be prepared for danger in times of peace; the other was loyal, good at recognizing people and recommending talents. "Zuo Zhuan" commented on them: "'The bandits solved the problem at night. To serve one person', Meng Ming has Yan. 'Yi Que Sun Mou, to Yan Yi Zi', Zi Sang has Yan." It is precisely because Qin Mugong can appoint talents to different official positions according to their respective talents that he can open up a new world Dominance.
Duke Mu of Qin was not only good at knowing and employing people, but he was also good at winning people's hearts with kindness. Once, Duke Mu of Qin lost a rare horse, so he personally led people to search for it. Unexpectedly, when he found it near Qishan, he found that more than 300 people had captured the horse and eaten it, leaving only a skeleton. Upon seeing this, Duke Mu of Qin's entourage planned to arrest and punish the person who ate the horse. When those people saw that the owner of the horse was actually the king, they were very scared.
Duke Mu of Qin stopped his entourage and said: "A gentleman should not hurt people because of livestock. I heard that eating good horse meat without drinking alcohol will kill people." Then he ordered people to give them wine to drink. When the people who ate the horse saw that the king did not blame themselves, but cared so much about their own health and rewarded them with wine to prevent themselves from harming themselves, they were all very grateful to Duke Mu of Qin for his kindness.
Later, Duke Mu of Qin led his army to fight against Duke Hui of Jin in Hanyuan. These horse-eaters also joined the army and went out with Duke Mu of Qin. In the battle formation, Duke Hui of Jin broke away from his own army and went to fight. Seeing the opportunity, Duke Mugong of Qin quickly followed up with Qingqi. Unexpectedly, he was overtaken by the main force of the Jin army and fell into a tight siege. The situation was very critical. When the three hundred horse-eating soldiers heard that their monarch was surrounded, they remembered Duke Mu of Qin's kindness. They all took their weapons and shouted, "You can die to repay the favor of eating horses and getting wine." Fighting to the death for Duke Mu of Qin, not only for Duke Mu of Qin relieved the siege and captured Duke Hui of Jin and returned to his country, which gave Qin an advantageous position in its diplomacy with Jin.
What does this incident mean? A small ordinary move may also be a turning point in your personal future.
Since the Shang Dynasty, the custom of burials has been popular in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and even in the Qin Dynasty. "Mozi Festival Burials" once mentioned: "The emperor killed hundreds of people and dozens of widows; generals and officials The number of people who were killed and martyred was dozens, and the few were killed by several people." It can be seen that the popularity of the burial system and the large number of people buried during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are related to the ancient people's world view, outlook on life and death, and the attitude of "things die as things live" , Although Duke Mu of Qin cherishes talents and knows how to make good use of them, he is not an exception.
Once, Duke Mu of Qin held a banquet to entertain the ministers. The monarchs and ministers drank happily, and soon they were half drunk. Duke Mu of Qin saw that there were many talents in front of the hall, and they jointly created a hegemony. The future was bright, so he happily said: "We live together." This joy, together with this sorrow in death." The three wise ministers of the Ziche family, Yanxi, Zhongxing, and Zhenhu, were also at the banquet. They were already very loyal to Qin Mugong, and when they heard Qin Mugong's words, they immediately agreed, saying I am willing to share life and death with Duke Mu of Qin.
In the sixth year of Duke Wen of Lu (621 BC), Duke Mu of Qin, the overlord of the generation, passed away. At this time, Qin's national power was at its peak, and Duke Mu of Qin was a very promising king, so Qin held a large funeral for Duke Mu of Qin. As many as 177 people were buried, which was the largest number of people buried since the Western Zhou Dynasty. Ziche's Yanxi, Zhongxing, and Zhenhu also fulfilled their promises and committed suicide to bury Duke Mu of Qin. The people of Qin were very sad that the three wise ministers of the Ziche family also committed suicide and were buried, so they wrote a poem to mourn them. This is the "Yellow Bird" in "The Book of Songs: Qin Feng":
Cross the yellow bird and stop at the thorns.
Who follows Duke Mu? Zi Che is dying.
Maintaining this dying state is the specialty of a hundred men.
When you approach the acupuncture point, you will be worried about the chestnut.
The sky is heaven, annihilate my beloved.
If it can be redeemed, everyone will be saved!
Make friends with yellow birds, stop at mulberry trees.
Who follows Duke Mu? Zi Che Zhongxing.
Maintain this neutrality and guard against a hundred men.
When you approach the acupuncture point, you will be worried about the chestnut.
The sky is heaven, annihilate my beloved.
If it can be redeemed, everyone will be saved!
Cross over to the yellow bird and stop at Chu.
Who follows Duke Mu? Zi La needle tiger.
This needle-tiger is the ruler of a hundred men.
When you approach the acupuncture point, you will be worried about the chestnut.
The sky is heaven, annihilate my beloved.
If it can be redeemed, everyone will be saved!
Insightful people at the time commented on this: "Although Qin Mugong expanded the territory, dominated Xirong, and competed with the overlord Jin in the east, it was no accident that he failed to become the overlord of the princes during his lifetime. The death of the previous king , and left behind the methods of governing the world for future generations, but after his death, Duke Mu of Qin not only abandoned his own people, but even took away the country's talents. The "Book of Songs" said: "The clouds of people perish, and the country dies." 'This means that the country has very few talents, so why should we take away the talents and bury them in the grave?"
"Zuo Zhuan" commented on the burial of Sanliang: "Kings in ancient times knew that their life span was about to end, so they would select talents, establish a custom, record their experiences in books, and formulate laws and set examples for future generations. Guide them, give them laws and regulations, tell them the legacy of the previous kings, appoint them to certain positions, let them pay attention to adapting measures to local conditions and let nature take its course, and let the people trust them, and then they will let go. But now Qin Mugong has neither He did the above-mentioned sage king's method and left the rules for future generations. Instead, he used his virtuous ministers and generals to bury him. Insightful people can see from his actions that Qin will no longer have the strength to conquer the east. ”
The development of history has confirmed the assertion of "Zuo Zhuan". Because Qin Mugong buried outstanding talents after his death, most of his descendants were mediocre and did not achieve much. The vigorous development of the Qin State came to an abrupt end with the death of Duke Mu of Qin. Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, the Qin State failed to perform well on the turbulent political stage among the vassal states.
