Although the Jin State's national power has gradually declined since Jin Daogong regained his hegemony, it is still recognized as the overlord by the princes. In addition to Qi State's covetous eye on Jin's overlord position, some small countries still come to Jin State for help when they encounter trouble. The State of Chu is a big country in the south. The State of Cai is very close to the State of Chu. It has always been wavering between being the overlord of the Central Plains and the State of Chu. Therefore, it often goes to the State of Chu to meet with the King of Chu to offer gifts, to establish a good relationship with the State of Chu, and to win over the country. safety.
Once, Cai Zhaohou got two exquisite jade pendants with clear texture and delicate carvings and two rare fur coats. It was time to go to court with the King of Chu, so he put on the leather clothes and jade pendants himself, and used the other jade pendants and leather coats as gifts. The gifts presented to the King of Chu were brought to the State of Chu. After arriving in Chu State, King Chu Zhao saw that the jade pendants and leather jackets presented by Cai Zhaohou were very exquisite and rare, so he was very happy to try on the leather jackets and jade pendants, and hosted a banquet in honor of Cai Zhaohou.
Both Cai Zhaohou and Chu Zhaowang attended the banquet wearing gorgeous leather coats and precious jade pendants. They drank and drank, and the guests and hosts had a great time. However, Yin Zichang, the Ling of the State of Chu who accompanied King Chu Zhao to the banquet, was very envious when he saw such rare jade pendants and leather coats and wanted to own them. He thought about it carefully and felt that he did not dare to ask for the jade pendant and leather coat of King Chu Zhao. However, Cai Zhaohou was small and weak, and as the commander of Chu State, he held great power. Cai Zhaohou would not dare to offend him, so he asked Cai Zhaohou to send him Give him his jade pendant and leather coat.
Unexpectedly, it was precisely because Cai Guo was so weak that it was difficult for Cai Zhaohou to obtain any treasures. He regarded jade pendants and leather clothes as if they were his darlings. This time, half of the jade pendants and leather clothes given to King Chu Zhao were reluctantly parted with for the sake of the country's security. He would not do it anyway. He was willing to give his jade pendant and leather coat to Zichang. Although Zichang held a high position, he was a greedy and arrogant man. Seeing that Cai Zhaohou was so disrespectful, he even ordered Cai Zhaohou to be detained in the Chu Kingdom for three years.
Coincidentally, not long after Cai Zhaohou was detained, Tang Chenggong of Tang State went to Chu State to meet King Chu Zhao. Zichang also took a fancy to Tang Chenggong's two horses. Tang Chenggong refused to give them to him, so Zichang also detained Tang Chenggong. The Tang State lost its king, and all the ministers were very anxious, so they gathered together to discuss a way. They sent people to the State of Chu in the name of taking turns to serve as the entourage around Tang Chenggong, and got everyone around Tang Chenggong drunk at the reception banquet. , stole two BMWs and presented them to Zichang.
Zichang got the BMW and was very satisfied, so he let Duke Cheng of Tang return to his country. Then he said to the ministers of Cai State who were trapped in Chu State with Cai Zhaohou: "The reason why the king of Cai State stayed in Chu State for a long time is because Because you don't offer gifts, if you don't offer generous gifts by tomorrow, I will order you to be executed!" The ministers of Cai State were very frightened, so they spent all their money to collect generous gifts for Zichang, and Cai Zhaohou was able to return home. , when he crossed the Han River, he thought of the unfair treatment he had suffered in the Chu State, and felt indignant. He picked up his precious jade pendant and threw it into the flowing Han River without hesitation, and swore: "There is As the great river proves it, I will never cross the Han River south to Chu again in this life!"
After Cai Hou returned home, he decided to take revenge on the Chu State. However, he knew that the Cai State was weak and could not fight against the powerful Chu State, so he did not hesitate to send his son Yuan and the doctor's son to the Jin State to be used as hostages in exchange for the Jin State. He sent troops to attack Chu to avenge himself. Duke Dinggong of Jin was in power at that time. He saw that on the one hand, Chu State was severely weakened by the war with the emerging Wu State, and on the other hand, many people who relied on Chu State were offended because of Ling Yin Zichang's ignorance, greed and arrogance. The vassal states all defected to Jin and asked to attack Chu. This was a good time to attack Chu. So Jin Dinggong decided to gather the princes in Zhaoling and unite to attack Chu.
The Zhaoling meeting was very grand, with seventeen people from Qi, Lu, Song, Cai, Wei, Chen, Zheng, Xu, Cao, Ju, Zhu, Dun, Hu, Teng, Xue, Qi, Xiaozhu, etc. attending the meeting. The kings of the vassal states, big and small, some of them had been bullied by the Chu State and wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge, and some of them planned to take advantage of the situation and get some benefits, so they were all gearing up for a big war. Seeing a war about to break out, something unexpected happened.
Cai Zhaohou went to the Jin State for help, and Xun Yin, a senior official of the Jin State, asked Cai Zhaohou for a bribe. Cai Zhaohou saw that Jin Dinggong had gathered the princes and was about to send troops, so he naturally refused to spend more money, so he refused Xun Yin. Xun Yin was very dissatisfied and decided to find a way to make Cai Zhaohou's hopes come to nothing. So Xun Yin went to Fan Xianzi, a powerful official of the Jin State, and said: "Our Jin State is now in a critical political situation and has too much time to take care of itself, and all the princely states are also in trouble." Erxin, it is too difficult to attack the enemy in this situation. Besides, since we have strengthened our defenses, Chu will gain little benefit from attacking the border. It is rare for the two sides to live in peace. Attacking Chu is useless to Jin. Why don't you still do it? Reject Cai Zhaohou’s request.”
Fan Xianzi thought it was reasonable, so he agreed and put aside the attack on Chu State and never mentioned it again. The princes from various countries who came to Zhaoling to participate in the alliance were eager to prepare for a large-scale expedition. Unexpectedly, the Jin State actually turned its back on its promise, mobilized troops and troops to invite everyone, and announced the crimes of the Chu State in a high-sounding manner, as if the Chu State would never be destroyed. However, it was forgotten in the blink of an eye. A conference was anticlimactic, and the plans of various countries to attack Chu failed. In addition, the Jin State had borrowed feathers from the Zheng State and decorated the borrowed feathers on its own flag. Show off to the princes of all countries, and this behavior of the nouveau riche is also looked down upon by the princes of all countries.
After the Zhaoling Meeting, various countries saw that the Jin State was already a powerful country on the outside and a leader on the inside. Although it seemed to be the overlord and had the ability to gather the princes as before, the country was already in chaos. A single word from the ministers could change the country's plans. . As a result, all the vassal states rebelled against Jin one after another. "Zuo Zhuan" recorded this incident as: "Jin then lost its vassals."
Jin's hegemony was in decline at this time, and it was a good opportunity for Chu to take advantage of the situation. However, Chu did not seize this opportunity because Chu also fell into civil strife. In 560 BC, King Gong of Chu passed away. King Gong had five sons in total: Gongzi Zhao, Gongzi Wei, Ziqian, Zizhe, and Qiji. Since these five sons were all born to concubines rather than the queen, no one had the innate right to inherit the throne. So before his death, the King of the Communist Party of Chu buried a piece of jade in the ground to worship the gods of mountains and rivers, and asked his five sons to bow down in order to see who could land exactly on top of the jade. As a result, three princes came into contact with the place above the jade. They are: Gongzi Kang, Gongzi Wei and the youngest son Qiji. Therefore, in order of eldest and youngest, Gongzi Kang was established as the prince, and Gongzi Wei became the later King Ling of Chu.
After Prince Zhao came to the throne, he became King Kang of Chu. King Kang of Chu died after reigning for fifteen years, and was succeeded by his son Lu, who was called Jia Ao. At this time, Gongziwei was acting as regent as Uncle Wang, and was in the position of Ling Yin.
Young Master Wei has always been arrogant, extravagant, violent, debauched and immoral. In the thirteenth year of King Kang of Chu, Chu attacked Zheng and captured Zheng's general Huang Jie. Originally, this credit belonged to the Chu general who passed through Fengxu, and had nothing to do with Gongzi Wei. Young Master Wei was jealous in his heart, so he went to grab the credit. Naturally, he refused to pass through Fengxu, and he and the young master Wai couldn't argue, so he had to let the doctor Bo Zhouli comment. Bo Zhouli came up with a plan and asked the captured Huang Jie to identify his captor. He pointed at Gongzi Wei suggestively and introduced him as a prince of Chu, but said that Chuan Fengxu was a prince. "A minor official from another county." Huang Jie understood this and pretended that the young master Wei was so brave and invincible that he could not resist, so he was captured. In this way, a piece of credit that did not belong to Gongziwei was snatched away by him.
After the death of King Kang of Chu, princes from all walks of life came to Chu to pay their respects. Everyone saw that the new king was young and the young master Wei, who was Ling Yin, was powerful, and they all felt bad for King Jia Ao of Chu. The envoys of the State of Zheng even bluntly stated that Gongzi Wei would usurp the throne soon.
Gongziwei's political ambitions grew day by day, and he began to cultivate his own power and suppress dissidents. And they made an obvious rebellious gesture and released political signals in advance. For example, when traveling abroad, the monarch's ceremonial standards were openly used; and during hunting activities organized by the domestic royal family, the monarch's banner was used. The whole country was in panic, and the surrounding countries were talking a lot. The young master's intention to usurp and rebel was known to all passers-by, but King Jia Ao of Chu turned a blind eye.
Under such circumstances, Gongziwei did not restrain himself, but intensified his behavior. In the second year of the reign of King Jia Ao of Chu, he used his power to frame and execute the great Sima Qiangbi, and squeezed out a group of people who opposed him or were potential threats to him from the core of power.
The following year, the king of Wei visited Chu. Prince Beiwen saw the reckless behavior of the young master Wei and said to the king of Wei: "Young Master Wei seems to be plotting rebellion. He can achieve his goal with his ability, but he will never do it." It will end well. "Poetry" says, "It is easy to start well, but it is difficult to end well." Moreover, if Gong Ziwei does not have a good beginning, how can he end well." Wei Jun asked him where he knew it, and he said, ""Poetry" says, 'Jing "Be cautious about your authority and manners, and serve the people." Without authority and manners, Gongziwei cannot provide guidelines for the people, and naturally he cannot stay above the people for a long time."
He also asked: "What is majesty?" He replied: "Awe is to make people fear, and etiquette is to make people imitate. Whether they are monarchs, ministers, fathers and sons, top or bottom, internal or external, they all have majesty. King Wen of Zhou attacked Chongguo. Only twice did he worship his country and surrender, while other countries were frightened. This is majesty. King Wen of Zhou was politically transparent and cautious, and everyone in the world rushed to imitate him. This is etiquette. Whether he has majesty or not is actually the measure of success or failure."
In the fourth year of King Jia'ao of Chu, Prince Wei led a large group of people to go to the state of Zheng to get married. The state of Zheng was on strict guard against this person and did not want to let him enter the capital. The prince refused and sent people into the city to negotiate, relying on the strength of Chu and the weakness of Zheng. His attitude was soft but hard, and he was very arrogant. But the other party was polite and impeccable, so she had to lower her posture and show that she was only here to welcome the bride and had no other intentions. Zheng Guo then reluctantly allowed him to enter the city, thus saving his face.
Later, Gongziwei went to Guochi to participate in the alliance of princes. At the meeting, Gongziwei once again fought hard to become the leader. He told the people of Jin that there was no need for any big measures in this alliance, and that they would just read the text according to the provisions drawn up by the previous alliance. Okay, the people of Jin reluctantly agreed.
Soon after, all the countries met again, and Young Master Wei became more and more domineering. He wore the monarch's ceremonial guard, wore the monarch's robes, and was accompanied by bodyguards. His intentions were obvious. After seeing this, the princes couldn't laugh or cry, and secretly discussed his rampant behavior. The official Bo Zhouli had to explain to everyone that the King of Chu had specially lent this set of arrangements to Gongzi Wei. However, Zheng Guogong Ziyu said that Gongzi Wei had "borrowed" it. I am not going to return these items. In embarrassment, Bo Zhouli had no choice but to change the subject and ask Gong Ziyu to pay more attention to his country's Zi Xi's plot to cause trouble, which showed his weakness.
After the alliance, Gongziwei and his party returned to their home country, and immediately sent Bozhouli and Gongzi Heigong to build cities in Jia and Yue. Since they were located on the border of Zheng State, the people of Zheng State felt uneasy about this. However, Zichan saw clearly and said that Gongziwei was about to start an uprising and wanted to get rid of Hei Gong and Bozhou Li, so Zheng Guo did not need to worry and could just watch the fire from the other side.
Soon after, Gongziwei's opportunity finally came. He and Wu Ju visited Jin together. When they reached the border, they suddenly received a report that the King of Chu was seriously ill. So Gongziwei quickly returned, leaving only Wu Ju to visit Jin. When Ziwei returned to the capital, he immediately dispatched his trusted troops to take control of the palace, and then entered the palace to "visit the sick." Seeing that the King of Chu was unconscious and weak, he became cruel and strangled the King of Chu to death with the tassel on his hat. Then he killed King Chu's two sons and ascended to the throne immediately. Then he sent people to various places to get rid of the ministers and brothers he had sent to "build the city" in advance. Bo Zhouli was brutally killed. Several younger brothers had long expected that something bad would happen and rushed to various countries to avoid the disaster. Because the King of Chu was buried in Jiadi, it was called "Jiaao" in history.
The news reached the state of Zheng, and the state of Zheng sent its official You Ji to the state of Chu to attend the funeral of the king of Chu. After returning home, You Ji sarcastically suggested that the king of Zheng state prepare his clothes so that he could attend the upcoming Gongziwei event, also known as Chu Ling. The king's alliance. Because this Chu Ling King is arrogant, arrogant, arrogant, violent and perverse, and is at the height of his success in life, he will definitely take the opportunity to establish his status as the leader among the princes. However, Zichan believed that King Chu Ling would not be able to do this within a few years.
King Ling of Chu's usurpation of the throne is a typical example of "false name and unreasonable words". He planned carefully for many years and pressed forward step by step. Taking advantage of the fact that King Jia Ao of Chu was weak and had no loyal and brave ministers in the court to compete with him, he expanded wantonly. But as the saying goes, "Misfortune lies where blessings rely, and blessings lie where misfortune lies." When King Ling of Chu drank wine and sang happily, he lamented that in the whole world, who else would be better than me? He and the Chu State under his rule were like horses that had escaped from the reins, running faster and farther on a road of no return. While he sat on the high throne happily, he also dug a deep grave for himself.
