The extra chapter in the war between Jin and Chu - the story of Ju State, has been told in the previous article. Now we will return to the previous series of articles and continue to tell the story of the "truce" between the two overlords of Jin and Chu. process-----
At the end of the fourth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (582 BC), due to the admiration and attention of Duke Jinggong of Jin, Zhong Yi, a prisoner of war of Chu who was released from Jin and returned to China, was the intermediary of transportation and communication between Jin and Chu. The action of "peace negotiation" that had been agreed upon long ago developed smoothly; under the arrangement of King Chu Gong of Chu State, Prince Chen, the Grand Prime Minister of Chu State, was ordered to visit Jin State as an envoy in return for Jin State's release of Zhong Yi. Please review the friendly acts of Jin and Chu.
After Gongzichen arrived in Jin, he met with Jin Jinggong and formally concluded a peace treaty with Jin. After reaching the peace agreement, Jinggong also held a grand banquet to entertain Gongzichen's visit. The princes of the world announced that Jin and Chu had reached a peace treaty to cease fighting.
As mentioned above - shortly after Gong Zichen went to Jin as an envoy, Chu Ling Yin Zizhong, who had already sent troops to attack Ju, expelled Juquqiu Gong, and occupied the entire territory of Ju, finally got the belated news. Therefore, Only then did the Chu army withdraw from Ju and tacitly allowed Duke Qiu of Juqu to end his exile and return to Jucheng to restore his country. This was also a further move by Jin and Chu to begin to show goodwill to each other and cease hostility to each other.
In the second year, at the beginning of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), in order to implement the specific measures of the "Peace Agreement between Jin and Chu", Jin Jinggong specially appointed Bian Qi, a Jin official, to visit Chu State. This was to repay the Chu Dazaizi. The diplomatic etiquette of Shang (Gongzi Chen)'s mission to Jin; Bian Zhi's main purpose of visiting Chu this time was to further negotiate and communicate with the kings and ministers of Chu on the matter of "peace talks between Jin and Chu" (that is, to have a war of words, Bullshit).
After Bianzhi traveled a long distance to the Chu State, he immediately met with the King of the Communist Party of Chu and the senior officials of the Chu State, and had long and difficult negotiations on how to improve the relationship between Jin and Chu and ease the previous situation of tension and sword fighting; After that, Bian Chi stayed in the Chu Kingdom for more than a year. He communicated and negotiated with the Chu monarchs and ministers many times, and talked tit-for-tat about the specific "peace negotiation" conditions. Both sides refused to give in first.
Therefore, this diplomatic consultation between the great powers was postponed indefinitely in the endless wrangling and squabbling disputes between Bian Zhi and the kings and ministers of Chu.
Just as Jin and Chu reached a 'peace' intention and started diplomatic negotiations at the same time, the unlucky King Zheng Chenggong was still under house arrest in Xintian, the capital of Jin, and was not released by Jin Jinggong to return to the country; and in view of the fact that the country cannot be without a king for a long time , so Gongsun Shen, the official of the State of Zheng, suggested to all the ministers in power:
"The Jin State detained the monarch and killed our envoys who went to plead for mercy. Even if we send envoys to the Jin State to sue for peace, we may not be able to get the monarch back, and there is a high possibility that he will be killed by the Jin people again. Why don't we simply send troops? Attack the State of Xu, and then pretend to establish a new king. In this way, we show to the State of Jin that the State of Zheng does not care whether the king is detained. There is no need or benefit to hold on to the king, so maybe we will release the king and let him return to the country."
Gongsun Shen is the grandson of Zheng Mugong, the son of Gongzi Hui (Ziyu), and the cousin of Zheng Aogong and Zheng Chenggong. Although he is also a descendant of Zheng Mugong, he is not one of the powerful "Zheng Guo Qimu" family ( The 'Mu tribe' of Zheng State includes the Qi Mu Group, but Qi Mu is not the whole of the Mu tribe of Zheng State.
The time when Gongsun Shen proposed to the ruling ministers to attack Xu and establish a new king was in November of the fourth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (582 BC), that is, when Chu ordered Yin Zizhong to lead his army to attack Ju and conquered the country of Ju. At the time of the three cities of Quqiu, Ju and Yun.
In March of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), the ruling ministers of Zheng State thought for a long time and finally accepted Gongsun Shen's suggestion. They abandoned Zheng Chenggong who was still under house arrest in Jin State and replaced him with Zheng Mourning. Gongzi, the concubine brother of Zheng Chenggong and the eldest concubine of Zheng Xianggong, became the new king of Zheng; the son Ban wanted to show the Jin State that Zheng State did not care about the imprisoned king (Zheng Chenggong), and was not afraid of what the Jin State would do next. The means of suppression that will be used.
But not long after Zheng Guo established a new king, new turmoil began to occur within the country. Although Gongzi Ban was currently the ruling minister of Zheng Guo, he was not a descendant of Zheng Mu Gong, so he could not get the title of "Qi Mu". The group's support; and his move to abandon Zheng Chenggong, who was under house arrest in the Jin State, and to appoint his son Yi as the new Zheng Bo, naturally attracted the attention of all members of the 'Mu clan' (not just the Qi Mu family, but Zheng Mu Gong). All descendants (except Gongsun Shen) are opposed; members of the 'Mu clan' want to overthrow the ruling prince class and appoint their favorite person as the new king in order to control the personnel in the court, crowd out the power of other nobles, and finally control Zheng's military and political power.
Just one month after Gongzi Xi was appointed as the new Uncle Zheng, that is, in April of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), the "Mu" tribe of Zheng State suddenly launched a coup and directly killed the new king Gongzi Xi. , and forced the ruling Gongzi Ban to abandon the country and flee, and took refuge in Xu State; while the traitor Gongsun Shen, a member of the 'Mu tribe', was detained by the tribe and placed under house arrest in Xinzheng, the capital, to be dealt with in the future.
Although Gongzi Xi was elected as the new Uncle Zheng by the Gongzi Ban, he only reigned for a short month and was ousted and killed by the domestic nobles in a coup, so he did not receive a posthumous title after his death. , but was only recorded in the history books in the name of 'Zheng Junxi'.
After Zheng Junxi was killed, the members of the "Mu" tribe of Zheng who launched the coup - Gongzi Xi (Zihan, the leader of the Qimu members), Gongzi Qu (Zi Si, one of the Qimu members) and others successfully took control of the state affairs; then, Zihan and Ziquan appointed Kun Wan, the young son of Duke Cheng of Zheng, as the new Uncle Zheng.
The news that a coup had taken place in the State of Zheng and that two new kings had been appointed in succession quickly spread to the State of Jin. Just as Gongsun Shen had expected, some officials of the Jin State learned that Zheng State had established a new king. They felt that it was of no use to continue to hold Zheng Chenggong in their hands. It was better to release him earlier. Firstly, this can be used to ease the relationship between Jin and Zheng. Secondly, Zheng Chenggong's return can also be used to create some constraints on Zheng's internal affairs (everyone needs to decentralize power or reset it).
Therefore, Luan Shu, a representative figure who held this opinion, a military general and ruling official in central Jin, looked for an opportunity to suggest to Jin Jinggong:
"The State of Zheng now has a new king, and Uncle Zheng (referring to Duke Zheng) who is still here has become a useless man. There is no use in keeping him in the State of Jin. Why don't we send troops to attack Zheng as an excuse, and take advantage of it?" Zheng Bo was sent back to help him with the conditions for his restoration and Zheng Guo to complete the alliance between the two countries; in this way, he could bring Zheng Guo back into the alliance of princes and show his favor to Zheng Guo, which was a double-edged sword."
Jin Jinggong thought Luan Shu's suggestion was very reasonable, so he readily agreed. However, Jin Jinggong was already very ill at this time and could not personally lead the troops to attack Zheng. Therefore, Jin Jinggong asked Prince Zhou Pu to go on his behalf and lead the coalition of princes to attack Zheng. Zheng Chenggong, this time was also taken by the Jin army to the state of Zheng.
At this time, Zihan, Zisi and others who were in charge of the Zheng State's political affairs originally launched the coup to renegotiate peace with the Jin State and take back Zheng Chenggong. Therefore, when the Jin allied forces arrived in the Zheng State in a mighty manner, they were in power. Zihan followed suit and immediately sent an envoy to the Jin army camp to "please make peace" to the prince of Jin. In order to show Zheng's sincerity in asking for peace, Zihan also asked the envoy to bring the ritual utensils from Zheng Xianggong's temple in Zheng's ancestral temple. As gifts, all the bronze bells were given to the commander-in-chief of the Jin army, Prince Zhou Pu.
Jin Jinggong of Jin asked the prince to lead the army to attack Zheng this time. His original intention was not to launch a military attack on Zheng. He just wanted to put on a show to surrender and subdue Zheng, so that Zheng could return to the country again. Among the alliance of princes; therefore, Prince Zhou Pu of Jin, who followed his father's instructions, immediately agreed to Zheng Guo's peace invitation after receiving the envoys from Zheng Guo and receiving generous gifts from Zheng Guo. ', and then held an oath-taking ceremony in Xiuze (Yuanyang County, Xinxiang, Henan) with the envoy sent by the State of Zheng, the official Ziran (Mu ethnic group, but not a member of the Qi Mu).
In order to show sincerity to the re-established 'Covenant of Jin and Zheng', when the two countries' covenant was reached, Zheng Chenggong's uncle, Zheng Guoqing scholar Zi Si (Gong Zi Si, currently the ruling second minister of the Zheng State and a member of the Qimu of the Zheng State) was appointed by the ruling son Han was appointed to go to Jin as a hostage, as a guarantee and compliance with the covenant by Zheng.
After receiving the return of Zheng Guo and guaranteeing it with ritual vessels and hostages, Prince Zhou Pu of Jin, who replaced Jin Jinggong in the expedition, was satisfied and announced that he would withdraw from Zheng Guo and bring back those who had been detained in Jin. Zheng Chenggong, the king of Zheng for nearly a year, was released from the camp and sent back to Zheng. On May 11th of that year, Zheng Chenggong returned to Xinzheng, the capital of the country after a long absence, and became the king of Zheng again.
After Zheng Chenggong was released from house arrest and returned to the country by the Jin army and regained his position as king, the first thing he did was to demote his son "Kun Wan", who was elected as the new Zheng Bo by the "Mu" nobles, to the crown prince again. , and changed his name to 'Yun'; Zheng Chenggong's move was to erase the 'negative influence' of his son who had used the name of 'Kun Wan' and served as the (illegal) king of Zheng for a month; (See Look up, Zheng Chenggong still loves this son very much, otherwise, he would be like his great-grandfather Zheng Wengong, who would have his great-uncle Zheng Prince Hua, who coveted the throne and conspired with foreign countries to seize power, imprisoned and imprisoned, and finally killed him directly).
Subsequently, the second important thing that Zheng Chenggong had to do was to investigate the "crime of rebellion" for the original Gongziban party who secretly changed the monarchy. At this time, Gongziban, the main culprit in the original reformation of the monarchy, had fled to Xu State, and could temporarily Don't worry about him; Gongsun Shen and his accomplice Shu Qin, who first proposed to establish a new king, are now detained in the prison cell of Xinzheng by the 'Mu tribe' who initiated the coup.
Therefore, Zheng Chenggong publicly executed Gongsun Shen and Shu Qin in the market of Xinzheng on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month on the charges of "deceiving the emperor, treason, and conspiring to cause rebellion", in order to warn those harboring evil intentions of "seizing power and betraying the emperor" rebel ministers. And Zheng Chenggong publicly executed Gongsun Shen, who was also a member of the Mu tribe, in order to warn other members of the Mu tribe who intended to decentralize power and change the king at will - don't act rashly, otherwise the king's ax will be the same. Very sharp.
Regarding a series of events before and after Zheng Chenggong returned to the country, Zuo Qiuming commented in Zuo Zhuan on the behavior of Gongzi Ban, Gongsun Shen and others in "privately changing the position of king" - "Loyalty is a virtue of a gentleman, even if he is loyal to someone If someone who is unworthy cannot be betrayed easily, let alone the person who betrays the lord is also unrighteous himself."
"Zuo Zhuan. The Tenth Year of Chenggong" - The gentleman said: "Loyalty is the virtue of order, and it cannot be done except by one's own person. How much more can it be done without order?"
After stabilizing the domestic situation and killing the "rebellious ministers" who coveted the throne and established a new monarch, Zheng Chenggong wanted to continue his efforts and continue to send troops to attack Xu, so as to realize the long-cherished wish of the ancestors of Zheng State to "annex Xu State"; but it was really not possible. Coincidentally, in the same year that Zheng Chenggong returned to the country, that is, in June of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou (581 BC), the current leader (eldest brother) of Zheng, Jin Jinggong, the king of Jin, fell ill and passed away ( Regarding the death of Jin Jinggong, we will talk about it in detail later), Jin Prince Zhou Pu succeeded to the throne, that is, Jin Ligong; the change of Jin's throne also affected the progress of Zheng Chenggong's planned battle against Xu. In order to cooperate with the power of Jin The handover process was successfully completed, and Zheng Chenggong had to temporarily abandon the plan to conquer Xu, and instead "sent envoys to express condolences" to Jin.
As for the Jin State, after Duke Li of Jin succeeded to the throne, Jin Jinggong was ordered to go to Chu State as an envoy when he was still alive. The Jin State envoy Bian Qi was responsible for discussing with the Chu monarchs and ministers to improve and ease relations between the two countries. After arduous negotiations (wrangling and arguing) between the kings and ministers of the Chu State, they finally got the King of Chu's Communist Party to make concessions in principle on some complicated diplomatic issues, and agreed to reply - the "Jin-Chu Peace Conference" can be reached, and the Jin envoys are requested to return to the country immediately. , and returned to the new Marquis of Jin (Dong Li of Jin).
After completing his mission, Bianji immediately reported to the new king Jin Ligong and the ministers in the court about the diplomatic results he had achieved in Chu for more than a year, as well as the reply from the King of the Communist Party of Chu. 'Agree to peace talks, truce and truce'. Duke Li of Jin had just succeeded to the throne and needed external stability to consolidate his power and status at home.
Therefore, Duke Li of Jin attached great importance to the peace negotiation with Chu State, and immediately decided to accept the "peace negotiation" request of the Chu Communist King, and then chose the right time to reach a formal peace treaty alliance with Chu State (previously Jin Jinggong had made peace with Chu State). Prince Chen has already reached a peace treaty agreement, but after Jin Li Gong succeeded to the throne, he still had to do it again to show his importance and formality).
At this time, after hearing the news that the two great powers of Jin and Chu had reached an agreement and wanted to seek peace talks and a truce, Hua Yuan, the ruling minister of the Song Dynasty, decided to personally come forward to promote this matter and help the princes of the world get rid of the continuous conflict. (Hua Yuan also contributed to the war-torn Song Dynasty. He no longer frequently went out to fight and defend against enemies, which was a good thing for any country).
In the winter of the sixth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (580 BC), with Hua Yuan's efforts and mediation, the kings of Jin and Chu successively met with Hua Yuan, who was "in the middle of transportation and conveying information", and agreed to formally establish a "Jin-Chu" agreement. The two countries will live in peace and harmony.
In the summer of the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (579 BC), Jin, Chu and other two countries sent high-level representatives to Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty, for a formal "truce meeting"; the chief representative of Jin was Xie, a general in the army. ; The chief representatives of the Chu State are Dafu Gongzi and Dafu Xu Yan. On the fourth day of May, representatives of Jin and Chu held a formal alliance ceremony outside the west gate of Shangqiu, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and issued an alliance speech. This was the 'Ximen Alliance', also known as the 'Meeting to Destroy the Soldiers'.
The words of their alliance are - "Jin and Chu have not joined forces with each other, they have the same likes and dislikes, share the same sympathy for danger, and prepare for the rescue of evil." If it harms Chu, Jin will attack it. It was the same in Jin and Chu. When going back and forth, there will be no obstacles on the road. If you seek discord, you will not be able to seek justice. If there is an alliance between Chongqing and Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will kill it and send its troops to form an alliance. There will be no way to defeat the country of Xu. '
After the 'Ximen Alliance' was reached, the two overlords of Jin and Chu finally had a temporary truce; after that, Duke Li of Jin, who consciously accomplished a major event, specially summoned the allies of the princes - Duke Cheng of Lu, Duke Cheng of Zheng, and Duke Wei Din When they met in Suoze (Daming County, Handan, Hebei Province), they conveyed the Jin-Chu "Annihilation Alliance Ci" to them, asking them to abide by this covenant. The Chu State also warned its allies Chen, Cai, Xu and other states.
Therefore, Zheng Chenggong's wish to conquer Xu cannot be realized for the time being. The extra chapter in the war between Jin and Chu - the story of the State of Ju, has been told in the previous article. Now we will return to the previous series of articles and continue to tell the story of the "truce" between the two overlords of Jin and Chu. process-----
At the end of the fourth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (582 BC), due to the admiration and attention of Duke Jinggong of Jin, Zhong Yi, a prisoner of war of Chu who was released from Jin and returned to China, was the intermediary of transportation and communication between Jin and Chu. The action of "peace negotiation" that had been agreed upon long ago developed smoothly; under the arrangement of King Chu Gong of Chu State, Prince Chen, the Grand Prime Minister of Chu State, was ordered to visit Jin State as an envoy in return for Jin State's release of Zhong Yi. Please review the friendly acts of Jin and Chu.
After Gongzichen arrived in Jin, he met with Jin Jinggong and formally concluded a peace treaty with Jin. After reaching the peace agreement, Jinggong also held a grand banquet to entertain Gongzichen's visit. The princes of the world announced that Jin and Chu had reached a peace treaty to cease fighting.
As mentioned above - shortly after Gong Zichen went to Jin as an envoy, Chu Ling Yin Zizhong, who had already sent troops to attack Ju, expelled Juquqiu Gong, and occupied the entire territory of Ju, finally got the belated news. Therefore, Only then did the Chu army withdraw from Ju and tacitly allowed Duke Qiu of Juqu to end his exile and return to Jucheng to restore his country. This was also a further move by Jin and Chu to begin to show goodwill to each other and cease hostility to each other.
In the second year, at the beginning of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), in order to implement the specific measures of the "Peace Agreement between Jin and Chu", Jin Jinggong specially appointed Bian Qi, a Jin official, to visit Chu State. This was to repay the Chu Dazaizi. The diplomatic etiquette of Shang (Gongzi Chen)'s mission to Jin; Bian Zhi's main purpose of visiting Chu this time was to further negotiate and communicate with the kings and ministers of Chu on the matter of "peace talks between Jin and Chu" (that is, to have a war of words, Bullshit).
After Bianzhi traveled a long distance to the Chu State, he immediately met with the King of the Communist Party of Chu and the senior officials of the Chu State, and had long and difficult negotiations on how to improve the relationship between Jin and Chu and ease the previous situation of tension and sword fighting; After that, Bian Chi stayed in the Chu Kingdom for more than a year. He communicated and negotiated with the Chu monarchs and ministers many times, and talked tit-for-tat about the specific "peace negotiation" conditions. Both sides refused to give in first.
Therefore, this diplomatic consultation between the great powers was postponed indefinitely in the endless wrangling and squabbling disputes between Bian Zhi and the kings and ministers of Chu.
Just as Jin and Chu reached a 'peace' intention and started diplomatic negotiations at the same time, the unlucky King Zheng Chenggong was still under house arrest in Xintian, the capital of Jin, and was not released by Jin Jinggong to return to the country; and in view of the fact that the country cannot be without a king for a long time , so Gongsun Shen, the official of the State of Zheng, suggested to all the ministers in power:
"The Jin State detained the monarch and killed our envoys who went to plead for mercy. Even if we send envoys to the Jin State to sue for peace, we may not be able to get the monarch back, and there is a high possibility that he will be killed by the Jin people again. Why don't we simply send troops? Attack the State of Xu, and then pretend to establish a new king. In this way, we show to the State of Jin that the State of Zheng does not care whether the king is detained. There is no need or benefit to hold on to the king, so maybe we will release the king and let him return to the country."
Gongsun Shen is the grandson of Zheng Mugong, the son of Gongzi Hui (Ziyu), and the cousin of Zheng Aogong and Zheng Chenggong. Although he is also a descendant of Zheng Mugong, he is not one of the powerful "Zheng Guo Qimu" family ( The 'Mu tribe' of Zheng State includes the Qi Mu Group, but Qi Mu is not the whole of the Mu tribe of Zheng State.
The time when Gongsun Shen proposed to the ruling ministers to attack Xu and establish a new king was in November of the fourth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (582 BC), that is, when Chu ordered Yin Zizhong to lead his army to attack Ju and conquered the country of Ju. At the time of the three cities of Quqiu, Ju and Yun.
In March of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), the ruling ministers of Zheng State thought for a long time and finally accepted Gongsun Shen's suggestion. They abandoned Zheng Chenggong who was still under house arrest in Jin State and replaced him with Zheng Mourning. Gongzi, the concubine brother of Zheng Chenggong and the eldest concubine of Zheng Xianggong, became the new king of Zheng; the son Ban wanted to show the Jin State that Zheng State did not care about the imprisoned king (Zheng Chenggong), and was not afraid of what the Jin State would do next. The means of suppression that will be used.
But not long after Zheng Guo established a new king, new turmoil began to occur within the country. Although Gongzi Ban was currently the ruling minister of Zheng Guo, he was not a descendant of Zheng Mu Gong, so he could not get the title of "Qi Mu". The group's support; and his move to abandon Zheng Chenggong, who was under house arrest in the Jin State, and to appoint his son Yi as the new Zheng Bo, naturally attracted the attention of all members of the 'Mu clan' (not just the Qi Mu family, but Zheng Mu Gong). All descendants (except Gongsun Shen) are opposed; members of the 'Mu clan' want to overthrow the ruling prince class and appoint their favorite person as the new king in order to control the personnel in the court, crowd out the power of other nobles, and finally control Zheng's military and political power.
Just one month after Gongzi Xi was appointed as the new Uncle Zheng, that is, in April of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), the "Mu" tribe of Zheng State suddenly launched a coup and directly killed the new king Gongzi Xi. , and forced the ruling Gongzi Ban to abandon the country and flee, and took refuge in Xu State; while the traitor Gongsun Shen, a member of the 'Mu tribe', was detained by the tribe and placed under house arrest in Xinzheng, the capital, to be dealt with in the future.
Although Gongzi Xi was elected as the new Uncle Zheng by the Gongzi Ban, he only reigned for a short month and was ousted and killed by the domestic nobles in a coup, so he did not receive a posthumous title after his death. , but was only recorded in the history books in the name of 'Zheng Junxi'.
After Zheng Junxi was killed, the members of the "Mu" tribe of Zheng who launched the coup - Gongzi Xi (Zihan, the leader of the Qimu members), Gongzi Qu (Zi Si, one of the Qimu members) and others successfully took control of the state affairs; then, Zihan and Ziquan appointed Kun Wan, the young son of Duke Cheng of Zheng, as the new Uncle Zheng.
The news that a coup had taken place in the State of Zheng and that two new kings had been appointed in succession quickly spread to the State of Jin. Just as Gongsun Shen had expected, some officials of the Jin State learned that Zheng State had established a new king. They felt that it was of no use to continue to hold Zheng Chenggong in their hands. It was better to release him earlier. Firstly, this can be used to ease the relationship between Jin and Zheng. Secondly, Zheng Chenggong's return can also be used to create some constraints on Zheng's internal affairs (everyone needs to decentralize power or reset it).
Therefore, Luan Shu, a representative figure who held this opinion, a military general and ruling official in central Jin, looked for an opportunity to suggest to Jin Jinggong:
"The State of Zheng now has a new king, and Uncle Zheng (referring to Duke Zheng) who is still here has become a useless man. There is no use in keeping him in the State of Jin. Why don't we send troops to attack Zheng as an excuse, and take advantage of it?" Zheng Bo was sent back to help him with the conditions for his restoration and Zheng Guo to complete the alliance between the two countries; in this way, he could bring Zheng Guo back into the alliance of princes and show his favor to Zheng Guo, which was a double-edged sword."
Jin Jinggong thought Luan Shu's suggestion was very reasonable, so he readily agreed. However, Jin Jinggong was already very ill at this time and could not personally lead the troops to attack Zheng. Therefore, Jin Jinggong asked Prince Zhou Pu to go on his behalf and lead the coalition of princes to attack Zheng. Zheng Chenggong, this time was also taken by the Jin army to the state of Zheng.
At this time, Zihan, Zisi and others who were in charge of the Zheng State's political affairs originally launched the coup to renegotiate peace with the Jin State and take back Zheng Chenggong. Therefore, when the Jin allied forces arrived in the Zheng State in a mighty manner, they were in power. Zihan followed suit and immediately sent an envoy to the Jin army camp to "please make peace" to the prince of Jin. In order to show Zheng's sincerity in asking for peace, Zihan also asked the envoy to bring the ritual utensils from Zheng Xianggong's temple in Zheng's ancestral temple. As gifts, all the bronze bells were given to the commander-in-chief of the Jin army, Prince Zhou Pu.
Jin Jinggong of Jin asked the prince to lead the army to attack Zheng this time. His original intention was not to launch a military attack on Zheng, but just to put on a show of strength, so as to surrender and subdue Zheng, so that Zheng could return again. Among the alliance of princes; therefore, Prince Zhou Pu of Jin, who followed his father's instructions, immediately agreed to Zheng Guo's peace invitation after receiving the envoys from Zheng Guo and receiving generous gifts from Zheng Guo. ', and then held an oath-taking ceremony in Xiuze (Yuanyang County, Xinxiang, Henan) with the envoy sent by the State of Zheng, the official Ziran (Mu ethnic group, but not a member of the Qi Mu).
In order to show sincerity to the re-established 'Covenant between Jin and Zheng', when the two countries' covenant was reached, Zheng Chenggong's uncle, Zheng Guoqing scholar Zi Si (Gong Zi Si, currently the ruling second minister of the Zheng State and a member of the Qimu of the Zheng State) was appointed by the ruling son Han was appointed to go to Jin State as a hostage, as a guarantee and compliance with the covenant by Zheng State.
After receiving the return of Zheng Guo and guaranteeing it with ritual vessels and hostages, Prince Zhou Pu of Jin, who replaced Jin Jinggong in the expedition, was satisfied and announced that he would withdraw from Zheng Guo and bring back those who had been detained in Jin. Zheng Chenggong, the king of Zheng for nearly a year, was released from the camp and sent back to Zheng. On May 11th of that year, Zheng Chenggong returned to Xinzheng, the capital of the country after a long absence, and became the king of Zheng again.
After Zheng Chenggong was released from house arrest and returned to the country by the Jin army and regained his position as king, the first thing he did was to demote his son "Kun Wan", who was elected as the new Zheng Bo by the "Mu" nobles, to the crown prince again. , and changed his name to 'Yun'; Zheng Chenggong's move was to erase the 'negative influence' of his son who had used the name of 'Kun Wan' and served as the (illegal) king of Zheng for a month; (See Look up, Zheng Chenggong still loves this son very much, otherwise, he would be like his great-grandfather Zheng Wengong, who would have his great-uncle Zheng Prince Hua, who coveted the throne and conspired with foreign countries to seize power, imprisoned and imprisoned, and finally killed him directly).
Subsequently, the second important thing that Zheng Chenggong had to do was to investigate the "crime of rebellion" for the original Gongziban party who secretly changed the monarchy. At this time, Gongziban, the main culprit in the original reformation of the monarchy, had fled to Xu State, and could temporarily Don't worry about him; Gongsun Shen and his accomplice Shu Qin, who first proposed to establish a new king, are now detained in the prison cell of Xinzheng by the 'Mu tribe' who initiated the coup.
Therefore, Zheng Chenggong publicly executed Gongsun Shen and Shu Qin in the market of Xinzheng on the eighth day of the sixth lunar month on the charges of "deceiving the emperor, treason, and conspiring to cause rebellion", in order to warn those harboring evil intentions of "seizing power and betraying the emperor" rebel ministers. And Zheng Chenggong publicly executed Gongsun Shen, who was also a member of the 'Mu tribe', in order to warn other members of the 'Mu tribe' who intended to decentralize power and change the king at will - don't act rashly, otherwise the king's ax will be the same. Very sharp.
Regarding a series of events before and after Zheng Chenggong returned to the country, Zuo Qiuming commented in Zuo Zhuan on the behavior of Gongzi Ban, Gongsun Shen and others in "privately changing the position of king" - "Loyalty is a virtue of a gentleman, even if he is loyal to someone If someone who is unworthy cannot be betrayed easily, let alone the person who betrays the lord is also unrighteous himself."
"Zuo Zhuan. The Tenth Year of Chenggong" - The gentleman said: "Loyalty is the virtue of order, and it cannot be done except by one's own person. How much more can it be done without order?"
After stabilizing the domestic situation and killing the "rebellious ministers" who coveted the throne and established a new monarch, Zheng Chenggong wanted to continue his efforts and continue to send troops to attack Xu, so as to realize the long-cherished wish of the ancestors of Zheng State to "annex Xu State"; but it was really not possible. Coincidentally, in the same year that Zheng Chenggong returned to the country, that is, in June of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), Zheng’s current leader (eldest brother), Jin Jinggong, the king of Jin, fell ill and passed away ( Regarding the death of Jin Jinggong, we will talk about it in detail later), Jin Prince Zhou Pu succeeded to the throne, that is, Jin Ligong; the change of Jin's throne also affected the progress of Zheng Chenggong's planned battle against Xu. In order to cooperate with the power of Jin The handover process was successfully completed, and Zheng Chenggong had to temporarily abandon the plan to conquer Xu, and instead "sent envoys to express condolences" to Jin.
As for the Jin State, after Duke Li of Jin succeeded to the throne, Jin Jinggong was ordered to go to Chu State as an envoy when he was still alive. The Jin State envoy Bian Qi was responsible for discussing with the Chu monarchs and ministers to improve and ease relations between the two countries. After arduous negotiations (wrangling and arguing) between the kings and ministers of the Chu State, they finally got the King of Chu's Communist Party to make concessions in principle on some complicated diplomatic issues, and agreed to reply - the "Jin-Chu Peace Conference" can be reached, and the Jin envoys are requested to return to the country immediately. , and returned to the new Marquis of Jin (Dong Li of Jin).
After completing his mission, Bian Zhi immediately reported to the new king Jin Ligong and the ministers of the court on the diplomatic results he had achieved in Chu for more than a year, as well as the reply from the King of the Communist Party of Chu. 'Agree to peace talks, truce and truce'. Duke Li of Jin had just succeeded to the throne and needed external stability to consolidate his power and status at home.
Therefore, Duke Li of Jin attached great importance to the peace negotiation with Chu State, and immediately decided to accept the "peace negotiation" request of the Chu Communist King, and then chose the right time to reach a formal peace treaty alliance with Chu State (previously Jin Jinggong had made peace with Chu State). Prince Chen has already reached a peace treaty agreement, but after Jin Li Gong succeeded to the throne, he still had to do it again to show his importance and formality).
At this time, after hearing the news that the two great powers of Jin and Chu had reached an agreement and wanted to seek peace talks and a truce, Hua Yuan, the ruling minister of the Song State, decided to personally come forward to promote this matter and help the princes of the world get rid of the continuous conflict. (Hua Yuan also contributed to the war-torn Song Dynasty. He no longer went out frequently to fight and defend against enemies, which was a good thing for any country).
In the winter of the sixth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (580 BC), thanks to Hua Yuan's efforts and mediation, the kings of Jin and Chu successively met with Hua Yuan, who was "in the middle of transportation and conveying information", and agreed to formally establish a "Jin-Chu" agreement. The two countries will live in peace and harmony.
In the summer of the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (579 BC), Jin, Chu and other two countries sent high-level representatives to Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty, for a formal "truce meeting"; the chief representative of Jin was Xie, a general in the army. ; The chief representatives of the Chu State are Dafu Gongzi and Dafu Xu Yan. On the fourth day of May, representatives of the Jin and Chu sides held a formal alliance ceremony outside the west gate of Shangqiu, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and issued an alliance speech. This was the 'Ximen Alliance', also known as the 'Meeting to Destroy the Soldiers'.
The words of their alliance are - "Jin and Chu have not joined forces with each other, they have the same likes and dislikes, share the same sympathy for danger, and prepare for the rescue of evil." If it harms Chu, Jin will attack it. It was the same in Jin and Chu. When going back and forth, there will be no obstacles on the road. If you seek discord, you will not be able to seek justice. If there is an alliance between Chongqing and Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will kill it and send its troops to form an alliance. There will be no way to defeat the country of Xu. '
After the 'Ximen Alliance' was reached, the two overlords of Jin and Chu finally had a temporary truce; after that, Duke Li of Jin, who consciously accomplished a major event, specially summoned the allies of the princes - Lu Chenggong, Zheng Chenggong, and Wei Dinggong. When they met in Suoze (Daming County, Handan, Hebei Province), they conveyed the Jin-Chu "Annihilation Alliance Ci" to them, asking them to abide by this covenant. The Chu State also warned its allies Chen, Cai, Xu and other states.
Therefore, Zheng Chenggong's wish to conquer Xu cannot be realized for the time being.
