Beginning from the beginning of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), Jin Jinggong of Jin sent official Bian Qi to visit Chu State in return for the diplomatic etiquette of Chu Dazai Zishang (Gongzi Chen) who was envoy to Jin State the previous year. In the summer of the seventh year of King Jian (579 BC), under the mediation of Hua Yuan, the ruling minister of the Song State, the two countries of Jin and Chu sent high-level representatives (from the Jin State, it was the general Xie of the Shangjun, and from the Chu State, it was the official Gong Zi Bhe). Xu Yan) went to Shangqiu, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and held a formal "Annihilation Meeting" (also known as the "Ximen Meeting") outside the west gate of Shangqiu. As a result, the two overlords of Jin and Chu finally had a temporary truce.
As for the "Military Meeting" between Jin and Chu, from the time Jin Jinggong and the Chu Communist King reached an agreement and prepared to convene an alliance, to when Shi Xie and the prince officially held a tripod alliance in Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty, there was a delay in the process. What about the delay of more than a year? This is because - during this period, in the sixth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (580 BC), Duke Li of Jin decided to temporarily negotiate peace with Qin to avoid expending a lot of unnecessary national power and resources just after he succeeded to the throne. The loss of military strength allowed Jin to rest and regain its strength first (before continuing to fight against the two powerful enemies of Chu and Qin).
Therefore, at the beginning of the sixth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (580 BC), Duke Li of Jin specially sent an envoy to Qin to request Duke Huan of Qin to "cease the troops and form an alliance", and "enthusiastically" requested Duke Huan of Qin went to Linghu (Linyi, Shanxi, which belonged to Jin at this time) on the border between the two countries to meet in order to hold an alliance meeting.
However, Duke Huan of Qin could not trust the character of Duke Li of Jin (successive generations of Jin princes were all cunning and changeable, and the Qin State also suffered a lot for this), and believed that if he rashly entered the territory of the Jin State, there was no guarantee that he would not be re-entered again. Duke Huan of Qin decided not to go to Linghu to meet Duke Li of Jin to swear an alliance, but instead sent Duke Shi Ke of Qin State to cross the river and go to Linghu to meet Jin Li on his behalf. Duke Li, and then made a blood alliance with Duke Li of Jin.
Seeing that Duke Huan of Qin refused to cross the river, Duke Li of Jin had no choice but to have a bloodbath with Qin's envoy Shi Ke in the east of the river to complete the alliance. Later, Duke Li of Jin sent Dafu Que to cross the river to represent himself in the capital of the King of Qin. (Dali, Shaanxi), and formed a bloody alliance with Duke Huan of Qin who was waiting here.
But not long after Qin and Jin reached the "Linghu and Wangcheng Alliance", Qin Huan Gong broke his alliance with Jin and secretly contacted the Baidi tribe in the north of Jin to agree on a good time and prepare to jointly attack Jin. But the plans of the Qin and Di families were not kept secret, and their small move of secretly communicating with each other and intending to attack Jin was soon known to Duke Li of Jin.
At that time, Duke Li of Jin was paying close attention to the upcoming "Jin and Chu Army Extermination Meeting" and had no extra energy to deal with Qin, so Duke Li of Jin temporarily put aside Duke Huan of Qin's betrayal of the alliance. We plan to complete the 'extermination meeting' with the Chu State first, and then settle the accounts with the Qin State after stabilizing the situation in the south.
By the autumn of the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou (579 BC), the "extermination meeting" between Jin and Chu had been successfully completed in advance, and the Di people, instigated by Duke Huan of Qin, also carried out a sneak attack on Jin as agreed in advance, and succeeded with one attack; However, the Di people won the battle against Jin first and then lost. The Jin army that was counterattacked was severely defeated in Jiaogang (Xixian County, Linfen, Shanxi Province) and had to escape from the Jin state in embarrassment.
Although the Qin State was making small moves behind the scenes, Duke Li of Jin still wanted to use the "Annihilation Meeting" to stabilize the State of Chu and achieve strategic stability in the south. Therefore, Duke Li of Jin did not immediately launch a campaign to attack Qin. In the winter of the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (579 BC), he sent a new army, Zuo Que, to the Chu State to pay homage to the King of the Communist Party of Chu and reaffirm the friendly alliance between Jin and Chu.
The King of the Communist Party of Chu paid great attention to Quezhi's visit. Not only did he come to receive him in person, but he also specially arranged a "big feast" to entertain him. On the contrary, Sima Zi of Chu served as the "xiangli" of the banquet, that is, the host of the banquet. Host, participate in the meeting together.
However, when he was invited to the banquet, because of the music played at the banquet, he found out that the kings and ministers of Chu State did not pay attention to the "Annihilation Covenant" with Jin State and abide by the etiquette of "Zhou Rites". They were still ready at any time. He went to war with the State of Jin; therefore, after returning to the country, he reported everything he saw and heard in the State of Chu and his response to the Duke of Jin, so that Duke Li of Jin could understand the situation with the State of Chu. Killing troops and forming an alliance is just a temporary measure. Jin and Chu will meet again on the battlefield sooner or later.
Although he had already found out the attitude of Chu State, Jin Ligong already wanted to free his hands to deal with the imminent Qin State, so he did not immediately fall out with Chu State; even in this year (i.e. King Jian of Zhou Dynasty) In the winter of the seventh year (579 B.C.)), the Chu envoy, the prince, dismissed his envoy to Jin in return for his invitation to Chu. Duke Li of Jin personally met with the prince in Chiji, and formed an alliance with him, reaffirming the Covenant between Jin and Chu.
After completing the war-killing covenant with the Chu State and stabilizing the "temporary peace" situation in the south, at the beginning of the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), Duke Li of Jin began to prepare for a crusade against the Qin State, preparing to launch an attack on this old enemy. A most severe blow.
In order to make a name for himself, Duke Li of Jin summoned many allies in March of that year - the kings of Qi, Lu, Song, Wei, Zheng, Cao, Zhu, Teng and other eight countries, and went to the capital of Luoyi to pay homage to the Emperor of Zhou; Duke Li of Jin also personally went out to report to the emperor King Zhou Jian the many unjust things done by the Qin State such as rudely betraying the alliance and joining forces with Rong and Di to attack the Jin State. He asked the emperor to "justice" for the Jin State and send troops to punish those who rebelled against the alliance and disrespected the royal family. of Qin.
At this time, the emperor of Zhou had to rely on irregular tributes (or alms) from the princes for his daily needs. The status of "co-ruler of the world" was all controlled by the "pro-Zhou princes" headed by Duke Li of Jin. In his hands (don’t mention Chu State, it’s better not to inquire about the importance of the tripod), there is no military strength to personally teach the rebellious princes.
Therefore, King Jian of Zhou Dynasty agreed without hesitation and heartily to Duke Li of Jin's request to report "justice." "Crunt against unruly ministers". In addition, King Jian of Zhou also sent royal ministers Liu Kanggong and Cheng Sugong as commanders, leading the "king's division" (estimated to be only a thousand people) to go out and join the coalition of princes led by the Jin army to attack Qin.
The Emperor Zhou's proactive stance gave Duke Li of Jin a more sufficient and justifiable reason for sending troops to attack Qin, which was impeccable in terms of patriarchal morality; but in order to better grasp the supreme advantages of 'public opinion and diplomacy' before the war, , Duke Li of Jin devised a more powerful strategy.
On the fifth day of April in the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), on the order of Duke Li of Jin, the Jin traveler and envoy Lu Xiang successfully arrived at Yongcheng (Fengxiang, Shaanxi), the capital of Qin; and in the main hall of Qin's palace, in front of Duke Huan of Qin In the presence of the Qin ministers and officials, Prime Minister Lu recited the full text of the "Severance of Diplomacy with Qin" that he carefully wrote and was reviewed and approved by Duke Li of Jin. , read it out by mistake, Prime Minister Lu really paid attention).
Prime Minister Lu's diplomatic rhetoric of "breaking off diplomatic relations with Qin" can be explained as "avoiding the important and confounding the right and the wrong". Its real purpose is to cover up the reasons why the relationship between Jin and Qin went from marriage to feud, and to make all the mistakes and blame were placed on the Qin State, in order to prevent the Qin State from occupying the commanding heights of morality and justice before the war, causing the Jin State to be passive, and to find a high-sounding excuse for the Jin State Allied Forces' "Battle against Qin" in the near future. .
After Lu Xiang finished reading the "Book of Jue Qin", Duke Huan of Qin, who was sitting in the main hall with an expressionless face, barely controlled the rage in his heart, and then directly ordered the soldiers in the palace to remove this shameless Jin traveler from the main hall. Fork out, immediately drive out of Yongcheng, not allowed to stay in Qin State, kick back to Jin State to end the problem.
In order to safeguard the dignity and interests of the Qin State, Duke Huan of Qin also publicly announced the severance of the alliance with the Jin State after the Jin State had issued a letter of severance of diplomatic relations, and then immediately prepared ordnance, grain, and materials before the war, preparing to fight with the Jin State who was about to come to attack Qin. The Allied forces engaged in armed confrontation.
In April of the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), Duke Li of Jin, who had made all preparations for the war, personally led the army to go out and led the Jin coalition forces - Jin, Qi, Song, Wei, Lu, Zheng, Cao, Zhu, Teng, etc. The armies of the nine countries, together with the "King's Division" of less than 2,000 men led by the royal ministers Liu Kanggong and Cheng Su Gong, went out to attack the Qin State that "broke the covenant and refused to accept the emperor's order." Including the soy sauce 'Wang Shi', the number of Jin's coalition forces actually reached an unprecedented number of 120,000.
At the end of April, Jin Ligong led an allied army of 120,000 people to cross the Yellow River in a mighty manner and penetrated deep into the Qin State's Matun (Jingyang, Shaanxi Province), and then stationed the army on the east bank of the Jing River. After learning that the allied forces of the Jin State had arrived in the territory of the Qin State, Duke Huan of Qin, not to be outdone, led 50,000 Qin troops from Yongcheng (Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province), the capital of Qin, to the west bank of the Jinghe River in Ma Tun, with the two armies separated by A confrontation began on the narrow Jinghe River.
On the fourth day of May, after careful arrangements and preparations, the Jin allied forces, led by Jin Ligong, broke out of camp and crossed the river and launched an attack on the Qin army in the west of Hexi. Qin Huangong led the Qin army to block and fight to the death. Allied attack.
The Qin army had an obvious disadvantage in terms of military strength, and the Jin army was well-trained and battle-hardened. After a short and fierce resistance, the Qin army was defeated by the allied forces' fierce attack. In this battle, the Qin army was defeated. General Cheng Chai and Bu Geng's father-in-law were both captured by the coalition forces, and the casualties were close to 30,000. After Qin Huan Gong's defeat, he led his remaining army to retreat from Ma Tunnel in embarrassment, giving up contact with the coalition forces.
After defeating the Qin army, Duke Li of Jin refused to give up and led the allied forces to pursue the Qin army until they reached Houli in Qin (today's Liquan, Shaanxi) before stopping military operations; while the Qin army He was also chased all the way back to the capital Yongcheng by the coalition forces. Qin Huangong reduced his troops to defend Yongcheng and did not dare to fight easily.
After the victory over Qin, Duke Li of Jin triumphantly announced the withdrawal of troops and led the coalition of princes back to Hedong (east of the Dahe River, not the east of Jinghe River). Qin's land west of Hexi was occupied by Jin. For hundreds of years, the Qin State failed to regain the land of Hexi from the Jin State (already three Jins).
Regarding the course of this battle, I have already written it very clearly in my previous article "The Great Matter of the Country, Sacrifice and Rong - The Story Behind the Battle of Ma Tunnel", so I will not repeat it here; readers who need to understand the causes and consequences of this battle, You can go directly to the previous article; thank you.
After the battle, Duke Li of Jin successfully suppressed Chu's expansion momentum by virtue of his illustrious military achievements in defeating Qi, Qin, and Di. , there was an endless stream of princes and kings driving to Xintian, the capital of Jin, to meet Duke Li of Jin; Jin thus became the (well-deserved) overlord of the princes again.
When Jin Ligong summoned the allies of the princes to send troops to attack Qin, Zheng Guo, as the new ally (new younger brother) of Jin, naturally received the summoning order; in order to show his loyalty to Jin, the king of Zheng, Zheng Chenggong, He personally led the army to participate in the campaign of Jin's coalition forces to attack Qin; but while Zheng Chenggong led his troops to fight abroad, internal strife and turmoil broke out in Zheng State again.
In the summer of the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), when Zheng Chenggong led his troops to the Qin State and went on an expedition, he secretly sneaked back to Xinzheng with his disciples and followers from Zidi, and reported to the ruling minister Gong Ziqun (i.e. Zi Zi) who stayed in Xinzheng. Si, one of the Seven Mu of Zheng) made a 'request' - to allow him to enter the Zheng Guo Temple to worship his ancestors (Gongziban wanted to use this to test the Zheng people's reaction and acceptance of his return to Xinzheng).
However, Gongzi Ban categorically rejected Gongzi Ban's request to "sacrifice ancestors" and threatened to send troops to expel Gong Zi Ban. In anger, Gong Zi Ban led his private troops to attack the "Mu" people (i.e., the descendants of Zheng Mugong) in Xinzheng City. Later, the Gongzi Ban was stationed in the market of Xinzheng. , be prepared to wait and see the situation and take the next step.
On June 17, Zi Si, who stayed behind in Xinzheng, gathered other Mu private soldiers in Xinzheng City (as well as most of the Zheng people who refused to join the Gongzi Ban), and led them to the Zheng Guo Ancestral Temple to swear an oath and agreed to send troops together. Crack down on the young master class who rebelled against the ancestral temple and the country.
Then, Zisi solemnly burned the alliance letter in the ancestral temple, swearing to Haotian to eliminate the rebels; then, Zisi led his army to the market, defeated the private soldiers brought by Gongziban in one fell swoop, and killed them on the spot. They killed Gongzi Ban and his younger brother Gongzi Zhan, as well as his nephews Gongsun Shu and Gongsun Zhi. This time, the internal strife and rebellion in Zheng initiated by members of the exiled imperial family was put down by Zi Si.
Soon after the rebellion of Gongzi Ban was put down, Zheng Chenggong led his army back to Zheng State from the front line of attacking Qin. When he learned that while he was away, Gongzi Ban actually ran back from Xu State to cause rebellion and almost succeeded, Zheng Chenggong was furious. Angry, he pinned the culprit and cause of this internal strife on the head of Xu Guo, who took in the young master class and intercepted the land.
Zheng Chenggong believed that the reason why the Gongzi Ban was able to gather private soldiers and return to the country to cause rebellion was not all because the feudal state next door, Xu State, had taken in and condoned it. In addition, Xu State had sponsored Zi Di as a rebel base for the Gongzi Ban; although Previously, Gongsun Shen's fiefdom was Zidi, but Xu State accepted Gongziban, and incidentally accepted the fiefdom of Zidi from Gongsun Shen, who was Gongziban's best friend. So Zidi now belongs to Xu State, which is absolutely correct - Zheng Chenggong Shouting angrily!
In August of the ninth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (577 BC), in order to punish Xu Guo for taking in and supporting Gongzi Ban to return to the country to rebel, he secretly took over the fiefdom of Zheng Guo's traitor Gongsun Shen, causing losses to Zheng's territory. Zheng Chenggong ignored the overlords (Jin, Chu) had previously agreed on the "Annihilation Covenant" and sent Xi (Zihan), the ruling prince of Zheng State, to lead an army to forcibly attack Xu to vent his personal anger.
There is another unknown reason for Zheng Chenggong's attack on Xu - Jin and Chu have previously signed the "Anti-Brigade Alliance", and Xu is considered an ally of Jin (Xu treats both Jin and Chu equally) , did not deliberately favor one over the other, which is stronger than Zheng), but did not send troops to participate in the Jin allied army's attack on Qin (i.e., the Battle of Ma Tun). This is Xu Guo's disrespect for the two overlords of Jin and Chu; Zheng Guo was Jin Of course, the allies of the country wanted to complain about the injustice for the leader, so they went to attack Xu State as a punishment for Xu State's "disrespect of the leader and harboring traitors" (a good excuse!)
What is the specific process of the battle between Zheng and Xu and the series of consequences it brought about? Beginning from the beginning of the fifth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (581 BC), Jin Jinggong of Jin sent official Bian Qi to visit Chu State in return for the diplomatic etiquette of Chu Dazai Zishang (Gongzi Chen) who was envoy to Jin State the previous year. In the summer of the seventh year of King Jian (579 BC), under the mediation of Hua Yuan, the ruling minister of the Song State, the two countries of Jin and Chu sent high-level representatives (from the Jin State, it was the general Xie of the Shangjun, and from the Chu State, it was the official Gong Zi Bhe). Xu Yan) went to Shangqiu, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and held a formal "Annihilation Meeting" (also known as the "Ximen Meeting") outside the west gate of Shangqiu. As a result, the two overlords of Jin and Chu finally had a temporary truce.
As for the "Military Meeting" between Jin and Chu, from the time Jin Jinggong and the Chu Communist King reached an agreement and prepared to convene an alliance, to when Shi Xie and the prince formally held the tripod alliance in Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty, there was a delay. What about the delay of more than a year? This is because - during this period, in the sixth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (580 BC), Duke Li of Jin decided to temporarily negotiate peace with Qin to avoid expending a lot of unnecessary national power and resources just after he succeeded to the throne. The loss of military strength allowed Jin to rest and regain its strength first (before continuing to fight against the two powerful enemies of Chu and Qin).
Therefore, at the beginning of the sixth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (580 BC), Duke Li of Jin specially sent an envoy to Qin to request Duke Huan of Qin to "cease the troops and form an alliance", and "enthusiastically" requested Duke Huan of Qin went to Linghu (Linyi, Shanxi, which belonged to Jin at this time) on the border between the two countries to meet in order to hold an alliance meeting.
However, Duke Huan of Qin could not trust the character of Duke Li of Jin (successive generations of Jin princes were all cunning and changeable, and the Qin State also suffered a lot for this), and believed that if he rashly entered the territory of the Jin State, there was no guarantee that he would not be re-entered again. Following the previous mistake of Duke Cheng of Zheng and Duke of Lu being detained by the State of Jin, Duke Huan of Qin decided not to go to Linghu to meet Duke Li of Jin for an oath of alliance. Instead, he sent Duke Shi Ke of the State of Qin to cross the river and go to Linghu to meet with Duke Li of Jin on his behalf. Duke Li, and then made a blood alliance with Duke Li of Jin.
Seeing that Duke Huan of Qin refused to cross the river, Duke Li of Jin had no choice but to have a bloodbath with Qin's envoy Shi Ke in the east of the river to complete the alliance. Later, Duke Li of Jin sent Dafu Que to cross the river to represent himself in the capital of the King of Qin. (Dali, Shaanxi), and formed a bloody alliance with Duke Huan of Qin who was waiting here.
But not long after Qin and Jin reached the "Linghu and Wangcheng Alliance", Qin Huan Gong broke his alliance with Jin and secretly contacted the Baidi tribe in the north of Jin to agree on a good time and prepare to jointly attack Jin. But the plans of the Qin and Di families were not kept secret, and their small move of secretly communicating with each other and intending to attack Jin was soon known to Duke Li of Jin.
At that time, Duke Li of Jin was paying close attention to the upcoming "Jin and Chu Army Extermination Meeting" and had no extra energy to deal with Qin, so Duke Li of Jin temporarily put aside Duke Huan of Qin's betrayal of the alliance. We plan to complete the 'extermination meeting' with the Chu State first, and then settle the accounts with the Qin State after stabilizing the situation in the south.
By the autumn of the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou (579 BC), the "extermination meeting" between Jin and Chu had been successfully completed in advance, and the Di people, instigated by Duke Huan of Qin, also carried out a sneak attack on Jin as agreed in advance, and succeeded with one attack; However, the Di people won the battle against Jin first and then lost. The Jin army that was counterattacked was severely defeated in Jiaogang (Xixian County, Linfen, Shanxi Province) and had to escape from the Jin state in embarrassment.
Although the Qin State was making small moves behind the scenes, Duke Li of Jin still wanted to use the "Annihilation Meeting" to stabilize the State of Chu and achieve strategic stability in the south. Therefore, Duke Li of Jin did not immediately launch a campaign to attack Qin. In the winter of the seventh year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (579 BC), he sent a new army, Zuo Que, to the Chu State to pay homage to the King of the Communist Party of Chu and reaffirm the friendly alliance between Jin and Chu.
The King of the Communist Party of Chu paid great attention to Quezhi's visit. Not only did he come to receive him in person, but he also specially arranged a "big feast" to entertain him. On the contrary, Sima Zi of Chu served as the "xiangli" of the banquet, that is, the host of the banquet. Host, participate in the meeting together.
However, when he was invited to the banquet, because of the music played at the banquet, he found out that the kings and ministers of Chu State did not pay attention to the "Annihilation Covenant" with Jin State and abide by the etiquette of "Zhou Rites". They were still ready at any time. He went to war with the State of Jin; therefore, after returning to the country, he reported everything he saw and heard in the State of Chu and his response to the Duke of Jin, so that Duke Li of Jin could understand the situation with the State of Chu. Killing troops and forming an alliance is just a temporary measure. Jin and Chu will meet again on the battlefield sooner or later.
Although he had already found out the attitude of Chu State, Jin Ligong already wanted to free his hands to deal with the imminent Qin State, so he did not immediately fall out with Chu State; even in this year (i.e. King Jian of Zhou Dynasty) In the winter of the seventh year (579 B.C.)), the Chu envoy, the prince, dismissed his envoy to Jin in return for his invitation to Chu. Duke Li of Jin personally met with the prince in Chiji, and formed an alliance with him, reaffirming the Covenant between Jin and Chu.
After completing the war-killing covenant with Chu and stabilizing the "temporary peace" situation in the south, at the beginning of the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou (578 BC), Duke Li of Jin began to prepare for a crusade against Qin, preparing to launch a campaign against this old enemy. A most severe blow.
In order to make a name for himself, Duke Li of Jin summoned many allies in March of that year - the kings of Qi, Lu, Song, Wei, Zheng, Cao, Zhu, Teng and other eight countries, and went to the capital of Luoyi to pay homage to the Emperor of Zhou; Duke Li of Jin also personally went out to report to the emperor King Zhou Jian the many unjust things done by the Qin State such as rudely betraying the alliance and joining forces with Rong and Di to attack the Jin State. He asked the emperor to "justice" for the Jin State and send troops to punish those who rebelled against the alliance and disrespected the royal family. of Qin.
At this time, the emperor of Zhou had to rely on irregular tributes (or alms) from the princes for his daily needs. The status of "co-ruler of the world" was all controlled by the "pro-Zhou princes" headed by Duke Li of Jin. In his hands (don’t mention Chu State, it’s better if he doesn’t come to inquire about the importance of the tripod), there is no military strength to personally teach the rebellious princes.
Therefore, King Jian of Zhou Dynasty agreed without hesitation and heartily to Duke Li of Jin's request to report "justice." "Crunt against unruly ministers". In addition, King Jian of Zhou also sent royal ministers Liu Kanggong and Cheng Sugong as commanders, leading the "king's division" (estimated to be only a thousand people) to go out and join the coalition of princes led by the Jin army to attack Qin.
The Emperor Zhou's proactive stance gave Duke Li of Jin a more sufficient and justifiable reason for sending troops to attack Qin, which was impeccable in terms of patriarchal morality; but in order to better grasp the supreme advantages of 'public opinion and diplomacy' before the war, , Duke Li of Jin devised a more powerful strategy.
On the fifth day of April in the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), on the order of Duke Li of Jin, the Jin traveler and envoy Lu Xiang successfully arrived at Yongcheng (Fengxiang, Shaanxi), the capital of Qin; and in the main hall of Qin's palace, in front of Duke Huan of Qin In the presence of the Qin ministers and officials, Prime Minister Lu recited the full text of the "Severance of Diplomacy with Qin" that he carefully wrote and was reviewed and approved by Duke Li of Jin. , read it out by mistake, Prime Minister Lu really paid attention).
Prime Minister Lu's diplomatic rhetoric of "breaking off diplomatic relations with Qin" can be explained as "avoiding the important and confounding the right and the wrong". Its real purpose is to cover up the reasons why the relationship between Jin and Qin went from marriage to feud, and to make all the mistakes and blame were placed on the Qin State, in order to prevent the Qin State from occupying the commanding heights of morality and justice before the war, causing the Jin State to be passive, and to find a high-sounding excuse for the Jin State Allied Forces' "Battle against Qin" in the near future. .
After Lu Xiang finished reading the "Book of Jue Qin", Duke Huan of Qin, who was sitting in the main hall with an expressionless face, barely controlled the rage in his heart, and then directly ordered the soldiers in the palace to remove this shameless Jin traveler from the main hall. Fork out, immediately drive out of Yongcheng, not allowed to stay in Qin State, kick back to Jin State to end the problem.
In order to safeguard the dignity and interests of the Qin State, Duke Huan of Qin also publicly announced the severance of the alliance with the Jin State after the Jin State had issued a letter of severance of diplomatic relations, and then immediately prepared ordnance, grain, and materials before the war, preparing to fight with the Jin State who was about to come to attack Qin. The Allied forces engaged in armed confrontation.
In April of the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), Duke Li of Jin, who had made all preparations for the war, personally led the army to go out and led the Jin coalition forces - Jin, Qi, Song, Wei, Lu, Zheng, Cao, Zhu, Teng, etc. The armies of the nine countries, together with the "King's Division" of less than 2,000 men led by the royal ministers Liu Kanggong and Cheng Su Gong, went out to attack the Qin State that "broke the covenant and refused to accept the emperor's order." Including the soy sauce 'Wang Shi', the number of Jin's coalition forces actually reached an unprecedented number of 120,000.
At the end of April, Jin Ligong led an allied army of 120,000 people to cross the Yellow River in a mighty manner and penetrated deep into the Qin State's Matun (Jingyang, Shaanxi Province), and then stationed the army on the east bank of the Jing River. After learning that the allied forces of the Jin State had arrived in the territory of the Qin State, Duke Huan of Qin, not to be outdone, led 50,000 Qin troops from Yongcheng (Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province), the capital of Qin, to the west bank of the Jinghe River in Ma Tun, with the two armies separated by A confrontation began on the narrow Jinghe River.
On the fourth day of May, after careful arrangements and preparations, the Jin allied forces, led by Jin Ligong, broke out of camp and crossed the river and launched an attack on the Qin army in the west of Hexi. Qin Huangong led the Qin army to block and fight to the death. Allied attack.
The Qin army had an obvious disadvantage in terms of military strength, and the Jin army was well-trained and battle-hardened. After a short and fierce resistance, the Qin army was defeated by the allied forces' fierce attack. In this battle, the Qin army was defeated. General Cheng Chai and Bu Geng's father-in-law were both captured by the coalition forces, and the casualties were close to 30,000. After Qin Huan Gong's defeat, he led his remaining army to retreat from Ma Tunnel in embarrassment, giving up contact with the coalition forces.
After defeating the Qin army, Duke Li of Jin refused to give up and led the allied forces to pursue the Qin army until they reached Houli in Qin (today's Liquan, Shaanxi) before stopping military operations; while the Qin army He was also chased all the way back to the capital Yongcheng by the coalition forces. Qin Huangong reduced his troops to defend Yongcheng and did not dare to fight easily.
After the victory over Qin, Duke Li of Jin triumphantly announced the withdrawal of troops and led the coalition of princes back to Hedong (east of the Dahe River, not the east of Jinghe River). Qin's land west of Hexi was occupied by Jin. For hundreds of years, the Qin State failed to regain the land of Hexi from the Jin State (already three Jins).
Regarding the course of this battle, I have already written it very clearly in my previous article "The Great Matter of the Country, Sacrifice and Rong - The Story Behind the Battle of Ma Tunnel", so I will not repeat it here; readers who need to understand the causes and consequences of this battle, You can go directly to the previous article; thank you.
After the battle, Duke Li of Jin successfully suppressed Chu's expansion momentum by virtue of his illustrious military achievements in defeating Qi, Qin, and Di. , there was an endless stream of princes and kings driving to Xintian, the capital of Jin, to meet Duke Li of Jin; Jin thus became the (well-deserved) overlord of the princes again.
When Jin Ligong summoned the allies of the princes to send troops to attack Qin, Zheng Guo, as the new ally (new younger brother) of Jin, naturally received the summoning order; in order to show his loyalty to Jin, the king of Zheng, Zheng Chenggong, He personally led the army to participate in the campaign of Jin's coalition forces to attack Qin; but while Zheng Chenggong led his troops to fight abroad, internal strife and turmoil broke out in Zheng State again.
In the summer of the eighth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (578 BC), when Zheng Chenggong led his troops to the Qin State and went to war, he had previously changed the king without authorization when he was in power, and then he was driven out of the country by the "Mu tribe" in the country in a coup. He was exiled in Zi, Xu State (this place was originally the fiefdom of Gongsun Shen, the official of the Zheng State; after Gongsun Shen was killed in a rebellion, the Zi land was ownerless, so it was taken over by the Xu State, and then transferred to the former ruler of the Zheng State who took refuge in the Xu State. The treasonous ministers of the Zheng State, the Gongzi Ban, took advantage of the opportunity when the monarch was away and Xinzheng had no owner. Suddenly, in the middle of June 15th of that year, he led his disciples and followers to sneak back to Xinzheng from Zidi, and reported to the ruling ministers who stayed in Xinzheng. Gongziquan (i.e. Zisi, one of the seven Mu of Zheng) made a 'request' - to allow himself to enter the Zhengguo ancestral temple to worship his ancestors (Gongziban wanted to use this to test the Zheng people's reaction and acceptance of his return to Xinzheng). manner).
However, Gongzi Ban categorically rejected Gongzi Ban's request to "sacrifice ancestors" and threatened to send troops to expel Gong Zi Ban. In anger, Gong Zi Ban led his private troops to attack the "Mu" people (i.e., the descendants of Zheng Mugong) in Xinzheng City. Later, the Gongzi Ban was stationed in the market of Xinzheng. , be prepared to wait and see the situation and take the next step.
On June 17, Zi Si, who stayed behind in Xinzheng, gathered other Mu private soldiers in Xinzheng City (as well as most of the Zheng people who refused to join the Gongzi Ban), and led them to the Zheng Guo Ancestral Temple to swear an oath and agreed to send troops together. Crack down on the young master class who rebelled against the ancestral temple and the country.
Then, Zisi solemnly burned the alliance letter in the ancestral temple, swearing to Haotian to eliminate the rebels; then, Zisi led his army to the market, defeated the private soldiers brought by Gongziban in one fell swoop, and killed them on the spot. They killed Gongzi Ban and his younger brother Gongzi Zhan, as well as his nephews Gongsun Shu and Gongsun Zhi. This time, the internal strife and rebellion in Zheng initiated by members of the exiled imperial family was put down by Zi Si.
Soon after the rebellion of Gongzi Ban was put down, Zheng Chenggong led his army back to Zheng State from the front line of attacking Qin. When he learned that while he was away, Gongzi Ban actually ran back from Xu State to cause rebellion and almost succeeded, Zheng Chenggong was furious. Angry, he pinned the culprit and cause of this internal strife on the head of Xu Guo, who took in the young master class and intercepted the land.
Zheng Chenggong believed that the reason why the Gongzi Ban was able to gather private soldiers and return to the country to cause rebellion was not all because the feudal state next door, Xu State, had taken in and condoned it. In addition, Xu State had sponsored Zi Di as a rebel base for the Gongzi Ban; although Previously, Gongsun Shen's fiefdom was Zidi, but Xu State accepted Gongziban, and incidentally accepted the fiefdom of Zidi from Gongsun Shen, who was Gongziban's best friend. So Zidi now belongs to Xu State, which is absolutely correct - Zheng Chenggong Shouting angrily!
In August of the ninth year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (577 BC), in order to punish Xu Guo for taking in and supporting Gongzi Ban to return to the country to rebel, he secretly took over the fiefdom of Zheng Guo's traitor Gongsun Shen, causing losses to Zheng's territory. Zheng Chenggong ignored the overlords (Jin, Chu) had previously agreed on the "Annihilation Covenant" and sent Xi (Zihan), the ruling prince of Zheng State, to lead an army to forcibly attack Xu to vent his personal anger.
There is another unknown reason for Zheng Chenggong's attack on Xu - Jin and Chu have previously signed the "Anti-Brigade Alliance", and Xu is considered an ally of Jin (Xu treats both Jin and Chu equally) , did not deliberately favor one over the other, which is stronger than Zheng), but did not send troops to participate in the Jin allied army's attack on Qin (i.e., the Battle of Ma Tun). This is Xu Guo's disrespect for the two overlords of Jin and Chu; Zheng Guo was Jin Of course, the allies of the country wanted to complain about the injustice for the leader, so they went to attack Xu State as a punishment for Xu State's "disrespect of the leader and harboring traitors" (a good excuse!)
What is the specific process of the battle between Zheng and Xu and the series of consequences it brought about?
