Hidden arrows are difficult to defend Zheng Zhuang Gong attacked, and Uncle Ying was killed in battle
Hidden arrows are hard to defend against"It means that the arrow of darkness is the most difficult to defend against, and the intrigue is the most difficult to defend against. This idiom comes from Liu Yan's "Shishuo Xinyu - Volume 6 - Humanity" in the Song Dynasty:"The dark arrow in the human body penetrates deep into the bone marrow; Resentment also goes deep into the marrow to hide its uneasiness. Although this idiom comes from the Song Dynasty, the background of the story is the Spring and Autumn period.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhou Dynasty declined, and the vassal states attacked each other. Zheng was a powerful country in the early Spring and Autumn period, and was also famous for moving east with King Ping of Zhou. Therefore, Zheng Zhuanggong was not only arrogant and rude to the Zhou royal family, but also often used his status as a royal minister to attack and annex small surrounding countries.
In the seventh year of King Huan of Zhou (the thirty-first year of Zheng Zhuang Gong, 713 BC), Zheng Zhuang Gong formed an alliance with Qi Xi Gong and Lu Yin Gong in Zhongqiu and attacked the Song State. In the second year, Zheng Zhuanggong formed an alliance with Qi Duke and Lu Yin Gong to attack Xu, and agreed that whoever conquered the capital of Xu first would have the right to divide the territory of Xu.
Zheng Zhuanggong was bent on destroying the Xu State, not only decided to lead his troops to the battle, but also inspected the army in front of the palace in May of the same year, and sent military vehicles to boost morale. However, at the parade, Zheng Guo's two important ministers, Ying Shu Kao and Gongsun Xiongbo, clashed over the position of vanguard.
After suppressing the rebellion of his younger brother and uncle Duan, Zheng Zhuang expelled his mother Wu Jiang from Yingdu, and the two were reunited under the persuasion of Yingkao. Later, Zheng Zhuanggong thanked Shu Shao for fulfilling the relationship between mother and son, making him an excellent doctor and reusing it.
Gongsun Yan is the grandson of Zheng Huan Gong, surnamed Ji, named Yan Shi, the word Great Wall, and is a minister of the Zheng royal family. Gongsun Yan is not only strong in martial arts, good at archery, but also handsome, known as the most handsome man in the Spring and Autumn Period, so he is deeply favored by Zheng Zhuanggong.
When Ying Shukao and Gongsun Pestle were arguing over the position of the vanguard, Zheng Zhuanggong ordered the two to compete on the chariot to determine the winner. According to the record of "Zuo Biography - The Eleventh Year of the Hidden Prince", Uncle Ying Koo fled with a chariot. Gongsun Yan refused to give way and drew his spear to chase after him, but when he caught up with Uncle Ying Kao on the main road, Uncle Ying Kao was gone.
Therefore, Zheng Zhuang Gong abided by the agreement and took Shu Yingkao as his ancestor, which caused great dissatisfaction among Gongsun Yan.
In July of that year, Zheng Zhuang Gong united Qi and Lu to attack Xu on the grounds that Xu disobeyed Zhou Tianzi's orders. Duke Xu knew that Xu Guoguo was weak and could not compete with the allies, so he gathered men and horses and swore to defend the capital to the death. Although the state of Xu resisted the attack by defending the capital, it was only a matter of time before the capital collapsed under the siege of the three kingdoms of Zheng, Qi, and Lu.
On the afternoon of the third day of the siege, the Zheng army attacked the city, and the pre-war doctor Ying Kao Shu under the banner of Zheng Zhuang Gong climbed the city wall, did not avoid the sword and arrow, and before he could gain a firm foothold, a cold arrow suddenly flew from behind and shot him in the back, and Uncle Ying Kao screamed miserably, fell off the city wall, and then died.
The attacker was none other than Gongsun Yan, who resented Ying Shukao because of the dispute between chariots and horses. The attacker was none other than Gongsun Xiongnu. Gongsun Yan had a grudge with Uncle Ying because of the dispute between carriages and horses, and seeing that Uncle Ying was about to ascend the throne, he was jealous and shot Uncle Ying with an arrow.
When Uncle Ying Kao landed at the head of the city, Zheng Guo's general, Shou Ying, held the big flag in his hand, walked to the head of the city, waved the big flag in his hand and shouted:"King Zheng is at the head of the city! "Seeing this scene, Zheng Guo's soldiers stood up one after another and climbed to the top of the city.
Seeing that the general trend had gone, Xu Zhuang was forced to open the city gate and lead the army and civilians to break through. Breaking the siege of the enemy, Duke Xu Zhuang fled to Weiguo in a rage, and finally died in Weiguo two years later, while Xu was annexed by Duke Zheng Zhuang.
Although there is very little record of this event in "Zuo Chuan - The Eleventh Year of the Hidden Prince", there are many literary and dramatic works adapted by later literati based on this story, such as the Kunqu opera "The Story of the Black Arrow", and even the ending of the story has a new change, and Gongsun Xiong, who used black arrows to harm people, finally died at the hands of Uncle Yingkao.