"The Chronicles of the Kingdoms of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty" is a long documentary literature of Feng Menglong in the Ming Dynasty, which is adapted on the basis of the "Chronicles of the Nations" compiled by the Ming Dynasty writer Yu Shaoyu. It records the various states of life in the eventful years from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the unification of the Six Kingdoms by Qin Shi Huang.
Due to the limited space in this article, it is not possible to introduce the stories in this article to readers one by one. Interested readers can read the original text and appreciate the cultural charm of traditional literature.
As Feng Menglong said: "People have wisdom and there is water in the land, and the earth without water is scorched earth, and people without wisdom are walking corpses." Wisdom is used for people, like water on the ground, the terrain is full of water, and the personnel is full of wisdom. Looking around the forest of success and failure in the past and present, I don't despise this. ”
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the society was turbulent, the beacon fire was full of smoke, and heroes were born in troubled times since ancient times, and how many brave and resourceful people stood out, and wrote chapters and chapters of legendary stories with wisdom, which were praised by future generations.
Guan Zhong was an outstanding politician and military strategist in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and with his assistance, Qi Henggong became the first overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period.
The idiom "Guan Bao's friends" refers to the deep friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya, but in the early days, the two were politically independent. Guan Zhong is the teacher of Qi Xianggong's younger brother, Gongzi Jiao, and Uncle Bao's assistant is indeed Qi Xianggong's second brother, Gongzi Xiaobai. In order to help Gongzi get on the throne of the monarch, Guan Zhong designed to intercept and kill Xiaobai on his way back to Qi, but he pretended to be dead and escaped. Guan Zhong mistakenly thought that Xiaobai was dead and the big trouble had been eliminated, so he let down his guard. And Xiaobai lay in the carriage and galloped back to Qi, coupled with the domestic important ministers, he seized the opportunity to ascend to the position of the monarch of Qi, that is, the Duke of Qi Heng, and after Annei, he sent troops to attack Lu.
Gongzi Jiao's mother is the noble daughter of Lu Guo, and in this battle between the two tigers, Lu Guo chose to stand behind him to support him. After the defeat of the Lu army, Lu Zhuanggong received a letter from Xiaobai. The letter wrote: "Brother Jiao, Fu forbears the punishment, please Lu commit suicide." Summoned, Guan Zhongyun also, please be willing to accept it. Otherwise, it will be surrounded. "(Roughly speaking, it means that he is my brother, and I can't bear to kill him with my own hands, so I ask Lu Guo to kill him on my behalf.) And the two capable ministers under the Jie, Zhaohu, and Guan Zhong all have enmity with me, please return them back to Qi, I will chop them into meat sauce to vent the hatred in my heart, otherwise, I will besiege the country of Lu. ）
Lu Zhuanggong had a capable minister named Shi Bo under his command, and he proposed: "Xiaobai is at the beginning of the establishment, that is, he can use people, and when he defeats my soldiers, this is not the ratio of sub-correction." In addition, it is better to kill and make peace with it! "Then he killed the son and entangled in Shengdou (now Heze, Shandong). Zhao Hu was unwilling to get into the prisoner's car, raised his sorrows, and said that he was willing to follow the prince to the ground, and died by touching the pillar of the temple with his head.
Guan Zhong said that he was willing to be a minister, and planned to return to Qi to rectify grievances for his son. Then he got into the car and embarked on the road back to China.
Shi Bo felt that something was wrong, and privately admonished: "The minister's appearance of Guan Zi seems to have internal help, and he will not die." This person is a genius in the world, if he does not die, he will be used for Qi, and he will dominate the world. You might as well invite Yu Qi to be born. If the pipe is born, it will be good for me; Virtue for me and for my use, Qi is not to worry about! (Please leave Guan Zhong behind, for my Lu country, if you let the tiger return to the mountain, I am afraid that it is Xingqi country, then Lu country is in danger). Lu Zhuanggong was afraid of the momentum of the new monarch Xiaobai and did not dare to leave Guan Zhong, Shi Bo said that since this is the case, then kill him and return his body to Qi, so that it will be both.
Shi Bo guessed right, Xiaobai gained power, and deliberately arranged for Uncle Bao to be the slaughter, but Uncle Bao refused, and said bluntly: I did not do this to win the reputation of modesty, but I really think that Guan Zhong is the best candidate to assist the monarch. With his own ability, he is enough to rejuvenate the country, but if the monarch is determined to be in the four seas, he must be in charge.
Qi Henggong is not a small person, in order for Qi to be able to dominate the Central Plains, he is willing to put aside his personal grievances and accept Guan Zhong. Then he sent Sun Yupeng, a capable minister, and others to Lu, rescued Guan Zhong, and sent him back to China safely.
Duke Lu Zhuang intended to kill Guan Zhong, and the news reached the ears of Gongsun Yupeng, he hurriedly walked to the palace and said sincerely: "Yiwu shot the widow in the hook, and the widow hated the bones. If the corpse is returned, it is still not killed" (Our monarch hates Guan Zhong into the bones, if he only whips the corpse to vent his anger, and cannot behead this thief with his own hands, I am afraid it will still be difficult to get out of the evil anger in his heart.) ）
Lu Zhuanggong agreed to let him go, Guan Zhong understood in the car that this was a ploy by Uncle Bao to save himself, and he was worried that Shi Bo's strategy was not so easy to fool, and once he came to his senses, he would definitely regret catching up and killing himself.
Mortals, those who work hard are tired of their spirits, and those who are pleased with their gods forget their shapes"-Guan Zhong said.
He composed a song called "Yellow Bird" and taught the officials who escorted him back to Qi to sing. "The yellow bird and the yellow bird, its wings, its feet, do not fly or sing, and lie in the cage. What is the high sky, and what is the thick earth? Ding Yang is every one hundred and six, leading his neck to breathe, followed by crying! Yellow Bird Yellow Bird, born with your wings and can fly, born with your feet and can chase, who is caught by this snare and redeemed? Once it broke through the fan, I didn't know its ascension and gradually landed. Wandering and hesitating, watching and hesitating. ”
The lyrics and songs were passionate, making people happy and forgetful, and the official unconsciously accelerated the pace of his feet, and the car galloped, and the foot was twice as fast, and he left the country of Lu faster than expected. When Lu Zhuang Gong came back to his senses, he immediately ordered Gongzi Yan to chase and kill, but he could only return in vain. Regret.
And Guan Zhongchang, who escaped death, let out a sigh of relief, and after a few conversations, he won Qi Henggong's appreciation and started the second half of his magnificent life.
Guan Zhong, who worshiped as the prime minister, implemented a series of changes, and the state of Qi flourished, and Duke Heng of Qi became the overlord of the Central Plains and was rewarded by King Xiang of Zhou.
Guan Zhong not only managed the country like a fish in water, but also saved Qi Henggong's life. In 663 BC, in order to help Yan deal with Shanrong, Qi Henggong personally led an elite army to crusade against Shanjung, and fought until Guzhucai's class returned to the dynasty. Spring goes back to winter, confused and lost. Guan Zhong, who accompanied him, thought that he could use the wisdom of the old horse to find a way back, so he released the old horse to follow, and this trick really worked, and the Qi army quickly walked out of the dangerous road. The famous allusion "Old Horse Knows the Way" comes from this.
The Qi army and his entourage then marched into the deep mountains, and soon faced a new dilemma, the army could not find a water source, the soldiers were thirsty, and the army's heart was unstable. Gongsun Yupeng, who accompanied him, stood up and said, "I heard that the anthill lives near the water, so you should dig at the ant leech. The sergeant searched everywhere but found no sign of the leech. Return to Xi Peng.
Xi Peng continued to analyze: "Insects and ants like to live in the mountains and mountains in winter to keep warm, and in summer, they like to live in the mountains and are greedy and cold. ”
The sergeant listened to his words and dug deeper, and sure enough, the sweet and clear spring dug in the mountainside relieved the urgent need. When the enemy Rong heard that the Qi army had not been short of water when it marched to the mountains, he was greatly shocked, thinking that this army had divine help from him. Xi Peng's move greatly boosted the morale of the Qi army, and Qi Henggong was amazed by his intelligence.
In 645 B.C., the life of a generation of virtuous ministers also reached the point of running out of oil and lamps. Before he died, Qi Henggong asked him who he would be the successor, and unexpectedly, he recommended Gongsun Xipeng instead of Bao Shuya. and asked the monarch to drive Yi Ya, Kai Fang, and Ji Diao far away, and no longer be close to them. (Qi Henggong inadvertently joked that he had never tasted human flesh, so Yi Ya cooked his young son and offered it to him; Kaifang is the son of Wei Guo, in order to show loyalty, his parents did not go to mourn when they died, and did not return home for fifteen years; Guan Zhong thinks that they have abandoned human affection and are so cruel to their relatives and themselves, not to mention that they can really love the king, and the plan is very far).
Qi Henggong agreed one by one. Less than a month after Guan Zhong's death, Xi Peng also died of illness. Uncle Bao took over the phase.
Previously, someone passed the word of Guan Zhong's dying words to Yi Ya, and he hated it so much that he turned his head and immediately provoked the relationship between him and Guan Zhong in front of Uncle Bao.
Without thinking, Uncle Bao said with a smile: "Guan Zhong knows me, if I am in power, there will never be a place for you." ”
Uncle Bao shirked Qi Henggong's appointment request, and said: "The monarch understands the temperament of his ministers, likes good and dislikes, and when he hears people's faults, he is jealous of evil and hatred
Qi Henggong said: "This is also the wish of the middle father (Guan Zhong) on his deathbed, how can the widow not obey." ”
Without the flattery of these three people, Qi Henggong felt that his life was a little unsavory, so he recalled the three of them and entrusted them with important tasks.
Qi Henggong also paid a heavy price for listening to the traitorous ministers. In the future, the three of them joined forces, taking advantage of his serious illness, to provoke his sons to compete for the throne of the monarch, causing chaos inside and outside the government and the opposition, and the Duke of Qi Heng was locked in the palace walls, no one cared about him, and he starved to death in the hospital bed. After 67 days of mortuary, "worms flowed out of the house" before they were buried by Gongzi without loss. A poor generation of heroes ended up like this.