In the autumn of 627 B.C., the Baidi people in the northern Shaanxi Plateau took advantage of the deterioration of relations to cross the Yellow River and invade the Jin Kingdom. In this regard, Jin Xianggong personally led his army out and successfully defeated the Di army at Jidi (northeast of present-day Puxian County, Shanxi) on August 22.
The Jin general Yin Que performed well in the battle and successfully captured Bai Dizi, the leader of the Bai Di clan. This war is known in history as the "Battle of Kei".
The battle of Xianzhen was the second great gift for Jin Xianggong, and it was also the last swan song of his life. Although the Jin army won the victory, this talented and invincible god of war died heroically on the occasion of victory.
Bai Di has not been able to recover from the blow of this war for many years.
Although I am a puppet, how can I forgive my mistakes with peace of mind? So, after completing the strategic deployment, he took off his helmet and drove into the enemy line to fight, in order to die, and finally to seek mercy.
His death was only because Jin Xianggong listened to the bewitchment of his mother-in-law Wen Ying and released the captured three generals of Bailishi.
Why would the ancestors die so easily with the dignity of a country's rulership? What kind of motives are hidden behind this seemingly willful behavior? Let's dive deeper with another story that takes place in Spring and Autumn.
During the time of Confucius, there was a law in the state of Lu: if the people of Lu were enslaved abroad, anyone who could save them could reimburse the ransom to the state treasury. Once, Confucius's **Zigong saved a Lu man in a foreign country, but after he returned to China, he refused to receive state compensation.
Confucius criticized him: "Zigong, you did not take the best course. In this way, the people of Lu will think that those who have redeemed cannot be compensated again, and if you take back the indemnity of the state, it will not damage your quality; And if you refuse to take back what you have paid, no one else will redeem you. ”
Although Zigong saved the lives of the Lu people for free, he did not consider the possible impact of this practice on others, which may cause the Lu people to be unwilling to redeem their compatriots.