The Qin State’s strategies for sowing discord all started with boasting.
Whether to praise the person you want to sow discord between you or to elevate another person to challenge the person you want to sow discord between you, the Qin monarch and his ministers have mastered the art of using the knife of "praise".
The four great princes of the Warring States Period were Mengchangjun, Xinlingjun, Chunshenjun and Pingyuanjun. Mengchangjun and Xinlingjun both fell under the suspicion of their kings.
Chunshen Jun should have fallen in the struggle for power and been stabbed in the back by his accomplices, but now he has embarked on the path of Mengchang Jun and Xinling Jun.
On the other hand, although Pingyuan Jun died in despair with no way forward, he was trusted and treated well by King Huiwen of Zhao and King Xiaocheng of Zhao throughout his life.
The kings are just a bunch of rotten things, and the king of Zhao is considered pretty good.
Chunshen Jun wanted to escape unscathed, but the Qin State would never let him do so.
The King of Qin no longer wanted to see another Lord Xinling of Wei.
Xinling Jun was not trusted by the King of Wei. He was used when needed and thrown away when not needed. But as long as Xinling Jun was in Wei, he could always make Wei do something to turn the tables and make Qin feel uncomfortable.
Although Chunshen Jun returned his fief, the Chu State was in trouble and the King of Chu would definitely ask Chunshen Jun to come out of retirement. Moreover, there was a Crown Prince of Chu who deeply admired him.
Originally, the Qin State looked down on Chunshen Jun, thinking that Chunshen Jun and Pingyuan Jun were the same kind of people.
Although he has a high reputation, his ability is average and he is nothing to be feared.
But now Chunshen Jun is qualified enough to have the Prime Minister of Qin personally plan and the King of Qin personally take action to arrange a grand scheme of alienation for him.
The Qin State constantly sent people to various countries to build momentum and publicize the virtues of Chunshen Jun, saying that the Chu State would have been destroyed without Chunshen Jun.
They not only exaggerated what Chunshen Jun had done, but also fabricated many merits for him.
For example, if the King of Chu had listened to Chunshen Jun's advice, the split of the State of Chu could have been prevented.
Chunshen Jun's defeat at the hands of Li Mu was also glorified as Chunshen Jun could have won, but the old princes of Chu, led by Jing Zhao, stabbed Chunshen Jun in the back, just like they did to King Huai of Chu and Qu's army, which led to Chunshen Jun's disastrous defeat.
However, the foolish King of Chu believed the slander of a feudal lord with the same surname and dismissed Chunshen Jun from his position as Prime Minister.
That was the first time Chunshen Jun was dismissed from his position as prime minister.
The Qin State listed all the setbacks suffered by the Chu State one by one and attributed them all to the fault of the Chu King's stupidity in order to highlight the wisdom and benevolence of Chunshen Jun.
The Qin State also brought out the old monarch and minister, King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Fan Ju, Marquis of Ying, to support Chunshen Jun.
Back then, Chunshen Jun used a substitute to replace the Crown Prince of Chu and fled back to Chu, while he himself stayed behind to face the furious King of Qin.
In the face of Chunshen Jun's unwavering loyalty and patriotism, King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Yinghou Fan Ju both admired him deeply. Not only did they not kill him, they also treated him with great courtesy and sent Chunshen Jun back to the State of Chu.
At that time, King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Marquis Ying sighed. The Prince of Chu had been in Qin for ten years, and everyone in Qin knew that the Prince of Chu was incompetent, cowardly, and suspicious, and was not a good candidate for the King of Chu. But Huang Xie was loyal to Chu and the Prince of Chu, and he would definitely not have a good ending in the future. It was sad and lamentable.
Now, after saving the people of Chu, Chunshen Jun was forced to resign from his position and return to his fiefdom. The King of Chu even took away half of Chunshen Jun's fiefdom. The sighs of King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Marquis Ying came true.
King Chu of Qin promised Chunshen Jun that if Chunshen Jun came to Qin, he would be appointed as prime minister.
Cai Ze, the prime minister of Qin, also said that if Chunshen Jun entered Qin, he would resign and give way to others with more talent.
The reason why the King of Qin and the Prime Minister admired Chunshen Jun so much was that King Zhaoxiang of Qin and Ying Hou had both praised Chunshen Jun, and Chunshen Jun had a deep connection with the State of Qin.
The Qin State was full of praise for Chunshen Jun and did not say anything to sow discord between Chunshen Jun and the King of Chu.
Saying that the King of Chu is incompetent is not provocation, it is the truth.
When King Zichu of Qin was a hostage in the State of Zhao, he made friends with Zhu Xiang, who was still a commoner, which shows his desire to seek talented people.
Therefore, it was very reasonable for Prince Chu of Qin to welcome Chun Shenjun into Qin in a high-profile manner, and one could not see any murderous intention in it.
Although the ministers of Chu State were somewhat unhappy that Chunshen Jun was praised too highly, which made them all look like mediocre officials, they did not realize Qin State's murderous intentions.
Because although the State of Qin called the King of Chu a tyrant, wasn’t it enough that the King of Qin called the kings of other countries tyrants
The King of Chu may have felt the pressure. But if the pressure was too great, he could have called Chunshen Jun back.
They all knew that the King of Chu was an indecisive and face-conscious person. Even if he was dissatisfied, in order to appear like a wise ruler, he would pretend to be repentant and bring Chunshen Jun back.
Isn't Qin helping Chu to re-employ Chunshen Jun and making things easier for others
Chunshen Jun sat at home and smiled bitterly when he heard the increasingly absurd praises from outside.
Perhaps because he had left the court and was in the position of a bystander, Chunshen Jun became more sober and perceptive than before.
He saw through Qin's plan.
When the Qin State used the strategy of sowing discord, it did not necessarily have to use the entire strategy by Qin State itself.
The Qin State's first move was like throwing a bait to a ferocious beast.
The Five Kingdoms were ferocious beasts lured by the Qin State.
The Qin State does not want another Xinling Jun to appear, and the other five states do not want another Changping Jun to appear in other states even more!
Chunshen Jun's reputation, which was not known to be true or false, and his family background was higher than Zhu Xiang's, while Zhu Xiang also had the two demerits of "Qin" and "foreign relatives". In the minds of scholars all over the world, Chunshen Jun's reputation had surpassed Changping Jun.
Whether it was the State of Chu that reused Chunshen Jun or the State of Qin that really invited Chunshen Jun back to serve as prime minister, it was not something the five countries wanted to see.
Qin was the enemy of the six states, and the six states were also enemies of each other.
The Qin State was not the only State that would use the strategy of sowing discord. It was just that the Qin State had the most complete intelligence system, and the rulers and ministers of the six states were more foolish and incompetent, so the Qin State's strategy of sowing discord had the highest success rate.
The six kingdoms had used the strategy of sowing discord countless times, and Qin had also encountered the strategy of sowing discord countless times.
In Zhu Xiang's previous life, Bai Qi died at the hands of King Zhaoxiang of Qin. The reason was that the envoy of Zhao State took advantage of Fan Ju's jealousy of Bai Qi and the King of Qin's fear of Bai Qi to instigate a divide.
The five states speculated that Chunshen Jun would not go to Qin. Chunshen Jun had saved the king of Chu's life, and the king of Chu was very likely to reuse Chunshen Jun under pressure.
How could the declining Chu State have a talent like Changping Jun
Look at the earth-shaking changes that took place in Qin after Lord Changping entered the Qin State. How could they not be terrified
So the ministers of the five countries sent a large number of envoys and retainers to take action.
They immediately hit it off with the Queen of Chu and her family, the Li family, who wanted to kill Chunshen Jun.
"Your Majesty, after Chunshen Jun returned to his fiefdom, he expressed a lot of resentment towards you. He said that if it weren't for him, you would still be in Qin. He saved your life, but you abandoned him like a piece of trash. You are a king like Xia Jie and Shang Zhou, and Chu will surely perish in your hands."
This was reported by a close attendant who was monitoring Chunshen Jun's movements.
"Woo woo, your majesty, Chun Shenjun has been disrespectful to me many times, saying that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to enter the palace. Now that Chun Shenjun has left Chendu, I dare to complain to your majesty."
The Queen of Chu cried to the King of Chu like this.
"Your Majesty! Chunshen Jun has put all the blame on you! He deserves death! He wants to force you to abdicate and put the crown prince on the throne!"
Many ministers and officials received money from the five states and spoke bitterly to the King of Chu.
Only Crown Prince Qi kept reminding the King of Chu that this was just a plot to sow discord, and asked him not to believe it.
But the King of Chu also has a son who he watched being born and growing up, who should have been the crown prince, but now has lost the crown prince position unjustly.
The beloved son who was deeply loved by him and made him feel very guilty threw himself into his arms and cried, and asked the King of Chu, "Many people said that Prince Qi would not tolerate him after he became the King of Chu." He asked his father, "Are those people lying to him?"
The King of Chu finally became furious and deposed Crown Prince Qi for treason. Crown Prince Qi fled to the Southern Chu State overnight.
When Crown Prince Qi learned that he was going to be deposed, he sent his confidant to write a letter to Chunshen Jun, hoping that Chunshen Jun would escape quickly.
Go to Zhao, Wei, Qi, Han, or Yan, any country is fine.
As long as Chunshen Jun did not go to Qin, he would not have to worry about letting down Chu and tarnishing his good reputation.
After receiving the letter, Chunshen Jun only allowed his family members to escape, and he and his retainers who were unwilling to leave stayed alone in the empty house, drinking wine under the moon.
In addition to the letters from Prince Qi, he also had letters from Xinling Jun and Qin Prime Minister Lin Zhi.
Lord Xinling persuaded Lord Chunshen to flee Chu. If he kept his life, he might be able to help Chu when it was in crisis. If he lost his life, all hope would be gone.
Lord Xinling also invited Lord Chunshen to Yanmen County of Zhao State, saying that Yanmen County was now well managed by him. Although it was not as prosperous as the capitals of the seven states, the pleasure of eating meat and riding horses on the grassland was no worse than being rich.
Lin Zhi pointed out Chunshen Jun's mistake in this matter very sharply.
Chunshen Jun thought that if he retreated step by step, he could gain the mercy of the King of Chu.
Little did he know that the King of Chu was a person who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Chunshen Jun first handed over his military power, then withdrew from the center of power, and finally even most of his fiefdom was cut off, as if he had pulled out his fangs and claws and allowed others to slaughter him.
If Chunshen Jun stayed in Chendu, he could still arouse the trust that the King of Chu once had in him, and he could contact the ministers who had worked with him to defend him. Once he left Chendu, he would become a tiger.
Lin Zhi also mocked Chunshen Jun, saying that if he really wanted to save the State of Chu, he should have done something rebellious and forced the emperor to abdicate when his power was at its strongest, and helped Crown Prince Qi to ascend the throne.
Just like the State of Zhao back then, if they killed the King of Zhao and made Pingyuan Jun or Pingyang Jun the King of Zhao, even if they were mediocre, it would be better than being stupid and making a lot of small moves.
The State of Chu was not destroyed by the feudal lords of Chu, nor by the clans of Jing and Zhao, nor by the State of Qin, but by the King of Chu!
After reading the two letters, Chunshen Jun laughed so hard that tears came out.
Xinling Jun's letter expressed his hope that he would live, while Lin Zhi's letter was to discourage him from wanting to live.
Lin Qing, Lin Qing, everyone says that Cai Ze is the most vicious person. Perhaps the most vicious person in Qin State is you, who is hiding under the halo of Lin Xiangru, the prime minister of Zhao State, and is dressed in an absurd and unruly disguise.
Chunshen Jun said to his retainers who tried to persuade him to leave: "When a person has a reputation that exceeds his expectations, he will be bound by it and find it difficult to do things that would tarnish it. I should have been a layman eager for wealth and fame, but now I am bound by my reputation and cannot live a mediocre life. You should all go away."
Chunshen Jun dismissed his retainers, and except for the retainers who escorted Chunshen Jun's family away, no one was willing to leave.
Chunshen Jun's persuasion was of no use, so he could only open the warehouse, take out all the remaining wealth, and distribute it to the families of his retainers.
He took out all the fine wine in his house, slaughtered all the livestock, opened the granary, and invited all the scholars and common people in the fiefdom to have a hearty meal.
Many scholars and wealthy businessmen in the fiefdom also took out their family money and joined the banquet.
Dishes were served on the table like flowing water, and people kept coming to the table and leaving, also like flowing water.
Chunshen Jun's fiefdom consisted of twelve counties north of the Huai River.
Originally, Chunshen Jun was worried that if these lands were not in the hands of the King of Chu, military orders would not be issued smoothly, because the area north of the Huai River was the heartland of the Chu State and also the place where military strategists fought. So he asked to abolish his fiefdom and turn it into a county, and he chose the wild land of Jiangdong.
Although Jiangdong Yangzhou (not the Yangzhou of later generations, but one of the ancient Nine Provinces) had been initially developed by Wu Yue, after the destruction of Wu Yue, Jiangdong almost became a barbarian land with serious flooding.
Chunshen Jun took root in the land of Jiangdong, built new cities and fortresses, eradicated banditry, controlled floods, and implemented education.
The development of Jiangdong is inseparable from the contribution of Chunshen Jun.
It was for this reason that Xiang Liang, uncle and nephew, who fled to Jiangdong, were able to raise an army of Jiangdong people.
The Jiangdong young men were loyal to the State of Chu, not because they received favors from the Xiang family, but because they remembered Chunshen Jun and then remembered the State of Chu.
Although Chunshen Jun no longer had the opportunity to go to Jiangdong, some of his fiefdoms were returned to the King of Chu, and some were sent out by borrowing troops from other fiefdoms, leaving only five.
But he managed his fiefdom very well. Even when he encountered war occasionally, he never forgot to build water conservancy projects and often inspected farming. He was also a rare feudal lord who would open his granary to provide relief.
Although he was a vulgar man pursuing wealth and fame, he also had a side that was worthy of the Four Princes of the Warring States Period.
So Chunshen Jun held a grand banquet, and everyone from the five counties who were able to attend came.
They were afraid of the King of Chu, but they did not blame the crowd. They were in a strategic location, and the King of Chu did not dare to destroy these five cities and let other countries march straight in.
The banquet lasted all day.
This was the first recorded buffet banquet held regardless of social status. In later times, the buffet banquet was given the name "Shen Banquet".
When the envoy of the King of Chu entered Chunshen Jun's fiefdom and was about to arrive at the county where Chunshen Jun lived, Chunshen Jun stopped the banquet.
The people of Chu burst into tears and again begged Chunshen Jun to flee. They were willing to take up arms and stop the envoy of the King of Chu.
Chunshen Jun seemed to have finally come to terms with death at this moment.
There was no bitterness in his smile as he persuaded the people of his fiefdom, saying, "The ancient sage Mencius said, 'Life is what I desire, and righteousness is what I desire. If I cannot have both, I would rather sacrifice my life for righteousness.' Please do not stop me from pursuing 'righteousness'."
Chunshen Jun bowed to the people in front of him.
Chunshen Jun lived in the State of Chu, a country with a huge gap between nobles and common people. As the highest noble lord in the State of Chu, this was the first time he bowed deeply to a commoner who didn't even have a surname.
"Everyone, although the outside world has spread rumors that I am more righteous than Lord Changping Zhu Xiang, this is just a plot by the six countries to deliberately elevate me. I am far inferior to Zhu Xiang. I was influenced by Lord Changping to help the people of Chu." After Chunshen Jun bowed, he said in a loud voice, "So, if you can't survive in the future, go south to find Lord Changping. Lord Changping is my friend. Tell me my name and Lord Changping will accept you."
He bowed again, his voice finally choking with sobs: "This is the last thing Xie can do for you. Xie is incompetent, and as a feudal lord, I cannot protect you. Go find my friend Changping Jun, and let him protect you."
After saying this, he strode out of the city and ordered the guards in the city, who were no longer under his control, to close the city gates tightly and not let the citizens leave the county.
Without the magistrate's order, the guards had already taken action and obeyed Chunshen Jun's orders.
The county magistrate was so sad that he could not even care about his appearance. He burst into tears and grabbed Chunshen Jun's sleeve and said, "Chunshen Jun, please leave. This place is very close to the border of Chu State. With Chunshen Jun's reputation, the generals guarding the border will let Chunshen Jun leave after seeing him."
Chunshen Jun said: "I know, so I should not implicate others. Let go, if you don't let go, I will really be cowardly, and the reputation I have accumulated for benevolence and righteousness will be lost. Don't ruin my reputation."
The county magistrate's hands trembled as he loosened his grip on Chunshen Jun's sleeves.
He wiped his face with his sleeve, gritted his teeth and followed Chunshen Jun's footsteps.
Although he could not save Chunshen Jun, he could protect his body.
If the envoy of the King of Chu dared to insult Chunshen Jun's corpse, even if he resigned and fled, his sword would be stained with the blood of the envoy of Chu.
Chunshen Jun rode on his horse and came to the outside of the city gate with his followers and the county magistrate who was seeing him off.
The citizens of the city first obeyed Chunshen Jun's orders. When Chunshen Jun was about to leave the city gate, some people could not help it and wanted to stop Chunshen Jun again.
They were stopped by the city guards.
The angry citizens punched the defenders in the city.
In this era, no matter how good the officials above them were, the city guards could not avoid oppressing the citizens.
At this time, they gritted their teeth and accepted the beatings without saying a word. They were unwilling to resist, but they also refused to let the citizens leave the city gate.
Chunshen Jun quickly turned around and persuaded the citizens to remain calm and not harm their own people.
After calming down the angry and sad citizens, Chunshen Jun ordered the soldiers guarding the city to lower the city gates, and he dismounted his horse to wait for the late envoy from the King of Chu.
The envoy of the King of Chu was a member of the Li family. He was a member of the clan of Li Yuan who had once defected to Chunshen Jun and offered his sister to the King of Chu as queen.
Given Chunshen Jun's current reputation and the previous example of Zhao State forcing Changping Jun away, any minister in Chu State who had a bit of brains was unwilling to get involved in this mess.
Only the Li family.
These villains have gained power and become relatives of the crown prince, and they are just trying to show off to Chunshen Jun.
If Li Yuan was not so stupid and knew that he could not go as the hated envoy himself, he would have wanted to personally witness the ugly scene of Chunshen Jun crying bitterly when he was killed.
The envoy arrived so slowly because he was attacked by rangers many times on the way.
These simple-minded Chu knights thought that as long as they killed the envoys and the treacherous ministers, they would be able to make the King of Chu repent.
But the King of Chu was afraid that Chunshen Jun would rebel, so he sent the envoy to lead the army to suppress the rebellion. The knights were just like an egg against a rock.
But even though they were like an egg hitting a rock, they could only barely slow down the envoy's pace and also caused great psychological trauma to the envoy, making the originally arrogant envoy of Chu become uneasy and only want to return to Chendu as soon as possible, and dared not do anything unnecessary without authorization.
The most elite soldiers around the King of Chu were Xiang Yan's personal soldiers, so in order to offset the negative impact of killing Chunshen Jun, the King of Chu recruited Xiang Yan.
It just so happened that the Qin State wanted to flatter Chunshen Jun and dragged Xiang Yan in as a cushion. Although Xiang Yan was unwilling to get involved, the other members of the Xiang family were very angry and took an active role in this matter.
Moreover, Xiang Yan was originally a feudal lord of the unstable Chu State. After the defeat in Guangling, his position became even more unstable and he urgently needed the support of the King of Chu. So Xiang Yan had no choice but to obey. However, he himself did not dare to meet Chunshen Jun. He only asked a retainer to lead the troops and reminded him not to harm the Chu people in Chunshen Jun's fiefdom and to stop the Chu envoys from humiliating Chunshen Jun before executing him.
Xiang's retainer originally wanted to do as Xiang Yan ordered, but he encountered many spontaneous sneak attacks by rangers along the way. In the end, he couldn't even tell who was innocent and who was not. Once he raised his butcher knife, it was difficult to retract it.
However, he at least stopped the Xiang family soldiers from massacring and looting the city to vent their anger, and he barely fulfilled the Lord's father's instructions.
The Xiang family's guests were in a very heavy mood.
Even if the King of Chu's envoy said that the Chu people's attack on them was evidence of Chunshen Jun's rebellion, how could he not see that these people were knights-errant? How could he not see that they had no organization at all and came here spontaneously to die
He himself was a knight-errant who joined Xiang Yan as a retainer, and he knew this group of knights too well.
When he met Chunshen Jun, his mood became even heavier.
On the city gate, countless citizens were huddled together and crying, as if they were about to jump off the gate.
Behind Chunshen Jun, the neatly-dressed retainers had solemn and angry expressions, and showed no fear when facing the Chu army that was suppressing the rebellion.
Next to Chunshen Jun was the county magistrate of this city, who was glaring at him and the envoy of the King of Chu.
Chunshen Jun himself, wearing a tall Chu crown, stood solemnly with his hands hanging down, his wide sleeves fluttering lightly in the wind. There was no sadness or anger on his face, only a bottomless calm.
When the envoy of King Chu saw Chunshen Jun like this, he was actually frightened.
He didn't even dare to get off the carriage. He stood on the carriage and hastily read the King of Chu's edict. He didn't even dare to let Chunshen Jun kneel down.
Chunshen Jun sighed, and did not refute the crime in the King of Chu's edict. He only said: "We were once master and servant, and once king and subject, but it has come to this."
After he finished sighing, he said regretfully, "Speaking of which, Lord Xinling and Prime Minister Lin both sent letters, but Zhu Xiang didn't write to me. I'm afraid he was busy comforting the hungry people pouring in from Southern Chu, and didn't know about my experience. If he knew, he might recall his experience in Handan that year, and he would definitely be very sad."
"Is it possible that I came here in person instead of writing a letter?"
There were still many Chu people from Chunshen Jun's fiefdom outside the city gate. They stood in the distance and watched, not daring to approach but unwilling to leave.
Suddenly, a man wearing a bamboo hat walked out from among the Chu people.
He took off his hat, revealing a head of white hair.
"Lord Chunshen, I'm here to see you off." Zhu Xiang walked up to Huang Xie in the shocked eyes of the Chu army and all the Chu people, and said, "I originally wanted to save you, but since you have stayed until now and refused to leave, even if I came, you probably wouldn't leave, so I can only see you off."
Huang Xie was so surprised that his eyes almost popped out of their frames and he was speechless for a long time.
Zhu Xiang smiled and said, "Qin and Chu are enemies, and so are you and I. We are both enemies and friends. We have plotted against each other many times and wished that the other would die immediately, but we also cherish each other. Do you mind if I, your enemy, come to see you off and escort your body back to your family?"
Huang Xie's hands were quicker than his brain. He immediately blocked Zhu Xiang behind him and cursed: "Why did you come to Chu alone? Do you know how dangerous it is? You, you..."
Zhu Xiang comforted him, "I am not alone. Let me introduce you, this is Wucheng Jun Li Mu."
The person behind Zhu Xiang who looked like a guard clasped his fists towards Huang Xie.
Zhu Xiang said: "Duke Lian's troops have also bypassed the border defense line of Chu State and are right behind this Chu army. But you don't have to worry, Qin State has not yet planned to go to war with Chu State."
Zhu Xiang glanced at the Chu envoy and the Chu general and said, "If I am safe and sound."
Huang Xie took several deep breaths and punched Zhu Xiang on the shoulder. Not only was he not angry because Zhu Xiang had attracted the Qin army, he also laughed: "You, you are worthy of being you. I said I would sacrifice my life for justice, but you are the one who disregards your own safety for justice. Your friends must be very troubled!"
Li Mu crossed his arms and nodded vigorously. Yes, it was an unusual headache.
Although Zhu Xiang just sighed and wanted to see Chunshen Jun off, it was impossible and he felt regretful. It was the Qin prince Chu who decided to let Zhu Xiang go.
Zichu, Cai Ze and Lin Zhi guessed that Zhu Xiang would have regrets before they knew about Zhu Xiang's feelings, so they asked Li Mu and Lian Po to cooperate and help Zhu Xiang make the journey.
They were not doing this for Huang Xie, but because they wanted to praise Huang Xie and kill him by using Zhu Xiang's reputation as a cushion. They were very angry and felt very unhappy.
If Zhu Xiang appeared in front of Huang Xie who was sentenced to death, the lie that Chunshen Jun's reputation for benevolence and righteousness was higher than Changping Jun's would be self-defeating.
If Huang Xie did not want to die after seeing Zhu Xiang and wanted to leave with Zhu Xiang, that would not matter. As long as the King of Chu issued an edict to sentence Huang Xie to death, Qin would have achieved its goal regardless of whether Huang Xie died or escaped.
"Come on, come on, do you have a zither? Do you have wine?" Huang Xie held Zhu Xiang's hand and said with a cheerful smile, "I haven't had a drink with you for a long time. This time we should drink enough! Wu Chengjun is coming too!"
Li Mu nodded again. He was willing to drink a bowl of wine with the current Chunshen Jun.
When the Chu envoy saw that Qin's Lord Changping and Lord Wucheng had arrived, he was overjoyed and said, "Quickly capture them! Quick! Quick!"
Before the Xiang family retainer could say anything, the Chu general beside him said unhappily, "Since Wu Chengjun dared to show up, his cavalry must have been ambushed. If you are not afraid of death, you can kill him yourself."
After saying this, he threw the sword at his waist onto the carriage of the King of Chu's envoy.
The Xiang family retainer glanced at the Chu envoy with a sullen face, dismounted from his horse, ordered someone to bring wine, and served it personally.
Although they were on the march, the generals of the King of Chu were all nobles and they always carried wine and meat with them to enjoy.
Huang Xie, Zhu Xiang and Li Mu were not afraid of whether the wine brought by the Chu general was poisonous. Huang Xie took a sip first, then passed it to Li Mu; Li Mu took a sip, then gave it to Zhu Xiang; after Zhu Xiang finished drinking, he returned the wine jar to Huang Xie.
Huang Xie handed the jar of wine to the guest behind him.
There were not many guests left, so a small bite was just enough for each person.
Then someone on the city gate lowered a piano with a rope.
Huang Xie cut the rope with the long sword at his waist, took out the zither, and sat on the ground with Zhu Xiang and Li Mu.
Huang Xie sang "The Book of Songs·Zheng Feng·Wind and Rain".
"The wind and rain are howling, the cocks are crowing, and I have seen a gentleman. How can I not be happy
The wind and rain are howling, the cocks are crowing. Now that I have met a gentleman, how can I not be healed
The sky is dark with wind and rain, and the cocks are crowing. How can I not be happy to see a gentleman? "
It was windy and rainy, and even the chickens were frightened. When I saw you at this time, my heart was filled with joy, and all my worries and sadness disappeared.
Li Mu only played the accompaniment, and Zhu Xiang responded with a poem from the Book of Songs, Da Ya, Dang.
"The great God is the guide of the people. The tyrannical God is the guide of many. Heaven created the people, and their destiny is not clear. Everything has a beginning, but few can have an end."
The purpose of writing this poem is to use King Wen to talk about King Zhou of Shang, to use the past to satirize the present, and to satirize and admonish King Li of Zhou.
When Zhu Xiang sang this poem, he was of course also using the past to satirize the present, satirizing the King of Chu and other kings who were as foolish as him.
After hearing this, Huang Xie laughed again.
As he was about to die, he had less respect for the King of Chu.
He figured it out. He died for the State of Chu, for the land of Chu where his ancestors grew up, and for the people of Chu who raised him.
A worthy death!
Huang Xie put his zither down, stood up, bowed to Zhu Xiang and Li Mu, and said with a smile: "Thank you, Lord Changping and Lord Wucheng, for seeing me off. I'm leaving now."
Li Mu grabbed Zhu Xiang and shook his head at him.
Zhu Xiang clenched his hands, closed his eyes, and slowly returned the greeting.
Only then did Li Mu let go of his hand and bowed to Huang Xie.
Huang Xie straightened his robe, used his hands as a comb to comb the loose hair on his temples, straightened his tall crown, tied the tassel tightly, then walked towards the envoy of Chu and took the short sword given by the King of Chu.
He looked down at the dagger, then threw it to the ground with a laugh and drew his own sword.
"This sword was given to me by the King of Chu when he was still the crown prince." Huang Xie said with a smile, "It has been with me for twenty years."
After saying this, Huang Xie drew his sword and slashed his throat, falling on his back.
Inside and outside the city gate, there were cries of grief.
Zhu Xiang stepped forward and was about to stop the Chu soldiers from touching Huang Xie's body when he suddenly heard the sound of a sword rubbing against its scabbard behind him and turned his head abruptly.
Huang Xie's followers actually drew their swords and committed suicide together!
(End of this chapter)