After the death of Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Mu of Qin, who had long been unable to hold back, said,"It's my turn to be the leader of the dukes. The reason why I didn't fight for the position of leader of the dukes was because Duke Wen Chong 'er was still around. Now that Duke Wen Chong' er has passed away, I should be the leader of the dukes.”
Duke Mu of Qin wanted to be the leader of the vassals. His first priority was to attack the rich land of the Central Plains eastward. However, the State of Jin was the eastern neighbor of the State of Qin. If Duke Mu of Qin wanted to conquer the vassals of the Central Plains, he would first have to eliminate the State of Jin as an obstacle.
Duke Mu of Qin had the confidence to claim to be the overlord of the dukes.
Qin Feizi, the first ancestor of the State of Qin, was a descendant of Zhuanxu, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. He was the eldest son of Da Luo, the leader of the Xirong tribe. However, he was not born to the Queen (the daughter of Marquis Shen) and could not inherit the position of the leader of the Xirong tribe. Because he was good at raising horses, he raised many precious horses for King Xiao of Zhou. He was deeply loved by King Xiao of Zhou and was granted the title of Viscount by King Xiao of Zhou. The title of Qin was passed down to Duke Mu of Qin. Duke Mu of Qin was a thoughtful and accomplished person. He recruited wise men and boldly appointed talents from outside the country. He opened the first system of appointing guest ministers in Qin and recruited Bai Lixi, Bole, Jiufanggao, and others.
Once, several of the horses raised by Duke Mu of Qin ran away. Everyone looked around and found the horse bones in a village. The horse officer guessed that the horses had been eaten by the farmers and was furious. He sentenced all 300 farmers in the village to death and handed them over to Duke Mu for judgment.
Duke Mu of Qin was not angry. He said," These horses are all fine meat. They are very delicious. Consider it a reward for them to drink."”The death penalty of 300 farmers was exempted.
A few years later, Duke Mu of Qin and Duke Hui of Jin fought. Duke Mu, who had always been invincible, was surrounded by a group of Jin soldiers and was about to be killed. At this moment, a group of brave men rushed in and rescued Duke Mu of Qin. Duke Mu thanked these warriors. They replied," We ate your BMW before, and you spared us from the death penalty. Our lives were given by you, and now we should sacrifice our lives to save you.”
With the assistance of the wise officials and wise scholars, the Qin State under Duke Mu of Qin was truly harmonious and prosperous. It quickly became rich and powerful, becoming an expert among the dukes.
Duke Wen of Jin died in winter. In the spring of the second year, Qi Zi sent someone from the State of Zheng to report to the State of Qin, saying,"The people of the State of Zheng asked me to take charge of the key to the north gate of their capital. If they secretly send troops to attack, the capital of the State of Zheng can be obtained.”
Duke Mu of Qin asked for Uncle Jian's opinion. Uncle Jian said,"You can't attack from afar." The moment our army moves, the State of Zheng will know. Prepare for battle and wait for our exhausted army. We will definitely be defeated.”
However, Duke Mu of Qin was bent on dominating the world and did not listen to Uncle Jian's advice. He summoned Meng Ming, Xi Qi, and Bai Yi and sent them to lead their troops out of the east gate.
"Meng Ming, I watched the army go out today, but I didn't see you guys come back!" Uncle Jian cried.”
Duke Mu of Qin was very unhappy when he heard this. He said to Uncle Jian,""What do you know!"
Uncle Jian's son had joined the army for this expedition. Uncle Jian cried as he sent him off, saying,""The people of Jin will definitely set up an ambush at Xiao Mountain to intercept our army. Xiao has two mountains in the north and south: the south is the tomb of Gao, the king of the Xia Dynasty; A mountain in the north was where King Wen of Zhou hid from the wind and rain. You will definitely die in the valley between these two mountains. I am going there to collect your bones!”
When the Qin army passed through the northern gate of the capital, 300 soldiers jumped onto their chariots without paying any formal respect. Wang Sunman was still young at this time. Seeing this situation, he said to Zhou Wang,"The Qin army is frivolous and impolite, and will definitely fail.”
When the Qin army passed by Hua, they were going to the capital of Zhou to do business. A merchant from Zheng, Xian Gao, saw it and first gave four pieces of cooked cowhide and twelve oxen to comfort the Qin army."Our king heard that you were going to march to our country and took the liberty to send me to comfort your subordinates. Our country is not rich, but your subordinates have to stay for a long time. Prepare a day's worth of military supplies for each day they stay; If he wanted to leave, he had to prepare for the night's security work.”He also secretly sent someone to report to the State of Zheng.
Zheng Mu Gong received the news sent by Xian Gao and immediately sent people to the hotel to check. He found that Qi Zi and his subordinates had already tied up their luggage, sharpened their weapons, fed their horses, and prepared to be the Qin army's inside man. Duke Mu of Zheng sent Huang Wuzi to Qi Zi and said,""You've been living in my country for a long time, but my country's food is running out. You guys should be leaving too. The State of Zheng has hunting grounds, and the State of Qin has hunting grounds as well. You can go back to the hunting grounds of the State of Qin to hunt for elk and let our country have peace. How about that?”Seeing that the matter was exposed, Qi Zi fled to Qi, Feng Sun and Yang Sun fled to Song.
General Meng Mingshi of Qin said," The State of Zheng is prepared. There's no hope of exterminating them. Let's go back!"”So he destroyed Hua and returned to Qin.
The Qin army was about to pass through Xiao Mountain (now the Battle Valley of Wangling Village, Dongsong Township, Luoning County, Henan Province). Yuan Zhen of Jin said,"This is a good opportunity to eliminate the Jin army. The Qin country was insatiable, and the enemy could not be let off easily. Letting the enemy go would cause future trouble!”
Luan Zhi said,"You didn't repay the kindness of Qin and attacked its army. Didn't you forget the last order of your father?"”
Yuan Zhen said,"The State of Qin is not mourning for our new funeral, but is attacking our country with the same surname. The State of Qin is rude, so how can we repay it?" Once they let the enemy go, they would leave behind a disaster for future generations. For the sake of long-term interests, it could not be said that he had forgotten the last words of the late king.”
Thus, he issued an order to quickly recruit Jiang Rong. Duke Xiang of Jin dyed his white mourning clothes black. Liang Hong drove the chariot for him, and Lai Ju served as the deputy general, preparing to fight the Qin army.
On the 13th day of the 4th month in the summer of that year, the Jin army defeated the Qin army at Xiao Mountain and captured the three generals of the Qin army, Meng Mingshi, Xi Qishu, and Bai Yibing. Therefore, they wore black clothes to the funeral of Duke Wen of Jin. From then on, the custom of wearing black mourning clothes began to form in Jin.
Wen Ying, the wife of Duke Wen of Jin, asked Duke Xiang of Jin to release the three generals of Qin, saying,"They caused the two monarchs to become enemies. If Duke Mu of Qin gets these three people, he won't be satisfied even if he eats their flesh. Why do you have to lower yourself to punish them? Let them return to the Qin country to be tortured to satisfy Duke Mu of Qin's wish, how about it?”Duke Xiang of Jin agreed.
Xianzhen went to court to see Duke Xiang of Jin and asked where the prisoners of Qin had gone. Duke Xiang of Jin said,"Mother begged me for this, so I let them go."”Xianzhen said angrily," The soldiers spent a lot of effort to capture them from the battlefield. A woman pardoned them from the country in an instant. She ruined her own achievements and encouraged the enemy. The country will be subjugated in a few days!”Disregarding the rules and manners, he spat on the ground.
Duke Xiang of Jin quickly sent Yang Chufu to chase Meng Ming and others. When they reached the Yellow River, Meng Ming and others had already boarded the boat and left the shore. Yang Chufu untied the horse on the left side of the car and gave it to Meng Ming in the name of Duke Xiang of Jin. Meng Ming kowtowed on the ship and said," Your country's monarch is magnanimous. He won't kill us prisoners and will let us return to Qin to receive the death penalty. If our monarch kills us, even if we die, we won't be obliterated. If our king pardons us, I will come back for revenge three years later.
Duke Mu of Qin was dressed in white and waiting in the suburbs. He cried to the soldiers who had been released and said,""I disobeyed Uncle Jian's advice and made you suffer. This is my sin.”Meng Ming's position would not be changed. "This is my mistake," he said."What crime does the doctor have? Besides, I won't erase his great contribution just because of one mistake.”
After the Battle of Xiao, Qin canceled its plan to advance eastward and developed westward instead, gradually destroying the 12 countries established by the western Rong people. The emperor congratulated Duke Mu of Qin on his victory and gave him a golden drum, hoping that he would continue to advance westward. Duke Mu of Qin expanded his territory to the west for more than a thousand miles when King Xiang of Zhou was in power. He was appointed as the Earl of the Western Vassals by King Xiang of Zhou and achieved the great cause of dominating Xirong.
In 621 B.C., Duke Mu of Qin died and was buried in Yong (now southeast of Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province). There were 177 people buried with him, including the three sons of Ziyu, Yanxi, Zhongxing and Zhenhu. These three people were very kind and brave. The people of the country were very sad about this and wrote a poem called "Yellow Bird" to express their anger at the system of using people to be buried with the dead.
The poem was:
The yellow bird flies on the thorns. Who follows Mu Gong? Zi Che suddenly stopped. It is the special characteristic of a hundred men to rest in peace. When I came to the cave, I was so nervous that I shivered. The sky is dark, and my beloved man is destroyed! If you can atone for your sins, you can save yourself!
The yellow birds fly to the mulberry trees. Who follows Mu Gong? His son, Che Zhongxing. Therefore, this kind of behavior is the defense of a hundred people. When I came to the cave, I was so nervous that I shivered. The sky is dark, and my beloved man is destroyed! If you can atone for your sins, you can save yourself!
The yellow bird flew to the State of Chu. Who follows Mu Gong? Son car needle tiger. This needle tiger is a hundred men's driving force. When I came to the cave, I was so nervous that I shivered. The sky is dark, and my beloved man is destroyed! If you can atone for your sins, you can save yourself!
Translated into modern language:
The yellow birds cried sadly and stopped on the jujube branches. Who was buried with Duke Mu? Zi Che suddenly died, and his fate changed. Who doesn't praise him for being a good candidate? He's a talent among hundreds of people. Everyone mourned the death of the tomb and was buried alive in fear. Heavens above, please open your eyes. Should you kill a good person? If he could die in his place, a hundred people would be willing to go to the spring platform.
The yellow birds sang mournfully and rested on the mulberry branches. Who was buried with Duke Mu? His son, Che Zhongxing, suffered a disaster. Who doesn't call him a good man, a talented man among a hundred men? Everyone mourned the death of the tomb and was buried alive in fear. Heavens above, please open your eyes. Should you kill a good person? If they could die in his place, a hundred people would be willing to turn into dust.
The yellow birds sang mournfully, and the brambles fell. Who was buried with Duke Mu? Zi Che's needle tiger was killed. Who does not praise good needle tiger, among the hundred people to assist the prime minister. Everyone mourned the death of the tomb and was buried alive in fear. Heavens above, please open your eyes. Should you kill a good person? If he could die in his place, a hundred people would be willing to bury him.
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