The Chen Nation was so small, but the Chu Nation was so big. They definitely wouldn't be able to withstand the Chu Nation's attack. How can there be an intact egg under the overturned nest? Mrs. Li sighed and said,"Alas, killing all day long. When will it end?”He started discussing the filthy matters of the princes and generals with his neighbors.
The world of etiquette created by the Duke of Zhou had already disappeared. Everything was in chaos and there was no order. The vassals did not respect the Emperor of Zhou, and the civil and military officials had also followed the bad example of the vassals. They did not respect the vassals, and there was only naked interest between the kings and generals. It was common for the monarch to be killed by his subjects. One year before Li Er was born, in 572 B.C., Xun Yan, one of the six ministers of the State of Jin, and Luan Shu, the ruling minister, killed Duke Li of Jin. They brought back Duke Li's nephew, Ji Zhou, from the capital of Zhou and made him the monarch of the State of Jin. He was Duke Dao of Jin.
The daughter of Duke Mu of Zheng, Xia Ji, was very beautiful. She married Uncle Xia Yu, Sima of the State of Chen, so she was called Xia Ji. After Xia Ji and Xia Yushu gave birth to a son, Xia Zhengshu, Xia Yushu passed away early. There was a lot of gossip in front of the widow. Many men coveted Xia Ji's beauty and tried to get close to her. Even Chen Linggong, Kong Ning, and Yi Xingfu were on good terms with Xia Ji at the same time.
One day in 599 B.C., Duke Ling of Chen, Kong Ning, and Yi Xingfu were drinking at Xia Zhengshu's house. Chen Linggong joked with Yi Xingfu,""My dear, Xia Zhengshu looks like you. He's your son.”Yi Xingfu also joked with Chen Linggong,""Your Majesty, Xia Zhengshu looks like you. He's your son.”
Xia Zhengshu was very angry after hearing that. He came out of the house without saying a word and ordered the archers to lie in ambush by the stable. He ordered,"Wait for Ling Gong, Kong Ning, and Yi Xingfu to come out of the house and shoot them to death.”
Chen Linggong came out of the house drunk. The archer immediately shot an arrow at him. Chen Linggong was shot in the chest and shouted,"Oh my god!" He fell to the ground, bleeding profusely. Soon, his eyes rolled back and he died.
Xia Zhengshu rushed out to check if Chen Linggong was dead. Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu took the opportunity to escape from the back door and fled to Chu.
Xia Zhengshu inherited his father's position as a military officer and was in charge of the army. Chen Linggong's Tai Ziwu knew that Xia Zhengshu had killed Chen Linggong in anger. He knew that Xia Zhengshu was not to be trifled with and was afraid that Xia Zhengshu would kill him again. He immediately fled to Jin.
Xia Zhengshu's grandfather was Duke Xuan of Chen's son, Young Master Shaoxi. Xia Zhengshu was originally of the royal bloodline of the Chen Country, so he became the monarch of the Chen Country.
Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu fled to the State of Chu and begged King Zhuang of Chu,""Xia Zhengshu killed our king. We were lucky enough to escape and report to you. Our king has always been loyal to you. Please avenge our king.”
King Zhuang of Chu said,"How dare you, Xia Zhengshu, kill the king!" How can I spare him?" In September, Chu sent troops to attack Chen. The ministers of the Chen Country were afraid of the Chu Country and did not dare to face the enemy. They opened the city gates wide to welcome the Chu army. Yuan Po led the Chu army to Zhuyi to capture Xia Zhengshu and execute him. King Zhuang of Chu ordered people to bring Prince Gui Wu back from the State of Jin and make him the monarch of the State of Chen. This was Duke Cheng of Chen.
When King Zhuang of Chu saw Xia Ji's beauty, he wanted to take her as his princess. The doctor, Wu Chen, dissuaded him." Xia Ji is an ominous person, Kefu. Moreover, she's already over 40 years old. Why does Your Majesty need her?"”Therefore, King Zhuang of Chu bestowed Xia Ji to the noble Lian Yinxiang. Who knew that Wu Chen also had a crush on Xia Ji's beauty and secretly fell in love with her.
After the death of King Zhuang of Chu, his son Xiong Shen ascended the throne. This was King Gong of Chu. Zuoyin Zichong suggested to King Gong of Chu,""Shen (now north of Nanyang City in Henan Province) and Lu (now west of Nanyang City) will be rewarded as land for meritorious officials.”The Zhuang Prince agreed. However, Gongwu Chen strongly opposed it, saying,"The State of Chu relies on the land of Shen and Lu to levy military taxes to resist the north. It cannot be used as a reward."”Therefore, Zi Zhong and Wu Chen formed a feud.
Wu Chen was afraid of Zi Zhong's revenge. In 590 B.C., he took the opportunity to elope with Xia Ji to the State of Jin and became an important minister of Duke Jing of Jin.
Immediately after, Zi Zhong killed all of Wu Chen's clansmen in Chu and seized their wealth.
In order to avenge his family, Wu Chen persuaded Duke Jing of Jin to ally with the State of Wu and the State of Chu. He asked his son, Hu Yong, to be an official in the State of Wu and teach the State of Wu the art of chariot warfare. He helped the State of Wu defeat the State of Chu many times and occupied all the small eastern countries that used to belong to the State of Chu.
In 575 B.C., the Chu army and the Jin army fought in Yanling (now southwest of Yanling, Henan Province). The Jin army defeated the Chu army, and Wei Qi, the general of Jin, shot the king of Chu in the eye. Chu deeply hates Jin.
The Kingdom of Chen was originally friendly with the Kingdom of Jin. However, under the military conquest of the Kingdom of Chu, they were forced to submit to the Kingdom of Chu and always wanted to leave the Kingdom of Chu. In 570 B.C., Duke Cheng of Chen decided to break away from the State of Chu and become friendly with the State of Jin.
When King Gong of Chu learned that the State of Chen had betrayed the alliance with the State of Chu and returned to the State of Jin, he was furious and prepared to attack the State of Chen.
Li Shi and her neighbors were sewing and weaving while discussing these things. Li Er, who was playing beside them, heard this and thought,"This is all caused by the struggle for fame and fortune. The vassal states were constantly attacking each other because they wanted to seize territory, plunder property, and become kings. The princes killed each other because they all wanted to seize the throne and enjoy wealth. Civil officials and generals killed each other because they wanted to fight for higher status and more wealth. However, nothing was more precious than life. Once life passed away, all the land, wealth, and power would be gone. If everyone cherished their lives, got rid of the fighting spirit, lived in peace, and enjoyed the good times given by nature without the suffering brought by war, how good would that be! Why didn't people understand such a simple truth, but instead, they repeated the self-directed war tragedy day after day?”
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