More than ten years later, Yuan Taotu revealed the secret between him and Zheng Wengong to his son before his death.

It turned out that after Yuan Taotu returned from Zhiyi, he began to brew a plan to get rid of Shenhou. Zheng Wengong hoped to get some secret information from Yuan Taotu, who in turn hoped that the other party would get rid of Shenhou. Based on their respective needs, the two sides reached an ulterior deal (later Zheng Wengong became more hateful than Yuan Taotu, but in order to get information about Chen Guo, he preferred to let Shenhou continue to do his bad things). After Shenhou's death, Yuan Taotu immediately severed contact with Zheng Guo as if nothing had happened.

After Zheng Guo obtained the understanding of Qi State, the Huaxia people began to worry about Zheng Guo's safety again; If Zheng Wengong hadn't been stupid enough to take the initiative to throw himself into the arms of the people of Chu two years ago, the situation would not have developed to a particularly serious level.

On the other hand, King Chu Cheng felt that Zheng Wengong was playing with Chu and teasing himself, and he cursed Zheng Wengong day and night for several days in a row, threatening to erase Zheng Guo from the territory of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

Qi Huan Gong was full of worries: the situation was escalating step by step, and when all indirect means were exhausted, only Qi and Chu would be left to collide directly. What the people of Qi have to do now is to use political means to maintain the current situation as much as possible, and not drag the country into the quagmire of the war against Chu.

In July, Duke Qi Huan, Duke Lu Xu, Duke Huan of Song, Prince Chen and Prince Zheng met at Ningmu (near present-day Yutai, Shandong) to discuss how to protect Zheng Guo's security. Guan Zhong proposed that force was only the last resort to solve the problem, so that the princes could willingly attach themselves to the Qi state, and the means of virtue and obedience must be adopted.

When the meeting was adjourned, Prince Hua asked to see Gong Qi Huan alone, and after getting permission, Prince Hua took advantage of the topic of Guan Zhong. He first uttered some high-sounding compliments, and then said that Zheng Bo did not voluntarily defect to the Chu State, but was coerced and lured by the Kong, Chu, and Ziren clans. If he can get rid of these three clans with the help of the power of Duke Qi Huan, Zheng Bo will definitely be willing to attach himself to the Qi State; He will act as an internal response, so that Zheng Wengong will not have two hearts.

The three major clans of Zheng Guo were not as described by Prince Hua, who was just hoping to eliminate dissidents with the help of the hands of the Qi people; Qi Huan Gong is not unaware of the truth, but he still hopes that Zheng Guo will be chaotic.

Qi Huan Gong said that he appreciated Zheng Bo and the crown prince's loyalty to Qi Guo, and he also hoped that Zheng Guo would eliminate all unstable factors; But the stakes are high, and he needs some time to think about it. After speaking, he asked Prince Zihua to go back and wait for news.

Qi Huan Gong then summoned Guan Zhong and repeated the conversation with Prince Hua just now. Guan Zhong shook his head again and again and said: "The king used a letter of etiquette to convene the princes, but he ended up in treachery; Is there anything more ridiculous in the world? The son must not disobey the father's command, which is called 'courtesy', and respectfully obey and fulfill the father's command. Zihua violated the above two items and was the most treacherous person in Zheng Guo. ”

Qi Huan Gong said: "The princes have repeatedly crusaded against Zheng Guo to no avail, and now there is chaos within Zheng State, and the widows take this opportunity to weaken it, is there any problem?" ”

Guan Zhong said: "The prince should appease Zheng Guo with virtue, and supplement it with discipline; If Zheng still does not accept it, he will lead the army of the princes to crusade against it. At that time, Zheng Guo couldn't save himself, how dare he not belong to Qi State? If you take advantage of the treacherous ** to mess with the office, Zheng Guoren will have every reason to fight against the princes, and they will be fearless.

"Besides, the summoning of princes should uphold virtue, if a traitor like Zihua is allowed to be among the princes, how will he teach future generations? All the moral, criminal, ceremonial, and ceremonial events that occurred at the League were recorded by the historians of the nations. If the prince allowed Zihua to make a rebellion and recorded the matter, the alliance would be abolished; If you don't remember, you violate the duties of a historian. Therefore, the prince must never agree to him! Even if Zihua is rejected, Zheng Guo will definitely accept the covenant.

"Although this Zihua is a prince, he is vainly trying to use the power of a big country to weaken his country, and he will not be exempt from difficulties. Zheng Guo has three good ministers, Shu Zhan, Uncle Du, and Uncle Shi, and no one can be separated. ”

Only then did Duke Qi Huan dispel that ridiculous idea, he rejected Prince Hua's request, disqualified him from attending the conference, and drove him away directly. Word soon spread of Prince Hua's crime, and Zheng Wengong was furious; If Zihua was not the nephew of King Chu Cheng, and King Chu Cheng favored him, Zheng Wengong would definitely execute him without hesitation.

However, for his father's anger and the hatred of the clan, Zihua has neither remorse nor restraint. As always, he behaved ostentatiously on various occasions, greeting and smiling and nodding at others, as if people welcomed him. He deceptively interprets this behavior as a sign of "clear conscience", while others think that he is hopeless.

The righteous deeds of the people of Qi have indeed paid off. Zheng Wengong's impression of the people of Qi changed for the better, and he had to believe that in addition to taking advantage of the fire to rob today, there are still people who practice the Great Dao, and in addition to taking revenge, there are also people who repay grievances directly.

Zheng Wengong reviewed himself in an unprecedented internal meeting at a small internal meeting, and said that if a country does not have faith, the stronger it is, the more dangerous it is; Qi has reached the pinnacle of morality, and if Zheng fails to repay its favors, he will be regarded not only as a beast by his allies, but also as despised by his enemies. Soon after Zheng Wengong said these words, he personally led the delegation to Linzi to meet with Duke Qi Huan. The reaction of the Chu people was quite fierce, but recently the Chu army was too busy quelling the rebellion of the surrounding princes and tribes to go north.

But the one who was most annoyed by Zheng Guo's reversal was not Chu State, but Xu State. Xu Guo fell to Chu because he was afraid of Zheng Guo, but Zheng Guo once again threw himself into the arms of the Qi people. As long as the two countries are not in the same alliance, Zheng Guo will always be a scourge of great crimes, and Xu Guo cannot change masters as frequently as Zheng Guo.

Later, Cai Muhou sent a message to Xu Xigong that once Zheng invaded Xu, he would mediate between the two countries; Xu Guoren took a reassuring pill at this time.