In the spring of the ninth year of Duke Lu (BC651), Duke Huan of Song died, and the crown prince ascended the throne as Duke Xiang of Song.

Among the many sons of Song Huan's public, Gongzi Muyi (Ziziyu) is the eldest. When Song Huan Gong was seriously ill, the crown prince's father had been guarding his father at the sickbed, and repeatedly asked him to pass on the throne to Muyi; The prince said that Muyi was not only old, but also known for his benevolence. Duke Song Huan was moved by what his father said, so he summoned Muyi and prepared to canonize him as the crown prince.

But Muyi replied, "Selflessness is the expression of benevolence; Those who can give up the status of the prince to others are the greatest benevolence. At this point, the sons and daughters are ashamed; Moreover, it is a taboo in the world to abolish the heirs and establish a family, and it is not good for the country. If the father persecuted his son again, the son would have to go into exile in another country. He walked out quickly.

As a relic of Yin Shang, the Song State was regarded as an alternative by the princes for a long time. Song Weizi later discovered that the princes would make malicious guesses about everything the Song State did. Weizi then said, the princes are not wrong, and the Song people are not wrong, it is Wu Geng and the three eunuchs who are wrong; The Song people should show the dynasty that the Song state was not aggressive and would never rebel against the Zhou. He also admonished his successors to act with caution and trembling, and not to do anything out of the ordinary.

In this way, the Song people made great efforts to eliminate the Zhou people's squint of themselves. After a few generations, people have forgotten the history of the previous generation, and no longer talk about the evil and ferocity of King Xu, and the revenge of Wu Geng; The Song people felt that they had fully integrated into the society of the Zhou people, so they gradually let go of their hands and feet and did what a normal country should do.

The Song State destroyed the Gao State before the Spring and Autumn Period, and fought with the powerful Lu State and gained the upper hand. After entering the Spring and Autumn Period, Song Yangong provoked Zheng Zhuang Gong again, and the two sides each gathered allies to fight a ten-year war; After that, no matter what Song Guo did, no one felt abnormal.

Song Huan Gong had great ambitions when he was still a son, and after he ascended the throne, he began to realize the great dream of revival. However, Song Huan Gong should not have reinstated the punishment that symbolized tyranny, and this act was considered the beginning of the restoration of the Song Dynasty.

Qi Huan decided not to allow any country to challenge the status of Qi, so under the banner of eliminating the remnants of Yin Shang, he extinguished the fire of the revival of the Song people.

Since then, the people of the Song State have firmly stood on the side of the Qi State, and it does not matter whether they are sincere or not, because the rulers have no choice. Although the revival forces in the country have been suppressed, they have not died; Those who harbor lofty utopian dreams are hidden in all strata of society, constantly indoctrining ideas into those around them.

The prince's father was deeply influenced by the revivalists and secretly became the leader of the revival forces; And Gongzi Muyi belongs to the realist school, he acts in a decent manner, and he has no ambitions. If Duke Song Huan had been able to conduct a prudent investigation in deciding on the heir, he would probably not have handed over the power of the monarchy to his father, who was stubborn and had unrealistic ideals.

King Xiang of Zhou spent a year stabilizing the situation, and when he held the power firmly in his hands, he was ready to repay the Duke of Qi Huan. However, at this time, the Duke of Qi Huan was holding a princes' meeting with Song Zifu, Lu Xu, Wei Wengong, Zheng Wengong, Cao Gonggong, and Xu Xi Gong in Kuiqiu (near present-day Lankao, Henan).

Among them, Xu Xigong was forced over by Zheng Wengong. Zheng Guo attacked on a large scale last year, and Cai Guoren came forward to mediate, but Zheng Wengong did not take Cai Guoren in his eyes and ignored it at all. Although Cai Mugong felt annoyed, he didn't dare to come to the rescue.

Xu Guo was isolated and helpless, and he really couldn't resist the enemy's offensive, so Xu Xigong had to sacrifice the "surrender plan" again - open the city gate and surrender to the enemy. Xu Guo and Zheng Guo signed an alliance under the city, and Wei Wengong triumphantly brought him over.

On the orders of King Xiang, the Duke of Zhou led a huge delegation and rushed to Kwai Hill with valuable gifts. The arrival of the dynastic envoy was an unexpected surprise, and Duke Qi Huan suspended all procedures of the princes' assembly and concentrated on receiving Duke Zhou and his party.

On behalf of King Xiang of Zhou, the Duke of Zhou presented the gizzard to the Duke of Qi Huan, and the ceremony was carried out in the palace on the outskirts of Kwai Hill. The ceremony began, and the Duke of Zhou appeared first, slowly ascending the steps on the east side of the main hall, standing on the platform facing west; Qi Huan Gong walked up the west step after one step to his right, and finally stood facing Zhou Gong; The princes lined up in the courtyard below the steps.

Zhou Gong said: "Since the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, there has never been a precedent for the Heavenly King to give gifts to princes with different surnames. But the heavens sent disasters, so that my north and south of China were subjected to the enemy, endless like a line, uncle rescued Xing Cunwei, attacked stubborn Di in the north, and resisted strong Chu in the south; The king of heaven thanked his uncle for his great contribution to supporting the royal family and stabilizing the world, and specially ordered Kong (the name of the Duke of Zhou) to give his uncle the gizzard meat used to worship King Wen and King Wu. ”

Qi Huan Gong was about to walk down the steps and salute upward. Zhou Gong stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "The Heavenly King is sympathetic to Uncle Ci's old age, and Uncle Ci does not need to bow down." ”

Qi Huan said: "Tianwei is within reach, how dare Xiaobai be greedy for the favor of the Son of Heaven and not bow down?" I am afraid that I will not die well, and the Son of Heaven will be disgraced. ”

After saying this, he went down the steps and saluted, and when he had finished the salute, he came up again to accept the gizzard.

At the banquet after the ceremony, Zheng Wengong suddenly asked why he didn't see Jin Xiangong attending the meeting, and Qi Huangong said that the Jin State was isolated to the west of Taiyue and had never been in contact with the Central Plains, so he did not inform the Jin people.

Zheng Wengong said that the Jin State was neither as far away nor as strong as the Chu State; Since even the Chu people had to participate in the princes' meeting of the Duke of Qi Huan, why could the Jin people stay out of it? Could it be that the Marquis of Jin is not a descendant of the surname Ji? Could it be that the Jin people can't do what even barbarians can do? After hearing this, Qi Huan Gong nodded thoughtfully.

Due to the time taken by the arrival of the Eastern Zhou mission and the holding of other ceremonies, this alliance was already doomed to be postponed; However, the results of the divination carried out for the postponement were not auspicious. Therefore, the Duke of Qi Huan held a simplified bloody ceremony with the princes, and asked the princes to come here again in the autumn.