In the thirteenth year of Duke Lu, that is, the second year of Guan Zhong's reconciliation between the royal family and Rong Di, the small state of Huaiyi, which was entrenched in the middle and lower reaches of the Huai River, suddenly attacked the Qi country. Qi was located at the crossroads of the north-south traffic, and the Qi people could not tolerate the Huaiyi invasion of the Qi state, so they convened an alliance meeting in the summer, and the participants decided to send troops to help the Qi state fight against the Huaiyi coalition in the following year.

However, in the spring of the following year, the princes were too busy to deal with Rong Di's invasion of the royal family and were unable to help the Qi Kingdom, so they moved the Qi people away.

In the spring of the fifteenth year of the reign of Duke Lu and the Qin and Jin dynasties, the Chu army attacked the Xu state with the remnants of the Huang state. The surname of Xu is Ying, located in the northwest of Si County, Anhui Province, and is a traditional Dongyi powerhouse. Xu had previously made an alliance with Chu, but Xu could not bear Chu's exploitation, so he turned around and took refuge in the Huaxia Alliance.

In March, the allied army of the Chinese princes assembled in Kuangdi (now west of Sui County, Henan), and the commander of the Lu army was Meng Mubo (Gongsun Ao), the son of Qing's father, and the Chu army did not retreat. In May, the coalition forces entered the state of Xu, and the state of Chu withdrew.

In the autumn, the Chu army attacked Xu again; Qi Shi and Cao Shi are fierce. Located in present-day Luyi County, Henan, the State of Li was a small state that had recently submitted to the State of Chu and had married its allies. The Chu army had no choice but to lift the siege of Xu and turn to the rescue; Seeing that their goal had been achieved, the coalition forces withdrew their troops.

In the following year, the Chu army attacked Xu for the third time, and the Qi State also resorted to its usual routine and continued to attack fiercely. However, the state of Chu had already helped the state of Li to increase the height and strengthen the city walls, and sent an army to help the state of Li defend against the enemy. Qi couldn't attack for a long time, and he didn't see the Chu army come to rescue, so he had to lift the encirclement of Li and save Xu instead, and the Chu division withdrew and returned home.

In the spring of the sixteenth year of Lu Xugong, two unusual things happened in the Song Kingdom: first, five meteorites fell from the sky; The second is that six big birds flew backwards over Shangqiu (the big bird flew against the wind, but was pushed back by the strong wind.) More than 2,000 years later, the American singer Michael Jackson read this passage and exclaimed: "Billy Jenny! "So he wrote that famous song and invented the space dance step).

At that time, the royal family doctor Nei Shi Shuxing was visiting the Song Kingdom, and Song Xianggong asked him what kind of good luck and evil those phenomena portended. Neishi replied: "This year, there may be a great funeral in the Lu country, and next year the Qi country will be in chaos, and the king can join the princes but will not die well." ”

After Nei Shi retreated, he said to his deputy in private: "Song Gong shouldn't ask such a question, the matter of yin and yang has nothing to do with good luck and evil. The reason why I answered him was only because I didn't dare to disobey the king's orders. ”

This year, just as Bai Di took advantage of the defeat of the Jin Kingdom and attacked Jin on a large scale, Rong Di, who was entrenched in the Eastern Zhou Belt, was unwilling to be lonely and attacked the royal city. Duke Huan of Qi mobilized the armies of the princes to help the royal family defend the capital.

In the winter of November, Zheng Wengong couldn't bear the crown prince Hua anymore, and finally killed him. As mentioned earlier, the crown prince Hua had his own status and interests, and he was so mad that he tried to subvert Zheng Guo's office by the hands of foreigners; Although the conspiracy was not realized, he had no remorse at all, but became even more arrogant.

In addition to his comrades, there are also many innocent brothers who are unlucky enough to follow Prince Hua. Zheng Wengong went berserk and expelled all his adult sons, regardless of whether they were guilty or not.

In winter and December, the princes helped the Yan State build a city, because Huaiyi set its sights on this small Dongyi country again. Years of hard labor exhausted the builders and sickened the people. One night, someone suddenly shouted on the hill outside the city: "There is turmoil in the country of Qi!" The servants scattered in a hurry and ran back to their homes.

I have to say that since the prince brought up Rong Di's greed, the whole of China has fallen into great chaos. The power of Chu, Baidi, and Huaiyi was developing; Although the hegemony of the Qi State has not been shaken, its influence is declining, and it is even unable to control the Rongdi tribe in the Central Plains.

Qi Huangong, Guan Zhong, Bao Shuya, Xi Peng, and Ning Qi, the core figures of the office, are all aging, and there are no young talents who have the ability to replace the older generation. The prince of Qi was mediocre and incompetent, the sons had their own ambitions, and the doctors did not train their own successors, and there was a terrible disconnection in the ruling class. This means that in a few years, the state of Qi will return to the period of Xigong and even Xianggong.

In the fifteenth year of Lu Xigong, Guan Zhong was bedridden. Qi Huan Gong asked him for a replacement for him, and Guan Zhong recommended Xi Peng. Gong Qi Huan persuaded him to consider Uncle Bao first. Guan Zhong said that Uncle Bao is too upright, and it is especially easy to offend the traitorous nobles, if he is promoted to a high position in Xiangbang, he will definitely use the power in his hands to fight the traitorous people, and the traitorous people will also fight back with all their might, so he will not be far from death. Xi Peng is calm and adheres to principles, is good at resolving their contradictions, presides over diplomatic work for a long time, and enjoys a high reputation among the princes; Therefore, compared with Uncle Bao, Xi Peng is more competent.

After saying the above, Guan Zhong advised him to stay away from Yi Ya, Erect Mink, and Gongzi Kaifang, because those three were rare villains in the world.

Guan Zhong said: "People, there is no one who does not love his children, and Yi Ya is easy because the monarch said casually." He has never tasted human flesh, so he killed his young son and made meat soup to offer to the prince, which shows the cruelty of his people; there is no one who does not love his own body, and he even took the initiative to cut off his children and grandchildren, and castrated himself as a eunuch, which shows the greed of his people; there is no one who does not love his parents, and the son Qifang (Kaifang) took the initiative to run from the country in order to seek wealth and nobility, and he did not return to China to visit his mother for many years, which shows his unfilial piety.

"With these three wicked people around him all day long, the country will be in chaos even if it does not die. If the minister is there, he can stop the three from doing evil; But Xi Peng has no ability to minister, and these people will definitely harm Xi Peng. So be sure to expel them. ”

After Guan Zhong's death, Xi Peng came to power. Qi Huan Gong did not take Guan Zhong's opinion, so that the three villains quickly turned the office into a miasma. Xi Peng only lived more than a month longer than Guan Zhong, and his premature death saved Xi Peng from the murderous hands of the traitors.

Before his death, Xi Peng recommended Uncle Bao to Qi Huan Gong. Bao Shuya made a request to Duke Qi Huan, if he was allowed to take power, he must expel Yi Ya, Ermine and Gongzi Kaifang from the country.

Gong Qi Huan had no choice but to send the three out. At that time, the three of them fell to their knees, crying and asking Huan Gong what crime he had committed; And said that if it is also a sin to be loyal to the office and love the monarch, then they would rather be divided by five horses every day.

Elder Qi Huan burst into tears, knelt on the ground and hugged them and wept bitterly, he said: "The widow sent you out of Qi not because you committed a crime, but because they protected you. He promised to summon them back as soon as the time came.