In the summer of the twenty-first year of Duke Lu Xu, that is, the year when Duke Xiang of Song was abducted, the country of Lu suffered a severe drought. The Lu people planned to hold a large-scale ritual to pray for rain (雩sacrifice), and some ignorant people instigated Lu Xugong to burn a group of witches and deformed people with their backs facing the sky during the ceremony.

The ritual of sacrificing people during the festival has been practiced since ancient times. Legend has it that the drought was caused by the fact that the heavens had mercy on the deformed people and were afraid that the rain would flow into their nostrils and could not bear to rain.

But Zang Wenzhong (Zang Sunchen, Zang Aibo's second son) advised: "Of course it's okay to ask for rain, but it's not a way to fight disasters." The state should strengthen precautions, depreciate food and save money, dig wells and canals, and specialize in agricultural affairs. As for witches and witches, what role can they play? If Heaven had mercy on witches, they should not have been born; If witches can cause a drought, burning them to death will cause the wrath of Heaven and cause an even worse disaster. ”

In the end, Lu Xigong did not do such a cruel thing as burning living people, and he began to organize forces from all walks of life to fight the disaster with all their might. In the second half of the year, although the people of Lu often did not have enough to eat, there was no escape or starvation.

To the north of the Lu State, there are four small countries with the surname Feng, namely Ren, Su, Xuju, and Zhuan (among which Su has been destroyed by the Qi State). All of those countries were founded in the Xia Dynasty and were in charge of the sacrifices of Taihao (Fuxi) and Jishui. In the autumn of this year, the people of Lu took advantage of the disaster in the country of Lu to go out and perish. Su Ju escaped, so he came to his nephew Lu Xugong.

Cheng Feng said to the Duke of Xu: "The continuation of the sacrifice to the saints and the great river, and the protection of the weak and ancient countries are all in line with the requirements of the Zhou rites; The barbarian rebellion in Xia is the scourge of the dynasty. If the prince can restore the country, he will have a great contribution to the world. ”

In the spring of the following year, the state of Lu got rid of the problem of hunger, so he sent an army to expel the invaders from the city of Suju, and Suju was restored.

In the early autumn, the state of Yi took revenge on the state of Lu. Lu Xigong has always looked down on that small country in Dongyi, so he did not strengthen his defense. Zang Wenzhong advised: "No matter how big or small the country is, we should not despise it, and our army should not be afraid of war, even if it is numerous. The prince thinks that the country is weak, but the bee tail is still poisonous, let alone the country? ”

Lu Xigong still couldn't listen to what he said. In August, the two armies fought a major battle at Shengcheng; The Lu army did not set up defensive forces on the two flanks, and the Lu people discovered the enemy's defects and immediately divided their forces to attack the two flanks of the Lu army. The Lu army was attacked on three sides and was quickly defeated.

Lu Xigong changed several chariots in a row to escape, and his helmet was lost. When the men seized the helmet, they hung it above the fish gate of the capital, and the city was surrounded by people from all over the world who had come to see the rare object. This fiasco not only caused the Lu army to lose a large number of soldiers, but also made Lu Xugong unable to raise his head for a long time.

Recently, King Xiang of Zhou always complained that the world was not peaceful and the princes were not harmonious. Doctor Fuchen said, "It's time to bring the prince back." The Book of Songs says: 'Harmony is compared to its neighbors, and marriage is Kongyun.' 'If the royal brothers are not in harmony and cannot set an example, how can they complain that the princes are not harmonious?' King Xiang of Zhou then followed his advice and summoned the prince back from the kingdom of Qi. The return of the prince's belt laid the groundwork for another turmoil in the dynasty.

In the northwest of Zheng State, there was a small count surnamed Ji named Huaguo (now Yanshi, Henan). The country has long been the object of contention between Zheng Guo and Wei Guo, and the reason for the competition is its superior geographical location.

The country of slippery was first attached to Zheng Guo. In the twentieth year of Lu Xungong, the slippery country broke away from the Zheng State and fell to the defense of the country. Zheng Guo's sons and thieves led their divisions to attack the capital of the country, forcing them to sign an alliance in the city.

As soon as Zheng Shi withdrew his troops, Hua Bo tore up the treaty and fell to defend the country again. For the next four years, the parties remained peaceful.

In the twenty-fourth year of Lu Xugong, Zheng Jun took advantage of the destruction of Xingguo when Wei Guo invaded again, and Hua Bo was unable to resist Zheng, so he had to use the power of Wei Wengong to move out of Lafayette Zhou Xiangwang.

King Xiang of Zhou sent two doctors, Bofu and You Sunbo, to Xinzheng to mediate the dispute between the two countries. Since the two doctors went to Wei Wengong's face, and Zheng Guoren was indeed at a loss, they issued some harsh and critical language against Zheng Wengong.

You must know that the relationship between Zheng and Zhou has been rifted since the early Spring and Autumn Period, and Zheng was also the first Chinese state to dare to meet the dynasty; At the beginning of his reign, Zheng Wengong had a grudge against the royal family (for reasons mentioned above). Therefore, when the royal doctor made a comparison and shook his head to criticize Zheng Wengong, Zheng Wengong could no longer suppress his old violent temper, and immediately took the case and dragged out the two old doctors who did not respect the monarch.

Zhou Xiang Wang Long Yan was furious and immediately ordered a crusade against Zheng Guo. But when he looked around, he couldn't find a single prince to mobilize. King Zhou Xiang suddenly remembered the unconscious brother Prince Dai, "He is a powerful person!" King Xiang of Zhou then summoned his brother, who was reflecting at home, and ordered him to mobilize the surrounding Rong Di to crusade against Zheng Guo.

However, the order of Vazheng was fiercely opposed by Fu Chen, who said: "The minister has heard that the best ruler uses virtue to raise the people, and the inferior uses blood to attach himself to the people. King Wu and Duke Zhou were therefore feudal blood relatives and used them as a barrier for the royal family. Guan, Cai, Yun, Huo, Lu, Wei, Mao, Dan, Gao, Yong, Cao, Teng, Bi, Yuan, Xu, and Xun were given to the sons of King Wen; Yu, Jin, Ying, and Han feudalized to the son of King Wu; Fan, Jiang, Xing, Mao, Yin, sacrificed to the descendants of the Duke of Zhou.

"Zhao Gong was worried that the fraternal countries would not be compatible, so he summoned the clan leaders to Chengzhou, called on the princes of all countries to be on a blind date and hated each other, and wrote "Chang Di". There is a saying in the poem: 'Chang Di's flower, E is not Weiwei; There is no one like a brother today. ''Brothers are against the wall, and they are insulted from the outside. Therefore, although there is a small friction between brothers, they cannot be regarded as enemies. Now, in order to vent his petty anger, the Son of Heaven has abandoned his relatives and attacked Zheng with Rong Di as his army, what does the King of Heaven regard as a fraternal country?

"Rewarding merit, kissing, closeness, and respect for virtue are the four virtues. Zheng Guo had established meritorious services during the reigns of King Ping and King Hui, as well as the kinship of King Xuan and King Li. Uncle Zheng abandoned the treacherous people and appointed three good ministers, married all the concubines, and had all four virtues.

"If you don't hear the music of the ear, you are deaf, if you don't know the flowers, you are blind, you don't have virtue and righteousness in your heart, and you don't have faithfulness in your mouth. Rong Di does not follow the Zhou etiquette, does not pro-Huaxia, and has four traitors.

"Zhou Gong feudal brothers, Zhao Gong teaches brothers; The only way to defend against foreign aggression is to rely on brothers. Now that Zhou De is in decline, the royal family should have been more intimate brothers and jointly resisted foreign enemies; But the Son of Heaven went against the teachings of Zhou Gong and Zhao Gong, attached himself to traitors and hated his brothers, how could he be? The people of Zhou have not forgotten the disaster, and the Son of Heaven has risen again, where do you want to put King Wen and King Wu? ”

However, the doctor, Uncle Decadence and Peach, praised King Xiang of Zhou for his wisdom and martial arts (these two people relied on flattery and helping King Zhou to do bad things to reap the benefits). They cursed Zheng Bo, saying that Zheng Guoren could not do whatever he wanted just because he died of a Zheng Huan Gong, and there were more scholars and doctors who sacrificed their lives for the royal family. If the descendants of the heroes are as willful and reckless as Uncle Zheng, the Son of Heaven will become their little daughter-in-law; If the seizure of royal envoys will not be punished, then it is better to change 'Eastern Zhou' to 'Eastern Zheng'.