Luan Shu had to use criminal means to cover up his mistakes, he held back his anger, demanded that those in the know not spread the news, and then put Zheng Envoy to death on charges of "espionage".

The cruel methods of the Jin people made the Zheng people dare not send envoys to the Jin State again, and Luan Shu and the Hao clan "joined forces" in this way to cut off the information transmission channel between the two countries.

The killing of Zheng Envoy was only an emergency measure to remove the flesh and mend the sores, but it could not solve the fundamental problem, the direction of the situation was still confusing, and Luan Shu did not know where to go.

If the Jin army wants to attack Xinzheng, it will not have enough troops, and if it wants to retreat, there is no valid reason. Just when he was in a dilemma and didn't know whether to advance or retreat, Chu ordered Yin Zizhong to lead his division to invade the state of Chen. Luan Shu was overjoyed, he immediately lifted the siege of Zheng Guo and waved his army to the southeast to rescue Chen Guo. After a confrontation outside Huaiyang City, the Jin and Chu armies withdrew their respective troops.

After Luan Shu returned to China, Jin Jinggong began to learn the truth, and he couldn't help but be shocked. He couldn't summon Zheng Chenggong to question, because once the truth was as the legend said, Jin Guo's face would be lost by himself; Nor could he ask other people in the know, because he couldn't possibly get the truth from those people's mouths.

Jin Jinggong was annoyed that the ministers dared to talk nonsense to him, but he was helpless - his energy and physical strength did not allow him to confront the important ministers.

After thinking about it, Jin Jinggong decided to make a mistake and turn it into a big thing: "Uncle Zheng will die unjustly!" What field has not been buried with unjust ghosts? Who made him suspected of collaborating with the enemy! ”

However, since Jin Jinggong knew that the Chu State wanted to reconcile with the Jin State, he did not want to lose this opportunity; Although Zheng Chenggong's road was blocked by himself, he could still find other ways. Jin Jinggong believed that once the two countries of Jin and Chu bypassed Zheng Guoren and resumed diplomatic relations, it would be meaningless for Zheng Chenggong to make any justifications - the Jin people could completely take Zheng Ren's defense as an afterthought.

At Shi Xie's suggestion, Jin Jinggong decided to find a breakthrough among the imprisoned Chu prisoners of war, just as the Qin people did back then. On this day, when Jin Jinggong was inspecting the treasury of the office, which was used to place vehicles and utensils, as well as to hold slaves and prisoners, he saw a prisoner with a difference.

The prisoner sat facing south in a dark and damp storehouse, with shackles on his body, an old gown, and a Chu crown. His identity is a clown on the stage with this dress, but in reality it is not funny at all, and it can even make people cry.

Jin Jinggong asked about the identity of that person, and the official in charge of the treasury said: "He is a Chu prisoner who was captured by the Zheng people in the Pan War the year before last, his name is Zhong Yi, and he is the original county prince of Yun County. He wore this dress from the day he was locked up, kneeling to the south every morning and evening, and his behavior has not changed for two years. ”

Jin Jinggong said: "We can't treat a gentleman like a prisoner. He ordered Zhong Yi to be removed from his equipment, and ordered Zhong Yi to be brought to the palace.

Jin Jinggong first expressed his condolences to Zhong Yi, and Zhong Yi bowed to Jin Jinggong again with the courtesy of a courtier to see the king.

Jin Jinggong asked, "What official position does the master hold?" ”

Zhong Yi replied: "The ancestor of the minister is a music official, so he takes Zhong as his clan. ”

Jin Jinggong asked, "Do you know music?" ”

Zhong Yi replied: "How dare the ministers forget the official positions of the ancestors of the clan?" ”

Jin Jinggong ordered him to play on the spot, and Zhong Yi played a song "Chongli", singing while playing. After Zhong Yi closed his voice, he saw that Jin Jinggong was confused, so he explained: "This is the Chu Ci written by the ancestor of this clan to praise Chongli, the ancestor of the Jing people, which is equivalent to the "Song of Zhou" in the "Book of Songs". ”

Jin Jinggong asked what kind of person King Chu Gong was, and Zhong Yi replied: "This is not what the villain knows. ”

Jin Jinggong insisted that he make an evaluation, and he had to reply: "When the widow was still the prince, he served the Taishi and Taibao diligently; Visit the baby in the morning and visit the side in the evening. The other ministers didn't know anything. ”

Jin Jinggong relayed the conversation between him and Zhong Yi to Shi Xie, and Shi Xie said: "Zhong Yi is a true gentleman! He will call the official position of his ancestors, but he will not forget his roots; If you play the sound of your own country, you will not forget the old country; To talk only about the prince's affairs is selfless; Calling Erqing's name directly is the honorable monarch. This person can achieve great things, and ask the prince to send him back to Chu to marry Jin and Chu. ”

Jin Jinggong was overjoyed and immediately arranged for Shi Xie to talk to Zhong Yi. Zhong Yi was so excited that she burst into tears, and he said: "If I can achieve good things for the two countries, I will die without regrets!" A few days later, he returned to Chu with the trust of the Jin people.

At the beginning, the people of Chu couldn't help but be shocked and angry when they got the news that Zheng Chenggong was detained by the Jin people, and Zi said: "The people of the Jin State must be crazy, they are ostensibly targeting Zheng Guo, but in fact they are targeting Chu State." The Jin State will soon send out troops to destroy the Zheng State; Jin can't be trusted, Zheng can't be lost. Please send an army north immediately to help the Zheng people defend the country! ”

But Zizhong said: "It is precisely because these things done by the Jin people are so unreasonable that the minister thinks that there must be a reason for the incident." Otherwise, with the wisdom and loyalty of good doctors such as Luan, Fan (Shixie), Zhi, and Han, it would be unimaginable not to stop the Marquis of Jin from going crazy. Therefore, the minister believes that the truth of the incident should be ascertained as soon as possible before making a decision. Besides, now going out to defend Zheng Guo will not only intensify the contradictions of various countries, but also kill Zheng Bo! ”

After in-depth consideration, the king of Chu Gong finally adopted Zizhong's opinion. The Chu people quickly figured out the truth - in fact, it was an oolong drama directed by Xu Li. Soon Luan Shu led his army to attack Zheng, and the king of Chu sent his son to besiege Chen to rescue Zheng. After a few more days, the Jin people sent back Zhong Yi, who was dressed up energetically.

The good deeds of the Jin people received a positive response from the Chu people, and the king of Chu Gong later sent Wang Zichen as an envoy to the Jin state. Neither of the two countries mentioned Zheng Chenggong's affairs, as if they had forgotten his existence. The two countries concluded a treaty of friendship, and the situation in the Central Plains eased immediately.

In July, Duke Qi Qing died, and Prince Huan ascended the throne as Duke Qi Ling.

During the seventeenth year of the reign of Duke Qing of Qi, the biggest event that occurred during the reign of Qi was the battle of the Qiang with the multinational coalition led by the Jin State. Although the state of Qi was defeated, it did not decline, but embarked on the road of great revival. The revival of Qi strongly deterred the Jin state, and in order to appease the Qi state, the Jin people forced the Lu state to cede the land of Fenyang to the Qi state.

Qi Qinggong has the arrogance that has been common to monarchs in previous generations, and also has the tenacious spirit of enduring humiliation and burdens that the ancestors did not have, which may be related to his childhood life experience (accompanying his father in exile).

If Qi Qinggong is given another ten years, or if Qi Linggong can continue his father's unfinished business (instead of falling so quickly), what will be the situation in China and how long the supremacy of the Jin State can be maintained is a question worth reverating. The Jiang regime voluntarily gave up its last chance, and it irreversibly degenerated, and was finally overthrown by the Chen Tian clan.

In winter, the State of Qin, which had not appeared on the stage of the Spring and Autumn Period for a long time, suddenly joined forces with Bai Di to attack several cities in the west of the Jin State in Hexi. When the leadership of the Jin State was stable and the members of the alliance were loyal to the alliance leader, the Qin State would never dare to make a move to provoke the Jin State.