As mentioned earlier, Jin Jinggong sent Yun Gong Zhongyi back to Chu two years ago and asked him to convey his wish to make peace with Chu. The actions of the Jin people received a positive response from the Chu people. In December of that year, the king of Chu Gong sent Dazai Prince Chen as an envoy to the Jin Kingdom, firstly to thank the Marquis of Jin for releasing Zhong Yi, and secondly, to express his desire to hold an alliance meeting.

After Wang Zichen left the Jin Kingdom, the Duke of Jin Jing sent a doctor to the Chu State to discuss the details of the alliance. The negotiation process is difficult and long, because the alliance involves the interests of dozens of countries in the two major alliances, the North and the South, and both countries need the participation and support of those countries; The relationship was complicated, and as a result, Jin Jinggong did not come back until the day of his death.

After the accession of Duke Li of Jin to the throne, the people of Chu only knew that he was a "big old man with a short temperament". The people of Chu couldn't help but feel a little worried—the situation of a tyrant ruling a strong country does not bode well for any country. The Chu people couldn't figure out the new monarch's attitude towards the alliance, and they were afraid of being slapped in the face by the Jin people, so they suspended the negotiations to wait for the attitude of the Jin Ligong.

When Hua Yuan, the secretary of the Song State, was held hostage in the Chu State, he was invited to be treated as a guest of honor, and the relationship between Hua Yuan and Luan Shu was also extraordinary. Hua Yuan was very excited when he heard the news that Jin and Chu planned to form an alliance, and he hoped to provide his own strength for the early promotion of the good things between the two countries, so that the Song State could gain great benefits from it, and secondly, he would be able to establish a meritorious career and become famous all over the world.

Hua Yuan came to Chu in the winter of this year and asked Zizhong about the negotiations, and Zizhong truthfully informed Hua Yuan of the situation. Zizhong said that some issues are really not suitable for direct discussion by the two sides, and the new monarch of the Jin State has not yet made a statement; Therefore, the state of Chu needs a heavyweight middleman to match in the middle, and Hua Yuan is the most suitable to play this role. Hua Yuan immediately patted his huge belly and expressed his willingness to contribute his strength to the Jin Chu soldiers. He was complimented by Zizhong, so he rushed to the Jin Kingdom through thick and thin and relayed Zizhong's words to Luan Shu.

Luan Shu said: "The Jin State has just suffered a great funeral, and the new monarch has not had time to restart negotiations with the Chu State. I'll report it to the widow right away. ”

Jin Ligong has no governing philosophy and governing ideals, and he is too lazy to deal with serious doctors all day long; He would rather leave the decision to the ministers than be content with the depravity.

Regarding Luan Shu's report, Jin Ligong just said: "The policy formulated by the ancestor cannot be changed, otherwise the princes of the world will accuse the widow of his virtue." Since it is the established policy of the alliance, then let the Master take full responsibility for this matter. ”

Luan Shu immediately expressed his willingness to continue talks to Chu through Hua Yuan, and the two countries resumed peace negotiations.

It turned out that there were probably four points of contention between the two countries: first, the division of the spheres of influence between the two countries, second, which princes were invited to attend the meeting, third, how to determine the role and status of Zheng, and fourth, Chu's request that Jin give up its support for Wu.

The two countries have held several meetings on these issues, but they have not been able to come up with solutions, but not only that, but the problems are getting more and more raised – the old ones have not been resolved, and the new ones are constantly popping up. As a result, both countries are gradually losing patience.

Hua Yuan was exhausted by the people of the two countries, and he felt that the topics discussed by the two sides were getting more and more deviated, so he said: "How can any major affairs in the world be solved through one or two alliance meetings?" Jin Chu should first end the state of hostilities, and then develop the alliance step by step, from the shallow, from the deep to the complex, and other problems will be solved. If you don't take the first step, there's no point in arguing about the issues that follow. ”

This sentence woke up the dreamer, and both parties felt that they were caught in a demonic obstacle, dwelling too much on some meaningless issues, and going further and further down the wrong path. After clarifying their thinking, the two countries decided to start with the most basic and important thing: the signing of a peace treaty first.

During the Jin-Chu negotiations, the Jin sent another mission to the Qin state. The envoy first expressed his gratitude to Qin Huangong (because Qin Huangong had sent a doctor to treat Jin Jinggong last year); Then conveyed the desire of the new monarch of the Jin state to re-establish friendly relations with the Qin state.

The actions of the Jin people made the Qin people a little overwhelmed. The state of hostility between the two countries has lasted for almost half a century, and the mutual distrust between the two sides has reached the extreme, and now it is suddenly said that friendship is friendship?

The Qin people had also heard of Jin Ligong's cruel temperament. It turned out that Jin Ligong was particularly fond of bloody gladiatorial competitions, and many of the slaves who were forced to participate in the competition were Qin prisoners of war (the Qin people only cared about their own prisoners of war), and many of them were children of the wang family. The Qin people believed that if the Duke of Jin Li wanted reconciliation, he should send the prisoners of war back to Western Qin, not to the Western Heavens.

"There must be deception in it!" Qin Huan Gong said: "I'm afraid that the Marquis of Jin wants to use the means of King Chu Cheng to deal with Song Xianggong to deal with the widows!" But the doctors said: "The Jin State has Luan, Zhi, Shi, and Han Siqing, and even if the Marquis of Jin cheats, it is impossible to succeed." ”

Duke Huan of Qin reluctantly agreed to the envoy's request, but the two sides disagreed over the location of the meeting: the Jin wanted Linghu to be located in Hedong, and the Qin wanted to be in Wangcheng in Hexi.

The Qin people said: "If a great country wants to restore the old good, invite the prince to come to the Qin State to show the sincerity of the people of the great country." If the widow makes a gesture first, he will also take the initiative to go to the big country. ”

The envoy said: "Of course the widow is sincere. It's like having a banquet for guests, where the host should send out an invitation and say, 'Please come to the Humble House', instead of saying, 'I'm going to be a guest at your house, please get ready', and the big countries must agree with that.

"Moreover, the countries participating in this meeting are not only Qin, but also the princes of the Central Plains; The location of the alliance has already been determined and notified to other countries, so it should not be changed. In order to show sincerity, the widow will send all the Qin people captured over the years back to the great power. ”

Qin Huan Gong was finally moved, so the time and place of the meeting were set.

The Qin people made detailed preparations for participating in this alliance meeting, and formulated all kinds of contingency plans that could be imagined, but when Qin Huan Gong walked to the royal city, he regretted it again, and he decided to stay in Hexi - no matter what gossip the Jin people said, he would never go to the river.

Duke Qin Huan sent Shi Liang, the secretary of the Qing Dynasty, to Linghu to meet with the Jin Li Guild on his behalf. Jin Ligong scolded Qin Jun in his heart for being untrustworthy, he was a timid and suspicious guy, but he still pretended to have a smiling face and held a bloody ceremony with the Qin envoy. After the ceremony, the Duke of Jin Li sent Yin Li to the royal city to meet with the Qin Huan Guild, and the two sides also held a bloody ceremony.

Jin Ligong was still trustworthy, and he sent the Qin slaves back to Hexi in accordance with the covenant.

Shi Xie said: "What is the significance of such an alliance? The alliance is to build trust, and the meeting between the two monarchs is the beginning of building trust; Even the beginning does not exist, what is the talk of mutual trust? ”