In the spring of the fifteenth year of the reign of Lu Xianggong (BC558), Song Zuoshi Xiang Xu paid a visit to the state of Lu, and after completing the official business, he visited the secretaries of the state of Lu.

Xiang Xu first went to visit his uncle and grandson leopard, and saw that the courtyard where his uncle and grandson leopard lived was simple and solemn, and some buildings clearly showed traces of renovation, Xiang Xu couldn't help but sincerely admire his uncle and grandson leopard in a high position but maintained the simplicity of a gentleman. The second person to visit was Ji Wuzi, if there was a guide to lead the way, Xiang Xu thought that he had arrived at Luhou's palace - his mansion was particularly magnificent. Xiang Xu expressed a courtesy compliment to Ji Wuzi's luxurious palace room.

The third person to visit was Meng Xianzi, and Xiang Xu was deeply surprised by the magnificence of his family's building.

Xiang Xu asked, "The master is famous for his simplicity among the princes, but he lives in such a luxurious house, it seems that it does not match your reputation!" ”

Meng Xianzi shook his head and said, "Master is not the first person to say this. My house was less than half the size it is now, and then I visited the Jin Kingdom, during which time my brother built a mansion on his own initiative. I would like to tear it down and restore it to its former state, but that would be a waste of money. I can't afford to make a name for myself as a plain man by wasteful means, so I'm going to keep it. ”

Xiang Xu said: "This is in line with your reputation." ”

As mentioned earlier, in the autumn of the tenth year of Lu Xianggong, the five clans of Zheng Guo launched a rebellion and killed three secretaries including Zisi; Later, the rebels blocked the female father, Si Chen, Wei Pian, and Si Qi and fled to the Song Kingdom. After Zheng Guo returned to the Huaxia Alliance, relations between Zheng and Song were also normalized. Zheng Guoren has always had revenge, not to mention that the murderers committed the treason of kidnapping the monarch and killing important officials. The rulers then sent envoys to the Song Kingdom, hoping to extradite the rebellious ministers and thieves back to China and bring them to justice.

The Song people did not agree at first, believing that handing over those who had come to seek asylum would damage the country's reputation, and that compromising with Zheng Guo would damage the self-esteem of the people. But Zheng Envoy said: "The crimes committed by those people are the same as those of Nangong Wan back then, and the requirements of the widow are the same as those of the Song Dynasty's first monarch Huan Gong." Then he gave a huge bribe - forty carriages, Shi Qi and Shi Hui, two famous blind musicians, and took Gongsun Hei (Zisi's son) as a hostage, which was exchanged for blocking the female father, Si Qi and Wei Pian. As a result, the three unlucky eggs were later chopped into mashed meat by the angry Zheng Guoren.

Another rebel, Si Chen, had a good reputation in the Song State and was deeply favored by Hua, so the Song people secretly let him go; Sichen changed his name and fled to Lu State, and Hua privately entrusted him to Ji Wuzi, who placed him in Bian Yi and made him a retainer.

However, the acceptance of bribes by the Song people damaged their reputation as a great power.

One day, Shi Hui passed by the main entrance of the court under the guidance of the guide, and he said, "Stop, I want to untie my little hands." ”

The guide said, "This is the court, and you can't relieve yourself." ”

Shi Hui said: "No one. ”

The guide said, "How can there be no one in the court?" ”

Shi Hui said, "Someone? How can someone abandon the righteousness, regard the prime minister of the country of a thousand times (Zichuan and others) as if there is nothing, and exchange the great thief of the country for us old blind people who can only sing erotic tunes? Surely no one! ”

The guide said, "Now that I know, I'll go and report to Master Zuo." ”

Xiang Xu was speechless with shame when he heard these words. He immediately went to see Song Pinggong, repeated Shi Hui's words to him, and then said: "The Song country is so big, there is no shortage of two musicians. But if two people are left, the country will have to become smaller. Send them back! God knows what else they can say to slander the Song Kingdom! ”

Song Pinggong said: "This must be a trick played by Zheng Guoren, they want to regret it when they achieve their goal, and the widow can't let their plot succeed." ”

Xiang Xu said: "After the Shang king Wuding conquered the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Western Zhou Dynasty paid tribute to wizards and beautiful women to the royal family, which turned the royal family into a miasma; Qin Mugong also did the same to Lord Xirong. Using musicians as bribes is the conspiracy of the Zheng Guoren, please don't let them stay in the Song Kingdom! ”

At Xiang Xu's strong insistence, Song Pinggong finally returned the two to Zheng Guo.

The people of Qi had two hearts for the Jin State due to the untrustworthy behavior of Shi Kuo last year. But there was a rift in the relationship between Fanqi and Jin, and the first to be unlucky must be the Lu State. In the summer, Qi Linggong led his army to besiege Chengyi, the border town of Lu, and looted the surrounding villages. This invasion sent a dangerous signal to the princes of the world - the state of Qi was about to break away from the Huaxia Alliance and dominate the east.

The people of the Jin Kingdom were not surprised by the news, but they still found it tricky; The princes kept shaking their heads and sighing, lamenting why the world is always not peaceful, and there are always endless battles.

After the retreat of the Qi division, the Lu people began to strengthen the outer walls of Chengyi. Qi Linggong decided to make things bigger quickly, he sent envoys to the country of Lu, and ordered the people to invade the country of Lu. In the autumn, the Di army surrounded a city in the southern part of the Lu state.

Lu Xianggong sent an envoy to the Jin State to accuse the people of Yi for their crimes. Shi Kuo said: "The country of Qi is large and difficult to control, and the country of Qi is small and easy to control; Subduing the State of Qi, the people of the State of Qi lose their accomplices, and they will naturally restrain their behavior. ”

Jin Mourning Gong nodded yes, he sent envoys to the nations, and summoned the princes to the Song State to hold an alliance meeting.

The people of the Jin Kingdom methodically prepared for the trip of the Jin Mourning Prince, but at this time, the old illness of the Jin Mourning Duke recurred. It turned out that Jin Mourning Gong especially liked to stay up late to deal with government affairs, because he felt that he was efficient at night. As a result, years of hard work severely damaged his heart. As mentioned earlier, he had a serious illness when he was fighting Qin last year; However, he recovered after a period of recuperation. Jin Mourning Gong thought that he was in his prime, and he was not fragile enough to take care of his body like an old man, so he returned to his original habit of staying up late.

As a result, he developed symptoms of heart failure after a heavy drink, and although the attack did not kill him immediately, he was bedridden and never got up again.

The time has entered the early winter, and Jin Mourning Gong feels that his heart is weak, his breathing is difficult, and his limbs are cold and heavy; He knew that his fate was not long in coming, so he called the prince Biao, who was not yet an adult, and said: "When the widow ascended the throne, he was only one year older than you. The widow used thunderbolt to finally take some of the power of some people and divide it among others.

"If I give the widow another ten years, I will minimize the power in the hands of the Shiqing and the doctors. But you are so young and inexperienced, I am afraid that this purpose will not be achieved. The current ministers can still abide by the Zhou etiquette, but once you loosen your grip on them, they will become villains like the Zhao and Hao clans. Therefore you must not waste your time, but be diligent in your government affairs. Zhao Wu, Wei Jiang, Han Qi, Yang Yu, and Qi Xi are the greatest treasures left to you by the widows, you must learn more from the doctors, respect their personalities, and humbly listen to their opinions. ”

After he told the prince, he summoned the secretary to his side: "I'm afraid that the widow's time is running out, although I only lived to be thirty years old, only half of an ordinary person, but I have established the deeds that the ancestors did not establish at the age of sixty, so God is fair to the widow." In the past 16 years, the widow has met with the princes more than ten times, pacified Beirong and captured Zheng, so that Chu and Qin could not compete with Jin for the world, and their merits have surpassed those of the previous emperors and the Duke of Qi Huan. ”

"If the widow had the opportunity to choose between merit and longevity again, the widow would not hesitate to choose the former. Everyone should be afraid to live a life without a sound or odor; If you eat meat for a hundred years and achieve nothing, you are no different from an animal. You are all the ministers of the country, and you are the great contributors to assisting the widow to become the overlord. I hope that you will treat the prince like a widow, the prince is a talent, and the widow will thank you; If you don't succeed, the widow will resent you. ”

The secretaries all hid their faces and wept, and expressed their last loyalty to the Duke of Jin. On November 9, the Duke of Jin Mourning died, and the crown prince Biao ascended the throne as the Duke of Jin Ping.

The Duke of Jin was the last accomplished monarch of the Jin Kingdom, he brought the Jin Kingdom into the most powerful era, and also pushed the status of the Jin State to an unprecedented height; He died suddenly at the most energetic age of his life. His death not only made the people of the Jin Kingdom sigh, but also drew a huge question mark over where the country would go in the future.

Due to the death of the Duke of Jin, the planned assembly of princes was also forced to be cancelled, and the envoy of Ju (the envoy of Ju had been detained at the previous year's alliance meeting for Tongchu) escaped.