Han Qi was cowardly, timid and afraid of things, and did not dare to accept the deal. But Ziwei said: "What is the situation in the Jin Kingdom, the master must know better than me. The doctors are busy plundering wealth, because with wealth can they raise soldiers and maintain security and status. The Master, who is the ruler of a great country but is very poor, and now rejects the wealth at his fingertips, is like a tiger with no magnificent fur but no claws, which can only attract the covetousness of the greedy, and finally loses everything. Therefore, for the sake of the family, please either abandon Shilu and return to the countryside; Either accept my wealth and friendships. Otherwise, I'll have to send my wealth and friendship to someone else! ”

It dawned on Han Qi that he really needed a huge fortune to maintain his huge expenses, and at the same time wanted to establish a close personal relationship with the most favored and trusted minister of the Qi Marquis. As a result, the humble gentleman, who used to be loyal and honest, now began to do things that were not loyal to the monarch.

Soon, the honor guard of Qi was ready to set off. It was already dusk when the party marched to a post house, the guards set up tents outside the inn, the grooms drove the carts into the compound, the soldiers were on guard, and the nannies led the princess to bed. But the princess was surprised to find a girl standing in the bedroom with the same dress, the same beauty, and the same temperament as herself.

The nannies and maids had bought the tail of the quilt or replaced it with their own, and they now showed their fierceness, and took off the terrified princess's clothes and changed her into a set of civilian clothes. They threatened to scratch her charming little face if she dared to cry, and the little princess had to crouch down and weep silently. The wicked women took advantage of the dead of night to give her to those who came to meet her, and the poor girl was sold to a peasant as a wife.

Later, an insider (who apparently didn't know the whole story) reproached Han Qi and said, "Ziwei deceived the Jin Kingdom, how can you bear it?" ”

Han Qi's answer showed that he was no longer the original person who adhered to Zhou etiquette and was faithful and patriotic, but had transformed into a selfish, greedy, and servile guy.

He said: "I want to befriend the favored retainer of the Qi State but alienate the prince, will the favor take the initiative to come to me?" ”

In the past two years, King Chu Ling has been busy eliminating hostile forces and stabilizing the country, and now that the country is stable, he decided to start fulfilling his lifelong dream - to build Zhanghuatai.

Zhanghuatai is located in Longwan Town, Qianjiang, Hubei Province, and was the largest palace in Chu at that time. The palace covers an area of 1,000 acres, the palace is scattered and continuous, gorgeous and magnificent, the most important of which is the cool palace built on a high platform of ten zhang high and fifteen battles wide. After the completion of Zhanghuatai to the usurpation of the throne by the prince, King Chu Ling led a large number of courtiers to come here for vacation and recreation many times, and he sang and danced lightly with the favored slender waist woman in the cool palace, drank and carnivaled, and spent the last lewd time in his life.

In order to build the palace, King Chu Ling razed several villages and 10,000 acres of fertile land, and a large number of peasants who lost their land turned into a small part of all hard labor. Due to the huge investment of money and manpower in the project, the king of Chu Ling, in addition to asking the ministers and nobles to donate their property, imposed heavy taxes and forced labor on the people of Chu. The aristocracy, on the other hand, contributed a great deal of wealth, but in fact did not lose money, because in the process of exploitation and exploitation, they withheld taxes and even intensified the exploitation of the commoners, so they became richer than before.

The state of Chu has never lacked virtuous ministers such as Shu Xiang and Yan Zi, but their opposition and outcry are particularly weak and powerless in a wave of flattery and praise of virtue. "If you can't help the world, then it's better to be alone!" As a result, the last faint voice of opposition also disappeared.

In order to fully display the glorious image of the state of Chu; In order to make the country have a landmark building that can match the "dignity of the king" and "the demeanor of a great country"; In order to highlight the industrious and stoic character of the people of Chu, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to put down their hoes, leave the loom, and let the farmland be barren and their livelihoods ruined, and were driven to this remote place, where they shed the last drop of blood and sweat for the kings and lords who they had devoted their lives to but were still insatiable.

At the same time, after the king of Chu Ling, the prince of Jin Ping, regardless of the decline of the people's power, squeezed out the only remaining property of the people, and built a more majestic and magnificent Qiqi Palace than Zhanghuatai. While these two monarchs competed to see who could be more greedy and shameless to endanger the country, they were also exploiting the wealth of the princes. The evil consequences of peace are gradually revealed, and people do not die on the battlefield, but on the way to escape, on the busy construction site, and in the wilderness where there are no grains left after the harvest.

In July, Hanhu went to the Jin Kingdom on behalf of Zheng Jiangong to congratulate the Jin Pinggong on his new marriage, and reported to the Jin people: "The Chu people have repeatedly reprimanded and urged the widow to go to Yingdu because our country has not seen the new king. But if the widow goes to Chu, he is afraid that the people of the great country will say that Zheng has disloyalty; If you don't go, you're afraid of violating the Song Covenant. It is a sin to advance or retreat, so I was sent to ask the great powers whether I should go or not. ”

Han Qi instructed Shu Xiang to reply: "If Uncle Zheng has been thinking about the widow in his heart, what harm is there in going to Chu State? Zheng Guo is just obeying the covenant, so the widow is very happy, knowing that he will be spared from disaster! Otherwise, although Zheng Bo accompanies the widow day and night, the widow is also suspicious. If you have a loyal heart, why should you ask the widow? Go ahead! As long as you have a widow in your heart, it will be the same in Chu and Jin. ”

Because Zhang Di had a very happy conversation with You Ji last time, he was disappointed that You Ji did not come as a messenger this time. This quick-tempered man even wrote a letter to reproach You Ji: "Since the last time the master returned to China, I have cleaned the humble room of the ancestors to prepare for the master's second arrival, and said, 'You will come to the Jin kingdom soon!'" But this time it was Dr. Zipi, and I was very disappointed! ”

You Ji replied with a smile: "I do hope to meet you again, but my status is low, so I am not qualified to be an envoy, and at the same time, I am afraid of disrespecting the great powers. Last time you said to me, 'There will be no more business for you!' As you said, I really don't have anything to do. ”

In October, Zheng Jiangong took his son to visit the state of Chu, he was the first prince of the Central Plains to arrive after King Chu Ling ascended the throne, so the reception standard of King Chu Ling was very high. King Chu Ling gave a poem "Auspicious Day" when he held a gift for Zheng Jiangong, which is a poem describing the hunting of King Xuan of Zhou, so the child began to prepare hunting equipment after the end of the gift. After that, King Chu Ling invited them to Yunmengze for field hunting.

At the end of the year, Ziya died, and Sima Zao went to see Yan Zi and said, "Qi has lost Ziya again!" ”

Yan Zi said: "What a pity! Ziqi (Luan Shi)'s temperament is probably not exempt from difficulties. The Jiang family is even weaker, and the office is going to perish! And the Chan clan is about to rise! Erhui Jingqiang is okay, but now that he has lost one, the Jiang family is about to overturn! ”