In the first month of the fourth year of Lu Zhaogong, Xu Miangong led a large delegation to Chu State, and it happened that Zheng Jiangong was also in Chu State at that time.

Zheng Jiangong considered that Zheng and Xu belonged to a feud, he didn't want to meet with his old enemies, and he had stayed in Chu for a long time, so he said goodbye to King Chu Ling and returned to China. But King Chu Ling seemed to be intent on matching the two, he kept Zheng Jiangong, invited the two to a banquet together, and invited the two to hunt together.

At this time, King Chu Ling had a further plan in his heart, he planned to bypass the Jin State, gather the Central Plains princes to the Chu State alone, and take the opportunity to attack the Wu State, but he must first ask the Duke of Jin Ping for advice. Therefore, King Chu Ling asked Zheng and Xu to stay in Chu to wait for orders, and sent Wu Ju to Jin to test the reaction of the Jin people.

Wu Ju came to Xinjiang and said to the Duke of Jin Ping: "The widow ordered me to report to the prince that thanks to the gift of the prince and the marquis, the state of Chu was able to participate in the army conference. The covenant reads: 'The respective subjects of Jin and Chu should take turns to meet the two great powers. But because of the country's many disasters, the widow has not been able to do so. Now that the country is stable, the widow is willing to marry the Chinese princes, so he asks the princes that if the big countries do not have troubles in all directions, they are willing to rely on the grace of the princes to inform the princes to hold an alliance. ”

After hearing this, Jin Pinggong was very annoyed; He asked Wu Ju to go to the post house to rest first, and immediately convened the ministers for a court meeting. But the little officer sent out to give the herald replied that almost none of the scholars were in the city; As a result, only the female uncle came alone.

Jin Pinggong said: "The people of Chu are really bold and shameless! They dared to leave aside the Jin State and convene the princes to join the alliance alone! It's like a concubine saying to her wife, 'Give me your seat, pack up and get out of the house!' The widow was very angry, but he didn't know how to reply to the Chu people. ”

The female uncle said: "The minister thinks it is better to agree to the Chu people. The king of Chu has just begun to be arrogant, perhaps this is because the heavens are going to make him succeed and increase his sins to bring down punishment! It is not yet known whether this alliance will be able to start and finish well, and Jin and Chu are both big countries favored by God, and if Chu is strong, Jin cannot compete with it. So you still promise the Chu people to benefit the people and cultivate virtue to wait for the result. If the king of Chu showed the princes with virtue, even the Jin kingdom would serve it, let alone the princes? If the king of Chu shows people with **, it is to abandon the princes, can the princes still compete with him for the world? ”

Jin Pinggong was still angry: "The Jin State has the 'Three Impertinences', which country dares to compete with the Jin State?" The Jin State is in danger and there are many horses, and Qi and Chu are full of disasters and difficulties; With these three, what kind of war cannot be won? ”

The female uncle Hou said: "The disaster of fighting with the war horse, and with the help of Qi and Chu, is not the 'three infallibles', but precisely the 'three deaths'!" Throughout the world, Siyue, Santu Mountain, Yangcheng, Taimur Mountain, Jingshan Mountain, and Zhongnan Mountain are all dangerous places in Kyushu, but they belong to different countries. The land of northern Hebei is an excellent place to breed war horses, but there is no big country. Therefore, it is impossible to keep the country by fighting dangerous land and war horses, and this has been the case from ancient times to the present. Therefore, the first king cultivated virtue to serve the people and ghosts and gods, and he had never heard of relying on danger and force.

"Nor is it worth looking forward to the calamities of neighbouring countries: the country either opens up its territory by means of troubles or by strengthening its communities; Or because of peace and quiet, they lose their land and lose their temples. What's the point of expecting a disaster?

"When the rebellion of Gongsun Ignorance occurred in the Qi State, the Duke of Qi Huan was finally able to ascend the throne, and the State of Qi still relies on the remnants of the Duke of Huan. The rebellion of Rick and Pi Zheng occurred in the Jin Kingdom, and as a result, the Duke of Wen was obtained, and the Jin State is still the leader of the alliance. There was no turmoil in the Wei and Xing countries, but they were destroyed by Chidi. Therefore the calamities of others should not be coveted.

"If the prince relies on the so-called 'three non-defeats' and does not cultivate virtue and politics, it is too late to save the country, how can he succeed? The prince still agrees to the request of the Chu people! 纣王**, Wen Wang Huihe; Shang perished and Zhou rose. How did the Western Zhou get the world because of the princes? ”

Jin Pinggong nodded in agreement, and he ordered his uncle to say to Wu Ju: "The widow did not go to Chu in person because of the complicated affairs of the society. Chu Jun actually owned the princes, so why did he deign to come here to ask the widow? ”

Wu Ju asked to intermarry with the Jin State, and the Duke of Jin Pinggong also agreed.

During the time when Wu Ju was envoy to the Jin Kingdom, King Chu Ling had always been uneasy. He felt that if he were the Marquis of Jin, he would definitely refuse the other party's rude request; How should you react then? "It is impossible to die down; Can single-mindedness succeed? Is it to reigniting the flames of war? This last point is the easiest to do. At least Zheng Bo and Xu Nan are still here in Bugu! ”

King Chu Ling couldn't bear the torment in his heart, so he summoned Zichan and asked, "Master said, will the Marquis of Jin agree to Bugu's request?" ”

Zichan replied, "Yes, why not?" Jin Jun is content with the status quo and has no ambition for the world; The doctors are insatiable and have no office; And back then, Song Zhimeng said: 'Jin and Chu are as one. If the Marquis of Jin does not agree, how can he reply to the king? ”

King Chu Ling's mood calmed down a little, and he continued to ask, "But will the princes come to see the valley?" ”

Zichan replied, "Come, why don't you come?" Obey the covenant of the Song Dynasty, become the joy of the great powers, and fear the great powers, why don't you come? If you can't come, I'm afraid there are only Lu, Wei, Cao, and Di, right? Cao was afraid of Song, and Lu was afraid of Lu; Lu and Wei were adjacent to the Qi State and were close to the Jin State. Except for Shikoku, no one from other countries dared not come. ”

King Chu Ling was in a happy mood, the sadness on his face disappeared, and he couldn't help but show his usual arrogant and complacent expression: "Then for all the requirements of Bugu, will the princes agree?" ”

Zichan said word by word, sonorously and powerfully: "It is not possible to succeed in others; Desire with others, do your best! ”

Soon Wu Ju returned to Yingdu to restore his life, and the king of Chu Ling was overjoyed and immediately sent envoys to the vassal states, asking the monarch to go to Chu to participate in the alliance.

In the summer, the princes of Chu, Cai, Chen, Zheng, Xu, Xu, Teng, Dun, Hu, Shen, Xiaoyi, and Huaiyi held an alliance meeting with the prince of Song in Shencheng; Lu, Wei, Cao, and Di did not send personnel to participate. Among them, the reason why Cao and Di did not come was that the country was in trouble; The rhetoric of the Lu people is to hold a big sacrifice; The rhetoric of the patriots is that the health of the monarch does not allow it.

King Chu Ling said to Zi Chan: "Master is really like a god! If the master comes to my Dachu, he will be given the position of Lingyin! ”

Zichan said: "There are many people like me in the Chu Kingdom, and the king just happened to ask me. ”

Wu Ju asked King Chu Ling for instructions on what kind of etiquette to use in this alliance, and he said: "I heard that small countries will only belong to large countries that are courteous. The king and the new princes should pay special attention to etiquette. Whether the state of Chu can dominate depends on the outcome of this alliance. In ancient times, Xia Qi held the enjoyment of Juntai, Shang Tang had the life of Jing Bo, Zhou Wu had the oath of Mengjin, Zhou Cheng had the collection of Qiyang, Zhou Mu had the meeting of Tushan, Qi Huan had the division of Zhaoling, and Jin Wen had the alliance of practicing the soil. Which one does the king want? Although the minister did not know the details of various etiquette, he was sure to understand it to Xu and Gongsun Qiao, and asked the king to make a choice. ”