During the twentieth year of the reign of Lu Zhaogong (BC522) and the twelfth year from the death of Zhaogong, there were civil strife in several vassal states. On the surface, these internal strife seem to be unnecessarily related, but at a deep level, they basically verify Shi Xie's sentence: "Only the saint has neither internal worries nor external troubles." ”

Three hundred years later, on the other side of the world, the Roman Republic had won the Second Punic War against Carthage, and the Roman Senate, after careful discussion of whether to destroy Carthage, decided that it would be better to keep a powerful foreign enemy as a fear for the Romans than to destroy the enemy and cause the Romans to be corrupted and degenerate by enjoying a peaceful and prosperous life.

This decision turned out to be very wise. More than fifty years later, Rome finally destroyed Carthage in the Third Punic War, and Rome has been in civil strife ever since; When Caesar conquered Gaul once and for all, the invincible Roman Republic was destroyed in a civil war.

Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, the Second Warrior Congress only temporarily eliminated the elements of war between states, but it could not eliminate the source of internal turmoil among the princes (internal disputes were disputes for power and wealth marked by land); Chaos is just a transformation from one form to another, and it is also the result of decades of accumulation. Wars continue to occur from time to time, but the belligerents have shifted from being a state to a faction within a country that is supported by a foreign power.

The civil strife in this year (12 years) began in Wei, flourished in the Song Dynasty, flourished in the Zhou, and finally ended in Lu. The turmoil of the Patriotic Republic is like a prelude to an epic drama, passing by lightly; followed by the Song Kingdom, which was chaotic and fierce, gradually getting better; Then there is the Zhou royal family, which is magnificent and grand; Finally, there is the country of Lu, and the peaks and loops are endless; There is also a small ** dedicated to assassinating the king's bureaucrats in the middle; In the end, it ended with the death of Lu Zhaogong.

This period of history is worth recounting because of the peaceful times and the chaos in the world.

At the beginning, Duke Xuanjiang of Weixiang had no son, and one of his favorite concubines gave birth to Gongzi Ji (that is, Gong Mengxi). Childe was born with a disability in his legs and feet, and he could only walk on crutches; Jingjiao later gave birth to Gongzi Yuan.

When Gongzi Yuan fell to the ground, Kong Chengzi (Kong Chengjun) dreamed that Uncle Wei Kang said to himself: "Liyuan, I will order my great-grandson Yu and Shi Gou to assist him." ”

And Shi Chao also dreamed of Uncle Wei Kang and said, "I will order your son Shi Gou and Kong Chengjun's son Kong Yu to assist Zuo Yuan." ”

Shi Chao went to see Kong Chengzi, and when it came to this matter, the dreams of the two were surprisingly consistent. The two then went to see Wei Xianggong together, and Wei Xianggong had just named the new big fat boy "Yuan"; As a result, Kong Chengzi and Shi Chao had a disagreement over the meaning of Uncle Wei Kang's order.

Kong Chengzi thought that Yuan meant the eldest son, because "Yuan" had an initial meaning, and Wei Xianggong had not named his son when Uncle Wei Kang gave him a dream; Shi Chao thought that it was Gongzi Yuan, because if it was Gongzi Xuan, Uncle Kang would call him by his name, and since Uncle Kang ordered their descendants to assist that child, of course he also knew his future name.

The two sides quarreled endlessly, and Wei Xianggong's good interest was ruined by the two, so he ordered Kong Chengzi to conduct divination in public. Kong Chengzi Linggui said: "Can Gongzi Yuan enjoy the defense of the country and preside over the society? "Encounter the hexagram "Tun"; He also said: "If you set up a son, can you succeed?" "I met the "Bi" hexagram of "Tun".

Shi Chao saw the result and said: "Li Gongzi Yuan is 'Yuan Heng', there is no doubt about it!" ”

Kong Chengzi asked, "Doesn't Yuan refer to the eldest son?" ”

Shi Chao said: "Uncle Kang and the prince are both named after 'Yuan' as their son, that is, they regard him as the eldest son. Gongzi is disabled and not a complete person, so he cannot be listed in the Taimiao Temple, and cannot be called 'long'. Besides, he said; 'Li Jianhou. If he is established according to the patriarchal system, then he will definitely become a 'marquis', so what is the 'benefit' and 'not establishment'? Therefore, this 'yuan' can only be Gongzi Yuan.

So Wei Xianggong adopted Shi Chao's suggestion, and immediately made Gongzi Yuan the crown prince. He also ordered Kong Chengzi to be the crown prince and Shi Chao to be the young master.

In the seventh year of Lu Zhaogong, Wei Xianggong died, and the five-year-old prince Yuan ascended the throne as Wei Linggong.

When Wei Linggong was old enough to understand the reason why he was able to ascend to the throne, he felt especially ashamed of his lame brother, as if his luck was based on his brother's misfortune. Therefore, he was particularly indulgent in his brother's misconduct. For the same reason, Gong Mengjie became particularly arrogant, as if he had exchanged this privilege for the power of the king.

Gong Mengjie liked to bully the doctor Qi Bao, and he seized Qi Bao's position as the secretary and gave it to his uncle Gongzi Chao; and invaded Qi Leopard's fiefdom. However, it is not a permanent occupation, but only a return to the state when it needs to bear the burden of forced labor, and it is necessary to return it when it is not needed. Qi Bao's announcement to Wei Ling was to no avail, and he could only be retaliated by Gong Meng's intensified revenge.

Gong Mengxi also has a grudge with Beigong Xi and Chu Shipu - these two guys rely on Wei Linggong's favor and often contradict each other, which embarrass him. Gong Mengjie hated the two of them to the core, and wanted to find an opportunity to get rid of them. He gathered a group of fellow party members to conspire, but before the action plan came out, Beigong Xi got the news.

There were also contradictions between Gong Mengzhi and Gongzi Dynasty. It turned out that Gongzi Chao had an affair with Xuanjiang, the Duchess of Wei Xiang, and the secret was soon discovered by Gong Meng. Gong Mengjie grabbed his uncle's pigtails and forced him to do something very risky and indiscriminate; Gongzi Chao had a slight complaint, and he threatened to go to Wei Linggong to denounce it.

By this time, Gong Mengjie had become a public nuisance to the country, and the guards regarded him as a plague and avoided it.

In this way, Qi Bao, Beigong Xi, Chu Shipu, and Gongzi Chao got together and plotted to make trouble. Among these people, Beigong Xi is an opportunist, so he played a very dishonorable role in the incident.

Qi Bao has a scholar friend named Zong Lu. At the beginning, Zong Lu wanted to find a position as a retainer in a certain doctor, so he asked Qi Bao to introduce him on his behalf. At that time, Qi Bao had a good relationship with Gong Mengxi, so he recommended Zong Lu to him. Zong Lu gained the trust of Gong Mengjie by virtue of his loyalty and ability, and was later appointed by Gong Mengjie as a horseman.

Qi Bao didn't want to hurt his friend, so he sent someone to say to Zong Lu in private: "What kind of person Gongmeng is, you know best in your heart. Don't be his rider anymore, someone is already preparing to assassinate him. ”

Zonglu said: "When the master recommended me to Gongmeng, he said that I was a loyal person; Gong Meng believed your words, so he trusted me and brought me to this position. Of course, I know in my heart Gongmeng's conduct, he did cause trouble in the office. It is my fault that I could not get rid of him for the sake of righteousness; But if I abandon him and flee, I will defile the Master's original words. Do it, for I will die for him, and serve a man from beginning to end. ”

In late June, Xuan Jiang released the news that Wei Linggong would go to Pingshou in Xiayi to escape the summer in a few days. The rebels began to intensify their preparations, ready to attack while the monarch was gone.

On the 25th, Wei Linggong left the capital. On the 29th, Gong Menghui was about to go to the gate of Gai (a Guo gate in the capital of Weidu) to preside over a sacrificial event. The rebels were informed in advance, and Childe ordered Qi Leopard to take action. Qi Bao pulled up two curtains outside the city gate, pretending to repair the city wall; In fact, behind the curtain there are many armor warriors. Qi Bao also ordered his retainer Zhu Frog to park two carts loaded with firewood near the curtain and hide the weapons in the firewood.