In the eleventh year of King Zhuang of Zhou (686 BC), the state of Yu surrendered under the attack of the combined forces of Qi and Lu. At this point, Qi Xianggong's hegemony has reached a new height, as long as he can meet the princes, it is enough to be called a party overlord. However, Qi Xianggong did not take another step forward after all, and a sudden outbreak of civil strife not only killed him, but also temporarily interrupted Qi's road to hegemony.

The incident originated from a reversal by Qi Xianggong. Previously, Qi Xianggong had sent the doctor Lian Cheng and Guan Zhifu to lead the troops to guard Kuiqiu (now southwest of Linzi, Shandong), and told them: "The melon will go from time to time, and the melon will come from time to place." That is, the garrison lasted for one year. A year later, Lian Cheng and Guan Zhi's father did not wait for Qi Jun, who had changed guards, and the puzzled two asked Qi Xianggong to return to Linzi, but Qi Xianggong seemed to have forgotten the original promise and categorically rejected the request of the two. Guarding outside, eating and sleeping in the open, life is naturally not as comfortable as in the national capital. Seeing that there was no hope of changing guards, Lian Cheng and Guan Zhi's father were resentful, so they wanted to rebel and make trouble.

To overthrow Qi Xianggong, it is natural to find a person who is qualified to replace him to succeed him, and Lian Cheng and Guan Zhi's father thought of Qi Xianggong's cousin Gongsun Wuzhi. Gongsun Wuzhi is the son of Yi Zhongnian, the younger brother of Duke Qi, when Duke Qi was alive, he loved this nephew very much, and his living and eating standards were the same as Gongzi Zhu'er, that is, the later Duke of Qi Xiang, which naturally made the latter very uncomfortable.

As soon as Qi Xianggong succeeded to the throne, the standard of treatment of Gongsun Ignorance was lowered, and Gongsun Ignorance became dissatisfied with Qi Xianggong. Lian Cheng and Guan Zhi's father found Gongsun Wuzhi to discuss, and the two sides hit it off, and they began to plan intensively. In order to ensure the success of the rebellion, Lian Cheng also found an internal response in the palace of Qi Xianggong. Lian said that there was a cousin who was the concubine of Qi Xianggong, but she was not favored, and Lian said that he took the opportunity to lobby her to participate in the rebellion, report Qi Xianggong's movements to himself at any time, and promised to marry her to Gongsun Wuzhi as the main room after success.

A major rebellion is about to break out, but Qi Xianggong is at a loss. Perhaps it was the expanding power of the Qi State that made him more and more arrogant and lascivious. In the winter of this year, Qi Xianggong went out to play in Gudi, and when he was hunting in Beiqiu Field, he encountered an unusually large wild boar. It was not uncommon to encounter wild boars while hunting, but people in the early Spring and Autumn Period were very afraid of ghosts and gods, and the left and right attendants of Qi Xianggong saw this strange wild boar, and they thought that it was Peng Sheng, the son of the dead who had been deformed to seek revenge, and they screamed.

At the beginning, in order to be able to live forever with his sister Wen Jiang, Duke Qi sent his uncle Peng Sheng to kill Lu Huan while he was drunk, and afterwards in order to appease Lu Zhuanggong's emotions, he framed his uncle Peng Sheng and executed him. Peng Sheng was very resentful of Qi Xianggong's rebellion, and once shouted before being tortured that he would turn into a powerful ghost to seek revenge. When Qi Xianggong learned of this, he naturally feared and hated Peng Sheng. Now seeing this surprisingly large wild boar, and seeing the attendants on the left and right so flustered, he couldn't help but be furious, and bent his bow and arrows to shoot it.

After all, Qi Xianggong did something wrong, and it was inevitable that he lacked confidence, although this arrow was shot, it did not kill the wild boar. The injured wild boar was in unbearable pain, its front feet were in the air, and it roared loudly, but it frightened the suspicious Qi Xianggong into a daze and fell straight down from the military vehicle. Fortunately, the left and right attendants were quick and rescued Qi Xianggong with seven hands and eight feet.

After this trouble, Qi Xianggong naturally had nowhere to vent the nameless fire in his heart. When he returned to the palace that night, he found that he had broken his foot and lost his shoes and socks, and he could not find them, so he beat the waiter who managed the shoes and socks with three hundred whips to vent his anger. When Fei left the palace, he found that the people outside the palace were boiling, the lights were bright, and the sound of soldiers was bursting, and he was immediately arrested by the soldiers. The long-planned Lian Zhizhi and Gongsun were ignorant, and when they heard that Qi Xianggong was injured and had difficulty moving, they took this opportunity to launch a rebellion and led his men to attack the palace. When Fei saw them, he claimed that he had been abused by Qi Xianggong and was willing to cooperate with them, hoping that the rebels would not act rashly, otherwise they would alarm the palace, and once Qi Xianggong escaped, he would give up all his achievements.

Seeing that Fei was scarred, Gongsun Wuzhi and the others naturally believed his words and released him. Unexpectedly, Fei was a loyal man, and immediately after he escaped, he returned to the palace, told the news of Qi Xianggong's rebellion, and hid him behind the door. Gongsun was ignorant and saw that Fei Liang had not come out for a long time, and knew that he had been deceived, so he led his troops to attack the palace. Fei fought fiercely with the rebels for a while, and was finally outnumbered and killed at the palace gate.

In the face of the well-prepared rebels, Qi Xianggong's left and right attendants were no opponent at all. Gongsun Wuzhi and the others successfully broke into the inner room and killed Meng Yang, who was pretending to be Qi Xianggong to sleep, on the bed. The rebels searched everywhere, and finally saw Qi Xianggong's exposed feet behind the door, so they rushed up and dropped their knives in their hands. Qi Xianggong died at the hands of his cousin, this is also retribution, you don't treat people with kindness, others don't treat you with kindness, and then Gongsun Wuzhi was proclaimed as the monarch of Qi.

However, Gongsun's ignorant monarchy did not sit for long. He himself is not a virtuous gentleman, when he was still a son, he used to abuse the people in Yonglin place. The locals held a grudge against him, and when Gongsun Wuzhi ascended the throne, they took advantage of his trip to Yonglin to launch a surprise attack to kill Wuzhi, and even Chenghe Guan Zhi's father was not spared.

The country of Qi has now fallen into a situation where the dragons have no leader, and the so-called country cannot be without a king for a day. Qi Xianggong has no sons, and in addition to Qi Xianggong's sons, there are also Gongzi Jiao and Gongzi Xiaobai, and the new monarch will naturally be born between these two. However, at this critical moment, these two sons were not in the Qi country. Because Qi Xianggong killed his son Peng Sheng in the early years, his misdeeds have aroused the dissatisfaction and fear of the ministers, for his own selfish interests, even his own uncle can do it, who knows when the butcher's knife will fall on his head? Especially Gongzi Jiao and Gongzi Xiaobai are even more frightened.

Since Qi Xianggong had no sons, according to the inheritance system of "father dies and son succeeds, brother dies and brother dies", both of them are legitimate heirs to the throne. If Qi Xianggong one day used their intention to usurp the throne as an excuse, it would really be indefensible. So these two people ran to their mother's house one after another, and Gongzijiao's mother was from Lu, so he fled to Lu; And Gongzi Xiaobai fled to Ju country.

Although the two are abroad, they always pay attention to the domestic news, when civil strife broke out in Qi State, and the news of the death of Qi Xianggong and Gongsun Wuzhi reached their ears, Gongzi Jiao and Gongzi Xiaobai, who were in exile, immediately understood that it was a good time to return to China at this time to succeed to the throne. However, there are no two days, there are no two kings in the people, and there is only one king, and whoever returns to Qi first will have the upper hand. The future of Qi is still uncertain.

One day in the twelfth year of King Zhuang of Zhou (685 B.C.), smoke and dust billowed from the state of Ju (present-day Juxian, Shandong) to Linzi (present-day Zibo, Shandong), the capital of Qi, and dozens of rumbling military vehicles were speeding towards the northwest. In the middle of the procession, a young man in a white robe stood on the left, clutching the handrail and looking forward, his face anxious, as if he was expecting something; To his right was a middle-aged man with a loyal face, holding a long ge, who seemed to be the rider of a white-robed young man, who looked around with a nervous expression. The young man in the white robe is Gongzi Xiaobai, and the middle-aged man is called Bao Shuya, who is the doctor of Qi and the courtier of Gongzi Xiaobai. The purpose of this group of people is the vacant position of the monarch of Qi State.

After the outbreak of civil strife in the Qi Kingdom, Qi Xianggong died at the hands of his cousin Gongsun Wuzhi, who was immediately attacked and killed by the people of Yonglin. Gongsun ignorant murder and usurpation of the throne is not considered an official monarch, and the Yonglin people are only for revenge, not another coup d'état. They told the doctors of Qi that this operation was to kill the traitors, and they hoped that the doctors could set up another emperor and determine the state of the country as soon as possible.

At that time, the Guo clan and the Gao clan were the two largest aristocratic forces in the Qi State. Among them, the ancestor of the Gao family is the sixth grandson of Jiang Taigong, because he was sealed in the highland, so he was called Gongzi Gao, and later generations took Gao as the clan. Gongzi Gao's grandson Gao Jie, who once served as the Zhengqing of Qi Xianggong, originally had a close relationship with Gongzi Xiaobai. So he secretly contacted Xiaobai, the son of the prince in Juguo, and asked him to return to China as soon as possible to succeed to the throne.

Gongzi Xiaobai is the youngest son of Duke Qi, and his mother is the daughter of the monarch of Ju State. His early deeds are not clear, and he does not seem to be favored by the people of the time. At the beginning, Qi Xugong once ordered the doctor Bao Shuya to assist Gongzi Xiaobai as a courtier, Bao Shuya was very disappointed with this appointment, thinking that this was a manifestation of Qi Xugong's disapproval of his talent, and he actually closed his door. It was only under the persuasion of his friends Guan Zhong and Zhaohu that he changed his mind and accepted the appointment.

Guan Zhong, also known as Guan Yiwu, is said to be a descendant of King Mu of Zhou, but by his generation, his family has already fallen into the middle of the road, and in the Spring and Autumn Period, when the rites collapsed and the people were not divided, it was also very common for the prince to live on the street. When he was young, Guan Zhong's family was very poor, so he had to partner with Bao Shuya to do business.

Guan Zhong must take an extra share when he divides the dividends, the guys are indignant, but Uncle Bao doesn't care, he thinks that Guan Zhong's family is not good, so it is understandable to take more money; Later, Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya participated in the war between Qi and Patriotic Countries, and Bao Shuya was a fierce general with countless meritorious contributions; But Guan Zhong was greedy for life and afraid of death on the battlefield, and his comrades-in-arms couldn't see it, and they blamed Guan Zhong one after another, and it was Uncle Bao who came forward to explain for him, it turned out that Guan Zhong still had an old mother in his family who needed to be supported, and the so-called loyalty and filial piety could not be both. Because Uncle Bao was loyal and upright by nature, Guan Zhong always had a good life, and later became a doctor in Qi State.

Although Guan Zhong seems to be greedy for money and afraid of death, he is not an idle person, unlike the loyal and honest Uncle Bao, Guan Zhong has a smart mind and a lively mind. He saw the chaotic dynasty of Qi Xianggong very clearly, and also had his own unique views on the succession to the throne of the monarch.

Gongzi Xiaobai, who got the secret report, quickly borrowed a military vehicle from Ju Guo and set off for Qi State in the starry night. However, Xiaobai's ambition was not realized so smoothly: just as Ju Guo's military chariot was galloping towards Linzi, an army of Biao was killed in the oblique stab to block their way, and a general stood in the troop led by him. When Uncle Bao saw this person, his face changed greatly, and he hurriedly ordered the emperor to stop, and Heng Ge stopped in front of Xiaobai. The person who came was none other than Guan Zhong.

Although Gongzi Xiaobai was the first to learn about the recent situation of Qi State, Gongzi Jie also learned the news of Gongsun Ignorance's death. The resourceful Guan Zhong immediately judged the situation, he believed that Gongzi Xiaobai must have left in advance, and it was too late to escort Gongzi Jiu directly back to Qi at this time, so he could only send troops to intercept Gongzi Xiaobai on the road.

Uncle Bao knew that Guan Zhong was resourceful, and this time he must have come to prevent Xiaobai from returning to China, so he put on a posture like a great enemy, who knew that Guan Zhong didn't care at all, but he arched his hand at Xiaobai and asked with a smile: "I don't know where Gongzi is going?" Before Xiaobai could answer, Uncle Bao said sharply: "Yiwu has to say more!" I don't bother you about my father-in-law's affairs! As soon as these words came out, the soldiers of Ju suddenly became noisy, glaring angrily at Guan Zhong and his party, and had the meaning of doing it if they didn't agree with each other.

Who knew that Guan Zhong didn't think it was wrong, and still said with a smile on his face: "That being the case, Guan Zhong retired first." After saying that, he turned the troop and was about to leave, but he turned around, bent his bow and arrows, looked at it really, and shot at Xiaobai. It was too late, it was too late, but I saw Xiaobai screaming, falling to the ground, spitting blood, and passing out. Bao Shuya and the others were stunned, and immediately made a mess, jumping off the military vehicle to save Xiaobai, not caring about Guan Zhong and the others. Guan Zhong laughed, threw his bow, and led the troop chariot away.

Guan Zhongman, who thought he had succeeded, thought that in this way, Gongzi would have no worries. Who knows that the so-called wise man has a thousand thoughts, and there will be a mistake. It turned out that this arrow happened to shoot on Xiaobai's belt hook, and Xiaobai was in a hurry, biting his tongue, creating the illusion that he was dead, and successfully deceived everyone. As soon as Guan Zhong left, he hurriedly got up and rushed back to Qi with Uncle Bao. When the Lu State pressed the border with heavy troops and escorted Gongzi to return to Linzi in a wandering manner, Xiaobai had already succeeded to the throne with the support of the Gao family and the Guo family, which was the famous Duke of Qi Huan.

Gongzi Jiao, who was tricked by Gongzi Xiaobai's tricks, had to return to Lu and ask Lu Zhuang Gong for help. The furious Duke of Lu Zhuang immediately decided to send troops to attack the Qi State. In the autumn of that year, the Lu army invaded the Qi State, and the newly enthroned Qi Huan Gong led his troops to fight with the Lu army in the Qianshi, which was known as the "Battle of the Qianshi" in history. As a result, the Lu army was defeated, and Lu Zhuanggong even abandoned the military chariot he was riding, and sent his royal hand Qin Zi and Qi to drive to confuse the Qi army, and fled back to Lu in embarrassment.

The Battle of Qianshi marked the end of Qi's civil strife, and Duke Huan of Qi thus secured the throne. However, his hegemony has not yet begun, because the other protagonist, Guan Zhong, is still in the country of Lu.