In order to marry the increasingly powerful state of Qi, Cai Muhou married his sister to the Duke of Qi Huan, and in the state of Qi, people called her Cai Ji. It's not Cai Wenji, Cai Ji is lively, bold, charming and cute, and soon won the favor of Qi Huangong, and often took her to the lake in the garden for boating.

One day, Qi Huan Gong took Cai Ji to the lake by boat, Cai Ji saw that the weather was fine and sparkling, and she was very happy, so she naughtily shook the boat from side to side and joked openly with Qi Huan. Who knew that Qi Huan Gong didn't know the nature of water, and when he saw that the boat was shaking badly, his face turned pale with fright, and he drank Cai Ji again and again. But Cai Ji saw that Qi Huangong, who was usually dignified and serious, also had such an embarrassed side, and felt very funny, not only did not stop, but shook the hull of the boat even harder.

Cai Ji overestimated her status in Qi Huangong's mind, and Qi Huangong, who was furious by her dangerous game, sent someone to send her back to Cai Guo's mother's house in a fit of anger. When Cai Muhou saw that his sister was sent back, he understood that she had lost the favor of Duke Qi Huan, and even if she returned to Qi State, she would not have a good future. At this time, the state of Chu was growing under the leadership of King Cheng, and it was fighting in the south and the north, and there was a faint tendency to fight against the state of Qi, and the state of Cai was very close to the state of Chu, and it was also under the pressure of the state of Chu, so Cai Muhou simply married his sister to the king of Chu Cheng, in order to show favor to the state of Chu.

However, although Duke Qi Huan sent Cai Ji back to his parents' home, he did not divorce Cai Ji and severed the in-law relationship between the two countries.

Later, on the grounds that Zheng Guo reneged on the alliance with Chu and switched to Qi, Chu sent troops to attack Zheng many times, ostensibly attacking Zheng State, but in fact it was also a challenge to Qi's alliance status, so Zheng Wengong sent people to Qi for help. Duke Qi Huan had an old grudge with the State of Chu, and when he saw that the State of Chu had made such a provocative act, he wanted to immediately send troops to rescue Zheng.

But Guan Zhong saw that the key to this war was not Zheng Guo, so he advised Qi Huan to be fair: "It is better to save Zheng than to attack Chu, please unite all the vassal states to send troops together." Although Duke Qi Huan agrees with Guan Zhong's opinion, he also has his own concerns, although the princes of the alliance are good, but the momentum will inevitably startle the snake. So Guan Zhong gave Duke Qi Huan an idea, Cai State and Chu State are very close, so you might as well use the crusade against Cai State as an excuse to gather the princes, and then wave your army south to catch Chu State by surprise.

In the fourth year of Lu Xi Gong (656 BC), Duke Huan of Qi summoned the eight national divisions of Qi, Song, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Xu, and Cao to attack the Cai State. Soon it was defeated. Then he waved his army to the south, preparing to continue the attack on the state of Chu. When King Chu Cheng heard that Qi led the Eight-Nation Alliance to raid the border, he hurriedly sent Ling Yin Quwan to negotiate with the coalition forces.

After seeing Duke Qi Huan, Qu Wan asked unceremoniously: "The monarch is in the North Sea, and the widow is in the South China Sea, but the wind and horses and cattle are not related, you came to our Chu State today, and you didn't say hello in advance, what is the reason for this?" "The people of the Spring and Autumn Period continued the old rites of the Western Zhou Dynasty, paying attention to the fame of the teacher, the so-called name is not right, the word is not good, and the word is not good.

In the face of Qu Wan's questioning, if the Qi State side can't come up with a reasonable reason, the coalition army will be a nameless division, not only the reputation of Qi Huan Gong will be damaged, but even the morale of the army will be seriously hit.

So Guan Zhong, who was equal to Qu Wan's status, took a step forward and said loudly: "Back then, Gong Zhaokang ordered me to be the first prince of the five marquis and nine uncles, and the female was recruited to supplement the Zhou room!" 'The scope of the conquest given to our ancestors is from the sea in the east, the river in the west, Muling in the south, and Wudi in the north. The bud grass that the Chu State should have paid tribute to Zhou Tianzi to filter wine did not pay tribute on time, resulting in the failure of Zhou Tianzi's sacrifice to be held on time, so our monarch came to ask for it. When King Zhao of Zhou conquered the Chu State in the south, he never returned, so the monarch of our country came to ask for an explanation. ”

More than 300 years ago, Prince Zhao of Zhou led a large army to the south to conquer the Chu State, but the whole army was annihilated, and King Zhao himself died on the shore of the Han River. Taking the events of more than 300 years ago to question Qu Wan, Guan Zhong can be said to be strong, and because the Chu State did not pay tribute to Bao Mao, Zhou Tianzi's statement that there was no way to hold a sacrificial ceremony was even more deliberately difficult. So Qu Wan said coldly: "If you don't pay tribute, it's not our country's, and you will definitely pay tribute on time in the future." However, the matter of King Zhao's southern expedition and non-return has nothing to do with the Chu State, if you want to ask, you can also ask on the shore of the Han River. ”

In this battle of words, Qu Wan failed to shake the military spirit of the coalition army, and Guan Zhong did not catch any handle, so the coalition army continued to attack and stationed in the state of Chu (near present-day Yuncheng, Henan). A few months later, the state of Chu was also a little unable to resist, so he sent Qu Wan to negotiate peace, and Duke Qi Huan temporarily retreated his troops to Zhaoling. In order to show his military might, Duke Qi Huan ordered the coalition forces to set up a formation and summoned Qu Wan to ride in the same car with him for a military parade.

Gong Qi Huan first tested Qu Wan's attitude: "It is not out of the original intention of the widow so far, your two countries have been friendly since the time of the first king, why not continue to be friendly and rebuild diplomatic relations?" Qu Wan replied without being soft or hard: "If the king brings blessings to the society of our country, our country is naturally extremely willing." ”

Qi Huan Gong was speechless for a long time, and then pointed to the well-arrayed coalition army to show Qu Wan: "Look, who can resist the battle of the widow with this huge army?" What city can't be conquered by attacking it in this way? Qu Wan was neither humble nor arrogant: "If the monarch appeases the countries with virtue and politics, no one dares to disagree, but if you coerce by force, then the state of Chu has a good way to become a mountain and a natural danger as a city wall, and Tang Tang Han Water is a moat, although your army is numerous, it is useless in the face of the power of nature." ”

Qi Huan Gong saw that Qu Wan was soft and hard, and his words were also reasonable, the Chu State was not so easy to overcome, so he signed an alliance with the Chu State in Zhaoling to stop fighting and withdraw the army. Because Guan Zhong used the fact that Chu did not pay tribute to Bao Mao as the reason for Qi to conquer Chu this time, and Chu also promised to pay tribute on time, so afterwards, King Chu Cheng sent Qu Wan to visit King Zhou Hui with Bao Mao, which was regarded as fulfilling his promise and rounding the face of the two countries.

King Hui of Zhou was very happy to see that the state of Chu, which had no one in his eyes and had not come to pay tribute for a long time, came to show goodwill, rewarded the sacrificial meat to the state of Chu, and appeased Qu Jingsheng for a while, and greatly praised the Duke of Qi Huan.

After solving the problem of Chu, the Eight-Nation Alliance led by Duke Qi Huan had internal strife. Duke Huan of Qi wanted to return to Qi State, and the nearest way was to pass through the territory of Chen State and Zheng State, but the coalition army was numerous, and it was very uneasy for Chen Guo's doctor Yuan Taotu to pass through Chen State's territory, and the purpose of this expedition had been achieved, and he was unwilling to supply the food and materials needed by the army.

So, Yuan Taotu found the doctor Zheng Shenhou to discuss: "The teacher is between Chen and Zheng, and the country will be very sick." Wouldn't it be better to go east, go to the place of Dongyi to show military might, and then go back along the seaside? Zheng Shenhou thought about it and replied very happily: "Good! Seeing that Dr. Zheng Guo also said so, Yuan Taotu felt that he was more sure that he would succeed in discussing this matter with Duke Qi Huan, so he happily went to meet Duke Qi Huan and asked him to allow a new route to return to the army. Qi Huan Gong thought about it for a while, and didn't think of any harm in the new route, so he agreed to Yuan Taotu's request.

When Zheng Shenhou saw that Yuan Tao Tu had really done this, he went to see Qi Huan Gong and said to him: "The army is tired and old, and if you encounter an enemy from the east, you are afraid that it will not be available." Wouldn't it be good if we went back from Chen and Zheng, and we would not encounter enemies, and the two countries would jointly fund grain and grass supplies! Qi Huan Gong thought that this was indeed the case, and also figured out Yuan Taotu's intention to cross the river and demolish the bridge, so he ordered Yuan Taotu to be arrested in a fit of anger. At the same time, he was also very satisfied with Zheng Shenhou's loyalty to him, and rewarded Zheng Guo with the Tiger Pass (now Gongyidong, Henan). In this way, Zheng Shenhou used a trick to empty the white wolf, not only got the tiger prison, but also strengthened the relationship between Qi and Zheng Guo.

After arresting Yuan Taotu, the more Duke Qi Huan thought about it, the more angry he became, so he led the princes to attack Chen and crusade against his disloyalty to the alliance of all countries. Chen Guo was just a small country that followed Qi and tried to get a piece of the pie, and he couldn't withstand the pressure of the army at all, so he hurriedly announced his guilt to Qi Huan and sued for peace. After all, Chen Guo is an ally of Qi State, and there is no big fault, Qi Huan Gong led a large army to attack, just to show his might, seeing that Chen Guo was so obedient, he withdrew his army, and magnanimously returned Yuan Tao Tu to Chen Guo.

In the farce of the crusade against Chen Guo, the biggest benefit was an unexpected person. Xu Guo and Qi Guo are both vassal states surnamed Jiang, and Xu Mugong personally led the army to participate in the coalition army, but this old man who has been sitting on the throne of the monarch for 38 years could not bear the long journey and the journey was tiring, and he died in the army.

Originally, the so-called Xu Mugong was nothing more than an honorific title, and the title of Xu Guo was actually just a baron, but according to the Zhou rites, if the princes died in the court meeting, the funeral ceremony could be added to the first class, and those who died in royal affairs could be added to the second class. In order to show his attitude of respecting the king and acting according to Zhou etiquette, and also to show that his expedition to Chu and Chen was not for the purpose of being angry for himself, but for Zhou Tianzi to crusade against disobedience and disloyalty for the vassal states, he promoted Xu Mugong to two levels and buried him according to the etiquette of the marquis.

Showing his majesty in front of the vassal states, Duke Qi Huan was not satisfied, and further stretched out his hand to the abolition of the royal family. At that time, the reigning son of Zhou Tianzi was Ji Lang, the king of Zhou Hui, and his crown prince Zheng was born to the first queen, and after the death of the first queen, the king of Zhou Hui set up another queen. The situation has been like this for a long time, the new queen has been trying to make King Zhou Hui abolish the crown prince Zheng and set up his son Prince as the crown prince, King Zhou Hui is naturally unwilling to disobey the wishes of his beloved wife, but abolishing the elder and the young is a taboo against the etiquette system, and it cannot be carried out in a big way, so the matter dragged on.

After the Duke of Qi Huan found out, he felt that as the overlord of the world, he ordered all vassal states to also interfere with the unruly behavior of the Zhou royal family, so he sent someone to summon Guan Zhong to discuss. Guan Zhong said: "This matter is easy to do, please assemble the princes, and then invite the prince Zheng to participate, and show the prince Zheng to the world, and then Zhou Tianzi will not be able to secretly change the crown prince." ”

In the fifth year of the reign of Lu Xi (655 B.C.), the Duke of Qi Huan summoned Lu, Qi, Song, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Xu, and Cao to a meeting in Shouzhi in the name of the crown prince of Zhou, and asked King Hui of Zhou to send the crown prince Zheng to attend the meeting and meet the princes. King Hui of Zhou was caught off guard, and he couldn't suddenly change the crown prince, so he had to send the prince Zheng to attend the rally. After this opportunity, Prince Zheng established good relations with the princes of various countries, and his position was also consolidated, so he was very grateful to the Duke of Qi Huan. But King Hui of Zhou was angry with Duke Qi Huan, and the dignified Zhou Tianzi was calculated by his subordinates, and when he returned to the harem, he would be complained by the queen, so he sent Duke Zhou to summon Duke Zheng Wen. Originally, Zheng Guo was an ally of Qi State, but the alliance between the two countries had a rift, and King Hui of Zhou planned to take revenge on Duke Huan of Qi from now on.

At the beginning, Zheng Shenhou, a doctor under Zheng Wengong, betrayed Chen Guo's doctor Yuan Taotu and obtained the Tiger Prison Pass from Qi Huan Gong, causing Chen Guo not only to not get any benefits from the joint conquest of Chu, but was attacked by the coalition forces of various countries, and Yuan Taotu was even more disgraced. However, Yuan Taotu is a very smart person, and after being framed once, he learned to repay the other way.

After Yuan Taotu regained his freedom, he first went to find Zheng Shenhou and persuaded him to build a city wall for the newly obtained feudal Hujiao Pass, and said very sincerely: "Build the city a little stronger and gorgeous, so that you can know your name from far and near, and pass it on to your descendants." Zheng Shenhou hesitated and said, "You are right, but I don't have so much money to repair the city, how can this be good." Yuan Tao smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this, I'll help you raise funds." ”

Yuan Tao scribbled his words and believed it, and sure enough, he raised funds from the princes for Zheng Shenhou, and with the support of all directions, the city wall of the Tiger Prison Pass was quickly built. Yuan Tao Tu saw that the time had come, so he met with Zheng Wengong and said: "Zheng Shenhou has built the city of the newly feudal tiger prison very strongly, does the prince know about this?" Zheng Wengong felt inexplicable, it was normal to repair the Fengyi city, why did Yuan Taotu ask mysteriously? So Zheng Wengong said: "The widow knows." ”

Yuan Taotu asked again: "Does the prince know who gave this tiger prison seal to Zheng Shenhou?" Zheng Wengong said: "I know, it's Qi Huangong." Yuan Taotu said: "How could Duke Qi Huan reward the doctors of other countries for no reason? And as soon as Zheng Shenhou got the Tiger Prison Pass, he strengthened the city wall, which is obviously that Zheng Shenhou has taken refuge in Duke Qi Huan and is about to betray you! Zheng Wengong was shocked into a cold sweat, not only arrested Zheng Shenhou for punishment, but also became wary of Qi Huangong from then on, and had plans to betray the alliance.

King Zhou Hui knew that Zheng Wengong and Qi Huan had a disagreement, so he said to Zheng Wengong: "Qi and Chu have been fighting each other for many years, and your Zheng State is not at peace. King Zhou Hui's words entered the heart of Zheng Wengong, and Zheng Wengong thought that with the support of King Zhou Hui and the protection of the two great powers of Chu and Jin, Zheng Guo would be able to rest easy, so he no longer participated in the gathering of princes convened by Duke Qi Huan.

Seeing that Zheng Guo did not come to participate in the alliance for no reason, and would not tolerate this kind of provocation of the majesty of the alliance leader, he summoned the coalition forces of various countries to attack Zheng Guo, and Chu State really came to the rescue several times, but Qi Huan Gong repeatedly came to attack, and Zheng Wengong was unbearable, so he could only kill Zheng Shenhou to sue for peace with Qi State. Zheng Shenhou was originally the favored concubine of King Wen of Chu, and fled to Zheng State after the death of King Wen of Chu to serve Zheng State, and Zheng Wengong's killing of him was regarded as an expression of alienating Chu and rejoining Qi State. Later, Zheng Wengong asked Qi again for an alliance, and after Guan Zhong's persuasion, Qi Huangong also generously accepted.

After this incident, not only Zheng Guo, but even the princes of all countries in the world understood that Zhou Tianzi was unreliable, and he had to closely follow Qi to protect himself, so the hegemony of Qi Huan was even more solid. Soon after, King Hui of Zhou died, and the crown prince Zheng was worried that his younger brother and uncle would cause chaos, so he kept the mourning secret, and at the same time sent people to the state of Qi to ask for assistance. The Duke of Qi Huan held a general meeting of the princes in Tao (now Lankaodong, Henan) and jointly supported the crown prince Zheng to ascend the throne, which was the king of Zhou Xiang. After gaining the recognition and support of the princes and consolidating the throne, King Xiang dared to mourn for his father, King Zhou Hui.

After several conquests and political maneuvers, Duke Huan of Qi not only shocked the princes, consolidated the status of the alliance leader, but also suppressed the light of Zhou Tianzi, so that the princes did not dare to rebel, in addition, he also easily influenced the abolition of Zhou Tianzi, and the hegemony of Qi has tended to its peak.