The etiquette system established by the Western Zhou Dynasty had long been a ritual collapse by the Spring and Autumn Period, not only the warring states between the princely states, but even the internal affairs of the various princely states, it was also a dark tide, as long as one was not careful, the monarch of the princely states could be overthrown by the courtiers below.
The most typical example is the Jin State, which was directly promoted by the three families. What this article is about is Zheng Guo.
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, Zheng Guo's strength was very strong, and even the State of Qi had to be Zheng Guo's younger brother, and he had to follow Zheng Guo's Eastern Expedition to the West as a thug. Even in the Warring States, Korea can truly rank among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States after destroying the Zheng Kingdom.
However, the fact that the country is strong does not mean that the monarch is also a hero. In October 606 BC, Zheng Mugong, the ruler of the state of Zheng, died, so his son Gongzi Yi took the throne, and was known as Zheng Linggong.
During the reign of Zheng Xianggong, he divided the military and political power of Zheng Guo among his sons, which led to the fact that when Zheng Linggong ascended the throne, most of Zheng Guo's power was held by his brothers. Gradually, he, the monarch, was constantly emboldened and became a decoration.
But even so, Zheng Linggong still has his own little arrogance. In 605 BC, King Zhuang of Chu sent a huge turtle to Zheng Linggong, which was also used as a gift from the State of Chu to congratulate Zheng Linggong on his ascension to the throne.
At first, Zheng Linggong wanted to raise this turtle well, but on second thought, raising such a turtle, and sending people to watch, and to feed it food, it was too much trouble, simply call a few chefs to come and make this turtle into turtle soup.
In this way, Zheng Linggong decided to hold a turtle feast and invited many ministers to attend.
At the same time, Gongzi Song and Gongzi were born, and the two prepared to go to Zheng Linggong together. The embarrassing thing is that Zheng Linggong's turtle feast did not invite the two of them.
Before arriving at the palace, Gongzi Song's index finger suddenly trembled several times, so he said to the Gongzi Guisheng on the side, look, my index finger trembled several times, which means that today we can eat a delicious meal.
When the two of them arrived at the palace, Zheng Linggong's turtle feast was also preparing to begin, and Gongzi Song immediately showed off to Gongzi Guisheng very proudly. This scene made Zheng Linggong a little surprised, so he asked why.
Gongzi returned to life and told what happened on the road, and as a result, after Zheng Linggong listened, he decided to tease Gongzi Song and hold a turtle feast, everyone had to eat, but Gongzi Song did not have to eat.
Not only that, Zheng Linggong also said in front of the courtiers, "Look, the spirit is not spiritual or you have to look at me, everyone has to eat what you don't eat, it seems that your index finger is not at all spiritual!" ”
Originally, Gongzi Song was very embarrassed because he didn't have to eat, and at this time, he was ridiculed by Zheng Linggong in front of his colleagues, which made him bear it? Walking to the top where the turtle soup was served, Gongzi Song put his finger into it and dipped it, and then put it in his mouth and tasted it.
Then Gongzi Song said, "Didn't the minister already eat turtle soup?" How could the subject's index finger not work? ”
After saying that, Gongzi Song whisked away with his sleeves. At this point, Zheng Linggong's face could not be hung up, and he immediately ordered that he should kill Gongzi Song. If it were not for the bitter pleas of the courtiers, Gongzi Song would have died on the spot.
This incident caused a deep fear for Gongzi Song, so he found Gongzi to be born the next day, ready to strike first. In this way, two nobles with real power were still very easy to deal with an empty monarch, and only a few months later, Zheng Linggong was assassinated by the killers sent out by Gongzi Song, and he reigned for less than a year.
The king of a country, because of a bowl of turtle soup, because of a joke, was assassinated, which had to be lamented.