Historical background
Yan Zi was the shangfu of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the second famous minister of the State of Qi. During his 50-year political career, he served as the secretary of three dynasties. He was quick-witted and good at words, and had saved the State of Qi from humiliation many times. He was a very famous politician and diplomat of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. When Yan Zi had just taken up the post of Shangqing, the national strength of the State of Qi was very weak, and the position of the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period had long been taken away by other countries. Qi Linggong fainted and incompetent, insisting on abolishing the old and establishing the new, making the already weak Qi state even worse. Later, Qi Linggong wanted to use the strength of the whole country to attack the State of Lu. Yan Zi's bitter persuasion could not be stopped. Finally, in 555 BC, the Duke of Qi Ling was defeated in the Battle of Pingyin and died of vomiting blood.
Qi Linggong
A visit to the Chu Kingdom
Later, when the Duke of Qi Jing ascended the throne, at that time, the State of Qi had to send emissaries to other countries many times in order to avoid being attacked by other countries, but due to the great reduction in the strength of the State of Qi, many countries were not optimistic about the State of Qi and wanted to take the opportunity to destroy this former hegemon. In order to preserve the national prestige of the State of Qi, Yan Zi could only choose to personally go out on horseback. In the course of his first mission to the State of Chu, the King of Chu knew that Yan Zi was short in stature, and wanted to take the opportunity to humiliate him, and by the way, destroy the prestige of the State of Qi, in order to promote the prestige of the State of Chu.
King of Chu
Because of Yanzi's small stature, the King of Chu ordered the soldiers to open a small door temporarily, and let the soldiers close the city gate, only allowing Yanzi to enter through the small door. When Yan Zi came to the castle tower the next day, he saw only a dog hole open. He told the soldiers guarding the city that he only entered through the dog hole when he visited the dog country, and asked the soldiers to ask whether the Chu kingdom was a dog country or a human country. The King of Chu had no choice but to open the city gate to let Yan Zi in. When Yan Zi entered the gate, he suddenly found that there were some very tall samurai around him. Yan Zi then said to the king of Chu that I had come here to promote exchanges between the two countries, not to fight with you, and asked the king of Chu if it was necessary to "greet" him with samurai. The King of Chu had a ashamed expression on his face.
Yanzi
When Yan Zi was eating and drinking at the banquet, the soldiers under the King of Chu also attacked him one by one, trying to use wheel warfare to humiliate Yan Zi and humiliate the State of Qi. However, in the face of repeated and repeated difficulties in the Chu State, Yan Zi did not sit still, but used his wisdom to resolve the embarrassment again and again, not only preserving his dignity, but also maintaining the majesty of the motherland. Truly worthy of being an outstanding diplomat.
Map of the State of Qi
Visit the Chu Kingdom again
In the winter of the following year, due to political reasons, the State of Qi again sent Yan Zi as an envoy to the State of Chu. The king of the Chu kingdom heard that it was still YanZi who was visiting, and he was determined to humiliate Yanzi once, a bloody insult. However, this time was different, when Yan Zi first came in, the King of Chu warmly received him and set up a banquet. However, just as Yan Zi was eating, a soldier suddenly came in, and the soldier told the king of Chu that there was a thief who wantonly stole the people's things and had now been arrested. The king of Chu then asked where the thief was, and the soldier reached it, and it was a Qi person. The King of Chu deliberately asked, are the Qi people so fond of being thieves? Yan Zi had a serious face, slowly stood up and asked, the oranges in the south and the citrus seeds in the north are originally born from the same root, why is there such a big difference after Zhang Da matures? In the final analysis, it is still different from the water and soil. The King of Chu was dumbfounded, stood up and apologized to YanZi, and continued to respectfully receive Yanzi.
Citrus aurantium
As a diplomat of the State of Qi, when the strength of the State of Qi was weakened, he was not afraid of the intimidation of the great powers, bravely faced one challenge after another, and stepped forward when the motherland was looked down upon and despised by others. He used his wisdom to maintain the majesty of the motherland. He was a great diplomat.