Let's first talk about who are the four great demons of ancient times? The first three were all concubines (mò) Xi (Xia Dynasty), Dai Ji (Shang Dynasty), and Chu Ji (Western Zhou), and the last one was Li Ji (Li Ji of the Spring and Autumn Period).
The first three are familiar to everyone, and today we will talk about this last Li Ji:
Li Ji was a native of Shanxi during the Spring and Autumn Period, and was originally the daughter of the leader of Li Rong, and in the fifth year of the reign of Duke Xian (671 BC), Duke Xiangong of Jin led an army to attack Li Rong (i.e., the Xi Rong clan). Before the expedition, The Duke of Jin Xiangong went to the divination official Bu Yigu, and the historical official Shi Su, who was in charge of divination, said to the Jin Xiangong: "This attack on Li Rong is 'victorious but not auspicious', please stop the attack", but the Jin Xiangong did not listen to the advice, and as a result, he hit the capital of Li Rong all the way. After the defeat of Lord Li Rong, in order to curry favor with Duke Xian of Jin, he had to send his daughters Li Ji and Shao Ji to the palace.
When Jin Xiangong first saw Li Ji, he was deeply attracted by Li Ji and immediately threw what Shi Su Gua Xiang said out of the Cloud of Nine Heavens. How beautiful is Li Ji? We can find out this from Zhuangzi's "Zhuangzi Qiwu Theory". "Mao Yan Li Ji, the beauty of man, the depth of the fish, the high flight of the bird, the elk see the decision." No one expected that the source of the bad luck in the gua elephant was such a woman with the appearance of a sinking fish and a goose.
As soon as Li Ji entered the palace, Jin Xiangong was fascinated, and never favored other concubines again, and it was not long before Li Ji gave birth to a son for Jin Xiangong, named Xi Qi. At this time, Duke Xian of Jin had a total of nine sons, five of whom were known in the scriptures: Prince Shensheng and Qi Jiangsheng; Gongzi Zhong'er and Yiwu, born to two beautiful women of the Darong tribe who paid tribute; Xi Qi, born to Li Ji; There is also a Zhuo zi born to Shao Ji who entered the palace with Li Ji.
After Xi Qi was born, Duke Xian of Jin was even more fond of Li Ji, and despite the advice of his ministers, he insisted on making Li Ji his wife, and after Li Ji became a lady, Duke Xian of Jin thought of also making Li Ji's son the prince, but he did not expect Li Ji to kneel down and say: "Shen Sheng has long been established as a prince, known to the son of heaven, the princes, and the world." If Shen Sheng is abandoned, the concubine would rather die. After hearing this, Jin Xiangong felt that Li Ji was not only beautiful, but also very virtuous, and even more loved Li Ji.
But in fact, all this is Li Ji pretended, in fact, she longed for her son to become the prince immediately, so that she could stabilize her position, after all, the mother depended on the son. However, she felt that the current situation was very unfavorable to her, and at this time, she proposed that the ministers must oppose it, and she would also fight the grass and snake, so that Shen Sheng's side would have a defense. So after thinking about it, she decided to send her own cronies Youshi to bribe Liang Wu and Dongguan Wu, the two favorite ministers of the Jin Dynasty, to help her.
After the "Second Five-Year Plan" accepted the bribe, one day at the imperial meeting, The total xiang Gongjin said: "Quwo is the land that the ancestors of the Jin Dynasty first sealed, and it is also the place where the ancestral emperor's temple is located, which is a very important place." Pudi and Qudi (in Ji County, Shanxi) are bordered by the Yellow River, close to the Rongdi foreign tribes, and are important border defense areas, and these three places should send their own people to guard the town, such as allowing Taiyu Shensheng to go to Quwo, Heavy Ear and Yiwu to Pudi and Qudi, and the lord is in the middle command, and the Jin Dynasty will be able to be as solid as a rock and as solid as a golden soup."
After thinking about it, Jin Xiangong thought that it was really inappropriate to send his sons to such a far and very desolate place to guard the town, not to mention that one of them was still a future Jin monarch. Shangguan Wu expected the JinXian Guild to think so, so he immediately said: "Although these places are desolate, they are vast in area and important in location. If these places can be built into cities, the Jin Kingdom will be equivalent to having a solid barrier, why not enjoy it?"
Jin Xiangong did not know what the plan was, and after listening to the words of the "Second Five-Year Plan", he ordered Shen Sheng to guard Qu Wo, and Taifu Duyuan was assisted by xing; Heavy ears go to Pudi, fox hair follows; Yiwu went to Qudi, and Lü Rao's nephew followed. In order to cover the eyes and ears of the people, craftsmen were sent to the three places to strengthen the city walls and build houses.
After successfully driving the three sons of Duke Xian of Jin and the ministers around them away from Gong Xiangong of Jin, the first step of Li Ji's plan to seize the heir was successfully completed. So she immediately implemented the second step plan: to find a strong backer for Xi Qi and Zhuo Zi. Picking and choosing, she chose Xun Xi. This Xun Xi was a man of great wisdom, and he had sacrificed the false Yu Yu to destroy the two kingdoms of Yu Yu with one horse and one horse, and was quite trusted by the Jin Dynasty. So Li Ji blew the wind in her ears wildly, and successfully made Jin Xiangong order Xun Xi to be Xi Qi's teacher.
After a while, Li Ji found that although Shen Sheng had gone to Quwo, the ministers still loved him very much, and Jin Xiangong had not mentioned the matter of deposing the prince since the previous conversation, so she thought about it and found that only if Shen Sheng died, her son could ascend to the position of prince. Coincidentally, one night Li Ji had a nightmare, dreaming of Qi Jiang, the mother who died and died. Li Ji thought about it overnight and planned the crucial third step of the plan to seize the wife:
Early the next morning, Li Ji summoned Crown Prince Shensheng into the palace.
Li Ji said, "Last night I dreamed that your birth mother had come into the palace, and I thought that my son had not been sacrificed for a long time." ”
Shen Sheng immediately said that he would return to Quwo to pay tribute tomorrow. After that, Shen Sheng sent the sacrificial meat and wine to the palace according to the custom after the ceremony, so that his father could eat it. Before Li Ji returned from The Jin Dynasty, she sent someone to secretly poison the sacrificial meat, and then when she offered justice at the banquet to pinch the meat, Li Ji stopped it with a loud voice: "Try to eat the food from outside." ”
Li Ji immediately poured a bowl of broth on the ground, and a pit of earth was immediately burned on the ground. Another dog was summoned, fed a piece of meat, and the dog died after a few screams. Xian Gong was still a little incredulous, and called a small official next to him and told him to eat the sacrificial meat, and the small official also died immediately.
At the instigation of Li Ji, Duke Xian of Jin was furious and immediately issued an edict to question Prince Shensheng. Some courtiers informed Shen Sheng of this in advance, and Shen Sheng fled to the new city. But Shen Sheng knew in his heart that the person who had drugged him was Li Ji, but he did not choose to explain it to his father. He felt that "I am old, not Li Ji, restless in bed, and unwilling to eat." That is, to resign, and to be angry, shall not be" Shen Sheng was too filial and obedient, and he was worried that after exposing Li Ji, his father would not be able to sleep well, so he preferred to bear all the crimes himself. Some ministers advised Shen Sheng to flee to other countries, but Shen Sheng believed that he had been charged with killing his father and that there was no place for him in the world, so he finally chose to commit suicide.
Later, Li Ji fabricated evidence to provoke Xiangong, saying: "Shen Sheng sprinkled poison, and Heavy Ear and Yi Wu should know." When Shigeru and Yiwu learn that Li Ji is plotting against them again, they quietly return to their respective fiefdoms. The suspicious and jealous dedication of the two princes did not quit and parted ways, and the more they believed it to be true. Immediately dispatched an army, divided into two routes, to hunt down Heavy Ear and Yi Wu.
The pursuing soldiers came to Pucheng, entered the palace, and grabbed the heavy ear. A petty officer named Bo Deng forced himself to commit suicide by ear. The heavy ear broke free of the shackles, turned over and fled, and when he raised his knife, he cut it, only to cut off the sleeve of the heavy ear's clothes. Since then, Heavy Ear has begun his own bumpy escape path. The other pursuing soldiers came to Qucheng, and Yiwu learned the news in advance and ran to Liang Guo to hide.
Not long after, Duke Xiangong of Jin died, and Li Ji finally got what he wanted and made his son Xi Qi the king, but no one expected that at the funeral, Doctor Rick and Pi Zheng made a secret appointment, sent his henchmen to wear different clothes, mixed in miscellaneous services, and killed Xi Qi when he was hanging filial piety. Ushi drew his sword to help, but was also killed.
However, Li Ji still refused to accept defeat, and together with Xun Xi, he supported his nephew Zhuo Zi, who was nine years old, to become king, but soon Rick launched a coup again and killed Zhuo Zi. Li Ji saw that the general trend had gone, and her own life was in danger, so she finally made up her mind and committed suicide by throwing herself into the lake.
In my opinion, Li Ji's death can also be regarded as evil and evil retribution, but it is a pity that Prince Shensheng was so filial and obedient, but he died young. You said that if Shen Sheng could bear the burden of humiliation like Heavy Ear and Yi Wu, know how to be flexible, and take care of himself in the face of danger, he would not leave such regrets. However, from the perspective of the course of history, all this seems to be predestined, and if Chong'er had not experienced such hardships, there would have been no later great achievements, and there would have been no Jin Wengong, one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, in history.
The image comes from the internet intrusion and deletion.
References: "Zuo Chuan Zhuang Gong Twenty-Eight Years", "Lienu Biography Volume VII", "Zhuangzi Qiwu Theory"
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