During Qi Huangong's reign, with the assistance of Guan Zhong, he carried out reforms in internal affairs, economy, military and other aspects, accumulated a solid material foundation and military strength, and played the banner of "respecting the king and rejecting foreign countries". As a vassal, he praised the emperor to resist disrespect.
"Respecting the king" means respecting Zhou Wang's power and maintaining the patriarchal clan system in the Zhou Dynasty. In 655 BC, King Hui of Zhou had the intention of setting up another prince. From the beginning, princes and princes should be gathered to form an alliance with Zhou, so as to determine the orthodox status of the prince. The following year, because he fled first, he led the Coalition forces to crusade against Zheng. A few years later, Qi Huangong led kings of many countries to form an alliance with doctors sent by King Xiang of Zhou, and established the throne of King Xiang of Zhou. In 65 1 BC, Qi Huangong summoned emperors Lu, Song, Cao and Zhou Wang to slaughter Confucius in Kwai Qiu. On behalf of King Zhou, Duke Zai of Zhou officially appointed Qi Huangong as the governor. In the autumn of the same year, Qi Huangong presided over the Kwai Chung Alliance as the overlord. After that, it will demand and stop any violation of the authority of the Zhou royal family.
"Resisting foreigners" is to resist the intrusion of nomadic tribes Rong, Di and Nan Chu beyond the Great Wall on the governors of the Central Plains. In 664 BC, Dan Rong cut Yan, and the Qi army saved Yan. In 66 1 year BC, he attacked Xing, adopted Guan Zhong's suggestion of "please save Xing", repelled Di Bing who destroyed Xing, and established a new capital for Xing. The following year, Tijen attacked Wei and was killed. Qi Huangong led the vassal states to establish a new capital in Chu to defend the country. After years of hard work, he made a strong counterattack against Chu's repeated northward invasion. By 655 BC, the allied forces invaded Chu, forcing Chu to agree to pay tribute to the Zhou royal family. Chu also expressed his willingness to join the alliance headed by Qi and obey the command of Qi, that is, the Huling Alliance. The war of attacking Chu suppressed the invasion of Chu to the north and protected the countries in the Central Plains.
Qi Huangong's policy of "respecting the king and rejecting foreign countries" makes its hegemony more legal and reasonable, and at the same time protects the economic and cultural development of the Central Plains. It has made great contributions to the continuation of Chinese civilization. After he became prime minister of Qi State, he took a series of effective measures to make Qi State stronger and stronger. Qi Huangong, the monarch of Qi State, was elected as the leader by the governors. However, the Shanrong people in the north of Qi sent troops to attack the Yan State, which was allied with Qi State, in an attempt to weaken Qi State. The monarch of Yan led 20,000 soldiers to war, but in a place called Devil May Cry Valley, he was ambushed by Milu, the leader of Shanrong tribe, and only escaped more than 1,000 people. Then, Shanrong pulled out three cities, and Yan sent messengers to Qi for help. So, he led an army of 50 thousand to the state of Yan.
The monarch of an uncertain country also sent a general, Hu, to lead 2000 soldiers to help the war. Hu, appointed by Guan Zhong as the vanguard general, successively recovered the three cities lost by Yan State. But when I arrived at a place called Ligang, I was afraid to move forward. He said to Qi Huangong and Guan Zhong, "There is the Valley of the Devil May Cry ahead. If Shan Rong sets an ambush, we won't get there at all. Twenty thousand troops of Yan were buried here! " Guan Zhong had already planned his way to the Valley of the Devil May Cry. He said to nonsense, "Since the general is worried, you should follow at the end of the army." As he spoke, Guan Zhong took out his token: "Father Wang Zicheng, commander in chief Zhao Chuan! You two go to the former army and act according to the token, get ready and cross the Valley of the Devil May Cry tomorrow morning! "
Wang Zicheng's father and Zhao Chuan took the token and drove away.
At first light the next day, the chariot drove to the Valley of the Devil May Cry. I saw the horse's mouth caught in the net; The wheels of the chariot are tied with hemp skin, and the sound is very small; The soldiers standing on the chariot are dressed in armor and holding horses, which is particularly tall; Qi's flag made a "crash" sound under the blowing of the wind.
At this time, Milu, the leader of Shanrong branch, came out from the top of the Valley of the Devil May Cry with a small yellow flag written on it. When he saw the Qi army enter his ambush ring, he waved a small yellow flag and shouted, "Fight!" " Suddenly, arrows, stones and wood fell together, some hit the soldiers of the Qi army, some smashed the chariots to pieces, and some interrupted the flag of Qi.
Milu waved a mace and rushed down the hill with his troops. Milu rushed to a general who was still standing motionless in the chariot with several arrows in his body, raised his mace and gave the general a heavy blow on the head. Bang, Qi Qiang's helmet was knocked off. Looking closely, it turns out that the helmet is a stump covered with armor. Milu was shocked when she learned about the new recruits.
At this moment, the drums are loud. As soon as the milu deer heard the sound, he saw Wang Zicheng's father and Zhao Chuan, a warrior of Qi, coming straight towards him. Milu shouted and greeted him with a mace. He saw a tall man standing on a chariot in the distance, watching the two armies fighting, and concluded that it was Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi, and went straight to that man. No one can resist the attack. In an instant, Milu had killed Guan Zhong. Just then, dozens of arrows were shot from behind the chariot. Milu fell to the ground screaming. One of his generals rushed into the tight encirclement, snatched the injured elk back and fled to another tribe in the mountain glory of Guzhu country.
In this way, Guan Zhongzhi crossed the Valley of the Devil May Cry and solved the siege of Yan State. Guan Zhong's success is inseparable from Bao's knowledge, talent and good recommendation. In his later years, Guan Zhong said with emotion, "I made more money doing business with Bao. He doesn't think I am greedy; I screwed up when I asked Bao Shu Ya for something. He doesn't think I'm stupid. I ran away from the ground three times, but he didn't think I was timid and afraid of death; I was expelled from public office and he didn't think I was corrupt; I helped Miyako lose for a long time, and I was humiliated by prisoners. He didn't think I was shameless. My parents gave birth to me, and I know Baozi! "
Guan Zhong has a good friend named Bao, and their friendship is very deep. They do business together. When Guan Zhong makes money in business, he always gives himself more and less packages. Bao never argued with Guan Zhong about this issue. People secretly say that Guan Zhong is greedy for money and doesn't care about friendship. After Bao knew it, he explained for Guan Zhong that Guan Zhong was not indifferent to friendship, but greedy for money. He did it because his family was poor, and I was willing to give him more money. Guan Zhong called three times, but he escaped all three times. So people laughed at him, saying that Guan Zhong was afraid of death and had no spirit of brave sacrifice. Hearing this sneer, Bao knew that this was not in line with the actual situation of Guan Zhong, so he explained to people that Guan Zhong was not afraid of death, because his family had an old mother and he had to rely on him to support himself, so he had to do that. The friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao is very sincere. He also tried many times to do something good for Bao, but all failed. It not only failed, but also caused many new difficulties to the package. It is better not to do it well. Therefore, people think that Guan Zhong has no ability to do things, but Bao doesn't think so. He knows in his heart that his friend Guan Zhong is a very capable person. Things didn't work out because the time was not ripe. In the long-term exchanges, the two have forged a profound friendship. Guan Zhong told people many times that my parents gave birth to me and Bao Shu Ya knew me. Such a story is recorded in Guanzi Light and Heavy. Guan Zhong may be called the first master who launched an "economic war" in the world, and a leader of a big country who boycotted it.
Qi Huangong regarded Chu in the south as an "imaginary enemy" in Wang Ba's career, thinking about how to weaken Chu all day.
However, Chu's army was very effective, which made Qi Huangong a headache. He asked Guan Zhong, "Chu is a powerful country, and its people are proficient in fighting skills. We want to send troops to attack Chu, but I'm afraid we can't. A Chu state is very troublesome. How should I go in the future? " Guan Zhong said, "Please pay a high price for deer, a special product of Chu State. This trick will definitely work. " So Qi Huangong established a small town on the border with Chu, and sent people to Chu to buy live deer. The price of live deer in Chu is 80,000 yuan, so Guan Zhong asked Qi Huangong to send a doctor from China, Wang Yi, to buy it in Chu with 20 million yuan.
The king of Chu was very happy when he heard about it. He said to his prime minister, "That money is what everyone likes and the country relies on." On the other hand, deer are just animals. There are plenty of Chu States. It doesn't matter if you don't want them. Now Qi pays so much money to buy things we don't need, which is a blessing for Chu! God let Qi, a fool, take advantage of us. Great! Hurry up and give orders to let the people catch live deer and exchange the money in Qi's hand as soon as possible! "
In order to hype this matter, Guan Zhong also solemnly said to the official purchasing merchant of Chu: "If you can get me twenty live deer, I will give you one hundred catties of gold;" If you get two hundred heads, you can get one thousand catties of gold. Even if Chu does not levy taxes on ordinary people, the money will be enough. " So the whole Chu state was sensational: both the government and the people, men and women, old and young, were excited, which was quite a bit like "all the people speculating in stocks (or real estate speculation)" Ordinary people put down farm work and climb mountains to catch live deer.
At this time, Guan Zhong asked Peng Ji, the minister, to quietly buy and hoard food among the people of Qi and Chu: Chu earned five times more money than usual by selling live deer; Qi also bought five times more surplus grain than usual.
So Guan Zhong said to Qi Huangong, "Well, now we can attack Chu with peace of mind!" Qi Huangong asked, "Why?" Guan Zhong replied, "Chu took five times more money than usual, but it was already late in the farming season, and the grain could not be harvested for several months. Chu will definitely buy food then. " Then we will seal off the border. "Qi Huangong suddenly, so he ordered the closure of the border with Chu.
As a result, the price of rice in Chu soared, and the king of Chu sent people to buy rice everywhere, but Qi was deprived of food. As many as four-tenths of the population of Chu fled to Qi. Chu was badly weakened and surrendered to Qi three years later. Guan zhong is seriously ill. Duke Huan went to see him and asked him, "Guan Zhong is very ill. What are you going to teach me? " Guan Zhong said: "There is a proverb in the rural areas of Qi:' People at home don't have to prepare what is in the car when they go out. People who walk don't have to prepare things that need to be buried at home. "Now that I'm going to die, what else is worth asking?" Huan Gong said, "I hope Guan Zhong is neither humble nor supercilious. Guan Zhong replied, "I hope you will alienate Yiya, Vertical Diao, Master Chang and Wei Gongzi. Huan Gong said, "Yiya cooked her own son to satisfy my taste. Can such a person still doubt? Guan Zhong replied, "Don't people love their sons by nature? If your own son has a boiling heart, what love will he have for the king? Duke Huan added, "Can a man like Vertical Carving castrate himself to serve me? Guan Zhong replied: "It is human nature to cherish your body. If you have the heart to destroy your body, what love would you have for the king? " Huan Gong also said, "Can a witch who can always observe life and death and drive away diseases brought by ghosts still doubt? "Guan Zhong replied:" Death and life are predestined, and the diseases brought by ghosts are spiritual losses. The king refused to listen to his destiny and kept his spirit, but relied on the unchanging wizard, so he would do anything. " Duke Huan added, "Wei Gongzi served me for fifteen years, but my father died and didn't go back to the funeral. Can such a person still doubt? Guan Zhong replied, "It is human nature to have a father who doesn't love himself. I can't bear to go back to mourn my father's death. What kind of love will he have for the king? " Qi Huangong said, "I listen to you. "
After Guan Zhong's death, Yi Ya, Vertical Diao, Chang He and Wei Gongzi Fang Qi were dismissed. Since then, Duke Huan has been unable to eat incense, the inner palace is unstable, epidemics are everywhere, and state affairs are in chaos. Three years later, Huan Gong couldn't bear it: "Is Guan Zhong too careful? Who said that everything Guan Zhong said was credible? " So he called them all back. The next year, Huan Gong was ill, and the usual wizard came out of the palace and said, "The monarch will die one day." Yi Ya, Vertical Carving, and Chang Zhi wizards colluded with each other to make an insurrection, blocked the palace gate, built high walls, and forbade people to enter the palace, pretending that this was the order of Huan Gong. A woman climbed over the wall into the palace to see Huan Gong. Duke Huan said, "I want to eat." The woman said, "I have no place to get food." Huan Gong added, "I want to drink water." The woman said, "I have no place to fetch water." Huan Gong said, "Why?" Answer: "The maid-in-waiting replied,' The wizard of Chang left the palace and said,' You will die one day. "Yi ya, vertical diao, chang * * * mage conspired to block the door, build high walls, forbid anyone to enter the palace, so that food and water are nowhere to be found. Wei Gongzi's seven parties surrendered to Weiguo with forty bookstores. " Huan Gong sighed and said with tears, "Alas! Isn't it far away what the sages foresee? If the deceased knows, what face do I have to see Guan Zhong? " So he covered his face with his sleeve and died in the first place. The body was covered with a door panel, and it was not buried for three months and nine months until the maggots climbed out of the door.