Duke Zhuang of Qi came to Cui Mansion to visit Cui Zhu himself. It’s just that Zhuang Gong’s drunkard’s intention is not to drink, but to find an opportunity to have an affair with Cui Zhu’s wife. So Cui Zhu ordered a group of retainers to kill Duke Zhuang of Qi.
At that time, the ministers and common people of Qi State were afraid of Cui Zhu’s authority, and most of them dared to be angry but did not speak out, and no one dared to take the risk to go to Cui’s house to mourn for Duke Zhuang and collect his body.
Only Yanzi is not afraid of Cui’s power. He came to Cui’s house, lay down on Zhuang Gong’s body and wept bitterly. After all, the king and his ministers are at one another, and Yan Zi worships his ancestors and performs the last gift of being a man and a minister for Duke Zhuang.
Yan Zi’s words and deeds, many people may think that he is ignorant of current affairs. Cui Zhu’s retainers threatened to kill this “little man” who was ignorant of current affairs (Note: Yan Zi was less than 1.4 meters tall).
Yanzi has a very high reputation in the ruling and opposition parties of Qi State. The treacherous official Cui Zhu was domineering, but he was also intimidated by his prestige, so he didn’t dare to make mistakes without authorization. Cui’s killing of Duke Zhuang had already ignited public anger, and if he killed Yanzi again, he was worried that it would stir up a civil uprising and it would be difficult to end, so he prevented his retainers from assassinating Yanzi.
After the death of Duke Zhuang of Qi, Cui Zhu summoned all the dignitaries, generals and other dignitaries to the ancestral temple to swear an oath and form an alliance with the Cui family. Just in case, Cui Zhu ordered thousands of warriors to surround the ancestral temple.
Cui Zhu asked all the civil servants and military generals who participated in the meeting to throw their swords into a big pit dug in advance, so as to avoid someone coming out to assassinate when forming an alliance. Only Yan Zi did not follow suit. Cui Zhu killed seven people who did not swear loudly because their fingers were not stained with blood.
When it was Yan Yu’s turn to swear an oath, Cui Zhu’s oath said: “Anyone who does not attach himself to the Cui family but to the Duke of Qi will suffer an ominous disaster!” In layman’s terms, whoever disobeys the Cui family will suffer badly. die.
Yanzi lowered his head, swallowed a mouthful of animal blood, raised his head and shouted to the sky: “Anyone who does not attach himself to the Duke of Qi but to the Cui family will suffer an ominous disaster!”
Yanzi had the guts to swear to heaven in public and in front of Cui Shi that he would “curse” those who violated the Qi government, including the regicide Cui Zhu.
Cui Zhu was furious, and immediately took a spear to Yanzi’s chest, hooked his halberd around his neck, and said sharply to Yanzi, “Now you immediately change your oath, and you and I will share the kingdom of Qi; if you If you don’t change your oath, I’ll kill you now!”
Yan Zi said: “Cui Zi, haven’t you studied the “Book of Songs”? There is a poem in the “Book of Songs” that says: “Momoge 藟, extended to Tiaomei. Kaidi Junzi, I will not return to my blessing.” Is it possible that I, Yan Ying Can one seek blessings in evil ways? Think about this sentence!”
In public, Cui Zhu did not dare to arouse the anger of the people, so he suppressed his anger and said to the people around him, “Yanzi is a virtuous man, you must not kill him.” So he ordered to throw away his weapons and take his entourage with him. Hu left.
“Momoge vines extend beyond the strips. Gentleman Kaidi, seek blessings and never return” comes from “The Book of Songs · Daya · Hanlu”, to the effect that: densely packed kudzu vines climb up the trunks and branches. A gentleman who is kind and pleasing to others does not seek blessings through evil ways.
After Yan Zi swore an oath to the sky, he got into the car. Thinking of the terrible scene just now, his coachman wanted to drive the carriage quickly.
Yanzi patted the coachman’s hand and said, “Be quiet and steady, and don’t lose your driving ethics! If you walk fast, you may not be alive; if you walk slowly, you may die. You see wild deer grow on the mountain, but Its life is in the hands of the chef. Now my life, Yan Ying, is also in the hands of others.”
In this regard, “Lu Shi Chunqiu” commented: Yanzi can be said to understand fate. Fate refers to not knowing why this happened, but in the end it was unexpected. People who rely on cleverness and trickery to do things can’t understand this.
Therefore, life may not be obtained if you get close to it; you may not lose it if you leave it. National scholars know that fate is such a thing, so when encountering a matter of life and death, they make decisions according to the principle of giri and face it calmly.
For more articles, please click on the[Lu’s Spring and Autumn·Stories Collection]series.
From “Lu’s Spring and Autumn Annals by the King – Eighth Knowledge Points”