Duke Cheng, Year 17

In the seventeenth year, in spring, the troops of Wei, led by Beigong Kuo, invaded Zheng.

In summer, Duke Cheng of Lu joined Yinzi, Danzi, the marquis of Jin, the marquis of Qi, the duke of Song, the marquis of Wei, the earl of Cao, and the men of Zhu in attacking Zheng.

On the day of Yiyou in the sixth month, a covenant was made at Keling.

In autumn, Duke Cheng of Lu returned from the covenant.

Gao Wujiu of Qi fled to Ju.

On the day of Xinchou in the ninth month, the suburban sacrifice was performed.

The marquis of Jin sent Xun Ying to request troops.

In winter, Duke Cheng of Lu joined Danzi, the marquis of Jin, the duke of Song, the marquis of Wei, the earl of Cao, the men of Qi, and the men of Zhu in attacking Zheng.

In the eleventh month, Duke Cheng of Lu returned from the place where Zheng was attacked.

On the day of Renshen, Gongsun Ying died at Lishen. On the day of Dingsi, the first day of the twelfth month, a solar eclipse occurred.

The viscount of Zhu, Juqie, died.

Jin killed their grandees Xi Qi, Xi Chou, and Xi Zhi.

The men of Chu extinguished the state of Shuyong.

In the seventeenth year, in spring, in the first month of the Zhou calendar, Zisi of Zheng invaded the places Xu and Hua of Jin. Beigong Kuo of Wei came to the rescue of Jin, invaded Zheng, and reached Gaoshi. In summer, in the fifth month, the heir-apparent of Zheng, Kun, and Wan Hounu went to Chu as hostages. Gongzi Cheng and Gongzi Yin of Chu stayed in Zheng to guard it.

Duke Cheng of Lu joined Yin Wugong, Dan Xianggong, and the feudal lords in attacking Zheng, going from Xitong to Quwei.

Fan Wenzi of Jin returned from Yanling. He had his invocator and master of prayers pray for his death, saying, "The ruler is arrogant and extravagant, and has defeated the enemy. This is Heaven increasing his illness. Calamities are about to arise. Those who love me should only wish me to die quickly, so that I do not have to experience the calamity. This is the blessing of the Fan clan." On the day of Wuchen in the sixth month, Shi Xie died.

On the day of Yiyou, a covenant was made at Keling, in order to renew the covenant of Qi.

Zizhong of Chu rescued the Zheng army at Shoushou, and the feudal lords withdrew.

Qing Ke of Qi had a secret affair with Sheng Mengzi. They disguised themselves as women, covered with a carriage, and entered the side gate of the palace. Bao Qian saw this and told Guo Wuzi about it. Guo Wuzi summoned Qing Ke and reproached him. Qing Ke did not come out for a long time, and then told the lady, "Guozi reproached me." The lady became angry. Guozi assisted the marquis of Qi in attending the covenant. Gao Wujiu and Bao Qian stayed behind to guard the capital. When the marquis returned and was about to arrive, the gates were closed and travelers were searched. Sheng Mengzi made an accusation, saying, "Gao Wujiu and Bao Qian planned not to allow the ruler to enter the city, but to set up Gongzi Jiao. Guozi knew about this." In autumn, on the day of Renyin in the seventh month, Bao Qian's feet were cut off, and Gao Wujiu was expelled. Gao Wujiu fled to Ju. Gao Ruo led the people of Lu in rebellion. The men of Qi came to summon Bao Guo and established him. Originally, Bao Guo had left the Bao clan and come to Qi, becoming a steward of Shi Xiaoshu. The Shi clan divined about choosing a household manager, and Kuang Xuju was found to be auspicious. The Shi clan's household manager had a fief of one hundred households. The Shi clan gave Kuang Xuju the fief and made him household manager, but he yielded it to Bao Guo and also gave him the fief. Shi Xiaoshu said, "You were indeed the auspicious one." Kuang Xuju replied, "To be able to give it to one who is loyal and good, what greater auspiciousness is there than this?" Bao Guo served the Shi clan with great loyalty. Therefore, the men of Qi took him back to be the heir of the Bao clan. Later, Confucius said, "Bao Zhuangzi's wisdom was inferior to that of the sunflower; the sunflower can still protect its own feet."

In winter, the feudal lords attacked Zheng. On the day of Gengwu in the tenth month, they besieged Zheng. Gongzi Shen of Chu came to the rescue of Zheng, and the army encamped by the Ru River. In the eleventh month, the feudal lords withdrew.

Formerly, Shengbo dreamed that he was wading across the Huan River. Someone gave him a qiong gui to eat. He wept, and the qiong gui turned into tears, filling his bosom. Then he sang, "Crossing the Huan River, they gave me a qiong gui. Return, return, the qiong gui fills my bosom!" He was afraid and did not dare to have it divined. When he returned from Zheng, on the day of Renshen, he arrived at Lishen and then divined about this. He said, "I feared death, so I did not dare to divine. Now the multitude has followed me for three years, and there has been no harm." Having said this, by evening he died.

The marquis of Qi made Cui Zhu a grandee and had Qing Ke assist him, leading troops to besiege Lu. Guo Zuo was following the feudal lords in besieging Zheng. Because of the troubles in the state, he requested to return, and then went to the army at Lu, killed Qing Ke, and led the people of Gu in rebellion. The marquis of Qi made a covenant with him at Xuguan and restored his position. In the twelfth month, Lu surrendered. The marquis of Qi sent Guo Sheng to report the troubles to Jin, and had him wait at Qing for further orders.

Duke Li of Jin was extravagant and had many favored outer ministers. After returning from Yanling, he wanted to remove all the grandees and replace them with his own attendants. Xu Tong, because his father Xu Ke had been deposed, resented the Xi clan and was favored by Duke Li. Xi Qi seized the fields of Yiyang Wu, who was also favored by Duke Li. Xi Chou contended with Changyu Jiao for fields, put Changyu Jiao in fetters, and together with his parents, wife, and children, chained them to the same axle. Soon after, Changyu Jiao also became favored by Duke Li. Luan Shu resented Xi Zhi because he had not followed his advice and had defeated the Chu army. He wanted to depose him. He had Gongzi Fa of Chu tell Duke Li, "In this campaign, it was actually Xi Zhi who summoned our ruler. Because the eastern army had not arrived and the generals were not all present, he said, 'This battle will certainly be lost. I will then set up Sun Zhou to serve the ruler.'" Duke Li told Luan Shu. Luan Shu said, "I fear this may be so. Otherwise, would he disregard his own death and receive the enemy's messenger? Why does the ruler not try sending him to the Zhou court and test this?" Xi Zhi went on a mission to the Zhou court. Luan Shu had Sun Zhou meet with him. Duke Li sent someone to spy and confirmed this, and so he resented Xi Zhi.

Duke Li went hunting. He first shot game with the women, then drank, and then had the grandees shoot. Xi Zhi presented a wild boar. The eunuch Meng Zhang snatched it away. Xi Zhi shot and killed Meng Zhang. Duke Li said, "Jizi has insulted me!"

Duke Li was about to start a calamity. Xu Tong said, "We must first get rid of the three Xi. Their clan is large, and they have many enemies. Removing a great clan will not oppress the ruler; having many enemies makes it easy to succeed." Duke Li said, "Right." The Xi clan heard of this. Xi Qi wanted to attack Duke Li, saying, "Even if I die, the ruler will certainly be in danger." Xi Zhi said, "What a man relies on to establish himself are trustworthiness, wisdom, and courage. Trustworthiness means not betraying the ruler; wisdom means not harming the people; courage means not inciting rebellion. If one loses these three, who would be willing to be close to me? Death only adds to the enmity. What use is that? The ruler does have his ministers. If they are killed, what can be done about the ruler? If I am guilty, I have died too late. If I am innocent and am killed, it will lose the people. Wanting to be at peace, can that be achieved? It is better to await the command. One receives the ruler's salary and thereby gathers a faction. Having a faction and then fighting to the death with the ruler, what crime is greater than this?"

On the day of Renwu, Xu Tong and Yiyang Wu led eight hundred armored men, preparing to attack the Xi clan. Changyu Jiao requested not to use the multitude. Duke Li sent Qing Feitui to assist him. They drew their halberds, lifted up their lapels, and pretended to be in a quarrel. The three Xi were about to discuss matters in a pavilion. Changyu Jiao killed Jibo and Kucheng Shu with his halberd at their seats. Wen Ji said, "This is to avoid authority!" He then ran quickly. Changyu Jiao caught up with his chariot and killed him with his halberd. All their bodies were exposed in the court.

Xu Tong led the armored men and seized Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan in the court. Changyu Jiao said, "If these two men are not killed, calamity will certainly reach the ruler." Duke Li said, "In one morning, I have exposed three corpses of high ministers. I cannot bear to add more." Changyu Jiao replied, "Others will be able to bear it against the ruler. I have heard that calamity from without is called 'jian' (treachery), and from within is called 'gui' (internal disorder). Use virtue to defend against 'jian,' and use punishment to defend against 'gui.' To kill people without teaching them is not called virtue. For a minister to coerce the ruler and not be punished is not called punishment. If virtue and punishment are not established, 'jian' and 'gui' will come together. I request to leave." He then fled to the Di people.

Duke Li sent someone to Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan, saying: “I have matters concerning the punishment of the Xi clan, and the Xi clan has already accepted their guilt. You, great officers, should not suffer humiliation; rather, return to your positions.” Both of them bowed twice and knocked their heads on the ground, saying: “The ruler punishes the guilty and spares us, his servants, from death—this is the ruler’s grace. Even if we two servants die, how could we dare to forget the ruler’s virtue?” Thereupon they both returned.

The Duke made Xu Tong a high minister.

The Duke went to visit the Jiangli residence, where Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan seized him. They summoned Shi Gai, but he declined. They summoned Han Jue, and he also declined, saying: “In the past, I was raised by the Zhao family. When Meng Ji slandered them, I was able to avoid taking up arms. The ancients had a saying: ‘When killing an old ox, no one dares to take the lead.’ How much more so when it comes to the ruler? You several men cannot serve the ruler—what use do you have for me, Han Jue?”

The Shuyong people, because of the Chu army’s defeat, led the Wu people to surround Chao, attack Jia, and surround Li and Hui, thereby relying on Wu and neglecting their defenses. Chu’s prince Tuoshi attacked Shuyong and destroyed it.

In the intercalary month, on the day of Yimao, the last day of the month, Luan Shu and Zhonghang Yan killed Xu Tong. The common people were not attached to the Xi clan, and Xu Tong had led the ruler into disorder. Therefore, the Spring and Autumn Annals records in all cases: “Jin killed their great officers.”