As Fei Zhong and You Hun had predicted, Su Hu refused to send his daughter to the palace, sternly declaring: "I have heard that when a ruler cultivates virtue and governs diligently, all people will be pleased and the world will follow him, and the mandate of heaven will last forever. In the past, the Xia dynasty lost its rule, indulging in debauchery and wine; only our ancestors, who did not indulge in sensual pleasures or accumulate wealth, who rewarded officials for their virtue and merit, and who were lenient and benevolent, were able to restore order to the Xia dynasty, establish trust among the people, and ensure the prosperity of the state and the preservation of the mandate of heaven. Now Your Majesty does not follow the example of your ancestors but emulates the Xia king, which is the path to ruin." "Moreover, if a ruler is obsessed with lust, he will surely overthrow the state; if a high-ranking official is obsessed with lust, he will surely destroy the ancestral temples; if a commoner is obsessed with lust, he will surely harm himself. Moreover, the ruler is the model for his subjects. If the ruler does not follow the Way, the subjects will be corrupted and will form cliques to commit evil. How can the affairs of the world be tolerated? I fear that the Shang dynasty's more than six hundred years of foundation will surely be disrupted by Your Majesty." Emperor Xin was furious upon hearing this and wanted to execute Su Hu. Fei Zhong and You Hun felt that merely beheading Su Hu would not be enough to quell their anger. They wanted to ensure that Su Hu's family was destroyed before they would be satisfied. So they slandered Su Hu, urging Emperor Xin to release him and have Su Hu send his daughter back. They reasoned that Su Hu, given his character, would not send her back. In that case, when the emperor was enraged and the heavenly army arrived, Su Hu's entire family would naturally be wiped out.
After returning to the post station, Su Hu, influenced by his retainers, wrote the poem, "The ruler has corrupted the principles of subject and subject, and has ruined the five constant virtues. Su Hu of Jizhou will never pay homage to Shang again!" He then led his retainers to escape from Chaoge and return to his homeland.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xin was furious and personally led a large army to attack. However, he was opposed by his ministers and eventually decided to send the Marquis of the West, Ji Chang, and the Marquis of the North, Chong Houhu, to lead their respective armies. The court officials were shocked and at a loss for what to do.
For the past two years, Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, had been extremely displeased upon hearing of Emperor Xin's misconduct, while Ji Fa secretly rejoiced. This time, upon hearing of Su Hu's rebellion in Chaoge and that Emperor Xin had ordered him and Chong Houhu to lead an expedition against him, Ji Chang was filled with worry. He thought, "Su Hu has been my friend for many years, and his daughter Daji and my son Boyi Kao are deeply in love and have long been secretly betrothed. Now the King has ordered me to attack him; it's a real dilemma. If I don't, I'm disloyal; if I do, I'm unjust. It's truly troubling." He pondered for a long time, unable to make a decision. Just then, Ji Fa came and asked, "Father, is it because the King ordered you to attack Uncle Su?" Ji Fa had performed well in recent years and was deeply favored by Ji Chang. Hearing Ji Fa's words, Ji Chang frowned and sighed, "Indeed. Su Hu and I are close friends, and his daughter Daji..." "In my early years, I was betrothed to your brother, Boyi Kao. If I were to accuse him, it would be unjust," Ji Fa said. "However, this matter is the king's order. If Father does not punish Uncle Su, he would be disloyal. I imagine Father is in a dilemma because of this." Ji Fa's words struck a chord with Ji Chang, who nodded and said, "Indeed, it is a dilemma." Seeing Ji Chang's dilemma, Ji Fa's eyes darted around, and he said, "Father, please hear my words. Punishing Uncle Su is indeed a very difficult matter, but it is the king's fault. The king favors sycophants, and the court is corrupt. Uncle Su's rebellion in Chaoge, though improper, is ultimately due to the king's lack of virtue." This fellow was determined to change Ji Chang's mindset of loyalty and filial piety.
Ji Chang was furious upon hearing this, saying, "How dare a son of a concubine have such thoughts? The king's actions are ordained by Heaven. As ministers of Yin Shang, we should be entrusted with advising the king, not pointing out his faults!" Ji Fa was disappointed: Father is still the same as ever. This matter must be handled slowly. Otherwise, if I push him too far, who knows what he might do, or even kill me... Wait, kill me... Kill? Kill! Hmph, that's it. If you piss me off, I'll make sure you all suffer the same fate.
Ji Fa's eyes darted around again, and he said, "Father, please calm down. That's not what I meant. In my opinion, Your Majesty is only temporarily misled by villains. Back then, Your Majesty was a man of great talent and strategy, skilled in governing the country, and admired by all under heaven. Now, this matter must be caused by those two traitors, Fei and You, bewitching Your Majesty." Ji Chang nodded in agreement. In his view, King Zhou was indeed misled by treacherous people.
Ji Fa continued, "The King's order for Father to campaign against Uncle Su is actually beneficial to Uncle Su as well." Seeing Ji Chang's doubt, Ji Fa continued, "Father and Uncle Su are close friends, and Daji has also formed a marriage alliance with my elder brother. Although Uncle Su rebelled, it was out of necessity. While we know this, it doesn't mean others do. The King has also sent the Marquis of the North to accompany you on the expedition. If the Marquis of the North is unaware of this situation and goes to war with Uncle Su, it will be detrimental to the people of Ji Province. Father and Uncle Su are close friends, and if Father can arrive in Ji Province as soon as possible, perhaps he can persuade Uncle Su to abandon his rebellious intentions and return to Chaoge with you to apologize to the King." He paused, then continued, "After Father and Uncle Su return to Chaoge, they should take Elder Brother to report everything to the King, explaining Elder Brother's marriage to Uncle Su's daughter, Daji. At the same time, they should persuade the King to eliminate Fei and You, lest these two harm the court. Once they are gone, the King will regain his wisdom and naturally realize his past mistakes. He will certainly not make things difficult for Uncle Su again. If Uncle Su sincerely repents, the King might even grant a decree in his joy, allowing Elder Brother and Daji to marry." Ji Fa's words were all reasonable, and the loyal Ji Chang nodded repeatedly in agreement, which pleased him greatly. His son was so intelligent that he would surely be able to better assist his elder brother in governing Xiqi.
He then made an agreement with Chong Houhu that Chong Houhu would go first and he would arrive later.
The Twenty Marquises fought a great battle in Jizhou City.
After parting ways with Ji Chang, the Marquis of Xibo, Chong Houhu mustered an army of 50,000 and marched day and night towards Jizhou. They crossed prefectures and counties along the way, and soon arrived outside Jizhou city, where they set up camp and prepared to attack Jizhou the next day.
When Su Hu, the Marquis of Ji Province, heard from his scouts that the commander of the army was Chong Houhu, the Marquis of the North, he was furious and said, "If this were another vassal lord, there would be other arguments; but this man has a history of immoral conduct and cannot be explained away with courtesy. We should take this opportunity to utterly defeat his army, to boost our military morale, and to rid the people of this scourge." After saying this, he ordered the troops to go into battle.
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