Song Xiangxu's Peace Initiative and Chu's Treachery Case

In 546 BC, Song minister Xiang Xu brokered a peace conference between Jin, Chu, and other states to end decades of war. The pact required disarming, but Chu's chief commander Zimu ordered his soldiers to wear armor under their robes, plotting a surprise attack during negotiations. Upon discovering the plot, Xiang Xu confronted Zimu, while Jin's Zhao Wu withdrew his forces to avoid bloodshed. Exposed, Chu abandoned its scheme. The tense assembly ultimately agreed to a truce, with Jin and Chu sharing hegemony, marking a rare diplomatic victory overshadowed by treachery.

No formal judicial outcome; resolved through diplomacy. Zimu's plot was neutralized after exposure, and the conference concluded with both Jin and Chu accepting the peace covenant, effectively endorsing a dual-hegemony order.

The core dispute was Chu's covert arming in violation of the peace conference's trust, amounting to perfidy under the guise of negotiation, and whether the covenant could be conducted without armed conflict.

The covenant brought forty years of relative peace across the Central Plains, redirecting regional conflicts into internal noble struggles. It facilitated cultural and economic recovery but accelerated the decline of the feudal order as ministerial families gained power, ultimately reshaping Chinese political dynamics.