Resigned without any salary

After nineteen years of being on the run, Chong'er suddenly changed from a fugitive to the Duke of Jin. At that time, there was civil strife in the Zhou Dynasty, and he "did not fulfill his duties" "Reward", he sent troops to serve the king, "This is to reward Jie Zitui, who followed the deceased but did not arrive in seclusion." In this regard, Jie Zitui did not take the initiative to ask for rewards like Uncle Hu (a Tao Shuhu). He said that the return of Duke Wen of Jin was actually God's will, but Jie Zitui believed that the behavior of loyalty to the emperor was natural and there was no need to be rewarded, and he regarded it as a shame to accept rewards. Hu Yan and others "thinking of their own strength" are tantamount to "stealing others" The thief of wealth" is therefore "difficult to deal with." It was wrong for Jie Zitui to ignore the support of Hu Yan and others, but there was no resentment towards Duke Wen of Jin and no envy for fame and fortune. Some are disdainful of Hu Yan, Uncle Hu and others pursuing glory and wealth. Some people who did not flee with Duke Wen of Jin (for example, those with vertical heads and beards) came to ask for rewards by saying some unpleasant words for petty gain. This made Jie Zitui very angry and lived in seclusion in Mianshan, becoming a hermit who did not eat the emperor's salary.

Hug the tree and die

Jie Zitui refused to accept the reward and once wrote a poem, "There is a dragon flying around the world. Five snakes follow it and serve as its prime ministers and assistants." The dragon rebelled against his hometown and got his place. The four snakes followed him and got the dew. One snake was embarrassed and died in the middle of the field. The neighbor wrote a letter and hung it on the city gate at night.

After Jin Wengong saw this poem, he regretted his ungratefulness and quickly sent someone to summon Jie Zitui to be granted the title. Only then did he find out that he had gone into hiding in Mianshan. Duke Wen of Jin personally led many people to Mianshan to look for him. Unexpectedly, the Mianshan Mountain winds for dozens of miles, with numerous mountains, deep valleys and dense forests, making it impossible to find it. Duke Wen of Jin was eager to seek people's support and listened to the villain's advice, so he ordered the mountain to be burned on three sides. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and there was no trace of Jie Zitui. Duke Wen of Jin ordered people to set fires in front of and behind the mountains, which stretched for several miles. The fires took three days to extinguish, but Jie Zitui did not come out after all.

Jie Zitui hugged a tree and died

Later, someone found the bones of mother and son under a withered willow tree. Jin Wengong was so sad that he cried and worshiped for a while in front of Jie Zitui’s body. After burying the body, they found a willow tree hole blocked by Jie Zitui's back. There seemed to be something in the hole. He took it out and saw that it was a piece of clothing with a blood poem inscribed on it: "I will sacrifice my flesh to you by cutting my flesh. I hope that my lord will always be clear. It is better to be a ghost under the willow and never see you again than to accompany you as an admonisher. If my lord has me in your heart, I always reflect on myself when I remember you. I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, and I work diligently to restore the Qingming Festival."

Jin Wengong took a piece of burnt willow wood back to the palace and made a pair of wooden clogs, looking at it every day and sighing. : "Woe to you, step down." Since then, "step down" has become a respectful term for superiors or peers from subordinates, and it is said to have originated from this.

In 635 BC, Duke Wen of Jin led his ministers in plain clothes and hiked up mountains to pay homage and express their condolences. When I walked to the grave, I saw the dead old willow tree resurrected, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Duke Wen of Jin looked at the resurrected old willow tree as if he had seen Jie Zitui. He walked up to it respectfully, pinched the branch lovingly, made a circle and put it on his head.