After leaving Kuang City, Confucius and his party traveled for two days and soon passed through Pu Yi (present-day Changyuan County, Henan, fifteen li north of Kuang City). Pu Yi was a territory of the State of Wei, where a nobleman named Gongshu Shu, a confidant of Crown Prince Kuai Kui of Wei who had previously served at court, was stationed. Duke Ling of Wei, worried about the prince's growing power, had sent him to Pu Yi. At this time, Gongshu Shu was recruiting soldiers and expanding his forces, preparing to one day collaborate with the prince in a coup to seize the throne. As Confucius and his disciples passed through, Gongshu Shu suspected that Confucius had been sent by Duke Ling to spy on Pu Yi. Moreover, fearing that Confucius—being highly virtuous and respected, with many disciples skilled in both civil and martial arts—might side with the ruler of Wei and threaten his own interests, he led troops to block Confucius's party. Among Confucius's disciples was a tall, imposing, and valiant man named Gongliang Ru, who had followed Confucius in his travels with five carriages of his own. He said to Confucius, "Master, I faced danger with you at Kuang before, and now we encounter danger again—this must be fate! Since you and I repeatedly suffer hardships, I would rather fight to the death!" So he fiercely battled the people of Pu. Disciples such as Zi Lu and Ran Qiu, who possessed "courage and strength," also joined the fight.
The people of Pu felt they could not keep Confucius and his party by force, so they proposed negotiations and agreed to let them go. Gongsun Shu said to Confucius, “If you do not go to Wei, we will release you.” Confucius agreed, and both parties made a covenant. Then the people of Pu let Confucius and his party leave through the east gate. But as soon as they had gone a short distance from Pu, Confucius ordered the disciple driving the carriage to turn toward Wei. Zi Gong (a skeptical disciple) asked in confusion, “Can a covenant be violated?” Confucius said, “A covenant made under duress is not recognized by the spirits.” When they arrived in Wei, Duke Ling of Wei was delighted to hear that Confucius had returned and personally went to the outskirts to welcome him. He asked Confucius, “May we attack Pu?” Confucius replied, “Yes.” Duke Ling said, “But my ministers think we should not attack, because Pu is now an outpost for Wei’s defense against Jin and Chu. If we send our own troops to attack, and the people of Pu simply defect to the enemy, or the enemy takes the opportunity to invade, would the consequences not be very bad?” Confucius said, “The men of Pu are all loyal to Wei and ready to fight to the death; the women also wish to defend this western region along the river. So the ones we need to punish are only the four or five ringleaders of the rebellion.” Duke Ling said, “Very well,” but he did not attack Pu. This time when they returned to Wei, Confucius and his party lodged at the home of Qu Boyu (a virtuous official of Wei).