The Chu State was in the hands of King Chu Ping, and it could be said that it was suffering from internal and external troubles. All of this was due to King Chu Ping's ignorance of people. The loyal and good men of Chu were excluded one after another and were forced to leave the country. Stay close to King Ping. There is a smog in the middle of the country, and there is natural turmoil in the outside world, and people's hearts are divided.
However, throughout the history of the existence and development of the Chu State, King Ping of Chu was not the only one who did not distinguish between loyalty and treachery. There is an allusion about Cai Shengzi, a famous diplomat in the Spring and Autumn Period, who argued that "Chu talents are used by Jin". It accurately and generally reflects the situation that the king of Chu did not pay attention to talented people and allowed them to go abroad. To a certain extent, it also reveals the reason why Chu State often falls into a disadvantage in the process of competing for hegemony with other countries.
In 574 BC, Cai Shengzi traveled between Jin and Chu to mediate the conflicts between the two great kingdoms. During a conversation with Yin Zimu, the magistrate of the Chu State, he was asked if the scholar-bureaucrats of Jin and Chu were compared, which country's Even more wise, Cai Shengzi eloquently said, "Jin Qing is not as good as Chu", but "Although Chu has talents, Jin can use them."
Cai Shengzi admitted that although the Jin State also reused people from the royal family, it also used a large number of talents from the Chu State. The king of Chu was harsh and fond of punishment. Scholars of Chu were often forced to flee Chu and work in other countries. As a result, they showed their talents in other countries and in turn made suggestions for other countries to invade and occupy Chu's interests. Cai Shengzi took the rebellion of Prince Yi of Chu Shen as an example. In this chaos, Dr. Xigong, a Chu official, was implicated and had to defect to the Jin State, where he was treated as an honored guest. As a result, in the battle between Jin and Chu, it was he who pointed out the weakness of the Chu army's impetuous temperament and easy morale failure, and helped the Jin army achieve a complete victory.
There is also the Chu doctor Yongzi, who was falsely accused by his father and brother and could not tell the difference, so he had to flee to Jin. In the battle between Jin and Chu, he saved the Jin army that was about to collapse, boosted its morale and fought to the death, and finally turned defeat into victory. What's more, Wu Ju is now implicated in the sins of Shen Gongzi Mou because he married the daughter of Shen Gongzi Mou, and is forced to live in exile in Zheng State. Every day, he hopes to redress his injustice and return to his hometown. Recently, he came to Jin State again, and he was highly valued and ranked among the famous ministers. If he designs a conspiracy, it will be impossible to guard against it.
Hearing Cai Shengzi's series of remarks, Yin Zimu was frightened and hurriedly advised King Kang of Chu to rehabilitate Wu Ju and welcome him back to Chu.
However, Wu Ju's luck was only one of the very few among the Chu officials. In the court of the Chu State, virtuous ministers and loyal and brave generals were often suspected and abandoned, and had no choice but to be used by other countries, and then backfired on the Chu State. If things go on like this, can the Chu State remain undefeated?
Wu Zixu can be said to be the most miserable among these people. His father and brother were killed, and he fled to the Song Dynasty alone. He went to Chu Prince Jian, who was harmed by slander and also sought refuge in the Song Dynasty. However, the Song State was also experiencing frequent civil strife and an extremely unstable political environment. It was naturally difficult for Prince Jian and Wu Zixu, who were guests here, to stay there for a long time, so they had to set off for Zheng State.
The king of Zheng took them in and treated them with courtesy. Unfortunately, Prince Jian was greedy and got carried away by the temptation. He promised the Jin State and promised to serve as an internal agent for the Jin State to conquer Zheng. The matter was exposed and he was killed. Prince Jian was so incompetent that Wu Zixu, who was with him, was naturally in danger in Zheng. Wu Zixu risked his life and fled with Prince Jian's son Sheng.
Wu Zixu's destination was the State of Wu. When he arrived at Zhaoguan Pass, the defenders had already received orders to arrest him. At the critical moment, Wu Zixu found a ferry and took the two people across the river. Wu Zixu immediately took off his sword and presented it to him, but the boatman left without saying goodbye. Wu Zixu came to the State of Wu. During this period, the State of Wu was in a period of rapid growth. Its economic and military strength continued to grow, it attracted talents from all over the world, and it was ambitious externally. Wu Zixu naturally attracted the attention of King Liao of Wu in the state of Wu. He met King Liao of Wu through the introduction of Prince Guang and became his minister.
At that time, the State of Wu, as an emerging power, naturally aroused the vigilance of the State of Chu. Moreover, the two countries bordered on each other, and conflicts continued. After Gongzi Guang led his army to conquer Zhongli and Juchao of Chu State, Wu Zixu took the opportunity to advise King Wu of Wu and suggested that he continue to increase his troops and capture Chu State in one fell swoop. However, Gongziguang remained sober and believed that the time to destroy Chu had not yet come, and Wu Zixu's suggestion was not advisable because it was filled with personal emotions. King Liao of Wu then ordered a ceasefire.
Gongziguang and Wu Wangliao were not monolithic. The three sons of King Shoumeng of Wu, the grandfather of King Wu, Zhufan, Yuji, and Yumei became kings successively. After Yu Mei's death, their younger brother Ji Li was unwilling to succeed, so Yu Mei's son, King Liao of Wu, became the king. Prince Guang was the son of Zhufan, the eldest son of Shoumeng. Faced with such a situation, he naturally found it difficult to calm down, and he also harbored murderous intentions towards King Wu. Wu Zixu was observant of words and expressions, and naturally knew what Gongzi Guang was thinking. For Wu Zixu himself, it was definitely not as cost-effective to support a new king as a guest in the court of Wu King Liao and obtain a hero status. It would also help him mobilize the resources of Wu to complete his revenge. ambition.
So Wu Zixu secretly searched for him and met Zhuan Zhu, who later became a famous assassin in history. He befriended him with kindness and recommended him to Gongzi Guang. He withdrew from King Wu's court and lived in seclusion in the fields to watch the changes.
Young Master Guang did not keep Wu Zixu waiting too long. After the death of King Chu Ping, King Chu Zhao came to the throne. King Liao of Wu took advantage of the new king's establishment and the unstable situation in Chu to launch a large-scale invasion. However, he suffered a defeat and hurriedly returned to the army. Gongzi Guang took advantage of King Wu's uneasiness and held a banquet to calm him down. During the banquet, Zhuan took action, killing King Liao, and Gongzi Guang successfully ascended the throne.
Prince Guang is King Helu of Wu. Naturally, he will not forget Wu Zixu's contribution. He immediately invites Wu Zixu back to him and becomes his confidant to discuss the affairs of the country. At that time, the State of Chu began to liquidate the heroes and their families. A group of good generals and ministers and their descendants fled abroad. The State of Wu gained Bo Pei, the grandson of the famous official Bo Zhouli of the State of Chu. However, no one knew about it at that time. Thinking that this person would become a scourge that would lead to the fall of the Wu Kingdom in the future.
King Helu of Wu has great ambitions, and the Chu State in front of him is the touchstone and stumbling block for Wu State to move towards the world. In the third year of Helu (512 BC), Wu Zixu, Bo Pi, and Sun Wu were ordered to lead an army to attack Chu. They achieved a small victory, captured a border city and captured alive two young men who defected from Wu to Chu. At this time, King Helu of Wu lost the calmness and composure he had had when he was the prince Guang, and advocated taking advantage of the victory to pursue and march into the capital of Chu. Sun Wu admonished Wu State that it was impossible to destroy Chu despite its national strength, and there were still many people in the country who had not yet been lifted out of poverty. To destroy Chu, it was necessary to organize a large-scale battle, consume a lot of material resources, and for Wu State, it would also bear great risks. It was better to retreat temporarily in order to follow up the attack, Helu agreed.
The footsteps of the Wu State will not stop. The Yue State in the south and the Chu State in the west have repeatedly become the targets of their military training. Wu State also strengthened its national strength, accumulated experience, and improved its self-confidence through victory after victory. Finally, in the ninth year of Helu (506 BC), King Wu made up his mind to fight a decisive battle with Chu, and Wu Zixu also waited for the opportunity to avenge his great revenge. At this time, it had been more than sixteen years since Wu Zixu fled Chu.
After Wu Zixu supported King Helu of Wu to ascend the throne, Wu State pointed the finger at Chu State. The State of Chu was undergoing a transition of power at that time, and the situation was not stable soon after King Zhao of Chu came to the throne. Fei Wuji took the opportunity to cause trouble, leading to constant civil strife in the country.
Fei Wuji chose Zuo Yin Quewan as his target. This man was loyal and good-natured and well-respected. Fei Wuji slandered Que Wan to Ling Yin Zichang in every possible way. Ling Yin Zichang failed to detect the evildoer in the end and ordered the Que family to be confiscated and exterminated, and also implicated the scholar-bureaucrat family who had good relations with Que Wan. Chu State suddenly fell into chaos.
Fei Wuji's behavior aroused public outrage. The Jin and Chen clans could not sit back and watch such atrocities happen to the scholar-bureaucrats' families, so they expressed their opinions one after another and questioned Ling Yin. Zi Chang said that Fei Wuji and his party general Yan were acting recklessly, which was simply a crime. Proclaiming himself king will harm the country and weaken the royal family. And all of this is under the protection of Ling Yin. If this continues, what will happen to the country? Shen Yinxu even attacked Ling Yin Zichang face to face, saying that the families of princes and officials are the wealth of the country, how could they be destroyed like this? Wu State is showing off its power, and if Chu State continues to be in civil strife, it will fall into crisis, and Yin Zichang himself will not be spared by then. Wise people often eliminate slander to seek peace of mind, but you often like people who create slander. How unwise. Under the pressure of public opinion, Ling Yin Zichang had no choice but to kill Fei Wuji and General Yan.
Zichang, Ling Yin of Chu State, was a man who liked to accept bribes and listen to slander. He was foolish and dissolute. Cai Zhaohou and Tang Chenggong visited Chu State, but they were both detained because they did not take good care of Zichang. The experiences of the kings of Cai and Tang in Chu spread throughout the world, completely destroying Chu's credibility. As a result, various small countries took refuge in Jin and formed allies, forming a powerful deterrent against Chu. All of this was due to Ling Yin Zichang's greed.
In the fourth year of King Zhao of Chu, which was the third year of King Helu of Wu, the army of the State of Wu invaded the State of Chu and captured the two young masters Yiyu and Zhuyong who had betrayed the State of Wu because Helu usurped the throne. King Helu of Wu followed Wu Zixu's suggestion, divided his troops into three groups, and used sudden attacks and roundabout tactics, which disturbed peace on the Chu border. Four years later, taking advantage of the opportunity of Tong State's rebellion against Chu, Wu State sent troops and repeatedly caused trouble in Chu State's counter-rebellion operations. It defeated the Chu army led by Ling Yin Zichang, captured the city, and captured the city's defenders. It can be said that the memory of the Wu army's invasion of the border has always been with King Zhao of Chu during the years when he was in power, and it has not stopped for a year.
In 506 BC, King Helu of Wu finally made up his mind to assemble his army for a decisive battle with Chu. Wu Zixu and Sun Wu agreed that they should unite with Tang and Cai, who had been deeply insulted by Ling Yin Zichang, to provide assistance. Tang Chenggong and Cai Zhaohou happily led their troops to help, and the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces rushed to the Chu Kingdom in a mighty manner.
As the main force, the Wu army confronted the Chu army across the Han River in Yuzhang. On the Wu side, Wu Zixu and Sun Wu naturally led the troops; on the Chu side, they were mainly led by Ling Yin Zichang and Zuo Sima Xu. According to the situation, Zuo Sima Xu suggested that the Chu army should be divided into two groups. He himself led an army to detour to the enemy's rear, and ordered Yin Zichang to charge head-on, attacking from both sides, so that the enemy could not look at each other.
Zichang did not act according to the plan, and the bad nature of his character once again caused trouble. Out of concern about Zuo Sima Xu's wretched mentality, Yin Zichang ordered an attack before Zuo Sima Xu penetrated deep into the enemy's rear. Zichang wanted to escape, but his subordinates reminded him that only by fighting to the death could he escape the responsibility of his bribery that led to the invasion of the enemy. Zichang had no choice but to fight repeatedly.
In November of that year, the two armies met again in Baiju, and Helu's brother Fugai asked for orders to take the lead in attacking the enemy. He believed that Ling Yin Zichang's army had lost its morale, and as long as he attacked boldly, the enemy army would completely collapse. King Wu did not agree to his request out of caution. Fugai then led his own soldiers to kill him first without knowing the king of Wu. Upon seeing this, the king of Wu had no choice but to follow up with his army and destroyed the main force of the Chu army. Ling Yin Zichang escaped from the rebel army and went to Zheng Guo. Later, the Wu army surrounded and killed the remaining Chu army in Qingfa, winning consecutive battles. The Chu army was tired, hungry, and exhausted. Zuo Sima Xu led his army to fight to the death, but the troops gradually withered and became unable to support him alone. Zuo Sima Xu himself was seriously injured and did not want to be captured and humiliated, so he ended his unyielding life by committing suicide.
The Wu army finally broke through Ying, the capital of the Chu state, and King Chu Zhao had to embark on a journey to escape. He was miserable all the way, wandering around in the siege of the Wu army, and was attacked again in Yunmengze, and finally came to Yundi. However, King Ping of Chu had a grudge against Duke Yun for killing his father. This time, King Chu Zhao fell into a trap. Duke Yun's younger brother was eager to kill King Chu Zhao to appease his father's spirit in heaven. Duke Yun was afraid that Tu would cause more trouble, so he stopped his younger brother and sent King Chu Zhao to Sui Ren's territory. The Wu army followed and reminded Sui Ren of Chu's atrocities in wiping out various small countries along the Han River, so Sui Ren also wanted to kill King Zhao.
King Zhao's brother Ziqi, who looked similar to King Zhao, stepped forward, disguised himself as King Zhao, and asked his followers to hand him over to the Wu army in exchange for King Zhao's safety. Suiren was also hesitant about this, because although Chu State annexed them back then, it did not actually completely annihilate them. Instead, they were favored by many and allowed them to govern themselves to this day. Suiren actually has no deep hatred against Chu State. After some divination and questioning, Sui Ren thought that handing over King Chu Zhao would bring bad luck, so he rejected the Wu people's request and took King Chu Zhao in.
Wu Zixu finally realized his long-cherished wish and once again stood on the high wall of Ying City. There were two things that made him regretful. One was that King Chu Ping was dead and he could not enjoy the pleasure of killing his enemies with his own hands. The other was that King Chu Zhao ran away and he could not vent his hatred on King Ping's descendants. But for Wu Zixu, this is no longer important. What is important is that he endured the humiliation and bear the burden for many years, and finally waited for the day when he got through and became the final winner. He dug up the body of King Ping of Chu from his ancestral grave and whipped it three hundred times, which was considered to comfort the souls of his father and brother in heaven.
However, the State of Chu did not die. A man named Shen Baoxu became the savior of the State of Chu. He was an ordinary minister of the State of Chu. In times of crisis, he rushed to the State of Qin and cried bitterly outside the palace of Qin for seven days. After seven nights, he finally moved the king of Qin, successfully found reinforcements, and saved the dying state of Chu.
On the other hand, Wu's diplomatic work was actually not as effective as Wu himself imagined. Since they invaded the capital of Chu State, the people of Wu State found that they had become an "unjust party with few helpers". In addition, the Wu State's army was indeed violent. As a result, the state of Wu State changed from "rebels" to "invaders" in public opinion. "The nature of the Wu-Chu war thus changed, and Wu's legitimacy was completely lost.
Just when Shen Baoxu led Qin's reinforcements to rush to Chu's homeland, Yue, who had been watching the fire from across the bank, was already itching. Yue had no good impression of Wu, and frictions frequently broke out between the two countries. It is precisely because of the common enemy Wu that the relationship between Yue and Chu has always been good. Therefore, the State of Yue saw a good opportunity for the Wu army to enter Chu. The battle was protracted and its momentum was gradually declining. It was also caught in the dilemma of chasing down the remnants of the Wu army and suppressing and pacifying the newly occupied Chu territory. A big knot has been tied to the battle situation.
Wu State fell into an embarrassing situation: first of all, the battle was gradually ineffective, and there was no good way to face the stubborn resistance of Chu State; secondly, reinforcements from Qin State and Yue State were already in front of them, and their momentum was strong, so a head-on confrontation with them was inevitable Suffering a loss; finally, international public opinion has turned to the Chu State. If it persists, the country will lose people's hearts, the image accumulated over decades of hard work will be destroyed, and it will face a dangerous external environment in the future. Just when King Helu of Wu was in a dilemma, he encountered another difficult matter. His younger brother Fugai took advantage of the fact that he was trapped in the quagmire of Chu State and was trying to usurp the throne at home. Helu finally made up his mind to withdraw from Chu State and return to clean up his family. His younger brother's usurpation of the throne actually gave Helu a step up objectively, giving him an excuse to avoid the embarrassment of admitting that the war against Chu was in vain. This cannot but be said to be a kind of irony.
Helu was worthy of being a courageous monarch. After returning home, he easily killed his younger brother and beat Fugai, who fled in panic to Chu, a country he had once traveled to with great vigor. King Chu Zhao actually ignored the past grievances and gave him a fief. After all, this man's rebellious behavior objectively contributed to the survival of the Chu State.
Helu couldn't calm down. What started with great vigor ended in such a farce. His ambition to destroy Chu was shattered by reality. Full of unwillingness, Helu led his troops to the border of Chu State again, hoping to have a showdown with the Qin and Chu coalition forces. As a result, the drama of winning first and then losing was staged again. After a small victory over the Chu army, the Wu army was immediately attacked by the Qin army. After three defeats, he no longer had any arrogance.
King Zhao of Chu returned to the court, and while discussing merits and rewards, he settled accounts after the fall. However, after escaping from the catastrophe, King Chu Zhao knew the value of people's hearts and adopted a gentle attitude, focusing on rewards. He also ignored those who wanted to add insult to injury when he was escaping, so he initially gathered in a relatively short period of time. to the hearts of people who have been separated for a long time.
Looking at the catastrophe of the Chu State, it sounded the alarm for the Chu State which was in a precarious situation. Although it relied on the tenacity of the people, foreign aid and the internal strife of the Wu State to survive, the long-term chaos of the Chu State was invisible and unmistakable. It is an indisputable fact. The State of Chu is like a big tree covered with borers. Although it managed to survive the burning of wildfires, soon these borers, which had healed their scars and forgotten the pain, began to move again, causing the country to enter "sub-health" again. ” state of existence.
