During the Shoumeng period of King Wu, the state of Wu began to rise and gradually became a southern power that cannot be ignored. The sorcerer who had a grudge against Chu State came to Wu State on behalf of Jin State and tried his best to please Wu Wang Shoumeng. With the efforts of Wu Chen, the relationship between Wu and Jin gradually became closer. At the same time, Wu Chen also brought thirty chariots from Jin to Wu, trained the Wu army to use chariots and arrange battle formations, and improved the Wu army. The equipment greatly improved the Wu army's combat effectiveness. In addition, Wu Chen also brought his son Gu Yong to the State of Wu, and King Shoumeng of Wu made Gu Yong serve as the diplomat of the State of Wu. After Wu State became stronger, it began active expansion operations, attacking the eastern border of Chu State, as well as Chao State (northeast of today's Chaozhou, Anhui) and Xu State (northwest of today's Sizhou, Anhui). When the Chu State organized the Maling Meeting, the Wu State took the opportunity to attack Zhou Lai, which caused a headache for Zifan and Zizhong, who were in power at the time.
In the fifteenth year of Duke Cheng of Lu (576 BC), the State of Jin organized a vassal alliance in Zhongli (now east of Fengyang, Anhui). In order to join the ranks of the vassal states in the Central Plains, the State of Wu sent a special envoy to attend the alliance. Faced with the continuous intrusion of the Wu State, the Chu State finally launched a crusade against the Wu State under the leadership of Zizhong in the fifth year of Lu Xianggong (568 BC). However, the Chu army was eventually defeated by the Wu army, and the Chu general Deng Liao was also captured by the Wu army. Subsequently, the Wu army attacked Chu, captured and occupied Jiayi (now in Wuwei, Anhui). Due to the war between Wu and Chu, King Wu Shoumeng was unable to participate in the Jin's princes meeting in Jize (now east of Handan, Hebei). Subsequently, the King of Wu sent his official Shou Yue to Jin to explain the situation and express his desire to meet with the princes. In 563 BC, King Shoumeng of Wu finally met with the princes of the Central Plains headed by Jin Aogong in Xiangdi (today's Pi County, Jiangsu Province), which enabled the Kingdom of Wu to truly embark on the battle for hegemony among princes.
In the twelfth year of Duke Xiang of Lu (561 BC), King Shoumeng of Wu passed away. The following year, King Zhufan of Wu came to the throne. After King Zhufan of Wu came to the throne, conquests between Wu and Chu continued. The famous battles fought by the two sides included the Battle of Gaozhou and the Battle of the Boat Division. In the twenty-sixth year of Lu Xianggong (547 BC), Wu King Zhufan personally led an army to attack the Chu State. Unfortunately, when the Wu army besieged Chu Chaoyi, he was ambushed by the Chu army. Wu King Zhufan was also shot and wounded. He died soon after returning to China.
After Wu King Zhufan died, Wu King Yuji came to the throne. In the twenty-eighth year of Lu Xianggong (545 BC), Qi Qingfeng, the prime minister of Qi, fled to Wu. Qing Feng was originally a nobleman of Qi State. He gradually gained power in the political struggle of Qi State and became the prime minister of Qi State. However, Qingfeng liked to drink and have fun, and ignored government affairs, leaving everything to his son. Qingfeng himself took his wife, concubines, and property to drink, have fun, and live a debauched life with Lu Pu'ao. Later, during the political struggle in Qi State, his political status was replaced by the Qi nobles Chen Wenzi and Chen Wuyu father and son, so Qingfeng had no choice but to flee Qi State to seek political asylum. Qingfeng first fled to the state of Lu, but the state of Qi blamed the state of Lu for taking in Qingfeng, which made Qingfeng unable to stay in the state of Lu and came to the state of Wu instead. After arriving in the State of Wu, King Yuji of Wu gave Zhu Fangfeng to Qingfeng as a fief, and also married his daughter to him. This made Qingfeng even richer than when he was in the State of Qi, and the State of Wu also used this to show off. The demeanor of a great country.
After that, turmoil broke out in Chu and the political situation was turbulent. In the 29th year of Lu Xianggong (544 BC), the State of Wu took advantage of the civil strife in the State of Chu and invaded the State of Yue, which was vassalized by Chu. In the same year, the Yue prisoners who were ordered by Wu people to see the ship took the opportunity of King Wu's remnants to inspect and hacked King Wu to death. After Yu Ji died, King Wu Yu Mei came to the throne. After Jizha went on an envoy to other countries, King Wu Yumei also ordered Qu Guyong to go on an envoy to Jin to achieve the strategy of "uniting Jin to resist Chu". Qu Guyong here is the son of Wu Chen.
In the second year of Lu Zhaogong (540 BC), another power struggle occurred within the Chu State, and then King Chu Ling came to the throne. King Ling of Chu was a man who ascended to the throne of King Chu by virtue of his own strength, so he was also competitive in the political relations among the princes. In the fourth year of Lu Zhaogong (538 BC), after obtaining the consent of Jin, Chu held a meeting of princes in Shendi. In this alliance, King Ling of Chu expressed Chu's political intention to expand eastward and sounded the clarion call to conquer Wu. During this alliance, Chu State arrested the king of Xu State. The reason why the king of Xu was arrested was because the king of Xu's mother was from Wu and therefore had the blood of Wu. King Chu Ling used this to say that he had second thoughts about him, so he was arrested. By doing this, King Chu Ling expressed his political stance on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also served as a warning to the participating princes.
In the summer of the alliance, Chu State launched an attack on Wu State. Chu State besieged Zhu Fang of Wu State, captured Qingfeng, and killed all his people. There was also a reason why the Chu State killed Qingfeng and "exterminated his clan." After Qingfeng came to the state of Wu, in order to do something to repay the state of Wu, he went around to investigate the enemy's situation for the state of Wu. This aroused the hatred of Jin, Chu and other countries and wanted to attack him. After the Chu State led the princes to capture Zhu Fang, the Chu army also destroyed the State of Lai. Because the king of Lai State surrendered, King Chu Ling moved Lai State to Yandi.
King Yumei of Wu felt that he had been humiliated and humiliated, so he immediately retaliated against Chu. Of course, the Chu State was not to be outdone, and immediately launched an attack on the Wu State in the winter of the fifth year of Lu Zhaogong (537 BC). King Ling of Chu led the troops of Cai, Chen, Xu, Dun and other countries as well as the troops of the Dongyi tribe to march into the state of Wu. The state of Yue also sent troops to join the Chu army in Suo. The Wu army defeated the Chu army at Que'an, and the Chu army's subsequent advance also did not go smoothly. King Chu Ling had to lead his troops back. This was the "Battle of Que'an". The next year, Chu State captured Xu Guogong's son Yi who came to visit and imprisoned him. But Gongziyi fled back to Xu State soon. Chu State was afraid of Xu State's betrayal, so it sent troops to attack Xu State. The state of Wu therefore sent troops to rescue the state of Xu. The Wu army defeated the Chu army at Fangzhong and captured the young master Qiji. This was the "Battle of Fangzhong" between Wu and Chu.
After Chu led the army of princes to attack Zhu Fang and killed Qingfeng, three more major battles took place between Wu and Chu within three years. In these three wars, the state of Wu was victorious, which even made King Chu Ling fear the Wu army. Wu's successive victories also showed its strong national power, and it gradually became a prince fighting for hegemony in the Central Plains.
In the fourteenth year of Duke Zhao of Lu (528 BC), King Ping of Chu came to the throne and became the new king of Chu. In the sixteenth year of Duke Zhao of Lu (526 BC), King Liao of Wu came to the throne. After King Liao of Wu became the new king of Wu, he still actively implemented the strategy of fighting against Chu. Therefore, the struggle between Wu and Chu continued, and Zhoulai was the key area for Wu and Chu to compete. Wu State captured Zhoulai twice, but both were recaptured by Chu State. In the 23rd year of Duke Zhao of Lu (519 BC), King Liao of Wu decided to launch an attack on Chu, targeting Zhoulai.
King Liao of Wu led his son Helu and others to march toward Chu. King Ping of Chu immediately sent troops to fight after receiving the news of Wu's invasion. King Chu Ping ordered Sima Chuanyue to lead the Allied Forces of the Seven Kingdoms to Zhou Lai to meet the enemy. He also ordered the Chu State Order Yin Zixia (namely Yang Gai), who was suffering from illness, to accompany the army and supervise the division. King Liao of Wu saw that the coalition forces were approaching fiercely, so he ordered the Wu army to retreat and lifted the siege of Zhou Lai. However, the Wu army did not withdraw to the country, but moved to the Zhongli area to wait and see the situation of the coalition forces headed by the Chu army.
It has to be said that King Ping of Chu made a wrong decision by ordering Yin Zixia to go to war despite being sick. During the Chu State's campaign to conquer the Wu Army, Yin Zixia unfortunately fell ill and died in the army. As a result, the Chu Army's morale was greatly reduced and they had no intention of fighting. Subsequently, Sima Chuanyue had no choice but to lead the coalition forces to retreat, preparing to rest and recuperate in Jifu before launching military operations against the Wu army. After learning that the Chu army's Ling Yin Zixia had died of illness, Helu, the prince of the state of Wu, believed that this was a good opportunity to attack the Chu army. So Helu made a suggestion to King Liao of Wu, asking the Wu army to follow the retreating coalition forces and wait for the opportunity. Helu further explained the disadvantages of the coalition forces to King Wu: First of all, although they claimed to be a seven-nation coalition, except for Chu, they were all weak countries, and they were coerced by Chu. Secondly, these countries also have their own weaknesses. The kings of Hu and Shen are young and frivolous; the commander-in-chief of Chen's army is headstrong and stubborn; Dun, Cai, and Xu are oppressed by Chu, and they are in conflict with Chu. Even more seemingly incompatible with each other. Finally, as for the Chu army, which was the main force of the coalition, its morale was low because its commander had just died. Sima Chuan Yue, who led the army, was inexperienced and could not effectively command the Chu army.
Judging from this analysis, the seemingly powerful coalition is actually full of loopholes. If the coalition's disadvantages can be taken advantage of, the Wu army can still win with a small number and a large number. Therefore, Wu Wangliao accepted Helu's suggestion and formulated the following battle plan: the Wu army quickly approached the coalition forces led by Chu, and launched a sudden attack on the Chu army the next day after arriving at Jifu, where the coalition forces were resting. At the same time, the Wu army also wanted to take advantage of the "dark sun" condition to surprise the Chu army. The so-called "hui day" in the Spring and Autumn Period was an unlucky day. Due to the superstition of the ancients, no war was held on this day. King Liao of Wu and Helu also agreed on specific tactics to attack the armies of other small vassal states first, and then concentrate their forces to attack the Chu army. Everything was ready, just waiting for the war to begin.
On the "dark day", the Wu army suddenly appeared on the Jifu battlefield. Sima Chuanyue of Chu State faced the incoming Wu army and hurriedly fought. Xia Yue arranged the armies of the Six Nations before the Chu Army so that the Wu Army's tactics could be carried out smoothly. The Wu army first attacked the armies of Hu, Shen, and Chen. The Wu army used prisoners as front troops to attack the Three Kingdoms' positions. However, the armies of the Three Kingdoms saw that Wu's army was in disarray, so they scrambled to snatch the prisoners, and the army was in chaos. Later, the Wu army took advantage of the chaos in the Three Kingdoms army. The main force of the Wu army launched a fierce attack on the Three Kingdoms army. The Three Kingdoms army collapsed. The king of Hu, the king of Shen, and the commander-in-chief of the Chen army were all captured by the Wu army. The soldiers of the Three Kingdoms Sanyong fled in all directions, causing panic to the armies of other vassal states.
After the Wu army defeated the armies of Hu, Shen, and Chen, they took advantage of the situation to attack the armies of Xu, Cai, and Dun. The three kingdoms of Xu, Cai, and Dun, which were originally incompatible with the Chu state, saw that the Wu army was brave and unstoppable, and they were quickly defeated. The Wu army defeated the armies of the Six Nations with lightning speed. However, before the Chu army, which was listed behind the armies of the Six Nations, had time to reorganize its array, it was disturbed by the defeated troops of the Six Nations. The morale of the army was shaken and it also followed the Six Nations. The soldiers of the country retreated and fled. The Wu army used correct tactics and strategies to achieve a great victory over the Chu State in Jifu, and also took advantage of the situation to capture Zhou Lai again.
The battle between Chicken Father and Chicken can be seen as an important turning point in the battle between Wu and Chu. Prior to this, Chu State had always been a great vassal state in the Spring and Autumn Period, and had repeatedly competed with Jin State for dominance in the Central Plains. The state of Wu gradually rose to prominence starting from King Shoumeng of Wu. Although the state of Wu won many battles against the state of Chu, it was still not as strong as the state of Chu. It was in this Battle of Chicken Father that Wu State relied on cunning and cunning tactics to defeat the seven-nation coalition led by Chu State with a small number and a large number. Wu's victory not only dealt a blow to Chu's power, but also intimidated the surrounding vassal states, making Wu's status gradually recognized by the vassal states in the Central Plains.
After this battle, Wu State occupied Zhoulai, an important military area, and took advantage of the Jianghuai area. King Ping of Chu's wife also took advantage of the Wu army's victory and followed the Wu army to the state of Wu. The wife of King Ping of Chu was the mother of the persecuted Gongzi Jian. When the battle took place, Gongzi Jian's son Sheng, the grandson of Mrs. Ping, was living in the Kingdom of Wu, so Mrs. Ping came to the Kingdom of Wu with the Wu army. Sima Chuanyue of the Chu Army also committed suicide because of this incident. The Chu State really "lost both his wife and his troops" in this battle, and gained no benefits at all. After that, Chu rarely took the initiative to send troops to Wu for a long time and adopted a conservative defensive strategy, while Wu gradually took the initiative in Wu-Chu's struggle for hegemony. During the period of King Wu Fu Chai, the power of Wu State reached its peak.
