After King Helu of Wu got rid of Qingji's major problem, he began to continue to consolidate his royal power. In the 30th year of Lu Zhaogong (512 BC), King Helu of Wu asked the people of Xu and our people to arrest the young master Gaiyu and the young master Zhuyong who had fled to them respectively, but they fled to Chu. The king settled them in Yangyi, built a city for them, and granted them the land of Chengfu and Huyi. King Helu of Wu was very angry about this, so he sent troops to capture the king of our country. Subsequently, the state of Wu attacked the state of Xu. After the state of Wu flooded the capital of the state of Xu, the state of Xu was destroyed, and the king of the state of Xu also fled to Chu. The state of Chu built a city in Chengfu for him to live in.
After conquering the State of Xu, King Helu of Wu began to plan to attack the State of Chu. So King Helu of Wu asked Wu Zixu how to attack Chu. Wu Zixu suggested that the Wu army should be divided into three armies, and they would take turns to harass Chu's border, making Chu's generals exhausted, and then unite the three armies to attack the Chu army, which would surely result in a complete victory. King Helu of Wu followed Wu Zixu's plan and began to harass the Chu army.
In the 31st year of Lu Zhaogong (511 BC), the Wu army attacked Chu State, attacked Yiyi, and attacked Qianyi and Liuyi. The Chu army then sent troops to rescue, while the Wu army moved to fight elsewhere. The Wu army then surrounded Xianyi and reached the Yuzhang area. The Chu army came to rescue them again, but the Wu army immediately withdrew. Under this situation, the Chu army became exhausted and gradually lost its vigilance. After three years of this, Tong State, which was affiliated with Chu State, rebelled against Chu, so King Wu sent Shu Jiu to trick Chu State into sending troops. The Wu army lured the Chu soldiers to go deep and defeated the Chu army in Yuzhang. They then surrounded and captured the nest area and captured the guarding general, Gong Zifan.
In the fourth year of Duke Dinggong of Lu (506 BC), the three kingdoms of Wu, Cai, and Tang began to jointly attack Chu. The allied forces of Wu, Cai, and Tang landed at the Huai River and faced the Chu army across the Han River in Yuzhang. Sima Shu of the Chu army on the left proposed a plan to Ling Yin Zichang: he would lead an army down the Han River to destroy the Wu army's ships, and then return to the army to attack the Wu army from front to back with the army led by Zichang. After the strategy was agreed upon, the garrison led the army and set out according to the plan. However, Zichang listened to others' instigation and decided to lead the Chu army across the Han River to fight quickly. However, after the Chu army and the Wu army fought three battles from Xiaobie Mountain to Dabie Mountain, Zichang knew that he was at a disadvantage and wanted to escape, but was stopped by his subordinates. Subsequently, the Wu and Chu armies opened up for a battle in Baiju. King Helu's brother-in-law, King Wu, led 5,000 men to attack the Chu army first. Zichang was defeated, the soldiers fled, and the Chu army was defeated. The defeated Zichang fled to the state of Zheng, while the victorious Wu army continued to pursue the Chu army, fought in succession, and soon reached Yingcheng, the capital of the Chu state.
Just before Wu State launched a full-scale attack on Chu State, Wu State took the lead in sending troops to cross the country. Wu State has always wanted to dominate the Central Plains, and if Wu State wants to dominate the Central Plains, it must first relieve its worries, that is, attack the Yue State. In addition, Wu and Yue had a long history of grudges. In the 29th year of Lu Xianggong (544 BC), the prisoners of war taken by the Wu State when they invaded the Yue State stabbed Wu Wang Yuji to death. Therefore, the war between Wu and Yue was also Very frequently.
In the 32nd year of Lu Zhaogong (510 BC), after the Wu army fought a war with the Yue army, the Wu army occupied Li. Subsequently, a war broke out between Wu and Chu. The Wu army won consecutive victories and entered the capital of Chu. However, at this time, there was internal turmoil in the Wu army. King Helu's younger brother Fu Kuan rebelled and returned to Wu and proclaimed himself king. King Helu of Wu then led his army to fight with Fugai and defeated him. After his defeat, Fugai fled to the state of Chu.
At the same time, when the Wu army captured Yingcheng, the capital of Chu State, Yue State was not willing to be suppressed by Wu State and led its troops to invade Wu State. In the fifth year of Duke Dinggong of Lu (505 BC), King Yue of Yue took advantage of the emptiness of the state of Wu and led his army to invade the state of Wu. After the Wu army was defeated by the Qin and Chu armies on the battlefield of Chu, King Helu of Wu led his troops back to the country.
In the fourteenth year of Duke Dinggong of Lu (496 BC), King Yue Chang died and his son Gou Jian came to the throne. After hearing the news, King Helu of Wu thought that this was a good opportunity to attack Yue to avenge the surprise attack on Wu Kingdom. So Wu and Yue fought against Li Li. King Gou Jian of Yue was worried about the strength of the Wu army, so he sent death squads to attack the Wu army, causing the Wu army to be in chaos. Later, King Gou Jian of Yue ordered the condemned prisoners to commit suicide in front of the battle, which attracted the attention of the Wu army, and the Yue army used this to launch a surprise attack. Under this attack by the Vietnamese army, the Wu army was finally defeated, and King Helu of Wu was also wounded by the Vietnamese army. Shortly after the Wu army withdrew from Xiangli, King Helu of Wu died of his injuries.
After King Helu of Wu died, his son Fucha inherited the throne and was determined to avenge his father. During the reign of King Helu of Wu, Wu became an important military power in the late Spring and Autumn Period and began to compete in the Central Plains. After Wu Wang Helu's son Fucha inherited the throne, he achieved Wu's hegemony based on it, bringing Wu to its most prosperous period.
King Helu of Wu was wounded and died in the war against Yue. Before his death, he specifically asked his son Fucha not to forget this humiliation and to avenge him. Later, Fu Chai inherited the throne and became the new King of Wu. He ordered people to stand in the courtyard and shout to King Wu Fucha every day when they passed by the courtyard: "Fucha! Have you forgotten that the King of Yue killed your father?" After hearing this, King Wu Fuchai replied: "I dare not forget! "This is how King Wu Fu Chai always reminded himself not to forget the revenge of killing his father.
Fu Chai, who became the King of Wu, appointed Wu Zixu as the Prime Minister and the official Bo Pe as the Grand Prime Minister. He actively developed the national power, expanded production and strengthened the military strength. All this was seen by King Gou Jian of Yue, so two years after King Fu Chai of Wu came to the throne, King Gou Jian of Yue wanted to take the lead in sending troops to conquer Wu before Wu sent troops to attack Yue. However, Fan Li, an important adviser under King Gou Jian of Yue, advised: "The country has three major tasks: maintaining surplus, fixing the trend, and managing affairs." King Gou Jian of Yue asked Fan Li, "What are the effects of these three on the country?"
So Fan Li continued: "The one who maintains the balance lies in heaven; the one who maintains the balance lies in people; the one who manages affairs lies in the earth. If you don't ask, I dare not say anything casually. Although the way of heaven is full, it will not overflow. He is grand but never arrogant, he is busy but does not show off his achievements. A saint is always ready to take action, which is punctuality; when the time comes, he cannot go to others' places to be a guest. If there is no opportunity, don't start doing things."
"Now, my king, you are overflowing before you are full, you are arrogant before you are prosperous, you are proud of your achievements without working, you want to attack other countries before the opportunity comes, and you want to stir up trouble before the opportunity arises. This is unfavorable weather and inconsistent personnel. You are like this Doing so will be detrimental to the development of the country and your own destiny." However, King Gou Jian of Yue did not listen to the advice. Fan Li had no choice but to remonstrate: "Being brave is a bad morality; weapons are an ominous object; fighting is the last resort to solve problems. Secretly planning to be brave and aggressive is caused by people, and in the end people will also suffer from it. And die. This kind of thing is against the will of God, and whoever does it first will be the most disadvantageous." Gou Jian, the king of Yue, said firmly: "No need to say more, my decision has been made."
So Gou Jian, the king of Yue, took the lead in sending troops to attack Wu. King Wu Fu Chai seized the opportunity and sent out all his elite troops to fight the Vietnamese army. Wu and Yue fought on the water, and the Vietnamese army was defeated. King Gou Jian of Yue led the remaining 5,000 defeated troops and fled to Kuaiji Mountain, where they were surrounded by Wu troops. Under this situation, King Gou Jian of Yue summoned Fan Li and asked: "I didn't listen to your advice at the beginning, and I ended up like this. Is there anything I can do now?" Fan Li replied: "The king has forgotten what I said. Is it true? The one who maintains the balance lies in heaven; the one who maintains the balance lies in man; the one who keeps things in order lies on the earth."
Gou Jian, the king of Yue, quickly asked: "What should we do with people?" Fan Li said: "I humbly surrender and offer you a generous gift. Dedicate all your children, jade and silk to the king of Wu. If that doesn't work, then please do it yourself." I promise to serve the King of Wu personally." King Gou Jian of Yue said, "Okay." So the King of Yue sent the official Wen Zhong to the Kingdom of Wu to seek peace.
After Wen Zhong arrived at the Wu army's tent, he respectfully requested: "The State of Yue is willing to marry the daughter of a scholar-bureaucrat to the State of Wu, along with rare and rare treasures, and asks the two countries to make peace." The King of Wu immediately objected. Wen Zhong then said in a very humble tone: "Your Majesty's minister Gou Jian, who has subjugated his country, asks to be your slave, and his wife to be your slave, and to dedicate the country to you." After hearing this, King Wu's husband was ready to agree, while Wu Zixu hurriedly He dissuaded him and said, "Your Majesty cannot agree. Now that God has given you the Kingdom of Yue, you must not let the disease remain."
Wen Zhong returned to Kuaiji Mountain and explained what happened to King Goujian of Yue. King Gou Jian of Yue was so angry that he planned to kill his wife, burn the treasures, and fight to the death with the Wu army. Wen Zhong hurriedly tried to dissuade him and said, "I heard that Bo Pu, the great strategist of the Wu Kingdom, is a greedy and money-loving man. We might as well give him beautiful women and treasures to buy him, and ask him to help us say good things in front of the King of Wu." King Gou Jian of Yue was helpless. This was the only way to go, so Wen Zhong was asked to take the beauty and treasure to Bo Pu. When Bo Pu saw the gift brought by Wen Zhong, he was very happy and accepted it readily. Later, Bo Pi led Wen Zhong to meet King Wu Fu Chai.
When Wen Zhong saw Queen Wu, he immediately knelt down and said, "Please forgive Gou Jian, Your Majesty. Gou Jian is willing to surrender to you and dedicate his country and all his wealth to you. If you don't agree, Gou Jian will have no choice but to kill his wife and destroy everything." I will fight you to the death for my treasure. In that case, not only will you get no benefit, but you will also lose your army." When Fu Chai was hesitating, Bo Pu interrupted and said, "Since Gou Jian surrendered and became a vassal, why not pardon him? There are benefits too.”
When King Wu was about to agree, Wu Zixu added: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the story of Shaokang's Zhongxing? Now the state of Wu is not as powerful as the Guo family at that time, but Goujian is more ambitious and accomplished than Shaokang. If we don't take advantage of the great victory now, If you use your power to destroy the Yue Kingdom in one fell swoop, you will definitely regret it in the future. Besides, Gou Jian also has capable ministers like Wen Zhong and Fan Li. If they are allowed to return to the Yue Kingdom, there will definitely be chaos in the future." However, King Wu did not listen in the end. Wu Zixu’s words. The greedy Bo Chu was also jealous of Wu Zixu's achievements, so he tried his best to encourage King Wu Fu Chai to accept Yue's surrender. Finally, the State of Wu accepted the surrender of the State of Yue, and the State of Yue became a vassal state of the State of Wu.
King Wu Fu Chai, who accepted the surrender of Yue, was of course not at ease with Gou Jian. Therefore, King Wu Fu Chai kept Gou Jian and Fan Li as slaves. After a long time, King Wu Fu Chai saw that they were willing to be slaves and showed no intention to resist. At the same time, under Bo Pu's persuasion, he released Gou Jian and Fan Li back to the Yue Kingdom. Under the management of Wu King Fu Chai, the state of Wu gradually became stronger and stronger. After the state of Wu surrendered to the state of Yue, the state of Wu reached its peak. As a result, King Wu Fu Chai gradually became arrogant, relaxed his vigilance towards Yue, and began to focus on the great cause of hegemony in the Central Plains.
After Gou Jian, the king of Yue, returned to the country of Yue, he never forgot to revive the country. From then on, he did not forget the hatred of the country's subjugation. He appointed the talented Fan Li and Wen Zhong, and the Yue Kingdom began to develop slowly under the contempt and neglect of King Wu, and gradually became the last powerful prince in the late Spring and Autumn Period. In this way, "Gou Jian destroyed Wu" was widely circulated in later generations.
