Although King Huai of Chu was incompetent, he had power. Zhang Yi is good at playing power, but in the end he is a subordinate. As a minister, there are always many things that cannot be done by oneself for the sake of the monarch's career.
Being led around by Zhang Yi, King Huai of Chu lost his land and humiliated his country. Instead of looking for the reason himself, he began to blame Zhang Yi and had to kill Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi committed fraud and should be held accountable. However, if King Huai of Chu was not greedy for money and lust, no matter how treacherous Zhang Yi was, the Kingdom of Chu would still be intact.
God took pity on King Huai of Chu's intentions and gave him a chance. After Qin defeated Chu, not only was it unsatisfied, but it also became greedy and eager to occupy Chu's central Guizhou area.
After sending out troops several times in succession, due to the deterrence of the vassal states, Qin did not dare to offend the public easily, so it told King Huai of Chu that he was willing to exchange the land of Wuguan for central Guizhou.
But the impulsive King Huai of Chu actually said that he did not want Wuguan, but only Zhang Yi. In order to vent his personal hatred, King Huai of Chu ignored the interests of the country.
If Zhang Yi was sent to Chu State, he would definitely end badly, because King Huai of Chu hated him deeply. Zhang Yi's success in deceiving the Chu State was not small. King Qin Hui could not bear to let Zhang Yi die, so he did not talk about it for a long time.
King Qin Hui wanted the land in central Guizhou but couldn't bear to let Zhang Yi die. King Qin Hui thought hard about a way to have both sides, and his sorrow was palpable. Seeing that King Qin Hui was worried, Zhang Yi found out about this and asked Ying to go to Chu.
After hearing this, King Qin Hui said to Zhang Yi: "King Huai of Chu wants you to enter Chu, and you will definitely be in trouble if you go." Zhang Yi looked calm and reassured King Hui of Qin, saying that King Huai of Chu did not dare to kill him. The reason Zhang Yi gave to King Hui of Qin was that Qin was a strong country and Chu was a weak country. A weak country would not dare to kill an important official that a strong country relied on. Secondly, he has a very good relationship with Jin Shang, a doctor of Chu State, and Jin Shang will solve all difficulties for Zhang Yi.
Arriving at Chu State leisurely, Zhang Yi marveled at the scenery along the way. As soon as he arrived in Chu State, Zhang Yi was kidnapped by Wuhua Da and imprisoned. King Huai of Chu decided to kill Zhang Yi.
When he heard that he was about to be beheaded, Zhang Yi still looked as if he was about to be beheaded. The reason why he can be so calm and calm is because he has already arranged everything.
Since assisting King Hui of Qin, Zhang Yi has been running around all day long, working very hard. At this moment, he was sitting in the prison just in time to cultivate his moral character and wait for Jin Shang to solve his difficulties.
Zhang Yi said that he was on good terms with Jin Shang, but in fact it would be better to say that Jin Shang was on good terms with Qian Cai. King Huai of Chu had such an insatiable greed, which seemed to have paved the way for his country's downfall. Zhang Yi also loves money, but he did not sacrifice national interests for personal interests, which is worthy of recognition. Jin Shang is different. He only sees personal interests and does not know what national interests are.
The king is fatuous and his ministers see benefits and forget their righteousness. How can Qu Yuan not be sad?
After taking advantage of Zhang Yi, Jin Shang hurried to see Zheng Xiu and threatened Zheng Xiu: "Do you know that the king is going to abandon you?"
Although King Huai of Chu was easily deceived, Zheng Xiu seemed to be even more gullible than him. Jin Shang told Zheng Xiu that Zhang Yi was the most important minister Qin relied on. In order to protect Zhang Yi, the Qin State planned to bribe the Chu State with land from six counties in Shangyong (today's southwest of Zhushan, Hubei Province), and even married the most beautiful woman to the King of Chu, and also used maids who were good at singing and dancing to accompany her in marriage. In order to please King Hui of Qin, King Huai of Chu would treat Qin's beauties favorably. If the beauty of Qin is favored, Zheng Xiu will be abandoned.
The more Zheng Xiu listened, the more frightened he became, and he was at a loss what to do. Jin Shang suggested that even if it was for Zheng Xiu's personal benefit, Zheng Xiu should persuade King Huai of Chu to spare Zhang Yi's life. As long as Zhang Yi saves his life, Qin will not marry a beauty to the King of Chu, and Zheng Xiu's favored position can be kept.
From then on, Zheng Xiu interceded for Zhang Yi in the ear of King Huai of Chu every day. She told King Huai of Chu that as ministers, they only seek the benefit of their master. Although Zhang Yi hurt the state of Chu, it was his responsibility and not his nature. Therefore, Zhang Yi cannot be blamed for the deception but only the state of Qin.
Zheng Xiu went on to say that the State of Chu promised to exchange the land in central Guizhou for Zhang Yi. The land had not yet been ceded to the State of Qin, so the State of Qin sent Zhang Yi to the State of Chu first. This shows that King Hui of Qin respected King Huai of Chu very much. Since King Hui of Qin respected King Huai of Chu, King Huai of Chu should return the favor. If you cannot express respect to King Qin Hui in person, you should respect King Qin Hui's favored ministers. If King Hui of Qin respected King Huai of Chu, Qin would not have beaten Chu until Chu had nowhere to hide.
Then Zheng Xiu said from the other side that if King Huai of Chu killed Zhang Yi, an important minister of Qin, King Hui of Qin would be heartbroken and would definitely use all the strength of the country to attack Chu.
The last resort is physical threats. Zheng Xiu threatened King Chu Huai that if King Chu Huai insisted on killing Zhang Yi, she would move to the south of the Yangtze River first because she did not want to be killed by the Qin army, which would be like killing a fish and cutting flesh.
His beloved concubine Zheng Xiu used both soft and hard tactics. Under the attack of truth, lies, good words, and bad words, King Chu Huai finally gave up the idea of killing Zhang Yi.
"Historical Records" records that after listening to Zheng Xiu's words, "King Huai regretted and pardoned Zhang Yi, and the courtesy was as before." In other words, King Huai of Chu regretted imprisoning Zhang Yi, and even more regretted having wanted to kill Zhang Yi. He released Zhang Yi and treated Zhang Yi as politely as before.
After coming out of prison, Zhang Yi remained as calm and calm as before, showing no joy in escaping from death. Because he dared to come to Chu State because he expected that King Chu Huai could not kill him.
Zhang Yi turned the corner, but his classmate died and was torn apart by a car. That person was Su Qin.
The wars in the middle and late Warring States Period all revolved around two aspects: first, strong countries divided to attack weak countries, and second, weak countries united to attack strong countries. Many times, Qin plays the image of a powerful country. As a result, in that turbulent era, a series of outstanding combined vertical and horizontal families were born, such as Su Qin, Zhang Yi, and Fan Ju.
The Su-Qin joint policy was mainly to lobby the princes of the six countries to implement a vertical alliance to fight against the powerful Qin State, but it was later interrupted by Qin Fan Ju's distant diplomacy and close attack. Zhang Yi's policy of alliance and horizontal cooperation was just the opposite. He used the Qin State to unite Eastern countries and attack weak countries.
The essence of alliances lies in the relevant diplomatic and military struggles carried out by various countries in order to win over allies and confront other countries. The purpose of the alliance is for many weak countries to unite to jointly resist a strong country (Qin) to prevent the strong country from annexing. The purpose of Lian Heng is to rely on a strong country as a backing, and then try to enter into other weak countries. The strong country can kill two birds with one stone, reap the benefits of the fisherman, and also hope to expand its territory and land.
Therefore, the Qin State, which had just emerged from the civil strife, was preparing to recuperate and strengthen its troops. When trying to conquer the Central Plains, it encountered a joint attack from the Eastern States of Chu, Wei, Zhao, etc. Countries that have not participated in the alliance will not help Qin. Their intention is obvious, they want to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight and fish in troubled waters.
Therefore, countries will naturally not give up the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of Qin's civil strife, but what they did not expect was that as Fan Ju entered Qin, Qin's diplomatic strategy gradually changed, from blind confrontation at the beginning to They made close contacts with distant enemies and defeated them one by one, gradually disintegrating the alliance strategy of the Eastern countries.
It happened that Chu State and Empress Dowager Xuan had an old relationship, so Empress Dowager Xuan, Wei Ran and King Zhaoxiang of Qin Ying Ji discussed that they could take advantage of Chu State's unpreparedness and strike first. The military center where Qin and Chu clashed was Shangyong. Shangyong was on the border between Qin and Chu at this time, and should actually be considered the land of Chu. Shangyong has always been a battleground for military strategists because it can invade the Central Plains from the north, penetrate deep into the Chu Kingdom from the south, gallop south of the Yangtze River from the east, and defend Sichuan and Shu from the west.
There are corresponding records about this area in "Shangshu Mu Shi". In 1046 BC, King Zhou of Shang was tyrannical and made the people miserable. King Wu of Zhou obeyed the destiny and sent his troops to attack Zhou. King Wu of Zhou joined the eight kingdoms of Bashi to jointly defeat Zhou. The two sides fought in Muye. At this time, there was still Yongguo in Shangyong. Yongguo was the first of the eight kingdoms and jointly attacked the Shang Dynasty with the Zhou Dynasty.
In the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the reputation of mediocre people who were good at fighting was famous all over the world, so some people claimed that only mediocre people who were good at fighting would be invincible to Qin and Chu. In 611 BC, a severe famine occurred in the Chu State and the country's national strength was greatly damaged. The Yong State took advantage of this opportunity and marched towards the Chu State. Unexpectedly, the Chu State at that time had already united with the Qin State and the Ba State to the west of the Yong State to fight together. Invading enemy. Since then, the country of Yong has been ruined and its territory has been divided among the three kingdoms of Chu, Qin and Ba.
By the middle and late Warring States Period, strategically important areas were mediocre, and it could be said that they were surviving in the cracks. In order to ensure their own safety, the place of superiority always faces Qin and Chu, because Qin and Chu are equally powerful at this time, and it is difficult to decide which one is weaker.
The State of Chu took advantage of the several years when the State of Qin experienced chaos to continuously prepare for war and develop production. As one went through the other, the State of Chu was already evenly matched against the State of Qin.
In the eleventh year of King Nan of Zhou (304 BC), in view of the strength of Chu and the identity of Queen Mother Xuan, Qin and Chu negotiated peace. Qin returned the land of Shangyong to Chu, and Chu divided Shangyong County and Hanzhong. County, Shangyong County governs Shangyong, Hanzhong County governs Xicheng (now Ankang City, Shaanxi).
After that, Qin and Chu launched a series of diplomatic actions around Shangyong. The most successful one was that Qin used Shangyong in exchange for an alliance with Chu, thereby dividing and disintegrating the alliance strategy of Qi, South Korea, Chu and Wei.
However, Qi, as a large country in the east, began to worry about its future development after the alliance between Qin and Chu. Because the state of Chu turned its back on the east, the power of the east was weakened. If Qin was forced to suppress the country, it would be difficult for all countries to protect themselves. In anger, Qi State gathered South Korea and Wei State, and the three armies went south together to conquer Chu State. The State of Qin had just concluded an alliance with the State of Chu, but it began to have difficulties on the issue of whether to participate in the war. Because the Qin State at that time had just experienced chaos, people were in trouble. From the king to the queen mother, down to the common people, they all hope to have a good international situation so that Qin can recuperate and recharge, so they are relatively resistant to war. But Qin also had reasons to assist Chu. Firstly, if Chu suffered a fatal blow or even perished, Qi's strength would inevitably increase, which was not what Qin wanted. Secondly, when the alliance was first established, Qin was not afraid of betrayal. However, if the Chu State can be preserved, the Chu State will definitely be grateful, thereby consolidating the alliance and restricting the Eastern countries. Comparing the two, Qin decided to observe first and then make calculations.
Naturally, the State of Chu also saw the hesitation of the State of Qin, so a conventional system came into play after weighing the situation, and that was the proton system.
The proton system was an important diplomatic strategy during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It was generally seen in the submission of small countries to big countries and weak countries to strong countries. The so-called proton means that the monarch of one country sends his children and other close relatives to another country to show his sincerity to that country. The proton system was very popular during the Warring States Period. Whether it was to further deepen friendly relations or eliminate suspicion, make peace or ask for help, protons were exchanged between countries.
The King of Chu decided to send Prince Heng to Qin as a hostage to show Chu's adherence to the alliance. Seeing this, the State of Qin decided to send its troops to assist the State of Chu. It's a pity that people's calculations are not as good as God's calculations. Prince Heng actually killed a doctor of Qin State in a fight. After the incident, Prince Heng of Chu fled back to Chu State overnight.
The State of Qin originally "intended" to send troops to assist the State of Chu, but the incident of Prince Heng made it immediately adjust its policy and target the State of Chu. Queen Mother Xuan of Qin State, Wei Ran, Fan Ju and others unanimously decided to switch sides and send troops to Chu State.
Diplomacy is not child's play. The Qin State completely changed its strategy just because of the unexpected death of a doctor. This can't help but make people suspicious: the incident of Prince Heng happened too coincidental. It would be reasonable if it was a fight with a local ruffian, but it would be reasonable to fight with a doctor of a country. The fight seems unjustifiable; the death of the doctor was purely accidental. If Qin went to war over this, it would be unjustifiable. Besides, Qin and Chu have always been on good terms. If the alliance between the two countries is firm, and the prince accidentally kills someone, the most he can express is How come they immediately go to war with each other after being condemned?
Therefore, it can be guessed that Qin State had a premeditated plan. King Huai of Chu repeatedly invaded Qin's territory, but it was still the most powerful country in the East. The alliance between Qin and Chu was just a tactic by Qin to delay the war. Chu, who had made an alliance with Qin, was criticized and ostracized by various countries in the East. Even the great Eastern countries headed by Qi wanted to attack it. Qin's goal of dividing the eastern forces seems to have been achieved. With the help of the eastern countries, Qin can eliminate the threat from Chu to itself, which will be of great benefit to Qin's unification of the world. Therefore, as soon as Prince Heng of Chu escaped from Qin, Qin sent envoys to discuss the dispatch of troops with Qi.
A year later, Qin gathered Qi, Han, and Wei to jointly attack Chu. Tang Mei, the general of Chu, was killed and Chongqiu left. In this battle, Qi State not only occupied dozens of cities in Chu State, but also successfully disintegrated the alliance between Qin State and Chu State. The war made Qi's strength once again recognized by other countries, and it became the leading country in the east against Qin. Qi became the biggest winner at that time.
Two years later, Qin attacked Chu again. The Chu army was defeated and 20,000 Chu soldiers were killed. Even Chu general Jing Que was not spared. For a time, Chu State had almost no generals available. Chu State was like a frightened bird, always worried that the Qin army would suddenly appear in the capital of Chu State one day. In desperation, Chu State thought of another powerful country in the east, Qi State, so Prince Heng once again went to Qi State as a hostage to seek Qi State's understanding and help, and at the same time divert Qin State's attack target so that it would not be able to attack Qi State. Dare to attack Chu on your own.
Chu's move played into Qi's ambitions. The main strategic purpose of Qi's attack on Chu was to weaken Chu and seize its land. But it did not have the ambition or strength to dominate the world at this time, but Qin did. In order to prevent Qin from defeating the six eastern kingdoms one by one, Qi united other countries to jointly attack the alliance between Qin and Chu. Therefore, after the prince reached the capital of Qi, the Qin army did not dare to attack Chu again.
