Su Qin was cut into pieces by five horses, the vertical beams collapsed, and the countries were like a pile of scattered sand. Zhang Yi seized this golden opportunity and lobbied King Huai of Chu again.
Qin owns half of the world's land, has dangerous mountains and rivers, is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has the strongest military strength. Zhang Yi told King Huai of Chu that it was very unwise for the Chu State to join forces with the weak vassal states instead of relying on the Qin State, which was as powerful as a tiger or wolf. What Zhang Yi means is that although Qin and Chu are about the same strength, if Chu does not rely on Qin and Qin sends troops, it can immediately occupy Yiyang.
When the Chu State participated in the alliance, Su Qin promised that if the Chu State was invaded, Han, Wei and other countries would definitely come to the rescue. Zhang Yi said that Qin could occupy Yiyang, intending to show that once Qin took control of Yiyang, South Korea would be cut into two parts, and it would be difficult to protect itself, let alone have the time and ability to rescue Chu. If South Korea falls, the Wei State without a barrier will inevitably surrender to Qin. If both Han and Wei surrender to Qin, Qin can use the armies of Han and Wei to attack Chu. Qin alone would be difficult to deal with. If Han and Wei armies were added, Chu would definitely be captured. Hearing Zhang Yi's analysis, King Huai of Chu was filled with worries.
In this lobbying, Zhang Yi hopes to break the alliance, and is even more eager to achieve the alliance. Zhang Yi believes that it is simply not feasible for a unified country to try to unite weak countries and dispersed forces to resist powerful countries. If a small country launches a war, the country will inevitably struggle to cope with it, causing a shortage of supplies and boiling public dissatisfaction, which will eventually lead to civil strife. Only big and powerful countries have the ability to wage war. If the Chu State did not rely on the Qin State, the Qin State's warships would set out from Wenshan and go down the river, and would reach Weiguan (today's west of Changyang, Hubei Province) in less than ten days. If the defense of the pass fails, Qianzhong and Wujun will no longer be the territory of Chu. At this time, the Qin State took advantage of the victory to pursue it and sent troops to Wuguan. The north and south of the Chu State were cut off in the middle, and they could no longer rescue each other.
Zhang Yi estimated that it would only take three months for Qin to occupy Chu. Even if the princely states send troops to rescue, it will take at least half a year, and there is simply no time.
After analyzing the reality, Zhang Yi looked back on history. He believed that Chu and Wu fought five battles, winning three and losing two. The strength of the army was weakened and it no longer had the ability to participate in the war. If King Huai of Chu ignored the domestic situation of exhausted troops and desperate people and rashly resisted Qin, he would surely be overthrown by an uprising like other small countries. Judging from the number of wars it has participated in, Qin has the most. As long as there is war, it will waste people and money, and lead to criticism from the lowest level people. The Qin State was able to successfully launch many wars. In addition to receiving benefit subsidies after winning the war, strict laws and regulations were an important factor in winning.
Since the establishment of the Hezong Alliance, the Qin State had not dared to peek east of Hangu Pass for 15 years. Zhang Yi could not deny this ironclad fact. However, Zhang Yi told King Huai of Chu that the Qin State had not sent troops to Hangu Pass for many years because the Qin Army was busy implementing a big plan-to annex the world in one fell swoop.
In front of King Chu Huai, Zhang Yi openly shouted that Qin wanted to annex the world, which meant that Chu also wanted to annex. This shows that he did not take King Chu Huai seriously at all. He dared to despise King Chu Huai not because Chu State was weak, but because King Chu Huai was simple-minded.
Although Su Qin is dead, he is still a symbol of the Hezong Kingdom. If Su Qin's image is destroyed, the Hezong Kingdom will have no support and will collapse. Seizing Su Qin's attempt to split the Qi State, Zhang Yi made a big fuss, saying that Su Qin appeared to be seeking benefits for all countries, but in fact he was destroying the national security of the cooperating countries.
After being cut into pieces by five horses, Su Qin avenged the Qi State for the Yan State, and his conspiracy to split the Qi State was exposed and became known to the world. After Zhang Yi reminded him like this, King Chu Huai began to think carefully about the Hezong family's strategy and found that what the Hezong family said was exactly the opposite of what Zhang Yi said.
After the threatening words were finished, came the inducements. Zhang Yi promised that if King Huai of Chu listened to his advice, the Qin State would send the prince to Chu as a hostage, marry the princess of Qin to King Huai of Chu, and donate a city of 10,000 households as a bathing place for King Huai of Chu.
Among all the people in the world, Zhang Yi was the most dishonest. King Huai of Chu was so blinded by the benefits that he forgot the shame of 600 miles of land. King Huai of Chu once vowed that as long as Qin handed over Zhang Yi to Chu, he would return central Guizhou to Qin. At that time, King Huai of Chu was only interested in revenge and did not consider anything else. However, he vaguely listened to his concubine Zheng Xiu's words and let Zhang Yi go.
If King Huai of Chu did not follow Zhang Yi's suggestion and join the alliance, he would give away central Guizhou. As a result, Zhang Yi failed to kill him and had to give away the land in vain.
Many people in later generations wrote poems to comment on the fact that King Huai of Chu easily let Zhang Yi go. Xu Wei, a Tang Dynasty man, wrote a poem called "History of the State of Chu", which satirized King Huai of Chu's incompetence.
The merchants of the six countries have the most hatred, and their good bows and swords will not be sharpened.
If the king doesn't cut his tongue like a sharp tongue, there will be nothing he can do if he gets Zhang Yi again.
Fiddling with his abacus, King Huai of Chu thought that if he relied on the Qin State, there would be no need to send Qianzhong to the Qin State. In this way, we can not only keep our territory but also find a backer, which is really a great joy.
King Huai of Chu thought it was a happy event, but another person thought it was a great disaster. That person was Qu Yuan.
Qu Yuan composed "Li Sao" out of deep thought
Zhang Yi said that either Qin or Chu could dominate the world. Su Qin also said the same thing. Chu State not only has a vast territory and abundant resources, but also has great potential for development. It is also a country with deep foundations.
After the decline of the Zhou royal family, Chu State took advantage of its geographical location to develop rapidly. As the country's power grew stronger, the king of Chu became increasingly arrogant. Xiong Qu, the leader of the Chu State, used the excuse that the Chu State was a barbarian country, so he did not need the order of the Zhou Dynasty and proclaimed his son king.
Entering the Spring and Autumn Period, Xiong Tong, the leader of Chu State, regarded the Zhou Dynasty as nothing and called himself King Wu, that is, King Wu of Chu. When King Wu of Chu proclaimed himself king, other princes still referred to themselves as "gong" and did not dare to offend the Zhou Dynasty.
The decline of the Zhou Dynasty was the general trend, but Confucius went against the current and bravely acted as a defender of Taoism. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius compiled the "Spring and Autumn Annals". He was extremely resentful of Chu's apostasy and derogated the king of Chu as "Zi".
Later, King Zhuang of Chu dared to ask about the importance of the Zhou Dynasty's treasured tripod, and his behavior was extremely arrogant. Zhou Tan, a Tang Dynasty man, was not angry about this behavior and wrote a poem:
Jiu Mu's gold melted into an image, and he fainted and went to chaos.
If King Xing is in virtue but not in Ding, why should Chuzi bother to ask about important things?
Judging from the history of the Chu State, the prosperity of the Chu State stemmed precisely from the monarch's "deviant behavior." Judging from the history of China's centralization of power, if a country wants to be prosperous and strong, it must have a king who dares to think and act.
From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period to the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, the development of the country is all thanks to the courage of the king. On the contrary, if the king is incompetent, the country will inevitably decline. The Chu State during the reign of King Huai of Chu is an example.
King Chu Huai did not inherit the deviant tiger and wolf characteristics of his ancestors, but gathered all the docile and cowardly shortcomings into one body. Not only did he let Zhang Yi go, but he also promised Lian Heng to attach himself to Qin.
At this time, Qu Yuan, the official of Sanlu, had just returned from Qi. He was heartbroken to hear that King Huai of Chu easily released Zhang Yi. He quickly asked to see King Chu Huai and persuaded King Chu Huai to kill Zhang Yi. Qu Yuan persuaded him with good words, and King Huai of Chu repented and ordered Zhang Yi to be arrested. However, Zhang Yi had already fled Chu.
Qu Yuan's remonstrance this time can be said to be a crime of beheading, because he had already been alienated by the foolish king Chu Huai. As an alienated minister, Qu Yuan was able to persuade King Huai of Chu to kill Zhang Yi, which shows his loyalty. What is even more admirable is that Qu Yuan dared to risk his own life to remonstrate for the sake of the country regardless of personal safety. It can be imagined that he loved the country of Chu.
Qu Yuan had the same surname as the King of Chu, named Ping, and his official title was Zuo Tu. As a member of the royal family, Qu Yuan was very concerned about the rise and fall of the country, and had a certain degree of research in this area. Shang Yang paid attention to the way of national development, Zhang Yi, Su Qin and others paid attention to the way of national hegemony, and Qu Principle paid attention to the way of national prosperity and survival.
"Historical Records: Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng" begins by saying that Qu Yuan was concerned about the survival of the country, which was intended to imply that the Chu State was in danger of subjugation. If the king is incompetent and does not protect the country well, the country will inevitably face danger. There are powerful advisers outside and treacherous ministers at home. The throne of King Huai of Chu is like a pile of dry firewood. If a spark is ignited, you will surely die.
Qu Yuan was familiar with diplomacy, was courteous and considerate in his dealings with others, and his eloquent expressions even impressed envoys from other countries. He can be regarded as the golden signature of Chu State. King Huai of Chu relied heavily on Qu Yuan, and entrusted Qu Yuan with all major and minor domestic and international affairs, and even asked Qu Yuan to formulate laws.
Shang Yang also made laws. He was able to succeed because he had the support of a strong Duke Xiao of Qin. Qu Yuan was not as lucky as Shang Yang because King Huai of Chu did not have the talents of Duke Xiao of Qin. The formulation of laws is a national matter, and Shangguan officials were unwilling to let Qu Yuan completely control them. For their own benefit, Shangguan officials decided to steal Qu Yuan's talent. So after Qu Yuan drafted the government decree, Shangguan officials used intrigues to take possession of it for themselves. But the results of the action were not ideal at all. When one plan failed, another one came up. He told King Huai of Chu that Qu Yuan relied on his talent and kept publicizing it outside, saying that only he could formulate the laws of Chu State.
King Huai of Chu was also a jealous man of virtuous people. Hearing what Shangguan officials said, he became jealous, so he built a thick barrier in his heart and gradually alienated Qu Yuan.
At that time, a whirlwind of concessions happened to blow in the princely states. Qu Yuan was of royal family and talented. King Chu Huai was worried that if he gained popular support, his position as king would be in danger, so he was worried.
Sima Qian expressed his displeasure at Qu Yuan's alienation:
"King Qu Pingji was not clever when he heard it, the frame-up obscured the light, the evil tune harmed the public, and the uprightness was not tolerated, so he wrote "Li Sao" with sorrow and meditation... Believe and be suspicious, be loyal and be slandered, how can you No resentment? Qu Ping's "Li Sao" is based on self-pity." ("Historical Records: Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng")
Qu Yuan was suspected, felt resentful, and had no one to complain to, so he couldn't help but write "Li Sao" and other immortal poems.
What "Li Sao" leaves to future generations is perseverance in life, such as "The road is long and long, I will search up and down"; there is pity for the people's difficult life, such as "I take a long breath to cover my tears, and I feel sorry for the people's livelihood." There are so many hardships"; there is loyalty to the motherland and the ancestral temple, such as "pointing to the nine heavens as proof, it is because of my spiritual practice." In short, the text is like the person, and we can get a glimpse of Qu Yuan's character from "Li Sao".
Lu Youyou, a man from the Song Dynasty, said, "The spirit of Li Sao is still full of hatred, and the clothes of those with lofty ideals will be full of tears for thousands of years" (Lu You, "Sorrow"), which shows that the tone of "Li Sao" is painful.
Liu Xi of the Qing Dynasty said in "Yi Gai·Wen Gai": "The one who learned "Li Sao" was Tai Shigong, and the one who learned its lyrics was Sima Changqing." This means that Sima Qian deeply understood the meaning of "Li Sao" The sadness in the rhyme is reflected in his articles.
The purpose of literature is to express emotions. Without emotions, no matter how beautiful the words are, they will not last long. "Li Sao" and "Historical Records" can be circulated for a long time because of their sincere emotions.
