Chun Shenjun's real name was Huang Xie. When he was young, Huang Xie traveled around to study and learn from his teachers. While traveling thousands of miles, he also greatly increased his knowledge and improved his strategies. In particular, his eloquence was deeply appreciated by King Qingxiang of Chu.
It was also when King Qingxiang of Chu was still the prince, Huang Xie stayed in Qin as a hostage and had a deep understanding of Qin. Later, when he returned to Chu State, King Huai of Chu was dead, so King Qingxiang of Chu began to reuse Huang Xie.
In 272 BC, Bai Qi of Qin defeated the combined armies of Wei and South Korea. South Korea and Wei then obeyed Qin's orders and prepared to launch a massive attack on Chu. King Qingxiang of Chu had no choice but to send Huang Xie, who was outstanding in eloquence, as an envoy to Qin. Huang Xie then wrote a letter to King Zhaoxiang of Qin, talking about the current international situation, believing that Qin and Chu were evenly matched. Once they entered a fight to the death, the end result would be that both sides would lose, while South Korea, Zhao, Wei and Qi would benefit from it. Instead of doing thankless things, it would be better to join forces with Chu to attack other countries. This kind of thing would naturally be of great benefit to the State of Qin, so the King of Qin agreed to Huang Xie's proposal and formed an alliance with the State of Chu.
In order to show the sincerity of Chu State, King Qingxiang of Chu sent Huang Xie and Prince Xiong Wan to Qin State to serve as hostages. They stayed there for ten years.
In 263 BC, Xiong Hengyi, King of Qingxiang of Chu, fell ill and was about to die, so he sent people to the State of Qin to ask the King of Qin to allow Prince Xiong Wan and Lord Chunshen to return to their own country so that the Prince could inherit the Chu State. The great position of the king of the country.
However, the state of Qin believed that if the king of Chu died and the prince of Chu could not return to his country, there would be chaos in the country, which would be more beneficial to the state of Qin, so the state of Qin would not let the prince Xiong Wan go back.
Huang Xie believed that if he went directly to the King of Qin at this time and told him about the Chu prince's request to return to the country, not only would it have no effect, but it might even be self-defeating. At this time, Fan Ju was still in power and had the most trust from King Qin Zhaoxiang. So Huang Xie decided to persuade Fan Ju.
As soon as Huang Xie saw Fan Ju, he stated the pros and cons to him. The Art of War says that if you know yourself and your enemy, you will be victorious in a hundred battles. Huang Xie spoke bluntly about the current situation of Qin and Chu. He believed that the reason why Qin did not allow the prince of Chu to return to the country was simply to use it to blackmail Chu or cause trouble for Chu without a leader. As everyone knows, misfortune lies on the back of good fortune, and good fortune lies on the back of misfortune. It seems that the State of Chu suffered a heavy blow. In fact, King Qingxiang of Chu had already made preparations. Even if the prince could not return to the State of Chu, the State of Chu would still be able to survive. It is easy to find the most suitable person to inherit the throne from among many princes. Although that person is not upright and obeys authority in urgent matters, his intelligence will definitely not be lower than that of the current prince. Not only will the friendly relations between Qin and Chu be broken down, but even though Prince Xiong Wan is in Qin, he will lose value because he cannot return to Chu.
What Qin needs most is a friendly Chu State and a Chu King who will act as the leader of Qin State. Except for Prince Xiong Wan, Huang Xie thinks it will be difficult for anyone else to do this. As long as the Qin State can release the prince, after he ascends the throne, he will definitely be grateful for the kindness of the King of Qin, and he will definitely protect the friendly relations between Qin and Chu in every possible way. It can be seen that releasing Xiong Wan will benefit both sides, but otherwise it will definitely be detrimental to Qin.
In fact, before this, Fan Ju had already thought deeply about the issue of whether to release Prince Xiong Wan or not, and also realized the pros and cons. However, if he did not give Chu a little difficulty, the King of Chu would not be grateful. What Fan Ju has to do is to maximize the benefits of one thing.
Since Huang Xie expressed his position on behalf of the crown prince of Chu, Fan Ju was also happy to convey his intentions to King Qin Zhaoxiang. King Qin Zhaoxiang was so smart that he easily understood what Huang Xie said. But King Qin Zhaoxiang was even more worried if King Qingxiang of Chu was not sick at this time, but deliberately pretended to be sick. If this is the case, then not only will the leverage of Chu State be gone, but Chu State will also be able to stabilize. Even talents like Chunshenjun Huang Xie were able to return to the Chu State, which was undoubtedly a dangerous thing for the Qin State.
You must know that at this moment, the State of Qin and the State of Zhao are confronting each other in Changping, and the balance of the war will tilt towards one side at any time, as long as that side's bargaining chip increases slightly. Naturally, Qin would not let Chu fall to Zhao's side.
Therefore, King Qin Zhaoxiang ordered Xiong Wan's master to go back to check on King Chu Qingxiang's condition. In fact, this was just a delaying strategy.
Huang Xie also realized that although what he said was clear and logical, Qin had not actually made up his mind to let Prince Xiong Wan go. Huang Xie also knew clearly that King Chu Qingxiang had been in poor health before, and as the country was weakening day by day, he often indulged in drinking and sex. This time to report that his condition was getting worse, it was certainly not false.
At this moment, the state affairs of Chu State are all in the hands of the royal family member Yang Wenjun. Once the king goes to the west, he will definitely support his son to become the new crown prince. Naturally, the other princes will not be convinced, only Xiong Wan is. The legitimate heir to the throne, if he cannot go back, the Chu State will fall into chaos in a battle for the throne, and the country's already declining power will inevitably collapse.
The key to solving all problems is to send Prince Xiong Wan back to China as soon as possible.
Since Qin is delayed and unable to advance, it is stalling for time. Huang Xie no longer had hope. Therefore, in Huang Xie's mind, a clever plan came up: he still stayed in the prince's palace, while the prince Xiong Wan changed into the clothes of the envoy's groom from the Chu State, and together with the Chu State envoy, Get out of Xianyang, get out of Qin's checkpoint.
Sure enough, despite Huang Xie's personal danger, the Chu prince walked out of Qin without any danger and returned to his own country. During this period of time, Huang Xie announced to the public that Prince Xiong Wan was ill in bed and would not have any guests.
If you don't get sick early, you won't get sick later, but you got sick at this juncture. This gradually gave rise to doubts in King Qin Zhaoxiang's heart. Huang Xie didn't say anything. When King Qin Zhaoxiang sent people to investigate, he asked his subordinates who were similar in size to Xiong Wan to pretend to be Xiong Wan. In this way, he was able to muddle through.
But Huang Xie knew that paper could not cover the fire. When the prince ascends the throne, this matter will come to light, and then the King of Qin will definitely punish himself for deceiving the emperor. So, a few days later, Huang Xie took the initiative to tell the truth to King Qin Zhaoxiang. Unfortunately, it was too late for Qin to pursue him. King Qin Zhaoxiang was naturally furious, so he launched a murderous plan against Huang Xie.
Fortunately, Huang Xie had taken care of everything beforehand, and he warned Fan Ju beforehand, saying that once he was reused by the King of Chu, he would definitely advise the King of Chu to continue to be friendly to Qin. When Fan Ju heard it, he thought it made sense. Therefore, when the King of Qin insisted on killing Huang Xie, Fan Ju advised the King of Qin that killing Huang Xie now would not help. Instead, it would create enmity with the Chu State, which would be detrimental to the long-term interests of the Qin State. For the current plan, only by allowing Huang Xie to return to Chu can the relationship between Qin and Chu be maintained and consolidated. Once the Qin State stabilizes other places, there will be no need to worry about not being able to avenge it.
King Qin Zhaoxiang was just angry for a moment. After his anger subsided, the truth became clear. Finally, King Qin Zhaoxiang followed Fan Ju's suggestion and sent the Qin army to escort Huang Xie and returned to Chu safely.
After Huang Xie returned to Chu State, he did not have any trouble with Qin State. Firstly, it was because Chu State at this time no longer had the strength to compete with Qin State. Secondly, Chunshen Lord was busy fighting with some other countries. Diplomatic activities to expand their prestige and enhance the strength of the Chu State.
Three months later, King Chu Qingxiang died, and Xiong Wan succeeded to the throne, becoming King Chu Kaolie later. In the same year, Huang Xie finally rose to prominence and realized his ambition in life. He was granted the title of Ling Yin of the State of Chu and Lord of Chun Shen by King Chu Kaolie. At the same time, Huang Xie was also given twelve counties in Huaibei as the fiefdom of Chun Shen Lord Huang Xie. At that time, there were frequent wars in Huaibei. The main warring countries were Qi and Chu. So Chun Shenjun asked the King of Chu to exchange fiefs. So, under the instruction of the Chu King, Chun Shenjun exchanged the fiefdoms of the twelve counties in Huaibei. Arrived in Jiangdong.
After the Battle of Changping, the State of Qin took the opportunity to attack Handan of the State of Zhao, and Lord Pingyuan of the State of Zhao came to ask for help from the State of Chu. At this time, both King Kaolie and Lord Chunshen of Chu thought of the difficulties of being trapped in Xianyang in the past, but Qin was here It had been said before that whoever dared to rescue Zhao State would be attacked by Qin State first after defeating Zhao army, so both of them were a little hesitant.
Finally, under Mao Sui's quarrels, King Chu Kaolie agreed to send troops and, together with the Wei army, defeated the Qin army. Moreover, under the leadership of Lord Xinling, the Allied Forces of the Five Kingdoms once reached the Hangu Pass area of the Qin State, and the Qin Army's losses totaled 300,000. This merger delayed Qin's plan to unify the world, and Chun Shenjun also played an important role.
In 256 BC, under the leadership of King Kaolie of Chu, Lord Chun Shen went north to conquer the state of Lu, and destroyed it the next year. During this period, because Xun Kuang's reputation was very high, Lord Chun Shen made him do Lan. The order of Ling (now Cangshan, Shandong).
The rescue of Zhao State and the destruction of Lu State not only showed the power of Chun Shenjun, but also objectively promoted the revival of Chu State. Taken together, Chun Shen Jun mainly adopts a militaristic policy externally. Internally, like Mengchang Jun of Qi, Ping Ping Jun of Zhao and Xinling Jun of Wei, Chun Shen actively recruits talented people regardless of the three religions or the most reckless counselors. Jundu actively interacts with them. With courtesy and generous treatment, those who responded naturally gathered. At one time, the number of customers reached 3,000, and even ranked first among the four princes of the Warring States Period in terms of number.
But in terms of quality, it is difficult to evaluate. Among Huang Xie's customers, most of them like to be brave, competitive, and luxurious.
It is said that Jun Pingyuan, a good friend of Chun Shen Jun, once sent a retainer to visit Chun Shen Jun. Chun Shenjun was a hospitable person, and he was very happy that the guest came, so he arranged for him to stay in a first-class hotel.
But these hangers-on don't know how to praise them, so what's wrong with them? He even thought of going to Chu State to show off Zhao State's wealth. Of course, this could be regarded as an expression of their love for Chu State, but they turned this boast into a display of their own worth. So, these retainers specially put tortoise shell hairpins on their heads, showed off their sword scabbards decorated with pearls and jade, and went to see Lord Chun Shen arrogantly. Unexpectedly, when they saw Lord Chun Shen's top retainers, they all turned around. Feeling ashamed of myself. You know, these people are actually wearing shoes made of orbs! This is called humiliating others. From another perspective, it can be said that Lord Chun Shen spent all his efforts and wealth on his customers.
However, through this incident, Chun Shenjun gradually developed a sense of comparison. What a heroic spirit Lord Xinling was back then! With a wave of his hand, he made all the people surrender, and with a smile, he made the Qin army bleed and float on the oars.
Not only King Kaolie of Chu was envious, but Lord Chun Shen was also jealous, so he beguiled King Nan of Zhou to raise his arms and reorganize the vertical alliance. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, not only did the alliance fail, but the Western Zhou Kingdom was also destroyed by the Qin Kingdom, and King Nan of Zhou became a subject of the Qin Kingdom.
Seeing that the Qin State was becoming stronger, although Chun Shenjun wanted to destroy Qin, he was unable to save it. The greatest tragedy for those who seek for the country is this.
