After Huaizhuang Xianggong passed away, the surrounding states also breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Huaigong did not fight many battles, he won a great victory every time he made a move, and he destroyed Yue and Xu successively.
These two Fang countries are not those small countries. They are considered powerful countries with a radius of two to three hundred miles among the states of Bangzhou.
As for the Duke of Huai who had just ascended the throne, everyone was more impressed by the beauty of his wife. They felt that Duke Huai was addicted to beauty, so they were all relieved.
The same is true for Chu State. King Chuzhuang united with Qin State to defeat Jin State, dominated the princes, and aspired to the world. As a result, he conquered Song State and was defeated by Huai State in the first battle. Even King Chuzhuang died of illness.
King Zhuang passed away and his son Kang came to the throne.
When Xiong Kang came to the throne, the Chu State was at a low ebb and was very worried about the Huai State's attack. At that time, everyone in the Chu State was very nervous. It was also under this pressure that Xiong Kang worked hard to govern. He first signed an alliance with the Jin State to eliminate troops. He stopped and made peace, then began to stabilize the royal power and deal with internal problems.
At that time, Zi Nan, the uncle of King Chu in the Chu State, took advantage of the death of King Zhuang to become powerful and became the magistrate of the Chu State. Xiong Kang wanted to look at his face at that time, which made Xiong Kang, the king of Chu, very unhappy, so after the external environment stabilized, he began to deal with him.
King Xiong Kang of Chu took advantage of the opportunity to go to court and ambushed soldiers on both sides of the hall. When Zinan came to go to court, the soldiers swarmed up, caught him, killed him, and swept away his followers. And empty. .
As a result, Chu King Xiong Kang completely took control of the power of Chu State.
King Xiong Kang of Chu did not relax because of this. He continued to form an alliance with Qin and at the same time conquered the small Yi countries in the south to seize the population and restore national power. Thanks to Xiong Kang's efforts, Chu State quickly recovered.
At the same time, Xiong Kang's improved taxation made the taxation more effective, reduced the burden on the people, and reformed the military system. After more than ten years of development, the Chu Kingdom once again prospered.
This Xiong Kang is also a rare wise king, but it is a pity that most wise kings do not live long.
In the fifteenth year of King Lie of Chu, King Lie died.
Those who have made meritorious service and brought peace to the people are called Lie, those who uphold their virtues and abide by their profession are called Lie, and those who simply achieve great achievements are called Lie.
King Lie died and his son came to the throne. Just like the vast majority of wise kings do not live long, many sons of wise kings are also rebellious, and they are not very young, and the ruler of the country is doubtful.
Originally, the secret guards of the Huai Kingdom were planning to do something secretly to cause turmoil in the Chu State. However, before the secret guards took action, Xiong Ju, the younger brother of King Lie, couldn't help it, killed his nephew, and then established himself as king.
This action was extremely fast. Before many people could react, King Chu had already replaced him.
King Lie's son was killed by Xiong Ju and seized the throne. This coup did not cause much shock. Although King Lie was a wise king, his reforms at that time affected the interests of the nobles, and he did not appease him later. Therefore, King Lie's son Xiong Bei was killed, and the nobles quickly recognized Xiong Ju.
After all, this kind of royal turmoil has occurred many times in the history of Chu State.
After Xiong Ju ascended the throne, most people recognized his status, but only Wu She was dissatisfied. Wu She was the Lieutenant Tuogu Minister and the Prime Minister of Chu State. Xiong Ju deliberately pushed him away before taking action. By the time Wu She got the news and hurried back, Xiong Ju had already ascended the throne and inherited the throne.
Seeing Xiong Bei being killed, Wu She angrily cursed in the main hall: "Shuzi, killing a king with his ministers is like a beast; killing his nephew with his uncle is like Zhou Jie, and he should be punished for his crime!"
Xiong Ju was furious. At this time, he had taken control of the Chu State and directly ordered his guards to arrest Wu She.
"I respect you as a veteran of three dynasties and have made many meritorious deeds for the Chu State. This is why I will give you a chance. As long as you admit your mistake and surrender to me, I will forgive your sins!" Xiong Ju said.
Wu She was furious: "I am a minister of King Tuogu, how can I surrender to you, a regicide? I just regret that I failed to fulfill the instructions of the late king to protect King Bei. I will kill him if I want. How can I surrender?"
Xiong Ju immediately imprisoned Wu She and sent people to prepare to kill all the Wu family. Fortunately, someone informed him in advance. After Wu She's son Wu Zixu learned about it, he fled overnight and came to Huai Kingdom.
Xiong Ju failed to catch Wu Zixu, so he killed all the remaining members of the Wu family. After Wu Zixu fled to Huai Kingdom, he learned that the Wu family had been exterminated by Xiong Ju.
, immediately vowed to take revenge.
Wu Zixu fled to the Huai Kingdom because he knew that the only country in the world that could help him take revenge was the Huai Kingdom. After escaping to the Huai Kingdom, Wu Zixu immediately wanted to serve as an official in the Huai Kingdom, but he had no acquaintances in the Huai Kingdom, and there were no connections to recommend him. He was unable to become an official in the Huai Kingdom, let alone meet the king.
Fortunately, Wu Zixu found that there was no recommendation in Huai State, and if he wanted to become an official without background, the best way was to go to the Academy, so Wu Zixu went to the Academy to study.
Huaiguo Academy conducts assessments every year, and all academy disciples can participate. As long as they pass the assessment, they will be recommended to Duke Huai. Finally, after being approved by Duke Huai, they can become an official.
This is also the way for those who have no talent and no background to reach the sky in one step. Of course, there are only a few people who can actually take this path.
Wu Zixu was determined to take revenge, so naturally he would not be stumped by this difficulty. He immediately pawned the sword and jade pendant he took with him when he ran away from home for daily use, and then went to Huaiguo Academy.
...
"Your Majesty, this is the list of those who have passed the examination in the Academy this year." A secretary presented the bamboo slips with both hands.
Wang Qi reached out to take the bamboo slip and asked casually: "Is there anyone who excels in this assessment?"
"There is a Chu countryman, Wu Zixu, who is outstanding in talent and ranks first. The others are far behind." The secretary said respectfully.
Wang Qi suddenly became interested: "Chu people? How come people from Chu came to our Huai country?"
You must know that the Chu State and the Huai State fought several battles, resulting in heavy casualties. The Chu State's officials and nobles were very hostile to the Huai State. Basically, few people came to the Huai State Academy, let alone served in the Huai State.
"I heard that his family was exterminated by the King of Chu, but I don't know whether it is true or not."
"Okay, you go down!" Wang Qi waved his hand and asked everyone to retreat, and then a secret guard came out from the corner.
"Have you ever investigated this Wu Zixu? Is he a good female official in Chu State?" Wang Qi asked questions while reading the slips.
"Your Majesty, we have checked. Wu Zixu is the second son of Wu She. Wu She was exterminated by Xiong Ju because he scolded Xiong Ju for killing his nephew and usurping the throne. Only Wu Zixu was able to escape. He came to Huai State to use the power of our Huai State to destroy Chu."
"Unless she can really ignore the hatred of annihilating her family and become a female servant of the Chu Kingdom!"
"Wu She is also a loyal minister and a loyal person. It's a pity." Wang Qi shook his head and didn't care too much.
"The Chu Kingdom's law of succession has begun again!"
"Send someone to invite Wu Zixu here. I want to take the exam in person."
