Chapter 23 5. Mother and child are of the same heart, clever plan to solve future worries

Yiqu is a nomadic people in the west of Qin State. Because of the control of Zhao State, they often plundered the western border of Qin State during the Warring States Period. In 331 BC, taking advantage of the civil strife in Yiqu, King Qin Hui sent troops to quell it, and Yiqu had to submit to Qin.Even so, how can the tough and unrestrained personality of the nomads be dominated by others!Therefore, the Yiqu State obeyed the dark and refused to accept it, and it still often attacked the Qin State.In 327 BC, Qin attacked Yiqu again and took its Yuzhi City (now Qingcheng). Yiqu failed and proclaimed itself a vassal to Qin again.

In 318 BC, Yiqu took advantage of the melee among the Central Plains countries to betray Qin and pay tribute to Wei.Wei Gongsunyan mobilized Zhao, Han, Yan, Chu and Wei to jointly attack Qin.At the moment of the war, Qin Yiqu forged a thousand horses and a hundred beauties to win over Yiqu.Yiqu refused, and took advantage of the situation to attack Qin, defeating the Qin army.This serious injury slowed down the pace of Qin's eastward advance, and forced it to shift its strategic focus to Yiqu. In 314 BC, Qin mobilized heavy troops to invade Yiqu from the east, west, and south, and captured 25 cities successively, which greatly reduced the territory and strength of Yiqu.Yiqu had to bow his head to Qin again.

In 307 BC, King Wu of Qin died at the age of 23.King Qin Wu had no heirs. In 306 BC, with the great help of the power minister Wei Ran, the Queen Mother Xuan helped her young son Yingji to the throne, which was the historical King Qin Zhaoxiang.At the beginning of Qin Zhaoxiang's accession to the throne, the Empress Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran were in charge of state affairs because he was underage.During this period, Yiqu, which had been dormant for a long time, was ready to move again, sending troops to harass the border of Qin State.Due to the unstable domestic situation of Qin State at that time, and facing the critical opportunity of the six countries uniting against Qin, Qin State did not have much strength to resist Yiqu, so it lost part of the land in the north.

The Queen Mother Xuan and King Qin Zhaoxiang clearly saw that the existence of Yiqu was a great hidden danger to Qin's national security.Later, under the careful planning of the Empress Dowager Xuan's mother and son, two kings who were a great threat to Qin were trapped and killed, one was King Yiqu and the other was King Huai of Chu. Qin lures and kills Queen Yiqu, and successfully eliminates Yiqu's threat to the Guanlong region of Qin State for hundreds of years, allowing Qin State to have no worries, free up its hands to strengthen the country, and become the most powerful country among the vassal states.

During the reign of King Huai of Chu, he destroyed the powerful Yue State, occupied the original land of Wu and Yue, and attacked Wei, Han, and Song Dynasty to the north. These victories almost doubled the territory of Chu State.King Huai of Chu was very eager to get Bashu and Hanzhong occupied by Qin State, and launched a fierce attack on these areas, but all failed.For Qin, King Huai of Chu was a very terrible neighbor.Therefore, Queen Mother Xuan decided to get rid of King Huai of Chu by any means. In the 30th year of King Huai of Chu, that is, in 299 BC, when the state of Chu was in internal and external difficulties, the Queen Mother Xuan saw the opportunity to get rid of King Huai of Chu, so she decided to extend a life-saving straw to the state of Chu. The king tricked Qin into seeking peace.

Queen Mother Xuan told King Qin Zhaoxiang what she thought, and King Qin Zhaoxiang hesitated and said, "Queen Mother, will King Chu Huai still believe us? We have lied to him more than once, will he still be fooled this time?" "That depends on whether our bait is big enough." Queen Mother Xuan said with a smile. King Qin Zhaoxiang was a little puzzled and said: "The child doesn't know, so please ask the mother to tell me clearly." "Now Chu is in a difficult situation and needs help. We will use this as a breakthrough, in the name of the alliance, to deceive King Huai of Chu to Wuguan, and then force him to cede the land." Queen Mother Xuan said.

King Qin Zhaoxiang was still a little worried, and asked, "What if he refuses to submit?" "Then we will put him under house arrest. After a long time, he will not be able to bear it. At that time, it will be difficult for him to agree to our request." Queen Mother Xuan smiled slyly. "The queen mother's strategy is really brilliant!" After bidding farewell to Queen Mother Xuan, King Qin Zhaoxiang returned to his palace and immediately wrote a "touching" letter to King Huai of Chu.He said in the letter: "I don't know if you still remember the Yellow Thorn League? That year when we boarded the altar of Yellow Thorn, we were brothers in front of the gods of heaven and earth. From the hills of Qin State to the hills of Chu State, everywhere is filled with The joy of the friendship between Qin and Chu. However, this beautiful relationship was destroyed by an accident—the son of your country killed our minister and fled in fear of crime. This incident did not attract enough attention from your country. It’s reasonable to ask for an explanation on this matter. Of course, I don’t mean to blame anyone when I say this today. Let all this become history! My mother is from Chu State, so I also have the blood of Chu State on my body. Of course, you also have the blood of the Qin State flowing on your body. What is a closer relationship than blood, and what is more important than blood? If there is an occasional conflict, it is also a conflict between your own family. In the final analysis, peace talks are needed to resolve conflicts. On behalf of my country, I sincerely invite you to Wuguan to discuss peace matters and renew the previous covenant.”

After reading the letter, King Huai of Chu was fascinated by King Qin Zhaoxiang's high-sounding words, so he ordered his ministers to discuss the matter. "The king of Qin asked me to go to Wuguan to meet the alliance. If I don't go, I will definitely provoke his resentment; if I go, I'm afraid of any danger. I don't know what you think?" King Huai of Chu said hesitantly at the court meeting. Ling Yin Zhaosui stepped forward to object and said: "Your Majesty can't go, Qin has the intention of annexing the princes, and has ulterior motives. I don't know what tricks I'm playing this time!"

The doctor Qu Yuan also persuaded: "Qin is a country of tigers and wolves. It is its nature to treachery, and it is its instinct to deceive and deceive. It has deceived our country more than once or twice. Has the king forgotten the lessons of being deceived several times before? Yichen Zhi See, not only can your majesty not go, but you should also strengthen border defenses." However, Zilan, the youngest son of King Huai of Chu, objected: "The Qin people offered to unite with us, how can we refuse? Qin and Chu have been married for many years, and recently married our prince and daughter. We were married by the state of Chu, and King Qin Zhaoxiang is the nephew of the father. According to my son and minister, the father must go, otherwise it will anger the state of Qin, and it will not be of any benefit to us. Besides, even if the state of Qin envoys I don’t dare to do anything to my father.” The reason why Zilan persuaded King Huai of Chu to go to Wuguan to meet the alliance has his own wishful thinking: if the father has troubles in Qin, and the crown prince is in Qi Be the proton, then it's my turn to inherit the throne.

Instigated by his youngest son Zilan, King Huai of Chu decided to meet King Zhaoxiang of Qin. King Huai of Chu traveled thousands of miles north to the Central Plains. He inspected his great rivers and mountains along the way and was filled with emotion, but he didn't know that this was the last time he visited his own rivers and mountains in person.He turned west from the Central Plains and entered Wuguan, the gate to the southeast of Qin Dynasty. Wuguan is located in the east of the Qinling Mountains, bordering Shenjian in the south and mountains in the Qinling Mountains in the north. It is a dangerous gateway.When he came to the gate of Wuguan City, King Huai of Chu saw the banner of the King of Qin on Wuguan City, which was decorated up and down. In front of the pass, the loess paved the road, clean water was poured on the street, and the locals were beating gongs and drums, and there was a festival everywhere. atmosphere.Moreover, King Qin Zhaoxiang stood on the city gate with a smile on his face and waved to King Huai of Chu. "Obviously, the State of Qin has made careful preparations in advance to welcome this king, and it seems that they sincerely want to make a covenant with this king." King Huai of Chu thought in this way, so he relaxed his vigilance and walked into the city gate.

But after entering Wuguan City, he realized that it was an empty city show, and the so-called King Zhaoxiang of Qin was only pretended by King Qin's younger brother Jingyang Jun.As he walked down the tower, Lord Jingyang took off his outfit dressed as King Zhaoxiang of Qin, greeted him with a smile, and said, "The king of Chu has come all the way from afar, it's really hard work." "Where is King Qin?" King Huai of Chu couldn't help scolding with anger in his heart. "My king has a cold and is recuperating in Xianyang. I am very sorry that I can't come to meet you. Therefore, I invite the king of Chu to drive to Xianyang City. However, it is not far from here, and it is two hundred miles to the north. Our capital Xianyang." King Huai of Chu was full of suspicion and looked around. Seeing this, the people of Qin said, "don't look at the king of Chu. The city gate has been closed for you. My king has repeatedly ordered us to protect your safety. So for your safety, we will Close the city gate early." After hearing this, King Huai of Chu knew that he had fallen into the mouth of a wolf and fell into the trap of King Qin Zhaoxiang.So he became furious and scolded the Qin people for being untrustworthy.However, hanging thousands of miles away alone, King Huai of Chu, who had calmed down, had no choice but to be held hostage by the Qin army and head north to Xianyang. King Huai of Chu was "escorted" to Xianyang Palace, where the real King Qin Zhaoxiang was waiting for him sitting on the throne symbolizing his dominance.The majestic and majestic palace and the seemingly endless steps seem to be constantly reminding King Huai of Chu of the authority of King Qin Zhaoxiang. However, King Huai of Chu who saw the true face of King Qin Zhaoxiang was no longer the cowardly and incompetent King Huai of Chu.He looked disdainfully at King Qin Zhaoxiang who was sitting high on the Jinluan Palace and said, "Is this the Wuguan Huimeng that King Qin mentioned? This king believes in the marriage relationship between the two countries, and even more in the credibility of Qin State. That's why I came here alone to meet you. Unexpectedly, you pretended to be sick and lured me here, what is your intention?" "The king of Chu must have misunderstood, the widow is just caught in the cold by accident..." Before King Qin Zhaoxiang finished speaking, King Huai of Chu interrupted him: "If you have any intentions, you may as well just say it." "Since this is the case, the widow will speak directly. The widow asked you to come, and the intention is very simple, because Daqin wants the Qianzhong County of Chu State (now Yuanling, Hunan, and the jurisdiction includes Guizhou and Hunan), so I have to wrong you, the king of Chu. Your Majesty is here. If the King of Chu agrees to cede, I will send the King of Chu back to the country at night, and I will never break my promise." King Qin Zhaoxiang said with a smile. "You want Qianzhong County, which can be settled in negotiations, but why do you resort to such obscene means?" King Huai of Chu looked contemptuous. "I'm afraid you can't help this!" King Qin Zhaoxiang's thin face suddenly became stern, and said: "Could it be that King Chu is willing to stay in my country of Qin for the rest of his life?" "You...you..." King Huai of Chu was so angry that he couldn't say a word, rolled his eyes, and said, "This king can give you Qianzhong County. How about sending a special envoy to follow me to Chu State to receive it?" "Do you treat the widow as a three-year-old child?" King Qin Zhaoxiang sternly refused: "I'm afraid we won't even get an inch of land when you return to Chu State? Don't play these tricks with me, the widow is not like you, the king of Chu." That’s so naive.” King Qin Zhaoxiang laughed a few times, and continued: “Please trouble the King of Chu to send someone back to your country first, and cede Qianzhong County to Daqin. Once this is done, I guarantee that I will be the King of Chu for you.” Throw a grand farewell party." Seeing that his thoughts were seen through, King Huai of Chu said angrily, "Ying, you despicable and shameless villain! Even if I die here today, this king will not succumb to your threats. You think the world Are all people like you, shameless people who are greedy for life and afraid of death? Now I will let you see with your own eyes that there are people who are different from you." Upon seeing this, King Zhaoxiang of Qin ordered that King Huai of Chu be placed under house arrest in Xianyang in accordance with the strategy of his mother, Queen Mother Xuan.He believed that, as the king of a country, King Huai of Chu couldn't bear this kind of suffering, and he would definitely give in in the end.However, this time, King Qin Zhaoxiang underestimated his opponent.Because King Huai of Chu decided to use his own life as a weapon and vowed not to surrender to the death. In this way, King Huai of Chu has been under house arrest in Qin State for two years.During the period of house arrest, King Huai of Chu was restless, thinking about his own country.So he tried his best, and finally in 297 BC, he got rid of the guards, captured the carriage and fled Xianyang. Zhao State is relatively close to Qin State, and the country is very powerful. King Huai of Chu thought that if he could escape to Zhao State, he would be safe.But when he arrived in the country of Zhao, he learned that King Wuling of Zhao was expanding his land in the north.The prince who stayed in Handan, the capital city, was just a child. He didn't dare to make a decision. He was afraid that he would offend the state of Qin and bring disaster to the state of Zhao by taking in King Huai of Chu, so he refused to open the city gate to let King Huai of Chu in. In desperation, King Huai of Chu had no choice but to run to his distant hometown——Chu State. On the way, he was overtaken by Qin State's pursuers and escorted back to Xianyang in the form of captives. After returning to Xianyang, the ill-fated King Huai of Chu died in less than a year.The State of Qin sent the body of King Huai of Chu back to the State of Chu. "Everyone in Chu pity him, just like pitying a relative."