Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Chu State Monologue: Actually I am very good

In the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, if any country has maintained its status as a powerful country for the longest time, the answer is probably not the Qi State that dominated the Spring and Autumn Period, let alone the Qin State that swept Liuhe, but the Chu State that has always been strong from beginning to end. Just look at the history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, although Qi State still maintained its status as a great power, its national strength continued to decline. He was also the "East and West Emperor", but an attack by the Yan State made Qi State slump.And Jin, once the most powerful country in the Central Plains, although it inherited the status of overlord after Qi, after several generations of glory, it was first defeated by Qin, then by Chu, and then suffered the war of three divisions into Jin. The three kingdoms of Han, Zhao and Wei that were split, South Korea has always been the weakest of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period. Although Wei Guo was once strong in the early Warring States period, after being attacked continuously by Qi and Qin, it became more and more reduced to a supporting role.Zhao Guo once became the second military power after Zhao Wuling Wang Hufu's horse and shooter, but the battle of Changping lost all the old background accumulated over the years, and completely lost the capital to challenge Qin.Among all the countries in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, if it is considered that the status of a powerful country has been maintained for the longest time, it has always been the most powerful dynasty among the princes, but Chu is the only one.

The development of the Chu State caught up with the era when Duke Huan of Qi was the leader. Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, he was a force that the princes of the Central Plains could not underestimate. s country.From the mid-Spring and Autumn period to the early Warring States period, the territory of the Chu State was equivalent to the sum of all the powerful countries in the Central Plains. By about 300 BC in the mid-Warring States period, the territory of the Chu State had included today’s Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other regions, and even Guangxi and Yunnan in the southwest, and Guangdong in the south, have also got their hands on it.At its peak, the country had a land area of ​​more than one million square kilometers and a population of more than five million.In the world at the same time, the Persian Empire has perished, the Macedonian Empire is falling apart, and the Roman Empire is still in civil war.It is said that the Chu State in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, covering almost the entire southern part of China, was a well-deserved superpower in the world at that time.

How did Chu, a superpower, come about? In fact, the powerful Chu State was a country without a name in the early Spring and Autumn and Warring States period. According to the records of various historical materials, especially the records of Qu Yuan, the ancestors of the Chu State originated from the Mi family, the descendants of the Yellow Emperor. That is to say, the Chu people also belong to the Huaxia family.The rise of the state of Chu originated from the Chu tribe living in the Jianghan Plain during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. The ancestor of the state of Chu, Ji Lian, once served as the teacher of King Wen of Zhou. When his great-grandson, Xiong Yi, was canonized as a viscount, he won the honor of being in the Jianghan area. Controlling the authorization of one party, but compared with the princely status of the princes of the Central Plains, his status is much lower.

Although the Chu people in Xiong Yi's era were canonized by Zhou Tianzi, they were very unwelcome.Xiong Yi used to be in charge of Maojiu when Zhou Chengwang met the princes. Compared with the honor of the princes from all walks of life, although he was a viscount, he was just a handyman.This incident also made Xiong Yi feel ashamed and courageous. After returning to China, Xiong Yi started his hard-working road of leading the Chu people. They slashed and burned in the Jianghan Plain, opened up mountains and forests, and introduced advanced production technology from the Central Plains. After several generations of hard work , finally started to grow.What is more difficult than the princes of the Central Plains is that because of survival, Chu State has been facing a serious threat from the southern barbarians since its founding.With the extermination of Sanmiao and Pingshan Yue, the land of Chu State centered on the Han River Plain, and expanded to the later provinces in southern China. Finally, it has a huge territory of "Chu land thousands of miles", and the Chu people are also in this blood and fire again and again. Accepted the baptism of Chinese civilization in the battle, and completed the transformation from a tribe to a civilized country.

Chu State really had a title, and it was around 740 BC when King Wu of Chu reigned. Since the Zhou royal family didn’t give me a title, then I claimed a title for myself. That’s what the powerful King Wu of Chu did.Although the Zhou royal family held their breath against Chu's behavior of becoming a king on their own, there was nothing they could do about it. During this period, the Central Plains had fallen into the decline of the Zhou royal family and the wars among the princes. The emperor of Zhou could not protect himself. name?Of course, there are also the vassal states in the Central Plains who are not convinced, but at this time, the Yellow River Basin adjacent to Chu State, whether it is Zheng State or Song State, no longer has the strength to face Chu State alone. The contrast between strength and weakness has long been easy to shape.Starting from King Wu of Chu, the situation on the northern border of Chu State has changed from resisting the invasion of the princes of the Central Plains to an active attack at this time, constantly occupying the land of the princes of the Central Plains. The rapid weakening has a lot to do with it.During the reign of King Chu Wen, the son of King Wu of Chu, the capital of Chu State was set at Yingdu. With this as the center, Chu State soon had a vast territory of "a thousand miles of Chu land".During the reign of King Chu Cheng, Zhou Tianzi finally recognized the throne of Chu State and asked Chu State to "restrain Baiyue and not invade China".The fear of Chu State can be described as beyond words.

King Chu Cheng of this period was a very important figure in the history of Chu State.The reason why he is not well-known is mainly because he was unlucky. First, in the era of his life, there was the hegemony of Duke Huan of Qi and the nine princes, and his prestige was at the height of the sky; His prestige was "lined" down.During his reign, he had "dialogues" with these two overlords of the Spring and Autumn Period. First, he confronted Duke Huan of Qi, which almost led to an all-out war between the two great powers. Finally, he took the initiative to seek peace after correctly understanding the power balance between the two sides. But it also made Duke Huan of Qi aware of the strength of Chu at this time.The other overlord, Duke Wen of Jin, has more connections with King Cheng of Chu. When he was an exiled son in his early years, he was helped by King Cheng of Chu. It was King Cheng of Chu who was defeated, and Duke Wen of Jin established his supremacy.But in this battle, Jin won a very thrilling battle. At that time, Jin united with the two major powers of Qi and Qin in the Central Plains to confront Chu, but the total force was less than half of that of Chu. Qi Qin Three Kingdoms allied forces encircle, the outcome of this battle may not be easy to say.

King Cheng of Chu, who was defeated by the two overlords successively, was actually an outstanding monarch in the Spring and Autumn Period. His reign was a critical period for Chu to recuperate.Mihui, king of Chu Cheng, reigned from 671 BC to 626 BC. During these 44 years, the policy pursued by the Chu State was "Benevolence and friendship with princes". The tension between the royal family and the Central Plains dynasty returned part of the territory occupied by the princes of the Central Plains, and took the initiative to pay tribute to Zhou Tianzi. Facing the military oppression of Duke Huan, he was polite and restrained, which not only maintained the integrity of the territory, but also made Duke Huan of Qi realize the state of Chu The powerful strength of the country has no choice but to adopt a policy of keeping it at arm's length.King Cheng of Chu had a very clear understanding of the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains at that time. Although Chu people were also descendants of the Huaxia tribe and belonged to one of the "countries of Xia" mentioned by Duke Huan of Qi, in the eyes of most of the Central Plains princes, Chu The country is still a barbarian. Every time the Chu State advances northward, the political situation is isolated, and all of them are attacked by the princes of the Central Plains. In the subsequent Battle of Chengpu, only the great Central Plains countries participated in the war, including Jin, Qi, and Qin.Under such a situation, it is obviously unwise to rush northward to fight for hegemony.

Although King Cheng of Chu adopted a peaceful policy towards the northern princes, he was not so polite to the tribes in the south.During this period, the Chu State established their policy of "first south and then north", that is, to concentrate their efforts on the development of production, to pacify the southern vassal states, and to expand their territory and influence.King Cheng of Chu obtained the privilege of Emperor Zhou to "restrain South Vietnam" by taking the initiative to show his favor to the Central Plains. Using this as a banner, he vigorously annexed various tribes in the south. During this period, there were Gu, Xuan, Huang, Ying, Jiangnan, Dao and other small countries, whose territory includes today's Jiangnan region and parts of Hunan, this process is also of great significance to the formation of the Chinese nation.The road of Chu's southward expansion is like a huge melting pot, melting all the tribes in southern China into the surging blood of the Chinese nation.In this protracted war, the state of Chu actually played the role of a bridge between the north and the south of China.From then on, the Yellow River civilization and the Yangtze River civilization merged and merged. The provinces in southern China, starting from the state of Chu, were increasingly connected to the land of the Central Plains and gradually included in the Chinese civilization circle. In fact, the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods was the earliest pathfinder.

At the same time, King Cheng of Chu vigorously learned from the princes of the Central Plains, introduced the achievements of Duke Huan of Qi's reforms, established the centralized dynasty of Chu State, and vigorously introduced the advanced culture and production technology of the Central Plains.When the princes of the Central Plains were fighting for their hegemony, the Chu State in the south buried their heads to recuperate and carried out the "respecting the king and fighting the barbarians" movement with Chu's characteristics. People can compete. The most prosperous period of Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period was when King Zhuang of Chu was in power.At that time, the Chu State was far ahead of all the princes in the Central Plains in terms of military power and national territory. The world was so big that no prince could compete with it alone. It could be called a veritable superpower.

King Zhuang of Chu came to the throne in 613 BC. During this period, the distribution of the power of the Central Plains princes has undergone earth-shaking changes.The originally powerful Qi and Jin states have fallen into civil strife and are unable to contend for hegemony.However, Qin, another newly emerging powerful country, suffered repeated setbacks in the war with Jin, and was blocked in Hangu Pass and could not get out.At this time, Chu State was already an extremely rich and powerful country.Chu has a warm climate and abundant products. Through the war of annexing the surrounding tribes, they have obtained enough population. Whether it is production or formation of the army, they are richer than other countries.As for the production and scientific and technological capabilities of Chu State, it was also the leader among the vassal states in this period. Extremely high, and high-tech weapons such as repeating crossbows appeared.Modern military historians have even verified that Zhuge Liang's Liannu, which shocked the world during the Three Kingdoms period, came from the modification of the Chu State's crossbow.During the period when Qi, Jin and other countries successively dominated the hegemony, Chu State, which adopted a temporary peace policy towards the Central Plains princes, also participated in the alliance of the Central Plains princes many times. Establishing allies in China, the princes of the Central Plains have no uniform hostility towards Chu.All the conditions show that the "daughter-in-law" of Chu State for many years has reached the time to become a "mother-in-law".

The task of becoming a "po" fell on King Zhuang of Chu who ascended the throne in 613 BC.But looking at the early performance of this king, I am afraid that everyone at that time will come to a conclusion: Chu's struggle for hegemony is very unreliable. The reason for being unreliable is that the king of Chu is too unreliable. Regarding the unreliable performance of King Zhuang of Chu after he ascended the throne, the current historian records this.After King Zhuang of Chu ascended the throne, he abandoned state affairs for the first three years, indulged in extravagance and pleasure, and even established rules that all ministers who dared to persuade him would be killed.Minister Shen Wuyu couldn't stand it, so he pretended to tell a story to King Zhuang of Chu. The story said that there was a big bird that didn't sing a sound for three years. What kind of bird is it?Knowing that the bird was talking about himself, King Zhuang of Chu felt remorseful and began to work hard to rule the country. Finally, he sent his troops to the north to defeat the state of Jin and achieved unrivaled hegemony.In the following thousands of years, this story was constantly quoted by various feudal Taoists, and many "straight officials" yearned for it. I am remorseful. In fact, this story is unreliable.From the beginning to the end, King Zhuang of Chu was a very reliable person. Everything he did after he ascended the throne was in his calculations. At the beginning, he was greedy for pleasure and ignored state affairs. In the hands of powerful minister Ruo Aoshi, they must be paralyzed before they can win this political struggle.In 604 B.C., King Zhuang of Chu paralyzed his opponents with his long-term "faint king" image, and then made a decisive attack. Taking advantage of Ruoao's opportunity to go hunting, he solved this stumbling block cleanly and neatly. The process of achieving dominance.The so-called "repentance" is just a way of pretending to win over his subordinates.The unreliable King Zhuang of Chu is actually a person with extreme tolerance and courage. This quality was almost invincible among the princes and kings of the Central Plains at that time. The King of Chu Zhuang who "repented of his repentance" has actually taken over the power after getting rid of the opposing forces such as the Ruoao family, but just like Duke Huan of Qi back then, he is also facing internal affairs. Scattered, but the problem of King Zhuang of Chu is holding a golden rice bowl and begging for food. The "golden rice bowl" of Chu State is their production conditions. In terms of economic development, Chu State neither lacks land nor people. It annexes the southern tribes all the year round, and attacks the vassal states of the Central Plains, making their population more and more expansive. However, the economic conditions of Chu State at this time are limited. real.Compared with the vassal states of the Central Plains, Chu State has a fatal problem-natural disasters.At that time, the Jianghan Plain, the main economic zone of the Chu State, was plagued by disasters almost every year. Either there was a flood this year, or a drought next year. The successive years of disasters not only intensified the internal conflicts of the Chu State, but also delayed the Chu State’s foreign conquests. To fight external wars, internal stability is the first priority. To achieve stability, disaster relief must come first. The crux of the problem is who will rescue. Fortunately, King Chuzhuang has such a person—Sun Shuao. Today, Sun Shuao is one of the famous ministers in Chinese history. Compared with Guan Zhong's reforms, Sun Shuao actually did one thing - build water conservancy.While becoming a famous minister, he was also the most outstanding water conservancy expert in China at that time.The most important work he did during his tenure was to mobilize hundreds of thousands of civilians to build the first large-scale canal project in human history, Shaopo, in the south of Shou County, Anhui.Because of the existence of this water conservancy project, the Chu people got rid of the history of relying on the sky for food. They can rely on it to discharge floods in flood disasters, and even rely on it for irrigation in dry seasons.Chu's economy has grown rapidly since then.The foundation of Chu's hegemony was thus laid. After solving this problem, Chu Zhuang Wang Qingfeng got out of the sheath and started the process of going north to fight for hegemony.As early as 606 BC, he led his army across the Yellow River and entered the vicinity of Luoyi, where the royal family of Zhou was located. The origin of the word "Aspire to the top" and King Chuzhuang's desire to fight for hegemony are clearly revealed, and he is more honest than other people who engage in "respecting the king and fighting against barbarians"-I was originally here to fight for hegemony, who will use you Zhou Tianzi as a dish .The reason for his sincerity lies in his strength. King Zhuang of Chu soon proved that he was not only honest, but also powerful. The most important opponent of the Chu State at that time was the Jin State that had defeated him. Compared with the simple and crude army attack during the period of King Chu Cheng, King Zhuang of Chu used more abundant methods.He first tentatively attacked Zheng Guo, a vassal state in the Central Plains, and conquered Zheng Guo's neighbor Chen Guo. These two countries became the springboard for King Zhuang of Chu to enter the Central Plains.But things quickly repeated. After Chu retreated, Jin sent troops again, and the two countries fell to Jin again.Then Chu State came again, and the two countries surrendered. As soon as Chu State left, they rebelled again in a blink of an eye. Destroy Chen Guo.Facing this piece of fat, King Zhuang of Chu forbears again. Instead, he restores the status of the monarch of Chen State, forgives them magnanimously, and is praised by all the vassal states.But for Zheng Guo, another country, King Zhuang of Chu was not so polite. He sent heavy troops to attack Zheng Guo, and forced Zheng Guo to surrender after three months of siege.The reason for doing so is because of Zheng Guo's unique status.The state of Zheng in this period was the opponent of King Zhuang of Chu in the struggle for hegemony - the loyal younger brother of the state of Jin, and also an important buffer zone between the state of Jin and the state of Chu. Don't lose it.Therefore, when Zheng State was in a hurry, Jin State immediately organized soldiers and horses to rescue, and Xun Lin's father was the general to attack the Chu army aggressively, but this fell into the trap of King Zhuang of Chu - he himself used Zheng State as a bait to attract Jin The country came to attack.Now that the fish is hooked, it is time to draw in the net. The place where the net was collected was along the Yellow River north of Xingyang, Henan. After the Jin army came, the Chu army learned the lessons of the battle of Chengpu, and instead "returned the enemy's way", quickly withdrew the siege of Zheng State, and the whole army retreated.At this time, the Jin army had already pressed to the north of the Yellow River, and a disagreement arose at this time. The father of the Jin army, Xun Linfu, heard that the state of Chu was powerful, and he intended to accept it as soon as he saw it. He took the initiative to withdraw.However, several generals of the Jin army disagreed. Instead, without Xun Lin's father's permission, they led troops across the Yellow River to confront King Zhuang of Chu. After riding a tiger, Xun Lin's father had to order the whole army to cross the river and set up camp along the river.At this time, King Zhuang of Chu obviously learned the lesson of his ancestor King Cheng of Chu, and kept showing weakness. He sent envoys to the Jin army to ask for peace. The same name), Zhao Yingqi and others resolutely opposed it, and instead insulted the Chu army with foul language. In this way, the Chu army, whose morale was already high, did not need to be mobilized for a fight.After the confrontation between the two sides for a long time, King Zhuang of Chu, who knew well that the morale of the Jin army was exhausted, took the initiative to attack and ordered the troops to launch a full-line pounce on the Jin army. The camp was overwhelmed, and the two sides started a melee in Bidi, and the battle was extremely fierce.When the camp was overwhelmed, the superiority of the Chu army's individual combat quality was brought into full play, and the continuous attacks finally forced the Jin army to retreat. But at this time, the general of the Jin army, Xun Linfu, did not help again. He saw the situation with his own eyes. Unfavorable, ordered the entire army to retreat, and announced that "the first to cross the Yellow River will be rewarded."This move was originally intended to arouse the Jin army's desire to fight to the death to break through the encirclement, but it was counterproductive, because there were only a few boats to cross the river. As a result, the soldiers of the Jin army competed for the boats to cross the river.After the battle ended the next day, less than one-third of the Jin army that survived to cross the Yellow River was left. Xun Lin's father's remnants were defeated, and only then were they able to escape. The Battle of Bi was the Battle of Tianwang Mountain, where the Chu State dominated. After this battle, the power of Jin State, the original strongest state in the north, gradually weakened, and internal divisions occurred, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent division of the three Jins.After this war, Chu State annexed Song State, another big country in the Central Plains. In this way, except for the big countries such as Qi State and Qin State, almost all the princes of the Central Plains respected King Zhuang of Chu as their co-lord. Compared with Duke Huan of Qi, the head of the Five Overlords in the Spring and Autumn Period, King Zhuang of Chu’s hegemony seems to be inferior on the surface. The number of vassal states that professed him is far less than Duke Huan of Qi, but in terms of sphere of influence, King Zhuang of Chu It is more than that.At that time, the state of Chu already owned most of today's southern China, and the vassal states in the north. The state of Jin could only retreat to protect itself. The state of Qin was the younger brother of the state of Chu. The soldiers of the country.The state of Jin, unwilling to lose its hegemony, launched a counterattack after Jin Jinggong ascended the throne, but King Zhuang of Chu wisely adopted the policy of "uniting Qi to control Jin". However, the state of Chu complacently reaped the benefits of being a fisherman. But just like the hegemony of the Qi State back then, there was a downturn after the hegemony. After the death of King Zhuang of Chu in 591 BC, civil strife broke out in the State of Chu.On the flank of Chu State, Wu State also took the opportunity to rise up, and under the leadership of Sun Wu and Wu Zixu, it severely damaged Chu State, and once captured the capital of Chu State, Yingdu. With the help of Qin State, Chu State was able to recover.But the centipede was dead but not stiff, and Chu State quickly recovered from the brief war by virtue of its unique geographical conditions.In the Warring States Period, it was still the most powerful force in the south.And that, is another story.