Chapter 11 Detailed Interpretation of Chapter Eleven Wu and Yue Contest for Hegemony

After Xiangrong was dismissed, the war between Jin and Chu, which was the "main theme" of the feudal hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period, has basically stopped. The large-scale war for hegemony has temporarily stopped, but the local war is still going on.Wars broke out between Jin and Qi in the north, and military conflicts broke out between Chu and Wu in the south.In fact, the struggle for hegemony among the feudal lords in the Spring and Autumn Period did not really die down, it just shifted the main battlefield.The protagonists of the struggle for hegemony in the late Spring and Autumn period also changed from the earlier Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin to the Wu and Yue states in this period.

When it comes to the Wu and Yue countries, later generations are both familiar and unfamiliar.It is familiar because everyone is familiar with the stories of Goujian, the king of Yue, who "tried his courage" and Wu Zixu's attack on the capital of Chu State; he is unfamiliar because many historical materials have not explained the ins and outs of these two countries for a long time.For friends who are not familiar with the history of the Spring and Autumn Period, they seem to be new forces that have suddenly emerged.In fact, these two small characters in the early Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were princes with a long history.After the meeting of eliminating soldiers, both Jin and Chu were unable to continue the war of hegemony, and the Central Plains gained temporary peace, but the main battlefield of the war of hegemony shifted to the Jiangnan region in eastern China-Wuyue struggle for hegemony.These two early minor characters are the protagonists of the late spring and autumn struggle.

Wu Guo was the first to take the lead in Wu Yue's hegemony.Compared with the state of Chu that has always been on their heads, although the state of Wu is relatively small, it is a vassal state with strong roots. The political center of Wu State is located in today's Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The ancestor of the people of Wu State is Ji Li, the uncle of King Wen of Zhou.During the internal power struggle of the Zhou royal family, Ji Li's clan fled to the south of Jiangsu Province, where they took root and settled down, lived together with the local "Jingman" and established the country with the support of the local barbarians.During the reign of Zhou Zhang, the fifth monarch of Wu State, the Western Zhou Dynasty had been established. After the founding king of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Wu Wang, learned that the Wu State was established, he simply pushed the boat along the way and canonized him as a local prince. In addition, Zhou Zhang’s younger brother was enshrined in Yu State. Become the king of Yu State.Although it is the royal family of Zhou with Zhengmiaohong roots, in the eyes of the princes of the Central Plains, the state of Wu was also once a "barbarian".At that time, there were many barbarians in the Jiangnan area, and the productivity was backward. The economic strength and territory of Wu State could not be compared with the vassal states of the Central Plains. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, there were very few opportunities for Wu State to show his face. Strength to participate in the Central Plains hegemony.

The state of Wu began to emerge in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period.At that time, the State of Wu was already a "moderately developed country" among the countries in the Spring and Autumn Period after several generations of kings made great efforts to govern it.It is worth noting that although the state of Wu has always been regarded as a "barbarian", all the monarchs of the past dynasties have implemented the policy of "Chineseization", trying to learn the advanced etiquette and cultural system of the Central Plains, and actively learning the agricultural production experience of the Central Plains. The growth of Wu's power originated from their active promotion of farming culture in the south of the Yangtze River, which promoted the rapid development of the economy.By the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the etiquette, economy, and culture of the Wu State were basically the same as those of the Central Plains vassal states, and it was already a Chinese civilized country.In the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Wu began its first northward expansion. They attacked Zhu State, a small country in the Central Plains, and entered the territory of the State of Lu.At that time, Ji Wenzi, the ruler of the Lu State, lamented: "China is not invigorated, and the barbarians invaded." At this time, in the eyes of the scholars and bureaucrats in the Central Plains, although Wu State was a descendant of the Zhou royal family, it was still a barbarian country.

But at this time, Wu State was already quite developed in economic and military strength.At that time, the smelting industry of Wu State was unmatched among other countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the sharpness of Wu State's bronze swords was also well-known far and wide.Wu State also reclaimed a lot of wasteland. It is worth mentioning that Wu State also completed the famous water conservancy project in the Spring and Autumn Period——Cangou.It connects the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River. This is a famous artificial canal in Chinese history. Later, when Emperor Sui Yang excavated the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, he also chose to dredge this waterway first.During this period, the state of Wu has become an emerging power with prosperous economy and strong military strength.In the situation where Jin State and Chu State are weak, Wu State is destined to play the leading role one day.

The first to experience the strength of Wu State was Chu State, which is Wu State's old neighbor.When Chu State expanded in the early Spring and Autumn Period, Wu State was beaten badly for a time, and even most of Wu land was occupied by Chu State.But the people of Wu were very tenacious. Although Chu had mobilized troops several times, they could not completely wipe out Wu.When the meeting of eliminating soldiers was held, the state of Wu had already begun to turn from defense to offense, constantly harassing the border of Chu state.The rise of Wu State also attracted the attention of Jin State, the old enemy of Chu State. When Wu Wangshou was in power, he formally exchanged envoys with Jin State and established an alliance relationship. Jin State Minister Shen Wuchen also helped Wu State to train the army.What is especially important is that before the establishment of diplomatic relations with Jin, Wu's army was still dominated by infantry. This combination of troops was more than enough for mountain warfare, but it could not resist the chariots of the princes of the Central Plains.Shen Wuchen informed the state of Wu of the tactics of chariot warfare and the method of manufacturing the chariot, which has epoch-making significance in the military history of the state of Wu.Before the establishment of diplomatic relations between Jin State and Wu State, Wu State was still a subsidiary state of Chu State in name. Although there were minor frictions, it still obeyed Chu State most of the time. Under the instigation of Jin State, the war between Wu State and Chu State The scale of the country is expanding day by day, and the number of victories is increasing day by day. An important reason why Chu State accepted the request of "removing soldiers" is that it was constrained and attacked by Wu State.

Although his status became more and more important, the state of Wu in this period was just a spoiler in the Spring and Autumn Period, not the protagonist. He became the protagonist because of an incident: the assassination of Gongzi Guang in 514 BC. This incident is a long story, but to put it simply, King Ping of Chu listened to the slander, abolished the original prince Jian, and killed Wu She, the master of Prince Jian. To avenge blood and deep revenge, Wu Zixu is determined to use Wu Guo's hand to destroy Chu.But in the state of Wu during this period, the reigning monarch was King Liao of Wu, who was not a hero with great ambitions.The national power of Wu State is also temporarily difficult to compete with Chu State. In order to achieve the goal, Wu Zixu conspired with Prince Guang, the royal family of Wu State, and used the assassin Zhuan Zhu to assassinate King Liao of Wu, and supported Prince Guang to ascend the throne. This is the famous "Assassination of Prince Guang" in history. .Afterwards, Prince Guang became the king of Wu, and he became King Helu of Wu.

The period of Wu Wang Helu's reign was the era when Wu's hegemony reached its peak.During this period, the state of Wu faced great difficulties if it wanted to strive for hegemony, especially if it wanted to defeat its powerful neighbor, the state of Chu.The first is that the place is small and the strategic space is limited; the second is that the economy is backward; the third is that the gap in military power is too large.Wu Wang Helu's policy was first to stabilize the internal affairs. He appointed Wu Zixu as Prime Minister to develop production. Wu Zixu's most important work during this period was to build the water conservancy system in the Jiangnan area. The status of the "land of fish and rice" in the Jiangnan area came from this. Periods began to take shape.At the same time, the state of Wu vigorously rewarded reclamation and expansion of wasteland.There is another person worth mentioning—Bo Xi.This person is also a fugitive nobleman from Chu State, and was appointed as a doctor after Wu Zixu's recommendation. He has always been regarded as a treacherous villain.However, this man is extremely capable, and most of Wu's economic development strategies were implemented by him, especially in Wu's subsequent use of troops. He made a lot of contributions to ensuring the supply of materials and transporting grain and grass. He is a competent "Minister of Logistics" .While developing the economy, He Lu did not forget to reorganize the army. The great military strategist Sun Wu was appointed as a general because of Wu Zixu's recommendation.After Sun Wu took office, he first cleaned up the military discipline, killed the favorite concubine Helu who disobeyed the military order, established absolute authority in the army, and then formulated strict military regulations, so that the originally disorganized Wu army gradually became a force capable of conscripting and fighting. powerhouse.

Even so, it is still very difficult for the small state of Wu to defeat the mighty state of Chu.The state of Chu has a large land and a large population, and it is possible to raise millions of troops. It is difficult for the princes of the Central Plains to unite against Chu, but how easy is it with the strength of Wu as a single country?The main strategy of Wu State is to cut off the wings of Chu State.Before the full-scale war with Chu State, Wu State had gone north to destroy Xu State, which was originally affiliated to Chu State, and forced Cai State and Tang State to fall to Wu State.At this time, the weakened state of Chu, although depressed about all this, has nothing to do.In 506 BC, after the death of King Ping of Chu, there was civil strife in Chu, and the time was right to crusade against Chu. The Wu army, with Sun Wu as the general and Wu Zixu as the deputy, marched westward along the Huai River Basin, and sent 60,000 troops to Chu's million-strong army. Go to war.In this war, Wu State concentrated its superior forces to fight the battle of annihilation, led by the great military strategist Sun Wu, led Chu State by the nose all the way, five battles and five victories, successively severely damaged the main force of Chu State.Especially in the Battle of Baiju, he ate up the main force of the Chu army through various defeats, smashed the army of Chu State several times larger than his own, and captured the capital of Chu State Yingdu in one fell swoop.Chu State, the superpower in the Spring and Autumn Period, was taken over by Wu State in this way.

The battle of Yingdu brought Wu's prestige to its peak. Afterwards, although Chu successfully restored the country with the help of Qin, its vitality was seriously injured and it temporarily withdrew from the stage of the Spring and Autumn Hegemony.At this time, among the vassal states in the north, Jin State was suffering from civil strife, Qi State was in decline, and Qin State was settled in the northwest. Looking around, it seemed that no one could compete with Wu State.But a new opponent quietly appeared when Wu's hegemony reached its apex.Just when King Helu of Wu stationed troops in Chu State and was enjoying the joy of sweeping the world, unexpectedly, a fire broke out in the backyard. The opportunity fell short like this.

Not reconciled, He Lu was determined to solve the trouble of Yue State.In 496 BC, King Helu of Wu personally led an army to conquer Yue.The state of Wu got off to a smooth start and won successively.But Goujian, the king of Yue, was not a fuel-efficient lamp. He set up an ambush in the south of Jiaxing, Zhejiang, and defeated the Wu army in one fell swoop. What kind of country is this Yue country that gave him a fatal blow during the peak period of Wu Wang Helu's hegemony? The State of Yue was also a minor character in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Compared with the State of Wu's "root Zheng Miaohong", their identities are very inconspicuous.According to many historical materials, the clan of the Yue State is the descendant of Dayu, who was sealed in the Kuaiji area of ​​​​Zhejiang by Shaokang of the Xia Dynasty.It is also said that the clan of the Yue State is a branch of the Chu royal family, so in the southern territory, the Wu State is close to the Jin State, and the Yue State is close to the Chu State.Compared with Wu State, Yue State was indeed a more remote vassal state in the Spring and Autumn Period. The strength of the Yue State was basically at the same time as the Wu State, that is, the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period.But compared to Wu's geographical location, Wu is an obstacle that they must break through if Yue wants to go northward and strive for hegemony.Just like the state of Wu wants to break through the obstacles of the state of Chu, the praying mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind. blade. During the period when Wu State destroyed Chu, the reigning monarch of Yue State was Yunchang, who was also an ambitious king.When Wu Guo poured all his power into conquering Chu, they gave Wu a knife at the most critical moment, forcing Wu to retreat hastily.But after the short-lived sweetness, it was Wu's retaliation. Since then, the two countries have continued to fight each other. He was wounded in the war with Yue, and died soon after. After He Lu's death, Sun Wu, who knew the truth of "a rabbit dies and a dog cooks", had already lived in seclusion. Wu lost the most outstanding military commander at that time, but the army was still strong.Fucha was the next king after Helu.The early Fu Chai was an enterprising emperor. He continued to appoint Wu Zixu and started a war of revenge against Yue.In 494 BC, the State of Wu launched an all-out attack on the State of Yue.In the Battle of Kuaiji Mountain, the Yue Kingdom was beaten down to only 5,000 people. King Goujian of Yue saw that the entire army was about to be wiped out. Fortunately, his courtiers Fan Li and Wen Zhong offered advice and bribed Wu King Fuchai's favorite minister Boxi with a lot of money. After Bo Xi's persuasion, Fu Chai accepted Gou Jian's surrender, and Yue State became a vassal state of Wu State.Regarding this allusion, the usual saying is that Yue State deceived Fucha with surrender and treasures, and Boxi's slander made Wu State fooled and accepted Goujian's surrender.But as a far-sighted British lord, Fu Chai's consideration of this matter is far more than that.During this period, Fucha's biggest goal was to fight for hegemony in the north and subdue the princes of the Central Plains. The Yue Kingdom was nothing more than a small trouble to him.Moreover, regarding Wu's struggle for hegemony, the "historical experience" of the Spring and Autumn Period is that any country that finally gains hegemony often adopts a policy of forcing its neighbors to surrender, rather than destroying the country that threatens them.Because once a decision is made to destroy the country, it is likely to trigger more violent resistance and hinder the struggle for hegemony. Therefore, as long as the opponent is weakened as much as possible and he obeys his orders, his goal will be achieved.In this way, accepting the surrender of Yue State became the best choice for Wu State at that time. The mistake of Wu Guo is that they misunderstood Gou Jian himself. Like all heroes who become overlords, Gou Jian also possesses the most important quality to become an overlord in Spring and Autumn—forbearance.After that, there is the story of Gou Jian's "stealth and courage".Fucha took Goujian to his own country and asked him to be his servant, bear it!Fucha kept humiliating Goujian, endure!Fu Chai wanted Gou Jian to continue to contribute beautiful women and treasures, to continue to endure, to endure, so Fu Chai reassured Gou Jian and boldly let him go back to the country.This release is to let the tiger go back to the mountain. After Gou Jian returned to China, he started a road of revenge with great efforts. During this period, he had many policies, but the more special one was the policy of rewarding births he adopted.At that time, the laws of the State of Vietnam stipulated that young men and women in the State of Vietnam must marry before the age of 20 for men and 17 for women. If they have two children after marriage, the state will pay for one child and three children. , The state paid for the two.This is the famous "Ten Years of Gathering, Ten Years of Lessons" in history.In terms of foreign policy, the country of Yue pursues the policy of making friends on all sides.To be close to the state of Chu in the west, to unite with the state of Jin in the north, in short, to unite all the forces that can be united against the state of Wu, to implement a policy of superficial obedience to the state of Wu, but in essence it is divided and disintegrated.As for the situation of Wu State during this period, it is usually said that Fu Chai, the king of Wu, who was full of ambitions, began to covet enjoyment and ignored the government, and the country gradually went downhill.In particular, he forced to kill Wu Zixu, who had made great contributions to the rise of Wu, which was a big failure.But Wu Guo's biggest failure during this period was not that he didn't want to make progress, but that he was too aggressive.After defeating the State of Yue, Fu Chai's main energy was put on the northward advance. During this period, the main opponent of Wu State's northward domination has been replaced by Qi State among the princes of the Central Plains.After Qi Jinggong made great efforts to rule, the strength of Qi was greatly enhanced. At that time, the momentum had already overwhelmed the two traditional powers of Jin and Chu.In the 12th year after Fucha came to the throne, the state of Wu launched an attack on the state of Qi and defeated the state of Qi in one fell swoop.But under Wu Zixu's insistence, Wu had to withdraw his troops after the victory, which also paved the way for Wu Zixu's death.Later, Bo Xi accepted Gou Jian's bribe and framed Wu Zixu's many crimes, one of which was "colluding with the state of Qi".However, Wu Zixu's personal behavior was also very cooperative. He had a premonition of the imminent disaster, and took advantage of the opportunity of being an envoy to the Qi State to entrust his children to the Qi State's clan, the Bao family. This incident also became the trigger for his murder .Soon after returning from his mission, Wu Zixu was gifted to death by Wu Wang Fuchai. In 482 BC, Fu Chai, who got rid of Wu Zixu's constraints, launched an attack on Qi State again, and hit the Laiwu area in Shandong today, annihilating the main force of Qi State. The last victory of the hegemony period.After the victory, Fu Chai, king of Wu, participated in the alliance in Huangchi, overwhelmed the princes of the Central Plains with his strong military strength, and became the overlord of the princes at that time.At this meeting, Wu Guobing was so powerful that the princes of the Central Plains were dumbfounded.In Wu State at that time, tens of thousands of troops lined up according to different colors of red and black. The grandeur was unprecedented in previous alliances in the Central Plains. This is where the idiom "in full swing" comes from.However, at the same time, the sharp sword of Yue's revenge stabbed fiercely. At the same time that Fuchai, the king of Wu, was meeting in Huangchi, King Goujian of Yue took the opportunity to lead the army, reenacting the scene of the Yue State's surprise attack when Wu State destroyed Chu.The army of Yue State invaded the territory of Wu State in one fell swoop, and Fu Chai hurriedly returned to the army to rescue, but the Wu army who had been working hard to attack far away, how could it be the opponent of the Yue army who was waiting for work?He was defeated in several battles. The strength of Wu State in this period was especially strong, and it was impossible to completely defeat him with the power of Yue State. Therefore, after Fu Chai took the initiative to ask for peace, Yue State immediately accepted it as soon as it was good, and Wu State Retreat after making a covenant. Goujian took another military action against Wu, 9 years later in 472 BC.This is the 10 years when Wu State went into decline.Qi State, which was defeated by Wu State earlier, took the opportunity to attack southward and occupied Wu State's northern territory. Chu State in the west also moved eastward, encroaching on Wu State's western territory.Just in response to the saying "come out to mess around, you will have to pay back sooner or later".By the time Goujian marched in 472 BC, the state of Wu was besieged on all sides, and it was almost the last breath.It was Goujian who ended the state of Wu. In the summer, Fuchai, the king of Wu, led the remnant troops and was surrounded on the Gusu Mountain next to Suzhou. Mistake?The request for peace was naturally rejected, and then the Vietnamese army launched a general offensive, and the once powerful state of Wu was destroyed in this way. Goujian, who destroyed the state of Wu, already possessed the territory including today's Jianghuai and Qiantang River in 472 BC.Then Goujian went north, and made an alliance with Qi, Lu and other countries in Xuzhou, becoming the overlord respected by all princes and the last overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period.After that, he started the cleaning operation of "rabbit dead dog cooking".Wen Zhong, the adviser who helped him win the country, was killed by him, and Bo Xi, who had always been his internal support, was given to death by him. The only one who survived was Fan Li who fled first, but this has not hindered the hegemony of the Yue Kingdom.In order to consolidate the achievements of hegemony, Goujian moved the capital from Kuaiji to Langya, Shandong, in an attempt to command the heroes as a vassal state in the Central Plains.Until the Warring States Period, the Yue State was still a powerful one among the vassal states. After Goujian's death, his descendants passed on for another 6 generations. In the early Warring States period, the king of Yue State at this time was Wang Wujiang. His reign was another peak period of Yue State's struggle for hegemony.In the early days of Wang Wujiang's ascension to the throne, he mainly competed with the Qi State. At this time, the reigning monarch of the Qi State was the "blockbuster" Qi Wei King during the Warring States Period.Facing the threat from the Yue State, King Qi Wei adopted the policy of "directing misfortune to the west" and sent envoys to lure Wang Wujiang with benefits to persuade Wang Wujiang to attack the State of Chu. Its territory was annexed by Chu State, and its original territory in Shandong area was also swallowed by Qi State.The once powerful state of Yue suddenly fell apart.After that, the Yue State fell into a civil war among the princes vying for the throne. Around 312 BC, the Yue State was destroyed by the Chu State, and the power of the Chu State reached today's Jiangnan area.The homeland of the Yue State has since become the Jiangdong County of the Chu State. Later, Xiang Yu's "eight thousand Jiangdong children" during the Chu-Han War came from here.