Chapter 23 22 The Blockbuster King Zhuang of Chu

After Qin State defeated Jin State, there was no war between the two countries for more than ten years.However, the Chu State in the south is getting stronger day by day, and it is determined to compete with the Jin State, the overlord of the Central Plains. In 613 BC, King Chuzhuang, the grandson of King Cheng of Chu, ascended the throne and became the king of the country.Taking advantage of this opportunity, the state of Jin drew in several countries that had always been attached to the state of Chu and entered into an alliance.The ministers of Chu State were very unconvinced, and they all asked King Zhuang of Chu to send troops to fight for hegemony.

Helplessly, King Zhuang of Chu didn't listen to that. He hunted during the day, drank alcohol at night, listened to music, and didn't care about any important national affairs. He lived like this for three years.Knowing that the ministers were very dissatisfied with his actions, he also issued an order: whoever dares to persuade him will be sentenced to death. There was a minister named Wu Ju who couldn't see it, and decided to go to see King Zhuang of Chu.King Zhuang of Chu was having fun there, and when he heard that Wu Ju wanted to see him, he called Wu Ju to him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Wu Ju said: "Someone asked me to guess a riddle, but I couldn't figure it out. Your Majesty is a smart man, please guess it." When King Zhuang of Chu heard that he was asked to guess the riddle, he thought it was very interesting, so he smiled and said, "Tell me and listen." Wu Ju said: "On the mountain of Chu State, there is a big bird, which is dressed in five colors. It looks very impressive. But it has stopped for three years, and it doesn't fly or sing. What kind of bird is it?" King Zhuang of Chu knew who Wu Ju was talking about.He said: "This is not an ordinary bird. This kind of bird will be fine if it does not fly, and it will soar into the sky;

After a period of time, another minister Su Cong saw that the king of Chuzhuang was still there, and went to persuade the king of Chuzhuang again. King Zhuang of Chu asked him, "Don't you know my ban?" Su Cong said: "I know. As long as Your Majesty listens to my opinion, even if I have violated the ban and was sentenced to death, I am willing to do so." King Zhuang of Chu said happily: "You are all sincerely for the good of the country, how could I not understand?" After this, King Zhuang of Chu was determined to reform politics, dismissed a group of flatterers, and promoted Wu Ju and Su Cong, who dared to speak out, to help him deal with state affairs;At that time, many tribes in the south were conquered.In the sixth year, Song was defeated.In the eighth year, he defeated the Rong people of Lu Hun (in the northeast of Song County, Henan Province), and fought all the way to the vicinity of Luoyi, the capital of Zhou.

In order to show the military power of Chu State, King Zhuang of Chu held a big review in the outskirts of Luoyi. This frightened the nominal Zhou Tianzi.He sent a minister Wang Sunman to the suburbs to comfort the Chu army. When King Zhuang of Chu was talking with Wang Sunman, King Zhuang of Chu asked about the size and weight of the nine tripods hidden in the palace of King Zhou.Jiuding is a ritual vessel that symbolizes the authority of the Zhou royal family.When King Zhuang of Chu asked about Jiuding, it meant that he had the ambition to seize the power of Emperor Zhou. Wang Sunman is a man who is good at coping.He persuaded King Zhuang of Chu: the prosperity of the country depends mainly on persuading people through virtue, and there is no need to inquire about the weight of the tripod.King Chuzhuang himself knew that the conditions for destroying the Zhou Dynasty had not yet been met, so he led his troops back to the country.

Later, King Zhuang of Chu invited Sun Shuao, a well-known hermit from Chu State, to be Ling Yin (the Prime Minister of Chu State).After Sun Shuao became Ling Yin, he reclaimed wasteland, dug rivers, and rewarded production.In order to avoid floods and droughts, he also organized the people of Chu to open up river channels, which can irrigate millions of acres of crops and harvest a lot of grain every year.In a few years, the state of Chu became stronger, put down two civil strife in the state of Zheng and the state of Chen, and finally clashed with the overlord of the Central Plains, the state of Jin.

In 597 BC, King Zhuang of Chu led a large army to attack the State of Zheng, and the State of Jin sent troops to rescue Zheng.A great war broke out between Bidi (now east of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province) and Chu State.The state of Jin had never suffered such a tragic defeat. Half of the troops died, and the other half fled to the Yellow River.With few boats and many people, the soldiers competed to cross the river, and many people were squeezed into the water.The people who fell into the water climbed onto the boat. The soldiers on the boat were afraid of capsizing, so they cut off the fingers of the soldiers who climbed onto the boat with knives.

Someone persuaded King Zhuang of Chu to catch up and drive the Jin army to death.King Zhuang of Chu said: "Since the defeat of Chengpu, the state of Chu has been unable to lift its head up. This time, it has won such a big victory, and finally washed away the previous humiliation. Why kill so many people?" As he said that, he immediately ordered the troops to be withdrawn, and the remnants of the Jin State fled back. After that, the blockbuster King Zhuang of Chu became the overlord. From Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Xiang of Song, Duke Mu of Qin to King Zhuang of Chu, there are five overlords in total.In history, they are usually referred to as the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period".