Chapter 27 26 Fan Li and Wen Zhong

King Goujian of Yue rectified the internal affairs, worked hard to produce, and gradually strengthened the national power. He and his two ministers, Fan Li and Wen Zhong, often discussed how to crusade against Wu. At this time, Fu Chai, the king of Wu, became proud because he became the overlord, and he was greedy for pleasure.Wen Zhong persuaded Gou Jian to pay tribute to the beautiful women to King Wu.King Goujian of Yue sent someone to find the most beautiful woman.As a result, a beautiful woman named Xishi was found on Zhuluo Mountain (in the south of Zhujin, Zhejiang Province today).Gou Jian then sent Fan Li to present the Xi Shi to Fu Chai.

When Fu Chai saw Xi Shi, he was really outstanding in appearance, and he regarded her as a fairy who descended from the earth, and he doted on her very much. Once, the state of Yue sent Wenzhong to the king of Wu and said: The state of Yue is not doing well, and there is a famine. He borrowed 10,000 stone grain from the state of Wu and returned it after the new year.For Xi Shi's sake, Fu Chai agreed of course. In the new year, the country of Yue will have a bumper harvest.Wen Zhong personally returned the 10,000 stone grains to the state of Wu. Fu Chai was even more happy to see that the Yue State was very trustworthy.He took a look at the grain from Yue, and found that the grains were full, so he said to Bo Pi, "The grain of Yue is bigger than ours, so let's sell the ten thousand stones to the people to make seeds."

Bo Pi distributed the grain to the farmers and ordered everyone to plant it.In spring, the seeds went down, and after waiting for more than ten days, they still haven't germinated.Everyone thought that good seeds might come out a little slower, so they waited patiently.Unexpectedly, within a few days, the seeds that had been sown were all rotten. They wanted to sow their own seeds again, but it was already too late for planting. This year, there was a great famine in the state of Wu, and the people of the state of Wu hated Fu Chai.Where did they think that this was Wen Zhong's strategy.The 10,000 stone grains that were returned to the state of Wu turned out to be steamed and sun-dried grains, so how could they still germinate?

Gou Jian heard that there was a famine in Wu, so he wanted to take the opportunity to send troops. Wen Zhong said: "It's still early. First, Wu Guogang was in a famine, and the country is not empty; second, there is still Wu Zixu, so it is difficult to handle." After hearing this, Gou Jian felt that Wen Zhong's words were reasonable, so he continued to train soldiers and horses to expand the army. In 484 BC, Fu Chai, king of Wu, was going to attack the state of Qi.Wu Zixu hurried to see Fuchai, and said: "I heard that Gou Jian lived hard and tasted courage, and shared joys and sorrows with the people. It seems that he must avenge Wu. If you don't get rid of him, it will always be a trouble. I hope that the king will destroy Yue first."

Fu Chai, the king of Wu, was willing to listen to Wu Zixu's words, and led his troops to attack Qi State, but he came back victorious.All civil and military officials congratulated, but Wu Zixu criticized instead: "To defeat Qi is just to gain a small advantage; if Yue comes to destroy Wu, it will be a great disaster." As a result, Fu Chai hated Wu Zixu more and more, and Bo Pi spoke bad things about Wu Zixu behind his back.Fu Chai sent Wu Zixu a sword to force him to commit suicide.When Wu Zixu was dying, he said angrily to the emissary, "Pull out my eyeballs and put them at the east gate of the state of Wu. Let me see how Goujian got in."

Fu Chai had Wu Zixu killed and appointed Bo Pi the Grand Administrator. In 482 B.C., Fuchai, the king of Wu, met Lu Aigong and Jin Dinggong in Huangchi (southwest of Fengqiu County, Henan Province) for a meeting, and took away all the elite soldiers, leaving only some old and weak soldiers. When Fu Chai returned triumphantly from Huangchi, King Gou Jian of Yue had already led an army into Gusu, the capital of Wu.The Wu soldiers were tired enough after returning from a long journey. In addition, the Vietnamese army had been trained for many years, and their morale was strong.The two fought against each other, and Wu Jun was defeated.

Fu Chai had no choice but to send Bo Pi to ask Gou Jian for peace.After discussing with Fan Li, Goujian and Fan Li decided to temporarily agree to make peace and retreat back. In 475 BC, King Goujian of Yue made full preparations to attack Wu State on a large scale, and Wu State was defeated one after another.The Vietnamese army surrounded Wudu for two years. Fu Chai was cornered and said: "I have no face to see Wu Zixu." Then he covered his face with his clothes and committed suicide. Gou Jian, king of Yue, destroyed the state of Wu and sat in the court hall where Fu Chai used to sit.Fan Li, Wen Zhong and other officials all came to see him.The Dazai Bopi of the state of Wu was also standing there waiting to be granted the title. He thought he had helped Goujian a lot.

Gou Jian said to Bo Pi, "You are a minister of the state of Wu. I dare not accept you as a minister. You should go and accompany your king." Bo Pi retreated dejectedly.Goujian sent someone to chase him down and kill him. Gou Jian destroyed the state of Wu, crossed the Huai River with his army, and met the princes of the Central Plains in Xuzhou.Zhou Tianzi also sent envoys to send sacrificial meat to Goujian.After the fight, the soldiers and horses of Yue State ran rampant in the Jianghuai area, and the princes all recognized him as the overlord. Gou Jian won the victory and returned to the country, and held a celebration meeting to reward the meritorious officials, but Fan Li was missing.It is said that he took Xi Shi and went to other countries incognito.

Before Fan Li left, he left a letter to Wenzhong, saying, "When all the birds are shot, the good bows and arrows should be stored away; after the rabbits are shot, it's time to burn the hunting dogs. This man, the King of Yue, can share weal and woe with him." , you can’t share happiness together, you’d better leave quickly.” I don't believe the language.One day, Goujian sent someone to bring him a sword.Wen Zhong saw that it was the sword that Fu Chai told Wu Zixu to commit suicide.Wen Zhong regretted not listening to Fan Li, so he committed suicide. The struggle between Wu and Yue for hegemony was the end of the Spring and Autumn Period.With the development of social productive forces and the continuous outbreak of slave uprisings, the slave society gradually disintegrated, and in 475 BC, it entered the Warring States Period.my country's feudal society began at that time.