Chapter 61 Death of King Huai of Chu

In 299 BC, the State of Qin sent troops to attack Chu again, conquering eight cities.Later, King Qin Zhao sent someone to send a letter to King Huai of Chu.The letter said: "Back when Qin and Chu were married, and they met in Huangthorn, you sent the prince as a hostage to Qin. How happy it was! Later, the prince killed the important minister of the widow in a moment of anger. Fleeing responsibly, the widow was really outraged, so he sent troops to invade the border of the king. Now I heard that the king sent the prince to Qi as a hostage in order to reconcile. This is really embarrassing! Qin and Chu border, and they are married to each other , There is a deep relationship between the two countries, if this relationship is not good, why order the princes of the world? I sincerely invite you to come to Wuguan to meet, to talk about the frontier and restore the old relationship, please do not refuse."

King Huai of Chu was very troubled when he received this letter.Go, for fear that the sheep will enter the tiger's mouth; do not go, for fear that King Qin Zhao will be angry. Ling Yin Zhaoju advised him not to go, and not to be afraid. He believed that as long as Chu State actively prepares for war, Qin State would not be able to fight in. Qu Yuan also disagreed with King Huai of Chu to go: "Qin is a country of tigers and wolves, it cannot be trusted!" However, Zilan, the youngest son of King Huai of Chu, suggested that he go: "If you don't go, Qin and Chu will have to fight each other from now on."

King Huai of Chu followed Zilan's advice and set off for Qin.As soon as he entered Wuguan, he was arrested by Qin people and escorted directly to Xianyang. King Qin Zhao proposed that King Huai of Chu cede Wu County and Qianzhong County to Qin State. Although King Huai of Chu was confused, he was not at all ambiguous on the issue of right and wrong, and clearly stated to King Qin Zhao: I am here to form an alliance. Now you are using such despicable means to force me to cede the land, there is no way. King Qin Zhao then detained King Huai of Chu, and sent people to Yingdu to threaten the Chu people: If they do not cede the land, King Huai of Chu will be killed.

The ministers of the Chu State discussed that the country should not be without a king for a day. Instead of being threatened by the Qin State, it is better to establish a new king, so as to cut off the desire of King Qin Zhao. This idea is correct.After another new king is established, King Huai of Chu is no longer a bargaining chip.It's not a bargaining chip, it's meaningless to hold it in your hand, and you have to spend manpower and material resources to watch him and keep him, it's not worth it, and it's very likely that you will let him go in the end. But on the issue of who should be the new king, the ministers had differences.Some people think that the concubine son of King Chuhuai in the country should be established, of course, the most beloved Zilan of King Chuhuai; some people think that the crown prince Xiong Heng should be called back to the country to take the throne.

Zhaoju's opinion is to stand upright and horizontal.Under his insistence, this kind of opinion prevailed, and the state of Chu sent envoys to the state of Qi, falsely claiming that King Huai of Chu had died in the state of Qin, and asked to take Xiong Heng back to the state as king. Lord Mengchang agreed to the request of the Chu people.However, when Xiong Hengheng bid farewell to King Qi Min, King Qi Min put forward an additional condition: after Xiong Heng ascended the throne, the state of Chu ceded five hundred miles of Huaibei to the state of Qi.If you agree, you can leave immediately; if you don't agree, then stay in Qi!

Xiong Heng was obviously smarter than his father, so he didn't reply to King Qi Min on the spot, but said: "This matter is not trivial, I have to ask the master." Xiong Heng's master, Shenzi, is a well-known old scholar in the state of Chu.He said to Xiong Heng: "The land is only used to settle down. If you give up the opportunity to go back to bury your father because you cherish the land, it is immoral and you will be criticized by the people of the world." Xiong Heng then replied to King Qi Min: "I am willing to dedicate the land of Huaibei to Your Majesty." King Qi Min then let him go back to the country.

Xiong Heng returned to the state of Chu and was supported by the ministers as king, that is, King Xiang of Chu. The State of Qi sent a high-level mission to Yingdu to congratulate King Xiang of Chu on his enthronement on the one hand and ask for the land of Huaibei on the other hand.King Xiang of Chu asked Shenzi what to do, and Shenzi said: "This is a major national event, let's call the ministers to discuss it tomorrow!" The next day, King Xiang of Chu called a group of ministers to discuss the strategy of aligning the country.There were three opinions at the venue. Shangzhu Guoziliang believed that the king made a promise of a thousand pieces of gold, and he promised to do the things of Qi.The land must be cut to show trustworthiness; then send troops to attack Qi State and take it back to show that the country's sovereignty is inviolable.

Doctor Zhaochang insisted not to give it. If King Qi wanted it, let him send troops to grab it. The state of Chu is waiting for it. General Jing Li also thought that it could not be given, but worried that Chu State would find it difficult to hold Huaibei after being defeated in the Battle of Chuisha, so he suggested asking Qin State for help.This is really a bold idea, but it is also a good plan-Qin knows that it is hopeless to ask for Wu and Qian County, and it is certainly not willing for Qi to get Huaibei.Therefore, as long as Chu State has a request, Qin State will respond. When King Xiang of Chu asked Shenzi whose opinion he should listen to, Shenzi held out three fingers and said, "Listen to everyone."

According to Shenzi's arrangement, Chu State first sent Ziliang to Qi State to go through the formalities of transferring Huaibei land.King Qi Min didn't expect the Chu people to be so happy, and he was overjoyed. He was afraid that the night would be long and dreamy, so he hurriedly sent someone to receive it. At this time, Zhaochang had been appointed as the Grand Sima of Huaibei, in charge of military affairs in Huaibei. He said to the envoy of Qi State: "I have been ordered to guard this land, and no one can give it to me! I have mobilized all the men from children to the elderly, a total of three More than 100,000 people. Although our armor is worn out and our weapons are outdated, we are willing to accompany us to the end."

King Min of Qi was rewarded and asked Ziliang, "You came to offer the land, but Zhaochang refused to carry it out. What's the matter?" Ziliang replied: "I was ordered by the king of Chu to offer land. Zhao Chang did not intend to do so. If you want to attack him, I have no objection." King Min of Qi said, "Okay, just wait and see." So he ordered the mobilization of troops to attack Zhaochang.Before the troops left the country, they heard the news that Qin State was going to send troops to rescue Chu State. King Qin Zhao also sent a letter to King Qi Min, saying: "It is inhumane for you to detain the prince of Chu and not let him return to the country; it is unrighteous to want to plunder the land of Chu. It is fine if you withdraw your troops. Be sure to come hard, and we will accompany you to the end."

King Qi Min thought to himself, thanks to you, you still have the nerve to talk about me!If you didn't detain the other's monarch first, how could I detain the other's prince?If you didn't want the Wu and Qian counties first, how could I want the land of Huaibei? Opinions are opinions, and Qi finally withdrew its troops. King Qin Zhao thought he was in favor of Chu State, and made a territorial claim to Chu State, but was rejected.This "benevolent and righteous" king was originally annoyed by Chu's new king, but now he became even more furious. He immediately sent troops to Wuguan to attack Chu, defeated the Chu army, beheaded 50,000 people, and took 15 cities. . After King Chu Xiang came to the throne, King Huai of Chu as a meat ticket also lost its value.The people of Qin country were looser and looser about him.One day in 298 BC, King Huai of Chu found an opportunity to sneak out of the hotel where he was imprisoned.After the Qin people found out, they blocked all the roads leading to the south.King Huai of Chu had no choice but to flee to the north, wanting to go around the country of Zhao and return to Chu. King Wuling of Zhao was a strong man and known for his chivalry, but he happened to be away from home at that time, and his son Zhao He (King Zhao Huiwen) was acting as the agent of state affairs.Zhao He was too timid to take in King Huai of Chu.King Huai of Chu had no choice but to turn back to Qin State, and turned east to defect to Wei State, but was captured by the Qin army and sent back to Xianyang. In 297 BC, King Huai of Chu died of illness in Xianyang.King Qin Zhao finally showed his kindness and asked for the coffin of King Huai of Chu to be sent back to the state of Chu. Out of sympathy for the king who died unjustly, all the people in Yingdu were empty, and the people of Chu held a grand state funeral for him. When King Huai of Chu was alive, he was fatuous and incompetent. Internally, he did not listen to the advice of his admonishing ministers.However, his death aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of Chu people.On that day, every person in Chu State buried their hatred towards Qin State in their hearts.This kind of hatred was passed down from generation to generation until a hundred years later, when the Qin Dynasty unified the world, and the people of Shandong (to the east of Taihang Mountain and Xiaoshan Mountain) had all been tamed. Under the leadership of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, they rose up and opened the prelude to resisting the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty.The regime they established was called "Zhang Chu".After Zhang Chu failed, Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, the descendants of the Chu general Xiang Yan, became the leaders of the rebel armies. They still fought under the banner of the Chu State; For King Huai of Chu. Also worth mentioning is Qu Yuan. After King Xiang of Chu came to power, Zi Lan became Ling Yin.People in the state of Chu have not forgotten that it was Zilan who persuaded King Huai of Chu to go to the state of Qin, and they were quite critical of Zilan. Qu Yuan wrote some works, including poems and songs and letters to King Xiang of Chu, expressing his love and concern for Chu State. Loyalty, but the so-called virtuous are not virtuous."This is actually a sharp criticism of Zilan.Zilan then ordered his party members to speak ill of Qu Yuan in front of King Xiang of Chu, causing Qu Yuan to be exiled to a remote area in the south by King Xiang of Chu. Qu Yuan wrote many beautiful poems during his exile, the most famous of which is of course "Li Sao".There is no need to elaborate on the status of Qu Yuan and "Li Sao" in the history of Chinese literature.Since ancient times, even peddlers and people in the market who do not read poetry and books know that eating rice dumplings and rowing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the "great patriotic poet" Qu Yuan.