Chapter 25 When Fuchai met the princes, Goujian took advantage of the vacancy and entered

After a series of wars and diplomatic means, Fucha believed that he had paved the way to dominate the world. In 482 BC, Duke Ai of Lu sent Duke Ding of Jin a request for an alliance, and the three parties decided to use Huangchi as the place for the alliance. In order to show off his military power to the countries in the Central Plains, Fu Chai decided to lead the main force of the Wu army to go north, attack Qi again, and then go west all the way to participate in the meeting of Huangchi.But the problem is that Huangchi is in Fengqiu, Henan Province today, and it is far away from Wu State, which is not conducive to large-scale military operations.The water conservancy engineers of Wu State solved this problem, and continued to dig channels on the basis of the Han ditch that had already been dug, and connected Yishui and Jishui (Huangchi is on the south bank of Jishui's old road).In this way, tens of thousands of Wu troops can sail from Jiangnan to Henan by boat, and it is much more convenient for Fucha to enter and leave the Central Plains.

Behind the magnificent project is the unimaginable hardship and blood and sweat of the people of Wu State. Coupled with the poor conditions in those years and the lack of food harvest year after year, the people of Wu State have long been full of resentment. There was a lot of discussion, Fu Chai's scalp was numb, and he ordered: "Whoever dares to express an opinion on this matter will be punished with death!" But there were still people who risked their lives to remonstrate, and that was Fu Chai's son Da Ziyou.One morning, Da Ziyou came out of the back garden with a slingshot in hand, his clothes and shoes were wet.Fu Chai felt very strange and asked, "Early in the morning, you were holding a slingshot, and your clothes were disheveled. How decent are you?" The eldest son said, "I just passed by the back garden and heard the chirping of autumn cicadas, so I followed the sound. I saw the cicada clinging to a tall tree, drinking the morning dew, and blowing the cool autumn wind, leisurely, fluttering its wings and singing. Unexpectedly, a praying mantis followed it quietly under the cover of the branches and leaves, making a gesture of desire. Pounce. The praying mantis is focused and determined to win, but it doesn't know that there is a squirrel behind it, approaching quietly. The squirrel is thinking that the mantis will have a delicious breakfast, but it doesn't know that I am holding a slingshot in my hand, and I am under the tree Aim at it. The funny thing is, I just wanted to shoot the squirrel, and I followed it to move. I didn't see a hole in the ground, and I stepped into it. Your Majesty's joke."

Fu Chai said with a smile: "Only care about the benefits in front of you, and don't see the troubles behind you. There is nothing more stupid than this." Da Ziyou said without losing the opportunity: "There is something more stupid than this. The State of Lu inherited Zhou Gong's merits and had no desires, but the State of Qi did not cherish the lives of the people and invaded each other. Qi State aggressively attacked Lu State. I didn't expect that all the soldiers in the state of Wu would run thousands of miles away, and they would throw away their helmets and armor. But the soldiers of Wu state were strong and strong, and they only wanted to dominate the Central Plains. They didn't know that the king of Yue was secretly training dead soldiers. Wu Kingdom, destroy my Wu Palace. Your Majesty, do you think there is anything more dangerous than this in the world?"

Fu Chai waved his hand to make the elder son to step back, thoughtful.However, the meeting of Huangchi is already on the verge of death and has to be launched.In June 482 BC, Duke Ding of Jin, Duke Ai of Lu and King Fu Chai of Wu met in Huangchi, and King Zhou Jing also sent his official Shan Pinggong to attend. On July 6, the princes from all walks of life held an oath.On the issue of who should be the leader of the alliance, officials of Wu State and Jin State had a dispute.The people of the state of Wu believed that Taibo, the ancestor of the state of Wu, was originally the eldest son of King Zhou, the ancestor of the Zhou family. Because King Zhou liked his youngest son, Ji Li, and wanted to make Ji Li the crown prince, he voluntarily avoided it. His son King Wen of Zhou came to the throne.Speaking from this period of history, even Zhou Tianzi had to let Wu Wang three points.The people of Jin believed that both Wu and Jin were princes with the surname of Ji, and that Jin had always been the hegemon of the Central Plains since the time of Jin Wengong, so there was no reason for Wu to compete for the first place.The two sides insisted on their own words and refused to give in to each other. Seeing that a stalemate was about to break out, Zhao Yang of Jin State shouted loudly in the camp: "Where is Sima Yin?"

Sima Yin was the Sima of the Jin army, responsible for the arrangement of marching and fighting. He was waiting for orders outside the tent at that time. Hearing Zhao Yang's call, he hurried into the tent. Zhao Yang said: "It's getting late, and the important matter has not been settled. This is the crime of you and me. Immediately beat the drums and order the soldiers to prepare for battle. Whoever will be the leader of the alliance can't get a result just by talking. Yes, let’s talk about it after a battle!” Sima Yin was taken aback, and quickly said: "I will ask you to make a decision after I go to Wuying to inquire about it."

Sima Yin ran to Wuying, pretended to be cold and warm, and came back after walking around.He said to Zhao Yang: "Please be quiet and don't be impatient. The atmosphere of the Wu people is not right. Although the doctors are talking and laughing, the King of Wu himself is not very interested. It must be that something major happened in the country. The army of Wu State was out and attacked Wu State, but I don’t know the specific situation of the battle. Judging from the performance of King Wu, I’m afraid the situation is not optimistic. Please wait a little longer, we have plenty of time, and they will succumb in a short time.”

Sure enough, not long after, there was a message from Wu Guo that he was willing to make Jin Ding Princess an alliance.Fu Chai came here with great ambitions, but missed the overlord by one step. What happened to Wu Guo? It turned out that when Wu's army arrived in Huangchi, Yue King Goujian also started to act.After years of hard work and hard work, Goujian not only won the heartfelt support of the people of Yue, but also possessed a well-equipped and well-trained army.He split this army in two.Doctor Chou Wuyu and Ouyang led one of them as the vanguard, and arrived in the suburbs of Suzhou from the south.

At that time, the main force of the Wu army was abroad, and the troops staying in Gusu were only old, weak, sick and disabled.Da Ziyou remained calm in the face of danger, and took Wang Zidi, Wang Sun Miyong, Shou Yuyao and others to Hengshan (now in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province) to watch the Vietnamese army.Mi Yong saw a battle flag erected in the Vietnamese army from a distance, and said: "This is the battle flag my father used to use!"——Mi Yong's father followed Helu to conquer Yue, and died in the battle. The flag was also captured by the Vietnamese army.Mi Yong asked the eldest son to attack, saying: "Don't see the enemy and not kill him!" The eldest son disagreed, saying: "I have sent someone to rush the letter to Huangchi, but I have to wait for my father's army to return. , There is still a period of time. Now the defense in the city is empty. With the height of the city and the depth of the pond, we may not be able to hold on, and maybe we can last for a while. If we take the initiative to attack and fail to attack, it will be a major event of subjugation, please be patient!"

Mi Yong refused to listen, and led his 5,000 men into the city to meet the enemy.Unable to dissuade the eldest son, he had to send the prince to help.The two armies fought outside the city of Gusu. The Wu army, with old, weak, sick and disabled troops, unexpectedly won a complete victory. However, at this time, the main force of the Vietnamese army led by Goujian arrived.Da Ziyou saw it in the city, fearing that the entire army of Mi Yong and the prince would be wiped out, he also led the troops out, thinking that Goujian came from a long distance, and his foothold was not stable, if he attacked with all his strength, he might still have a chance of winning.Unfortunately, the current Vietnamese army is far from comparable to that of the old Vietnamese army, and they have an absolute advantage in numbers. It didn't take much effort to clean up the Wu army.Da Ziyou, Wang Sun Miyong, and Shou Yuyao all became prisoners of the Vietnamese army, and Gusu City fell.

When the city was broken, Wang Zidi sent seven warriors to take advantage of the chaos to break out. Xingye rushed to Huangchi and reported the news to Fucha. Fu Chai listened to the report calmly, and ordered his cronies to take the seven people to a place where no one was around and kill them.It should be said that Wu Jun's secrecy work was still very good, and Fu Chai himself also covered it up very well.If Sima Yin hadn't seen the clues, Huang Chi's meeting might have really made him the leader of the alliance. Even so, the Wu army commanded by Fu Chai is still a formidable force.During the meeting in Huangchi, Fu Chai asked Duke Ai of Lu to accompany him to meet Duke Ding of Jin. Zi Fuhe said to Fu Chai's envoy: "When the emperor summons the princes, the leader will lead the princes to pay homage to the emperor; if the leader summons the princes, the princes will lead the viscount and baron to pay homage to the overlord." .From the Son of Heaven down, the treasures used in pilgrimage are also different. Therefore, the tribute paid by the State of Lu to the State of Wu has always been richer than that given to the State of Jin. When the feudal lords meet, Your Majesty intends to bring the widow to meet the Marquis of Jin. May I ask if your Majesty regards the Marquis of Jin as the leader? If that is the case, the State of Lu will change the level of tribute. Your Majesty will not be unhappy, right?" Wu The envoy of the country passed the message to Fu Chai, and Fu Chai met Jin Dinggong alone without the company of Duke Ai of Lu.

Soon after, Fucha regretted it again and wanted to imprison Zifuhe.Zi Fuhe said calmly: "I have already established an heir in the state of Lu, and I have prepared two cars and six attendants, waiting for your dispatch at any time." Wu Jun went south.When he arrived at Huzhai (now in Lankao, Henan Province), Zi Fuhe said to Bo Pi: "According to the tradition of the Lu State, in October, the Emperor of Heaven and the ancestors are worshipped, including Taibo, the ancestor of the State of Wu. Since Duke Xiang, my family has held positions in the sacrificial ceremony for generations. If you don’t participate this time, the sacrificial officials will say that it was caused by Wu. I am worried that the emperor of heaven and the previous king will be unhappy. Besides, your country thinks that Lu is disrespectful , but only arrested seven lowly people like me, what harm will it do to the state of Lu?" Bo Pi had the best time to deal with him. As long as he is polite, he will follow the good advice, so he reported to Fu Chai: "Let's take Zi Fuhe back to the state of Wu. It will not do any harm to the state of Lu, but it will ruin the reputation of the state of Wu. It is better to let him go." Go back." Fucha agreed, and put Zifuhe back. Wu's army went south all the way, and when they passed Song, Fu Chai still wanted to attack Song, because Song didn't participate in the meeting of Huangchi.Bo Pi persuaded: "It's not difficult for us to conquer the Song State, but there are domestic affairs, I'm afraid we can't stay here for a long time, so let's forget it." Fu Chai gave up. In the winter of the same year, Fu Chai returned to Gusu, which had been ransacked by Gou Jian.This once prosperous capital is now dilapidated, the palace is withered, the people are scattered, and it is empty, like a ghost town.When passing the gate of the city, Fu Chai suddenly remembered that Wu Zixu once said that he should hang his eyes on the gate of the city so that he could watch the Yue people enter Gusu.Fu Chai couldn't help but glared at Bo Pi secretly, a surge of regret welling up in his heart.But it was too late to regret, the most urgent thing is to send people to Yue to negotiate, otherwise, if the Vietnamese army comes again, it will be difficult for Wu to deal with it. After receiving the generous gift from Wu Guo, Gou Jian smiled tolerantly and agreed to Wu Guoren's request.He knew that now was not the time to settle accounts with Fu Chai, he had been waiting for so many years, and he didn't care about waiting for a few more years. Goujian could wait, but the Chu people could not.In the summer of 480 BC, the State of Chu sent Yin Yishen and Young Master Sima to attack the State of Wu and arrived at Tongrui (rui, where Tongshui turns). The so-called friendship in adversity is true. At the moment of crisis in the state of Wu, Chen Mingong sent his doctor Gongsun Zhenzi to Gusu for condolences.Unexpectedly, when Gongsun Zhenzi walked near Gusu, he suddenly fell ill and died.Chen Guo's deputy envoy Yu Yingai intends to bring the coffin of Gongsun Zhenzi into the city to continue to complete the mission. Fu Chai was dumbfounded by the enthusiasm of the Chen Guo people, so he sent Bo Pi to the outside of the city to comfort the Chen Guo embassy. You should go back!" Taro Yin Gai said: "Your Majesty heard that the state of Chu has no way, and has repeatedly attacked the state of Wu, causing harm to your people, so I sent people to come to express my condolences. Unfortunately, the envoy died on the road because of God's displeasure. We must not He didn't waste time preparing the funeral belongings, and was afraid of delaying his mission, so he traveled day and night with his coffin and changed places every day. Now that he finally arrived in Gusu, the king ordered that the coffin not be allowed to enter the city. Did weeds come out of it?" Bo Pi hurriedly said, "That's not what it means!" Yu Yingai didn't listen to Bo Pi's explanation, and continued: "I heard that it is a courtesy to treat the dead as if he is still alive. Therefore, when an envoy dies during a state visit, he must carry the coffin to complete the mission; if There is a funeral in the visited country, and the envoy must continue to complete the mission. Now you want us to go back with the coffin of the envoy, as if we returned halfway when we heard that there was a funeral in your country, do you think it is appropriate?" Yu Yingai's words were quite harsh. If it was the time when the Wu State was strong and prosperous, Bo Pi might have jumped up already.But it’s different now. The current state of Wu can be said to be leaky and rainy nights. People are poor and short-sighted. Bo Pi can only smile awkwardly.Finally, he finally accepted Yu Yingai's request and agreed to let Gongsun Zhenzi's coffin enter Gusu. This unlucky condolence seems to herald the ultimate demise of Wu.Two years later, in March 478 BC, King Goujian of Yue attacked Wu again.Fucha led his army to resist and confronted Goujian across the Songjiang River.Gou Jian played a trick. At night, he sent people to beat drums on the left and right wings and shout, pretending to cross the river to attack.Wu Jun didn't know, so he divided his troops to defend. Gou Jian saw the opportunity, took the three armies across the Songjiang River, directly attacked Wu's central army, and defeated Wu Jun. In November 475 BC, Goujian crusade against Wu for the third time.This time, Fucha was no longer able to organize an army to contend with the former slave.The Vietnamese army surrounded Gusu, and the state of Wu was in danger.Interestingly, at this juncture, the State of Jin actually believed that Wu and Jin had an alliance of Huangchi. Although they could not save each other, they had to express their feelings, so they sent a doctor, Chu Long, to brave the cold wind and travel thousands of miles to Gusu. front. Chu Long first came to the camp of the Yue Army to see Goujian, and said: "Wu has offended Shang many times. I heard that you personally attacked Wu, and the people in the Central Plains were all rejoicing. I am afraid that your wish will not come true. I was specially sent to see what happened to Wu Guo, please let me enter Gusu to complete my mission!" Gou Jian thought to himself, if you go in, go in, what kind of demon moth can you dance alone?So he agreed to Chu Long's request. When Chu Long saw Fu Chai, he said respectfully, "Your servant is a retainer of the Zhao family of the Jin Kingdom. At the Huangchi meeting, our two countries made an oath to share our likes and share our evils. Now the king is in danger. The country is helpless, and can only fear that the ministers will come to express their condolences." Fu Chai thought to himself, well, here comes another lip service, but this time it is better than last time, at least a living person came in, so he kowtowed and kowtowed and said: "I have no talent, I can't serve the country of Yue, let Jin Hou is worried, and I would like to thank him for his kindness." He gave Chu Long a small pearl in a bamboo tube, and said, "Gou Jian does not want to make this life easier for the widow, and it seems that the widow will die in a bad way." It was an official reply to the state of Jin's condolences. When Chu Long left, Fu Chai pulled his sleeve and secretly asked a question: "People who are about to drown still force their faces to smile, and I want to ask you a question, why is Shi Mo in your country called a gentleman? " As mentioned earlier, in the summer of 510 BC, the State of Wu attacked the State of Yue. Shi Mo watched the sky at night and predicted that the State of Wu would be wiped out by the State of Yue in less than forty years.Fu Chai asked Shi Mo at this time, somewhat self-deprecating.Chu Long replied very tactfully: "Shi Mo, no one hated him when he was an official, and he didn't slander him after retirement. That's why he was called a gentleman!" Fu Chai laughed and said, "You're really right." After Chu Long left, Fu Chai sent the doctor Gongsun Xiong out of the city to ask Gou Jian.Gongsun Xiong, naked from the upper body, knelt before Goujian and said, "Fu Chai, a lone minister, dare to say a few heartfelt words to the king. He once offended the king in Kuaiji in the past, and Fu Chai dared not go against the king's wishes. The two countries of Wu and Yue We can live together peacefully. If the king wants to kill the lonely officials today, the lonely officials will not complain, but I don’t know if the king can forgive the sins of the lonely officials like what happened in Kuaiji back then?” Gou Jian let out a long sigh, recalling that when he was a slave in the state of Wu, he called himself a lowly minister of the East China Sea in front of Fu Chai, and now Fu Chai called himself a lonely minister in front of him, begging his forgiveness, what a turn of events!For a moment, the days of feeding horses and chopping firewood in the country of Wu were vivid in his mind, as if a movie was playing before his eyes.This is an experience that he is least willing to remember in his life but is often remembered, no matter whether it is hatred or shame, it seems to be gone with the wind at this time, and what is left is only memories.His eyes suddenly became hot, and he wanted to agree to Fu Chai's request.Seeing him at the side, Fan Li knew something was wrong, so he immediately stood up and said: "The thing about Kuaiji back then was that God bestowed Yue Kingdom to Wu Kingdom, and Wu Kingdom didn't want it. Now God wants to reward Wu Kingdom to Yue Kingdom. , How can the country of Yue go against the sky? The king has endured for twenty-two years, isn’t he just waiting for such a day? Now that this day has come, you have given up for no reason. Is it wise to do so? As the saying goes, God gives If you don't take it, you will be blamed instead, don't forget the pain of Kuaiji!" Goujian wiped his eyes and said, "You are right, but look at the envoy, I can't bear it!" It was the twelfth lunar month of winter, and Gongsun Xiong was only wearing a pair of underpants, lying on the cold ground, his body trembling constantly, it was indeed very pitiful.Fan Li frowned, went outside the tent, picked up the drumsticks, beat the marching drum rumblingly, and gave the order: "The whole army will attack, and go straight to the Wu palace without any mistakes." Gou Jian was taken aback.Fan Li returned to the tent and said to Gongsun Xiong: "The king has given me an order to attack Fu Chai immediately. The army of Yue has already launched. It is useless to beg now. You can go back and return your orders." Gongsun Xiong looked at Goujian, then at Fan Li, and left crying. The more Gou Jian thought about it, the more he felt uncomfortable. On the day Gusu City was destroyed, he sent someone to say to Fu Chai: "I want to place you in Yue State and give it to a hundred families." I am old and can no longer serve the king." After saying that, he committed suicide by drawing his sword, leaving a last word: "When I am buried, cover my face, because I have no face to see Zixu." "Historical Records" records that Gou Jian ordered people to bury Fu Chai generously, merge Wu State into Yue State, and then lead his army northward to cross the Huai River, meet with Qi, Jin and other princes in Xuzhou, and send people to pay tribute to Zhou Tianzi.King Zhou Yuan sent someone to give Goujian Xun meat and appointed him "Bo", that is, the leader of the princes.After Gou Jian returned to the south, he donated the land in the upper reaches of the Huai River to Chu State, and returned the land of Lu, Song and other countries that Wu State had invaded.At that time, the Vietnamese army was rampant in the Jianghuai River Basin, and all the princes bowed their heads and professed their ministers, so Goujian was known as the overlord. In Chinese history, there are many explanations for the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period". The most authoritative explanation refers to Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Mu of Qin, Duke Xiang of Song and King Zhuang of Chu, but there are also many people who support the inclusion of Fucha and Goujian. Five Hegemons, get rid of Qin Mugong and Song Xianggong.Judging from the actual performance of Fucha and Goujian, the latter argument is not unreasonable. It is worth mentioning that after Gou Jian destroyed Wu, Fan Li, who had made great contributions, quietly left with his cronies—according to many unofficial historical records, Xi Shi also left with him.When leaving, Fan Li left a letter to Wen Zhong, saying: "When the birds are gone, the good bow will be hidden; the cunning rabbit will die, and the good dog will cook. The King of Yue has a long neck and a hooked beak. We can share adversity, but not enjoyment. Why don't you follow my torrent and retreat bravely, out of his sight?" Wen Zhong was reluctant to leave Yue, so he claimed that he was ill and refused to go to court, thinking that he would be spared.Soon after, someone reported to Goujian that Wenzhong wanted to rebel.Gou Jian gave Wen Zhong a sword and said, "You taught me nine skills to defeat Wu. I only used three of them to defeat Wu. I will return the remaining skills to you. You can take them with you." They went to Jiuquan to help the former kings fight." Wen Zhong had to commit suicide. Fan Li came to Qi State, concealed his identity, and gave himself a strange name like "Ji Yi Zi Pi", and farmed by the sea.Due to the good management, after a few years, Fan Li and his son became well-known rich men in Qi State.The people of Qi heard that he was talented, and wanted to invite him to be an official, and even a prime minister.He sighed and said: "I will become a multi-millionaire when I live at home, and if I am an official, I am either a minister or a minister. This is really not a good thing." So he distributed the property to friends and fellow villagers, took only some precious jewels, and left secretly. Came to Taodi (now in Dingtao, Shandong Province) to live in seclusion, claiming to be Zhu.Taodi was a transportation hub at that time, and merchants gathered here.Fan Li plowed and grazed there, bought land to do business, and within a few years, he accumulated tens of thousands of properties, and everyone in the world respectfully called him Tao Zhugong. There is another character whose fate needs to be explained.After the fall of the state of Wu, Bo Pi thought that he had said a lot of good things for Gou Jian and done a lot for the state of Yue, so Gou Jian would not embarrass him.But it never occurred to him that the first thing Gou Jian did after entering the city was to arrest him and kill him.Duanmuci has dealt with Bo Chu many times, and his evaluation of Bo Chu is: "Shun the king's faults to settle his own interests, and it is the rule of a remnant country." It is said that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there are still some places where "Bo Chu" is used to describe A person who brags and lies, and does not believe what he says.