Chapter 40: Yu messenger Chu (1)
For the entire Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and even the East and West, Chu State was a very alternative country.
As we all know, the Chinese nation also calls itself the descendants of Yan and Huang. The origin of the word Yan and Huang is precisely because in ancient times, the two great emperors, Yan and Huang, who joined forces to defeat Chiyou, the chief of the Jiuli tribe.
The blood of the Chu royal family came from the grandson of Emperor Huang and Emperor Zhuanxu Gaoyang.
Gaoyang had an great-grandson named Chongli. Chongli was named "Zhurong" by Emperor Gaoxin at that time because of his contribution. This is the origin of the Fire God Zhurong in Chinese mythology.
During the reign of Emperor Ku, the Gonggong clan launched a rebellion, and Zhurong and Chongli led troops to suppress it. The two sides fought at Buzhou Mountain, which led to the myth of the war between the Fire God Zhurong and the Water God Gonggong.
Chongqing Li was executed by Emperor Ku for his unfavorable suppression of the Gonggong family. Chongqing Li's younger brother Wu Hui took over as his elder brother and was still called "Zhurong".
Wu Hui's descendants passed down all the way for the next thousand years, from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties. They also served as princes in the Xia and Shang dynasties, but eventually they all declined, and their descendants were scattered all over China.
Until Ji Song, the son of King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, reigned, the Zhou Dynasty emperor sealed Xiong Yi, a descendant of Wu Hui, in the land of Chu barbarians, and the State of Chu was established since then.
From a long perspective, the Chu State is undoubtedly the oldest among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period. But this Chu State has always been regarded as the "Southern Barbarian" by other vassal states and disdained it to join.
Why is this? It is mainly because the people of Chu were really brave. As early as seven hundred years ago (about 1000 BC), the State of Chu had officially raised the anti-flag flag and no longer recognized the Zhou emperor's sovereignty over the State of Chu.
In the 24th year of King Zhao of Zhou (977 BC), the emperor, King Zhao of Zhou, personally led his troops to the State of Chu, and was defeated by the Chu people. King Zhao of Zhou was also killed in the battlefield. From then on, the State of Chu and the Zhou Dynasty officially broke up.
When Xiong Qu took office as the king of Chu, the king of Chu even openly said, "I am a barbarian, and I will not be named as China." Then Xiong Qu gave all his three sons the king.
You should know that at this time, only the Emperor of Zhou could be the king of the world. There were still more than 600 years before the Warring States Period when the rituals and music were broken, and the princes of the Zhou Dynasty each claimed to be kings! This shows how the Chu State was rebellious.
It is precisely because of this that the State of Chu was long excluded from the Central Plains civilization circle and was not recognized by other vassal states. Even now more than 600 years later, this kind of discrimination has not improved much.
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On September 3, 260 BC, the capital of Chu State, Chen City.
The people of Chu have a very interesting habit, that is, they like to call their capital "Yingdu", so this Chen city is also called "Chen Ying".
Although the territory of Chu is still at the forefront of the Warring States Period and second only to Qin State, Chen Ying, the capital of Chu State, does not look very majestic, but instead shows a bit of bleakness, just like the Chu State, which is gradually becoming more and more desolate.
Since Bai Qi, the Wu'an Jun of Qin, led his army to capture the capital of Chu, Yingdu, 19 years ago, Chu has been forced to move the capital to Chencheng.
Although nearly twenty years have passed, and although the King Qingxiang of Chu, who was as stupid as his father, King Huai of Chu, has died for three years, the country still seems to show no sign of revival, and it is still like a wounded giant beast licking its wound silently.
A group of carriages and horses slowly came from northwest and gradually approached Chencheng. The convoy was guarding a group of soldiers from Zhao State. The middle-aged famous man with big sleeves sitting in the carriage at the front of the convoy was the envoy of Zhao State, the Zhao State Shangqing Yu Xin.
When Yu Xin looked at the silent city standing on the earth in front of him, he couldn't help but sigh: "The scenery of Chen Ying is far inferior to Handan! I remember the struggle for hegemony in the past, but I didn't expect that the Chu State today would fall to this place!"
Yu Xin's feelings are justified.
Before the Warring States Period, the Spring and Autumn Period was the Spring and Autumn Period. The theme of the Spring and Autumn Period was "competing for hegemony". There were a total of five overlords in this era. Although there were several different versions of the Five Overlords, there would definitely be no missing from Duke Wen of Jin and King Zhuang of Chu.
Because other overlords, including Duke Huan of Qi, Lu Xiaobai, their countries were only prosperous for a while, and the time for the battle for hegemony was intermittent. There were only two countries that had truly stood on the stage of hegemony during the Spring and Autumn Period, namely Jin State in the north and Chu State in the south.
If the Spring and Autumn Period is a game world, then the battle for hegemony between Jin and Chu is to implement the real main task of this game world.
Let’s look at the Jin State in the north. Since Jin Wengong Ji Chong'er, Jin State has risen strongly, replacing the original leader of the Central Plains Qi State and becoming the well-deserved boss of the Central Plains at that time.
In the east, the eldest brother Qi State was beaten by Jin State, and he was almost defeated but not defeated Jin State. In the west, Ji Fan, the son of Duke Wen of Jin, Ji Chong'er, wiped out tens of thousands of elite Qin State leaders led by Zhao Renhao, another overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period, in the Battle of Wushan, and achieved a decisive victory over Qin State and completely shattered the Qin people's dream of fighting for hegemony.
Since then, the powerful Jin State suppressed Qin State within Hangu Pass for more than a hundred years. It was not until Jin State disintegrated into the three kingdoms of Zhao, Wei and Han that Qin State once again saw the hope of advancing eastward and put it into action.
Apart from the barbarians and Rong Di in the north, Jin State achieved decisive victory in both east and west directions, and both trampled the two main opponents of Qin and Qi State tightly under their feet.
Only when it expanded southward did Jin encounter an extremely difficult opponent, and of course this country was Chu.
If Jin, one of the vassal states of the Zhou Dynasty, is a typical second-generation high-ranking rich, handsome and domineering president, then the rise of the Chu State, which has been called "Chu Barbarians" by the Central Plains countries for hundreds of years, is undoubtedly a model of the counterattack of the Lost Si.
Don’t talk about the ancestors of Chu. In the past five thousand years, whose ancestors were not Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor?
Just when Duke Wen of Jin Ji Chong'er was full of energy and accepted the court of the princes, he suddenly discovered that the Chu barbarians from the south were coming.
At this time, the Chu State was no longer the Chu State that had been suppressed by the Hanyang Ji for nearly two hundred years. The more than a dozen vassal states of the Ji surname in the Hanyang area, which were like an iron chain, had now been mostly annexed by the Chu State and no longer a threat to the Chu State to go north.
The people of Chu, led by Xiong Lu, the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period, crossed the Dabie Mountains, headed north to the Yellow River, and vowed to the Central Plains.
After that, countless large and small battles broke out between Jin and Chu.
The Jin State, plagued by civil strife, was defeated in the Battle of Bi in 597 BC and was forced to recognize the hegemony of King Zhuang of Chu.
However, the victory of Chu State was short-lived, and the rich and handsome Jin State made a comeback after the civil strife. He defeated Chu State in the Battle of Chengpu, Yingbei, Yanling, Zhanban and other battles. He also attacked Chu State in the Battle of Jin to attack Cai against Chu and defeat Shen, Jiao Yi and Zhanban, the Battle of Zhanban, and even the King of Chu Gong, Xiong Shen, the son of King Zhuang of Chu, was once shot in one eye by the people of Jin.
But the Chu people just refused to give in.
Qi State was defeated by Jin State and gave up the idea of fighting for hegemony. In most of the Spring and Autumn Period, he was willing to be the second son after Jin State. Occasionally, when Jin State declined, he came out to make trouble. Qin State was defeated by Jin State and for more than a hundred years he hurried in Guanzhong and did not dare to take a step east.
Only Chu State was dissatisfied.
I can lose, but I don't accept it.
Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu State fought against Jin State for most of the time, and fought repeatedly, but never bowed.
The State of Chu is like a young strongman who cannot be killed. He lets the overlord Jin ravage and trample on it, but he will always make a comeback and then stand in front of the overlord Jin again and declare the world loudly.
I! No! I accept it!
I just fucking dissatisfied!
Come again!
The war between Jin and Chu lasted for a long time and the intensity of the battle was so fierce that it was cruel. It may be that only the hundred-year war between France and England could be compared with that thousand years later.
If the Chu State had not firmly restrained Jin State for more than 100 or 200 years on the front battlefield, it would be very likely that the protagonist of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin State would have unified the world before it was completely divided into the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao and Wei due to civil strife.
In 546 BC, after discovering that it could not completely defeat Chu, the State of Jin finally joined forces with the State of Chu under the central mediation of the State of Song, known in history as the "Suppressing Military Conference".
From then on, Jin and Chu divided the hegemony of the Central Plains equally. The Xiaoqiang Chu State, who was undefeated from the south, was able to stand on the same position as the overlord, the rich and handsome Jin State, and became the co-CEO of the Spring and Autumn Period.
It was also the last gorgeous performance of the two countries in Jin and Chu on the Spring and Autumn stage, because not long after, the Warring States Period arrived.
Since then, it has been almost three hundred years since then. The overlord of the Central Plains of Jin State was replaced by the "Three Jins" Zhao Weihan. The Xiaoqiang Chu State, who could not be beaten to death, fell from the overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period to being beaten by Qin State in a fancy way, and became the little surrender and sandbag of the Qin people.
This situation really made Yu Xin, the Shangqing of Zhao, who was familiar with history, feel moved.
"Jin State has passed away. Could it be that Chu State is going to follow in the footsteps of Jin State?"
Chapter completed!