King Wen of Chu's name is Xiong Zhen, and like his father, he is also a king who has made great achievements and played a decisive role in the growth and development of the Chu State.

At the beginning of King Wen's accession to the throne, due to the wealth of the country and the strength of the people, the strong military strength, and the assistance of a group of loyal ministers and good generals, the pressure on the ruling was not great. In addition, he ascended the throne in middle age, and he was liberated from the life of being careful for many years, so he did not work hard, but indulged in pleasure and immersed in comfort. For example, he once went to Yunmengze with a dog and a bow to hunt, and never returned for three months; Another example, the beauties of Danyang were recruited to enrich the harem, indulging in the sound and sensuality, floating on the side of fat powder, ignoring the government and politics, and letting the state affairs be wasted.

So the old minister Taibao Shen and the general entered the palace to admonish, and wanted to whip King Wen as a punishment on the grounds of the previous king's last order. On the grounds that he was born to be a prince, and at this time he was the king of a country, and he could not be punished with whipping, he asked the Taibao to open up the net and change the punishment. But Taibao Shen insisted on disobeying, and King Wen had no choice but to lie on the pillow and be tortured. Tai Bao Shen didn't really fight, he held the thorn whip in his hand, raised it high, fell gently, and stopped after only a few strokes.

King Wen thought that under the gaze of the former king Yingling, he was dispensable with this punishment, and he felt uneasy in his heart, saying that he had already received the name of whipping, and it was better to be beaten than to be beaten. Taibao replied that the villain should be made to suffer from flesh and skin, and the gentleman should be made to feel humiliated and humiliated in his heart, otherwise what is the use of suffering from flesh and skin? If the king still does not wake up, the ministers are really ashamed of the entrustment of the previous king, so they can only die to apologize for their crimes, and then ask for the death penalty, intending to throw themselves into the river. King Wen hurriedly stopped the fierce province, so he killed the dog, broke the bow, and dismissed the beauties, focusing on mending the government and consolidating the people's livelihood to repay the ambition of the king. Leave a good story of "being flogged".

After King Wen ascended the throne, he made a strategic decision to move the capital from Danyang to Ying. The significance of this move is to reflect the continuity of Chu's foreign expansion ideas, Chu State has been invincible in the south of the Yangtze River after the foreign use of troops during the period of King Wu, and seeking a way to conquer the Central Plains is an inevitable choice in its new stage. With the strategic center of gravity already tilting northward, it is necessary to find a new base camp while maintaining control of the inherent territory of the South. Therefore, moving the capital has become a major decision to adapt to the new national conditions of Chu and solve the development needs of Chu State.

The geographical location of Yingcheng is excellent, there is the Yangtze River moat in the south as the screen, the land of Bashu in the west, Wu County and Huiji in the east, the Central Plains in the north, the land and waterways extend in all directions, you can enter the Central Plains, and you can retreat to defend one side. In addition, the terrain is high, ensuring that water is drawn without worrying about flooding, which is an excellent place to develop people's livelihood and ensure the stability of the rear. King Wen of Chu's decision to move the capital ensured the prosperity of the state of Chu for nearly four hundred years. For the exact location of Yingcheng, there have always been different opinions, one says that it is located in the south of Jiangling, Hubei, and says that it is west of Yicheng, Hubei, and there are two places that it actually belongs, but they are both called Ying.

I prefer that its capital is located in the southern part of Jiangling, Hubei. However, this is also my own subjective opinion.

King Wen followed in the footsteps of his predecessors in annexing foreign countries and marched into the Shen Kingdom. Shen State, with Zhou as the surname, is also the fief of Zhou Tianzi, as Zhou Tianzi's important town in the south of the Yangtze River Chu to clamp down on the Chu State, King Wen of Chu almost twisted and turned, and finally destroyed Shen. Because Deng Guodi is located between Chu and Shen, it is the only place for King Wen of Chu to pass back and forth, and the queen mother of Wen, that is, the princess of King Wu, Deng Man, is a native of Deng, so when King Wen's class passed by Deng, the monarch of Deng Guo set up a banquet to entertain King Wen. The nobles of the Deng Kingdom persuaded the monarch to take this opportunity to get rid of King Wen, but the monarch did not comply, believing that he could not do such an unrighteous act, so he let the tiger return to the mountain. Soon after King Wen returned to China, he sent troops again to destroy the Deng Kingdom.

The reason why the Chu army is invincible depends on the strength of the national strength and the strength of the armament on the one hand, and on the other hand, it also depends on the strictness of the army. There is a story that can reflect this, on the way of the Chu State to attack Deng, King Wen ordered the two princes Ge and Ling to go out to reconnoitre, and the two met an old beggar in the wild, so they robbed and bullied him. When King Wen learned of this, he wanted to behead the two.

The princes and nobles dissuaded them, believing that the death penalty for such a trivial matter was too severe. But the begging old man shouted outside the camp gate that the Chu army was requisitioned because of the cruelty of the Deng State, but the prince of the Chu State wantonly bullied the old and weak, doesn't it show that the Chu army is even more unreasonable! King Wen lamented that if he was also brutal and ineffective, he would not be able to settle the people; Bullying the old with their physical strength will not be able to educate their children in the future; Spoiling children, abolishing the public because of private interests, and ignoring the law, will not be able to govern the country; It is absolutely forbidden to protect children and harm national politics. King Wen killed his two sons to correct military law.

The state of Chu conquered and destroyed the states of Shen, Deng, and Lü, which was the only move for it to clear the door and open up the Central Plains. At that time, the pattern of the Central Plains tended to be clear, and under the governance of Guan Zhong, the state of Qi greatly increased its productivity and became increasingly strong in economic and military strength after reform. Diplomatically, it formed alliances with Song, Chen, Zheng and other medium-sized countries, forming a powerful military force. If the Chu State wants to enter the Central Plains, the Qi State and its allies are existences that it cannot ignore. And if you want to fight against it, you must sweep away all the factors that are unfavorable to you as much as possible. Although the small countries around the Chu State cannot pose a threat to them in terms of strength, the Chu State is not strong enough to compete with powerful opponents on the premise of ignoring them. The annexation of these small states can not only sweep away the worries, but also strengthen its own strength, and it can also take the geographical advantages of these small countries as its own, so the Chu State must destroy them.

King Wen of Chu took all the land east of the Han River into the territory, and took advantage of the discord between Xi and Cai to annex it, which has gone beyond the connotation of simple historical facts in Chinese history and expanded to the cultural level, and the tragic fate of Mrs. Xi has also caused later generations to sigh and chant for it.

The state of Chu was finally able to face the Central Plains, and King Wen chose Zheng as the first target of attack, on the grounds that Zheng Ligong's restoration "delayed the warning to Chu", so as to issue a declaration to the princes of the Central Plains led by the State of Qi. The attack of the state of Chu on Zheng was the first time that this southern power confronted the princes of the Central Plains, officially opening the curtain of Qi and Chu's struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains.

In the tenth year of the reign of Duke Lu Zhuang (684 BC), just when the State of Chu was ambitious and making final preparations for the march into the Central Plains, a casual opportunity came to King Wen. There was friction between Xiguo, which is located in the Huaishui area, and Caiguo, which is located in the Rushui area. The reason is that Xi and Cai both married Chen Guojun's daughter, Cai Guojun married the eldest daughter, and Xi Guojun was about to marry his younger daughter, who was later Xi Fei. When Xi Concubine got married, she passed through Cai Guojun, and Cai Guojun thought that Xi Fei was his wife's sister, so she did not entertain her according to Mrs. Xiguo's specifications and courtesy, and behaved quite frivolously, which really angered Xi Guojun.

When the king of Xi decided to take revenge, he sent people to visit King Wen of Chu and asked King Wen of Chu to send troops to attack Xi Guo, and Xi Guo asked Cai Guo for help, so that he could make excuse for Chu to attack and destroy Cai State. This was in the hands of King Wen of Chu, so he quickly agreed to Xiguo's request.

The state of Chu then marched into the army, and in September of that year, it defeated the Cai army in Xindi, and captured the king of Cai to dance. For King Wen of Chu, the significance of this battle was not only to defeat the Cai State, but also to release a political signal that the Chu State had the determination and ability to enter the Central Plains. In the "Spring and Autumn Period" compiled by Confucius, this incident was regarded as a watershed for the Chu State to become a strong country, and from this year, the Chu State was officially included in the record object. ”

Cai Guojun was humiliated by being captured, and he learned that the initiator of this incident was Xi Guojun, and the cause was Mrs. Xi Fei, who hated it in her heart and wanted to take revenge. It happened that Cai Guojun knew that King Chu Wen liked women, so he took the opportunity to boast to King Chu Wen about the peerless beauty of Mrs. Xifei, which made King Chu Wen's heart swaying and yearning for it before he met him.

Seeing that King Wen was moved, Cai Guojun further instigated and instigated, making the King of Chu decide to take action. The king of Chu used the excuse of parade and hunting to lead his army to pass through Xiguo "inadvertently". The monarch of Xi Guo did not know why, but he was very happy, and set up a banquet to entertain him, and ordered Mrs. Xi to come out to meet him during the banquet. The next day, in the name of thanks, he deceived the monarch of Xi out of the palace, set up an ambush to kill him, and then invaded the palace and forcibly returned Mrs. Xi to China.

Xi Concubine has the appearance of a country, like a peach blossom in full bloom, which fascinated King Chu Wen and named her "Peach Blossom Lady". Xi Concubine lived in the palace of King Wen for three years, and gave birth to two sons for King Wen, one called Xiong Yu and the other called Xiong Yun, Xiong Yun was the later King of Chu Cheng.

Although she had many children and many blessings, Mrs. Xi did not feel happy, because she never forgot her original identity as Mrs. Xi Guo and the painful experience of the collapse of the country and the family. For three whole years, Mrs. Xi did not say a word to King Chu Wen. King Chu Wen asked her why she was like this, and she replied that she was a woman's family, and she could not serve a husband in life or die to a master, so what else could she say about being a human being. King Wen of Chu knew his inner grievances, so he took Cai Guo as his calming mood, and in the fourteenth year of Lu Zhuang Gong (680 BC), Chu sent troops and completely turned Cai into his vassal.

The story of "Mrs. Peach Blossom" has a long history, and when people are moved by its poignant and moving, they also have different thoughts and opinions on the fate of Mrs. Xi. Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty wrote in his poem "Mrs. Xi": "Don't be favored by the present, you can forget the old days." Looking at the flowers full of tears, I don't share the words of the king of Chu. In Wang Wei's eyes, the king of Chu committed unrighteous acts because of his greed for beauty, ruined people's families through brutal methods, and even thought that with today's grace of glory and wealth, Mrs. Xi could forget the past, which was undoubtedly immoral and stupid. Although Mrs. Xi Fei is in the Chu Palace, she always thinks about the old people, although she can't help herself, but she sticks to her inner loyalty in despair and grief, which is really a model of chastity and martyrdom. In fact, after Mrs. Xi killed Cai in Chu State and avenged the monarch of Xi State, she committed suicide and followed her husband.

However, another Tang Dynasty poet, Du Mu, had a different opinion on this, he said: "The peach is new in the slender waist palace, and the veins are silent for several springs." After all, what is the end of the fate? Pity the person who fell from the building in Jingu. Du Mu secretly ridiculed his wife's red face and trouble, causing the country to be ruined, but he did not immediately commit suicide to thank him, but chose to steal his life, which is really sad and hateful.

However, both Wang Wei and Du Mu seem to ignore the fundamental reasons for the demise of the Chu State and the Cai Erguo. King Wen of Chu is in the Central Plains, and Xi and Cai are the thresholds that Chu must cross to the Central Plains, and the Rushui and Huaishui realms where the two countries are located are the throats of Chu's northward and eastward advances, and they must seize the opportunity. After the destruction of the state of Chu and Cai, the two places were taken as important towns, and officials were specially appointed to guard and manage the town, and their status was elevated to the jurisdiction directly under the central government, which shows the strategic position of the two places.

Therefore, no matter what the excuse is, Xi and Cai Erguo must be in the pocket of Chu State, and this fate will not change. And "Mrs. Peach Blossom" is just an additional gain under King Chu Wen's strategic decision, her existence can only be a small footnote that was forcibly pulled to the forefront, and will not become the reason for determining the general trend of history, which can be regarded as another tragedy of Mrs. Xi.

The last battle in King Chuwen's life did not end perfectly. As early as the period of King Wu, the state of Chu had conquered the state of power, and sent people to manage, but the people of power rebelled, after the incident subsided, King Wu moved it, and sent another doctor Yan Ao to govern. Later, when Chu and Ba jointly attacked Shen, Yan Ao and the generals of Ba were not on good terms, and the Ba army then attacked the residence of the powerful people under Yan Ao, Yan Ao was defeated and fled, and was executed by King Wen, so his people united with Ba to fight against Chu, and even hit the periphery of the national capital.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Duke Lu Zhuang (676 BC), the state of Chu sent troops to calm the situation, but was defeated, and King Wen fled back in a hurry. However, the defender of the city, Mane Fist, thought that it was really insulting for the monarch to flee back after a fiasco, and refused to open the door to let him go, so the king of Chu had no choice but to attack the Huang State and win the class. On the way home, King Wen of Chu fell ill and died. After the body returned to China, he was buried in the royal tomb, and then committed suicide, following King Wen, living up to the name of his lifelong loyal minister.

King Wen of Chu reigned for 14 years, and basically realized King Wu's ambition of "wanting to view the politics of China". He defeated the states of Xi, Cai, Shen, and Deng, and opened up the broad road from Chu to the Central Plains. Its decision to move the capital provided a powerful premise for the prosperity of the country and the peace of the people for hundreds of years, and enabled the state of Chu to occupy the first opportunity in the future hegemony, reflecting the foresight and wisdom of a great monarch. Gu Ligao, a Qing man, said: "Chu rampant in the south, moved from Danyang to Ying, and took Jingzhou to establish a foundation. King Wu took Luo and Yan, took the land of Yan Ying, and set Xiangyang as the gateway, until Shen was destroyed, and then went north to resist Zhongxia. It accurately summarizes the development trajectory of the Chu State under the rule of King Wen, and it is also the achievements and legacy left by King Wen of Chu throughout his life.