1.

There are many ancestral legends of the Chu people, but the society of the Chu State recognizes Zhurong (róng) as the ancestor.

Zhu Rong is the fire master of Emperor Yan, and the Zhurong family tribe is an important part of the Yanhuang Alliance. After the Yellow Emperor tribe defeated the Yandi tribe, the Yellow Emperor tribe sent Zhu Rong and others to the Yandi tribe. The Zhurong clan stationed in the Yandi tribe began to establish the Zhurong tribe in the emperor (kù) era, and later generations also called the "ruins of Zhurong".

"The Ruins of Zhurong" is the earliest place of origin of the ancestors of Chu State.

There are various theories about the origin of the name of the state of Chu. According to a passage in "Chu Ju" about Chu Xianjun's Yu Xiong: Xiong's wife, Yan (bi), had a difficult birth when she gave birth to Xiong Li, and died after a caesarean section, Xiong Li survived. After her death, the sorcerer wrapped her abdomen in wattle strips and buried her. In order to commemorate Yan Li, later generations called their country "Chu". In the Xia and Shang periods, Jing and Chu were synonyms and were a woody plant. There is some truth to this historical record.

Another theory is: Jing is one of the nine states, when Dayu ruled the water and set Kyushu, Jingzhou appeared as a local name. Through the records in the oracle bone inscription and the Jin inscription, it was found that Jing and Chu were used as mutual images in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and later from the records of the Book of Songs, it can be seen that Jing and Chu had been combined into a special regional name at that time.

These histories have been passed down in this mythical legend, and this myth has also created the bloody tribe and magical people of the Chu State.

Speaking of Chudi's separation, we still have to re-talk about Zhou Gong Jidan. King Wu died of illness, King Cheng was still young, and Zhou Gong Ji Dan acted as regent. When King Cheng of Zhou entered the age of regent, Ji Dan, the Duke of Zhou, handed over the throne to King Cheng. It was governed by the prince of Cheng.

Losing the power of the court, Zhou Gong Ji Dan faced a test of life and death.

People who are good at talking and jealous of the virtuous and capable have come out of the cage one after another, and some of the people who have been following the rules and obeying Zhou Gong Ji Dan in the past have even become extremely vicious, and slandered the young Zhou Cheng Wang Jin to frame Zhou Gong Ji Dan. In order to prevent future troubles, Zhou Gong Ji Dan quietly left a letter for King Cheng, and he left the court and went to the territory of Chu, which was known as the land of barbarians. And at that time, it really did not enter the field of vision of the Zhou royal family.

After the Chu people learned the identity of Zhou Gong Ji Dan, they respected Zhou Gong Ji Dan as a guest, which made Zhou Gong Ji Dan very moved.

One day, King Zhou Cheng read Zhou Gongdan's suicide note and understood the regent who was devoted to the development and revitalization of the Zhou royal family. knew that Zhou Gong Ji Dan was loyal to assist the government, and he was broad-minded and loyal. King Zhou Cheng, who read Ji Dan's letter, was moved. He carefully investigated the source of the slander and understood that it was some people who framed Zhou Gong Ji Dan, so he could no longer believe the slander of those villains. This transformation was indeed a mature process for King Zhou Cheng at that time. King Cheng of Zhou ordered people to find Ji Dan, and recalled Ji Dan in Chudi, and still let him assist the government. Not only that, King Cheng of Zhou also vigorously used the descendants of the heroes of the Wuwang period to assist in the government.

After returning to the Zhou Dynasty from Chu, Zhou Gong Ji Dan confided in King Zhou Cheng about his experience in the barbarian land, and counted the kindness of the people there and their good impression of Zhou Tianzi, which gave King Zhou Cheng a certain understanding of Jing Chu. In addition, the ancestor of Chu, Mane Xiong, once served King Wen of Zhou, so King Cheng of Zhou also hoped to use the Chu people.

During this period, the leader of the Chu people was Xiong Yan (yì), the great-grandson of 鬻 (yù) Xiong and the fourth generation of monarchs in this land.

This Xiong Yi was dedicated to the Zhou Dynasty, respectful and industrious, and later generations used to open up Jing Mountain and "Lan Lu Road" to describe Xiong Yi at that time. In order to make the Zhou royal family recognize Jing Chu, Xiong Yi worked tirelessly to travel back and forth between the land of Jing Chu and the Zhou royal family. Loyal to the Zhou royal family, diligent government and Jing Chu Li people.

The Chu people live in Danyang, the people are poor, and they are weak and humble. Due to the constraints of difficult production conditions and backward production methods, Xiong Yi, who travels to and from diligent government, is very hard. Later generations described Xiong Yi with 16 words of "blue wisps on the road, reckless everywhere, trekking through mountains and forests, and doing things to the son of heaven". Consciousness is that Xiong Yi wore shabby robes, took a shabby car, trekked through mountains and rivers, and traveled thousands of miles to meet Zhou Tianzi.

At that time, the state of Chu paid tribute to the Zhou Dynasty was not a good thing, it was nothing more than peach arc thorns and bud grass and the like. Bud grass is a kind of herbaceous plant, don't look at this inconspicuous bud grass, but at that time it was a necessary thing for people to communicate with God. And only Chudi has output. It is an indispensable thing for Zhou Tianzi to worship heaven and earth and Taizu. Therefore, it is these things that Xiong Yi's blue wisps were sent from Chu to Haojing.

In the impression of the Zhou royal family, Xiong Yi is like a simple subordinate, dedicated to his duties, and does things humbly, Xiong Yi's image won the approval of King Zhou Cheng. Xiong Yi gained the trust of Zhou Tianzi, and appointed him and the chief of Xianbei to "guard the fire" and take on the responsibility of the fire master during the Zhou royal family's memorial service. This is a very small official, presumably the Zhou royal family knew that the Chu people were descendants of Zhu Rong, and Zhu Rong was the fire master of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang.

It is precisely because Xiong Yi is so diligent in governing the King of Zhou that Xiong Yi was later sealed by King Zhou Cheng in the barbarian land between Sui Mountain and Jing Mountain, as the viscount title, known as Chu Zi.

2.

There were many small vassal states around the Chu State, and since they were annexed by the Chu State very early, there are few historical records later.

During the Xiong Yi period, the state of Chu and the surrounding princes could still live in peace. There is a power country directly south of the Chu State, and the Gong family is the sub-surname, which is more than 200 miles away from the Chu State. To the southeast is the country of Luo, and the family is surnamed Xiong, which is less than 100 miles away from the state of Chu; In the northeast, the Duke of Lu is a concubine, and the distance from Chu is less than 100 miles; To the east of the state of Lu is the state of Yan (yān); To the northeast of the country of Lu is the state of Deng; On the west there is a valley country; To the west of the country of the valley there is a state of yong (yōng); To the north of Yongguo is the country of Pakistan; There is also a moose (mí) country in the north of Yongguo and east of Baguo; To the east of the Elk country is a wrenched country. In this way, the state of Chu among the many countries, under the leadership of Xiong Yi, kept to itself, was good-neighborly and friendly, so that its subjects could rest and recuperate. Therefore, during this period, the people of Chu were industrious, dedicated, humble, and recuperated, and the people here lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their lives gradually became richer.

However, after Xiong Yi, the state of Chu, which gradually became rich, was no longer so peaceful. Under the careful governance of several generations of monarchs, the state of Chu gradually emerged in the land of barbarians. When the princes of the Central Plains were divided and resisted, the Chu State was wantonly annexed in the south and was like a fish in water. Compared with the Central Plains, there is a vast land here, and many princes with weak power can expand to their heart's content. The successive monarchs of the Chu State continued to annex the surrounding small states, expand their sphere of influence, and make their territory bigger and bigger, from a small fief to a powerful power with a vast territory. In terms of geographical area, it has far exceeded the large countries of the Central Plains.

Here I would like to introduce Xiong Qu, the sixth monarch of the Chu State. After more than a century of long expeditions, the state of Chu has become a solid and rich country. The surrounding small countries are all the territory of the Chu State.

Xiongqu's archery skills are extraordinary. There is a story in the historical legend that Hou Yi shot for nine days, but the "Historical Records" commented that although Hou Yi was good at shooting, he was not as good as Xiong Qu. It is said that Xiong Qu once walked at night and encountered a boulder, which looked very much like a tiger lying down. Because it was dark and he couldn't see whether it was a stone or a tiger, Xiong Qu didn't dare to slack off and hurriedly set up a bow and shoot arrows, because Xiong Qu had great strength, when he looked closer after shooting, the arrows and arrows were shot into the boulder, leaving only the feathers on the tail of the arrows. This legend is enough to prove Xiong Yi's skill.

This monarch who is good at shooting is not a martial artist, but a brave and resourceful monarch.

On the one hand, Xiong Qu inherited the legacy of his ancestors, carefully managed his relations with neighboring countries; On the other hand, it is boldly expanding its territory in the whole army and military force.

The eastern part of the Chu State is the three countries of Deng, Lu, and Luo, which are arranged vertically from north to south, like snakes in the mountains, interdependent, living in harmony with each other, and making appointments with each other. If you hit the head, you can save the tail, and if you hit the tail, the head can save you. Xiong Qu knew that this snake in the mountains was still untouchable. Therefore, although he was ambitious, he pretended to have a smiling face and repaired it year after year, hoping that when he conquered other countries, he would at least let this snake of the mountains maintain a kind neutral attitude. With the iron-clad backing of this side of the ever-mountain snake, when you attack other countries, you will not be attacked by the enemy and be pinned down. Although Yongguo is also a close neighbor, Xiongqu's attitude is completely different.

The rugged road between Yong and Chu was also a surprise attack that was not conducive to a protracted war. Because the supply behind is not very smooth, this time the Yong did not win a complete victory, but this time the Yong after all experienced the team, captured the property, when the Yong country reflected, Xiong Qu had already fled. Xiong Qu later attacked Yangyue and Hubei, which were very smooth and formed a whale swallowing trend, not giving other countries a chance to breathe. In this way, the state of Chu expanded steadily.

The state of Chu is about to move, and the Zhou royal family is still aware of it. Of course, the Zhou royal family was not only aware of the Chu State, but a number of small states in the Barbarian Land. Among them is the country of Hubei, which was annexed by Xiongqu. The state of Hu was a relatively powerful country, and in terms of military strength, it had an advantage over the state of Chu, but the state of Hu angered the Zhou royal family at that time because of the alliance between the monarch and Huaiyi to conquer and annex a series of small states in the southeast. So King Zhou Li sent the "West Sixth Division" and the "Yin Eighth Division" to attack Hubei, and later sent reinforcements to encircle and suppress Hubei. As a result, the army of Hubei was defeated, and the monarch of Hubei was also captured by the Zhou army, taken to Jingjiao, and became a prisoner of the Zhou royal family.

The "Western Sixth Division" mentioned here refers to Zhou Tianzi's personal elite troops. The West 6th Division is an army stationed in the area of Wangcheng Fenghao. An elite army that did not leave Zhou Tianzi's side and fought under the direct command of King Zhou. Therefore, as soon as the Son of Heaven left the capital, there were immediately "six divisions" following the left and right, hugging each other in front and back, and the scene was very majestic. And the "Yin Eighth Division" is the army that the Zhou royal family got up early and stationed in the land of Yin Shang to quell the rebellion. The main task of this unit was to suppress the rebellion of the Yin and Dongyi who dared to resist. Being able to mobilize the "Western Sixth Division" and the "Yin Eighth Division" at the same time to crusade against the Hubei State shows how much effort King Zhou Li put into the Hubei State back then.

Xiong Qu is optimistic about this opportunity. Just when the upper and lower kingdoms of Hubei were in chaos, Xiongqu, the king of Chu, pressed the border in the name of King Qin's assistance in the war, but in fact, the territory of Hubei was included in the territory of Chu. Because the Zhou royal family was too far away from Hubei and it was inconvenient to annex its territory, Xiong Qu happened to take advantage of this loophole.

The state of Hubei originated from the Shang Dynasty. The descendants of the Yellow Emperor surnamed Yao were sealed in the Hubei State, and the Xia and Shang Dynasty were vassal states.

At the end of the Shang Dynasty, the Marquis of E, who was a minister in the court, was listed as the Three Dukes along with Xibo Jichang and Jiuhou. Shang Xuan took a fancy to the daughter of the Nine Marquis and married her as a concubine. But Jiuhou's daughter has a dignified temperament and is unwilling to accompany the king to do those shameless deeds, so in a fit of anger, the king killed the father and daughter of Jiuhou, and made Jiuhou into meat sauce. When the Marquis of Ehou saw that the Nine Marquis had died unjustly, he refused to fight with the king of Xu, and was also killed. This is a tragic scene of the history of Hubei.

In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the hometown of the Eguo was annexed by the Jin State, and the remnants moved south to the north of the Chu State, which is still called the Eguo State.

Because Hubei is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, it is the production area of the Yangtze crocodile and the rich production area of copper ore. It became a place of more concern for the Zhou royal family, when the Zhou royal army fought with the Hubei army and captured the monarch of the Hubei country, Xiong Qu was sitting on the mountain watching the tiger fight.

Xiong Qu saw that the defeat trend of the Hubei State had been decided, so he took the opportunity to lead a large army to attack, nominally to aid the Zhou royal family, but in fact annexed the Hubei State. When he evacuated Hubei, Xiong Qu let one of his sons live here permanently, and named him the lord of Hubei. The homeland of the "Western Sixth Division" and the "Yin Eighth Division" of the Zhou royal family are in the north, and they have no intention of cherishing the land of the Southern Barbarians. also pushed the boat down the river to send Chu a favor. As a result, Xiongqu of Chu easily obtained the territory and subjects of E.

During this period, the state of Chu complimented the Zhou royal family on the one hand, and on the other hand, it embezzled left and right, and expanded its territory on a large scale.