readx;?? Although the king of Chu is the co-lord of the Chu state, even if it is nominally, even if the king of Chu is responsible for the monarch who is more like a puppet, he has the Xiang clan, which was already a big nobleman at that time, to serve for a period of time. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

It's just that in fact, since the death of King Qingxiang of Chu, after Chunshenjun Huang Xie was killed by Li Yuan in a coup d'état, the royal power of Chu State fell into the hands of some big nobles.

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In the history of the Chu State, the Great War officially broke out in Wu and Chu, especially during the reign of King Wu and Lu, and the military power of the Chu State was basically concentrated in the hands of the royal family.

It is described as follows:

In the fourth year, the three sons of Wu fled to Chu, and Chu gave them land to defend against Wu. In five years, the state of Wu crusaded and captured the six and potential of the state of Chu. In the seventh year, the Chu State sent its sons to fight against the Wu State, and the Wu State defeated the Chu State in Yuzhang.

In the winter of ten years, Wu Wang Lu, Wu Zixu, Bo Yao and Tang and Cai jointly crusaded against Chu, Chu was defeated, and Wu Jun entered Yingdu and dug up the tomb of King Ping to insult the body of King Ping, because of Wu Zixu. When the Wu army invaded, the Chu State sent Zichang to lead the army to meet the attack, and the two armies set up a position across the Han River. Wu defeated Zichang's army, and Zichang fled to Zheng. The Chu army was scattered, and the Wu army took advantage of the victory to chase the Chu army, and after five encounters, the Wu army came to Yingdu. On the first day, King Zhao fled. On Gengchen Day, the Wu army marched into Yingcheng.

King Zhao fled to Yunmeng. Yunmengren didn't know that it was King Zhao and shot and injured King Zhao. King Zhao fled to Yun again. Yun Gong's younger brother Huai said: "King Ping killed our father, today I will kill his son, can't it?" Yun Gong stopped Huai, but he was worried that Huai would kill King Zhao, so he fled to Suiguo with King Zhao. When King Wu heard that King Zhao was going to Sui, he immediately attacked Suiguo and said to Suiren: "The descendants of the Zhou royal family, who were sealed between the Yangtze River and the Han River, have all been wiped out by the Chu State. "Suijun wants to kill King Zhao. King Zhao's retinue Ziqi hid King Zhao in a very secret place, and then claimed to be King Zhao, and said to his followers: "Give me to King Wu." Casually asked Bu about handing over King Zhao to the State of Wu, which was unlucky, so he excused himself from the King of Wu and said, "King Zhao has escaped and is no longer in the Kingdom of Sui." King Wu forcibly asked to send people to Suiguo to search for King Zhao, but Suiren did not agree, so Wu people had to stop attacking and leave Suiguo.

When King Zhao escaped from Yingdu, he sent Shen Baoxu to ask for rescue from Qin. The state of Qin sent 500 chariots to the aid of the state of Chu, and the state of Chu also gathered the remnants of the soldiers and fought back against the state of Wu together with the Qin army. In June of the eleventh year, he defeated the Wu army in Ji. It happened that King Wu's brother-in-law saw that King Wu's soldiers were crippled and retreated, so he fled back to Wu and established himself as king. When He Lu heard this, he immediately led his army to evacuate Chu and returned to China to attack Fuji. The husband failed and fled to the state of Chu, which sealed him to Tang Yu and called him Tang Yu.

From the above records, we can see one point, that is, the army that obeyed the Chu royal family had no strength to fight again after the repeated defeats of the Wu army, and the local Chu nobles were not strong enough to resist the Wu army, so they could only sit back and watch the Wu army pursue and kill the king of Chu Zhao.

If it weren't for the fact that Qin Aigong was moved by Shen Baoxu, and King Chu Zhao was his nephew, he finally sent troops to support Chu, and in the Battle of Ji, the Qin-Chu coalition army defeated the Wu army.

And after that, it is very likely that because of the decline of royal power, the state of Chu had to decentralize power to the nobles, so that the nobles had more military power.

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In the second year of King Hui, Zixi called Sheng, the son of Prince Jian, the prince of Ping, from Wu and awarded him the title of Chao County doctor, called Bai Gong. Bai Gong likes military affairs and can be courteous to scholars, and wants to avenge his father. In the sixth year, Bai Gong asked Ling Yin Zixi to send troops to attack Zheng Guo. At the beginning, Bai Gong's father, Prince Jian, fled to Zheng Guo, Zheng Guo killed him, Bai Gong had to flee to Wu State, and Zixi called him again, so Bai Gong hated Zheng Guo and wanted to crusade against Zheng Guo. Zixi agreed, but did not send him an army.

In the eighth year, the Jin State crusaded against Zheng State, Zheng Guo complained to Chu State, Chu State sent Zixi to rescue Zheng Guo, and Zixi accepted Zheng's bribe and left Zheng Guo after saving Zheng. Bai Gongsheng was very angry, and immediately attacked and killed Ling Yin Zixi and Ziqi in the court with the brave warrior Shi Qi and others, and took the opportunity to kidnap King Hui and imprisoned him in Gaofu, wanting to kill him. King Hui's retinue Qu Gu fled with King Hui on his back to the palace of King Zhao's wife. Bai Gong himself ascended the throne as the king of Chu. A month later, it happened that Ye Gong came to the rescue of Chu State, and King Chu Hui's men attacked Bai Gong together with Ye Gong and killed him. King Hui was restored to the throne. In that year, the state of Chu destroyed the state of Chen and classified it as a county of the state of Chu.

Bai Gongsheng's coup d'état was successful, and it was not until Ye Gong, a noble general, led the army to support that Bai Gongsheng's rebellion was quelled, and from this matter, the military power that King Chu Hui could control fell into the hands of Zixi, Ziqi and others.

Of course, it is also possible that Bai Gongsheng imprisoned King Chu Hui and let the Chu army throw a rat trap. It's just that from the fact that Bai Gongsheng was finally killed by Ye Gong, this possibility is not very likely.

In the thirteenth year, Wu Wangfu became stronger, bullied the Qi State and the Jin State, and crusaded against the Chu State. In the sixteenth year, the Yue State destroyed the Wu State. In the forty-second year, the state of Chu destroyed the state of Cai. In forty-four years, the state of Chu destroyed the state of Qi. Make peace with the state of Qin. At this time, the Yue State had destroyed the Wu State, but it could not rule the Yangtze River and Huaibei regions. The state of Chu invaded to the east and extended its territory to the area of Surabaya.

What is interesting about this record is that before 445 BC, there was a description of the Qin and Chu families that were at war or even war, but compared with the corresponding content of the Qin family, there was no description of this:

In the second year of mourning, Tian Qi, the minister of Qi, killed his monarch's son, and established his brother Yangsheng as the king, which was the Duke of Qi. In six years, the Wu army defeated the Qi army. The people of Qi killed the Duke of Mourning and made his son Duke Jian the king. In the ninth year, Jin Dinggong and Wu Wangfu met in Huangchi to form an alliance and compete to be the leader of the alliance, and finally let King Wu take the lead. The state of Wu was strong and prosperous, bullying the countries of the Central Plains. In the twelfth year, Qi Guotian Chang killed Qi Jiangong and appointed his younger brother Pinggong as the king, and Tian Chang became the minister of state. In the thirteenth year, the state of Chu destroyed the state of Chen. Qin Mourning Gong died after 14 years of reign, and was succeeded by his son Li Gonggong. Confucius died in the twelfth year of his reign.

In the second year of the Gonggong Dynasty, the Shu people came to offer property. In the sixteenth year, a trench was dug next to the Yellow River. Sent 20,000 troops to attack the Dali Kingdom and captured the city of the Dali King. Twenty-one years, Pinyang County began to be set up. The Jin State captured Wucheng. In the twenty-fourth year, there was a civil strife in the Jin Kingdom, Zhibo was killed, and Zhibo's territory was divided among the Zhao, Han, and Wei clans. In the twenty-fifth year, Zhikai led the Yi people to defect to the Qin State. In the thirty-third year, he attacked the Yiqu Rong tribe and captured the king of Rong. Thirty-four years later, a solar eclipse occurred. Gong Li died, and his son Gong Gong succeeded him.

And there is a more interesting situation next, that is, the Chu family did not have a corresponding description of Wu Qi's reform:

Twenty-four years later, King Jian died. His son, King Sheng, was immediately enthroned. In the sixth year of King Sheng, the robbers killed King Sheng, and his son Mourning King Xiong was suspicious of ascending the throne. In the second year of mourning for the king, the three Jin came to crusade against the Chu State, and returned after hitting Chengqiu. In four years, the state of Chu crusaded against the Zhou Dynasty. Zheng Guo killed Ziyang. In the ninth year, the state of Chu crusaded against Korea and won the defeat. In the eleventh year, the Three Jin Dynasty came to crusade against the Chu State and defeated our country at Daliang and Yuguan. The state of Chu gave a generous gift to the state of Qin and made peace with Qin. In the twenty-first year, King Mourning died, and his son Su Wang Zang ascended the throne.

In the fourth year of King Su, Shu attacked Chu and captured Zifang. So the state of Chu built a pass to resist the Shu army. Ten years, Wei captured Luyang, China. In the eleventh year, King Su died, and King Su had no children, so he made his younger brother Xiong Liangfu the king, which was King Xuan.

In the sixth year of King Xuan, Zhou Tianzi congratulated Qin Xiangong. Qin began to become strong again, but the Three Jin Dynasty became even stronger, and King Wei Hui and King Qi Wei were especially strong. In the thirtieth year, the Qin State gave the Shang land to Wei Ying and invaded the Chu State to the south. In that year, King Xuan died, and his son King Wei Xiong Shang ascended the throne.

Judging from these descriptions, the strength of the Chu State during this period of time is likely to be inseparable from Wu Qi's reforms. However, in terms of the importance of the Wu Qi Reform Law to the Chu State, it is impossible not to mention it.

It is possible that the state of Chu did not actually think that it played any important role in the failure of the Wu Qi reform, and ignored this description.

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And next, is the Chu family's account of the gradual decline of the Chu state until its demise:

In the first year of King Heng of Xiangxiang, the Qin State wanted to coerce the King of Huai but could not get the territory, the king of Chu State dealt with the Qin State, the King of Qin Zhao was very angry, and sent an army out of Wuguan to attack the Chu State, defeated the Chu army, killed 50,000 soldiers of the Chu State, and seized fifteen cities including Xiyi and left the Chu State.

In the second year, King Huai of Chu fled, and after the Qin State found out, he blocked the road to the Chu State, and King Huai was afraid, so he went to the Zhao State to borrow the road back to Chu. Lord Zhao's father was in the dynasty, and his son King Hui had just ascended the throne and acted as the minister of King Zhao, but he was timid and did not dare to contain the king of Chu. The king of Chu wanted to run to Wei, but the Qin soldiers caught up with him, so the king of Chu had to return to Qin with the envoys of Qin. At this time, King Huai fell ill. In the third year of King Qingxiang, King Huai died in Qin. The state of Qin returned his coffin to the state of Chu. The people of Chu all mourned the king, as if they had lost their parents and brothers. From then on, the princes saw that the king of Qin was not upright. Qin Chu broke off diplomatic relations.

In the sixth year, the Qin State sent Bai Qi to attack Korea, and won a great victory at Yique, killing 240,000 Korean soldiers. The king of Qin wrote a letter to the king of Chu, saying: "The state of Chu has betrayed the state of Qin, and the state of Qin will lead the army of princes to attack the state of Chu and fight it out." I hope you will regroup your army so that you can have a good fight. "King Qingxiang of Chu was very worried, so he planned to make peace with Qin again. In the seventh year, the state of Chu went to the state of Qin to greet the bride, and Qin and Chu made peace again.

In the eleventh year, the kings of Qi and Qin each proclaimed themselves emperors, and a month later, they changed the emperor to kings.

In the fourteenth year, King Xiang of Chu and King Zhao of Qin met amicably in Wan and negotiated peace. In the fifteenth year, the state of Chu, the state of Qin, the state of Korea, the state of Zhao, and the state of Wei jointly attacked the state of Qi and captured Huaibei. In the sixteenth year, the king of Chu and the king of Qin Zhao met amicably in Yan. In the autumn of that year, he was in harmony with King Qin.

In the nineteenth year, the Qin State crusaded against the Chu State, and the Chu army was defeated, and the Shangyong and Northern Han Lands were ceded to the Qin State. In the twentieth year, Bai Qi, the general of the Qin State, captured the Xiling of the Chu State. In the twenty-first year, Bai Qi, the general of the Qin State, captured the Yingqi of the Chu State and burned down the tomb of the first king. The army of King Xiang of Chu was dispersed, and he could no longer fight, and retreated to the northeast to defend Chencheng. In the twenty-second year, the Qin State captured the Wu County and Qianzhong County of the Chu State.

In the twenty-third year, King Xiang gathered more than 100,000 soldiers in the east, and went west to capture fifteen cities on the banks of the Yangtze River captured by the Qin State and divided them into counties and counties to resist the Qin State. In the twenty-seventh year, Chu sent 30,000 people to help the Three Jin Dynasty attack the Yan State. Chu made peace with the Qin State and asked the crown prince to go to the Qin State as a hostage. The state of Chu sent Zuo disciples to the state of Qin to serve the crown prince.

In the thirty-sixth year, King Qingxiang fell ill, the prince fled back to Chu, and in the autumn, King Qingxiang died, and the crown prince Xiong Yuan ascended the throne, which was King Kaolie. King Kaoli appointed Zuo as Ling Yin and gave him Wu Feng, known as Chun Shenjun.

In the first year of King Kaolie, he gave the state to Qin in order to make peace with Qin. At this time, the state of Chu was even weaker.

In the sixth year, the Qin State besieged Handan, and the Zhao State complained to the Chu State, and the Chu State sent the relict general Jingyang to rescue the Zhao State. In seven years, the state of Chu fought in Xinzhong. The Qin army departed. In the twelfth year, King Qin Zhao died, and the King of Chu asked Chun Shenjun to go to Qin to mourn. In the sixteenth year, King Xiang of Qin Zhuang died, and King Qin ascended the throne. In the twenty-second year, the state of Chu and the vassal states jointly crusaded against the state of Qin, but the situation was unfavorable and the army was withdrawn. The state of Chu moved its capital eastward to Shouchun, called Ying.

In the twenty-fifth year, King Kaorlie died, and his son Youwang Han ascended the throne. Li Yuan killed Chun Shenjun. In the third year of King You, Qin and Wei crusaded against Chu. Lü Buwei, the prime minister of Qin, died. In nine years, the state of Qin destroyed Korea. Ten years later, King You died, and his brother ascended the throne, which is the King of Mourning. King Wai ascended the throne for more than two months, and King Wai's elder brother Wai's partymen attacked and killed King Wai, and established Mourning as the king of Chu. In that year, the state of Qin captured Zhao Wangqian.

In the first year of the defeat of the king of Chu, the prince of Yan Dan sent Jing Ke to assassinate the king of Qin. In the second year, Qin sent generals to crusade against Chu, defeated the Chu army, and captured more than a dozen cities. In three years, the state of Qin destroyed the state of Wei. In the fourth year, the general of the Qin state, Wang Qian, defeated the Chu army in Qi and killed the general Xiang Yan.

Judging from this account, the decline of the state of Chu is very directly related to the decline of its royal power, and the fact that it is difficult for the king of Chu to hold power.

Especially Huang Xie, who is known as one of the four princes of the Warring States period and was reused after King Chu Kaolie succeeded to the throne, played a very key role.