In 334 B.C., during the reign of King Wei of Chu, Yin Zhaoyang of Chu led his troops to attack the Yue Kingdom, defeated the main force of the Yue army, killed the Yue King Wujiang, and the area of Xinghua (near Tai'an, Jiangsu) was included in the territory of the Chu State. In 328 BC, Xiong Huai, the king of Chuhuai, succeeded to the throne. After nearly 60 years of construction and development of the three generations of kings of his ancestors, King Chu Su, King Xuan of Chu and King King Wei of Chu, the State of Chu gradually struggled to get up from the blows and pains of the State of Wu back then, recuperated and gradually recovered part of its vitality. A powerful Chu State with vast land, abundant products, and elite combat power has once again recovered, and a new situation has gradually taken shape in which the three kingdoms of Qi, Chu and Qin are established.

In 323 BC, Zhaoyang led the main force of the Chu State and broke out a fierce war with the Wei State at Xiangling (in the area of present-day Sui County, Henan). The Wei army was defeated, eight cities were lost, and the prestige of the state of Chu was greatly shaken. In order to commend Zhaoyang's military exploits, King Huai of Chu rewarded the treasure and clan of Chu to this brave veteran who could fight well.

The state of Chu has achieved relatively satisfactory results in several successive foreign wars, and its national strength has grown rapidly. With strength, there will naturally be a desire for higher requirements, and King Huai of Chu began to seek a new hegemony by virtue of Chu's strong combat power and increasingly prosperous economy. In 319 B.C., the state of Qi, which was no longer able to compete with Chu for the position of leader of the princes of the Central Plains, died down, and after a series of diplomatic mediations and open and secret battles between lobbyists, King Wei Hui and King Han Xuanhui expressed their willingness to serve Chu as the lord at the same time. Moreover, Wei sent an envoy to hint to Chu: Qiang Qin is aggressive, Wei is not allowed to join the Chu Alliance, and as the leader of the princes, Chu should take on the righteousness and jointly attack Qin. And Wei, Han and other countries will follow with all their strength and send troops to assist.

Soon, King Chu Huai recognized the suggestions of Wei, Han and other countries, and the lobbyist Zhang Yi ran into walls everywhere, while Gongsun Yan, another famous scholar from various countries, was like a fish in water, tossing and turning between major countries, quite a bit of a posture of ascending to the heights and shouting and the princes responding. Soon, the seven kingdoms of Chu, Qi, Zhao, Wei, Yan, and Yiqu formed a powerful military alliance and began to seek to crusade and punish the barbaric and powerful Qin state.

In 318 BC, the princes of all walks of life jointly elected the state of Chu as the chief of the column (the leader of the joint column), and began a military crusade against the state of Qin from multiple directions. For a time, the prestige of the state of Chu was shocked, and King Huai of Chu was full of spirit, pointing out the country and talking and laughing about the Central Plains. In the face of huge military pressure, the Qin State adopted various means such as division and compromise, disintegration and defeat. Although the state of Chu was the nominal leader of the alliance, with strong national strength and high morale, whether it was the politician who initiated the alliance or the generals who eventually went to the front line of the campaign, they ignored a very important issue, the distribution of benefits and the bearing of losses.

Although the Qin State is strong, it obviously does not have enough strength to resist the multinational alliance with the strength of one country, not to mention that although the strength of traditional powers such as Chu and Qi is slightly inferior, it has not been pulled to the extent of absolute crushing. At the beginning of the formation of the powerful alliance, it still had the cohesion of the same hatred and hatred and the courage to fight to the death against the tiger and wolf Qin army. However, Qin's response was extremely ingenious, making full use of the objective situation of different minds among princes and monarchs, and the uneven strength of various countries, and at the same time using various interests and diplomatic means to dig out the weaknesses in human nature to the fullest.

In this way, under the threat of the Qin army's strong combat power and the lobbying of politicians, various problems within the alliance were gradually exposed. None of the princes with ghosts wanted to use their own strength and shed their own blood to make wedding dresses for others. Under the successive defeats, the Qin State actually withstood the strong pressure of the princes' alliance and gradually split the princes' alliance.

Under the division of the alliance, as Jia Yi said, "The Qin people switched and extended the enemy, the division of the Nine Kingdoms, patrolled and did not dare to enter, Qin had no cost to lose the arrow, and the princes of the world were trapped." So he was defeated from the dispersal of the treaty, fought for the land and bribed Qin. Qin had the spare strength to control its disadvantages, chasing the dead and chasing the north, ambushing millions of corpses, bleeding and drifting; Because of the convenience of profit, slaughter the world, and divide the mountains and rivers. The strong country is convinced, and the weak country enters the DPRK. ”

A broken alliance obviously no longer needs a leader, because King Chu Huai did not intend to use the Chu State's family background to fight with the Qin army until the net was broken and both sides were defeated. This is still the case as the most powerful speaker in the alliance, not to mention the other princes whose national strength is weaker than that of Chu. As a result, this joint attack on Qin led by the state of Chu ended strangely but deservedly.

After the failure of the joint attack on Qin, the state of Qi also began to seek to restore the glory and status of the year, and the solid family background allowed the state of Qi to catch up with the footsteps of the state of Chu and Qin without difficulty. As a result, the entire Central Plains battlefield formed a three-legged trend of Qi occupying the east, Qin occupying the west, and Chu ruling the south. Among them, the Qin State was the strongest, and still maintained its suppression of the princes from all walks of life; In order to ensure their living space and rights and interests, the states of Chu and Qi, which were slightly inferior in national strength, formed an offensive and defensive alliance to confront the powerful Qin State while protecting their national interests as much as possible.

In 313 B.C., the combined forces of Qi and Chu marched westward and captured the Qin region of Quwo, and the Qin state began to realize the biggest problem facing the country at present. Qu Yuan's reforms in the state of Chu were supported by the ambitious King Huai of Chu, and his national strength and cohesion steadily increased, while the state of Qi also felt the crisis from its allies and remained silent.

Although King Chu Huai failed to lead the princes of the world and inflict a devastating blow on the Qin State in one go, he did not carefully consider the essential reasons for the failure of the Vertical Alliance. And when the Qi-Chu coalition army defeated the tiger and wolf Qin State, captured Quwo, and cut off the tentacles of Qin's eastward advance, he seemed to see the opportunity to dominate the world again and call for wind and rain. It seems that the Qin State is not as strong as imagined, Chu has cultivated the rule of officials at home, strengthened Qin in foreign wars, and its international status is thriving, and the Qin army, which made all the princes feared like a tiger and invincible, seems to be unable to stop the powerful Chu army. As for the Qi Guo who worked with his followers, he was just a group of poor worms lying on the thick foundation of his predecessors.

King Chu Huai was a little flustered, he began to feel that the state of Chu was strong enough, and the strong national strength brought about by Qu Yuan's political reform made him more and more confident. Although Qu Yuan would have the bookish air of a scholar many times, which made him a little unhappy, at least, Qu Yuan was still extremely loyal to himself and the country.

However, the seemingly powerful state of Chu made a fatal mistake soon after: following Zhang Yi's persuasion, he severed his alliance with the state of Qi. Later, it was discovered that King Chu Huai, who had been deceived by Zhang Yi's playing with his tongue, hoped to use his growing military strength to teach this group of treacherous traitors of the Qin State an unforgettable lesson.

As a result, the state of Chu, which had lost the support of the state of Qi, brazenly sent troops, and the two countries of Qin and Chu fought a bloody battle in Danyang (now the area of Xixia and Zhechuan in Henan). The Qin State led its troops to attack with famous generals such as Wei Zhang, Zhu Liji, and Gan Mao, and divided the generals of the Chu State troops with a divisive strategy. The Chu army, which was constantly fighting and misdeployed, was defeated in the face of the murderous tiger and wolf Qin division, and more than 70 Chu army generals were either captured or killed in battle, and more than 80,000 Chu soldiers were killed in a foreign land and died on the battlefield. The Qin army pursued the victory, broke through Hanzhong of Chu, occupied more than 600 li of Chu, and set up Hanzhong County.

King Huai of Chu's anger did not subside with a tragic defeat, obviously, he was not willing to accept such a powerful state of Chu to fail like this, and did not seriously and objectively analyze the difference in strength between the two countries, King Huai of Chu once again became angry, mobilized the whole country, and fought with the troops of Qin in Lantian (now Lantian West, Shaanxi, now northwest of Zhongxiang, Hubei). However, the Chu troops, who had already been shaken and demoralized, were not the opponents of the Qin army, and during the battle of Danyang in Qin and Chu, the bloody 80,000 beheadings made the people of Chu have long lost the courage to fight to the death. As a result, the Chu army was once again severely defeated, and Wei and Han, who had been respectful to the Chu State, finally tore off the masks of their allies and raised troops to attack Chu.

The counterattack of the allies and the bloody slaughter of the Qin army finally brought King Chu Huai to his senses, and he finally understood why the Qin State was able to deter the princes' coalition army with just one cruel sentence of "whichever country attacks Qin will destroy which country". The Qin of the tiger and wolf was unstoppable, so the state of Chu began to ask the state of Qi for help, hoping to regroup and jointly attack to drive out this group of fierce beasts in Hexi who only knew how to kill. However, Qi refused.

Under the internal and external difficulties, King Chu Huai had to cede the land and pay compensation, compensated two important towns, and asked for another reconciliation with the Qin State.

With the anger of the king, the great revival of the division to defeat Qin. Qin sent troops to attack it, and broke the Chu division in Dan and Xi, (Suoyin Ershui name. It is said to be the north of Danshui and the south of Xishui. Danshui and Xishui are the names of counties, in Hongnong, the so-called Danyang and Xi. Beheaded 80,000, captured Chu will be bent, and then take the middle land of Chu Hanzhong. King Huai sent soldiers to attack Qin in depth and fought in Lantian. Wei Wenzhi attacked Chu to Deng. Chu soldiers were afraid and returned from Qin. And Qi was angry and didn't save Chu, and Chu was in great trouble.

- "Historical Records"

After learning from the pain, when the Chu State licked its wounds, it turned out that the Qin State was so terrible, and the allies were so unreliable. The beauty of Qu Yuan's concept and the gentlemanly feelings between the princes and princes of various countries seem so pale and powerless in the open and dark battles of deceit. How can the so-called benevolent, righteous and beautiful government be compared to a few words from lobbyists, and how can the so-called cultivation of virtue and the people's foundation be compared to strict punishment and strict law, and the whole people's cultivation war.

The successive defeats in foreign wars and the increasingly chaotic political situation at home caused both Qu Yuan and the state of Chu to lose their direction. The actual defeat made the conservative faction and traditional aristocrats in the domestic political arena begin to question the reform, and King Chu Huai himself began to wonder if Qu Yuan, an important minister he relied on, could not really make the state of Chu strong.

The state of Chu under the internal and external difficulties gasped with difficulty, when there were enough doubts and slanders, and there was a crack in the king's heart, Qu Yuan, as a representative of the reformers, was the first to face doubts. In addition to bringing vitality to the state of Chu, it also brought hatred and slander to Qu Yuan from groups with damaged vested interests of all parties. Although King Chu Huai fell for Zhang Yi's evil, he did not feel that Zhang Yi was a villain who violated the spirit of the contract, but greatly admired this politician who could turn the clouds and rain and stir up the storm while talking and laughing. Although his deception caused the Chu State to suffer heavy losses, such a strategy was so masterful!

Obviously, King Chu Huai no longer felt that Qu Yuan's proposal of self-cultivation and derby was very reasonable. The gentleman does not seem to have any real benefit other than to say it nicely. And conspiracy and sophistry are the real and useful. Since Zhang Yi can deceive the State of Chu, then the lobbyists of the State of Chu should also be able to deceive other countries. As for virtue, what is the value?

In this way, the imperial approval that maintained Qu Yuan's ruling philosophy was shaken. King Chu Huai did not feel how shameful it was to be lured by interests and fall into the trap of the enemy, on the contrary, he admired the arranger of the trap, such a talent, such a resource, is the way to enrich the country and strengthen the army. As for Qu Yuan, who is talking about feelings and beautiful jade all day long, let's use him to divert the political attention brought about by the defeat!

So, for the purpose of uniting and using the power of the old aristocracy, King Chu Huai, who no longer trusted Qu Yuan's ideas, heard the report he needed to hear: Qu Yuan's dictatorship seized power, and he seemed to have a heart of disobedience!

In this way, the Qu Yuan reform, which had begun to bear fruit, came to an end, and King Chu Huai drove out the nerd scholar who demanded the king's self-restraint all day long.

In 299 BC, Qin and Chu met each other. Qu Yuan seemed to see that King Huai's visit would be a disaster, so he strongly persuaded King Huai not to attend the meeting. However, the youngest son of King Huai was worried that Qin would attack Chu in anger, so he repeatedly urged his father to go to the meeting. As a result, the king of Qin did not care about any etiquette and benevolence, and even sent an army to detain the king of Chu Huai, who came to the meeting, and escorted him to Xianyang, forcing the king of Chu Huai to give an order to cede Wujun and Qianzhong.

However, Xiong Huai, the king of Chuhuai, who has always been confused, swept away his decadence in the face of major rights and wrongs involving national interests, and would rather die than obey. Moreover, the internal political situation of Chu has also undergone earth-shaking changes: the new monarch ascended the throne and was called King of Chu Qingxiang. As a result, the detained King Chu Huai lost the corresponding political use value.

The state of Chu, which refused to cede the land, was in a chaotic period of alternating imperial power, and the state of Qin decided to take the opportunity to send troops, and the benefits that could not be obtained through diplomatic means had to be taken in person with a sword. The Qin army pressed the border, defeated the Chu army, and more than 50,000 soldiers of the Chu State once again sacrificed their lives for the mediocrity of the ruling class. Sixteen cities were delivered by the new king of Chu, King Qingxiang, to appease the anger of the king of Qin.

His father, Chu Huai, Wang Ning, did not agree to hand over the land when he died, so he was sacrificed by his son. The princes of the Central Plains did nothing further than unanimously condemn Qin's detention of King Chu Huai. And King Qingxiang, who was already tired of Qu Yuan, did not want to continue to follow his advice and exiled him again.

In 293 B.C., an extremely tragic war brought the whole world to know a Qin general. In the Battle of Qin, Han, and Yique, hundreds of thousands of Han and Wei allied forces were defeated by an unknown young man. According to legend, Qin Prime Minister Wei Ran was once above the court, and he was willing to use the military order as a guarantee to recommend this person. And this young general, as expected, did not live up to expectations, won more with less, and defeated the coalition forces in the Battle of Yique. Moreover, the beheading of the enemy's 240,000 people, for a time, the world was shocked, and the princes were terrified. This young general kicked off the bloodiest killing prelude in the Warring States Period, and his name was Bai Qi.

In the face of the aggressive Qin State, the new monarch of the Chu State, King Qingxiang, was terrified and compromised and retreated. However, the Qin State was not easily satisfied. In 280 BC, the Qin general Sima Cuo led an army to attack Chu, and the Chu army was defeated and retreated, ceding Shangyong and Hanbei. In 279 B.C., Bai Qi led elite soldiers again and captured Xie, Deng, and Xiling. In 278 BC, the unstoppable Qin army, under the leadership of Bai Qi, rushed thousands of miles, broke through the Chu capital Yingcheng, and burned the tombs of the first kings of Chu. King Xiang of Chu led the nobles and nobles to flee in embarrassment, and since then, the state of Chu has collapsed.

Qu Yuan, who was exiled, learned that the Ying of Chu had been broken and the tombs of the previous kings were burned, he was grief-stricken, and on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of that year, on the bank of the Miluo River, he jumped and chose to use his life to be buried for his ideals and beliefs. The people of Chudi, in order to prevent the fish in the river from destroying their corpses, rowed dragon boats, threw rice in the river, and paid tribute to the heroic souls. In later generations, it was called the Dragon Boat Festival.

A powerful Chu state was on the verge of extinction, and the dynasty laid by generations of kings with painstaking efforts has since declined to the point of inability to revive, and the hope of hundreds of thousands of Chu soldiers and civilians carefully watered with their blood and lives has been extinguished with the blazing fire of the royal mausoleum. In fact, Zhang Yi can't be blamed for being cunning and treacherous, and there is no need to blame Chu Huai Wang Li for making him faint. Qu Yuan used his life to play a lament that was enough to shake history, what was wrong with him?

The strong family foundation laid by several generations of kings of Chu State was completely lost in the generation of King Huai of Chu, not because the chaotic lobbyist empire was too strong, nor was it that all the officials of Chu were eating and waiting for death. It's just that a sighing grand change was pinned on a king who only puts interests first by a scholar with a noble character, and the two people who were originally not on the same path both wrongly recognized each other from the beginning, and poured cold water on each other's dreams step by step.

What's even more terrifying is that these two dream chasers, who are fundamentally difficult to integrate, have become the leaders of an empire, and the fierce collision of the two thinking patterns and ideologies has been infinitely expanded by the power in their hands, and under the impetus of various internal and external forces, it has intensified, and finally, a storm has been formed enough to sink the giant ship of the empire, so that the people who are united and willing to take risks have also fallen into the dark abyss from which they will never recover.

Perhaps King Chu Huai didn't do too much wrong, and his ideological realm was more in line with the social reality at that time. But after thinking about it for a long time, it seems that King Chu Huai has made all kinds of stupid mistakes, this is not his intention, his only mistake is to overestimate his talents, underestimate the complex situation, and his position is doomed, he needs to bear the heavy shame that cannot be moved. From the moment he can resolutely choose to protect the interests of the country between life and death, he is worthy of being an emperor.

Maybe Qu Yuan did too many mistakes, and his governing philosophy and ideas were not suitable for the actual situation at that time, but the only thing he did right was to use his life to adhere to his ideals and beliefs, and never give up for the beautiful and prosperous era outlined in his heart. From the moment he plunged into the surging Miluo, this hero was still glorious despite defeat.