The history of wuyue

In the first year of King Jing of Zhou Dynasty (544 BC), the captured prisoners of war stabbed Yu when Wu invaded Vietnam. In the tenth year of the Zhou Dynasty (the first 5 10 year), before Wu attacked Chu on a large scale, in order to relieve worries, it once attacked Yue and occupied Li (now south of Jiaxing, Zhejiang). In fifteen years, when Wu Jun's main force was in Ying and Chu, the more he took the opportunity to occupy the territory of Wu, the contradictions between the two sides intensified. If Wu wants to dominate the Central Plains, it must first conquer the State of Yue to remove the threat from the rear. The more you want to go north into the Central Plains, the more you have to obey Wu, which led to the wuyue War that lasted for more than 20 years. Wuyue is located in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, where "the boat is a car and the horse is a horse" (Biography of Yue Jue Ji Shu), and both sides fight on water. At this time, as the "boat division" of the water army, it has become a new arm and can independently complete strategic and campaign tasks. There are three main types of warships of wuyue Navy, namely, warships (command ships), large wings, medium wings and small wings, as well as warships such as native cats (bows with sharp angles) and bridge ships (light warships). The main warship has a wingspan of 20 meters and a width of 2.7 meters, carrying "26 soldiers, 50 men (hands), three men (hands), one man (each with a long hook, spear and axe), one officer, one servant and one gunner", together with the captain "9 1 man". The basic way of water warfare is to shoot with crossbows first, then dock, and finally board the ship to fight, sometimes hitting enemy ships with sudden bursts.

In the 24th year (496 BC), He Lv, the king of Wu, led an army to attack Vietnam, and both sides were mainly against Li. The more he committed suicide, he took advantage of Wu Jun's distraction, launched a storm, defeated Wu Jun, and He Lu was injured and died. Fu Cha succeeded him as king. In twenty-six years, the more the water army attacked Wu, the more it fell (now Dongting Mountain in Taihu Lake, Jiangsu Province). When the Vietnamese army was defeated, the main force was wiped out. Wu Jun pursued the attack and occupied Du Yue (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). More than 5,000 people led by Gou Jian, King of Yue, were surrounded on Huiji Mountain. Gou Jian asked him to surrender, but was persuaded by Minister Wu, saying, "If you don't destroy Yue today, you will regret it later.". Fu Cha, eager to dominate the Central Plains in the north, did not adopt Wu Zixu's suggestion and proposed withdrawing troops on the condition that the king of Yue was the king of Wu (see the article "The Battle of Fujiao"). Mr. and Mrs. Gou Jian worked for the prince of Wu for three years, won the trust of Fu Cha, and were released back to China. In order to prosper, Gou Jian destroyed Wu, "tried his best" and worked hard to be strong. With the help of counselors Wen Zi and Fan Li, he formulated the long-term strategy of "ten-year reunion" and "ten-year lessons": to implement policies such as developing production, rewarding childbearing and respecting talents internally, so as to stabilize people's livelihood, enrich the source of soldiers, win the hearts of the people, consolidate unity, and thus enhance comprehensive national strength; Militarily, the policy of elite soldiers should be implemented, training should be strengthened, discipline should be strict, and combat effectiveness should be improved. At that time, the war was fought with a crossbow. Chariots and warships are "the end of the war", and the key to a battle depends on the final charge. Gou Jian hired Professor Chen Yin, who is good at crossbow shooting, to use crossbow skills, including aiming, repeating and mastering the best ratio of crossbow force to arrow weight (pulling a stone, the arrow weighs one or two), so that "all sergeants can use crossbow skills", and also hired Professor Yue Nv, who is good at "Sword and halberd skills", to use "hand-to-hand combat skills" to make sergeants "one person is a hundred, and one million people are ten thousand". The folk custom of crossing the border is that "soldiers dare to die" and are used to fighting alone. To this end, Gou Jian opposed "men are men of courage", emphasized discipline, and asked the combat troops to unify their operations under unified orders and give full play to their overall combat capability. It is stipulated that those who obey orders will be rewarded, and those who violate them will be beheaded and separated. "In diplomacy, in view of the situation that" Wu is attached to Qi and Jin, and resentment is attached to Chu ",the policy of" being close to Qi, deeply attached to Jin, strengthening Chu, and being kind to Wu "was adopted (Biography of Gou Jian's Return to China in the Spring and Autumn Period). Being kind to Wu means imitating the strategy of "attacking" and disintegrating and weakening the enemy by non-war means. The main measures are: pretending to be loyal, making the king of Wu relax his guard against Vietnam, letting him go north to dominate the Central Plains and do whatever he wants, encouraging the king of Wu to love the palace and women, making it large-scale and consuming national strength; And bribery, which expanded the internal contradictions of the Wu ruling clique and undermined its unity. After ten years of implementation, the more "an inch of land and gold, the people are close to each other", and the national strength is revived. The Vietnamese army has also become a well-equipped, well-trained and "deadly" elite force.

Fu Cha, the king of Wu, actively prepared for the Northern Expedition after conquering Yue. Wu Yuan once again put forward that "the more certain, the better", thinking that the more "the disease of the abdomen and the heart", the more "Qilu princes are just scabies". The prince of Wu still has not adopted it. In the thirty-first year (489 BC), when Wu Xian moved to the north, he attacked Chen (now Huaiyang, Henan) in order to relieve the flank threat. In thirty-three years, Wu attacked Lu and opened the door to the Central Plains. In order to establish a strategic base and get through the military traffic arteries, Wu Wei built Hanjiang City (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province) on a large scale on the north bank of the Yangtze River in 34 years, and dug a gully from Yangzhou to Huai 'an via Sheyang Lake to connect the waters of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and then connected with Si, Yi and Jishui. In thirty-five years, Wu led the allied forces of Lu, Yong and Yong to attack Qi by land; The doctor program was sent to lead the water army from the Yangtze River into the sea, detour to the Shandong Peninsula, and attack him. Wu Shuijun lost the battle at sea, so the allied forces on the land retreated (see Attack Qi). In thirty-six years, Zai Wu attacked Qi and wiped out the elite of Qi in Aileen (now northeast of Laiwu, Shandong) (see the Battle of Aileen). In the thirty-eighth year (482 BC), Fu Cha led Wu Jun's main force into Huangchi (now southwest of Fengqiu, Henan Province) and formed an alliance with the governors of Jin and Central Plains, "seeking to dominate China". At this time, the hegemony of Wu reached its peak.

When Fu Cha, the king of Wu, competed with Jin Dinggong for leadership in Huangchi, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, divided his forces and attacked Wu. An army entered the Huaihe River from the sea, breaking the road of Wu's main force's Huiyuan and covering the main force's operations; Its self-directed main force went straight to Wudu, flooded the suburbs and annihilated Wu Jun, taking advantage of the situation to attack Wudu. Fu Cha returned to the south, fearing that he would run back for a long distance because of the loss of the capital, and his troops would be exhausted, so he sent someone to make peace. Gou Jian didn't want to have an uncertain decisive battle with Wu Jun's main force intact, so he reached a peace agreement with Wu and withdrew. In forty-two years, there was a famine in Wu. The more the opportunity to attack, the more Li Ze (in Wujiang, Jiangsu) confronted Wu Jun across the river. Using the darkness of night, the Vietnamese army lured Wu Jun to divide his troops by feinting with two wings, then concentrated the elite, made a breakthrough in front of the enemy and in the middle, continued to attack, and expanded the results, thus creating a successful example of the earlier river-crossing attack in the history of China War (see the Battle of Li Ze). After the war, the balance of power between wuyue has undergone fundamental changes, and the more it occupies an absolute advantage. In the first year (475 BC), Wu was attacked again. Wu Jun is unable to fight, according to the capital defense. The more you build a city in the southwest suburb of Wudu, the more you seek to attack the city. Wu sent envoys to make peace several times, but the more he refused. In three years, the city was broken, Fu Cha committed suicide, and Wu died (see the article "Vietnam War"). Gou Jian led the army to "cross the Jianghuai River in the north and welcome the governors of Qi and Jin Dynasties in Xuzhou". Zhou Yuanwang named Gou Jian as Bo. "The Yue army runs rampant in the east of Jianghuai, and the vassal is the overlord" (Historical Records: Goujian Family of Yue King), which eventually became the overlord in the late Spring and Autumn Period.

Comments: In this campaign, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, refused to listen to the words of military commanders, raised tigers as a menace and was finally destroyed. On the other hand, Gou Jian, the King of Yue, saved his strength, listened to the words of counselors Wen Zi and Fan Li, and won by strategy. The diplomatic strategies of pro-Qi, alliance with gold and alliance with Chu played an important role in the war. This shows that the war at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period has developed into an intellectual war. At that time, people thought that "wisdom is the beginning, benevolence is the second, and courage is the second." ("Guoyu Wuyu" recorded the words of Shen, a general of Chu State.) In the war, new tactics such as early sailing into the sea and river attack also appeared.

Overview of wuyue's hegemony

The hegemony of great powers is a remarkable feature of the Spring and Autumn Period. After Qi Huangong took the lead, Jin and Chu rose one after another, competing for the Central Plains and becoming the champions, but in the end, they were evenly matched. After the mid-Spring and Autumn Period, there was a situation of coexistence and hegemony. In this case, Duke Jing of Jin adopted the suggestion of Shen Gong's witch minister, and began to unite with the State of Wu, in an attempt to use the State of Wu to contain the right wing of Chu, leaving Chu with no room for recruiting, driving the offensive of the State of Jin, and thus making profits.

Wu lives in the southeast coastal area, adjacent to Yue State, and has the custom of tattooing. According to "Wu Yue Chun Qiu", the state of Wu at that time was "the river and the sea were wet and dangerous, the monarch had no defense, the people had no support, no warehouse, and no land was cultivated." Strictly speaking, it is not a country, but a tribal group. In the eyes of the Central Plains countries, Wu is a barbarian country with very backward economy and culture. In 584 BC, Duke Jing of Jin sent Shen Gong and Chen Wu to the State of Wu to teach chariot and shooting techniques in the palace, and incited the State of Wu to betray the State of Chu. Therefore, the State of Wu invaded Chu and attacked small countries in between, such as Chao and Xu, which made Chu busy with the war. With the support of the State of Jin, the military strength of Wu developed rapidly, its territory expanded day by day and its reputation increased day by day. The vassal States of the Central Plains began to establish contact with Wu. In 522 BC, Wu Zixu fled from Chu to Wu and became prime minister. He taught He Lv, the king of Wu, the method of "building battlements, stationing troops, and managing treasuries" (Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue), which made Wu become a military power from an extremely backward barbarian country. In 506, He Lv, the king of Wu, took Sun Wu as the general and Wu Zixu as the lieutenant, and jointly attacked Chu with Cai and Tang. Sun Wu is an outstanding strategist. In order to cut off the connection between Chu headquarters and Fangcheng, he adopted the strategy of "breakthrough in the middle", led Wu Jun to advance westward from Huaihe River basin, landed in Huaihe River and crossed Dabie Mountain. At the same time, Tang Jun east attack big tunnel, Zhiyuan, Mingyueguan (in today's Wushengguan area), follow you to the Huaihe River, and go straight south. These two divisions blocked the Chu army's route from the north to the Central Plains and from the east to Qi and Lu, and contained the Chu army from the flank, so that the Chu army did not dare to confront Wu Jun head-on, while Wu Jun took the opportunity to sweep the eastern border towns of Chu, calmly marched westward, joined forces with Cai and Tang armies, split Chu in two, and faced the Chu army across the Han River. Shen Shen, a Chu Sima, discovered the seriousness of the problem and suggested to your son Yin Zichang: "Please ask your son Yin to block the Hanshui River, destroy Wu Jun and abandon the ship with outsiders from Fangcheng, turn around and block the big tunnel, Zhiyuan and Mingyueguan, and then attack Wu Jun. There is no doubt that you will win. "Your son often accepts this suggestion. Unfortunately, when he heard Shi Huang, a doctor of Chu, say, "Now all Chu people hate Ling Yin and like Sima. If Sima's suggestion is adopted, then all the achievements in defeating Wu will go to Sima. "He flatly changed his mind, rashly led the troops across the Hanshui River, and confronted Wu Jun in Baiju (now Macheng Lake), and the result was a crushing defeat. Wu Jun attacked the ancient capital of Chu.

There are both internal and external reasons for Chu's fiasco. The external reason is that Jin and Wu joined forces to surpass Chu. The internal cause is the political corruption of Chu State. The decisive factor is the internal factor. The political corruption of Chu State is highlighted in the issue of employing people. Chu produces talents, but King Chu Ping believes in evil and harms good. Later, King Zhao and Chu came to power, but he had no ambition. He just managed to build a country, which led to a large number of talented people being suppressed and some people fleeing. For example, Fan Li was born in a cloth family. He was a talented person, but "people were crazy at that time" (Reading the Book). He thought that Chu could not directly serve his parents' country, so he might as well go to the East to help Vietnam, defeat Wu, eliminate Chu's worries about looking east, and devote all his talents to the motherland that raised him. So he invited his friend Wen Zhong to bid farewell to his hometown and set foot on the road to Vietnam.

The more ancient the country established by the Yue people. Legend has it that his ancestor was a descendant of Dayu, who was sealed in Huiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) and "lost his tattoo and was brought into the city by grass" (Historical Records, Goujian Family of Yue King), which lasted for more than 20 generations. In 5 10 BC, He Lv, the king of Wu, attacked Yue, when Yun Chang was in power. After He Lv, the prince of Wu, captured the capital of Ying, he celebrated the feast and lingered, leaving a silence. People from the state of Yue often take the opportunity to attack the State of Wu. He Lv, the younger brother of the King of Wu, also sneaked back to Wu and became king on his own. Just then, the doctor of Chu called for help for seven days. He Lv, the king of Wu, was forced to make peace with Chu, and hurried to Li, driving away her husband and keeping the throne. Chu was lucky to be resurrected. King Zhao of Chu learned a painful lesson and began to make great efforts to govern the country. In order to remove the threat of Wu State to Chu State, he adopted the strategy of uniting Vietnam to control Wu State.

He Lv, the king of Wu, is determined to defeat Yue. In 496 BC, King Yue died of illness and his son Gou Jian succeeded to the throne. Wu began to attack Vietnam. Wuyue's two armies fought against Li (now south of Jiaxing, Zhejiang). Wu's army is neat and serious. When the death squads sent by Gou Jian, the King of Yue, failed to charge, they used sinners to commit suicide in front of the battle line to attract Wu Jun's attention, and then attacked Wu Jun, where the more they drifted, the more they fought, stabbing the king He Lv, Wu Jun retreated, He Lv died on the way, and his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Fu Cha sent someone to stand at the door of the palace. Whenever Fu Cha came in and out, he asked, "Fu Cha, have you forgotten the king of Yue's revenge for killing his father?" Focha replied: "Yes, I dare not forget!" After two years, Wu sent elite soldiers to attack Yue. Fu Jiao (Gu Shanming, in Taihu Lake, southwest of Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province) was defeated in World War I, leaving only 5,000 people in Gou Jian, the king of Yue, surrounded by Wu Jun in Jishan. Wen Zi and Fan Li persuaded Gou Jian to bear the burden of humiliation in order to survive, and generously offered to make peace with Gou Jian to Fu Cha, the favorite of the prince of Wu. Wu Zixu, Prime Minister of Wu, objected. He quoted the story of Shao Kang's resurgence in the Xia Dynasty, and advised the prince of Wu to destroy Yue, so as to avoid future troubles. Ai Bo, the ruler of Wu, was greedy for the property of Gou Jian, the king of Yue, and jealous of the contribution of Wu Zixu, the prime minister, and urged the king of Wu to agree to the request of the king of Yue. Fu Cha, the king of Wu, finally allowed peace, but the condition was that the State of Yue had to submit to the State of Wu, and Gou Jian had to be a slave of the State of Wu for three years. Gou Jian married Wu and became his groom. Feed horses and clean cars every morning for hunting and playing in Fucha; He lived in a stone house at night, stayed at He Lv's grave, and looked forward to going back to Yue in three years. Wu Zixu, the most nervous monarch and subjects of Gou Jian, often advised the prince to kill him. Therefore, Gou Jian must pretend to be extremely loyal to the prince of Wu, and never let the prince find anything pretentious. Fan Li took great pains for this. When he heard that Fu Cha was ill, he mobilized Gou Jian to try to distinguish the disease for the prince of Wu, so as to move him. This move really worked. Fu Cha mistakenly thought that Gou Jian really gave in and let him go home as scheduled. After Gou Jian returned to China, he always had a gallbladder around him. He didn't forget to taste the gallbladder first when he sat down to eat, so as to remember the humiliation of that meeting. Fan Li formulated a set of policies for Gou Jian to protect the people, enrich the country and Qiang Bing. Gou Jian tills the fields by himself, while his wife weaves the cloth by herself. He eats without meat and his clothes are not heavy. He was a corporal with high moral character, helped the poor and died, won the hearts of the people, and Yue soon became rich. However, Fu Cha, the prince of Wu, was complacent and corrupt because of his victory. He believed in the art of killing Xu Bozhong, a loyal minister, and his politics became increasingly corrupt. Fu Cha, the prince of Wu, couldn't see that Yue was his own menace, and he was bent on going north for hegemony. In 48 BC, he took advantage of Qi Jinggong's new death to cut Qi, and defeated the Qi army in Yiling. In 482 BC, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, informed the Central Plains governors to attend a meeting in Huangchi (now southwest of fengqiu county, Henan). At the meeting, Wu and Jin competed for the position of the leader. When they died, Wu came first and then Jin. Small countries such as Lu and Zhu also gave Wu 800 times and 600 times respectively (national feather Chu Yu). The meeting of Huangchi enabled Wu to dominate the north, but it also marked the end of Wu's hegemony. Fu Cha, the prince of Wu, attended the Huangchi meeting. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, led his troops into Wudu and captured the Prince's friends. Fu Cha heard the news and quickly withdrew from the north to return home. But Wu Jun was exhausted from the long journey and could not resist the attack of the Vietnamese army. Fu Cha had to send a gift to see Yue for peace. Gou Jian, the king of Yue, estimated that Wu could not be destroyed at present, so he promised to make peace with Wu. In 478 BC, the State of Yue attacked the State of Wu again. The armies of the two countries were in trouble in Lize. At night, the Vietnamese army left and right two small arrays, either left or right, drummed and shouted, pretending to attack the two wings of Wu Jun. Wu Jun divided his forces to defend, and the main forces of the three armies of the State of Yue waded in secret, storming Zhong Jun of the State of Wu, and the State of Wu was defeated. In 473 BC, the Vietnamese army attacked Wu on a large scale for the third time and surrounded Fucha on Gusu Mountain. Wu Gongsun Xiong went barefoot to make peace with Gou Jian, the king of Yue. Gou Jian wanted to agree, saying, "In the past, God told the State of Wu to destroy Yue, but the State of Wu refused; Now that God has told Yue to destroy Wu, is your Majesty going against God's will? " Wu burst into tears. Gou Jianshui said, "Please move Fu Cha to the east of Yongjiang River and let him manage 100 households." Fuxi said to Gou Jian in shame, "I am too old to serve the king." I am ashamed to see my son, am I?

At this time, the state of Yue has become a big eastern country across the river and Huaihe River. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, led an army to cross the Huaihe River in the north, and made an alliance with the princes of Qi, Song, Jin and Lu in Xuzhou (now Tengzhou City, Shandong Province). All countries obey Yue's orders. Zhou Yuanwang officially sent someone to sacrifice meat to Gou Jian, and made him the overlord. Since then, Gou Jian moved his capital to Langya (now Zhucheng City, Shandong Province) and dominated the Central Plains for a long time. It was not until the mid-Warring States period that the State of Yue was defeated by Chu.