Xiong Huai (c. 355 BC – 296 BC), surnamed Xiong Huai (芈氏), xiong clan, was born in Guangling, Hubei (present-day Jingzhou, Hubei), the son of King Chu Wei and the father of King Xiang of Chu. As a very well-known monarch in the history of the Chu state, King Huai of Chu reigned from 328 BC to 299 BC. In 299 BC, the last year of the reign of King Huai of Chu, the State of Qin captured eight cities of the State of Chu, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin met at Wuguan. In this regard, Zhao Sui and Qu Yuan advised the King of Chu Huai not to go to the alliance with King Zhaoxiang of Qin, but the King of Chu Huai did not listen to the advice, and as a result, he was detained by the State of Qin during this meeting. Correspondingly, after King Huai of Chu, King Zhaoxiang of Qin did not dare to detain King Huiwen of Zhao in the Shuichi Hui alliance. So, the question is, why did the State of Qin dare to detain King Huai of Chu, but did not dare to detain King Huiwen of Zhao?
One
First of all, according to the records of historical materials such as the Warring States Policy and the Zuo Chuan, in 299 AD, when King Huai of Chu was detained by the State of Qin, the Crown Prince of Chu was made king, and it was for King Xiang of Chu. In 297 BC, King Huai of Chu fled, but the State of Qin blocked the way for King Huai of Chu to escape back to the State of Chu. At the same time, the Six Kingdoms of Shandong did not dare to take in King Huai of Chu, which led to him being captured by the Qin army. In 296 BC, King Huai of Chu became depressed and died in Xianyang. The State of Qin returned the body to the State of Chu, and "all the people of Chu pitied them, like sad relatives." Correspondingly, in 279 BC, the King of Qin sent emissaries to tell the King of Zhao that he would meet with the King of Zhao at Shichi. In the meeting of Shichi, although King Zhaoxiang of Qin persecuted King Huiwen of Zhao, the State of Qin ultimately did not detain King Huiwen of Zhao.
Two
In this regard, in the author's opinion, the reason why the Qin state dared to detain King Huai of Chu, but did not dare to detain King Huiwen of Zhao, was mainly divided into the following two aspects. On the one hand, the State of Qin dared to detain King Huai of Chu because before that, the State of Qin and the State of Chu were at war. According to historical records such as the Warring States Policy and the Zuo Chuan, before king Huai of Chu was detained, that is, in 312 BC, Zhang Yi of the State of Qin deceived King Huai of Chu, causing King Huai of Chu to break off diplomatic relations with the State of Qi. After this, King Huai of Chu did not obtain 600 miles of land from the Qin state, so he sent troops to attack the Qin state. However, in the Battle of Danyang and the Battle of Lantian, although King Huai of Chu sent hundreds of thousands of troops to attack the Qin state, the results ended in failure.
Three
At the time of the Battle of Danyang and the Battle of Lantian, Korea and the State of Wei took the opportunity to attack the territory of the State of Chu in the Central Plains, and the status of the State of Chu as a great power collapsed, and it has since declined. In 301 BC, in the Battle of Chu sha, the three major armies of the State of Qi, Korea, and Wei dealt a heavy blow to the State of Chu, and then the State of Qin also took the opportunity to send troops to conquer the territory of the State of Chu. In this context, the Chu state can be described as a major injury to the vitality. Therefore, in the view of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, although the seizure of King Huai of Chu was contrary to morality, it was difficult for the State of Chu to pose a threat to the State of Qin at this time. On the other hand, at the meeting of The Pond in 279 BC, the reason why King Zhaoxiang of Qin did not detain King Huiwen of Zhao, in addition to Lin Xiangru's reasoning, suppressed King Zhaoxiang of Qin in momentum, and more importantly, it was the State of Zhao at that time that had a strong ability to counterattack, which made the State of Qin very jealous.
Four
Finally, before the Meeting of Shichi in 279 BC, King Wuling of Zhao implemented the "Hufu Riding Shooting" in the Zhao Kingdom, and through the Hufu Riding Shooting, the military strength of the Zhao State was significantly enhanced. King Huiwen of Zhao was a more accomplished monarch after King Wuling of Zhao, and he once used Le Yi and Pingyuan Jun as his counterparts, Lin Xiangru as Shangqing, and Lian Po and Zhao Hao as generals. For the powerful State of Zhao, it captured the territory of the princely states of Wei and Qi, becoming the only princely state in the Six Kingdoms of Shandong that could stand alone against the State of Qin. Moreover, at the time of the meeting of Shichi, King Huiwen of Zhao made relatively adequate preparations under the advice of Lin Xiangru, such as preparing a large number of soldiers and horses on the border of the Zhao state to prevent the Qin state from taking advantage of the opportunity to attack the Zhao state. In this context, King Zhaoxiang of Qin did not detain King Huiwen of Zhao because of his jealousy of the strength of the Zhao state. What do you think about that? Feel free to leave your views and let's discuss them together.
Text/Sentimental History