Author: Zhao Xinfang
Wu Zixu is a legendary figure in the late Spring and Autumn period of ancient China, his experience is very peculiar, the tragic ending is breathtaking, and it is one of the hot materials for the literary and artistic creation of later generations.
(1) Born into a famous family, suffering from a great vendetta
Wu Zixu's ancestor Wu Ju followed the King of Chu Zhuang in his conquests and was a major vassal of the Chu State for generations. His father, Wu Hao, was crown prince, and his older brother Wu Shang was Grand Master Chu. According to historical records, Wu Zixu was intelligent and enlightened from an early age, eager to learn and think deeply, and had a strong personality. Many of the opinions of young people are different from others. His father loved him very much, praising him for his great future and for becoming a pillar of the Chu kingdom in the future.
However, there was an unexpected storm in the sky, and a scandal in the palace shattered Wu Zixu's dream and caused his family to be destroyed. To make a long story short, strengthening ties between countries through marriage was a common practice in the Spring and Autumn Period. Marriage is about door-to-door pairs. Therefore, the king's father and son must be found among the princes. King Chuping's crown prince jian reached the age of marrying a wife, when his father's emissary Fei Wuji found a princess for him in the powerful neighboring state of Qin.
Fei Wuji, the emissary of the State of Chu, was a shameless villain, and in order to please King Chu Ping, he said to him that the princess of the State of Qin was very beautiful, and the lord could marry himself.
At first, King Chuping thought that this practice was inappropriate, after all, it was to marry his son's daughter-in-law, not to find a stepmother for his son, to do so in disregard of etiquette, righteousness, and shame, and to pass it out without seeing people, which became a big joke, and shook his head vigorously to express disagreement. Fei Wuji knew the characteristics of the King of Chu and said softly, Princess Qin had not yet passed through the door, and it was still undecided who she belonged to. The king was satisfied with it and married him, and he could find another one for the prince.
The dim-witted King of Chuping felt that Fei Wuji was right, and after marrying Princess Qin, he seized the time to re-establish Zhang Luo's daughter-in-law for the crown prince. Fei Wuji was a thief and feared that Prince Jian would retaliate against him after he ascended the throne, so he provoked King Chuping to transfer Prince Jian to zhen to guard the border. Soon after, Fei Wuji provoked The Crown Prince to rebel in front of King Chuping, and his teacher Wu Hao was involved in the incident.
King Chuping ordered Wu Hao to be imprisoned. Fei Wuji told King Chuping that Wu Hao's two sons were very powerful, and there would be trouble if they did not cut the grass and remove the roots. King Chuping sent someone to trick Wu Shang Wu Zixu, saying that as long as the two brothers entered the palace to explain the matter to the king, they could release Wu Hao. Both brothers knew that it was king Chu Ping's conspiracy and trickery. Wu Shang did not want to watch his father die for his own life, and decided to accompany his father, and he asked Wu Zixu to flee quickly. Wu Zixu took up his sword and fled.
King Chuping killed Wu Shang's father and son and distributed documents everywhere to arrest Wu Zixu.
Wu Zixu arrived at Zhaoguan, the border between Chu and Wu, and prepared to go to the state of Wu. The guards had received orders from the imperial court, and after strictly inspecting the passing pedestrians, Wu Zixu could not pass the pass, and he was sad all night, and the next day he did not need to make Ru and get out of the pass. This story has been passed down from generation to generation and will not be repeated here.
(ii) It is gold that will eventually shine
Li Baishiyun, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty: I am born to be useful, and I will come back when all the gold is scattered. Wu Zixu is a naturally useful talent. There were reasons why he chose to defect to the state of Wu, one was that Wu and Chu bordered each other, and there was a dispute between the lords. Second, compared with the State of Chu, the social development of the State of Wu lagged behind, and the King of Wu hoped that talented people would come to help him. After he reached Wu and took control of the state, it was convenient to directly attack the Chu state to avenge himself.
After Wu Zixu arrived in the Kingdom of Wu, Wu Wangzhi recognized him as a talent, but only for revenge, and could not stay after revenge, so he never trusted him. He switched to Gongzi Guang, the second son of Wu Wangfu, and won the trust of Gongzi Guang. After having a foothold, Wu Zixu's talents gradually came into play.
Taking advantage of the fact that Gongzi Guang's brothers and brothers were marching out and being besieged by the Chu army and unable to escape, he sent dead soldiers who had long been bribed to assassinate Wu Wangfu. A country cannot be without a monarch for a day, and the prince just took advantage of the empty opportunity in the country to take the throne, which is called Lu Lu in history. Wu Zixu naturally became the xiangguo of the State of Wu.
When he became Xiangguo, Wu Zixu took an important step towards the goal of revenge, and with the support of Lu Lu, Wu Zixu mainly grasped three major events.
First, rectify the interior. Measures should be taken to develop production, educate officials and the people, and respect the elderly and support the young. Wu Zixu is a man who does practical things, and he must be personal in everything, personally understand the people's feelings, train the army, and teach the formation map. The population of the whole country developed rapidly, and after only three or five years, the State of Wu gradually became stronger and had a new look.
Second, the eight parties recruit talents. It was suggested that King Wu accept Bo Zhao, the grandson of the Chu chancellor Bo Zhou Plough, as a minister. Wu Zixu later unfortunately died under the rumors of this person. However, this cannot deny the correctness of recruiting talents. The most successful example is the use of heavy money to hire the famous military expert Sun Wu out of the mountains to train and command the army with him.
Third, change the military strategy, from passive defense to active offense. The national army was organized into three armies, the upper, middle, and lower armies, and took turns to attack and harass the Chu state from different locations. So that the Chu kingdom could not get a moment of peace, tired of running for its life, and embarrassed.
After more than ten years of full preparation, about 499 BC, the Wu army, under the command of Wu Zixu and Sun Wu, adopted a major detour of combat policy and captured the capital of the Chu state, Yingdu, and the then king Of Chu Zhao fled. King Chuping had been dead for many years. In order to relieve his hatred, Wu Zixu shaved the body of King ChuPing out of the grave... This story has been passed down for many years and will not be repeated here.
(3) KeSilk was forced to commit suicide
Soon after the attack on the State of Chu, Yan Lu died. He was succeeded by Fu Cha, the son of Fu Lu. To say that Fu Cha relied on Wu Zixu's help to ascend to the throne, it is reasonable to respect the benefactor, but Fu Cha was a guy with mediocre intellect and self-sufficiency, who was clever in handling relations with neighboring countries and refused to listen to advice, not only buried the great rivers and mountains of the State of Wu, but even Xiangguo Wu Zixu died at his hands.
When he was still alive, he heeded Wu Zixu's advice that the main enemy of the State of Wu was not the State of Chu but the State of Yue, so soon after the attack on Chu, the War of Annihilation of Vietnam was launched. Unfortunately, Lu Lu was poisoned by an arrow on the battlefield, and before he died, he gave it to his son Fu cha as a will.
Around 488 BC, Fu Cha led an army to attack the Yue kingdom and captured the Yue king Gou Jian and several of his ministers. Wu Zixu's opinion is that there is no forgiveness for the aftermath.
Gou Jian understood his disadvantageous situation and sent the minister Wen Chuan to send many gifts to the Minister of Wu, Bo Yao. Bo Yao came to Wu as an official on the recommendation of Wu Zixu, but he was a greedy villain, and he advised his husband not to kill him. Fu Cha listened to Bo Yao's advice, spared himself the death penalty of treachery, and allowed him to return to China after three years of hard labor in the State of Wu.
Wu Zixu was in his eyes and anxious in his heart, and often advised his husband to kill Gou Jian in order to avoid future troubles. In the persuasion, he was very emotional and his words were fierce. Fu Cha not only did not understand Wu Zixu's good intentions, but also thought that he had bumped into himself and opposed him, and he was very dissatisfied. The idea that it must go and then go quickly.
Once Wu Zixu took his son Wu back to the state of Qi. Qi Guo Xiang Tian Chengzi admired Wu Zixu's talent, saying that Fu Cha was a mediocre person who was difficult to work with, and Wu Zixu had a future for development in the State of Qi. Wu Zixu sighed and said that he had betrayed Chu and Wu, and Yu Yishi would not take it. So he left his son in the State of Qi and returned to the State of Wu himself.
The Wu state Dazai Boyao had long planned to seek Wu Zixu's position, and after hearing about this, he immediately told fu cha that Wu Zixu's leaving his son in the state of Qi was not good for the state of Wu, and the king had to take measures early. Fu Cha sent a sword to Wu Zixu, causing him to commit suicide... Sure enough, wu Zixu's expectations, after ten years of life and gathering, ten years of lessons, finally destroyed the State of Wu. Fu cha committed suicide by wrapping his head in a black cloth.
It is not a pity that the husband died. Wu Zixu's ending is thought-provoking. As early as after the success of the attack on Chu, Sun Wu resigned from the lawsuit and went into hiding. At the same time, he persuaded Wu Zixu to go with him. He talked about the truth of high merit and great sorrow. Wu Zixu believed that the two kings had succeeded to the throne because of his help, and that they had made great contributions to Wu, and that his lifelong glory and wealth were not a problem. Sun Wu said in a serious tone that those who are obsessed with power are dimwitted, and only those who correctly treat power can understand. Wu Zixu is a man of great talent and great strategy, but because of his greed for power and love of position, his fate is tragic and regrettable!
【About the author】Zhao Xinfang, pen name Zhao Shi, is a director of the Chongqing Miscellaneous Literature Association and a director of the Chongqing Nan'an District Writers Association.
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