Both Qin and Chu were famous princely states in the pre-Qin period, and they were also one of the four great powers of the Spring and Autumn Period, and their grievances were entangled for hundreds of years.
The relations between the two countries, starting from the Spring and Autumn Period, can be divided into a honeymoon period, a period of bad relations, and a period of life and death.
Honeymoon period
As early as after Qin Mugong and Chu Zhuang Wang, because the Qin State needed to use the strength of the Chu State to suppress the Jin State, the Chu State also needed the Qin State to contain the Jin State, and the two countries formed an alliance, through the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period! For example, during the two meetings of the soldiers, Jin and Chu divided the hegemony equally, and except for Qin Qi, other countries had to pay tribute to both countries at the same time. And the reason why Qin Qi did not pay tribute was that the State of Qi was an ally of the State of Jin, and the State of Qin was an ally of the State of Chu!
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the influence of certain events, the relations between the two countries became closer. At that time, the Jin-Chu struggle for hegemony had reached a white-hot stage, and in order to suppress the Chu State, the Jin State sent the Chu rebel Shen Gong Wuchen who surrendered to them to teach the generals of the State of Wu the art of war in order to contain the State of Chu. Coupled with the influence of Wu Zixu Ben Wu, the State of Chu has always been the state of Wu. Later, Wu Zixu led the Wu army to attack the capital of the State of Chu, King Zhao fled in a hurry, and Shen Baoxu, a loyal minister of the State of Chu, went to the State of Qin to rescue the troops, crying for five days and five nights at night, and at the same time, the King of Qin sent troops to aid Chu considering the coldness of his lips and teeth. The Qin division crisscrossed the fangcheng inside and outside, and the Chu army haunted the north and south of the Han River, and finally repelled the Wu army, so at that time the Qin state had the grace of restoring the chu state, so by the end of the Spring and Autumn and the beginning of the Warring States, the relationship between Qin and Chu was the most intimate time in history.
At the beginning of the Warring States period, because of the common enemy of the Chu state and the Yue state, the state of Wu, during the reign of King Hui of Chu, Chu Lianyue cut down Wu, and Yixue Wu shi entered the shame of Ying. The Kingdoms of Yue and Wu became closer, while the States of Qin became more and more closed and excluded by the Central Plains states. After the rise of the Three Jins, Qin Qichu and other traditional powers were severely damaged, and they were all fallen people in the end of the world, so at that time, qin-Chu relations were not much worse. It was not until after the change of the law of the king of mourning, the State of Qin also began to trade the martingale change law, the State of Qi carried out zou ji reform, the international situation changed dramatically, the Three Jin Dynasties gradually declined, and Qin Qichu rose, but Qin and Chu were not in a period of development at that time, and there were no contradictions and conflicts.
Period of intercourse
At the end of The Xuanwang Dynasty, the State of Chu was in the heyday of Xuanwei and did not return to Sishang, but because the army was out on expedition and had not yet returned to the division, the State of Chu was attacked by Qin Shangjun, so that Qin and Chu began to fight with each other, they had changed from former comrades-in-arms to strangers who did not know each other, but after filial piety and atonement, the two countries did not tear their faces, but the relationship was no longer the same. This incident, the Chronicle of History. The Chu Shijia also has a detailed record:
Thirty years after King Xuan of Chu (340 BC), Qin enfeoffed Wei Martingale in Shang and invaded Chu from the south.
Later, during the reign of King Wei of Chu, the relationship between Qin and Chu eased somewhat, because at this time the State of Qi had already defeated the overlord State of Wei in the battles of Guiling and Maling, which had the potential to replace the State of Wei, and at the same time, the King of Qi Wei and the King of Wei held the King of Xuzhou, and the King of Chu Wei felt threatened, first pointed the spearhead at the State of Qi, and defeated it in the Battle of Xuzhou!
And the state of Qin has been waiting for the opportunity to go east, Qi Chu is the target of his attack, because the state of Qi was defeated by the state of Chu, so the first battle between Qin and Qi after the change of law between the two sides - the Battle of Sanqiu, the famous general of the State of Qi, Kuang Zhang, defeated the Qin army, and Qin declared himself a vassal to the state of Qi.
At this time, the relationship between Qin and Chu, like walking on thin ice, could tear up the face at any time, but because the national strength was equal, no one could please after the tearing, so for the time being, the two sides maintained a superficial calm.
By the time of King Huai, as the strength of the Qin state grew, Qi Chu began to unite to suppress the Qin state and completely turn against each other. First, in 318 BC, the Six Kingdoms joined forces for the first time, with King Huai as the leader, to attack Qin. Then in 313 BC, the two countries combined forces attacked Qin Quwo and cut off the tentacles of the qin state from the east. After that, the State of Qin was plagued by qi and Chu's strength, and sent Zhang Yi to persuade the king of Huai, xiaozhi Eli, causing Qi and Chu to break off diplomatic relations. However, the conditions promised were not given, so the State of Chu launched the Battles of Danyang and Lantian against the State of Qin, but due to the invasion of Han Wei and other countries in the rear, the State of Chu was greatly defeated and withdrew from the ranks of the three great powers.
Chu Guo became the biggest loser in this game. In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang of Qin met with King Wuguan and was taken captive to Xianyang, the capital of the Qin state. Imprisoned, the king of Chu Huai did not succumb to the obscene power of the Qin state, resulting in the death of The guest in Qin three years later, the coffin returned to Chu, and the Chu people pitied him, such as sad relatives!
A period of life and death
With the death of King Huai of Chu in Qin, Qin Chu became a mortal enemy of the heavens, and then his son King Xiang of Chu, instigated by the famous people of the State of Chu, wanted to take revenge on Qin, but his failure to act was already known to the State of Qin. The state of Qin was strong first, and sent Bai Qi to cut Chu twice, flooding the capital and burning the tomb of the king, and the casualties of the soldiers and civilians of the State of Chu reached 350,000.
Therefore, after the Battle of Changping, Zhao Guomen Mao Sui used this incident to stimulate the later King Chu Kaolie, who was deeply impressed and sent an army to save Zhao, and the Qin army was defeated under the city of Handan, and the Qin general Zheng Anping was surrendered. By the time Qin Shi Huang launched the unification, the Qin state had twice cut down Chu, killed the Chu general Xiang Yan, and all kinds of blood debts, and the death of Qin would be Chu!
The landlord's so-called hundred-year grudge is also right, in fact, it is longer, it is a three-hundred-year grudge.
In international diplomacy, we must not harbor illusions, because weak countries have no diplomacy; relations are unpredictable, and interests are eternal. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the relationship between qin and Chu was different in each period as their strength changed. King Huai's mistake was pinning his hopes on the benevolence of his enemies, which led to his eventual death in Qin, so that later the Chu people took it as their duty to restore Chu after the death of Qin. Whether it was King Huai of Chu after Xiang Liang was established or Xiang Yu slaughtered the Qin Dynasty Sect Chamber, this was the case!