Friends who are familiar with the history of the Spring and Autumn Warring States know that Qin and Chu had fought for the land of Shangyu, the Battle of Danyang chu suffered heavy losses, the chu state in order to take revenge, the battle of Lantian elite out, unstoppable, almost destroyed the qin state. Why is the place of business so important?
Let's first briefly review this period of history, after the Shang martingale changed the law, the national strength of the Qin state became stronger and stronger, and the King of Qin was determined to dominate the Central Plains, so he used Sima Mistaken's strategy of first Bashu and then the Central Plains. In 316 BC, the Qin army attacked Bashu from the south, and then faced a duel with the State of Chu, which was very jealous of the State of Chu. In order to break the Chu-Qi alliance, in 312 BC, Zhang Yi, the chancellor of the State of Qin, made Chu and promised the King of Chu 600 miles of "Shangyu Land" in exchange for breaking off diplomatic relations between the State of Chu and the State of Qi. The king of Chu was impressed, so he reached an agreement with Zhang Yi and broke off diplomatic relations with the state of Qi, and when he sent someone to receive the land of Shangyu, Zhang Yi only admitted that it was 6 miles, the king of Chu was furious, and a great war between Chu and Qin broke out, and the history called "Zhang Yi deceived Chu". Why did the king of Chu break off diplomatic relations with the State of Qi in order to trade the land, and thus follow the Tao of the State of Qin? Because the land of Shangyu was very important to the Chu state.
Where is the "land of commerce"? Let's talk about Wuguan first. Wuguan was located in the north of the Dongwuguan River in Danfeng County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province, along with Hangu Pass (which was replaced by Tongguan after the Eastern Han Dynasty), Xiaoguan, and Dashanguan, and was called "Guanzhong Sisai". Wuguan is a dangerous terrain, holding the throat of Qin Chu, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is a place where soldiers must fight. When Qin and Chu were harmonious, the role of Wuguan was not so obvious, and once the two countries turned their faces, Wuguan became the focus of contention between the two sides. Because this level was fatal enough for Qin Chu, whoever held the Wu Pass had the initiative to card the other party's neck. In Gu Zuyu's "Minutes of Reading the History of Public Opinion", it is described as follows: "Strangling the friendship between Qin and Chu, according to the dangers of mountains and rivers, the road to the south and the east to move, into the blue field and the right danger." Wuguan is a huge defense, and the weight is divided in one fell swoop. ”
The passage guarded by Wuguan is called Wuguan Dao (also called Shangyu Dao, Danshui Road), which runs from the Guanzhong Plain in the north to Lantian, Shangluo, Danfeng, Shangnan in Shaanxi, and Xixia, Huaichuan, and Neixiang in the western part of Nanyang City, Henan Province, reaching the Nanyang Basin. The area through which Wuguan Dao passes is the land of Shangyu, and in addition to the extreme importance of Wuguan, the land of Shangyu also has a deeper significance for the Chu state. Qian Mu's "Outline of national history" records: "Chu Zhixian also began to enter the Han River in the Han River Basin, where the Dan and Huai waters entered the Han River, known as Danyang". Danyang is located in the southeast of the land of Shangyu, where the ancestors of the Chu people lived in Danyang as the center, and the original capital of the Chu state was in Danyang, which was later moved to Yin. It can be said that the land of Shangyu is the birthplace of the Chu state and has spiritual significance for the Chu people.
Originally, the land of Shangyu was owned by Chu, but when The State of Chu was king xuan, the State of Qin took advantage of the Factu State's struggle for the Huaisi region in the east, and Wei Martin led the Qin army to capture the land of Shangyu and Wuguan and incorporated them into the pockets of the State of Qin. Later, wei martingale attacked Wei Dasheng, and Qin Xiaogong gave Wei Martingale the title of Marquis of Wei, and gave Wei Martingale the fifteen yi of the land of Shangyu, and Wei Martingale became a Shang martingale. The State of Chu did not want to retake the land of Shangyu, but was only jealous of the strength of the State of Qin. However, after the State of Qin took the Hanzhong Basin and Bashu, the State of Chu was in danger of being attacked from both the north and the south, and the King of Chu estimated that he was restless in his sleep. As Su Qin said when he lobbied the King of Chu Wei: "When the Qin soldiers left Wuguan and went along the Danjiang River to the Han River, Yin (Chu Du) would not be able to protect it!" ”
Picture - Confluence of Danjiang and Wuguan rivers
The State of Qin was condescending, and the pressure on the State of Chu was obvious. If the State of Chu can take back 600 miles of shangyu land, Wuguan is naturally out of the question, and Wuguan is in hand, and it can take back some geographical disadvantages against Qin. King Huai of Chu, who dreamed of taking down Wuguan, was no wonder that he was moved and deceived by Zhang Yi. In 311 BC, the qin state said that the qin state was willing to exchange Wuguan for the Qianzhong County of the Chu state, but the king of Chu Huai was not deceived. However, Wuguan was the fate of King Huai of Chu, and was eventually tricked by King Zhaoxiang of Qin into imprisoning Wuguan.