Chun Shenjun was a native of the Chu state, named Xie, with the surname Huang. He traveled all over the world to learn from his teachers, was knowledgeable, and served King Xiang of Chu. King Xiang of Qing thought that Huang Xie had eloquence and asked him to send an envoy to the Qin state. At that time, King Zhao of Qin sent Bai Qi to attack the combined forces of Han and Wei, defeated them at Huayang, captured the Wei general Mangji, and Han and Wei submitted to and served the State of Qin. King Zhao of Qin had ordered Bai Qi to attack the State of Chu together with Korea and the State of Wei, but before he could set out, the King of Chu sent Huang Xie to the State of Qin and heard about this plan of the State of Qin. I was afraid that once I sent an army, I would destroy the Chu state, so Huang Xie wrote to persuade the King of Qin:
None of the princes in the world was more powerful than Qin and Chu. Now I heard that the great king was going to conquer the Chu kingdom, which was like two fierce tigers fighting each other. Two tigers fighting each other and inferior dogs take advantage of the opportunity to get benefits, it is better to be friendly with the Chu state. Allow me to state my opinion: I have heard that when things reach their peak, they must go in the opposite direction, and this is the case with the changes in winter and summer; things accumulate to great heights and are dangerous, and stacking chess pieces is like this. At present, the land of the Qin State occupies the border land of the west and north of the world, which has not been the territory of even the Son of Heaven since the existence of human beings.
However, from the former Emperor Wen, King Zhuang, and the Great King himself, the three generations did not forget to connect the land of the Qin State with the State of Qi, so as to cut off the key parts of the alliance between the various countries. Now the great king sent Shengqiao to Korea to garrison the post, and Shengqiao incorporated the korean land into the Qin state, which is a good way to get the land of a hundred miles without moving a single soldier or a pawn, without using force. The king can be said to be talented. The king also sent troops to attack the State of Wei, blocking the access route of the capital of the State of Wei, Daliang, attacking Hanoi, taking Yan, Sour Jujube, Xuan, Tao, and other places, and then invading Xingdi, and the Wei army fled everywhere like a wind blowing white clouds and did not dare to save each other. The king's exploits are also enough.
The great king stopped fighting and rested his troops, and sent troops again two years later; he also captured Pu, Yan, Shou, Yuan, and other places, and then attacked Linren and Pingqiu, while Huang and Jiyang retreated to defend themselves, resulting in the State of Wei yielding to Qin; the Great King also cut off the land north of Pu Andui, opened the passage between the State of Qi and the State of Qin, cut off the backbone of the connection between the State of Chu and the State of Zhao, and the princes of the Six Kingdoms who had gathered after five alliances did not dare to rescue each other. The power of the king can also be said to be exerted to the extreme.
If the king maintains his merits, grasps the might, removes the heart of merit, and spreads the way of benevolence and righteousness, so that there is no future calamity, your cause can be called together with the three kings, and your might can be combined with the five hegemons. If the great king relies on the multitude of strong men, relies on the strength of his armaments, and takes advantage of the power of destroying the Wei state, and wants to bring the princes of the world to the knees by force, I am afraid that you will have future disasters.
The Book of Verses says, "No one wants to have a good beginning, but few people can have a good ending." The I Ching says: "When the little fox crosses the water, it will get its tail wet." These words are easy to start with and hard to end. How do you know if this is the case? In the past, Zhi Bo only saw the benefits of attacking Zhao Xiangzi but did not expect that he would be killed in Yuci. Wu Wang Fuchai only saw the benefits of attacking the State of Qi, but did not expect to be defeated by the Yue King at Gan Tunnel.
These two countries, not without great achievements, have been greedy for immediate interests, and as a result, they have been rewarded with subsequent calamities. Because Wu Wang Fuchai believed the compliments of the Yue state, he went to attack the state of Qi, and after Ai Ling defeated the Qi people, he returned and was captured by the Yue king at the water of the Three Rivers. Zhi Bo believed in the Han and Wei clans, so he attacked the Zhao clan and attacked Jinyang City, and victory was just around the corner, but the Han clan and the Wei clan betrayed him and killed Zhi Boyao at the chisel platform. Now the Great King is jealous of the Chu State for not destroying it, but forgetting that destroying the Chu State will make Han and Wei stronger, and I think for the Great King that this cannot be done.
There is a poem that says: "The army does not travel far away from its own homestead." From this point of view, the Chu state is the helper, and the neighboring countries are the enemy. The Book of Verses says, "The cunning rabbit jumps and jumps, and when it encounters a hound, it cannot run away; I can figure out the thoughts of others." Now the great king believed that Han and Wei were friendly with you, just as Wu believed in the Yue kingdom. I have heard the saying that the enemy cannot tolerate it and that the opportunity cannot be missed.
I am afraid that han and wei have whispered that they want the Qin state to eliminate the scourge, but in fact they are deceiving the Qin state. How? The king did not have several generations of kindness to Korea and the State of Wei, but he had several generations of hatred. The fathers and sons of Han and Wei Guojun have been dying under the sword of the Qin State for nearly ten generations. Their land was crippled, their country was ruined, and their temples were burned down. From the generals down to the soldiers, the abdomen is cut off, the head is beheaded, the head is separated, the dry bones are exposed in the wilderness water, the head is stiff, and the corpses are everywhere in the country. Father and son, old and weak, tied around their necks and hands, became humiliated captives, and walked on the road in groups. The people could not live, their relatives fled, their flesh and bones were scattered, and the exiles were reduced to male servants and female slaves, filling the countries of the sea. Therefore, the fact that Han and Wei will not perish is the greatest worry of the Qin State, and now the Great King is using them to attack the Chu State together, is it not too improper!
Besides, how did the Great King send troops when attacking the Chu State? Will the Great King borrow the way from the enemies Korea and the State of Wei? If so, then the day the army is dispatched is when the king is worried that they will not be able to return, and this is the time when the king lends his army to the enemies Korea and the State of Wei. If the great king did not borrow the road from the enemies Korea and the State of Wei, he would definitely attack the area to the right of Suishui. And the area on the right side of the water is all large rivers and rivers, high mountains and dense forests, deep streams and valleys, so some grain-free areas, even if the king occupies it, it is equivalent to not getting land. This is the great king who has fallen into the bad name of destroying the Chu state and has not received the benefits of occupying the land.
Moreover, from the day the great king attacked the chu state, the four kingdoms of Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qi must all send troops against the great king. Once the Qin and Chu countries fought, they would not give up, and the State of Wei would send troops to attack the cities and places of Liu, Fang, Cheng, Huling, Yan, Xiao, and xiang, and all the land occupied by the original Song State would be lost. The Qi people attacked Chu lands to the south, and the Surabaya region was bound to be conquered. These places are flat, open and fertile land, but they are left to occupy alone.
The king's defeat of the Chu state made the Han and Wei countries stronger in the Central Plains, and made the Qi state stronger. Han and Wei were strong and were fully capable of competing with the Qin state. The state of Qi is bordered by Surabaya to the south, the sea to the east, and the Yellow River to the north, so there will be no future calamities, and no country under the heavens can be more powerful than the state of Qi and the state of Wei, and the two countries of Qi and Wei have obtained the benefits of maintaining the land they have gained, and then let the lower-level officials govern prudently, and after a year, even if they cannot be called emperors, it is rich and surplus to prevent the king from calling himself emperor.
With the vastness of the king's land, the large number of zhuangding, and the strength of the armament, once the army is sent and a grudge is formed with the State of Chu, it will make Han and Wei respect the emperor, which is the king's mistake. I think for the sake of the king, it is better to be friendly and friendly with the Chu state. Qin and Chu united to enter Korea as a whole, and Han was bound to restrain and did not dare to act rashly. The great king then managed to set up the dangerous terrain of Dongshan, taking advantage of the favorable conditions surrounding the Yellow River, and Korea was bound to become a vassal of the Qin state.
If the king of this situation were to garrison Zhengdi with another 100,000 troops, and the State of Wei would be terrified, and Xu and Yanling would retreat and stubbornly do not dare to attack, then the connection between Shangcai and Tailing and the State of Wei would be severed, so that the State of Wei would also become a vassal of the State of Qin. Once the great king made peace with the State of Chu, then the two kingdoms of Guannei, Han and Wei, would have to cede land to the State of Qi, and the vast area around Jeju on the right side of the State of Qi would be easily obtained. The land of the great king spans the eastern and western seas, binding the princes of the world, so that the Yan state and the Zhao state do not have the qi state and the chu state as a support, and the qi state and the chu state do not have the yan state and the Zhao state to rely on each other. Then he shocked Yan and Zhao with danger, and directly shook Qi and Chu, and these four countries could be subdued without a rapid attack.
King Zhao read Chun Shenjun's letter and said, "It's really good. So he stopped Bai Qi from going out on the expedition and thanked Han and Wei. At the same time, envoys were sent to the Chu state with generous gifts, and the Qin-Chu alliance was formed into a friendly country.
This article is adapted from a translation of the history of Chun Shen Junlie
![Chun Shenjun, who is not the King of Chu but resembles the King of Chu[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)