A brief introduction to the last overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period: King Goujian of Yue, and the story of King Goujian of Yue
Character’s life, succession after father’s death
King Gou Jian of Yue is a descendant of Xia Yu, the founder of the Xia Dynasty, and a direct descendant of the Xia Dynasty monarch Shaokang’s concubine Wuyu. Wuyu was granted the title of Kuaiji to take charge of and guard the sacrifices to Xia Yu. After more than twenty generations, it was passed down to Gou Jian's father Yunchang. When Yunchang was in power, he fought many battles with the king of Wu, Helu. After Yunchang's death, Gou Jian succeeded him as King of Yue. Shooting and wounding Helu In the first year of Yue King Goujian (496 BC), Wu King Helu learned the news of Yunchang's death, so he sent troops to attack Yue. In Li (now south of Jiaxing, Zhejiang), Gou Jian sent warriors who dared to die to challenge the Wu army. They lined up in three lines, walked to the front of the Wu army's formation, and shouted in unison to commit suicide. The Wu army was stunned. The Yue army took the opportunity to attack the Wu army. The Wu army was defeated. Ling Gufu, the official of the Yue state, attacked King Helu of Wu with a sword and cut off the toes of King Helu of Wu. King Helu of Wu was forced to withdraw his army, and the army retreated to seven miles. King Helu of Wu died of his injuries. Before he died, King Helu of Wu told his son Fucha: "You must not forget the country of Yue." Defeated and trapped
In 494 BC, Gou Jian heard that King Wu Fu Chai was preparing to attack Yue State day and night. Gou Jian decided to strike preemptively and attack Wu before Wu sent troops. Fan Li dissuaded him, but Gou Jian refused and continued to send troops. After Fu Chai heard about it, he sent all his elite troops to attack the Vietnamese army and defeated them in Fujiao. Gou Jian retreated to Kuaiji with only five thousand troops. The Wu army pursued and surrounded him.
Gou Jian was trapped in Kuaiji and sighed: "Is this the end of me?" Wen Zhong said: "Tang belongs to Xiatai, King Wen is in prison, Jin Chong'er rushes to Zhai, Qi Xiaobai rushes to Ju, and his death Wang Ba. From this point of view, how can it not be a blessing? "Humiliation to seek peace
Yue State asked for peace, but Fu Chai refused. Gou Jian listened to the advice of the doctor Wen Zhong and presented a beautiful woman and a treasure to the uncle of the Wu Kingdom. The uncle asked King Wu Fu Chai to plead for mercy. Wu Zixu tried to dissuade him, but Fu Chai refused to listen. He pardoned Yue and stopped his troops and returned home. Gou Jian entrusted the state affairs to Wen Zhong and took his wife and Fan Li to the state of Wu. When Gou Jian arrived in the state of Wu, Fu Chai asked the couple to live in a stone house next to Helu's tomb, and asked Gou Jian to feed his horses. Fan Li followed and worked as a slave. Every time Fu Chai went out in a carriage, Gou Jian would pull his horse for him. After two years of this, Fu Chai thought that Gou Jian had sincerely surrendered to him, so he let Gou Jian return home.
After Gou Jian returned home, he never forgot the humiliation. Gou Jian hung a piece of gall in his room and tasted the bitter taste with every meal to remind himself: He must not forget his suffering and humiliating experience in Wu! He wore coarse cloth, ate every meal, and plowed and sown with the people. Mrs. Goujian led women to raise silkworms, weave cloth and develop production. Gou Jian and his wife shared the joys and sorrows with the people, inspiring the whole country to work together and work hard to eliminate Wu Xueshi as soon as possible. Gou Jian also adopted the advice of his ministers, bribing the King of Wu to paralyze him; purchasing Wu's grain to empty his granary; giving away wood, consuming Wu's manpower and material resources to build a palace; spreading rumors, alienating the king and his ministers, and using a honey trap to drain Fu Chai's energy. , so that he would not care about political affairs and killed Wu Zixu.
King Gou Jian of Yue also issued a decree to promote the increase in the population of Yue.
Now that the widow (referring to Gou Jian) is unable to do so, the general’s two and three sons and his wife are in exile.
If a strong man does not marry an old woman, and an old man does not marry a strong wife; if a woman does not marry at seventeen, her parents will be guilty; if her husband does not marry at twenty, her parents will be guilty.
Those who are about to be spared will be informed and doctors will be ordered to guard them.
To give birth to a husband, two pots of wine and a dog; to give birth to a woman, two pots of wine and a dolphin; to give birth to three people, the male and his mother; to give birth to two sons, the male and his wife.
When the head of the household dies, his administration will be released in three years; when his branch son dies, his administration will be released in three months; he will be buried with tears and buried like his son.
Order orphans, widows, those with rashes, and those who are poor and sick, to take care of their sons; to have nobles, to live in their homes, to dress them well, to feed them well, and to be diligent in their righteousness.
Bai: Now I am powerless and can only call on everyone to multiply and increase the population of our country.
He issued an order: Strong men were not allowed to marry older women, and older men were not allowed to marry younger wives; if a girl did not marry at seventeen, her parents would be guilty, and if a man did not marry at twenty, his parents would be sentenced.
Pregnant women who are about to give birth must report to the *** in time, and the *** will send a doctor to take care of the delivery.
If a boy is born, he will be rewarded with two pots of wine and a dog; if a girl is born, he will be rewarded with two pots of wine and a pig; if three children are born in one birth, *** will be assigned to a wet nurse, and those who have two children in one birth will , rations provided by ***.
If a legitimate son dies for the country, his family will be exempted from three years of corvee service; if a concubine dies, his family will be exempted from three months of corvée service, and he is required to be buried under the same regulations as a legitimate son.
The children of orphans, widows, sick people, poor and helpless people are adopted by ***. For famous people, the Communist Party provided clean houses, distributed beautiful clothes and abundant food, and encouraged them to be loyal to the country.
Through a series of measures to develop production and improve the combat effectiveness of the army, the country of Yue was enriched and strengthened, and had the ability to defeat Wu and take revenge. Taking advantage of the opportunity
In 482 BC, King Wu Fu Chai led his elite troops north to Huangchi to form an alliance, leaving only the old and weak and the prince behind. The King of Yue then sent 2,000 naval troops who were good at water, well-trained 40,000 soldiers, 6,000 well-educated core guards, and 1,000 technical officers attacked Wu.
Gou Jian took the opportunity to attack Wu, defeated the Wu army, and killed the Prince of Wu (Naifa sent 2,000 Xiliu men, 40,000 priests, 6,000 gentlemen, and 1,000 soldiers to attack Wu. Wu's army was defeated, so he killed the Prince of Wu). King Fu Chai of Wu returned home urgently. The State of Yue realized that it was unable to destroy Wu and forced the State of Wu to seek peace.
In 478 BC, the State of Yue once again led an army to attack the State of Wu and defeated the Wu army in Lize (see: Battle of Lize for details). The State of Wu has been in decline since then. Destroy Wu and dominate the country
In 476 BC, King Gou Jian of Yue attacked Wu again. In 475 BC, Vietnamese troops besieged the state of Wu. In 473 BC, Vietnamese troops invaded the capital of Wu and the state of Wu was destroyed. King Gou Jian of Yue originally wanted to exile King Wu Fu Chai to Yongdong (today's Zhoushan area) and give him a hundred households to live there. The King of Wu said: "I am old and can no longer serve the King of Yue. I regret not listening to (Wu) Zixu's words and letting myself fall into this situation." So he committed suicide and died. The King of Yue destroyed the Kingdom of Wu, killed Tai Zaibo because he was not loyal to his lord, and then led his troops back to the country. King Gou Jian of Yue conquered Wu, and his reputation was great. He followed in the footsteps of Wu and crossed the Huaihe River with his troops. He met the princes of Qi, Song, Jin, and Lu in Xuzhou (today's south of Tengzhou, Shandong). The emperor of Zhou ordered Gou Jian to be "bo" (bo). tyrant). At that time, "Yue soldiers were rampant across the Yangtze River and Huaidong, and the princes were congratulating each other and claiming to be overlords." However, at this time, the Spring and Autumn Period was coming to an end, and the hegemony was coming to an end. Gou Jian was already the last overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period. Rabbits die and dogs are cooked
When Gou Jian had just destroyed Wu and became hegemonic, Fan Li took great credit and was made a general. However, Fan Li knew very well that "it is difficult to live under a great name for a long time" and "it is unlucky to be honored for a long time", so he wisely Choosing to retire after success, "I will travel in a boat on the sea with my private disciples, and I will never rebel." Fan Li once sent someone to write a letter, saying: "When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dogs are cooked. The King of Yue is a man with a long neck and a bird's beak. He can be in trouble with the king, but cannot be happy with the king. Why don't you go?" ?" Wen Zhong failed to obey, and soon he was given a sword by Gou Jian to commit suicide. Legend has it that Fan Li lived in seclusion in "Tao" (a place connected in all directions and the center of the world) and changed his name to Tao Zhugong. Later, he became rich through business and once spent a lot of money on the world. Historical records
"Zuo Zhuan"
"Guoyu"
"Historical Records: The Family of King Goujian of Yue"
"The Spring and Autumn Period of Wuyue" Historical Evaluation
Sima Qian: "① Yu's achievements were great. He gradually conquered Jiuchuan and established Jiuzhou. As for Ai'an in the present Xia Dynasty. Goujian, a Miao descendant, worked hard and thought hard, and finally destroyed Wu. He watched the troops in China from the north to respect the Zhou Dynasty. He is known as the overlord. Gou Jian is not a virtuous person! "
"② As for Yuezu Shaokang, his son was the first to dominate, and he fought with Wu. Seeing the injury, Gou Jian wanted to use the temptation to gain advantage. He was so courageous that he killed the bandits and destroyed his country. "Goujian wanted to expand the territory of his imperial son, but the husband was worse than Gusu, so he kept his body and his family, saved his family, and benefited the country. He used his power to encompass the five lakes and three rivers, to dominate China and dominate the Central Plains. ” Anecdotal and allusive idioms
Lying down on fuel and tasting gall
Lying down on fuel and tasting gall (wò xīn cháng dǎn), comes from "Historical Records: The Family of King Goujian of Yue": "King Goujian of Yue rebelled against the country, so he was suffering from anxiety and thinking about it. "The gallbladder comes from sitting, lying down and raising the gallbladder, and eating and drinking gallbladder." It originally meant sleeping on firewood and tasting gallbladder while eating and sleeping. Later, it is often used to describe people who work hard and strive for self-improvement.
Rabbit dead and dog cooked
Rabbit dead and dog cooked (tù sǐ gǒu pēng), from "Historical Records: The Family of King Goujian of Yue": "When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, "The running dog is cooked." It originally means that when the rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked. It is a metaphor that people who serve the ruler will be abandoned or killed after they are done.
The bird is gone and the bow is hidden
The bird is gone and the bow is hidden (niǎo jìn gōng cáng), from "Historical Records: The Family of King Goujian of Yue": "When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit dies, "The running dog cooks." The original meaning is that when the bird is gone, the bow will be hidden and used. It is a metaphor for kicking away those who have contributed once something is successful.
Ten years of gatherings, ten years of lessons
Ten years of gatherings, ten years of lessons (shí nián shēng jù shí nián jiào xùn), from "Zuo Zhuan·Ai Gong Year": " It takes ten years to gather together, and ten years to teach lessons, twenty years later, Wu Qi is a swamp!" It means that the army and the people work together with one heart and one mind, gather strength, and work hard to wash away the shame. Couplet
For those who are determined, things will come true. If the cauldron sinks the boat, a hundred and two Qinchuan will eventually belong to Chu; if a person works hard, God will not let him down; if he sleeps on his salary and tastes courage, three thousand Yue Jia can swallow Wu.
The first line of this couplet is about Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu broke the cauldron and sank the boat. In the end, he defeated the Qin army with less and became a general. The latter part tells the story of Gou Jian enduring humiliation, enduring hardships, and finally defeating the state of Wu and avenging the humiliation of Kuaiji. King Goujian Sword of Yue Introduction
King Goujian of Yue has a unique weapon - King Goujian Sword of Yue. This sword is cold and extremely sharp. After more than 2,400 years, the decoration is still clear and exquisite. In addition, "things are named after people", this sword is praised by the people of the world as "the best sword in the world". Unearthed Goujian Sword of Yue King Goujian Sword of Yue King was unearthed in Tomb No. 1 of Wangshan, Jiangling, Hubei Province in 1965. It is well preserved. The sword is 55.7 centimeters long. It shone with cold light when it was unearthed, and the blade is still very sharp.
The sword body is covered with black diamond patterns, the decoration is exquisite, and the smallest part of the carving is only 0.1 mm. There are two lines of bird seal inscriptions near the sword grid: "King Yue Jiu Qian (Gou Jian) used the sword from scratch". The hilt and grid of the sword are jet black, and the two sides of the sword grid are cast with patterns and inlaid with blue glass and turquoise respectively. The sword head is rolled outwards into a hoop shape, and 11 concentric circles with a width of less than 1 mm are cast inside. The sword of King Goujian of Yue is exquisitely crafted, showing the outstanding skills of the swordsmith, and can be called a national treasure of our country.