The surname of the Chu people is Mi, and the surname comes from the emperor 颛顼 (Gao Yang).

He is the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the son of Changyi. He had a grandson named Chongli, who served as Huozheng under Emperor Yu (Gao Xin) and assisted Emperor Yu in governing the world. Chongli has outstanding merits and can melt the world, so he was given the title of "Zhu Rong" by the emperor.

Later, the Gonggong tribe launched a rebellion, and the emperor ordered Chongli to lead his army to quell the rebellion. Chongli defeated the Gonggong clan, but did not do his best to eliminate the remnants, and when he returned to his life, he lied that he had successfully completed the crusade.

The remnants of the enemy, who had been given a chance to breathe, gathered from all directions, and took advantage of the emperor's vigilance to counterattack, killing many dignitaries. In a fit of rage, the emperor put Chongli to death.

Chongli's brother is called Wu Hui and is Chongli's deputy. Emperor Yu ordered Wu Hui to serve as the new leader of the Zhurong clan and as the official of Huozheng.

Wu Hui's son is called Lu Zhong, and Lu Zhong has six sons, the most famous of which is the third son Peng Zu; Lu Zhong's youngest son is called Ji Lian, surnamed Mi; He is the ancestor of the Chu people.

At the time of the Xia Shang, the Mi clan was scattered in the land of Huayi, but the history of thousands of years has not been handed down.

At the end of the Shang Dynasty, a man named Mane Xiong assisted King Wen of Zhou and made great contributions. However, the bears died early, and the descendants were not around, so the people surnamed Mi did not receive the title at the beginning of King Wu's reign.

During the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, the Zhou people learned that the descendants of the bears were entrenched in the Danyang area (near present-day Zigui, Hubei), and the leader was named Xiong Yi. King Cheng wanted to posthumously seal the descendants of some meritorious heroes and install the power of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the Yangtze River Valley, so Xiong Yi's clan was sealed in Danyang, called Jing Chu, and the title was viscount.

Although Jing Chu was given the title of viscount, the Jing people were still in the tribal period. Jing Chu did not establish a state, nor did he have a regular army, and he did not know how to make chariots.

The Chinese people regard the Chu people as Jing Man, but the ancient characters of the barbarian are from the side of "纟" not from "worm", which means that the language is chaotic and tangled. Therefore, the word "barbarian" only describes the characteristics of the southern language, and does not contain a derogatory meaning.

Although Xiong Yi was among the princes, his status was very low - King Zhou Cheng even regarded him as a handyman doing odd jobs.

King Zhou Cheng once held an unprecedented large-scale ceremony in the south of Qishan, known as "Qiyang's Harvest" in history. In addition to the royal nobles, there were also prominent figures such as Lu Hou Boyu, Qi Dinggong, the son of the Duke of Qi, Wei Kangshu, Tang Shuyu, and of course, the minor princes such as Chu Zi, Xiong Yi and Xian Mujun. There are three main contents of the ceremony, one is to review the army, the second is to conduct military exercises and hunts, and the third is to feast and drink.

The hunting ceremony was about to begin, and the Son of Heaven and the princes had already begun to board the car. With great excitement, Xiong Yi grabbed the handle of a chariot and prepared to board the chariot for the first time in his life.

But the celebrant of the royal family pulled him off as soon as he stretched out his hand. The celebrant shouted in a sharp and thin voice, "Hey! You! What are you doing up there? Your country can't produce tanks! During the Great Redemption Ceremony, you should follow the official! Xiong Yi could only watch unwillingly and watch the Son of Heaven and the princes roar away in the car.

The celebrant told Xiong Yi that his position was that he was the master of ceremonies, and his task was to help the staff set up the banquet venue during the monarchs' military parade and hunting; He was asked to erect a sign on the preset seat according to the rank of dignity and inferiority of the monarch's position.

Xiong Yi held back his anger and arranged the work under the guidance of the picky petty official. After setting up the sign, Xiong Yi couldn't help but have a question: "Why don't you see the widow's seat?" Where's the widow's seat? ”

The ceremonial officer looked at his puzzled expression, and his face bloomed with joy; He gloated and told Xiong Yi that there was no place for the Chu people in the venue at all! He also said: "Your ancestor is Huozheng, so the Son of Heaven is grateful for the merits of the Zhu Rong clan and specially orders you to continue the duties of the ancestors." ”

When King Cheng of Zhou and the princes returned with a full load and happily talked about the interesting things of hunting, Xiong Yi and other master of ceremonies stood at the entrance of the venue to greet them and guide the magnates to sit in the right places; He withdrew at the beginning of the feast. The officials lit two fire towers outside the venue, and Xiong Yi's duty was to guard the fire tower with Xian Mu Jun (Xian Mu is also known as Gen Mu, which is a small country in Dongyi), which is called "Shou Liao".

The venue was enclosed by a curtain; From inside the curtain came the beautiful music played by the silk bamboo bell chime, the singing of the choir and the laughter of the nobles; Xiong Yi could only sit opposite Xian Mujun in the night breeze of early spring, staring at him with big eyes.

Xian Mujun looked numb, kneeling like a mud sculpture, occasionally sucking the snot that flowed onto his beard. Xiong Yi couldn't see that the person on the other side had any pursuits, but Xiong Yi's heart was full of humiliation and anger, and he vowed to build Chu into a powerful country, and he wanted to make Chu dominate the land of China, so that future generations would no longer suffer from the insults and discrimination of the Zhou people.

But this meeting of princes also opened Xiong Yi's eyes; He visited the majestic and prosperous city, met the noble and solemn princes of the Son of Heaven, participated in the solemn and solemn sacrificial ceremonies, and also saw the mighty and majestic Chinese army. The most rare thing is that he had the honor to visit the world-famous Duke Zhou.

Xiong Yi first talked to Zhou Gong, and then said: "Although the widow has been named a viscount, the Jing people only rule a few large tribes, and they have not yet established a country, and the widow is ashamed of the canonization of the Son of Heaven. If you don't get the help of the Celestial Empire, I'm afraid you won't be able to establish a state in a few hundred years, so I am willing to ask the master to help the Jing people build a country as soon as possible, so as to live up to the mission of the Son of Heaven. ”

The Duke of Zhou did not have the arrogance of the kings and the princes at all, and was very approachable. He asked a few questions, and then said: "Be loyal to the royal family, respectfully worship ghosts and gods, and use the army sparingly; If the Jing people are willing to follow the Zhou rites and do the above three things, I think the Son of Heaven is also willing to help you establish a city-state. ”

The state of Chu is located at the foot of Jing Mountain, with the Yangtze River in the south; Standing on the high ground, you can see the mountains, the rushing rivers, the endless wasteland, and the lakes and marshes scattered across the wasteland. The land of Guchu does not have the harsh climate and too many jackals, tigers and leopards as in the north, but it is full of poisonous insects and parasites; There are no strong nomadic tribes, but they are inhabited by cannibals.

At the suggestion of the Duke of Zhou, the royal family sent craftsmen from all walks of life to Jingchu to help them build the city and develop the country's economy.

Xiong Yiqiangchu's determination is firm, and his actions are decisive. With the help of the Zhou people, he and his ministers formulated a national development plan and mobilized the forces of the entire tribe to fully implement the great cause of the founding of the country. He was often seen like an ordinary laborer, dressed in coarse cloth and sandals, and joined in the work of rammed earth to build cities, reclaim wasteland, and build roads.

During this period, there were people in the Western Zhou royal family who tried in vain to eliminate the political power of the Duke of Zhou. The bad people instigated King Cheng to liquidate the "black history" of "Duke Zhou's regency as king", and said that an illness that almost killed King Cheng was the result of Duke Zhou's careful planning.

Zhou Gong was speechless, so he had to choose exile. However, Zhou Gong believed that no matter which country he fled to, he would bring disaster to the other party; Only the state of Chu was not accessible to China, and the monarch had a close relationship with him, making it an ideal place of exile. As a result, he fled to the state of Chu.

Xiong Yi was overjoyed, and he welcomed the arrival of Zhou Gong with the highest standard of etiquette. After that, Zhou Gong's friends also followed him one after another. Xiong Yi did what the country could to provide the best treatment for the exiles.

Visiting the Duke of Zhou became a daily compulsory lesson for Xiong Yi, who organized important figures and young talents of the state, divided them into several groups, consulted the exiles on various cultural knowledge, and copied the classics they brought.

Absorbing and practicing Huaxia Wenyin is the fundamental reason for the rapid and strong strength of the Chu State. After the unremitting efforts of several generations of monarchs and countrymen, the state of Chu annexed many surrounding tribes and finally developed into the number one power in the Yangtze River region.