However, the other favored sons of King Wu of Chu sneered at the prince. They laughed at him and said, "What is the great achievement of destroying a country with one mouth?" The majesty of the state should be built on the confrontation of iron and blood; The enemy should be conquered by force, not by intrigues.

King Wu of Chu admonished his sons that the enemy's loss of courage to resist was the greatest submission to the state of Chu and the majesty of the state of Chu. Fierce dogs dare to fight when they encounter wolves, but they can only run away or obediently capture tigers; Could it be that a wolf is more powerful and majestic than a tiger? If the Chu army often wins crushing victories, then the country is not far from destruction!

In the years that followed, the environment in and around Chu was quite stable. In order to strengthen their control over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Han River and the Huai River basin, the Chu people decided to move the capital east from Danyang to Ying.

When the Chu people were implementing the plan to move the capital step by step, there was chaos in Suiguo again. It turned out that after King Zhou Zhuang ascended the throne, he was overwhelmed by internal and external troubles. King Zhuang later quelled the rebellion of Wang Zike and stabilized the political situation of the royal family, and then began to deal with external troubles. The biggest worry of the royal family was originally Zheng Guo, but Zheng Guo had become a non-mainstream country at this time, and if he asked Zheng Guo for trouble, he would be suspected of bullying the weak and afraid of the hard.

But King Zhuang is really afraid of hard! The state of Chu openly claimed the king and fought against the Eastern Zhou Dynasty; But King Zhuang of Zhou did not dare and could not crusade against the state of Chu. But King Zhuang still wanted to find out the bad luck of the people of Chu, but he summoned Suihou into the royal city.

King Zhuang poured all his anger on the people of the state of Chu, and he said: "Jing Man has been a servant of the royal family for a long time, and the first king did not want to be loyal to that servant when he was feudal and attached to the country. The first king ordered Suiguo to resist Jingman's eastward expansion, but look at what you have done: you have allied with Jingman unscathed, and you are impatient to run to the royal city to ask for the title of Xiong Tong, as if you were accepting the orders of your master!

"The first king admonished you and demanded that you be faithful to the king's office; But what about you, after returning to China, you will immediately worship Xiong Tong as your master! Fuya doesn't want to bully the king of a small country, but he will destroy a small and hostile country. You go back and think about it and make your choice as soon as possible. Bugu will decide whether or not to lead a large army to crush over the land of Suida according to your choice. ”

Suihou was greatly frightened and immediately suspended his dealings with the state of Chu. King Wu of Chu was furious. It was decided to go on another expedition with the country.

Considering his father's advanced age, the prince tearfully advised him not to be angry, and begged him to allow him to lead the army in his place.

But King Chu Wu said: "Because Bugu is already old, the opportunity to go out is getting less and less, and this time is probably the last time." Suihou is my old rival, and if he can't submit Suiguo during his lifetime, the ghost won't be at peace after death. ”

In the first month of the fifty-first year of King Wu of Chu, the state of Chu prepared to raise its army and attack Sui. The original standard weapon of the Chu army was only a spear or ge, but this time it was equipped with a halberd, which was a weapon that combined a spear and a ge, and its lethality was greatly improved compared with a single weapon. King Wu of Chu was ready to personally preside over the halberd awarding ceremony.

While fasting, he suddenly felt a palpitation, so he returned to the palace from the Taimiao Temple and said to Queen Deng Man: "I want to rest for a while, my heart is beating hard." ”

Deng Man sighed deeply and said, "I'm afraid the king's Tianlu is coming to an end!" When the water is full, it will overflow, and Tianlu's heart will beat when it is exhausted, this is the way of heaven. The ancestors knew the way of heaven, so the heavens reminded you with their hearts when you issued orders. If you die in the army, but the royal division does not suffer losses, it will be the greatest blessing of the Chu State! ”

King Chu Wu replied: "So there are really not many days left for Bugu, and I have to hurry up and issue the certificate." ”

Deng Man affectionately caressed King Chuwu's white beard and wrinkled face, and then served him to lie on the bed. Deng Man sat beside him, and the two began to reminisce about the old days, from the first time they met until the crown prince killed Lu.

After resting for a while, King Chu Wu got up to continue the fasting ceremony, Deng Man reluctantly took his hand, walked out of the palace gate side by side with him, and came to the gate of the Taimiao, which was regarded as sending him off the last journey of his life.

The other two generals of the Chu division were Ling Yin Douqi and Mo Ao Qu Zhong (Qu Bian's son), while the crown prince stayed in the capital to defend the country. The Chu division marched all the way, and the long-distance bumps and fatigue caused the health of the king of Chu Wu to deteriorate rapidly; At last he was bedridden and unable to speak. King Wu could no longer hold out the moment when the soldiers came to the city of Suiguo, and soon died.

At this time, the army had reached the west side of the river, and the death of King Wu of Chu overwhelmed the generals, and they unanimously decided after secret deliberations: the unfinished business of the previous king must be completed! The generals kept the news tightly sealed, and the activities of the army were as usual.

Having heard the information about King Wu of Chu's ill health in advance, they believed that once the commander lost his ability to command, the enemy would be defeated. They then concentrated on defense, only hoping that King Wu of Chu would return to the west in one dynasty, and the national disaster would be incomprehensible.

But the next move of the Chu army frightened them. It turned out that the enemy had opened another road to avoid the frontal defense of Suiguo, and the army had passed that road and built a bridge over the water. The retinue tried to stop the enemy's bridge-building work, but was unsuccessful.

The Chu army approached Suiguo through the bridge, and at this time Suiguo's forces had been tightly contracted around the capital. However, the Chu army did not seem to be in a hurry to attack, but instead took a defensive posture: they dug a wide and deep trench to separate the two sides, and then began to build fortifications and houses on their side, as if they wanted to build a fortress.

The Suiguo felt the pressure on the Luo and Lu people, and they thought that peace should be sued—because the verbal threats of King Zhuang of Zhou were nothing compared to the real danger of losing the country. The doctors said that if the Eastern Zhou asked Suiguo to confront the Chu State, they should send troops to support; If you just shout slogans and want to let the country and the enemy die together, it is simply a fool's dream.

After weighing the pros and cons, the marquis sent an envoy to the Chu army, and the two sides determined the specific content of the alliance. Mo Ao entered Suidu under the pretense of the king's order to sign an alliance with Suihou, and asked Suihou to go west of Hanshui for the next alliance, and Suihou pretended to be happy to accept the invitation.

The Chu army fulfilled King Wu's last wish without a single battle, and the army began to mourn only after returning to the division to cross the Han River. After the death of King Wu of Chu, the crown prince ascended the throne as King Wen of Chu. This year is the fourth year of Lu Zhuang Gong, that is, the year of the destruction of the Qi State.