King Wen of Chu ascended the throne in the fourth year of Duke Lu Zhuang, and he was the second son of Queen Deng Man, but he was not the eldest of the brothers. The elder brothers of King Wen of Chu despised his age, the younger brothers were jealous of his luck, and the ministers had their own agendas; The situation in the state of Chu is calm on the surface, but in fact there is an undercurrent.

Danyang, the capital of Chu State, has been established for more than 300 years, and the ancient and huge families are all entrenched here, and the relationship between them is complicated. When King Wu of Chu was alive, he wanted to move the capital to Ying, which on the one hand met the needs of national expansion, and on the other hand, it also contained the meaning of getting rid of the control of the old aristocracy.

His plans were quickly discovered, and the plan to move the capital was met with strong resistance. But King Wu of Chu suppressed the opponents with his iron fist. Therefore, the plan could be carried out normally while he was alive; Now that he has died, the conservative forces are starting to stir up trouble again.

King Chu Wen was at a loss in the face of the difficult situation. Deng Man said: "The first king ruled the state of Chu for fifty-one years, and all the forces in the country have reached a balance. Now that he's gone, the balance has been broken, and people want to redraw their spheres of influence, and of course they want to get more for themselves. Therefore, it is very common for the old ministers to fight against the new king, and if you can't survive this hurdle, you are not worthy of becoming the new king of Chu. ”

King Chu Wen was thoughtful, he summoned his closest friends into the palace, and several people locked them in the dormitory and plotted for several days. A few days later, when King Chu Wen came out of the dormitory, he swept away the decadence of the past and looked full of confidence. He wanted to consolidate the royal power and fight political opponents by uniting the Ruoao clan.

At that time, the highest official position in the state of Chu was Mo Ao, which made Yin relegated to second place. King Wen of Chu first approached Ling Yin Douqi and promised to elevate Ling Yin's position above Mo Ao and make Ling Yin the supreme administrator of Chu. Although his approach offended Mo Ao, he won the full support of the more powerful Ruo Ao clan. He continues to divide a large amount of benefits among supporters and centrists, and others are heartbroken and red-eyed. King Wen of Chu has a belief: if he can sit on the throne, all the interests of Chu are his own; Otherwise, you won't even get a coffin board.

The diehards are still strong, but King Chu Wen is no longer afraid; He has the power to crush his opponent's body. However, King Wen of Chu did not want bloody slaughter as the beginning of his reign, so he summoned his ministers to the royal court and said, "You are first of all the people of Chu, and then the officials and feudal lords of Chu. The order to move the capital was already announced during the time of the first king, and it was normal for some people to oppose it, believing that it would harm their own interests.

"But if a person puts his own interests above the state, why doesn't he go and set up a state himself? In that way, you can blatantly go against the state of Chu, instead of finding all kinds of noble excuses that you don't even believe in (such as doing all kinds of harm to the country but not benefiting) to oppose the relocation of the capital!

"Bugu tells you: After the capital of Chu was moved, the territory of Chu will be ten or twenty times larger than it is now. Shall the enlarged part be reserved for the king? So far, which monarch has monopolized the benefits of the land and encroached on the wealth of the people? Isn't the country's income all the country's meritorious heroes? I will not force the man who still stands by his opinion, and I am not prepared to punish him. However, if someone still only wants to keep a little benefit now, then give up the official and the lord to the person who obeys the king's order! It is also possible to roll out of the state of Chu with his followers and property; When they meet each other on the battlefield, Bugu will not be charged with killing his compatriots! ”

Subsequently, Dou Qi and other important ministers made harshly worded speeches in turn. Dou Qi said: "The mercy of the king can only be revealed after someone has been convicted, so let the king see now: who is against it, who is the sinner of the state!" Then those people will be able to learn the king's mercy! ”

At this time, the main hall gate was opened, so that those present could see what was going on outside: Si Su (the magistrate, known as "Si Kou" by the northern princes) stood outside the door in military uniform and holding a large sword, and behind him was a heavily armed firing squad, and these people glared angrily inside. The opponents were so frightened that they completely lost the courage to confront them, so they obediently obeyed the order.

In the first year of King Wen of Chu, the state of Chu moved the capital from Danyang to Yingdong, and the princes of Jianghan all exclaimed, "Chu is in trouble!" ”

In the early days of his reign, King Wen of Chu did not want to portray himself as a tyrant who was reckless and militaristic, and he adopted a more moderate foreign policy. The Chu people have admired Chinese culture for a long time, and the relocation of the capital has made it very convenient for Chu to communicate with the Chinese state. King Wen of Chu then sent a large number of envoys to various countries, hoping to exchange exchanges, and then decide on diplomatic strategies towards various countries based on the feedback. Chen, Cai, Lu, and Zheng cautiously welcomed the arrival of the Chu people; The Song people reacted coldly, but they were not rude; The state of Qi showed a high-minded gesture of approval for the coming of the barbarian state.

The envoy sent to Zheng Guo was warmly entertained by Zheng Ligong when he passed through Liyi on the way back. Zheng Ligong has been shrinking in this big city in the south of Zheng for ten years, confronting Ziyi, who is also shrinking in Xinzheng. Zheng Ligong hoped to seize the monarchy again with the help of the Chu people.

King Wen of Chu was very willing to muddy the waters of Zheng Guo, he pretended to be a mediator, and fanned the flames in secret under the banner of mediation. Later, when the conspiracy was revealed, Ziyi cut off contact with Chu in a fit of rage, and King Wen of Chu openly sent a large number of craftsmen and military personnel to Liyi to help Li Gong carry out a coup d'état. King Wen of Chu married his daughter to the son of Duke Zheng Li, Prince Jie (later Duke Wen of Zheng).

But Chu's diplomacy was not all smooth sailing - the envoy was brutally treated in Shen.

King Ping of Zhou and Duke Zheng Zhuang both came from the Shen State, and the Shen State relied on the relationship with these two countries for a time; But with the death of the two monarchs, the Shen state lost its political backing, and as a result, it slowly declined.

The incumbent Shenhou is a megalomaniac with no one in his eyes. When he received the envoy of the Chu State, he said: "The widow heard that the King of Zhou once said when he was feudal Shenbo: 'Sharpen your weapons, feed your war horses, and be ready to fight the people of Chu at any time.'" 'Successive monarchs have all remembered the advice of the previous kings. Now you actually took the initiative to send yourself into the tiger's mouth, which is really ignorant and fearless. The widow remembers that you are only envoys, and will not do any harm. Go back and tell the barbarian lord that the widow will never tolerate a barbarian setting foot on the land of Shen again, neither the envoy nor the merchant!" ”

Chu Envoy replied-for-tat: "That's right! King You of Zhou also warned your ancestors: 'Bugu wants you to collude with the dog Rong, capture Hojing, destroy Zong Zhou, and kill Bugu. Is that what you say? ”

The envoy's recklessness was immediately punished severely, and the Shen not only broke his leg, but also dragged him to the north of the city to see the gate, and forbade him to face south. The members of the mission were sold into slavery and their property was taken away by the Marquis.

The people who were sold into slavery were all bought by a doctor named Peng Zhongshuang, who later returned them safely to Chu. Several professional whistleblowers felt that this was a good opportunity for them to get rid of poverty and become rich, and immediately ran to Shenhou to accuse Peng Zhongshuang, who fabricated charges for "maliciously contempt for the highest dignity" and "collaborating with the enemy".