Historical figures who could lie down and savor their courage

Before he succeeded to the throne, Gou Jian was the crown prince of the state of Yue, while the king's father, Yun Chang, was already old and the power of the state was controlled by a few ministers. Shi Buai and others took advantage of Yun Chang's mistake and staged a palace revolt. Gou Jie foiled Shi Buai's plot and was able to succeed him as king.

Wu's army, which had already heard of Yun Chang's death, began to take advantage of the situation to attack Yue. In the face of the powerful Wu army, Gou Jie used the trick of "killing oneself with a dead soldier" to defeat the Wu army.

After the external danger was removed, Goujian began to strengthen his country and his army. With the help of Wenshou and Fan Li, the state of Yue had just been strengthened when he learned that King Fu-chai of Wu had vowed to avenge his ancestor's death! In order to pre-empt the enemy's attack, Gou Jie sent an army to attack Wu, and was defeated by the Wu army in the land of Fu Jiao. Fu Chai took the opportunity to launch the battle to destroy Yue. Gou Tram's self-sacrificing request to become a slave of Wu was a great help to the King of Wu, and he agreed to make Yue a vassal state of Wu. Wu Zixu made repeated attempts to kill Gou Chuan, who was already a slave in Gusu, where he was raising horses. In the midst of high danger and hardship, Goujian finally escaped from the land of the dead with an incredible inner strength that reached the insurmountable limits of human life.

After his return, the state of Yue was already a small and broken country. The fire of vengeance that had long been extinguished in his heart flared up again. He couldn't forget his ambition to "revitalize the state of Yue"! Wen Zu offered his "Seven Arts", which were adopted by Gou Juan, and he began to realize a goal that seemed impossible at the time - the destruction of Wu and the strengthening of Yue!

Gou Jie began to "taste the guts"! On the one hand, he fought with the supervisory envoys to conceal his intentions, and on the other hand, he began to let his people flourish, implementing a series of measures to reward life and death and to raise the people free of tax. "Ten years after the birth, the population of Vietnam had quadrupled.

Facing Wu, Goujian planned and strategized according to the established "Seven Arts" strategy, and used a series of strange strategies such as "beauty", "depletion of Wu's national strength", and "separation".

When Fu Zhai led his troops northward to fight for supremacy, Gou Jie waved his troops into the city of the king of Wu, destroyed the Wu division, and forced the mortified Fu Zhai to kill himself.

Since 490 B.C., when Goujian returned to Yue after being a slave, to 473 B.C., when Yue destroyed Wu, Goujian spent only seventeen short years. He created a historical example of biding his time and talents to strengthen his country. His spirit of "tasting gall with firewood", in which he endured humiliation and self-improvement, is even more memorable throughout the ages! However, Gou Tramp, who is the most feminine and masculine, also has his historical limitations. After the destruction of Wu, Fan Li, who had made great achievements for the state of Yue, left him, and Wenshou, who was an upright and famous minister who worked hard for the country, was also killed by him. The historical tragedy of "a cunning rabbit dies, a running dog cooks; a flying bird is exhausted, a good bow hides" once again repeated itself on him. What is even more sad is that he almost repeated the same path of his rival Fu Chai. In order to enter the Central Plains in the north, he gave up the land of Yue, which had been revitalized by the fire, cut down the wood for hews, and moved the capital to Luangwangya in present-day Shandong Province by floating in the sea, and died of illness in the north six years later.

Wen Chau

Wen Chau was originally a native of Chu, he was appointed by the king of Chu as an emissary to the capital of Yue, at a time when the court of Yue was in turmoil, the Chu-Yueh friendship pact was at stake! With his extraordinary wisdom and calm diplomatic style, Wenshao stabilized the old king of Yue, Yunchang, who was in a state of uncertainty. However, due to conspiracy, he was involved in the palace change of Yue and was almost killed!

Wen Qi found his friend Fan Li, who helped Gou Jie to quell the civil strife in the court, and Wen Qi was saved, and Gou Jie was honored as the senior doctor. From then on, Wenshou became a great strategist, a capable minister, and a strong-armed counselor, and has been praised throughout the ages.

At the beginning, Wen Zi's ideal of ruling the country was to see the end in sight and strive for a short period of peace building. Because he knew that war depended on a solid "family base". When he disagreed with the king of Vietnam on his strategic views, Wenshou used the extreme tactics of "mourning for the country" and "three cries of the widow" to admonish him, which not only incurred the anger of the king of Vietnam, but also caused strong resentment among the generals of the war, who tried to stabilize the army by killing him.

Wen Zi was imprisoned again, and the loyal doctor forced Gou Jian to see him by going on a hunger strike. At this time, the Yue army was losing the war, and he was imprisoned again after he hired himself as a lobbyist, disregarding his own life and the danger of the situation!

After the king of Yue was taken over by Wu as a slave, Wenzui was entrusted by Goujian to defend the country as a minister. On the one hand, Wenshao was to make peace with the people and heal the wounds of war; on the other hand, he was to actively persuade the Wu ministers to save the King of Yue, who was imprisoned in Wu, and he made every effort to do his best.

After Goujian's return to China, Wenshou devised the amazing "Seven Techniques for the Destruction of Wu" and presented them to the court. For the smooth implementation of the country's plans, hidden from the sea, move flowers and wood, fight wisdom and strategy, with extraordinary tongue, won the king of Yue's trust and assured, more than the state of Yue for a valuable time.

After the destruction of Wu in one fell swoop, Wenshao refused to listen to Fan Li's advice and remained in Yue as a minister. In the strategic direction of peace or hegemony, Wenshou, who favored the maintenance of the people, and Goujian again had the strongest conflict! When Goujian gave Wen Qi the same death as Wu Zixu, Wen Qi was still "stubborn and unenlightened". He only blamed Goujian for being heartless and unrighteous, not realizing that his own state of mind and knowledge were far from that of the king. To a certain extent, Wen Zi's death was unavoidable! It is the inevitable result of the "king's way" and human nature not being able to ****exist.

Fan Li

Fan Li, a native of Chu, set his goals in life as a young man: traveling, fencing, and enjoying beauty. That is why he fancied himself a wanderer and a madman.

Fan Li came to the state of Yue because he was used as a rescuer by his friend Wenzui, who was involved in a dispute over the Yue Palace, and he saved Wenzui while relieving the danger of the palace in the meantime. His madness and licentiousness are not in keeping with the style of a gentleman in the Spring and Autumn period. As a result, he almost lost touch with the king of Yue, Goujian. It was only when he was reminded of this by Wen Qi that Gou Jen honored Fan Li with a great deal of sincerity, and he agreed to become a general, and as a military advisor, he trained a tough and battle-hardened land army for the state of Yue --- Ling Shi.

Fan Li was a man of detours and liberalization. When Goujian launched a preemptive war against Wu, Fan Li knew that the war would be lost, and although he also advised the king of Yue, but when he could not persuade him, he gave up and repaired the secret passageway early! Later, when Goujian was really trapped, he rescued Goujian from the secret passage, and in order to save 5,000 Yue troops, he disregarded his personal life, and with a small force, he killed Goujian from the front and entered the Wu army formation.......

When Goujian was a slave in the Wu army, Fan Li was willing to follow Goujian into the Wu army, and was slaved with him, and suffered from a lot of humiliations. The king of Wu, Fu-chai, lured him with the offer of honor and fame, but Fan Li refused. When Gou Jen was framed by Wu Zixu, Fan Li even tried to defeat Wu Zixu's plan with his own body. By this time, Gou Jie no longer regarded Fan Li as a loyal official, but as a confidant, a "wise brother" who was beyond the king's way.

After his return to Vietnam, Fan Li met the beautiful Xi Shi, but his love conflicted with the "beauty plan" in the "Seven Techniques for the Destruction of Wu", and before the big right and wrong of the country and the beauty, he chose the former with pain. By this time, Fan Li was far from the ideal when he first entered Yue. Invisibly, he had, like Goujian, carried the heavy idea of the state in his heart, and threw away the love of love and beauty. Although Fan Li suffered a great deal from this, the bloody storm of the country's survival quickly obliterated his pain. He succeeded in convincing and training Xi Shi, and then hyped up her beauty to the extreme, thus paving the way for Xi Shi to gain Fu Zhai's favor.

It is hard to tell whether Fan Li was awakened by giving, or awakened by giving? Or is it that after the country's success, he looked back to lick the "wounds", but once the wounds have been as hard as scars, he could not heal. Therefore, the historical Fan Li changed his name after he left Goujian and disappeared, and never got involved in power again. He changed his name not because he was afraid of being hunted down and killed by Goujian, but because he could no longer look back at his own history. ......

Xi Shi

Xi Shi came from the ramie village of Yue, and because of her family's poverty, she was forced to work as a slave in the house of Shi Buai. It was Fan Li who saved her from Shimai. When she wanted to join him, he had already left with the king to become a slave in Wu. She grows up hoping for and missing her benefactor, and develops a secret love for him.

After Fan Li returns to China, Xi Shi quietly leaves the Fan residence. Faced with the searching Fan Li, Xi Shi finally poured out her longing uncontrollably and boldly expressed her love to her dream lover.

Xi Shi was selected as a showgirl and enrolled in a training center. She was rated by several ministers as the number one beauty with the best chance of capturing Fu Zhai's heart. On the advice of Wen Zi, King Goujian of Yue was forced to order Fan Li to train Xi Shi in person. When Xi Shi learned that everything she had learned was not for Fan Li, she almost broke down! With Fan Li's counseling, Xi Shi was forced to resign herself to her fate and become a victim of the "extermination of Wu".

By virtue of her spirit and beauty, Xi Shi finally won the favor of Fu Zhai and played her role. However, Xi Shi was trapped in the palace of Wu and had to suffer from unspeakable pain. For the king of Wu, whom she faced, was a hero with a strong heart, thoughtfulness and tenderness. Xi Shi had sworn her love for Fan Li until death! And what about Fu Chai ...... Xi Shi was tormented in this way, day after day, year after year. What's more, she had to do several things to harm Fu Chai, and even send him to the guillotine ......

This is a woman who has a bitter taste in her mouth, and even more so, a woman who has always wanted to tell the truth and do the truth, but must speak and do false things. She suffered in the Wu Palace, torn, heartbroken, but was pampered so much that "three thousand powders have no color"; she was happy, proud, and could have whatever she wanted, but the only thing she could not get was the dignity of a human being.

This kind of dignity can only be given to her by Fu Zhai alone, but Xishi can't accept it. Because once she gets it, she becomes a traitor!

Fu Zhai

Fu Zhai had always been regarded as foolish and unkind by his ancestor as well as by many princes and nobles, but Fu Zhai was unique in that he was a maverick, and his love and righteousness were also important.

During the battle for the throne, Fu Zhai suddenly showed that he was a king who looked down on the world with determination, and was recognized by Wu Zixu, who succeeded him as king from the throne. His first order of business was to avenge his ancestor's death. In a single battle, Wu Zi Xu annihilated the main force of the Yue army. Wu could have destroyed Yue completely, but Fu Chai spared Goujian's life and made Yue a submissive state because of his love for Yue Ji, who was once the prince's consort!

The reason why Fu Chai spared Goujian's life was also due to his heroism. Although he regarded Goujian as a rival, he was not the only one, or even the only one, that he could tackle. So he disobeyed the strong advice of his minister Wu Zixu and put the extremely dangerous Goujian under his eyes as a slave. He wanted to conquer Goujian completely by force of mind, thus laying the foundation for Wu to move northward for supremacy.

While he was proved to be the loser in the battle of heart power with Goujian, it can only be said that Fu Chai made the mistake of empiricism as well as of being limited by the history of his time. In his view, he had already sensitized Goujian with his heart of benevolence. Even if he had been unkind, Fu Cha could have easily conquered him again. Therefore, he ignored Wu Zixu's and many other ministers' advice and allowed Goujian to return to his country, and later even returned the strategic places of Yue occupied by the Wu army. He wanted to make this Yue, which he had conquered and only knew how to farm, the rear base of his struggle for supremacy.

It can't be said that Fu Zhai was only indulgent to Goujian, but he was also vigilant enough. He had personally groomed Yanyi, an enemy of Goujian's, to be the supervisor of Yue, and later had Gongsun Xiong stationed in Yue. He thought he had the country under his control, so he swung his army northward with confidence.

Wu Zixu's death was a tragedy, but Fu Zhai could not be held entirely responsible. Although Wu Zixu had insight into Goujian's ambitions, Wu Zixu limited Wu's actions to destroying the Yue state, which was the only thing Wu could and did not want to do as a great master of his generation. Although the focus of their conflict was Wu Zixu's obstinacy, the root of it came from the divergence of their strategic views.

There are, of course, many reasons why Fu Chai personally buried Wu. But there is one that cannot be ignored: he placed too much emphasis on military power, a common problem for many historical heroes. When Goujian personally led a vengeful division to destroy Wu, the Vietnamese army was still much weaker compared to the Wu army. The Vietnamese army won the battle all because Wu's overall national strength had been destroyed by Vietnam first.

Wu Zixu

Wu Zixu, a native of Chu, was determined to take revenge for his father's murder by King Ping of Chu, and cast himself into the state of Wu. After making Wu strong, he led his army to fight his way into his own motherland and captured Ying, the capital of Chu.

By the time the battle between Wu and Yue began, Wu Zixu had already been a three-generation veteran minister of the state of Wu, and was a renowned politician and militarist of the late Spring and Autumn period. After Goujian became the king of Yue, Wu Zixu changed the original state policy of "subduing the Yue people in the south" to "destroying the Yue state in the south". Through observation and practice, Wu Zixu believed that there would be no peace in Wu until Goujian was eliminated! Therefore, Wu Zixu repeatedly pushed Fu Zhai to get rid of Gou Jian.

Wu Zixu, by virtue of his position and influence in the Wu court, was unable to get rid of Goujian many times, so he took a small step forward, i.e., he suppressed the state policy of advancing northward. It was this small step that doomed him to tragedy, as a three-generation veteran minister and minister of state, he was given death by Fu Chai for no real crime.

Wu Zixu's death was a tragic one, as he had worked hard for the state of Wu, almost to the point of sleeplessness, but as a politician, Wu Zixu also made the mistake of empiricism. First, he underestimated Fu Chai's ambition to move northward into the Central Plains; second, he overestimated his own influence in the Wu court. He wanted to save the day, but did not understand that an iron fist with great energy must be smashed out! If Wu Zixu had pushed him northward after Fu Chai's victory over Yue, the history of the "battle between Wu and Yue" could have been rewritten.