Chapter 52: Defeat is Inevitable

Years of continuous military campaigns eventually earned the State of Wu a reputation among the feudal states. Its repeated defeats of the State of Qi, the dominant power in the East, thoroughly intimidated the states of the Central Plains. Backed by its formidable military might, Wu sought to rank among the Central Plains powers, and ultimately to dominate the lords and issue commands to the entire realm. However, this ambition was only partially realized at the Summit of Huangchi, which Wu convened, and the price Wu paid for it was a heavy one.

In the thirteenth year of Duke Ai of Lu (482 BC), King Fuchai of Wu achieved yet another victory over Qi. Filled with overweening confidence, he decided to issue a summons to the various states of the Central Plains, calling for a grand assembly at Huangchi. The purpose of this assembly was transparent: Wu was striving to seize hegemony over the Central Plains lords. By making a show of commanding the states to uphold the Zhou royal house, Wu intended to increase its political leverage and force the feudal lords into submission.

According to the records in the *Gongyang Commentary*, "When Wu was present, not a single lord in the realm dared fail to attend." This illustrates the overwhelming momentum of Wu at the time, as all the feudal lords stood in dread of its military prowess. However, when the *Zuo Commentary* lists the participants of the Huangchi Summit, it states: "In summer, the Duke met with Dan Pinggong, Duke Ding of Jin, and Fuchai of Wu at Huangchi." Judging from the accounts in the *Zuo Commentary*, aside from Dan Pinggong representing the Zhou royal house, the only feudal lords in attendance were Duke Ai of Lu and Duke Ding of Jin—a far cry from the unprecedented spectacle that had been anticipated. In the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, the record of the lords attending the summit consists of a single concise line: "The Duke met with the Marquis of Jin and the Viscount of Wu at Huangchi." This directly contradicts the *Gongyang Commentary*'s description that "not a single lord in the realm dared fail to attend."

Why did such a contradiction arise in the historical texts? Du Yu of the Jin dynasty offered an explanation in his *Collective Explanations of the Spring and Autumn Annals and its Commentaries*, writing: "Treaties that are not recorded are those the feudal lords were ashamed of, and therefore they were omitted." This means that the Huangchi Summit was not detailed in the records because the various lords considered it a disgrace. Du Yu's explanation, however, immediately raises a new question: Why did the feudal lords view the Huangchi Summit with shame?

The *Guliang Commentary*, another Confucian classic chronicling the Spring and Autumn period, contains this passage: "At the assembly of Huangchi, did the Viscount of Wu advance? He was referred to as 'Viscount'. Wu is a state of the Rong and Di peoples, with cut hair and tattooed bodies. Yet it wished to adopt the rites of Lu and the authority of Jin, requesting caps and sash-bound garments to inherit the lineage of Chengchao and honor the Heavenly King. Wu has indeed advanced! Wu is a great power of the East, repeatedly summoning minor states to assemblies of the feudal lords in order to integrate with the Central Plains. If Wu is capable of this, can it be treated as a mere vassal? Wu has advanced! 'King' is a title of high honor, while 'Viscount' is a title of low status. To decline the lofty title and assume the humble one in order to meet with the feudal lords and honor the Heavenly King—King Fuchai of Wu cried out: 'Bring me fine caps!' Confucius remarked: 'How grandiose! Fuchai knows nothing of the ranks of caps yet desires to wear one.'"

This passage from the *Guliang Commentary* seems to reveal the underlying reason behind Du Yu's assertion that "the feudal lords were ashamed of it." The assembly at Huangchi was viewed here merely as an opportunity for Wu to draw closer to Central Plains culture, rather than as a summit where Wu established its hegemony over the Central Plains. For a long time, the states of the Central Plains had regarded Wu as a barbarian land of the Rong and Di. This summit demonstrated that Wu was beginning to draw closer to the Central Plains states in culture and etiquette, and had learned the distinctions between the noble and the base. Although Wu was a major eastern power, it had lowered itself by adopting the title of a humble minor state to convene the lords—a gesture that happened to accord with the cultural norms of the Central Plains countries. King Fuchai of Wu demanded, "Bring me fine caps!" while Confucius commented, "Fuchai does not even understand the gradations of caps, yet he wishes to wear them. What empty boasting!"

As a representative of traditional Chinese Confucianism, the words of Confucius accurately reflected the predicament of Wu, which remained unrecognized by Central Plains culture. The ultimate goal of Wu's long struggle to dominate the Central Plains was to win cultural validation from the region. Although contacts between Wu and the Central Plains states had increased in the late Spring and Autumn period, and their cultures were gradually converging, the Central Plains states—which considered themselves the orthodox heirs of civilization—harbored a deep-seated cultural disdain for Wu even as they feared its rising military might. Confucius's remarks laid bare this profound reality, and the Huangchi Summit fell short of fulfilling Wu's grand aspirations for hegemony.

To secure hegemony at the Huangchi Summit, Wu brought tens of thousands of elite troops to the gathering. King Fuchai's intent was unmistakable: he was determined to claim supremacy at Huangchi. Fuchai must have anticipated the cultural contempt harbored by the Central Plains lords, and thus he felt compelled to rely on overwhelming military strength as a backup to silence any criticism from the other states. However, Wu was forced to confront a challenge from the preeminent hegemon of the Spring and Autumn period: the State of Jin. Although Jin was no longer as powerful as it had once been, and the division of Jin by the three noble houses was already a foregone conclusion, the undivided Jin remained the economic and military leader among the states, while also inheriting the orthodox culture of the Central Plains. Shaking Jin's foundational status was no easy task.

At the Huangchi Summit, Jin served as Wu's principal rival for hegemony. Wu first contested questions of pedigree and lineage with Jin. The *Zuo Commentary* records: "In autumn, on the day of Xinchou, a covenant was made. Wu and Jin contended for precedence. The men of Wu said: 'In relation to the Zhou royal house, we are the senior branch.' The men of Jin said: 'Among those sharing the surname Ji, we are the leaders.'" The ancestors of the people of Wu traced back to Taibo, the eldest legitimate son of King Tai of Zhou, hence the men of Wu proclaimed: "Within the Zhou royal house, we are the elder branch." But the men of Jin were not to be outdone. Capitalizing on Jin's longstanding status as a great power and its cultural heritage rooted in the orthodox Ji surname of the Central Plains, the men of Jin retorted: "Among the states of the Ji lineage, we are the eldest brother!" Consequently, Wu and Jin locked horns in an unyielding dispute.

Shortly after, King Fuchai of Wu received distressing news: the State of Yue had launched a surprise attack on Wu, slaying Fuchai's son and putting Gusu City to the torch. Desperate to suppress this intelligence, Fuchai executed all his confidants who had learned of the disaster. Eager to bring the Huangchi Summit to a swift conclusion, Fuchai followed the advice of Wangsun Luo and once again used military intimidation against Jin. Terrified that Wu would resort to armed conflict, Jin practically acquiesced to Wu's bid for hegemony, allowing King Fuchai to take precedence during the smearing of the sacrificial blood. King Fuchai finally secured his position as hegemon among the Central Plains lords through the assembly, but from that moment onward, the fortunes of Wu went into a steep and precipitous decline, leading to its destruction by Yue not long after.

Although Wu achieved hegemony at Huangchi, the states of the Central Plains continued to harbor cultural prejudices against it, which explains why historical texts recorded the summit with such sparse and dismissive strokes. Thus, the Huangchi Summit was not merely an assertion of Wu's hegemony, but also an arena of cultural collision and assimilation.

Before the State of Yue launched its surprise attack on Wu, one man had already perceived the gathering storm.

Following his victory over King Goujian of Yue, King Fuchai of Wu began aggressively pursuing hegemony in the Central Plains, gradually letting down his guard against Yue. Throughout Wu, only a single individual maintained a clear-eyed awareness of the mortal threat posed by Yue, constantly urging King Fuchai to remain vigilant.

When Yue first offered its surrender, Wu Zixu had invoked the cautionary tale of Shao Kang's restoration of Xia to advise King Fuchai against accepting it, urging him instead to seize the opportunity to annihilate Yue. The King of Wu, however, turned a deaf ear to Wu Zixu's counsel. When Fuchai was preparing his armies to campaign against Qi, Wu Zixu remonstrated with him, saying: "I have heard that Goujian leads a frugal and austere life, tilling the fields with his own hands, eating only a single meat dish, mourning the dead, comforting the wounded, and sharing the bitter and the sweet with the common people. If such a man is not eliminated, he will surely become a grave menace to Wu in the future. At present, Yue is a disease of the heart and mind for Wu, whereas Qi is merely a ringworm affliction on our limbs. If Your Majesty ignores the internal threat of Yue and instead marches to attack Qi, it will bring extreme peril to Wu." King Fuchai refused to listen, leading a massive army to engage the forces of Qi at Ailing and routing them completely.

Upon the King's victorious return, King Goujian of Yue led his ministers to offer congratulations to the King of Wu, presenting him with abundant gifts. King Fuchai was overjoyed, but Wu Zixu approached him with deep anxiety and warned: "Yue is the most dangerous enemy at our side. Yet Your Majesty is now beguiled by their honeyed words and preoccupied with campaigns against distant Qi. For Wu, even a victory over Qi brings no tangible benefit! The *Classic of History*, in the 'Gpan Geng' chapter, long ago stated: 'Should there be those who rebel and refuse submission, cut them off and exterminate them utterly, leaving no seed behind, that no new breed may arise in this domain.' Only by such means did the Shang dynasty achieve its subsequent prosperity. I implore Your Majesty to turn your attention to Yue and not fixate entirely on conquering Qi, lest the day come when your remorse knows no bounds." Nevertheless, the King of Wu was completely deaf to Wu Zixu's remonstrations and continued stubbornly on his own course.

Thereafter, King Goujian of Yue presented King Fuchai with two beautiful women, one of whom was Xishi. Upon beholding Xishi, King Fuchai was instantly captivated by her breathtaking beauty and plunged into delight. Wu Zixu once again advised the King against accepting the gift from Yue, but how could a king already lost in infatuation heed his words? He gladly accepted the offering and praised the unwavering loyalty of the King of Yue.

By this time, while Wu was contending for supremacy in the Central Plains and parading its national strength, its domestic political administration was steadily rotting from within, hollowed out beneath a formidable exterior. Wen Zhong, a senior minister of Yue, said to King Goujian: "The power of Wu is waning day by day, and its king grows ever more arrogant, extravagant, and dissolute. We might as well ask Wu to lend us grain as a test of their attitude." Consequently, Goujian dispatched envoys to borrow grain from Wu. Despite Wu Zixu's desperate attempts to dissuade him, King Fuchai cheerfully agreed to lend the grain to Yue, growing increasingly impatient and resentful of Wu Zixu's persistent opposition to his policies.

In the wake of this incident, Wu Zixu lamented with a heart full of grief: "Since His Majesty refuses to listen to my loyal remonstrances, I fear that within three years the State of Wu will be leveled to the ground by Yue." Bo Pi, a sycophantic official who had accepted bribes from Yue, overheard Wu Zixu's words and seized the opportunity to slander him before King Fuchai: "Your Majesty should not be fooled by Wu Zixu's facade of loyalty; in truth, he is a cold-hearted, ruthless man. Back in the State of Chu, he abandoned the lives of his own father and brothers merely to save his own skin; how could he possibly harbor genuine concern for Your Majesty now?"

"When Your Majesty previously prepared to punish Qi, he opposed it with all his might, yet Your Majesty achieved a resounding victory and returned in triumph. Because Your Majesty did not adopt his strategy yet still won the day, Wu Zixu has actually harbored resentment against you. Now that Your Majesty is once again planning an expedition against Qi, Wu Zixu behaves arbitrarily and obdurately, obstructing you with fierce opposition and hindering your grand enterprise. In reality, he merely desires the defeat of Wu to prove his own brilliance. Today, as Your Majesty prepares to lead the entire nation's armies against Qi, Wu Zixu pleads illness and refuses to accompany you because his advice was rejected. I fear he harbors treasonous intentions. I pray Your Majesty take thorough precautions."

Initially, King Fuchai did not believe that Wu Zixu would commit treason, so he dispatched Wu Zixu as an envoy to the State of Qi to test his intentions. Foreseeing the inevitable doom of Wu, Wu Zixu took his son with him to Qi and said to him: "I have repeatedly remonstrated with the King, but my words have fallen on deaf ears. The last days of Wu are fast approaching; you shall remain here in Qi and not perish alongside Wu." Having thus entrusted his son to the Bao clan of Qi, Wu Zixu returned alone to the State of Wu to report on the situation in Qi.

When King Fuchai learned of this, he flew into a rage. Bo Pi seized the chance to fan the flames with further slander: "When Wu Zixu went on a mission to Qi, he left his son behind—this is an extremely dangerous sign. As a subject of Your Majesty, when he finds himself unappreciated at home, he turns to foreign powers for refuge. Furthermore, he considers himself a veteran counselor of the late king and resents Your Majesty for not employing him properly. In my view, Wu Zixu will surely rebel in the future. I hope Your Majesty will guard against him betimes." King Fuchai, consumed by anger, declared: "Even without your words, I already suspected him." He immediately dispatched an emissary to deliver the Shulu sword to Wu Zixu, commanding him to commit suicide.

Upon receiving the sword sent by the King, Wu Zixu looked up to the heavens and sighed with profound grief: "Alas! It is clearly that petty villain Bo Pi whispering slanders behind my back to destroy loyal ministers, yet now the King of Wu demands my life! When your late father was upon the throne, it was I who aided Wu, breached the capital of Chu at Ying, and secured our hegemony. Back when the position of crown prince was unsettled and various princes fought each other to the death, it was I who argued strenuously before the late king until he established you as crown prince. After you ascended the throne, you promised to divide the State of Wu in half to reward my merits, though I never dared harbor such extravagant desires. Who could have imagined that you would now listen to the slanders of treacherous flatterers and execute an elder who protected you? Once I am dead, you will never be able to preserve the state on your own!"

With these words, Wu Zixu instructed his retainers: "Plant catalpa trees—suitable for making coffins—upon my grave, and gouge out my eyes to hang upon the gate tower of the eastern gate of the capital of Wu, that I may witness with my own eyes the armies of Yue storming through the eastern gate to destroy the State of Wu." Having finished speaking, he drew his blade and slashed his own throat, dying instantly.

When King Fuchai later heard of Wu Zixu's dying words, he was seized with furious rage and ordered Wu Zixu's corpse to be sewn into a leather sack and cast into the river, leaving him to find a burial in the bellies of fishes. Thus was a loyal minister of Wu driven to his death by the slanders of the villain Bo Pi. With no one left by the King's side to offer warnings or awaken him from his delusions, the politics of Wu plunged even deeper into corruption and darkness.

Therefore, the downfall and destruction of the State of Wu was an inevitability.