Chapter 55 The Last Hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period

After King Goujian of Yue destroyed the State of Wu, he hosted a grand banquet atop the Wentai Terrace, gathering his ministers to celebrate the victory. Musicians played and sang praises of Goujian's great achievement in vanquishing Wu. Yet amidst the joyous atmosphere, Goujian wore no expression of happiness. Fan Li understood Goujian well; a man who cared only for land and wealth while sparing no thought for the lives of his subjects, Goujian would never be satisfied, even now that the humiliation of subjugation had been avenged and the state was wealthy, powerful, and secure.

True to expectation, once King Goujian had executed Bo Pi, the treacherous minister of Wu, and stabilized the court of Yue, he demanded that Fan Li and Wen Zhong continue to assist him in achieving hegemony across the Central Plains. Fan Li had long since perceived that while King Goujian could share adversity, he could not share peace and prosperity. He wrote a letter of resignation to Goujian, stating: "I have heard that when a ruler is troubled, his subjects should share his worries; when a ruler suffers humiliation, his ministers should be ready to die for him. Back at Kuaiji, Your Majesty suffered humiliation, and the reason I did not die then was to avenge Your Majesty. Now that Your Majesty has washed away that disgrace, I ask to be punished for the crime of letting Your Majesty endure humiliation at Kuaiji in the past."

Upon receiving Fan Li's letter, King Goujian immediately summoned him and asked: "You now possess great merits and a lofty position, with nothing to trouble you. This is precisely the time to fully enjoy wealth and nobility. Why speak so lightly of leaving?" Fan Li evaded the question, refusing to give a direct reply. Goujian first wept and tried to persuade him to stay, and when that failed, resorted to threats, saying: "If you truly leave, I will kill your wife!" Fan Li, whose resolve to leave the King of Yue was already steadfast, remained completely unmoved by either soft or harsh approaches. He told Goujian: "A gentleman adapts to circumstances; he makes plans without rushing blindly for success, and even in death he fears no one's suspicion, feeling no self-deception in his heart. If I resign and leave, what crime has my wife committed?" Thereupon, Fan Li resolutely departed, setting out in a boat upon the Three Rivers and Five Lakes. It is said that after Fan Li left, King Goujian granted his wife land and had a golden statue of Fan Li cast and placed beside his seat to show that he did not forget old ties, discussing state affairs before it morning and night.

Fan Li only revealed the true reason for leaving the King of Yue to his family. He said: "Beneath a great reputation, it is actually difficult to linger long; he who does not know when to stop will surely bring disaster upon himself. Goujian can share adversity, but not ease and comfort. How can such a monarch be trusted lightly?" Unwilling to abandon their present glory and wealth, his family replied: "Wealth and nobility are not easily won. The present is precisely the time to advance further; such an opportunity must not be lost."

Fan Li sighed deeply and said: "A single wrong thought on a person's part often determines life and death, fortune and misfortune. If one remains entangled in greed, regret will come too late." Taking his family, he fled by sea to the State of Qi, where they changed their surnames and names to build a family enterprise anew. Endowed with extraordinary intelligence, Fan Li managed the business with such skill that within a short period, his wealth surpassed that of entire states. Hearing of his exceptional talent, the King of Qi appointed him as Prime Minister. Fan Li's response, however, exceeded everyone's expectations; with deep anxiety, he remarked: "Managing a household can accumulate a thousand pieces of gold, and serving as an official can lead to the rank of general or prime minister. If one does not think of retiring, peril will descend upon him immediately."

Fan Li returned the seal of the prime minister and once again decided to distribute all his wealth and wander afar. His family tried desperately to dissuade him, arguing: "This is what we earned through hard labor, gained without greed or seizure. Why give it away for nothing to others?" Fan Li replied: "When others are poor and I am rich, when others possess nothing and I have plenty, if I only take without giving, relying on wealth without benevolence, why not let it go?" He divided his family fortune among his friends and moved to the city of Tao, where he lived in seclusion.

Upon first arriving in Tao, ignoring the complaints of his family, Fan Li felt supremely happy. As time passed, however, Fan Li once again began to ponder grand plans for enterprise. His family, harboring resentment, complained: "Everyone thinks of wealth, everyone strives for riches. You care nothing for wealth, and with your own lips you call money useless, yet today why speak of this again? Is money really so easy to earn?"

Fan Li smiled lightly and replied: "The difference between poverty and wealth lies within the heart. As long as the heart is willing, how difficult is it to acquire wealth?" Believing that Tao was situated at the center of the world with roads extending in all directions, making it an ideal place for commerce, he took up trade to seek profit. Fan Li's commercial strategies were likewise peerless, and before long he had accumulated immense fortunes once again, becoming the richest man in the region and earning the moniker "The Marquis Tao Zhu."

Before leaving the State of Yue, Fan Li had sought out Wen Zhong. Fan Li told Wen Zhong: "The King of Yue will eventually execute you. You ought to follow my example and retire in a timely manner." Wen Zhong, however, was unconvinced and did not believe the King of Yue would kill him. Later, Fan Li even wrote a letter to Wen Zhong, warning him: "When the soaring birds have been shot, the fine bow is stored away; when the cunning rabbits have been hunted down, the running hounds are boiled. The King of Yue has a long neck and a beak like a bird; such physiognomy reveals a man who can share adversity but cannot share ease and comfort. Why do you still refuse to leave?" Yet no matter how earnestly Fan Li reasoned with him and offered loyal words that grated on the ear, words alone proved weightless, and Wen Zhong refused to believe him under any circumstances.

Ever since Fan Li's unannounced departure, a group of former officials of Yue had also successively left the court, while those who stayed gradually distanced themselves from Goujian. Seeing that the situation was ominous, Wen Zhong frequently claimed illness to excuse himself from court and neglected state affairs. Sure enough, someone slandered Wen Zhong before Goujian, accusing him of having merits that overshadowed the ruler, arrogance, and lack of decorum, as well as secretly forming factions behind the scenes with the intent to rebel.

Despite Wen Zhong offering every possible explanation to Goujian, the King refused to place his trust in him. Finally, one day, King Goujian bestowed a precious sword upon Wen Zhong, commanding: "You once taught me seven strategies to defeat Wu. I used only three of them to conquer Wu. Take the remaining four strategies and go offer your counsel to the deceased former king below." It was only at this moment that Wen Zhong awoke to the wisdom of Fan Li's advice, but it was already too late. Wen Zhong could only lament to the heavens: "Serving as the chancellor of Nanyang in Chu, I have ended up a criminal prisoner of the King of Yue. Later generations of loyal and righteous ministers must take me as their warning!" Having spoken, filled with indignation, he took the sword and committed suicide.

Fan Li deeply understood the truth that "once the birds are hunted, the fine bow is hidden; once the rabbits are killed, the hound is cooked." Thus, the moment he attained fame and official standing, he was able to make a timely and rapid retreat, decisively abandoning external possessions that could not be held permanently. By doing so, he preserved his own life and lived freely and gracefully—this was precisely Fan Li's superior statecraft and wisdom. Minister Wen Zhong, on the other hand, ignored Fan Li's admonitions, clung greedily to power and status, and failed to fully recognize the cruelty and narrowness of King Goujian's heart, ultimately ending up forced to fall upon his own sword. The contrasting fates of Fan Li and Wen Zhong serve as an eternal warning to mankind: one must adapt to the tides of the times, make a timely retreat when at the height of success, and make correct judgments and choices.

The Final Hegemon of the Spring and Autumn Period: King Goujian

After the State of Yue annexed Wu, its territory doubled in size compared to before, occupying vast expanses of land in the modern-day Huai River, Yangtze River, and Qiantang River regions, and its national strength surged abruptly. Having avenged the humiliation of his state's downfall and annihilated Wu, King Goujian also began actively seeking hegemony, marching northward to contend for supremacy just as King Fuchai of Wu had done.

In his interactions with the feudal lords of the Central Plains, King Goujian officially sent envoys to Lu and even intervened in the succession struggle of the State of Zhu, demonstrating the formidable and dominant position of Yue among the feudal states. At the same time, King Goujian presided over the Alliance of Xuzhou, virtually establishing himself as the new hegemon. In the "Hereditary House of King Goujian of Yue" within the *Records of the Grand Historian*, there is such a record: King Goujian "led troops across the Jiang and Huai rivers northward, meeting the feudal states of Qi and Jin at Xuzhou. He presented tribute to King Yuan of Zhou, who sent messengers to bestow sacrificial meats upon Goujian and designated him as Hegemon (Bo). When Goujian returned south of the Yangtze, he ceded the lands along the Huai River to Chu, returned the territories of Song that Wu had occupied back to Song, and awarded Lu a hundred li of territory east of the Si River." From this, it can be seen that by this time, the State of Yue stood on equal footing with major powers like Qi and Jin, displaying the demeanor of a great state. The military might of Yue also reigned supreme between the Yangtze and Huai rivers, and all the eastern feudal lords came to pay court to the King of Yue. King Goujian accordingly established a celebratory terrace, and from this point on, he assumed the title of Hegemon and King.

Although *The Commentary of Zuo* (*Zuo Zhuan*), an essential historical text of the Spring and Autumn period, does not record the alliance held by Yue at Xuzhou, several other early texts do mention the hegemony achieved by Yue. According to the *Discourses of the States* (*Guoyu*), "After Yue destroyed Wu, its ruler launched expeditions against the major states, and the rulers of Song, Zheng, Lu, Wei, Chen, and Cai holding jade tablets all came to pay court." Furthermore, according to the *Huainanzi* (*Qisu Xun*): "King Goujian of Yue... defeated Fuchai at the Five Lakes, faced south and claimed hegemony over All under Heaven. The twelve feudal states along the Si River all led the Nine Yi tribes to pay court." Similarly, *The Annals of Wu and Yue* (*Wuyue Chunqiu*) explicitly points out that Yue commanded the various feudal lords to participate in the alliance: "Goujian then sent envoys to issue commands to Qi, Chu, Qin, and Jin, all to support the Zhou royal house, and they made a blood covenant before departing." From these historical documents, it can be seen that the State of Yue stood shoulder to shoulder with major powers such as Qi, Chu, Qin, and Jin, and even held the upper hand in interactions, its imposing dominance naturally radiating forth.

It is worth noting that King Goujian demonstrated his ambition for hegemony even before the destruction of Wu. According to *The Commentary of Zuo*, in the twenty-first year of Duke Ai of Lu (474 BC), "In summer, in May, the people of Yue first arrived." Du Yu, a scholar of the Jin Dynasty, noted in his commentary on *Zuo Zhuan*: "Having defeated Wu and wishing to claim hegemony over the Central Plains, Yue first dispatched envoys to Lu." According to Du Yu's view, even as Yue was on the verge of defeating Wu, it was already actively preparing plans to claim hegemony over the Central Plains, which was why it sent envoys to the State of Lu to strengthen relations. Since Lu was a state that strictly adhered to the rituals of Zhou, it held an important position among the states of the Spring and Autumn period. By strengthening ties with Lu, Yue was striving to shed its own cultural stigma, which had previously resembled that of Wu, hoping to win the recognition of the Central Plains' feudal lords.

Following the Alliance of Xuzhou, King Goujian once again demonstrated his determination to claim hegemony and the supreme strength of Yue. Because Duke Li of Qin failed to obey Goujian's command to attend the alliance, Goujian decided to lead an army to attack the State of Qin. *The Annals of Wu and Yue* records this event as follows: Duke Li of Qin "did not comply with the command of the King of Yue, so Goujian selected generals and soldiers from Wu and Yue to cross the river westward and attack Qin. The soldiers suffered greatly from this. Just as Qin grew terrified and took the blame upon itself of its own accord, Yue withdrew its army. The soldiers were overjoyed and thereupon composed the Poem of the River Bridge, which went: 'Crossing the river, ah, crossing the river bridge, raising troops on a punitive campaign against the King of Qin. In the mid-winter month of October there is much snow and frost, the bitter cold on the road is truly hard to bear. Before our battle lines crossed, the Qin forces surrendered, the feudal states are terrified and panic-stricken. Our fame spreads across the seas, our might awes distant lands, rivaling the achievements of Duke Mu of Qin, Duke Huan of Qi, and King Zhuang of Chu. May All under Heaven be peaceful and enjoy long life, why must we sadly depart and return without a bridge?' Ever since Yue destroyed Wu, all the states of the Central Plains stood in awe of its might."

From this narrative in *The Annals of Wu and Yue*, one learns that King Goujian once led troops with the intention of attacking Qin. It was likely because Qin grew fearful of Yue's military strength that it blamed itself before the King of Yue, sparing the Yue army from actual battle. Moreover, as seen from the song of the Yue soldiers, having campaigned for years, the troops were already exhausted from prolonged warfare and were unwilling to undertake a long-distance invasion of Qin, which may also have been why the King decided to withdraw the army and return home. Regardless, after destroying Wu, Yue's strength increased exponentially, and its power struck awe into the hearts of all feudal lords.

Thereafter, in order to consolidate the hegemony he had secured, King Goujian moved his capital from Kuaiji to Langya in Shandong, attempting to issue commands to the various lords in the capacity of a Central Plains leader. By this time, it was the late Spring and Autumn period bordering the Warring States period, making the State of Yue the final hegemon of the Spring and Autumn era.

The destruction of Wu by Yue and the conclusion of the Hegemony of Wu and Yue marked the end of the era of hegemony among major powers in the Spring and Autumn period, bringing the history of China's Spring and Autumn era to its final movement. The prosperity, flourishing, and hegemony of Yue may be viewed as the final roar of the Spring and Autumn era, while its decline, fragmentation, and demise serve as a mournful song heralding the arrival and rise of the Warring States period. The State of Yue stood at the transitional pivot of epochs, and the monumental achievements of King Goujian's generation have been forever remembered by history.