Chapter 6: The Battle for Hegemony - Qi and Chu Engage in a Great War, the Chu Army Defeats the Qi Forces at Xu and Huai

  The Duke of Qi was enraged, and he turned his army around, took up a long sword, mounted a white horse, and galloped forward. The King of Chu saw this and jumped onto a black steed, holding a long spear, and charged forward. The two armies clashed on the open plains.

  The King of Chu grew more courageous as the battle raged on, and the Duke of Qi could only defend himself without being able to counterattack. Just then, the King of Chu struck with his spear, and the Duke of Qi raised his sword to block it. With a loud clang, the Duke of Qi stumbled backward.

  Again, the King of Chu's spear thrust forward, reaching the Duke of Qi's throat, causing him to break out in cold sweat. The Qi army hastily sent out three generals, led by General Kuang Piao (the father of Kuang Zhang), who shouted, "Do not harm our king!"

  The Chu general Qu Wu charged forward on horseback, swinging his sword and engaging the three Qi generals. Two Qi generals blocked Qu Wu, while General Kuang Piao swung his sword at the King of Chu.

  The King of Chu saw this and changed his spear's thrust to a sweep, striking with a loud clang and blocking Kuang Piao's sword. General Qu Wu raised his sword and struck down two Qi generals, then charged towards Kuang Piao.

  The Duke of Qi retreated in defeat, but the King of Chu did not pursue him. General Kuang Piao engaged General Qu Wu in a fierce battle for thirty rounds, but was ultimately defeated and also retreated.

  In an instant, the various lords were shaken. The Duke of Qi was even more enraged and humiliated, and he led his army of 100,000 men to form up in array. The King of Chu waved his spear, and his army of 100,000 men marched out in formation.

  The various lords saw this and retreated one after another. Suddenly, the war drums of the Chu army sounded, and the King of Chu pointed with his spear, charging forward on horseback and killing his way into the Qi army. The 100,000-strong Chu army surged forward like a raging torrent, and General Qu Wu's sword danced in the air as Qi soldiers fell one after another.

  Not a single soldier among the 100,000-strong Qi army could withstand the attack of the Chu army. After about half an hour of fighting, the Qi army was unable to resist the Chu army's assault, and the Duke of Qi led his army in a disastrous retreat.

  The "Xu State King" ended like this, and Qi Wei Wang didn't even have time to take over the hegemonic crown before being defeated by Chu Wei Wang. The various national marquises dispersed, and Qi Wei Wang was unwilling to accept defeat, so he returned to the capital of Qi, Zibo, and mobilized 300,000 troops to march south and attack the Chu army. He also made an agreement with Wei, Song, and Yue to send troops and jointly attack the Chu army in Xiangyang and Huainan.

  Wei Hui Wang agreed verbally but actually did not move his troops, adopting a wait-and-see attitude. The ruler of Song saw that 300,000 Chu troops had gathered in Xu State and didn't dare to send troops to attack the Chu army. The king of Yue, on the other hand, led 200,000 Yue troops out of Guangling to help Qi Wei Wang attack the Chu army in Huainan, and the army advanced to Yancheng.

  Chu Wei Wang saw this situation and immediately ordered 100,000 Chu troops from Shouchun to attack Guangling. He also led 200,000 Chu troops eastward and southward, defeating the Yue king's army at Yancheng and Huai'an, killing tens of thousands of soldiers. Then, he joined forces with the 100,000 Chu troops from Shouchun to attack the Yue army in Guangling again, killing tens of thousands more soldiers. The king of Yue led his remaining troops back to Gusu.

  At this time, the 300,000 Qi troops took advantage of the main force of the Chu army going south to Guangling and divided their forces into three routes to capture Linzi and Zaozhuang, directly attacking Xu State. The 100,000 Chu troops defending Xu State held out for a month, but after Chu Wei Wang defeated the Yue king's army, he led his troops northward to join forces with Qi Wei Wang's 300,000 Qi troops in a decisive battle at Xu State.

  The Chu army won three battles in a row and defeated the Qi army from Xu State to Lianyungang, killing 150,000 soldiers. They recovered Linzi and Zaozhuang, advanced to Ju County in Shandong, and captured Pei County, Jining, and the entire Weishan Lake. Just as Chu Wei Wang was preparing to lead his troops northward to Tai'an and Laiwu, the army of Wei gathered at Xuchang.

  Chu Wei Wang heard this news and immediately stopped his attack on Qi, ordering 200,000 Chu troops to garrison Xu State and Xiangyang. He led 200,000 troops day and night to hurry back to Xuchang. When Wei Hui Wang heard that Qi Wei Wang's army had been defeated at Xu State and the Chu army was rapidly approaching, he hastily ordered his troops to retreat back to Daliang.

  In the eighth and ninth years of King Wu of Chu, the Chu army repeatedly launched attacks on Wei, capturing several counties west of Xuchang to Taikang. When Qin Duke Huiwen saw that the Chu army had defeated the Qi army and was marching north to attack Wei, he took advantage of the situation to launch a series of attacks on the Wei army in the western river valley. King Hui of Wei, unable to withstand the Chu army's northern advance and protect his capital Daliang, was forced to cede the land west of the Yellow River to Qin and make peace with them. From then on, all the land west of the Yellow River belonged to Qin, and Tongguan was also occupied by the Qin army.

  In the tenth year of King Wu of Chu, he launched an attack from Fangxi and defeated the Shu army, expanding his territory to Ankang; in the same year, he again launched an attack from Qianzhong and defeated the Shu army at Bayu, expanding his territory to Yuzhou (Chongqing).

  In the eleventh year of King Wu of Chu, he suddenly fell ill and died. His son Xiong Xuan succeeded him as King Hui of Chu.

  King Wu of Chu reigned for eleven years and expanded his territory by nearly a thousand miles. At that time, the state of Chu had a vast territory of five thousand miles, with Dongting (Hunan) in the south, Cangwu (western Hunan and eastern Guangxi) in the southwest, Jiangnan (northern Jiangxi) in the southeast, Yongjun (from Fangxian to Ankang City) in the west, Fang, Ye, and Xuchang in the north, and Huainan and Pixi in the east. The state had a population of over three million and an army of one million men, making it the largest and most powerful state among the vassals.

  The state of Qin, on the other hand, extended from Hancheng to Tongguan and Shaoxing in the east, with a territory of two thousand five hundred miles and a population of seven million people. Its army had six hundred thousand men.

  At that time, the southern part of Jiangsu and Anhui were still under the control of the state of Yue, which had an army of over four hundred thousand men, comparable to that of the state of Han. The state of Shu had invaded as far as Bayu in the south and had territory in Hanzhong in the north, with an army of over three hundred thousand men stationed in Chengdu and Hanzhong.

  The state of Qi, which had just risen to power and was ambitious to dominate the world, was defeated by the Chu army and forced to retreat. For a time, the state of Chu was the strongest among the vassals and dominated the other states.

  However, due to the rapid rise of the state of Qin, it posed a threat to both Qi and Chu. Although the state of Wei had declined from its former glory, it still had considerable strength. At that time, the state of Chu had not yet reached the point where it could truly intimidate the world, and the task of competing for dominance fell on the shoulders of King Hui of Chu.