1. Gou Jian, the king of Yue, suffered hardships by lying down on the firewood

In 494 BC, Fu Chai led his troops to defeat Gou Jian. Gou Jian was surrounded, had no way out, and was ready to commit suicide. The counselor Wen Zhong persuaded him and said: "The minister of Wu State, Bo Pi, is greedy and lustful. You can send someone to bribe him." Gou Jian followed Wen Zhong's suggestion and sent him to bribe Bo Pi with treasures. Bo Pi agreed to make peace with Wen Zhong. Go to see King Wu.

Wen Zhong met the King of Wu, presented his treasure and said, "The King of Yue is willing to surrender and serve you as your servant. Please forgive him." Bo Pu also spoke for Wen Zhong. Wu Zixu stood up and objected loudly: "People often say that 'to cure a disease, we must eradicate the root cause.' Gou Jian is far-sighted, Wen Zhong and Fan Li are smart and capable. If we let them go this time, they will find ways to take revenge when they go back!"

Fu Chai refused to listen to Wu Zixu's advice, agreed to the surrender of Yue, and withdrew his army to Wu. After the Kingdom of Wu withdrew its troops, Gou Jian took his wife and doctor Fan Li to the Kingdom of Wu to serve the King of Wu, herding cattle and sheep, and finally won the favor and trust of the King of Wu. Three years later, they were released and returned to China.

After Gou Jian returned to China, he was determined to become stronger and ready for revenge. He was afraid that his desire for a comfortable life would squander his ambition for revenge, so he slept on a pile of straw with his weapon on his pillow at night. He also hung a gall in the house and tasted the gall every morning when he got up. After ten years of After hard work, the country of Yue finally had enough troops and food, and turned from weakness into strength.

But King Wu Fu Chai blindly strived for hegemony, without any regard for the people's livelihood. He also believed Bo Pu's bad words and killed his loyal minister Wu Zixu. In the end, Fu Chai succeeded in his struggle for hegemony and dominated the princes. In 482 BC, Fu Chai personally led the army north to compete with the Jin State for the leader of the princes and alliances. King Gou Jian of Yue took advantage of the elite troops of the Wu State to attack suddenly, defeated the Wu soldiers in one fell swoop, and killed the prince friend.

After hearing the news, Fu Chai hurriedly led his troops back home and sent people to ask Gou Jian for peace. Gou Jian estimated that Wu could not be destroyed at once, so he agreed. In 478 BC, Gou Jian personally led troops to attack the state of Wu for the second time. The state of Wu was defeated repeatedly. Finally, Fu Chai sent someone to ask Gou Jian for peace, but Fan Li insisted on destroying the state of Wu. When Fu Chai saw that he could not make peace, he regretted that he had not listened to Wu Zixu's advice. He was so ashamed that he drew his sword and committed suicide.

2. King Wu Fu Chai was arrogant and extravagant.

Fu Chai, the last king of the Wu Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period, was the son of He Lu and reigned from 495 BC to 473 BC. In 494 BC, he defeated Yue at the Battle of Fujiao, captured the capital of Yue, and made Yue surrender. After that, he defeated Qi in the Battle of Ailing and wiped out 100,000 Qi troops.

In 482 BC, at the Huangchi meeting, he formed a bloody alliance with the princes of the Central Plains. During Fu Chai's reign, the State of Wu was extremely warlike and mobilized troops year after year, resulting in a void in national power. Gou Jian did not forget the shame of Kuaiji, and his national strength gradually recovered. When Fu Chai mobilized the whole country to go to the meeting in Huangchi, the Vietnamese army took advantage of the opportunity and killed Prince Wu.

Fu Chai successfully competed with Jin for hegemony and hurried back after winning the hegemony. In 473 BC, the State of Yue raised troops again, and the State of Wu was destroyed. Fu Chai committed suicide at the age of 55.

3. Chen Shubao, the last emperor of the Chen Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, ignored state affairs and indulged in pleasure.

When Chen Shubao succeeded to the throne, it was at the beginning of the founding of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wen had the ambition to level the world, so the officials of the Sui Dynasty tried to persuade Emperor Wen to attack Chen. At the end of the second year of Zhenming (the eighth year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, 588), Emperor Wen issued an edict to punish his master for twenty major crimes. He wrote the edict on 200,000 pieces of paper and sent it all over the Yangtze River.

Many warships were built, and Jin Wang Yang Guang, Qin Wang Yang Jun, and Qinghe Gong Yang Su were appointed as marching marshals. The generals Han Qinhu and He Ruobi led an army of 510,000 to march directly to the south of the Yangtze River. The Sui army borders Canghai to the east and Bashu to the west. They carry banners and boats across thousands of miles, and they all strive to be the first to destroy the Chen Dynasty.

Chen Shubao lives in a high palace, spending his days drinking and drinking, and does not hear about foreign affairs. He ordered the construction of the Dahuang Temple, with seven-level pagodas built inside. However, before the work was completed, it was burned by fire. The border states and counties reported the news of the Sui invasion to the DPRK. However, the whole court did not take it seriously. Only the servant shot Yuan Xian and asked him to send troops to resist, but his master did not listen.

As the Sui army advanced in depth, the prefectures and counties were in emergency one after another. The master Shubao still played music and wine, wrote poems non-stop, and smiled and said to his attendants: "Three times the Qi soldiers came, and the Zhou army came again, everything was fine." What can he do if he is defeated?" Kong Fan said: "The natural chasm of the Yangtze River was limited in ancient times and separated the north and the south. How can the Sui army fly across it today? If you are humble, if you cross the river, I will appoint you as the Grand Lieutenant."

Some people falsely say that many of the horses of the Northern Army died on the road. Kong Fan said: "What a pity, this is my horse, why did it die?" The master laughed after hearing this, and he was deeply convinced. The king and his ministers were drinking and singing and writing poems as before, as if the threat of national subjugation did not exist.

4. Xia Jie

Xia Jie was extravagant and extravagant. In order to satisfy his luxurious life, he did not hesitate to build a large-scale construction project at the expense of people's resources. History books say that he built Qing Palace and Yaotai. Qinggong is a tall building. Because of its height, people standing on the top of the building feel that it is falling.

Xia Jie also had many well-known tyranny, such as the "wine pond and meat forest", such as letting hungry tigers into the city, watching people run for their lives in fear, and so on.

5. Shang Zhou’s Wine Pond and Meat Forest

According to the "Historical Records of the Yin Dynasty", King Zhou of Shang Dynasty used wine as a pond and hanging meat as a forest, and drank and had fun all night long. Later generations used the term "wine pool and meat forest" to describe a luxurious life and excessive debauchery. It also described an abundance of wine and meat and a luxurious feast.