In terms of absolute strength, Wu and Yue are obviously not as good as the four traditional powers of Jin, Chu, Qi and Qin.
But judging from the achievements of He Lu and Fucha during their reigns, Wu Guo should obviously be the first in the world.
In 506 B.C., He Lu fought five battles against Chu and won five victories, and it only took more than ten days to successfully enter the capital of Chu, and King Zhao of Chu fled;
In 494 B.C., Fucha succeeded in a war against the Yue Kingdom, forcing Goujian, the king of Yue, to enter Wu alone;
In 484 BC, Fucha defeated the state of Qi, captured four important ministers, and beheaded 3,000;
In 482 BC, Fucha led an army of 30,000 to Huangchi to ally with the Jin Kingdom and became the overlord.
Except for the non-bordering Qin State, several other countries were compared to the Wu State, but I am afraid that no one believed that the Qin State at that time could kill the Wu State.
If you look at this fact alone, it is easy to think that if it weren't for the fact that Fucha had become mediocre, then Wu Guo would not have lost.
But the fact is: the above achievements avoid the important and trivialize, and do not talk about the key.
For example, Wu did break through the capital of Chu, but it was based on the premise that Chu deployed heavy troops to guard against Jin, and was beaten by Wu.
In the following ten years, the state of Chu recovered well, but the state of Wu at that time obviously did not dare to continue to provoke the state of Chu.
For another example, Wu did defeat Qi, but the process was similar to that of Chu.
At that time, the State of Qi was attracted by the State of Jin, and as a result, the State of Wu took the opportunity to give them a heavy blow, and beat the State of Qi on the spot.
You say, is this the great credit of the Wu State or the great credit of the Jin State? Even if it is really the first merit of the Wu State, then isn't it important for the Jin State to contain it? You can't say that.
In addition to the containment of the Jin State, the fact that the Wu State was able to defeat the Chu State and the Qi State one after another also had something to do with geography.
The states of Jin, Chu, and Qi were all large states, and they could easily cross the small states in the middle and engage each other in a short battle.
For these three big countries, what they need to focus on guarding against is by no means a small Wu country.
Being defeated by Wu is at most ugly on the face, and the damage to the national strength is limited, because Wu obviously did not have the strength to destroy the great powers.
And once defeated by a big country, that kind of painful lesson definitely needs to be remembered for several lifetimes, and even sudden death and national destruction are not completely impossible.
There are many reasons why the state of Wu was destroyed later, but from the perspective of "hindsight", one thing is actually very clear, that is, "success is also geographical, defeat is also geographical." ”
If Wu Guo had no worries, he could be like an assassin, stabbing the flaws of the great powers as soon as he discovered them, and then withdrawing.
The big countries were angry after being stabbed, but they were helpless, after all, catching assassins was a thankless task, and their main defense was against other big countries.
But once another assassin appeared next to the assassin, Wu Guo was ready to act like before, and it was inevitable that he would not be able to eat and walk around.
Later facts were also the same: whenever Fucha led his army north, he would inevitably be attacked by the Yue Kingdom.
Seeing the scene of the destruction of the Wu Kingdom, I always think of the destruction of the Six Kingdoms by Qin in later generations.
Before Qin Xiaogong changed the law, the Qin state had gradually declined for various reasons.
We can fully say that the state of Qin before the reform was somewhat similar to the state of Wu in the Spring and Autumn period.
You say he's weak, he's not too weak, and if he seizes the opportunity, he can fight a good fight;
But you can say that he is strong, he is obviously only strong: after the Jin State is divided into three points, only one Wei State can suppress the Qin State in the northwest and cannot move, what kind of strong country is this?
Many people said: "If the Jin State is not divided into three parts, it will not be the turn of the Qin State to unify the world at all." ”
But in fact, whether the Qin State can unify the world is not a big problem with the Jin State.
When he was suppressed by Wei, if there was also an "assassin" country of his size around Qin, then even if the Jin state was divided into three parts, the Qin state could only be caught in a struggle with the "assassin" country.
At that time, no matter whether the Jin State is divided or not, the countries adjacent to the Qin State will support the Assassin State, and the future of the Qin State is really not optimistic.
And if the Qin State did not have the assassin country beside him, then regardless of whether the Jin State was divided or not, the Qin State would have the qualifications to send a letter to Guguan to unify the world.
In the eyes of outsiders, this is the credit of Shang Ying's "turning decay into magic", but the actual situation is that the superior external environment of the Qin State is placed there, and any reformer who is very similar can achieve the effect of Shang Ying.
When I say this, I am not belittling Shang Ying, but emphasizing one point: in the midst of great changes, personal influence can never compare with the objective environment.
For example, in the West, there have been heroes like Caesar and Octavian, and there have also been glorious Roman Empires, why can't they achieve great unification?
This is by no means a question of individual ability, but of the objective environment.
To get back to the point, if the state of Wu can successfully destroy the state of Yue, and then stay in peace, waiting for a suitable time, and a reformer similar to Shang Ying, will it be able to replace the state of Qin and dominate the world?
On this issue, the first thing we need to consider is the issue of the difference between the North and the South.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, there was no successful case of unifying China from the south to the north, and when Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition was successful, it was already the 14th century AD.
If the differences between the north and the south are not taken into account, it will be difficult for Wu to succeed.
Before Qin Xiaogong's reform, the situation of Qin was precarious, even if it was pushed directly by a wave of Wei State, it was not surprising.
And to the west of Wu, there is a Chu state that is far more powerful than Wei, who dares to guarantee that Wu can have the luck of Qin, and still stand tenaciously in several waves of strong pushes?
Moreover, Hangu Guantian Insurance is not just talking, it really works.
And what about Wu Chu's side? The state of Chu occupies the upper and middle reaches, and the state of Wu is in the downstream, and the natural strategic adversity, the state of Chu in its heyday goes eastward, and it is difficult for the state of Wu to resist.
So on the surface, the strategic dilemma faced by Wu and Qin is similar, but due to the difference in the objective environment, Qin can turn over, but Wu can only be destined.
When the world is evenly balanced, this sign is not obvious, because optimistically, it seems that there is a possibility of success in either direction of expansion.
But once the balance of power is broken, the signs become more and more apparent. At times like these, no matter what you do, it's wrong.
For example, Fucha, doesn't he know that if he leads his troops north, he will be attacked by the Yue Kingdom? He knows it very well.
But if you don't lead your troops north, several major powers will press down, and Yue Guo will take the opportunity to stab again, and Wu will still be finished.
In later generations, the Qin State, without worrying about being stabbed, was still trembling against the Wei State, and the environment of the Wu State was much worse, and what the husband did was just take a risk.