This is the answer I found.

Wang Liqun read Historical Records: Qin Shihuang XXIII: Qin Destroyed Chu State.

Voice-over: After Ying Zheng, king of Qin, captured the Central Plains countries such as Korea, Zhao and Wei, he aimed to unify Chu, a vast southern country with a long history of 800 years. Although Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, has shrouded this country for a long time, the power of Chu is very strong, especially when Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, unified the six countries a hundred years ago, the Chu army was even stronger than Ma Zhuang, sweeping across the Central Plains, and it has shown a trend of striving for supremacy. During the period of Ying Zheng, King of Qin, the power of Chu was still to be reckoned with. In particular, there is a famous general in Chu State, that is, Xiang Yan, the grandfather of Xiang Yu, the overlord of the Western Chu State, whom we are very familiar with. Under the protection of General Xiang Yan, Qin couldn't help Chu for a while. However, after Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, sent general Wang Jian to attack Chu, the situation of Qin Chu's confrontation immediately changed greatly. In just three years, the powerful Chu State was captured by Qin Jun, so how did Qin finally come over? What is the reason for the demise of Chu?

We know that Chu is not an ordinary small country. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chu was a fairly large country. Chu's geographical position is probably from the central part of Henan to the south, belonging to Chu State, with a very large area. Moreover, a minister under Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, once said two very famous words: If Lian Heng succeeds, the king of Qin can be proclaimed emperor; If he unites, he will be the king of Chu. It can be seen that Chu is a very powerful country. How did Ying Zheng, King of Qin, destroy Chu? In 224 BC, King Ying Zheng of Qin sent generals Wang Jian and Wu Meng to lead the 600,000-strong army of Qin to destroy Chu. Wang Jian is the most effective soldier under Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, and an outstanding strategist of Qin. He and his son Wang Ben made great contributions to help Qin Shihuang unify the six countries in the war. Except South Korea, the other five countries were destroyed by Wang Jian and his son. As a result, when Wang Jian arrived in Chu, he didn't attack the Chu army. Instead, he locked his 600,000 troops in a military camp, ate and drank delicious food every day, and had beautiful shower facilities, but he didn't fight. At this time, when Chu knew that Qin Jun was coming to destroy Chu, Chu mobilized the whole country's troops and concentrated their attacks, which was to take the initiative to challenge Wang Jian. If Wang Jian doesn't fight, this situation is that Qin Jun will stay and rest, Chu Jun will take the initiative to challenge, and Qin Jun won't fight. This situation lasted for a year, and the battle to destroy Chu began. In fact, Wang Jian wanted to defeat the momentum of the Chu army, so he didn't fight. Then a year later, Wang Jian asked his men, what are soldiers doing all day? His subordinates told him that our soldiers are now full of food and drink every day, throwing stones there to see who can throw them far and accurately. Wang Jian was very happy to hear that. He thinks his soldiers can eat and drink for one year without fighting, and this year is enough. At this time, because the Chu army challenged for a year, the battle could not be fought. The Chu army began to adjust its defense and move eastward. Wang Jian took advantage of the movement of the Chu army and suddenly mobilized the elite soldiers to pursue and defeat the Chu army. The following year, in 223 BC, Wang Jian and Wu Meng invaded the last capital of Chu, which was called Shouchun at that time, which is today's Shouxian County in Anhui Province. Caught the last king of Chu. In this way, Chu basically perished, but there was another man named Xiang Yan, and this man was the grandfather of Xiang Yu, whom we talked about in the past, Xiang Yan. In Huainan, another descendant of the king of Chu, named Chang Wenjun, rose up against Qin again. Then, Wang Jian and Wu Meng led the troops to fight Huainan and Xiang. As a result, Chang Wenjun was killed, and Xiang Yan committed suicide by defeat. It can be said that the last strength of Chu was exhausted. In the third year, in 222 BC, Wang Jian finally subdued the Vietnamese army, because the southern part of Chu was where the Vietnamese lived. After three years, in 224 BC, 223 BC and 222 BC, the State of Chu was completely pacified. Chu established three counties, and Chu completely perished.

Voice-over: The battle to destroy Chu is a typical example of defeating the enemy in China's history. Wang Jian, the general of the State of Qin, adopted the operational policy of saving his strength and waiting for an opportunity to attack. Chujun was eager to win, but he couldn't catch up with Qin Jun all the time, and finally his fighting spirit faded away. The Battle of Qin Chu became a turning point for Qin to destroy Chu. However, anyone who is familiar with the history of Chu knows that Chu was one of the earliest countries in the Warring States period to implement political reform. It was Qin earlier than Shang Yang's political reform, so it was a vast and powerful Chu State. Professor Wang Liqun will lead us to find the deep-seated reasons for the demise of Chu from the historical context of the rise and fall of Chu. Let's take a look at the opportunities that Chu provided for Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, to destroy Chu in history.

I think the destruction of Chu is three points. First, the reform is unfavorable. Second, political corruption. Third, the general trend is unknown. These three reasons are the most fundamental reasons for the demise of Chu. Let's talk about reform first. During the Warring States period, almost all countries participated in the reform. We know who is the first powerful country in the Warring States period, which is Wei. Because he was the founding king of Wei, Wei Wenhou was the first to carry out political reform. He used Li Kui to carry out political reform, which was the earliest in Wei. In addition, Wei Wenhou was in power for fifty years, and the strength and duration of his political reform were rare in the Warring States period. Therefore, Wei Xianqiang was strong after the political reform, and it was not too late for Chu to reform. The political reform of Chu is in the mourning period of the king of Chu. At this time, a famous patriotic soldier came to Chu. This man is the one we mentioned earlier when we talked about the demise of Wei. This man's name is Wu Qi. Wu Qi was originally a famous soldier of Wei State. After Wu Qi couldn't stay in Wei State, Wu Qi came to Chu State. After he arrived in the state of Chu, he first worked as a magistrate in the border county for a year. A year later, King Mourning of Chu discovered that he was very talented, so he was promoted as Chu Lingyin and Lingyin as Prime Minister. Let him preside over political reform. Wuqi's political reform was twenty years earlier than Qin Xiaogong's Shang Yang's. Wuqi reform includes four contents. First of all, the abolition of Shi Qing Shilu means that some aristocratic families can inherit his title politically and their salary economically. This is Shi Qing Shilu. This system was a very common political system in the Western Zhou Dynasty. This system has a great weakness, that is, those outstanding talents in the contemporary era have no inheritance rights, political privileges and economic privileges because their ancestors did not make meritorious deeds. These talents have made great contributions to the country, but they can't get the rewards they deserve, so they have no enthusiasm. The practice of Wuqi's political reform is equal rights and equal ranks. What is the specific practice? The descendants of the monarch were sealed for the third time. To seal a monarch is to seal these nobles in one place and enjoy their salaries. As long as their descendants reach the third generation, they will take back his title and salary, which was very serious at that time. All the people who sealed the monarch were veteran cadres. Their descendants want to enjoy the merits of their ancestors, and the title and salary will be returned, but who will they return to in the third generation? This is a very important one for people who have made meritorious deeds in the contemporary era.

The second is to rectify the bureaucracy. The official system of Chu is also an official system. There are two major problems in the official administration of Chu State: the minister is too heavy and the monarch is too heavy. There are just too many ministers and monarchs. These people enjoy a lot of national wages, but they can't contribute to the country. So Wuqi's reform is to abolish the privileges enjoyed by these people. Reducing ministers and titles is the second point of rectifying official management.

Third, enjoy farming. Because at that time, the strength of a country was actually two points. First, agriculture, which is farming. Second, the military, this is war. Wuqi political reform attached great importance to the reward of ploughing and using soldiers, that is, mobilizing the enthusiasm of farmers and soldiers, making the country have food and enhancing its combat effectiveness. This is the third point of Wuqi's political reform.

Fourth, expand the land. Chu is a big country. Unlike Sanjin, Korea, Zhao and Wei, especially Korea and Wei in the Central Plains, his territory is very narrow. Chu has a vast territory. After Chu destroyed some countries, there was more land. Wuqi suggested that some nobles should be allowed to open up wasteland, so that the land of Chu State would be expanded, the grain harvest would be bumper, and the country would be rich. From the above four aspects, the breadth and intensity of Wuqi's reform are quite large. If this reform can continue, Chu will become the most powerful country in the Warring States period.

Cai Ze, the prime minister of Qin, said two words when evaluating the Wuqi Reform. The soldiers shook the world and subdued the princes. Visible Wuqi political reform, is considerable. But in the end, Wuqi failed. The reason for this failure is also very simple. Two, one, the death of the king of Chu. On the other hand, the opposition is very strong. Because the reforms promoted by a minister at that time, such as Shang Yang's political reform and Wuqi's political reform, all needed the support of the monarch. Shang Yang got considerable support, because Qin Xiaogong succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-one, and once he succeeded to the throne, he reused Shang Yang, so young Qin Xiaogong gave him great support. So we can see that the success of those reforms at that time depended on the strength of the king's support, and the strength of the king's support depended on the length of the king's life. The longer he lives, the longer he supports. Therefore, after the death of Qin Xiaogong, Qin Huiwen, who succeeded to the throne, killed Shang Yang. Wu Qi's luck can't catch up with Shang Yang's, and Wu Qi's political reform has a fatal weakness, that is, the late years of Chu Wang's funeral. At the beginning of the political reform, the king of Chu died. He died in the mourning hall, because the reform of Wuqi touched the interests of many people, mainly some nobles and ministers. In the mourning hall of the king of Chu, those ministers and clans shot Wuqi with arrows. Wuqi had no choice but to run to the body of the king of Chu, lie on the body of the king of Chu, and then shoot Wuqi with random arrows. Of course, Wu Qi is very clever. He was finally shot to death on the body of the king of Chu. Some of these arrows hit Wuqi, and some hit the body and remains of King Chu, so when the funeral was over, when investigating this case, Chu Jun, who was newly succeeded, wiped out these clans that shot the body of King Chu. How many people are involved this time? There are more than 70. You can see that there are still some shots left. They didn't shoot Wu Qi. More than 70 people have been wiped out just by checking the arrows shot at them. Think about how many arrows Wu Qi shot. You can know how many arrows there are and how many families are against him. Then why are so many people against him and against vested interests? Look at these practices of Wuqi, abolish the stone road of Shiqing, and the privileges of these nobles and their descendants are gone. To rectify the bureaucracy, it is necessary to lay off those mediocre officials, and they are the ones who are hurt. Let the nobles to open up wasteland, those nobles are unwilling, and they are still very disgusted with Wuqi. So Wuqi finally died in the hands of the opposition, so that the reform failed. This is the first reason why Chu finally perished.

Schreiber: Of course, there are many reasons for the rise and fall of a country, but throughout history, political corruption can be said to be one of the important reasons for the demise of many countries. Chu, which has been reformed for a long time, can't escape the ills of political corruption, especially at the end of Chu, a man who was named as one of the four sons of the Warring States period became the focus of corruption in Chu. So who is this person? From this man, we can see how corrupt Chu's internal affairs are.

The political corruption in Chu is mainly manifested in the employment of people. In the early stage, the Chu people mainly used the gentry, that is, the relatives of the monarch. Three surnames were used in the middle period: Qu Yuan, Qu Yuan, Qu Yuan and Jing. In the later period, he used one person, which we should focus on, that is, Huang Xie, Shen Jun in spring. And who is Huang Xie? Huang Xie is the younger brother of King Xiang of Chu and also belongs to the imperial clan. It should be said that Chu mainly used the public and some of the most popular families in employing people. This system has its advantages, that is, it is trustworthy, but it also has a big disadvantage, that is, those outstanding talents from other families have no future. Ordinary civilians, you have no bright future. We know that the state of Qin is very powerful, and many people from six countries are used. Many of these people were not nobles, but were used by the emperors of Qin. You see, we talked about Shang Yang and Fan Ju. Many people in the six countries contributed to the State of Qin, while the State of Chu mainly used nobles and nobles.

Let's talk about Shen Jun this spring. Chun Shen Jun is one of the Four Childes of the Warring States Period. He, Yuan Jun, Meng Changjun and Xin Lingjun were also called the Four Childes of the Warring States Period. Let's take a look at life in Shen Jun in spring. He lives in luxury. Chun Shen Jun began to be sealed in the 12 counties of Huai River and Huai River, known as Feng Jun. There are twelve counties. Later, he suggested that the twelve counties were too close to Qi, and they were sealed to the south of the Yangtze River. In the original capital of Wu, they built their own mansion. At the end of Biography of Historical Records of Chun Shen Jun, there was a Taishi Gong Gong Yue, who was actually Sima Qian who wrote Historical Records. Of course, the individual was written by Sima Tan, Sima Qian's father, who once wrote it. What do you mean? When I went to Chu, I saw the luxurious residence, which was very beautiful. The houses built by Chun Shen Jun in his later years were well preserved until the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, and Sima Qian also saw that time. After so many years, Sima Qian saw it and felt that the palace was too luxurious, which showed how corrupt his life was.

Let's look at Chun Shen Jun, who is very confused politically. At that time, Gao Lie, the king of Chu, had a poor ruling ability. Gao Lie had a great weakness, that is, there were many concubines in the harem, but none of them had children, that is, they were infertile. Therefore, Chun Shen Jun thought many ways for this matter. Shi Jichun Shen Jun's biography records one thing. This thing is that there was a man named Li Yuan in Chu State at that time. Li Yuan has a very beautiful sister. He wanted to dedicate his sister to King Gaolie, but he heard that King Gaolie of Chu was infertile. After he gave his sister directly, he went this way, because no children will fall out of favor in the future. He first worked as a doorman in Shen Jun in the spring, but later he asked for leave and went back. When he came back, he deliberately delayed for a few days. When he came back late, he went directly to ChunShen Jun to explain. After meeting him, Chun Shen Jun asked him, "Why are you late?" ? He said I have a beautiful sister. He said that I came home just in time for the King of Qi to propose to his sister. Because of this, I was delayed and came back late He reluctantly said a word, and Chun Shen Jun was more interested, so he asked, "What is the final result of Wang Qi marrying your sister?" ? He said I didn't promise to let my sister get married. Chun Shenjun asked, "Your sister even wants to marry King Qi, so can you let me meet him?" ? Li Yuan said yes, I can let you meet. Then Li Yuan arranged for his sister to enter the palace and meet Shen Jun Chun. At this meeting, Chun Shen Jun liked it very much and accepted it. Soon after the acceptance, Chun was able to give birth, so Li Yuan's sister soon became pregnant and won Chun's favor after pregnancy. At this time, Ethan's sister and Ethan discussed it again. After the discussion, Li Yuan's sister told Chun Shen Jun. She said that King Gao Lie of Chu trusted you very much. You have been the prime minister of Chu for more than 20 years. The monarch trusts you more than his brother. Now the monarch has no children. In case the monarch has no children in his next life, he can't carry on the family line, but can only pass it on to his younger brother, who will inherit it. She said that there is a solution at present. First, I'm pregnant with your child. Second, we have been together for a short time, and outsiders don't know. She said, why don't you give me to Kao Lie, the king of Chu, because he can't have children? I am pregnant with your child now, so you can give me to the palace again. If you have a son in the future, it must be a prince. If he succeeds in the future, you will become the father of the monarch. Why are you worried about your phase? After this sentence was finished, there was a saying in the history books that Chun felt very reasonable, and then he soon dared not let the pregnant concubine live in the palace. He found a high-class hotel to arrange Li Yuan's sister in the hotel first and let her live alone. Then I recommend it to King Chukoli. Although King Chukolia was infertile, he was still willing to watch it, and he liked it after watching it. In this way, the pregnant Li Yuan's sister was dedicated to King Chukoli. After entering the palace, a child was born, a son. King Gao Lie of Chu made this son a prince, and then made Li Yuan's sister a queen. All this was done, and then Li Yuan was reused. Because Li Yuan's sister became a queen, he became a relative of the royal family, so he was also highly valued.

Voice-over: In history, Chun is a descendant of nobles. In order to gain further favor for himself, under the temptation of Li Yuan and his sister, Chun dedicated Li Yuan's sister to Kao Lie, the king of Chu, which can be said to be the biggest failure in Chun's life. This incident not only caused the change of Chu regime, but also brought the bad luck of Chun Shenjun family. This disaster that changed the fate of Chu could have been avoided, so why did Chun finally go to this road of no return? What weaknesses did Chun Shen Jun show in the handling of this incident?

At this time, King Chu Gaolie was critically ill. When King Gao Lie of Chu was dying, a man went to see Chun Shen Jun. After seeing Chun Shenjun, the man asked three questions. He said you had three surprises. First, you have unexpected blessings. Second, you are in unexpected trouble. Third, you have unexpected people. These three sentences stunned Chun Shen Jun. Chun Shen Jun didn't know what he was talking about, so he asked him, what is unexpected happiness? The janitor said to Chun Shen Jun, and he said, Think about it. You have been the prime minister of Chu for 25 years, nominally, but actually, you are the king of Chu, and you have mastered the real power of Chu. Now if the king of Chu dies and the prince is too young, you are actually in power after he inherits the throne. You can help the youngest son, or you can take the throne for yourself. Isn't this a pleasant surprise? Chun Shen Jun asked the second question, so what is an unexpected disaster? He said, "think about this man who inherits the throne. He is actually your child. As far as I know, Li Yuan has a group of assassins waiting to murder you. " . When King Gao Lie of Chu died, Tang gaozu entered the palace first. As soon as you entered the palace, he killed you in the palace. This was an unexpected disaster. Third, Chun Shen Jun asked him, what unexpected people? He said that I was the unexpected person. I can help you solve this crisis. How come? You sent me to a lower position in the palace guard. As soon as the king of Chu died, Tang gaozu entered the palace. As soon as Tang gaozu entered the palace, I killed Tang gaozu. I killed Ethan, and nothing happened to you. This is the unexpected person, three unexpected people. After hearing this, Chun Shen Jun didn't agree. He doesn't believe it. He said there were two points. First, Ethan is a very weak person. He can't do such a thing. Second, I am very kind to Ethan. He can't kill me like this. As a result, as soon as he saw Chun Shen Jun not listening to his advice, he knew that Chun Shenjun would be killed. If he stayed here, he would be implicated, so he fled overnight. After the public guest left, he only stopped for seventeen days. King Gao Lie of Chu died, King Gao Lie died, and Tang gaozu entered the palace to prepare an assassin, and then Chun Shen Jun entered the palace. As soon as Chun Shen Jun entered the palace, Tang gaozu let the assassin assassinate him. Then, immediately, the whole family of Chun was hacked to death. The Biography of Shi Jichun and Shen Jun records a story: Chun Shen Jun sent Li Yuan's sister to the palace, which is enough to show the political corruption in Chu. We talked about the political corruption in Chu. Chun Shen Jun was the most important figure in the late Chu State. Chun Shen Jun was killed in 238 BC, the ninth year of Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, and only eight years left before Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, launched the war to unify the six countries in 230 BC. Just eight years before Ying Zheng, king of Qin, launched the war to unify the six countries, Chun Shen Jun was killed. Think about it, Chun Shen Jun was actually the last period of Chu, and he was a country for 25 years. Such a person would do such a thing in order to keep his prosperity. It should be said that this is a very failed point in Chu's employment.

Voice-over: Huang Xie, the spring Shen Jun of Chu, monopolized the power at the end of Chu, lived in luxury, lived a quiet life and did nothing, which eventually caused political corruption in Chu. The rulers of the late Chu state also embarked on such a corrupt track and eventually went to extinction. This kind of corruption has a historical origin. Judging from the history of Chu, there are many talents who are not needed. For example, Wu Qi, a foreigner who enthusiastically voted, was killed. Qu Yuan, who was brilliant and full of political ambitions, was demoted. Li Si, a Chu man, went to a foreign country to make suggestions for the unification of Qin State. Professor Wang Liqun believes that besides the political corruption of Chu, there is another most important reason that led to the demise of Chu. And this reason was a common problem committed by the six countries at that time. What is this common fault?

Another important reason for Chu's demise is that the general trend is unknown. The so-called general trend is unknown, that is, you don't understand the general trend of development in the Warring States period. The general trend in the Spring and Autumn Period was hegemony, so there was the saying of "Five Hegemonies in the Spring and Autumn Period". The general trend in the Warring States period was unification. If we understand the general trend of the Warring States period, we can either make Chu strong enough to unify the world. Either see the general trend clearly and resist the most powerful country. As a result, Chu is not strong. Who was the best at that time? It's Qin What should we do with Qin? Should be contained. Let's cite two things to see if the king of Chu realized this. The first thing, the Battle of Handan, we talked about the demise of Zhao, especially the Battle of Handan. After the battle of Changping, the Qin army surrounded Handan, trying to wipe out Zhao in one fell swoop. What happened? Because reinforcements were brought in, one was Xin who stole Wei to save Zhao, and the other was Chun who sent troops to save Zhao. As a result, the allied forces of Zhao, Wei and Chu defeated Qin Jun who besieged Handan. This is a very important battle in the late Warring States period, which shows that the power of the alliance is still quite strong. After the defeat of Qin, what the six monarchs in Shandong need to do most is to join hands with Qin as soon as possible to weaken Qin step by step and prevent Qin from breaking the six countries one by one. As a result, what happened? Yan thought that all mature people in Zhao died in Changping, so Yan went to attack Zhao. Zhao has no self-cultivation and has been attacking Yan for four years in a row. Wei also went to hit Yan. As for Chu, the king of Chu did not understand this general trend, and he took the opportunity to destroy Lu. There is only such a short rest time, that is, when Qin comes, everyone should quickly join hands to deal with Qin. After Qin retreated, the six countries began to annex each other, and no monarch of any country knew the general trend of the world. It is enough to show that the monarch of Chu is confused and does not understand the general trend. Let's give another example. Biography of Shen Jun in Historical Records in the Spring and Autumn Period also recorded a very long letter, which was written by an envoy of Chu State to one of the last monarchs of Qin State. It represented a view of Chu at that time. The most important contents of this letter are two points. First, cutting Chu is not as good as being good at Chu. Even if you crusade against Chu, it is better to unite with Chu. Second, it is better to destroy Han than Chu. To destroy Chu, it is better to destroy Han and Wei. To put it bluntly, these two points are the most important. But these two points, in fact, can be seen from two points, this letter is obviously framed by others, I hope Qin will point this finger at other countries, South Korea and Wei, so as not to attack me as a Chu State. This letter makes it very clear that there is no strategic vision and only local interests are seen. Chu may be temporarily saved from being crushed, but in the long run, this neglect can only make the monarch of Qin realize more clearly that the policy of making friends far away and attacking near is correct. So let's take these two examples. After the Battle of Handan, the State of Chu destroyed the State of Lu. We also quoted a letter from the so-called Chun Shenjun. From these two points, we can see that the King of Chu does not understand the general trend and only cares about immediate interests. So in the end, under the joint action of various forces, the State of Chu perished. The demise of Chu means that Ying Zheng, the king of Qin, won a decisive victory in the unification war.