Chapter 43: The Resurgence of Civil Strife in Chu

During the war of Wu's invasion of Chu, Shen Baoxu was undoubtedly the man who turned the tide of history.

Shen Baoxu and Wu Zixu were originally close friends and fellow officials serving King Ping of Chu. When King Ping listened to slanderous advice and framed Wu She and Wu Shang to their deaths, Shen Baoxu was away on official business and not at court. As Wu Zixu fled for his life through various hardships, he happened to meet Shen Baoxu, who was returning to Chu from the State of Song. By this time, the misdeeds of King Ping had become widely known, and Shen Baoxu was well aware of Wu Zixu's tragic plight. Their encounter was exceptionally awkward.

Wu Zixu did not turn against his friend at that moment. He knew deep down that he was bidding a final farewell to everything in his past, and that he would henceforth appear before Chu as an implacable enemy—this was both his mission and his dignity. Thus, he made a solemn and fierce vow before Shen Baoxu, declaring that he would one day personally bury the State of Chu. This oath revealed Wu Zixu's state of mind; although he was reluctant to break with his friend, the monstrous blood debt weighed heavily upon his shoulders, and everything else in the mortal world had to yield to it. Wu Zixu had no choice other than unyielding determination.

Shen Baoxu likewise had no choice. As a subject, even if the sovereign lacked virtue and conduct, the faith of home and country deeply rooted in his heart could not be violated. King Ping's mistakes should not be paid for by the common people of Chu. As a son of Chu, he could all the more not allow his ancestral land to be overthrown by foreign aggression. Admittedly, the fate of his old friend deserved sympathy, but national interests superseded everything else, and the welfare of the common people under heaven surpassed all else. Therefore, Shen Baoxu sighed, "Even if you manage to destroy Chu for a time, I will surely revive it."

Amidst this oath and this sigh, the two old friends parted ways. In this turbulent era, each adhered to his own convictions in the way he recognized, interpreting the value of his own existence, and drifted further and further apart in completely opposite directions.

Having endured untold hardships, Wu Zixu waited bitterly for sixteen years. During these sixteen years, he shed all worldly pretense and learned tranquility. Compared to the hot-blooded youth of sixteen years ago, he now better understood the significance of lying low. He was like a sword, undergoing self-discipline and quenching every single day until the moment of his rebirth through fire arrived.

What Shen Baoxu experienced during these sixteen years is vaguely recorded in historical texts, likely because his life was too mundane to be worth noting down. Yet what can be known for certain is that, like thousands of other officials in Chu, he contributed to the operation of this enormous state machinery. Perhaps to the State of Chu, Shen Baoxu was merely a tiny gear; but to Shen Baoxu, the State of Chu was the entirety of his life.

The mountain rain was about to come, and the wind swept fiercely through the tower. The State of Chu was ultimately ruined by a foolish monarch and sycophantic ministers. Compared to his old friend Wu Zixu, King Zhao of Chu and the petty villains under his command bore even greater responsibility for the fall of Chu, a fact of which Shen Baoxu was deeply aware. Yet this mattered little to him anymore. A living subject of Chu and a ghost of Chu in death, Shen Baoxu, caught up in the chaos of war, never forgot his country, his king, his ideals, and his aspirations.

During this period, Wu Zixu undoubtedly felt a sense of gratification, especially when he dragged his enemy's corpse from the grave and mercilessly lashed it three hundred times. The pent-up resentment of more than a decade was dissolved in this single instant. All of this was richly deserved in Wu Zixu's eyes; no one knew what he had paid for this, and no one knew the sleepless nights he had endured entirely on his own. Those three hundred sharp and crisp lashes dispelled the nightmare that had haunted his heart for a full sixteen years.

For Wu Zixu at this moment, Shen Baoxu's appearance was thoroughly inopportune, as Shen Baoxu pierced the gratification that had swelled to its absolute peak in Wu Zixu's heart. While fleeing for his life, Shen Baoxu sent a message to Wu Zixu, rebuking his act of flogging the corpse of King Zhao of Chu as both ungrateful and devoid of loyalty to ruler and filial piety to father. This remark crossed Wu Zixu's bottom line. To Wu Zixu, while he was bearing deep hatred and enduring humiliation, Shen Baoxu had been living a peaceful life of fine food and clothing, utterly incapable of understanding the hatred and pain of losing his father and brother. Yet now, precisely when his great revenge had been achieved, Shen Baoxu assumed a condescending posture to lecture him with a moralist's facade.

Nevertheless, Wu Zixu did not react violently, because in his view, Shen Baoxu was merely ranting incoherently out of grief over the destruction of Chu and was incapable of achieving anything. Wu Zixu's reply was arrogant and full of mockery; he instructed the messenger to thank Shen Baoxu for him, adding that because he was traveling a long distance and felt great urgency, he had resorted to methods that Shen Baoxu considered perverse and rebellious.

Shen Baoxu knew full well that Wu Zixu had been suppressed for too long, had gone too far, and could never turn back. Therefore, he changed his strategy and journeyed to the State of Qin to beg for rescue, hoping that Qin would remember its past marital alliance with Chu and lend a helping hand. However, the ruler of Qin was unwilling to muddy these waters and refused to send troops to the rescue. Shen Baoxu was instantly plunged into utter despair. This man had no idea how to save the ancestral land to which he had given everything, and finally, unable to maintain the facade of strength he had worn for days, he leaned against the palace walls of Qin and wept bitterly.

Shen Baoxu's agonizing tears stemmed not only from the destruction of his country and the suffering of the people that tore at his heart, but even more from his profound powerlessness in the face of all this—he could only watch helplessly as his motherland was wantonly ravaged and his beliefs were devoured little by little by harsh reality.

Even the most callous person would have been moved by the man who wept for seven days and seven nights. The ruler of Qin finally dispatched reinforcements, though they numbered only five hundred chariots. Yet under the leadership of Shen Baoxu, this army displayed astonishing combat effectiveness, casting a glimmer of hope and light upon the nation of Chu, which was about to plunge into darkness.

Chu was saved, and the fates of Shen Baoxu and Wu Zixu once again stretched toward their respective distant horizons. Shen Baoxu chose to retire into seclusion, rejecting all rewards offered by King Zhao of Chu. This was a gesture meant to demonstrate his pure and public-minded devotion to the distant Wu Zixu. It was also an act of profound wisdom; steeped in officialdom for many years, he could not fail to see the root ailment of Chu, and he knew deeply that retiring at the height of success was the wisest choice. Ultimately, Shen Baoxu was also a man living amidst contradictions, struggling bitterly in search of answers yet unable to untangle them himself.

Bongong Sheng was the son of Crown Prince Jian, who had been framed and forced into exile by Fei Wuji. After Crown Prince Jian was assassinated in the State of Zheng, Wu She took Bongong Sheng into exile in the State of Wu. Meanwhile, upon hearing that Bongong Sheng had been taken to Wu, Crown Prince Jian's mother devised a plot to lead the troops of Wu to conquer the city where she resided. Taking her property with her, she followed the Wu army to Wu, found Bongong Sheng, and raised him to adulthood.

Bongong Sheng lived in Wu for over thirty years. During this time, his homeland of Chu suffered severe vitality losses due to continuous turmoil. Wu's repeated military campaigns exhausted Chu, and the fall of the capital along with the flight of the monarch were supreme humiliations. Although the interventions of Qin and Yue saved Chu from the doom of total annihilation, Chu was no longer the powerful state that once dominated the south and eyed the Central Plains with a tiger's gaze.

After escaping disaster, King Zhao of Chu regained supreme authority and heavily employed his two brothers, Zixi and Ziqi, to govern the state together, slowly restoring Chu to a normal state.

Following the death of King Zhao, his son King Hui of Chu ascended the throne. In the second year of King Hui's reign, the matter of Bongong Sheng returning to Chu was brought onto the political agenda. The primary advocate for welcoming Bongong Sheng back was Zixi, who was then serving as the Lingyin (Prime Minister). Zixi argued that Bongong Sheng was, after all, a direct blood relative of the Chu royal house, and since Chu had recovered its vitality, he should no longer be left to live abroad. Lord Ye of Shen raised objections, arguing that Bongong Sheng was cunning, devoid of righteousness, and constantly plotting chaos; his return would bring endless disaster to the country. Zixi, however, maintained that Bongong Sheng was loyal and brave, and assigning him to guard the frontiers would make the best use of his talents. Lord Ye insisted on his view, arguing that true loyalty and bravery could only be spoken of under the premise of conforming to benevolence and adhering to morality, whereas Bongong Sheng was stubborn and biased; although he kept his promises and attended to matters personally, he was fanatical, impetuous, and highly ambitious, and he must absolutely not be recalled.

Lord Ye's counsel went unheeded. One year later, in the third year of King Hui's reign, Zixi welcomed Bongong Sheng back to Chu, thereby lifting the curtain on yet another round of civil strife within the state.

Bongong Sheng was ordered to guard the borderlands between Wu and Chu, and repeatedly submitted memorials requesting permission to attack Zheng in order to avenge his father. Not only did Chu fail to grant his wish, but in the tenth year of King Hui's reign, Chu even dispatched troops to rescue Zheng, which had been heavily defeated by Jin, subsequently forming an alliance with them. For Bongong Sheng, this was like a bolt from the blue, meaning that his revenge plan was indefinitely delayed.

For Bongong Sheng, the foremost mission upon returning to Chu was to avenge his father. There were two targets: first, the sycophantic minister Fei Wuji, but since King Zhao had long since executed Fei Wuji's entire clan, this target had to be written off; second, the State of Zheng. Although it was Crown Prince Jian who had committed unrighteous acts against Zheng—a state that had kindly sheltered him—making Jian deserving of death, Bongong Sheng cared nothing for such nuances. Bongong Sheng was a man who invariably kept his word; as for whether his promises and his actions to fulfill them conformed to morality, public justice, or the hearts of the people, those were simply not within his consideration.

At this point, Bongong Sheng's ideal of attacking Zheng was obstructed by reality, and this "reality" stemmed precisely from his two uncles, who were the holders of real power in Chu—Zixi and Ziqi. Bongong Sheng was filled with bitter resentment toward the two of them, not merely because they hindered his revenge, but because they prevented him from fulfilling his original oath.

Such a mindset would inevitably expand, which is a common trait of those who commit treason against superiors. Bongong Sheng was no exception, and he quickly expanded his targets of rebellion from Zixi and Ziqi to King Hui of Chu himself, transforming the ultimate goal of his actions into becoming the new ruler of Chu.

Bongong Sheng's wild ambitions did not initially arouse Zixi's vigilance. One day, Zixi's son, Ping, saw Bongong Sheng personally sharpening his sword and asked the reason. Bongong Sheng bluntly replied that he intended to kill his father, Zixi. Ping did not take this lightly and reported Bongong Sheng's exact words to Zixi. Zixi astonishingly dismissed it, saying that Bongong Sheng was merely an egg under his own protection. When Bongong Sheng learned of this, a murderous intent surged within him, and he swore an oath that Zixi would not die a natural death.

While lying low, Bongong Sheng was also organizing his own faction. His close confidant, Shiqi, recommended a mighty warrior capable of contending with a thousand men, Xiong Yilia. However, no matter how hard or soft the two of them tried, Xiong Yilia refused to perform unrighteous deeds for them. The two had to return in low spirits; Shiqi wanted to kill Xiong Yilia to prevent any leaks, but Bongong Sheng believed that although Xiong Yilia would not conspire with them, neither would he betray them for personal gain.

Bongong Sheng once had a conversation with Confucius, asking whether private matters could be divulged to others, to which Confucius gave no answer. Bongong Sheng asked further what would happen if a stone were thrown into water. Confucius replied that a person skilled in water would retrieve it. Bongong Sheng remarked that it seemed private matters indeed could not be leaked to outsiders. Confucius stated that it depended entirely on *whom* they were leaked to.

People were not entirely unaware of Bongong Sheng's ambitions. One day, Shiqi and Qu Jian were drinking together, and Qu Jian asked whether Bongong Sheng was about to rebel. Shiqi tried to cover it up, claiming there was no such thing, saying that Bongong Sheng had only a few trusted followers and a military force of fewer than a thousand men, so how could he possibly rebel? Qu Jian hit the nail on the head, pointing out that this was precisely the reason for his impending rebellion—because he failed to act according to ritual standards, revealing a guilty conscience.

In the eleventh year of King Hui of Chu, Bongong Sheng defeated an invading Wu army, and under the pretext of presenting the spoils of war to the King of Chu, he led his troops into the capital. Seizing the opportunity, he stormed into the palace city, executed Prime Minister Zixi and Marshal Ziqi, and took King Hui hostage.

Bongong Sheng had courage but lacked strategy. Relying on reckless valor, he seized control of the court, yet he was completely at a loss when it came to managing the state treasury and disposing of King Hui. Shiqi advised him to carry things through to the bitter end by killing the King of Chu and burning down the state treasury. Bongong Sheng hesitated, considering this an inauspicious act; moreover, if the treasury were burned down, how could the expenses of the state be sustained?

Bongong Sheng's political capital was rapidly exhausted by his arbitrary and reckless behavior. Initially, people felt sympathy for him because he was the orphaned son of Crown Prince Jian, but he plunged Chu back into civil strife just as the entire country was working with one heart to seek stability and development, running completely counter to the aspirations of the people. The wanton and unjustified slaughter of two highly respected ministers, Zixi and Ziqi, further exposed his cruel and ferocious visage. Consequently, Bongong Sheng fell into an isolated and desperate predicament.

Under such circumstances, Bongong Sheng did not dare to hastily declare himself king, so he pushed forward his uncle, Zilu. Zilu was the older brother of King Zhao of Chu. After King Zhao's death, Zilu had once had the opportunity to ascend the throne, but he declined it and instead strongly supported King Zhao's son, King Hui, in succeeding to the throne, thus enjoying high prestige within the royal clan. Bongong Sheng hoped to use Zilu's prestige to stabilize the situation, but Zilu refused to become Bongong Sheng's puppet, whereupon an enraged Bongong Sheng had him killed.

Lord Ye of Shen, who had originally earnestly urged Zixi not to welcome Bongong Sheng back, complied with the public will, led his troops to march on the capital, and—with the inner and outer support of the common people—annihilated Bongong Sheng's forces. Having utterly lost the hearts of the people and deserted by all, Bongong Sheng fled alone and was killed by Shen Ming in the wilderness mountains.

Shen Ming was a prominent general of Chu renowned for his filial piety. When Bongong Sheng instigated his rebellion, he strongly pressured Shen Ming to join him, holding his father's life hostage, leaving Shen Ming with no choice but to comply. After Shen Ming killed Bongong Sheng, his own father was unfortunately murdered by Shiqi. Believing that he had both compromised his integrity by following a rebel and failed to protect his father, thus becoming a man disloyal to his ruler and unfilial to his father, Shen Ming committed suicide by cutting his own throat.

Thus, Bongong Sheng's rebellion was quelled under the leadership of Lord Ye of Shen. King Hui of Chu returned to the sovereign's throne, the sons of Zixi and Ziqi respectively succeeded to their fathers' positions, and the State of Chu returned to its former peace.