《General History of China》E11
The decline of the Zhou royal family
The last emperor of Zhou——King Zhou NanKing Nan of Zhou, named Ji Yan (BC? ~ 256 BC).Prince Zhou Shen.King Shenliang succeeded to the throne after his death.He died of illness after reigning for 59 years.He was buried on the north bank of Qianshui (now Long County, Shaanxi Province), and one theory is that he was buried in Yueyang (now Yueyang County, Hunan Province).During the reign of King Ji Yan of Zhou Nan, the Qin State began to attack left and right, attacking Chu in the south and the three Jin Dynasties (Han, Zhao, Wei) in the east, and expanded to the Central Plains.
After the Chu State destroyed the Yue State in 306 BC, it occupied almost the entire southern China and became the country with the largest land, the largest population, and the largest military force among the Seven Warring States Periods. It had favorable conditions to conquer the six kingdoms and unify China.However, due to the failure of Wu Qi's reform, the strength of the old aristocracy hindered the development of the Chu State and became the target of Qin's attack.In order to resist Qin, Chu and Qi formed an alliance.The Qin State tried to break up the Qi-Chu alliance so that they could defeat each other. In 313 BC, the Qin State sent its strategist Zhang Yi to Chu and told King Huai of Chu that if the Chu State and Qi broke off diplomatic relations, the King of Qin would like to do business in (today's Zhechuan Neixiang area in Hunan Province).The land of 600 miles is dedicated to Chu.
