《资治通鉴·周纪》62丨稷儿，诓你舅舅的“腿”啊
Summary
This 芮淇讲透资治通鉴 episode continues 周赧王’s 299 BCE frame by narrating how 秦昭襄王 lures 楚怀王 to 武关, seizes him, and detains him in 咸阳 after Chu refuses to cede 巫郡 and 黔中. The episode argues that Qin’s deception is real, but Chu Huaiwang is vulnerable because years of alliance reversal, ignored remonstrance, and failed personnel judgment have left 楚国 isolated. It then follows Chu and 齐国 as they manage the succession problem around 芈横 / 楚顷襄王, before setting up 孟尝君 / 田文 entering Qin as chancellor.
Key Claims
- In 299 BCE, 秦昭襄王 invites 楚怀王 to meet at 武关, framing the meeting through old Qin-Chu kinship, the earlier 芈横 hostage incident, and the need to renew an agreement.
- 昭雎 warns Chu Huaiwang not to go and calls Qin untrustworthy, but 芈兰 supports attending because of Qin-Chu marriage ties and the family relationship through 芈八子 / 宣太后.
- Qin sets a trap at Wuguan: a Qin general impersonates the king, troops close the pass, and Chu Huaiwang is captured and taken to 咸阳.
- In Xianyang, Qin demands 巫郡 and 黔中. Chu Huaiwang refuses, and the episode treats these regions as strategic enough that losing them could expose Chu’s capital.
- The episode’s main judgment is causal rather than only moral: Qin acts faithlessly, but Chu Huaiwang has spent down diplomatic trust by repeatedly betraying or abandoning allies, so no strong outside support protects him.
- Chu’s court does not mount a rescue effort. Because Chu Huaiwang is detained in Qin and 芈横 is in Qi, Chu elites consider making another prince king; Zhao Ju argues against bypassing both king and crown prince.
- Chu asks Qi to return Mi Heng by falsely reporting that Chu Huaiwang has died. 齐湣王 debates whether to detain him for territory north of the Huai River, but finally lets him return.
- Mi Heng returns to Chu and succeeds as Chu Qingxiang Wang, making the same figure who once broke a Qin hostage arrangement into the continuation of Chu royal legitimacy.
- The episode links Chu Huaiwang’s abandonment to 君臣反馈失灵: figures like 屈原 have been demoted or exiled, so the ruler lacks loyal correction and eventually lacks loyal rescue.
- The closing setup says Qin sends a royal brother as hostage to Qi in order to bring 孟尝君 / 田文 to Xianyang as Qin chancellor.
Key Quotes
“秦国是虎狼之国，不可信任” - Zhao Ju’s warning as summarized in the episode.
“天作孽犹可违，自作孽不可活” - the quoted judgment applied to Chu Huaiwang.
Connections
- 芮淇讲透资治通鉴, 《资治通鉴》, 周赧王, and 战国时期 - show, text, annalistic frame, and period setting.
- 秦昭襄王, 楚怀王, 秦国, 楚国, 武关, 咸阳, 战术信用成本, and 战国同盟转向 - Wuguan trap, detention, and coercive Qin-Chu turn.
- 昭雎, 芈兰, 芈八子 / 宣太后, 战国联姻外交, and 楚系外戚政治 - failed reliance on kinship, marriage, and foreign-relative assumptions.
- 巫郡, 黔中, and 欲擒故纵式让利外交 - territorial stakes after earlier Qin-Chu land bargaining.
- 芈横 / 楚顷襄王, 齐湣王, 齐国, and 质子外交破裂 - hostage return, succession, and Qi’s cost-benefit debate.
- 屈原, 昭雎, and 君臣反馈失灵 - warnings heard too late or weakened by court politics.
- 孟尝君 / 田文, 《史记》, and 编年错位 - closing setup for Mengchangjun’s Qin chancellor branch after the sequence corrected in Zhouji 61.