What is the reason why Chu, which expanded in Sichuan, stopped at Fuling?

Since Pingdong moved eastward, after hundreds of years of disputes, Xia governors entered a white-hot stage in the middle and late Warring States period. Small countries with weak strength will either be annexed by the powers to become counties or become vassals of the powers to survive, and the situation of China's reunification will soon take shape. At this time, among the princes, Qin and Chu were the two countries that had the best chance and strength to achieve great things. As the final winner, everyone knows Qin well. In fact, the State of Chu cannot be underestimated. In the late Warring States period, after the State of Chu annexed wuyue and other southern powers, it unified the whole middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and its territory was the broadest among the great powers, which meant that the war potential was the greatest. In the mid-Warring States period, the pattern of hegemony between Chu and Qin was seen by some people of insight. Unfortunately, the internal friction of the nobles in Chu was serious, and they missed a good opportunity to weaken the state of Qin and let Chu lose the chance to win the championship.

The success or failure of Chu-Qin hegemony was their struggle for Bashu in the Sichuan Basin, which occupied the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and finally ended with Qin destroying Shu and swallowing Ba 'er. Qin, the hometown of Bashu, not only gained a strategic base with rich resources and greatly increased national strength, but also occupied the core area of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, which built a strategic position for the Chu State in the lower reaches. Expanding from the Three Gorges and Hanzhong to Sichuan is actually a national policy of Chu State that has lasted for many years. The Chu people not only occupied part of the land in Hanzhong, but also went deep into the Sichuan basin along the Yangtze River, occupied Fuling, the old capital of Ba people, and changed it to governing the county. In this way, the Yangtze River from Yichang to Fuling connects all the important places in the middle and lower reaches of Chu, but the essence of Bashu has not yet been grasped.

So why did Chu, which has struggled for many years, not win all Bashu, but let Qin get such a big bargain? I think the primary reason is that the territory of Chu State is too vast. At that time, lakes and swamps were densely covered in southern China, with high mountains and dense forests, and there were many savage tribes in the mountains. The Chu people with a high degree of civilization have a serious shortage of population and can only control some strategic points centered on the city. At this time, it took a long time for Chu Guoguang to digest the territory he annexed in wuyue. Under such circumstances, the nobles of Chu state have no interest in expanding to the same wild Sichuan basin. Because of the occupation, many useful officials will be sent to manage it, and at the same time, a large number of garrison immigrants will be sent, which will consume the national strength of Chu State excessively and gain little. For example, it was such a farce that Chu sent General Zhuang Cheng into Yunnan.

Therefore, Chu sent troops to Sichuan earlier in order to obtain several salt-making bases there, mainly distributed in some deep mountains near the Three Gorges and at the junction of Sichuan and Hanzhong. After years of conquest, Chu almost completely occupied these ancient salt springs, which greatly supplemented the relative lack of salt in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. After this achievement, the Chu people lost their interest in going further into Sichuan. However, the high-ranking officials of the State of Qin had a far-reaching vision. After they occupied Bashu, they sent talented officials like Li Bing to make great efforts to control local floods, so they did not hesitate to suspend the expansion of other areas, making Chengdu Plain a rich granary in the world. Qin's success depends on its highly developed official system and mature county system. In contrast, the complacent nobles of Chu state have been unable to keep up with the situation.

Chu's ignorance of the gains and losses of Sichuan Basin is also related to its inherent ethnic policy: since the enfeoffment of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Chu people have only been given the title of viscount by the Zhou Emperor, which is shameful. Chu's national policy is to accumulate strength, March into the Central Plains, shock the Xia governors who look down on him with their great military strength, and at the same time take root in the hinterland of the Central Plains, so that Zhou can clearly understand the strong position of Chu people. The closest thing to this goal in history is Chu Zhuangwang, who is the master of Chu, and all the kings of Chu followed his example. Therefore, Chu has spared no effort to expand in the direction of Henan in the Central Plains, which inevitably ignores the Sichuan Basin, whose strategic positioning is equally important.