Three Autumns in the Stone Chamber

Synopsis of the story of "Three Autumns in the Stone Chamber" In 492 BC, the defeated Yue King Gou Jian and Queen Yayu were imprisoned in a stone room next to the tomb of Helu in the state of Wu, and suffered humiliation. In order to destroy Gou Jian's will and destroy the relationship between Yue and Jin, the powerful minister Wu Zixu forced Yayu to serve the Jin envoy. Yayu was so distraught that she wanted to hit a wall and commit suicide to protect her innocence. Gou Jian grabbed Ya Yu's wrist, endured the overwhelming humiliation, and tried to dissuade him with the great sense of revenge for the country: "Today's shame will be the blood of tomorrow's rebirth of the Yue Kingdom! Only by enduring the humiliation and bearing the burden can we avenge the shame!" For the sake of her husband's entrustment and the future of the Yue Kingdom, Ya Yu swallowed the humiliation with tears and silently went to the appointment. The Jin envoy later concluded that Gou Jian had lost his blood and was no more than a rotten tree, which played into the hands of the complacent King Wu Fu Chai, who despised Gou Jian even more. Only Wu Zixu saw through this vicious plan of "sit on fire and taste courage". He strongly admonished Fucha to kill Gou Jian and his wife, and made a sad and indignant prophecy: "In ten years of gathering, there will be lessons in ten years, and in twenty years, Wu Qi will be a swamp!" Fu Chai was deceived by Gou Jian's superficial docility and slander. Instead of listening, he ordered Wu Zixu to die. Before execution, the old minister had his eyes beheaded out and hung at the east gate, vowing to "see with his own eyes" the Vietnamese troops breaking the city. Fu Chai finally released Gou Jian and returned home. Gou Jian was determined to take revenge, and he worked hard with Yayu, Xianchen Wenzhong and Fan Li to practice "ten years of gatherings and ten years of lessons". When Fu Chai mobilized all his best troops and went north to fight for hegemony in Huangchi, Gou Jian seized the opportunity of the vacancy in the capital of Wu, sent his troops to attack Wu, beheaded the prince's friends, and besieged Gusu. Fu Chai hurriedly returned reinforcements and won the title of overlord. The Vietnamese army captured Gusu in the winter of 473 BC. Fu Chai, who was desperate, committed suicide. Gou Jian and his husband Chai's head returned in triumph.