我回到了楚国，向楚怀王报告了我的经历。楚怀王气愤不已，他骂道：“张仪真是一个不可信的奸人！我必须拿住他，让他尝尽苦果才行。”在公元前312年（周显王孙子赧王三年，楚怀王十七年，秦惠文王二十六年），楚怀王任命屈匄为大将、逢侯丑为副将，以十万大军进攻秦国。秦惠文王也任命魏章为大将、甘茂为副将，与之对敌，同时齐国也派出援兵。由于两面夹击，楚军连遭败绩，屈匄和逢侯丑战死，只剩下几万人马，被迫割让汉中的土地给秦国。
韩、赵、魏三国见到楚军受挫，都趁火打劫发动侵袭。楚怀王急得如同抓头发，他只好派遣屈原去齐国谢罪，并通过客卿陈轸上书秦营求和愿意再次割地作为补偿，从此 Chu 国元气大伤。
魏章归报秦惠文王后，这位君主说：“不必再交换土地，我愿以商于地换取黔中的土地。”魏章回复了这番话给楚怀王，此时的他尤其恨张仪，却又不在意失土，只是说：“只要能把张仪送回来，我愿意再次交出黔中地。”
那些因恨张仪而激动的臣子们建议 Qin 王：“用一个人换取数百里土地，这简直是最好的交易！” Qin 王犹豫地说：“这怎么可能？” 张仪坚持说：“那有什么？即便死，我仍然值得，因为我已经足够重要了，再说我不会就这样死去吧。”因此 Qin 惠文王同意他的请求。
张仪被放还至 Chu 国，但被囚禁并准备作为祭品献给太庙。他却利用左右的人心机，与靳尚共谋，然后通过美女郑袖影响 Chu 怀王，最终获释返回 Qin 国。这一系列事件让 Chu 怀왕对张儀产生了一丝敬佩感，说他真的是个朋友。
为了表彰他的功绩，Qin 惠文 王赏赐五座城，并封他为武信君，让他四处游历推广“连横”策略。在这些国家游历期间，他首先访问齐宣 Wang 说：“现在我们可以从不同的角度看待这个问题。我认为您应该考虑与我们的盟友保持联系，而不是与他们作对。此外，您知道吗？如果您能够成功完成这一任务，那么您的名声就会得到提升。”
于是 Zhang 义继续游历其他诸侯，如燕昭 Wang 也听从他的劝告，将五座城献予 QIN 王。这一系列行动使得“连横亲Qin”的计划成效立现。他满以为自己终于完成了一切，但就在此时 QIN 惠 文 王去世，由太子继位成为Qin 武 Wang—a man known for his directness and simplicity. He was skeptical of Zhang Yi's actions, but eventually decided to follow through with the plan.
Zhang Yi knew that his position was precarious, so he hurried to see the new king and argued that it would be beneficial for Qi King to form an alliance with Qin. He suggested that if Qi attacked Wei while Qin attacked Han, they could both benefit greatly from their shared enemy. However, when he arrived in Qi, he found that the king had already formed an alliance with Han and was preparing to attack Wei.
Disappointed but not defeated, Zhang Yi traveled to Zhao and convinced its ruler to ally himself with Qin as well. This time his words were more persuasive than before: "If you don't join us now," he said, "you'll be surrounded by enemies on all sides."
Zhang Yi continued this pattern of persuasion throughout the region until finally convincing every major state except one (Han) to form alliances against each other or align themselves with him—effectively creating a web of interconnected states bound together by mutual interest rather than conflict.
His final act came when he returned home after completing his mission; though ill at ease due to illness caused by overwork or stress related factors such as depression or anxiety disorders which led him towards death shortly thereafter at age 52 around public year 309 BCE during reign period Shang Yang Li Shi Di Huan Guo ().
In summary: The story revolves around Zhang Yis' strategic efforts in forming alliances between various Chinese kingdoms during the Warring States period (475-221 BCE). Despite facing many challenges along the way including personal conflicts within China itself where some rulers refused cooperation due primarily because they felt threatened about potential loss of power under unifying forces , ultimately leading them into war against one another . His relentless pursuit became successful as nearly all major states joined hands either directly fighting against others who didn't cooperate fully - effectively connecting these countries together through mutual interests instead of conflict alone - culminating into what historians refer today as 'The Great Alliance'.
