[1] Xu, originally the most powerful state of the Huai River valley, had been weakened by internal unrest and several wars since the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period.

As its influence over eastern Hubei, southern Henan and central Anhui waned, Chu began to expand into these regions.

The coalition forces eventually met Chu's army at Loulin and were defeated, marking the beginning of Xu's final decline and accelerating the end of Qi's hegemony over China.

The state of Xu, centered in northern Anhui, had controlled most of the middle and lower Huai River during the Western Zhou and early Spring and Autumn period.

[5] After it had conquered most of the Nanyang Basin in 678 BC, Chu began to advance further east into the Upper Huai River valley and north into the Yangtze plain.

Coinciding with the formation of the anti-Chu alliance, Xu occupied the state of Shu in modern-day Lujiang County in 656 BC.

Li Lian, a Yuan dynasty scholar, considered it likely that Shu had been an ally of Chu and Xu had taken it in coordination with Qi.

[8] A non-aggression pact was concluded, whose only consequence was that Chu decided to expand further into the Huai River valley instead of attacking the northern states again.

According to the Zuo Zhuan, the invasion was a retaliation for the destruction of Shu and the related alliance between Xu and the northern states.

In response to the Chu offensive, Duke Huan of Qi had a meeting with the rulers of Lu, Song, Chen, Wey, Zheng, Cao, and Xǔ at Muqiu, near present-day Liaocheng, to reaffirm their anti-Chu alliance and plan a relief expedition for Xu.

The infighting among the Qi-led coalition showed that Duke Huan had no longer control over the other states, further reducing his prestige and authority.