They were sworn brothers. Xiang Yu (232 BC - 202 BC), named Yu, was born in Xiangxiang (now Suqian, Jiangsu Province). The grandson of Xiang Yan, the famous general of Chu State. After the fall of Chu, he fled to Wuzhong (now Suzhou, Jiangsu) with his uncle Xiang Liang. When he was young, he failed to learn calligraphy. He also failed to learn swordsmanship. Determined to learn how to "defend ten thousand people" (the ability to withstand ten thousand people), he learned the art of war from his uncle. But he only "knew a little about its meaning, but refused to learn it." Xiang Yu was eight feet tall, capable of carrying a cauldron, and had great ambitions when he was young. Once when Qin Shihuang was on a patrol crossing Zhejiang (today's Qiantang River), Xiang Yu saw the majesty of his chariots and horses, and he blurted out: "He can be replaced by him." In the first year of Qin II (209 BC), Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were in Daze Township He raised his arms and raised his pole. Xiang Yu followed Xiang Liang and raised troops in Wuzhong to respond. The 24-year-old Xiang Yu was pushed onto the stage of history by the violent storm of the people's uprising. After Xiang Liang's uprising, he recruited 8,000 elite soldiers, and Xiang Yu became the deputy general (deputy general). In order to facilitate the call, he adopted the suggestion of counselor Fan Zeng and established Xiong Xin, the grandson of the former King Huai of Chu, as king. He established his capital in Xuyi and was still called King Huai of Chu. Xiang Liang led the rebel army to victory one after another in battles with the Qin army, which gave rise to the idea of ??being arrogant and underestimating the enemy. As a result, he was defeated by the army commanded by Zhang Han of the Qin army in Dingtao (now northwest of Dingtao County, Shandong), and Xiang Liang died in the battle. After the Battle of Dingtao, the Qin army crossed the Yellow River north to attack King Xie and Zhang Er of Zhao who had rebelled against Qin, and besieged the Zhao army in Julu (now Pingxiang, Hebei). King Huai of Chu appointed Song Yi as general and Xiang Yu as second general to lead his troops to rescue. When Song Yi led his army to Anyang (now south of Anyang, Henan Province), he hesitated and stationed troops for forty-six days. At that time, it was raining continuously, and the rebel army was in dire straits due to lack of food and clothing. Xiang Yu made a decisive decision and killed Song Yi, forcing King Chu Huai to appoint him as general and order him to immediately send his troops north to rescue Zhao. Xiang Yu led his chariots to the south bank of the Zhang River and confronted the Qin army across the bank. He first sent generals Yingbu and Pu to lead 20,000 elite troops across the river to cut off the Qin army's grain transportation channels. Then he personally led the main force to cross the river, scuttled the boats, destroyed the cooking utensils, and burned the camps. Each person only brought three days of rations. This is the origin of the famous idiom "The cauldron sinks the boat." As soon as they arrived at the battlefield, the Chu army surrounded the Qin army with thunderous momentum and lightning-fast movements. Xiang Yu took the lead and charged into the battle. Each Chu army bravely killed the enemy, one against ten, and won nine battles and nine victories. He defeated the Qin army, captured Qin general Wang Li, killed Qin deputy general Su Jiao, and forced Qin deputy general Shejian to commit suicide. The siege of giant deer. When Xiang Yu's army was fighting fiercely with the Qin army, the reinforcements from various princes huddled on the ramparts to watch and did not dare to join the battle. After the battle, Xiang Yu summoned the reinforcement generals. They "entered the camp gate and walked on their knees, no one dared to look up." Xiang Yu became the commander-in-chief of the princes' armies. After the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu took advantage of the victory to pursue, but the Qin army retreated steadily, and its morale was weakened. Seeing that the situation was over, Zhang Han led 200,000 Qin troops to surrender to Xiang Yu. However, on his way to the west, Xiang Yu ordered all the 200,000 surrendered soldiers to be killed in Xin'an City (today's east of Shengchi, Henan). At this time, another rebel army, Han Gaozu, took advantage of the main force of the Qin army and was pinned down by Xiang Yu in Julu. Guanzhong was empty and occupied Xianyang. Xiang Yu was greatly dissatisfied and led his army to break through the pass and stationed at Hongmen (now northeast of Lintong, Shaanxi Province). At that time, Xiang Yu's army was 400,000, and Han Gaozu's army was less than 100,000. There was a huge disparity in strength between the two sides. Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty realized that he was no longer able to defeat Xiang Yu, so he adopted Zhang Liang's strategy and won over Xiang Yu's uncle, Xiang Bo, and went to Hongmen in person to plead guilty. At the Hongmen Banquet, the glint of swords and swords flashed amidst the exchange of glasses of wine. Xiang Yu's counselor Fan Zeng raised the jade pieces he brought several times, implying that Xiang Yu would kill Han Gaozu, but Xiang Yu was cowardly and Han Gaozu made excuses to escape. This is the story of the famous "Hongmen Banquet" in history. Xiang Yu relied on his powerful troops to temporarily suppress Han Gaozu. He led troops into Xianyang, "killed Qin's prince Ying, burned Qin's palace, and the fire lasted for three months, collected his goods, treasures, and women and headed east" (Historical Records? Xiang Yu's Anthology). Xiang Yu used his remaining military power to issue orders as a general to the princes. He established himself as the overlord of Western Chu, took over nine counties in the Liang and Chu lands (occupying parts of today's Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, and Henan), and made his capital Pengcheng (now Xuzhou, Jiangsu). At the same time, he also ceded lands and enfeoffed kings, and divided eighteen princes into enfeoffments. The Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was granted the title of King of Han, king of Hanzhong and Bashu, in an attempt to restrict the development of the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and prevent him from advancing eastward. As a result, raising tigers caused trouble and led to a comeback of the Han army in the future. Due to Xiang Yu's unfair enfeoffment, the princes and heroes were dissatisfied. First, Tian Rong occupied Qi and rebelled against Chu. Xiang Yu hurriedly led his army to attack, and Han Emperor Gaozu took advantage of the opportunity to advance eastward. In August 208 BC, the Han army sneaked out of Hanzhong and defeated the three kings of Qin who were entrusted by Xiang Yu. They quickly marched eastward and reached Yangxia (now Taikang, Henan). Then, while Xiang Yu was fighting with the Qi army, he attacked Pengcheng, the capital of Chu, in one fell swoop. Yu hurriedly led 30,000 elite troops to rescue Pengcheng.
At this time, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty relied on his large number of troops and generals, paralyzing and underestimating the enemy. Xiang Yujun was eager to regain the lost ground and had high fighting spirit. Thirty thousand Chu troops, led by Xiang Yu, left Shandong, passed through Huling (now southeast of Yutai, Shandong), and headed towards Xiao (now northwest of Xiao County, Jiangsu), reaching the flank of the Han army in Pengcheng. The battle started at dawn. The Chu army was brave and tenacious, fighting and charging at the same time. By noon, the Han army had been defeated. The Chu army pursued them to Sishui, northeast of Pengcheng, and the Han army fell into the water one after another, killing more than 100,000 people. The Han army fled to the mountains to the south, and the Chu army pursued it to the Suishui River east of Lingbi (in today's Anhui Province) and annihilated hundreds of thousands more. Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty only escaped with a few dozen cavalry, and even his wife Lu Fei and his father Taigong became Xiang Yu's prisoners. In the Battle of Pengcheng, Xiang Yu made a decisive decision and quickly led his elite troops back to rescue Pengcheng. He caught the enemy unawares and defeated hundreds of thousands of Han troops. This was an example in the history of war of defeating more with less. After the Battle of Pengcheng, Xiang Yu took advantage of his victory to advance and fought a battle with Han Gaozu between Jingyi and Suoting (west and south of Xingyang), but was blocked east of Xingyang. The two sides had a stalemate in the Chenggao area for two years. During this period, Han Gao's fan × Su returned to Naokun Street Fu Ji Yao Si Fu Yi Zhi Mi Street Xing Mu Yuan hanged the thief Γ vomited Chun Soapororo plate vulture liquid welding 妦婢Su sword decree tired ゲhororong K stir α generosity Yuanshuo ⑸ Shuo Ning Xi Hao Fan Sugar Fei Jun Che Wun Shan Kan Cong Yan: Welding Knocking Ban Jiong ㄇ Bank? 2), Han Emperor Gaozu sent troops to launch a general attack on Xiang Yu, and surrounded Xiang Yu's legions at Gaixia. At this time, the 100,000 Chu troops were exhausted and their morale was low. At night, I heard the Han troops singing Chu songs on all sides again. Xiang Yu was so hungry that he drowned his sorrows with wine, and sang generously and sadly: "Strengthening the mountain, the world is overwhelming, the times are not good, but the time is not gone. What can be done if the time is not going away, what can be done if the time is running out?" After singing, He quickly mounted his horse and led eight hundred cavalry to break through and go south. When they came to Dongcheng (now southeast of Dingyuan, Anhui), there were only twenty-eight people left. He wanted to cross the Wujiang River eastward to regroup, but he felt ashamed to see the elders from Jiangdong. He fought hard for a while, then committed suicide with his sword. Xiang Yu is an outstanding military commander. He is good at fighting, and he is heroic and powerful on the battlefield. In the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu destroyed the cauldron and defeated the many with a small number, and completely annihilated the main force of the Qin army. Objectively, it created conditions for the emperor of the Han Dynasty to enter Xianyang and overthrow the Qin Dynasty. In the Chu-Han War, he defeated Tianrong, rescued Peng Cheng, saved Xingyang, and captured Chenggao. He fought dozens of battles in his life and won many victories. Therefore, the ancients called him "a talent capable of winning every battle" (Su Xun Jiayou Collection? Xiang Ji). However, Xiang Yu is also a tragic figure. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, he claimed to be an overlord and was busy dividing the feudal lords and supporting the remnants of the nobles of the six countries. He violated the people's desire for unification and created a chaotic and separatist situation. He behaved cruelly and killed more than 200,000 Qin soldiers. After entering the Pass, the Qin Palace was burned down, and the fire continued for three months. His atrocities of burning, killing and looting went against the will of the people and were the fundamental reason for his defeat. Xiang Yu relied on his martial arts to intimidate the princes, but lacked foresight and did not win alliances. He was also jealous of the wise and capable, and could not employ people, which led to the rebellion of the people and the loss of morale in the army. Militarily, he lacks the vision of a strategist, is headstrong, and does not tolerate evil. As a result, they repeatedly missed opportunities, had no solid rear base, and insufficient supplies of food, wages, and troops. Although they won many battles, they went from prosperity to decline. Therefore, although Xiang Yu has outstanding military command talents, it is inevitable to fail in the end. Xiang Yu is naturally a hero. He is born with supernatural power, "all the children in Wuzhong are afraid of him". His ambitions are broad and lofty. One day, when the First Emperor was visiting Kuaiji, Xiang Yu blurted out: "This person can replace him!" His uncle Xiang Liang was surprised by this. Afterwards, something happened and followers gathered. He broke the cauldron and sank the boat, saved Zhao and defeated Qin, so that the princes "don't dare to look up". When he proclaimed himself the Overlord of Western Chu, all the kings rebelled, and his bravery was even more evident: he conquered the east and west, fought in the north and south, and traveled back and forth without knowing how tired he was. He was very trustworthy, and just because he agreed to Xiang Bo's advice to "be kind to" Liu Bang, he let Liu Bang go from the trap at the Hongmen Banquet, regardless of his father's "three warnings". When the army was defeated in Wujiang, he refused to board the lifeboat of Wujiang Pavilion. Faced with the jungle fighting behind him, he smiled in the face of death, and his spirit was so heroic. A true warrior cannot be intimidated. The hero Xiang Yu finally committed suicide and died... A sad song sounded in my ears: "Strengthen the mountain and the world is overwhelming, but the times are not good and the bad things will not die. If the bad things are not broken, there is nothing you can do, but if you are worried, there is nothing you can do!" Xiang Yu died until his death. Attribute the failure to bad luck. However, is it really just bad luck? Some people say: Xiang Yu's biggest mistake was not listening to his adviser Fan Zeng's words at the Hongmen Banquet and letting the "tiger" return to the mountain, which led to his final failure. I really disagree with this statement.
If you read the history books carefully and see the details in each scene, you will clearly find that there are extremely serious flaws in Xiang Yu's character: he has high ambitions but short-sightedness; he loves vanity and has a complacent peasant consciousness; in everything, courage comes first and wisdom comes first. Later, he was more cruel than kind; he lacked the leadership temperament of being able to follow advice and be magnanimous. This determined that in his life, he should only be a powerful general, but he did not have the bearing of an emperor. His real mistake was not in whether he killed Liu Bang or not, but in his insurmountable character weakness. Even if he killed Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet, he would still be defeated by Zhang Bang, Wang Bang, and Li Bang in the future... Don't you believe it? ? Let's take a look at a few short fragments from "Historical Records": Xin'an. Zhang Han led his troops to surrender. Xiang Yu did not supervise the surrendered soldiers well and use them for his own purposes. Instead, he "attacked and trapped more than 200,000 Qin soldiers at night" because he was afraid that the surrendered soldiers would not obey. Xinfenghongmen. Hearing that Liu Bang wanted to become king in Guanzhong, Xiang Yu was furious and wanted to use an army of 400,000 to defeat Liu Bang's 100,000 army. Liu Bang was frightened and hurriedly won over Xiang Yu's father Xiang Bo. He humbled himself and proclaimed himself a minister, and praised King Xiang. Xiang Yu was obviously very proud of himself, so he listened to Xiang Boyan and "met Liu Bang kindly". This is the eternal regret that Fan Zeng "numbered King Xiang" at the Hongmen Banquet but "King Xiang silently responded". After entering customs. Xiang Yu "led his troops to the west to massacre Xianyang, killed Qin's prince Ying, burned Qin's palace, and the fire lasted for three months, and collected his goods, treasures, and women to the east." This made "the people of Qin greatly disappointed." Qin was destroyed. Someone advised Xiang Yu: "Guanzhong is blocked by mountains and rivers, and the land is fertile, so I can dominate it all." At this time, Xiang Yu had the intention of returning eastward, and said: "If a person does not return to his hometown when he is rich, it is like walking at night wearing good clothes. Who can know?" Seeing Xiang Yu's short-sightedness, the persuader couldn't help feeling cold and depressed, and said, "People say that Chu people 'bathe monkeys while wearing crowns', and it's true." When Xiang Yu heard this, he was furious and said, "Cooking the speaker." . Winter of the second year of Han Dynasty. Because the title of marquis was improper, Tian Rong rebelled. After Xiang Yu put down the rebellion, "all the soldiers were trapped in the fields and surrendered, and the old and weak women were captured, and they were taken to Beihai, and many of them were destroyed." There is no need to list such examples one by one. Xiang Yu's character weaknesses have been present throughout his life, and he seems to have no intention of changing them. This is incredible for a hero with lofty ambitions and ideals. His growth process is just a history of brave growth, but it ignores the pursuit and shaping of higher-level personality. His failure is inevitable. Although Sima Qian pitifully included him in the records of this chronicle, he was just a mighty warrior in the end. Look at Liu Bang again. His natural character is cunning, slippery, loves to brag, and is quite like a gangster. "Nothing to do with family production and work", "good wine and sex". His origins are extremely ordinary, and the names of his parents are not known to the world. Of course, they are not as good as Xiang Yu's status as a descendant of a famous general. In the minds of people who always attach importance to aura and background, Liu Bang looks bleak, which makes Liu Bang only have a subordinate position when the two first started their army. But Liu Bang had his own way. Cunning and slickness are naturally not the qualities of a leader, but Pei Gong is good at constantly improving himself. He compared himself to "Mr. Xinling" and thus set a height for himself in life. He often unconsciously imitated Lord Xinling's way of life and behavior, adding a rational and calculating side to his character, which made his life a life of continuous improvement and perfection. He was also respected by the people in the village. What good qualities did Liu Bang learn from Lord Xinling? I think there are nothing more than the following points: First, the methods of win over are extremely clever. In current parlance, it means being good at understanding people's psychology according to the situation, smoothing interpersonal relationships, having strong cohesion, and being able to attract others to use for one's own purposes. Historical records: After Liu Bang entered the pass first, Xiang Yu heard the news and wanted to attack him. At this time, Liu Bang thought that his 100,000 troops would be defeated by Xiang Yu's 400,000 troops, so he hurriedly won over Xiang Yu's third father, Xiang Bo, and respectfully "served him as a brother" and "served him wine as a longevity gift", making an agreement with him. marriage. Xiang Bo then felt the great love and urged Xiang Yu to "be kind to" Liu Bang. He drew his sword and danced with Xiang Zhuang at the Hongmen Banquet, "often covering Duke Pei with his wings", which made Fan Zeng's plan to kill "Bang" completely come to nothing! On the surface, Liu Bang seems to have no special talents, but there are many talents under his command. Xiao He, Han Xin, Chen Ping... all serve loyally. Even Zhang Liang, who thinks highly of himself, admires others and says: "Pei Gong is almost a gift from heaven." How can a "prodigal son" of civilian origin unite a large number of talented and arrogant counselors and generals to work for him, which can be achieved by ordinary means? The second is tolerance, kindness, and abundance. Contrary to Xiang Yu's behavior of "everything he did wrong must be destroyed", Liu Bang acted more measuredly. The elders of Chu State all praised him and said, "Pei Gong is an elder.
"Historical records: In the tenth year of the first year of the Han Dynasty, Pei Gong's troops preceded the princes and came to the hegemony. Prince Qin's infantry chariot and white horse were tied around the neck to form a group, sealed with the emperor's seal and talisman, and descended to the side of Zhi Road. The generals may have threatened to kill the king of Qin. Pei Gong said: "King Shihuai sent me because he could be tolerant and the people had already surrendered, but then he killed them, which was ominous. "So he took the officials of the King of Qin and went west to Xianyang. After Xiang Yu was defeated and died, Liu Bang buried Xiang Yu in Gucheng with the ceremonial ceremony of Lu Gong. "The king of Han mourned and left in tears. The king of Han did not kill any of the branches of the Xiang clan. "The third is to be calm when faced with problems, preferring to use wisdom rather than fighting with force. Chu and Han were in a stalemate for a long time, and Xiang Yu once said to Liu Bang: "There are many Hungarians in the world who are several years old, but with my ears, I am willing to challenge the king of Han to a battle between male and female. The king of Han smiled and said, "I would rather fight with wits than with strength." "Using one's own shortcomings to rival the enemy's strong points, Liu Bang would naturally not do such a stupid thing. When attacking Wancheng, in order to avoid the disadvantages of a strong attack and losing troops, Liu Bang followed Chen Hui's suggestion and made Wanshou the Marquis of Yin (equivalent to today's Hong Kong people governed Hong Kong). Later, Liu Bang used this method to lead troops to the west, and "everyone was willing to surrender". Wen. And announced in public: "My father has been suffering from the harsh laws of Qin for a long time... The reason why I came here to eliminate harm to my father is not to cause violence, so there is no need to fear!" "At the same time, people were sent to all counties and villages to spread the word. The people of Qin were overjoyed and rewarded the soldiers with cattle, sheep, wine and food. Pei Gong refused again, saying: "There is a lot of grain in the warehouse, not a shortage, and we don't want to waste money. "The people of Qin were even more happy in this way, fearing that Pei Gong would not be king. The smart Fan Zeng saw this very clearly: "When Pei Gong lived in Shandong, he was greedy for money and loved beautiful concubines. Now that he has entered the pass, he has nothing to gain and no women. Fortunately, his ambition is not small. "Liu Bang was also greedy and lustful by nature, but in order to achieve his goals, he became very able to restrain himself. This is in sharp contrast to Xiang Yu who "accepted his valuables and women" every time he attacked a city. "Da Xing ignores meticulousness. , Don't hesitate to give in to the big gifts. "In order to accomplish great things, Liu Bang could often endure considerable pain and do amazing things. During the confrontation between Chu and Han in Xingyang, Xiang Yu wanted to cook Liu Bang's father to force him to retreat. Liu Bang actually said: We have become brothers, and my father is now Your father, if you want to cook your father, "I will be lucky to have a piece of the pie." Xiang Yu was shocked and threatened that the plan would go bankrupt. To sum up, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang both had ambitions to unify the country, and Xiang Yu was more talented than Liu Bang. , it is a pity that he does not pay attention to self-management, is often angry, and acts recklessly without restraint when encountering problems. This is a taboo for success. On the contrary, Liu Bang's performance was mediocre at the beginning, but he was good at pursuing goals.