God of War through the ages: Han Xin

Chapter 46
Han Xin was originally a very smart person, and coupled with these years of wandering in the arena, Han Xin became a bit slick, knowing how to seek greater benefits for himself within the rules of the game of life.Although in some things, Han Xin did not do it perfectly, such as forcing Liu Bang to make him king twice and increase the ground, which caused Liu Bang's favor for Han Xin to drop sharply.

In fact, Han Xin is not ignorant that it is very unwise to take advantage of others' dangers to threaten, but Han Xin did this twice, and there can only be one explanation: he completely regards Liu Bang as his relatives, just like a son who acts coquettishly in front of his father.

However, Han Xin's trust in Liu Bang basically disappeared when Liu Bang ran to Dingtao camp to seize Han Xin's military power after Chu was destroyed.At this time, Han Xin had basically figured out Liu Bang's attitude towards him. In Liu Bang's eyes, he was just a senior wage earner, and he had no personal relationship.

Han Xin is not a fool. He has long seen Liu Bang's defensive attitude towards him from Liu Bang's repeated seizure of military power. It's just that Han Xin is too emotional and still believes that Liu Bang still regards him as his own. many".As a result, as soon as Xiang Yu was wiped out, Liu Bang played two tricks, one to seize his army, and the other to change Qi into Chu, weakening Han Xin's strength.

Liu Bang entrusted Han Xin to live in Chu. The ostensible reason was that Han Xin, as a native of Chu, was well versed in the customs of Chu and was conducive to ruling Chu.But this reason is actually not sufficient. Han Xin lived in Chu because he was from Chu, and Liu Bang was also from Chu, but he set his capital in Henan and later moved to Guanzhong.

Qi State is a big country in the world, rich in resources and rich in people, and also has the benefit of the salt sea. Although Chu State is vast, Han Xin's Chu State only covers the northern Jiangsu area, and does not include Pengcheng.Han Xin's Chu State has Wu in the south, Qi in the north, and Pengcheng in the west. Once there is a change, the Han army will encircle Chu on three sides, and Han Xin will be unable to escape.

Han Xin saw Liu Bang's jealousy and jealousy more and more clearly. For the sake of the great Han world for generations to come, Liu Bang can do anything.Presumably Han Xin has heard about such a thing, Xiang Yu's general Ding Gong once let Liu Bang go in the battle of Pengcheng, otherwise Liu Bang would die under Xiang Yu's halberd.At the beginning of the world, Duke Ding saw that his brother Ji Bu was reused by Liu Bang after he fell to the Han Dynasty, so he went out to ask Liu Bang to repay his favor, but Liu Bang killed him on the spot in the name of Duke Ding's disloyalty to Xiang Yu.

Ding Gong claims to be self-reliant, although it is contemptible, but the crime is definitely not worthy of death.The reason why Liu Bang dared to bear the notoriety of ungratefulness and kill Ding Gong was to send a warning to the princes and kings of different surnames who claim to have made great contributions, or to send a signal to the world to start eradicating the princes and kings of different surnames.Although Ding Gong's military achievements cannot be compared with Han Xin and Yingbo, but because he released Liu Bang privately, he is fully entitled to enjoy the seal of ten thousand bells, but he was killed by Liu Bang. So Han Xin and Yingbo still have a way out?
Before Ding Gong's accident, Tian Heng, the former ruler of Qi State, had already proclaimed himself a vassal to Han and committed suicide on the way to Luoyang. More than [-] of his followers committed suicide and died.On the surface, Tian Heng committed suicide because he was ashamed and guilty of cooking and killing Li Shiqi. He had no face to work with Li Shang and committed suicide in anger. In fact, if Tian Heng does not die today, he will die at the hands of Liu Bang tomorrow.

Tian Heng knew in his heart that Liu Bang called him to Luoyang to meet him, but he just wanted to satisfy his curiosity, not because he had any good feelings for him.With Tian Heng's ability and personality, if Tian Heng is made king of Qi, unless Han Xin is reused again, Liu Bang will automatically give up Qi, and it may even trigger a chain reaction, affecting the overall situation of Liu Bang's leveling of princes and kings with different surnames.

Liu Bang was very wary of princes and kings with different surnames from the very beginning. It can be clearly seen from the fact that he followed the advice of the counselor Lou Jing and from the fact that Luoyang moved westward to Guanzhong.

Lou Jing suggested moving the capital to Guanzhong because Henan was the land of the Four Wars, and after the war, the people were exhausted.However, Lou Jing also considered the issue of princes and kings with different surnames.He said this: "Your Majesty entered the customs and made it the capital. Although Shandong is chaotic, the old land of Qin can be all there is. When a husband fights with others, don't hold back his back, and he can't win all of them."

The princes and kings with different surnames were all enshrined in Shandong (east of Taihang Mountain). Although Lou Jing didn't say it clearly, Liu Bang could of course hear that the Shandong mentioned by Lou Jing refers to Han Xin, Yingbu and others.If the capital is Henan, the land of the Four Wars, there are Zhao, Yan, and Qi in the north, and Liang, Chu, and Huainan in the west. Once the princes rebel, especially Han Xin pushes from the east to Xiping, within a few days, Liu Bang will be in the country. On the head of Luoyang City, I saw Han Xin who was his enemy (hypothetically).

Liu Bang still had some hesitation about moving westward, and most of the Peiren Group, which was at the top of the Han Dynasty, opposed entering the customs and establishing the capital, because it would cut off their connection with the mainland.It was still under Zhang Liang's persuasion that Liu Bang agreed to move the capital to Guanzhong.Zhang Liang also took into account the rebellion of princes and kings with different surnames. He moved his capital to Guanzhong, surrounded by high fields, and the danger of Tongguan in the east. , It is far safer to retreat to become a country of its own than to stay in Henan.

Except for the rough warriors who only knew how to divide the merits and profits, the senior staff of the Han Dynasty had clearly realized one point: Although Xiang Yu was destroyed, the world was still uncertain!In the not-too-distant future, princes and kings with different surnames will definitely break out in large-scale armed conflicts with the imperial court. It is too early to store swords and guns and release horses to Nanshan.

The princes and kings with different surnames also smelled the bloody smell coming from the court, and they could all see that Liu Bang moved westward to Guanzhong to guard against them, not to mention that the death of Ding Gong also clearly revealed Liu Bang's bottom line for treating princes and kings with different surnames. Who has no idea in mind?
In the world, the emperor of the Han Dynasty ruled the world alone, and whoever sleeps on the side of the tiger will sleep soundly!If you don't cut down the feudal clan today, you will also cut down the feudal clan tomorrow.

What everyone didn't expect was that the first person who jumped out and broke his face with Liu Bang was Yan Wang Zang Tu who did not appear in the power system of the Han Dynasty. The time was the autumn of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty (202 BC). There are different historical records.

Liu Bang decided to personally conquer Zang Tu. First, because Zang Tu was too weak, Liu Bang could easily win, thereby increasing his prestige among the officials and generals. Second, Liu Bang wanted to solemnly warn the princes and kings who had evil intentions through personally conquering Zang Tu.Facts quickly proved the first point, how could Zang Tu be Liu Bang's opponent?You must know that Liu Bang's elite soldiers were all trained by Han Xin, and it didn't take much effort to deal with Yan's miscellaneous army.

According to the records of "Pre-Han Ji Volume Three", in August of that year, Zang Tu rebelled against Yan, and then Liu Bang personally conquered it.In September, Zang Tu was captured by Liu Bang, and "Historical Records Lu Wan Biography" records that Zang Tu voluntarily surrendered to Liu Bang.This battle between Han and Yan appeared very abruptly, and it is not even ruled out that this is a bitter double-reed plan jointly planned by Zang Tu and Liu Bang, or that Zang Tu rebelled at this time unfortunately, and was pulled away by Liu Bang. Cut down the feudal curtain.

After Zang Tu's downfall, the next one to jump out was Liji, Xiang Yu's old general and the new Marquis of Yingchuan.Liji's rebellion was caused by Xiang Yu's old forces' distrust of Liu Bang. Liu Bang has always distrusted generals who defected from Xiang Yu's camp. The most typical one is Han Xin.

From the performance point of view, Liu Bang didn't do anything to Liji, but just wanted to call Liji from the fiefdom to Chang'an to meet him, making Liji think that Liu Bang was going to take him under the knife.Liji's strength is not as good as Zang Tu's. Liu Bang only squeezed the soft persimmons, and naturally he succeeded in no time. Liji was beaten by Liu Bang and his whereabouts were lost.

Although Zang Tu and Li Ji are just two small shrimps, and the big fish are still lurking in the water, the situation of cutting down the feudal clan is very clear.Liu Bang ran around, making a high-profile show, knocking mountains and shaking tigers, aiming at the kings of Han Xin.Among the kings with different surnames, Han Xin is the greatest threat to Liu Bang. If Han Xin is not eliminated for a day, the Han Dynasty that Liu Bang has worked so hard to build may be destroyed by Han Xin at any time.

Even if Liu Bang has today, Han Xin takes the first place, but so what?To Liu Bang, the value of Han Xin was basically squeezed out by him, and it would be irresponsible to himself and the Han Dynasty to keep Han Xin.

Liu Bang has two reasons to justify his removal of Han Xin.

[-]. Han Xin privately hid Zhong Limei, the important general of Xiang Yu Group.

[-]. Han Xin was patrolling around the Chu State, and Chen Ruibing, displaying his military power, must be disliked by the emperor.

Regarding the first point, it should be that Zhongliwei once did something that hurt Liu Bang, so Liu Bang gritted his teeth with hatred for Zhongli Mo.After Xiang Yu's defeat, the generals of Chu scattered in all directions, fleeing to hide their lives, and Zhong Liwei happened to have a very good personal relationship with Han Xin, so Zhong Limei fled to Han Xin Kingdom to survive.

Han Xin used to stir up the horse spoon in Xiang Yu's army, and forged a deep friendship with Zhong Limo, a general of the Chu army. Now that his old friend is in trouble, Han Xin of course wants to help Zhong Liwei.Han Xin knew Liu Bang's attitude towards Zhongli Mo, so he hid Zhong Limo very deeply, but he didn't know if there was a traitor inside, or Liu Bang planted an eyeliner in the state of Chu, and Liu Bang knew about it.

One can imagine Liu Bang's ecstasy after hearing the news. Liu Bang knew that Han Xin and Zhongli Mo had a personal relationship, which could be used by Liu Bang.Liu Bang immediately issued an edict to Han Xin, asking Han Xin to hand over Zhong Limo.

By doing this, Liu Bang directly pushed Han Xin into a corner. If Han Xin didn't make friends, then Liu Bang could justifiably take down Han Xin;Liu Bang's idea of ​​using Zhong Limei is to first discredit Han Xin in public opinion, and then take it when the opportunity arises.

From the time point of view, after Han Xin received Liu Bang's edict about handing over Zhongli Mo, he did not immediately attack Zhongli Mo, but adopted a delaying tactic, ignoring Liu Bang's order.Liu Bang actually didn't want Han Xin to hand over Zhong Limo. If Zhong Limo stayed in Chu for a day, Liu Bang would have more hope of taking Han Xin.

Regarding the second point, in October of the sixth year of the Han Dynasty (201 BC), a mysterious person suddenly wrote to the court, accusing Chu King Han Xin of hiding elite soldiers in an attempt to plot rebellion.

Who is this mysterious person is now unknown in history, there are two possibilities:
[-]. Liu Bang placed an informant next to Han Xin.

Second, this character is a virtual person fabricated by Liu Bang, because this person never appeared from the beginning to the end, but only submitted a letter to Liu Bang.Liu Bang can completely forge a so-called letter exposing Han Xin's rebellion, and then get it on the table to trick Han Xin.

The reason for this person's change was that Han Xin "was in the country of the early days of the letter, and Chen Bing came in and out." In fact, this reason cannot be established at all.As a vassal king, the system allows each king to have a certain number of troops. Han Xin led the soldiers of Chu State to ostentatiously around the country, but Han Xin's mentality of returning to his hometown was at fault. Changing Zhang Liang as a vassal king would definitely not be so ostentatious.Han Xin was too high-profile to let Liu Bang seize the handle.

Compared with the news that Zhong Limei was hiding in Han Xinguo, "reporting" Han Xin's treason was the most important step for Liu Bang to discredit Han Xin politically. As for who will blackmail Han Xin, it is no longer important.With this "rebellion fact" that is not actually established, Liu Bang has occupied the commanding heights of public opinion, and he can justifiably investigate Han Xin. Everyone on the earth knows what kind of crime treason is.

Liu Bang's thinking on dealing with the enfeoffment of kings with different surnames has always been very clear: if you want to take it first, you must give it first. Liu Bang needs a buffer period for the transition from enfeoffing kings with different surnames to conferring kings with the same surname.It's just that this buffer time seems to be very short now. After Xiang Yu's death, Liu Bang immediately raised his political butcher knife to the kings with different surnames.

There is no doubt that among the kings with different surnames, the greatest threat to Liu Bang is Han Xin, who once made the first contribution to Liu Bang's unification of the world.Liu Bang admired Han Xin's military genius, and made it difficult for Liu Bang to sleep. Han Xin could destroy Xiang Yu, but dealing with Liu Bang, whose military ability was not as good as Xiang Yu, was just a piece of cake for Han Xin.Even if Liu Bang has no intention of killing Han Xin now, it is necessary to completely remove Han Xin's military threat to Liu Bang.

In October of the sixth year of the Han Dynasty (201 BC), the political honeymoon between Liu Bang and Han Xin was finally over, and he could no longer bear Han Xin's godlike existence.Liu Bang took Anonymous's letter exposing Han Xin's "rebellion" in the main hall for a public discussion with the generals, and asked everyone's opinions: Han Xin's rebellion, what do you plan to do?
Although Han Xin made great achievements in the world, he never broke into the most core Peiren Group of the Han Dynasty. Han Xin was just an upright in the eyes of the generals, and his status was not even as good as Cao Shen.Facing Liu Bang's inquiry, the generals replied in unison: "Your Majesty, please send troops quickly to kill Shuzi Han Xin!"

"Historical Records The Family of Prime Minister Chen" records that Liu Bang's reaction after listening to the statements of the generals was "silence", which shows the obvious military gap between Liu Bang and Han Xin.Liu Bang's silence was a denial of the generals' proposal to eradicate Han Xin by force.Not to mention Liu Bang, but these generals in front of you, which one is Han Xin's opponent?Liu Bang knew that it would be a waste of time to discuss with these pig-headed generals, so he immediately threw the generals out of the hall, and then invited Hou Chen Ping to the hall. He wanted to hear Chen Ping's opinion.

The head of Liu Bang's advisers was Zhang Liang, but after the initial establishment of the world, Zhang Liang hid in his room and easily stopped participating in the court discussions. Chen Ping was actually the chief of staff of the Han Dynasty.However, Chen Ping didn't seem to want to get involved in the entanglement between Liu Bang and Han Xin. Liu Bang asked him to make an idea, but he refused in every possible way, until Liu Bang forced him to foam at the mouth, and he reluctantly agreed to intervene.

Chen Ping asked Liu Bang what all the generals said. Liu Bang said that they unanimously demanded to send troops to attack Han Xin.At this time, Chen Ping already had a rough plan to capture Han, but he still needed a necessary condition as a foreshadowing, otherwise his plan would be very difficult to implement.

Chen Ping asked Liu Bang one of the most critical questions: Does Han Xin know that someone has accused him of treason?Liu Bang replied affirmatively: Han Xin doesn't know.

How could Liu Bang be so sure that Han Xin didn't know someone sued him?There is no more reasonable explanation except that the person who told Han Xin was an undercover or virtual person arranged by Liu Bang.Chen Ping didn't care about these, he didn't have a deep friendship with Liu Bang and Han Xin, and it was only his duty to make suggestions for Liu Bang.

Liu Bang's answer was exactly the condition Chen Ping needed most, and the next step would be easy.Chen Ping repeatedly asked Liu Bang two questions: First, how does your Majesty's elite soldiers from the Han Dynasty compare with Chu soldiers?[-]. Which of the generals in the DPRK and China is Han Xin's opponent?
In the hard struggle with Xiang Yu, why did Liu Bang win in the end?The answer is that Liu Bang knows how much he weighs, and he is not as arrogant as Xiang Yu.Laozi said in the "Tao Te Ching" that those who know others are wise, and those who know themselves are wise.Liu Bang knew people better than himself, and he answered Chen Ping very honestly: "I am not as good as trustworthy, and the generals are not as good as trustworthy."

Chen Ping nodded, and his opinion was exactly the same as Liu Bang's: "Your Majesty is right, Han soldiers are not as elite as Chu, and generals are not as trustworthy. I will be defeated, this minister is the one who worries about your Majesty."

Liu Bang asked Chen Ping what strategy he would use to capture Han Xin.Chen Ping suggested: "There is Yunmeng in the south, does your Majesty know about it? Your Majesty can go south to Yunmeng in the name of the Son of Heaven patrolling the four directions, and then turn north. At the meeting of the princes in the Chen Kingdom, Han Xin will definitely come to the meeting. Your Majesty captured Han Xin with the strength of a strong man." Ears, you don’t need thousands of troops.” After hearing this, Liu Bang burst into wild laughter, with Chen Ping around, why bother Han Xin!
Chen Ping is worthy of being a think tank. If he suggested that Liu Bang go directly to Chen State and summon the princes, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of Chu King Han Xin, Huainan Wang Yingbu, Liang Wang Peng Yue and others who bordered Chen State.But going to Yunmeng (now Anlu, Hubei) first, and then going to Chen Guo (now Suiyang, Henan) will give people the illusion that Liu Bang is passing by Chen Guo.However, Yingbo and Peng Yue have not yet been on the blacklist that Liu Bang privately drew up, and his tossing back and forth this time is aimed at Han Xin.

In order to avoid long nights and dreamy nights, Liu Bang drove south today from Chang'an to Yunmeng.

Han Xin's attitude towards Liu Bang went from simple to complicated. When he first paid homage to the general, Han Xin only regarded Liu Bang as his boss.With the success of the world, Han Xin inevitably developed a sense of pride, but emotionally, Han Xin couldn't let go of Liu Bang's reuse of him at the beginning.

Since Dingtao was seized of military power, Han Xin has been in harmony with Liu Bang, but in all fairness, Han Xin has never betrayed Liu Bang.Han Xin had forced Liu Bang to make him king twice. Although Liu Bang was very upset, Han Xin's doing so at least showed that he still had Liu Bang in his heart.
Han Xin is not good at communication, but he is not stupid, he can feel a trace of uneasiness from Liu Bang's subtle attitude towards him.Now Liu Bang came to Chen Guo suddenly without any warning, and sent people to Xiapi, saying that the emperor was going to meet the princes in Chen, and asked the King of Chu to leave for the meeting. Han Xin was indeed a little suspicious.Combined with Liu Bang's repeated seizure of military power, Han Xin would naturally think whether Liu Bang was setting a trap for himself.But at most, Han Xin only had the option of going or not, and he would not meet Liu Bang directly.

Han Xin knew the nature of the crime of raising troops to rebel. Once he raised his troops, even if Han Xin was forced to rebel, he would be completely defeated politically.If Han Xin wants to avoid Liu Bang's possible attack on him this time, the best way is not to go, and he can just find any reason, such as claiming to be sick, which Yingbo once did.

Now Han Xin is very contradictory. He has already woken up from the excitement of Yi Jinrong's return. He obviously has a premonition of ominousness from Liu Bang's attitude towards him.However, Han Xin still had some illusions about Liu Bang, and hoped that Liu Bang could remember his great contributions in the war of destroying Chu and let him go.

(End of this chapter)