As a famous battle for hegemony in China, the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony has left countless legends, but it has also left some mysteries, one of which is: in addition to the final battle of Xiaxia, Xiang Yu has always won, defeating Liu Bang to the ground, but the result is that Xiang Yu has become weaker and weaker; on the contrary, Liu Bang has been defeated, but the result is that he has been fighting stronger and stronger, and finally he can reverse defeat and win, completely eliminating Xiang Yu.
So, what is the reason for this? Henan unearthed a batch of bronze coins, unveiling the inside story of the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, no wonder Xiang Yu has been winning but the Vietnam War is getting weaker and weaker, Liu Bang has been defeating but the Vietnam War is getting stronger!
In the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, there are mainly five key nodes, namely
The Han army went east, the Battle of Pengcheng, the Xingcheng Confrontation, the Battle of the Chasm, and the Battle of Xiaxia.
Among them, the Han army went east to fight against Zhang Handan and others, which belonged to the capture of the Guanzhong region, and Liu Bang easily won, but in the subsequent Battle of Pengcheng, the confrontation between Xingcheng and the chasm, Liu Bang was defeated in the face of Xiang Yu, and only the battle of Xiaxia was won in the end. In particular, in the Battle of Pengcheng and the confrontation between Xingcheng, Liu Bang was defeated in a mess, and the loss of soldiers was hundreds of thousands.
However, the strange thing is here, Xiang Yu is getting weaker and weaker, Liu Bang is getting stronger and stronger, and Xiang Yu, who has always won in the end, has no choice but to sign a peace agreement with Liu Bang, that is, the covenant of the chasm.
In October 203 BC, after the Alliance between Chu and Han, Xiang Yu led his troops back to the east, and Liu Bang immediately tore up the agreement and ordered an all-out pursuit of the Chu army. Subsequently, the Battle of Xiaxia broke out, and Xiang Yu was completely defeated. It can be seen that there is no friendship between countries, only eternal interests, Liu Bang did not let go of Xiang Yu when he occupied the advantage, and Xiang Yu let Liu Bang go when he occupied the advantage.
What is the secret of Liu Bang's victory and the lesson of Xiang Yu's failure? Archaeology unravels the mystery!
A few years ago, during the construction of a construction site in Xinzheng, Henan, a batch of miscellaneous ancient coins of the Six Kingdoms was inadvertently unearthed, as well as a pile of copper spears, copper hammers, crossbows and other weapons of the Six Kingdoms, which did not conform to the characteristics of the Qin and Han systems. It should be noted that after identification, it is confirmed:
This is a cultural relic of the late Qin Dynasty
。
So, who will be the owner of this batch of coins and weapons? The answer is simple, it is Xiang Yu!
Xinzheng originally belonged to the Spring and Autumn Princes ZhengGuo, but after being annexed by Korea, it soon became the capital of Korea. After the Qin state destroyed Korea, the master of Xinzheng became Qin Shi Huang, and after the restoration of the Six Kingdoms at the end of qin, Xinzheng ostensibly belonged to Korea, but was actually controlled by Xiang Yu. In Korea and the qin shi huang era, it was impossible to have a large number of chaotic ancient coins and weapons of the six kingdoms, and this phenomenon only appeared during the Xiang Yu period.
What does this archaeological phenomenon have to do with Xiang Yu's failure?
Originally, after Xiang Yu overthrew the Qin state, he immediately divided the princes of the six kingdoms, wanted to restore the old system, and did not have the heart to unify China, and Xiang Yu's Chu state could only be regarded as the strongest prince.
The "History of Xiang Yu Benji" records that Lizhang Handan was the King of Yong, Sima Xin was the King of Sai, Dong Feng was the King of Zhai, King Leopard of Wei was the King of Western Wei, Shen Yang was the King of Henan, Sima Ang was the King of Yin, and King Xie of Zhao was the Acting King... King Xiang established himself as the King of Western Chu, Wang Jiu Commandery (王九郡), and Du Pengcheng (都彭城).
Regardless of whether Xiang Yu is right or wrong, but Xiang Yu's doing so has brought about a serious consequence, that is, Xiang Yu's currency system is chaotic, weapons cannot be standardized, and the final result is that the logistical pressure is multiplied. In other words, Xiang Yu lacked a unified currency and a unified weapon system, and his losses could not be replenished in time, so the logistical problems were very serious. By extension, Xiang Yu is also estimated to be a mess in grassroots construction, and the source of troops cannot be replenished in time.
On the contrary, Liu Bang inherited the Qin system, using the Qin half and two dollars, and also followed the standardized weapon system of the Qin state, so the logistical pressure was less. Liu Bang entered Guanzhong, not only inheriting these superficial things, but also continuing to use the grass-roots management personnel of the Qin State, so with the help of Xiao He, the Qin State quickly stabilized, and although Liu Bang lost troops and generals in the Chu-Han struggle, he was able to quickly replenish his manpower, and there was no shortage of military food and weapons.
Compared with the two, Liu Bang can mobilize the strength of the entire Qin state, while Xiang Yu can only mobilize the strength of one country at most, so Xiang Yu is not unjustly defeated, and Liu Bang's victory is justified!
War, fight is logistics! This is true in modern times, and it is also true in ancient times. Xiang Yu can be powerful for a while, but in the end, people are not gods, and the poor logistics system makes Xiang Yu weaker and weaker, on the contrary, Liu Bang constantly integrates the power of the Qin state's homeland but can fight stronger and stronger. Therefore, there was no need to be too sorry for Xiang Yu, although this person was a fierce general, he did not understand the true meaning of war and was doomed to failure.
It is worth mentioning that among the three masters of the Han Dynasty, the achievements of Zhang Liang and Han Xin were widely circulated, but Xiao He's merits were ignored for a long time, but as long as we understand the role of logistics in the war, we can know that Xiao He played a great role in the establishment of the Han Dynasty, just like a cornerstone, so Liu Bang listed Xiao He as the first of the three masters of the early Han Dynasty! It can be said that without Xiao He, Zhang Liang and Han Xin did not have the stage to play, which is a seriously underrated figure!