There is a saying that goes: it is difficult to fight the world, and it is even more difficult to sit in the world. In ancient times, as the founding monarch, he could fight the world on horseback, but he could not rule the world on horseback.
The first step in ruling the world is that the emperor must fulfill the promise he made when he started his business and reward the meritorious people for their merits. And this matter is both the most important and the most difficult.
Once the emperor's promise is finally discounted, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction and turmoil among the heroes; if the emperor's canonization and reward of the heroes are unfair, it will also cause a lot of turmoil. Therefore, on the merits and rewards, it seems simple, but it is actually a university question. In the early years of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, who was known as a great statesman, why didn't he let the military general who had made great military achievements rank first, but let a weak scholar sit in the "top seat" of the meritorious man?
This scholar who was praised by Liu Bang as an "MVP" was his chancellor Xiao He. Xiao He was born in Feng County, Jiangsu Province, and in his early years he worked as a chief official in Pei County. Yes, he and Liu Bang had been colleagues in a county, and Liu Bang, who was the head of the pavilion, had to call Xiao He "leader".
At that time, Xiao He also had a colleague named Cao Shan, and the two were famous in the township. They and Liu Bang often went to the house of a guy named Fan Duo to eat dog meat, get drunk, and talk about the world's major events without any cover. At that time, there was also a man named Zhou Bo, who made a living by playing and singing at people's funerals, and often gathered together to be lively and beg for a few sips of wine.
Liu Bang was born in a leper, and when he was the chief of the pavilion, small mistakes kept coming, but fortunately, there were good brothers Xiao He covered, and he was able to keep this official. Xiao He was also very righteous, not only taking special care of these poor brothers, but even the opportunity for the imperial court to recruit him to become an official in the dynasty, he also gave up.
However, later Liu Bang committed an incident for releasing prisoners privately, and Xiao He could no longer cover it. At that time, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rebelled against Qin, and the situation in various places suddenly changed, and Xiao He, Cao Shan, Fan Duo, and others also gathered to discuss whether to respond. Peixian County Ling originally agreed with Xiao He and Cao Shan's opinion, but soon repented and prepared to arrest Xiao He and others and sacrifice them to the imperial court. It just so happened that Liu Bang came to attack Pei County, and together with Xiao He and others, they killed the county order. Xiao He and Cao San, who had a higher status, were supposed to be elected as leaders, but the two had some scruples, but instead let Liu Bang, who was born in the land, be the leader, so the relationship between them was also determined.
Liu Bang was later made the King of Han, and Xiao He was appointed as the Chancellor. Xiao He recognized Han Xin's talent very much, strongly recommended Han Xin as a general, and in order to retain him, he also staged the story of "Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moon".
In the Chu-Han War, Xiao He guarded Guanzhong for Liu Bang, although he did not appear at the front line, but always provided Liu Bang with soldiers and food in time to support the front line of combat, which played a key role in Liu Bang's victory over Xiang Yu.
In 202 BC, Liu Bang pacified the world and began to discuss the reward of merit. He believed that Xiao He had the greatest merit and made him Hou and ranked first.
Many meritorious men had opinions on this, complaining to Liu Bang: "We are like dogs and horses, we tie our heads to the waistband of our pants, for you to be born and die on the battlefield, Xiao He, a weak scholar, holding a pen and moving his mouth, can be the first, what is the reason!" ”
Liu Bang explained, "Do you understand the truth of hunting?" You are like hunting dogs, but the person who finds the tracks of the prey and directs the hounds to hunt down is Xiao He! ”
Some people also say that Cao Gan, who has the same seniority as Xiao He, said: "Cao Gan was born into death, suffered more than 70 injuries, and has the most merits, and should be ranked first." At this time, a man named E Qianqiu stood up and said, "Your Majesty and Xiang Yu have been holding each other for five years, repeatedly hitting the army and walking alone, and every time there is a critical moment, it is Xiao He." ”
Liu Bang was very happy after hearing this, and finally determined that Xiao He Gong was the first, and also allowed him to carry a sword and wear shoes to the temple, and he could go to the court without following the etiquette of walking quickly according to small steps, and even E Qianqiu, who said good things to Xiao He, was also crowned as the Marquis of Anping.