"The cunning rabbit dies, the good dog cooks; the high bird is exhausted, the good bow is hidden", Fan Li advised Wen To leave the Yue kingdom for refuge, but he did not expect to become the last words of Han Xin, a famous minister of the early Han Dynasty more than 270 years later.
The death of Han Xin became the initiation of the slaughter of heroes after Liu Bangding dinged the world. As one of the most talented generals in the late Qin Dynasty, Han Xin successively broke through several major separatist forces such as Wei, Zhao, Qi, and Chu, laying the military foundation for Liu Bang to unify the world.
According to the "Records of History" and the "Book of Han", Han Xin's death was deserved, from his earliest request to leave the King of Qi to start sowing the seeds of dissatisfaction in Liu Bang's heart, to colluding with Chen Feng to overthrow the Liu regime inside and outside, the history books sorted out a complete criminal context.
However, these records are all intended to beautify Liu Bang's false words of slaughtering heroes, just as Han Xin said in reply to Xiang Yu's persuasion: "The King of Han gave me the seal of the general, gave me tens of thousands of people, undressed me, pushed me to eat and eat, and listened to my words, so I was able to reach this", he was always grateful to Liu Bang and did not think of betrayal.
Of course, Liu Bang did not have to kill all the heroes quickly, and Marquis Cao of Pingyang was created by seventy times, and was considered to be the person who "attacked the city strategically and made the most merits", not only was not eliminated as a threat, but also became the second Xiangguo after Xiao He.
Liu Bang's estrangement from Han Xin actually stemmed mainly from the Han Fourth Year's request for leave of absence from the King of Qi incident, and speaking of this incident, we have to talk about Zhang Liang, the darkest strategist around Liu Bang.
Zhang Liang was listed alongside Han Xin and Xiao He as one of the three masters of the early Han Dynasty, but compared with Han Xin's faithfulness and promises, and Xiao He's caution, Zhang Liang's schemes were full of blackness and unscrupulous means.
When Liu Bang marched into Xianyang, he had already agreed to surrender with the Qin army under the Qin army, but Zhang Liang suggested that it was "better to attack it because of its dissolution" and take advantage of the Qin army's laxity and abandonment of the agreement to launch a surprise attack. The same thing happened after the peace talks, Xiang Yu withdrew as agreed, but Zhang Liang suggested that Liu Bang tear up the peace treaty and pursue Xiang Yu.
And the tragedy of Han Xin was caused by the black-bellied Zhang Liang.
After pacifying Qi, Han Xin hoped that Liu Bang could make him act as the acting King of Qi on the grounds that "Qi was fraudulent and changeable", but this request was actually not excessive, because Wang Ling once said: "Your Majesty (referring to Liu Bang) makes people attack the city strategically, and those who descend are given to them, and they are in the same interest as the world", and it is liu Bang who is rewarded for meritorious service and Xiang Yu is reluctant to give meritorious people a knight, which has formed a stark contrast, which has allowed Liu Bang to win many followers.
As for Han Xin's request for a seal, Zhang Liang, as a strategist, originally had two ways of answering: first, Han Xin had great merit and should be crowned king; second, if he did not seal, he might have consequences and had to be sealed.
Zhang Liang chose the latter, which made Liu Bang think that Han Xin was already out of control, and if he did not appease, he might counterattack at any time. The seed of Liu Bang's suspicion of Han Xin was quietly planted from this moment.
Later, after Liu Bang broke the covenant to pursue Xiang Yu and failed, he thought of Han Xin again, but waited for the left and the right, but he could not wait for the arrival of Han Xin's reinforcements. At this time, Zhang Liang once again showed a dark side, and his explanation for Han Xin's delay in sending troops was: "There is no division of land, it is not inherently appropriate" (the king does not give Han Xin a seal of territory, of course, he does not come).
But in fact, according to the "Cao Xiangguo Family", "The Tian Heng brothers were dingqi, and the Qi people were more sages", after Han Xin pacified Qidi, Qidi's resistance did not stop, until Han Xin led troops to reinforce Liu Bang, as one of Liu Bang's most trusted generals, Cao Zan, still failed to go south with the army, but stayed in the State of Qi to fight against the rebels.
As for the situation in the state of Qi, Zhang Liang, who has insight into the situation in the world, will not be unaware. When Liu Bang asked Zhang Liang why the reinforcements had not yet come, Zhang Liang still had two answers: one was to truthfully describe the current situation of the State of Qi; second, Han Xin's wings were hardened, and he wanted to divide the world equally with the King of Han.
Zhang Liang, who had a black belly, still chose the last answer that was most unfavorable to Han Xin, which directly led to Han Xin, who had made great achievements after the war, being stripped of his military power and renamed the King of Chu until he was captured and killed.
So han xin was killed, was Zhang Liang the instigator or the initiator?
One thing is very telling, and that is Xiao He. After the world was decided, Liu Bang's suspicion of Xiao He increased, and after several trials, he finally sent Xiao He to prison for treason. A wei lieutenant surnamed Wang said a pertinent word during his advice: His Majesty is on an expedition, Xiao Hegui is a Xiangguo, and he did not plot rebellion when he was in power in guarding the pass, so how can he be stupid enough to rebel now for the sake of a little profit?
It was these words that made Liu Bang have an epiphany and immediately released Xiao He. In fact, Han Xin's encounter at that time was the same as Xiao He's, when Han Xin was the King of Qi, his troops were far above Liu Bang's, and he did not rebel, so how could he choose to rebel when he was imprisoned in Chang'an and had no troops and no power?
If the strategists around Liu Bang could tell this truth of Wang Weiwei in advance, Han Xin's tragedy could have been completely avoided, but Zhang Liang, as Liu Bang's most trusted strategist, chose the most unfavorable way to Han Xin.
Of course, the resourceful Zhang Liang also used the conspiracy in the affairs of his descendants, and when the world was first decided, he excused himself from illness and illness, and Mingzhe protected himself, avoiding the fate of Han Xin, Chen Feng, and other exterminated clans, and his descendants were able to be active in the official field of the Han Dynasty. By the Three Kingdoms period, Zhang Liang's tenth grandson Zhang Yi had also become one of the few famous generals in the late Shu Han Dynasty.