Is there a conflict between being a good person and being a good leader? Take Song Xianggong, Liu Bei, and Wang Yun as examples

Some qualities are placed in ordinary people that anyone recognizes as virtues; but when placed in a leader, this is not entirely the case, and is likely to become a shortcoming, or even a fatal flaw.

For example, being kind to others, valuing righteousness, distinguishing between right and wrong... These qualities are naturally good for ordinary people, but as a leader, if you always adhere to these qualities, you are likely to fail.

Song Xianggong, who is kind to others and does not take advantage of the danger of others

Song Xianggong, the teacher of benevolence and righteousness, it can be said that his principle of being a human being belongs to the typical goodness of people. Song Xianggong led his troops to fight against the army of the Chu state. When the army of the State of Chu was crossing the river, his men advised Song Xianggong to hurry up and fight and win. Song Xianggong said that the teacher of benevolence and righteousness must not do anything that takes advantage of the danger of others and will not fight. When the Chu army crossed the river and had not yet formed a formation, his men advised Song Xiang to fight openly. Song Xianggong said, "People haven't set up a formation yet!" We fought at this time, and it was not disgraceful to win. "When the army of the State of Chu was formed, the people were unequivocal and came up to collect Song Xianggong.

Song Xianggong was a good man, but not a good leader, he led his troops to fight, killed his subordinates, and also killed himself.

Liu Bei, who cherishes righteousness and is bent on avenging his righteous brother

Liu Bei, heavy love and righteousness, the friendship of Liu, Guan, and Zhang can be said to be a beautiful talk through the ages. Liu Bei knew that Guan Yu had lost Jingzhou and died at the hands of Sun Quan of Eastern Wu, and was suddenly overwhelmed by righteousness and determined to avenge his second brother. Zhuge Liang "laid out the facts and reasoned" and urged Liu Bei to take revenge now, and Liu Bei just wouldn't listen. Eastern Wu heard that Liu Bei was furious and wanted to break the net with them, and also regretted taking Jingzhou and killing Guan Yu, and it was said that he wanted to make reparations to Liu Bei and return Jingzhou. Liu Bei still did not agree, and never forgot the vow made by the three brothers at the beginning - "Do not ask to be born in the same month of the same year, but to die in the same month of the same year", and must be repaid by the blood debt of Eastern Wu. Coupled with the fact that Zhang Fei ran all the way to demand that Liu Bei must send troops to avenge the second brother, if the eldest brother Liu Bei did not avenge the second brother Guan Yu, he Zhang Fei was willing to fight Eastern Wu alone. In this way, Liu Bei strengthened his determination to avenge his second brother, and said to the people who advised him not to send troops: "If my brother dies, if I don't avenge him, even if I get the world in the future, will I still be in the mood to sit?!" ”

The final result was that love and righteousness defeated reason, and Liu Bei fought a great defeat - he was burned by Eastern Wu Luxun for seven hundred miles and died in the White Emperor City.

Liu Bei was a good man, but not a good leader, he led his troops to fight, killed his subordinates, and also killed himself.

Wang Yun, who was clear about right and wrong, couldn't rub sand in his eyes

Wang Yun arranged for the beautiful sable cicada to sacrifice her flesh to save the country, and finally successfully borrowed Lü Bu's sword to kill Dong Zhuo, a traitor who had brought calamity to the country and the people.

Wang Yun has a strong sense of justice, is clear about right and wrong, and can't rub sand in his eyes. According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after Wang Yun got rid of Dong Zhuo, he had people "throw Dong Zhuo's body on the street." Dong Zhuo's body was fat and large, and the soldiers guarding at night inserted the wick into the navel of the corpse and began to light candles. In this way, Dong Zhuo's big 'candle' lit for several days before it was extinguished. One by one, the people who passed by beat Dong Zhuo's head, and finally they all beat him into meat paste." However, when Wang Yun knew that Cai Yong was crying Dong Zhuo in the street, the anger of justice suddenly exploded, and he yelled at Cai Yong: "What do you mean?!" Dong Zhuo is a national thief! Almost brought down the country!! When he is there, which of us does not have today and tomorrow? You are a government official, eating the state, drinking the state, and you don't want to root out the national thief with everyone, but after everyone risked the loss of their heads for three generations of ancestors and joined forces to get rid of the national thief, you openly wept for him on the street! Do you still have a center in your eyes?! Do you still have the people in your eyes?! Are you an accomplice of Dong Thief?! ”

Cai Yong repeatedly admitted his mistakes, saying that he "failed to keep up with everyone in action, but in terms of ideology and understanding, he was absolutely consistent with everyone - loyal to the country and loyal to the central authorities." "However, no matter what the reason, when everyone was celebrating Dong Zhuo's death, it was always wrong to cry out loud." Cai Yong confessed his guilt and was willing to accept punishment, and pleaded with Wang Yun to tattoo him on the forehead and cut off his feet, hoping only to keep him alive and let him write down the History of Han.

All the officials valued Cai Yong's learning and advocated acceding to Cai Yong's request to keep him alive, among which Taifu Ma Ri (dī) advised Wang Yun: "Cai Yong such a talent, hundreds of years to produce one." He had studied the history of the country very thoroughly, and he should be left with his life to write down the History of Han. Having said that, such an important task as the writing of a country's history must always be done by people with high learning and ability. Moreover, Cai Yong is a famous filial piety, and if he kills him because of one of his mistakes, it also seems that the central government is not close to humanity. ”

However, how did Wang Yun, who could not rub the sand in his eyes, respond to the officials' pleas?

Wang Yun said, "You can't say that. As a government official, it is only a matter of individuals whether they are highly educated or not; if the position is not correct, it will have an exemplary effect. Especially now, when society is unstable and the central authorities lack prestige over the localities, wouldn't it be more obvious that the central authorities were to be weak if a grass-type person who openly sang against the central authorities was allowed to write the history of the country?! It is not that the central authorities are not close to people, it is that Cai Yong's work has forced the central authorities to have no way to retreat! ”

As a result, Cai Yong was strangled in prison. "At that time, after hearing the news that Cai Yong had been strangled, whether it was a government official who had seen Cai Yong or a government official who had never seen Cai Yong, they all shed tears."

Wang Yun insisted on principle in this way, and he could not rub sand in his eyes, and later he did the same in dealing with Dong Zhuo's former subordinates Li Dai, Guo Feng, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou.

According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, "After Li Dai, Guo Feng, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou fled to Shaanxi County, they sent people to the capital Chang'an to send a letter of request, asking the central authorities to release them." Wang Yun expressed his position on behalf of the central authorities: "The national thief Dong Zhuo has brought calamity to the country and the people, and Li Dai, Guo Feng, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou are accomplices. All criminals in the country can have their sentences commuted, but the four of them can't, and they must be arrested and brought to justice! ”

In this way, Li Dai, Guo Feng, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou jumped the wall and led their troops back to Chang'an, using guerrilla harassment tactics, so that Lü Bu had nowhere to go, was forced to flee, and Chang'an was captured.

However, Lü Bu asked Wang Yun to go with him before fleeing, and at this time Wang Yun's good character flashed again.

Wang Yun said to Lü Bu: "I hope that Heaven will bless the country to avoid this difficulty, and if it cannot be hidden, I Wang Yun will leave my life to the state." Besides, the emperor is still young and needs me to stay by my side. I can't just save my life because of the danger, and leave the emperor alone. After you left the city, you conveyed your gratitude to Yuan Shao on my behalf and asked them to put national interests first. ”

As a result, Wang Yun was killed, and Li Dai, Guo Feng, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou led troops into Chang'an City to burn and loot.

Wang Yun was a good man, but not a good leader; he presided over the overall situation of the Central Committee, killing the people and himself.

Concluding remarks

Song Xianggong, Liu Bei, Wang Yun, their measures to deal with their respective affairs, if from the perspective of ordinary people, or if they are individuals, not as leaders, then their behavior is worthy of everyone's praise. However, as leaders, as leaders whose decision-making actions are related to the lives of countless people, their behavior in dealing with problems should not only not be praised, but must be criticized by everyone.

Management is the art of balance, and politics is the art of compromise. Indeed, whether it is a commander in history who has led soldiers to fight, or a leader in a modern enterprise who has led everyone to fight for a common vision, sometimes it is inevitable to face the moral conflict of being a good person or a good leader. At this time, you can't insist on your own principles of being a person, you need to be hard-hearted to do some necessary cruel things that you usually don't want to do, or, for the time being, you can put aside your right and wrong grievances, and it is rare to be confused once, in order to get the greatest possible victory.