The Hongmen banquet is a very important moment for Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, if Xiang Yu killed Liu Bang at the Hongmen banquet, then he will have no opponent in the future world hegemony, and he will be able to sit on the emperor's throne freely; and Liu Bang passed through Xiang Yu's poisonous hand at the Hongmen banquet, and the future historical ending is known to everyone.
Xiang Yu
For this situation, Xiang Yu should know, and Liu Bang also understood that whether he could temporarily turn enemies into friends with Xiang Yu was in one fell swoop.
But the question was why Xiang Yu had spared Liu Bang while Hongmen Yan had his own advantage, and didn't he know the consequences of doing so?
First of all, it cannot be said that Xiang Yu was very benevolent to let Liu Bang go, on the contrary, Xiang Yu's cruelty is famous.
Not long before arriving at Hongmen, he had just ordered hundreds of thousands of Qin troops to be buried alive, and there was no need for xiang Yu to be kind to Liu Bang, not to mention that the strategist Fan Zeng had clearly told him that the other princes were not worried, and only Liu Bang was the main opponent in the future to compete for the world.
Therefore, killing Liu Bang at this time is the least cost. Xiang Yu had experienced military difficulties and naturally knew the benefits of eliminating his opponent at a small cost. Therefore, if he really wanted to kill Liu Bang, he would not be soft.
Hongmen Feast
Judging from the comparison of the strength of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang, Liu Bang was obviously inferior to Xiang Yu, although Liu Bang entered Xianyang without going through any major battles, and his strength was well preserved. But it should be known that Xiang Yu's army had eliminated the main force of the Qin army, and at this time the morale was booming, which was definitely not comparable to Liu Bang's army.
Liu Bang also knew this, so he accepted the opinions of Zhang Liang and Xiang Bo, and personally went to Hongmen to ask Xiang Yu for his guilt, if Liu Bang had confidence in his army, then he would definitely compete with Xiang Yu.
After Liu Bang came to Hongmen, he was equivalent to throwing himself into the net. Therefore, when he saw Xiang Yu, in addition to pleading guilty, this remark actually touched Xiang Yu, xiang Yu not only did not kill him, but also told Liu Bang the name of his spy, the two sides made peace, and later Xiang Yu also named Liu Bang the King of Han.
Liu
After the opportunity to kill Liu Bang was lost this time, Xiang Yu never had the opportunity to kill Liu Bang again, and also lost to Liu Bang in the battle for Jiangshan, becoming the laughing stock of history.
So, at the Hongmen Banquet, what really happened to make Xiang Yu not kill Liu Bang?
In fact, carefully pondering, it is unreliable for the "Records of History" to find a possible record about the Feast at the Hongmen Gate.
According to the "Records of History", after Xiang Yu and Liu Bang were reconciled, Fan Zeng still decided to kill Liu Bang, and also found Xiang Zhuang to dance the sword in the big tent, looking for an opportunity to directly attack. At this time, thanks to Fan Huan's sword, he made accusations against Xiang Yu and saved Liu Bang's life.
Fan Duo
Liu Bang saw that things were not good, so he pretended to go to the toilet and left first.
This paragraph is very wonderful, but if you look closely, you always feel that the drama is too strong to withstand scrutiny.
The Records of History show that Xiang Yu accepted Liu Bang's apology at the Hongmen banquet and did not intend to kill Liu Bang, but did not give orders to his subordinates. None of Xiang Yu's subordinates knew that he had changed his mind, while Fan Zeng and the others still wanted to kill Liu Bang and began to act on their own.
Therefore, at this time, the soldiers outside Xiang Yu's camp should still be vigilant and ready to kill Liu Bang at any time.
Therefore, these soldiers would definitely not let Fan Duo carry weapons and easily break into the big tent, Fan Duo was also a person, a person who wanted to break through the Chu army's camp, this possibility is zero.
There is even more wonderful is the departure of Liu Bang, Liu Bang excused himself to go to the toilet, left the big tent, and then ordered Zhang Liang to stay and apologize at several doors, and he took a few people with him, and left very calmly, and the Chu army had already made preparations for killing Liu Bang.
But at this moment, watching him leave, not only was there no one to stop him, but no one even went to report to Xiang Yu, and it was almost impossible for this kind of military discipline to happen to Xiang Yu.
Moreover, Fan Zeng in the big tent still wanted to kill Liu Bang, Liu Bang left, he did not even suspect, the "History" also recorded that Xiang Yu saw Liu Bang go for such a long time, and also sent Chen Ping to find, Xiang Yu knew, Fan Zeng, who was smarter than him, would not know?
Fan Zeng
Xiang Yu ruled the army strictly, so the Chu army was strong in combat, but at the Hongmen banquet, the Performance of the Chu Army did not look like it was in the military camp at all, but it was similar to the free market, and Liu Bang was casually asked to leave with a few people.
Moreover, when Sima Qian told about this period of history, his rhetoric was obviously contradictory, one would say that in order to reduce the target, Liu Bang rode alone on a horse, and the other said that he took a small road back under the protection of Fan Duo and others.
What cannot be explained is that at this time, the Chu army should be preparing for the attack on Liu Bang's army the next day, the military camp must be very vigilant, and they all know that it is Liu Bang who is going to kill the next day, how can Liu Bang easily slip away in the military camp? Are all the soldiers blind?
Therefore, it should be inferred that if the Hongmen Banquet existed, it would not be the place where Xiang Yu wanted to kill Liu Bang at all. It should be that the two had already reconciled, and Xiang Yu let Liu Bang come to his place to drink and report on his work.
That being the case, there is no need to make the atmosphere so tense.
So, did Xiang Yu really not care about Liu Bang? Indeed, because Xiang Yu knew the bravery of his army, coupled with the large number of generals under him, Liu Bang really wanted to fight with himself, that is, to seek his own death. Therefore, he did not have the heart to kill Liu Bang. Otherwise, if a Fan Duo wants to break into the camp, he doesn't need Xiang Yu to intervene, and his generals can get Fan Duo.
Why didn't Xiang Yu seize this opportunity to kill Liu Bang? The reason is simple, can not kill!
Xiang Yu and Liu Bang both came to fight the Qin state on the orders of the King of Chu, and the King of Chu had already said that those who advanced into Xianyang would be crowned king. Liu Bang entered Xianyang first, so everyone in the world knew that he wanted to be king.
At this time, Xiang Yu's killing of Liu Bang was equivalent to announcing that the order of the King of Chu did not count, that is, the following acts were committed, and the other princes would definitely be unconvinced by him.
Xiang Yu's suppression of the princes of the world was achieved by bravery, and he did not adopt a soft policy toward them, so he also knew that the princes would not sincerely submit to himself. Once Liu Bang was killed, it was equivalent to forcing the princes to rebel, and the world would be in chaos again.
Therefore, Xiang Yu did not kill Liu Bang at the Hongmen banquet, but only drove him to Bashu, which was also considered to be obeying the orders of the King of Chu.
In this way, it seems that the wonderful stories that happened at the Hongmen Banquet are actually the result of Sima Qian's rendition, so the story of the Hongmen Banquet, no matter how it is understood, feels very pinched, but if it is determined that the two sides will break up peacefully, it will be more logical.