What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Rabbits and dogs cook, birds hide their bows, this seems to be an immutable historical law, and most of the founding heroes of successive dynasties cannot escape such a fate. But there are exceptions, such as Zhang Liang, who is known as "Saint of the Ages".
(Zhang Liang stills)
After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang began to kill heroes, the "three great generals of the early Han Dynasty" Han Xin, Peng Yue, and Yingbu all died tragically, only one of the "Eight Kings with Different Surnames" died well, and even Xiao He, the "First Hero of the Founding of the Country", was repeatedly suspected, and finally barely escaped the disaster through self-blackness... Only Zhang Liang was able to achieve great merit and no doubt, and was deeply trusted by Liu Bang from beginning to end.
So, why was Zhang Liang able to stand alone in the bloody rain and wind of the early Han Dynasty? Do you really understand the real reason?
(Liu Bang stills)
Reason 1:
Later generations summarized the reasons for Zhang Liang's good death, mostly attributing it to his understanding of the rapids to retreat and Mingzhe to protect himself. However, the author believes that it is inaccurate to use the term "Mingzhe to protect himself" to describe Zhang Liang, because his rapid retreat is not for self-preservation, but for the real "seeking the country and not seeking personal gain".
Zhang Liang was born in the pre-Qin period of Korean aristocrats, five generations of ancestors are the Korean minister, and later the six kingdoms were destroyed by Qin, Zhang Liang carried the hatred of the country and the family, which embarked on the road against Qin. That is to say, Zhang Liang is different from Han Xin and Xiao He, who came from the grassroots, and his original intention of following Liu Bang was not to make a name for himself and to worship the marquis, but only to take revenge. Therefore, when the Qin Dynasty collapsed and the world was stable, Zhang Liang did not hesitate to choose to retire from the world, followed the red pine zi to travel the world, and from then on abandoned all things in the world and concentrated on cultivating the Tao.
Reason 2:
In addition, Zhang Liang let Liu Bang clearly see that he really did not take credit, did not covet power, and did not love money. This can be supported by the example of Zhang Liang's refusal to seal.
Liu Bang's rewards for the founding heroes were divided into three, six, nine and so on, of which the largest number of food was Cao Gan, with a total of 10,630 households, followed by Xiao He, with a total of 8,000 households (later promoted to 10,000 households), as for Chen Ping, Xiahou Bao, and others, it was 5,000 households, and all of them were designated fiefs.
But for Zhang Liang, Liu Bang ordered him to choose 30,000 households in the state of Qi as his own food. What is this concept? First of all, from the quantitative point of view, 30,000 households are equivalent to the sum of Cao Shan, Xiao He, Chen Ping, and Xiahou Bao, and secondly, from the perspective of location, the State of Qi was the richest land in the country in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, and the gold content of the 30,000 households in the State of Qi was no less than that of 40,000 or even 50,000 households in other places.
After receiving such a thick seal from Liu Bang, Zhang Liang was not moved, he insisted on not accepting it, and finally only reluctantly accepted 10,000 households, and at the same time requested to change the fief, which is the reason why Zhang Liang was called "Liu Hou". This land is today's Pei County, Jiangsu, which was far less prosperous than Qi at that time, and Zhang Liang chose this as a fief, ostensibly because this was the place where he and Liu Bang met, and the real reason was that it was located in Jiangnan, far from disputes.
Zhang Liang, who has no desire and no desire, Liu Bang naturally has a little more trust and love, which is also one of the factors that he can end well.
(Portrait of Zhang Liang)
Reason three:
The above two reasons can be summed up: Zhang Liang has no intention of rebellion. However, the author would like to emphasize that the reason why Liu Bang was assured of Zhang Liang was not so much that he believed that he did not have the intention of rebellion, but rather that he concluded that he did not have the strength to rebel.
Sima Qian's "History of Han Gao Zu Benji" records that Liu Bang, when evaluating Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and Han Xin, said: "The husband is planning in the tent, and the decisive victory is thousands of miles away, and I am not as good as the son." Town and state, care for the people, give food, endless grain, I am not as good as Xiao He. Even with an army of millions, the battle will be won, the attack will be won, and I am not as good as Han Xin. These three are all masters, I can use them, so I take the world. ”
(Han Chu Sanjie)
It can be seen from this that Han Xin's specialty is to gallop on the battlefield and kill the enemy; Xiao He's specialty is to sit in the rear and govern the country and the country; and Zhang Liang's specialty is to strategize and make suggestions. Identity determines status, although Zhang Liang is highly intelligent and capable, but in the final analysis, he is still just a strategist, neither like Han Xin with heavy soldiers, nor like Xiao He, who is always alone, fighting alone, no real power in hand, no wings to help, so he can not pose a threat to Liu Bang at all, this is the most fundamental reason why he "has great merit and is the lord and the king is not in doubt".
In the face of supreme power, the emperor will not bet with you sincerely, they will only make the choice with the greatest benefit and the smallest risk coefficient after balancing the pros and cons. In general, Xiao Heshan ended because of high wisdom and great value, while Zhang Liangshan ended up because of high realm and weak strength.