As the saying goes, "fierce is not hegemonic". This means that in terms of fierceness and bravery, no one can compare with Xiang Yu, the king of Western Chu. The reason why Xiang Yu was so fierce, in addition to his excellent military ability, was also inseparable from the assistance of a large number of good helpers.
Xiang Yu fights and loves to use courage to crown the fierce generals of the three armies. Among the fierce generals under his account, Yingbu is the leader. This tough general, who was born as a prisoner, often took the lead and was often called "champion general" because he bravely won the three armies.
So is there a "runner-up general" in Xiang Yu's army? The answer is yes, this man is Yingbu's golden partner, the mysterious General Pu.
General Pu first appeared in the early days of the anti-Qin uprising. After Chen Sheng's uprising, Yingbu led his troops to raise the banner of rebellion in the southern rivers and lakes. He joined forces with Wu Rui of Fandi County to pull up a team of thousands of people. Subsequently, Yingbu led the crowd to join Xiang Yu's uncle Xiang Liang and was given the title of Dangyang Jun. Among the good men who defected to the Chu army with Yingbu were General Pu.
In 208 BC, the Qin army Zhang Handan and Wang Li besieged the Zhao state of Julucheng. Subsequently, King Huai of Chu ordered Song Yi, Xiang Yu, and Fan Zeng to lead tens of thousands of troops to support the State of Zhao. In the face of the mighty Qin army, Song Yi cowered and watched from the sidelines for 46 days. Later, Xiang Yu personally killed Song Yi and stole the military power.
After Xiang Yu took over the command, he immediately made the generals Yingbu and Pu, who were serving in the army at the time, his cronies. Subsequently, Xiang Yu ordered Yingbu and General Pu to lead 20,000 troops to cross the river to save Julu City. Due to the insufficient number of people, not too many results were achieved. However, General Yingbu and General Pu still relied on their bravery to lay a beachhead for Xiang Yu.
Subsequently, Xiang Yu led the whole army to cross the river, broke the cauldron and sank the boat, and vowed not to destroy the violent Qin. Subsequently, Yingbu and General Pu stormed the "Yongdao" of the Qin army's transportation volume, and cut off the grain route of Wang's army, and finally sent the powerful Great Wall Army into a desperate situation, and the entire army of 200,000 people was destroyed.
After Wang's army was completely annihilated, Xiang Yu turned his head and attacked Zhang Handan, and the two armies held each other for several months. In order to break the deadlock, Xiang Yu ordered general Pu to cross the Three Rivers (Jinxia Name, Thirty Mile in Deng Xi) at night and break the Chapter of Handan in Zhangnan. General Xiang Yu saw that General Pu had cleared the Qin army on the opposite bank, so he led his entire army across the river and besieged Zhang Handan on three sides. Under the internal and external difficulties, Zhang Handan led more than 200,000 Qin troops to surrender.
Although the Qin army was defeated and captured, it was still dissatisfied and in danger of mutiny. Therefore, Xiang Yu consulted with the generals Yingbu and Pu and decided to execute this part of the Qin army. In the end, General Yingbu and General Pu took advantage of the night to lead a coalition of princes to attack the captured Qin army, and more than 200,000 Qin troops were all killed.
From the above historical data, we can see that Yingbu and General Pu were both Xiang Yu's right and left hands, and as the vanguard, they opened up the situation for Xiang Yu and laid a solid foundation for the total annihilation of 500,000 Qin troops and the elimination of violent Qin; in military decision-making, Xiang Yu also respected the opinions of Yingbu and General Pu, and even if they slaughtered the prisoners of the Qin army, they had to seek their opinions. However, what is strange is that after the Battle of the Giant Deer, General Pu mysteriously disappeared, and the history books no longer record him. It is said that with the merits of General Pu, if he died on the battlefield or died of illness, Sima Qian would definitely write a record. However, Sima Qian did not mention anything about his subsequent development, which was really strange.
For the follow-up story of General Pu, there is a lot of speculation among scholars over the years. The Southern Dynasty historian Pei Yu's "Ji Xie" quotes the Eastern Han Dynasty people as serving the pious day: "Yingbu originated in Pudi, because it was a trumpet." That is to say, It is believed that General Yingbu and General Pu are actually one person. However, according to many historical records, Yingbu and General Pu are basically two people. For example, the "Records of History" records: "Xiang Liang crossed the Huaihuai in the west, and the generals Yingbu and Pu were all subordinate to the army. A "and" word, a "are" word, and it is more certain that Ying and Pu are two people.
In addition, it is believed that the Pu general Chen Wu (陈武), a great general of the Han Dynasty, was given the title of Marquis of Zhipu in the early Han Dynasty. However, some scholars have questioned that Zhipu is a place name, how can only one Pu character be used as Chen Wu's nickname? This is inconsistent with the naming habits of people in the Qin and Han dynasties.
In order to solve the mystery of General Pu's disappearance, the author read the historical materials, but finally found a secret clue - Wu Rui, the king of Changsha in the Han Dynasty. In the history books, the existence of this prince of the opposite sex is very low, far inferior to That of Han Xin, Peng Yue, Yingbu and others. However, the author believes that this Wu Rui and General Pu have a close connection.
First of all, the Book of Han · The biography of Wu Rui mentions that during the anti-Qin uprising, Wu Rui defected to Xiangliang with Yingbu. However, after returning to Chu, Wu Rui's record completely disappeared, and was replaced by General Pu. What Exactly Wu Rui did between the anti-Qin uprisings, no one can say.
Subsequently, Xiang Yu dafeng 18 road princes, and Yingbu, who had great merit, was crowned the King of Jiujiang, while general Pu, who was equal to his merits, disappeared. In the ranking, it is wu Rui, who was previously invisible in the history books. Therefore, the author boldly speculates that Wu Rui may be the famous General Pu.
If General Pu is not Wu Rui, then it is difficult to explain that General Pu, who has the same battle merits as Yingbuli but has no record of battle death or illness, has not been crowned king; similarly, Wu Rui, who has no special record of military achievements, has been crowned king, which makes people feel even more incredible. When fighting, General Yingbu and General Pu were together, and when they were crowned kings, it was Yingbu Wurui, and only General Pu was Wu Rui.
Subsequently, together with Wu Rui, who was closely related to Yingbu, he joined the camp of Liu Bang, the King of Han. After the Battle of Xiaxia, Wu Rui was renamed the King of Changsha, and eventually escaped Liu Bang's butcher's knife, ending his life as the only king with a different surname who died well.
Of course, this is only the author's family's words, as to who General Pu really is, it is up to the archaeologists to further discover. Perhaps General Pu, as many netizens speculate, is a crosser from modern times. He disappeared because he had traveled back in time.