Han Xin was the founding general of the Western Han Dynasty, and he helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu and pacify the world, which was indispensable. However, just when Han Xinquan was in the opposition, Liu Bang designed to trap him. Han Xin had 30,000 soldiers under his command, all of whom were elite divisions that had been on the battlefield for a long time, so how could they remain indifferent to the fact that their commander was killed? Why did Han Xin's soldiers not save him when he saw death? The answer to this question may surprise many people.
Liu Bang's suspicion and precaution against Han Xin
As early as when Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were competing for the world, Han Xin's talent had already attracted Liu Bang's attention and fear. In 204 BC, the Chu-Han War entered a white-hot stage, and Liu Bang was besieged by Xiang Yu in Xingyang City, and the situation was extremely critical. After Han Xin led his army to capture Qidi, he sent a letter to Liu Bang, saying that the people of Qi were unstable and fearing that something would happen, and asked Liu Bang to make himself the king of Qi to stabilize the situation.
However, Han Xin's request aroused Liu Bang's dissatisfaction and suspicion. In Liu Bang's view, Han Xin took advantage of the fire to rob and dared to ask for the title of king when he was in danger, which was simply a wolf's ambition and could not be beaten. Although Liu Bang did not refuse Han Xin in person, he was already wary of this high-ranking general in his heart.
Since then, Han Xin has made many military exploits, successively conquering Dai, Zhao, Yan and other places, and his prestige has been greatly shaken. The soldiers under his command are all brave and invincible, and they seem to have become the most powerful force in the Han army. Liu Bang's suspicion of Han Xin grew day by day, and he feared that Han Xin's self-respecting army would one day pose a threat to his throne.
In 202 BC, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fought a decisive battle at Qixia (present-day Lingbi County, Anhui). Han Xin led the army to reinforcements and played an important role at a critical moment, ultimately helping Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu completely. However, at the moment of victory, Liu Bang made a surprising move - he publicly announced that he would cut Han Xin's military power and take all the elite soldiers under his command under his control.
In this regard, although Han Xin was dissatisfied in his heart, he could only swallow his voice secretly. He knew that although he had great military achievements, he was only Liu Bang's courtier after all, and if he openly disobeyed his will, he was afraid that he would end up in an unforeseen end. Moreover, Liu Bang's move was called cutting the domain, but in fact, it was to prevent Han Xin, who was a high-ranking master, which Han Xin knew well.
After the next battle, Liu Bang finally ascended the throne as emperor and established the Western Han Dynasty. He began to divide the heroes into feudal lords in order to consolidate his rule. It stands to reason that Han Xin deserves a rich reward for his hard work. However, Liu Bang changed Han Xin's title from King of Qi to King of Chu on the grounds that he was "familiar with the customs of Chu", and built the capital of Xiapi (now Suining, Jiangsu).
On the surface, Liu Bang is reusing Han Xin and entrusting Chu with important tasks. But in fact, Liu Bang deliberately transferred Han Xin away from the center of power to prevent him from cultivating the party in the DPRK and threatening his own position. Although Han Xin knew it, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and go to Chu to take up his post.
Liu Bang's suspicion and precaution against Han Xin began with the siege of Xingyang and ended in the fief of the king of Chu. He was wary of Han Shin's talent and prestige, fearing that this hero would one day pose a threat to his throne. Although Han Xin understood Liu Bang's thoughts, as a courtier, he could only accept it and bear it silently. However, Liu Bang's suspicion did not stop there, and his precautions against Han Xin continued until a shocking conspiracy was caused.
Han Xin rebelled against the booby trap plan of Empress Lu
In 196 BC, Liu Bang died, and Empress Lu came to the dynasty to take control. As the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, Han Xin should have had a place in the court, but he was excluded from the core of power by Empress Lü. Han Xinxin's depression, coupled with Empress Lu's autocratic power, aroused his idea of rebellion.
At this time, Chen Xuan, the uncle of Huainan Wang Yingbu, rebelled in Daidi (present-day Shanxi and Hebei) and established himself as the acting king. Chen Feng was once a famous general under Xiang Yu, who had been on the battlefield for a long time and had a high reputation. After he raised his army, he quickly gathered a large number of men and horses, and the momentum was huge.
After Han Xin learned the news of Chen Feng's incident, he suddenly had a plan in his heart. He secretly sent his henchmen to contact Chen Xuan's army, expressing his willingness to respond to Chen Xuan and jointly overthrow Empress Lu's rule. Han Xin also promised that if Chen Feng could capture Guanzhong, he would lead his troops to join him and establish a new monarch together.
Chen Feng was naturally overjoyed by Han Xin's surrender, and he immediately replied to welcome him, and promised to make Han Xin a general after the matter was completed, and he would take charge of the army together. In this way, Han Xin and Chen Feng formed an alliance and prepared to cooperate with the outside and launch a coup d'état.
However, before Han Shin's rebellion plan could be put into action, the news was leaked. It turned out that one of Han Shin's henchmen was drunk and lost his words and inadvertently revealed the matter. The news soon reached the ears of Empress Lu, and she was furious and immediately convened her ministers to discuss countermeasures.
The ministers unanimously agreed that Han Xin had bad intentions and plotted bad intentions, and he must be severely punished. Although Empress Lu hated Han Xin, she also knew that Han Xin was the founder of the Western Han Dynasty and had a high reputation in the army. If you rashly attack it, I am afraid that it will arouse the dissatisfaction of the army, which will backfire.
When Empress Lu was at a loss, Prime Minister Xiao He came forward to offer advice. He suggested that Empress Lu falsely preach the holy decree, summon Han Xin to Beijing to meet the court, and then set up a banquet to entertain him, waiting for an opportunity to capture and kill him. Empress Lu was overjoyed when she heard this, and immediately adopted Xiao He's suggestion and began to arrange a plan to trap Han Xin.
Empress Lu pretended that Liu Bang had quelled the rebellion of Chen Feng and that the world was peaceful, so she specially summoned hundreds of officials to the palace to celebrate. Han Xin had no doubts about Empress Lu's edict, and happily went to Changle Palace to participate in the celebration banquet. However, all of this was a deception elaborated by Empress Lu, who had already secretly arranged the samurai and was ready to wait for an opportunity to attack.
After Han Xin arrived at Changle Palace, Empress Lu pretended to be ill and asked Xiao He to introduce Han Xin into the bell room of the palace to rest. As soon as Han Xin entered the bell room, the ambush soldiers swarmed up and surrounded him. Only then did Han Xin suddenly realize that he had fallen for Empress Lu's treacherous scheme, and angrily reprimanded: "I am Hanchen, what is the responsibility for this, and I have suffered such a great shame!"
However, Empress Lu would not give Han Xin a chance to defend himself. As soon as she gave the order, the warriors immediately tied up Han Xin, dragged him out of the palace, and beheaded him in public. In this way, the dignified King of Qi and the King of Chu died tragically on the steps in front of Changle Palace, and the hero was short of breath and suffocating.
When the news of Empress Lü's killing of Han Xin came out, the whole country was shocked. However, Empress Lu's conspiracy is not over. On the charge of Han Xin's rebellion, she ordered the extermination of the three Han Xin clans, and none of them were spared. At this point, Empress Lu completely eradicated the big trouble and stabilized his dominance.
Han Xin's rebellion and the booby trap of Empress Lu were a thrilling history in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. Although Han Xin is talented, he cannot escape the fate of being suspicious and guarded against. Although Empress Lu was cruel, she kept the Han Dynasty. This struggle for power ended with the victory of Empress Lü, and Han Xin became a victim and was brutally killed. The wheel of history is rolling forward, and heroes and heroes will inevitably become the outcasts of the times, which is embarrassing.
The reason why Han Xin's personal soldiers did not save him when he saw death
There are 30,000 elite soldiers under Han Xin's command, all of whom are fierce generals who have experienced dozens of battles, large and small, and they have established a deep relationship with Han Xin. It stands to reason that these pro-soldiers should stand up when Han Xin was killed and avenge the boss. However, what is puzzling is that in the process of Han Xin being booby-trapped by Empress Lu, his own soldiers did not make any resistance, and watched Han Xin being captured and killed, why is this?
It turned out that in the process of rebellion, Han Xin did not inform his subordinates of his plan. He only secretly contacted Chen Feng to discuss the details of the internal and external cooperation, and did not mobilize his own soldiers to participate in it. Of course, there are confidentiality considerations, but more importantly, Han Xin does not trust his own soldiers very much.
You must know that although Han Xin is the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty, he is only Liu Bang's courtier after all. Although his personal soldiers were loyal to him, they were even more loyal to the court and the emperor. If Han Xin rashly informed his soldiers of the plan of rebellion, it was difficult to guarantee that no one would go to tell Empress Lu, and then he would shoot himself in the foot.
Therefore, when Han Xin rebelled, he only relied on a few henchmen and retainers, and did not mobilize his own soldiers to participate. He originally planned to wait until Chen Feng captured Guanzhong and the situation became clear, and then summoned his own troops to respond, so as not to leak the news. However, the heavens did not fulfill people's wishes, and before Han Xin's rebellion plan could be put into action, it was discovered by Empress Lu, which led to a tragic ending.
Secondly, in the process of trapping Han Xin, Empress Lu could be described as fast. She first falsely passed the holy decree, deceived Han Xin into Changle Palace, and then ambushed and killed the soldiers, all in one go. All this happened so suddenly that Han Xin's personal soldiers didn't react at all.
You must know that Han Xin was ordered to enter the palace to participate in the celebration banquet, and according to etiquette, he could not bring troops with him. Therefore, when Han Xin was captured, most of his own soldiers were in the barracks, and they did not know that the commander had been killed. By the time the news came, Han Shin had already been killed, and it was too late.
Moreover, when Han Xin was killed, it was a grand ceremony for hundreds of officials to congratulate. The inside and outside of Changle Palace are heavily guarded, and the palace gate is closed. Even if Han Xin's own soldiers wanted to rush into the palace to rescue him, it would be even more difficult. Moreover, Empress Lu had already prepared, and the warrior Hoge in the palace was on standby, and he could kill the intruder at any time. In this case, even if Han Xin's personal soldiers had the heart to save him, they were powerless.
More importantly, after Han Xin was killed, Empress Lu calmed down the situation with lightning speed. On the charge of Han Shin's rebellion, she ordered the extermination of the three Han Shin clans, and sent troops into Han Shin's fiefdom to control the situation. Although Han Xin's personal soldiers were grief and indignation, in the face of strong pressure from the imperial court, they were powerless to resist at all, and could only watch the commander's family being slaughtered.
The combination of various reasons led to the tragedy of Han Xin's personal soldiers being indifferent when the commander was killed and not saving him. Of course, this has the factors of the pro-soldiers themselves, but it is more of a helplessness caused by the current situation. In that turbulent era, the life and death of courtiers were often in the hands of the monarch, and even the generals with high achievements could not escape the fate of being suspected and killed. Han Shin's tragedy is a microcosm of the tragedy of this era.
The historical impact of Han Shin's death
Although Han Xin's death was only a historical fragment in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, it greatly affected the political situation thereafter. His tragic ending is not only the sorrow of personal fate, but also reflects the cruelty and ruthlessness of that era.
First of all, Han Xin's death marked the complete eradication of dissidents and the consolidation of her dominance. You must know that after Liu Bang's death, although Empress Lu held the power of the court, her rule was not stable. The founding heroes led by Han Xin, although they bowed down to Empress Lu on the surface, they had a lot of complaints about them in their hearts. They were dissatisfied with Empress Lu's autocratic power and were even more worried about the damage to their own power and interests.
As the founding father of the Western Han Dynasty, Han Xin had a high reputation in the army. If he rebelled, he would inevitably pose a great threat to Empress Lü's rule. Empress Lu knew this very well, so she had been suspicious of Han Xin for a long time, waiting for an opportunity to get rid of him. Han Xin's conspiracy to rebel just gave Empress Lu a chance to attack.
Empress Lu not only killed Han Xin, but also ordered the three clans of Han Xin to be wiped out and the grass was cut down. This move completely dealt a blow to the dissident forces represented by Han Xin, and made other ill-intentioned heroes shudder. From then on, Empress Lü firmly controlled the power of the court, and no one dared to challenge her authority.
Second, Han Xin's death set a precedent for the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, in order to win the hearts of the people, Liu Bang divided a large number of heroes as liehous and county kings. These feudal lords had great autonomy in their respective fiefdoms, and they levied taxes, built cities, raised troops, and became princes on one side of the divide.
After Liu Bang's death, both Empress Lü and the Liu clan realized that this situation of separating feudal towns posed a great threat to centralized power. As a result, they began to contemplate a campaign to cut down the feudal domains in an attempt to bring local power back to the central government. As the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, Han Xin should have become the target of the feudal domain. However, Empress Lu was worried that Han Xin's troops would be self-respecting and difficult to deal with, so he temporarily held his troops still.
Han Xin rebelled and inadvertently fulfilled Empress Lu's plan. Empress Lü took this opportunity to kill Han Xin and return all his fiefdoms to the central government, setting a precedent for large-scale feudal reductions in the future. After that, Empress Lü and Emperor Wen successively launched a number of wars to reduce the feudal domains, gradually weakening the power of the princes and county kings, and finally established a centralized ruling pattern.
Finally, Han Shin's death also strengthened the imperial power to a certain extent. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor's power was not stable. Although Liu Bang established imperial power, he relied more on the support of meritorious officials to maintain system governance. Although these heroes were nominally subordinate to the emperor, in reality they went their own ways and posed a threat to the imperial power.
Han Xin's death dealt a blow to the power of the hero group, so that they had to rein in their edge and submit to the imperial power. Empress Lü's killing of Han Xin, although cruel and ruthless, showed the world the concept of the supremacy of imperial power. She used thunderous means to eradicate dissidents, which made people shudder, and no one dared to openly challenge the imperial power again.
end
In short, although Han Xin's death is only a fragment of history, it reflects many characteristics of the times in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. His tragic fate is not only a personal misfortune, but also the inevitability of the tide of the times. In that turbulent era, the life and death of heroes were often in the hands of the monarch, and the slightest carelessness would end up in a different place. Han Shin's experience is a microcosm of the tragedy of this era.