Fan Li was a famous politician, military, thinker and businessman in Chinese history. He is also the "object of gossip" of Xi Shi, one of the four beauties. But beyond these identities, he is also a typical example of the "rapids retreating" generation.
Fan Li's origin is mysterious. People only know that he is a Chudi person, but they do not know which celebrity he has in his ancestors, nor do they know his date of birth. Although the Yue Zhi Shu and the Hui Ji Dian Lu as local documents record that Fan Li claimed to be of a lowly position in his early years and pretended to be crazy, it is also unclear what specific experience he had.
As for how Fan Li left the Chu state and went to the Yue state as an official, combined with the above two ancient books, we can sort out the general experience. At the beginning, Fan Li's pretending to be crazy and selling stupidity was indeed very successful. Even his countrymen thought it was some kind of congenital disease.
However, later, Wen Zhong, who served as a county commander near Fan Li's family, learned of Fan Li's various actions and felt that this was "a virtuous and handsome posture, and there must be a sneer of madness", and he personally went to visit Fan Li.
When he met someone who understood himself, Fan Li stopped pretending and generously talked to Wen Zi about his views on the situation under the world. And after a long discussion, Fan Li came to the conclusion that "Wu Yue Er Bang, the same atmosphere and common customs, the position of the landlord, not Wu Zeyue". Therefore, soon after talking with wen, he left his family and went out to embark on the road of politics.
In fact, Fan Li went to the State of Wu first. However, because Wu Zixu was in power in the State of Wu at this time, Fan Li had no chance of promotion, so he soon went from the State of Wu to the State of Yue. It just so happens that Yue Guo is also short of talents, and Fan Li quickly becomes a red person around him.
According to the records of the events related to Gou Jian in the "Records of History", Fan Li served as a counselor for Gou Jian for more than 20 years. During this period, he accompanied Gou Jian to wu as a slave, and also took advantage of the opportunity of King Wu to go north to compete for hegemony and offered Gou Jian a strategy to attack Wu, and later suggested that Gou Jian send troops when wu was in a great drought, and when Gou Jian was preparing to negotiate peace with Wu again, he proposed to kill him completely. When Gu Su, the capital of the Wu state, was destroyed, Fan Li was also the hero who captured Wu Wang Fuchai alive.
In addition, when he was trying to gain hegemony, Fan Li was also a hero who assisted him in dispatching troops and arranging troops to threaten the submission of the Central Plains countries to Yue. Therefore, when Gou Jian was named overlord, Fan Li also became a "general" above ten thousand people under one person in YueGuo.
However, at this moment of glory, Fan Li "found" his past of "pretending to be crazy and selling stupid". He left a letter for Gou Jian, and then he "took a boat to float the sea", floating away from Yue Qi. And in order not to be found back by the hook, he also changed his name to "YiziPi" and changed his identity as a farmer.
Give up the wealth of the family, give up the reputation and status, and go to the beach to be a farmer in the wind and the sun. Is Fan Li's choice "crazy"? It's actually very rational. Because he had already seen the lesson that generations of courtiers had exchanged their lives for in the future--to be a courtier who was afraid to do great deeds and high shocks.
In the era in which Fan Li lived, that is, in the Spring and Autumn Period, when the conquests were not endless, the status and strength of the monarch were far inferior to many of the later founding emperors. Therefore, at that time, it was not said that there was a concept of "high merit and high earthquake master", and it was difficult for such an event to happen. After all, the princes of a country may not be as good as a scholar in other countries, and the danger level of a powerful courtier rarely exceeds that of a foreign country that is eyeing the tiger.
But Fan Li is a shrewd politician. When he was young, he knew that people's hearts were unpredictable, and he would pretend to be crazy. Therefore, when Gou Jian still trusted him and valued him, Fan Li also sensed the mind of Gou Jian that might change in the future. So he chose to preemptively attack and took the initiative to "run" when he was not afraid of himself.
Moreover, when Gou Jian was suffering in the Kingdom of Wu, Fan Li, as an entourage, actually entered the eyes of King Wu. Fu Cha threw an olive branch to Fan Li in front of the gouge. Although Fan Li politely refused, this matter really left a "stain" on Fan Li's political experience.
If in the future Fan Li was in the way of anyone, or if He Jian became suspicious of Fan Li because of some things, then he said to Fu Cha at that time: "The ministers who have heard of the subjugation of the country do not dare to speak of politics, and the generals of the defeated army do not dare to speak courageously." The subjects were disloyal and unbelieving, and now the king of Yue did not obey the orders of the king, and used his troops to fight with the king, and so far he has been convicted, and the kings and subjects have surrendered. King Hong'en, the king of Meng, is protected by the king and the subject, and is willing to enter and sweep away, and to give the desire of the subject. It can be regarded as evidence of his own "adultery and treason." At that time, even if Fan Li's home was piled with gold mountains and silver mountains, he was afraid that he would not be able to buy vitality.
Therefore, at that time, retreating from the rapids of the Country of Vietnam was the safest choice for Fan Li. It was only after Qi Guoxin worked in agriculture that he accumulated hundreds of thousands of family properties.
As his reputation in the region grew, the State of Qi also invited Fan Li to serve as Minister of State. Therefore, Fan Li, who had already given up everything in the country because he was worried about "the lord of high merit", this time he still insisted that "staying at home will give thousands of gold, and the officials will be the secretary of state, and this cloth is also extreme." Long-respected name, ominous", refused to take office.
Subsequently, he gave up everything he had to fight in the State of Qi, and quietly went to the Pottery Land of the Song Kingdom to live in seclusion, and finally rested here.
Judging from the above content, Fan Ligong's life after he became famous can also be said to be his prophetic "escape history". And it turns out that he really ran in a timely and fast manner.