Fan Li, the soul of the revival of Yue State, left behind his clothes and a famous saying: "A sly rabbit dies, a running dog cooks; It seems that once the emperor becomes a great event, the hero will soon die.
For thousands of years, history has staged tragedies again and again, so people admire Fan Li's foresight, a pair of eyes that have penetrated thousands of years and penetrated human weaknesses. However, little is known, why did Fan Li say these twelve words, and what influence did this proverb have in the history of China? Lin Yizhi, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, believed that Fan Li's behavior and these proverbs of 12 intensified his doubts about emperors and heroes and made a bad start for the history of China.
According to historical records, after helping Yue dominate the Central Plains, he immediately went boating on the five lakes. Before he left, he left a letter to his friend Wen Zi, which read: "Birds are exhausted, bows are hidden; A sly rabbit dies, but a running dog cooks. The King of Yue is a bird with a long neck. He can share joys and sorrows, but he can't share happiness. Why not go? " Fan Li thinks Gou Jian can't be trusted. He can only share weal and woe, but can't share wealth. Leave quickly, or he will be killed. After reading the letter, Wen Zi said that he was ill and would not go to court. Someone slandered Wen Zi or would make trouble, and Gou Jian killed himself by giving Wen Zi a sword.
The ending of literary genre confirms the cruel reality that birds hide and rabbits cook.
Three hundred years later, Han Xin was killed, which seems to confirm this proverb. "Huaiyin Houzhuan" records: Han Xin said before he died, "If people say,' A sly rabbit dies, a running dog cooks; Birds are exhausted, and good bows are hidden; Destroy the enemy and the counselor will die. "The world is set, I will cook!"
Is the relationship between the hero and the monarch really so cruel and cold-blooded? In fact, at least not during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the ceremony broke down. In the past, there was a set of corresponding etiquette in war. At this time, the idea of "the soldiers are also cunning" appeared. But this is a lucky moment for a genius, because you can give full play to your talents. Compared with the later generations who can only "sell goods to the emperor", the rules of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are that good birds choose wood to live in, the monarch and the minister choose each other, and the two sides inspect each other!
Wu Qi, Shang Yang, Zhang Yi, Su Qin, Li Bing and others were cold in their own countries, but other countries made great achievements. Simply put, there are countless countries in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and a monarch can go to other countries to find a wise Lord without using it. It is difficult for a monarch to "cook when a rabbit dies." On the one hand, when there was no loyalty and the monarch was heartless, heroes could naturally turn to other countries to find a wise Lord. On the other hand, the monarch kills heroes indiscriminately. How can he attract foreign talents to take refuge? If you can't attract outstanding talents, how can you strengthen the country? So for hundreds of years in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, almost nothing happened. What happened to Shang Yang and Le Yi is another reason.
At the same time, the enfeoffment system prevailed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the heroes made great contributions, and the monarch gave it the enfeoffment system. This kind of enfeoffment system is a real enfeoffment system, and there can be private troops. Every fief is like a "country within a country". Therefore, the basic operating rule at that time was that the hero made meritorious deeds and the monarch was rewarded separately. The greater the meritorious service, the more fiefs and rewards. The two sides are essentially a kind of interest exchange relationship, which is also the political operation rule at that time. The monarch dare not break it easily, otherwise it will inevitably arouse the opposition of countless nobles.
In a word, no matter the tradition of the political atmosphere of the times or the practical needs, monarchs in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are not allowed to kill heroes at will. Fan Li's theory that "the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked" is not representative, and it is only the behavior of a few people at most. Of course, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, some monarchs killed heroes, but at least it can't be simply explained by "rabbits killed dogs". For example, the essence of Shang Yang's death was a conservative counterattack, and there was a serious conflict of interest between the two sides, not because Shang Yang's political reform was useless, and Tian Lei's death was not cooked by rabbits, but only because of Fan Ju's slanderous remarks and Tian Lei's low emotional intelligence.
However, Fan Li's rapid retreat and these twelve-character proverbs caused waves after the Han Dynasty, which planted a thorn in the hearts of heroes and kings in later generations. The hero is worried that the king will turn his face mercilessly, and the king is worried that the hero will take risks and both sides will lose their sense of security. To put it simply, although the contradiction between the hero and the monarch may intensify for the benefit, the existence of this sentence will objectively aggravate mutual suspicion.
And the scenes of killing heroes in history make this sentence a wise saying. After the king's world is over, the heroes seem to be waiting for their necks to be slaughtered. Occasionally, some heroes with high emotional intelligence have finished their work well and escaped the prediction that "rabbits will die and dogs will cook", such as Li Jing in the Tang Dynasty and Tanghe in the Ming Dynasty, which will also become the objects of people's relish.
The hero is worried that he will become a rabbit and a dog, and the emperor is worried that the hero will be paranoid or even desperate, so the two sides are constantly suspicious, which leads to anxiety on both sides. In the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang suspected that the eight recruiting kings had ulterior motives, so he removed seven. After the success of Li Jing in the Tang Dynasty, he was suspected by Li Shimin and retired. In the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin's relieving the military power with a glass of wine seemed brilliant, but in fact he wasted a group of brave soldiers, which may be one of the reasons for the weakness of the Song Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty was suspicious of heroes, while the Qing Dynasty was wary of Han generals and princes. These can only be a waste of talents, resulting in a waste of intelligence and weakening the country's strength.
Lin Yizhi, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, commented: "Fan Li's departure seems to be unscathed, but his death has made future generations suspicious. People who live in peace every day are all suffering from Fan Li." Lin Yizhi believed that the source of doubt in later generations began with Fan Li. Objectively speaking, it is unfair to blame Fan Li for the suspicion of later monarchs and their subjects. However, Fan Li's behavior and these proverbs of 12 really intensified doubts about emperors and heroes, and made a bad start for the history of China.
It is worth asking that celebrities in the Spring and Autumn Period usually choose a wise master instead of a fool. Since Gou Jian is so despicable and has discovered his true colors, why wait until Gou Jian destroys Wu and dominates the Central Plains? The normal explanation is that Fan Li did this for three reasons, namely, serving Gou Jian to meet him, for money, for fame and for Fan Li's talents. The latter two are easy to implement. It seems that the only answer is to serve Gou Jian to see him.
In fact, there is another possibility, that is, and are both Chu people, Chu and Wu are incompatible. Therefore, it may be the "expert group" sent by Chu to help Yue fight against Wu. If this is the historical truth, then it can explain why Fan Li said against the background of the times that "a sly rabbit dies, a running dog cooks;" "All birds are saved", because the task has been completed, Gou Jian knows his identity, and Fan Li and Wen Zi either completely surrender to Yue, or escape or die. The state of Yue has dominated, and the Chu expert group will not be allowed to exist. Wen Zi may not have seen the facts clearly, but Fan Li did, so he warned him before leaving, hoping that Wen Zi would leave as soon as possible.