Xiang Yu’s problems

In fact, Xiang Yu’s problems are far more than that.

After Han Xin left Xiang Yu and went to Liu Bang, he had a long conversation with Liu Bang, and the content of the conversation was mainly about Xiang Yu. Liu Bang asked Han Xin, Prime Minister Xiao recommended the general to me again and again. What strategies does the general have to teach me? Han Xin did not answer this question directly, but asked: Isn't it King Xiang who is fighting with the king eastward for power in the world? Liu Bang said yes. Han Xin asked again: Your Majesty, think about it yourself. In terms of personal bravery and military strength, can you compare with King Xiang? Liu Bang was silent for a long time and said: I am not as good as him. Han Xin stood up and bowed and said, "That's right." Even I, Han Xin, think that the king is inferior to him. This is strange. Isn't it stupid to betray Xiang Yu and join Liu Bang despite knowing that Liu Bang is no match for Xiang Yu? Of course Han Xin is not stupid. He thoroughly analyzed Xiang Yu's character to Liu Bang, and analyzed the psychological and character reasons why Xiang Yu was bound to fail. According to Han Xin, Xiang Yu had at least two fatal weaknesses, namely "the courage of an ordinary man" and "the benevolence of a woman". But in my opinion, based on this conversation, at least two more items need to be added, namely, "small-mindedness" and "small-mindedness." ?

Let’s talk about “the courage of an ordinary man” first.

Xiang Yu should be said to be very brave. He seemed to have never been afraid of anything in his life, only others were afraid of him. He is also in good health. "Historical Records" says that he was "more than eight feet long and strong enough to carry a cauldron." It can be imagined that he was tall, muscular, and powerful. Not to mention today's Schwarzenegger generation, it is very likely that some people who worship the so-called masculinity will The girls are attracted by it. In 207 BC, the king of Zhao and his ministers were surrounded by Qin soldiers in Julu, and urgent Yu Shu flew in like snowflakes. At that time, the soldiers of the princes who rescued Zhao had more than ten camps (camps), but they all stood by and watched. Only Xiang Yu led the Chu army to burn the cauldron and sink the boat. One of them was ten, and they fought nine bloody battles with the Qin army. The roar of killing shook the faces of the princes and soldiers. He was so frightened that he defeated the Qin army and rescued King Zhao. With such courage and physique, Xiang Yu felt that it would be a waste and a pity if they were not used. Therefore, Xiang Yu always wanted to show off his power and force. Although he is the coach, he likes to charge forward. In every battle, he takes the lead and is naturally invincible. Often, Xiang Yu's weapon has not yet been released, but he just stares, and the opponent is stunned, his liver and gallbladder are broken, his eyes can't look, his hands can't move, he's pissed, and he's completely defeated. There are many such achievements. I believe that every time this happens, Xiang Yu's heart must be filled with pleasure. ?

This kind of pleasure even made him unable to help but want to duel with the opponent's coach. He said to Liu Bang, isn't it because of the two of us that the world has not been at peace for so many years? Let's just fight. Whoever wins, the world will belong to him. Why make everyone in the world suffer along with it! This is truly heroic and aristocratic. It's a pity that Liu Bang didn't accept this trick. He would not practice alone with Xiang Yu and fight with bare hands! So Liu Bang chuckled and said, Liu is more intelligent than brave. I believe that when Liu Bang said this, he must have a sly smile on his face. ?

From an aesthetic point of view, Liu Bang's performance is not cool at all. But from the perspective of political science and military science, Liu Bang was right. War is the continuation of politics and the highest means of political struggle. The outcome of a war, in the final analysis, is a matter of political struggle, or at least of strategy and tactics, and has nothing to do with the coach's personal strength or size. Xiang Yu regards war as a fight, which means he regards politics as child's play, which is simply childish. Everyone knows that "soldiers are not many but fine, and generals are not brave but strategic." It’s not that Xiang Yu himself didn’t know, otherwise he wouldn’t have learned the art of war, and wouldn’t have said that instead of learning “one man is an enemy”, he would have to learn “ten thousand enemies”. Unfortunately, when things came to pass, the "enemy of ten thousand people" he learned was of no use at all. What was useful was the "enemy of one man". It can be seen that Xiang Yu is not a handsome man, but a very domineering and powerful man.

Some people have long compared "the courage of an ordinary man" and "the courage of a gentleman." When the road is uneven, he draws his sword and fights with fists and kicks when he disagrees. This is the courage of an ordinary man.

Because as long as there is some blood, some strength, and no ambition or cultivation, anyone can do it, and there will be no brilliant results, so it is the courage of an ordinary man. What is the courage of a gentleman? Mount Tai collapses in front but does not change its appearance; a elk rises to the left but does not blink; a sudden encounter without being startled; a sudden attack without getting angry; this is the courage of a gentleman. Obviously, the courage of a gentleman shows composure and determination. Su Dongpo said that this is because "the threat is great and the consequences are far." In other words, for the sake of lofty ideals, one can accept temporary humiliation or disregard immediate gains and losses. Therefore, "the enemy advances and we retreat" is not cowardice, nor is "fighting if you can win, leaving if you can't". Of course, it is not brave to act recklessly and disregard lofty ideals for the sake of current face. Liu Bang was shot in the chest by an arrow from Xiang Yu. He couldn't straighten his waist, so he bent down and touched his toes. He also cursed: "You bastard, shoot me in the foot, and then turned around and ran away." This is a bit witty, and can also be said to be a bit cunning, but it cannot be said to be cowardly and timid.

The courage of an ordinary man is the courage of one person, and the courage of a general is the courage of ten thousand people. Bravery is indispensable on the battlefield. As the saying goes, "When two armies are at odds with each other, the brave one wins." However, the courage mentioned here refers to the courage of the entire army, not the courage of an individual. Of course, at certain times, a general's example can indeed play a role in boosting morale, especially in the era of cold weapons. However, Xiang Yu's charge into battle was not entirely to boost morale, but sometimes also for his own enjoyment. As a result, because of his excessive personal heroism, he made other generals and soldiers feel that he was dispensable. How could there be collective wisdom and strength? Sima Qian criticized him for "exerting his own wisdom" (relying only on individuals) and "wanting to conquer with force" (relying only on violence), both of which were on point. ?

Let’s talk about “women’s kindness”. ?

The benevolence of women and the courage of men seem to be contradictory. In fact, Xiang Yu was originally very contradictory. In his character, there is a brave side and a cowardly side; there is a cruel side and a gentle side. Xiang Yu claimed to be the overlord of Western Chu, but in fact he was quite brutal and domineering. He has a violent temper, relies on force and courage, and is not merciless at all when killing people. Yin Tong, the governor of Kuaiji County, had no enmity with him in the previous life and would not have any grievances with him in the future. Moreover, he planned to join forces with them in an uprising against the Qin Dynasty. He was killed as soon as he was told. Song Yi, the champion of Qingzi, was boastful, but he was actually a fool. Although he was a little bit fond of Xiang Yu, it didn't matter after all, and he killed him as soon as he said so. (Song Yi, formerly Chu Ling Yin, was good at talking about military affairs. He once predicted Xiang Liang's failure but unfortunately he was right. This only shows that he has the ability to observe, but does not prove that he has the ability to command. After he became the commander-in-chief, he made strategic mistakes and was still self-righteous. He also posted a notice saying, "Those who are as fierce as tigers, ruthless as wolves, greedy as sheep, and disobedient will be beheaded." However, they were killed by Xiang Yu)

There was also King Huai, who was useless at all. "Emperor Righteous", Xiang Yu pointed to the east but he didn't dare to point to the west, Xiang Yu pointed to the north but he didn't dare to point. If he was asked to move, he would move, and if he was asked to give up land, he would give up the land. It didn't hinder Xiang Yu, so he actually sent people to move it. He committed murder. The worst thing was that the Qin Dynasty surrendered 200,000 troops, and Xiang Yu actually killed and buried them all in one night. Two hundred thousand people! Xiang Yu was killed without saying a word, without even blinking an eye. ?

However, at the Hongmen Banquet, facing Liu Bang, he could not make a move.

Is it because Liu Bang has no enmity with him? Yin Tong also had no enmity or enmity with him. Is it because Liu Bang was kind and virtuous to him? Liu Bang entered Xianyang first, which made him gnash his teeth with hatred. Is it because you don’t know the stakes? Fan Zeng has made it very clear: Liu Bang's "ambitions are not small" and he has "the spirit of the emperor", which is really a thorn in his side that he must get rid of. Are you incapable of killing? With Xiang Yu's martial arts, whoever is killed at the third watch will survive until the fifth watch? What's more, Liu Bang was called Xiang Yu's guest, but he was actually a prisoner. He was Xiang Yu's people inside and outside. Even Fan Kuai said to Liu Bang that now they are like knives and chopping boards, and we are like chickens, ducks and fish. Is there no chance to start? Opportunities abound. At least there was no problem until Fan Kuai entered the tent to escort him. But despite Fan Zeng's winks and signals, Xiang Yu just remained silent and finally let Liu Bang, the roasted duck, fly away again.

Fan Zeng was so angry that he cursed bitterly: "Zhuzi is not worthy of planning (this kid is really unworthy of making plans with him)!"

In fact, Fan Zeng had already seen through: "The king has a heart that cannot be tolerated." The so-called "unbearable" Heart", that is, "woman's benevolence". ?

But isn’t Xiang Yu very cruel? Why can’t I “not bear it”? ?

In fact, Xiang Yu looks tough on the surface, but is actually very fragile on the inside. Xiang Yu is a person who loves face very much. People who care about face are very fragile inside. It is only because of his vulnerability that he loves face so much. Because he couldn't bear any harm, he had to protect his face with all his strength. Xiang Yu's suicide in Wujiang was largely due to the consideration of face: "The elders from the east of the Yangtze River are pitiful and king of me, how can I see them with my face!" So he left a famous saying about face: "I have no face to see the elders from the east of the river. "Why don't you have the face to meet me?" In addition to feeling guilty, it was also because I couldn't bear the mercy. For a person like Xiang Yu who has always wanted to be strong in his life, pity is hurt. Therefore he would rather die. By killing himself, he could save his face and feel better. ?

Xiang Yu is such a person with inner conflict and contradictory personality. To put it bluntly, he is actually a childish performance artist who unfortunately was pushed to the battlefield and the slaughterhouse. He doesn't really want to kill people, but he has to kill people; he doesn't really want to fight, but he has to fight. Because he has no other choice. There is no other way for him to live, and there is no other way to reflect his survival value and complete his performance art. After all, he started his life by killing people, and he completed his life through war. Therefore, he loves killing and fighting. However, behind his bravery is actually cowardice, and behind his cruelty is actually tenderness. He kills people like crazy, but there is a kind of fear deep in his heart. He is invincible, but deep down in his psychology there is a failure complex. It is precisely because of the fear in his heart that he keeps killing people. It is precisely because of the fear of failure that we rush to win. Only the constant flow of blood can wash away the shame caused by his cowardice, and only the victories that come one after another can soothe his painful and restless soul.

So we saw that when he challenged Liu Bang, he was so restless: There is no need to drag so many people on the battlefield, just the two of us will fight! Doesn't this prove that he is tired of this war and just wants to end it as soon as possible? Doesn't this just prove that he is already afraid of failure, so he hopes to use this method that is most convenient and surest for him to win? Therefore, when he heard that he was besieged on all sides, he neither investigated nor studied, let alone used his brain to think about whether this was the enemy's strategy, and immediately concluded that he was defeated. Because he has a "failure complex" deep in his psychology. I even believe that there will be a voice in his heart: "This day has finally come! All this is finally over!"?

Just when Xiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief because he finally failed, his heart The tenderness deep behind the cruelty also rises. Victory or failure, life or death are meaningless. The only thing worth caring about is the famous horse. This was his only love, a place of innocence that he retained after devoting his whole life to fighting and killing. "What can you do if your beauty is not gone! What can you do if you are worried?" How gentle and considerate this is, how sentimental and lingering it is! No wonder I had to "cry for several lines". It is said that Xiang Yu is prone to tears. Han Xin said that when he saw his soldiers being injured and sick, he would shed tears while delivering soup and meals. But this time, he was doing it for himself. ?

The true emotions and inner world of a bloody man are contained in these few lines of tears. ?

Xiang Yu is indeed very affectionate, which is an integral part of his artist temperament. He even has some mothers-in-law. Han Xin said that he was "verbal", which meant that he was long-winded and trivial. It is not difficult for us to imagine his usual image in the military camp: holding a rice basket and crying, holding the hands of the wounded and sick soldiers, asking about the cold and warmth, and talking about home affairs. If Han Xin hadn't seen it with his own eyes and said it personally, it would be difficult for most people to believe that this man who was "powerful and powerful" could still have so much tenderness and affection. ?

In fact, Xiang Yu's "benevolence" is recognized by both enemies.

Han Xin is a very interesting person. He is almost half Liu Bang and half Xiang Yu. Like Liu Bang, he is also a tolerant person. The Nanchang pavilion chief disliked him and teased him, but he endured it. Paixu Piao's mother took pity on him and scolded him, but he endured it. Later, some gangsters in Huaiyin County deliberately humiliated him, but he endured it and actually crawled under the gangster's crotch, which attracted ridicule and ridicule from the streets. To be honest, it is not easy to endure such humiliation. What bloody man could bear such an insult? Even Han Xin himself was almost intolerable. Sima Qian said that after hearing the scoundrel's words, he "looked at him familiarly" (stared at him for a long time). During this period, he was probably having a fierce ideological struggle! But in the end, he endured it. After all, tolerance does not mean fear. Mr. Boyang said it well: A person who is heartbroken and surrenders sincerely is a paralyzed slave. Before jumping high, you will be a hero if you bend your knees first. If at the slightest provocation, he angrily bites you and refuses to let go, then he is a crab. Han Xin is not a crab, but a hero. Only in this way can he be qualified to criticize Xiang Yu as a "brave man". Because he knew that when provoked by a gangster, Xiang Yu couldn't bear it and would definitely jump up and punch the bastard in the nose.