Farewell to my concubine
Xiangyu, the representative of the “power faction” and the “brave war faction” in China’s military history, has the courage that thousands of men should not have. Compared with the Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, more people think Xiangyu is a worthy hero. Indeed, Xiang Yu was born in a famous family and had little ambition. At the age of 24, he started to fight against the Qin Dynasty and became the overlord of Western Chu at the age of 27. However, it was such a heroic hero who was forced to commit suicide at the age of 30. What is it that makes ambition difficult to pay and heroes come to an end?
The answer is now very fashionable two words: show. Xiangyu loves to show off. Other people call him a hero. He wants to be a hero everywhere. He “shows” himself at all costs. Failure is the inevitable result.
Xiangyu’s previous success and subsequent failure are inseparable from his habit of showing off.
What really made Xiang Yu famous was the battle of the giant deer. In the battle of the giant deer, the number of Chu troops was very different from that of the Qin troops. In addition, the Chu troops were short of clothes and food, and their morale was low. The deputy general Xiangyu made a quick decision, killed the main general Song Yi, ordered the sergeants to sink the boats used to cross the river, broke the iron pot used to eat, and carried only three days’ dry food. The soldiers’ morale was greatly boosted. 60000 Chu troops defeated 200000 troops of the Qin state, and Xiangyu became famous in the war. Xiangyu’s outstanding military talent must be affirmed, but if he had to let the officers and men sink their boats, why wouldn’t he be making a show? However, this show is for our own officers and men. It is to tell them that this battle is only allowed to win, not to lose, or win or die. This show made Xiangyu a great success, which greatly boosted his morale and morale. Therefore, the next victory was completed at one go, which also made Xiangyu a hero, and thus formed the “path dependence” of the show.
Xianyang and Hongmen banquet, two famous shows in history, directly led to the failure of Xiang Yu in the struggle between Chu and Han.
Liu Bang and Xiang Yu agreed that the first to enter Xianyang would be the king. Liu Bang took the lead in entering the pass. Not only did he not harass the people, but even the beauties and treasures in the pass were untouched. Liu Bang, who was in a weak position, also used this way to show his loyalty to Xiang Yu and his benevolence to the world. Xiangyu, who is in a strong position, wants to show his hegemony. After entering the pass, it is said that he first set fire to the Afang palace, then killed Prince Qin’s baby, and finally killed civilians in a frenzy. This “King Xiang” is really frightening. Those who lose the hearts of the people lose the world. Xiangyu’s “trilogy of entering the pass” made him lose all the hearts of the people in the pass at once. The victory or defeat of the Chu Han dispute may have been doomed since then. Why do we have to do this? Xiangyu is just showing off. He wants to tell the world that the great hero Xiangyu has entered the pass, and everyone must unconditionally surrender. Didn’t your child disobey me before? Didn’t the people in Guanzhong want me to enter the pass? I killed you and burned your palace. Who dares to oppose me? The purpose of this bloody “show” was to tell the world how powerful king Xiang was and how absolutely dominant he was over them. Those who resisted would die. In contrast, Liu Bangcai is actually a wily “power faction”. Xiang Yu pays too much attention to surface effects and is at best an “idol faction”.
Hongmen banquet was originally a “big show”. The director and leading roles were fan Zeng and Zhang Liang, and Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, fan Kuai and Xiang Zhuang. In fact, what Xiangyu needs to do is just sit there drinking and eating meat. The next order is over. Director Fan zengzao has laid a snare, waiting for Liu Bang to deliver it to him. However, Xiangyu failed to perform even the simplest play well. Instead, Liu Bang showed great respect for Xiangyu and showed no intention to act against him. He can be called an absolute “acting school”. At the banquet, XiangZhuang danced his sword with the intention of Duke Pei. Fan Jiazeng winked at Xiangyu several times. As long as he gave an order, he could kill Liu Bang, but he refused to give the order. Why? He saw that Liu Bang was so modest and showed no sign of rebellion. He could not believe the one-sided words of Cao Wushang and fan Zeng, who killed the meritorious hero and ruined his reputation. At this time, what Xiangyu thought was not to get rid of his opponents, but how to carry out his hero show to the end. The world should not laugh at me for not being a hero. Liu Bang, who has a lot of scheming, has long seen through the weakness of Xiangyu’s hero show. You want face, I want to be practical, and quietly slipped away from the path to the toilet. Xiangyu’s hero show helped Liu Bang succeed. Fan zengchuo was so angry that he stared at him and soon died.
The most sad thing is that Xiang Yu was still trying to be a perfect idol.
Surrounded and besieged on all sides, Xiangyu got up and drank a song: “I will be unparalleled when I pull up the mountain, and I will never die when the times are bad.” The enemy is already pressing on the border. The great hero is still in the mood to play sad! Besieged by the Han Army, he knew he had no chance to escape. He still did not forget to show off. He said to the cavalry around him, “I will kill a general for you.” Sure enough, he rushed to the enemy group and killed a general of the Han army. But what is the significance of this besides proving his courage? Finally, he was forced to retreat to Wujiang. Wujiang Pavilion leader came to meet him and was still willing to support him in his comeback. However, what Xiangyu thought was, how can I have the face to see old Jiangdong again when I am so down and out? It would be better to die in a dignified manner. For the dignity of the great hero and the honor of the “overlord”, he resolutely chose to die in battle. For his honor, he was afraid that his wife would fall into the enemy’s hands. He killed Yu Ji first and made her “hero” once. At this time, he sighed: “heaven has killed me. It is not a crime of war. Why should I cross over?” It is believed that God wanted him to perish. It can be seen that he did not understand that he died. He did not know that the reason why he failed was that he loved to show himself, liked to show off his ability, attached too much importance to showing his arrogance and arrogance, and cared too much about the dignity and honor of the so-called “great hero”. In a word, I love to be a hero.
Looking back on Xiangyu’s short life of 30 years, he left too many regrets. If he doesn’t like to be a hero and is not so headstrong, he won’t kill innocent people indiscriminately, won’t show “the benevolence of women” at the critical moment, and won’t rather pull out his sword and commit suicide than try to make a comeback. Then the struggle between Chu and Han must be another situation. “Life is a hero, death is also a ghost hero. So far, I miss Xiangyu and refuse to cross Jiangdong.” Is this poem written by Li Qingzhao appreciating his heroic spirit as the best in the world, or lamenting his heroic show to death? Is he admirable or sad? I always think it’s the latter. I always think it’s telling people a truth: showmanship can kill people.