GBP Chapter 108 The Life of Liu Bang
Chapter 108 The Life of Liu Bang
[How did Liu Bang, the commoner emperor, ascend to the throne. Boss Liu's history of the Chu-Han contention]
[He was once regarded by great people as the most powerful feudal emperor. He got married at the age of 35, started an army at the age of 48, killed his relatives at the age of 50, and unified the country at the age of 54.]
[He experienced countless failures in his life, but he fought again and again and never gave up. Some people said that he was just a street rogue who was good for nothing except eating and drinking for free and fetching water for widows.]
【But little did they know that he was a grassroots person with great ambitions, and used his life experience to perfectly illustrate what it means to be indomitable and a late bloomer. 】
[He is the commoner emperor, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang! What was Liu Bang like in history? Let us review his life together. ]
——“Boss Liu is here!”
——"Liu Bang? That little thug?"
——"Come on, he is just a grassroots official after all, not a gangster."
Han Dynasty.
Liu Bang screamed in excitement: "Damn it, there is finally a special issue about me. Quick, go inform everyone and let them take a good look at my legendary life!"
Lu Zhi rolled her eyes.
It was a legendary life, or a legendary half-life, or rather, more like ten years, to be precise. The life before his forties could not be considered legendary.
Xiao He thought so too, but seeing Boss Liu's serious expression, he didn't want to offend him, so he asked someone to notify other people.
[He was born in Zhongyangli, Fengyi, Pei County in 256 BC, and died in Chang'an in 195 BC after being injured while suppressing Ying Bu's rebellion.]
[Liu Bang died at the age of 62. When we talk about this founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, our first impression may be that he was born in a humble family, behaved like a gangster, and spent his days doing nothing.]
[After gaining control of the country, he then crossed the river and destroyed the bridge, killing all the meritorious officials. But in fact, Liu Bang was a man with great ambitions in his early years. If you want to fully understand Liu Bang's life, you have to start from the beginning.]
[One day in 256 BC, a boy who was about to change history was born in Fengyi, Jiangxi Province. He was Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty who later established the Western Han Empire. His father named him Liu Ji.]
——"Bo, Zhong, Shu, and Ji, logically he should be called Uncle Liu."
——"Ji means the youngest, it doesn't necessarily have to mean the fourth."
——"I see. His father was planning to end his child-bearing project after he gave birth to him, but he couldn't help but gave birth to another one."
[On the same day of the same month as him, there was also a baby boy named Lu Wan born in Fengyi. From then on, the lifelong bond between the two began. ]
[When Liu Bang was young, he had a high forehead, beautiful sideburns and beard, and 72 black moles on his left thigh.]
——"My goodness, if you have trypophobia, you won't be able to handle this."
——"It's obvious that it was written randomly later to highlight his extraordinaryness."
——"But he must be really handsome, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to trick those widows into marrying him."
[Liu Bang was kind and generous, with a very cheerful personality. He was not particular about details, which is what we now call down-to-earth, so he made many friends.]
[But the one he trusted the most was Lu Wan, who grew up with him as a student.]
[When Liu Bang was a little older, he still didn't like to work in the fields and spent the whole day idle, so he was often scolded by his father.]
[The villagers around him also thought that Liu Bang had no ambitions, and no girl was willing to marry this poor boy who had no car, no house, and no savings.]
——"It's so real, I've already been deeply involved in it."
——"To grow crops, one must have great ambitions!"
【But in fact, Liu Bang had his own little plan. He once admired Wei Wuji, the hero of Wei State, and dreamed of becoming his retainer. However, due to his young age and lack of financial resources, he never achieved his wish.】
[By the time he was able to travel west to the State of Wei, Xinling Jun had already passed away for many years. However, it happened that Zhang Er, a retainer of Xinling Jun, was also recruiting retainers. By chance, Liu Bang and Zhang Er formed a deep friendship.]
[In 225 BC, the State of Wei was destroyed by the State of Qin, and Zhang Er became a wanted criminal of the Qin State. All his followers left, and the 31-year-old Liu Bang had no choice but to return to his hometown in Pei County.]
[Two years later, the Qin State conquered the Chu State and changed the old county of the Chu State into the Sishui County. The Pei County where Liu Bang was located was within the jurisdiction of the Sishui County.]
[At this time, Liu Bang was already 33 years old, but he still passed the assessment and became a Qin official, serving as the head of Sishui Pavilion in Pei County.]
[The official position is roughly equivalent to the current post of the chief of the locks, responsible for managing public security for a long time. Liu Bang has become very familiar with the officials of Pei County and is also well-known in the local area. ]
[On the way to Xianyang to escort the prisoners, Liu Bang happened to meet the Qin Shi Huang's traveling troop. Seeing Qin Shi Huang sitting in a magnificently decorated carriage, Liu Bang was inspired to say, "A real man should be like this." This also shows Liu Bang's ambition and mind. ]
[Around 222 BC, after Lü Gong had a feud with someone in his hometown of Dongshan, he moved his family to Pei County to settle down. Because he had a very good relationship with the county magistrate, many people who wanted to curry favor with him came to visit him in order to establish a good relationship with him.]
[The person who hosted the reception was Xiao He, the chief clerk of Pei County. Liu Bang, who loved to join in the fun, naturally would not miss this opportunity, but the guests came to give gifts.]
【However, Liu Bang came with nothing but a mouth. Lu Gong, who was good at physiognomy, took a liking to Liu Bang at first sight. Despite his family's opposition, he promised his daughter, who was not even willing to marry a county magistrate, to Liu Bang, who was 15 years older than his daughter and had a child.】
——"Is face reading so amazing? I want to learn it!"
——"Sorry, I don't accept any disciples!"
[This woman is the first recorded queen and empress dowager in Chinese history—Lü Zhi.]
[A year later, Liu Bang, 35, was still living in poverty and was often out of sight for days on end due to official duties and friends.]
[Either wandering around or eating and drinking for free.]
【Lü Zhi independently supported the family, engaged in farming and knitting with her children, was filial to her parents, and lived a self-reliant life. 】
——"Good fellow, you are Xue Baochai!"
——"I cried for ten years, but I enjoyed the rest of my life. It's worth it."
——"You can't think like that. Liu Bang was nothing at the time. These hard days were endless. It was really not easy to persevere."
[More than ten years of peaceful life passed in a flash, until 209 BC, when Liu Bang was escorting prisoners to Mount Li.]
[Because he was drunk, the prisoner took the opportunity to escape halfway. Liu Bang was afraid of being punished, so he had to flee to the swamp area under Mangdang Mountain. It was here that the story of the White Snake Uprising took place. ]
[At this time, the peasant uprising broke out at the end of the Qin Dynasty. Liu Bang, Xiao He, and Cao Shen killed the magistrate of Pei County together. Because Xiao He and Cao Shen were both civil servants, they were also worried that if the uprising failed, they would be exterminated by the Qin Dynasty. ]
——"Follow the rules of Xiao and Cao. There are talented people everywhere in the small Pei County. Even the butcher is a fierce general!"
——"Isn't Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown the same? Xu Da, Tang Xianzu, Zhu Yuanzhang and others are all from the same village."
——"Heroes are made by the times!"
【So with everyone's support, Liu Bang became the county magistrate of Pei County. According to the Chu system, Liu Bang called himself Pei Gong, set up an altar, and raised a red flag. The rebel army soon expanded to more than 3,000 people. 】
[At this time, Liu Bang was already 48 years old. After Liu Bang started the uprising, he immediately launched an attack on the surrounding counties. He first captured Fengyi, and then led his army into Xue County. He also met Zhang Liang on the way. ]
[At the same time, Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, descendants of the original Chu nobles, also started an uprising in Wuzhong and adopted Fan Zeng's suggestion to support the grandson of King Huai of Chu, Xiong Xin, as the King of Chu and set the capital in Xuyi.]
[Liu Bang went to Xuyi to join Xiang Liang, and together with several hundred Qin general Zhang Han's cavalry, they recaptured many Wei cities occupied by the Qin army.]
[In 208 BC, Xiang Liang was ambushed by Zhang Han and was defeated and killed in Tiantian County, Dingtao. The King of Chu took the opportunity to seize the military power of Lu Chen and Xiang Yu.]
[In order to check and balance Xiang Yu, Liu Bang was also given the title of Wu'an Marquis, promoted to the governor of Dang County, and commanded the troops of Dang County, while Xiang Yu was only given the title of Chang'an Marquis.]
——"Marquis Wu'an? There have been many people who have been given this title since ancient times. The most famous one is Bai Qi."
——"Not to mention the history books, even in the novels nowadays, the male protagonists who have made great contributions are all given the title of Marquis of Wu'an."
【At this time, Liu Bang's status was actually higher than that of Xiang Yu, who was a county magistrate.】
[Zhang Han, who defeated Xiang Liang, led his army north again to attack Zhao. The King of Zhao sent an envoy to ask the King of Chu for help. In order to disperse the power of the Qin army, the King of Chu decided to send the Western Route Army led by Liu Bang to attack the Qin capital directly to the west.]
[Let the Northern Army led by Song Yi go to rescue Zhao, and agree that whoever enters Guanzhong first will be the King of Guanzhong.]
[In 206 BC, the 49-year-old Liu Bang led his troops westward, gathering many of Chen Sheng and Xiang Liang's scattered soldiers along the way, and defeated Wang Li in Gangli, breaking the Qin army. ]
[Also in Gaoyang, he met the famous diplomat Li Shiqi. According to Li Shiqi's plan, Liu Bang fought all the way to Wuguan without bloodshed. At this time, Zhang Han, the last hope of Qin, had already surrendered to Xiang Yu. ]
[Qin Dynasty Prime Minister Zhao Gao found the situation bad and hastily killed Qin II, wanting to divide Guanzhong equally with Liu Bang. ]
【Liu Bang had been in society for many years, so how could he not see through Zhao Gao's tricks? He did not fall for it at all, and directly adopted Zhang Liang's strategy, launched a surprise attack on Wuguan, and defeated the last armed forces of Qin in Lantian.】
【At this point, King Ziying of Qin, riding a white horse and a plain carriage, presented the imperial seal to Liu Bang, and the Qin Dynasty officially came to an end.】
——"Didn't it end in the third generation? Why do people always say that the Qin Dynasty ended in the second generation?"
——"Because his name is Qin Prince Ying, not Qin Emperor Ying, it is no longer a dynasty, but has become various vassal states during the Warring States Period."
[After Liu Bang entered the Pass, he summoned local celebrities in Bashang and made three laws with them, which won the hearts of the people. ]
【After defeating Zhang Han, Xiang Yu led his troops to Guanzhong. Fan Zeng advised Xiang Yu to take the opportunity to kill Liu Bang, but Liu Bang followed Zhang Liang's advice and met Xiang Bo. He persuaded Xiang Bo to speak well of him on his behalf by offering to marry his son to Xiang Bo's daughter. This is how Liu Bang escaped.】
[The next day, Liu Bang brought Zhang Liang and Fan Kuai to Xiang Yu's camp, where the well-known Hongmen Banquet took place. After the Hongmen Banquet, Xiang Yu led his troops westward, entered Xianyang, burned the Afang Palace, killed King Ziying of Qin, and proclaimed himself the Overlord of Western Chu, becoming the supreme commander at the time.]
【The King of Chu was honored as the Righteous Emperor and was later killed by Xiang Yu. 】
[Xiang Yu, who had already decided the outcome, rejected his advisers' suggestion to make himself king of Guanzhong, and insisted on returning home in glory. He also appointed various generals as kings according to his own preferences, which laid the hidden danger for the collapse of his empire in the future.]
[In 206 BC, the various princes were granted titles of nobility and returned to their own fiefdoms, while Liu Bang, who was granted the title of King of Han, led his troops into Hanzhong with resignation.]
[He also burned the plank road to paralyze Xiang Yu and show that he had no intention of going east again. However, within a few months of peace, the descendants of the nobles of Qi State, dissatisfied with the enfeoffment, drove away the King of Qi and established themselves as king.]
【Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Bang appointed Han Xin as the general, took the opportunity to go east, openly repaired the plank road, secretly crossed Chencang, and returned to Guanzhong. 】
[He defeated Zhang Han quickly and deceived Xiang Yu again, making him think that he would be satisfied with the title of Marquis of Guanzhong and would have no more ambitions.]
[Xiang Yu really believed it, so he attacked Tian Rong without any worries, and ended up getting stuck in the quagmire of war, unable to extricate himself. This gave Liu Bang a golden opportunity.]
[In 205 BC, after Liu Bang, 51 years old, pacified the Three Qins, he prepared to march east to fight Xiang Yu for the world. His army quickly captured Hanoi, and he used the murder of Emperor Yi as an excuse to call on all the princes to lead their troops to join him in the crusade against Xiang Yu.]
[From then on, the four-year Chu-Han contention kicked off. In May of the same year, Liu Bang took advantage of the fact that Xiang Yu was trapped in Qi and could not get out, and led a coalition army of 5 princes to capture Pengcheng, the capital of Western Chu.]
[The short-lived victory made Liu Bang lose his mind, and he spent the whole day drinking and having fun with the princes. At this time, Xiang Yu led 30,000 cavalrymen to attack Pengcheng, and the unprepared coalition forces were killed more than 200,000.]
【Liu Bang escaped with only ten men, and the anti-Chu alliance led by Han collapsed. Fortunately, Han Xin and others defeated the pursuers of Western Chu in the Battle of Jingsuo, and the Han army was able to stabilize its position, reorganize the army, and rely on the favorable terrain of Guanzhong to launch a long-term confrontation with Xiang Yu. 】
[In 204 BC, Han Xin annihilated the coalition forces of Qi and Chu in the Battle of Weishui, completing the strategic afterglow against the Chu army, and sent Guan Ying to lead the Han army straight to Pengcheng. ]
[Xiang Yu, attacked from all sides, ran out of food and grass, so he had no choice but to divide the world with Liu Bang, with the Honggou as the boundary, with the east going to Chu and the west going to Han.]
[The next year, Xiang Yu led his troops back east. Liu Bang also wanted to withdraw his troops, occupy half of the country, and go home to live a life with his wife and children. ]
【However, under Zhang Liang's reminder, he still thought that he could not let the tiger go back to the mountain, and pursued the Chu army with all his strength. 】
[In 202 BC, Liu Bang, Han Xin and others led an army of 70 and fought a decisive battle with 10 tired Chu troops at Gaixia.]
[Han Xin used the tactic of luring the enemy deep into his territory, splitting Xiang Yu's army into two halves and defeating Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu had no choice but to lead the remaining troops to retreat. Afterwards, Han Xin ordered the Han army to sing Chu songs at night, causing the Chu army to be homesick and tired of fighting, and the army's morale collapsed.]
[Xiang Yu had no choice but to lead 800 elite soldiers to break out. When he reached Wujiang River, only 28 riders were left. Xiang Yu, who refused to return to Jiangdong, was eventually annihilated and committed suicide.]
[From then on, Liu Bang, 54 years old, ruled the country, named it Han, and fulfilled his previous promise to make the opposite sex kings.]
[Later, Liu Bang reduced the power of the vassal states and concentrated all power in the hands of Liu's descendants. Later, when he was fighting against Ying Bu, he was seriously injured and finally died in Chang'an, Changle Palace, at the age of 62. ]