Chapter 4 There are brothers, the world is wide

Having said that, who are Liu Bang's friends of the same voice?In the small land of Pei, some are considered to be dignified, some are just peddlers, some don’t even have proper occupations; , and some are stained.In short, he was not favored by others, and he was even spoiled by his family, including Liu Bang himself.But it was these people who raised their arms one day, raised their arms, and made some earth-shattering careers. When Liu Bang was not the head of the pavilion in Surabaya, he committed crimes many times, and Xiao He, a fellow villager and good friend, blocked him.Liu Bang became the head of the pavilion in Surabaya, but he still couldn't abide by the rules and deviated from time to time. Fortunately, his immediate boss was Xiao He, who always interceded with the county magistrate for him, so the matter was settled.

When he was young, Liu Bang was a wandering knight-errant who was not liked by the village. Liu Bang, the head of the pavilion in Surabaya, did not have any tendency to follow the officialdom at all.Although Xiao He could not understand these behaviors of his, but with Xiao He's understanding, he also admired Liu Bang's personality of daring to act and being able to take care of things. He could feel that Liu Bang had a unique charm: the lower one was able to persuade people, went deep into the three religions and nine streams, and gathered a group of hard-core buddies around him;Since becoming an official, although he has not followed the rules, he has been quite influential. Among the officials and soldiers in Pei County, he is also a figure that cannot be ignored.

During several occasional conversations with the same table, Xiao He found that although Liu Bang was arrogant and rude on the surface, he had a lot of inner wisdom. Thank you from, categorically became another person. Among the many officials and people in Peixian County, Xiao He looked at Liu Bang differently.In the thirty-fifth year of the first emperor (212 BC), Liu Bang, who was still serving as the pavilion chief of Sishui, went to the capital Xianyang to serve a year of corvee.After traveling for a long time, the officials of Pei County who had social contacts came to see him off one after another.According to the usual practice, everyone sealed a red envelope with 300 renminbi, and Liu Bang opened Xiao He's red envelope, but there was 500 renminbi neatly inside.

In the Qin and Han Dynasties, officials were paid monthly, called monthly salary.The low-level officials like the head of the pavilion have a monthly salary of only a few hundred yuan, and it is rare to have a salary increase every few years. An increase of fifteen yuan is a great grace issued by the emperor himself.The gift of 300 qian from others is already an important gift comparable to salary. Xiao He is the boss, making an exception to give 500 qian is a special gesture. Liu Bang never forgot this matter all his life. Later, when he conquered the world and discussed meritorious deeds, he specially added 2,000 households to the fiefdom for Xiao He. chivalrous.

In addition to Xiao He, among Liu Bang's friends was Fan Kuai who later loyally assisted him. He was a man who killed dogs and sold meat.When everyone rebelled in chaos, Xiao He and Cao Can sent him to pick Liu Bang back to take charge.At the Hongmen Banquet, Fan Zeng ordered Xiang Zhuang to dance with a sword and serve wine, waiting for an opportunity to kill Liu Bang. The sword's edge reached under Liu Bang's nose several times.When Fan Kui heard that the matter was urgent, he took up his shield, overthrew Xiang Yu's guards, and rushed into the tent. Originally, he wanted to save Liu Bang, but he didn't know what to do when he saw that there was no disturbance in the tent, and there was a party of singing and dancing.Xiang Yu was both surprised and delighted to see such an upright and fearless man like himself, and bestowed him with wine.In the subsequent battles, Fan Kui killed many enemies again, made great contributions, and was granted the title of Marquis of Wuyang.

There are many legends about Fan Kuai! There is a line of Surabaya running from north to south in Pei County.According to legend, Liu Bang lived on the west side of the river when he was young. At that time, Fan Kuai set up a stall here to sell dog meat. Liu Bang often ate Fan Kuai's dog meat without paying.Fan Kuai's livelihood was small and the profit was short, so he couldn't bear it after a long time, and he couldn't save himself without credit, so he had to quietly move from Hexi to Hedong to sell. Liu Bang couldn't eat dog meat for three days in a row. After inquiring, he found out that Fan Kui had arrived on the opposite side of the river.At that time, Surabaya was very wide, and usually there was a wooden boat. There were many people and the boat was small. Liu Bang couldn’t get on the boat because he had no money. on the opposite side.

At this time, Fan Kui was selling dog meat at the market. Liu Bang asked Fan Kui how the business was, and Fan Kui said that the market hadn't been sold for three days, and the dog meat had been stockpiled.Liu Bang ate it when he saw it. It was strange to say that as soon as Liu Bang ate it, the people around him surrounded him and fought for it. Fan Kuai sold out the three-day dog ​​meat in a short time.After that, every time he went to the market, Liu Bang asked the old turtle to carry him across the river and go to Fan Kuai's dog meat stall to eat dog meat for free. Fan Kuai was so angry: he hid in the east of the river and hadn't escaped Liu Bang, so he blamed the old turtle for carrying Liu Bang across the river.So he quietly killed the old turtle, put it in the pot and cooked it with the dog meat.Once Liu Bang ate it, he felt that it was better than before. After asking, he found out that Fan Kui had killed the old turtle. He was very unhappy, but it was hard to say clearly.

When Liu Bang became the head of the pavilion in Surabaya, he remembered that Fan Kui killed the old turtle and prevented him from eating dog meat. He was not a friend, so he sent someone to confiscate Fan Kui's knife on the pretext that he had a bad temper and that it was not safe to carry a knife on him.Without a knife, Fan Kui had to cook the dog meat even worse and sell it by tearing it with his hands.Unexpectedly, the torn dog meat tastes better and more delicious than the knife-cut ones, and the business is actually more prosperous. Later, Liu Bang became the emperor, and Fan Kuai was named Marquis of Wuyang, and the dog meat from Pei County went to the whole country.According to legend, the dog meat sold in Pei County is still the same stewed soup that Fan Kuai used to cook turtle soup!

During his tenure as pavilion chief, Liu Bangxin met many brothers, Xia Houying was one of them.Xia Houying and Liu Bang are from the same hometown. Liu Bang is the head of the pavilion in Surabaya, and Xia Houying is the steward of Pei County, that is, the driver of the horse team of the Pei County government. .After a lot of contacts, Xia Houying felt that he and Liu Bang were congenial. Whenever he passed the Surabaya Pavilion after seeing off the guests, he always stopped to get off his horse and had a long chat with Liu Bang, forgetting the time.Xia Houying also made progress later, passed the appointment and selection of county officials, and officially became a small official of the county government, and his relationship with Liu Bang became closer.

Once, Liu Bang and Xia Houying played a sword game, accidentally injured Xia Houying, and was reported.According to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, as an official who hurts someone, he must be severely investigated for criminal responsibility and aggravated.In order to avoid a felony, Liu Bang denied that he had hurt Xia Houying, and Xia Houying also gave false testimony that Liu Bang did not hurt him. This matter is suspected of the crime of mutual shielding between officials.Perhaps in order to set a model for handling cases, the higher-ups attach great importance to this matter and investigate it thoroughly.For this, Xia Houying was imprisoned for nearly a year, tortured and flogged hundreds of times, and she always gritted her teeth and refused to confess.Because there was no evidence to confess, Xia Houying was finally released, and Liu Bang also escaped prosecution and conviction.Since then, the two have become life and death friends.

When Liu Bang raised his troops, Xia Houying raised his troops with Pei County Magistrate Shi and followed Liu Bang all the time, driving the carriage for Liu Bang for many years.In one battle, Liu Bang was defeated and was pursued by Xiang Yujun.Seeing the urgency of the situation, Liu Bang pushed his children (later Emperor Hui and Princess Lu Yuan) out of the car several times, but each time they were picked up by Xia Houying.Xia Houying said: "No matter how urgent the situation is, you can't abandon your own flesh and blood?" Liu Bang was furious and wanted to kill Xia Houying several times, but fortunately he didn't kill him in the end.Fortunately, Liu Bang didn't kill Xia Houying, so he later made great military exploits and was named Zhaopinghou.Liu Bang was grateful to Xia Houying for saving his children, and specially gave Xia Houying the first mansion at the north gate of the palace, saying: "You should get closer to me!" to show his respect and favor. After the establishment of the Han Empire, Xia Houying became the Minister of Communications of the Han Empire - Tai Pu, among the central ministers.However, he still likes to drive the carriage for Emperor Liu Bang himself, as before, feeling very cordial and honorable. Liu Bang also has a friend named Cao Shen.Cao Shen was also from Pei. He used to be a jailer, a low-level official in charge of prisons, and had a good relationship with Xiao He and Liu Bang.This group of people are all officials in the county, and they have strong connections. With some power, they can be considered a hegemony in the local area.It is said in the history books that they "lived in the county as powerful officials", which probably means this. After the incident, Cao Shen was reused by Liu Bang.He conquered the city and conquered the territory, beheaded the banner, and everyone believed that he had the greatest contribution and should be the minister who made the first contribution. In the end, because of Liu Bang's interference, he was only behind Xiao He.Xiao Cao's relationship was good at first, but the two of them still felt a little uncomfortable because of this matter. When Xiao He died, Cao Shen was out of town, serving as Prime Minister, and when he heard the bad news, he urged his family to pack up quickly, saying, "I have to go and become prime minister."Sure enough, before Xiao He died, Cao Shen was the only one who recommended his successor to the court.When Cao Shen became the prime minister, everything was done according to the system of Xiao He's time. Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, who had just ascended the throne, saw Prime Minister Cao inviting people to drink and chat all day long, as if he didn't care about governing the country for him at all.Emperor Hui was very puzzled, but he couldn't think of a reason. He just thought that Cao Xiangguo thought he was too young and looked down on him, so he didn't want to do his best to help him.Emperor Hui always felt uncertain and anxious when he thought about it. One day, Emperor Hui said to Cao Yao (the son of Cao Can) who was a doctor in the imperial court: "When you come home from vacation, try to ask your father when you have the opportunity, and you say: 'Gaozu just died not long ago. , the current emperor is young and has no experience in governing the government. He is asking the prime minister to assist him in handling state affairs. But now you are the prime minister, drinking and chatting with people all day long. You never ask the emperor for instructions on government affairs. Second, just ask about the important affairs of the court. If this goes on like this for a long time, how can you govern the country well and appease the people?' After you ask, see how your father answers, and tell me when you come back. But don't say it's me Let you ask him." Cao Yao accepted the emperor's will, went home on vacation, found a chance, while serving his father, chatted with his father according to Han Huidi's will, and persuaded Cao Shen.After Cao Shen heard what his son said, he lost his temper and scolded Cao Yao, saying: "What do you know about government affairs, you kid? Should you say these things, or should you take care of them? Why don't you go back to the palace as soon as possible?" Serve the emperor!" While cursing, he picked up the board and beat his son severely. After Cao Yao was beaten and scolded by his father, he returned to the palace dejectedly, and complained to Emperor Hui of Han for his grievances.After hearing this, Emperor Hui felt even more baffled. He didn't know why Cao Shen was so angry. The next day when the court came down, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty left Cao Shen behind and scolded him, "Why did you beat Cao Yao? What he said was what I meant, and I asked him to persuade you." Cao Shen listened After hearing Emperor Hui's words, he immediately took off his hat, knelt on the ground and kowtowed to apologize. After Han Huidi woke him up, he said, "If you have any thoughts, please speak up!" Cao Shen thought about it for a while, and then boldly answered Emperor Hui: "Your Majesty, please think about it carefully. Compared with the late emperor, who is more wise and heroic?" Emperor Hui immediately said, "How dare I compare myself with the late Emperor?" Cao Shen asked again: "Your Majesty, compared with Xiao He Xiangguo in terms of my virtue and ability, who is better?" Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty smiled and said, "I think you are not as good as Xiao Xiangguo." Cao Shen took Emperor Hui's words and said: "Your Majesty is very correct. Since your virtuous ability is not as good as that of the late emperor, and my virtue and ability are not as good as Xiao Xiangguo's, then after the unification of the world, the late emperor and Xiao Xiangguo have successively formulated many clear and comprehensive policies. Complete laws and regulations are effective in execution, so can we formulate laws and regulations that surpass them?" Then he sincerely said to Emperor Hui: "Now your majesty is inheriting and keeping the business, not starting a business. Therefore, we ministers should follow the last wish of the late emperor, act cautiously, and abide by our duties. For those who have formulated and implemented Laws and regulations should not be changed randomly, but can only be implemented. Isn’t it good for me to follow the rules now?” After listening to Cao Shen's explanation, Emperor Hui of Han said, "I understand, you don't need to say any more!" Cao Shen served as prime minister in the court for three years. He strongly advocated quietness, doing nothing and not disturbing the people, and governed the country in accordance with the laws and regulations formulated by Xiao He, which made the Western Han Dynasty politically stable, economically developed, and people's living standards gradually improved.After his death, the people made up a ballad to praise him, saying: "Xiao He made the law clearly and neatly. After Cao Shen took over, he obeyed and did not deviate from it. The government is noble and quiet, and the people are happy." It is called "Xiao Gui Cao Sui" in history. When "Book of Han" wrote the story of Xiao He and Cao Can, Ban Gu sighed, "Xiao He and Cao Can were nothing more than small knife and pen officials in the Qin Dynasty. They were mediocre at that time and did nothing The earth-shattering event, and later followed Liu Bang to establish immortal feats.Who can see that two small local cadres have such insight and ability!In the eyes of others, although Liu Bang looks like a rascal, he knew Xiao He and Cao Shen among all living beings, and used them boldly, which is really not easy. Liu Bang's excellence in knowing and employing people is not limited to this.Not to mention his important use of Zhang Liang, Han Xin, and Chen Ping, his use of those ordinary people, mediocre people, villainous people, and idlers in his hometown who seem to be unworthy of the stage in daily life is often unexpected and full of enthusiasm. Get it right.Is it just God's will that he wins the world? Zhou Bo's ancestors were originally from Juan County, Henan Province, and later moved to Pei County.He used to make a living by weaving utensils for raising silkworms, and he often worked as a trumpeter for people in funerals. He also joined the army as a warrior pulling a strong bow.When Liu Bang rebelled against Qin, he followed the Southern Expedition and the Northern War. After the founding of the Han Dynasty, he participated in the suppression of the rebellion of the kings, and was finally named Jianghou.He successively captured one Xiangguo, two prime ministers, three generals, and three county guards. He alone defeated two enemy armies, captured three cities, and pacified five counties and seventy-nine counties. "Hanshu" said that when Zhou Bo was still a commoner, he was just a very simple, even a bit dull person. Who can see that he is an important minister of the country?However, Liu Bang may have taken a fancy to Zhou Bo's simplicity, honesty, uprightness and selflessness, and trusted him very much. He believed that state affairs could be entrusted to him with confidence, and predicted that "those who are safe with the Liu family will surely be Bo."The later facts also confirmed Liu Bang's prophecy, so Liu Bang really knows people!But Zhou Bo didn't like literature at all, and he didn't show any courtesy to Confucian scholars. Every time he asked Confucian scholar lobbyists to talk about things, he always shouted at them: "Speak up if you have anything to say!" Zhou Bo later died of illness, and his posthumous title was Wuhou.A year later, Emperor Wen granted his son Zhou Yafu the Marquis of Tiao to show his succession to Zhou Bo's title.Zhou Yafu, the son of Zhou Bo, was also a famous leader who shocked the three armies. The famous "Xiliu Weijun" in history praised him for his strict management of the army, and he was not allowed to enter the barracks casually even when the emperor was offering condolences.Therefore, when Emperor Wen died, he warned the prince Liu Qi that if there was an emergency, Zhou Yafu could lead the army.This can be described as the son following the father's will, two generations of loyal ministers. Another brother Liu Bang has a close relationship with as the pavilion chief of Surabaya is Ren Ao.Ren Ao was also from Pei County, and was a petty official in Pei County Prison when he was young.Ren Ao speaks of loyalty and stabs both sides for his friends.In the early years of the Second Century, Liu Bang abandoned his post and went into exile, and was pursued by the government. His wife Lu Zhi was implicated and arrested, and she was treated badly in prison. suffer.Later, Ren Ao joined forces with Liu Bang, was granted the title of Marquis of Guang'a, and became the prefect of Shangdang. After Empress Lu came to power, thinking about the past, she appointed Ren Ao as the doctor of imperial history, and took charge of the judicial and administrative affairs of the Han Empire as the deputy prime minister.The old grievances and grievances of the pavilion chief of Sishui seem to have been reciprocated in the era of the emperor of the Han Empire. Among these friends from the same hometown, Wang Ling can be regarded as having a bit of status.Wang Ling and Liu Bang are from the same hometown, but Wang Ling's family background is much better than Liu Bang's.Wang Ling is a well-known rich man in the local area, while Liu Bang is a bum.Wang Ling lacked cultural literacy, loves to be impulsive, likes to speak out, and his family is rich, so Wang Ling's reputation was much greater than Liu Bang's.Therefore, although Liu Bang was not afraid of anyone back then, he avoided Wang Ling by three points.Although Wang Ling's actual age is much younger than Liu Bang, Liu Bang treats him with the etiquette he treats his elder brother. With such a relationship, Wang Ling has always despised Liu Bang psychologically, and never really admired Liu Bang.In many cases, Wang Ling even deliberately competed with Liu Bang.Especially when he saw that Liu Bang, who was not as good as him before, had become a generation of heroes, the sour taste in his heart became even stronger.So at the beginning of the uprising, he didn't want to work with Liu Bang, and got involved with Liu Bang's enemies. When Liu Bang's troops took the lead in attacking Xianyang, and Liu Bang himself had shown the appearance of a king, Wang Ling's psychological imbalance became more serious.Liu Bang, who is far inferior to him, can make such a big hair, so is he not as good as him?Wang Ling simply gathered thousands of party members and stationed in Nanyang, hoping to achieve a career like Liu Bang.He refused to cooperate with Liu Bang many times, but he was not convinced in his heart-I was much better than you back then! However, the situation is stronger than people. In the troubled times at the end of the Qin Dynasty, a person's success depends on the accumulation of many aspects. Having money at home is not an inevitable reason for a person's success.When the conflict between Chu and Han was initially formed, Wang Ling had to choose a side, either relying on others, or destroying himself, he could not become a pole of his own.As a last resort, he chose Liu Bang, but his inner dissatisfaction existed from time to time.No one can guarantee that under such psychological control, Wang Ling will follow Liu Bang wholeheartedly. Flies kept biting seamless eggs, and Xiang Yu soon set his sights on Wang Ling.He sent someone to kidnap Wang Ling's mother and tried his best to recruit Wang Ling to surrender.Wang Ling sent his subordinates to visit his mother. When seeing them off, Wang Ling's mother said, "I know that Wang Ling was not convinced by the King of Han, but in my opinion, the one who will win the world in the future must be the King of Han. Please tell Wang Ling for me. , Serve the King of Han carefully, and don’t be half-hearted because of me. In order to avoid accidents in the royal tomb, I will see you off with my own death.” After saying that, he drew his sword and killed himself. The good plan came to naught, Xiang Yu was very annoyed, and immediately sent an order to throw the mother of Wang Ling who had committed suicide into boiling water and boil it.From then on, Wang Ling was determined to follow Liu Bangqian in the revolution.Liu Bang also used him very much and let him make great achievements. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wangling was named the Marquis of An Guo, and became an important minister after Liu Bang's death. When Emperor Hui succeeded Cao Shen as the right prime minister. Therefore, when Wang Ling looks back on the past, he will definitely have mixed feelings about his mother's foresight. Perhaps in order to repay Liu Bang, in the struggle between Lu and Liu for the world, Wang Ling stood firmly on the side of the Liu family and dared to fight face to face, so that the Lu family had to restrain themselves.Wang Ling's open front and Chen Ping's and Zhou Bo's underground fronts cooperated with each other, making a sound.It's a pity that Wang Ling died first and could not wait for the day of victory. Zhou Chang, Marquis of Fenyin, has been following him since Liu Bang Qipei, "a strong man, dare to speak out".Liu Bang wanted to abolish the crown prince, and made Ruyi, the son of Mrs. Qi, the favored concubine, as the crown prince. He didn't care about the safety of the world, and he didn't listen to the persuasion of the ministers.Zhou Chang still argued hard.At first, Zhou Chang was just a swimming official of Peidi, a low-level official. These people, not to mention that they were not favored by others at the time, but later conquered the world, sat in the court, and became ministers, how many people valued them?Han Xin, a man who drills into other people's crotch, where can he be noble?But I also look down on those who kill dogs, sell mats, and manage livestock. One day, Han Xin went to see Fan Kui. Fan Kui was flattered and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty has time to come and see me!" Be with these people!" With Han Xin's military ability, it is not impossible to win the world, but he was eventually captured by Liu Bang, why?Han Xin himself knew the reason: Liu Bang "cannot generalize soldiers, but is good at generalizing".In a word: think highly of these people, will use these people. There must be many friends from the same hometown who followed Liu Bang to fight the world.In addition, Liu Bang's ability to win the world is naturally inseparable from some talents he has recruited since then.It goes without saying. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang once said: "Princes and generals, would you rather have kindness?" It is said that princes and generals are not born, everyone has the aptitude to be a general or a general; .I always complain that there are no decent talents around me, and I am always eager to search for talents everywhere. In fact, it is very likely that talents are around us, but we don't have Liu Bang's insight and courage to employ people. A person, no matter how ordinary he is, as ordinary as Xiao He, Cao Can, and Zhou Bo before Liu Bangqi, no matter how stupid he is, as stupid as Wang Ling, Fan Kui, and Zhou Chang in the early years, as long as he is used well, in general, he can Contributing to greatness, in a nutshell, also has its own strengths to play.The people around you can't make good use of them, so why talk about recruiting talents?Ye Gong likes dragons. In Liu Bang's early friendships, several different types can be seen.The relationship between Liu Bang and Zhang Er and Wang Ling is a kind of relationship between the subordinates and the superiors, and they follow each other as guests. Liu Bang's relationship with Lu Wan before he became an official, and with Xia Houying and Ren Ao after he became an official, was from top to bottom. Between is master and slave. The relationship between Liu Bang and Xiao He is another kind.Liu Bang and Xiao He have different family education, different tastes and dispositions, there is no friendship between the two of them in private, even if they have something to drink together, they are polite and respectful to each other.They always keep a certain distance between them, appreciate each other, guard against each other, and cooperate with each other.They appreciate each other's strengths that they don't have. They see each other's faults clearly and don't care about them. They both feel the need to complement each other.The relationship between Liu Bang and Xiao He is a courtesy reciprocity between equal scholars, which is quite as clear as water. This kind of interpersonal relationship in Liu Bang's early years affected his life, and thus also affected the relationship between monarch and minister after the establishment of the Han Empire.