Chapter 14 Inviting guests is a big question

Undoubtedly, revolution and dining with guests are concepts on two levels: revolution is the revolution that destroys human life, and it means that one person forcibly deprives another of the right to life; it is good. "Revolution" and "treating guests to dinner" are like fire and water.Therefore, Comrade Mao Zedong said: "Revolution is not a dinner party." However, revolution and dining with guests sometimes complement each other: either the purpose of the dinner is for the revolution, or the purpose of the revolution is for the dinner.The difference lies in the different objects: the purpose of treating guests to dinner is often to revolutionize the lives of others, while the purpose of revolution is to treat guests to dinner better for oneself.The Hongmen Banquet is a dismal case of "revolution is a dinner party".

Although the Hongmen Banquet has a long-standing reputation in history, it is not a classic case of treating guests to dinner.The Hongmen Banquet is just a hurried banquet, a small gathering between unexpected guests and unprepared hosts. Liu Bang's arrival disrupted Xiang Yu's action plan. Although the uncle had greeted him before, how could he have thought that this old boy would come to make amends in such a humble and submissive manner? Liu Bang had a nice smile, he didn't seem to have any precautions, his face was flattering and humble, no matter how you looked at it, he looked like a concubine.If you were Xiang Yu, what would you do?Do you have the nerve to get angry, draw out your sword, and take Liu Bang's head straight?They turned themselves in!

Therefore, we need to understand Xiang Yu and understand why Xiang Yu prepared a banquet for Liu Bang.This banquet, which was later named "Hongmen Banquet", was not a long-planned beheading operation, but just a temporary motion. It is human nature for Xiang Yu to do his best as a landlord when his opponent comes to make amends.Although it was hasty, although it was a temporary arrangement, this banquet accurately showed Xiang Yu's aristocratic demeanor.Perhaps this kind of demeanor hindered Xiang Yu's career, but it was Xiang Yu's character. Obviously, this was a hasty banquet, and Xiang Yu didn't make any mental preparations, nor did Xiang Yu's think tank, so they had to discuss the agenda of the banquet, the toast of the banquet, the dining standards of the banquet, and the grade of liquor in the banquet— Almost no arrangements were made.

However, the guest Liu Bang was quite well prepared. He had mastered Xiang Yu's cards and knew Xiang Yu's true attitude. With this crucial information, Liu Bang knew how to deal with it, how to say the first sentence, the banquet Above all, how to adjust the atmosphere, how to control the situation... Therefore, for both the host and the guest, this is a banquet with asymmetric information.Because of this asymmetry, Xiang Yu made a lot of social mistakes as soon as they met. In order to express his grievances personally, Liu Bang repeated what he had said to Xiang Liang: "After I entered Hangu Pass, Qiu never dared to commit any crimes. I registered official and private household registrations, sealed up all kinds of warehouses, Looking forward to the stars and the moon waiting for your arrival, you are our backbone! For you, I don’t dare to have any other thoughts. I think, there must be some villain who said something bad about me, which made you There was a misunderstanding between me and me."

Because Xiang Yu didn't have any preparations, his thinking has been following Liu Bang's thinking.After listening to Liu Bang's words, Xiang Yu suddenly felt very ashamed: Yes, yes, why did I misunderstand Liu Bang? As a normal self-relieving mentality, he said naturally: "Those words were said by your left Sima Cao Wushang, otherwise, how could I be like this!" Obviously, subconsciously, Xiang Yu was justifying himself—it wasn't that I deliberately misunderstood you, Liu Bang, but that people from your own camp came to make a difference.I don't have a problem here, it's the people inside you who caused this situation, so don't come to ask me what's going on, if you want to ask, just ask your own people.

In fact, as soon as these words were uttered, Xiang Yu felt very inappropriate. Isn't this going to kill Cao Wushang who provided information for him?In this way, from the moment the two met, Xiang Yu, who had the right time and place, was always in a passive state psychologically. In order to alleviate this situation, he decided to buy a banquet and drink with Liu Bang.He knew that although Liu Bang was a good drinker and lustful boy, he was not good at drinking. Xiang Yu was determined to regain his confidence at the drinking table.Because of such thoughts, Xiang Yu showed a domineering look everywhere.

As soon as Xiang Yu came up, he sat down at the head seat, and the following is the seating arrangement for the entire banquet: Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Bo sat at the table, facing west and east, chief think tank Fan Zeng sat facing south, Liu Bang sat facing north, Zhang Liang sat facing Facing west to accompany. During the banquet, Fan Zeng gave Xiang Yu winks several times, and raised the jade ring on his body several times to signal to Xiang Yu, which meant that Xiang Yu should kill Liu Bang.However, for some unknown reason, Xiang Yu remained silent all the time, without any reaction.

Maybe it was insufficient preparation in advance, or maybe it was the lack of tacit cooperation, Xiang Yu's thinking has been in a rigid state.Fan Zeng, who couldn't bear it anymore, had to go out and call Xiang Zhuang to give him an opportunity: "It's time for you to show your skills. You go in and offer wine, then ask for a sword dance, and take the opportunity to stab Liu Bang to death. Remember!" Then came the famous "Xiangzhuang Sword Dance", as the later idiom said, "Xiangzhuang Sword Dance is intended for Pei Gong", and Pei Gong is Liu Bang.Wind dust finishing and production.

Xiang Zhuang's sword danced vigorously, and the cold light made everyone present feel murderous. The situation was thrilling, and Liu Bang was in danger.However, whenever Xiang Zhuang was about to draw his sword, Xiang Bo's figure always appeared in time.Thanks to Xiang Bo often using his body to cover, Liu Bang was able to escape the catastrophe of life and death. Seeing this, Zhang Liang had no choice but to find Fan Kuai while he was going to the toilet.Fan Kui heard that the situation inside was critical, so relying on his brute force, he took a sword and a shield and broke into the private room where Xiang Yu and Liu Bang were drinking.

Fan Kuai, who is dedicated to the savior, is naturally in a state of high excitement, so his body is filled with a fearless revolutionary heroism and a revolutionary romantic temperament that regards death as home.Compared with the crowd full of people with their own concerns, Fan Kuai looked majestic and heroic. The hero cherished each other, and Xiang Yu couldn't help but be attracted by Fan Kuai's heroic spirit, and he sincerely praised: "He is really a strong man! Give him a glass of wine!" His subordinates handed him a large glass of wine.Fan Kuai drank the whole bowl of wine in one gulp, and the scene had a small climax.

It is conceivable that before Fan Kui came in, the atmosphere at the banquet was silent and weird: on the one hand, Liu Bang bowed his head and lowered his eyebrows, and on the other hand, Xiang Yu bossed around and ignored him; Zhang Liang watched with cold eyes, and responded calmly; on the one hand, Xiang Zhuang danced the sword, aiming at Pei Gong, and on the other hand, Xiang Bo stepped forward to rescue him in time... This is not a banquet, but a battle of life and death; this is not a chat, but a battle of wits and courage.But the appearance of Fan Kui made the scene a little more lively, so Xiang Yu had a bright feeling. He looked at the bold and unrestrained Fan Kui and said loudly: "Give him another elbow!" The people under him handed over a whole pork knuckle.Fan Kuai put the shield upside down on the ground, put the pork knuckle on it, drew out his sword, and ate it while cutting.At this time, the atmosphere on the field became more active, and Xiang Yu cheered: "What a strong man! Can I have another drink?" Fan Kui calmly replied: "I don't even care about death, what can I refuse a glass of wine!" , but the atmosphere was terribly depressed.Men who drink all know that at the banquet, what men really admire is the other party's drinking capacity. Xiang Yu seems to be convinced by Fan Kui's drinking capacity, and almost has the idea of ​​fighting against Fan Kui's drinking capacity.However, Fan Kui suddenly started to make a speech: "About Qin Shihuang, I have a few words to say. He has a fierce heart like a tiger and a wolf. He killed countless people, as if he was afraid that he would not be able to kill them all; It caused people to betray their relatives. Today, Peigong has worked so hard and made great achievements. Not only did you not give him the slightest reward, but you listened to the villain's slander and wanted to kill the meritorious. What is the difference between this and what Qin Shihuang did? This is not the end of the Qin Dynasty What is the old road?" Xiang Yu, who was still in high spirits just now, didn't expect Fan Kui to have such a skill, he was tongue-tied, and could only keep saying, "Sit! Sit!" The atmosphere at the banquet became more confusing. Fan Kui's speech revealed everyone's tacit secrets, which made everyone embarrassed, and Xiang Yu was even more confused. Liu Bang seized this fleeting opportunity and borrowed the The opportunity to go to the bathroom quietly escaped from the murderous banquet, and Sa Yazi ran back to her barracks, feeling suddenly reborn. At the banquet, Xiang Zhuang danced his sword with the intention of Peigong, but Xiang Bo repeatedly used his body to protect Liu Bang, a vain son and daughter in-laws, and Xiang Yu was soft-hearted, so Liu Bang escaped. After Liu Bang fled back to the camp in embarrassment, the first thing he did was to kill Cao Wushang. If Cao Wushang is a "traitor", then Xiang Bo is a "traitor of Chu" (later Xiang Yu proclaimed himself the Overlord of Western Chu).But the fates of the two were very different. After that, Xiang Bo still accompanied Xiang Yu through life and death, until the Battle of Gaixia, Xiang Yu committed suicide in Wujiang.After Liu Bang pacified the world, he named Xiang Bo the Marquis of Sheyang.At this time, the defeated general Xiang Bo probably didn't have the courage to bring up the topic of marriage anymore.This is all for later.