Chapter 39 Chapter 3 Abandonment and Counterattack

Chen Ping deliberately formed a team of 2,000 women and children and escaped from the east gate.Xiang Yu judged that Liu Bang was hiding in it, and immediately ordered a siege and attack.Sure enough, he saw Liu Bang sitting in the chariot of the King of Han coming out, and said loudly: "The food in Xingyang is exhausted, and the King of Han surrendered to the Chu army." Creating Opportunities in Peace Talks Although the changes in the Central Plains and the turbulent situation in the south of the Yangtze River put Xiang Yu at a disadvantage, the advantages on the Xingyang battlefield gave Xiang Yu a blind spot, thinking that as long as Xingyang was defeated, Liu Bang's power would be completely destroyed.

Xiang Yu visited the Xingyang battlefield in person in mid-April, ready to attack with all his might. "Taking Xingyang, we will win an all-round victory!" Liu Bang also defended Xingyang almost as much as he could. He deployed most of his troops between Xingyang and Chenggao at the outpost, using a horned formation to block the fierce attack of the Chu army. But the veteran Fan Zeng quickly discovered the weakness of the Han camp's defensive front. Along the Yellow River in the northeast of Xingyang, there is a city named Aocang. Since ancient times, it has been a storage station for transporting grain from all over Guanzhong. Because there is a very large granary in the area, the city was named Ao Cang.

The food of the Han army transported by Xiao He from Guanzhong was stored here. But here is just a small mound on the Loess Plateau. Although there are sufficient fortifications in the four directions, it is a platform with Xingyang and Chenggao, and there is no barrier for garrison defense. For the safety of grain transportation, Liu Bang still used ordinary market facilities and used earth walls as protection to prevent the enemy's surprise attack on grain. But for the powerful enemy army, these two roads have very limited effect and can be easily cut off. Therefore, it is necessary to deploy more mobile cavalry troops on the periphery to protect the safety of the South Road itself.

During the Great Deer War, the failure of the Qin army was due to the wrong strategy of protecting the two roads at Sujiao, so that it was attacked by Yingbo and Xiang Yu from the north to the south. Therefore, the advantages of the former way often become fatal shortcomings. Under Fan Zeng's planning, Xiang Yu repeated his old tricks and violently attacked the Han army's market road between Aocang and Xingyang. Responsible for protecting the market is the Guanying cavalry unit, the most mobile in the Han army camp. Guan Ying has a strong and responsible personality. He personally commands the cavalry to conduct 24-hour rapid patrols, and all the members are on standby all day long, and will rush to help if there is any situation.

Although the situation was critical, Chen Ping's countermeasures had some effect in time.Many rumors circulated in the Chu army, saying that although Chu general Zhong Limei had done a lot of meritorious service, Xiang Yu never let him take over the land and become king, so that he had been bought by Liu Bang and might betray Chu and descend to the Han at any time. Xiang Yu was very nervous and tried to tighten Zhonglimei's military power, which weakened the attacking power of the Chu army a lot. Chen Ping believed that Xiang Yu had internal troubles, so he suggested that Liu Bang take the initiative to ask Xiang Yu for peace talks.

Although Fan Zeng strongly opposed it, Xiang Yu felt guilty on the one hand, and on the other hand wanted to rest for a while to reorganize, so he agreed to Liu Bang's proposal to suspend the army. The two sides then agreed to take Xingyang as the boundary, to return to Liu Bang to the west, and to Xiang Yu to the east, and to discuss the withdrawal of the army at a certain date. Guan Ying also took the opportunity to repair the market and prepare for good luck. During Chen's redress, Xiang Yu fell into the trap In fact, peace talks are another poisonous plan of Chen Ping. His target this time is Xiang Yu's right-hand man, Fan Zeng.

Chen Ping taught Liu Bang to send an envoy to Fan Zeng to negotiate peace and discuss the details of the withdrawal. Fan Zeng naturally could not accept it, but he took the envoy to Xiang Yu and said that he did not accept private contacts. According to Chen Ping's instructions, the envoy asked Xiang Yu to send an envoy to the Han camp to strongly express his superior position in the peace talks. Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng did not suspect him, so they formally sent envoys to the Han camp for tough negotiations. Chen Ping was responsible for receiving the envoys from Chu State. Chen Ping deliberately let out the rumor that the Han camp sent envoys to Fan Zeng's place, and the envoys from the Chu State were also sent by Fan Zeng. He also asked the reception staff to receive Fan Zeng's staff with the most cordial and solemn etiquette.

The reception staff then put on the rugs for the most important dignitaries, with extraordinary style. Chen Ping received the envoy of Chu State in formal attire, and continued to greet Fan Zeng kindly and solemnly. In his speech, he kept revealing that he confirmed that the other party was the envoy of Fan Zeng, and he ignored Xiang Yu intentionally or unintentionally. The Chu envoys immediately indicated that they were the official representatives of King Xiang. Unexpectedly, Chen Ping expressed surprise on purpose: "Oh, aren't you the envoys of Yafu, but the envoys of King Xiang?"

Chen Ping left immediately and ordered the reception staff to remove the prison equipment, and then sent his adjutant to receive the envoy, and served the simplest dishes. The envoy was deeply humiliated, and naturally secretly reported this incident to Xiang Yu in detail. Xiang Yu was naturally very unhappy, but he was too embarrassed to directly ask Fan Zeng for confirmation, so he could only sulk in his heart, and naturally showed his alienation from Fan Zeng in his actions. Seeing that the envoy's peace talks seemed to be going nowhere, Fan Zeng asked Xiang Yu to take action against Liu Bang.

But Xiang Yu has a ghost in his heart, and he has a noncommittal and indifferent attitude towards Fan Zeng's positive attitude. Sensitive Fan Zeng soon noticed that Xiang Yu's attitude was different, but he couldn't imagine that Xiang Yu would doubt him. The Zhonglimei incident a few days ago had already made Fan Zeng very angry and dissatisfied with Xiang Yu's suspicion. When he knew that Xiang Yu also had doubts about him, he became even more furious and furious. The old man was trembling with anger, thinking to himself at such an old age, what is the reason for working so hard and desperately?It's just a sense of mission to Chu, but from Xiang Liang to Xiang Yu, from the Julu battle to the attack and defense of Xingyang, what reward did he get for his hard work? .

Xiang Yu is too young after all.His astonishing combat genius and leadership skills made him a national military and political leader at the age of 28, but his conceit and willfulness also prevented Xiang Yu from feeling the dark side of human nature.From this point of view, the generation gap between him and Fan Zeng is really too big. Based on the same aristocratic background, Xiang Yu still regards Fan Zeng as his senior and respects him due, and even respects him as his son-in-law. On the surface, Fan Zeng seems to have a high position and authority, but Xiang Yu can't communicate with him at all, nor can he understand the old man's thoughts and feelings. idea. Sad, Fan Zeng decided to resign.He said to Xiang Yu: "The affairs of the world are roughly settled. The king himself will surely succeed. I am too old. Please allow me to retire and return to my hometown!" Xiang Yu actually didn't want Fan Zeng to leave, but he didn't know how to keep Fan Zeng; besides, Xiang Yu also thought that Fan Zeng relied on the old to sell the old, which was too disrespectful to him. Therefore, Xiang Yu did not retain Fan Zeng, he approved Fan Zeng's resignation.At this time, Xiang Yu felt very sad and indignant in his heart. He thought that everyone didn't understand him and everyone was betraying him. Fan Zeng didn't want to leave, but now he had to. With only one servant, he planned to go to Pengcheng to sort out his things before returning to his hometown to build a house and live in seclusion. But the resentment, pain and dissatisfaction in his heart made him angry, and his chronic disease, back gangrene (carbuncle) worsened, and he died on the way before reaching Pengcheng. There is no record in the historical data how Xiang Yu reacted to Fan Zeng's bad news. Xiang Yu has a strong personality and strong self-awareness, but his aristocratic background makes him polite to others and attaches great importance to soldiers. On the contrary, he doesn't like hypocritical and aggressive generals and subordinates.Therefore, he would rather put his feelings on the soldiers than have any friendship with his subjects. The golden cicada escapes its shell, and Xingyang abandons its defense After Fan Zeng's death, Xiang Yu turned his stomach on Liu Bang; not only refused to further peace talks, but also led the forward troops to attack the tunnel from Aocang to Xingyang every day. state. The Xingyang garrison is too large, if there is no food, the soldiers will be defeated immediately. Zhang Liang advocated abandoning Xingyang, and retreated to Guanzhong to seek a great cause. However, it is very dangerous to retreat with so many legions. If Xiang Yu takes the opportunity to pursue, the Han army may repeat the collapse of the Pengcheng battle. Chen Pingnai suggested that Liu Bang retreat first, and let Xiang Yu know about this, so that the pressure on Xingyang can be relieved, and he can also take this opportunity to redeploy the army to adjust the severe food shortage caused by the excessive concentration of troops in Xingyang. But how to let Xiang Yu know that Liu Bang has withdrawn without risking being pursued? Among Liu Bang's generals, there is one who looks like Liu Bang—tall and majestic, with a beautiful beard—his name is Ji Xin. Liu Bang has no right to ask Ji Xin to take the place of the dead ghost. Zhang Liang's Taoist cultivation made him not want to sacrifice anyone casually. Chen Ping did not have this burden, so he directly discussed with Ji Xin and asked Ji Xin to sacrifice himself to save Liu Bang and the Xingyang defenders. Ji Xin generously agreed to be Liu Bang's "Shadow Warrior." He came to Liu Bang's camp in person and said to Liu Bang: "It's urgent! Please let me pretend to be you to deceive the Chu army! Your Majesty can wait for the opportunity to leave here!" That night, Chen Ping deliberately formed a team of 2,000 women and children in an attempt to escape from the east gate. Xiang Yu judged that Liu Banghui was hiding in it, and immediately ordered an attack from all directions. : "The food in Xingyang has been exhausted, and the king of Han surrendered to the Chu army." The Chu army shouted long live, and they all gathered outside the east gate, competing to watch Liu Bang's surrender. House arrest, waiting for Xiang Yu to come to accept the surrender was delayed for a long time, so that the Han army had enough time to withdraw from Ximen quickly. To be on the safe side, first of all, the real Liu Bang led dozens of cavalry to quickly retreat to Chenggao, preparing to enter Guanzhong to recuperate. Then most of the defenders of Xingyang retreated to Chenggao in batches, and prepared to join the defenders of Yingbu. In Xingyang City, only Han Wangxin, Wei Wangbao, and Liu Bang's fellow generals Zhou Ke and Conggong were left, leading part of the army to stand firm. Xiang Yu also rushed to the front line after hearing the news, and prepared to receive Liu Bang at the temporary position outside Xingyang City. Seeing Ji Xin appearing in Hanwang costumes, Xiang Yu knew he had been deceived.He asked sharply: "Where is the King of Han?" Ji Xin smiled calmly and said: "It has escaped safely!" Xiang Yu couldn't help being furious, and ordered Ji Xin to be burned outside the city of Xingyang. Because they didn't know Liu Bang's whereabouts, the Chu army still kept a close eye on Xingyang with a siege attitude. Zhou Ke on the city wall judged that the Chu army would not abandon Xingyang. He was worried that if someone in Xingyang rebelled when the Chu army attacked, it would cause great harm, so he discussed with Duke Cong: "We were ordered to defend the city, and we should do our best regardless of victory or defeat, but Wei Bao made me feel very uneasy. He has always been in love with King Xiang, but now he has to surrender to our army because of defeat. Now the Chu army is tightly Surround us, if he uses this situation to instigate a rebellion in the city, it will cause a catastrophe." After repeated defeats and repeated battles, Liu Bang fought Xiang Yu After Cheng Gao took a rest and reorganized the troops withdrawn from Xingyang, Liu Bang, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping and other important staff members returned to Guanzhong first. Forced to abandon the defense twice in a row, Liu Bang couldn't help being a little discouraged about his combat ability, but Xiao He, who guarded and managed the Guanzhong area, had no complaints.He just handed over the formed new force and food socks to Liu Bang, and let Liu Bang decide whether to make a comeback by himself, and go out and face Xiang Yu again. Liu Bang was infinitely grateful, and he was determined to make himself better. He discussed with Zhang Liang and others, hoping to carry out the Chu-Han confrontation for the world in a more planned way, so he left Zhang Liang and others in the pass to think and plan, and led the Han army to leave the pass again. Staff officer Yuan Sheng suggested to Liu Bang: "The Han army has been fighting against the Chu army in Xingyang for many years. Due to the shortage of supplies, the Han army is often in a dilemma of food shortage. Therefore, it is not appropriate for your Majesty to take risks in Xingyang. I hope that this time we can leave Wuguan and enter Wancheng. King Xiang sees this It is also bound to lead the army to the south, so that the defenders between Xingyang and Chenggao can rest confronted head-on. "Because the Chu army needs to defend against more fronts and scattered forces, the strength of the Han army after a long rest will increase greatly, so it will not be so difficult to defeat the Chu army." Liu Bang felt that it made sense, so he followed Yuan Sheng's suggestion to send troops from Wuguan, and deployed them between Wancheng and Yecheng, echoing Chenggao's Yingbu army. When Xiang Yu heard that Liu Bang was stationed in Wancheng, he immediately led the main force to the south in an attempt to defeat Liu Bang.But Liu Bang was strong and clear, and he didn't contact him, so Xiang Yu had no choice. According to Zhang Liang's plan, Liu Bang should immediately contact Peng Yue, the "thief army" who was fighting guerrillas in Liang after he left the customs. After Pengcheng's defeat, Zhang Liang suggested that Liu Bang befriend Yingbo and Peng Yue in order to contain the expansion of Xiang Yu's power. Yingbo was originally in Xiang Yu's camp. After being persuaded by Sui He to rebel against the Chu army, he joined forces with the Han army to deploy in Chenggao and became an important ally of Liu Bang. Peng Yue had allied with Liu Bang before the battle of Pengcheng, but he did not participate in the battle of Pengcheng, so the army he led was not harmed. When Liu Bang withdrew to Xingyang, Peng Yue also abandoned the city he occupied in Liangdi and led his troops northward to fight guerrillas on the north bank of the Yellow River. During the confrontation between Chu and Han in Xingyang, Peng Yue often led troops south to attack the Chu army's grain road, which caused Xiang Yu a great headache. Peng Yue, who was born as a thief, hated Xiang Yu's style of aristocrats the most, so he would unconsciously fall in love with Liu Bang's "big brother style." So Xiang Yu sent General Xue Gong to the north of Liang to suppress Peng Yue. Peng Yue also took advantage of Liu Bang's troops from Wancheng and Xiang Yu's main force going south to attack Xue Gong and Xiang Sheng's army in Xiapi City. Xue Gong naturally refused to show weakness and went out of the city to fight. However, Peng Yue was very experienced and created a suspicious army in Jinchu, which made Xue Gong have to divide up to guard against it.Immediately afterwards, Peng Yue correctly captured Xue Gong's main force, assembled several times the force and defeated it in one fell swoop. As a result, Xue Gong died in battle, and Xiang Sheng escaped by chance to report to Xiang Yu. Under Xiang Yu's strong pressure, Yingbo gave up Chenggao and joined Liu Bang in Wancheng. After receiving the emergency military situation in Xiapi, Xiang Yu ordered Duke Zhong to guard Chenggao, and he immediately led his army eastward to attack Pengyue, so as not to endanger the base camp of Pengcheng. Liu Bang immediately went north to attack Chenggao, and the Duke of Zhong abandoned the city and left. In June, Xiang Yu's army returned to defend Xiapi City.When Peng Yue heard that the main force of the Chu army was returning to the east, he immediately ordered a retreat to the north, and Xiang Yu was in vain again. The front line in Xingyang reported that Liu Bang had returned to Chenggao. Xiang Yu was worried that he would fall into a tug-of-war again, so he quickly led the army to attack Xingyang. Although Zhou Ke and others defended with all their strength, the Chu army was outnumbered, and Xingyang was captured soon after. Duke Cong died in battle, and Zhou Ke and Han Wangxin were arrested. Xiang Yu personally said to Zhou Ke: "If you become our general, I will regard you as the general and seal 30,000 households." Zhou Ke scolded loudly: "The Chu army will not be the enemy of the Han army! Can't King Xiang see that your strength is getting weaker and weaker, and one day the Chu army will surrender to the Han army." Xiang Yu was furious and cooked Zhou Ke to death on the spot. Winning Han Xinjun alone, Liu Bang will use his own skills After defeating Xingyang, Xiang Yu's main force quickly put pressure on Chenggao's Liu Bang defenders. Liu Bang then asked Han Xin of Zhaodi to reinforce his troops. Although Han Xin agreed, he did not send reinforcements for a long time. Xiang Yu's army had arrived near Chenggao, and Liu Bang judged that he was unable to defend. He was afraid of repeating the defeat of Xingyang, so he ordered Yingbu to abandon Chenggao when the situation was critical, and lead his army back to Wancheng. He himself and Xia Houying led a small number of guards out of Chenggao Yumen, crossed the Yellow River north, and went to transfer troops to Han Xin in person. Since Yingbu led the main force of the Han army and was still stationed in Chenggao, Xiang Yu did not find that Liu Bang had crossed the river and entered Zhao's land, so he did not send troops to pursue him. Liu Bangdang stayed overnight in Xiuwu Chuanshe, deliberately not to disturb Han Xin. Before dawn the next morning, Liu Bang and Xia Houying galloped towards Han Xin's camp, calling themselves the envoys of the King of Han, and galloped into Han Xin's base camp. Both Han Xin and Zhao Wang Zhang Er are still asleep. After Liu Bang revealed his identity to the general on duty at night, he went to Han Xin's bedroom to seize the general's fly well and called the generals of the army to hold a meeting on the spot. Zhang Er and Han Xin woke up and heard that Liu Bang had arrived at the base camp. They were shocked and immediately dressed up and came to see him. Liu Bang successfully won the command of the Han army in Zhaodi under the leadership of Han Xin. Han Xin and Zhang Er really didn't know why Liu Bang came to this place in person, so they had to obey his instructions obediently. Could it be that Liu Bang no longer trusted the two of them because it was too late to send reinforcements, so he came to take away his military power in person? However, Liu Bang still ordered Zhang Er to be stationed in Zhao, and he also worshiped Han Xin as Zhao Guoxiang and commanded some troops, and instructed him to immediately prepare for the eastern expedition to Qi, because as long as Qi was included in the camp of the Han army, Liu Bang could attack from the east, north, and west. The Chu army put Xiang Yu in trouble. During this period, Yingbo also successfully allowed the Han army stationed in Chenggao to withdraw gradually and safely, and Xiang Yu captured Chenggao again. Liu Bang also immediately sent troops south to garrison Gong County, and then joined Yingbo and others to redeploy the defense line to prevent Xiang Yu from continuing to expand his power westward. Liu Bang's counterattack strategy After Liu Bang organized most of Han Xin's main force, he led his troops south again, stationed at Xiaoxiuwu, and prepared to cross the river to join the main force of Yingbo and face Xiang Yu for a decisive battle. At this time, the doctor Zheng Zhong advised Liu Bang not to fight the Chu army decisively, but to wait for Xiang Yu with a high fortress and a deep moat, and then unite with friendly forces (Peng Yue and the main force of the Chenggao Han army) to invade the Chu army from all sides and cut off its food supply. It will be self-defeating for a long time. Liu Bang obeyed his plan, and sent Liu Jia and Lu Wan with 20,000 infantry and hundreds of cavalry to cross Baimajin and enter Chu, and joined forces with Peng Yue's guerrillas to attack the Chu army's food road, causing serious food shortages for Xiang Yu's main force. difficulty. Xiang Yu also sent his deputy general to lead the army to pursue Liu Jia and others, but Liu Jia defended the city firmly and did not fight, and the Chu army had nothing to do.So far, Peng Yue's guerrilla forces have successfully controlled the important supply line of Chu State between Pengcheng and Xingyang. After Peng Yue received Liu Bang's reinforcements, his momentum became so strong that even 17 cities in Xialiang, including the important military towns of Suiyang and Waihuang, fell into his control. In September, Xiang Yu's army near Chenggao was in serious difficulties in supply, and Xiang Yu had to prepare to return to the army.He handed over the front line to Cao Jiu, the Chief Sima of the Chu Army, and ordered: "Carefully guard the front line of Chenggao. Even if the king of Han comes to challenge him, he must not fight. As long as he blocks the eastward advance of the Han army, within 15 days, I will be able to pacify the land of Liang and join the general again." Xiang Yu's main force quickly returned to Liangdi, and immediately launched an attack on Peng Yue's army.In order to ensure the strength of the army, Peng Yue was still unwilling to fight hard against Xiang Yu, so he ordered all the troops to abandon the city and return to the bank of the Yellow River, including Chenliu, Waihuang, Suicheng, etc., all returned to Xiang Yu's control. Liu Bang was deeply troubled by Xiang Yu's frequent defeat of the military layout of Xingyang and Chenggao. He even planned to abandon the defense line here and move to Gong County to fight against the Chu army. Li Shiqi also arrived at the front line again from Guanzhong. He said to Liu Bang: "I heard that 'he who knows the sky, the king's affairs can be accomplished', whoever is a king regards the people as the sky, and the people regard food as the sky. Ao Cang has been a grain transfer station since ancient times. . "After the Chu army captured Xingyang, they thought that their food supply route was in the east, so they didn't want to stick to Ao Cang, and only arranged heavy troops in Chenggao to block our army. This is undoubtedly God's special support to us! "If we don't take back this place, but give up the favor that God has given us, I think this is a very wrong strategy. "Moreover, the confrontation between the two heroes of Chu and Han has fallen into a state of stalemate, which has caused turmoil in the country. As a result, farmers are not farming at the right time, women are no longer spinning, and the hearts of the people in the world are fluctuating. In such a period, it is necessary to keep grain socks It is the most important work! "I hope that your majesty will still try to reorganize the army, try to recover Xingyang and once again have Aocang. If your majesty can defend Chenggao, put an end to the way of Taihang, prevent the princes from going west, refuse troops at Feihu mountain pass, stick to Baimajin ferry, and send Chu to the west. By confining the army to the territory of Liang and Chu, we can show other princes that our side has gained absolute superiority, so that the people of the world will know which side to move closer to is more advantageous." Li Shiqi's strategy is to show the strategic advantages of the Han army to make up for its repeated failures in tactics. When Chu and Han were fighting, although Xiang Yu won many battles by virtue of his combat genius, in terms of strategy, he let Liu Bang control Hanzhong and Guanzhong. Xiang Yu himself was caught in the battle between Xingyang and Chenggao, and the supply line was repeatedly breached by Peng Yue's guerrilla warfare. Naturally, the enemy is getting more and more disadvantaged in fighting, and it is obvious that he is losing. The general public will focus on the actual victory or defeat on the battlefield, but ignore the fact that Liu Bang has gained an absolute advantage in the past two years.Li Shiqi's suggestion is to clearly reveal this fact, so that the princes of the world can make up their minds to rebel against Chu Xianghan, in order to completely solve the dilemma of the confrontation between the two heroes and the stalemate. 【Chen Wende Commentary】 Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching Chapter Thirty-ninth): "In the past, those who got one, the sky was cleared, the earth was calmed, the gods were spirited, the valleys were full, and all things were born. Wang Deyi thought that the world is so chaste that the sky will split if it cannot be cleared; Kings do not think noble and high will be afraid of falling down, so noble is based on low, and high and low are the foundation. It is because the princes and kings call themselves lonely, widowed, and not rich. Is it not based on low? Is it not? I don't want to turn a twig into a jade, but a little bit like a stone." Tao is the general principle of the formation of all things in the world, so it is called one.Since ancient times, the sky has been clear because it conforms to the Tao, the earth has been peaceful because it conforms to the Tao, the gods have manifested because of the Tao, the valleys have been filled because of the Tao, and all things have been born because of the Tao. It is also because of the Dao that the world is righteous. If the sky is not clear, everything will be divided. If the earth is not peaceful, disasters may erupt. If the god does not appear, the divinity may be lost. If the valley is not filled, it may be dried up.If all things cannot live forever, all things will perish.If princes and princes do not keep the world upright, if they do not keep their noble sentiments, the world may fall into chaos. According to the nature of the Tao, nobility must be based on baseness, and highness must be based on inferiority. Therefore, princes and kings must call themselves "solitary", "widowed" and "no valley", which means that baseness is the basis of nobility and that they will not forget. The foundation of humility." It is the best reputation. There is no reputation that focuses on "truth" and does not seek vain beauty. It should not be as bright as jade and be respected by others, but as dim as solid stone and be despised by others. Everything is in line with the Tao, without special artificiality, so that everything in the world tends to be natural. Xiang Yu, who came from an aristocratic family in the Chu Kingdom, should have a good understanding of this kind of Laozhuang Taoism, but because of his exceptionally good conditions and his young age, his actions seem artificial and unnatural. The most serious is his conceit and pride, resulting in his stubbornness and restlessness in his personality.For Xiang Yu, none of the friends around him has the same ability as him, so he has to worry about everything, no one can do better than him, and he has to do everything by himself in the end.Hence, from the very beginning he was at his wit's end, and none of his companions could command his complete confidence. Xiang Yu is unwilling to award meritorious persons, because subconsciously he thinks that everyone is relying on him, and he is the only one who is truly meritorious. This kind of thinking has indeed appeared again and again in the real world, and everyone has become more and more unreliable.Yingbo's rebellion made him no longer have reliable allies among the princes, and in the end even his own camp had problems; not only the general Zhong Limei lost trust, but even Fan Zeng, who was known as the Yafu, had to leave him. On the contrary, Liu Bang is like a big trash can, he readily accepts any character.The original weakness and poor conditions made him more eager for the help of his allies.He is dissatisfied with the red tape and vain style, and everything is based on practicality, which is more in line with the natural way.He allowed his partners and subordinates to exert themselves, and his strength naturally grew in stability. Although he was repeatedly defeated on the main battlefield, his strength continued to grow, and he gradually gained an absolute advantage.