Chapter 8 1. To be popular, to be a hero, to be poor and humble

Peixian County belongs to the area of ​​Chu State. In the northern part of Jiangsu Province today, there are large and small swamps and lakes scattered here, with lush vegetation.Residents mostly grow wheat and take pasta as staple food. At the end of the Warring States Period, in a small village called Zhongyangli in Fengyi under the rule of Pei County, there were many rumors about the reincarnation of the real dragon. "It is said that he has seventy-two moles on his left leg." "He was drunk and fell asleep in the tavern, and the proprietress saw a dragon attached to him."

"According to his father, when he was born, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and the sky and the earth shook..." The protagonist of the rumor is Liu Ji. "Ji" means the youngest among brothers. He has two older brothers. According to the current popular saying, "Liu Ji" is "Liu Lao San", so he may not have an official name since he was a child.His parents didn't have their own names. Tai Shigong, who has always been pragmatic, said: Liu Ji's father is Uncle Liu, and his mother is Aunt Liu. They are ordinary farmers in Zhongyang, and there are no great people in their ancestors. "Uncle" and "Auntie" are not names, but Sima Qian introduced it in a serious way, which actually hinted at Liu Ji's humble background.

Liu Ji has never believed these rumors, but it's okay for everyone to talk about it. As for the dense moles on his left leg, he has never counted them, and I don't know how everyone fabricated a number of "seventy-two". But Liu Ji is indeed a bit different: he is very handsome, and he can be regarded as a very outstanding figure in Pei;But what is even more obvious is his "not doing business properly". For a family like the Liu family that has been farming for generations, the land should be the most important place to live and work, and farming is the biggest career.His two elder brothers are good farmers, and they follow Uncle Liu to work in the fields every day, but Liu Ji has no interest in farming. He drinks wine when he has money, and he is very generous with his friends.He not only gambled, but also went out to do some thieves' activities from time to time. After returning to Peicheng, Liu Ji often generously distributed the good things he got to his little brothers, so everyone knew that Liu Ji was serious about money. Take it lightly, and take brotherhood very seriously.

When young people in Pei County drink and chat, they often talk about Liu Ji: "Brother Liu is a good person, and he will think of everyone in everything..." "Bang" means "brother" in the dialect, and Brother Liu is called Brother Liu. When he got up, it became his name "Liu Bang".At that time, there were all kinds of people around him, children from poor families, sons from rich families, little beggars on the street, those who played and sang, and those who killed dogs and drove cars... Liu Bang pretended to be the big brother and led The little brother is a chivalrous man everywhere.Every time something went wrong, they avoided it for a while, and after the limelight passed, they reappeared.A few years later, Liu Bang created a world in Fengyi Township and became a figure who called the wind and rain.This is how Liu Bang's golden years of the 17th and 18th came.In fact, Liu Ji had his own ideas in mind. He didn't want to spend his life with his face on the loess and his back to the sky, guarding the few acres of land. He wanted to do something that would impress others.

At that time, there was a well-known figure in Pei County—Wang Ling. Wang Ling had a wealthy family, donated money with righteousness, and was straightforward and self-willed. He was well-known in the "jianghu" of Pei County.The first step for Liu Bang to make a career is to join Wang Ling's sect and regard Wang Ling as his elder brother like many country chivalrous men.Later Liu Bang heard that Zhang Er, a disciple of Lord Xinling, inherited the legacy of Lord Xinling and made friends with heroes all over the world in Waihuang County. He couldn't help being moved and determined to follow him.Fengyi is hundreds of miles away from Waihuang County. After leaving Chu State, there are Shan County, Meng County, Steo County and other places in Wei State. , endured hunger and hunger, and finally got his wish to see the idol he admired.From then on, he joined Zhang Er's family, often traveled between Pei County and Waihuang, and was active in the Jianghu.

At that time, the feudal lords were in dispute, the war continued, and the territory of the country was constantly changing.In the past ten years, Qin State has become a super military power and has the potential to dominate the world.In the 22nd year of Qin Shihuang (225 BC), King Wei surrendered, and Qin established Dongjun and Dangjun in Weidi.After Qin Jun entered Waihuang County, he focused on rectifying social order and cracking down on illegal forces among the people. Zhang Er, a famous knight-errant, was also wanted by the Qin government.Under the pursuit, Zhang Er escaped from Waihuang, and Liu Bang broke away from Zhang Er.After the fall of Wei State, the frontier of Chu State was completely exposed to Qin State. The strength of Chu State was not weak, but compared with Qin State, it was in decline and could not be compared with the same day.In order to conquer the Chu State, the Qin State used Wang Jian, a veteran general with outstanding military exploits, and marched eastward with an army of hundreds of thousands.Within two years, Chu State suffered the same fate as Han, Wei, Zhao and other countries, and was annexed by Qin State by force.At this time, Liu Bang was already middle-aged.

In the twenty-sixth year of Qin Shihuang (221 BC), the world was unified, and the king of Qin proclaimed himself emperor and became the first emperor.The swords and guns are stored in the warehouse, the horses are released in Nanshan, Pei County is not the same as the old Pei County, Dayi Township is not the old Dayi Township, Liu Bang's dream of being a ranger is shattered.The newly appointed officials in Peixian County are Xiao He, who is in charge of personnel affairs, and Cao Can, who is in charge of prisons.Both of them are very familiar with Liu Bang, and think Liu Bang is a good person. Every time someone sues Liu Bang, they will make an exception and cleverly make big things into small things.Liu Bang was still deeply attracted to those brothers. Lu Wan, the rich boy, Fan Kuai the butcher, Zhou Bo, the trumpeter, and so on, all waved their flags behind him, loyal to him, and looked after him in everything.Xiao He and Cao Shen also really felt Liu Bang's personal charm, and this group of young people in society is not easy to manage, so it is better to recommend Liu Bang to be a small official, which is also convenient for work.As soon as the two combined, they recommended Liu Bang to be the head of the pavilion in Surabaya, which was Liu Bang's first official job.Liu Bang's life has since entered a new stage.In the post of pavilion chief in Surabaya, he made a lot of connections, established contact with Xiao He and Cao Shen, and started dating, and even became friends with the groom Xia Houying.

Liu Bang's personal charm was brought into full play at this time, and many dangers were resolved by his friends.One day, when he was exercising sword skills with Xia Houying, he accidentally injured Xia Houying by mistake, which was reported to him.According to the laws of the Qin Dynasty, injuring someone should be punished, and if it is a government official, the crime will be increased.Liu Bang is the head of the pavilion, and Xia Houying is the county magistrate, and the superiors want to investigate this matter.After Cao Shen got the news, he hurried to discuss with Liu Bang and Xia Houying. Liu Bang was usually calm, but he was a little panicked when something happened, and said, "What should we do?" Cao Shen thought for a while and said, "You'd better insist that it has nothing to do with you. People can't produce any evidence." Xia Houying immediately said: "I said that I accidentally injured myself after being drunk, so you don't have to worry too much." He was imprisoned for nearly a year, tortured and whipped hundreds of times, and always gritted his teeth and refused to confess.Because there was no evidence to confess, Xia Houying was finally released, and Liu Bang escaped from the crime.Since then, the two have become life and death friends.Liu Bang was very grateful to Xia Houying, and Xia Houying was also loyal to Liu Bang and followed him all his life.

The foundation of popularity established by Liu Bang in Peixian County is the most important condition for him to enter the political stage in the future and be able to show his ambitions.This period of poor and humble life brought Liu Bang inexhaustible wealth in his life: humorous and tactful personality, resilience in the face of failure, and close friends-Xiao He, Cao Can, Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo, Xia Houying... Liu Bang cherished The dream of being a ranger has passed through his boyhood, dormant in the small Pei County, waiting for the opportunity of history. Why do so many people become Liu Bang's loyal followers and help him achieve great things?If we take a look at his teenage years, it is not difficult to find several reasons: First, he was born in a humble family, so he has no family background. He never cares about what other people did before, as long as he speaks speculatively, he immediately calls him a brother.Secondly, he has a bold temperament, treats his friends lightly and generously, and distributes the benefits equally with his brothers.Again, he is bohemian, humorous, rarely causes pressure to others, and is very attractive.

Such a character and background allowed Liu Bang to meet many friends, including many powerful characters.Liu Bang has no title of nobility, no innate supernatural power, no outstanding military talent, and even no lofty ambitions, but it is not without reason that he stepped onto the stage of history and defeated his powerful opponent Xiang Yu.