Chapter 31 4. The role of Xiang Bo

After listening to Cao Wushang's report, Xiang Yu planned to attack Liu Bang by force, but what kind of goal he wanted to achieve and what kind of effect he wanted to achieve were crucial.In fact, Xiang Yu has never explicitly said that Liu Bang's head must be taken, and Liu Bang's head is what he said from Xiang Bo's mouth. Because Zhang Liang had saved Xiang Bo's life before, so Xiang Bo rushed to Liu Bang's army overnight, found Zhang Liang, "confirmed the matter", said that the situation was urgent, and asked Zhang Liang to go with him, "If you don't follow, you will die." Also", don't lose your head like Liu Bang.That means, when Xiang Yu's army arrives tomorrow, not only Liu Bang will die, but Zhang Liang will also die.There are doubts about Xiang Bo's theory. Xiang Bo and Zhang Liang are good friends, and his desire to save Zhang Liang is understandable, but the form he adopts is really puzzling.There are several doubts here:

First of all, Xiang Yu doesn't necessarily want to kill Liu Bang.The crusade does not mean that Liu Bang must be killed. Xiang Yu just wants to show Liu Bang some color and let Liu Bang know who is big and who is small. He wants Liu Bang to be soft and obey him.It is also because of this that Xiang Yu was very relieved and magnanimous when Liu Bang apologized later, because he never wanted to kill Liu Bang in his heart. Secondly, even if Xiang Yu wanted to kill Liu Bang, he didn't necessarily kill Zhang Liang.According to Xiang Bo, there will be no one left in Liu Bang's 100,000 troops, and Xiang Yu will have to destroy them all.In fact, the matter is not that serious. Xiang Yu and Liu Bang are fighting, and the matter can be solved by getting rid of Liu Bang alone. There is no need to kill them all.

Third, Xiang Bo's behavior in this incident is somewhat unbelievable.Xiang Bo has many ways to save Zhang Liang.He can persuade Zhang Liang to come and surrender, or he can just tell Xiang Yu directly, tell Xiang Yu not to kill Zhang Liang, Zhang Liang is kind to me, he is a talent, Xiang Yu may not buy it. According to Xiang Bo's suggestion that Xiang Yu treat Liu Bang kindly, and Xiang Yu readily agreed, Xiang Yu can still listen to Xiang Bo's words.Therefore, it should be a trivial matter for Xiang Bo to keep Zhang Liang, and there is no need to rush to the enemy camp overnight to report the news.

That being the case, why did Xiang Bo make the situation so serious?The answer is simple: sell well.Those who sell well will always add oil and vinegar, and artificially magnify things to highlight his role and efficacy.At this point in writing, it is necessary for us to spend some time analyzing Xiang Bo. Xiang Bo's impression is contradictory.In order to save the benefactor, he did not hesitate to leak top-secret military information.The two diametrically opposed behaviors of stabbing a friend in the ribs and eating the inside out are concentrated and perfectly embodied in him alone.In this incident, Xiang Bo was incorporated by Liu Bang, and since then he has cited Liu Bang as his confidant. First, he prevented Xiang Zhuang from assassinating Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet, and then he asked Liu Bang for the fief in Hanzhong. Later, during the confrontation between Chu and Han, he spoke out to save Liu Bang Liu Bang's father.It can be described as an outstanding feat.

Some people say that Xiang Bo is mentally retarded, which is wrong.Not only is Xiang Bo not mentally retarded, but he can be regarded as an old stick in politics.Maybe Zhang Liang saved his life back then and inspired him: In this world, there is no one who is useless.Uncle Xiang at that time might not have known that the future world would belong to Liu Bang, but it is not a bad thing to pave the way for himself.In particular, after Liu Bang and him "served wine for their lives and promised marriage", they became relatives of their sons and daughters. Undoubtedly, Xiang Bo gained another political hand, which made his original act of simply selling to Zhang Liang a success. Promoted, and finally acted as Liu Bang's lobbyist as obligatory.People like Xiang Bo have much more chances of getting promoted than those single-minded people, because no matter which one Liu or Xiang gains power, he will be reused as a cronies.Although Liu Bang failed to fulfill his promise to his sons and daughters after he gained power, Uncle Xiang was still granted the title of marquis, and he was the best treated among Xiang Yu's gang.

In this incident, the positive role of political veteran Xiang Bo is also very obvious, that is, he objectively prevented a bloody conflict.This is good for both Xiang Yu and Liu Bang.For Xiang Yu, it established his prestige in the hearts of the princes.If Xiang Yu really wiped out Liu Bang, the princes' admiration for Xiang Yu would be greatly reduced, which would not be conducive to the formation of the situation where the overlord of Western Chu would cover the sky with one hand; for Liu Bang, the effect would be even greater, and he allowed Liu Bang to escape a sudden annihilation The disaster also made Liu Bang realize that if he was not careful, he would lose everything.In the future development, Liu Bang will learn from this lesson and consider the problem more comprehensively. If he is not fully sure, he will never openly oppose Xiang Yu.