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Now when we summarize the success or failure of Chu and Han, we always say that cruelty is an important factor that caused Xiang Yu's failure.

And one of the important evidences of Xiang Yu's cruelty is the killing and surrender.

He cheated Qin's descendants, trapped Qi's descendants, killed Qin Prince Ying and the Qin family, and became domineering, causing all the people in the world to lose their hearts.

But if we look at history, we can all know that there are no emperors who did not kill people, but why do people only see Xiang Yu who killed people, but not Liu Bang who killed people?

In fact, Liu Bang's killing, surrender and killing of prisoners is rarely raised as a problem.In fact, this problem not only exists, but is also quite serious to a certain extent.

If we look through the history books, we can see that as early as during the Anti-Qin War, when Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fought together, there was a record of massacring the city together.

Such as Tu Chengyang.

It's just that Xiang Yu was there at that time, and people put this crime on Xiang Yu's account.

Moreover, history is written by the victors, which naturally put Xiang Yu in the wrong.

But the history is still very neat. When Liu Bang entered the Qin Dynasty, Tuwuguan ("The Benji of Qin Shihuang") cannot be shared by Xiang Yuben.

The fierceness of the war makes the winning side often make extremely cruel actions, that is, massacre the city.

In the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, the incident of wanting to slaughter Wai Huang left a record in this regard for future generations.It is estimated that Liu Bang's Tuwuguan and Fan Kuai's Tuzhuzao during the Chu-Han War are similar in nature.But Liu Bang's problem is not in the massacre of the city, but in the planned killing of surrendered generals.

Liu Bang is very proud of himself.

During the entire Chu-Han War, quite a few influential people were captured by the Han army.For example, Wei Wang Bao, Zhao Wang Xie, Dai Wang Chen Yu, Dai Xiang Guo Xia Shuo, Yong Wang Zhang Han, Qi Wang Tian Guang, Sai Wang Sima Xin, Han Wang Zheng Chang, and Yin Wang Sima Ang were all captured.

However, with the exception of Zheng Chang, whose fate is unknown, all others have left records of their deaths.

This has to talk about Liu Bang's small tricks.

For example, Xiang Guoxia said that being captured was recorded as beheading; Qi Wang Tian Guang was captured by Han general Cao Shen, and Tian Heng "heard that Qi Wang Guang died, and made himself king".

It is not known why he died.

Similar situations include: Zhang Han was clearly captured by Du Changhou Zhu Zhen and said that he committed suicide; Chen Yu was clearly captured by Zhang Cang and others all said that he was beheaded.

Zhao Wangxie is a bird, and he clearly stated "chasing and killing Zhao Wangxie to Xiangguo".

Exactly what the difference between the two records is, it is impossible to examine now.

These people were captured first and then killed.

Secondly, those who were clearly captured and executed after a considerable period of time, or whose cause of death is unknown.

For example, Wei Wangbao was clearly captured, but he did not die immediately. He just found a reason to kill him in the future.

In the third year of the Han Dynasty, Chu besieged Xingyang, Liu Bang and Chen Ping and others abandoned their troops and fled, leaving Wei Wangbao and Zhou Ke who surrendered to defend the city.

Zhou Ke killed him in the name of "the king who rebelled against the country, it is difficult to defend the city".

These methods are similar to Qin II's killing of ministers during his tour, and Liu Bang did not want to get involved in such killings, so Zhou Ke who killed Wei Bao may have made meritorious service because of it, and his son Zhou Cheng may also have done it because of Zhou Ke. He was granted the title of Marquis for his harsh achievements.

Sima Xin's death is also suspicious.It is said in history that because of Han's victory over Chu in Chenggao, he and Cao Jiu fought themselves on the Sishui.

In fact, Cao Jiu did not commit suicide, but was beheaded.

"Gaozu Gongchen Houzhe Chronicle" shows that Cao Jiu was beheaded by the Longhou Chen Department.Therefore, "Xiang Yu's Benji" said that Cao Jiu and Sima Xin's self-criticism is not credible.

The death of Sima Xin should be regarded as a hidden and subtle event in "Historical Records", but there are still clues to be found.

As for the death of Sima Ang, king of Yin, there was no sign left.

Since Sima Yang came to Han in the second year of the Han Dynasty (in fact, he was captured by Guan Ying), he was lost in the "Historical Records".

However, "Han Shu·Gao Di Ji" clearly records that he died in the second year of Han Dynasty, after Han retreated from Pengcheng.

Although Liu Bang's killing and surrender was subtle and hidden, the facts are all there and cannot be doubted.

The question is, why were these people killed after giving up or failing to resist?
This question is indeed intriguing.

The death of Han Xin and Peng Yue may help to understand this phenomenon after contacting the Han Dynasty.

In other words, killing and surrendering is to avoid chaos, if not the whole reason, at least it is the reason why some people ended up like this.

Although Wei Wangbao, Dai Wang Chen Yu, Zhao Wangxie, Qi Wang Tianguang, and Sima Ang were not powerful characters, they were all once leaders.

Especially the first two, both have a certain pioneering ability, as soon as they climbed up, they gathered followers.

The existence of such a person always makes Liu Bang, who is ambitious in the world, feel taboo.

After the failure of Zhao Wangwuchen, Sima Ang once became an independent combat force. It fought in the hinterland of Qin, not only was it not eliminated, but it developed and grew stronger.

What's more, he rebelled against Xiang Yu first, and then because he was invincible, he made peace with Chen Ping, who Xiang Yu sent to attack.

This kind of kung fu that can bend and stretch is very similar to Liu Bang, and it is reasonable for Liu Bang to tolerate him.

As for Zhang Han and Sima Xin, these two were Qin generals, and their hands were stained with the blood of the anti-Qin armed forces, so they were executed shortly after they were captured, which satisfied the emotional and rational needs of Liu Bang and his subordinates.

In view of the above considerations, Liu Bang's surrender may include Linjiang Wang Gongwei.

"Because the King of Han ordered Liu Jia to send troops from Jiujiang to attack Linjiang King Gongwei in the southwest with Taiwei Lu Wan. Gongwei is dead, and Linjiang is the southern county."

The king of Jiangling, that is, the king of Linjiang, Jiangling is the capital of Linjiang.

Then Gongwei was not killed in battle, but was captured alive. "The Benji of Gaozu" clearly stated that Gongwei was "killed Luoyang".

In fact, it was unreasonable for Han to attack Gongwei.

According to the "Benji of Gaozu", the Han ordered Lu Wan and Liu Jiajian Gongwei to be charged with "so Linjiang Wang Huan was Xiang Yu and rebelled against the Han" after the first month of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty.

The incident of Han's attack on Linjiang took place immediately after Xiang Yu's death and the settlement of Chu.

The phenomenon that "Historical Records" records the final result at the beginning of an event often occurs, and this is an example.

"Han Xin Lu Wan's Biography" stated: "In the winter of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, in order to break Xiang Ji, Lu Wan was sent to leave the general, and Liu Jia attacked Linjiang Wang Gongwei to break him."

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, October was the beginning of the year, and December was before the first month. The inconsistency in the time when the Han attacked Linjiang showed that the crime was not established.

Although Linjiang, like Han, Jiujiang, and Hengshan, was crowned king by the old generals of Chu, according to "Tattoo Biography": "King Xiang worried about Qi and Zhao in the north, and Han in the west. , I wanted to use it myself, so I didn't hit it."

On the other hand, Yingbu, the former general of the Chu army who had a good relationship with Xiang Yu, and the other three, Han Wang Liu Bang had already rebelled, and Linjiang Wang Gong Ao and Hengshan Wang Wu Rui did not carry out Xiang Yu's secret order to kill Emperor Yi, so they were probably estranged from Xiang Yu.

Because of Wu Rui's in-law relationship with Yingbu, after Yingbu returned to Han, he may also have a tendency to help Han.

In the first month of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, among the princes who persuaded Liu Bang to be the emperor was Wu Rui, King of Hengshan, and Liu Bang's thank-you edict said: "Therefore, Wu Rui, King of Hengshan, has two sons and one brother. The feudal feudal lords have made great achievements in punishing Qin. The feudal lords have established themselves as kings. The land that Xiang Yu invaded is called Fanjun."

According to the hidden factors of the Gongwei incident, there may also be problems with Yan Wang Zang Tu's rebellion.

"Gaozu Benji" stated: "October (actually it should be July)" in the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, Yan Wang Zang Tu rebelled and captured Daidi. For the king of Yan. Make the prime minister Fan Kuai generals to attack Dai."

Judging from the events of Han Xin and Ying Bu, Han was willing to pay a certain price for stability.

For example, Luan Shuo, who denounced Han Xin for rebellion, and Ben He, who denounced Ying Bu for rebellion, were conferred the titles of Marquis of Shenyang and Marquis of Qi Si respectively, and each received [-] households.

And many people who were born and died in the war and made illustrious military exploits, the number of closed households is far less than these two.

Han Xin's rebellion always had the problem of not being able to win people's trust. Therefore, the Han Dynasty did not dispel Han Xin's credit invisibly, but instead claimed that some credits that were not his were his.

From this point of view, in order to eliminate factors of instability, Liu Bang would resort to fabricating charges.The situation of Linjiang and Yan should be classified into this category.

Liu Bang's killing surrender is more like a kind of foresight for the stability of the country and the country, while Xiang Yu's killing surrender is very violent and indiscriminately killing innocent people.

Therefore, Liu Bang's killing and surrender often eliminated future troubles, while Xiang Yu's killing and surrender aroused greater resistance.

The most typical example of Liu Bang's nepotism is the appointment of Lu Wan.

According to "Han Xin Lu Wan's Biography", Lu Wan and Liu Bang were born on the same day in Tongli, and the two families loved each other, which laid the foundation for their relationship.

And when they grow up, they are classmates again, and the relationship is very good.

And after Liu Bang fled, Lu Wan accompanied and followed him, and the relationship between the two was very strong.

But after Liu Bang raised his troops, Lu Wan basically did nothing.

But this did not affect his prosperity under the protection of Liu Bang, and leapt to the top of the ranks of generals.

Judging from Lu Wan's performance in the future, he has no fighting ability.

But after Liu Bang entered the Han Dynasty, he was named a general, then a Taiwei, and worshiped Chang'anhou.

In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Taiwei was the head of the military officials. With Lu Wan's talent, being such a senior official was obviously the result of Liu Bang's partiality.

Because during the entire Chu-Han War, Lu Wan often went in and out with Liu Bang, and she saw that Liu Bang had no restrictions, so she saw him whenever he came.

This is where Xiao He, Cao Shen and others who are working hard cannot hold a candle to them.

Lu Wan's only battle in the Chu-Han War may have been in the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, when he and Liu Jia attacked the rear of Chu.

This is the credit, the credibility is not high, if there is any, it is mainly Liu Jia.

After Xiang Yu's fall and before the division of the world, Lu Wan really had no military exploits. In order to add officials to Lu Wan, Liu Bang gave him a chance to defeat the rebellious Linjiang King, and asked Liu Jia to accompany him there.

It's a pity that Lu Wan is really not suitable for combat, and he failed to capture Linjiang for several months. In the end, Liu Bang's capable general, Jin She, had to come out and immediately pacify the little Linjiang.

The result of the Battle of Linjiang should have given Liu Bang a correct estimate of Lu Wan's talent, but when it came time to make him king, Liu Bang still wanted to make Lu Wan king.

And his thoughts have long been known to all his subordinates.

Everyone obeyed Liu Bang's wishes and said: "Taiwei Chang'an Hou Lu Wan often calms the world, and he has done the most, but Wang Yan."

Therefore, Liu Bang followed suit and made Lu Wan the king of Yan.

However, what everyone calls "the most meritorious service" just reveals a great irony.

Not only that, Lu Wan was favored much more than other princes and kings.But Liu Bang's unreasonable favoritism towards Lu Wan was not rewarded well, and in the end Lu Wan repaid with betrayal.This was unexpected by Liu Bang.

In addition to Lu Wan, Liu Bang's deeds of Xia Houying and Zhou Yun could not escape the traces of cronyism.

It's just that these two people still have military achievements to some extent, and they can't be compared with Lu Wan.

The relationship between Xia Houying and Liu Bang can be traced back to the end of Qin Dynasty. Liu Bang was a small official in the officialdom, and Xia Houying was also a small local official. He always obeyed and respected Liu Bang.

Liu Bang once beat him by mistake. He covered it up for Liu Bang and went to jail for it.

In the Chu-Han War, he saved Prince Liu Ying and Princess Lu Yuan.

Therefore, although his credit is not as good as that of Fan Kuai and Guan Ying, the number of closed households is much higher than that of Fan Kuai and Guan Ying.

When he was in Liu Bang Zhibashang, he was already a lieutenant.

Afterwards, the number of closed households exceeded that of Fu Kuan.

Sima Qian commented: "Kuai Chenghou Zhou Yu, worrying about being firm and upright, not suspicious of his body, and his superiors want to do something, it's not uncommon for him to shed tears. This is true for those who are sad, and he can be called an honest gentleman."

Sima Qian's intentions may be quite helpless for such deeds to be shared with Fu and Jin, who have made great achievements in battle and have never suffered a defeat.

Perhaps it is because of ulterior motives, that is, those who are born and die, their final reward may not be more than those who promise.

Sima Qian's intention to pass Xia Houying together with Fan, Li, and Guan may be similar to this.Because Xia Houying never took the lead in the Chu-Han War like the other three, and basically belonged to people who made things happen.

Other beneficiaries of Liu Bang's nepotism should also include Ren Ao, Shen Shiqi, and Daihou Pengzu.

Ren Ao's situation is similar to Xia Houying's. He was a small official in Pei County in his early years and had a close relationship with Liu Bang.

During the Chu-Han War, he guarded the Shangdang; basically he was far away from the battlefield, and his contribution to the front line was not seen.

But even this kind of experience has allowed him to receive [-] households, which is beyond the reach of many people who were born and died.

The case of censorship is even less worth mentioning.

He is basically Liu Bang's retainer, and all his resumes are just serving Liu Bang's father and wife in the anti-Qin and anti-Chu wars.

There is only one thing that is different, that is, he has been a prisoner of Xiang Yu for several years together with Tai Gong and Empress Lu.

The merits of Daihou Pengzu are similar to those of Shen Shiqi, that is, in the war against Qin and Chu, his main deeds were to serve the Taigong.

But there is still one outstanding point, that is, when Liu Bangchu attacked Pei, he opened the city gate for the rebel army. This matter may be a great honor and worthy of praise.

The seal of Liu Ze, Marquis of Yingling, can be regarded as such an act.

Because Liu Ze and Liu Bang are not close relatives, they should be regarded as a sparse family and should not be compared with Liu Bang's brother.

His contributions are not worthy of praise, but the number of closed households is astonishingly large, at [-] households. The number of closed households of Cao Shen, who ranks among the heroes, is only [-], while Xiao He, Zhang Liang, Zhou Bo, Fan Liteng The achievements of Guan Fu Jin Kuai are not to mention.

In fact, in Liu Bang's cronyism, Chen Xi and Zhang Liang can also be added, because these two people have a special affinity with Liu Bang.

Chen Xi and Liu Bang fell in love because of their common hobbies - both of them were admirers of Wei Gongzi Xinling Lord, so after the world was settled, Chen Xi was entrusted as the head of the armed forces of the two countries in Zhao Dynasty.

Zhang Liang did not make much contribution in the war, and he had an inexplicable history of leaving Liu Bang to follow Han Wangcheng to Pengcheng, the capital of Xiang Yu, but Liu Bang allowed him to choose [-] households when he was named Marquis.

It should be noted that after years of war, even in large counties, the number of households is no more than [-], and [-] households are almost equivalent to a small king.

When Xiang Yu made Wu Rui King of Hengshan, it was only in six counties, and it was quite remote, probably far less than [-] households.

Zhang Liang won a whole Hanzhong County for Liu Bang. With this one, it is enough to seal ten thousand households.

But Zhang Liang was more savvy, and he only chose those who had made acquaintance with Liu Bang as fiefs, which must be less than [-] households.

However, the contribution of these two people to Liu Bang's career must be greater than that of the above-mentioned people, so the traces of cronyism are not obvious.