What is a hero? A hero generally refers to a person who has abilities beyond ordinary people, or a person who leads ordinary people to make a significant contribution by relying on courage or wisdom, or a person who has done great feats with his own strength for a just cause. . In short, if you show off your intelligence, you are called a hero; if you are courageous, you are called a hero. "The heroism of heaven and earth remains awe-inspiring for thousands of years." Such people often stand up in times of national crisis, have the courage to take on responsibilities for the benefit of the nation, and never flinch even if they throw their heads and blood. Only such people can be called Be a hero.
A hero has the ambition to reach the clouds, the power to swallow up mountains and rivers, the strength of nine states in his belly, and the breadth of the world! They carry justice on their shoulders, save the people from fire and water, and save the people from hanging upside down. Chapter 21 of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Cao Cao said: "Do you know the changes of the dragon?" Xuande said: "I don't know the details." Cao Cao said: "The dragon can be big or small, it can rise or hide; it can be big or small. When the clouds rise and spit out mist, when they are small, they hide and hide their form; when they rise, they soar in the universe, and when they are hidden, they lurk in the waves. Spring is deep now, and the dragon rides on time to change, just like a man who has achieved his will and traversed the four seas. The dragon is a thing, comparable to The hero of the world.”
A hero has the ability to despise everything and the awe of the universe. The world is not only in awe of him, but also elusive. In ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, heroes are often like the stars in the sky, looking up but out of reach. However, the most special ones are few and far between. "Zai Jing Tang Ji·Min Shuo": "When the country is prosperous, thieves will follow the heroes and perform meritorious service; when the country is defeated, the officials will work with the scoundrels and ignore the law." Wenzong's intention is related to this spirit.
Therefore, Mencius admired the ancient sages very much. While praising those heroes and sages who rose from difficult situations, he praised their outstanding character and extraordinary spiritual strength. He also valued the motivating effect of adversity on their success. Then he sang loudly: "Heaven is about to entrust this man with a great responsibility. He must first strain his mind and will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, deplete his body, and disturb his actions. Therefore, if he is moved by his heart and forbearance, it will benefit him." It's impossible." He also said: "If I want to rule the world peacefully, in today's world, who else can I do?" This is the call for heroes. However, there are heroes big and small. The greatest heroes in ancient times are tribal leaders, emperors and generals, great leaders, sages and sages, and national elites. They may lead tribes or countries to rise in one corner, enjoy independence, freedom and dignity, and protect their countries from foreign aggression. He used his thoughts, words and deeds to arouse the awakening of the people at that time and in later generations, thereby liberating the body and soul. As the saying goes: enlightenment and a wake-up call. Times create heroes, and heroes create times.
The ancients could not explain some phenomena and described some great figures as born saints. Like in "Journey to the West", Sun Wukong is called a born saint. However, some people say that he is born true, how can he be a saint? As everyone knows, the so-called saints of the ancients do not necessarily refer to those who have profound knowledge, reached a certain state of thought, or have reached a certain level of moral cultivation. They are called saints, but have the meaning of heroes. Wu Chengen means: a great hero born by God. A divine creature is born, and a saint follows it. The language comes from "Book of Changes·Xici": "French object" refers to the turtle. "Ze", "Guang Ya Shi Execution": "Ze, Dharma." Tianchuang gave birth to the magical yarrow and the magical turtle, and the saint created divination and divination based on it. The saint here refers to a person with special creative ability. But how can God give birth to a hero? The purpose here is to let people understand that as long as they can follow the way of heaven, or comply with the way of heaven, they can also create heroes. This way of heaven actually refers to the laws of nature. The ancients attached great importance to the connection between heaven and man. They believed that the human world could sense the heavens, and the heavens could also show signs to the human world. As long as people can make great achievements based on God's hints, they can become heroes.
However, the smart Chinese combined this mysterious celestial phenomenon with the ancient Yili, thus forming a unique phenomenon of Chinese civilization. For example, the ancients believed that the vast territory of China can correspond to the boundaries of the sky. This theory that celestial phenomena correspond to human affairs and can interact with each other originated from "He Tu" and "Luo Shu". This is also the basis of all Chinese philosophical thoughts. source. In this way, the ancients divided the human world into five parts, namely the west, east, south, north, and center. The heaven corresponding to each direction was controlled by a leader in the sky. They were the emperors of heaven, namely the White Emperor of the West, the White Emperor of the West, and the Heavenly Emperor. The Eastern Green Emperor, the Southern Red Emperor, the Northern Black Emperor, and the Central Yellow Emperor. And these five heavenly emperors are ordered by God. This God is the master of the universe in the Chinese concept, and is also what people commonly call heaven.
The ancient Chinese divided everything in the universe into five categories, namely metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and these five categories are in a mutually reinforcing relationship. It is precisely because of the principle of restraint between them that the balance, harmony and operation of the large space of the universe are formed. Therefore, "Guan Zi·Xin Shu Shang" says: "The Tao is between heaven and earth. Its greatness has no outside, and its smallness has no inside." We use the principle of restraint between the five categories of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in the national correspondence. area, a miracle occurred.
In the year of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Xuan of Zhou eventually lost his country because of the nursery rhyme of "濿ARC Jifu". Later, King Ping moved eastward and set the capital in Luoyi (Luoyang). From then on, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty began to decline, and the Qin State rose. The ancients thought it was God's will, but in fact it can be seen from the principle of the Five Elements: the Zhou Dynasty will inevitably decline, and the Qin State will inevitably rise. Because Luoyang belongs to the central soil from a geographical analysis, and the soil can produce gold, which means that the Zhou Dynasty helped the rise of Qin. Because after King Ping moved the capital, he granted the land to the west of Mount Xiao to Duke Xiang of Qin. The Qin State was subsequently granted the title of a vassal state and slowly developed and grew from then on, which is completely consistent with historical facts.
However, the Qin State unified the world, and due to excessive killing, it was bound to suffer bad luck and retribution, so a new prophecy came out: "Hu Ye will destroy Qin." The demise of the Qin State seemed inevitable. . Look at it this way, because Qin and Chu had deep grudges, mainly because Qin deceived King Huai of Chu to visit Qin, and later died in Qin. Imagine that a country deceives the head of another country to die. This will inevitably arouse the national anger of the victim country. Therefore, the whole country of Chu feels bitterness towards Qin, which is a great hatred for the country. Later, when Qin attacked Chu, it invested the most troops and took the longest time. Therefore, Nan Gong, the master of prophecy, made a terrible prophecy: "Although Chu has three households, if Qin is destroyed, Chu will definitely die." This prophecy is still like a magic spell, always lingering in the minds of Chu people. But who can complete this great mission? In the thirty-seventh year of Qin Shi Huang's reign, Ying Zheng died unfortunately during his fifth and final tour. This led to the introduction of another remarkable figure, Liu Bang. How is this person so great? Just look at his birth first.
In 259 BC, two years after Ying Zheng was born, a strange thing happened in Zhongyangli, Fengyi, Pei County, Sishui County, Western Zhou Dynasty. One day, a mother was out in the rain, so she went to a bridge over the Paoshui River to take shelter from the rain. Just as her husband was looking for her, he suddenly saw heavy fog filling the bridge, thunder and lightning. Looking carefully, I saw a dragon circling and writhing in the thick fog. After a moment of clouds and rain, the dragon disappeared. The husband hurriedly went to see her, and saw his wife waking up from a nightmare. She felt as if she was pregnant. Ten months later, she gave birth to a boy, Liu Bang, who later founded the Han Dynasty. "Historical Records", "Hanshu" and the "Feng County Chronicles" and "Xuzhou Prefecture Chronicles" all have such records. Later generations called this bridge Longwu Bridge, and built temples and erected monuments. Until the third year of Shaosheng in the Song Dynasty, Magistrate Du of Feng County went to Longwu Bridge to pray for rain due to severe drought. The dragon appeared and caused another heavy rain. People rebuilt Longwu Bridge and Longwu Temple in the north of the bridge, and recorded this event on the inscription. The monuments still exist today.
Whether it is Qin Shihuang or the later famous Liu Peigong, they are all from the same generation who came out of the decline of the Western Zhou Dynasty. This seems to be destined: when Qin Shihuang died at the age of fifty, the forty-seven-year-old Liu Bang was about to take over the great mission given to him by God to manage and govern this great empire, so he started his army from the post of Pavilion Chief of Surabaya. When Liu Bang was the pavilion chief of Peixian County, he escorted a group of young men to Lishan Mountain to build a mausoleum for the county. Most of the people fled along the way. Liu Bang thought that he would be killed even if he reached Lishan Mountain, so he went to the dry swamp area in the west of Feng County and simply let all the strong men go, and said to them: "You all go away, I will disappear from now on." Come on!" Among these people, there were more than ten strong men who were willing to follow them. Just because they were like-minded, they got drunk and prepared to go to Luocao on Mangdang Mountain to avoid disaster. A man went to the front to explore the road, and suddenly ran back and said: "Mr. Liu Ting, there is a big snake blocking the way in front of you. It scares people to death. Let's change the route?" Liu Bang took advantage of the wine and said: "A man is the only one in the world, what kind of snake is he afraid of? "He walked forward, drew his sword and cut the snake in two, then kicked it fourteen inches away and walked through the middle. They walked for a while and then rested in front. At this time, there was a man walking behind in the team. He ran to Liu Bang and said that he saw an old lady crying on the roadside. Just ask her why she is so sad. She said, "My son was killed!" and asked her what his son did and who killed him. She replied: "My son is the White Emperor. He turned into a snake and blocked the road. He was killed by the Red Emperor. So he is very sad?" The man thought she was talking nonsense, so he broke a branch and prepared to beat her. The old lady suddenly disappeared.
People were shocked when they heard such things, but Liu Bang didn't know anything when he woke up. People at that time all heard that the First Emperor said: "There is the spirit of the emperor in the southeast." So we often go out on patrol to suppress them. Liu Bang suspected that this matter had something to do with him, so he hurried to Mangdang Mountain. From then on, people became more and more in awe of Liu Bang. Zhanshegou in Feng County, Xuzhou was called "Fengxize" in ancient times. "Sanjia Annotated Historical Records" records: "Kuo Di Zhi says: Snake Cutting Valley originated from Zhongping, Feng County, Xuzhou, so the place where Lao Yun Gaozu cut snakes was fifteen miles west of the county where the water was soaked." "Yuanhe County Map Chronicles" " records: "Fengxize is 15 miles west of (Feng) County. The emperor of the Han Dynasty killed the white snake here." Lu Pheasant and others later looked for her husband and found him in an inaccessible place. Liu Bang felt strange and asked what was going on. Lu Pheasant said: "There are always clouds condensing above where you live, so we can always find you." After the people in Pei County heard about it, more and more people joined him. Later, Liu Bang entered the Pass and destroyed the Qin Dynasty, which was in line with the prophecy that the Red Emperor's son would kill the White Emperor's son. However, the big snake cannot be killed in vain. Later, Wang Mang (python) destroyed the Han Dynasty, and Liu Xiucai established the Eastern Han Dynasty fourteen years later. A good dynasty was divided into the Eastern and Western Han Dynasties, which was the result of Liu Bang's killing of the snake.
The first hero of the Six Kingdoms to oppose Qin should be Zhang Liang. Zhang Liang was born into an aristocratic family. His grandfather Kaifangdi was re-elected as prime minister of the three Korean dynasties during the Warring States Period. His father, Zhang Ping, also succeeded him as prime minister in the second dynasty of Korea. Zhang Liang first went to the east to pay a visit to Lord Canghai, and found a strong man who made him a big hammer weighing 120 kilograms. After careful planning, they made a shocking blow in Bolangsha. Unfortunately, he accidentally hit the passenger car and attempted an assassination, which ruined his ambition. Zhang Liang escaped from Bolangsha and came to Xiapi. One day when I went out and came to Yuqiao, I met an old man with white hair. The old man met with him for the third time and gave him three volumes of military literature. He also told him that the situation will definitely change in ten years, and a king will rise in Fengfei area. Zhang Liang must choose a wise monarch to assist him.
The results of ten years are like this, and rebels are surging everywhere. Zhang Liang, who was determined to resist Qin, also gathered a group of people and raised the banner of anti-Qin. But due to the situation, he was alone, so he went to seek refuge with King Jingju of Chu, and met Liu Bang on the way. From then on, Zhang Liang made suggestions for Liu Bang, and finally broke into Guanzhong and destroyed the Qin State. Therefore, Su Dongpo said: "In ancient times, the so-called heroic men must have the integrity to surpass others. Human feelings can't be tolerated. When a common man sees humiliation, he draws his sword and stands up to fight. This is not brave. There are great brave men in the world. However, he was not surprised when he was faced with it, and he was not angry when he was attacked for no reason... The reason why Guanfu Gaozu won, and the reason why Xiang Ji lost was just between what he could bear and what he couldn't bear. Xiang Ji could not bear it, so he fought a hundred battles To be victorious, use the edge lightly; Emperor Gaozu tolerated it, cultivated the full edge and waited for the disadvantages, this is what Zifang teaches." Zhang Liang is worthy of being the best counselor in ancient and modern times.
Qin Shihuang died and his youngest son Hu Hai succeeded to the throne. Hu Hai is also very capable, which can be seen from what Zhao Gao said when he encouraged him to usurp power. Li Si's biography records: "Zhao Gao therefore withheld the imperial edict given by the First Emperor to Fusu, and said to his son Hu Hai: "The emperor has passed away, and there is no edict to make the princes king. Instead, he only gave an edict to his eldest son Fusu. When the eldest son arrives, he ascends the throne and becomes emperor, but you don’t even have a fief of any size. What should you do? Hu Hai said: "That's how it is." I have heard that a wise monarch knows his ministers best, and a wise father knows his son best. When my father died, he did not issue an order to divide the princes, so what else could he say? Zhao Gao said: "That's not the case." The power in the world today, no matter who's life or death, is in the hands of you, me and Li Si! I hope you will think about it carefully. What's more, can controlling ministers and surrendering to others, ruling others and being ruled by others, be the same thing? Hu Hai said: "It is unrighteous to abolish a brother and establish a younger brother; it is unfilial to disobey his father's edict and fear death; it is incompetent to rely on the help of others to ascend the throne because of his limited talents." These three things are treasonous and unethical. If I do them, the world will not obey, I will suffer disaster, and the country will perish. "It can be judged from these words that Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, was also a sage. And he eventually became a tyrannical king, which was entirely related to his teacher Zhao Gao.
Zhao Gao came from a humble background. When Qin Shihuang heard that he was diligent and proficient in law, he promoted him to be the magistrate of Zhongche Mansion, in charge of the emperor's chariot carriage, and also made him Hu Hai's teacher. Because Zhao Gao was good at observing people's words and flattering him, he quickly won the appreciation and trust of Hu Hai's mother. When Zhao Gao committed a capital crime, Meng Yi did not dare to violate the law and sentenced Zhao Gao to death according to the law. However, Zhao Gao used clever words and tricks, and finally Qin Shihuang pardoned him and reinstated him. From then on, he and the Meng family formed a relationship. After Hu Hai ascended the throne, the Second Emperor, under the extreme instigation of Zhao Gao, committed a series of horrific murders, which resulted in the annihilation of all the descendants of the Qin clan. This was also the result of Qin Shi Huang's massive recruitment of boys and girls to go to sea to seek immortality.
There is a poem in the Daya Chapter of "The Book of Songs": "The god of chaos is the leader of the people. The god of speed and majesty has many destiny. The god who is born to help the people has many destiny. There is no beginning for the unreliable, and there is an end for the rare." This poem It was originally a poem that satirized the king of Zhou, but it is the best way to satirize the second emperor of Qin. The second generation was pampered and only cared about eating, drinking and having fun, leaving all state affairs to Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao was like the culprit sent by God to destroy Qin, and he spared no effort to complete his historical mission. Later generations also wrote poems praising Zhao Gao and said: "Zhao Gao, all the kings and grandsons of the Zhao Kingdom, pray for the Qin thief's limbs. Zhao Gao's name is among the immortals' biographies, so how can the immortals choose him indiscriminately? The few words in the index are quite arguable, and the deer and horse plan to win. Changping war. The white rainbow in the sun has disappeared without a trace. The king and grandson were originally guests from Handan. They were dead and herders were abandoned without heroes, and the mountains and rivers were swallowed up without any strategy. The ambition to overthrow Xianyang has been paid, and the founders are young and powerful." There are also: "At that time, the whole world was full of power. If you want to kill the Qin Dynasty, there is no plan for fame and death. Go first to support the Soviet Union and then Hu Hai, Zhao Gaogong is the best among the officials of the Han Dynasty. Dajia destroys Ying Ping's women, and plots to prosper the Han Dynasty and kills Xiao Cao. The princes are left with a sharp iron and a jingqing dagger, which is not as good as the palace of Qin. One Zhao Gao." It is sheer nonsense to describe him as a hero who avenges the Six Kingdoms. Even if Zhao Gao is a native of Zhao, it has already been eighteen generations since his ancestor Zaofu. How did Zhao Gao's ancestors come to Qin? Without any reference, how can it be said that Zhao Gao avenged the State of Zhao? If you think about it this way, the surnames Ying and Zhao are originally from the same family, because they are both descendants of Feilian, and Zhao Gao died in the Qin Dynasty. Is this a fratricide? At best, Zhao Gao is a scheming and ruthless person, a sinister villain and a villain like Yi Ya, Shu Diao, and Kai Fang. In the end, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
The Qin State sent Wang Jian to lead an army of 600,000 to destroy Chu. The leader of the Chu army to resist the Qin army was Xiang Yan, a famous general of the Chu State. Although the Chu army resisted arduously, they were defeated in the end, and Xiang Yan also committed suicide in defeat. But his heroic spirit will always be praised in Chudi. As the son of Xiang Yan, Xiang Liang naturally harbors a deep hatred for Qin and is always plotting how to avenge him. More than ten years later, Chen Sheng suddenly launched an attack, which ignited the flames of revenge among the Six Kingdoms and Xiang Liang. He and his nephew Xiang Yu launched a military coup and brazenly raised the banner of rebellion. Later, Fan Zeng, a resident of Juchao, was invited to serve as military advisor. Fan Zeng suggested that the descendants of the Queen of Chu should be made kings, so as to have appeal. Xiang Liang found Xiong Xin, the grandson of King Huai of Chu, among the people, and still established him as King Huai of Chu. From then on, the Chu people were very encouraged and the uprising wave surged.
However, the Chu people's deep hatred of Qin, as well as the propaganda and infiltration of its culture, made the Chu people's patriotism and national awareness unprecedentedly high. That was Qu Yuan, who strongly advised King Huai of Chu not to visit Qin. Qu Yuan is a descendant of Qu Xia, the son of Xiong Tong, King of Chu Wu. Because he was excluded and slandered by the nobles, he was exiled to northern Han Dynasty and Yuanxiang River Basin. After the Chu State's Yingdu was conquered by the Qin army, he was so grief-stricken and indignant that he drowned himself in the Miluo River and died for his country. His poems are full of a strong spirit of patriotism. As a great patriot, his spirit, character and literary contributions are admired by the people of Chu and later generations. His patriotic spirit of pursuing the truth and preferring to die is unyielding. It always affects the hearts of every Chu person and future generations. Li Bai also sighed: "Qu Ping's poems and poems hang over the sun and moon, and Bawang's terraces are empty on the hills." Therefore, under the influence of such a culture, the Chu people naturally had a sworn relationship with the Qin people. That is to say, unless the great human king—— As long as the First Emperor is alive and at the helm, no one will dare to rebel, otherwise the heroes will covet him and move their cameras.
In short, Qin Shihuang unified China, and the Great Qin Empire he established has made contributions that will last forever and benefit future generations. Today's knowledgeable people generally believe that without Qin Shihuang, there would be no great country with an area of 9.6 million square kilometers. Some people compare it with the current European Union and say that if there had been a Qin Shihuang like China long ago in Europe, , there would not be today’s situation of fragmentation. This comparison better highlights the greatness of Qin Shihuang, and shows how important the Qin Empire was to the prototype model of the unification of the Chinese nation. Unfortunately, this empire did not last long. As the first emperor became emperor and his successors became ignorant and unruly, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang suddenly took action. They ignited what Professor Li Kaiyuan called the beacon fire of the post-Warring States era, and the empire fell into chaos again. A chaotic situation of disintegration.
Later, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu joined forces, the Qin army was defeated, Qin Guan fell, and the empire collapsed. This paved the way for Liu and Xiang to fight for the world. At the same time, it also laid a solid foundation for Liu Bang to establish the next Han Dynasty that would last for four hundred years. Sun Haohui said: "The Great Qin Empire is the true source of Chinese civilization." The Great Qin Empire was indeed the most important period in the five thousand years of Chinese civilization, because this period was very short. In just fifteen years, it was conquered by the Chu State. The army was defeated, and the empire was wiped out. This was destined to require Liu Bang to complete the reunification of the empire, so he followed the trend of history, raised troops from Pengcheng, and pointed his sword at Guanzhong. The way of heaven wants to destroy Qin, and the same is true when looking at the five elements. Peigong raised his troops from the south. After more than a year, he finally captured Wuguan and the Qin Kingdom was completely destroyed. This also just verified the principle of the Five Elements that fire can overcome metal. The following is a story about a heroic sage who, in the face of suffering, was not afraid of rape, fought bravely, and finally defeated evil, eradicating violence and bringing peace to the good.
