The moon is bright and the stars are sparse,
The stream flows gurglingly,
Crickets chirped.
The drunk Liu Bang leaned on a stone and burped from time to time. He wanted to compose a poem in front of this beautiful scenery, but he didn't have much ink in his stomach, and he was a little restless. After thinking for a long time, he couldn't think of a sentence. Thinking of his beloved wife and young son, as well as the wine sellers Wang and Wu, and his mistress Cao, Liu Bang sighed in his heart: How did I get to this point?
Let us explain it carefully.
After marriage, Liu Bang, the pavilion chief of Surabaya, finally enjoyed the warmth of his own family. However, there is a saying in official circles: Being on the job does not make you feel comfortable, but feeling comfortable does not make you feel comfortable. Even if you receive a salary from the country, you can't always live on your own. On this day, the task came: according to the decree of the imperial court, the prisoners from Peixian County were sent to Xianyang to build the Lishan Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang. Liu Bang was asked to be responsible for the escort task.
At that time, the task of escorting prisoners was no longer easy to do. After unifying the Central Plains, Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, built the Lishan Mausoleum, built the Epang Palace, and carried out extensive construction projects. There were no advanced engineering equipment at that time, and even iron was not widely used. Work was all done on people's shoulders.
The Great Wall, a great project in ancient China.
Lishan Mausoleum, with a radius of more than 100 miles, was built from the time Qin Shihuang ascended the throne at the age of 13, and continued until his son Hu Hai ascended the throne. Finally, it was hastily ended due to the war. The terracotta warriors and horses in its burial pit are listed as one of the eight wonders of the world. . Epang Palace was built since 212 BC and was not completed until the fall of the Qin Dynasty. If it were completed, it would be another miracle.
Which of these three major projects was not built with human lives? Yang Quan, a scholar of the Three Kingdoms, said in his book "Theory of Physics": "Qin Shihuang sent Meng Tian to build the Great Wall, and the dead belong to each other." There is a folk song called "The Ballad of the Great Wall" in the Qin Dynasty:
Be careful not to lift it when giving birth to a boy, but use breasts to feed a girl. Under the Great Wall, corpses look like pillars.
This means that if you give birth to a girl, you should take good care of it, but if you give birth to a boy, don’t take care of it, as raising it will be in vain. Haven't you seen the corpses of those strong men connected together under the Great Wall?
Although the mortality rate in the construction of Lishan Mausoleum and Afang Palace was not as high as that in the construction of the Great Wall, death from exhaustion, illness, and beatings often occurred. It is difficult to leave their homeland, their wives and children, and their life and death are uncertain. The common people are very afraid of being captured and often flee on the way to being escorted. If a strong man escapes, the person who escorted him will have to take responsibility, and he will have to be scolded, beaten, and punished. Therefore, the magistrate of Peixian County had no good intentions when he sent Liu Bang to escort the young men this time. It was probably because of Lu Pheasant's relationship.
Therefore, after Liu Bang escorted the prisoners and set off, the prisoners took advantage of the opportunity and ran away. They didn't go far, and they were almost gone. Liu Bang thought to himself: Look at the situation, when we get to Xianyang, I will be the only one left, how can I do it? It seems that my role as the pavilion chief has come to an end and I have to run for my life.
To escape, you must be able to escape. Like those hard laborers who escaped before, fighting alone cannot survive alone, and nine times out of ten, they will be caught. If you want to run away, you need to bring a few more people, form a team, and find a hilltop with favorable terrain to become a bandit.
So, Liu Bang rolled his eyes and came up with a plan.
That night, in Great Jersey, which is today the west of Feng County, Jiangsu Province, Liu Bang bought wine and food and gathered the remaining dozens of people for a dinner. After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Liu Bang stood up and said: "Fellow heroes, many people have fled along the way. You are the only one who is loyal enough and did not leave me alone. Many people have fled. Even if we take you to Xianyang, we will not have a good life. In this case, let's just say goodbye here. You all run away, and I have to run for my life." As soon as Liu Bang spoke, everyone ran for their lives, leaving only More than ten people were willing to follow Liu Bang. Liu Bang warmly won over these dozen people, added wine and food, and continued drinking. After having enough wine and food, he traveled all night to find a place to stay.
At this moment, because he was not familiar with the road, Liu Bang sent a man to explore the road, while he leaned on the stone, sobering up and waiting for news.
At this time, the explorer ran back in a panic and reported: "It's impossible to go ahead. I went to explore the path and saw a python lying across the road. It was so thick and several feet long. If I hadn't discovered it earlier, I would have died. It swallowed it up in one gulp. Let’s go another way!”
After hearing the description of the explorer, everyone became timid and advised Liu Bang to turn around and find another way.
There is a saying that drinking makes people brave. Liu Bang's courage is not small, but it's not that big either. Normally, if he heard that there was a giant python blocking his way, Liu Bang would have stayed away. But at this time, with the help of alcohol, Liu Bang became much more courageous: "You are worthless! How can a majestic man be blocked by a snake? Look at me!"
After saying that, Liu Bang pulled out his sword with a clang and rushed out with crooked steps. We didn't go far, and sure enough, there was a big python lying on the road. It must have just eaten and was digesting. Liu Bang didn't give the python any chance. He didn't care about looking for the snake's head for a moment. He raised his sword and slashed hard at the snake's body. The python was immediately cut into two pieces.
This was a small thing. But Liu Bang regarded this as his favorite work. Later, someone made up a myth based on it:
It is said that after Liu Bang killed the snake, he continued to drive for several miles. He was so drunk that he lay down on the ground and fell asleep. The dozen or so people who followed Liu Bang didn't see Liu Bang coming back, so they went to look for him together. When I found the place where Liu Bang killed the snake, I saw an old lady sitting there crying. Someone asked: "Why are you crying here?" The old lady cried and said: "Someone killed my son, can I stop crying?" Someone asked inquiringly: "What's going on? Tell us. Say?" The old lady replied: "My son is not an ordinary person, he is the son of the White Emperor. Today he turned into a snake and blocked the road, but was killed by the Red Emperor's son!" Everyone thought the old lady was talking nonsense, and was about to After revealing it, the old lady suddenly disappeared in front of everyone. Later, everyone found Liu Bang and told the matter. From then on, Liu Bang became the son of the Red Emperor, and his followers also called Liu Bang the son of a great god, and they were increasingly in awe of him.
Baidi is one of the five ancient Chinese emperors, the leader of the Dongyi people, and the ancestor of the Chinese surname Ying and hundreds of other surnames such as Qin, Xu, Huang, Jiang, and Li. There is a saying that Bai Di is Shaohao. After all, he is God. The Red Emperor is Emperor Yan, one of the five ancient emperors of China, one of the ancestors of the Chinese nation, and a god.
"Historical Records·Fengchan Book" records: "Gongsun Chen from Lu wrote a letter saying: 'The first Qin Dynasty obtained the virtue of water, and now the Han Dynasty has accepted it and passed it on. Then the Han Dynasty should be the virtue of earth, and the virtue of earth should be seen by Huanglong. It is appropriate to correct Shuo, It is easy to wear color, and the color is yellow.' At that time, the prime minister Zhang Cang was good at law and calendar, and thought that the Han Dynasty was the beginning of water virtue, so the river broke through the golden embankment, which was a symbol. In the beginning of winter in October of the year, the color was black on the outside and red on the inside, which corresponded to virtue. . As Gongsun Chen said, it is not true. Let it go. Three years later, Huanglong saw Chengji. Emperor Wen then summoned Gongsun Chen, worshiped him as a doctor, and changed the calendar and served sex with Zhu Shengcao. "
There are various indications that Liu Bang's killing of snakes may be a historical fact, and a series of myths such as "the son of the White Emperor was killed by the son of the Red Emperor" are purely fabricated. What is recorded in the history books cannot be disbelieved, nor can it be fully believed. The origin of this legend is probably a rumor created by Liu Bang in collusion with others in order to increase his popularity and expand his team.
In later generations, people often say that "Gaozu killed the snake to revolt", which is not true. At this time, Liu Bang had only a dozen men, and they didn't even have the weapons. There was no rebellion at all. They just led a group of people to become bandits.
After Liu Bang became the king of the mountain, it is said that Qin Shihuang said that "there is the emperor's energy in the southeast", so he repeatedly patrolled eastward, trying to suppress the emperor's energy in the southeast with his own domineering energy. Qin Shihuang went on a grand tour, and Liu Bang was afraid of being suppressed, so he took his troops to Mangdang Mountain (today's junction of Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces) to fight guerrillas.
At that time, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and banditry business was difficult to do. It was rare to open one, and Liu Bang and others lived like savages. Thanks to Lu Pheasant who brings something from time to time, everyone will not starve to death. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Bang still had time to spread rumors. Every time Lu Pheasant came back to visit his relatives, he would always find the elusive Liu Bang. Liu Bang pretended to be surprised in front of everyone and asked: "How come you can always find me?" Lu Pheasant also followed suit: "What's the problem? There are clouds in the sky where you live. I look for you when I look at the clouds. Found it." Looking at the clouds to find someone is really nonsense. In fact, this was basically a collusion between Liu Bang and Lu Pheasant. Others didn't know that the couple was pretending to be a ghost and thought it was true. Many people who were forced to live by the harsh punishments had the idea that "it was really impossible to defect to Liu Ji and become a bandit."
Until this time, Liu Bang's eyes were still dark, with no way out or hope. Anti Qin? Liu Bang didn't have the guts. Have you always been a bandit? It’s really hard to live a life of hiding and being on tenterhooks!
In the days when Liu Bang and his team hid in Mangdang Mountain to become bandits, the world outside the mountain became more and more exciting.
Qin Shihuang died, and Qin II Hu Hai succeeded to the throne!
In 209 BC, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang raised the rebel flag in Daze Township and were the first to eat the empire's crabs.
Sometimes, being first is not necessarily a good thing.
After all, if the first bird is shot, the first rafter will die first.
Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were desperate and took the lead in the uprising, and were eventually wiped out first. However, this uprising brought a turning point in the fate of Liu Bang, the mountain king.
After the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, they attacked the city one after another and set up the royal flag in Chen County. The nearby counties and counties "had suffered from the Qin Dynasty for a long time" and they all killed officials and rebelled in response to Chen Sheng. The uprising was in full swing. The magistrate of Peixian County, whose jurisdiction was on the edge of Zhang Chu's regime, was panicked.
Gather soldiers to resist Zhang Chu? As a mere county magistrate, let alone having no troops, even if a group of village warriors were recruited, the weapons would not be available. Serve the country with all your loyalty? Death was the only option in the ages, and the county magistrate had no intention of risking his own life for Da Qin. After much thought, the county magistrate thought that Pei County should be surrendered to Chen Sheng and get through this first.
Surrender was not decided by the county magistrate alone. Even though he was the biggest official in Pei County, even if his subordinates didn't agree to surrender, he wouldn't be able to do so. Therefore, the county magistrate called in Xiao He, the meritorious officer, and Cao Shen, the criminal officer. Both of these people are well-spoken and popular in the county. The county magistrate first made a high-profile opening statement of "surrendering Peixian County in order to save this county from the suffering of war", and then democratically solicited the opinions of Xiao He and Cao Shen.
Xiao He and Cao Shen had already been thinking about this matter with fear. After all, they are all reputable officials in the county and bureaucrats in the eyes of the people. If they resist to the end, the people will never be polite to them. The county magistrate has been silent, and the two of them have been anxious for a long time. After hearing what the county magistrate said today, the two of them thought to themselves: It turns out that you are also afraid of death, and it is difficult for you to hold on for so many days.
Xiao He values loyalty. He has long known that Liu Bang went to the mountains to become a bandit, and he was determined to take this opportunity to find Liu Bang back. So, Xiao He stepped forward, bowed his hands and saluted, and said to the county magistrate slowly: "My lord, a place as big as Peixian County is not enough for one person to eat. If you resist, you will definitely not be able to resist, and you will definitely have to surrender. But my lord, you are appointed by the imperial court." Officials, if you are to take the lead now and lead the children of Peixian County to join Zhang Chu, I am afraid that everyone will not trust you. I suggest that you find the people who have fled from this county and form a team. It is estimated that there will be hundreds of people. . We use this group of people as a deterrent, and we are not afraid that everyone will not listen to you." Cao Shen always followed Xiao He's lead and immediately spoke to express his agreement with Xiao He's opinions.
The county magistrate thought about it, felt it made sense, and immediately adopted it. Xiao He has always been in contact with Liu Bang, and the liaison officer is Fan Kuai. Fan Kuai was originally a dog meat seller. He had an irreversible friendship with Liu Bang and became Liu Bang's brother-in-law. Later, he followed Liu Bang as a bandit in Mangdang Mountain and often traveled between Pei County and Mangdang Mountain. Xiao He quickly found Fan Kuai and asked him to quickly ask Liu Bang to bring people to take over Peixian County. Liu Bang was so excited that he burst into tears when he got the news. Who would have thought that such a good thing would happen to him!
Liu Bang quickly gathered his men and went straight to Pei County.
Let’s talk about Peixian County. As soon as Fan Kuai left, the Peixian County Magistrate thought again: That’s not right! Will Liu Bang listen to me when he comes? If Liu Bang doesn't listen to me, there's nothing I can do! The Qin Dynasty even destroyed the six kingdoms, what can the little Zhang Chu do? As soon as the imperial army arrived, Zhang Chu was instantly defeated. Wouldn't surrendering to Zhang Chu be courting death? After thinking about it, I still felt that I couldn’t resist!
So the county magistrate ordered the city gates to be closed tightly and would not let Liu Bang enter the city. He also ordered people to arrest Xiao He and Cao Shen and prepare to kill them. Xiao He and Cao Shen were very clever and had already slipped out of the city to join Liu Bang when things went wrong.
Liu Bang came to Pei County with his troops and took a look. The city gate was tightly closed. It was impossible for him to attack the city with his small number of people. He might as well attack the heart. With Xiao He's advice, Liu Bang wrote a letter and asked the archers to shoot at the city. The letter reads:
Dear fellow countrymen, the people of the world have been subjected to the brutal Qin Dynasty and have long been unbearable. Now that Chen Sheng has rebelled, do you still dare to help the county magistrate defend the city? Don't you know that Chen Sheng's troops will massacre anyone who refuses to surrender? You should kill the county magistrate quickly and choose a leader to respond to the anti-Qin princes, so as to save your lives. Otherwise, when Chen Sheng's army comes, everyone will lose their heads!
The people of Peixian County had long heard that Zhang Chujun liked to massacre the city. In addition, they had heard that Liu Bang was not an ordinary person and had been destined by fate. After being instigated by Liu Bang, they immediately killed the county magistrate, welcomed Liu Bang into the city, and wanted to support him as the magistrate of Peixian County. Lead everyone in the anti-Qin cause. Liu Bang pretended to disagree and declined: "I don't have any ability, so I'm afraid I can't protect you. You can choose a better one." Some people also think that Liu Bang was just a Sishui pavilion chief, and he might not be able to do anything big. , believes that Xiao He and Cao Shen are popular, and one should be chosen from them.
However, Xiao He and Cao Shen were civil servants and did not understand rebellion at all. Moreover, they also considered that the rebellion might fail. If it failed, the leader would definitely kill the nine tribes. So Xiao and Cao firmly declined, saying that Liu Bang was the most suitable. Xiao and Cao strongly recommended Liu Bang, and naturally some people spoke for Liu Bang. Some people took advantage of their recommendation and said that Liu Bang had clouds and killed the White Emperor's son at night. Some people said that Qin Shihuang's several eastward tours were because Liu Bang obeyed the destiny of heaven. , some people even say that Liu Bang is the most suitable candidate... In short, they all agree that Liu Bang should be the leader.
Liu Bang was actually scared in his heart. After all, it was a matter of keeping his head in his belt, and everyone was worried. But he had no way out. He was the one who let the prisoners escape and fled in fear of crime. He was the one who hid in the mountains as a bandit and disrupted the public order. He was the one who spread rumors that he was the son of the Red Emperor and had the courage to do so. He was the one who came to Peixian County and encouraged the people to kill the county magistrate. . All of them are capital crimes, why are you afraid of adding rebellion? Therefore, Liu Bang pretended to refuse and accepted, but felt that he could not be the county magistrate. The villagers also came to a compromise. If they don't want to be county magistrates, they should not be county magistrates and be called Peigong.
In October of the first year of Qin II (209 BC), Liu Bang happily accepted the support of his hometown elders and called him Pei Gong. He sacrificed to the Yellow Emperor, slaughtered three animals and swore a blood oath, and officially revolted against Qin. Because Liu Bang had previously created rumors that he was the son of the Red Emperor, the flag flown by the soldiers and horses in Pei County was a red flag.
At this time, the red flag is flying in Peixian County!
