Why do some people say that Xiang Yu has no face to cross the river, but it is actually a lie?

The duel between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang was doomed from the beginning, which can be seen from the evaluation of Fan Zeng, Xiang Yu's counselor. At the hongmen banquet, Fan Zeng planned perfectly, killed liu bang and wiped out the biggest enemy. Xiang Yu is relaxed all over the world. But Xiang Yu didn't kill Liu Bang because of a woman's kindness, and let Liu Bang escape. As a result, Zhang Liang explained Liu Bang's escape with two pieces of broken jade, and Xiang Yu even accepted the jade and enjoyed it happily. At this point, Fan Zeng nu said:

"alas! Insufficient vertical shaft, ask. Those who win the title of king of the world will be rewarded repeatedly. I belong to this! " (See Historical Records Hongmen Banquet)

The result is basically as Fan Zeng said.

In fact, in addition to Fan Zengzhi's words, in many performances at the beginning, Xiang Yu was almost inferior to Liu Bang except for martial arts and good fighting. However, in order to win the world, in addition to being good at fighting, it also depends on good intentions and unique talents. Liu Bang is full of talents, but Xiang Yu's talents are seriously biased. Martial arts are strong and weak, and literature cannot be reused. Martial arts was suppressed by him, and he was both civil and military, so he could not display his ambition. This is also a disadvantage of Xiang Yu Group.

In 202 BC, after the alliance of the gorge, Xiang Yu's nightmare came.

Judging from the situation at that time, the successful achievement of the gap alliance can be said to be another manifestation that Xiang Yu was not as strategic as Liu Bang at the Hongmen banquet.

As the saying goes, two tigers are not allowed in one mountain. After the political pattern of Qin's unification, it is impossible for the world to divide and rule. Xiang Yu, in particular, is as brave as a tiger. How did Liu Canbang sleep peacefully? With so many counselors around him, how could he not see the problem? So for Liu Bang, there is only one way to make him feel safe, and that is to completely cut off Xiang Yu and let Xiang Yu disappear.

Therefore, for Liu Bang, the alliance of gaps is not an excuse to paralyze Xiang Yu. But Xiang Yu naively took this agreement as an opportunity to go back to Jiangdong to catch my breath. So, what happened later was that Liu Bang broke the contract and besieged Xiang Yu heavily, so that Xiang Yu was finally defeated and fell to the end of Wujiang River.

However, the so-called humiliation of Xiang Yu crossing the river is actually just a lie. This historical data reveals the truth for a simple reason. We can explore the truth mainly through three ways:

1 is clearly recorded in Sima Qian's Historical Records of Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu smiled and said before committing suicide:

"With eight thousand Jiangdong children crossing the river westbound, no one returned today, and Jiangdong brothers and sisters have pity on me. How can I tell? "

There is a very important information in this record, that is, the eight thousand children in Jiangdong mentioned by Xiang Yu. According to Xiang Yu, he didn't want to cross the river because all the 8,000 soldiers who went out with him died.

But when Xiang Yu was besieged, this fact had already happened and the defeat was set. Xiang Yu himself should be very clear, otherwise he would not break through with hundreds of people. In this way, Gaixia was surrounded, there were few children left, and failure was inevitable. He should be ashamed and commit suicide there. But Xiang Yu didn't, so Xiang Yu's statement that he had no face to cross the river seemed solemn and stirring. Taking 8 thousand children as an excuse, he was full of feelings, but it was actually just Sima Qian's preference for Xiang Yu's beautification.

The second argument comes from the deception of farmers.

When Xiang Yu escaped from Gaixia, he took only a few hundred people with him. First of all, judging from this behavior, Xiang Yu didn't want to die, he wanted to escape, and even according to the later route, he just wanted to escape back to Jiangdong. However, a series of events that happened later gradually drove Xiang Yu to a desperate situation, which also changed his psychological state and made Xiang Yu, who was already too delicate, give up his desire to return to Jiangdong for a comeback.

One of the most important events is the farmer's deception.

If you follow the escape route originally designed by Xiang Yu, probably the Han army can't catch up. However, unexpectedly, when he fled to Yinling and got lost, he asked the farmers for directions, but he was deceived by the farmers, which led him to fall into the sky. Therefore, the delay gave the Han army enough time to pursue it, making it even more embarrassing for him to escape.

This episode made Xiang Yu, who was already very passive, very ashamed. There are traps to be chased outside, such as lost dogs, and there is shame to be cheated inside, and all the dignity is swept away. What a good excuse to commit suicide, but Xiang Yu did not commit suicide here. He is still struggling. Why? It shows that although he was humiliated and imprisoned, he still wanted to escape.

Therefore, what Tai Shigong said before Xiang Yu's death was full of literary embellishment, and the excuse of eight thousand sons was just more like the expression of literature than the truth.

The third statement is Xiang Yu's personal values: you can kill but not humiliate.

Although Xiang Yu was besieged, he continued to flee with more than twenty cavalry. Even if it is a well-prepared breakthrough, there are only two cavalry. In fact, at this time, Xiang Yu was still struggling and working hard with the hope of "crossing the Wujiang River eastward". Then, when he was struggling to escape to Wujiang River, how could he suddenly say "I won't cross the river"? This is unreasonable and does not conform to Sima Qian's records in the Biography of Xiang Yu.

So is there something wrong with Xiang Yu here, or is Taishi Gong not telling the truth? Obviously, there is something wrong with Sima Qian's pen and he tends to be friendly.

Sima Qian appreciates Xiang Yu's personal charm, and it is understandable to have an affair. In fact, many friends still like Xiang Yu, although he is a loser. I also like Xiang Yu's heroism. But when it comes to Xiang Yu's death, it is a doubtful point that is hard to let go.

So if Xiang Yu doesn't want to cross the river and commit suicide, it's not because of 8 thousand children, but because of what?

Historians have given a very important explanation: fear of being cheated again.

Where do you start? Two points:

First, at that time, Liu Bang had already shouted out a huge reward. As long as he captured any part of Xiang Yu, he could get a title and money, which could never be exchanged for killing the enemy. Xiang Yu is also very clear about this. He knows his own value and naturally knows his own situation, but human nature is extremely fragile in the face of great temptation. People who are familiar with it are hard to control themselves, not to mention that he and the director of Wujiang Pavilion are not familiar with it. So Xiang Yu was worried that he was poor and might be cheated by him.

The second is that Xiang Yu is worried about being cheated by the director of Wujiang Pavilion. Why is this fear so strong? Cain has just been tricked into a swamp by a farmer. As the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy, how can you not be vigilant?

For Xiang Yu at that time, it was war that failed, but what was more terrible than failure was being cheated. War is the general trend, and failure is caused by providence, as Xiang Yu said-"providence plays tricks on people." Deception is self-centered and destroys Xiang Yu's psychology. Xiang Yu is a noble who is brave in appearance and sensitive in heart, and belongs to the kind of person who can kill and humiliate. Therefore, it is an honor to die after defeat, and it is a shame to be caught cheating.

So Xiang Yu wanted to think on the Wujiang River. Now that we have been defeated, why should we be cheated into the boat and die in humiliation? Both of them are dead. Before humiliating death and suicide, it is obvious that the latter is more dignified and more in line with the values of Xiang Yu, who was born in a famous family. Therefore, Xiang Yu's reluctance to cross the river is really not a shame caused by the "eight thousand sons", but is more in line with his inner choice when life is desperate.

Can be killed without humiliation; Kill, also have to be suicide. This is the reason why Xiang Yu, a noble, warrior and warrior, does not cross the river.

Xiang Yu, from the beginning to the end, was brilliant as an individual. In the end, he must make a hero curtain call with a person's attitude.