Through Xiang Yu's vicious plot to force his strongest adviser to death, will the person who devised the plot receive retribution?

In the early Han Dynasty, there was a genius counselor who helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu and establish the Han Dynasty.

However, this person's strategies are not as "seeing the light" as Zhang Liang's. His strategies are all "conspiracies", also known as "tricks".

This person is Chen Ping.

So, how sinister is Chen Ping’s conspiracy? What was it that made Chen Ping himself say that doing so was "impairing moral integrity"?

Let’s talk about this today.

The war between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu reached a critical moment. The two sides were evenly matched and fell into a stalemate.

In order to break the deadlock, Liu Bang asked Chen Ping how to defeat Xiang Yu.

Chen Ping presented a "countermeasure".

Chen Ping said this to Liu Bang: Xiang Yu respects celebrities, but he is very stingy towards his subordinates and is unwilling to reward them. As for the King of Han, you look down on celebrities and scholars, but you are very generous and not stingy to your subordinates who can do things. Now Xiang Yu's generals such as Ji Bu, Zhong Limei and others have made great achievements, but their rewards are not high.

We can take advantage of this and spend a lot of money to buy people in Xiang Yu's camp, spread rumors, and drive a wedge between Xiang Yu and the generals.

Liu Bang followed Chen Ping's suggestion and used heavy yellow to bribe Xiang Yu's subordinates to spread rumors.

For a time, rumors spread in Xiang Yu's camp. It was said that Ji Bu, Zhong Limei and other generals were dissatisfied with the insufficient rewards given by Xiang Yu. The generals and the King of Han secretly made peace, and even Xiang Yu's mastermind Fan Zeng also participated.

Xiang Yu himself knew that he was stingy with his subordinates. Now that rumors were spreading, he couldn't help but feel uneasy, so he really alienated Ji Bu, Zhong Limei and others. In the end, he became suspicious of Fan Zeng and forced him to death.

Chen Ping's alienation plan caused the Chu army to become alienated and fell into a situation of self-harm.

This move indeed greatly weakened the Chu army's combat effectiveness and was a key factor in determining the outcome of the Chu-Han War.

Chen Ping was originally a subordinate of Xiang Yu, and later joined Liu Bang's group. He made "six unique strategies" throughout his life and made great contributions to the establishment and stability of the Han Dynasty. Later, he rose to the rank of prime minister and became a highly respected minister.

But Chen Ping himself once said: My strategies are all conspiracies, and they are intended to damage the moral character.

This statement is from the perspective of Taoist practice, but from the perspective of human affairs, this statement also makes sense.

The reason why Chen Ping is willing to follow Liu Bang is that Liu Bang is generous and can give high-ranking officials generous salaries. Chen Ping and Liu Bang are purely interested in each other and use each other.

Although Xiang Yu is not a kind person, Xiang Yu does retain some of the aristocratic temperament of the Warring States Period. He loves celebrities, despises life and death, values ??reputation, and has integrity.

And Liu Bang is a pure "new human being" under the Qin Dynasty system. He does not value celebrities and scholars. He likes people who are absolutely loyal, able to give alms, good at talking, cunning and unprincipled, and exquisitely egoistic. Reputation and integrity are all illusions, interests and power are everything.

Chen Ping's counterintuitive plan took advantage of these two different styles. Facts have proved that since the demise of the aristocracy in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Liu Bang's civilian gangster style has been the mainstream in troubled times.

What should be noted in particular is that since Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, this applies regardless of one's origin. For example, Cao Cao and Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms period of the Later Han Dynasty are examples. Cao Cao was an official, but he was a meritocracy and did not attach much importance to it. Fame, although Liu Bei was born in a poor family, he loved celebrities. In the end, the winner was actually Cao Cao, who valued profits over fame.