Hei Zheng felt a strange sense of joy in his heart, and he said, "You mentioned just now that Prime Minister Pi praised him for having Xiong He, Zhang Liang, and Han Xin as his advisors to conquer the world. Who are these three people?"
Xiao He and Han Xin were easy to explain, but Zhang Liang? He was the one who had attempted to assassinate the first emperor in history. Li Nian hoped that Zhang Liang would hide well and make sure that he wouldn't be captured on his account.
Li Nian said, "These three are known as the 'Three Greatest Heroes of the Early Han Dynasty.' Of course, there were other outstanding individuals in the early Han Dynasty, but they stood out among them."
"Xiao He, the first great contributor to the founding of Western Han Dynasty, was from Fengyi in Huan county, like Prime Minister Pi. In his early years, he gained reputation for his proficiency in laws and fair execution without any bias or harm."
Surprisingly, he was an official of the great Qin Dynasty?
It seems that the Qin Dynasty was indeed not well-liked. Even its own officials turned against it.
In his heart, Emperor Ying Zheng thought about this, and Li Nian continued, "When Prime Minister Pi was still a commoner, Xiao He had already befriended him and helped him several times. When Prime Minister Pi raised the rebellion in Huan county, it was with the help of Xiao He and Cao Si that he succeeded."
"At the time of the uprising, after killing the county magistrate, everyone was worried that it wouldn't succeed and that their clans would be exterminated. They kept pushing each other to avoid becoming the new county magistrate. It was then that Prime Minister Pi became the new county magistrate, following the old system of Chu, and was known as 'Prime Minister Pi'."
"The title 'Prime Minister Pi' originally came from this."
Emperor Ying Zheng evaluated, "Such a pity for family and life, no wonder he can only be a subject, not a sovereign."
Li Nian said, "In terms of military achievements, Xiao He is not as skilled as Cao Can and Zhou Bo. In terms of strategy, he is not as adept as Zhang Liang and Han Xin. However, he was responsible for safeguarding the rear for Prime Minister Pi and managing the logistics, ensuring that Prime Minister Pi and his subordinates did not have to worry about a lack of soldiers or supplies during battles. He can be said to be Prime Minister Pi's most solid support."
"When Prime Minister Pi first entered Xianyang, he saw the bustling prosperity of Xianyang and couldn't resist the temptation to rest and enjoy the pleasures of the palace. However, Xiao He, upon entering Xianyang, didn't indulge in loot or desire for beauty. Instead, he rushed to the residence of the Prime Minister and the Chief Eunuch to collect and protect the laws and books stored there."
Emperor Ying Zheng heard this and evaluated, "Xiao He has a deep and long-term plan, he knows that laws and books are more valuable than temporary goods and beauties at the time. Having such a person to help him, it's no wonder that Prime Minister Pi was able to conquer the world!"
Li Nian nodded in agreement, "That's exactly right. The collection and protection of the laws and books by Xiao He played a tremendous role in Prime Minister Pi's victory. Xiao He also recommended Han Xin, one of the 'Three Heroes,' to Prime Minister Pi, which has left behind the legend of 'Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moonlight' for future generations."
Yes, Xiao He was also associated with another "Three Heroes" Han Xin.
Of course, they served under the same emperor as subjects, even if they weren't very close, they must have known each other.
"After Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising, Han Xin first served under Xiang Liang and then under Xiang Yu, but he was not well utilized. He then turned to serve under Prime Minister Pi, yet he was still not given significant roles. However, while serving under Prime Minister Pi, Han Xin had several conversations with Xiao He, who considered him a talent of extraordinary ability!"
"Although Xiao He thought Han Xin was extraordinary, he had not been given significant roles for a long time. Han Xin thus began to have thoughts of leaving. When Xiao He heard that Han Xin was running away, he rushed to pursue him, but almost failed to inform Prime Minister Pi. This incident almost led Prime Minister Pi to believe that Xiao He was also running away."
"After chasing Han Xin back, Xiao He formally recommended Han Xin to Prime Minister Pi and called him 'unparalleled among the nation's officials'."
Mentioning "unparalleled among the nation's officials," Li Nian thought of the exam for the top chef of the Young Master, where "unparalleled among the nation's officials" had been used as a question topic.
"With Xiao He's persuasion, Prime Minister Pi ascended the stage and promoted Han Xin as the commander of the troops. From then on, Han Xin contributed to Prime Minister Pi's strategy in controlling three states in the west, capturing Wei, taking over Daejeon, destroying Zhao, pressing Zap Cho, attacking Qi and finally toppling Chu. The Raikeieng siege of Xiang Yu was also under Han Xin's command."
"Han Xin was invincible in battle and triumphant in every attack. In later generations, he was honored as the 'God of War.' When later dynasties established martial temples, Han Xin was often included among the pantheon, usually ranked at the forefront."
Being called the "God of War" is enough to show the strong leadership skills of this person in military affairs.
Emperor Ying Zheng asked, "Where is Wang Jian ranked in the Wushang Temple?"
Upon hearing this, Li Nian knew that the First Emperor was not actually asking about Wang Jian's ranking but was inquiring: Compared to Han Xin, who is more formidable, Wang Jian or Han Xin?
That would be Han Xin, of course. Although Wang Jian had conquered countries and carried out great campaigns, the battles he fought were all conquests, while Han Xin fought battles that brought down the Qin Dynasty and established the Han Dynasty.
Compared to Han Xin, Wang Jian's battles were indeed richer. Han Xin had his power taken away several times by Liu Bang, and he had to recruit soldiers himself. However, Han Xin still managed to win with fewer soldiers and new recruits.
It's unimaginable to think of Han Xin leading the Qin army that Wang Jian commanded!
"In later dynasties, when establishing the Wushang Temple, ten ancient generals were chosen as the ten patriarchs to be worshipped together. Han Xin was included in this group, while Wang Jian's position as a general was not."
Li Nian then added, "Wu Anjun was once listed among the ten sages!"
However, Bai Qi's position in the Wushang Temple was kicked out by Emperor Taizu of Song during the Song Dynasty.
The reason being, Bai Qi executed prisoners of war, and was therefore not worthy of being worshipped in the Wushang Temple.
'The abilities of Han Xin have matched those of Wu Anjun, but I wonder if he can serve me?'
Li Nian continued, "However, Han Xin's ultimate death and the extermination of his clan were also due to Xiao He, hence the later saying, 'Made by Xiao He, destroyed by Xiao He.'"
Upon hearing this, the Emperor was amused. It seems that Prime Minister Pi killed Han Xin? His tolerance seems to be just so-so!
Seeing him, all his loyal ministers and generals prospered.
Feeling that he had found a place where he excels over Prime Minister Pi, the Emperor asked with interest, "Why did Prime Minister Pi kill Han Xin?"
Li Nian said, "There are many reasons why Han Xin was killed. He was a prominent leader with great power, was excessively greedy, and had disobeyed Prime Minister Pi's orders, causing a rift between them. Han Xin's achievements during the early Han Dynasty were unparalleled among the generals. His military prestige was extremely high. When Prime Minister Pi was encircled in Xuchang, his situation was critical. However, Han Xin did not rush to save Xuchang but instead proposed in a letter that Prime Minister Pi should be made king."
With just these two points, Emperor Ying Zheng understood why Han Xin was killed. It should be said that it is unusual for Han Xin not to be killed. He was more likely to die than survive, as it would require a monarch with immense tolerance to allow someone like Han Xin to live. Anyway, if he were in the emperor's place, he would have certainly killed Han Xin.
Even if he is the most talented and his military prowess is unmatched, what good does it do?
If he disregards the king's orders and even dares to demand the king's position during a crisis, then he must be punished severely.
I'm not much better than Prime Minister Pi either!
The joy in his heart vanished instantly.
'After Han Xin's death, Prime Minister Pi also had some issues. During Han Xin's tenure as a commander, Prime Minister Pi had several times taken away his army's powers, causing Han Xin to fear that Prime Minister Pi might harm him.'
Emperor Ying Zheng evaluated, "Mutual distrust between the ruler and the subject leads to such a result. It is not surprising!"
Li Nian said, "Han Xin did not die directly at the hands of Prime Minister Pi; he was killed by Prime Minister Pi's wife. By the time Prime Minister Pi learned about this, historical records show that 'Upon returning to Luoyang, upon hearing of Han Xin's death, he was both relieved and pitied him.'"
Emperor Ying Zheng said, "I am glad that Han Xin is dead, no longer a threat in my heart. I pity his talent, as there will never be another 'unparalleled among the officials' in this world. Prime Minister Pi only found out about this later. I don't believe it, and if it weren't for his agreement, how could his wife dare to harm a commander?"
Li Nian corrected Emperor Ying Zheng, "Your Majesty may not be aware that even without Prime Minister Pi's approval, his wife dared to kill Han Xin."
Emperor Ying Zheng let out a puzzled "Huh?" and then thought it through. This woman must not be an ordinary woman; she might be like the Queen Mother of Qin, a woman of extraordinary influence.
