Chapter 211: Emperor or King
The most discussed thing among historians and princes is this [Western Chu Overlord], why didn't Xiang Yu directly claim the emperor? Do you want to erect King Chu Huai and respect him as the righteous emperor? What is the meaning of him calling himself the [Overlord of Western Chu]?! The idea was added by Fan? Or did he think of it himself? We have consulted a large number of historical materials and can basically make judgments on these issues:
Why didn't Xiang Yu directly claim the emperor?
It's very simple, Xiang Yu didn't have this strength at that time. www.biquge.info As I have already said earlier, there are more than 20,000 people, who can control the army of 500,000 princes, and it is already good to be able to deal with threats and flickering. Xiang Yu's team, resources, and strength are at most a prince, so being the emperor will only cause the six countries to rebel again, and at this time Xiang Yu is already a tired army in a hundred battles, and the odds of winning are too low.
Why did you name yourself [Western Chu Overlord]?
When Xiang Yu saw Qin Shi Huang, he said, "He can take his place!" ”。 In other words, many years ago, Xiang Yu had been thinking about a way to replace Qin Shi Huang; After the Battle of the Giant Deer, he was thinking about how to really replace Qin Shi Huang. Since you can't be the emperor right away, and you can't demote yourself to a prince, on the same level as the princes of the Eighteenth Road, it makes no sense. Between the emperor and the princes, only the title of overlord is the best, but most of the princes in the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period are still princes, and only the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty is the orthodox royal family; When it came to the Warring States, all the vassal states were crowned kings, so if you want to be hegemonic, you must at least be an overlord. The overlord can show a more noble identity than other princes and kings, can command the princes of the world, and can govern by himself.
As for the word Western Chu, it is obvious that this is Xiang Yu's deep plot of recovering the country, in order to make it clear that he is still a native of Chu, so the country name is Western Chu. [Western Chu Overlord] is a very genius title, but there are only three generations of hegemons in Chinese history, so it has also laid the short-lived market of Xiang Yu Group.
The idea was added by Fan? Or did he think of it himself?
Although Fan Zeng is strategic, his thinking still lacks creativity; Fan Zeng would encourage Xiang Yu to dominate, but he would never come up with such a super dramatic name. Therefore, it is recorded in the history books that Xiang Yu's own nickname is [Western Chu Overlord], saying that he himself has the nickname he has thought of for himself. Although Comrade Si Shiqian constantly smeared Xiang Yu in the "Historical Records", he was still righteous, and compiled "Xiang Yu's Benji" for Xiang Yu according to the treatment of the emperor!
In other words, because of the honorific title of [Overlord of Western Chu], two thousand years later, people still gave Emperor Xiang Yu a tacit acquiescence.
Finally, there is another question - when the world is divided, where did the jade seal of the country go?
History said that when Ziying surrendered, he handed over the [Heirloom Jade Seal] to Liu Bang, but in the tribute and gift list that Liu Bang gave to Xiang Yu, there were only a large number of jade walls and property, but there was no information about the whereabouts of the [Heirloom Jade Seal]. Obviously, Liu Bang deliberately hid this treasure in the world. If Xiang Yu discovers this problem, then Liu Bang can be justified in sentencing Liu Bang to death; It's a pity that Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng didn't think about it until the end. There is no information in the history books about Xiang Yu getting the [Heirloom Jade Seal], only the record of Ziying and dedicating the [Son of Heaven Seal] to Liu Bang, after Liu Bang ascended the throne, the [Son of Heaven Seal] was renamed [Heirloom Jade Seal]!
Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng were smart, but obviously the culture was still not enough, and they didn't know that the jade seal of the country was a symbol of imperial power! The [Heirloom Jade Seal] that was at his fingertips was not obtained, and the country that deserved to be at his fingertips was lost in the end.
Privately possessed [Heirloom Jade Seal], this is the only reason to justifiably kill Liu Bang, Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng both missed it, or because they were too careless! Therefore, a wise man must make a mistake in a thousand considerations, and success or failure often depends on the details!
However, it was said that Xiang Yu used the order of the overlord of Chu to the west to announce the specific content of the princes of the world. The princes talked a lot, but those who were angry dared not speak. These situations were all expected by Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu still knew the overall situation of the whole world. Xiang Yu raised the big bowl in his hand, invited the princes to raise a glass together, and said loudly: "Great Qin has no way, heroes have risen, the troubled times have been in trouble, blood is flowing, and the people's livelihood in the world is miserable." Today, it is decided that the princes will be in peace, strive for development, seek peace for the world, and seek welfare for the people. If any of the princes dare to use swords and soldiers to attack other countries, the heroes of the world should be defeated together! Everyone swears by this wine, sincerely unites and achieves a great cause. ”
This speech, impassioned, once again suppressed some restless princes.
At the end of the separation, Chen Ping once again offered Xiang Yu a suggestion: "King Xiang, congratulations on dividing the world and becoming the overlord of Western Chu." But there's one thing you have to decide. ”
Xiang Yu still has a good impression of Chen Ping, after all, the suggestion of Emperor Yi has brought him a lot of benefits. So Xiang Yu said very politely: "Staff Officer Chen has something to say, please speak." ”
Chen Ping saw that Xiang Yu was in a good mood, so he said: "There are about 500,000 people in the world, gathered in Xianyang, and now Xianyang has become a scorched earth, and the supply of military food and materials has become a big problem. The army of the princes, one more day of stay, will consume a lot of more resources, and the division has ended, the army is gathered here, and these different subordinate troops may have conflicts at any time. You've got to make a decision! ”