Chapter 123 On Hegemon-King of Western Chu
As Wei Zheng finished speaking, Songtsen Gampo frowned slightly.
"Xiang Yu's breach of trust, overreach of authority, and domineering nature were not enough to make the feudal lords rebel against him?"
Songtsen Gampo retorted, "He only has less than 100,000 troops."
"not enough!"
Wei Zheng replied decisively, "The various armies from Qi, Yan, and Wei that came to Zhao's aid dared not act because they feared Qin. It was Xiang Yu who took the lead and defeated the Qin army of 400,000 with only 50,000 men!"
"Even the Qin state dared not make a move against the feudal lords..."
"The Chu soldiers fought against ten men each, and the Qin army was routed and lost their armor and weapons."
"Who dares to provoke Xiang Yu!"
"And have you forgotten the Battle of Pengcheng?"
Songtsen Gampo's pupils contracted.
The Battle of Pengcheng!
Xiang Yu led 30,000 cavalrymen and defeated Liu Bang's 560,000-strong allied army!
"Thank you, Attendant-in-Ordinary, for clearing up my doubts."
Songtsen Gampo returned the greeting with a gesture of respect.
Wei Zheng nodded: "Your previous views are not wrong, but the more you say, the more mistakes you make. If you put yourself in the shoes of the eighteen warlords, you will lose."
"So this time, your strategic vision belongs to..."
As he spoke, Wei Zheng bowed to Li Shimin.
As for showing off, leave that to Li Shimin.
"Songtsen Gampo, you presumptuously claim that Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, was unable to participate in the struggle for hegemony."
"It also means that after the Feast at Hongmen, they would take action against Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu, and the final result was the annihilation of his entire army."
"This case judges you to have made a strategic error. Do you accept that?"
Li Shimin sat upright on the dragon throne and announced with a smile.
"recognize!"
Songtsen Gampo gritted his teeth and replied.
I'm still a little unwilling to accept it.
He could have won the round, but because he talked too much, he lost the round.
But it's alright, I'm well prepared, and there are still several rounds to go.
"Then, Qiqi..."
Wei Zheng looked at Wu Qiqi with a smile and said in a kind tone, "It's your turn this time."
Okay.
Wu Qiqi adorably flipped open the manuscript and glanced at it casually: "My opinion is... Xiang Yu's massacre of 200,000 Qin soldiers and his repeated massacres destined him to be unable to unify the world."
One breath, two breaths, ten breaths passed, and Wu Qiqi remained silent.
Finished?
No need for further explanation?
The courtiers were dumbfounded, and Songtsen Gampo was speechless.
So what exactly is that thick stack of manuscripts you have in your hand?
"Well said!"
Wei Zheng roared, "The people are the foundation of the nation, yet Xiang Yu is cruel, ruthless, and a mass murderer."
"The first massacre in Xiangcheng spared no civilians."
"The second massacre was the Chengyang massacre, in which all the civilians who assisted the Qin army were killed."
"The third massacre was the Xin'an Massacre, in which 200,000 Qin soldiers were buried alive."
"The fourth massacre was the Xianyang massacre, in which the surrendered Qin prince Ziying was killed, the Qin palaces were burned, and his subordinates were allowed to burn, kill, and loot civilians."
"The fifth time, the Qi massacre was carried out, Tian Rong's surrendered soldiers were buried alive, and the burning, killing and looting continued."
"The sixth massacre was the Waihuang massacre, but it was stopped by someone."
"How could such a bloodthirsty person unify the world?"
Wei Zheng's explanation.
The assembled officials were all stunned.
"Uncle Wei is right, that's exactly what I meant."
Wu Qiqi waved the manuscript in her hand: "I've memorized all of this."
Wei Zheng smiled and stroked his beard, then looked at Songtsen Gampo: "Songtsen Gampo, do you have any other opinions?"
What opinion could I possibly have?
I dare not have any opinions.
She says one thing, and you go on and on explaining it to her.
I rambled on for so long, and you just kept finding fault with me.
Do you think this is fair?
"What she said is very good, I have no objection."
Songtsen Gampo sighed.
The people are the foundation; this is an essential quality for every ruler, and there is no arguing about it.
"Alright, now it's your turn again," Wei Zheng said with a smile.
We've won the first round and have the upper hand.
Songtsen Gampo nodded, then flipped through the manuscript again, carefully considering his words...
"My next point is that Xiang Yu was stubborn, impulsive, and didn't value talent!"
"The most famous of them is Han Xin."
"Xiang Yu was too arrogant and never paid attention to Han Xin's strategies until Han Xin defected to Liu Bang, ultimately forcing him to commit suicide at the Wujiang River!"
"Secondly, there is Chen Ping!"
"Because of Chen Ping's single defeat, Xiang Yu took his anger out on Chen Ping and his officers and soldiers, intending to kill them all. This ultimately led to Chen Ping resigning his post and surrendering to Liu Bang!"
Thirdly, Fan Zeng!
"No one expected that, years later, Chen Ping, who had been angered and left, would use a simple divisive tactic to cause a rift between Xiang Yu and Fan Zeng."
"Without Fan Zeng to advise Xiang Yu from behind, Xiang Yu went downhill and was completely defeated after only two years."
"Fourthly, the upright and outspoken minister Zhongli Mei!"
"It was Chen Ping's scheme to sow discord. He said that Zhongli Mei had made many contributions but had not received any rewards from Xiang Yu, so he wanted to join forces with Liu Bang to destroy Xiang Yu."
"The most ridiculous thing is that Xiang Yu actually became suspicious and no longer trusted Zhongli Mei."
"Besides these people, there were also Ying Bu, Ling Yin Lingchang, Chen Gongli, and others..."
"Xiang Yu's poor judgment of people and his nepotism destined him to go nowhere, let alone unify the world!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Songtsen Gampo immediately shut his mouth, lest he say something wrong again.
All the ministers nodded.
Songtsen Gampo's words are commendable and irrefutable.
"good."
Wei Zheng was quite disgusted, but even he couldn't find anything wrong with it.
He smiled and looked at Wu Qiqi: "Qiqi, it's your turn."
Okay.
Wu Qiqi flipped through the manuscript...
"etc."
Songtsen Gampo looked at Wei Zheng and said, "This is a contest between me and her. I have already lost the battle, but I ask that you, Minister Wei, do not defend her."
"If she only raises a concept, and all the officials of the Tang Dynasty interpret it for her, then is it a contest between me and her, or a contest between me and all the officials of the Tang Dynasty?"
Wei Zheng frowned slightly.
Songtsen Gampo bowed to Li Shimin again: "I hope Your Majesty the Emperor will grant my request."
Li Shimin was also in a dilemma.
If Songtsen Gampo hadn't lost out by talking too much, he could have rejected the offer.
Songtsen Gampo's initial concept was correct, but he failed because he talked too much, which meant he could no longer protect Wu Qiqi.
"allow."
Li Shimin said, "Xuancheng, preside over the proceedings fairly!"
"promise."
Wei Zheng had no choice but to accept the order.
Wu Qiqi flipped through the manuscript and found that Songtsen Gampo had already mentioned Xiang Yu's poor judgment of character.
She pulled out the note and folded it at the bottom.
Then, after glancing at the rest of the manuscript, I began to speak calmly and unhurriedly…
"My next point is about the system!"
"Xiang Yu adopted the enfeoffment system! Liu Bang, on the other hand, initially implemented a unified system."
"Every time Xiang Yu conquered a place, he burned, killed, and looted, causing widespread resentment among the people."
"Liu Bang's policy of unification involved conquering and occupying each territory, bringing the cities under his control."
"Xiao He was put in charge of domestic affairs and public security, and was responsible for restoring the economy and stabilizing the situation."
"Han Xin was in charge of conquering cities and seizing more land and people."
"Over time, Liu Bang's power will naturally grow stronger and stronger!"
"In contrast, Xiang Yu was only concerned with his own momentary pleasure and never thought about the people or the future..."
"His system had already predetermined that he could not unify the world."
(Liu Bang eventually implemented a system of both enfeoffment and prefecture-county administration. The enfeoffment system was deeply entrenched and could not be changed overnight. Even Han Xin supported the enfeoffment system, and there were so many meritorious officials. Moreover, Qin Shi Huang's prefecture-county system had destroyed the country, so Liu Bang was also worried. In the end, he adopted a two-pronged approach.)
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