Han Xin had never led an army in a battle, so why was he not even able to match Xiang Yu when he made a move?

Han Xin is the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty. He is known as the "Soldier Immortal". He is a famous war strategist and outstanding military commander in Chinese history. Han Xin's general, the more the better, is an allusion that almost everyone knows.

In our usual impression, Han Xin officially began to lead the army after he defected to Liu Bang. Actually, this is a misunderstanding.

Han Xin’s growth process is actually similar to that of most of us.

Han Xin rarely had great ambitions

When Han Xin was young, his family was poor and he was indulgent and rude. He could not be an official and did not know how to do business. In fact, Han Xin was once so poor that he had to rely on food to survive.

However, poor Han Xin always had great ambitions. He carries a sword on his back every day that is never unsheathed. Even if he is often ridiculed or even humiliated, he never changes. This shows that when Han Xin was young, he had the ambition to become a general and fight on the battlefield, and he never changed.

In the early Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang once collected weapons from all over the world. Han Xin has a sword, which shows that his family either has a certain inheritance background, or that when his living conditions were good, he could at least afford a sword.

There is no record in the history books which military books Han Xin read. However, it is certain that Han Xin can read and write. It is speculated that he should have read books, learned some basic military knowledge, and is still learning and accumulating.

Han Xin once "taught" Xiang Liang

Han Xin did not start directly as a general. Before he took refuge with Liu Bang, he had defected to Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu.

"Historical Records" records: "When Xiang Liang crossed the Huaihe River, Xin followed him with his staff and sword, and lived under the opera." Han Xin was directly under the command of Xiang Liang. This is just like the president's assistant or secretary. Even if Han Xin has no previous military experience, he can still learn a lot of military knowledge from "President" Xiang Liang. What's more, Xiang Yu's "Ten Thousand Enemies" art of war was also taught by Xiang Liang. Han Xin's learning environment is more advantageous than Xiang Yu's.

After Xiang Liang was defeated and died in battle, Han Xin followed Xiang Yu and was appointed as a doctor by Xiang Yu. The doctor in Qin Dynasty was the emperor's personal bodyguard. It can be seen that Xiang Yu still trusts Han Xin. The reason for this should be that Han Xin had been Xiang Liang's personal bodyguard before.

Han Xin followed Xiang Yu to his left and right, and this led to the situation of "using several strategies to defeat Xiang Yu, but Yu did not use them". At this time, Han Xin had begun to mature militarily and had his own ideas.

It's a pity that Xiang Yu was arrogant and not good at listening to suggestions. In addition, he looked down on Han Xin a little, which made Han Xin lose hope and angrily quit and defected to Liu Bang.

Seeing this, Han Xin looks very much like our modern workplace people. When I first entered the workplace, I felt that I could learn a lot, so I stayed patiently. When the new boss comes, a ladle of cold water is poured on you, your hopes are shattered and you change jobs.

It was not that Han Xin had never led troops or fought in a war before he switched jobs with Liu Bang's company. It's just that for Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, he is not the coach. Han Xin has his own growth process.

Han Xin is talented and good at practical combat

If you don’t have a certain amount of talent, it is not impossible to achieve a top position in a certain field, but it will indeed be very difficult. But Han Xin was quite talented in the military.

The Han-Xin war has never been about armies on paper. Instead, it pays great attention to reality and intelligence collection. Every time it is a battle of "know yourself and know the enemy", and it will be tailored to the time, place and people. Regardless of whether Han Xin had studied "Sun Tzu's Art of War" or not, what Han Xin did coincided with many of the strategies described in "Sun Tzu's Art of War".

Han Xin's victory in every battle did not depend on heaven or luck, but was planned by himself.

When Han Xin talked with Liu Bang for the first time, he presented "Hanzhong Dual", which analyzed the advantages and disadvantages between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. After Liu Bang heard this, he was "overjoyed and thought it was too late to believe him."

When Han Xin raised his troops, he knew very well that Liu Bang's army in Hanzhong could not resist Xiang Yu. Therefore, he avoided Xiang Yu's sharp edge and chose Xiang Yu to put down the Tian Rong rebellion of Qi State. When he had no time to look west, he "secretly visited Chen Cang" and defeated the Three Qins in one fell swoop.

The Han army came out of the pass and captured Pengcheng with great momentum. However, Liu Bang was originally a rogue in the market, and he became arrogant when he got his ambition. Xiang Yu, who was driven back from Qi, led a surprise attack with 30,000 elite cavalry, and was defeated and fled.

Han Xin suggested to Liu Bang that Liu Bang should lead the main force to block Xiang Yu in Xingyang; he should divide his troops to attack Wei, Yan, Zhao, Qi and other countries; in addition, send another group of troops south to cut off Xiang Yu's food routes. In order to finally complete the strategic encirclement of Xiang Yu.

From this suggestion, we can see Han Xin’s foresight.

Han Xin led his troops independently and finally had a chance to perform.

In the Battle of Jushui, Han Xin used the strategy of "attacking the east and attacking the west" and "wooden poppies to cross the army" to pacify the state of Wei.

In the Battle of Jingxing, Han Xin used the strategy of "pulling the flag and changing the banner" and "fighting with a last ditch effort" ("putting oneself to death and then surviving") to regain the Kingdom of Zhao.

After the Battle of Jingxing, Han Xin became a new teacher, namely Lord Guangwu Li Zuoche. Han Xin "unchained him, sat down in Dongxiang, faced him in Xixiang, and taught him."

Subsequently, Han Xin listened to Li Zuoche's tactics of "conquering the enemy without fighting" and sent envoys to conquer the Yan Kingdom.

Afterwards, Han Xin marched eastward, tore up the alliance between Li Shiqi and the King of Qi, and attacked Qi. Using the strategy of "attacking halfway across the border", he defeated and killed Long Qie, who was sent by Xiang Yu to rescue the Qi State, and pacified the Qi State.

Finally, Han Xin accepted the title of King Qi and joined forces with Liu Bang, Peng Yue, Ying Bu and others to besiege Xiang Yu in Gaixia. Han Xin completely defeated Xiang Yu with the strategy of "ambush from all sides" and "embarrassed on all sides".

What’s so great about Han Xin

Some of the tactics used by Han Xin are original, but not all of them are original tactics. It’s just that Han Xin has added his own reinventions based on the actual situation. .

For example, "attack halfway across the river" existed at least during the Spring and Autumn Period during the reign of Duke Xianggang of the Song Dynasty. When Song Xianggong was fighting against the Chu army, his subordinates suggested attacking the Chu army while the Chu soldiers were crossing the river. As a result, Song Xianggong disagreed.

Han Xin added his own innovation to his "half-crossing attack". He made further arrangements based on the characteristics of Longqie and the conditions of the river.

Han Xin first calculated that Long Qie was proud, looked down upon him, and deliberately faked defeat; and sent people to the upper reaches of the river in advance to intercept the water flow, making Long Qie mistakenly believe that he could easily cross the river. When the Chu army reached the center of the river, water was released from the upper reaches, and the Han army took the opportunity to cover up and kill them. The Chu army was flooded and in chaos, trampling on each other and causing numerous casualties.

Han Xin's "last stand" of "putting oneself to death to survive" is even more a classic battle. Most of the people who came later only learned to "throw the enemy to death", but they did not learn the suspicious tactics of "changing flags and flags" to "live later", let alone the combat ability and will of the opponent's commander.

There is no trick to disrupt the enemy's troops, and the opponent's troops are superior. How can they retreat in chaos? If you don't take advantage of the other coach's weaknesses and don't let the other coach make mistakes, how can you fall into a trap? As long as there is no planning at all, even if one's own soldiers fight to the death, there will be only a dead end in the end. Ma Su of the Three Kingdoms is the most typical example of failed battles.

Han Xin's "embarrassment on all sides" determined the mentality of Xiang Yu and the Chu army, and fought a beautiful psychological war.

Therefore, the great thing about Han Xin is that while he continues to learn and practice the ancient military techniques, he will also continue to add his own innovations. Han Xin focused on investigating the enemy's situation, focusing on understanding the situation of the opponent's coach and troops, as well as the surrounding geographical environment and even weather conditions. Then, based on the actual situation, a complete combat plan is formulated.

It would be strange for such Han Xin not to be victorious in every battle.

Han Xin is still better than strategy against Xiang Yu.

Han Xin first deliberately avoided Xiang Yu's attack, and when his own side became stronger, he defeated Xiang Yu in one fell swoop. Han Xin is the representative figure of "military power strategy", while Xiang Yu is the representative figure of "military situation". Han Xin is a comprehensive military talent who is good at overall planning and on-the-spot combat, while Xiang Yu is only a general who is good at taking advantage of favorable situations on the battlefield. Therefore, when Xiang Yu disappears and Han Xin grows, Han Xin can naturally destroy Xiang Yu with one move.