In Liu Bang's heart, Fan Xu, Cao Shen, Chen Ping, Guan Ying and others are not his heroes, but a title he gave them - Gong Dog. These people are not indispensable to Liu Bang. Liu Bang believes that even without these people, he can still seize the world. However, for people like Zhang Liang, Xiao He, Han Xin, Peng Yue, and Yingbu, they are the ones that Liu Bang really regards as heroes. They not only played a key role in Liu Bang's seizure of the world, but also served as the ministers of the humerus in Liu Bang's heart.
Fan Xu's position in Liu Bang's heart is actually very complicated. He was a brave military general who had made great contributions to Liu Bang, but he was also the brother-in-law of Empress Lu. In the relationship between Liu Bang and Empress Lü, Fan Xu was obviously on the side of Empress Lü. This made Liu Bang deeply jealous of Fan Xu.
In Han Xin's incident, Fan Xu's behavior really makes people feel weird. He first saluted Han Xin and called him "Great King", but when Han Xin left, he angrily said that he disdained to be in the company of people like Fan Xu. The contradiction is puzzling. There is a possible explanation that Fan Xu's move was instructed by Empress Lu to win over Han Xin and increase his own power. But Han Xin was outraged by this, believing that Fan was humiliating himself.
In the later period, Empress Lu's power had reached a rather terrifying level. Even Liu Bang was extremely angry and issued an edict to see Fan Xu's head with his own eyes, but in the end he still did not succeed. Because Empress Lu's power has become so great that even people like Chen Ping, who are regarded as Liu Bang's sworn friends, are afraid of it.
Looking at the three major heroes and the two princes and kings that Liu Bang really recognized, their endings are all related to Empress Lu. Zhang Liang and Xiao He took refuge in Empress Lü, while Han Xin, Peng Yue, and Yingbu were all killed by Empress Lü. These people were all important partners and mainstays of Liu Bang's seizure of the world, but the final outcome was arranged by Empress Lu. There are all kinds of signs in this that there is a lot of cats, and it is very likely that Empress Lu deliberately instigated the contradiction between the monarch and the minister, and disintegrated and divided Liu Bang's forces.
Overall, the relationship between Liu Bang and Fan Xu is complex and delicate. While there is a deep friendship and shared experience between them, there is also a struggle for politics and power. As Empress Lu's brother-in-law, Fan Xu's stance and behavior have been profoundly affected by this relationship. This also complicates his position in Liu Bang's mind.