In the Water Margin, my favorite characters are the first Wu Song and the second Shi Xiu.
The author has many similarities in the character settings of the two heroes: they both have kung fu, they all have courage, they all have scheming, they are both happy and revengeful, and they are both chivalrous.
The experiences of the two are also relatively similar, both have been down, and both have experienced a short period of stability. They all encountered the cheating of their sisters-in-law, and in the end, they all stabbed their husbands and were ashamed of their brothers.
So there is a view on the Internet that "Shi Xiu is a weakened version of Wu Song".
But analyzing and contrasting, the two have very different personalities and have their own merits.
Wu Song is heroic and dry, and Shi Xiu is sensitive and delicate; Wu Song is bright and fair, and Shi Xiu is paranoid and ruthless; Wu Song attaches more importance to honor, and Shi Xiu attaches more importance to effect.
Wu Song is as fierce as a tiger, and Shi Xiu is as sharp as a wolf.
Wu Song's appearance was on Chai Jinzhuang. Song Jiang was too drunk and wanted to hide from the wine, but he accidentally stepped on the fire shovel and startled Wu Song, who was facing the fire. Wu Song chopped his chest and grabbed it, and he was about to do it. Visibility is like a blazing fire, and you can't stand a little grievance.
Waiting for Chai to come in and hold him, explain his identity, Wu Song bowed his head again, it can be seen that he has a bold temperament and goes straight.
Shi Xiu's appearance was on the streets of Jizhou. Several broken soldiers harassed and blackmailed Yang Xiong, and Shi Xiu drew a knife to help. But what caused Shi Xiu's anger was not the incident itself, but the contempt of the military man's words:
Zhang Bao opened his eyes and shouted: "You beggar who starves to death and does not freeze or kill, dare to take care of it!" ”The sentence "a beggar who does not die of hunger and does not freeze and does not kill" almost made Shi Xiu lose his mind. Yang Xiong stopped, and Shi Xiu was still "looking for people everywhere and tearing up" on the street.
It can be seen that Shi Xiu's heart is sensitive and can't stand the slightest stimulation.
In the face of Pan Jinlian's temptation, Wu Song directly broke out, leaving no mercy:
Wu Song opened his eyes and said: "Wu Er is a man with teeth and hair who stands up to the sky, not such a pig and dog who corrupts customs and has no humanity!" Sister-in-law Hugh wants to be so shameless and shameless, so she does such things. If there is some turmoil, Wu Er recognizes his sister-in-law in his eyes, but he doesn't recognize his sister-in-law in his fist. Come back to Hugh! ”Outspoken and unabashed.
Also faced with Pan Qiaoyun's temptation, Shi Xiu chose to endure and secretly search for evidence.
Shi Xiu secretly said from his stomach: "Don't believe in being straight, you must guard against benevolence." I have seen that mother-in-law several times often only care about talking to me, I only treat each other like a sister-in-law, it turns out that this mother-in-law is not a good person! Mo Jiao crashed into Shi Xiu's hands, and dared to make an appearance for Yang Xiong, but he didn't see it! ”Scheming and not showing edge.
When facing the adulterer, the two dealt with it in completely different ways. Wu Song is "fighting to kill Ximenqing", and Shi Xiu is "killing Pei Ruhai wisely".
Wu Song chose to break into the Lion Tower directly, and cut it when he drew his knife, not to mention half a word of nonsense.
Cut through the mess quickly and cleanly.
Shi Xiu chose to ambush in the dark alley in the middle of the night, first killed the messenger Toutuo, changed into Toutuo's clothes, led Pei Ruhai to the alley, fell from behind, and then covered his mouth and stabbed to death.
Plan and then act, and move smoothly.
Let's look at the sister-in-law killing link:
When Wu Song came home from a business trip, he was shocked to learn that his brother had died, and when he saw that his sister-in-law was different in color and her words were vague, he couldn't help but be suspicious. So he first found Uncle He Jiu and got the bone evidence. found Brother Yun again and found out the adulterer. Then he took the witnesses to the county office and accused the two of adultery**.
It was only because of the county magistrate that there was no way to sue, so he set up a private court and killed his sister-in-law in front of the spirit.
After Shi Xiu sat down on the truth, he planned to go with Yang Xiong, but Yang Xiong was too wasteful and lost his words after drinking that night. **No, he was framed by Pan Qiaoyun. Shi Xiu did not argue, but left the Yang family by the way, lurked, and waited for the opportunity to move.
After assassinating Pei Ruhai and getting the bloody evidence, he asked Yang Xiong to lure Pan Qiaoyun to Cuiping Mountain, forced Pan Qiaoyun to wait for the details, and then handed the knife to Yang Xiong, so that he could be ashamed with his own hands.
The two are also thoughtful and resolute, but in the handling of details, they show the essential differences between the two people.
After the killing, Wu Song chose to surrender himself, obey the distribution, and take the legal route; Shi Xiu chose to defect to Liangshan, died in the world, and took the road of rivers and lakes.
After that, Wu Song drunk and beat Jiang Menshen all the way, made a big fuss in Feiyunpu, and finally splashed blood on the Mandarin Duck Tower, and left a book on the shadow wall "Murderer, Fight Tiger Wu Song", showing the blood and strength, bright and fair.
After Shi Xiu went to Liangshan, he first followed Song Jiang to attack Zhujiazhuang, found out the earth-shattering mechanism of Zhujiazhuang, and made great contributions to Liangshan. Later, the Daimyo Mansion single-handedly robbed the Dharma Field, jumped down from the upper floor, and shouted "The whole gang of Liangshan heroes is here", which shows more of the courage and intelligence, and the cunning of the machine.
Jin Shengsigh commented on Wu Song: Among the 18 people, Wu Song will be examined....Wu Song is a heroic and unrestrained.
And the evaluation of Shi Xiu is: Meticulous, vicious, I am afraid of this person.
It can be said that Wu Song is like a soldier with thick blood and high defense, he likes to be tough on the front, his fists are to the flesh, and his every move is full of heroism that shocks the group.
Shi Xiu is more like a cunning and shrewd assassin, who likes to set up ambushes in secret, cut his throat with a knife, and show the cold and sharp in his gestures.