At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the northern Jiangsu region was a hot land for rangers and a cradle for heroes. It is far away from Xianyang, the center of the empire, the people are fierce, the people are angry, the people's hearts are towards Chu, and between Chu, Wei, Song, and Lu, they are quite sensitive to political changes, and they are more agitated by the cultures of various places. "Of course, rebellion in the world is a traitor, and rebellion in troubled times may achieve a great cause! In fact, the founding groups of the nine Han dynasties, including Western Chu, Dahan, Cao Wei, Liu Song, Southern Qi, Southern Liang, Later Liang, Southern Tang, and Daming, all came from this place.
Picture: In short, the area between the late Qin Dynasty and the northern Jiangsu and Huai regions is a paradise for anti-Qin scholars. In Suqian, Huaidong, there is a Xiang Yu; In Xiapi, more than 100 miles east of Suqian, there is a Zhang Liang; In Pei County, Huaibei, there is a Liu Ji (Note 1); In Qi County, more than 100 kilometers south of Pei County, there is a Daze Township; And in Huaiyin, Huainan, there is a young man with a sword - Han Xin.
Like Xiang Yu, Han Xin is also an orphan. His father died when he was very young, and it was his mother who raised him single-handedly, and later, his mother also died of illness, and Han Shin became a complete orphan.
Unlike Xiang Yu, although Xiang Yu's parents died, he at least has an uncle Xiang Liang, and at least a powerful Xiang family as his solid backing. However, Han Xin, he has nothing, no relatives, no family, no prestige, no family property, he only has a lonely self, and a sword left to him by his father, maverick between heaven and earth.
Han Xin also used to have a lot of enthusiasm and ambition. When his mother died, Han Xin's family was in dire straits, but he still scattered his family wealth, and chose a "high and open wasteland" next to his mother that "can be placed in ten thousand homes" as his tomb, saying that it was a Jedi next to the dragon vein, known as the "Green Dragon's Den", and said that he would be able to worship the marquis in the future, and let thousands of people guard the tomb for their mother.
This incident made the people of Huaiyin laugh for a long time, Huaiyin is already a big city, and the household registration has just reached 10,000, does this poor boy actually want the people of the county to guard the mausoleum for his mother? He was either poor and stupid, or poor and insane.
It's no wonder they laughed, in the eyes of the Huaiyin people, Han Xin didn't have any skills, he was simply useless. It doesn't matter if he doesn't have the ability, this person is still an idle lazy man, he is not willing to work for others like Chen Sheng; I don't want to be like Fan Hao Zhou Bo to slaughter dogs and weave mats to be a vendor. In fact, Han Xin is a nerd who can only read, in fact, nerds are not unable to make a living, the Qin Dynasty pays attention to "grammar and selection of officials", as long as he can recite more than 5,000 words of national decrees, and there is no big problem in all aspects of character, he can mix with a civil servant like Liu Ji. Of course, in the Qin and Han dynasties, in order to become an official, the family property must reach a certain amount (Note 2), and Han Xin was so poor that he should work hard to make money and strive to enter the system as soon as possible, but what about him? It's impossible to work in this life, and I'm too lazy to die, and I only read some art of war every day, which is useless in the Qin Empire, which is really inexplicable!
Such a poor and spineless, hanging, going to people's homes all day long to eat rotten goods, and carrying a broken sword all day long, saying that he is only eight years tall and will become a great weapon, there is no more annoying person in the world.
Arrogant, stupid, crazy, unproductive, lazy, low-eyed, and coaxing, this is the evaluation of Han Xin by the Huaiyin people at that time.
A poor, hungry and cold ragged child, if he really has no talent and no ability, there is nothing to be sad about. But a peerless talent who is poor, hungry and cold, and ridiculed all day long, is really sad.
I hate this life at the wrong time, so who knows? It seems that in every era, there are "nerds" who lack the ability to make a living and socialize because they are too focused on a certain profession, some of these people eventually meet their own times, and some of them have been "out of time" all their lives, and these poor people are really the saddest people.
So, in the overwhelming ridicule, Han Xin's blood gradually cooled, he began to doubt his ambitions, and he began to be disheartened. The most painful thing in the world is not a life that is lived in a mess, content with poverty, old and dead; But it is wider than the earth, and the heart is higher than the sky, but I have to look forward to endless expectations in the darkness where I can't see my fingers, until my blood is getting colder, my heart is getting colder, and life is worse than death.
In fact, others laughed at Han Xin, and what made Han Xin's blood cold the most was that his only friend in Huaiyin actually wanted to drive him to a dead end.
This friend of his is the pavilion chief of Nanchang Pavilion in Xiaxiang, Huaiyin County, what name is not recorded in the history books, so we will call him the pavilion chief.
The pavilion chief is the old man of the Han family, Han Xin treats him as a brother, when the whole Huaiyin people are laughing at Han Xin, only he often asks Han Xin to go to his house to eat, Han Xin is actually not polite, he eats at his house for several months, every time he eats, he must come to report on time, never late or leave early, and he does not treat himself as an outsider at all.
In Han Xin's view, good friends should be like this, give wholeheartedly, and have sincere fellowship, if they are too polite, are they still friends? Moreover, the foster food keepers in the Qin and Han dynasties were the remnants of the aristocratic society in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which cannot be viewed from today's point of view, at least in the circle of scholars at that time, to be a diner was a common phenomenon, and it was not a shame.
In fact, a few decades ago, the famous Xinling Jun had more than 3,000 diners under his command, and he led the fashion for a while; So later, Xinlingjun's fan, Liu Tingchang, Peixian County, also learned the same, and his salary was not high, and he also liked to raise a lot of younger brothers, so he could achieve great things in the future.
It's a pity that not every pavilion chief can do this point of Pavilion Chief Liu and stick to it, and this pavilion chief in Huaiyin can't insist. The reason for the inability to hold on is not due to his stinginess, but his ......Henpecked.
Afraid of his wife is actually not a big disadvantage, the problem is that the pavilion chief's wife is not only short-sighted, but also stingy, Han Xin came to eat once or twice, she endured it, Han Xin came to eat for a week or two, she also admitted, but Han Xin ate for a few months, and there are signs of continuing to carry forward the fine tradition of eating white food, the pavilion chief's wife can no longer stand it, so she began to blow the pillow wind to the pavilion chief, asking him to drive Han Xin out of the door, otherwise let her come to catch up!
The pavilion chief was shaken, he had no reason to destroy his family's happiness for the sake of a down-and-out little brother, so he sighed and said, "Let's go, let the lady decide everything!" ”
It's not difficult to do good deeds, but it's difficult to do good things for a lifetime, the pavilion chief is not a pawn, and he has fallen from a gentleman to a vulgar man in vain, what a pity!
Early the next morning, Han Xin came to the pavilion chief's house on time to eat, but found that the stove was empty, and the family not only finished eating, but also washed the dishes.
It turned out that Han Xin came early, and his sister-in-law got up even earlier, she got up before dawn to cook, asked the family to hide in the quilt and eat breakfast, and said that if Han Xin came cheekily again, let him eat fart, haha!
Seeing Han Xin stunned on the spot, the pavilion chief's wife didn't explain, just looked at him with slanted eyes, like looking at a dog.
Those who see wealth and slander are the most shameful; Those who are arrogant in the face of poverty are very cheap. It's a pity that there are many such people in the world.
When Han Xin saw this scene, he understood everything, he didn't say a word, turned around and left!
The world is hot and cold, as far as it is? Han Xin only had this one friend in the first half of his life, and this one friend betrayed him too.
Han Xin hadn't cried for a long time since he became an adult, but that night, he hugged the quilt in bed and cried breathlessly.
Many years later, when Han Xin had already soared, he was still deceived and played to death by a pavilion chief and the pavilion chief's wife. It turned out that fate had given him a hint at the beginning, but he didn't find out.
The next day, Han Xin wiped away his tears and swore in his heart: Even if I, Han Xin, starve to death, I will never go to the pavilion chief's house to beg for disgust, as if I had never made this friend.
The only friend was also cut off, and Han Shin really has nothing now. In the face of the cruel reality, his blood was cold, he no longer mentioned any ambitions, and he no longer went to other people's homes to eat, he decided to end his humble life, lived in a mess, and died silently. So in the beautiful ancient city of Huaiyin, on the clean and staggered stone street, we saw a tall man with a lonely expression and a withered look, carrying a sword on his back, walking around with his hands, someone talking to him, he ignored it, some people laughed at him in person, he also turned a deaf ear, what is called the walking dead, this is called the walking dead.
The hero is stuck, and that's it. Han Xin, who had nowhere to eat, wandered on the streets of Huaiyin for several days, for several days, he had no food and clothing, hunger and cold, but he couldn't pull his head down to beg for people, he just pretended to be high and wandered around, facing the vast road ahead, and couldn't find the direction of his heart.
Huaiyin not only had no one to pity him, but hated him even more. It has nothing to do with us that you are unemployed, eating and drinking, and garbage and rotten goods, but you are a rotten person who actually runs to the street to swagger through the market, take the initiative to annoy people, and destroy the appearance of the city, is it tolerable?
The most hateful thing is that this rotten creature is yellow-skinned, unkempt, and dressed in tatters, like a beggar, but he actually carries a long sword representing the status of a nobleman or a ranger (Note 3), and spends his eyes on the street every day! Think about how many rich people in this market don't wear swords, and this rotten thing who can't even have a full stomach is actually embarrassed to wear a sword, what kind of fashionable person is pretending? Uncle can bear it, and aunt can't bear it?
Finally, a "slaughtering boy" stood up and did something that everyone wanted to do but was embarrassed to do, and repaired this "rotten thing" again.
What is the name of this butcher in the mixed society, there is no record in the history books, but it is obvious that he is a famous hero in the Huaiyin area, Han Xin also admitted this in the future, calling him a "strong man", it can be seen that he is not an ordinary person, it is very likely that he is a "godfather" level figure in Huaiyin.
According to historical records, the "strong man" insulted Han Xin very excessively, to the point that a man with a little shame could not help but draw his sword. He said, "If you grow up, you will be able to carry a sword, and you will be timid." Faith can die, stab me. Can't die, out of my crotch! ”
It means that you don't think that you are tall and big, and you can pretend to be the boss with a whole big sword, and tell you that you are a wreck! If you are not afraid of death, draw your sword and stab me, and if you don't dare, get under my crotch!
On the streets of Huaiyin, a large group of spectators immediately gathered to watch the excitement, and the Chinese public has loved to watch since ancient times, whether it is a head killing, a car accident, a fight, or even a husband and wife quarreling, it can arouse great interest among the Chinese people.
The ** is still shouting, looking very energetic: "Cut me, cut me, you come to cut me, coward!" ”
And among the crowd of onlookers, no one came out to help. It seems that Han Xin is really a lone star who is arrogant to the extreme, although Huaiyin is big, Han Xin looks down on anyone, and of course no one looks down on Han Xin. They are like species from two worlds, no matter how many years they get along, they can't understand each other at all, so it's better to be a spectator.
Therefore, Han Xin was not angry, did not beg for mercy, and did not let everyone comment, he just quietly looked at the *** for a long time.
Suddenly, Han Xin smiled lonely, he smiled and bent his tall body, like a pug, crawled between the young man's legs, the laughter exploded instantly, Han Xin raised his head and saw faces smiling crookedly. These spectators watched a good show today, and added a lot of talking points after dinner, which is a rare fun in their mediocre life, without these, how to spend a dull and boring life!
So Han Xin began to laugh out loud inexplicably, he lowered his head, continued to crawl, climbed out from the crowd as if no one was around, and someone with good deeds began to kick his ass, he didn't care, he just crawled like this, until he climbed to the end of the street before he got up, patted his knees, and walked away without looking back. I wonder if there is a girl he has been crushing on for a long time in the crowd on the street?
Everyone in the world says: Han Xin's ability to endure the humiliation of his crotch is a manifestation of his great husband's ability to bend and stretch, which is a manifestation of great wisdom and bravery; Su Dongpo also said: "When the puppet saw the humiliation, he drew his sword and stood up to fight, which is not enough to be brave." There are great brave people in the world, who come suddenly without being surprised, and without reason without anger; The people it holds hostage are very large, and its ambitions are far away. However, in my opinion, Han Shin is just giving up on himself in a desperate situation. The people of the world have come to this conclusion by pushing Han Xin's ideas forward from his later developments, which is very unobjective and completely subjective in "judging heroes by success or failure". Judging from that time alone, although Han Xin had great ambitions, he couldn't see the slightest hope of success, and he had no possibility of becoming a "big husband" at all, so how could he "bend and stretch"?
If a person is hit too hard, he will become depressed, and if he is depressed for too long, no matter how strong he is, he will become weak, and his courage will definitely disappear - Han Xin is willing to suffer the humiliation of his crotch, and the reason is as simple as that. Sometimes we don't think too complicated about the problem, the truth is often very simple, and the so-called truth that pretends to be complicated is often a false illusion. Of course, Han Xinneng is still angry after being extremely depressed, and he bursts out when he encounters an opportunity, which is also the beauty of life. Lao Tzu said: "If you dare to kill, if you dare not to live", and said that "those who are strong will not die", no matter what, people are the most important thing to live, and until the last moment, you never know how wonderful it will be later. This is just like the old Korean aristocrat Zhang Liang wandered in Xiapi to pick up shoes for the old man in the same period, and Liu Ji, the pavilion chief of Pei County, was humiliated by the local heroes in his hometown.
After Han Xin was humiliated, he no longer had the face to stay in Huaiyin City, so he wandered outside the city alone and sat down by a small river in the suburbs. It was dusk, and the homing egrets fell into the reeds in flocks, pecking at the fish in the river, and the sound of water and birds made the world more tranquil.
Leaving the crowd, Han Xin felt his numb soul return to his body, and he began to cry loudly, tears dripping into the river, and a little faint.
This is the wilderness, he can vent himself freely, no one will laugh at him, and the fish in the river will hear it, and it is impossible to say it.
After the tears were gone, Han Xin calmed down and began to think hard about the way back, the most important thing for him now is to solve the problem of eating, he has suffered so much shame, just to live, if he starves to death, then everything will be in vain.
The fish swam carefree in the water, and Han Xin suddenly felt that he was very envious of them, they at least had partners to rely on, at least they had aquatic plants to feed, but I, nothing.
By the way, fish can eat grass, I can eat fish, I, Han Xin, have hands and feet, will I really starve to death.
The idea was certain, so Han Xin learned from Jiang Taigong to catch fish by the river, but Jiang Taigong could take the bait if he wished, and Han Xin would starve to death if he couldn't catch the fish. Jiang Han and both of them are peerless talents who are desperately seeking the master, and they have both fished by the river, but their fishing moods are completely different.
Therefore, fishing is a performance art for Jiang Taigong, but it is a technical job for Han Xin, sometimes you can't catch a fish all day, hunger is a common thing, once you are so hungry that your head is dizzy, the stars are brilliant, and you are about to faint, a bowl of fragrant porridge was sent to him, Han Xin rubbed his eyes, and rubbed his eyes, porridge, it's really porridge, I didn't dream about it!
He didn't care about thirty-seven twenty-one, grabbed the steamed bun and gobbled it up for a while, if this is a dream, just finish the dream, it's better than waking up hungry halfway.
But he clearly felt that his stomach was gradually full, and he clearly heard a gentle voice in his ear: "Slow down, you eat slowly, don't choke." Don't worry, the old woman still has it here. ”
Isn't this a dream? Isn't this a dream? Han Xin raised his head, and in his blurred eyes, a kind face appeared, it was a middle-aged woman, who looked like she was in her forties, and looked like his dead mother.
This old lady is Han Xin's destined nobleman-Drifting Mother. The so-called bleaching mother, is a woman who makes a living by rinsing silk wool, the Qin period was heavy, and women often had to participate in labor, such as Lu Pheasant, the wife of Liu Tingchang in Pei County, who also personally plowed the ridges and acres of fields.
From this day on, Han Xin no longer worries about his stomach, Drifting Mother has been rinsing by the river for dozens of days, and Han Xin has had fragrant steamed porridge to eat in these dozens of days. There are still good people in this world, Drifting Mother is also a working person, life must be tight, she takes care of herself and is too busy, and she can still treat a young man who she doesn't know like this, what is called a living Lei Feng, this is a living Lei Feng. There is a saying, "There are few true men in the world, and there is no such woman in the ages." "We and other men are ashamed compared to the drifting mother.
Friends can show kindness without expecting to reciprocate, but Drifting Mother and Han Xin are not related, but they give him full food when he is the most hungry, and warmth when he is most difficult, such a great grace, the earth is thick and the sky is high, Han Xin can't help but spring to reciprocate, but he has nothing now, and there is only one promise he can give her, saying: "The one who gave birth to me is my mother, and the one who lives me is also Drifting Mother!" I will repay my mother with a heavy return. ”
However, the drifting mother was not happy and angry, and said: "The eldest husband cannot eat by himself, and I mourn the king and grandson (Note 4) and eat, how can I hope to repay it!" ”
Han Xin was stunned suddenly, Drifting Mother's words were like a slap in the face, which woke up his sleeping soul and ignited his raging blood at once.
Yes, the old lady is right, I can't give up on myself like this anymore, no matter if I am driven out or drilled in the crotch, I am always unforgivable for falling for some reason. I decided, I want to be a man, not a dog! Even if you want to die, you must die as noble as a person, and you can't die like a dog in a mediocre and unattended death!
Thinking of this, Han Xin shook his head to the ground, raised his head, and had a confident and arrogant smile on his face that he had not seen for a long time, and suddenly, he turned around, threw the fishing rod into the boiling river, laughed long, and strode away.
A few years later, Han Xin became famous, has not forgotten the grace of the drifting mother, he was named the queen of Chu The first thing is to return to his hometown to find the drifting mother, repay with a thousand gold, and call on the people of the whole country to learn from her noble quality of helping others. The idioms we use now, "the grace of a meal" and "a thousand gold of a meal", are alluded to here.
It is said that when Drifting Mother died, Han Xin was so grieved that he ordered an army of 100,000 to build a mound like a hill with a mound of earth (Note 5). And the place where the soil is taken has thus become a big pond, because it is very close to the Dongyue Temple outside Huaiyin City, the descendants call it Taishan Lake.
Note 1: Liu Ji's final success is also related to his region and ancestry. "Historical Records Collection Explanation" explained that Liu's ancestral shrine in Chang'an said that Liu's original origin was from the Fan family in the six secretaries of the Jin Kingdom, "the ancestral hall is blessed with Jin witches." Fan Hui left Qin as the Liu family, so there was Qin Wu. Liu's family followed the Wei capital of Liang, so there was Liang Wu. After migrating to Feng, Feng belongs to Jing, so there are Jing Wu. And Liu Ji was born in Chu, served in Qin, and was a ranger in Wei for many years, so he can be accepted by the people of Qin, Chu, and Wei. Unlike Xiang Yu, Chu's position is too strong, and he only cares about the nobles and children of Chu's hometown, and he can't absorb talents from other countries, which is not conducive to his unification of the world.
Note 2: For example, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty once issued an edict to change the system of "counting ten" (assets of 100,000 yuan) to obtain the qualification of being an official to "counting four" (assets of 40,000 yuan).
Note 3: Some scholars believe that Han Xin's sword is a symbol of his declining aristocratic status. In fact, Han Xin has no property and no words, and he is by no means from an aristocratic background. In fact, with the dilution of the concept of etiquette since the Warring States period, not only nobles, but also many rangers and celebrities have begun to wear swords; The history books record that Qin Jiangong "six years, the first order officials to bring swords", "seven years, the people first brought swords", so Liu Bang is just a pavilion chief, far from being a nobleman, but he can also carry a three-foot sword and cut the white snake, which is due to the fact that he recovered his status as a ranger after leaving the system. The so-called rangers are a special group from the Warring States period to the Qin and Han dynasties, and have considerable influence among the people, not only Liu Bang, but also others such as Xiang Yu, Zhang Er, Chen Yu, Zhang Liang, Huan Chu, Wang Ling, Ji Bu and others are all famous rangers at that time. And the Huaiyin people think that Han Xin is just a vagrant at most, far from being called a ranger, and he is actually embarrassed to wear a sword, so they dislike him.
Note 4: The "Wang Sun" here is the honorific title for the young son in the Qin and Han dynasties, not the grandson of Han Xin.
Note 5: After 2,000 years of ups and downs, it is still 50 meters in diameter and about 20 meters high, which is more than twice as large as the tomb of Han Mu not far away.