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韓信，西漢初年淮陰人，幼時貧困，曾乞食於漂母。被人所欺，受跨下之辱。後為項羽執戟郎。張良荐於劉邦，邦不用，蕭何月下追之，建臺拜將。此時，楚漢相爭，率軍東征，明修棧道，暗渡陳倉，垓下一戰，楚軍思鄉而敗。霸王烏江自刎，楚滅漢興。自討封三齊王，種下禍根。韓信貪而無厭，不如張良功成身退。信之缺點，猶豫寡斷，舉棋不定，終被呂后所斬。一世英名，付諸東流，可惜之至！
註解﹕
在漢朝劉邦座下有三傑：張良、蕭何、韓信。韓信是當時一個風雲人物，可是他貧的時候和富貴的時候不同。貧的時候有智謀，富的時候就糊塗了；富貴把他的頭腦沖昏了。
他是漢時淮陰人，年輕時很窮；窮到沒飯吃，可是身上還常常帶著寶劍。古時，寶劍就是武器，不像現在有左輪槍，手槍。他歡喜用兵，所以佩帶寶劍，可是不能維持生活，就有一個漂白布的老太婆給他飯吃。
他帶著寶劍常到街市上遊走，有一群流氓對他說：「你帶這把寶劍是殺人的。你若敢殺我，就用這把寶劍把我殺了；若不敢殺我，就要在我腿底下鑽過去。」他當時因為窮得連飯都沒得吃，所以不敢和惡少鬥，於是低頭在惡少的褲襠下鑽過去，被惡少嘲笑沒有用。他貧的時候能如此忍辱不講話。
以後韓信做楚霸王的執戟郎；執戟郎就是在前邊的護衛。當時楚霸王和劉邦共同攻秦，有盟定，誰先到咸陽誰就做王。劉邦先到，楚霸王後到就要爭。劉邦沒有項羽勢力大，項羽乃封劉邦到四川去做漢中王。
楚霸王座下也有個足智多謀的人，名叫范增。范增臨走時，建議楚霸王三事：
（一）如果能用韓信為將軍就用他，否則就殺了他。因為這個人若不用他，將來會成禍患及妨礙。
（二）無論如何不能讓劉邦到四川去封他為漢中王，要把他殺了。因為他可以和你爭天下，旁人是不會的。
（三）你得到咸陽之後，不要再回楚國去。
可是楚霸王沒有實行這三個計策。
（一）他沒有殺韓信。那時韓信是楚霸王手下一個將領。張良裝扮成出家人，到韓信的軍營裡去賣寶劍，說現在天下大亂，我有三把劍：第一把是天子劍，第二把是丞相劍，第三把是元帥劍。第一把劍及第二把劍，我已賣出去了，只剩第三把未賣出，我想你有資格用這把劍。這時有一人叫韓生，罵楚霸王為「沐猴而冠」，說猴子不等著戴帽子，會把帽子弄壞了；這其中有很多曲折。楚霸王惱怒就要殺韓生，楚霸王要回楚國去時，先把劉邦……『不清楚』……，改殺韓生時，張良就趁機造流言蜚語，教一群小孩子唱﹕「今有一人隔壁搖鈴，祇聞其聲不見其人，富貴不還鄉如錦衣夜行。」現在有這麼一個人，隔著牆在搖鈴鐺；祇聽見鈴鐺的聲音，沒有看見這個人。你在富貴的時候不回家鄉去看看，就好像穿著錦繡衣服，在黑間走路，沒有人看見一樣。張良對小孩子說：「如果有人問你，是誰教你們唱這個歌，你們就說有一個穿紅衣服的小童子教你們唱的。」
楚霸王得到咸陽，也就外出巡察民情，見到小孩子們在唱這個歌，一問，得知是一個穿紅衣的小男孩教他們唱的，還有賞錢。楚霸王聽，「今有一人」，這是我；「隔壁搖鈴」，我的聲名是很響亮的。「祇聞其聲，未見其人」；大家都聽到是我，但未見到我本人。「富貴不還鄉，如錦衣夜行」；我得到了咸陽，又誰知道我得到這個呢？所以我一定要回楚國。
白天張良造了這麼一個謠言，韓信奉命去殺韓生，不知那個造謠言的人就在人群中。張良推荐韓信給劉邦，劉邦不用他；蕭何月下把韓信追回，造一個臺拜將。韓信在表面上派人修棧道要出征，可是暗中從陳倉把兵都運出，攻楚霸王圍困於垓。張良令人吹笛子，盡是楚國之歌曲，激起楚軍思鄉之愁，志氣大挫，而被漢軍打敗。
韓信一得到軍權後，平定各處，自己便向劉邦要求做假三齊王，鎮守該地，天下就不會亂。劉邦一聽他的要求，就沖沖大怒。張良在劉邦旁邊，踢了劉邦一腳，劉邦就覺悟了，於是說：「好！你何必做假的三齊王，我封你做真的三齊王。」當時韓信不知道實際情形，他有個參謀對他說：「你現在做三齊王很危險的，功高蓋主，將來劉邦會把你消滅的。」韓信自認汗馬功勞很大，沒相信他的話。
韓信臨死之前說：「我悔不聽蒯徹之言，竟死於女子（呂后）之手。」韓信本來是個聰明絕頂的人，可惜富貴令他糊塗。本來平定天下之後，自己不應封討做三齊王，這一點是他的大錯。他見事不明，不能當機立斷，斬釘截鐵，使得以後劉邦漸漸疏遠他，呂后把他殺了，他自己以後也後悔了。在貧賤的時候，他有忍耐心，富貴的時候就沒有忍耐心，變得暴躁了。
待續
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Essay
Han Xin was born in the first year of the Western Han Dynasty in Huaiyin. Poor in his youth, he once begged food from a washer woman who bleached clothes. He was bullied and endured the humiliation of crawling between someone’s legs. Later he became the military commander under Xiang Yu. Although Zhang Liang recommended him to Liu Bang as a man of talent, Liu Bang did not employ him. Instead it was Xiao He who pursued him under the moonlight and erected a platform to appoint him as general. At that time the states of Han and Chu were at war, and Han Xin led his troops east on a military campaign. Overtly he commanded his men to build plank roads but secretly he shipped his troops to Chencang. At the showdown at Gaixia, the Chu armies were reminded of home and were subsequently defeated in battle. At Wujiang the Overlord of Chu cut his own throat, hence Chu was vanquished and Han emerged victorious. Han Xin asked to be made Lord of the three united states, thereby planting the seeds of disaster. Insatiably greedy, Han Xin was unlike Zhang Liang who kept a low profile after victory was won. His failing was his eagerness to trust people and his indecisive and irresolute character. In the end he was beheaded by the Empress Lu. Alas, for his widespread fame; what a pity that ultimately all his efforts were irrevocably lost!
Commentary:
In the Han Dynasty, there were three men of talent under Liu Bang: Zhang Liang, Xiao He and Han Xin. Han Xin was then a political heavyweight whose actions had immense impact on the lives of the masses. But his personality changed when he rose from poverty to wealth and honor. In times of poverty he was resourceful, but when he became rich and honorable he got muddle-headed and allowed his fame and position to go to youth, to the extent that he had no food to eat. Everywhere he went he carried a precious sword with him. In olden times, a sword was used as a weapon; they didn’t have the revolvers or handguns of today. He was fond of resorting to arms, so he carried his sword everywhere. But he couldn’t earn enough to sustain his livelihood, and an old washer woman who bleached clothes for a living gave him food.
When he was strolling through the streets one day, a bunch of ruffians said to him, “The reason you carry a sword with you must be to kill people. If you dare, use your sword and put an end to my life. If you don’t dare to kill me, you have to leave by walking between my legs.” Because he was extremely poverty-stricken, Han Xin didn’t dare to start a fight with the ruffians, so he went down on all fours and left shamefaced by crawling through the ruffian’s robe. He was mocked by these mean youths for being useless. But at that time, when he was very poor, he endured the humiliation silently.
Later Han Xin went on to be a military commander of the Overlord of the state of Chu [Xiang Yu], and he was in charge of frontline defense. At that time, the Overlord of Chu and Liu Bang had allied to attack the state of Qin, and they had a sworn agreement that whoever reached Xianyang first would become King. Liu Bang arrived first, and when the Overlord of Chu arrived afterward, he wanted to vie for the position. Because Liu Bang’s military might could not compare to that of Xiang Yu, he capitulated and Xiang Yu sent him to Sichuan to be Lord of Central Han.
The Overlord of Chu then had a wise and resourceful adviser under him, Fan Zeng, who had given him three exhortations before he had gone to battle:
1) If Han Xin could be employed as a general, he should be thus used; if not, he should be killed. This person, if left unemployed, would become a cause of disaster and an obstacle.
2) No matter what, do not let Liu Bang go to Sichuan to be Lord of Central Han; he should be killed. No one but he will vie with you for the position of Emperor.
3) When you have reached Xianyang, do not return to the state of Chu.
But the Overlord of Chu did not heed his advice:
1) He did not kill Han Xin, who was then a general under him.
Zhang Liang once disguised himself as a Buddhist monk and went to Han Xin’s military camp. He told Han Xin that with the present chaotic situation, he was trying to find buyers for his three swords. The first, he said, was the Sword of the Emperor for which he had already found a buyer. The second, the Sword of the Prime Minister, was also taken. The third, the Sword of the Marshal, was still available and he felt that Han Xin was the most qualified person to possess it. At that time, there was a person by the name of Han Sheng, who had derided the Overlord of Chu as a “monkey trying on hats”. The monkey, in its eagerness to wear a hat, would ruin it. There are many twists to this saga. In a fit of rage the Overlord of Chu wanted Han Sheng killed. [A section on the tape is unclear at this point.] At that time, Zhang Liang took the opportunity to spread rumors to goad the Overlord of Chu into returning to his country. He taught a bunch of children to sing the song, “There is now a man behind a wall who rings a bell. A sound is heard but no person is seen. Not returning to one’s hometown at the height of wealth and honor is like walking in the night attired in brocade.” When one walks in the dark, no one can see what one wears and the finery on a person is left unadmired. Zhang Liang further said to the children, “If anyone asks you who taught you this song, you should say it was a little boy dressed in red.”
Having conquered Xianyang, while on his rounds to check on the condition of the populace, the Overlord of Chu heard the children singing this song. Upon inquiry he learnt that it was a little boy who had taught them to sing this song and that they had been rewarded for their efforts. Pondering over the song, the Overlord of Chu thought to himself, “The ‘man’ refers to me, and ‘ringing a bell behind a wall’ refers to my widespread fame. ‘A sound is heard but no person is seen’ refers to the fact that although everyone has heard of my name, none has seen me in person. ‘Not returning to one’s hometown at the height of wealth and honor is like walking in the night attired in brocade’: I may have conquered Xianyang, but who knows of my valorous deed? Therefore I must return to Chu.”
In the day Zhang Liang spread his rumor and Han Xin was commanded to kill Han Sheng, not knowing that the rumormonger was among them. Zhang Liang recommended Han Xin to Liu Bang as a man of talent, but Liu Bang did not use him; instead it was Xiao He who pursued the departing Han Xin under the moonlight, erected a platform and gave him the position of general. On the surface Han Xin ordered his men to construct plank roads to deceive people in thinking that they were leaving on a military campaign, but secretly he was shipping his soldiers from Chencang to attack the Overlord of Chu, finally trapping him in the city of Gaixia. Zhang Liang commanded his men to blow flutes and hearing the strains of their country melodies, the armies of Chu became homesick, lost their fighting spirit and were subsequently defeated by the Han armies.
After gaining military power and restoring peace to the various regions, Han Xin went to Liu Bang to ask to be conferred as the ‘fake’ Emperor of the three united states, so as to protect the country and to ensure that chaos would not overtake the land. Upon hearing his request, Liu Bang flew into a huge rage. Zhang Liang, who was seated next to him, kicked him in the leg and Liu Bang instantly got the idea. “Why be conferred as the ‘fake’ emperor?” he said. “I’ll make you the real emperor.” Han Xin,however, was unaware of the real situation. He had a military aide who gave him this advice, “It is very dangerous now to be the Emperor of the three united states; your merit overshadows your ruler’s and Liu Bang is bound to kill you.” But Han Xin was confident that his meritorious services in battle were great and paid no heed to his advice.
Before his death, Han Xin said, “I regret not having listened to Kuai Che’s advice and now I die at the hands of a woman (the Empress Lu).” Han Xin was a person of unsurpassed intelligence, but fame and honor made him muddle-headed. Having restored peace to the country, he should not have asked to be emperor; this was his greatest mistake. He could not see the situation clearly but was indecisive and irresolute and hence Liu Bang later gradually distanced himself from him and the Empress Lu had him killed. He himself came to regret his actions. In times of poverty he was tolerant but when he achieved wealth and fame he lost his former patience and became reckless.
To be continued
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