Li Sheng, also known as Li Shiqi, is from Gaoyang, Chenliu. He loves reading, but his family is poor and struggling, unable to afford even basic necessities. He can only work as a minor official at the county magistrate's office. However, the county's bigwigs treated him with unusual deference, almost afraid to give him orders. The people in the county all say he is crazy.
After Chen Sheng and Xiang Liang rebelled, dozens of generals marched through Gaoyang with their armies. Li Sheng heard that these generals were all arrogant and self-righteous, refusing to listen to others' opinions. So he lay low. Later, he heard that Liu Bang's army was going to pass through the outskirts of Chenliu, and one of Liu Bang's knights happened to be from the same village as Li Sheng. Liu Bang often inquired about any talents in the area.
After the knight returned home, Li Sheng said to him, "I heard that Liu Bang is easygoing and far-sighted, and that is the person I want to follow. Please introduce me. When you see Liu Bang, say: 'There's a guy back home, Li Sheng. Sixty-something, eight feet tall, everyone thinks he's nuts, but he doesn't think so himself.'" The knight said, "Liu Bang hates eggheads. He'll snatch their scholar caps and pee in 'em. And he's a real screamer. Your bookish approach won't fly." Li Sheng replied, "Just do as I say." So the knight delivered the message to Liu Bang.
When Liu Bang set up camp at Gaoyang, he sent for Li Shiqi. Li Shiqi walked in, gave a bow, but didn't kneel. He directly asked, "So, you wanna help the Qin wipe out the other states, or lead the rebellion against them?" Upon hearing this, Liu Bang cursed, "You bookish twit! Everybody's sick to death of the Qin, so the other states are teaming up to take 'em down. What's with this helping the Qin thing?"
Li Siqi said, "Since you are raising an army to overthrow the tyrannical Qin, you should not see your elders while washing your feet." When Liu Bang heard this, he quickly stopped washing his feet, tidied up his clothes, invited Li Siqi to the best seat, and apologized to him. Li Siqi then began to analyze the strategies of the six warring states for Liu Bang. Liu Bang was pleased to hear this, rewarded Li Siqi with a meal, and then asked, "Do you have any good strategies?" Li Siqi said, "With the troops you currently have, along with the stray soldiers you have gathered, totaling less than ten thousand men, trying to directly attack the powerful Qin is like walking into a tiger's den! Chenliu is a key strategic point in the world, with convenient transportation and a large stockpile of food. I know the Chenliu prefect; I can go persuade him to surrender to you. If he refuses, you can lead the troops to attack, and I will open the gates from within."
So Liu Bang sent Li Siqi, followed by his troops, to capture Chenliu. Later, Liu Bang made Li Siqi Lord Guangye. Li Siqi also recommended his brother, Li Shang, to lead a few thousand troops to follow Liu Bang and expand territory in the southwest. Li Siqi usually shuttled between the various warlords, connecting different forces for Liu Bang.
In the autumn of the third year of the Han Dynasty, Xiang Yu attacked the Han army and captured Xingyang, causing the Han army to flee and hide in Gong County and Luoyang. When the people of Chu heard that Han Xin had defeated the State of Zhao, and Peng Yue had repeatedly rebelled in Liang, they sent troops to rescue them. Han Xin was attacking the State of Qi in the east. Meanwhile, the King of Han was trapped several times between Xingyang and Chenggao, planning to abandon the area east of Chenggao and station troops in Gong County and Luoyang to resist the Chu army.
Li Shiqi said at this time: "I heard that those who know how to read the signs will succeed in their careers; those who do not will not succeed. For rulers, the people are everything; for the people, food is life. Right now in Aocang, grain has been transported there for a long time, and I heard that there is a lot of grain stored there. After the Chu army captured Yingyang, they did not defend Aocang but instead withdrew eastward, sending only a handful of soldiers to defend Chenggao. It looks like the heavens are on the Han's side! Now Chu is easy to attack, but the Han Dynasty is retreating and has given up a favorable situation, which I believe is a mistake. Furthermore, two powerful forces cannot coexist. The Chu and Han have been at a standstill for ages. The people are restless. The country's in chaos. Farmers have dropped their tools; women their looms. No one knows what to expect. I hope you can quickly send troops to recapture Yingyang, occupy the grain in Aocang, block the dangerous positions in Chenggao, seal off the roads, guard the mountain pass of Feihu, control the crossing at Baima, and show the other lords what we're capable of, so that the people of the world will know who to submit to. Now the Yan and Zhao states have been pacified; only the Qi state has not been conquered. Tian Guang occupies a thousand li of Qi territory, commanding a force of two hundred thousand troops stationed in Licheng. The Tian clan is a powerful force, protected by the sea, the Yellow River, and the Ji River, and bordering Chu to the south. The Qi people are notoriously tricky. Even if you send hundreds of thousands of troops, you cannot conquer them in a short period of time. I request to follow your orders to persuade the King of Qi to become the eastern barrier of the Han Dynasty." The King of Han said, "Good!" Then, following Li Sheng's plan, he continued to defend Aocang and sent Li Sheng to persuade the King of Qi. Li Sheng asked the King of Qi, "Got a handle on where things are going?" The King of Qi said, "I do not know." Li Sheng said, "If you know where this is headed, Qi prospers; if not, Qi's done for." The King of Qi asked, "How will the overall situation go?" Li Sheng replied, "It's all going to the Han King."
King Qi asked, "Mate, why do you say this?" Li Sheng explained, "Right, so the Han King and Xiang King teamed up to attack Qin from the west. They agreed that whoever entered Xianyang first would become the emperor. The Han King entered Xianyang first, but the Xiang King double-crossed him and crowned himself King of Han Zhong. The Xiang King also killed the Emperor. When the Han King heard about this, he marched his Shu Han army on Sanqin, went through Hangu Pass to get the bloke who offed the Emperor, gathered troops from all over, and backed the other princes. He rewarded his generals with captured cities, shared the loot with his troops, and looked after the people. Therefore, those talented and capable people were willing to serve him. The armies of the princes from all sides gathered, and the food of Shu Han came continuously. But Xiang King? He broke his word, killed the Emperor, remembered his enemies, forgot his mates, didn’t reward victories, and didn’t reward captured cities. Only the members of the Xiang family could hold official positions. He had seals made, but they got worn out before he could give them out; he piled up the loot from all the cities he took, but never shared it. Everyone ditched him, the smart guys hated his guts, and no one wanted to work for him. So, yeah, everyone flocked to the Han King – no surprise there."
King Han, starting from Shu Han, raised his army, conquered the three Qin states, crossed the Yellow River, got reinforcements from Shangdang, took Jingxing, and executed Cheng Anjun. This was like some crazy Chi You-level miracle—beyond human, pure luck from the gods! Now King Han controlled the Aocang granaries, held the strategic positions of Chenggao, Baima Ferry, and the passes at Daxing and Feihu. Anyone who doesn't surrender is toast. Your Majesty, surrender to King Han now, or Qi's done for! Tian Guang agreed, called off the war preparations in Lixia, and started partying with Li Sheng.
When Marquis Huaiyin heard Li Sheng had flipped over seventy Qi cities, he snuck his army across the plains and ambushed Qi. King Tian Guang of Qi, upon hearing that the Han army was coming, thought that Li Sheng had betrayed him and said, "Stop the Han army, and you live. Fail, and you die!" Li Sheng replied, "Look, sometimes you gotta bend the rules. A real man doesn't back down from a challenge. Just drop it." In the end, King Qi killed Li Sheng and then fled with his army.
Twelve years into the Han Dynasty, Marquis Li Shang of Quzhou was a hero in the fight against Ying Bu. When Emperor Gaozu handed out the rewards, he remembered Li Shiqi. His son, Li Jie, fought bravely but didn't earn a marquisate until the Emperor gave him the title of Marquis Gaoliang, out of respect for his old man. The title passed down to his son, Wusui, lasting three generations. But in the first year of Yuanshou, Wusui got caught faking an imperial order to rip off Prince Hengshan of a hundred pounds of gold. He was supposed to be executed, but died before they could do it, and his title was gone.
Lu Jia, from the state of Chu, followed Liu Bang in his conquest of the world. He was a silver-tongued devil and often worked by Liu Bang's side, frequently sent to smooth things over with the warlords. When Liu Bang became emperor, the country had just stabilized, and Yu Tuo had pacified Nanyue and declared himself king. Liu Bang sent Lu Jia to Nanyue with the emperor's seal to appoint Yu Tuo as the King of Nanyue. When Lu Jia arrived in Nanyue, Yu Tuo, hair a mess, gave him a pretty arrogant reception. Lu Jia advised him, "Look, you're Chinese! Your family's buried back in Zhending. Yet now you are going against your own nature, ditching Han customs, trying to take on the Emperor with your little Nanyue and becoming a hostile country. You're asking for trouble. Furthermore, the Qin Dynasty lost the people's support, and heroes from all over the country rose up in rebellion. Only Liu Bang was the first to enter the capital and occupy Xianyang. Xiang Yu violated the agreement, declared himself the Hegemon King of Western Chu, and all the feudal lords submitted to him, making him very powerful. But Liu Bang rose from Bashu, beat Xiang Yu, and unified China in five years – that wasn't luck, that was destiny! The emperor heard that you proclaimed yourself king in Nanyue without helping to overthrow the tyrant, and the court ministers all wanted to send troops to attack you. The Emperor's letting it slide for now, because the people are still recovering from the war, so he sent me to confer the king's seal upon you and to communicate with you. You should come out and bow to the north, but you want to confront the powerful Han Dynasty with the newly established, still weak Nanyue. If the Han Dynasty truly finds out, they will definitely destroy your ancestors' graves, wipe out your family, and send a deputy general to lead a hundred thousand troops to conquer Nanyue. Then Nanyue will be destroyed, and you will be captured, no sweat."
Hey, this Wei Tuo guy suddenly sat up and said to Lu Jia, "I've been stuck out here in barbarian country too long, I've gotten pretty out of line." Then he asked Lu Jia, "So, how do I stack up against Xiao He, Cao Can, and Han Xin?" Lu Jia replied, "You're pretty powerful yourself." Wei Tuo asked again, "How do I fare compared to the Emperor?" Lu Jia said, "The Emperor rose from Pei County, defeated the tyrannical Qin, destroyed the powerful Chu state, promoted welfare and eliminated harm for the world, inherited the legacy of the Five Emperors and Three Kings, and unified the realm. We're talking billions of people, a massive country, occupying the richest places in the world, with tons of resources and unified laws. This has never happened since the beginning of time! You currently only have tens of thousands of people under you, all barbarians, living between rugged mountains and seas, just a tiny Han county. How can you compare yourself to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty?" Wei Tuo laughed heartily, "If I were in the Central Plains, I'd be running the show!" He was over the moon, treating Lu Jia to wine for several months, saying, "Out here in Yue, I haven't had a decent conversation in ages. After you arrived, I get to hear some fresh news every day." Before he left, Wei Tuo slipped Lu Jia a bag of gold – a king's ransom! – and Lu Jia returned the favor with a thousand gold pieces. Lu Jia finally advised Wei Tuo to swear allegiance to the Han and acknowledge the Han as the rightful rulers. After returning to the court, Emperor Gaozu was very pleased and appointed Jia as the High Minister.
Lu Jia often chatted in front of Emperor Gaozu, spouting the importance of using poetry and books to govern. Emperor Gaozu scolded him, saying, "I conquered the world on horseback; what's poetry and books got to do with it?" Lu Jia replied, "Conquering the world on horseback is one thing, but can you govern it on horseback as well? King Tang and King Wu, legendary founders of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, first used military force to conquer the world, then implemented benevolent governance, combining civil and military strategies for long-lasting peace. Previously, King Fuchai of Wu and Zhi Bo, the leader of the Zhi clan in Jin, relied solely on military might and ultimately perished; Qin only enforced harsh laws and punishments, which contributed to Zhao's downfall. If Qin had unified the world and practiced benevolence from the start, following the ways of the sages, how could Your Majesty have obtained the world?" Emperor Gaozu was somewhat displeased but also showed a hint of shame on his face. He then asked Lu Jia to write about why Qin lost the world, how he obtained it, and the principles behind the rise and fall of nations in history. Lu Jia wrote concisely yet insightfully about the signs of a nation's rise and fall, totaling twelve chapters. After each chapter was presented, Emperor Gaozu praised it highly, and the ministers all cheered, calling the book "New Discourses."
During the reign of Emperor Hui, the Empress Dowager Lü held all the power and wanted to make her relatives kings, but she was also afraid of those ministers who spoke their minds. Lu Sheng knew he couldn't compete with the Empress Dowager, so he pretended to be ill and resigned from his position to return home. He found the land fertile and perfect for settling down, so he brought his five sons to live there. When he was an official in the Yue region, he brought back many valuable items in his luggage, which he sold for a thousand gold. He gave each son two hundred gold to start a business. Lu Sheng himself lived a comfortable life, riding in a comfortable carriage with four horses, accompanied by a band of musicians and dancers. He carried a valuable sword worth a hundred gold. He told his sons, "Okay, here's the deal: you guys take turns hosting me, feeding and housing me, and making sure I have a good time. Every ten days, it's someone else's turn. Whoever I'm staying with when I kick the bucket gets my sword, carriage, and crew. And just so we're clear, I'm only visiting each of you three times a year, max, to avoid being a burden."
When Empress Lü was in power, she elevated members of the Lü family to kingship, granting them unchecked power and seeking to control the young emperor, which endangered the Liu family's rule. Prime Minister Chen Ping was very worried about this but felt powerless to stop it, fearing for his own safety, often feeling anxious alone at home. One day, Lu Sheng went to visit Chen Ping and walked in directly, sitting down. Chen Ping, who was deep in thought with a troubled expression, did not notice Lu Sheng's arrival. Lu Sheng asked him, "Prime Minister, what are you worried about? Why do you look so troubled?" Chen Ping asked, "How do you know I am worried?" Lu Sheng said, "As the Prime Minister, with a fief of thirty thousand households' worth of land, you can be considered wealthy and honored, with nothing more to ask for. Your worry must be the Lü clan and the young Emperor." Chen Ping replied, "Exactly, what should we do?" Lu Sheng said, "In times of peace, the Prime Minister should be valued; in times of turmoil, the Grand Protector should be valued. If the Prime Minister and the Grand Protector can get along, then the court officials will be willing to follow, and even if there are changes in the world, power will not easily fall into the wrong hands. The key to stabilizing the country lies in the cooperation of the Prime Minister and the Grand Protector. I have always wanted to talk to the Grand Protector about this, but he always takes it as a joke and doesn't listen to me. Why don't you make friends with the Grand Protector and establish a deep friendship?" Then, Lu Sheng analyzed several weaknesses of the Lü family for Chen Ping. Chen Ping adopted Lu Sheng's strategy, presented five hundred gold pieces to the Grand Protector for his birthday, and prepared a sumptuous feast and a band to entertain; the Grand Protector also reciprocated. In this way, the two men established a deep friendship, and the Lü family's conspiracy gradually failed. Later, Chen Ping gave Lu Sheng one hundred slaves, fifty carriages and horses, and a fortune in cash as his living expenses. With these, Lu Sheng navigated the Han court and its officials, and his reputation grew.
After wiping out the Lu clan and putting Emperor Xiaowen on the throne, Lu Jia really went above and beyond. After Emperor Xiaowen ascended the throne, he wanted to send someone to Nanyue. Prime Minister Chen suggested making Lu Jia a Grand Master of the Palace, to chat with Wu Tuo and get him to ditch the emperor gig and be a good little prince, doing what the emperor says. Nanyue's history books mention this. Later, Lu Jia kicked the bucket.
Zhu Jian, the Lord Pingyuan, hailed from Chu. He had previously served as Prime Minister to the King of Huainan, Ying Bu. After getting sacked for a screw-up, he went back to work for Ying Bu after a while. When Ying Bu was itching for a rebellion, he asked Pingyuan for his take, but Pingyuan was dead set against it. But Ying Bu ignored him and listened to Liang Fuhou instead, which led to the whole rebellion. After the Han put down Ying Bu's revolt, word was that Pingyuan had talked Ying Bu out of it and hadn't been involved, so he got off scot-free. You can read about this in the *Ying Bu Biography*.
Pingyuan Jun is a person with a silver tongue, an upright character, and lives in Chang'an. He is noble and never flatters or changes his principles for personal gain. Marquis Biyang, on the other hand, was a real scumbag but was cozying up to Empress Lü. Marquis Biyang wanted to meet Pingyuan Jun, but Pingyuan Jun wouldn't give him the time of day. Later, when Pingyuan Jun's mother passed away, Lu Jia, who had a good relationship with him, went to visit. Pingyuan Jun was broke and couldn't afford a proper burial, so Lu Jia advised him to hold the funeral quickly. So Lu Jia went to see Marquis Biyang and, incredibly, offered his congratulations on Pingyuan Jun's mother's death. Marquis Biyang was confused, and Lu Jia explained that if he really helped out with the funeral costs, Pingyuan Jun would be grateful and loyal to him. Marquis Biyang agreed and donated money for the funeral. Other lords and officials followed suit, raising a total of five hundred gold coins.
Marquis Biyang was in Empress Lü's good books, but someone reported him to Emperor Xiaohui for badmouthing him. Emperor Xiaohui flipped his lid and ordered Marquis Biyang's head. Empress Lü was embarrassed, and loads of officials were chuffed with the decision. Desperate, Marquis Biyang sent someone to ask for help from Pingyuan Jun, who declined, saying, "It's too risky to see him right now."
Then Marquis Biyang went to find the favored minister Hong Jiru by Emperor Xiaohui's side and said to him, "You have a good relationship with the Emperor; everyone knows that. Now Marquis Biyang has become romantically involved with the Empress Dowager and is about to be executed. It’s rumored outside that you ratted him out and wanted him dead. Today Marquis Biyang is dead, and tomorrow the Empress Dowager will come after you in anger. Why don’t you quickly strip down and personally go to the Emperor to plead? If the Emperor listens to you and spares Marquis Biyang, the Empress Dowager will be pleased, and you’ll both be in the Emperor’s good graces. Your status and wealth will double, won’t they?"
Upon hearing this, Hong Jiru was terrified and followed Marquis Biyang's instructions to plead with the Emperor, and he saved Marquis Biyang. When Marquis Biyang was imprisoned, he wanted to see Lord Pingyuan, but was left high and dry. Marquis Biyang thought Lord Pingyuan abandoned him and was very angry. After he was rescued, he realized he had wronged Lord Pingyuan and was shocked.
After Empress Dowager Lv died, all members of the Lv family were wiped out. Marquis Biyang had a close relationship with the Lv family and should have been executed, but he survived. He survived thanks to Lusheng and Lord Pingyuan's schemes.
When Emperor Xiaowen became Emperor, Prince Li of Huainan killed Marquis Biyang on suspicion of being involved with the remnants of the Lv family. Emperor Xiaowen heard that it was Lord Pingyuan's idea, so he sent people to arrest him. Lord Pingyuan heard that the guards were at his doorstep and wanted to commit suicide. His children and the guards advised him, "We don't know the full story yet. Why kill yourself now?" Lord Pingyuan said, "My death will protect my family." After saying this, he committed suicide. Emperor Xiaowen was very regretful when he heard about it, saying, "I didn't intend to kill him." He then summoned Lord Pingyuan's son and appointed him as a mid-level official. Later, he sent him to negotiate with the Xiongnu, but the Chanyu disrespected him, so Pingyuan gave him a piece of his mind, resulting in his death at the hands of the Xiongnu.
At first, Liu Bang and his troops passed by Chenliu, and Li Shiqi ran to the entrance of the military camp to request an audience, saying, "I'm just some nobody from Gaoyang County, but I heard that you, Lord Liu, have been fighting for Chu against the rebels. I want to meet you and talk about how to pacify the world." Liu Bang sent someone in to announce, and at that time, he was washing his feet. He asked the messenger, "What kind of guy is he?" The messenger replied, "He looks like a scholar, wearing the clothes and hat of a Confucian." Liu Bang said, "Thank him for me, and tell him I'm too busy to see scholars." After the messenger left, he conveyed Liu Bang's message: "Lord Liu thanks the scholar, but he's too busy to see scholars." Li Shiqi, upon hearing this, his eyes went wide, slammed his fist on the table, pointed a finger at the messenger, and roared, "Get out! Go back and tell Liu Bang that I, the drunkard of Gaoyang County, am not some scholar!" The messenger was frightened, dropped the invitation in his hand, quickly picked it up, and hurried back to report to Liu Bang: "That guy's a real firecracker! He yelled at me, I dropped the invitation, and told me to tell you he's a drunkard from Gaoyang, not some scholar!" Upon hearing this, Liu Bang quickly dried his feet, put down his weapons, and said, "Get him in here now!"
Li Shiqi entered and bowed to Liu Bang, saying, "Man, you're looking rough! Tattered clothes, beat-up hat... leading the army to help Chu take down those rotten bastards. Why aren't you happy for yourself? I wanted to offer advice, but you said, 'I'm busy with important matters and have no time to see scholars.' If you want to achieve great things and establish immortal achievements, but only judge people by their appearance, you may miss out on talents from everywhere! Besides, I believe your intelligence and bravery aren't as good as mine. If you want to unify the world but refuse to see me, I personally think you will miss a great opportunity." Liu Bang said, "I heard about your appearance before; now I truly understand your ambition." So Liu Bang asked Li Shiqi to sit down and asked him how to achieve dominance. Li Shiqi said, "If you want to achieve great things, you should first take Chenliu. Chenliu is a strategic location in the world, a place that military strategists must fight for, storing tens of millions of bushels of grain, with very strong defenses. I had a good relationship with the magistrate of Chenliu before; I can help you persuade him to surrender. If he won't listen to reason, I can handle him, and we'll take Chenliu. With the troops of Chenliu, occupying the city of Chenliu, relying on the grain of Chenliu, recruiting armies from everywhere, when the army grows strong, you can dominate the world, and no one can oppose you!" Liu Bang said, "I will follow your instructions." So Li Shiqi shows up at the magistrate's place in the dead of night and says to him, "The Qin are toast! Everyone's rebelling. Jump on board and grab some glory! But you're stuck guarding this place for a dying regime? That's a recipe for disaster!" The magistrate said, "Whoa, hold your horses! Qin law's brutal. Loose lips sink ships, and I ain't taking any chances. No way, Jose."
Li Sheng, staying overnight at the magistrate's house, killed the Chenliu magistrate in the dead of night! He then slipped over the wall and ran to tell Liu Bang. Liu Bang attacked, lopped off the magistrate's head, and stuck it on a pike for all to see, shouting to the people in the city, "Surrender now, or you'll be next! The magistrate's head's already on a pike!" Seeing their magistrate's head, the people of Chenliu surrendered in terror. Liu Bang stationed himself at the south gate of Chenliu City, using the city's resources to build up his army to over ten thousand men in three months before marching and defeating the Qin army.
Sima Qian said: Current accounts claim Li Sheng advised Liu Bang after his victory over the Three Qins while fighting Xiang Yu. But this is wrong. In fact, it was not until Liu Bang had not yet entered Guanzhong, separated from Xiang Yu, and arrived at Gaoyang that he met the Li Sheng brothers. I've read Lu Sheng's *Xinyu*—twelve chapters of brilliant debating. Knowing Pingyuan Jun, I have the inside story.
