Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 152 "Three Difficulties"

—A challenge from Su Xun, one of the "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties"!
Lu Beigu's heart skipped a beat, and a tremendous pressure and an unprecedented sense of excitement instantly gripped him.

The final sprint before the provincial examination was suddenly elevated to the level of competing with the literary giants of the time!
He solemnly accepted Su Xun's "On Xiang Ji".

"I dare not presume to offer such a groundbreaking opinion, but I am willing to give it my best."

The candlelight inside Songtaozhai flickered uneasily under the breathless gaze of everyone.

He looked down at the paper in his hand.

Lu Beigu read Su Xun's "On Xiang Ji" word by word. The article was short, but it was full of sharp insights.

With his characteristically vigorous writing style, Su Xun directly pointed out Xiang Yu's core flaw, namely, "lack of concern for taking over the world."

He analyzed the political landscape during the Battle of Julu and believed that although Xiang Yu had broken the cauldrons and sunk the boats, crushing the main force of the Qin army in one battle and intimidating the feudal lords, he made a fatal strategic mistake—he was pinned down by Zhang Han on the Hebei battlefield and failed to extricate himself from the west and directly attack Xianyang.

Su Xun asserted that if Xiang Yu had abandoned the protracted battle at Julu and personally led his elite troops to rush into Guanzhong, seize Qin's stronghold, and take over its treasury, the situation in the world would have been completely different.

The core of this argument lies in the choice of "strategic focus." Su Xun believed that Xiang Yu possessed "the talent to win every battle," but lacked the "strategic vision to take over the world" to grasp the overall situation and strike at the key points. His defeat and death were not due to his lack of military prowess, but rather to the limitations of his strategic vision.

Lu Beigu closed the manuscript, his mind churning with thoughts.

Su Xun's analysis is undeniably sharp, and his method of "reviewing history and making hypothetical deductions" is itself full of intellectual charm, making it truly remarkable.

However, in Lu Beigu's mind, the analyses of the Chu-Han Contention by countless historians in later generations, as well as the perspective of modern strategic thinking, came to mind.

He believed that although Su Xun's arguments in "On Xiang Ji" were strong, they were not without flaws.

At this moment, everyone in the study focused their attention on Lu Beigu, waiting for his response.

"Mr. Su's remarks are incisive and thought-provoking!"

Lu Beigu spoke up: "I wholeheartedly agree with the analysis of Xiang Yu's strategic failures, which can be attributed to the Battle of Julu, and the point out his fundamental flaw of 'not having any intention of taking over the world'."

He first affirmed Su Xun's core viewpoint, expressing his agreement with the judgment that Xiang Ji's overall vision was insufficient.

Su Xun nodded slightly, but the inquiry in his eyes did not disappear; he knew this was just a prelude.

Lu Beigu changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious: "However, I believe that Mr. Su's strategy of 'abandoning Julu and rushing to Xianyang' is a brilliant plan, but it has three major difficulties and may not be as Mr. Su expects."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in Songtaozhai suddenly became tense.

A flicker of surprise crossed Su Zhe's eyes, while Cui Wenjing, Han Ziyu, and the others held their breath. Su Xun, far from being annoyed, instead showed even greater interest, leaning forward slightly: "Oh? I'd like to hear more!"

"Firstly, the difficulty lies in establishing proper titles and righteousness."

Lu Beigu raised a finger: "In the fourth paragraph, Mr. Su predicted 'attacking where they must defend,' believing that when Xiang Yu attacked Guanzhong, the Qin generals would inevitably abandon Zhao to come to its aid. However, Xiang Yu's base was in Chu and with the allied forces of the feudal lords. If he abandoned Zhao and suddenly entered Guanzhong, seized the Qin palace, and forced the Qin king to surrender, in the eyes of the world, this would not be seen as 'holding the emperor hostage,' but rather as 'replacing the tyrannical Qin!'"

He pointed out a key but often overlooked weakness in Su Xun's strategy—political legitimacy and the support or opposition of the people.

After Xiang Ji killed Song Yi, his title was "General-in-Chief," not "King of Chu." His orders were to rescue the State of Zhao, not to attack Xianyang.

If this were done, in the political context of the time, it would easily be interpreted as usurping and betraying the original intention of the anti-Qin alliance, thus losing the moral high ground.

Of course, morality is only a prerequisite; the most important thing is practical feasibility.

"Secondly, the difficulty of establishing a solid logistical foundation."

Lu Beigu raised his second finger, his gaze sweeping over the crowd: "Xiang Ji's main force consisted of troops from Chu, and their provisions and supplies largely relied on supplies from Chu and other vassal states. Sun Tzu said: 'An army without supplies will perish, without food will perish, without reserves will perish.' Mr. Su's plan for a 'rapid advance to Xianyang' involves a light troop rush, a thousand-mile raid. How will his military supplies be guaranteed?"

“Once Xiang Yu advances westward, Zhang Han in Hebei will surely cut off his supply lines after conquering Zhao. Without a secure rear and unobstructed supply routes, the westward-advancing army will become isolated, unable to advance or retreat, and in grave danger! Even if they enter Xianyang, they will be like a tree without roots or water without a source; how can they last long?”

Xiang Ji's foundation was in the Chu region and within the allied forces system.

The long march to Xianyang stretched the supply lines to an extreme degree. Even if they were invincible and encountered no obstacles at any fortified cities or passes, they would still have to pass through the newly surrendered and hostile Qin territory, while leaving enough forces to guard the supply lines. This was an almost impossible task.

"Thirdly, it is difficult to win the hearts and minds of the people."

Lu Beigu raised his third finger, his tone growing increasingly serious: "In Mr. Su's argument, he mentioned that if Xiang Yu had occupied Guanzhong, he could have won the hearts of the people like Liu Bang. However, I believe this is even more difficult. Liu Bang entered Guanzhong and established the Three Laws, eliminating all the harsh laws of Qin and allowing the people to rest and recuperate. Therefore, the people of Qin 'only feared that Liu Bang would not become the King of Qin.' But Xiang Yu is stubborn and violent. Even if he entered Xianyang, how could he be as benevolent as Liu Bang?"

"I believe it will be extremely difficult to change his ruthless and brutal style. At that time, the elders of Guanzhong will fear his violence rather than his power, so how can they sincerely submit to him? If he loses the hearts of the people of Guanzhong, half of the foundation for 'ruling the world' will have already collapsed. Furthermore, the hearts of the feudal lords will fear his power but not necessarily submit to his virtue. If Xiang Yu abandons the rescue of Zhao and suddenly takes over Qin's strategic advantage, it is equivalent to betraying the allied forces and then using his domineering attitude to dominate the feudal lords. I am afraid that not only will he fail to win their hearts, but he will also accelerate their alienation and cause the situation after the enfeoffment of Pengcheng to play out earlier, or even more tragically."

After Lu Beigu finished speaking, he cupped his hands to Su Xun and said, “Mr. Su’s strategy is ingenious. However, the difficulty in implementing it lies in the three interconnected aspects of reputation, logistics, and popular support, none of which Xiang Yu could overcome at that time due to his limited strength and temperament. Therefore, I believe that the root cause of Xiang Yu’s defeat lies in his lack of consideration for ‘taking over the world.’ However, this lack of consideration was not only due to his failure to recognize the importance of Xianyang, but also because his personality, vision, foundation, and way of doing things themselves destined him to be unable to truly control and secure the consequences of ‘taking over the world.’ His failure was an innate one, not a mistake made at a particular time or place.”

Lu Beigu ultimately attributed Xiang Ji's failure to deeper flaws in his personality traits, political foundation, and operational logic. He believed that these internal factors determined that even if Xiang Ji made the strategic choices hypothesized by Su Xun, he would still be unable to succeed due to his own inherent weaknesses.

This touches upon the essence of tragic heroes more than simply blaming a strategic mistake.

Inside Songtao Studio, all was quiet.

Su Xun fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)