War and Game

Zhang Liang was a wandering swordsman who had once tried to assassinate the First Emperor. He eventually joined Liu Bang’s rebellion and became his chief strategist. He devised several schemes that saved Liu’s life and ensured the defeat of his enemies. Two examples will suffice. First, when Han Xin without authorization proclaimed himself “acting king” of Qi in 203, Liu Bang started raging at the envoy who had brought the news. Zhang Liang stepped on Liu’s foot under the table and reminded him that he could not afford to lose Han’s support. Liu quickly changed gears, explaining that he was upset because Han Xin deserved to be made an actual king, not just an “acting king.” Second, shortly after Liu Bang became emperor in 202, there were many at court who were worried that they would not get all the rewards promised to them during the many years of civil war. Zhang asked Liu which of his followers he hated the most, then advised him to reward that man first. As expected, when the others saw that even Liu’s enemies were being treated fairly, they stopped worrying. After the founding of the Han dynasty, Liu singled out Zhang Liang—along with Xiao He and Han Xin—as one of the key elements of his success in defeating Xiang Yu, despite the fact that ill health had generally kept Zhang away from the battlefield. Later, Zhang proved invaluable to Empress Lü when he came up with a plan to prevent Liu Bang from changing the heir apparent (Empress Lü’s son). As Liu once said, “When it comes to sitting within the tents of command and devising strategies that will assure victory a thousand miles away, I am no match for Zhang Liang” (Watson’s trans., Records, Han, 1:76). Zhang’s discernment and cleverness were indeed uncanny, though he ascribed his success to a secret book of military strategy that a mysterious old man had given him. (Shiji, ch. 55)