Zhang Er (264 BC - 202 BC) was a native of Daliang (now northwest of Kaifeng, Henan) in the late Qin Dynasty.

Historical Records: "Zhang Er is from Daliang. When he was young, he was a guest of Wei Gongzi Wuji."

Wei Gongzi Wuji is the famous Xinling Mausoleum in history. Jun. He is the youngest son of King Zhao of Wei and the half-brother of King Anxi of Wei. Lord Xinling likes to make friends with heroes. "No matter how virtuous or dishonest he is, he will treat them humbly and courteously." He has "three thousand diners". Because of his existence, the princes did not dare to invade Wei for more than ten years. The most sensational thing he ever did was to kill Jin Bi, seize military power, and save Zhao from danger. For this reason, he hid in Zhao State for ten years. In the end, when Wei was in danger, he returned to save the country. After that, he contacted the troops of the five countries and formed a large coalition to attack Qin. The Qin people hid behind Hangu Pass and did not dare to fight. In the end, the Qin people resorted to alienation tactics, and King Anxi of Wei was fooled, alienated Lord Xinling, and took back his military power. Lord Xinling was lost and drank all day long, and eventually died of alcohol. Within a few years, Qin destroyed Wei.

Being diners under such people, in addition to the roosters and dog robbers, there are also righteous people like the hermit Hou Ying and the butcher Zhu Hai. A glimpse of a leopard reveals the whole leopard, and when you open your ears to blend in, you can see its human temperament.

The ancient household registration system, such as the well-field system, relatively strictly restricted population movement. Some people almost never left the land where they lived throughout their lives. This will help normalize farming. Of course, during the Warring States Period, the wars were unstable and the corvee was heavy, which made people overwhelmed. Some restless people, or people who have some pursuits in life, have left their country and run away. This is called "escape".

Zhang Er is one of the desperate people. He fled to Waihuang.

Although he violated the laws of the time and fled to a foreign country, he was treated very well. There was a rich man in Waihuang who had a retainer. When he heard that Zhang Er was coming, he hurriedly said to his master's widowed daughter that if you want to find a good husband, it must be Zhang Er.

The rich man’s daughter agreed after being fooled like this.

Zhang Er saw that although this woman was a widow, she was quite beautiful and her family was rich. Come on, let’s get married. With the help of his wealthy father-in-law, he also became a foreigner of the Wei Kingdom. At the same time, he recruited many customers. It is said that Liu Bang was his customer.

After Zhang Er became the Waihuang Order, it wasn’t long before the Qin Dynasty destroyed Wei, and a reward list was posted for the arrest of the famous scholar Zhang Er. Whoever caught him would be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold. Of course Zhang Er couldn't sit still and wait for death, so he escaped. He fled to a place destined to make him famous: Chen.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Wu Guangda launched an uprising in Zexiang. At the beginning, the fight went smoothly. Chen She led tens of thousands of people and invaded Chen. Zhang Er immediately defected to Chen She. When Chen She heard this, he was very happy.

But Chen She was not happy for long because he wanted to make himself king. But Zhang Er felt that it was reasonable and just to rebel against the Qin Dynasty. In the end, you became the king. Doesn't this seem unjust, only caring about yourself, and a bit selfish? This is not conducive to recruiting people from all over the world. Zhang Er objected. Chen She refused to listen and became king anyway.

Although Chen She was unhappy, he would not blame him, but out of sight and out of mind, he asked Zhang Er to follow the military officials and lead three thousand people to the north to attack Zhao.

The military minister was so great that with the help of Zhang Er, he arrived in Zhao and expanded his army by tens of thousands. So the military minister named himself Lord Wu Xin and captured ten cities in Zhao.

Not long after, Wu Xinjun surrendered to Fan Yangling without a fight, and the rest of Zhao's city guards surrendered one after another. For a while, Zhao was completely ruled by Wu Xinjun.

Zhang Er took the opportunity to suggest that even Chen She could become the king. This shows that you don’t have to be a descendant of the Six Kingdoms to be the king. You can do it too. When Wu Xinjun heard this, he said, come on, I have almost taken over the entire Zhao land anyway, okay, I will be the king too. Therefore, Wu Xinjun named himself King Zhao and made Zhang Er the Prime Minister of the Right.

The news reached Chen She's ears. He was so angry that his former general was now trying to fight against him. He wanted to kill the family members of King Zhao Wuchen in one go. Fortunately, Fang Jun persuaded him not to rebel at this time, but to think about the great cause of rebelling against Qin. So Chen She put all Wu Chen's family under house arrest in his palace, and also made Zhang Er's son Zhang Ao the king of Chengdu.

Of course the matter would not be settled like this. Chen She sent people to Zhao to congratulate Wu Chen on becoming the king of Zhao, and at the same time ordered him to enter Qinguan westward.

Wu Chen has always been Chen She's general and is used to listening to Chen She. But Zhang Erduo was a shrewd person. He immediately saw the trick and persuaded King Zhao.

It is suggested that King Zhao should not enter the Pass, but should go north to Yan Dynasty and south to Hanoi to expand his territory, so that he can occupy Dahe (Yellow River) in the south and Yan Dynasty in the north. If you are strong, you are not afraid of Chen She coming to settle accounts with you.

When King Zhao heard this, he thought it was a good idea. Immediately sent Han Guang to attack Yan, Li Liang to attack Changshan, and Zhang Xiao to attack Shangdang.

As a result, Han Guang arrived in Yan and became the king of Yan himself. Tit for retaliation, the military minister became the king of Zhao without Chen She's consent. It is no wonder that his subordinates did not listen to him and became the king of Yan. King Zhao was angry and led his army northward with Zhang Er, but was accidentally captured by the Yan army. Fortunately, a pawn tricked General Yan into letting King Zhao go. No near misses.

Li Liang captured Changshan, and King Zhao asked him to continue his efforts and attack Taiyuan. It was impossible to fight for a while. General Qin sent an envoy, saying that you and I once worked together, and I know you are a talented person. Now His Majesty the Emperor Qin II has issued an edict, saying that as long as you surrender, let bygones be bygones. Li Liang couldn't decide for a while. Soon, he returned to Handan to request additional troops. Unexpectedly, when he returned, he killed King Zhao's sister, attacked Handan, and killed King Zhao and Zuo Prime Minister Shao Sao.

Zhang Er made many friends, and someone reported the news. He immediately ran away. King Zhao is dead, what should I do? If one King of Zhao dies, another one will be established. He then found Zhao Xie from among the descendants of Zhao State and established him as King of Zhao. Immediately afterwards, Li Liang was defeated. Li Liang had no choice but to defect to Qin general Zhang Han.

Zhang Han led the Qin army to capture Handan, and then attacked King Zhao. Zhao Wangxie and Zhang Er took their troops and hid in Julu.

Zhang Han sent Wang Li to lead troops to besiege Julu. Zhao Wangxie and Zhang Er were trapped in Julu. The city was short of food and soldiers, and was in danger. Zhang Er then sent someone to summon Chen Yu who was north of Julu. Although Chen Yu took over tens of thousands of soldiers from Changshan, he was afraid of fighting. Zhang Er was helpless and scolded Chen Yu for not being a friend and forgetting the friendship back then.

As envoys sent by Zhang Er to order Chen Yu to go to war, Zhang Xiao and Chen Ze saw that Chen Yu refused to send troops, so they had to say that you don't need to lead the troops, and we will go first. Seeing this, Chen Yu gave the two of them five thousand men and asked them to try to defeat the Qin soldiers first. As a result, Zhang Xian and Chen Ze were killed in battle, and the entire army of 5,000 people was wiped out. Chen Yu was originally afraid, but when he saw that the Qin soldiers were powerful, he was even more reluctant to send troops to rescue.

The so-called lips are dead and the teeth are cold. At that time, Yan, Qi and Chu all sent troops and horses to rescue. But outside Julu City, Chen Yu, the general of King Zhao, stood helplessly and refused to rescue, let alone us. So all these people camped near Chen Yu and waited. No one dared to attack the Qin people. Zhang Er, who was trapped in Julu, must be filled with resentment.

At this time, a great hero appears - Xiang Yu!

Many people know the next story. Xiang Yu defeated the Qin soldiers and rescued Julu.

Zhang Er was saved, but he was still worried about Chen Yu not coming to the rescue. He asked Chen Yu why he didn't save him. Chen Yu explained that he couldn't beat him. He also asked why he didn't see the envoys I sent, Zhang Xian and Chen Ze. Chen Yu said that they died in the battle. Zhang Er didn't believe it, thinking that Chen Yu had killed two people privately. He said that even your tens of thousands of people did not dare to attack the Qin soldiers, so you would let a mere 5,000 people accompany Zhang Xuan and Chen Ze to death? Chen Yu, who was unjustly accused, immediately took off his seal and said that he was not greedy for power and I would quit. Zhang Er was hesitant at first, but someone advised him to take the opportunity to take back Chen Yu's military power, so he gave up.

Xiang Yu rescued Julu, rescued King Zhao, and defeated the Qin soldiers that other princes and kings did not dare to fight. Suddenly, he became famous.

Xiang Yu entered the Pass and occupied Xianyang. Taking advantage of his strong aura, he established himself as king and became known as the Overlord of Western Chu. He also divided the princes and kings among them. Among them, Zhang Er was named the King of Changshan and ruled in Xindu. Xindu was renamed Xiangguo. King Xie of Zhao was moved and granted the title of Dai Wang by Xiang Yu.

Although Chen Yu was as famous as Zhang Er, Xiang Yu saw that this man was disobedient and would not follow him into the pass to attack Qin. It would be too extravagant to grant him the title of king, so forget it and give it to him. Three county towns. Hearing that Chen Yu was in Nanpi, Xiang Yu gave Chen Yu three counties near Nanpi.

Chen Yu was so angry that he took advantage of King Tian Rong of Qi's rebellion against Chu to attack Changshan King Zhang Er and defeated him in a battle. Zhang Er was desperate and wanted to vote for Xiang Yu, but some of his subordinates said that Xiang Yu couldn't beat Liu Bang, so he might as well vote for Liu Bang. Zhang Er then voted for Liu Bang.

Chen Yu defeated Zhang Er and took the opportunity to welcome King Zhao back, allowing King Zhao Xie, who thought he was going to be the contemporary king, to become King Zhao again. King Zhao was grateful and made Chen Yu the contemporary king. Although Chen Yu accepted it, he did not go to Daiguo and stayed in Handan to assist King Zhao.

In order to defeat Xiang Yu, Liu Bang sent people to contact King Zhao, hoping to attack the overlord of Western Chu together.

Chen Yu said that cooperation was possible and that Zhang Er's head would be sent first. Of course Liu Bang was unwilling to kill Zhang Er, a famous scholar and sage who had taken refuge in him, but without the help of Zhao Ren, it would be difficult to win. He thought of a way to find someone who looked like Zhang Er, kill him and send his head there. Chen Yu was fooled and sent troops to help the Han Dynasty. As a result, Chu was defeated, but unexpectedly found that Zhang Er was still alive and well. Chen Yu became angry and sent troops to attack the Han.

Han Xin and Zhang Er led the Han soldiers and destroyed King Zhao. Liu Bang was so happy that he named Zhang Er the King of Zhao.

Liu Bang was once a disciple of Zhang Er. When Zhang Er was in despair, he did not seek refuge with the powerful Xiang Yu, but instead sought refuge with the weak Liu Bang. Not to mention that Xiang Yu rescued Julu, which was a life-saving grace for him. He was still able to make such a decision because of Xiang Yu's strong strength. This shows that the reputation of celebrities and sages does not come out of thin air. History proves that Zhang Er's choice was right.

In the end, the weak Liu Bang defeated the powerful Xiang Yu and established the Han Dynasty's 400-year foundation.

Zhang Er is on the right team and with the right person. Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, not only helped him defeat his enemy Chen Yu, but also helped him win the land of Zhao and named him King of Zhao. The king of Zhao was better than the king of Changshan who was granted the title of Xiang Yu, and his territory was wider.

After two years as King of Zhao, Zhang Er died. The posthumous title given to him by the imperial court was Jing. It was a good death.

His son Zhang Ao succeeded to the throne as King Zhao. Zhang Ao married Princess Lu Yuan and was the son-in-law of Liu Bang and Lu Fei. Of course, a son-in-law is not as close as a son. Liu Bang used Zhao Xiangguan's high intentions to rebel, took away Zhang Ao's throne, and made his son Liu Ruyi the king of Zhao. Liu Bang also wanted to kill Zhang Ao. Lu Pheasant couldn't stand it. Liu Ruyi was not her child, but Zhang Ao was her biological daughter's husband. It was interesting enough that the throne had been taken away, so he persuaded Liu Bang to let Zhang Ao go. As a result, Zhang Ao was named Marquis of Xuanping.

After Liu Bang died, Lu Pheasant took power. Not long after, Zhang Ao died. Lu Fei then named Zhang Yan, his grandson and son of Zhang Ao, as King of Lu Yuan. Zhang Yan was young, so he made his half-brothers Zhang Shou and Zhang Chi a marquis. After Lu Fei's death, Liu Bang's veterans executed Zhu Lu, including Zhang Yan's king and his brother's marquis. After Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, he named Zhang Yan the Marquis of Nangong to comfort him.

In short, after Zhang Er's death, his sons and grandsons were not liquidated, but they still continued the Zhang family's legacy. It can be considered a good death.

However, there were only three generations of wealth. After Zhang Er, Zhang Ao, and Zhang Yan, Zhang Yan's grandson was finally convicted of the imperial court and the Nangong Hou Kingdom was eliminated. Perhaps this is the reason why Sima Qian did not place Zhang Er in aristocratic families, but in biographies.