Both Liu Bang and Xiang Yu are experienced figures in history and have great complexity, so it is difficult to simply define them with the label of villain or hero. In fact, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu should be very similar two people, both with heroic qualities. Xiang Yu met Qin Shihuang's team in his early years and said, "He can take the place." Liu bang saw Qin Shihuang's team and said, "A gentleman should be like this." It can be seen that two incompatible heroes appeared in an era.
You said Xiang Yu was a hero, and Xiang Yu and Zhang Han were discussing a surrender agreement. At the same time, Xiang Yu made a promise to Qin Jun, that is, to let the other side surrender and launch a sneak attack while the other side's troops were lax. Is it fair to break the contract publicly, or is it the behavior of a villain? Many years later, Cao Cao used this method to deal with Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan. Xiang Yu killed Yin Tong, the satrap of Huiji, and Yi Song, the general, to seize power, all of which reflected the cunning side of Xiang Yu, so the veterans of Chu at that time all thought Xiang Yu was a tough and cunning thief, while Liu Bang was a generous elder.
"Historical Records" Volume 8 "Biography of the Great-grandfather" Wang Huai veterans all said, "Xiang Yu is a tough and cunning thief. Xiang Yu tried to attack Xiangcheng, and Xiangcheng was the same and destroyed. But Chu has made progress, and former princes and ministers and Xiang Liang have all lost. Why don't you send elders to help Yixi and tell Qin brothers and sisters? Qin's father and brother have been tortured by their master for a long time. Now they sincerely want to let their elders go, so they should get off without violence. Xiang Yu is tough today, so he can't send it today. Wei Peigong is a generous elder and can be sent. " Don't let Xiang Yu die. Xiang Yu is by no means a straightforward person understood by ordinary people. As a politician, he has the wisdom and means that a politician should have, but he met Liu Bang who is better at it. As a politician, you must not understand politics, and politics cannot be measured by morality alone. A politician with moral decay may not be able to govern a country well. Xiang Yu's talent is even more impressive, because his military talent is better than Liu Bang's, and because of his military talent, Xiang Yu's ingenuity is often ignored.
Isn't Liu Bang as brave as Xiang Yu? Xiang Yu has Liu Bang's military talent, but Liu Bang dares to boldly appoint Xiao He, Sean, Chen Ping and Han Xin to fight against Xiang Yu. However, when the world was unstable, Xiang Yu was suspicious of his close friends Fan Zeng and Zhong Limei. He was alienated and seized the real power of Fan Zeng. People often say that Liu Bang has harmed the hero, and Liu Bang should at least wait until the situation in the world is stable before settling accounts.
There are many aspects of human nature. Many great figures in history can show morality and cunning at the same time, and they can also show wisdom and stupidity. No matter how excellent they are in their own time, they are still people after all. They have contemporary moral values, but they also have the selfish desires that contemporary people should have. In order to show drama, storytellers of later generations portrayed Liu Bang and Xiang Yu as opposites, just like the opposites of Cao Cao and Liu Bei later. After all, they were just telling stories. Heroes cherish each other because they can see the similarities between each other and themselves, not the opposite side.
As for winning or losing, Liu Bang is indeed better than Xiang Yu. What matters to the world is leadership, not just how powerful and resourceful the monarch is. Neither Zhao Zheng of Qin Shihuang nor Liu Che of Han Wudi will go into battle in person.