薛公 / Xue Gong (Han adviser)
薛公 / Xue Gong (Han adviser) enters the wiki through Hanji 187 as the former Chu chancellor/adviser whom 夏侯婴 consults after 英布 / 黥布 rebels. This page is intentionally distinct from 薛公 / Xue Gong, the Warring States Zhao worthy connected to 信陵君.
Xue Gong’s contribution is diagnostic. He tells Xiahou Ying that Ying Bu’s rebellion is predictable because 韩信, 彭越, and Ying Bu had comparable merit, while the first two are already dead. The answer turns the revolt into a structural reaction inside 异姓诸侯王猜忌 rather than an isolated personality event.
When 刘邦 summons him, Xue Gong maps upper, middle, and lower strategies for Ying Bu. The upper path would seize 吴郡, old Chu territory, Qi and Lu, then call Yan and Zhao; the middle path would combine eastern and western expansion with 敖仓 and 成皋 control; the lower path protects supply and seeks 长沙国 support without creating a broader anti-Han field.
Xue Gong predicts the lower path because he reads Ying Bu as a former 骊山 convict who has reached kingship but still thinks in short-range self-preservation terms. Liu Bang accepts the forecast, rewards Xue Gong with a thousand households, abolishes Ying Bu’s title, and appoints 刘长 to replace him in 淮南国.