Speaking of Liu Bei's benevolence and righteousness, anyone who has read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms knows that it should start with the Three Oaths in Taoyuan. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Yellow Scarf Army revolted, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was in danger. The imperial court recruited troops all over the country to suppress the rebellion. Liu Bei was originally a right-hand man who knitted mats and sold shoes. He met Guan Yu and Zhang Fei by chance in Zhuozhou City. Coincidentally, I became sworn in Taoyuan, and the picture is rich! In the next war to suppress the Yellow Scarf Army and crusade against Dong Zhuo, Liu Guan and Zhang San appeared.
Although they are famous in the society, they have no real right to develop the site, and the three brothers have been living a wandering life. First, when Tao Qian was alive, he entrusted Xuzhou to Liu Bei several times, but Liu Beining refused to comply. After Tao Qian's death, he temporarily took charge of Xuzhou. In a short period of one year, he sincerely treated corrupt officials, developed production, and let the people in six counties in Xuzhou live a peaceful life. So it is deeply loved by Xuzhou people. After Cao Cao's first attack on Xuzhou, it was recorded in the Book of Peoples given to Cao Cao by the representative of Xuzhou squire. Prove that Liu Bei is indeed the king of benevolence and righteousness, and he manages the place well.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Cao Cao captured Xuzhou for the second time, and Liu Bei fled to Yuan Shao camp. Since then, there have been classic fragments such as Guan Yu riding a thousand miles alone, crossing five customs and beheading six generals, and meeting the ancient city. After Yuan Shao's defeat, he took refuge in Jingzhou Liu Biao and stationed in Xinye. When Liu Biao was seriously ill, he entrusted Jingzhou to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei declined in the name of benevolence and righteousness. Before Cao Cao went south to Chibi, he prepared to destroy Liu Bei. As a result, Liu Bei heard the news and fled ahead of time. The problem is that the people of Xinye are willing to flee with Liu Bei, and there is a story about "Liu Xuande and his people crossed the river and rode the savior alone in Zhao Zilong". Liu Beilian can live without his wife and children and escape with the people, which is also considered benevolence and righteousness.
At that time, during the separatist regime, Liu Bei, with his strong personality charm, made his men fight for the country, but only Liu Bei's army could tell many stories, such as "Changbanpo War, riding a thousand miles alone, Gu Chenghui". Compared with other concentration camps, there are more or less traitors here. The most surprising thing is that this "Wei Daxia" finally deviated from Cao Cao in the ban. The author sincerely laments that Liu Bei, who has always been in a weak position, can always rely on his personal charm. At the same time, with his personal charm, he won the assistance of Zhang Song, Fazheng and others in Yizhou, won Yizhou and became one of the three major forces in the world.
Died in a foreign land because of benevolence and righteousness
Mr. Shui Jing said: The young dragon and the young phoenix, one of them, can settle the world. But why didn't Liu Bei win the world? Because Liu Bei didn't listen to their suggestions in several key places:
When Liu Xuande and his men crossed the river, Liu Biao forgot that Liu Cong surrendered without a fight. Zhuge Liang suggested that Liu Bei attack Xiangyang, but Liu Bei could not bear to draw charcoal on the people and gave up this great opportunity. No sooner had Liu Bei entered Sichuan than Liu Zhang came to handle affairs. Pang Tong suggested that' Liu Bei won Liu Zhang on the spot in the camp, but Liu Bei didn't listen. When Pang Shiyuan put forward the middle and lower three strategies, Liu Bei chose the middle strategy instead of the best for the sake of so-called benevolence and righteousness, which laid the groundwork for Pang Tong's death. After Guan Yu's death, Liu Bei punished the state of Wu for the sake of benevolence and righteousness, regardless of Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun's hard persuasion. As a result, the defeat came back, which dealt a great blow to the newly established Shu State. Later, after Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liu went out of Qishan just to do his best, and there was no way. Throughout Liu Bei's life, it can be said that it is also righteousness, and defeat is also righteousness.
First: the battle of Jingzhou
Jingzhou has always been a battleground for military strategists. Before Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei had never had his own base, so he lived under Liu Biao's account in Jingzhou. Liu Biao was critically ill at that time. On one occasion, Liu Biao called Liu Bei to discuss this matter. Before he left, Zhuge Liang admonished Liu Bei. If Liu Biao wants to entrust Jingzhou to him, don't refuse. In Zhuge Liang's view, this is a godsend. As long as Jingzhou is available, based on this, the north resists Cao Cao and the east defends it. During the negotiation, Liu Biao wanted to entrust Jingzhou to Liu Bei, but Liu Bei thought that Liu Biao was unkind and unjust in treating him like a brother and taking his brother's land, so he refused. Zhuge Liang can only shake his head and sigh.
Of course, whether Liu Biao really entrusted Jingzhou to Liu Bei on his deathbed remains to be discussed. After all, this is just a joke in romance. However, Liu Bei's second fall to Jingzhou did exist in history. Bowangpo and Xinye were burned, and when Fancheng retreated, Liu Bei crossed Jingzhou with hundreds of soldiers and civilians. Zhuge Liang once again remonstrated with Liu Bei to attack Liu Cong, and Jingzhou was possible. At this time, Liu Biao was dead, the second son, Liu Cong, was autocratic, and the people inside were floating, while Cao Cao was outside Enemy at the Gates, and Jingzhou was numerous.
The impact of missing Jingzhou this time is immeasurable. Tens of thousands of people gained the trench for Cao Jun. Liu Bei lost his wife and children and fled to Xiakou to settle with the people. After Battle of Red Cliffs, Zhuge Liang adopted a series of strategies to seize Nanjun and "borrowed" Jingzhou from Cao Cao and Sun Wu. Since then, Jingzhou has become the focus of competition between Shu and Wu. Sun Quan sent envoys to Jingzhou several times. Later, when he planned to kill Guan Yu and recapture Jingzhou, Sun and Liu Lian finally turned against each other, and Liu Bei's Shu could only retreat to the southwest corner. Therefore, if Liu Bei had listened to Zhuge Liang's advice before Battle of Red Cliffs and won Jingzhou earlier, he would not have been so passive in the situation of the Three Kingdoms and the Sun-Liu Alliance. Therefore, the author thinks that Battle of Red Cliffs's failure to win Jingzhou is a major strategic mistake of Liu Bei.
Second: the battle of Yizhou
After Battle of Red Cliffs, the contradiction between Sun and Liu intensified. Liu Bei decided to temporarily borrow Jingzhou to recharge his batteries. Wu Dong of Lord Lu Su should not be an enemy of Liu Bei, so he decided to lend Jingzhou to Liu Bei so that he could resist Cao Cao's army in the north. Wu Dong can also take this opportunity to clean up his own army and lay a foundation for future development, which can also comfort Liu Bei. Sun Quan agreed.
Of course, it is not a long-term solution for Liu Bei to borrow other people's places, so he decided to develop Yizhou. But at that time, Yizhou was really in Liu Zhang's hands. Just then, Liu Zhang of Yizhou sent someone to let Liu Bei come to Yizhou. Later, I learned that this was suggested by two counselors under Liu Zhang, one was Fa Zheng and the other was Zhang Song. The two counselors knew that Liu Zhang's life was not long, so they privately decided to find a reliable master to manage Yizhou. After Fazheng came to Jingzhou, Liu Bei warmly entertained him, had good wine and meat, and discussed his own world plans with him. They had a particularly harmonious talk. After Fazheng returned to Yizhou, he discussed with Zhang Song privately and decided to give Yizhou to Liu Bei.
No sooner had Liu Bei entered Sichuan than Liu Zhang came to handle affairs. Pang Tong suggested that' Liu Bei won Liu Zhang on the spot in the camp, but Liu Bei didn't listen. When Pang Shiyuan put forward the middle and lower three strategies, Liu Bei chose the middle strategy instead of the best for the sake of so-called benevolence and righteousness, which laid the groundwork for Pang Tong's death.
Third: The Battle of Yiling
This is a famous battle of the Three Kingdoms, and it is also the biggest failure of Liu Bei's life! The warring parties are Shu and Wu, which symbolizes the complete breakdown of the Sun-Liu alliance. At that time, after Wu killed Guan Yu and recaptured Jingzhou, Liu Bei pre-levied Soochow to avenge his second brother and recapture Jingzhou. When the whole country conquered Dongwu, Zhuge Liang and other officials tried to persuade them that this was not the right time to conquer Dongwu, but Liu Bei went his own way and Zhang Fei was killed by his men at this time, which strengthened Liu Bei's determination to conquer Dongwu immediately.
As we all know, the result of this battle was Liu Bei's great defeat, which seriously hurt the vitality of Shu. Since then, it has never recovered. Until Shu was destroyed, it could only settle in the southwest corner, and Shu also lost the capital to compete for the world. After this war, Liu Bei never returned to Chengdu and died in Yong 'an. Perhaps he consciously ignored the advice of ministers and was ashamed to go back to Chengdu. After the national strength of Shu suffered heavy losses in this war, Zhuge Liang later made several northern expeditions and expanded the base areas, but ended in failure. Therefore, the battle of Yiling had a great influence on the history of Shu.
To sum up, the author thinks that Liu Bei missed the opportunity three times in the wars of Jingzhou, Yizhou and Yiling, and did not listen to the advice of Zhuge Liang and his ministers. In fact, Liu Bei made two major strategic mistakes in his life, which led to his failure to fulfill his desire to help the Han Dynasty all his life. Three lost Opportunity is the slogan of benevolence and righteousness advertised by Liu Bei all his life. It is said that success is also benevolence, and failure is also benevolence!