4.

On March 19, Chen Zhonghou Cao Ren passed away.

5.

At first, Huang Yuan, the prefect of Hanjia in the Shu Han Dynasty, heard that Liu Bei was seriously ill because Zhuge Liang did not like him. He was worried that Zhuge Liang would be unfavorable to him after Liu Bei's death, so he raised the county They rebelled and burned the city of Linqiong. At that time, Zhuge Liang was traveling east to visit a doctor. Chengdu was empty, and Huang Yuan was even more unscrupulous. Yang Hong, who was engaged in the governance of Yizhou, reported to Prince Liu Chan and sent generals Chen Hu and Zheng Chuo to attack Huang Yuan. The meeting held that if Huang Yuan could not encircle Chengdu, he would go south from Yuexun (juan) and occupy Nanzhong. Yang Hong said: "Huang Yuan has always been violent and has no faith in others. How could he have such insight? He just went eastward with the current, hoping that the Lord would be safe, tied himself up, and handed it over to the Lord. If something happens again We only need to instruct Chen Hu and Zheng Chuo to intercept him at the entrance of Nan'an Gorge and capture him. "Huang Yuan's army was defeated, and he went east along the river and was captured alive by Chen Hu and Zheng Chuo.

6.

The leader of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, was seriously ill and ordered Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to assist the prince, with Shangshu Li Yan as his deputy. Liu Bei said to Zhuge Liang: "You are ten times more talented than Cao Pi, and you will definitely be able to do it." If the heir is able to assist, you can assist him; if he is ineffective, you can replace him." (Hu Sansheng's note: Since ancient times, no one has such a clear understanding of Tuogu.) Zhuge Liang cried and said: "My minister. Dare to exert all your strength and be loyal to chastity until death!" Liu Bei then issued an edict to the prince, saying: "You are not considered dead at the age of fifty. I am already over sixty, and I die without regrets. I just miss you. Just encourage me, brother! Don’t do evil things because they are small, and do not do things because they are small things! Only virtue can convince others. Your father and I are too weak to follow my example. You must serve him as you serve your father."

On Guisi Day in April (there is no such day in April), Liu Bei died in Yong'an, with his posthumous name Zhaolie. (He died at the age of sixty-three.)

Zhuge Liang returned to Chengdu in mourning, with Li Yan as the central protector, and stayed in Yong'an.

Hua Shan said:

After Liu Bei passed away, he left behind a famous saying: "Don't do evil because it's small, don't do good because it's small!" The truth behind this is "Expand and amplify", evil will expand and amplify, so-called stealing needles when you are young, and stealing gold when you grow up. Goodness will also be expanded and magnified, which is Mencius's "four principles theory": "The heart of compassion is the root of benevolence; the heart of shame and evil is the root of righteousness; the heart of resignation is the root of propriety; the heart of right and wrong is the root of wisdom." If you grasp your own good qualities, expand them, and nourish your four bodies, you can fill the world from the inside out and achieve benevolence, justice, etiquette, and wisdom.

The same is true for cultivating moral character, and the same is true for running a business. You must not "grasp the big and let go of the small". Whether a thing is big or small is just because of the length of time you look at it. Big things should be left for a longer time. Look, it may not be a big thing, it may be a bad thing like drinking poison to quench thirst; if you persist in small things for a long time, you can achieve success in life.

Wang Fuzhi said:

When talking about the friendship between monarch and ministers, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are the first to be mentioned. However, when Liu Bei was attacking Wu, Zhuge Liang said: "If the law is upright, we will be able to stop the Lord from going eastward." It can be seen that can Liu Bei listen to Zhuge Liang's opinion? How sad! Zhuge Liang's great painstaking efforts were not understood by the people at the time, but he was only willing to die, and he would regret it forever. Isn't it also a tragedy that he died?

Zhuge Liang’s heart is to preserve Han and destroy Cao. If they do not unite with Soochow, they will be internally controlled by Wu and the Northern Expedition will fail. Only Lu Su understood this mood, and Sun Quan also knew it. However, Liu Bei's ambition was different. Liu Bei wanted to strengthen himself from the beginning and then become king himself. His ambition was just in line with Guan Yu's. Therefore, his trust in Zhuge Liang is not as good as his trust in Guan Yu; it is not as good as Sun Quan's trust in Zhou Yu. He suspected that Zhuge Liang had too close ties with the state of Wu, and suspected that he had joined forces with Zhuge Jin. If the alliance between Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jin is beneficial to the Han Dynasty, what is there to doubt? Moreover, Zhuge Liang used Wu Zhi's deep heart, how could he make rash speculations!

As long as Liu Bei is not dead, Wu's troubles will continue, and Qishan's army will not be able to leave.

After the defeat of Xiaoting, Liu Bei died, and all the elites of the country were destroyed in Yiling. Veteran generals such as Zhao Yun and others who were like-minded to Zhuge Liang also died. Zhuge Liang gathered his exhausted remaining soldiers and served the foolish and dark young master to move north. Nothing can be done. So he said: "Dedicate yourself to death and die." You can only forget yourself to achieve your ambition, and you no longer care about success or failure.

If Liu Bei can trust Zhuge Liang as much as he trusts Guan Yu, listen to Zhao Yun's words, stop the Eastern Expedition, take advantage of Cao Pi's initial usurpation, and unite Wu with the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, then his military strength will still be intact. The morale is still strong, even if they can't succeed, the blood of heroes will at least be spilled in Xuchang and Luoyang, why should it be shed in Xiaoting? Zhuge Liang said: "Hans and thieves are incompatible." What a sad statement! As for Liu Bei, I'm afraid he doesn't have such heartache about the clan's survival!

Chen Shou (historian and minister of Shu Han and Western Jin Dynasty) said:

The first master Liu Bei was generous and generous, knew people and treated them well, had the style of the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and was a hero. The whole country is entrusted to Zhuge Liang, but his mind is clear, and he is sincere to the emperor and his ministers. This is a prosperous track in ancient and modern times. His power and strategy are not as good as those of Cao Cao, so his base is also narrow. But he was unyielding and never felt inferior to Cao Cao. He also guessed that Cao Cao's magnanimity would definitely not tolerate him, so he was not just trying to gain profit, but also to avoid harm.

Hua Shan said:

Wang Fuzhi and Chen Shou had different evaluations of Liu Bei. I agree more with Wang Fuzhi's assessment. However, Chen Shou thought too well of Liu Bei, and Wang Fuzhi glorified Zhuge Liang too much. Whether Zhuge Liang wants to help the Han Dynasty or assist Liu Bei to achieve the "Guangwu Zhongxing" and establish the "Third Han Dynasty", I think it is of course the latter.

If Liu Bei had allowed Zhuge Liang to guard Jingzhou, he would not have made Guan Yu's mistake. With the Wu-Shu alliance, Cao Pi might not dare to claim the throne, and history would be rewritten. Therefore, what changes history is the decision of one or two people, and there is no "historical inevitability".

After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang did as Wang Euzhi said, forgetting himself to fulfill his ambition and insisting on the Northern Expedition, regardless of the result. From this point of view, doing something even though he knew it couldn't be done was also Zhuge Liang's mistake. Why? A person or a thing must never "never give up". Give up when it's time to give up. "Never give up" means not thinking about the next generation. Zhuge Liang should "cultivate the Tao and protect the law", make every effort to train the next generation, cultivate new leaders, and leave the problems to the next generation to solve.

So, Zhuge Liang's "die after death" is the same as Ma Yuan's "horse-leather shroud". Someone has to be buried, and there is no consideration for future generations. Leaders have great responsibilities, not only in the current generation, but also in future generations, and they cannot be willful.