Chapter 26 6. Liu Bei Wang Shu

Zhuge Liang successfully completed the mission of envoy to Soochow. Sun and Liu formed an alliance to reject Cao Cao in Chibi, and the Battle of Chibi ended in Cao Cao's defeat.After the Chibi War, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei divided Jingzhou into seven counties in total. Cao Cao occupied Nanyang County in the north and Xiangyang in the South County, Sun Quan occupied Jiangxia County in the east and Jiangling in the South County, and Liu Bei took Changsha in the south. , Guiyang, Lingling, Wuling. The Chibi War was the dividing line of the Three Kingdoms. Since then, the Cao, Sun, and Liu families have formed a tripartite situation.Apart from Jingzhou, the largest state at that time was Yizhou, which included present Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, part of Guizhou and Hanzhong.After Jingzhou was divided, Yizhou became the target of the three major groups, but the one who got Yizhou in the end was Liu Bei, who was the weakest.So, how did Liu Bei get Yizhou?

Sun Quan also planned to attack Yizhou at that time, and proposed to join forces with Liu Bei, but Liu Bei did not agree.Liu Bei said, now our number one enemy is Cao Cao, we should unite with Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang to fight against Cao Cao, instead of attacking Liu Zhang, Liu Zhang and I belong to the Liu family clan, we are as close as a family, you must fight Liu Zhang, then I had no choice but to go to the mountains and forests to become a hermit with my hair disheveled.Sun Quan didn't listen to the persuasion, and even made a gesture of attacking Shu, but Sun Quan had to pass through Liu Bei's territory to enter Shu, so Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang each led a force to guard the key areas of the Yangtze River.Sun Quan saw that this was too much to pass, and he had no choice but to give up.But Sun Quan didn't expect that Liu Bei stopped Sun Quan by saying one thing and doing another, but later entered Shu by himself.After Sun Quan heard the news, he scolded Liu Bei for being slippery and deceitful.

However, Liu Bei's entry into Shu was a coincidence. It can be said that a piece of pie fell from the sky and fell on his head.At that time, in order to force against Ma Chao and Han Sui, Cao Cao made rumors of attacking Zhang Lu. Zhang Lu's residence was close to Yizhou.When Cao Cao talked about beating Zhang Lu, Ma Chao and Han Sui were really nervous, and Liu Zhang in Yizhou was also afraid. Liu Zhang thought, Cao Cao should beat himself after beating Zhang Lu, what should we do?Just as he was panicking, one of his subordinates named Zhang Song ran to give him advice and said, don't worry, we can ask Liu Yuzhou to help.Liu Yuzhou is Cao Cao's deadly enemy and also your family. If Liu Yuzhou enters Hanzhong to beat Zhang Lu away, then he can guard this gate for us. Isn't that safe?As soon as Liu Zhang heard it, it made sense, so he sent Fa Zheng to lead his troops to meet Liu Bei.

Liu Yan was the earliest shepherd in Yizhou. After Liu Yan died, he was succeeded by his son Liu Zhang.Liu Zhang's character is kind and cowardly, and he doesn't have any ambitions. His greatest wish is to guard the three-acre land in Yizhou.His abilities were limited, and when he heard that Cao Cao was coming, he was worried that he would not be able to hold the one-third of an acre of land, so he naturally agreed with Zhang Song's idea. He planned to invite Liu Bei to fight Zhang Lu, and after beating Zhang Lu, he would give Liu Bei Zhang Lu's territory Hanzhong, which was not his own anyway.And once Liu Bei garrisoned troops in Hanzhong, it would be of great benefit to Liu Zhang.There are two groups in Yizhou, which are the Dongzhou Group brought by Liu Yan and the indigenous group in Yizhou. These two groups have fierce conflicts, and there have been two confrontations.What Liu Zhang is most worried about is not Cao Cao, but these people inside.He believes that Liu Bei and himself belong to the same family. Once Liu Bei garrisons in Hanzhong, he can guard against Cao Cao externally and deter the generals in Shuzhong internally.This is Liu Zhang's wishful thinking.

So why did Zhang Song actively propose to invite Liu Bei?In fact, this is also indirectly thanks to Cao Cao.Zhang Song, a native of Shu County, was "short-lived, dissolute and undisciplined, but knowledgeable and talented", he was a man of talent but no virtue, and he served as a boss under Liu Zhang, equivalent to the current Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee.Zhang Song was entrusted by Liu Zhang to go to Xuchang.According to the usual practice, the imperial court usually rewards the envoy with an official, and this official is not lower than the envoy's current position.But for some reason, Cao Cao didn't like Zhang Song, so he only recommended Zhang Song as a small county magistrate in Yizhou, which was much lower than Yizhou Biejia.Zhang Song hated Cao Cao ever since.Seeing that Liu Bei dared to challenge Cao Cao, he couldn't help admiring him, so he decided to sell Yizhou to Liu Bei.

The Jin people once commented on Cao Cao, saying: "In the past, Qi Huan once boasted of his merits and rebelled against the nine kingdoms. Don't hesitate!" If Cao Cao hadn't been proud and neglected Zhang Song, it wouldn't have led to three points in the world, and his ten years of hard work would have been in vain. Zhang Song has a good friend named Fazheng. Fazheng's character is Xiaozhi.Zhang Song told him his plan to sell Yizhou to Liu Bei, and the two hit it off. Liu Zhang listened to Zhang Song's words and sent Fazheng with four thousand troops to meet Liu Bei.After the news came out, some important ministers in Sichuan expressed their opposition, saying, "General Zuo is famous for being a hero." Liu Bei has always had a reputation as a hero. How will you treat him after you invite him here?If you treat him as a subordinate, he will definitely not do it; if you are on an equal footing with him, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.As a result, "the guest has the safety of Mount Tai, and the host has the danger of laying eggs", then we will be in danger.

But Liu Zhang had his own calculations, so he did not adopt their opinions.So Fazheng came to Jingzhou. As soon as Fazheng came, Liu Bei "accepted him with kindness and showed great hospitality", and entertained Fazheng very thoughtfully.Fazheng saw that Liu Bei was indeed a hero, so he offered advice to Liu Bei: "Use the talents of General Ming to take advantage of Liu Mu's cowardice; ) The dangers of Tianfu, if you make a career with this, it’s like turning your back." General, you are a hero, Liu Zhang is a cowardly and incompetent person, and now Zhang Song is supporting you inside, and you can take Yizhou over.

After Liu Bei heard this, he hesitated at first, and Pang Tong came to persuade him.Pang Tong is the "Phoenix Young" who is as famous as Zhuge Liang. He was cast under Liu Bei when Liu Bei borrowed Jingzhou.Pang Tong said that after the war, Jingzhou was barren and ruined, and the population was lost. Now there is Sun Quan in the east and Cao Cao in the north. It may not be so easy to become a tripartite.Yizhou is rich and strong, with millions of households and fertile land. If we can take this as the foundation, we will surely achieve great things. Liu Bei was still very worried. He said, you know, Cao Cao is the one who is on the same level as me in the world now, and I do things against Cao Cao in every way.Cao Cao is eager, and I will be lenient; Cao Cao is cruel, and I will be kind; Cao Cao is treacherous, and I will be loyal.Contrary to him everywhere, my things can be done.Now that Liu Zhang is my family, he asked me to take care of his home, but I took the opportunity to rob him of his territory. Isn't that good?

Although Liu Bei got the four counties in the south of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou, he was sandwiched between Sun Quan and Cao Cao, and his situation was not optimistic. If he wanted to strengthen himself, he had to seize this opportunity and develop westward.Therefore, it is false that Liu Bei does not want to take Yizhou, but Liu Bei's worries are also very real.Liu Bei relied on a signboard with the word "benevolence" to win the world. Now that he is a perfidy and smashes this signboard, how can he win the trust of the world? Pang Tong continued to analyze with him, saying that things in the world should not be too rigid, and should be analyzed in specific situations, and should not be too rigid.Liu Zhang will definitely not be able to keep this territory. If you don't take it, someone else will take it, and then it will be cheaper for others.Besides, after we take Shu County, we can make Liu Zhang a high-ranking official, which is not considered a breach of trust.

Of course, what Pang Tong said is the logic of robbers. If they occupy other people's land, how can they be compensated by entrusting them with an organ.But what he said made sense. If Liu Bei didn't take this territory, Cao Cao and Sun Quan would take it sooner or later. Pang Tong's words finally dispelled Liu Bei's doubts.In December of the sixteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei ordered Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei to guard Jingzhou, and he and Pang Tong led troops into Shu.Since Liu Zhang had already ordered to enshrine along the way, Liu Bei had the green light all the way, and he felt at home without any hindrance.

When he arrived in Fucheng, which is today's Mianyang, Liu Zhang came from Chengdu to meet Liu Bei. He gave Liu Bei a large number of troops and a lot of money, and then asked Liu Bei to fight Zhang Lu. Will Liu Bei listen to him and beat Zhang Lu?of course not.At this time, Pang Tong and Fazheng suggested to Liu Bei to kill Liu Zhang at the banquet.Liu Bei refused. We have just arrived and have not yet won the hearts of the people. It is not appropriate to do so. But if you eat someone else's food, take someone else's money, don't work for them, but want to rob someone else's house, you have to find an excuse, right?From Fucheng to Jianmeng, which is the stop before Yangping where Zhang Lu is located, Liu Bei stopped. He had to win people's hearts here while waiting for an opportunity. God really treated Liu Bei kindly, waiting for the opportunity, and the opportunity came.In the seventeenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao used troops against Soochow, and Sun Quan wrote to Liu Bei for help.Liu Bei saw that this was a good opportunity to break the deadlock, so he wrote a letter to Liu Zhang, saying that Zhang Lu would not be able to achieve anything, and he should not be taken seriously.Sun Quan and I are a combat alliance, and we are as close as a family.Now that he is in trouble, I can't sit idly by. Now I ask the general to give me another 10,000 people, and I will go to rescue Sun Quan. Liu Bei ate and drank, but he didn't do his work. Before he left, he asked his master for another 10,000 soldiers and horses.Liu Zhang didn't give 10,000, but gave 5,000 people at a discount.When Liu Bei saw it, he became angry, and said to everyone, "Look, you see, I have worked so hard to conquer powerful enemies for Liu Zhang, but Liu Zhang is still reluctant to give me soldiers and horses." If this reason is a bit far-fetched, the other reason is much more sufficient.When Zhang Song was in Chengdu, when he heard that Liu Bei was going to leave, he didn't know what was going on, so he wrote a letter to dissuade Liu Bei. Now that the big event is about to succeed, why did you leave just like that?This letter was discovered by Zhang Song's elder brother Zhang Su, who reported his younger brother.It was only then that Liu Zhang realized that Zhang Song was a foodie, and in a fit of rage, he killed Zhang Song. This was tantamount to giving Liu Bei an excuse. As soon as the news of Zhang Song's killing came, he immediately killed Liu Zhang's guard in Baishui, and then turned around to attack Fucheng.In the nineteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu to stay in Jingzhou, and Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun led troops into Shu and besieged Chengdu.At this time, Ma Chao also came to join Liu Bei after losing the battle with Cao Cao. People from all walks of life came from all over and surrounded Chengdu like an iron barrel.Liu Zhang's subordinates gave him a trick to fortify the wall and clear the country, asking him to move the surrounding people away, burn all the grain and crops in the field, and cut off Liu Bei's food supply.This is indeed an effective idea. When the news came, Liu Bei was very worried and asked Fazheng what to do.Fazheng said, don't worry, Liu Zhang will not adopt this idea.Sure enough, Liu Zhang angrily said to the person who proposed the idea, I only heard that a magistrate should protect the environment and the people, but I have never heard that the people should bear the responsibility for the war.It can be seen from these words that Liu Zhang is indeed a benevolent and righteous person who cares about the people.However, in the era when tigers and wolves were rampant like the Three Kingdoms, benevolence and righteousness alone were far from enough. To survive, one must make oneself stronger. This is where Liu Bei is better than Liu Zhang. As a result, Liu Bei was spared the worry of lack of food and grass. He surrounded Chengdu with no way out, and then sent someone to persuade Liu Zhang to surrender.Liu Zhang saw that there was no way out now, so he sighed and said: Our father and son have been in Yizhou for many years, and we have no kindness to the people at all. On the contrary, we have to let the people suffer from the war. Surrender. In the nineteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Zhang left Chengdu and was placed in Gong'an County.Liu Bei finally obtained Yizhou, which is in a dangerous situation and rich in products. From then on, he can advance and retreat freely, and cope with it freely.However, just as Liu Bei was reveling in victory, Jingzhou was about to face annihilation. Later generations criticized Liu Bei's attack on Yizhou.From the usual moral point of view, Liu Bei's move violated his faith. However, from another perspective, in the era of war and chaos, there is no master in the world, and whoever has the ability will get it.Liu Beizhi is in the world. If he does not take Yizhou, the cowardly Liu Zhang will not be able to defend Yizhou. Sooner or later, Yizhou will fall into the hands of Cao Cao or Sun Quan. Therefore, this is what God wants to give. If you don’t take it, you will be humiliated instead. .Liu Bei also had struggles in his heart, but he didn't stick to the small things when doing big things. Some principles need to be adhered to, and some principles need to be sacrificed.This may be the reason why Xiongxiong is Xiongxiong, which is different from ordinary people.