Chapter 37 Chapter 36 Zhao Lie Emperor Liu Bei

Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande, was born in Zhuo County, Zhuo County. He was a descendant of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan, the son of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.Both Liu Bei's grandfather and father were officials in prefectures and counties.However, due to his father's early death, Liu Bei lived with his mother since he was a child. His family was poor, and he made a living by selling shoes and weaving mats. Liu Bei had great ambitions since he was a child.He once played with the children of the same clan under the big mulberry tree. Liu Bei said: "In the future, I will definitely take the emperor's chariot with a real canopy."

The Yellow Turban Uprising broke out in the seventh year of Emperor Guanghe of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 184), which provided Liu Bei with an opportunity to develop his power.At that time, the imperial court of the Eastern Han Dynasty sent a large army to suppress the rebel army, and warlords from all over the country also recruited troops one after another to seize territory and expand their strength in the name of suppressing the rebel army.Liu Bei also took the opportunity to pull up a team of countrymen and joined the ranks of suppressing the uprising army.At this time, Guan Yu from Jiexian County (now Yuncheng, Shanxi) and Zhang Fei from the same county also came to join Liu Bei.Liu Bei regarded Guan and Zhang as his right-hand men, and the three were inseparable, sleeping in the same bed at night, as close as brothers.Liu Bei was appointed as a lieutenant of Anxi County (now east of Ding County, Hebei Province) by the imperial court for his "meritorious service" in suppressing the rebel army.

Soon, the imperial court issued an edict to assess the officials who were promoted and appointed due to military merits, and if they were incompetent, they would be eliminated.The prefect of Zhuojun sent postal supervisors to inspect the counties and inspect the officials.Duyou came to Anxi and wanted to dismiss Liu Bei because he didn't give a bribe.Liu Bei was very angry when he heard that he was going to be dismissed.He returned to his official office, led a group of officials and soldiers, rushed to Duyou's residence, and shouted: "I have received a secret order from the prefect to arrest Duyou!" He led his men and horses to go out.When he was about to leave the county boundary, Liu Bei tied Duyou to a tree and beat him with a horsewhip for more than a hundred times. He was still not relieved, and wanted to kill him.Liu Bei hung his official seal and ribbon around Duyou's neck, and led the crowd to abandon the official position and leave.

Later, Liu Bei defected to his old classmate and friend, Gongsun Zan, the warlord of Youzhou. Zan asked him to serve as the county magistrate of Pingyuan, and soon he became the prime minister of Pingyuan.At that time, the world was in chaos, the people were hungry and cold, and they were displaced. Many talented people were also forced to abandon their homes and become displaced.Although Liu Bei's official position is not high, he can defend against invaders externally and gather food internally. For some people who have no shelter for the time being, Liu Bei sits with them at the same table and eats with them.Therefore, he was very popular among the people, and people from all walks of life came to join him.

At this time, warlords from all over the country are fighting in the Central Plains.Yuan Shao attacked Gongsun Zan, and Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou Mu Taoqian.Tao Qian sent someone to report to Gongsun Zan, and Gongsun Zan sent Liu Bei to Xuzhou (now the southeastern part of northern Jiangsu) to rescue Tao Qian.At this time, Liu Bei had more than a thousand soldiers and thousands of hungry people.Tao Qian saw that Liu Bei's troops were not many, so he gave him 4,000 soldiers, and designated Liu Bei as the governor of Yuzhou (now eastern Henan and northern Anhui) and stationed in Xiaopei (now Jiangsu Peixian).Later, Tao Qian was seriously ill, and when he was dying, he said to his subordinate Mi Zhu, "No one can make Xuzhou stable except Liu Bei." As soon as Tao Qian died, Mi Zhu led people from Xuzhou to Xiaopei to meet Liu Bei.Liu Bei gave way again and again, and finally took over Xuzhou, becoming one of the great warlords for the first time.Liu Bei occupied Xuzhou, and Yuan Shu, who was near Shouchun (now Shou County, Anhui), was very dissatisfied and sent troops to attack Liu Bei.Liu Bei and Yuan Jun were in a stalemate, and Yuan Shu colluded with Lv Bu and ordered Lv Bu to attack Liu Bei's rear Xiapi (now northwest of Suining, Jiangsu).This Lu Bu was an old friend with Liu Bei, he was named Fengxian, he was very powerful, he was skilled in bow and horse, and he had the courage that a man should not do, so he was called Flying General.He was also handsome and talented, and he rode a red rabbit horse that traveled thousands of miles a day. People said: "There is Lu Bu among men, and a red rabbit among horses." But Lu Bu was brave and unpredictable, and he was just a warrior.He attached himself to Ding Yuan at first, and later killed Ding Yuan and attached himself to Dong Zhuo, worshiping Dong Zhuo as his foster father.Later, he personally killed Dong Zhuo to support himself.Because he was violent and had no good strategy, he was defeated soon and attached himself to Liu Bei.Lu Bu asked Liu Bei to sit by his wife's bed, and asked his wife to visit him.He also ordered people to prepare wine and food, and drink freely with Liu Bei.During the banquet, Lu Bu uttered wild words, calling Liu Bei his younger brother.Liu Bei knew that Lu Bu was capricious, and when he saw him speak rudely, he was calm on the surface but disgusted in his heart.Later, Lu Bu gathered the rest of the people and led his troops to him.Now that Lv Bu saw that it was advantageous, he disregarded his former friendship and attacked Xiapi.Cao Bao, Tao Qian's old general, was at odds with Zhang Fei, who was in charge of Xiapi. When he heard that Zhang Fei was going to kill him, he recruited Lu Bu, and the whole city rebelled.Lü Bu seized the opportunity to attack Xiapi, Zhang Fei was defeated, and Lü Bu captured Liu Bei's wife and family.When Liu Bei heard that the rear was lost, he hurried back with his troops, but was intercepted by Lu Bu, and the soldiers broke up. Liu Bei had no choice but to surrender and temporarily attached himself to Lu Bu.Lu Bu was overjoyed, so he called himself the governor of Xuzhou, returned Liu Bei's family, and sent Liu Bei to Xiaopei.

Liu Bei returned to Xiaopei, and the number of soldiers gradually increased to more than ten thousand.This aroused Lu Bu's uneasiness and jealousy. Lu Bu personally led troops to attack Liu Bei. Liu Bei was forced to fight, but was defeated immediately and had to go to Cao Cao.Cao Cao recommended Liu Bei as the shepherd of Yuzhou.Therefore, Liu Bei was called Liu Yuzhou in history.Although this is a false title, it brought Liu Bei prestige.Cao Cao gave Liu Bei a lot of soldiers and rations, and asked him to go to Xiaopei to gather the rest and attack Lu Bu.Lu Bu sent General Gao Shun to attack Liu Bei.Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun to rescue, but Gao Shun defeated them all, and took Liu Bei's wife away.So Cao Cao personally led the army to capture Lu Bu.Lü Bu begged Cao Cao for forgiveness and said, "Dr. Cao is only afraid of Lü Bu. Now that I have surrendered, the world need not worry. You command the infantry, and I will help you command the cavalry. Why worry about the world's unrest?" Cao Cao was also a little moved.Liu Bei said, "Have you forgotten, Mr. Cao, how Lu Bu served Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo?" Cao Cao nodded in agreement, and hanged Lu Bu.After the victory of Cao Jun, Liu Bei followed Cao Cao to Xuchang (now east of Xuchang, Henan), and Cao Cao elected Liu Bei as the left general.

Xuchang was dilapidated at first, but since Cao Cao hijacked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty in the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), as the capital, it has gradually taken shape.Soon after Liu Bei came to Xuchang, he felt a tense atmosphere.It turned out that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and his father-in-law Dong Cheng, a chariot general, were conspiring with generals Wu Zilan, Wang Zifu and others to kill Cao Cao because they were dissatisfied with Cao Cao's monopoly.These people were very happy when they heard that Liu Bei had come to Xuchang. They found an opportunity and invited Liu Bei to have a secret talk. Shou Zhao.

But Liu Bei was extremely cautious. Although Cao Cao treated Liu Bei kindly and respected him superficially, when he went out to ride in the same car, and lived in the same seat, he was actually very worried and often sent people to monitor him.Liu Bei knew that Cao Cao was wary of him, so he lived in seclusion, thanked guests behind closed doors, and did not participate in other people's activities.Sometimes, Liu Bei was still digging the ground to plant vegetables in the yard, watering and catching insects, enjoying it tirelessly, looking leisurely and content with no ambitions.Once, Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to drink and talk about the heroes of the world.Liu Bei said: "Perhaps Yuan Shao is a hero!" Cao Cao smiled calmly and said to Liu Bei: "Now the only heroes in the world are you and me. Yuan Shao and his like are not heroes." Liu Bei heard Cao Cao call himself a hero. , mistakenly thought that the conspiracy had been leaked, and was taken aback, and the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground in shock.Coincidentally, there was a burst of thunder in the sky at this time, Liu Bei had an idea, leaned over to pick up the chopsticks, and said to Cao Cao calmly: "The sage said: 'Thunderstorms and strong winds will make people panic and change their colors'. This is really reasonable. , the power of Lei Zhen, I never thought it would be so powerful!" He skillfully covered up his own negligence.Cao Cao was so smart that he didn't even feel any doubt.

Liu Bei and others also knew that Cao Cao could not tolerate him for a long time, and would kill him sooner or later, so they also made secret preparations.Coincidentally, because Yuan Shu was defeated by Cao Jun, he wanted to go north to join his brother Yuan Shao via Xuzhou.Cao Cao didn't want them to join forces, and prepared to send troops to intercept.Liu Bei took the opportunity to ask to go.Cao Cao agreed casually without thinking about it, and Liu Bei immediately separated his troops from Cao Cao.When Guo Jia, Cheng Yu and others heard about this, they hurriedly came to see Cao Cao, and said loudly, "My lord, don't let Liu Bei go out! Liu Bei will definitely rebel and rebel after he goes out!" Cao Cao regretted it and immediately sent people to chase Liu Bei, but Liu Bei Has gone without a trace.

As soon as Liu Bei arrived in Xuzhou, he attacked and killed Che Zhou, the governor of Xuzhou, and made public the imperial edict to punish Cao Cao, and publicly raised the banner of anti-Cao.Several nearby counties also betrayed Cao Cao and surrendered to Liu Bei.Cao Cao reacted immediately and immediately sent troops to attack Liu Bei, but failed to win. In the fifth year of Jian'an (AD 200), Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Dong Cheng and others' plan to murder Cao Cao was leaked, and Cao Cao killed them all.Cao Cao was very annoyed when he heard that Liu Bei had also participated in the incident.He decided to personally lead troops to conquer Liu Bei.

Liu Bei thought that Cao Cao was trying his best to deal with Yuan Shao, and he would not lead the troops himself, so he was unprepared.Hearing that Cao Cao had come, he didn't quite believe it, so he personally led dozens of cavalry out to observe.Seeing the dust and fog in the distance, and the flags covering the sun, he was shocked, thinking that he had no strength to resist, so he ordered to retreat and defected to Yuan Shao.His wife was too late to escape and was captured by Cao Cao again.Guan Yu, who was guarding Xiapi, could not withstand the fierce attack of Cao Jun and had to surrender. Yuan Shao heard that Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and came to join him. He was very happy, thinking that he had added another helper against Cao Cao, and immediately sent troops to meet him. More than a month later, Liu Bei's lost troops gradually gathered, and their strength gradually recovered. Relying on his superior force, Yuan Shao continued to attack Cao Cao, and held a stalemate with Cao Jun at Guandu (near Zhongmou County, Henan today).Yuan Shao sent Liu Bei to lead his troops to attack Cao Cao's rear.At this time, Guan Yu left Cao Cao and fled back to Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei also returned.Liu Bei was very happy to see Generals Guan and Zhang returning, so he led his army to attack Xuchang.Later, hearing that Yuan Shao's entire army was defeated at Guandu, Liu Bei went south and defected to Liu Biao, the prefect of Jingzhou. Liu Biao was always scheming, and although he had 100,000 soldiers, he did nothing.Seeing Liu Bei coming to join him, he was very polite on the surface, but very suspicious in his heart.He asked Liu Bei to station in Xinye (now Xinye, Henan) to prevent Cao Jun from going south. For a long time, Liu Bei had no fixed territory, and often depended on others, successively attached to Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and others, traveling around, wandering around, very embarrassed.Xuzhou gained and lost twice, and the north-south campaign failed one after another.The main reason is that Liu Bei is not strong enough to compete with the powerful warlord Cao Cao and others. Moreover, Liu Bei knows that although he has several strong generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he lacks outstanding military advisors.Therefore, Liu Bei longed for talented people to assist him. Later, Xu Shu came to join Liu Bei.Liu Bei valued Xu Shu very much, and asked Xu Shu to recommend another sage.Xu Shu said: "Zhuge Liang, Mr. Wolong, my lord, would you like to see him?" When Liu Bei heard about Zhuge Liang, he hurriedly said, "Yes, yes! Please invite him!" Xu Shu said: "This person can go to visit, but not to invite him." He came here aggrieved, and asked the lord to condescend to visit him." After Liu Bei inquired about Zhuge Liang's residence, he led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other entourages to visit. They came to a hut, and after questioning, they found out that Zhuge Liang had not returned.Guan and Zhang were slightly depressed, but Liu Bei was not bitter.The second time, Liu Bei and others made a special trip to visit Zhuge Liang, but they did not see him again.Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others were quite dissatisfied, but Liu Bei said to them: "I haven't seen you this time, come again next time." Guan and Zhang were even more unhappy, and they kept mumbling.For the third time, Liu Bei finally met Zhuge Liang. This is the famous "Three Visits to Thatched Cottage", which has always been passed down as a good story about Lixian Corporal.Zhuge Liang was greatly moved by Liu Bei's visits to the thatched cottage with sincerity.The two hit it off immediately and hated seeing each other late.Liu Bei humbly asked about the affairs of the world, and Zhuge Liang poured out his incisive insights on the current situation to Liu Bei without reservation.Zhuge Liang analyzed the timing, location, and people and factors that Cao, Sun, and Liu occupied respectively at that time, and proposed a strategy of occupying Jingxiang and capturing Yizhou for three parts of the world. This is the famous "Longzhong Dui" in history.After listening to this analysis, Liu Bei was convinced, and said repeatedly: "Well said! You are right!" So Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang to come out of the mountain together to help him achieve his great cause.Zhuge Liang had heard Liu Bei's famous name for a long time, and knew that Liu Bei was a man who would achieve great things. Secondly, he was moved by Liu Bei's sincerity, so he agreed to go out. From then on, with the loyal assistance of Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei started his career of occupying the two states of Jingyi and revitalizing the Han Dynasty according to the plan of "Longzhong Dui". In the thirteenth year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 208), after Cao Cao unified the north, he led his army south to attack Liu Biao in an attempt to capture Jingzhou.At this time, Liu Biao was critically ill. He summoned Liu Bei and planned to recommend Liu Bei as the governor of Jingzhou.Liu Bei couldn't refuse. Soon after, Liu Biao died of illness, and his second son, Liu Cong, succeeded him as the shepherd of Jingzhou.Cong was weak and incompetent. When he heard that Cao Cao's 300,000 troops were approaching, he was so frightened that he hurriedly submitted a petition to surrender, but he dared not tell Liu Bei.When Liu Bei heard about this, he immediately sent someone to inquire.At this time, Cao Cao had arrived in Wancheng, and Liu Bei hurriedly called his subordinates to discuss countermeasures.Zhuge Liang and others persuaded Liu Bei to attack Liu Cong, and hijacked Liu Cong and Jingzhou officials and scholars to Jiangling (now Jiangling, Hubei).Liu Bei replied: "Liu Biao entrusted his son to me when he was dying. I can't do the treachery! Otherwise, how will I see Liu Biao in the future!" So Liu Bei led the people to retreat to Jiangling. Cao Cao heard that there was a large amount of military equipment, food and grass in Jiangling. He was worried that Liu Bei would take it away, so he abandoned his luggage and rushed to Xiangyang with light clothes.Seeing that Liu Bei had gone to Jiangling, Cao Cao personally led 3,000 elite cavalry, galloping day and night, traveling more than 300 miles a day and one night, and overtook Liu Bei at Changbanpo in Dangyang (now northeast of Dangyang, Hubei). Liu Bei didn't expect Cao's army to pursue him so quickly, he was caught off guard, and most of the army was killed and dispersed.Liu Bei abandoned his wife and subordinates, and only led Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others to break through.Zhao Yun, styled Zilong, was born in Zhending, Changshan (now south of Zhending County, Hebei). He behaved well and was extremely brave.Seeing that the situation was critical, he hugged Liu Bei's weak son Liu Chan, protected the Zen mother Mrs. Gan, and broke out of the encirclement.Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to lead more than 20 people to break the rear.Seeing that Liu Bei and others had already crossed the river, Zhang Fei broke the bridge. Zhang Fei immediately threw his spear, strangled the bridgehead, glared at the pursuers angrily, and shouted sharply, "I am Zhang Yide. Who dares to fight me to the death!" Hong Lei shocked Cao Jun's liver and gallbladder, and no one dared to move forward.Liu Bei and others were able to retreat to Xiakou (now Wuhan). After Cao Cao occupied Jingzhou, he took in Liu Zong's navy, occupied Jiangling, and seized a large amount of military resources, which made his momentum even greater.Cao Jun went eastward along the river, preparing to eliminate Liu Bei, and then annexed Sun Quan and occupied Jiangnan. A strong enemy was pressing on him, Liu Bei was weak, so he had to consider finding allies. At the suggestion of Dong Wu Lu Su, he sent Zhuge Liang to see Sun Quan and persuade him to unite against Cao Cao.Sun Quan had already felt the threat of Cao Jun. Cao Cao had written a letter to Sun Quan, claiming that he would lead an army of 800,000 and would join Sun Quan in hunting Soochow.The ministers of the Eastern Wu were as silent as cicadas, and they all advocated surrender.Only Lu Su and Zhou Yu advocated resistance.Although Sun Quan agreed to fight, he was still worried about the lack of strength.I was very happy to hear that Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to contact me.The two negotiated very harmoniously, and Sun Quan agreed to jointly fight against Cao Cao, so he sent Lu Su, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and others with tens of thousands of sailors to fight against Cao Cao together with Liu Bei. Sun Liu's coalition army reached Chibi (now west of Wuchang County, Hubei Province) and confronted Cao's army.Later, Cao Cao was caught by Huang Gai, the general of Zhou Yu's department, and relaxed his vigilance. The boat camp was burned by the Wu army, and the Sun and Liu coalition forces took advantage of the momentum to attack. The strength of the people, defeated the powerful enemy, and fought for their own safety. After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei appointed another son of Liu Biao, Liu Qi, as the governor of Jingzhou. Using the power and influence of Liu Biao and his son in Jingzhou, he recruited the prefects of the four prefectures of Jingzhou south of the Yangtze River. ), Changsha (the seat of the government is now Changsha), Guiyang (the seat of the government is now Chen County, Hunan), and Lingling (the seat of the government is now Lingling, Hunan).The prefects of the four counties readily surrendered, and soon, Liu Qi died of illness. Liu Bei claimed to be the shepherd of Jingzhou, and some civil and military talents in Jingzhou, such as Huang Zhong, Pang Tong and others, gathered around Liu Bei. Liu Bei's power gradually increased, and Sun Quan had to look at it differently.Sun Quan wanted to use Liu Bei to fight against Cao Cao. He not only acknowledged the fact that Liu Bei was the shepherd of Jingzhou, but also took the initiative to marry his sister to Liu Bei to further consolidate the relationship between the two. Liu Bei occupied most of Jingzhou, became a shepherd of Jingzhou, and had a foothold, but compared with Cao and Sun in terms of strength and territory, it was still difficult to compete.Therefore, how to further strengthen its influence and expand its territory has become a top priority. At the beginning, Zhuge Liang proposed to occupy Jingzhou and Yizhou in order to become an emperor in "Longzhong Dui". After Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou, he set out to enter Yizhou. Yizhou is mainly present-day Sichuan, and includes part of present-day Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, and Shaanxi provinces.It has a vast territory and rich products, and it is known as the land of abundance.Yizhou Mu Liuzhang was a member of the clan of the Han Dynasty. He was cowardly and incompetent. He had no talents but could not use them. The discipline of his troops was extremely bad and could not be stopped. Sun Quan also coveted Yizhou for a long time. He once wrote to Liu Bei, inviting him to attack Yizhou together.Liu Bei has long wanted to take it all by himself, how can he allow others to get involved?He wrote back to evade.Quan then sent Sun Yu to lead the water army into Xiakou, preparing to cross Jingzhou and enter Shuchuan.Liu Bei immediately sent Guan Yu to guard Jiangling and Zhang Fei to guard Zigui, blocking the road to Sichuan.Sun Quan saw through Liu Bei's intentions and knew that it would be difficult to take the lead, so he recalled Sun Yu. When Cao Cao captured Jingzhou, Liu Cong surrendered, Liu Zhang was also very afraid, and wanted to join Cao Cao, so he sent Zhang Song to Jingzhou to meet Cao Cao, but Cao Cao treated Zhang Song very coldly, and Zhang Song was very annoyed.Without further discussion, we bid farewell to Cao Cao and went to see Liu Bei.Liu Bei was sincere and enthusiastic towards Zhang Song, which moved Zhang Song very much.Zhang Song returned to Yizhou, spoke ill of Cao Cao, praised Liu Bei strongly, and persuaded Liu Zhang to contact Liu Bei. At that time, Zhang Lu, who occupied Hanzhong, attacked Yizhou, and Liu Zhang sent Fazheng to see Liu Bei to move his troops.Liu Bei also treated Fazheng very enthusiastically. When Zhang Song and Fazheng met Liu Bei, Liu Bei asked them about Yizhou's geographical situation, military strength and other internal conditions. Both Zhang and Fazheng made detailed statements and drew a map for Liu Bei. .In this way, Liu Bei knew the reality of Yizhou well. Fazheng persuaded Liu Bei, saying: "With the general's brilliant talents, Liu Zhang's cowardice and incompetence, and Zhang Song's internal support, it is easy to seize Yizhou." Pang Tong and others also urged Liu Bei to enter Yizhou.So Liu Bei decided to enter Sichuan. Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun and others to stay in Jingzhou, and led Pang Tong, Fazheng and other tens of thousands of people into Shu by water.Liu Bei led the army to Fu County (now Mianyang, Sichuan), and Liu Zhang also came from Chengdu to meet him. The relationship was very friendly during the meeting, and the feast lasted for more than 100 days.Liu Zhang donated 200,000 dendrobium of rice, 1,000 horses, 1,000 chariots and other supplies to Liu Bei, and gave Liu Bei the command of the armies of Yang Huai and Gao Pei to attack Zhang Lu. Liu Zhang hoped day and night that Liu Bei would attack Zhang Lu for him, but Liu Bei stopped when he marched to Jiameng (now Guangyuan, Sichuan). Instead, he started to win people's hearts and establish kindness.Liu Bei lived in Jiameng for a year. On the pretext that Cao Cao was going to attack Sun Quan and Jingzhou, he wrote to Liu Zhang, requesting to return to his army to save Jingzhou, and asked Liu Zhang to give another 10,000 troops and food.Liu Zhang was very upset, and only gave Liu Bei 4,000 troops, and only gave Liu Bei half of the amount he wanted.Liu Bei took advantage of this incident to anger Qidu and said: "We fought against powerful enemies for Yizhou, and the soldiers worked very hard, but Liu Zhang was so stingy, and he was not willing to reward the soldiers with the things in the warehouse. How can this make us fight to the death? When Zhang Song heard the news in Chengdu, he didn't know whether it was true or not. He thought that Liu Bei was really going to withdraw his troops, so he quickly wrote to Liu Bei and Fazheng who was in the camp, saying: "Now that the big event is about to succeed, how can we give up and let go?" Where are you going?" Zhang Song's elder brother, Zhang Su, the prefect of Guanghan, knew of his brother's plan.Afraid of hurting himself, he reported to Liu Zhang.Liu Zhang ordered Zhang Song to be killed, and ordered the guards at the pass not to contact Liu Bei again. Seeing that his plan had been exposed, Liu Bei immediately killed the two generals Yang Huai and Gao Pei sent by Liu Zhang, recruited their troops, and entered Fucheng.Then, Liu Bei captured Mianzhu and surrounded Luocheng (now Guanghan, Sichuan). He led the army to surround Chengdu. At this time, Zhuge Liang also led Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others to enter Shu along the waterway, captured Baidi City and Jiangzhou (now Chongqing), and came to join forces with Liu Bei. Liu Bei's army besieged Chengdu for dozens of days. Liu Zhang saw that he was cut off from inside and outside, and there was no hope of holding on, so he had to leave the city and surrender.After Liu Bei captured Chengdu, he called himself Yizhou Mu, rewarded his meritorious service, distributed gold and silk from the treasury to the soldiers, and appeased the people by canceling the money and food that the people should pay.Liu Bei took Zhuge Liang as the military adviser general and the prefect of Yizhou to handle the government affairs of Yizhou in an all-round way, and the civil and military officials who followed him into Sichuan were also assigned corresponding official positions.Liu Bei tried his best to win over Liu Zhang's subordinates and unite Yizhou scholars. Wu Yi was originally a relative of Liu Zhang. His sister married Liu Zhang's brother Liu Mao. After Liu Mao died, Wu Yi's sister became a widow.Liu Bei married her again, and became a relative with Wu Yi, and she was reused.For the rest of Dong He, Li Yan and many people who were excluded by Liu Zhang, Liu Bei gave them appropriate official positions to let them display their talents.Therefore, there are talented and ambitious people in Yizhou, and they all compete to submit to Liu Bei, willing to make contributions with their preparations.In this way, Liu Bei gradually gained a firm foothold in Yizhou, and his rule soon stabilized. The situation in Hanzhong is dangerous and it is the throat of Bashu.After Liu Bei occupied Yizhou, he wanted to appease Zhang Lu who was entrenched in Hanzhong, but he didn't want Cao Cao to be the first to defeat Zhang Lu, and captured Hanzhong in the 20th year of Jian'an (215 AD).At this time, Sima Yi, the Prime Minister's chief secretary, said to Cao Cao: "Liu Bei captured Liu Zhang and obtained Yizhou through a scheme, but the people of Shu have not yet joined him sincerely. Now that the prime minister's army has conquered Hanzhong, Yizhou is shaking. If they take advantage of the victory and march, Bashu will surely fall apart, and it will be at your fingertips. "Cao Cao said: "One can't be greedy. You can have Long (the Hanzhong area) and look forward to Shu." The army retreated. Xia Houyuan, Zhang He and others were stationed in Hanzhong, and they often violated the border of Berkshire. If they advance, they can attack Shu, and if they retreat, they can block Liu Bei's northward advance.Liu Bei was very worried.In order to remove the threat from Hanzhong and open the way for the Northern Expedition to attack Wei, in the 23rd year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (218 A.D.), Liu Bei personally led the army and marched into Hanzhong, leaving Zhuge Liang to stay in Chengdu to be in charge of military supplies.When the Shu army arrived at Yangping Pass (northwest of Mianxian County, Shaanxi Province today), they encountered stubborn resistance from Xia Houyuan and Zhang Yun.Zhuge Liang was well aware of the importance of Hanzhong to Shu, so he continuously mobilized the army to reinforce Liu Bei. The two sides stalemate for nearly a year. Although the Cao army had a small victory, the Shu army's spirit remained undiminished, and Liu Bei remained unwavering.In the spring of the following year, Liu Bei led his army across the Mianshui River and camped along Dingjun Mountain (southeast of Mian County, Shaanxi today).Dingjun Mountain is the gateway to Hanzhong, and the situation is dangerous. If the Shu army occupies this place, it will pose a great threat to the Cao army. Therefore, Xia Houyuan desperately resisted.Seeing that Xia Houyuan was desperate, Fazheng said to Liu Bei, "Now we can win." After that, he set up an ambush and ordered the veteran Huang Zhong to rush out from above. Seeing that Hanzhong was in a hurry, Cao Cao personally led troops to rescue.When Liu Bei heard that Cao Cao had come to the rescue in person, he analyzed the situation and said to his generals, "Although Cao Cao has come in person, there is nothing he can do. I will definitely be able to occupy Hanzhong." After a stalemate for more than a month, Cao's army ran out of food and grass, and made no progress, and the soldiers fled one after another.Cao Cao was unable to win, and he was unwilling to give up Hanzhong, so he hesitated for a while.One day, the general came to ask for the password. Cao Cao was eating when he saw the chicken ribs in the bowl. "Why?" Yang Xiu said: "Chicken ribs are tasteless to eat, and it's a pity to discard them. Cao Gong compared chicken ribs to Hanzhong, so he must be a teacher." Soon, Cao Cao really gave up Hanzhong and led his troops back to Chang'an. Liu Bei took advantage of the victory to occupy Hanzhong, and sent Liu Feng, Meng Da and others to capture Fangling (now Fangxian, Hubei) and Shangyong (now southwest of Zhushan, Hubei) in the east of Hanzhong County, expanding the territory.Afterwards, with the support of his subordinates, Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong. Liu Bei's power gradually became stronger, which aroused Sun Quan's uneasiness. The focus of the competition between the two sides gradually focused on Jingzhou, a strategically important place. The south county of Jingzhou was originally borrowed by Sun Quan from Liu Bei. Sun Quan lent the land to Liu Bei to make enemies for Cao Cao.So Sun Quan sent someone to ask Liu Bei for Nanjun in the second year after Liu Bei captured Yizhou.Liu Bei was about to invade Liangzhou at that time, so he declined and said, "I will return Nanjun after I conquer Liangzhou." Sun Quan was furious when he heard about it, and sent General Lu Meng to capture Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang.When Liu Bei heard the news, he quickly ordered Guan Yu to fight for the three counties.Sun Quan also rushed to the front to supervise the battle, and the two sides were on the verge of breaking out.But at this time Cao Cao had captured Hanzhong, and Liu Bei was worried that Cao Cao would take the opportunity to attack Yizhou, so he took the initiative to ask Sun Quan for peace. The three counties of Wuling belonged to Liu Bei.In this way, a major war was finally avoided, and the fragile Sun-Liu alliance was maintained.However, the rift was irreparable. For Soochow, Jingzhou was located upstream, threatening its safety, and it was imperative to seize it; for Liu Bei, Jingzhou was a shortcut to the Central Plains north, and it was imperative to defend it.Therefore, Jingzhou is like an iron barrel full of gunpowder, which may explode at any time. In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 219), when Liu Bei was fighting Cao Cao in Hanzhong, Guan Yu also cooperated with Liu Bei's offensive and sent troops from Jingzhou to attack Xiangyang and Fancheng where Cao Jun was stationed.The area around Xiangfan was originally guarded by Cao Ren, but Cao Ren could not resist Guan Yu's fierce offensive, so Cao Cao sent Yu Jin, Pang De and other generals to come for reinforcements.When the autumn rains continued and the Han River surged, Guan Yu took advantage of the water to flood the Seventh Army, captured him in Jin, killed Pang De, and defeated Cao Ren, which was unstoppable.A small group of nearby troops either came to surrender, or received the seal title issued by Guan Yu, and became Guan Yu's branch.For a time, Guan Yu vibrated China.Cao Cao knew very well that Guan Yu was both wise and brave. Seeing the situation at this time, he even planned to move the capital to escape Guan Yu's spirit.At this time, Sima Yi and others persuaded Cao Cao to take advantage of the conflict between Sun Quan and Liu Bei, and promised to grant Sun Quan the land in the south of the Yangtze River, and asked him to attack Guan Yu's back to relieve the threat.Cao Cao listened to Sima Yi's strategy.Although Guan Yu has both wisdom and courage, he is very proud and defiant.At the beginning, in order to win over Guan Yu and strengthen the Sun-Liu alliance, Sun Quan sent someone to ask Guan Yu to marry Guan Yu's three daughters to his son, forming a good relationship between Qin and Jin.Not only did Guan Yu not accept it, but instead he cursed at him for a while and drove him out of the city.Sun Quan was very angry when he heard about it.Now that Guan Yu's power is expanding, Sun Quan also feels threatened by him.After receiving a letter from Cao Cao, Sun Quan happily expressed that he could attack Guan Yu. Therefore, Sun Quan and generals Lu Meng, Lu Xun and others first used tactics to paralyze Guan Yu, making him relax his vigilance, and transferred the rear troops to the front line of Xiangyang, and then used Lu Meng as the front to attack Nanjun.Lu Meng, Lu Xun and others successfully attacked and quickly occupied most of Nanjun. Seeing danger in the rear, Guan Yu hurried back to rescue, but was defeated by the Wu army, and Guan Yu was captured and killed.As a result, all Jingzhou fell into the hands of Sun Quan, and the Sun-Liu alliance was completely broken. Jingzhou is very important to Liu Bei.According to the established strategic policy, Liu Bei attacked the Central Plains in two ways in the name of crusade against Cao Wei and Fuxing Han Dynasty.All the way out of Hanzhong, all the way out of Jingzhou, echoing and cooperating with each other.After the loss of Jingzhou, only Hanzhong road remained in the Northern Expedition of Cao Wei. Moreover, the mountain roads were dangerous, food and grass were hard to sustain, and there was little hope of victory.If Jingzhou is not recaptured, Liu Bei will be enclosed in the Three Gorges, making it extremely difficult to develop.Therefore, Liu Bei was determined to attack Soochow, regain Jingzhou, and avenge Guan Yu. At this time, news suddenly came that Cao Cao was dead, and his son Cao Pi had proclaimed himself emperor on behalf of Han and established the state of Wei. There were also rumors that Emperor Xian of Han had been killed.Liu Bei is the clan of the Han Dynasty, and now he occupies a corner of the land, so he decided to call himself Emperor Han and inherit the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty in order to win the hearts of the world, and then attack Soochow.The ministers of Shuwen Wuqun also wrote letters one after another, persuading Liu Bei to advance.In the first year of Zhangwu in Shuhan (221 A.D.), Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu.Liu Bei is the historically known Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty, also known as the First Lord. After Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, he planned to send troops to Soochow and most of the ministers in Shuzhong tried to dissuade him.General Zhao Yun of the Zhenjun remonstrated and said: "Cao Cao is the national thief now, not Sun Quan. Although Cao Cao is dead, his son Cao Pi usurped the Han and robbed the country. He should obey the people's will, try to take Guanzhong, and condescend to punish the rebellious thief. Dedicated to respond to Wang Shi. You should not ignore Cao Wei and fight Soochow first. Once the war starts, it will be difficult to calm down." Liu Bei refused to listen.Seeing that Liu Bei had made up his mind, Zhuge Liang knew that it would be useless to persuade him, so he kept silent. Liu Bei ordered the mobilization of the national army and prepared to send troops. He sent someone to inform the chariot general Zhang Fei and asked him to lead ten thousand troops to Jiangzhou.Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei often beat and scolded the soldiers because of his bad temper. Zhang Da and Fan Jiang, the subordinates under the account, could not bear the hardship. Before they left, the two rebelled, assassinated Zhang Fei, and went to Soochow with Zhang Fei's head. .When Liu Bei heard about it, he looked up to the sky and sighed, "Alas! Zhang Fei died again!" At the beginning, Zhang Fei was majestic and mighty, second only to Guan Yu. Cao Weijun and his ministers said that Guan and Zhang could defeat ten thousand people.Guan Yu is a proud man, good at caring for the soldiers but despising the scholar-bureaucrats; Zhang Fei has a violent temper, respects the scholars but does not know how to cherish the soldiers.Liu Bei often advised them.Liu Bei said to Zhang Fei: "Your punishment is too excessive. You often beat the soldiers and keep them by your side. This is very easy to cause disaster." Zhang Fei still didn't pay attention to correcting it.Sure enough, Zhang Fei eventually died at the hands of his subordinates.In this way, before Liu Bei sent troops, he lost a strong general first. The summer of the first year of Zhangwu in the Shu Han Dynasty (221 AD).Liu Bei personally led an army of 70,000 to 80,000 troops out of the Wu Gorge, marched along the Yangtze River by water and land, and went straight to Soochow.Seeing that Liu Bei was approaching fiercely, Sun Quan sent envoys to ask Liu Bei for peace.Liu Bei is determined to win, and he is determined not to allow it. The Shu army soon reached Yiling (now southeast of Yichang, Hubei). It was six or seven hundred miles from Wu Gorge to Yiling, and there were continuous high mountains on both sides of the river bank.Liu Bei camped along the road on the south side of the river bank and erected wooden fences.He ordered the navy to land again, and camped in the mountains and forests.Liu Bei opened a long battle line and set up dozens of camps along the river. On the surface, the Shu army was mighty, but in fact its forces were scattered and its strength was greatly weakened. Liu Bei personally led the main force to station in Yiling Xiaoting (now north of Yidu, Hubei).He sent troops to challenge Soochow several times.Although Lu Xun, the coach of the Wu army, is young, he is well versed in the art of war and is mature and prudent.He restrained the generals of the Wu army and did not allow them to fight.The two sides have been stalemate here for six or seven months, and the Shu army has never been able to find a chance to fight the Wu army. After a long time, the fighting spirit gradually weakened, and Liu Bei himself relaxed his vigilance. In the sixth month of the second year of Zhangwu in the Shu Han Dynasty (222 A.D.), Lu Xun saw that the Shu army had slacked off, so he ordered the Wu army to burn the Shu camp and launch a fierce attack.It was hot weather at this time, and the temperature was extremely high. Moreover, most of the camps in Shu were built by trees, and the fire was out of control.For a while, all the camps and wooden fences of the Shu army were burned down, and the flames were soaring into the sky. Seeing the defeat of the army, Liu Bei knew that it was difficult to resist, so he took the remnants of the defeated generals and retreated to Ma'anshan (northwest of Yichang, Hubei), and ordered the soldiers to stand firm. Lu Xun ordered the Wu army to besiege on all sides. Cover the river.All kinds of ordnance, supplies, ships, food and grass were almost lost.Liu Bei took advantage of the night to escape and ordered people to burn armor and other things to block the Wu army's pursuit, before he fled to Baidi City. Liu Bei has never suffered such a big defeat, and he said very ashamedly: "I was defeated by Lu Xun, isn't it God's will!" In fact, Liu Bei's failure was completely a subjective command error.He set up wooden fences in the mountains and forests, with a company battalion of six or seven hundred miles, which not only dispersed the troops, making it difficult to see each other from head to tail, but also gave Soochow a chance to attack with fire.He also ordered the navy to land, and gave up the favorable conditions for the cooperation between land and water to fight, so failure was inevitable.At that time, people with discerning eyes had already seen that Liu Bei would undoubtedly fail if he did so.Cao Pi said, "Liu Bei simply doesn't know the art of war! How can there be a company battalion 700 miles away to fight against the enemy? Liu Bei led troops to fight in dangerous places in the mountains and forests, breaking the taboo of military strategists. Sun Quan will win soon." After the Xiaoting battle, Cao Wei took advantage of Soochow to deal with Liu Bei with all his strength, and also sent troops to attack Soochow.Sun Quan had won the victory, and he didn't want to face enemies on both sides, so he asked Liu Bei for peace.After Liu Bei's defeat, he knew that it was difficult to regain Jingzhou, and he was worried that Sun Quan would continue to attack, so he agreed to a settlement.The fragile Wu-Shu alliance has been restored. The defeat at Xiaoting was a heavy blow to Liu Bei, who had entered his twilight years. This defeat made him depressed, and eventually he became ill. Later, his illness worsened. He urgently called Zhuge Liang to Baidi City to entrust his funeral. 刘备的太子刘禅无政治才能，刘备希望诸葛亮能辅佐刘禅，维持基业不失，纲纪不坠，但又怕刘禅实在担不起治国重任。临终前，刘备流着眼泪，语重心长地对诸葛亮说：“你的才能超过曹丕十倍，必然能安定国家，成就大事。如果太子可以辅佐，你就辅佐他；如果他实在不行，你可以替代他自己做皇帝。”诸葛亮一听刘备说出这样的话，心如刀绞，泣不成声地说：“我怎敢不尽心尽力，忠贞报国，死而后已！”刘备将刘禅兄弟几人召到床前，告诫他们说：“我死了以后，你们要像尊奉父亲那样尊奉丞相，和他共同治理好蜀汉。”这就是历史上所说的白帝托孤。长期被人们视为君臣坦诚相知的典范而津津乐道。 章武三年（公元223年）四月，刘备在白帝城永安宫病亡，享年63岁。