Author: Sun Zhengyu
In the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Beidong Wu married, why did Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's father-in-law, Qiao Guolao, help Liu Bei?
This question, the author thought about for a few days. At first, I didn't get my head straightened out. I always felt that Elder Qiao Guo had no reason to help Liu Bei! How to say?
The answer given by Luo Guanzhong through the mouth of Qiao Guolao is that Sun Quan and Zhou Yu want to retake Jingzhou by means of fake marriage, and even if they succeed, it will make people laugh. Even if Elder Qiao Guo looked down on Zhou Yu's plan, Zhou Yu was his son-in-law, and Qiao Guo was a member of Sun Quan's group. Elder Qiao Guo went to help Liu Bei in this matter, which was equivalent to singing the opposite stage drama with Sun Quan. Although Qiao Guolao is not part of the core decision-making level of Eastern Wu, he is also a prominent figure in the Eastern Wu Group. Sun Quan was against Liu Bei, as a relative of the Sun clan in Jiangdong, how could Elder Qiao Guo help Liu Bei? Can Sun Quan be happy?
So I haven't figured this out before.
Some people may say that Qiao Guolao may be loyal to the Han Room, Liu Bei is the uncle of the Great Han Emperor, and it is normal for him to help Liu Bei. Is this true?
I think this joke is too big. How to say?
First, Sun Jian once secretly hid the Chuanguo Jade Seal. If Elder Qiao Guo was loyal to the Han Dynasty, how could he marry the Sun Jian family and live in Jiangdong for a long time? You should go to the imperial court to find Emperor Xian of Han.
Second, if Qiao Guo's old heart is toward Liu Bei, this is even more unreliable. If Elder Qiao Guo had his heart set on Liu Bei, he should go to Jingzhou to defect to Liu Bei. Of course, with Qiao Guolao's family relationship with the Sun clan of Jiangdong, the relationship with Zhou Yu's son-in-law, and his position in Jiangdong, he would not have done such an unreliable thing.
Third, even if Qiao Guolao defected to Jingzhou, would Liu Bei take him in? No. Why? One of Longzhong's policies was to unite with Sun Quan and jointly resist Cao Cao. Liu Bei would not have offended Sun Quan for the sake of a Qiao Guolao. Therefore, even if Qiao Guolao defected to Jingzhou, it is estimated that he would be sent back to Eastern Wu by Liu Bei.
Then why did Elder Qiao Guo help Liu Bei?
In fact, to clarify this problem, we must start from Luo Guanzhong, the author of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". How to say?
Liu Bei went to Eastern Wu to join the family, which was adapted by Luo Guanzhong based on the zhengshi. So what is the original appearance of the history?
Liu Bei went to Eastern Wu to ask Sun Quan for territory, and Zhou Yu suggested that Liu Bei be left in Eastern Wu, but Sun Quan did not agree. Liu Bei was able to return to Jingzhou. That is to say, in the main history, Zhou Yu advocated the detention of Liu Bei, and without Sun Quan's consent, Liu Bei could not return to Jingzhou.
But in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Luo Guanzhong changed the story. Both Sun Quan and Zhou Yu advocated cheating Liu Bei into Eastern Wu in the name of Liu Bei. In other words, neither Sun Quan nor Zhou Yu would really marry Sun Quan's sister to Liu Bei, nor would they agree to let Liu Bei return to Jingzhou. In this way, did Liu Bei and Lady Sun's marriage come to fruition? It doesn't work. Without the help of Lady Sun, would Liu Bei have to go back to Jingzhou? Can't go back. If Liu Bei couldn't go back to Jingzhou, how would Shu Han be established? What will Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang do in the future? How else can "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" be written?
However, we must not forget that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a novel, the novel is different from the real history, the real history can not be changed, and how the storyline of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" develops, the key lies in how Luo Guanzhong's pen is written.
Luo Guanzhong realized that in order for Liu Bei's marriage to be married, he had to arrange someone, and this person must be able to control Sun Quan's person. So Luo Guanzhong fictionalized a person, that is, Wu Guotai. But the question is, why did Sun Quan listen to Wu Guotai?
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wu Guotai is Lady Sun's mother, and she marries Sun Jian along with her sister, Sun Quan's mother, Wu. Therefore, Wu Guotai was very concerned about the marriage of his daughter Sun Shi, knowing that Sun Liu's marriage was Zhou Yu's time, and out of the consideration of his daughter's name, he decided to see how Liu Bei was, and then decided whether to marry or not. But this does not determine that Sun Quan must listen to Wu Guotai, why?
Because from the perspective of Sun Quan's mother, Wu Guotai is Sun Quan's sister-in-law; from Sun Jian's point of view, Wu Guotai is Sun Jian's concubine and Sun Quan's concubine. In the military affairs of Jiangdong, Sun Quan did not need to listen to Wu Guotai's arrangement. Luo Guanzhong also took this into account, so he added drama to Wu Guotai and Sun Quan. How to say?
First, the thirty-eighth time in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, before Sun Quan's mother Wu Shi died, she told Sun Quan: "My sister and I are married to your father, so my sister (Wu Guotai) is also your mother." After I die, you're going to treat my sister like you did to me. And your sister (Mrs. Sun), you must also take good care of him and find a good husband for him in the future. ”
Second, Luo Guanzhong put a big top hat on Sun Quan. How to say? There is a saying in the fifty-fourth episode of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "Sun Quan is a man of great filial piety." "What is a "man of great filial piety"? It's not general filial piety.
In this way, Sun Quan must listen to Wu Guotai's words. Luo Guanzhong's goal of letting Wu Guotai take control of Sun Quan was achieved. Therefore, even if Wu Guotai looked at Liu Bei because he was only half a hundred years old and had an extraordinary appearance, it was somewhat unreasonable, but in order for Liu Bei to get married, so that the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms could continue to be written, Luo Guanzhong also did his best. To tell the truth, Luo Guanzhong really couldn't think of a better reason for Wu Guotai to look at Liu Bei as his son-in-law.
After designing Wu Guotai, who could control Sun Quan, Luo Guanzhong found that there were two more problems.
The first problem is that the image of Wu Guotai makes the reader very awkward to read. How to say?
Sun Quan was a man of great filial piety, so why did Wu Guotai, as Sun Quan's "mother", protect Liu Bei everywhere and turn a deaf ear to his "son" Sun Quan's desire to take back Jingzhou?
These things will give the reader an impression. What impression?
Although Wu Guotai was not Sun Quan's mother, at least she was also a little aunt. And Sun Quan is Luo Guanzhong's "great filial piety". It is already very unreasonable for you Wu Guotai to recruit Liu Bei as a son-in-law, why don't you care about Sun Quan's desire to take back Jingzhou?? Does that make sense?
In fact, this is also where Mr. Luo Guanzhong is worried, and Mr. Luo Guanzhong also found this problem. Therefore, Mr. Luo thought of a way, that is, to lay out in advance. How to say?
In the forty-third and forty-fourth episodes of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, after Zhuge Liang's tongue-in-cheek battle against Confucianism, Sun Quan hesitated to decide whether to fight or not, and Wu Guotai suggested that Sun Quan ask Zhou Yu. Therefore, Sun Quan sent someone to Poyang to find Zhou Yu to come back to discuss. Originally, the person who suggested that Sun Quan get Zhou Yu back was Lu Su, and Luo Guanzhong forwarded Lu Su's suggestion to Wu Guotai. Why?
Luo Guanzhong did this to make the reader feel that Wu Guotai was concerned about Sun Quan's cause, and he was not a person who only cared about Liu Bei and did not care about Sun Quan.
After designing the character of Wu Guotai, Luo Guanzhong found another problem. How to say?
After Liu Bei arrived in Eastern Wu, it was difficult to go directly to Wu Guotai. Why?
First, Wu Guotai's husband Sun Jian died in 191 AD, and Wu Guotai was widowed for many years and rarely paid attention to the political affairs of Jiangdong. Don't say that Liu Bei is an outsider, that is, a civilian general in Jiangdong, if there is no sufficient reason, it is not very suitable to directly cross Sun Quan to find Wu Guotai. Moreover, Liu Bei was similar in age to the widowed Wu Guotai, and in the society at that time, he paid more or less attention to a "avoidance of suspicion".
Second, suppose that Liu Bei, regardless of so many rituals, directly bypassed Sun Quan to find his future mother-in-law, Wu Guotai. The problem was that Zhou Yu's strategy was not told to Wu Guotai at that time, and Wu Guotai did not know about Liu Bei's entry into Eastern Wu. When Liu Bei saw Wu Guotai, he would inevitably say that he wanted to become his son-in-law, and Wu Guotai would inevitably say, "How come I don't know about this?" In this way, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu's falsification was revealed. The marriage between Liu Bei and the Sun clan was yellow.
Faced with these difficulties, Luo Guanzhong realized that a contact person must be set up between Liu Bei and Wu Guotai, and this person must have several characteristics:
First, this person must be in Eastern Wu, and Liu Bei must be easily visible.
Second, as this person, it is also easy to see Wu Guotai; not only to be able to easily meet Wu Guotai, but also to be able to speak in front of Wu Guotai.
Third, this person must have a special position in Jiangdong. He was not afraid of Zhou Yu, and even if he helped Liu Bei, Sun Quan would not do anything to him.
Thinking about it, Luo Guanzhong thought it was relatively appropriate to let Erqiao's father, Qiao Guolao, be the contact person. Why?
First, Qiao Guolao is the father of Erqiao, and as Qiao Guolao, Liu Bei should not have any problems when he went to see him.
Second, Qiao Guolao was Sun Ce's father-in-law, and Wu Guotai was a relative. Meeting in person should be a good reason.
Third, Qiao Guo is always Zhou Yu's father-in-law, and even if Zhou Yu is not satisfied, it is not convenient to have a seizure.
Fourth, Sun Ce was Sun Quan's older brother, and Qiao Guo was always his brother-in-law. Sun Quan was positioned by Luo Guanzhong as a "person of great filial piety". Therefore, Luo Guanzhong wrote that Qiao Guolao dared to help Liu Bei, and Sun Quan did not blame Qiao Guolao. This is self-explanatory to some extent.
The key is why Qiao Guolao helped Liu Bei, and how could Wu Guotai take a fancy to Liu Bei? Luo Guanzhong also knew that the reasons he gave for these two questions were not sufficient, but he really could not think of sufficient reasons, but this was difficult for Luo Guanzhong, as a novelist, he thought of a way, what method?
It is to divert the reader's attention. Through Zhuge Liang's clever tricks, the reader's attention is shifted to Kong Ming's resourcefulness, so that the reader feels that Qiao Guolao can help Liu Bei, and Wu Guotai looks up to Liu Bei, all within Kong Ming's clever calculations. Many people have taken Kong Ming's "divine calculation" as the norm, and they worship it to the point. Therefore, these two items have become the plus points of Kong Ming's "divine calculation". It must be said that Mr. Luo Guanzhong, the author of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", is good at making up stories.
Sun Zhengyu's "Knowing the Three Kingdoms"