"The great river east goes to the end of the waves, and the heroes of the ages are on the west side of the fortress." Su Shi once described the Three Kingdoms era in this way. Indeed, the Three Kingdoms were an era of heroes.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty declined, and the heroes of the world rose up and cut the land and stood on their own. The most well-known of these heroes is Liu Guanzhang of Taoyuan Sanjieyi. Liu Bei claimed to be a relative of the Han Dynasty, the grandson of Emperor Jing of Han, and the King of Jing of Zhongshan, relying on his special status and steady development step by step, he eventually became a prince from a small person to a divided side.
Liu Bei stills
Throughout the whole process of Liu Bei's rebellion, the main goal of his struggle was the Cao Cao clique. As we all know, in ancient times, when starting soldiers, they paid attention to the famous divisions, and if the name was not correct, it was not smooth. Therefore, Liu Bei's military process was always under the banner of reviving the Han Dynasty, and relying on this politics and slogan, Liu Bei gathered many courtiers who still had feelings for the Han Dynasty.
Because the Han Tianzi at this time was under Cao Cao's control, Cao Cao, who was disrespectful to the superior, naturally became the target of Liu Bei's clique's verbal criticism. All along, Cao Cao was scolded by Liu Bei as a "Han thief". It is precisely by giving Cao Cao the identity of a thief that he can more reflect his orthodox status.
Cao Cao stills
However, what is puzzling is that when Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou, Yizhou, and captured Hanzhong, his strength was at its peak, but instead of northern Expedition Cao Cao, he fought an earth-shattering battle with Sun Quan of Eastern Wu - the Battle of Yiling. So why did Liu Bei, who had always considered himself to be orthodox in the Han Dynasty and regarded Cao Cao as a Han thief, not choose to go north to attack Eastern Wu after becoming emperor?
In fact, all this originated from Guan Yu's killing.
In December 24, Guan Yu defeated Maicheng and was killed by Eastern Wu, and Jingzhou was also lost. After such a great change in the country, it is reasonable to say that Liu Bei, as the supreme ruler, must keep a sober mind. But after that, Liu Bei's performance can be said to be very impetuous. In April 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor in Chengdu, and in June he began to dispatch troops to prepare for the attack, and in July he led a large army to march in person. At this time, Liu Bei also issued an order for Zhang Fei to join him in Jiangzhou, which is today's Chongqing.
Liu Guanzhang stills
But Zhang Fei was killed by his men before the troops could set off. After Zhang Fei's death, Liu Bei Group can be said to have suffered another major loss, at this time the military generals, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong were already gone. Only Zhao Yun Wei Yan and Ma Chao were left to fight. But Ma Chao had to stay in Sichuan to defend Cao Cao. Zhao Yun, on the other hand, did not take Liu Bei with him because he opposed Liu Bei's strategy of attacking Wu. Besides, the civilian officials, Fazheng, and Pang Tong were all gone, and only One Zhuge Liang remained and had to sit in Yizhou. Liu Bei's expedition this time can be said to be "unfavorable to the division, and the general will lack people."
So in such an unfavorable situation, why did Liu Bei insist on launching the Battle of Yiling?
According to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei launched the Battle of Yiling to avenge Guan Yu. However, this is only a claim in the novel and is not entirely convincing.
Liu Bei was proclaimed emperor
But to say that Liu Beifa Wu had nothing to do with Guan Yu's death is also unlikely. Liu Ye, a strategist of the Cao Wei clique at that time, said that Guan Yu and Liu Bei were not only a monarch and a vassal, but had long been in love with father and son. Therefore, it is unlikely that Liu Bei will be indifferent after Guan Yu's death. But this may only be part of the reason for Liu Bei's conquest of Wu, not the main reason.
Liu Ye also said that the main reason why Liu Bei launched the Battle of Yiling was actually because of their strategic characteristics. As the weakest force among the Three Kingdoms, if Liu Bei Group wants to survive, it can only show its strength through continuous attacks, and in layman's terms, the overall strategy of Liu Bei Group is to attack and defend. So they have to attack.
Liu Bei personally led an army to attack Wu
Hearing that some friends here may say, why didn't Liu Bei attack the usurper Cao Wei, but instead fight Sun Quan? This problem is actually very simple, among the three kingdoms, Cao Wei is the strongest, whether it is Sun Quan or Liu Bei, neither has the strength to fight against wei alone. As the saying goes, to eat persimmons, choose a soft pinch. The Sun and Liu families both believe that the other is weaker, so they will attack each other.
In addition to the above reasons, Liu Bei insisted on launching the Battle of Yiling, also because of the important strategic position of Jingzhou. Once this strategic point was lost, Liu Bei's army wanted to go north again, and it could only take the Shu Road, which was difficult to go to Qingtian.
It was precisely because of these three reasons that Liu Bei insisted on cutting down Wu despite the hidden danger that the north was still the biggest threat.
Resources:
【Western Jin Dynasty】Chen Shou: Romance of the Three Kingdoms