At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was divided into three parts, and under the general situation of the three kingdoms, the world was always unstable. The intrigue between Cao, Sun and Liu is always in progress.
In the history of the Three Kingdoms, people are keen to talk about the rivalry between Liu Bei and cao Cao, the "adulterous male". In fact, Liu Bei's struggle with the Eastern Wu forces was also very exciting. Between Hanying and Eastern Wu, the comparison between Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang was turbulent. But when lifted to the surface, Zhou Yu always did not have much advantage. "Losing the lady and folding the soldiers" is a classic example.
Eastern Wu pretended to marry in order to regain Jingzhou, and gave Sun Shangxiang Xu to Liu Bei. And after Sun Shangxiang arrived at Hanying, what kind of story did he have? Is it a happy knot and a deep affection? Or a conjugal life like political suspicion?
Pretending to marry, he lost his wife and folded the soldiers
According to the fifty-fifth record of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "Zhou Lang's brilliant plan to secure the world, lost his wife and folded the army." ”
At the time of the Dispute between the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei once "borrowed" Jingzhou and did not return it. Sun Quan wanted to take back Jingzhou, and Zhou Yu offered a plan to "pretend to recruit relatives and take hostages". Zhuge Liang saw through this and arranged for Zhao Yun to accompany him, first visiting Zhou Yu's father-in-law, Qiao Gong, who said that Wu Guotai would meet at Ganlu Temple, and Wu Guotai would really marry Sun Shangxiang to Liu Bei.
This was originally just a conspiracy to capture Liu Bei under the guise of "peace and affinity". Unfortunately, there is also a Zhuge Liang in Liu Ying, who has already seen through Zhou Yu's deception. In the case of not not going to the appointment, he not only protected his own safety, but also really married Sun Quan's sister. Behind a well-planned Hongmen banquet, Zhou Yu still lost completely.
Zhou Yu's plan was indeed a "brilliant plan", but it was a pity that Liu Bei had a better plan. In historical records, after Sun Shangxiang married Liu Bei, the husband and wife had a harmonious relationship. And this period of history is actually doubtful, otherwise Sun Shangxiang married Liu Bei for three years, why has he never had children?
With doubts and discord, Sun Shangxiang has not come out for many years
"Book of Secretaries with Zhu Yuanqian" has a saying: "Dreaming in the same bed, Zhou Gong can't learn it, so why talk about Kong Mingya one by one!" This is what later generations call "the same bed and different dreams."
Liu Bei married Sun Shangxiang out of helplessness, and the feelings of the husband and wife after marriage could not be forced. In addition, because of the woman's special identity, Liu Bei, who is suspicious, may not regard it as his own family. What's more, at that time, Sun Shangxiang was only in his early twenties, and Liu Bei was already over forty years old. The collocation of old husbands and young wives is not necessarily a beautiful thing.
According to historical records, Liu Bei had three biological sons and one adopted son. They are Liu Chan, Liu Yong, Liu Li, and Liu Feng, of which Liu Feng is still an adopted son. And none of these children were born to Sun Shangxiang. As a consort of Eastern Wu, Sun Shangxiang did not give birth to a son and a half daughter for Liu Bei, which is also a mystery.
Liu Beisheng is cowardly, while Sun Shangxiang is a fierce woman, and the gap between husband and wife can be imagined. After getting married, Liu Bei was suspicious of Sun Shangxiang, and a rift arose between the husband and wife. After three years of marriage, maybe not even much time together, how can we talk about having children?
Married for three years without children, the other widow had two children
Regarding the mystery of Sun Shangxiang's childlessness, Liu Bei's cronies around him knew the reasons well, and Fazheng was one of them.
Liu Bei had many strategists around him, and in addition to Zhuge Liang, there were actually many talented people. Fa Zheng had followed Liu Bei for many years and naturally understood his way of doing things. The reason why Sun Shangxiang did not come out was whether it was Liu Bei, he said: "Marry a widow will know." ”
Historically, Liu Bei did marry a widow, wu, and this woman subsequently bore liu bei two sons. In this regard, it is not that Sun Shangxiang is infertile, but because Liu Bei did not intend to let her give birth to Liu's offspring. At that time, relations between the Han camp and Eastern Wu were tense. Even if Sun Shangxiang gives birth to a child, it will not be beneficial to him in the future when the relationship between the two sides changes again. It is better to directly prevent Sun Shangxiang from giving birth, which can save many troubles.
To be suspicious, Liu Bei is not inferior to Cao Cao. In the historical record, there is not much ink left here. The combination of Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang is actually a political marriage that is not coordinated. Only three years after they were married, Sun Shangxiang was tricked into returning to Eastern Wu and could not return for more than ten years. He did not give birth to a child in three years, but it was also in line with Liu Bei's plan.
brief summary
To this day, the monument on the riverside is still there, still bearing the name of the thousand autumn martyrs. Liu Bei's marriage to Sun Shangxiang was said by the world to be a talented woman. However, as far as the historical fact that Sun Shangxiang did not give birth to a son and a half daughter, the relationship between the two is not as beautiful as in the legend, and even mutual suspicion.
After all, the Eastern Wu side would not become a real pro-family, and Liu Bei had to guard against Sun Shangxiang together. For Liu Bei, he would rather have children with widows than let Sun Shangxiang give birth to the heirs of the Liu family, which shows the weight of suspicion.
A marriage that made Sun Quan and Zhou Yu "lose his wife and fold the soldiers", in fact, Sun Shangxiang was also wronged. If it weren't for the political situation being too turbulent at that time, perhaps Sun Shangxiang's fate would not have been like this!
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Secretary with Zhu Yuanqian