It is often said that after the incident occurred, people were the most sober, what should be done at that time, what should not be done, but history cannot be assumed, it can only be used as a reference for those who come after. Why did Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" honor Liu and degrade Cao?
The Great Han will not perish, and the Five Hu will not be chaotic. After four hundred years, the Great Han has become the co-lord of the world, and the only Wang Mang usurped the Han, but in the end it was still overthrown, and Wang Mang also became a traitor and was forever spurned by people. The revival of Guangwu has restored the great Han to the light, and the world has returned to its heart, and even the surrounding nomadic peoples are proud to be attached to the Han. Although in the Huanling dynasty, the imperial court was corrupt and eunuchs were in power, but the normal order of the country was functioning. Even when the Yellow Turban Uprising led by Zhang Jiao occurred, it was quickly extinguished by the prefectures and counties. However, it was precisely because of Cao Cao's coercion of the Heavenly Son to order the princes that the Great Han left the root and became a puppet without compromise. The emperor had no power, the places were divided, and finally divided and merged into three kingdoms, and there was a big split since the Qin Dynasty, Cao Pi forced the Han Emperor to abdicate with absolute power, and the Han Dynasty stood on its own, thus bringing a very bad head to the future generations of the world, and it turned out that this could also take over the world. As a result, later generations have followed suit. As a result, there were successively Wei Dynasty Han, Jin Dynasty Wei Dynasty, and later Song Qi Liang Chen. The nomadic peoples in the north, who were still under the Han Dynasty, saw that the Central Plains were so unbearable, the chaotic world was chaotic, and without rules, they also took advantage of the void to enter the Central Plains and dominate each other, which directly led to the Wuhu Chaos. Cao Wei's unjust access to the country and the usurpation of Han independence became the fuse of the great catastrophe of the great division in later generations. It was precisely because Luo Guanzhong saw this that he wanted to degrade Cao Wei and raise Shu Han. Because shu han was after all a line of the Han emperor, it was the hope of reviving the Han dynasty at that time. Praise and loyalty have become the consensus of future generations. Cao Shi usurped Han Jianwei and was not loyal; Sima usurped Wei Jianjin and was not loyal. The three generations of the Cao clan were not loyal to the Han, and the descendants of Sima were not loyal to Wei, where are these usurpers who have won the throne, where is there something to praise? Eastern Wu was originally a Sun surname, and he also went with the flow, claiming to be emperor without authorization, and it is difficult to be regarded as loyal to the Han Dynasty. Only Shu Han, Liu Bei is the master of the Han Dynasty, the uncle of the Emperor of the Great Han, and after Cao Pi deposed the Han Emperor and established himself, he restored the Han Room and succeeded the Han Dynasty, which is reasonable and reasonable, and should belong to Fengtian and be impeccable. Because this is the only hope that can revive the Han Dynasty, although it is weak, it should be orthodox. It was precisely because Luo Guanzhong regarded Shu Han as a fu Han Zhengshuo that he was intoxicated with honoring Liu Andi Cao. Zhuge Liang's loyalty and virtuousness became a model for future generations of loyal ministers and sages. Since Zhuge Liang was a fledgling, he has wholeheartedly followed Liu Bei, no matter how difficult It is for Liu Bei to start a business, Zhuge Liang has always been loyal to him and has never rebelled. In particular, after Liu Beibai was orphaned, Zhuge Liang inherited Liu Bei's legacy, loyally assisted the young lord Liu Chan, and recreated Shu Han at the time of life and death. He holds the power of the country, but he has never had the heart to usurp the country, is honest and honest for the country, serves the public selflessly, and has a noble character. In order to restore the Han Dynasty, the Southern Expedition to the Northern War, six out of the Qi Mountains, bowed to exhaustion, died and then, and practiced his original mission of being loyal to Xinghan all his life. What Zhuge Liang did was exactly the loyalty, benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom that Confucians always admired, and it was also very much in line with the taste of the rulers of successive dynasties for their subjects. Luo Guanzhong was originally a Confucian student, and he regarded the Three Principles and Five Constants that Confucianism respected as the axiom of creed, and naturally admired such loyal servants and sages as Zhuge Liang, and in order to carry forward the spirit of Zhuge Liang, he also wanted to honor Liu And Degrade Cao and enshrine Shu Han as orthodox.
Zhuge Liang was entrusted by Liu Bei to be lonely, and as a courtier, he performed the duties of a father, and his position was really sensitive, but he was able to make the upper echelons not suspicious, the lower levels not to be interested in rumors, and everyone to trust, so that the imperial court, honest and selfless, Shu Han subjects, the road was not left behind; the Southern Expedition had the merit of suppressing rebellion and barbarism, and the Northern Expedition was suspected of infinite soldiers and weapons. The key to why Zhuge Liang can reach such a level lies in his ability to be sincere and selfless, to lead by example. This is the essence of the sages' work as human beings. Therefore, for thousands of years, people have been touched by Zhuge Liang's loyal character, calling him "the first person since the two Han Dynasties, three generations and then." It was precisely because Luo Guanzhong deeply admired Zhuge Liang's deeds that he wanted to honor Liu And degrade Cao, in stark contrast to the Cao and Sima clans in the same period, to sing Zhuge Liang's loyalty and virtuousness, so that his virtues would forever be passed on to future generations.