In ancient times, when wars were frequent, military divisions were indispensable, and the military division position had a high prestige as the main planner in war, and many capable people and sages in ancient times were well known as military divisions. For example, in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the reason why Wei Shuwu was able to form a three-legged momentum in constant struggle was inextricably linked to the think tank military division they had.
When it comes to one of the most famous military divisions in history, I think the first thing that everyone will think of is Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, and Zhuge Liang's name is not only well-known in China, but also a praised figure in any country in Asia.
However, what we want to talk about today is another military master with extremely high talent but not well known--Zhuge Liang's good friend Pang Tong.
▲Image: Zhuge Liang
During the Three Kingdoms period, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang had a very high evaluation, known as wolong phoenix chicks, and Sima Hui also said that as long as the two people got one, they could settle the world.
From this sentence, we can know that Pang Tong's ability is equal to Zhuge Liang's, but why do everyone now only know Zhuge Liang and not Pang Tong? What is the reason for today's situation?
▲Photo: Pang Tong (film and television stills)
Pang Tong was not famous when he was young, perhaps this is related to people's like to judge a person from his appearance, Pang Tong's appearance is too simple, few people will think that this person is a smart person. It may also be related to the fact that no one appreciates, after all, Bole is always much less than Maxima.
But fortunately, 20-year-old Pang Tong met Sima Hui, who appreciated him, which is what we often call Mr. Shui Jing. After the two talked, Sima Hui was shocked: "The talented son of Nanzhou, no one can compare with Pang Tong." After being appreciated by Sima Hui, Pang Tong finally began his career path.
▲Image: Mr. Water Mirror (film and television stills)
Pang Tong himself attaches great importance to moral cultivation, and when he praises others, he often exaggerates, because he feels that in this world, there will always be fewer good people than bad people, and the purpose of this is to help those who do good to build confidence, so that they can help more people. However, such a Pang Tong did not rise step by step after entering the army. At first, Pang Tong was a counselor for Zhou Yu, and was recommended to Sun Quan after Zhou Yu's death. But Sun Quan hated that Pang Tong was too ugly and forgot about it. Pang Tong was then taken to the Shu Kingdom by his friends, and after several twists and turns, he defected to Liu Bei's command, ready to show his talents.
▲Photo: Sun Quan (film and television stills)
However, when Pang Tong went to see Liu Bei, although he prepared two letters of recommendation written by Lu Su and Zhuge Liang, he did not take them out. When Liu Bei saw Pang Tong, he also disliked his appearance and directly sent him to a small county.
However, before he was an official for a long time, Pang Tong was reported, and Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei to check it out, but what he saw was that Pang Tong spent a small amount of time dealing with government affairs for a month, and later took out Lu Su's letter of recommendation. Here Pang Tong did not take out Zhuge Liang's letter of recommendation, presumably because, in the eyes of the world, the existence of Fengchi and Wolong are equally famous, if it is in this way to take out Zhuge Liang's letter of recommendation, I am afraid that it will be inferior. Therefore, he only showed Lu Su's letter of recommendation.
In the Battle of Chibi, Zhuge Liang's plan is still praised by people, but presumably many people do not know that the premise of the warships being able to burn them all at once is that all the ships must be connected together. In war, it was a very dangerous thing for ships to be all connected together, so why did Cao Cao make such a dangerous decision?
This is inseparable from Pang Tong, before the war began, Pang Tong first pretended to defect to Cao Cao, and then successfully offered Cao Cao a plan, let Cao Cao connect all the warships together, and successfully achieved the feat of burning Chibi.
▲Photo: Battle of Chibi (film and television stills)
Regrettably, however, at the age of 36, Pang Tong was shot and killed by a stray arrow because he insisted on leading his soldiers to attack the city. Liu Bei hated his pride, but also regretted his talent, so he personally selected a cemetery for him and buried him in Luofengpo. And here I think everyone will have a question, why did Liu Bei get the Phoenix Chick and Wolong, but did not unify the world?
In fact, Sima Hui only said that if he had one person, he would be able to settle the world. However, it did not say what the consequences would be if they were appointed at the same time. The difference between the personalities of Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong is too big, one seeks stability and the other seeks speed, they can be friends, but they are not suitable for cooperation. Although Pang Tong is on a par with Zhuge Liang, he is not well known to the world, because although Pang Tong's talent is high, he is too impatient to fully examine himself.
On the other hand, because he was hidden behind the scenes, he had made many plans for Liu Bei, but he was not known.
▲Picture: Luo Fengpo corpse (film and television stills)
Pang Tong's cemetery, also known as the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestral Hall, is located in Luojiang County, Sichuan. Later, during the Great Turmoil in the Shu Kingdom, his tomb was completely destroyed, but it was renovated during the Kangxi Period, and today's Longfeng Ancestral Hall is surrounded by thousands of pines and cypresses, lush and lush, just like the grand scene in the painting.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!