In the first year of Zhang Wu (221 AD), Liu Bei personally led 50,000 elite warriors in Shuzhong to attack Wu, aiming to retake Jingzhou. The outcome of this war ended with Liu Bei's fiasco. In the previous articles, the author analyzed the specific reasons for Liu Bei's crushing defeat at the Battle of Yiling from some objective angles such as Lu Xun and Sun Quan. This article is considered from the perspective of the Shu Han clique and explains the subjective reasons for the final defeat of the Shu state.
For this war, Liu Bei, a generation of tyrants, can be said to be full of confidence. Judging from the situation at that time, his idea was actually very simple. Liu Bei had just been proclaimed emperor, and he thought that with the momentum of being called emperor, he would definitely be able to strengthen his army. This is one. The former general Guan Yu, as the first general in the Shu army, had always enjoyed prestige in the army. The so-called "mourning soldiers will win", Liu Bei played the guise of revenge for Guan Yu, and also greatly mobilized the momentum of the Shu army. This is two.
The Shu Han clique was formally established, and Liu Bei needed a victory in a war to inspire the people and officials within the clique. After all, many people still hold an opposition and wait-and-see attitude toward Liu Bei's claim to the throne. Therefore, Eastern Wu, a seemingly weak "persimmon", became a very good object in Liu Bei's eyes. This is three. Liu Bei Group has been operating in the Jingzhou area for several years, and in Liu Bei's view, as long as he launches a large army, there will certainly be many forces within Jingzhou who will gather to respond. In this way, can Eastern Wu Yan be undefeated? This is four.
After the Battle of Hanzhong, Liu Bei, who had been in turmoil and displacement throughout his life and repeated defeats, finally defeated Cao Cao, a close enemy. At this time, his mentality inevitably swelled up a little. In a previous article, the author explained Liu Bei's deep obsession with Jingzhou in his heart. As early as the founding of the Shu Han clique, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang regarded Jingzhou as an important strategic place. In this way, Liu Bei must take back Jingzhou. But the cruel reality made Liu Bei I's wisdom eventually ruined. From the perspective of the Shu Han clique, Liu Bei was severely damaged in the Battle of Yiling, which was affected by many factors.
First of all, for this crusade, there were serious differences within the Shu Han clique. Some of the courtiers of the Jingzhou clique chose to support Liu Bei in order to reunite with their families. The courtiers, led by Zhao Yun and Qin Mi, resolutely opposed Liu Bei's Eastern Crusade out of consideration for the policy of "uniting with Wu and resisting Cao".
Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Zhao Yun's biography quotes from the "Biography of Yun Bei", Zhao Yun once clearly analyzed the current situation for Liu Bei: "Although he was killed, Zi Pi usurped the thief, and because of the hearts of the people, he had already planned Guanzhong, and lived in the upper reaches of the river and Wei to curry favor with fierce rebellion, and the righteous soldiers of Guandong would wrap grain and horses to welcome the king's master." Wei should not be ignored, and Wu Zhan should be fought first; once the army is exchanged, it must not be dissoluted. However, since Liu Bei became emperor, his imperial mentality has become more and more obvious. Liu Bei did not understand these truths that Zhao Yun said, but in his opinion, it should be a very easy thing for him to defeat Sun Quan and retake Jingzhou.
Compared with Zhao Yun's snubbed, the fate of another direct minister, Qin Mi, was more miserable. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms? The Biography of Qin Mi records: "Since the first lord is called an honorific title, he will march east to Wu, and when Mi Chen Tianshi is unproductive, he will sit down in prison and claustrophobic, and then lend out." It can be seen that Qin Mi was imprisoned for violating Liu Bei's wishes, which also made many ministers dissatisfied.
In addition, the attitude of Zhuge Liang was very ambiguous, and he neither supported nor opposed it. But in Liu Bei's view, Zhuge Liang's non-stance is actually a tacit approval of himself. Under such circumstances, Liu Bei abandoned many talented people, but only brought some obedient civilian generals. In this way, how can the Shu Han Group fully exert its strength?
Second, Liu Bei's deployment before the war ended in failure. Let's first look at Liu Bei's diplomatic deployment. Romance of the Three Kingdoms? The Biography of the First Lord quotes the Book of Wei as saying: "Prepare for Cao Gongxue, send Han Ran to hang the book, and give gifts." Emperor Wen hated him for his death and asked for good, and jingzhou stabbed shi ran and gave up his mission. It can be seen that although Liu Bei is a light enemy, he is not unprepared. In order to prevent a surprise attack by the Cao Wei clique, Liu Bei ordered Han Ran to be an envoy and wanted to shake hands with Cao Pi temporarily. Obviously, this has not worked.
To this end, when Liu Bei attacked Sun Quan, he had to let Huang Quan, Pang Lin and others personally lead the water division to prevent the wei state from raiding. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms? The biography of Huang Quan records: "(Bei) took Quan as the general of Zhenbei and supervised the Northern Jiang army to defend against the Wei division; the first lord was in Jiangnan. However, this deployment indirectly restrained Liu Bei's sailor strength and laid the groundwork for his future wrong decisions.
Looking at Liu Bei's military deployment, it can be said that he has suffered repeated setbacks. Because Zhang Fei died at the hands of his generals before the war began. In contrast to the other generals, Zhao Yun was snubbed and stayed in Jiangzhou to stand by. While Wei Yanzhen was guarding Hanzhong and Ma Chao was threatening Liangzhou, these two could not escape in time. In this way, in the Eastern Expeditionary Army led by Liu Bei, there was not a single general. And this has also become a little reason for the serious damage of the Shu army.
In the end, Liu Bei made a wrong command. In the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei did not have no military, but Pang Tongfazheng, who was good at military affairs, had already passed away. In this way, when Liu Bei made a wrong strategic decision, no one pointed out its drawbacks.
So what is Liu Bei's strategic mistake? First, Liu Bei abandoned the way of marching down the river. Instead, the Yizhou army, which was good at fighting on the plains, was placed in Yiling, where the rivers and hills ran rampant. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms? The biography of Lu Xun records: "Looking for preparations for the march before and after, more defeats and less successes, inference this argument, is not enough to be concerned." When the subject first suspected it, the land and water were advancing, but now they are giving up their boats, camping everywhere, and observing their arrangements, and there will be no other changes. Wish the Supreme Supreme To sit on the high pillow and not to think of it. It can be seen that Liu Bei abandoned Lu Xun's most feared strategy of advancing by waterway, but instead wanted to take Yiling with a single blow. Liu Beishe is going to the end, under this and the other, can Yan be undefeated?
Second, Liu Bei adopted the tactic of company battalion, which directly caused the final fiasco. During the Battle of Hanzhong, Liu Bei used this tactic and eventually defeated Cao Cao. And Liu Bei, in Yiling, where the terrain was completely different, did not know how to change, and still chose the company tactics, which finally provided a perfect assist for Lu Xun's fire attack plan. Even Cao Pi, who did not know the military, later laughed at Liu Bei's "unknown soldiers".
In summary, the main reason why Liu Bei was tragically killed in the Battle of Yiling was that the Shu Han clique ignored many detailed elements in the preparatory work in the early stage of the war. Coupled with Liu Bei's light enemy against Eastern Wu at the beginning of the war, this caused such a dismal situation later.
Reference book: Romance of the Three Kingdoms