Guan Yu believes that everyone knows very well. He was the number one military general of The Liu Bei Clique, and his merits in battle could be counted with one hand compared to his. And Guan Yu's highest moment was the Battle of Xiangfan and the flooding of the Seventh Army. After he won the war, Cao Cao almost wanted to move the capital. So, why did Guan Yu's beating of Fan Cheng, surrender to prohibition, and killing Pound cause such a big shock?
First, there is the opponent. The one who guards Xiangfan is Cao Ren.
Everyone must know Cao Ren's name, but everyone may not know his status. In terms of status, he is similar to Xiahou Huan and Xiahou Yuan, and belongs to the commander of the military region. In the early days, when Cao Cao was fighting everywhere, if there was a need to divide the troops, it was almost certainly Cao Cao all the way and Cao Ren all the way.
That is to say, Cao Ren was basically the first person in the cao wei clique below Cao Cao, and his status was almost equal to that of Guan Yu. In the Battle of Xiangfan, Cao Ren even had the idea of abandoning Fancheng's retreat. That is to say, if there are no reinforcements, Cao Ren can be said to be defeated.
Guan Yu's second opponent was Yu Ban. So, what is the status of Yu Ban? Simply put, he was the first general of the Cao Wei clique with a Chinese surname. We know that Yu Ban, together with Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang Gao, and Le Jin, became the "Five Sons of Liang General". At that time, Yu Ban had the highest status.
Yu Ban was the only general in the Cao Wei clique with a foreign surname. In the past, it has also made many military achievements and can be called "famous generals". However, such a general who played an important role in the Cao Wei clique was defeated by Guan Yu and surrendered.
As for Pound, it is relatively insignificant. Pang De was brave and loyal, but whether it was the ability to carry illness or the reputation of seniority, he was much worse than Cao Ren and Yu Ban. Guan Yu's beheading of Pound is just a small climax in the big drama of the Battle of Xiangfan. For Guan Yu Wei Zhen Huaxia, in fact, the impact is not large.
That is to say, Guan Yu's two opponents were the second military of the Cao Wei clique and the first military general with the surname of Foreign. And Guan Yu won the crisp Liso, so wei Zhen Huaxia, that is, it is reasonable.
In addition, we need to know the geographical location of Fancheng.
Xiangyang was one of the most important cities in the whole world at that time, and I even doubted that there was any need to add this one. Xiangyang is located at an intersection that runs from the southeast to the northwest on all four sides. To the south, you can go down to Jingzhou and reach the Yangtze River. To the west, you can hold Yichang and lock the gate of the Three Gorges. To the east, you can control the economically rich Jianghan Plain. To the north, you can enter the Central Plains.
In particular, at that time, Han Tianzi was located in Xuchang, and Xiangyang was only one step away from Xuchang. More importantly, in ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, and water transportation was a very important mode of transportation. Xiangyang was right at the throat of Han Shui. When the Mongols broke through Xiangyang, they immediately marched along the Han River, and the defense system of the Southern Song Dynasty collapsed in an instant.
Therefore, Xiangyang is an undoubted geographical fortress, with Luoyang and The Central Plains in the north, Chang'an and Hanzhong in the west, Jingzhou in the south, and Wuhan and Hefei in the east. Throughout the dynasties, Xiangyang has been a first-class fortress. And this fortress, Guan Yu had already eaten half of it.
Finally, we need to consider the situation at the time.
Before Guan Yu launched the Battle of Xiangfan, what happened in the world? The background at that time was that Cao Cao was expelled from Hanzhong by Liu Bei, and Liu Bei completely controlled Hanzhong and Yizhou. That is to say, Liu Jin and Cao Retreat, this is an indisputable fact.
And Zhuge Liang proposed in the "Longzhong Pair" in his early years: "If there is a change in the world, then order a general to take the army of Jingzhou to Xiangwan and Luo, and the general to lead the people of Yizhou out of Qinchuan, and the people dare not eat pot pulp to welcome the general? If so, then hegemony can be achieved, and the Han Room can be prosperous", that is, marching from Hanzhong and Jingzhou.
That is to say, the significance of Guan Yu's attack on Xiangfan was not only to capture the city of Xiangfan, but also to implement the strategic goal that Liu Bei had set long ago--to advance in two ways and restore the Central Plains. If we enlarge our vision, rather than just seeing the Battle of Xiangfan as an isolated small battle, this battle is likely to determine the trend of the world.
Liu Bei won a great victory in Hanzhong. If guan yu takes Xiangfan again at this time. Then Liu Bei is likely to send troops from Hanzhong to Yongliang, and Sun Quan will naturally beat up the falling water dogs and march into Hefei. That is to say, if Guan Yu successfully took Xiangyang, a military stronghold, then this is likely to be the prelude to the collective counterattack of Sun Liu's clique and the complete collapse of Cao Cao's military defense line. At that time, Guan Yu was already in sight of victory.
Unfortunately, Xu Huang's decisiveness, the betrayal of his subordinates, sun Quan's short-sightedness, coupled with Guan Yu's own political stupidity, led to Guan Yu's sudden fall at the brightest moment of his life. Follow-up, is the loss of Jingzhou, Sun Liu's rebellion, the Battle of Yiling, and Liu Bei's death. It can be said that when Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army, it was not only the highlight of his own life, but also the highest moment of the entire Liu Bei Group. From then on, it is the river that is falling day by day, and the lone minister is returning to heaven.
What do you think of Guan Yu?
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