In the late Three Kingdoms period, among the three forces of Wei Shu and Wu, the State of Wei was the strongest, followed by Eastern Wu, and the weakest of shu Han, so why did The Wei Emperor Cao Pi insist on cutting down Wu instead of Cutting Down Shu? You know, the strength of Shu Han is weaker than that of Eastern Wu, and Cao Pi's difficulty in cutting Shu is much smaller than that of Wu, what is the reason for this?
Cao Pi's insistence on cutting down Wu does not mean that he does not have a strategic vision, on the contrary, this is precisely where Cao Pi's cleverness lies.
Cao Pi's desire to unify the mountains and rivers was no less than that of his father Cao Cao, who also wanted to unify the country in the early days, and Cao Pi insisted on cutting down Wu, precisely for this consideration. After the Battle of Yiling, the national strength of the Shu Han was not as good as before, and the maximum number of soldiers and horses it could mobilize was 100,000, while Eastern Wu was different, because Eastern Wu had a large population, so its fresh force was also quite large.
Cao Pi believed that the State of Wu was the biggest obstacle to his own unification of the whole country, and shu Han was only a small country in a remote corner, if he wanted to cut down Shu, Cao Pi could completely send a general to fight it, Eastern Wu was different, Eastern Wu had a large population and strong troops, and only by first eliminating the State of Wu could it cause a greater deterrent to Shu Han. Cao Pi believed that after eliminating Eastern Wu, Shu Han could break through without attacking, so that when he was in power, he continued to raise troops to attack Wu.
Cao Pi's contempt for the Shu Han Dynasty determined his strategic decisions. In particular, the Battle of Yiling allowed him to see through the national strength of the Shu Han, so he insisted on cutting down Wu. In addition to this reason, Cao Pi's death against the State of Wu was also influenced by the national conditions of the State of Wei.
During the cao cao period, Cao set up four major governors in the north, all of which were border fortresses of the State of Wei, at that time, the State of Wei had the largest number of troops stationed in Jingzhou and Yangzhou, and at one time occupied two-thirds of the total strength of the State of Wei, while the Governor of Yongzhou and the Governor of Youzhou, who defended Yongliang, were less than one-third of the total strength of the State of Wei. During the reign of Emperor Cao Pi of Wei, the Wei army on the front line of Yangzhou and Jingzhou continued to increase, and because of this, he had the confidence to eliminate Eastern Wu.
Compared with the Shu Han Dynasty, the border between Eastern Wu and the State of Wei was the longest, which was the main reason why Cao Pi insisted on placing heavy troops on the lianghuai front. Because of the convenience of mobilizing troops, coupled with the fact that Lianghuai is closest to the Central Plains and convenient for mobilizing grain and grass, Cao Pi set Eastern Wu as the target of elimination and unification. During the reign of Cao Pi, dozens of wars broke out between Eastern Wu and the State of Wei, of which four were major battles, and the number of casualties on both sides had exceeded 100,000.
The reason why Cao Pi insisted on cutting down Wu was also influenced by the geographical location of Wei Wu. The basis of the Shu Han was in Sichuan, and its mountains and rivers were connected, which was not suitable for the Wei army to fight at all. Although the State of Wu has the Yangtze River Graben, the area under its control is mostly plain, because the terrain is flat, so the Southern Expedition of the Wei Army can be said to be very smooth. During the reign of Cao Pi, the State of Wu basically relied on water troops to defeat the State of Wei, and their decisive battles in the plains mostly ended in a draw.
The geographical terrain affected Cao Pi's decision-making, and he had to shift his front to Jianghuai. We can see from the battles of Shu Wei and Wei Wu in the early period that the Shu kingdom was able to survive also by virtue of the excellent geographical location of Sichuan and Hanzhong, which the Wu state could not compare with the Shu Han. Although the State of Wei stationed a large number of troops and horses in Yongliang, its battles with the Shu Han mostly ended in failure. The State of Wei was less effective in the confrontation with Shu Han than in the contest with Wu, and Cao Pi naturally transferred the main force to the Eastern Front.
Cao Pi's insistence on cutting down Wu was actually affected by the Battle of Hanzhong. The Battle of Hanzhong was the first head-on battle between the Cao clan and the Shu Han, but this time, the State of Wei suffered huge losses. Cao Cao not only lost the general Xiahou Yuan, but even the Yongliang Xiao horse he had painstakingly built up was also lost, and this battle also happened to have a serious impact on the upper echelons of the Wei state. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, the shadow of the Battle of Hanzhong was not removed. Although Cao Pi was sure to defeat the Shu Han, he could only sigh after seeing the rugged mountainous terrain of Hanzhong and Sichuan. Intimidated by the lessons of the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Pi dispelled the idea of eliminating Shu Han.