"Foreign affairs are not decided to ask Zhou Yu, and internal affairs are not decided to ask Zhang Zhao", Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao, are the two orphan ministers left by Sun Ce to his younger brother Sun Quan. Zhou Yu was the representative of the Jiangdong warlords, and Zhang Zhao was the representative of the Jiangdong family and the Wenchen, both of whom were very influential in Jiangdong.
Sun Ce was a fierce general who could recruit good warriors, but Sun Quan, in terms of commanding troops, was far inferior to his brother Sun Ce, who had let him lead his troops to attack Kuangqi City, which was guarded by Chen Deng, in order to temper Sun Quan. Chen Deng's talent was outstanding, and by creating the illusion that Cao Cao's rescuers had arrived, Sun Quan was in a panic. Subsequently, Chen Deng took the opportunity to attack and defeated Sun Quan. Sun Quan's troops were far more than Chen Deng's, but after Chen Deng's attack, Sun Quan panicked, and he took the lead in escaping, which made the Wu army confused and eventually suffered a crushing defeat to Chen Deng.
This fiasco affected Sun Quan's position in the hearts of Jiangdong's generals, so when Sun Ce passed the position of duke of Jiangdong to Sun Quan, the generals of Jiangdong were very pessimistic about the future of Jiangdong, and even many generals began to think about their future and prepared to change the court.
At the critical moment, Zhou Yu stood up and took the lead in performing the courtesy of the monarch and the courtier, helping Sun Quan to consolidate the position of the lord of Jiangdong. Subsequently, Cao Cao led his troops south to prepare to capture Jingzhou and Jiangdong. In the face of the menacing Cao Cao, the people of Jiangdong were panicked, and Zhang Zhao and others persuaded Sun Quan to surrender to Cao Cao, but Zhou Yu was not frightened by the powerful Cao army, and he not only led the battle, but also led his troops to repel the Cao army in the Battle of Chibi.
After the Battle of Chibi, Zhang Zhao's prestige in Jiangdong was damaged, and Zhou Yu's prestige was greatly enhanced, and he became the veritable first minister in Jiangdong. Although Zhou Yu was very powerful, he was very loyal to Sun Quan, and after he repelled Cao Cao, he plotted to suppress Liu Bei, seize Yizhou, join forces with Ma Chao, etc., to help Sun Quan seize the world, but unfortunately, Zhou Yu was only 36 years old and died of illness.
Before Zhou Yu died, he was still thinking about Sun Quan, and he reminded Sun Quan to pay attention to three people, but unfortunately Sun Quan neglected one person and almost let Eastern Wu perish.
First, Liu Bei
Cao Cao said that Sima Yi was a person who was not willing to be a subject, in fact, Liu Bei was a real person who was not willing to be a subject, he was attached to Gongsun Zhan, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and many other princes, although they did not treat Liu Bei thinly, but Liu Bei never wanted to be their courtiers.
Liu Bei was a very ambitious man, and although he said that he wanted to support the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei's real purpose was to seize the world and claim the title of emperor. At the time of Zhou Yu's death, although Liu Bei was only half of Jingzhou, the land of four counties, weak in strength, and not a threat to Sun Quan, but Liu Bei had the assistance of Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others, and it was still not to be underestimated, so Zhou Yu reminded Sun Quan to guard against Liu Bei, so as not to let Liu Bei grow stronger and become a problem for Jiangdong's confidants, but unfortunately, Zhou Yu's reminder, Sun Quan did not pay attention, and soon after, he also lent Nan County to Liu Bei.
After Liu Bei obtained Nan County, his strength was enhanced. At the same time, after Zhou Yu's death, Jiangdong's plan to attack Yizhou was shelved, which cheapened Liu Bei, and he seized the opportunity to seize Yizhou. After Liu Bei obtained Yizhou, his strength became stronger, but he was unwilling to return Jingzhou, laying the foundation for the feud between Sun and Liu's families. During the Battle of Xiangfan, Sun Quan took advantage of Guan Yu's attack on Fancheng and sent Lü Meng to capture Jingzhou.
Sun Quan's treachery and the seizure of Jingzhou and the killing of Guan Yu angered Liu Bei, who led an army to attack Jiangdong. Fortunately, at a time of crisis, Lu Xun stepped forward and led his troops to defeat Liu Bei, allowing Jiangdong to avoid the disaster of national subjugation, but even so, Jiangdong also suffered heavy losses.
2. Lu Su
The governor of Jiangdong was high and powerful, and the burden on his shoulders was very heavy. Zhou Yu was "an unparalleled warrior of the country" and had outstanding talent, and when he was alive, he repelled strong enemies such as Cao Cao and shouldered the heavy responsibility of the governor of Jiangdong, but after his death, in order to build a foundation in Jiangdong, he needed to recommend a qualified governor for Sun Quan. Although there are many talents in Jiangdong, most of the positions of governor need top talents to take on the role, and they must be loyal and reliable.
The talent that Zhou Yu recommended for Sun Quan was Lu Su. "Fulu guan Rao Zijing, Linjiang water warfare has Zhou Lang", Zhou Yu is good at water warfare, Lu Su is good at ambushing, guarding passes, etc., he is also an excellent military talent. At the same time, Lu Su also had a strategic vision, and before the Battle of Guandu, he persuaded Sun Quan to unite with Liu Bei against Cao Cao, which promoted Sun Liu's alliance and laid the foundation for Sun Quan to win the Battle of Chibi.
After Zhou Yu's death, Lu Su suggested that Sun Quan lend Nan Commandery to Liu Bei, contributing to Sun Liu Cao's three-legged pattern. At the same time, although the Sun and Liu families were allies, there were also many differences of interest, and Lu Su mediated from them to let the two families fight without breaking, and safeguarded the interests of Jiangdong.
3. Cao Cao
Cao Cao was a fierce enemy of Liu Bei and Sun Quan. Cao Cao was a very ambitious and capable man, and from the very beginning of his army, he launched wars one after another, destroying strong enemies such as Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, Yuan Shao, and Ma Teng, and seizing most of the land under the heavens. Subsequently, Cao Cao also wanted to seize Liu Biao's Jingzhou and Sun Quan's Jiangdong, but after he ate a big heel in Chibi and was defeated by Zhou Yu, he was forced to lead his army north.
Although Cao Cao lost the Battle of Chibi, but his strength should not be underestimated, his ambitions did not change, after the time was ripe, Cao Cao still led his troops south again, attacking Jiangdong, until Liu Bei and Sun Quan were destroyed and the world was unified, so before Zhou Yu died, he reminded Sun Quan to think of danger in peace and guard against Cao Cao. Sun Quan also had a clear understanding of this, and he regarded Cao Wei as his strong enemy and made a lot of preparations.