In ancient China, there were indeed many founding emperors who, after unifying the world, vigorously purged heroes in order to sit on the throne or help their descendants reduce threats. For example, after Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, seized the world, he successively killed Zang Di, Han Xin, Lu Xie, Peng Yue, Yingbu and other heroes for various reasons. Even his son-in-law, Zhang Ao, was deposed from the throne. The Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu was relatively better, but he also directly or indirectly killed Peng Pet, Liu Yang, Han Xin and others.
Therefore, many people on the Internet now think that if Liu Bei really unifies the world and becomes emperor, then Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other heroes who help him fight the world will not end well.
However, I personally believe that if Liu Bei really unifies the world, then Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others will not only be fine, but will inevitably be reused.
First of all, Liu Bei was a rare benevolent person among the emperors of previous dynasties.
Liu Bei has always been known for his benevolence and righteousness, and treats his subordinates very well. Like him, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others often sat at the same table, ate with the same basket, and slept in the same bed. He came from a poor background, but he was able to recruit top talents such as Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, which had a lot to do with his kindness.
Moreover, Liu Bei was also very lenient to those who had to leave him for various reasons.
Like when Liu Bei was defeated at the time of Yang's defeat, Xu Shu could only surrender to Cao Cao because his mother was captured, and Liu Bei also let him go. After the defeat of Yiling, Huang Quan was forced to surrender to Cao Wei, and Liu Bei did not embarrass his family, and still gave him courtesy, and Huang Quan's son Huang Chong also became Shang Shulang.
Liu Bei treated his subordinates so leniently, naturally he would not slaughter the heroes at will.
More importantly, after Liu Bei unified the world, the biggest threat did not come mainly from the heroes, but from the warriors.
Liu Xiu started by relying on Haoqiang, and after he ascended the throne, Haoqiang's strength grew day by day. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Haoqiang had controlled a large amount of land and population, and had a great influence on the local area. And some of the top families have become warriors because they have served as high-ranking officials for generations, and they are very important in the court.
In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, these powerful warriors still played a great role. Like Liu Zhang, who rode to Jingzhou to take up his post, he relied on the support of the Ku, Cai and other clans to gain a firm foothold. Liu Bei also had the support of Chen Deng, Mi Zhu and others in Xuzhou in order to gain a foothold. And Cao Wei Jiangshan was finally usurped by the Sima family, also because the power of the Court Shangshi clan was too strong, and the Cao clan's relatives were unable to resist it.
Although Liu Bei was a relative of the Han Dynasty, after all, the relationship was already very far away. In addition, his ancestors only served as some petty officials, and they could only be regarded as a cold door, so most of the scholars looked down on him, and the relationship between the two sides was very general. There were also very few scholars who followed Liu Bei, and Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others whom Liu Bei relied heavily on were not of high birth, and Zhuge Liang was slightly stronger, but he was not a famous and prestigious family.
Therefore, if Liu Bei really unified the world and became emperor, then it was bound to support the Meritorious Group and the Shi Clan giants to compete, so as to avoid the Shi Clan's power being too strong and threatening his own Jiangshan.
In addition, Liu Bei suffered repeated setbacks in his early years, and most of his life was spent in turmoil and displacement. By the time he captured Jingzhou and gradually expanded his power, he was already more than half a hundred years old. In this way, when he seized the world, he should be more than sixty years old, which was considered to be an advanced age in ancient times.
Liu Bei's life in Jingzhou was relatively stable, and he had an heir, and there was a full gap of forty-six years between him and his eldest son Liu Chan. Therefore, when he died, Liu Chan was barely an adult at most, unable to control such a large inheritance, and also needed people to assist.
Because Liu Bei had not been able to get the support of the Shi clan, his talents had always been in short supply. In addition to Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, and others who did not abandon Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, and others who did not abandon them during the most difficult period, there were not many people that Liu Bei could rely on and reuse.
Therefore, from the perspective of reserving a trustworthy auxiliary political team for his son Liu Chan, Liu Bei could not clean up Zhuge Liang.
To sum up, for Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and others are not only not a threat, but also a force that he can rely on after reunification, and if it is completely eliminated, it will not be conducive to rule. Therefore, even if liu bei was not considered as a benevolent factor, he was unlikely to kill the heroes.