Before the Battle of Chibi, those who had the strength to dominate the world included Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan, needless to say, were all masters of a generation, and Yuan Shao was more resourceful and less decisive, although his strength was very strong, but his own ability was insufficient, and failure was sooner or later.
Among these people, the most delicate is Liu Biao, Liu Biao sits in Jingzhou, with more than 100,000 armor, not only famous generals and courtiers, but also Liu Biaoben's human rights and superior ability, is the best candidate to dominate the world. So, why didn't Liu Biao compete with Cao Cao and spell out a new future?
Above_ Liu Biao (142-208), character Jingsheng
Liu Biao lacked military talent
Before Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou, he once rode alone and went to jingzhou to assassinate the history, when the Han dynasty was in decline, and the so-called governor of a prefecture was often not worthy of the name, but Liu Biao could rule the entire Jingzhou in a short period of time, and the operation was also similar. It can be seen from this that Liu Biao's administrative ability is very good, in other words, Liu Biao's ability to govern the country is very strong.
However, in the chaotic era at the end of the Han Dynasty, the most important thing was military ability, and if he was not good at commanding troops to fight, it was a great loss, and in this regard, Liu Biao was lacking.
Historical records
"The watch has not been under siege for many years. Envious of illness and death, Changsha restored its son Yi, the table then attacked and yi, the south to collect zero, Gui, the north according to Hanchuan, thousands of miles, with more than 100,000 armor. ”
In 198 AD, Changsha Taishou Zhang Xian rebelled, Liu Biao sent troops to encircle and suppress, but it could not be attacked for many years, until Zhang Xian died of illness, Liu Biao recovered the lost land. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhang Xian was only an unpopular general, why Liu Biao could not conquer for many years, from which it was inferred that Liu Biao was not very good at commanding troops.
Cao Cao (155–220)
In addition, from 199 to 203 AD, Liu Biao and Jiaozhou Mu Zhang Jin went to war, and it was also impossible to fight for many years, until Zhang Jin was killed by his subordinates, and the problem was solved.
At the same time, in order to resist Cao Cao, Liu Biao often joined forces with mercenaries and acted as a barrier in the north, such as Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu succeeded Zhang Ji's forces, and in 196 defected to Liu Biao, stationed in Wancheng, Zhang Xiu's strength was very limited, but even so, in 198, Zhang Xiu still defeated Cao Cao once, of course, mainly because of Jia Xu's help.
Liu Biao let Zhang Xiu watch the door in the north, which meant that he would act as cannon fodder, but it also indirectly showed that Liu Biao was lacking in commanding troops, so he often used mercenaries to help him fight.
Above_ Zhang Xiu(?) –207), a native of Wuwei Zuli (present-day Jingyuan, Gansu).
Jingzhou is a place of four wars, and it is often too busy to take care of itself
Although Liu Biao's Jingzhou is very strong, he is similar to Cao Cao, he is in the land of four battles, surrounded by enemies, in other words, there are too many worries about the future, if you want to attack Cao Cao wholeheartedly, you also have more than enough heart and insufficient strength.
"Yuan Shuzhi was also in Nanyang, and joined forces with Sun Jian to attack and seize The Table Prefecture and make Jian attack the Table."
In the east, there were Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, and in 191 AD, Yuan Shu sent Sun Jian to attack Liu Biao, and Liu Biao sent Huang Zu to fight, shooting Sun Jian in a sneak attack, and thus forming a mortal vendetta with Sun Quan.
In 194 AD, Liu Yan of Yizhou died, and his son Liu Zhang inherited the territory of Yizhou, Liu Zhang's qualifications were flat, Liu Biao saw that he could take advantage of the situation, and sent people to plot against the generals of Yizhou, but ended in failure.
"Jingzhou don't drive Liu Fu, Zhang will Shen Mi, Lou Fa, and Gan Ning, defeat Zhang, and walk into Jingzhou."
While defending against Cao Cao, Liu Biao was also at war with the enemies around him, and if he wanted to solve Cao Cao, he must first solve the internal problems, and Liu Biao's internal rebellions also occurred from time to time, in other words, Liu Biao had more than enough to resist Cao Cao, but to fight on several lines at the same time, he did not have that ability.
Above_ Jingzhou county division map
The constraints of the Jingzhou family
The reason why Liu Biao was able to quickly gain a foothold in Jingzhou and become a prince of a state was largely due to the help of the Jingzhou family, and the representative figures here were Qu Yue and Qu Liang.
Liu Biao had just arrived in Jingzhou, and in order to pacify the local clan thieves, he asked the Ku brothers. Qu Liang said:
"Those who are not attached to the multitude, those who are not benevolent, those who are attached but do not rule, and those who are not righteous; the way of benevolence and righteousness, and the people return to it like the fun of water, why should they not ask the soldiers and the strategy?"
Ku Liang's suggestion is to win people's hearts with benevolent government, and Ku Yue's suggestion is to use strategy to deter thieves, in the chaotic world, how can it be possible to make the clan thieves subordinate only by benevolent government, so carrots and sticks must be used together to achieve the best results.
In the end, Liu Biao adopted Ku Yue's suggestion and sent Qu Yue to invite 55 leaders of the sect thieves to a banquet, and killed them all at the banquet, so that the seven counties of Jingzhou were determined.
Although Liu Biao finally adopted The Suggestion of Qu Yue and took the initiative to attack, in other words, some of the Clan clan did not want Liu Biao to be big, or did not recommend that Liu Biao go south to conquer the north.
Above_ 蒯 (kuǎi) is good, and the characters are soft
Liu Biao is a foreigner, as the saying goes, the strong dragon can not suppress the head snake, although Liu Biao later gained a foothold in Jingzhou, but to a large extent, his decision-making will also be restricted by the local family clan, can not be arbitrary.
"Therefore, as a general, if you raise a state to attach yourself to the Duke of Cao, the Duke of Cao will be a general of virtue; the long-term blessing is blessed, and the heirs are heirs, and this perfect strategy is also." Table General Ku Yue also advised the table".
On the other hand, in terms of attitude towards Cao Cao, the clan of Jingzhou also had the idea of self-preservation and surrender. Before the Battle of Guandu, Liu Biao took the countermeasure of attacking from afar and close attacks, making friends with Yuan Shao and confronting Cao Cao, while Ku Yue's attitude was to hope that Liu Biao would defect to Cao Cao in an attempt to protect himself.
Liu Biao had no intention of attacking Cao Cao, but due to the influence of the Jingzhou family, he also needed to carefully consider before making a decision, in other words, due to the existence of pro-Cao factions such as Ku Yue, Liu Biao was also difficult to make a big move against Cao Cao.
Above_ Ku Yue (?) –214), courtesy name Yidu, was a native of Zhonglu, Xiangyang (present-day southwest of Xiangyang, Hubei).
Liu Biao is more content with the status quo
Liu Biao's ambitions are there, otherwise he would not have fought everywhere, but compared with Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan, Liu Biao was more satisfied with the status quo. Jingzhou's location was attacked on all sides, in a sense, war should be Liu Biao's daily affairs, but Liu Biao spent a lot of energy on internal affairs, not only to open the scriptures, but also to recruit Confucians.
"When the state boundaries were exhausted, the table was opened as a scholar, and the Confucians were sought, so that Qi Wumin, Song Zhong, and others could write the Five Classics and chapters and sentences, which were determined later."
Liu Biao has done a lot of practical things in Jingzhou, and the local people have a much better life than other regions because of Liu Biao's existence, but from the side, we can also see that Liu Biao's ambition to dominate is not too big, and in Liu Biao's view, he wants to live more peacefully.
Liu Bei (161 – 10 June 223)
"Taizu's first expedition to Liucheng, Liu Bei said that the table envoy attacked Xu, and the table did not follow. And Taizu also said that he did not need to speak the king's words, so he lost this assembly also. ”
In 207, when Cao Cao went on an expedition to Liuzhou, Liu Bei suggested that Liu Biao sneak into Xu Du, which was a golden opportunity, and Liu Biao rejected Liu Bei's suggestion. If Liu Bei is replaced in Liu Biao's position, he will certainly not miss the opportunity, but Liu Biao is Liu Biao, who has a good ability, but lacks the ambition to dominate, so the cause of Jingzhou is over after Liu Biao.
Above_ The Three Kingdoms stand tall
In the chaotic world, it was impossible to be alone, and Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan knew this very well, so they did not hesitate to expand and conquer until the world was divided. However, in Liu Biao's view, the whole meaning of life does not come from the struggle for hegemony, there are still many things worth him to do, even if he and Cao Cao fight to the death of the net, what can he do, fight to win, maybe just a void!
author:
Nine Fish Pavilion
Correction/Editing:
Lilith
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book VI of Wei
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author