Guo Jia, Pang Tong, Zhou Yu, whose death had the greatest impact on the Three Kingdoms?
Some say, maybe
Guo Jia will not die, there will be no Three Kingdoms, and Cao Wei will rule the world;
Zhou Yu does not die, there will be no Three Kingdoms, Wei and Wu are divided into two worlds;
Pang Tong did not die, the Three Kingdoms would survive forever, and Wei Shu wu would face off for a long time.
For such a view, I don't know what different views you have?
Let me start with my understanding and analysis.
As the saying goes, when the world is chaotic, the times make heroes.
The chaotic era of Hao Jie, the most heroic hero in China's feudal history, except for the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, belonged to the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty.
Guo Jia, Pang Tong, and Zhou Yu were all heroes of the Three Kingdoms era, and among them, dragons and phoenixes, and rare characters belonged to the three different forces of Wei Shu and Wu.
Moreover, these three people are the core backbones who joined in the initial period of various forces, and have made outstanding contributions to the entrepreneurship of Cao, Liu and Sun, and they all died young, which is a great pity.
Therefore, for thousands of years, various assumptions about Guo Jia, Pang Tong, and Zhou Yu have emerged endlessly.
If they didn't die, what would happen to the situation in the Three Kingdoms?
There were three landmark battles in the three kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, namely the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Chibi, and the Battle of Yiling.
These three major battles are of great significance to the formation of the three kingdoms, and this article will start with this to talk about the contributions of Guo Jia, Pang Tong, and Zhou Yu, and the impact of their deaths on the Three Kingdoms.
Battle of Guandu
In the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao adopted the strategy of the strategist Xun Yu to "blackmail the Son of Heaven to order the princes", ventured back to emperor Xian of Han, and moved the capital to Xuchang, and from then on his prestige was greatly shaken.
However, at that time, Cao Cao's strength did not grow rapidly, it was not prominent among the princes, and it was surrounded by strong enemies.
What really made Cao Cao a heavyweight prince was the Battle of Guandu.
In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao defeated the powerful Yuan Shao forces with a weak victory, leaving Tianzi and the princes of the four directions on their side.
In this battle, Guo Jiaju made great contributions.
Cao Cao's men were full of talents, but Guo Jia was always irreplaceable.
Many times, Guo Jia's ideas will be "slightly the same as what the hero sees" with Xun Yu and others.
But in some key strategic layouts, Guo Jia will always put forward some "solo theories" and shine in Cao Cao's powerful think tank.
This is not to prove his maverick, but based on Guo Jia's keen judgment and strategic vision that is different from ordinary people, although many people did not agree with Guo Jia's ideas beforehand, but afterwards it turned out that Guo Jia was right.
In the second year of Jian'an (197), Yuan Shao, who dominated the north, was the crown of the princes of the world, like a sharp blade hanging over Cao Cao's head.
Cao Cao recruited Zhang Xiu to defeat the soldiers, and also took the life of his eldest son Cao Ang and his confidante Dianwei, and Yuan Shao wrote a letter to humiliate him.
Everyone knows that Yuan Shao is the person Cao Cao is most jealous of, and if the two sides fight with dignity, Cao Cao is not dominant, but is at a clear disadvantage.
Therefore, many people under Cao Cao's command believed that Yuan Shao should not be angered at this time, and Cao Cao also took the initiative to appoint Yuan Shao as a great general in the name of Tianzi, so that Yuan Shao's official position was worthy of his strength.
However, Guo Jia's "Theory of Ten Victories and Ten Defeats" begins with the dispute between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu Chuhan, and points out yuan shao's ten weaknesses to the point, believing that the attack on Yuan Shao is a sure victory, and it is just in time:
Liu and Xiang were invincible, and the public knew it. Han Zu was victorious only, and although Xiang Yu was strong, he was eventually a bird. Jia stole the material, Shao had ten defeats, the public had ten victories, and although Shao was strong, he was powerless.
Guo Jia initially turned to Yuan Shao, but after really contacting Yuan Shao, Guo Jia was very disappointed, and found that this was a straw bag with great ambition and talent, and there was no good place to go at that time, so he lay flat in Yuan Shao Group and spent 6 years of fish touching time.
Guo Jia was to Yuan Shao as Han Xin was to Xiang Yu during the Chu-Han War.
Therefore, Guo Jia's analysis of Yuan Shao is very convincing, and it is very consistent with Cao Cao's understanding of Yuan Shao.
Therefore, Cao Cao vigorously defied the public opinion and decided to go to war with Yuan Shao.
However, until the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD), there were still many concerns before the war began.
For example, Liu Bei, who had always been very jealous of Cao Cao, was in Xuzhou and formed a pinch attack with Yuan Shao in the east and north.
If yuan shao was attacked first, it would be necessary to pour out of the nest, which would cause an emptiness in the rear, and at this time Liu Bei would inevitably sneak into Xuchang;
If Liu Bei was attacked first, in case Yuan Shao waited for an opportunity, Cao Cao, who was fighting on both sides, would certainly not be an opponent.
How do I decide?
Cao Cao again asked Guo Jia, who proposed a strategy of "destroying Liu Bei first, and then cutting down Yuan Shao":
Taizu was suspicious and asked Jia. Jia advised Taizu to know: Shao is late and suspicious, and will not come quickly. Prepare for a new rise, the hearts of the people are not attached, and the rapid attack will be defeated. This opportunity for survival must not be lost. Taizu: "Goodness." "So the East Expedition prepared. Prepare for defeat, Shao guo can not come out. - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Benji of Emperor Wu of Wei Taizu"
Guo Jia pointed out that Yuan Shao's character weaknesses are very obvious, indecisive and suspicious. Liu Bei was a widow, and he had not yet gained a foothold in Xuzhou, and the people's hearts did not belong.
If you attack quickly at this time and give Liu Bei a "blitzkrieg", he will definitely not be able to resist.
This is an existential juncture, and we must not hesitate to miss the opportunity.
Cao Cao personally led a large army to march Liu Bei according to Guo Jia's plan, and sure enough, he easily destroyed Liu Bei before Yuan Shao could react.
Liu Bei himself defected to Yuan Shao, his two wives became prisoners, and his good brother Guan Yu temporarily surrendered to Cao Cao.
After solving Liu Bei, someone else proposed:
The heir of the Tiger of Jiangdong, sun Ce, the little overlord, is likely to cross the river north to secretly attack Xuchang, and it must be guarded against!
For this concern, Guo Jia solved it in one sentence:
Ce xin and Jiangdong, all are heroic and heroic, and those who can get people's death power are also. Although there are millions of people, it is tantamount to walking alone in the Central Plains. If the Assassin rises, one man's enemy ears. From my point of view, he will die at the hands of Pifu.
Not long after, the spies sent to Jiangdong received news that Sun Ce had been attacked and killed.
It is reasonable to say that at this time, guo jia and Cao Cao's plan to attack Yuan Shao should be convinced.
However, based on the disparity in the strength of the two sides, until the Battle of Guandu began, many people under Cao Cao's command wavered and secretly exchanged letters with Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao was very angry after intercepting a large number of such letters, and was originally prepared to make a big move to "take the outside world first and be inside the inside".
It was Guo Jia who made Cao Cao burn the letters in public, thus stabilizing the hearts of the army and avoiding possible civil unrest.
It can be seen that from pre-war planning and mobilization, to war preparations, to stabilizing the military's morale in the course of war, Guo Jia has played a crucial role. As for the specific tactical implementation, Cao Cao's generals had enough experience and wisdom to complete it.
In the end, with the concerted efforts of all the people, Cao Cao's camp finally won a big victory in the Battle of Guandu with less victory.
At the level of military strategy, Guo Jia is a well-deserved ghost talent.
When Cao Cao expeditioned to Wuhuan, there was an embarrassing situation of Xuchang's emptiness.
Still Guo Jiali defied the public opinion, very thoroughly pointed out the contradictions between Liu Bei and Liu Biao, and strongly recommended cao Cao to go on the expedition, so that the concern about Liu Bei's surprise attack on Xuchang did not hinder Cao Cao's pace of unifying the north.
The above is a successful example of Cao Cao's victory by taking Guo Jia's advice.
Let's talk about Cao Cao's failure to accept Guo Jia, which led to some wrong decisions.
For example, after Liu Bei took the initiative to defect to Cao Cao, some people suggested killing Liu Bei, and some people were moved by Liu Bei Renyi to let Liu Bei go, and Cao Cao hesitated.
Guo Jia suggested not killing or letting go, but putting Liu Bei under house arrest. There is no need to bear the reputation of mutilating Zhongliang, and it will not let the tiger return to the mountain to leave behind troubles.
Unfortunately, Liu Bei still escaped under the pretext of contacting the Yellow Turban Army and recruiting Yuan Shu, and Guo Jia happened to be away from Cao Cao at that time.
Battle of Chibi
After Liu Bei escaped, he defected to Liu Biao, and Cao Cao needed time and energy to digest the results of the Battle of Guandu and temporarily ignored Liu Bei, which gave Liu Bei a very precious and rare respite.
By the time Cao Cao went south again to prepare to take liu Bei, it was already the Battle of Chibi in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD).
Unfortunately, Cao Cao's military master Guo Jia had died of illness a year earlier.
If Guo Jia was still there, perhaps there would have been no Battle of Chibi at all.
The so-called knowing oneself and knowing the other is invincible, and what Guo Jia is best at is to accurately analyze the enemy and ourselves and correctly predict the war situation.
Guo Jia's absence allowed Zhou Yu to shine.
In folk novels, the grass boats in the Battle of Chibi borrow arrows and borrow the east wind to blow Zhuge Liang into the sky.
But in fact, it was Zhou Yu who presided over the Battle of Chibi.
Cao Cao dug an artificial lake in Yecheng, simply trained a group of sailors who did not have much combat effectiveness, and could not wait to wave south without even understanding the climatic characteristics of the south.
As a result, before the great war began, Cao Cao's 200,000 troops were dissatisfied with the water and soil on a large scale, and they were taught a lesson by the plague.
Cao Cao, who was already demoralized, was defeated by the Eastern Wu Water Division commanded by Zhou Yu in the initial battle.
As a result, Cao Cao had to temporarily retreat to the north bank of the Yangtze River, continue to train sailors in the Wulin area, and confront Sun Liu's combined forces across the river.
During the confrontation, Cao Cao's mentality had changed, he had lost his former composure and had been hit by Zhou Yu Huanggai's bitter meat plan.
In the end, a fire burned Chibi to determine the outcome of the war.
Cao Cao was defeated and did not have the ability to march south on a large scale in a short period of time;
Sun Liu's coalition army won, and the situation of three divisions of the world began to appear.
If Guo Jia was not, he would certainly be able to see through Zhou Yu's bitter plan, and might even persuade Cao Cao to postpone the southern expedition plan.
Without the defeat at the Battle of Chibi, there would have been no situation in which the Three Kingdoms stood.
Battle of Yiling
After Zhou Yu won the Battle of Chibi, he originally planned to advance into the two worlds of Xichuan and Cao Cao, and if Zhou Yu's strategic intentions were finally realized, naturally there would be no later Three Kingdoms.
Unfortunately, Zhou Yu died of a violent illness during the preparation stage of the war, and a great strategy turned into empty talk.
After Zhou Yu's death, Eastern Wu no longer had a governor as strong and slightly enterprising as he was.
Whether it was Lu Su, or Lü Meng, or later Lu Xun, they were all just shoucheng people.
Under the active impetus of Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan's alliance with Liu Bei became more stable.
In the process of Liu Bei's power growing and expanding, especially when he captured Yizhou, Pang Tong, the "phoenix chick", played a key role.
Pang Tong was originally a gongcao in Zhou Yu's army, and it was only after Zhou Yu's death that he took the initiative to defect to Liu Bei.
At this time, Liu Zhang, who was cowardly by nature, guarded the rich Yizhou and had capable generals under him, but he was panicked by Zhang Song's rumors and took the initiative to ask Liu Bei for help.
Liu Beizheng did not have a legitimate reason to step into Xichuan!
This is good, dozing off to send pillows, Liu Zhang's request for help became a wolf into the room, and finally the Yizhou was completely destroyed.
When Liu Bei entered Shu, Zhuge Liang wanted to lead Guan Yu and others to stay in Jingzhou, and the military division that followed Liu Bei was Pang Tong.
In order to plot Yizhou, Pang Tong offered Liu Bei three strategies of "upper, middle and lower".
Liu Bei chose Zhongji and held a farewell banquet in the name of returning to Jingzhou, and the famous Shu generals Yang Huai and Gao Pei, who were guarding the pass, were lured to participate in the banquet.
After beheading the unsuspecting Yang Huai and Gao Pei, Liu Bei swung his troops directly at Chengdu, and the situation was like a bamboo.
Unfortunately, during the attack on Luocheng, Pang Tong was hit by a stray arrow and unfortunately died.
Pang Tong was similar to the Fa Zheng who later succeeded him, both were strategist-type talents, and it was liu Bei's most lacking talent.
Although Zhuge Liang can also be competent, he is ultimately lacking in skill.
In particular, Pang Tong and Fa Zheng died one after another, and Liu Bei had to defend against Cao Cao on the one hand, and eastern Wu on the other, and there was a shortage of people.
In the end, he had no choice but to let Guan Yu be on his own and guard Jingzhou.
If Pang Tong did not die, he would definitely be able to persuade Guan Yu not to let him defeat Maicheng and be in a different place.
Guan Yu did not die, and there would be no Battle of Yiling that Liu Bei later thought was guan Yu's revenge.
Even if Liu Bei still launched the Battle of Yiling, if Pang Tong did not die, with his ability enough to see through Lu Xun's burning company camp, Liu Bei's army would not be defeated even if it was defeated.
It was the Battle of Yiling that caused the Shu Han elite to lose all, greatly injured the vitality, and greatly increased Sun Quan's confidence.
Although Sun Liu later formed an alliance again under pressure from Cao Cao, Guan Yu's death and the Battle of Yiling had made this alliance vulnerable.
Personal opinion
Guo Jia was 38 years old, Zhou Yu was 36 years old, and Pang Tong was 36 years old, and the untimely deaths of all three of them were great losses to the forces to which they belonged, and also had a major impact on the situation in the three countries.
But in contrast, I personally believe that Guo Jia's death had the greatest impact.
Although it is not as good as the folklore that "Guo Jia does not die, wolong does not come out", after losing Guo Jia, Cao Cao misjudged many key strategic decisions, resulting in very serious consequences and greatly delaying the pace of unification.
And this delay indirectly led to the rise of Sima Yi.
It was during the long-term tug-of-war between the Three Kingdoms that Sima Yi gradually grasped cao Wei's military power and then controlled the government.
Compared with Guo Jia, the impact of Zhou Yu's death was not so great.
In Eastern Wu, Zhou Yu was the elder of the Three Dynasties, and his prestige was extremely high, and he had reached the point of high merit and shock the lord.
As Zhou Yu's merits grew, his contradictions with Sun Quan were bound to become more and more irreconcilable.
According to the various infighting between Sun Quan and Eastern Wu later, even if Zhou Yu lived for several more decades, he might not be able to improve too much, and it may even make the contradiction between Sun Quan and the Jiangdong family more acute.
After all, Zhou Yu is also a member of the Jiangdong family, with Zhou Yu behind the support, everyone does not have to give Sun Quan face.
Of course, the above is my personal nonsense, and if you have any different opinions, you are welcome to express your opinions in the comment area and discuss them together.