Zhuge Liang's Longzhong pair can be said to have laid the foundation for three parts of the world, and the key to Longzhong's pair is the capture of Jingzhou, and then plotting Yizhou, straddling Jingzhou and Yizhou, the key point lies in Chongyi Prefecture, and Jingzhou's northward going to Wanwan and Luo actually lies in the strategy of going north to Guanzhong from Yizhou.
So why is the focus on Guanzhong , before the Three Kingdoms there were a total of three wars of world unification, the State of Qin spent 500 years from weak to strong to unify the world, Liu Bang spent four years to unify the world, Liu Xiu spent 12 years to unify the world, Qin and the Western Han both laid down the Guanzhong , Hanzhong, Longyou, and Bashu regions, completed the integration of the west, retreated can divide one side, and enter can dominate the world.
The most important thing for Guanzhong is to take the gateway is the Hexi Canal Basin, and after taking the canal basin, and then take the Shangdang Basin to spy on Hebei, so when Korea was forced to cede Shangdang County to the State of Qin, it made the State of Zhao feel threatened, so the State of Zhao did not hesitate to offend and accept the surrender of Shangdang County in Korea, for which Qin Zhao had a Battle of Changping in the Warring States, and after the Battle of Changping, the Shangdang was included in the territory of the State of Qin,
The state of Zhao was always threatened by the condescending threat of the state of Qin is not far from destruction, a way to enter the Central Plains in Guanzhong is the Danshui River Basin into the Nanyang Basin, Liu Bang destroyed Qin to take this road, the Nanyang Basin can be said to be the hub of the world, to the west through the Han Water can enter Hanzhong, to the south through Xiangyang into the Jingxiang area (Jianghan Plain), to the northeast can enter the Central Plains through the Fangcheng Xia Road, the Nanyang Basin is of great strategic significance,
At that time, Guan Yu went on a northern expedition from the Jingxiang region, coercing Xiangyang so that Wancheng (the core area of the Nanyang Basin) and Xudu (the seat of Emperor Xian of Han) responded to Guan Yu, and Guan Yu's Northern Expedition shocked Huaxia,
Frightened that Cao Cao almost moved the capital, it can be seen that the importance of the Nanyang Basin, another way to enter the Central Plains in Guanzhong is the Xianhan Ancient Road, through the Yellow River Valley into the Yiluo Basin, and from this road into the Central Plains, the first thing is to take the Canal Valley, otherwise it may be cut off at any time by the forces of the Canal Valley in the north, so the Qin State first occupied the land east of the Wei State (east of the Yellow River), and then captured the part of the Xianhan Ancient Road in Korea.
Xianhan Ancient Road
The importance of Bashu to the western forces is very important, there is a saying that the world is not chaotic Shu is chaotic first, the world has ruled Shu before it is governed, and the fragmentation of Shu can be seen.
Shudi communicates with the Guanzhong region through the Shu Road, and the capture of Shu land in Guanzhong can make up for the lack of cultivated land in Guanzhong Province, and the Shudi and Jingxiang areas are connected by the Three Gorges, and the turbulent water of the Three Gorges belongs to Shu land, which belongs to the eastern gate of Shu Land, where the Shu Han regime established the Yong'an Grand Governor.
During the reign of King Huiwen of Qin, the State of Qin occupied the Longyou region of Guanzhong and had two sets of plans, one was Zhang Yi's strategy, occupying the ancient road of Xianhan from Guanzhong and occupying Luoyang to hold the princes of Zhou Tianzi, and the other was that Sima Qiao steadily marched into Sichuan to capture Bashu, accumulating strength to plot the world, Sima Shu's strategy was undoubtedly correct, and Bashu was later developed by Li Bing's father and son into a large granary of the Qin state, and has since become a prosperous and economically developed area.
After the integration of the west, the Qin state gradually occupied the second ladder of China (Shanxi, Nanyang, Jingxiang region), showing an overwhelming trend towards the six countries of Shandong below the second ladder, and the mountains and rivers of the second ladder were all captured by Qin, and the six kingdoms of Shandong were gradually destroyed by the Qin state.
Liu Bang's road to unification is not smooth, Liu Bang's luck lies in Xiang Yu's vision, Xiang Yu expects the Spring and Autumn hegemony, not the unification of the world, claiming to be the overlord of Western Chu, thinking that the end of the division will bring the balance of the world, and the result is endless wars,
Liu Bang was sealed by Xiang Yu in the Bashu region, if Liu Bang was sealed in the Bashu region, do not distribute Hanzhong to Liu Bang, as a result, Xiang Yu listened to Xiang Bo's suggestion that the first to enter Guanzhong is the king, Hanzhong also belongs to Guanzhong , sealing it to Liu Bang is not a violation of King Huai's covenant, Liu Bang thus got Hanzhong, got the gateway to the world, Hanzhong is the gateway to Bashu and the barrier south of Guanzhong , Liu Bang got this to fix the three Qins (Guanzhong and Longyou region, Xiang Yu divided the three generals of the Qin Dynasty, This area was also known as the land of Sanqin after that), opened up the Xianhan Ancient Road, confronted Xiang Yu in the Central Plains, sent Han Xin to open a second battlefield to occupy Shanxi, Hebei and Shandong to form a strategic encirclement of Xiang Yu, and formed a strategic encirclement of Xiang Yu in the Jingxiang region, and formed a good alliance with King Gongao of Linjiang in the Jingxiang region and Wu Rui the King of Hengshan to avoid losses in his strategic rear, united with Jiangnan Yingbu to harass Xiang Yu in the rear, and made Peng Yue the king of Liang in Liangdi (the territory of the Central Plains of the Wei state, which was also called Liangdi because the Wei state moved the capital from Anyi to Daliang), and carried out guerrilla warfare in the rear. Implemented a strategic encirclement of Xiang Yu, and finally destroyed Xiang Yu under the bow.
And Zhuge Liang pursues Liu Bang's strategy, let's find out the shortcomings of Long Zhong.
The form of the division of the world changed too quickly, and during the period proposed by Longzhong, Cao Cao had unified the entire north except Guanzhong , and only Sun Quan of Jiangdong, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong, Liu Zhang of Yizhou, and Shixie of Jiaozhou were left in the world, and the strategic center of gravity was to straddle Jingzhou and Yizhou, and Liu Bei sent a general from Yizhou to the Northern Expedition of Qinchuan to the Central Plains.
Long Zhong on the reason for the failure
The first is across Jingzhou and Yizhou, Jingzhou and Yizhou connect only the Yangtze River Three Gorges waterway communication, land is mountains and rivers dangerous, once Jingzhou changes, Yizhou's soldiers and horses are difficult to rush to Jingzhou in time to rescue, such as Liu Bei in Hanzhong and Cao Cao confrontation, Sun Quan because of the failure to claim Jingzhou, angry and seize Liu Bei to occupy the four counties of Jingzhou, Liu Bei and Cao Cao in Hanzhong confrontation can only negotiate peace with Eastern Wu, Longzhong against Jingzhou is complete including the seven counties of Nanyang County, Liu Bei and Sun Quan for this reason negotiated to divide Jingzhou equally, Officially obtained the passage of Sichuan Shu South County, after which Guan Yu's Northern Expedition was mighty, and as a result, he was counted as a backstab, and Liu Bei lost the entire Jingzhou, the key is that it is too difficult to cross Jing and Yi, and for Eastern Wu in the south of the Jiangsu, Jingzhou is the gateway to the west of Yangzhou, and Jingzhou is an important passage for Sun Quan to go to Jiaozhou, and Jingzhou can advantageously integrate Jiaozhou and Yangzhou.
After that, Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition also integrated the Jiangnan and Jingxiang regions, focusing on Shandong and the Central Plains, and finally solved the Bashu and Yungui regions, which shows that Jingzhou and Yizhou are a separate force, and cannot be integrated into one force due to the division of terrain.
Second, Zhuge Liang's purpose is to create a pincer-shaped offensive in the Northern Expedition of the two armies, and the importance attached to Jingzhou is bound to lose its time, and we can analyze it from the major events of the Three Kingdoms.
June 208 – Cao Cao was made chancellor of Han;
July – Cao Cao's southern expedition to Liu Biao;
August – Liu Biao dies of illness; Cao Cao kills Kong Rong;
September – Liu Jun surrenders to Cao Cao;
November - Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao is defeated by the combined forces of Sun and Liu
In order to consolidate the Sun-Liu alliance, Sun Quan married his sister to Liu Bei.
October 209 - Liu Bei married Sun Quan's sister;
210 - Cao Cao builds the Tongli Terrace; Zhou Yu died;
Zhou Yu's death represented the Jiangdong clique's transformation to seize Xichuan and then go north to Guanzhong, and Lu Su and others persuaded Sun Quan to lend Nanjun to Liu Bei in order to let Liu Bei share the pressure of Eastern Wu's resistance to Cao.
211 - Cao Cao attacks Ma Chao
Liu Bei enters the river
Liu Bei lost the opportunity to contact Ma Chao to resist Cao
October 212 – Cao Cao goes south to attack Puxukou;
Liu Bei was stationed in Xiamengguan;
Sun Quan moved to rule Moling and changed his name to Jianye;
Cao Cao's main force was to go south to Wu, creating an opportunity for Liu Bei to capture Yizhou.
May 213 – Emperor Xian of Han made Cao Cao the Duke of Wei, adding Jiuxi;
May 214 - Sun Quan captures the city of Anhui;
October - Emperor Xian, Empress Fu and the state abbot Fu Wan, conspire to get rid of Cao Cao, the incident leaks, and Cao Cao kills everyone;
Liu Zhang surrendered to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei took Yizhou Mu from himself;
July 215 – Cao Cao conquests Zhang Lu;
July - Sun Quan attacks Hefei and is defeated by Zhang Liao
Sun Quan sought to take Jingzhou and Liu Bei clashed, and the two sides agreed to divide Jingzhou equally between the Xiangshui Alliance in order to avoid conflict.
November – Zhang Lu surrenders to Cao Cao;
216 – Cao Cao becomes King of Wei;
February 217 – Cao Cao attacks Puxukou, Sun Quan is defeated;
218 - Cao Chang breaks the Wuhuan army, the Xianbei tribe surrenders, and the north is pacified;
July 219 – Liu Bei becomes King of Hanzhong; Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army;
October - Guan Yu loses Jingzhou and is killed by Sun Quan;
January 220 Cao Cao dies.
The Battle of Chibi took place in November 208, and Liu Bei entered the river in November 211, during which time he had been mediating in the territory of Jingzhou to acquire the four counties of Jingnan.
These four pieces were not rich in Jingzhou at that time, three good places in Jingzhou, Nanyang County was captured by Cao Cao, and half of Nan County and half of Jiangxia County also belonged to Cao Cao, and the other half of Jiangxia and Nan County belonged to Sun Quan, the gateway to Shu was taken by Sun Quan, the four counties of Jingnan are located in the mountainous area with limited development, the gateway of Sichuan Shu is still in the hands of others, Liu Bei's most important thing at this time is to enter Yizhou, capture Yizhou, let a partial division help Sun Quan, let Eastern Wu fight against Cao Cao alone in Jingxiang and Jiangnan areas, Jingxiang area has long been ruined after war,
And Sichuan Shu has always been complete, capture Yizhou and then march into Hanzhong, unite with Ma Chao in Guanzhong to fight against Cao Cao, Sun Quan alone to deal with Cao Cao must need Liu Bei's support, such a Sun-Liu alliance is more stable, Zhou Yu's two-point world also has this limitation, Zhou Yu's strategy from Nan County into Yizhou, in conjunction with Ma Chao and Han Sui, at this time Liu Bei captured the four counties of Jingnan to Yizhou Tiger Eye can not let Zhou Yu enter Sichuan, Cao Cao's prestige after the Battle of Chibi greatly decreased, its internal opposition strength rose, for Sun Liu family is the best opportunity for development, The attention of Sun and Liu was only on Jingzhou, Liu Bei missed the best opportunity to capture Yizhou, and after three years of capturing Yizhou, and then clashing with Sun Quan caused Zhang Lu of Hanzhong to surrender to Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan clashed, and missed the opportunity to capture Hanzhong and march into Guanzhong.
The third is the change in Sun Quan's attitude, the so-called there are no eternal enemies, no eternal friends, only eternal interests. The Sun-Liu alliance is not strong, in 208 Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou, Jingzhou is a cold lip for Eastern Wu, once Jingzhou is defeated, Sun Quanquan will definitely be difficult to support alone, so Sun Quan chose to ally with Liu Bei, and the Sun-Liu alliance took shape,
In the Battle of Chibi, Wu made a great effort in the Middle East, Zhou Yu went north to capture Jiangling in Nan County, Liu Bei took advantage of this to capture the four counties of Jingnan, and sent Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to the north to cut off Cao Cao's Xiangyang stronghold of aid to Jiangling, Cao Ren was forced to abandon Jiangling, and the profit of the Battle of Chibi was actually Liu Bei, Liu Bei obtained the four counties of Jingnan, and Sun Quan took Jiangxia County and Nan County through the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
Nan Commandery fell into the hands of Sun Quan, so Liu Bei proposed to Sun Quan to borrow Nan County, and Sun Quan also had to borrow Nan County to share the pressure on Liu Bei at this time, because Jing Xiang and Jiangnan obtained by Eastern Wu were in contact with Cao Wei, and Liu Bei's four counties of Jingnan and Cao Cao were separated by Sun Quan, which was equivalent to Sun Quan being surrounded by Cao Cao and Liu Bei, so Sun Quan promised to borrow Nan County, so that Liu Bei could share his own pressure against Cao Cao.
Liu Bei was able to capture Yizhou, in large part because Cao Cao's main force at that time attacked Sun Quan at Puxukou, Cao Cao pacified Guanzhong and sent Xiahou Yuan to continue to pacify Longyou and Liangzhou, and he focused on attacking Sun Quan, but was defeated by Sun Quan, Cao Cao felt that there was no hope of unifying the world in this life, so he began to take Han to stand on his own, Sun Quan went north to Hefei, for Eastern Wu, guarding the river must guard Huai, the population of Eastern Wu is all concentrated in the Yangtze River area, the Yangtze River as the defense line of Cao Cao and Sun Quan, will greatly weaken the manpower and material resources of Jiangdong, population is the primary productive force,
For this reason, Sun Quan's purpose was to capture Xuzhou, and Liu Bei's cousin Sun Quan was the pastor of Xuzhou, and he did not want Sun Quan to focus his attention on Jingzhou all the time, so Sun Quan took advantage of Cao Cao's campaign against Zhang Lu to fight Hefei, and as a result, the 100,000-strong army was defeated by Zhang Liao's 800 men, and the battle of Xiaoyaojin became a shadow of Sun Quan for the rest of his life, and Sun Quan never came to Hefei City again,
At this time, Liu Bei captured Yizhou and held most of Jingzhou, and his own attempt to take Xuzhou failed, so Sun Quan was indignant and asked Liu Bei for Nanjun, but Liu Bei said wait until I get Liangzhou to pay you back, the Sun-Liu alliance began to break for the first time, Sun Quan sent Lü Meng to seize the three counties of Jingzhou, Liu Bang hurriedly rushed to Jingzhou, but at that time Cao Cao recruited Zhang Lu, once Hanzhong was taken by Cao Cao, Yizhou was equivalent to being exposed to Cao Cao, Liu Bei could only divide Jingzhou equally with Sun Quan, at this time Cao Cao occupied Hanzhong, But Cao Cao did not continue to win Longwang Shu, because at this time Cao Cao was no longer a young and powerful middle-aged man in the Battle of Guandu, and it was difficult for Shu Dao to go to Qingtian,
In the Battle of Chibi, the northern army died of an infectious disease, and entered the mountains and rivers of Shudi, Liu Bei occupied a pivotal position in Shu and it took four years to pacify Shudi, once Cao Cao died on the way to attack Yizhou, the north was bound to be in chaos and his heir was not yet stable, so Cao Cao returned to Yecheng, saying that the king of Wei chose the crown prince of Wei, at this time Cao Cao could go all out to fight Sun Quan, Sun Quan was defeated by Cao Cao at Puxukou, and married his niece to Cao Cao's son as a marriage, Sun Quan no longer had the determination to go north to Hefei to seize Xuzhou, and at this time Cao Cao usurped Han to make it obvious, the big banner of the Han family was only played by Liu Bei, Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong, Cao Cao hurriedly went to Guanzhong, Guan Yu attacked Xiangfan at this time,
caused the rebellion of Xu Du and Wancheng, Cao Cao was facing Liu Bei's double attack at that time, at this time Sun Quan was still watching, Sun Quan set his sights on Jingzhou, Liu Bei's two armies only need to be one step closer to restore the Han court to the old capital, Sun Quan is full of resentment towards Liu Bei, if I hadn't resisted Cao Cao's attack three times you Liu Bei can have today, Sun Quan chose to backstab Guan Yu, Guan Yu's 30,000 army was destroyed, Guan Yu's troops were defeated and captured, at this time less than a year since Cao Cao's death, the sky is not prosperous, Sun Quan backstabbed also doomed the fate of Eastern Wu, No other team came so close to success, and the pattern of the three countries has not changed since.