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introduction
As one of the four famous books, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" tells us about a magnificent era, although it is a chaotic era, but there are many talents, among which the most famous is Mr. Wolong, Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang's unparalleled intelligence caused Zhou Yu to sigh when he was dying, "He Sheng Yu, He Sheng Liang". However, there is such a person who is called "Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Hatchling" with Zhuge Liang.
(Sima Huiyan and Pang Tong)
Mr. Shui Jing once said: "If you have to lie in the dragon and phoenix chicks, you can win the world." This person is Pang Tong, who "kills himself and becomes benevolent".
Pang Tong can be on a par with Zhuge Liang, and his wisdom is also Jingwei Tiandi. It is regrettable that he died young, and his soul was broken.
So if Pang Tong had not fallen here, would he be able to defeat Sima Yi, restore the Han Dynasty, and achieve great deeds with his unparalleled wisdom?
First, the talent of not a hundred miles, turn to Liu Bei to show his strength
Pang Tong can be called "Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Hatchling" with Zhuge Liang, which naturally has his uniqueness.
Sima Hui of Yingchuan, that is, Mr. Shui Jing, is good at reading people and knowledgeable. Pang Tong went to visit him when he was young, and the two sat and talked, chatting from day to night, and boasting that Pang Tong was a person who was no match for the Nanzhou Shizi at that time.
Pang Tong began to be appointed as a local meritorious cao who could participate in the government affairs of the county and later followed Zhou Yu.
(Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Pang Tong)
In the fourteenth year of Jian'an, after the Battle of Chibi, Zhou Yu became the Taishou of Nanjun, and Pang Tong was appointed as a meritorious cao and entrusted with major affairs.
The following year, Zhou Yu suddenly fell ill and died, and Pang Tong sent him to Eastern Wu. After condolences, he immediately resigned from his official position in Eastern Wu and defected to Liu Bei instead.
After that, Pang Tong's official position was changed from "Nanjun Gongcao" to "Yuyang County Order". The explanation given in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is that Liu Bei disliked Pang Tong and felt that he was unsightly. However, it is recorded in the official history that he did not care about his position.
In his position but not seeking his job, the boss is naturally angry, so he directly said: "You don't do it."
After Pang Tong was removed from office, Lu Su and Liu Bei Zhuge Liang of Eastern Wu both approached Liu Bei and advised him not to get angry.
(Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Su, Zhuge Liang)
Although this person is not doing a good job now, he is very capable, you can't trap him with these trivial chores in the county, you have to let him show his strength to show his full value.
Liu Bei is also known for his knowledge of people and is very obedient. He quickly called Pang Tong over and had a good chat, sighing that he was indeed a talent, and immediately appointed Pang Tong to work in the middle of his reign, and this official was a high-ranking adjutant of the assassin history.
And Liu Bei's kindness to him can be said to be second only to Zhuge Liang, who invited him out of the mountain.
Pang Tong also lived up to expectations and played a great role in the capture of Yizhou.
(Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei)
After Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou, everyone was urging him to go west to attack Yizhou and take the land of Shuzhong.
But he himself is very entangled. The first is to consider his own strength, after he occupied Jingzhou, his strength was only more than 30,000, while Liu Zhang of Yizhou had an army of 100,000.
The disparity in strength is huge, even if you sacrifice your life to fight, you may not be able to win, maybe you will have to lose Jingzhou, which has just arrived.
Secondly, Liu Bei was famous for his generosity, which made Liu Bei lonely and received the support of the people. But now, in order to get Yizhou, he will lose trust in the world, lose his benevolence and righteousness, and may not get the obedience of talents.
At this moment, Pang Tong's words changed Liu Bei's mind. Pang Tong believes that in the chaotic world now, sticking to the rules will only break big things, and we must learn to adapt to changes.
(Liu Bei)
Annexing weak lands, seizing political power while ruling the world by civilization, and abandoning darkness and turning to the light are all truths since ancient times. As long as we give him a piece of land after we get Yizhou, how can anyone dare to say that they have lost their benevolence and righteousness.
In today's situation, if you do not attack Yizhou, you will lose the opportunity and get out of control.
Second, the whole plan was made to conquer Shu, and the three plans were sent out at the same time, but the fate fell to Fengpo
Under Pang Tong's persuasion, Liu Bei also changed his mind. Therefore, Zhuge Liang and his party were left to guard Jingzhou, and he led Pang Tong to lead an army and entered Yizhou.
With Pang Tong's strategy, he originally wanted Liu Bei to have a banquet at the Hongmen and hold Liu Zhang hostage when he met Liu Zhang. However, Liu Bei refused, feeling that he had done something wrong when he first came here, which was not conducive to the establishment of the personality.
Liu Zhang still didn't know anything at this time, so he solemnly entertained Liu Bei and his party, gave people food and money, and hoped that Liu Bei could help him attack Zhang Lu.
(Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Zhang)
In response to the problem of seizing Yizhou, Pang Tong gave a total of three strategic strategies.
The first is the best strategy, select a team of elite troops, walk in black at night, day and night, directly attack Chengdu, and catch him by surprise. At that time, Liu Zhang would definitely not have imagined that before he was ready, our army would already arrive at his city gate.
The second is Zhongce, the two famous generals under Liu Zhang, Yang Huai and Gao Pei. They are all elite soldiers under their hands, and they still guard important passes. We can pretend that we want to go back to Jingzhou, and then let them see them off, take advantage of this opportunity, and then march into Chengdu.
This plan was what Pang Tong wanted to offer to Liu Bei, first killing the generals, clearing the key armed forces, occupying the terrain, forming a position that could be attacked and defended in Yizhou, and then marching into Chengdu, gradually encroaching on and taking Yizhou.
At this time, even if Liu Zhang had some preparations, the army had no commander, the soldiers could not gather, the elite had been lost, and the combat strength was insufficient.
Finally, the next strategy is to withdraw directly, return to Jingzhou, and then slowly try to benefit the prefecture.
(Pang Tong)
However, if you hesitate, you will lose, and at this time, you will retire and go back, and when Liu Zhang's internal strife in Yizhou is eliminated in the future, the army is strong and strong, and it is inevitable that they will not want to expand their territory and seize Jingzhou.
Moreover, in the chaotic times, Jingzhou is a place where soldiers must fight. Cao Cao in the north and Sun Quan in the east, which did not look at Jingzhou as a tiger, regarded it as his own bag.
Although Pang Tong offered three plans, in fact, the middle plan was the best choice, and it was also the plan he really wanted Liu Bei to choose.
The reason why he gave three plans was actually because he saw that Liu Bei was hesitant at this time. Day and night in the upper strategy, attacking it unprepared, will make Liu Bei think that he has lost his reputation.
The next strategy to directly retreat to Jingzhou will be unwilling, which is equivalent to directly giving up such a long plan and lofty ambition.
(Situation map of Jian'an 19 years)
Liu Bei followed the plan, passed the pass all the way, and the momentum was like a broken bamboo, and the sword blade went straight to Chengdu.
In the nineteenth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei led his army to surround Luocheng, and Pang Tong led his army to attack the city, but unfortunately was shot by a stray arrow, Chinese New Year's Eve was six years old and buried in Luofengpo.
3. What if the soul is returned?
The image of Liu Bei in the history books, different from the impression brought by artistic creation, "joy and anger are not colorful", throughout the "Records of the Three Kingdoms", he only cried for three people, one is Liu Biao, the second is Fazheng, and the third is Pang Tong.
Pang Tong's death made Liu Bei most sad.
After the death of Pang Tong in the "Records of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Bei lamented it and began to cry at the mention of Pang Tong. It is said that Pang Tong's cemetery was personally selected by Liu Bei to honor his merits, treat his family favorably, and posthumously seal him.
(New Romance of the Three Kingdoms Pang Tong)
Although time cannot be repeated, history cannot be assumed. But if Pang Tong is not dead, will it have an impact on the final outcome of the Three Kingdoms, and what kind of impact will it have?
This question is difficult to answer, in the chaotic times, the life and death of a person is really insignificant for the general trend of history.
There was the death of Pang Tong in Shudi, the violent illness of Zhou Yu in Eastern Wu, and the absence of Cao Wei and Guo Jia, all three of them were talented, but they died young, sighing, but irreparable.
Pang Tong is the same name as Zhuge Liang, and is called "Lying Dragon and Phoenix Hatchling". Pang Ying died young, killing himself and sighing. And Zhuge Liang bowed to the fullest, died and achieved a good name, but can the two really be compared? If Pang Tong had not died, could Shu Han restore the Han Chamber under his leadership, and would he still be in the old capital?
(Wolong Phoenix)
In terms of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, the situation at that time was three points under the world, Yizhou was tired, and it was the most critical moment for Shudi, and Zhuge Liang himself said that Shudi during this period could be described as a poverty of the people and the country.
By the time Liu Bei was in power, Cao Cao had already ruled the north, holding the Son of Heaven to make the princes have absolute strength.
When the situation developed to Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Cao Cao owned ten of the fourteen states in the world, and the population could reach millions.
And Shu Han only has a prefecture, with a population of less than one million, such a disparity of the gap, the Northern Expedition is only trying to fight for a glimmer of life for Shu Han.
(Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition)
There was an absolute gap between the two in terms of economic and military strength, and the world was in such a situation, and all Cao Wei needed at this time was time.
As long as there is plenty of time, conserve strength, adapt to changes unchanged, and wait for the northern economy to recover from the war-torn situation, it will be able to form its overwhelming advantage.
And in the face of absolute strength, any conspiracy, conspiracy, superior strategy, and subordinate strategy are futile.
Therefore, the general trend of the world is such that even if Pang Tong is still a soul and the general trend is gone, how can he defeat Cao Wei in his prime?
Fourth, the times create heroes
Does the life and death of a strategist really change the pattern of the world?
Although many heroes have emerged in history, and their actions have had an important impact and role in the development of history, they cannot determine the direction of history and change the pattern of the three countries.
(Three Kingdoms)
The heroic historical view holds that individual outstanding figures dominate history, can promote historical development, and affect the law of social development today.
This is the case with regard to the death of Pang Tong, some people believe that if Pang Tong had not died, Liu Bei would not have taken Zhuge Liang, who remained in Jingzhou, then Guan Yu would not have gone to Maicheng, Zhang Fei would not have died early, and the Battle of Yiling might have been fought a few years later.
Or if there is no White Emperor City to support the orphan, Zhuge Liang will not be in a hurry to destroy the Central Plains, Shu Han will not exhaust his national strength, and Mr. Wolong will not die in Wuzhangyuan.
However, the great trend of the world will be united for a long time, and it will be divided for a long time. The life and death of a person will not affect the direction of the wheel of history, it is the era that creates heroes, not the era of heroes.
(Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao)
Just like Cao Cao, known as "a powerful minister who governs the world, a traitor in a troubled world", he is the person chosen by the times, and perhaps in a peaceful era, he will also become a figure of the prime minister, and a courtier who governs the country and the world.
But he was born in a chaotic world, conformed to the general trend of the development of the world, raised the banner, and achieved a generation of heroes.
The wheel of history rolls forward, and there are many heroes in the Three Kingdoms period, and if Pang Tong had not died in Luofengpo, then he would have witnessed the defeat of the Shu Han.
Reference materials
SUN Sanli. Why Liu Bei failed to unify the world[J].Literature and History Expo, 2016(11):2.)
WANG Honghua. Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang around Liu Bei[J].Community, 2009.)