The Battle of Chibi, which took place during the reign of Emperor Xian of Han (196-220), is seen as the beginning of the "division of three kingdoms at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty". After this battle, Cao Cao was unable to move south, Sun Quan sat in Jiangdong without danger, and Liu Bei, who failed to "fight for the Huaiyu", finally gained a foothold in Jingnan. Broadly speaking, this is the initial formation of the situation of Wei, Shu, and Wu; But in a narrow sense, this is actually the division of Jingzhou by the three families of Cao, Liu and Sun.
Schematic diagram of the Battle of Chibi. Source/ Wang Yaxuan, Wang Hongbin, Su Dexiang et al., eds., Atlas of Ancient Chinese History, Liaoning Education Press, 1990
Few people remember that Jingzhou is Liu Biao's Jingzhou.
Although this Han clan only wanted to sit in one place and did not have the ambition to support the Han family, under his governance and education, Jingzhou, as the "land of four battles" and "the country of using force", became a pure land in the chaotic times, attracting countless Confucian scholars. Liu Biao's contribution to Jingzhou cannot be ignored, even if he has died, at least nominally, this land should have his heirs - Liu Qi and Liu Qi.
Liu Biao and the Jingxiang clan
Liu Biao (刘表), courtesy name Jingsheng, was a native of Gaoping County, Shanyang County (present-day Weishan County, Shandong Province), and the tenth grandson of Liu Yu, King of Lugong of the Western Han Dynasty. He was one of the "Eight Jun" of the Party, but was imprisoned and died. After the dissolution of the party, Liu Biao was made a general by the general He Jin (a common term for deputy officials or subordinates of official offices in ancient times), and worked with Kuang Yue and others. Kuangyue, after the famous adviser Kuantong in the early Han Dynasty, the Zhonglu Kuang clan where he was located was also a local county of Xiangyang and was quite influential in the region. This experience provided a certain convenience for Liu Biao to enter Jingzhou in the future.
Liu Biao (played by Zhang Da) in film and television. Source: Screenshot of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
Nanyang County is the imperial township, and Emperor Guangwu became a hegemon. Under the tilt of the Han Dynasty, the economic and cultural level of the Jingxiang region developed rapidly. Volume 157 of the Taiping Imperial View quotes Sheng Hongzhi's "Jingzhou Ji" as saying: "Da Nang Nang is more than a hundred miles south to Yicheng, and it is said that the wall is carved in the middle. At the end of the Han Ling Emperor, among them were Qing, Shi, Shi Shi, 2,000 Shi and dozens of people, Zhu Yuan Yao, Hua Gai Yin, and met under the Taishan Temple. When the Jingzhou thorn history department saw it, he sighed and crowned it. "Within this hundred miles from Yicheng County in Nanjun County to the southern part of Danshan Mountain in Xiangyang County, the clans and counties are crowded together. Volume 3 of the "Xiangyang Ji" also contains: "At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were four county guards, seven capital lieutenants, two qing, two attendants, one yellow gate attendant, three shangshu, and six thorn history, and Zhu Xuan Gao Gaihui was under the mountain, because of the name 'Guangai Mountain', it was called 'Guangai Li'. (Huang Huixian, "School Supplement Xiangyang Seniors")
Under these circumstances, after Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, he did not rashly go to Jiangling County (according to the Southern Qi Shu Prefecture Record, when Wang Ying was the assassin of Jingzhou, he moved to Jiangling Commandery), but stayed in Yicheng and sought the help of Kuang Yue, Kuang Liang, Cai Yao and others. Volume 69 of the Taiping Imperial View quotes the Jingzhou Picture Classic: "One mile southeast of Da Nang, there is Cai Zhou in the river, where Cai Yao, the captain of Han Changshui, lives. The clan is strong and prosperous, and they protect Cai Zhou. "Xiangyang Cai, is the premier powerful surname in the Jingnan region, "late Han, Zhucai is the most prosperous", Cai Yao's "river view room" is also very luxurious, "the house is very good, the four walls are made of bluestone", there are hundreds of servants and forty or fifty properties.
With the support of Cai Yao, Kuang Yue and others, Liu Biao killed 55 thieves in a row, and his momentum soared. He can stand in Jingzhou in the future, and he cannot do without the support of local clans such as Cai and Kuan. In order to achieve closer cooperation, Liu Biao married Cai Yao's sister as his stepwife, and his second son Liu Jun also married Cai's daughter. The marriage of the Cai family was much more than that, Cai Yao's aunt (that is, Cai Xiao's sister) was Zhang Wen, Zhang Yun was Zhang Wen's grandson; His other eldest sister married Huang Chengyan, Zhuge Liang's father-in-law. After Liu Biao became the general of Zhennan, with Cai Yao as his military master, the Quang brothers, who had contributed a lot, also became Liu Biao's confidants, and they were in the same breath as Cai Yao and others.
Cai Yao (played by Shuai Shuai) in film and television. Source: Screenshot of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
Liu Biao ruled Jingzhou for 19 years, and did not have outstanding military and political performances, but he made a lot of contributions to culture and education. He set up a local official school, revised the chapters and sentences of the Five Classics as teaching materials, and attracted many great Confucians to come to give lectures, making Jingzhou a cultural mecca for students all over the world. But the influx of a large number of warriors also brought new problems. Judging from Liu Biao's performance, he welcomed the addition of these scholars and Confucianists, "There are thousands of returnees from Guanxi, Yan, and Yu, and all of them are fully funded", but although Liu Biao can treat them well, as Wang Yu said, he cannot appoint people in the sea.
Liu Biao's move was due to his fear of conflict between the Liuyu people and the local natives, or his own belief that the foreigners were unreliable (see Tang Changzi, "The Southward Migration of the Academic Center in the Late Han Dynasty and the Jingzhou School", in his book "Continuation of the Manuscript of the Mountain Dwelling"). Wang Yu did speak the voice of the scholars, especially when Liu Bei arrived, some unpopular scholars, it was easier to move.
Liu Bei and the dispute over the throne
Liu Bei's political stance with Liu Biao was one of the prerequisites for his acceptance. According to the "Three Kingdoms Zhi Liu Biao": "The Son of Heaven is all promised, although the table sent the envoy to contribute, Ran Bei and Yuan Shao married." Deng Xi gave advice in the middle of the rule, did not listen, Xi resigned and retreated, and the end of the table. Although Liu Biao nominally honored Emperor Xian of Han, he still supported Yuan Shao and was willing to honor him as an ally. Regarding Deng Xi's dissatisfaction, he explained: "If you do not lose your tribute, you will not betray the alliance lord outside, and this world will be righteous." What's so strange about ruling the rule alone? From the word "tribute", it can be seen that Liu Biao's move was only to complete the task, the purpose was to seek nominal neutrality, rather than to honor Emperor Xian of Han from the heart. Of course, this move can also calm the local clans and reduce the psychological pressure to confront the north.
Xuande Jingzhou according to Liu Biao. Source: Zhang Fulin, ed., Images of the Three Kingdoms, Shanxi People's Publishing House, 2001
It's just that in Liu Biao's heart, he is still unwilling to cooperate with Cao Cao. In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), Liu Biao sent Han Song north to consult Cao Cao, and Han Song gained the benefits of Cao Cao, and after returning to Jingzhou, he lobbied for him, "calling the imperial court and Cao Gong's virtue", and suggested that Liu Biao send his son into hostage. Unexpectedly, Liu Biao was furious and wanted to kill Han Song, but was later persuaded by his colleagues to imprison him. In the sixth year of Jian'an (201), after Cao Cao broke Yuan Shao, that is, he went south to conquer Liu Biao, but was unsuccessful; Another two years, and another recruitment of Liu Biao, can be described as a clear goal.
Liu Bei had voted for Yuan Shao, participated in the "Edict of the Cloth Belt", and obtained the edict of the Son of Heaven, which to a certain extent offset the political deterrence brought by Cao Cao's "Son of Heaven to order not subjects". Therefore, when Liu Bei first came to Jingzhou, Liu Biao was "benefiting his soldiers", and ordered him to garrison Xinye and guard the northern gate of Jingzhou for himself. The last to watch the door was Zhang Xiu, the nephew of the Liangzhou warlord Zhang Ji. Ignoring the opposition within Jingzhou, Liu Biao took him under his command, sent him grain and grass, and made him camped in Wancheng to confront Cao Cao. However, before the Battle of Guandu, Zhang Xiu surrendered again, which had to worry Liu Biao.
Fortunately, while Liu Bei was in Jingzhou, Cao Cao concentrated on fighting against Yuan's sons in an attempt to conquer the north, so he did not use troops on a large scale in the south. In this relatively stable situation, Liu Beifang still had the spare power to make friends and accumulate contacts. After he was valued by Sima Hui, "Wolong" Zhuge Liang also gladly returned. With the blessing of Liu Bei's own imperial identity, the name of a thief, and the "celebrity effect" of Zhuge Liang and other famous men, "more and more heroes of Jingzhou have returned to their ancestors".
Jiang Xia was lost, Huang Zu was killed, and Liu Biao asked Liu Bei to discuss revenge. Source: Screenshot of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
As Liu Bei's unstable factor grew, Jingzhou's internal strife gradually became apparent. When some scholars discussed the internal disputes in Jingzhou during Liu Biao's period, they summarized it in the two camps of "pro-Cao" and "anti-Cao" (see Lin Rongjie's "Examination of Liu Cousin's Father and Son Before and After the Change in Jingzhou"), that is, some of the great clans represented by Cai Yao, Kuang Yue, and Han Song supported Liu Qi's accession to the throne and strongly advocated the surrender of Cao, while Liu Bei supported Liu Qi, which was a force against Cao Cao. In the case of the former, there is indeed such a situation.
Cai Yao, the "eldest brother" of the Jingzhou clan, "less loved by Wei Wu", emotionally leaned towards this old friend; In terms of family interests and political returns, he preferred Cao Cao's side. In fact, when Cai Yao led his people to surrender, 15 people were made marquises, and Cao Cao still acquiesced to Han Song's "good and bad people, all promoted and used", tacitly allowing him to use this deliberative privilege to recommend talents for the imperial court, a phenomenon that historians regard as the germ or beginning of the formal system in the nine products. (See Tang Changxiu: "Trial Interpretation of the Nine-Grade Zhongzheng System", included in Shi's book "Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties History Series.") and Zhang Xuhua's "Research on the Nine Grades of the Formal System")
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Hao family and the big surname always put the interests of the family first, and sought stability first in troubled times. They supported Cao Cao and even Emperor Xian of Han behind him, and could try to avoid Jingzhou falling into war; However, with Liu Biao's political stance, they had to passively stand on the opposite side of the Son of Heaven, continue to exist as part of the separatist regime, and would be enemies of Cao Cao in the future. This potential psychological pressure forced the Jingzhou clan to achieve their political goals by intervening in the dispute between the heirs. Liu Biao's second son, Liu Jun, was married to the Cai clan of Xiangyang, and was unassertive, so he naturally became a good partner for cooperation; On the other hand, Liu Biao's eldest son, Liu Qi, was initially favored by his father, but gradually lost trust under the vilification of Mrs. Cai, Cai Yao, Zhang Yun and others.
Although Liu Biao's move had his indifferent side, he also knew that Liu Qi did not have the support of Cai, Kuang and other vested interests, and even if he was elected to the top, it would be difficult to convince the public. In fact, Liu Biao was not only unable to influence the will of the Jingxiang clan, but even the basis of his rule came from the support of the latter.
According to the "Records of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Zhuge Liang" quoted in the "Wei Luo": "(Zhuge Liang) said: 'Now there is no more than a thousand, and the number of generals is only thousands, so to treat the enemy is nothing more than a calculation!'" 'I am also worried, what should I do?' Liang said: "Today, Jingzhou is not a few people, but the authors are few, and the people live in peace, and the people's hearts are not happy; Can speak in the south of the town, so that all the wanderers in the country make themselves true, because the record is beneficial to the public. ’”
Population was the primary productive force, especially in ancient times, when productivity was not yet developed. In the process of growing the Hao family, it was inevitable to compete with the country for population and land, and the Eastern Han Dynasty fell, which began. In Jingzhou, as Zhuge Liang said, the phenomenon of hidden hukou of the powerful and powerful families is very common, and these hidden households do not have to bear the taxes and labor of the government, but they have become private soldiers, tribe and tenants of the local powerful people. Under the trade-off, the government's control over the local clans was far from enough, so that since the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there have been countless examples of strong resistance to the law.
Liu Biao's rule of Jingzhou, known as "lenient government", is actually that he has no confidence and no need to tear his face with the Jingzhou clan, so some scholars believe that Liu Biao's regime is parasitic and dependent (see Wang Yongping's "The Movement of the Late Han Shi People and the Rise and Fall of Liu Biao's Regime", included in his book "Migration and Cultural Exchange of the Middle Ages"). Therefore, even if Liu Biao's school attracted a large number of out-of-state people, he did not reuse it. These snubbed monks and another group of unambitious local tyrants gradually stood against Cai, Kuang and other big families.
Liu Bei's arrival intensified this contradiction. Because in his name, there is every hope of bringing these opposition forces together. Regarding Liu Bei's wanton "recruitment", Liu Biao's "suspicion and conspiracy" were also obviously influenced by Cai Yao and others. Pei Songzhi's note quotes "Spring and Autumn in Kyushu" and mentions that Cai Yao and Kuang once set up a "Hongmen banquet" to attack Liu Bei, who pretended to go to the toilet and rode a Lu horse to death. It can be seen that the contradictions between Liu Bei and Cai, Kuang and others have been put on the surface, and if Liu Bei supports Liu Bei, it will only intensify the contradictions between the two sides.
Cai Yao and others set up a banquet to assassinate Liu Bei, Yi reported the letter to Liu Bei, Liu Bei pretended to go to the toilet and fled from the west gate on horseback. Source: Screenshot of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
As mentioned above, Liu Biao's political position is consistent with Liu Bei's. In the matter of resisting Cao Cao, Liu Biao did not have the support of the local clans, preferring to recruit Zhang Xiu, the warlord of Liangzhou, who had a bad reputation. Therefore, after Liu Bei's arrival, Liu Biao will first support, increase troops, and give land to help him develop; and because he did not want to intensify internal contradictions, he alienated Liu Bei; However, when he was critically ill, he still chose Liu Bei to entrust the country. Only Liu Bei was likely to be able to confront Cao Cao, which was the consensus of the people at that time, and Lu Su, who was far away in Jiangdong, also thought so, and they recognized Liu Bei's influence in Jingzhou.
Dispute between the name and Jingzhou
After Liu Biao's death, Lu Su advised Sun Quan, and after expounding on the advantages of location, economy, culture, and population, he changed his tone and talked about the current situation in Jingzhou: "Today, the two sons are not harmonious, and the generals in the army have each other. Liu Qi's disagreement with Liu Qi's two sons was well known, because Cai Yao, Kuang Yue and others were "pro-Cao" political positions, and some of the Shiren who supported the inheritance of the eldest son, the Shiren who were not reused, and another group of Jingzhou clans excluded from the ruling center spontaneously became supporters of Liu Qi.
Lu Su (played by Cao Li) in film and television. Source: Screenshot of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
This is a divisive situation that is bound to form. Jingxiang culture is developed, and the powerful clans derived from it are unknown, and although the great clans such as Cai and Kuang are powerful, they cannot unify the powerful clans in the entire territory of Jingzhou. There will always be some people who will support Liu Qi and will rebel against Cao Cao in the future, and their best bet is to gather under the banner raised by Liu Bei. "Many people from around and Jingzhou returned to their ancestors" is a clear proof of this.
Therefore, Lu Su also said: "Add Liu Bei to the world, there is a gap with the exercise, and he is placed on the table, showing that he can not use it." If you are in harmony with each other, and the top and bottom are in unison, it is advisable to pacify and ally with them; If there is a violation, it is advisable not to try it to help the big thing. Liu Bei is a descendant of the Han family, and he bears the righteousness of "courting thieves" and "trusting the country" and Liu Biao's trust, coupled with Zhuge Liang's endorsement of local celebrities such as Pang, Ma, Xiang, and Xi, Liu Bei has become a figure influencing the future situation in Jingzhou. Even if Sun Quan wanted to seek Jingzhou, he had to consider the existence of such a number one figure as Liu Bei.
But the plan can't keep up with the change. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Cao Cao marched south to Jingzhou, and Cai Yao, Kuang Yue, Han Song, Liu Xian, and other manpower lords surrendered. Interestingly, when Cao Cao went south, Liu Wei did not inform Liu Bei in time, and when Cao Jun reached Wancheng, he sent an envoy Song Zhong to inform Liu Bei. When the latter heard that Cao Cao was coming, he was shocked and said: "Qing people are doing things like this, if they don't talk to each other earlier, they will sue me this time, and it will not be too dramatic!" Judging from Liu Bei's reaction, the point of his horror was not that Cao Jun went south, but that he had not had time to exert his influence, and Liu Wei had decided to surrender (see Rao Shengwen, "The Han Empire in Bashu: The Rise and Fall of the Mandate of Heaven in Shu"). Lu Su, who wanted to stir up the situation in Jingzhou, did not expect that Liu Wei descended so quickly, and when he crossed the river, he rushed to Nanjun in the starry night, Jingzhou had changed his surname to Cao, and Liu Bei, who he had high hopes for, also fled in a hurry, and even had plans to take refuge in Cangwu. But they all came, they couldn't come in vain, and Lu Su met with Liu Bei in Dangyang. One wanted to beat the rabbit with grass, and the other was unwilling to leave like this, and the two sides hit it off.
Liu Bei took a reassurance pill here in Lusu, that is, sent Zhuge Liang to "marry himself with Sun Quan". After Zhuge Liang saw Sun Quan, the first thing he emphasized was "the arm of the royal family of Liu Yuzhou", that is, it proved that Liu Bei took this identity as the core, allowing him to enjoy a hundred privileges in Jingzhou, and Liu Bei's operation in Jingzhou and the great clans and consistants who opposed the "pro-Cao" would also become the political capital of his alliance with Sun Quan.
How to deal with Cao Cao, Jiang Dong also had a heated discussion. In order to counteract this "illegitimacy" brought about by the disadvantage of status, the discussion ended with Zhou Yu's "removal of the defilement of the Han family" and Sun Quan's "old thief wanting to abolish the Han self-reliance" as the conclusion, denouncing Cao Cao as a usurper. Fundamentally, this is also in the name of "Xinghan" as a rebellion, and Zhuge Liang's imperial identity as Liu Bei is the nominal basis of the alliance between the two sides (see Zhao Xuanchun's "A Study of the Relationship Between Liu Bei's Emperor and His Group"). As Sun Quan said: "If you are not Liu Yuzhou, you can not fight against the manipulator." The historian Zhao Yi commented: "Yes and want to be the master of refusal and follow yourself!" It can be seen that Liu Bei's identity and name are key factors in the alliance between the two sides.
On the other hand, Liu Qi, who has the legal inheritance right to Jingzhou, was not only taken away, but also became an "asset" of Liu Bei's group. For example, when talking about Liu Bei's advantages, Zhuge Liang once said: "Today's soldiers and Guan Yu's water army are 10,000 people, and Liu Qi's Jiangxia soldiers are no less than 10,000." "In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Sun Quan broke Jiangxia's defense of Huangzu, beheaded him, and finally took revenge on his father, Huangzu hindered the Sun clan in Jingbei for several years, and Jiangxia County was also one of the important towns against Jiangdong. Therefore, after Huang Zu died in battle, Liu Qi, who was ostracized, took the initiative to ask for help and went to Jiangxia to defend the town, and thus obtained 10,000 elite soldiers.
When Liu Biao was seriously ill, Liu Qi rushed back from Jiangxia, but was stopped by Cai Yao. Source: Screenshot of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
This part of the army is very important to Liu Bei, and there is no doubt that Liu Qi must have participated in this war, but whether it is the romance or the main history, Liu Qi is not seen in this war. The speech is naturally to highlight the demeanor of the "protagonist group", so why is there no official history?
The confrontation between the Sun-Liu alliance and Cao Cao was essentially a struggle for Jingzhou, but in the name of the outside world, it was two different "supporting Han". Cao Cao "served the Son of Heaven to order not to be a subordinate", and Sun Quan and Liu Bei fought against the emperor and thief in the name of the latter. The name of the Han Emperor was higher than Liu Biao, and if this matter was limited to the internal struggle of the land of one state and Liu Biao's second son, Liu Bei would naturally play the card of "Tuo Gu" better; However, with the addition of Cao Cao and Sun Quan, the situation escalated, and this battle for Jingzhou became a battle between Cao Cao and the anti-Cao forces. From this perspective, even if Liu Qi's 10,000 troops played a key role, he was not the protagonist of the war.
After the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was defeated, and with the exception of Jiangling, its already weak ruling base was instantly disintegrated. According to the "Three Kingdoms History, the Legend of the First Lord": "The ancestor of the ancestor Xianqi was the assassin of Jingzhou, and then marched south to the four counties. Wuling Taishou Jin Xuan, Changsha Taishou Han Xuan, Guiyang Taishou Zhao Fan, and Lingling Taishou Liu Du all surrendered. "It is not difficult to see that Liu Bei is at this time in the name of Liu Qi to conquer the four counties of Jingnan. This is the last time Liu Qi appears in history. Only a year later, he died of illness "just right", and Liu Bei received the Jingzhou Assassination History by himself under the recommendation of everyone. When he went to Jingkou to pay homage to Sun Quan, the latter again made a statement, which proved that Liu Bei's rule over Jingzhou was recognized within the alliance.
At this point, no one remembered Liu Qi anymore. Even Cao Cao remembered this later, and said disdainfully: "Liu Jingsheng's son is like a guinea dog ear." "But is it the original intention of Liu Jun and Liu Qi to become pigs and dogs that can be slaughtered at will?