The Three Kingdoms period was an era of famous scholars. Since ancient times, Sun Wu's regime has had the reputation of "jiangdong's sons and talents", and its famous advisers are innumerable. Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Lu Su, Lu Xun, Lu Kang, and others are all strategists who can stand alone. In particular, Zhang Zhao, who was already a leading figure in Jiangdong during the sun ce period. After Sun Ce's death, he loyally assisted Sun Quan in stabilizing the situation and laid a solid foundation for the Eastern Wu regime.
Although Zhang Zhao made great contributions to the Eastern Wu regime, many people still had a lot of criticism of him. The reason for this is that Zhang Zhao once advocated surrender on the eve of the Chibi War and the current enemy. From ancient times to the present, people have praised those who dare to resist and attacked those who surrendered and asked for peace. Between the "main peace faction" and the "main war faction", people also prefer the main war faction. Therefore, most of the lovers of the Three Kingdoms in later generations despised Zhang Zhao, saying that under the fame, it was actually difficult to match, saying that Zhang Zhaogu was famous and famous, and even jokingly called him "big brother with investment." ”
In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Zhao's life is roughly equivalent to that of Zhengshi, and he avoided chaos in Jiangdong at the end of the Han Dynasty. When Sun Ce started his business in Jiangdong, he made Zhang Zhao a long history and regarded it as Guan Zhong. When Sun Ce was dying, he entrusted Sun Quan to Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, and said in his last words: "Internal affairs are entrusted to Zibu, and foreign affairs are all thanks to Gongjin." Zhang Zhao has a serious personality and has many direct advice to Sun Quan. At the time of the Battle of Chibi, Zhang Zhao surrendered, and Sun Quan was deeply disappointed. However, since then, it has still played an important role in Sun Quan's decision-making.
In fact, Zhang Zhao is not a weak and incompetent person, let alone a person who is keen on false names. Zhang Zhao is a native of Xuzhou, when he was young, he studied hard, studied diligently, and had his own unique views on many issues. Zhao Yu of Langya and Wang Langyi of the East China Sea were long-established celebrities, and after talking with Zhang Zhao, both of them praised Zhang Zhao, saying that Zhang Zhao's future achievements were unlimited. As an adult, Zhang Zhao was recommended as a filial piety and qualified to enter the career.
However, he thought that there was still a lot of room for improvement in his ability, so he resigned the title of filial piety and then calmed down to continue to study. Slowly, Zhang Zhao's fame grew, and even Xuzhou Assassin Shi Taoqian heard that there was a talented man named Zhang Zhao under his rule. In order to show his appreciation for Zhang Zhao, Tao Qian personally recommended Zhang Zhao and wanted to reuse him. However, Zhang Zhao, who was bent on studying, regarded fame and fortune as a floating cloud and directly rejected Tao Qian. Tao Qian was furious and sent someone to imprison Zhang Zhao, wanting to force Zhang Zhao to do things for himself.
In the end, it was Zhao Yu who hurried to mediate between them, which saved Zhang Zhao.
Later, there was constant strife between the masses, and the flames of war soon spread to the Xuzhou area. In order to take refuge, Zhang Zhao crossed the Yangtze River with his family and came to the Nanjing area. Sun Ce, who had conquered Jiangdong, was very happy to hear the news of Zhang Zhao's arrival, and it was not long before he granted Zhang Zhao the official positions of Changshi and General Lang of fujun. At the same time, Zhang Zhao was also impressed by Sun Ce's great talent and began to do his best for Sun Ce. With Zhang Zhao's help, Sun Ce had a lot less worries and could focus more on the military.
In the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Sun Ce was assassinated, seriously injured, and was about to die soon. On his deathbed, Sun Ce entrusted his younger brother Sun Quan to Zhang Zhao, and sincerely instructed: "If Sun Quan is not capable enough, you will replace him and become the lord of Jiangdong." If we can't win victory in foreign wars, you don't have to worry too much, just lead everyone to submit to Cao Cao. After Sun Quan ascended the throne, Zhang Zhao assisted Sun Ce as he assisted him, so that the political situation in Eastern Wu did not fall apart due to Sun Ce's death.
At that time, Sun Quan was not yet nineteen years old, and he was slightly immature in his speech and behavior. Some ministers of the imperial court took the opportunity to form gangs and factions, hoping to create chaos in order to create a split. These people repeatedly wooed Zhang Zhao, but they were all rejected by Zhang Zhao. It can be said that without Zhang Zhao, Eastern Wu simply could not survive the day of the Chibi War.
As for the surrender before the Battle of Chibi, this was entirely out of Zhang Zhao's public heart.
First, Cao Cao wrote to Sun Quan at that time in the name of Tianzi. If Sun Quan resisted and did not surrender, he disobeyed the orders of the imperial court and lost before the war;
Second, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, he had successfully unified the north and was full of morale. At this time, it was difficult to win the battle against Cao Cao;
Third, Cao Cao had more than 200,000 soldiers under his command, while Sun Quan and Liu Bei only added up to about 50,000. From the perspective of military strength, Cao Cao had an overwhelming advantage.
As a courtier, Zhang Zhao not only had to consider the foundation of Jiangdong, but also the many people of Jiangdong. The strength of the enemy and us is so greatly disparity, if we rush to war, the possibility of victory is really very small. Zhang Zhaocheng was heavy-handed, and he would certainly not risk the lives of the soldiers and the people. Those who accuse Zhang Zhao, to be fair, if you were put in Zhang Zhao's position at that time, and faced with an enemy four times larger than your own, could you firmly hold the main battle? I am afraid that very few people insist on the main battle.
After the victory at the Battle of Chibi, although Sun Quan had some opinions about Zhang Zhao, he still recognized Zhang Zhao's ability very much. Shortly after Zhang Zhao resigned and returned home, the envoys of the Shu state came to the state of Wu to show off their might, and none of the ministers of the state of Wu could refute him. When Sun Quan saw this, he couldn't help but sigh, "If Zhang Zhao is here, how can this person be so mighty!" ”
In March of the fifth year of Jiahe (236), Zhang Zhao, who was eighty-one years old, died. Sun Quan was very sad when he heard about it, and hurried to mourn, and specially ordered his subordinates to pay tribute to Zhang Zhao with the Tai Prison Ceremony. In Sun Quan's heart, Zhang Zhao was a veritable pillar of Eastern Wu.
Resources:
[Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 52, Wu ShuQI, Zhang Gu Zhuge Bu Biography VII, Dianluo, Wu Lu, Wu Shu, Jiang Biao, Jiankang Shilu, Zizhi Tongjian, Jingding Jiankangzhi Vol. 48 Zhichen Biography, Shushi Huijiao Vol. II, Book History, Vol. 54 Liechuan No. 51]