Original creator: Yu Shiliang
Cui Hao has such a poem in "Qin Song and Lyrics: General Huo": "Mo Yan can be deceived if he is poor, and life is rich and noble." ”
It means that don't think that poor and lowly people can be bullied at will, and that there is a time for wealth in life. This poem expresses how one should view poverty and wealth, as well as the relationship between timing and luck. It also reveals the nihilism of the powerful and the potential opportunities of the poor. Even if a person is in poverty now, as long as he keeps working hard to improve himself, he will become rich one day. Therefore, people should not discriminate and bully the poor.
In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Chen Shou combined Sun Wu's Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lu Meng into one biography. These three people were the three famous generals of Sun Wu, and they all made significant contributions to the development and growth of Sun Wu's regime. From the perspective of birth status, Zhou Yu was born in a family of eunuchs, Lu Su was born in a wealthy family, and Lu Meng was born in a poor family.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Lü Meng" wrote: Lü Meng's character is Ming, a native of Fupi County, Runan County (now southeast of Funan, Anhui Province). When he was a teenager, he fled to Jiangdong and relied on his brother-in-law Deng Dang. Deng Dang was Sun Ce's subordinate general and repeatedly conquered the Shanyue tribe. When Lü Meng was fifteen or sixteen years old, he secretly followed Deng Dang to attack the enemy. Deng Dang looked back and saw it, he was shocked, and he couldn't prohibit scolding and scolding. When he returned, Deng Dang told Lü Meng's mother, who was angry and wanted to punish him. Lu Meng said: "The life of poverty is not easy, if I make meritorious service, wealth can be obtained." Besides, if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger?" his mother loved him and forgave him.
Although everyone understands the truth that "Mo Yan can be bullied if he is poor", there are many people who bully the poor. Little Lu Meng was bullied because he was poor.
It is said that one of the subordinate officials of Lu Meng's brother-in-law, Deng Dang, despised Lu Meng because of his young age, and said: "What is that kid's ability? This is just taking meat to feed the tiger." One day, when this man met with Lu Meng, he sneered and insulted him. Lü Meng was furious, drew his sword and killed the official, and fled to the house of a fellow villager named Zheng Chang. Later, through the captain Yuan Xiong turned himself in, Yuan Xiong took the opportunity to intercede for him, and Sun Ce thought he was extraordinary after being summoned, so he took him with him.
Unexpectedly, the young and vigorous little Lu Meng angrily killed and bullied his little officials. Although this matter was finally resolved satisfactorily, he even gained Sun Ce's trust because of the blessing of misfortune and became Sun Ce's attendant. It's just that this incident affected Lu Meng's life, and Lu Meng also came to the following enlightenment: first, the poor and lowly need to work harder, and second, treat the weak and weak fairly. Third, the poor and lowly people can see the root of the problem, and fourth, the poor and lowly people should know how to be grateful.
First, the poor and lowly need to work harder
(1) Sun Quan gave Lü Meng additional soldiers. A few years later, Lü Meng's brother-in-law Deng Dang died, and Zhang Zhao recommended Lü Meng to succeed Deng Dang and be appointed as Sima of the other department. When Sun Quan was in charge, considering the fact that the small generals had few troops and the cost was insufficient, he wanted to merge them. Lu Meng secretly borrowed a sum of money to prepare a big red military uniform and leggings for the soldiers, and when the day of the review, the array was mighty and the soldiers were drilling, Sun Quan was very happy to see it, and he added soldiers.
(2) Only by showing achievements can we gain a foothold in the political arena.
First, in Danyang, the conquest of Shanyue. Lü Meng followed Sun Quan to conquer Danyang, made many military exploits, and served as the governor of Pingbei and the magistrate of Guangde County.
Second, to conquer Huang Zu in Jiangxia. When Lü Meng accompanied him to fight against Huang Zu, Huang Zu ordered the governor Chen to meet the battle with a naval army. Lü Meng commanded the vanguard troops and personally beheaded Chen to show the public, and the soldiers took advantage of the victory to advance and attack the enemy city. When Huang Zu heard that Chen was dead, he abandoned the city and fled, but the soldiers pursued him. Sun Quan said: "The victory of the war depends on Chen being captured first. "Appointed Lu Meng as the general of Yokono Zhonglang and gave him 10 million money.
Third, in the Battle of Red Cliffs, neutral combat exploits. In this year, Lü Meng, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and others defeated Cao Cao in the western Wulin region and besieged Cao Ren in Nanjun. Zhou Yu sent Gan Ning to march to defend Yiling, and Cao Ren divided his troops to attack Gan Ning, who was trapped and in danger and sent messengers to ask for help.
Because the generals were not enough to distribute because of the small number of soldiers, Lu Meng said to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu: "Leave Ling Gongji, I will go with you to relieve the siege and save the emergency, it will not take long to see the situation, I guarantee that Gongji can hold on for ten days." He also persuaded Zhou Yu to send 300 men to block the dangerous road with firewood, so that the enemy could get their horses when they fled. Zhou Yu accepted his advice. When the troops arrived at Yiling, the battle began on the same day, killing and wounding more than half of Cao's army. The enemy fled during the night, and halfway through the road they ran into a section blocked by firewood, and the cavalry abandoned their horses and fled on foot. The Wu army pursued closely, captured 300 military horses, and formed a fleet to carry the horses back. So the soldiers strengthened their confidence, and the situation was naturally favorable, so they crossed the river to establish a stronghold and attacked Cao's army, Cao Ren retreated, and Wu's army occupied Nanjun and pacified Jingzhou. After collecting the troops, Lu Mengguan worshiped the general and concurrently served as the commander of Xunyang County.
Fourth, defend Sun Quan in the Battle of Hefei. Sun Wu's army returned from Jingzhou, Lü Meng went to Hefei, and on the way to withdraw his troops, he was attacked by Zhang Liao and others, and Lü Meng and Ling Tong defended desperately.
(3) Only real talent and real learning can make people respect. Lu Su succeeded Zhou Yu and should go to Lukou and pass through Lü Meng's station. Lu Su still despised Lu Meng a little in his heart, and someone persuaded Lu Su to say: "General Lu's fame is becoming more and more prominent, you can't look at it from the past point of view, you should go and see him." Lu Su went to visit Lu Meng. When he was drinking heartily, Lu Meng asked Lu Su: "You have received a heavy responsibility, and Guan Yu is your neighbor, what strategy do you take to prepare for the unexpected?" Lu Su hurriedly replied: "Temporarily depends on the situation." Lu Meng said: "Although Dongwu and Xishu are now a family, and Guan Yu is really like a bear and a tiger, how can he not plan a plan?" immediately planned five strategies for Lu Su. So Lu Su walked over the seat to him, patted him on the back and said, "Lu Ziming, I didn't know that your talent and strategy had reached such an extent." He met Lu Meng's mother and became friends before saying goodbye. This is also the origin of the idiom "Wuxia Amun".
With regard to Lü Meng's growth, Sun Quan once lamented and said: When a person is old and can keep forging ahead and improving, such as Lü Meng and Jiang Qin, no one else can compare with him! Isn't it a good thing that they are already rich and prominent, but they are still able to condescend to others, study diligently, indulge in books, despise money, and advocate morality, and their behavior is commendable.
Mao Zedong also used the story of Lü Meng's study to inspire leading cadres at all levels, he said: "Lü Meng was born in the army, has no education, and is very inconvenienced, and later Sun Quan persuaded him to study, he accepted the advice, studied hard, and later became the commander of Eastern Wu." At present, 80 to 90 percent of the high-ranking officers were born in the army and only learned culture after participating in the revolution, and they cannot but read the "Biography of Lü Meng" in the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms." ”
2. The poor and the lowly can treat the weak fairly
People who have been poor since childhood have empathy, that is, they can empathize with the unfair treatment of other weak people. For this reason, they are often able to treat the weak and the weak fairly and deal with injustices correctly. Here are two things that are beneficial to Lu Meng, but Lu Meng believes that this is not fair to the weak side, and he wants to uphold justice:
(1) To appease the Yizhou generals to attack the Su. Yizhou general Xi Su led the whole army to come to annex, Zhou Yu asked for the soldiers who attacked Su to supplement Lu Meng, Lu Meng praised Xi Su for his courage and ability, and he admired education and returned from afar, morally speaking, he should be given more troops and should not take his soldiers. Sun Quan thought his opinion was good and returned the soldiers to Xisu.
(2) Cultivating the descendants of Sun and Wu generals to become talents. At that time, Lü Meng was close to the stations of Chengdang, Song Ding, and Xu Gu, and after the death of the three generals, their sons were weak, and Sun Quan merged all their troops to Lü Meng. Lu Meng resolutely refused, and wrote to Chen that Xu Gu and others were diligent in state affairs, and although their children were small, they could not be abandoned. After three times of writing, Sun Quan listened. So Lü Meng chose teachers for the children of the three generals and tutored them in their studies. Lu Meng is worried about people, and most of them are like this.
3. The poor can see the root of the problem
(1) Being able to eat enough is the first priority for human survival. The poor and lowly are particularly impressed by the fact that they can eat well. And many major military affairs are nothing more than eating, drinking, and lazing, so they can often grasp the key points when looking at problems.
First, Lü Meng advocated attacking Xie Qi, the official of Wei's canon, to interfere with Wei's operations in Tuntian, Anhui County. Wei sent Xie Qi, a native of Lujiang, to serve as a farmer in Qichun County, cultivating fields in Anhui County and invading the border many times. Lü Meng sent people to lure the enemy, but the enemy did not move. He waited for an opportunity to attack, and Xie Qi flinched. His subordinates Sun Zicai, Song Hao and others all helped the old and the young to surrender to Lü Meng. Wei was in Tuntian, Anhui County, in order to solve the problem of military rations, so it was necessary to prevent Wei's conspiracy from succeeding.
Second, break through the city of Anhui and eliminate the Wei fortress on the Sun-Wu border. Cao Gong sent Zhu Guang to serve as the Taishou of Lujiang, reclaimed Anhui County, developed a large number of rice fields, and ordered those engaged in espionage activities to lure the leader of the thieves in Poyang and let them do the internal response. Lü Meng said: "The fields in Anhui County are fertile, once they are ripe and harvested, they will be able to increase their personnel, and after a few years like this, Cao Cao's situation will appear, and he should be eliminated as soon as possible." He gave a detailed account of the situation in Anhui. So Sun Quan personally went to Anhui County, met with the generals, and asked for strategies.
Lü Meng recommended Gan Ning to serve as the governor of Shengcheng, supervising the battle in the front, and Lü Meng used elite troops to keep up. In the early morning attack, Lü Meng personally held a mallet and beat the drum, and the soldiers all enthusiastically climbed the city, and by the time they had breakfast, they captured it. Then Zhang Liao arrived at Jiashi and heard that the city of Anhui had been breached, so he retreated. Sun Quan rewarded Lü Meng for his merits, appointed him as the Taishou of Lujiang, and distributed all the people and horses he received to him, and gave him 600 people in Xunyang Tuntianhu and 30 subordinate officials.
(2) Fortifications that can be attacked, retreated, and defended are an important guarantee for the survival of soldiers. For this reason, Lü Meng suggested that Sun Quan build a dock at the mouth of the water. Later, Lü Meng followed Sun Quan to resist Cao Gong in Weisu, repeatedly offered strange plans, and persuaded Sun Quan to build a dock at Shuikou, the defense equipment and facilities were very sophisticated, Cao Gong could not attack, and then retreated.
Later, Cao Gong sent a large army to Wei Xu, and Sun Quan appointed Lü Meng as the commander to defend the dock he had established before, and placed 10,000 strong crossbows on the dock to defend against Cao Gong. Cao Gong's advance troops were stationed undecided, and Lü Meng sent troops to defeat him, and Cao Gong retreated. Sun Quan appointed Lü Meng as the Zuo Protector and the general of Huwei.
(3) If you go outside, you must first settle inside, and only kill the Luling thieves. Lu Meng returned to Xunyang, less than a year, Luling thieves infested, all the generals went to crusade can not be captured, Sun Quan said: "There are hundreds of fierce birds, not as good as a big eagle." He also ordered Lü Meng to go to the conquest. When Lü Meng arrived, he killed the chief of the thieves, and the rest were released, still civilians.
(4) Catching the "fish" that can eat in the stomach is far more worth looking forward to than the unattainable "bear's paw". Lu Meng believes that the capture of Xuzhou and the advance into the Central Plains are "bear's paws", and taking Jingzhou by chance is a real "fish". Sun Quan and Lü Meng discussed their intentions to seize Xuzhou, and Lü Meng replied: "Now that Cao Cao is far away in Hebei, he has recently defeated Yuan's father and son, and is pacifying Youzhou and Jizhou, and has no time to take care of the East. The defenders of Xuzhou, I heard that the strength is insignificant, and our army can naturally conquer it. But the terrain there was an accessible land, and elite cavalry galloped freely. The lord has won Xuzhou today, and Cao Cao will come to fight for it within ten days, even if he uses seventy or eighty thousand people to defend it, it is still worth worrying. It is better to capture Guan Yu and completely possess the Yangtze River, so that our situation will be more developed. Sun Quan even thought that Lu Meng's words were very appropriate.
Fourth, the poor and lowly know how to be grateful
(1) Repay grievances with virtue and recommend Cai Yi. He was once accused by Jiangxia Taishou Cai for his subordinates, and Lu Meng had no intention of hating him. After the death of Gu Shao, Sun Quan asked him who he should replace, and Lu Meng recommended Cai Yi, saying that he was a good official who was loyal to his duties, Sun Quan smiled and said: "Do you want to be Qi Xi?" So Cai Yi was appointed.
(2) Meritocracy, recommend Gan Ning. Gan Ning (?-215), the name Xingba, was a native of Linjiang (now Zhongxian County, Chongqing) in Ba County. When he was a teenager, he did evil in the local area, formed a canal master to rob the ship's property, advocated luxury, and was known as the Jinfan thief. When he was young, he stopped robbing and read the sons by heart. He once served as the Cheng of Shu County, and later served under Liu Biao and Huang Zu, and was not reused. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Gan Ning led his troops to defect to Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and Lu Meng jointly recommended Gan Ning, and Sun Quan gave him preferential treatment, just like the old ministers, and began to make contributions.
Gan Ning was rough and easy to kill, not only did things often not conform to Lu Meng's intentions, but also often disobeyed Sun Quan's orders, Sun Quan was very angry with him, Lu Meng always said and pleaded: "The world is undecided, a warrior like Gan Ning is rare, he should be tolerated." Sun Quan treated Gan Ning well and finally played his role.
(3) Save Yu from fire and water. Sun Quan used Yu to make a cavalry captain. Yu Tuo repeatedly offended the majesty and admonished him, but Sun Quan could not accept it, and Yu Tuo was not in line with the world, and was often slandered, and was convicted and exiled to Jing County, Danyang County.
Lü Meng planned to capture Guan Yu, pretending to be sick and returning to the capital Jianye, because Yu Tuo also knew medical skills, so he asked Yu Tuo to follow him, and also wanted to free Yu Tuo because of this. Later, Lü Meng's whole army went west to attack Shu, and Elfang, the Taishou of the southern county of Shu, opened the city gate and came out to surrender. Lü Meng did not enter the county town to defend it, but celebrated on the sand outside the city, and Yu Fu said to Lü Meng: "Now that the only person who has truly surrendered is General Elk, how can the rest of the people in the city believe it all? Why don't you hurry into the city and hold on to their vital points?" Lü Meng immediately followed his advice. At that time, there was an ambush plan in the city, but thanks to Yu Fu's plan, it could not be carried out. After Guan Yu was defeated, Sun Quan asked Yu to turn over the hexagram, and the hexagram he got was the "Festival" hexagram on the "Kan" under the "Dui", and the fifth hexagram changed from yang to yin, becoming the "Lin" hexagram, Yu Yu said: "Within two days, Guan Yu will definitely lose his head." Later, the situation turned out to be as Yu said. Sun Quan said: "Although you can't catch up with Fuxi, you can be ranked with Dongfang Shuo." ”
Fifth, Lü Meng outwitted Jingzhou
The first part of this article, "Poor people need to work harder", mainly describes Lu Meng's deeds, so as to show that poor people can only get ahead through more dedication. In view of the fact that outwitting Jingzhou was the greatest achievement of Lü Meng's life, it is listed as a separate chapter. In addition, it should also be noted that Lü Meng was despised by the author Luo Guanzhong in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", or in other words, later generations did not have a high opinion of Lü Meng, and was somewhat influenced by "Romance of the Three Kingdoms": this is because Lü Meng killed Guan Yu, who was praised by Luo Guanzhong as the first martial saint of the Three Kingdoms.
However, for Sun Wu, defeating Guan Yu and recovering Jingzhou became the first priority. Guan Yu's occupation of Jingzhou has become an objective fact affecting the survival of Sun Wu. For future generations, it is not necessary to define who is right and who is wrong from the so-called orthodoxy, but we can also get new enlightenment from Lu Meng's strategy of outwitting Jingzhou.
(1) Deceiving the Lingling of Shu to surrender to Wu. Jingzhou in the Eastern Han Dynasty originally had seven counties, from north to south: Nanyang County (southern Henan and northern Hubei), Jiangxia County (eastern Hubei), Nanjun (western Hubei), Wuling County (western Hunan), Changsha County (eastern Hunan), Lingling County (southwest Hunan and northeast Guangxi), and Guiyang County (southeast Hunan and northern Guangdong). After the Battle of Chibi, the Jingzhou region was divided into three parts: Cao Cao occupied Nanyang County, Zhangling County, and the northern part of Jiangxia County; Sun Quan occupied most of Jiangxia County and most of Nanjun County; and Liu Bei occupied Wuling County, Changsha County, Lingling County, and Guiyang County.
However, if Liu Bei wants to be gradually unified according to Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Pair", he must occupy Nanjun in the central part of Jingzhou, and then he can trace the river and enter Xichuan. Therefore, Liu Bei needs to find Sun Quan to "borrow" some land. At the same time, Sun Quan had a hard time fighting Cao Cao alone with his own forces, and Liu Bei was also needed to share some strategic pressure for him. At the beginning, Zhou Yu only gave Liu Bei a small piece of land on the south bank of the Yangtze River, because there were too many people who defected to Liu Bei, and this piece of land was not enough. Liu Bei personally came to "Beijing (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu)" to see Sun Quan and asked Sun Quan to "borrow" more land. Under Lu Su's persuasion, Sun Quan agreed to lend most of Nanjun, including Jiangling, to Liu Bei. This is the so-called borrowing Jingzhou.
At the beginning, Sun Quan "lent" "Jingzhou" to Liu Bei because Liu Bei's strength was too weak, and Liu Bei had to be given some territory in order for Liu Bei to resist Wei. Later, Liu Bei was able to resist Wei alone, so Sun Quan sent people to "return" Jingzhou. Who came? Zhuge Liang's eldest brother, Zhuge Jin. Liu Bei didn't say that he wouldn't "return" Jingzhou, but just shirked and waited for me to take Liangzhou and then "return" Jingzhou.
Sun Quan thought that Liu Bei was a charlatan, and he didn't care that Sun and Liu had formed an alliance, and sent civil officials to serve in Changsha County, Lingling County, and Guiyang County. Sun Quan's move was to test Liu Bei's attitude, but Guan Yu, who was guarding Jingzhou, was furious and beat Sun Quan's officials back from the three counties with a stick.
Liu Bei's troops were limited, and he had to defend the central part of Jingzhou and maintain Western Shu. The troops of the four counties of Jingnan were not many, and Sun Quan sent Lü Meng to quickly take Changsha County, Lingling County, and Guiyang County. At this time, Liu Bei sent Guan Yu to guard the whole territory of Jingzhou, and Sun Quan ordered Lü Meng to go west to seize Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang counties. For this reason, Lü Meng surrendered through the persuasion of Hepp's friend Deng Xuanzhi, and Lü Meng successfully took Lingling County.
Later, Liu Bei heard that Cao Cao was attacking Hanzhong, so Liu Bei asked to negotiate with Sun Quan to settle the Jingzhou issue. As a result, Sun Quan released Hao Pu and others, and Sun and Liu took Xiangshui as the boundary and returned Lingling to Liu Bei. Because of Lü Meng's initial victory in the Battle of Jingzhou, Sun Quan made Xunyang and Yangxin as Lü Meng's Fengyi as rewards.
(2) Crossing the river in white, Lü Meng recovered Jingzhou. The "dove" Lu Su adhered to the Shu Han alliance and jointly resisted Cao, and in the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217), Lu Su died of illness. Sun Quan appointed the "hawk" Lü Mengxi to garrison Lukou, which was adjacent to Guan Yu's territory. There were more than 10,000 people in Lu Su's department, all of which were allocated to Lu Meng. At this time, Lü Meng was appointed as the Taishou of Hanchang, and enjoyed the taxes of the four counties of Xia, Liuyang, Hanchang, and Zhouling.
The hawks represented by Lü Meng advocated that "if Guan Yu is captured, the entire territory of Jingzhou is captured, and the entire Yangtze River valley is occupied, the situation of Wu will be even stronger." However, Lü Meng knew that Guan Yu was brave and strong, and had annexation ambitions, and that Guan Yu was in the upper reaches, so this situation (referring to the alliance between the two countries and should not be violated) could not be sustained.
First, Lü Meng believed that without Guan Yu's strength, Sun Wu's strength alone could resist Cao Wei's aggression. At first, Lu Su and others thought that Cao Cao was still there, and the calamity and danger had just formed, and they should help and cooperate with Xishu, share the same hatred and hatred, and not lose this ally. Lü Meng secretly offered a plan: "Order the general to defend Nanjun, Pan Zhang to garrison the White Emperor City, and Jiang Qin to lead a mobile force of 10,000 people to move up and down the river to deal with the enemy everywhere." I am guarding the frontier of Xiangyang for the country, like this, what is there to worry about Cao Cao, and what is there to rely on Guan Yu? Moreover, Guan Yu's monarchs and ministers, relying on their deceptive methods, are capricious on many issues, and they should not be regarded as confidants. Now the reason why Guan Yu is inconvenient to attack eastward is because the Lord is Shengming, and I and other generals are still there. If I don't try to get him when I'm strong, once my generation is gone, if I want to exert myself, will I still be able to succeed at that time?" Sun Quan deeply praised and adopted his strategy.
Second, defeat Guan Yu and recover Jingzhou can be outwitted. Lu Meng did the following four aspects of work for Guan Yu:
First, Lu Meng had friendly relations with Guan Yu on the surface. When Lu Meng succeeded Lu Su and first arrived in Lukou, he redoubled his kindness on the surface and had friendly exchanges with Guan Yu. Lu Meng thought that Guan Yu had always been proud and did not take others seriously, and now that he was complimenting Guan Yu, Guan Yu would think that Sun Wufang was afraid of him, so he would not think that Sun Wu would sneak attack him.
The second is that Lü Meng used deception to convince Guan Yu that Sun Wu was incapable of attacking his Jingzhou rear. Later, Guan Yu conquered Fancheng, leaving soldiers to guard public security and Nanjun. Lü Meng wrote: "Guan Yu conquered Fancheng and left many defenders behind, it must be because he was afraid that I would attack his rear. I was sick from time to time, and I asked for a part of the soldiers to return to Jianye in the name of healing. When Guan Yu heard about this, he would definitely remove the garrison and leave for Xiangyang. Our army rushed up the river day and night, attacking his emptiness, then we could capture Nanjun and capture Guan Yu. Lü Meng claimed that he was seriously ill, so Sun Quan summoned Lü Meng back with an unsealed document and secretly discussed strategies with him. Guan Yu really believed it, gradually withdrew the defenders, and rushed to Fancheng.
Cao Wei sent Yu Ban to rescue Fancheng, Guan Yu and others were all captured, got tens of thousands of men and horses, and took the grain and rice of Xiangguan without authorization under the pretext of lack of food. Guan Yu's offensive behavior also gave Sun Quan a reason to attack Guan Yu.
The third is that Lü Meng crossed the river in white clothes and persuaded Shu generals Shiren and Mi Fang. As soon as Sun Quan heard that Guan Yu had invaded Sun Wu's grain and rice in Xiangguan, he immediately sent troops and sent Lü Meng to lead the lead troops to infiltrate the area under Guan Yu's control. When Lü Meng's army arrived in Xunyang, all the elite soldiers were ambushed in the big boat, and people were dressed in white clothes and rocked oars, dressed as merchants, and traveled day and night to the riverside lookout post set up by Guan Yu, and captured all the sentries and tied them up, so Guan Yu could not get the news of Lü Meng's sneak attack. Lü Meng went to Nanjun, and the Shu generals Shiren and Mi Fang surrendered because of conflicts with Guan Yu, and after the persuasion of Lü Meng and Yu Tuo.
Fourth, Lü Meng appeased Guan Yu's family in Jiangling, which made Guan Yu's army disheartened. Lü Meng entered the city of Jiangling, and all the families of Guan Yu and the soldiers were appeased, and Lü Meng comforted and condoled, and ordered the army not to interfere with the people's homes and not to ask for property. There was a soldier under Lü Meng, who was from Runan, and took a hat from the people's house to cover the armor of the official family, although the armor of the official government was a public property, but Lü Meng still thought that he had violated the military order and could not abolish the decree because he was a fellow villager, so he killed him with tears. So the army was shocked and frightened, and they didn't forget it.
Morning and evening, Lu Meng sent people around him to comfort and help the elderly, asking them what they lacked, giving medicine to the sick to the doctor, and giving clothes and food to the hungry and cold. Guan Yu's treasury treasures were all sealed to wait for Sun Quan's arrival. On the way back to the army, Guan Yu sent people to Lü Meng many times to inquire, Lü Meng always treated his envoy well, let him travel around the city, family to express greetings, and some of the family members also wrote letters and asked the messenger to bring them back. After the people sent by Guan Yu returned, the soldiers asked each other privately, and they all knew that their homes were safe and that they were treated more than usual, so Guan Yu's officers and soldiers had no fighting spirit. Soon after, Sun Quan came.
Third, Guan Yu defeated Maicheng. After Lü Meng's deliberate efforts, Guan Yujun's heart was disheartened, and a large number of soldiers fled, and he knew that he was alone and poor, so he had to flee westward, wanting to escape back to Shu. However, Lü Meng had already laid a net, and when Guan Yu fled to Maicheng and then west to Zhangxiang, his subordinates abandoned Guan Yu and surrendered. Sun Quan sent Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang to intercept them from the path, Guan Yu's father and son were captured, and Jingzhou was pacified.
Sun Quan recovered Jingzhou, and Lü Meng was appointed as the Taishou of Nanjun, named the Marquis of Xiaoling, and gave 100 million yuan of money and 500 catties of gold. Lü Meng resolutely refused to give him the money, but Sun Quan did not allow it.
Sixth, the sky is jealous of talents, and the stars will fall
Sun Quan's edict to give Lü Meng the title has not yet been issued, just as Lü Meng's illness attacked, when Sun Quan was in the public security, Lu Meng ushered in and placed in the inner hall, used to treat and care for tens of thousands of prescriptions, recruited people who have the ability to cure Lü Meng's disease, and gave a thousand gold.
The doctor used acupuncture to treat Lu Meng from time to time, Sun Quan felt miserable and sad for him, and wanted to see his face many times, but he was afraid that the fatigue would alarm him, so he often chiseled through the wall to look, and was happy to see that he was able to eat a little, and looked back at the people around him talking and laughing, otherwise he would sigh and sigh, and he could not sleep at night. His condition improved for a while, Sun Quan issued a pardon for him, and all the ministers came to congratulate him. Later, when his condition worsened, Sun Quan personally visited him and ordered a Taoist priest to pray for his life under the stars.
Later, Lü Meng died of illness in the temple at the age of forty-two. At that time, Sun Quan was very sad and lost his happiness and food. When Lü Meng was not dead, he handed over all the treasures and other gifts he received to the treasury, and ordered the person in charge to hand over all the gifts after his death, and the funeral affairs must be simple. When Sun Quan learned of this, he was even more sad and sad.
Lü Meng's son, Lü Ba, inherited the title and allocated him 300 households to guard the grave and 50 hectares of land exempt from taxation. After Lü Ba's death, his brother Lü Cong succeeded the marquis. Lü Cong died, and his younger brother Lü Mu succeeded to the title.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" said that Lü Meng's death was because he killed Guan Yu, karma, and now Lü Meng was killed by Guan Yu's soul. This is, of course, ridiculous. Now there is a tendency to say that Lü Meng contracted the plague and died.
Plagues are now all discolored diseases, and the harm of ancient times can be imagined. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Gan Ning" records: "From the attack on Hefei, there will be epidemics. This record not only shows that there was a plague epidemic at that time, and there was a plague in Wu's army, but also reflects that there were many plagues near Jiangnan at that time. In addition, after Lü Meng seized Jingzhou, Sun Quan exempted the people of Jingzhou from paying taxes, which is speculated to be related to the outbreak of the local plague. And Sun Quan's order was handled by Lu Meng himself. In the long operation of military affairs, he himself unfortunately contracted the plague. In addition, it is a well-recognized fact that Lu Meng himself is weak and sickly. When the virus struck, he was already weak and contracted the plague, which was a very probable thing. Therefore, the truth of Lu Meng's death is not mysterious, but due to the limitations of medical conditions, he fell in front of the virus.
Finally, I will end this article with the poem "Qin Song and Lyrics: General Huo" (2) by Cui Hao:
Chang'an Jiadi is high into the clouds, who lives in General Huo.
In the evening and evening, the court returned to support the guests, and the road was full of worship.
Mo Yan is hot, and the fire will be extinguished.
Mo Yan can be deceived if he is poor, and life is rich and noble.
Once the Son of Heaven gives color, the world should know it.
(Written in Yeosu on Saturday, March 30, 2024)
Annotation:
(1) Sun Quan's persuasion: At first, Sun Quan said to Lü Meng: "You are now in power and in charge of political affairs, you can't stop studying!" Lü Meng used the reason that there were many affairs in the army to shirk it. Sun Quan said: "Do I want you to study the Confucian classics and become a scholar who teaches the scriptures? You say that there are many affairs in the army, and who can compare with me? I read a lot of books and think that I have great benefits. Lu Meng then began to study.
When Lu Su arrived in Xunyang, he discussed national affairs with Lu Meng, and Lu Su said in surprise: "Your current talent and strategy are no longer the previous Ameng of Wu County!" Lu Meng said: "If you are separated from the people who study for a few days, you have to look at it with new eyes, how can my brother know about things so late!" So Lu Su visited Lu Meng's mother and became friends with Lu Meng before parting.
(2) The translation of "Qinqu Lyrics: General Huo", excerpted from the ancient poetry network: The mansions of the wealthy nobles in Chang'an, Beijing, are high into the clouds, and Huo Guang's mansion in the past does not know who lives now. They are surrounded by guests and servants in and out, and the sound is terrifying, and they can be seen everywhere on Chang'an Road. Don't look at the fact that these powerful people are now prosperous and hot, it may not be long before they will be extinguished like smoke and fire. Don't say that you can be bullied at will, you must know that the rich and poor in life have their own time, and the poverty and cheapness have not yet come. Maybe one day the emperor will give you high power, the world is leisurely, you should know now!
(3) "If you are poor, you will change, if you change, if you are long", the picture comes from the Internet, and the other pictures are provided by photographer Yu Yuan, I am grateful!