Ancient emperors were called "True Dragon Sons", and their descendants were also known as "Dragon Sons and Dragon Grandsons". But for most emperors, this statement is a compliment. The most common situation is that no matter which dynasty, the founding emperor is the most capable generation, which can be called the dragon and phoenix among people. Most of their children and grandchildren follow the iron law of "one generation is not as good as the next", and few of them can be compared with the cultural and martial arts of their ancestors.
There are exceptions, though. Liu Bang, the founder of the Western Han Dynasty, and his descendants are worthy of the saying of "dragon son and dragon grandson". Among Liu Bang's descendants, there were two founding emperors, namely Liu Xiu, who founded the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Liu Bei, who founded the Shu Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu is the ninth grandson of Liu Bang, after Liu Fa, the king of Changsha, and Liu Bei is after Liu Sheng, the king of Zhongshan. Among several people, Liu Xiu and Liu Bang unified the country and created a prosperous dynasty, while Liu Bei was in a corner of peace for a long time, separating one side, and the emperor was actually a warlord, not to mention pacifying the world, only one generation was destroyed by others.
Liu Bei is known as "a generation of heroes", whether it is the selection of generals or military talents, the head of the road is the way, the hand has the wisdom of Zhuge below, the martial arts about Zhang Zhiyong, the majestic Bashu, the land across Jingxiang, whether it is personal talent, or talent reserves, or the construction of the base, compared to Liu Bang and Liu Xiu is not inferior, but in the end he died and the country was destroyed, and his descendants became prisoners of the Wei State, and he wasted his life's efforts. What is the reason? One practical word can perfectly sum up the success or failure of the three people.
As we all know, Liu Bei founded Shu Han and experienced two turning points. The first turning point was the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei successfully repelled Cao Cao's attack with the help of Jiangdong Sun Quan's strength, and from then on possessed the land of Jingxiang as the first development base, and Shu Han became strong from weak. The second turning point was the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei and Eastern Wu turned their faces and fought with their former allies, but the result was a big defeat, and the loss of troops and generals made the vitality of Shu Han greatly damaged, and since then it has turned from prosperity to decline. After the loss of Jingzhou and the defeat of the Battle of Yiling, Zhuge Liang's Longzhong plan came to naught, and Liu Bei's road to peace with the world actually ended at this time.
The reason why Liu Bei made such a serious mistake was that he ignored the word "forbearance". The general trend of the Three Kingdoms, two weak and one strong, Sun and Liu faced such a powerful opponent as Cao Cao, and only the two weak joined forces to unite with the outside world is the only way to survive and protect themselves. Zhuge Liang said clearly in Longzhong, Cao Cao "This sincerity cannot compete with each other", and Sun Quan "can be for aid but not for it". Because Shu Han is the weakest and has the smallest territory, the Sun-Liu Alliance is of irreplaceable significance to the survival of Shu Han.
Liu Bei was not ignorant of this truth, but he still forgot the word "forbearance" at a critical moment. The friendship with Guan Yu is important, and the important town of Jingzhou is also very important, but compared to the Sun-Liu Alliance, it is just a trivial issue. He should hold back his anger and settle the dispute between the two companies through negotiation or other means on the premise of ensuring that the Sun-Liu alliance will not break down. Although it seems to be a bit aggrieved and humiliating to do this, since you want to win the world, in the current situation where your strength is inferior to others and the enemy is great, it is the wisest choice to only keep your head open and keep forbearance. It is assumed that if there is no heavy damage caused by the Battle of Yiling, the development of Shu Han will be another scene.
In contrast, his two predecessors are both deeply rooted in the true inheritance of the word "forbearance". Liu Bang was born as a scoundrel drunkard, mixed in the society in his early years, his face was comparable to iron armor, and the word "forbearance" was perfect. After Liu Bang occupied Guanzhong, he wanted to claim the title of king, but Xiang Yu led a heavy army to suppress the territory. Liu Bang's wounded soldiers and damaged the territory laid by the generals were not guaranteed, and he hated and feared, but his strength was not as good as others, he immediately groveled and smiled, and personally came to the door to apologize: "I have not committed any crimes in the autumn after entering the customs, and the treasury of money and grain has been sealed, just waiting for you to come, I want to look forward to you, where do you dare to rebel!" Xiang Yu smiled when he said it. Liu Bang was able to escape the catastrophe, and his strength was not damaged at all.
At the critical moment of the Chu-Han War, Liu Bang led a large army to confront Xiang Yu's main force, and the situation was critical, and he hurriedly ordered Han Xin in Qi to come to the aid in the starry night. Who knew that Han Xin was not authentic, and he bargained at the last moment, and sent a messenger to ask Liu Bang to crown him as the false king of Qi. Liu Bang was annoyed in his heart, and he opened his mouth and scolded: "Lao Tzu is going to be finished, you are still thinking about what king to be named there!" Zhang Liang quietly reminded on the side: "Don't mess with him at the critical moment, be careful of changes!" Liu Bang immediately held back his anger and changed his words: "If the husband wants to be the real king, what kind of fake king!" immediately issued an order to seal Han Xin as the king of Qi, and Han Xin sent troops to defeat Xiang Yu. If Liu Bang couldn't help the fire at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Liu Xiu is also a master. In Liu Xiu's early years, together with his eldest brother Liu Xuan, he worked as an errand under Liu Xuan, the leader of the rebel army. The eldest brother Liu Xuan was brave and good at fighting, made many military exploits, and had a very high prestige in the army, but he was hated by Liu Xuan, and he actually found an excuse to cut Liu Xuan. Liu Xiu was secretly sad and angry in the face of the innocent murder of his own brother who lived and died together, but he was fledgling at this time, and he definitely suffered a loss for rash revenge. So he held back his evil anger and was still respectful to Liu Xuan, not only did he not mention revenge, but also took the initiative to kneel down to make amends, saying that his eldest brother Liu Xuan had made a mistake and he was also responsible. At the same time, he deliberately kept a distance from Liu Xuan's old subordinates to show his innocence. coaxed Liu Xuan into high spirits, and gradually stopped guarding against him.
Liu Xiu escaped the scourge of killing, took the opportunity to go to Hebei, established his own territory, developed his own people, and said that Wang developed and developed, and finally embarked on the road of kingship.