The fuse of the fall of Shu Han
Guan Yu carelessly lost Jingzhou
During the Three Kingdoms period, the territory of Shu and Han was mainly distributed in the Sichuan Basin and Hanzhong region. However, the seven counties of Jingzhou, as the lifeblood of Shu Han, are crucial to maintaining the survival of Shu Han. In 219 AD, Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou after the Battle of Chibi and appointed Guan Yu to guard it. Guan Yu, as a Hu minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, was unparalleled in martial arts and was in the prime of life at that time.
In 222 AD, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu sent generals Lu Xun and Lü Meng to lead a large army to attack Jingzhou. At that time, Guan Yu was in Jiangxia County, and after learning the news of the attack of the Eastern Wu army, he hurriedly led the main force to meet the battle. The two sides fought each other in Enshi, Guan Yu won a complete victory, and the Eastern Wu army was defeated. However, this victory made Guan Yu carelessly lose Jingzhou.
After the war, Guan Yu was stationed in Gangneung, immersed in the joy of victory, and neglected to take precautions. The Eastern Wu generals Lu Xun and Lü Meng took advantage of the situation and divided their troops into two ways to attack Jingzhou. The generals under Guan Yu's command, Mi Fang and Shiren, turned against each other and led the main force of Jingzhou to surrender to Soochow. Guan Yu was shocked when he heard the news and returned to the division in person, but it was too late, and Jingzhou had already been lost.
This major defeat caused Shu Han to lose hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of territory, hundreds of thousands of people, and a lot of resources. What's more serious is that Shu Han has since withdrawn from Jingzhou and lost the key point to the Central Plains. This was undoubtedly a turning point in the decline of Shu Han, and it also laid the foundation for its future demise.
Although Guan Yu is brave, he lacks a sense of prevention and a cautious style. He drank heavily in Gangneung and failed to discover the conspiracy of the Soochow army in time, which eventually led to a catastrophe. What's even more distressing is that the two fierce generals under Guan Yu actually defected to each other, which is ridiculous.
However, Guan Yu is not useless. After the loss of Jingzhou, he still turned the tide, personally returned to his division to retake Jiangling, and defeated the Eastern Wu army in the subsequent Battle of Wuchang. It's a pity that the overall situation has gone, and Shu Han has been in a slump since then, and has never recovered the majesty of the year.
The root cause of Shu Han's internal and external troubles
Shu is small and lacks resources
The territory of Shu and Han is narrow, mainly including present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, and Hanzhong in Shaanxi, with an area of only more than 200,000 square kilometers. At the same time, Cao Wei and Eastern Wu had vast territories and abundant resources. Although the mountains and rivers of Shu are beautiful, they are covered with clouds and mist all year round, and the sunshine time is short, making it difficult for crops to grow. Coupled with the inland location and the lack of foreign trade routes, economic development has been stagnant.
In 263 AD, Cao Wei's army marched to Chengdu, and the Shu Han were defeated and retreated, and finally collapsed in more than a month. Among them, the lack of resources in Shu is an important reason. The Shu Han army was in a state of semi-starvation for a long time, with poor morale and low combat ability. In contrast, Cao Wei's army had a steady supply of food, and the soldiers were full of energy. In the decisive battle, the Shu army was vulnerable and soon collapsed.
Talent withered, and the selection of heirs was improper
At the beginning of the founding of the Shu Han Dynasty, a number of talents such as Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei came out in large numbers and made outstanding contributions to the development of the Shu Han regime. However, with the passage of time, these talents passed away one after another, and Shu Han failed to train a new generation of talents to succeed in time. Before Liu Bei died, he appointed Zhuge Liang as the regent, but after Zhuge Liang's death, there was a fierce power struggle within the Shu Han court.
In the end, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, two incompetent people, succeeded to the throne respectively, resulting in the loss of promising people in Shu Han. During their reign, the government became increasingly corrupt, the party struggled constantly, and the national power gradually declined. In 258 AD, after Jiang Wan was killed, Fei Yi succeeded to the throne, but he was only a puppet emperor, and the real power was in the hands of Jiang Wei and other military generals.
During Fei Yi's reign, the government was in chaos. He was incompetent, a drunkard all day long, and indifferent to the affairs of the state. At the same time, the party struggle between the DPRK and China intensified, and although Jiang Wei and others advocated the Northern Expedition, they were repeatedly obstructed by the opposition. This internal friction seriously weakened the combat effectiveness of Shu Han and laid the foundation for the eventual downfall.
The government is corrupt and the party is constantly fighting
In the later period of the Shu Han Dynasty, due to the lack of a master, the government became increasingly corrupt. For the sake of selfish interests, those in power are intriguing with each other, and the parties are constantly fighting. This not only made the Shu Han lose unity, but also increased the consumption of national strength.
In 263 AD, before Cao Wei's army arrived in Chengdu, the Shu Han dynasty and the opposition had fallen apart. Jiang Weili, the real power figure at that time, advocated defending against the enemy, but was blocked by Huang Hao and other anti-war factions. Huang Hao not only suppressed Jiang Wei's letter, but also secretly instigated Emperor Liu Chan to surrender. In the end, Liu Chan hastily decided to abandon the city and flee when Jiang Wei did not rush back in time.
As a result, Shu Han was in chaos and demoralized, and soon collapsed under the offensive of Cao Wei's army. Although Jiang Wei was ordered to resist the enemy bravely, it was too late and he was powerless. From the prosperity of the Shu Han Dynasty to the decline of the Han Dynasty, corruption in the government was one of the important reasons. If the people in power could work together, perhaps the fall of Shu Han would not have come so quickly.
Cao Wei's advantages are highlighted
The land is vast and the people are abundant, and the resources are abundant
Cao Wei had a vast territory and a territory covering the hinterland of the Central Plains. Its territory spans more than 10 provinces including today's Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, and Anhui, covering an area of one million square kilometers. This vast land is not only strategically located, but also has a steady stream of manpower and material resources.
The area under the jurisdiction of Cao Wei has been the birthplace of Chinese civilization since ancient times, with dense population and abundant products. The land of Jilu in the Yellow River Basin is known as "fertile fields for thousands of miles", and the grain output is extremely high. The land of Jingxiang in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is a necessary place for the Silk Road, and commerce is extremely developed.
These superior geographical conditions provided sufficient resource reserves for the Cao Wei regime. During the war years, grain and grass were the lifeblood of the army. Cao Wei's army had a steady supply of food, the soldiers had no food and clothing, and their mental state had been maintained at the best level. In contrast, the territory of Shu Han was narrow, coupled with its inland location, the economy was backward, and the military food was in short supply all year round, and the soldiers were in a state of semi-starvation for a long time.
Elite soldiers and strong generals, strong military strength
Cao Wei was not only rich in resources, but also had an elite army. During the Jian'an period, Cao Cao attached great importance to the military, recruited talents, and formed a well-trained ironclad army. This army was not only large in number and well-equipped, but also led by a number of outstanding generals such as Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, and Xu Huang.
In 263 AD, Cao Wei's army marched to Chengdu, which is ironclad evidence of the invincibility of this elite army. At that time, Cao Wei's main force was led by famous generals such as Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, and Du Xi, and the troops divided into routes and approached the heart of Shu Han with lightning speed. In the face of the fierce offensive of Cao Wei's army, Shu Han was defeated and retreated, and finally collapsed on all fronts in more than a month.
At the same time, the strength of the Shu Han army was weakening day by day. Since the death of Zhuge Liang, Shu Han has lost talents, and army construction has been sluggish. By 263 AD, Shu Han had no outstanding generals, and could only rely on Jiang Wei, a veteran, to turn the tide. However, Jiang Wei was unable to support himself alone, and was finally defeated by Cao Wei's elite army.
Unify the great cause and unite people's hearts
In addition to the advantages of resources and military strength, Cao Wei also had an extremely important legal basis - the great cause of unifying the world. This is crucial to bringing people together.
Since ancient times, the people of the Central Plains have cherished the ideal of reunifying China. It was precisely in this ideal that Cao Wei set up the banner of "unifying the rivers". Under the call of Cao Wei, countless heroes and heroes came to serve him. This is undoubtedly Cao Wei's biggest human resource advantage.
In contrast, both Shu Han and Eastern Wu were small states that lacked legitimacy. Although Shu Han claimed to be orthodox in the Han Dynasty, in the eyes of the people of the time, it was nothing more than a deviant traitor. This kind of cognition determines that it is difficult for Shu Han to unite people's hearts, and there is a lack of talents.
In 263 AD, when Cao Wei's army arrived in Chengdu, the Shu Han dynasty and the opposition had already fallen apart. Jiang Weili, the real power figure at that time, advocated defending against the enemy, but was blocked by Huang Hao and other anti-war factions. In the end, Liu Chan hastily decided to abandon the city and flee when Jiang Wei did not rush back in time. As a result, Shu Han was in great chaos and soon collapsed under the offensive of Cao Wei's army.
A helpless choice under the fixed number of history
In 263 AD, Cao Wei's army drove to Chengdu, and Shu Han was defeated and retreated. In this battle, Shu Han was in chaos, and was finally completely defeated by Cao Wei in just over a month. This ending was doomed to the end of the pattern of the Three Kingdoms, and also announced the fall of the Shu Han regime.
Throughout history, the pattern of the Three Kingdoms is destined to be unable to achieve long-term stability. This was not only due to the fierce political struggle at that time, but also because the traditional thinking of Chinese civilization determined that reunification was the trend of the times. Since ancient times, the people of the Central Plains have cherished the ideal of unifying China, and the three parts of the world will surely be reunified.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Shu Han Dynasty has regarded the "revival of the Han Dynasty" as its own responsibility and tried to reunify the Central Plains. However, there were significant obstacles to this goal from the outset. First of all, the territory of Shu Han is small, resources are scarce, and the foundation is weak. Secondly, the legal system of Shu Han was questionable, and in the eyes of people at the time, it was just a rebellious thief.
In contrast, Cao Wei, with his great strength and legitimacy, soon became the dominant force in the pattern of the Three Kingdoms. In 220 AD, Cao Pi established the Wei state in Luoyang and called himself "Emperor", thus establishing the great cause of unifying the Central Plains. Under the call of this ideal, countless heroes and heroes have come to serve it.
At the same time, Cao Wei's military strength was also growing. During the Jian'an period, Cao Cao attached great importance to military affairs, recruited talents, and formed a well-trained elite division. By 263 AD, this army had reached its peak, and was led by a number of outstanding generals such as Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, and Du Xi.
In the face of the fierce offensive of Cao Wei's army, Shu Han was defeated and retreated. At that time, the Shu Han government and the opposition had fallen apart. Although Jiang Wei advocated defending against the enemy, he was obstructed by Huang Hao and other anti-war factions. In the end, Liu Chan hastily decided to abandon the city and flee when Jiang Wei did not rush back in time. As a result, Shu Han was in great chaos and soon collapsed under the offensive of Cao Wei's army.
This battle marked the complete collapse of the Shu Han regime. Although there are many heroes in Shu Han, they can't match Cao Wei's strong strength after all. This outcome was not only due to various internal problems in Shu Han, but also due to the general trend at that time. In the face of the ideal of reunification, the secession of one side is destined to be temporary.
The fall of Shu Han announced the end of the pattern of the Three Kingdoms. Subsequently, Cao Wei soon annexed Eastern Wu and reunified the Central Plains. This historical process confirms the traditional thinking of Chinese civilization in pursuit of unity. Under the guidance of this thinking, the three divisions of the world will eventually be reunited, which is a historical certainty that does not depend on human will.