Liu Bei (161–223), courtesy name Xuande, was a native of Zhuo County (涿郡, in present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei), after Liu Sheng, king of Zhongshan in the Western Han Dynasty, the founding emperor of the Shu Han Dynasty (reigned 221–223), and a statesman.
Portrait of Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of the Shu Han Dynasty
Although Liu Bei admitted to being a royal family, there were many doubts in later generations (he claimed to be a descendant of Liu Sheng, the Prince of Zhongshan Jing, the son of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty; and cao Wei Lang's "Canon Strategy" of the Wild History, which said that Liu Bei was originally a branch of the Eastern Han Dynasty Linyi Marquis), it seems to me that most of them were self-inflating remarks. In any case, when it came to liu bei's father, Liu Hong,000, it was an indisputable fact that his family was very depressed. Moreover, Liu Hong died early, and when he was a teenager, Liu Bei and his mother worked as a mat weaver, and life was very hard. There is a mulberry tree in the southeast corner of Liu Bei's house, which is more than five meters high, and it looks like a car cover from a distance, and people who come and go think that this tree does not look like a mortal thing, and that this family will be a noble person in the future. When Liu Bei was a child, he played under the tree with the children of the same sect, pointed to the mulberry tree and said, "I will definitely take such a feather car in the future." His uncle Liu Zijing said, "Don't talk nonsense, let our family suffer the sin of exterminating." (I am afraid that these are also the words of historians after the fact.)
In the fourth year of Xiping (175), his mother sent the fifteen-year-old Liu Beiwai to study, and he studied with Liu Deran of the same emperor and Gongsun Zhan of the Liaoxi Dynasty under Lu Zhimen, a famous scholar of Jiujiang. Liu Deran's father, Liu Yuanqi, was very optimistic about Liu Bei, believing that he was extraordinary and would be unlimited in the future, so he often funded Liu Bei and treated him and Liu Deran the same.
When Liu Bei grew up, he was seven feet and five inches long (about 1 meter 72 today), with his hands on his knees and his eyes on his ears. Like Cao Cao, he is also a person who does not like to read and study, likes dogs and horses, music, and beautiful clothes; he usually does not like to talk, moody and angry, can treat people kindly, make friends with Haojie, and local heroes are vying to attach themselves to him. Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, the great merchants of the Zhongshan Kingdom, heard that Liu Bei Haojie, carrying thousands of gold, came to Zhuo County with horses and gave Liu Bei a lot of financial support, and Liu Bei was able to use it to gather a lot of horses and began to have a little capital.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion that broke out in the first year of Zhongping (184) gave many Haojie the opportunity to emerge, including the twenty-four-year-old Liu Bei.
In the fifth year of Zhongping (188), Liu Bei also participated in the battle to suppress Zhang Chun's rebellion, and many military achievements.
Because of his military exploits in the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Zhang Chun Rebellion, Liu Bei was awarded the title of Lieutenant of Anxi County (安喜 in present-day Dingzhou, Hebei, where the county lieutenant was equivalent to the head of the county public security bureau). But soon, due to the imperial court's order: "Those who become officials because of military merits must be selected and eliminated", Liu Bei tied up and whipped up the governor who was preparing to dismiss him, and fled with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. After that, the general He Jin sent the capital Lieutenant Qiu Yi to Danyang to recruit troops, and Liu Bei joined him on the way, and when he arrived in Xia Pi, he fought against the thieves and made meritorious contributions, and was appointed as the deputy county magistrate of Xiami County (下密, in present-day Weizi Town, Changyi, Shandong), and soon resigned. Later, he successively served as Gao Tang Wei (county public security bureau chief) and Gao Tang Ling (county chief), but they did not last long. Soon, Gaotang County (高唐县; present-day Liaocheng, Shandong) was breached by thieves, and Liu Bei defected to his friend Gongsun Zan of Fenwu and was made sima of the other department (the Han Dynasty generals often had other subordinates called the beibu sima (that is, the temporary commander of the army, and the number of soldiers led by the total number of soldiers was appropriate and irregular, about the size of the provisional battalion commander).
In the second year of Chuping (191), Yuan Shao and the yuan shu brothers began a competition for domination of the Central Plains, and Gongsun Zhan was drawn by Yuan Shu as an ally to fight against Yuan Shao. Gongsun Zan then sent Liu Beitun to Gaotang to fight against Yuan Shao together with Qingzhou Thorn Shi Tian Kai, Yanzhou Thorn Shi Danjing, and Xuzhou Thorn Shi Taoqian, and was promoted to the position of Minister of The Plains (the Plains were in present-day Dezhou, Shandong, and the State Minister was equivalent to the mayor of a prefecture-level city). Liu Bei was deeply popular with the people when he was a plain, and he was a thief on the outside and a good person on the inside, and even ordinary people who were not scholars could sit with him and eat with him, and they would not choose. Liu Ping, a county citizen, disobeyed Liu Bei's governance and instigated the Assassins to assassinate him, but Liu Bei did not know it and treated the Assassins with great courtesy. The assassin was deeply moved, and could not bear to kill Liu Bei, so he confessed the truth and left.
In the third year of Chuping (192), the Yellow Turban Yu Dang Guan Hai led an army to attack Beihai, and Beihai Xiangkong Rong sent TaiShi Ci to break through to Liu Bei for help. Liu Bei replied in surprise: "Beihai Xiangkong Rong actually knows that there is Liu Bei in the world!" He immediately sent three thousand elite soldiers to accompany Tai Shi Ci to the North Sea to rescue him. When the Yellow Turban Army heard that reinforcements had arrived, they all scattered and fled, and Kong Rong was able to break the siege. Later, Yuan Shao attacked Gongsun Zhan, and Liu Bei and Tian Kai dongtun Qidi (i.e., Qingzhou).
In the first year of Xingping (194), Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou in revenge for his father (Xuzhou Mu Taoqian sent the assassin Zhang Min to kill Cao Cao's father Cao Song and his brother Cao De), and Liu Bei followed Tian Kai to the rescue. At this time, he only had more than a thousand soldiers and a few Hu riders, and there were thousands of hungry people on the road, tao qian gave him four thousand danyang soldiers, and from then on Liu Bei belonged to Tao Qian. Tao Qian played Liu Bei as the Assassin of Yuzhou and led a garrison of 5,000 men and horses at Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County, Jiangsu).
In the second year of Xingping (195), Tao Qian died of illness, and Xuzhou Bei driving engaged (Bei Driving and Zhizhong were both high-ranking subordinate officials under the Han Dynasty Thorn History or Zhou Mu, the power was second only to the Thorn History, generally selected by the Thorn History among the local Hao clan, and the other driving was slightly higher than zhizhong) Lu Zhu and the local Hao clan Chen Deng and others led the army and the people to welcome Liu Bei as the Assassin History, and from then on Xuzhou was taken over. However, Xuzhou was the land of four wars, and Liu Bei was a small number of soldiers, and it was not easy for Liu Bei to maintain this strategic land.
In the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao made Liu Bei the general of Zhendong and the Marquis of Fengyichengting. Yuan Shu of Huainan led a large army to attack Xuzhou, Liu Bei attacked, and the two armies held each other at Xuyi (盱眙县, in present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu) and Huaiyin (in present-day Huaiyin District, Huai'an, Jiangsu). At this time, Lü Bu, who had recently surrendered, secretly attacked Xia Pi (下邳, in modern Pizhou, Jiangsu) and captured Liu Bei's wife. Liu Bei's army collapsed on the way back to the army, but he collected the Remaining army to take Guangling in the east, and was again defeated by Yuan Shu, and turned to Haixi, and was extremely trapped. Fortunately, he was able to assist the army with his family wealth and make peace with Lü Bu, so Lü Bu returned his wife to him, and Liu Bei returned to Xiao Pei to garrison. Soon, Liu Bei once again recruited more than 10,000 men and horses, and Lü Bu led an army to attack Xiao Pei, and Liu Bei was defeated. He went to Xudu (許都; present-day Xuchang County, Henan) to join Cao Cao. Cao Cao played Liu Bei as the pastor of Yuzhou and gave Liu Bei soldiers and horses food and grass, so that he could still garrison Xiao Pei.
In the third year of Jian'an (198), Liu Bei's army seized the gold of Lü Bu's army, and Lü Bu sent Zhonglang to attack Liu Bei with Gao Shun and Beidi Taishou Zhang Liao. Although Cao Cao sent the general Xiahou Huan to rescue him, he was defeated; Peicheng was eventually breached, and Liu Bei's wife was taken captive again, and he fled alone. He met Cao Cao on the borders of the Liang state, so he jointly attacked Lü Bu, and after Lü Bu surrendered, Liu Bei urged Cao Cao to kill Lü Bu. He later returned to Xudu with Cao Cao and was made the General of zuo, the Marquis of Yicheng Ting, and the pastor of Yu prefecture.
In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), a year before the outbreak of the "Yidai Zhao" incident, Liu Bei used the pretext of blocking Yuan Shu from moving north to leave Xuchang, and eventually rebelled against Cao. After a brief possession of Xuzhou, he was again defeated by Cao Cao and had to defect to Yuan Shao in Hebei.
In July of the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Liu Pei, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army in Runan, rebelled against Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao sent Liu Bei to lead the army and Liu Peikou to the south of Xu. Cao Cao sent the general Cao Ren to attack Liu Bei, but Liu Bei was not conducive to returning to Yuan Shao, leaving Yuan Shao on the pretext of linking Liu Biao and returning to Runan. He once again united with Gong Du and others in the Yellow Turban Yu Party, with thousands of men and horses, and Cao Cao sent Ru Nan Taishou Cai Yang to attack, but was killed by Liu Bei.
In the sixth year of Jian'an (201), Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao's personal crusade, and all the way to the south to surrender to The Mu Liu Biao of Jingzhou, where he treated the guests and let him garrison Xinye (新野县, in modern Xinye County, Henan).
In the seventh year of Jian'an (202), Liu Biao ordered Liu Bei to lead his army north to Ye County (present-day Ye County, Henan), where he opposed Cao Jun's Xiahou Huan and Yu Ban at Bowangpo (about 30 kilometers southwest of present-day Chengxian County, Henan). Liu Bei set up an ambush with a false plan, and Xiahou Huan and Yu Ban planned to pursue Liu Bei together, and were finally defeated by Liu Bei's army.
After that, until the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), Liu Bei spent several years in Jingzhou, without success. And because Jingzhou Haojie was friends with Liu Bei, Liu Biao secretly guarded against him, and Liu Bei's life was quite sad. It was not until cao cao went south to conquer Jingzhou, when Liu Beisan Gu Maolu invited the young statesman Zhuge Liang out of the mountains, that he began to operate.
In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Liu Beitun was stationed at Fancheng (樊城, in present-day Xiangyang, Hubei), and Cao Cao led an army south, Liu Biao died of illness, and his second son Liu Chun surrendered to Cao Cao. Liu Chun's subordinates and many Jingzhou scholars defected to Liu Bei, and when they arrived in Dangyang, there were more than 100,000 people, weighing thousands of vehicles, and traveling more than ten miles a day. Liu Bei sent Guan Yu hundreds of ships to rendezvous with him at Jiangling. In December of that year, under the urging of Zhuge Liang and Lu Su, Liu Bei and Sun Quan united their armies, with Zhou Yu as the commander, and defeated the Cao army at Chibi (chibi, hubei) with a small victory and a big defeat, thus laying a three-legged situation.
From the fourteenth year of Jian'an (209) to the fifteenth year of Jian'an (210), Liu Bei successively took the four counties of Jingnan Changsha (present-day Changsha, Hunan), Wuling (present-day Xiangxi, Hunan), Lingling (present-day Yongzhou, Hunan), and Guiyang (present-day Chenzhou, Hunan), and borrowed from Sun Quan the southern counties (present-day Jiangling district, Hubei), and from then on owned the five counties of Jingzhou, which were represented by Sun Quan as Jingzhou Mu, and officially established themselves as princes on one side.
In the sixteenth year of Jian'an (211), Liu Zhang of Xichuan obeyed the plot of the counselors Zhang Song and Fa Zheng to eat inside and outside, and invited Liu Bei to enter Shu. In the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214), Liu Bei officially swallowed Liu Zhang, took Yizhou, and took Yizhou as herd.
In the twentieth year of Jian'an (215), Liu Bei, after dividing Jingzhou equally with Sun Quan, attacked Hanzhong with his army, and the war lasted for four years.
In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Liu Bei finally defeated Cao Cao and took all of Hanzhong. He also sent Liu Feng and Meng Da to seize the land of Shangyong and proclaim himself the King of Hanzhong, and his strength reached its peak for a while.
However, guan Yu, the general who remained in Jingzhou, was arrogant and arrogant, and brazenly launched the Northern Expedition. Although some victories were achieved initially, jingzhou was soon attacked by the Eastern Wu commander Lü Meng, and Guan Yu himself was killed by Eastern Wu.
In the first year of Shu Zhangwu (221), After seeing Cao Pi usurp han and establishing Wei, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor at Wudanshan in Chengdu, with the national name "Han" and the era name "Zhangwu". In the same year, Liu Bei, in the name of revenge on Guan Yu, sent an army to attack Eastern Wu, and achieved certain results in the early stage.
In July of the second year of Zhang Wu (222), Liu Bei was defeated by the Eastern Wu commander Lu Xun at the Battle of Yiling, with heavy losses and had to retreat to Yong'an (永安, in modern Fengjie County, Chongqing). Under pressure from Cao Wei, Sun Quan sent emissaries to ask for peace, and Liu Bei agreed to join forces against Wei after weighing the pros and cons.
In March of the third year of Zhang Wu (223), Liu Bei felt that he would soon die, and entrusted the crown prince Liu Chan to Zhuge Liang and Shang Shu Ling Li Yan. On April 24 (June 10 of the Gregorian calendar), Liu Bei completed his ups and downs in his life, and died of illness at the Yong'an Palace at the age of sixty-three, with the title of Emperor Zhaolie and buried huiling.
The statue of "Liu Beituo Lonely" in the Zhao Lie's Ancestral Hall
Huiling is located on the west side of the main hall inside the Wuhou Ancestral Hall on the southern outskirts of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. In April of the third year of Zhang Wu' reign, Liu Bei fell ill and died of illness at Yong'an Palace (present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing); in May, zi palace was returned to Chengdu; in August, he was buried in Huiling. Later, following Zhuge Liang's wishes, the two wives of Gan and Wu were buried here. The tomb rises from the ground, is in the shape of a circular pile, 12 meters high, 180 meters in circumference, covers an area of 3 acres, and is shaped like a small hill. The trees on the mound are jagged, and the tomb is near the Coopersensen. Mausoleum architecture, consisting of a wall, a fence gate, a Shinto, a sleeping hall, etc. The wall is 10 meters long and 5 meters high, and the center is inlaid with diamond-shaped stone carvings.
Emperor Liu Beihui of the Shu Han Dynasty
During Liu Bei's life, he was exiled many times, and successively attached himself to Gongsun Zhan, Tian Kai, Tao Qian, Lü Bu, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and other princes. But he was a man of great fortitude and generosity, so he could get the respect and courtesy of the people of the time everywhere he went; and because he was always able to persevere, he finally operated and achieved great things at the beginning of the forty-six-year-old "advanced age" after the Chibi War, and finally achieved the great cause of dominating the side!