Why was Liu Bei defeated at the Battle of Yiling?
If the defeat of the Battle of Xiangfan launched by Guan Yu in Jingzhou was the loss of the superiority of the Shu Han Empire led by Liu Bei, then the subsequent Battle of Yiling launched by Liu Bei can be said to have completely buried all the advantages of Shu Han over Cao Wei and Eastern Wu. So why did Liu Bei lose the Battle of Yiling?
Liu Bei's army defeated Yiling
First of all, the main reason for Liu Bei's defeat at the Battle of Yiling was the light enemy and insufficient preparation, in July of the first year of the Shu Han Zhangwu, Liu Bei led the army with the governor Wu Ban and the general Feng Xi as the vanguard, the first battle directly defeated the Eastern Wu defender Li Yi at Wushan, and after the victory, the rapid march advanced the battle line to Zigui, and at the same time, the Support of the Wuxi Barbarians led by Sha Moke also arrived, at this time Liu Bei's vanguard army had reached more than 50,000 people. Later, before Lu Xun took office, Liu Bei's army won many small-scale battles, but Liu Bei, who was eager to win, was always paying attention to Cao Wei's movements, and in order to prevent Cao Wei from sneaking attacks, Liu Bei specially sent the Zhenbei general Huang Quan to lead an army to garrison the north bank of the Yangtze River.
Liu Bei sent troops to attack Wu
At the same time, Liu Bei was not satisfied with the current results, so he sent Wu Ban and Chen Shi to lead the water army into the Yiling area to assist in the defense of the Wu water army. At this time, the Shu army led by Liu Bei had already fought from Zigui to Xiaoting, and the momentum along the way was like a bamboo, and the Wu army was unstoppable. At that time, Sun Quan heard the news and sent Zhuge Jin to seek peace, and Liu Bei ignored it and camped in Xiaoting. At this time, the Shu army had penetrated three hundred kilometers deep into the territory of the State of Wu, and Lu Xun saw that the Shu army was holding the key place and could not hold out.
Eastern Wu Governor Lu Xun
The Shu army led by Liu Bei and the Wu army led by Lu Xun faced each other for a full six months, and the Shu army camp was built for hundreds of miles directly from Wuxia to Yiling, at this time the Shu army had problems with both morale and grain and grass, and in order to end the war as soon as possible, Liu Bei sent the generals Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, Zhao Rong, Fu Tong, and others to provoke in front of the Wu army. Lu Xun remained indifferent to the provocation of the Shu army, and eventually Liu Bei had to set up all his camps in the mountains due to the arrival of the sweltering heat, leaning against the stream and waiting for the morale to be restored before fighting with Eastern Wu to the death. But who ever thought that due to the twists and turns of the mountain road, the logistical support was too difficult, and Liu Beijun camped for hundreds of miles, and finally was burned by Lu Xun.
Fire the company camp
Why did Liu Beiyi ling collapse after the defeat of the Shu state?
The real loss of the Shu state in the Battle of Yiling was seen by Zuo Jian as the death of the monarch Liu Bei, and the morale blow to the Shu state after Liu Bei's illness and death in the White Emperor City could be said to be unprecedented. Although Liu Bei's son Liu Chan was also obedient to Zhuge Liang in the following days, how could Liu Chan, who was a master of shoucheng, be compared with the ambitious and enterprising Liu Bei.
Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty
As for the soldiers and courtiers lost in the Battle of Yiling, to a large extent, it can only be regarded as worse, making the situation of the Shu state more difficult because of Liu Bei's death. Even if Zhuge Liang did the Northern Expedition to Cao Wei, if he sent troops, he was just a chancellor, so the situation of the late Shu state became a situation in which the emperor was not in a hurry, and the failure of the Northern Expedition became reasonable.
Shu Han Xiang Zhuge Liang
What would be the outcome if Zhuge Liang were to command the Battle of Yiling?
In Zuo Jian's view, even if the commander of the Shu front at the Battle of Yiling had Liu Bei replaced Zhuge Liang with the result of the final defeat, the result of the final defeat would not change, first of all, in the Battle of Yiling, Lu Xun voluntarily abandoned all positions on the front line and then used the dangerous area around Yidao and Yiting to prevent the Shu army from further attacking. This point Zhuge Liang first of all had no way to change, and secondly, when Cao Pi usurped Han, Liu Bei, as a relative of the imperial family, attacked Wu without pleasing thieves, which was very unfavorable in political orientation, and this was the same for Zhuge Liang.
Cao Pi usurped Han
Therefore, even if Zhuge Liang was replaced to lead the Shu army to cut down Wu, there would be basically no change in the result, and the only change was only the size of the Shu army's losses. As Lu Xun said: "The key to Yiling, the limit of the country, although it is easy to get, it is also easy to lose." "No matter who comes to the change, the result is the same, and the shu army's superiority in strength in this wuzhong does not exist, and both sides are almost 50,000 people."