During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were many so-called combinations of famous generals. Shu Han had "Five Tiger Generals"; Cao Wei had "Five Sons and Good Generals"; and the relative Eastern Wu had the saying "Twelve Tiger Ministers of Jiangbiao", which was actually based on the combined biographies in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The "Twelve Tiger Lords of Jiangbiao" is recorded in the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Wu Shu Ten", and the twelve people are listed in one biography, but in fact, the difference between them is still relatively large. Among these twelve people, the first person in the list is also a more familiar face, that is, Cheng Pu. As a general of Jiangdong, Cheng Pu was used by the Sun clan in important battles such as the Battle of Chibi and the Battle of Nan county with Zhou Yu and the Governor of Nan County. The cause of death of Bu Lipu is quite strange in the historical records. Let's talk about this character.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > Cheng Pu assisted Sun Jian and Sun Ce</h1>
Cheng Pu can be said to be one of the elders of the Jiangdong Group. In fact, he was not from Jiangdong, not even from the Huaisi region, but from Youzhou's Right Beiping, who later assisted Sun Jian in his southern conquest of the northern war. How Cheng Pu, a Youzhou man, ran to Sun Jian's command is not clearly recorded in the historical records. However, considering the rebellion, social unrest, and frequent local transfers at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, this is not a difficult thing to understand.
In the first year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (that is, in 184 AD), the famous "Yellow Turban Rebellion" broke out. The Eastern Han court ordered Emperor Fusong, Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun, and others to suppress the Yellow Turban Army everywhere. Sun Jian was asked by Zhu Junbiao to be his own Sima Of the ZuoJun, and also participated in the process of suppressing the Yellow Turban. After Zhu Jun and Huang Fusong suppressed the Yellow Turban in Yuzhou, the soldiers split into two routes, and Zhu Jun turned to Nanyang, Jingzhou. Sun Jian's performance was particularly prominent, taking the lead in attacking Wancheng. Cheng Pu was Sun Jian's general at this time, "begging for the Yellow Turban Yu Wan and Deng." ”
By the first year of Chuping (i.e., 190 AD), Dong Zhuo controlled the Eastern Han court, and various local warlords were formed to attack Dong Zhuo, including Sun Jian. Sun Jian temporarily attached himself to Yuan Shu in Nanyang and went north to attack Luoyang. Although he was defeated for a time, he won the "Battle of the Yang People" the following year. Cheng Pu's performance is still active, "breaking Dong Zhuo in yangren".
Soon after, the Dong alliance broke down and became two opposing military alliances led by Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao. Sun Jian was also involved, and was killed in battle with Liu Biao (An ally of Yuan Shao), and the remnants of Sun Jian, including Cheng Pu, were absorbed by Yuan Shu. Sun Ce also had to stay with Yuan Shu. During this period, Cheng Pu and Sun Ce forged a relatively close relationship. Sun Ce was ordered by Yuan Shu to attack Lujiang Taishou Lu Kang, and Cheng Pu "attacked Lujiang from attacking and pulling it out".
Yuan Shu's forces, which originally included Danyang and Wu'er Commandery (吴二郡) in Jiangdong, were controlled by Wu Jing (Sun Jian's brother-in-law) and Sun Ben (Sun Jian's nephew). As a result, the two men were expelled by the Imperial Court's appointed Yangzhou Assassin Liu Shu, and Yuan Shu had to have Sun Ce lead his troops to retake Jiangdong. At this time, Sun Ce already had the opportunity to break away from Yuan Shu. Cheng Pu, as Sun Ce's right-hand man, followed Sun Ce to defeat Liu Xuan and suppress Shanyue. In particular, during the war with Zulang, the great marshal of Shanyue, Sun Ce was besieged by Zulang and rescued by Cheng Pu; and together with Sun Ce, he defeated Liu Xun (袁術), who had absorbed most of his forces after Yuan Shu's defeat) and Jiang Xia Taishou (placed by Liu Biao) Huang Zu. After Sun Ce defeated Huang Zu, he went to shang to ask for merit (Cao Cao and Liu Biao were also in a state of hostility), of which Cheng Pu ranked third, along with Zhou Yu, Lü Fan and the general of Taishou Lingzhonglang, at the core of the Jiangdong clique.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Cheng Pu in "Battle of Chibi" and "Battle of South County"</h1>
In the fifth year of Jian'an (i.e., 200 AD), Sun Ce was assassinated and died, and Sun Quan became the second generation leader of the Jiangdong clique. Cheng Pu continued to assist Sun Quan. Compared with Sun Ce, who opened up Jiangdong, the Jiangdong clique led by Sun Quan faced more powerful enemies and lived in a more magnificent era. The most important are the "Battle of Chibi" and the "Battle of South County". These two battles are important battles that can change the situation in the world, and Cheng Pu also plays a very important role in these two battles.
Prior to the Battle of Chibi, Cheng Pu's identity was Jianchang Duwei ,a defensive zone that Sun Ce had demarcated to prevent the invasion of Jiangdong from southern Jingzhou , and was in charge of Tai Shi Ci. Tai Shi Ci also went to war with the invading Liu Biao's subordinate Liu Pan. After Tai Shi Ci's death, Cheng Pu took his place. However, in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (that is, in 208 AD), Cao Cao invaded Jingzhou in the south, coinciding with Liu Biao's illness and death, and Liu Chun surrendered. Liu Biao's threat was gone, but an even more powerful enemy was coming, and he was planning to swallow Jiangdong down the river.
To this end, Sun Quan suppressed the voice of surrender within the Jiangdong clique; actively cooperated with Liu Bei's clique, sending troops along the Yangtze River to block Cao Cao's main army, while he himself led an army to attack Hefei to share the pressure on the main battlefield. This is the origin of the "Battle of Chibi". Sun Quan sent an army of 30,000, with Zhou Yu as the governor, and joined Liu Bei and Liu Qi's 20,000 troops. In fact, Zhou Yu was not the only governor, Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu were listed as the left and right governors. It was just that Zhou Yu burned Pukou in the "Battle of Chibi"; and took Huang Gai's suggestion to burn Chibi and Wulin, and the historical records were more inclined to Zhou Yu, resulting in Cheng Pu, the governor, becoming "small transparent".
After the end of the "Battle of Chibi", Cao Cao's forces gradually withdrew north, and Sun Liu's combined forces launched a counterattack, one of the most important places was Nan County, to be precise, the southern part of South County. Because only by mastering this place could Sun Liu's coalition forces build a complete Yangtze River defense line and open up the passage into the river. So the "Battle of South County" ensued. In the "Battle of Nan County", Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu remained the governors of the left and right.
It is worth mentioning that there was also an unpleasant incident between Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu. Cheng Pu was a veteran general who started with Sun Jian, and his qualifications and merits were relatively outstanding; Zhou Yu joined during the Sun Ce period, and also watched between Yuan Shu and Sun Ce for a while, waiting until Yuan Shu was thinning the Western Mountains before making a decision. As a result, when it came to the "Battle of Chibi" and the "Battle of Nan County", although Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu were both governors, Zhou Yu's right to speak was greater, resulting in Cheng Pu's dissatisfaction. In the face of Cheng Pu's aggression, Zhou Yu treated Cheng Pu with leniency, and finally made Cheng Pu convinced, saying "If you have sex with Zhou Gongjin, if you drink alcohol mash, you will not feel drunk".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > cause of death</h1>
After the victory of the "Battle of Nan County", Zhou Yu moved to the position of General of the Partial General, Zhen Shou Nan Commandery; Cheng Pu moved to the General of Qi, Zhen Shou Jiangxia. Nan Commandery and Jiangxia were both northern Jingzhou, areas directly under military pressure from Cao Cao's clique. In fact, Cao Cao also occupied part of Nan Commandery and Jiangxia, adjacent to the forces of the Jiangdong clique. However, the importance of Nan County is much higher than that of Jiangxia, and Zhou Yu's status is also higher than that of Cheng Pu.
In the fifteenth year of Jian'an (that is, in 210 AD), Zhou Yu died of illness, so Cheng Pulai took Zhou Yu's place and became the Taishou Town shou jiangling of Nan County. However, under the operation of The Pigeon Lu Su, Sun Quan ceded Jiangling to Liu Bei and pulled Liu Bei into a situation of simultaneous resistance to Cao. Cheng Pu returned to Jiangxia and eventually died.
The Cause of Cheng Pu's death is not recorded in detail in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wushu, and Cheng Pu's biography, and is only summarized by the word "卒". The Book of Wu, which Pei Songzhi quotes, is more detailed, but with some strange overtones. It records a rebellion in Jiangxia, and Cheng Pu suppressed the rebellion, killing hundreds of rebels and burning them with fire. He fell ill on the same day, and after more than a hundred days he became seriously ill and died.
This account seems to have some sinister flavor, but it is clear that it is unscientific. Cheng Pu's death was more like suffering from some kind of serious plague, which was accompanied by frequent wars and chaos at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao Cao was severely plagued by the plague during the Battle of Chibi, and Chibi and Wulin were in the Jiangxia area. Cheng Pu's burning of the rebels was also similar to the way the plague was blocked. Therefore, Cheng Pu died of plague should be a more mainstream version.
Reference: "Three Kingdoms"