Text: Tachiaki Idle Man (Shigeba Shinichi Original Team Member)
Zhu Ling, in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, first threw himself into Yuan Shao as a general, and then switched to Cao Cao as a good general. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhu Ling is a good general in Cao Cao's camp, second only to Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and other five sons of good generals.
Zhu Lingtuo's three battalions of generals helped Cao Cao's second conquest of Xuzhou to return triumphantly and return to Yanzhou. The three battalions of men and horses who belonged to Yuan Shao should have returned directly to Jizhou to be built. However, because Zhu Ling admired Cao Cao and believed that Cao Cao was the Lord of Ming, he resolutely stayed, changed the object of his service, and left Yuan (Shao) to return to Cao (Cao). The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, The Seventeenth Book of Wei, and the Biography of Zhang Leyu Zhang Xu record zhu Ling's original words: There are many people in the Spirit View, and there is no Cao Gong, and this is the true Lord. Now that it has been encountered, what is the return? The general meaning of this sentence is nothing more than "I have read countless people", "I have never encountered such a person as Cao Cao", "Cao Cao is a ming lord", "now I have met a real ming lord", "what reason do I have to leave", and so on. In this way, Zhu Ling stayed in Cao's camp with his generals who admired Cao Cao and began to serve Cao Cao. Putting aside the Battle of Guandu six years later, just looking at the Second Battle of Xuzhou, Zhu Ling was really like a god pointing away from Yuan Toucao, which was quite prescient. Here's why.
First, the difference in reputation.
In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, fame and fame were the stepping stones. Liu Biao relied on the reputation of one of the "Eight He" to ride on Jingzhou alone, Zhang Mi relied on the name of one of the "Eight Kitchens" to become one of the Thirteen Roads Kwantung Alliance Army to woo Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei relied on the shining golden sign of "Liu Surname" and divided the world into three parts of the world, and so on. Yuan Shao dared to oppose Dong Zhuo's abolition of Emperor Han without being killed, but instead of becoming the Taishou of Bohai County; Yuan Shao sat on the position of ally of the Kwantung Alliance with a weak official strength; Han Fu was forced by the situation to surrender the rich Jizhou to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao, first as a Taishou, then as an ally, and then to Jizhou, all because of Yuan Shao's fame. Yuan Shao's fame came from the Yuan family of Runan, the "Fourth Dynasty and Three Dukes, Menduo's Former Officials". Although Cao Cao was born into a family of eunuchs, his father Cao Song was once an official in the position of eunuch; but Cao Song's lieutenant came from bribes and donations, and his grandfather Cao Teng was a eunuch and a constant attendant. In contrast, Cao Cao's fame is obviously not as good as Yuan Shao's, which can be described as very different.
Second, identity differences.
In feudal society, identity and status are stepping stones. At the time of the crusade against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao was promoted to be the leader of the alliance after Yuan Shi of Runan, while Yuan Shao declared himself a che riding general and a lieutenant. When Han Fu gave way to Jizhou, Yuan Shao won Jizhou by virtue of his family lineage and status, and Yuan Shao took over Jizhou himself. At the time of Cao Cao's second conquest of Tao Qian, that is, around the summer of the fourth year of Chuping (193), Yuan Shao first gained the upper hand in Hebei through the Battle of Jieqiao; then attacked the Black Mountain Army and the Yellow Army, and gained a lot of success; and then ordered his nephew Gao Gan to lead and merge the prefectures, and owned the two prefectures of Ji and Hebei. Cao Cao, during his crusade against Dong Zhuo, was appointed by Yuan Shao as a general of Fenwu because he had no official position, and participated in military machinations. After the rebellion against Dong Zhuo failed, Cao Cao first defected to Yuan Shao; then he was supported by Yuan Shao to defeat the Black Mountain Army in Dong Commandery and became the Taishou of Dong Commandery (東郡太守), owning territory; and later allied with Yuan Shao and defeated Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, lü Bu and others. In contrast, Cao Cao's identity is obviously inferior to Yuan Shao's, which can be said to be a huge disparity.
Third, the strength gap.
In the years of war and chaos, strength and power are hard kung fu. Dong Zhuo relied on three thousand Western Liang infantry cavalry without fear of the hundred officials of the imperial court and arbitrarily ruled the government. Gongsun Zhan relied on his 800 white horses to resist foreign forces and dominate the north. In June 193, when Cao Cao's father Cao Song was killed in Xuzhou, Yuan Shao occupied Ji and Erzhou, invaded Qingzhou, broke the Black Mountain Army, and took tens of thousands of armor. Cao Cao had just defeated Yuan Shu at the beginning of the year, relieving Yuan Shu of his threat to Yanzhou, and his troops were insufficient, so that when he conquered Xuzhou, Yuan Shao sent Zhu Ling to supervise three battalions to assist Cao Cao. In contrast, Cao Cao's strength is clearly inferior to That of Yuan Shao, which can be called a world of difference.
In the Second Battle of Xuzhou, when Zhu Ling was ordered by Yuan Shao to lead troops to help Cao Cao zheng Tao Qian win the victory and want to return to the construction, he was impressed by Cao Cao's personality and charm, and voluntarily stayed and served Cao Cao. Zhu Ling, when Yuan Shao was strong and Cao Cao was weak, made a move that greatly shocked the eyes of the world - abandoning Yuan and returning to Cao, thus realizing a new journey of his own life path.
Author's note: Micro-vision refers to seeing the signs of things and being able to perceive its development prospects. Zhu Ling, as a general of Yuan Shao, after being ordered by Yuan Shao to lead troops to help Cao Cao conquer Xuzhou Tao Qian to victory, not only did not return to Yuan Shao in time, but instead admired Cao Cao's personality charm and abandoned Yuan To cao, thus choosing an unusual path of life. It's called: the long-term harrier.