Among the heroes of the late Han Dynasty, he had a very good relationship with a figure and Liu Bei, who once dominated Youzhou and fought with Yuan Shao for gongsun Zhan in the north. Liu Bei defected to Gongsun Zhan at the most difficult time in his life, but he chose to leave when Gongsun Zhan was in difficulty. As we all know, Liu Bei is very particular about faith, so why should he leave his old friend and choose Tao Qian in Xuzhou? What's the little-known inside story?
1. Who is Gongsun Zhan?
Gongsun Zhan was a member of the Lingzhi clan of Western Liaoning, in present-day Qian'an City, Hebei Province, and his family had been officials for generations. However, due to Gongsun Zhan's low birth, to a certain extent, it affected Gongsun Zhan's career, and he could only serve as a small official in the county. However, Gongsun Zhan has two major advantages, his appearance is very handsome, "beautiful and beautiful", and he is also very smart, doing things decently, and "speaking wisely". The sheriff was very important to Gongsun Zhan and married his daughter to him.
Later, Gongsun Zhan received the weight of the new Taishou and officially became an official, "Zan took filial piety as a lang, except for the history of the state of Liaodong". During his time in Liaodong, Gongsun Zhan led his army out of the blockade many times to resist the cavalry of Xianbei and Wuhuan, so he rose step by step and was given the title of General of Zhonglang. Gongsun Zhan also formed the "White Horse Yicong", which threatened the north and the Wuhuan people avoided its sharp edge. Later, Gongsun Zhan occupied Youzhou, in order to fight Yuan Shao and launch a war for the north.
Second, the relationship between Liu Bei and Gongsun Zhan
Liu Bei was a native of Zhuo County, which is today the city of Zhuozhou, Hebei Province. At that time, there was a famous scholar in Zhuo County, he was the former Jiujiang Taishou Lu Zhi, and Liu Bei worshiped under his disciples and became his disciples. At that time, Gongsun Zhan also entered Lu Zhimen at the recommendation of his father-in-law, so he became a classmate with Liu Bei. Liu Bei made friends, and he became close friends with Gongsun Zhan, and because Gongsun Zhan was a few years older than Liu Bei, Liu Bei called him an elder brother.
Liu Bei's career was not smooth, and he abandoned his official position many times. Later, Liu Bei served as the commander of Gaotang County, but at this time, the world was in chaos, thieves swarmed, and actually attacked Gaotang County. Liu Bei, who was already homeless, remembered his former eldest brother Gongsun Zhan at this time, "to Benzhong Lang will be Gongsun Zhan". Gongsun Zhan made a table to the imperial court, and Liu Bei was made a sima of the other department. After that, Liu Bei fought against Yuan Shao for Gongsun Zhan and was given the title of Pingyuan Xiang for his repeated military achievements. In 194, Liu Bei led an army to aid Xuzhou, but instead of returning to the plains, he turned to Tao Qian, "Qian's ancestor was Yuzhou Assassin Shi, Tun Xiaopei".
Why did Liu Bei break away from Gongsun Zhan?
Although the history books do not explicitly explain this problem, the reasons can be interpreted through historical materials. First, Liu Bei had great ambitions. Liu Bei was bent on reviving the Han Chamber, how could he possibly be subjugated for a long time. Second, Liu Bei was not reused by Gongsun Zhan and was depressed. When Liu Bei aided Xuzhou, there were only more than a thousand troops, which showed that Gongsun Zhan did not use him much. After arriving in Xuzhou, Tao Qian immediately allocated Liu Bei 4,000 men and horses.
Third, there were differences between Gongsun Zhan and Liu Bei's political philosophy. Gongsun Zhan advocated force, and in the course of the war, he plundered and even killed the people, while Liu Bei pursued benevolence and righteousness and always advocated compassion for the people. At the end of the Han Dynasty, many warlords slaughtered the city, including Cao Cao, but Liu Bei never did this. Fourth, Gongsun Zhan was jealous of Xian's ability. According to historical records, Gongsun Zhan treated "those whose good men in the state are on their right, and they will be harmed by law", and Liu Bei was also a Haojie at that time, so he could not be reused. Fifth, Gongsun Zhan was exhausted and defeated.
References: 1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms; 2. Book of the Later Han Dynasty