When it comes to the strategists of the Shu Han regime during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, I believe that many people will first think of a generation of sages Zhuge Liang. As the most outstanding military and politician of that era, his presence was indeed very important to the Shu Han regime. However, if you want to ask who among the Shu Han strategists is more liked by Liu Bei, perhaps even Zhuge Liang himself will give an answer that is not his own--Fazheng.
As an outstanding talent personally invited by Liu Beisan Gu Maolu to come out of the mountains, Zhuge Liang's position in Shu Han is self-evident, and when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were not very convinced of Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei even took the initiative to say: "There is Kong Ming in loneliness, and there is water in Juyu." May the kings not repeat their words. However, when Liu Bei marched to the east in order to take revenge, Zhuge Liang, who had no success in dissuading him, helplessly sighed: "If the law is filial piety, it can control the lord and make it not go east." From this, it can be seen that fa zheng seems to have more weight in Liu Bei's mind. Then, obviously, he didn't put himself into the account until Liu Bei entered Shu, so why was Fa zheng particularly loved by Liu Bei?
In the fifth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (176), Fa Zheng was born in Fufeng County, In the area of present-day Mei County, Shaanxi Province, and was the grandson of the famous scholar Fa Zhen. In the early years of Jian'an, Fa Zheng returned to Liu Zhang in order to escape war and famine, but Liu Zhang did not have the wisdom of the people, so that the talented Fa Zheng took a long time to become a small county order. After the Battle of Chibi, Fa Zheng sent an envoy to Liu Bei at the behest of Liu Zhang, and after receiving his favor, he was deeply moved, so he began to secretly plot with Zhang Song, who was also dissatisfied with Liu Zhang for a long time, to serve Liu Bei as the main leader and welcome Liu Bei into Sichuan.
In Zhuge Liang's plot of "Longzhong", taking Yizhou after occupying Jingzhou was the top priority of the three-point plan. After the Battle of Chibi, although Liu Bei quickly captured Jingnan and borrowed Nan Commandery from Sun Quan, he had no clue how to capture Yizhou. Under these circumstances, Fa Zheng sent a second mission to Liu Bei and secretly persuaded him: "Take advantage of the talent of the Ming generals, take advantage of Liu Mu's cowardice; Zhang Song, the stock of the state, in response to the internal ... In this way, it is also the opposite of the palm. ”
If The first mission of Theory Zheng only left Liu Bei with a little favor for him, then his second visit was a charcoal in the snow and a dark room for Liu Bei and even the entire Shu Han forces. Objectively speaking, Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Pair" only provided Liu Bei with the direction of struggle, while Fazheng's surrender almost put the entire Yizhou in front of Liu Bei. Under the joint persuasion of Fa Zheng and Zhang Song, Liu Zhang took the initiative to invite Liu Bei into Shu and provided this Tongzong with a large amount of materials, hoping that he could help him resist Zhang Lu in the northern Han Dynasty.
In the seventeenth year of Jian'an (212), Liu Bei officially went to war with Liu Zhang, and Fa Zheng used his knowledge of Liu Zhang to advise Liu Bei and help him take Chengdu. After occupying Yizhou, Liu Bei was rewarded for his meritorious deeds, and Fazheng, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu were all rewarded with the highest grade. It is worth mentioning that Liu Bei made Zhuge Liang a general of the military division, and whenever he went out on a campaign, he let him stay in Chengdu, while Fa Zheng was named the Taishou of Shu Commandery and the general of Yangwu, and often accompanied him when he went out on the expedition.
With Zhuge Liang's wisdom, he naturally saw liu Bei's importance and love for Fazheng in his eyes, but he did not feel jealous, but said: "Fa Filial Piety is an auxiliary wing, so that it soars upside down and cannot be copied." In the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217), under the persuasion of Fa Zheng, Liu Bei decided to lead an army north to attack Hanzhong. After the battle began, it was Fa Zheng who accurately grasped the opportunity to dispatch, Huang Zhongcai killed the Cao Wei general Xiahou Yuan in one battle, and the Shu Han army also seized the initiative.
Soon after, Cao Cao personally led an army to Hanzhong, and after learning that Liu Bei had killed Xiahou Yuan with the assistance of Fa zheng, he immediately said: "I know that Xuande will not do this, and will be taught by others." From Cao Cao's words, we can see that Fazheng's military ability has indeed brought great help to Liu Bei, which Zhuge Liang cannot replace. Therefore, after establishing himself as the Queen of Hanzhong, Liu Beifeng fazheng was made Shang Shuling and a general of the protector army, while Zhuge Liang was still a military general.
Unfortunately, Fa Zheng died of illness in the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an (220), at the age of forty-five, and Liu Bei even cried for several days. In the second year of Fazheng's death, Liu Bei sent an army to the East in order to avenge Eastern Wu's breaking of the covenant to attack Jingzhou, and the group of courtiers led by Zhuge Liang, despite their strong dissuasion, were in vain. When Liu Bei's soldiers defeated Yiling and returned to the White Emperor, Zhuge Liang helplessly lamented that if Fa Zheng was still there, he would definitely be able to stop Liu Bei from being angry.
In fact, the reason why Zhuge Liang said this was not just because Fa Zheng was deeply valued by Liu Bei. According to Pei Songzhi's commentary on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was reluctant to retreat despite being at a disadvantage during a battle with Cao Cao's soldiers and horses. Since Liu Bei was angry, the generals did not dare to advise, and only Fa Zheng went directly to Liu Bei. Liu Bei saw the situation and quickly reminded Fa Zheng to pay attention to avoiding the arrows on the battlefield, but Fa Zheng said that Liu Bei, as the lord of the lord, was still in danger, not to mention himself. Under fazheng's skillful advice, Liu Bei finally agreed to retreat.
It can be seen from this that Fazheng is not only outstanding in military ability, but also good at grasping people's hearts and minds, and knows how to persuade Liu Bei, who is particularly stubborn after falling into anger. To sum up, Fa Zheng first helped Liu Bei enter and capture the land of Shu and peace, and then assisted him in capturing the strategically important hanzhong. In the process, Fa Zheng showed extraordinary military talent and extremely high emotional intelligence, and it is no wonder that Liu Bei loved him so much.