(Note: This article is a discussion of the plot of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the materials cited are derived from the original text of the novel and have nothing to do with the historical records.) ）
Thinking about Jiang Gan is not over.
After analyzing the before and after of the "book theft" (see the humble work "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Jiang Gan Steals Books, the Stupid One Is Not Jiang Gan, But Cao Cao"), we should also do a little exploration of Jiang Gan's other thing that has been criticized and ridiculed by people- attracting Pang Tong, Cao Cao mistakenly chained the warship, and as a result, there was no escape when it was burned.
The background of Jiang Gan's second crossing of the river was: "Cao Cao even got two books, and his heart was uncertain" - I heard that the Eastern Wu generals and strategists surrendered one after another, and they were a little confused by the big pie that fell down one after another, and they were eager to find out the truth. At this time, Jiang Gan stood up again.
Jiang Gan was able to stand up this time, which was even more valuable than the last time.
You must know that the real bottom of Cai Mao Zhang Yun's accidental killing, Jiang Gan has never known. Therefore, he should have had two impressions in his mind at that time: first, he stole important military secrets from Eastern Wu, and Zhou Yu hated him to the bone; second, he made great contributions to Cao Cao without receiving any rewards.
But what moved us by Mr. Jiang was that the former did not make him cowardly, and still dared to "sacrifice himself to go further" and enter again—his heart was already in the Dragon Pond Tiger's Den—the Eastern Wu Military Camp; the latter did not let him be lost, and still held the heart that was loyal to Cao Chengxiang, the person who knew no one at all in him.
Some people may think that the former is ignorant and fearless, but will those who can be the guests under Cao Cao be ignorant to that extent? Some people may ridicule the latter as foolish and pedantic, but from another point of view, isn't this exactly the glory of fame and fortune?
Moreover, Jiang Gan not only did not consider Cao Cao's bad performance of not rewarding his merits (from his point of view), but also because "a certain day ago he went to Eastern Wu, did not succeed, and was deeply ashamed" - is this not strict self-discipline and leniency toward others?
After arriving in Jiangdong, Zhou Yu took a thunderbolt and confirmed Jiang Gan's charge of "stealing Eastern Wu secrets", and then involuntarily put Jiang Gan under house arrest.
Last time it seemed to be a smooth ride, and in a very relaxed environment, it was easy to get the secrets of the opponent. This time, it was a deep predicament at the beginning, as if his hands and feet were tied to death, and the space for activities was extremely limited.
Although Jiang Gan was "worried in his heart and uneasy about sleeping and eating," he did not lose his enthusiasm, but worked hard to collide and expand, and strived to create a little favorable conditions under unfavorable conditions -- "to step out of the nunnery alone", so he was attracted by the "voice of reading" and "wandered away". And to "see a man hanging a sword lamp, reciting the book of Sun and Wu Bing."
At this time, Jiang Gan judged that "this must be a different person" - in this case, anyone with a little sense of enterprise will think so, so he immediately "knocked on the door to please see" - it is no exaggeration to say that Jiang Gan deeply understood Cao Cao's "meritocracy" spirit, and thought of discovering and selecting talents for the lord at any time and anywhere.
When Pang Tong nominated dao surname, Jiang Gan was immediately shocked by the name of "Mr. Fengyan". Pang Tong's series of answers are also natural and extremely natural. Therefore, Jiang Gan was deeply surprised, and he and Pang Tong "went down the mountain overnight, went to the river to find the original ship, and flew to the north of the river."
There needs to be a reflection here. "Stealing books in the account" and "coincidentally meeting the phoenix" are both "overjoyed" when the established plan fails, and both are smooth and surprising. And why did Jiang Gan get fooled for the second time? This was certainly because Jiang Gan would not know about Zhou Yu's plan to attack the fire and its relationship with Pang Tong and the Chain Battleship, but on the other hand, it involved Cao Cao's responsibility.
Humble Zuo once analyzed that after the wrongful killing of Cai Mao Zhang Yun, Cao Cao, out of his resentment of being deceived, did not carefully analyze the before and after of the matter from a higher angle, and still less did he find the shortcomings and strengths shown by Jiang Gan, so it was impossible to arrange suitable work according to Jiang Gan's strengths, and it was even more impossible to prevent Jiang Gan from being deceived again-
In the case that Jiang Gan had no idea that he had been deceived last time, this time he was also sent, and as a result, he had no doubt that Mr. Feng Yan had been invited so smoothly, which was the after-effect of Cao Cao's above mistakes.
Not only Jiang Gan, but even Cao Cao himself did not learn the lesson. In the face of the drama that went as smoothly as "stealing books in the account", Cao Cao did not have the slightest doubt about "meeting the phoenix chicks by chance"—perhaps it was thirsty for talents, which made people feel a little sympathetic to Cao Cao.
The next plot is simple. "The unified eloquence is eloquent, and the response is like a stream. Cao Cao was deeply obedient and treated with courtesy" -- In a warm and harmonious atmosphere, Pang Tong started from "the water army has many diseases" and analyzed that "in the middle of the great river, the tide is rising and falling, and the wind and waves are endless; the northern soldiers are not accustomed to taking boats, and they are sick by this bump", and Cao Cao was sick in the middle of the heart, so he was able to smoothly propose that "large boats and small boats are all matched, or thirty is a row, or fifty is a row, and the end is chained with iron rings, and the upper floor is paved" -- Cao Cao happily adopted it, and the eighty-three thousand troops embarked on the road of no return.
The question is, can jiang be blamed for this? Mr. Feng Yan's reputation is there, and Mr. Wolong, who is equally famous with him, has already shown his talents, and Cao Cao is also full of joy when he sees Pang Tong, let alone Jiang Gan?
Moreover, Jiang Gan's identity and status determined that he did not make a mistake in introducing Pang Tong to Cao Ying, but was the result of positive actions. As for how to identify authenticity, use talents, and make decisions, that is Cao Cao's affair and has nothing to do with Jiang Gan.
Again, everyone can say that Jiang Gan's ability is low and his brain is slow, but they cannot laugh at Jiang Gan. Jiang Gan's performance of crossing the river twice fully confirmed his loyalty to Cao Cao, his indomitable perseverance in the face of danger, his sensitivity and determination to see opportunities, and his superhuman courage to take risks and make difficulties.
His tragedy, on the one hand, was that he encountered an opponent who was not on the same scale, and more importantly, on the other hand, his lord Cao Cao did not fully understand his shortcomings and strengths from what he did.
It should be said that Cao Cao made the mistake of "improper employment" at two levels: first, he sent Jiang Gan, who lacked relevant capabilities, to perform inappropriate tasks; second, he only saw losses and deficiencies, did not discover the high quality that Jiang Gan had in other aspects, and gave him a post that could effectively promote his strengths and avoid his weaknesses and give full play to his talents.
What needs to be said is that there is a big gap and distortion between Cao Cao's negligence and carelessness on the issue of Jiang Gan and his basic image of knowing people and being a good person and the hero Bole. This can only be understood as the author's deliberate ugliness of Cao Cao in the climax of the book based on his position of "supporting Liu and opposing Cao Cao" - but the original text is so, and we have to analyze and discuss it on this basis.
A fire broke out in Chibi, and the trees were extinguished. Our Mr. Jiang Gan has also disappeared from now on, perhaps dying in the rebellion, perhaps hiding his name in anonymity, perhaps continuing to succumb to his subordinates, and perhaps being punished. Due to its performance, thinking and its advantages, we can only sigh - a talent that is misplaced and eventually wasted, pity, pity, pity!
(The words quoted in this article are from the 47th time of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
Author: Wind and Rain Autumn Window, this article is to read less of the original works of the Red Chamber. Welcome to my headline number: Read less about the Red Chamber and tell you a different story of famous books.