Three Kingdoms Small People Zhi 0058: Ambitious and speculative Princes of Xuzhou - Tao Qian
The author of this article is the depths of dusk, and the editor-in-chief is Sasha, if reprinted, please be sure to indicate
Speaking of the character of Tao Qian, everyone's first impression will definitely think of the famous bridge section in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" - "Three Let Xuzhou".
Under the rendering of Luo Guanzhong's pen, the story of "Let Xuzhou" is very wonderful. Not only in the minds of readers, in addition to the reputation of Liu Bei's good righteousness and benevolence, but also rendered the kind image of Tao Qian, such a "gentle elder, kind hearted to let Xian".
Therefore, most people in the future generations, when talking about Tao Qian, think that he is an old and good person who keeps to himself. On the one hand, as the parent official of Xuzhou's territory, he was gentle and loving to the people; on the other hand, he felt sorry for Liu Bei, and did not hesitate to give up the land of Xuzhou under his rule, and did not even consider letting his son succeed Xuzhou Mu...
In short, Tao Qian in the novel can be regarded as a clear stream in the chaotic world of the late Han Dynasty. He was kind and generous, discerning, and not greedy for power, not selfish... In this era of wolf smoke, turmoil and strife, he is almost the only "really good man". The story between him and Liu Bei has also been praised by later generations as a good story of "good righteousness and let the sages" ...
Some people even feel that if a person like Tao Qian can be born in a prosperous world, he must be a good official who dedicates himself to his profession and loves the people. Because he is morally high, he keeps to himself. Where he is, it must be the blessing of the people...
However, when we open the real historical records, we will find that the real Tao Qian in history is not at all the same thing described in the novel. As one of the heroes of the late Han Dynasty, he not only possessed considerable military and political ability, but also was extremely fierce in political means.
Not only that, as one of the protagonists, he also participated in the continuous struggle for hegemony at the end of the Han Dynasty, and he and Cao Cao have always been in a state of hostility. It is by no means an innocent person who has no quarrel with the world, as written in the speech...
Today, we will open the records of historical materials such as the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Book of later Han", and "Zizhi Tongjian" to explore the true face of Tao Qian's character.
There is an independent biography of Tao Qian in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the chapter is located in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Volume VIII - Wei Shu VIII - Second Gongsun Tao Four Zhang Biography. In addition, in the Eastern Wu history book "Book of Wu", the character of Tao Qian is also specifically mentioned...
From these historical records, we can roughly see that Tao Qian's early experience is still quite prominent. He was born into a family of eunuchs, and his father once held the position of governor of Yuyao County. Although his father died earlier, his family power cannot be underestimated. In addition, Tao Qian studied hard from an early age, studied hard, and was soon admitted to the "Zhusheng" and held official positions in the state and county.
Moreover, Tao Qian's career path can also be regarded as smooth sailing. After serving as a low-level petty official for a few years, he was promoted to Maocai and worshiped Shang Shulang. He has also served as the county commander of Shu County, Lu County and other places. Later, Tao Qian was promoted to the position of Youzhou Assassin, was conscripted as a parliamentarian, and slowly became famous in the political circles of the Eastern Han Dynasty, becoming a front-line official...
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Wei Shu VIII - Second Gongsun Tao Si Zhang Biography VIII records: Tao Qianzi Gongzu, Danyang ren.) Less studious, for all the students, Shizhou Shao, Ju Maocai, in addition to Lu Ling, Qianyou Prefecture Lashi, levy to worship Yilang. ）
However, in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tao Qian's early experience is relatively briefly recorded. However, in Wei Zhao's "Book of Wu", many anecdotes from Tao Qian's youth and in the process of his career were recorded.
For example, when Tao Qian was a child, he was taken in by Cangwu Taishou Lü Gong, and was amazed, and concluded that he would do something in the future, so he invited him to ride together and gave him his daughter Xu...
For another example, after Tao Qian became an official in the dynasty, he was worshipped as a "Yangwu Du Wei", and went out with Emperor Fusong to break the Qiang rebellion...
There are also various enmity and resentment between Tao Qian and some other Han Dynasty officials, such as Zhang Wen and other people in the DPRK...
This is inevitably suspicious in people's hearts. After all, the Book of Wu is a local historical material compiled by Eastern Wu, and it should record the events of Jiangdong. And between the Jiangdong Group and Tao Qian, it can be said that the eight rods cannot be beaten, why in their history books, they will have such a strong description of Tao Qian?
On this issue, we can put it aside for the time being. Let's continue to look at Tao Qian's career process and his experience of entering Xuzhou and becoming the highest official of Xuzhou.
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, in the fifth year of Emperor Zhongping of the Han Dynasty (188 AD), the Yellow Turban Yu Party resurged in Xuzhou and other places in Qingzhou. At this time, Tao Qian was also appointed by the imperial court as the assassin of Xuzhou, and led troops to quell the rebellion... It can be seen that at this time, Tao Qian's status in the DPRK was not low, not only as a leading general to lead the army, but also appointed as the history of a state's assassination, which was very much used.
Moreover, after quelling the rebellion in Qingxu and other places, Tao Qian also naturally entered Xuzhou and became the de facto supreme governor of Xuzhou. He was originally from Danyang County, and Danyang was under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou, so he could be considered to be in his hometown and could get the full support of his own clan and relatives.
Not only that, Danyang's local terrain is steep, the people's customs are fierce, and they are good at martial arts, so Danyang's soldiers are brave and good at war, which can be described as famous in the world. That is to say, Tao Qian was sitting on such an excellent source of soldiers, and soon an elite "Danyang soldier" was gathered under his hands and became his right and left arm. Since then, Tao Qian's ruling rule in Xuzhou has also had a military foundation, which can be said to have a territory and an army, which is enough to take this as a foundation and do a career...
Let's take a look at Tao Qian's governance achievements in Xuzhou.
It should be said that Tao Qian's level of political governance is still very good. He worshipped Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and others as knight lieutenants, and stationed them in Langyue County, which became a barrier to the north of Xuzhou. Later, tun tian was promoted, production was resumed, and the land of Xuzhou was gradually recovered from the war of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Moreover, he also recommended Chen Deng, a xia pi, to be a lieutenant of the Agricultural School and be in charge of agricultural affairs in Xuzhou. As soon as Chen Deng took office, he "patrolled the soil and fields as appropriate as possible, and did his best to make the profits of irrigation", so that the land of Xuzhou gradually got rid of famine, and even harvested harvests year after year, grain and grass piled up like mountains, and the people's lives quickly improved.
In particular, at that time, the whole country was still in the afterglow of the Yellow Turban disaster. In the north, in Qingzhou, Yanzhou and other places, peasant uprisings arose one after another, and the people were living in the depths of the water. Xuzhou under Tao Qian' rule, on the other hand, was relatively peaceful and uneventful. Not only are the people rich, but the social atmosphere is peaceful. Many people from other places have moved to Xuzhou to avoid the scourge of war, including Zheng Xuan, Xu Shao and other famous scholars of the late Han Dynasty...
It can be seen that Tao Qian's governance in Xuzhou is still quite good. He is good at governance and doing things well, and it can be said that he has done all the things he should do as a magistrate. As the saying goes, the people have their own blue sky in their hearts, especially as ordinary people in a chaotic world, they can eat enough food and wear warm clothes in Xuzhou, a feng shui treasure land independent of war, and they have no other thoughts in their hearts.
Just think, how can the people of Xuzhou not support Tao Qian, a good assassin and a good parent official?
However, in the records of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of later Han, although Tao Qian's achievements in Xuzhou are affirmed, it is still pointed out sharply that Tao Qian alienated the sages and appointed villains (the Eastern Wu history book "Book of Wu" did not record these). What's going on here?
In fact, as long as we analyze it carefully, we will find the disgraceful side of Tao Qian's character. Although he is kind and virtuous in appearance and has a set of political theories, he is actually a rather ambitious person. He intends to rely on his own ability and capital to dominate one side in the chaotic world and become the emperor of the earth. To this end, I have also done a lot of speculative conspiracies...
First of all, it is certain that after the death of Emperor Ling, the drama of Qi Eunuch, and the chaos of Dong Zhuo, Tao Qian did not respond to the call of Yuan Shao and others and personally participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo. At this time, it had been more than two years since he had initially decided xuzhou and sat firmly in the position of the first chair, and naturally he could not use his "local affairs" and had no time to send troops as a reason...
It should be said that Dong Zhuo, as a warlord on the one hand, dared to coerce the government by force, monopolize power, and even arbitrarily "depose the emperor", which is indeed a great rebellion. And Yuan Shao and others organized the Kwantung princes and joined forces to discuss Dong, at least nominally, but also really "Xingshi Qinwang". Participating in such a "just" military operation is very good for one's reputation.
However, how did Tao Qian do it? According to historical records, after receiving the call issued by Yuan Shao and others, Tao Qian dispatched three thousand elite soldiers (it should be Danyang soldiers) to join the ranks of the Kwantung Coalition Army. Later, he went to the imperial court and recommended zhu juan, a famous soldier of the dynasty, and acted as a general on horseback... In this way, although Tao Qian did not personally go out on the horse, he could also be regarded as indirectly participating in the actions of the princes to please Dong.
(The Book of Later Han records that Zhuo Hou entered the pass and left Dai to guard Luoyang, while Yan conspired with the Shandong generals as an internal response.) Fearing that Zhuo would attack, he abandoned the official and ran to Jingzhou. Zhuo Yi hong farm Yi as Henan Yin, guardIng Luoyang. Hearing this, the re-entry soldiers returned to Luo and Left. Jun, with Henan ruined and unfunded, was Dongtun Zhongmu, moved to Shuzhou County, and asked Shi To consult Zhuo. Xuzhou Thorn Shi Tao Qian sent three thousand elite troops, Yuzhou County gave a little, qian nai on the road to ride the general. ）
At the same time, Tao Qian sent his own emissaries from time to time to pay tribute to the "imperial court"... On the surface, he respected and cared about the emperor, but in fact, everyone knew that the Eastern Han court at this time had already been controlled by the Western Liang Army. And the object of Tao Qian's tribute and overtures was Dong Zhuo, who was jointly fought by the princes of the Kwantung...
What is Tao Qian trying to do? In fact, he is playing a two-sided pie, playing a trick of betting on both sides and gaining benefits from both sides. On the one hand, he sent troops to participate in the Kwantung Coalition Army, expressed his determination to serve the king and beg for thieves in front of the people of the world, and gained fame; on the other hand, he did not personally lead his troops to participate in the war, so as not to completely tear his face with Dong Zhuo, and then under the guise of paying tribute to the emperor, he showed favor to Dong Zhuo...
As a result, Dong Zhuo, who was extremely intelligent, saw through Tao Qian at a glance and flattered him. He was then given the title of Emperor. At this moment, Tao Qian not only officially climbed up, the highest official throne of Xuzhou's territory, Xuzhou Mu, was also named The General of Andong and the Marquis of Liyang, which can be said to have greatly gained the throne...
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Wei - Tao Qian's Biography records: "Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the rise of the prefecture and county, the tianzi capital Chang'an, the four sides were cut off, the humble dispatch made idle travel to contribute, the general of Andong, Xuzhou Mu, and the Marquis of Liyang")
I have to say that Tao Qian's level of political speculation is still quite clever. When Dong Zhuo was chaotic in government, corrupting the chaogang, causing chaos in the world, and the masses rose up together, he played two corners alone, singing together with a red face and a white face, almost to the greatest extent, and gained the greatest benefit for himself. From now on, he became the veritable lord of Xuzhou and became one of the most powerful princes in the world, with a status no different from that of the Tu Emperor.
Not only that, Que Xuan, the local bully in Xuzhou, occupied a mountain himself, pulled thousands of mountain thieves, and dared to call himself "The Son of Heaven"... In the face of such a rebellious person, Tao Qian, as a local parent official in Xuzhou, instead of sending troops to suppress it, joined forces with it and together captured the cities of Hua, Fei, and Liao in Taishan County... After that, seeing that Que Xuan had lost its use value, Tao Qian designed to kill him and recruit his subordinates...
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Wei - Emperor Wu records that Xia Pi Que Xuan gathered thousands of people and called himself the Son of Heaven; Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian and his co-raised troops, took Taishan Hua, Fei, and slightly rencheng.) ）
(The Zizhi Tongjian records that Xia Pi Que Xuan gathered thousands of people and called himself the Son of Heaven; Tao Qian killed him.) ）
In summary, we can see that Tao Qian, whether in local governance or political ability, can be described as outstanding. In particular, the fierceness of its political means is worthy of a generation of tyrants. It is definitely not the image of the cowardly and innocent old and good man who has no quarrel with the world as depicted in the novel...
Next, we will talk about the enmity and resentment between Tao Qian and Cao Cao, and the story of his gradual loss of the support of xuzhou people and his eventual having to give way to Liu Bei.
The first thing we need to say is about the death of Cao Cao's father, Cao Song. Was it Tao Qian himself who ordered it, or did his generals do it because they saw the wealth?
One thing is certain, before Cao Song was killed, there was already a state of hostility between Tao Qian's Xuzhou and Cao Cao's Yanzhou.
According to the analysis of historical data, during the several years when the combined forces of the Dong-Dong coalition army were unhappily dispersed, and in the years when Li Daiguo rebelled against the government, the princes of the Kwantung also became a pot of porridge, fighting each other and seizing territory and interests. Zhang Yang, Liu Dai, Qiao Mao and other local powerful factions gradually declined, and other princes gradually entered the rhythm of "alliance warfare". Slowly, two major groups were formed in the Central Plains, one of which was the "Yuan Shao + Cao Cao + Liu Biao Alliance", and the other was the "Gongsun Zhan + Yuan Shu + Tao Qian Alliance"...
We know that Gongsun Zhan's sphere of influence was mainly in youzhou in the north, bordering Yuan Shao, who occupied Jizhou, and the two sides fought each other inextricably, basically covering all the wars in the north (the Battle of Jieqiao, the Battle of Yijing, etc.). Yuan Shu sat in Runan, and there were also frequent wars between Yuan Shu and Liu Biao, who commanded Jingzhou (the Battle of Xiangyang, etc.).
As for Tao Qian, his opponent was naturally Cao Cao, who occupied Yanzhou. While Cao Cao was busy fighting elsewhere, Tao Qian led his troops to attack it, and with the abundance of money and grain in his own Xuzhou land, as well as the bravery and good fighting of the Danyang soldiers under his command, he also gained the upper hand for a while, capturing some cities, so that Cao Cao could only be on the defensive.
However, when Cao Cao finished cleaning up the affairs on the other fronts and freed up his hands to send the main force to fight hard, Tao Qian could not resist at once. Not only did he lose all the territory he had captured before, but even some of the cities in Xuzhou were taken by Cao Cao, and the Danyang soldiers under his command suffered heavy losses...
("Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Wei - WuDi Ji" records: Qiu, Taizu Zheng Tao Qian, the next ten cities, Qian Shou city did not dare to come out)
That is to say, long before Cao Song was killed, tao qian and Cao Cao were already fighting each other. And on the battlefield, tao Qian, who won first and then lost, and who lost the red eye, was in a hurry and defeated, and it was also entirely possible to find Cao Cao's father's family to vent his anger...
In fact, whether it is the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, or the Shiyu, all the more orthodox history books clearly record that Cao Song and others died under Tao Qian's sword. Only the history books "Book of Wu" from Eastern Wu and the later "Zizhi Tongjian" and so on, do they think that this matter is Tao Qian's back, and it has been suffered by generations.
In any case, Cao Song's death in Xuzhou was equivalent to Tao Qian stabbing a big honeycomb. From then on, Cao Cao not only got the best reason to send troops to Xuzhou (to avenge his father), but also put Tao Qian in a moral disadvantage... Originally, he had been repeatedly defeated on the battlefield, and under the more frantic attack of Cao Cao's army, it can be said that he was gradually defeated and lost step by step...
Not only that, after Cao Cao captured some places, he also engaged in a bloody slaughter of the city. Tens of thousands of xuzhou people were driven to the banks of the Surabaya River by Cao Jun, pushed into the river and drowned, and even the corpses blocked the river, causing the river to stop flowing, which was simply miserable to the extreme...
There is no doubt that the people of Xuzhou at this time were slaughtered miserably, and while hating Cao Cao, they also pointed their hateful eyes at Tao Qian. Because Cao Cao came under the banner of "revenge for his father", although Tao Qian repeatedly stated that this matter had nothing to do with him, it was the intention of his subordinate Lieutenant Zhang Min to see the wealth. But who can be deceived by this kind of lie?
From this, we can also see the shortcomings of Tao Qian as a person. At least in terms of his military strategy ability, he did not behave very well, and compared with Cao Cao, who was good at using soldiers, the difference was not a little bit.
Moreover, there were no strategists and generals under his command who could recruit good warriors (the Tao Qianbu general recorded in the history books was only Cao Bao), which also led to the fact that although he had brave and fierce soldiers, he was not good at using soldiers, and naturally he could not defeat Cao Cao, who was full of talents in military affairs...
In this regard, we can also infer that Tao Qian's shortage in the "employment level". Historical materials such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Book of the Later Han Dynasty all say that Tao Qian does not distinguish between black and white, alienates the wise, and appoints villains, which does not seem to be empty...
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Wei - Tao Qian Biography records: and Qian's backdoor is renunciation: Guangling Taishou Lang evil Zhao Yu, Xu Fang Mingshi also, with loyalty and directness; Cao Hong, etc., slanderous villains, humble relatives Renzhi.) Discord in criminal politics, good and good are harmed by it, and it is gradually chaotic)
(The Book of later Han records: And the humble credit is not the office, the criminal administration is ignored, do not drive zhao Yu, the well-known scholar also, but with loyalty and directness, out of the Guangling Taishou.) Cao Hong and other slanderous villains, humble and personal, good and good are many victims. By Si Gradually Chaos)
On the contrary, in the records of the Book of Wu, there is no negative image record of Tao Qian, but most of them are full of praise. It really has to be doubted that the credibility of this historical book from Eastern Wu is (the Book of Wu records that Tao Qian was killed for Cao Qian's father: "Cao Gong's father was killed at Mount Taishan, blaming Qian", I am afraid it is also a glorification word)...
In this way, under Cao Cao's continuous military offensive + public opinion offensive, Tao Qian's position in Xuzhou also became precarious. Originally, the people of Xuzhou were very supportive of him, a good state pastor who was good at governance and made the local area rich. However, now, with the gradual spread of the war, Tao Qian has become the culprit who has involved the land of Xuzhou in the bloody war. The prestige can be said to have been greatly hit, and it seems that it will not be able to support it...
Fortunately, at this time, a person suddenly appeared, helping Tao Qian stabilize the precarious situation and gradually reversing the unfavorable situation of the Xuzhou Army on the battlefield. This person is naturally the Most Familiar Three Kingdoms figure - Liu Bei Liu Xuande.
Yes, we will say next that Tao Qian is the most important in the history books, and it is also the most widely known drama - Let Xuzhou. What is the historical truth of this story that is so vivid and touching in the novel that it is even regarded as a model case of "sincerely letting the sages" be?
If we want to understand this problem, we must first talk about Liu Bei. At this time, Liu Bei was in what kind of situation.
According to historical records, Liu Bei gradually saw the dark and decaying nature of the Eastern Han Court after "angry whip supervision". He no longer had the idea of "making military merits and promoting himself", but instead turned to his "old friend", Gongsun Zhan, the great prince of Youzhou. Moreover, this time, he not only became the county commander of Pingyuan County, but also had the first title of "Pingyuan Xiang" in his life.
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of the Ancestors records: Xiang Benzhong Lang put Gongsun Zhan, and The Table of The Other Department Sima was tried to guard the Plain Order, and later led the Plain Phase)
On the surface, Liu Bei mixed well under Gongsun Zhan, not only did he make officials and knights, but he also used them very much... In fact, if we look at the map of the Three Kingdoms era, we know that Pingyuan County is located at the intersection of Youzhou, Jizhou, and Xuzhou, and is the standard place of the four wars. Therefore, when Liu Bei was a county grand master in such a place, he was undoubtedly placed by Gongsun Zhan in the position of "horse pawn"...
In fact, from the analysis of historical records, Liu Bei did fight a lot in the past few years in Pingyuan County. While helping Gongsun Zhan balance Yuan Shao, he also had to deal with the attack of Yuan Shao's ally, Cao Cao. Imagine That Liu Bei was so strong that he confronted the mighty Cao Cao Yuan Shao, although he was only facing the partial division of others, but it was definitely enough to choke, and the defeat was definitely more than the victory.
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of the Ancestors records: He and Qingzhou Assassin Shi Tian Kai to resist Yuan Shao, the pastor of JiZhou, had several military achievements)
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Wei - Wu Wu Records records that Liu Bei Tun Gao Tang, Shan Jing Tun Plain, Tao Qian Tun Hair Dry, in order to force Shao.) Taizu and Shao will strike, both broken)
That is to say, Liu Bei is still just a cannon fodder role under Gongsun Zhan. Therefore, when Xuzhou was attacked by Cao Cao and Tao Qian asked for help from his allies (Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zhan), Gongsun Zhan was also the first to think of Liu Bei. Not only because that place in the plain was close to Xuzhou, but more importantly, the reason was that he was now fighting with Yuan Shao, and he was already in the inferior position, and he still had time to take care of himself. Therefore, Liu Bei can only be sent forward to provide symbolic assistance (it is not painful to sacrifice cannon fodder)...
And at this time, how many people and horses did Liu Bei have at hand? According to historical records, Liu Bei's men were able to fight at this time, but only one or two thousand men and horses, and all kinds of people and other fish and dragons were mixed. In addition, some refugees were taken in as reserve soldiers and civilians. The only one with strong combat effectiveness was Zhao Yun, who had come from Gongsun Zhan, and the small number of cavalry led by his command was at most a few hundred.
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of the Ancestors records that Cao Gong marched on Xuzhou, and Xuzhou Mutao Sent An Envoy to Tian Kai, and Kai and the Ancestors saved him.) Shi Xian lord had more than a thousand soldiers and youzhou Karasuma zahu riding, and a few thousand hungry people)
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of Zhao Yun records: This belongs to Gongsun Zhan, and the ancestor of the Ancestor is Tian Kai to reject Yuan Shao, and Yun Sui is a retinue, riding for the First Lord)
Yes, it is with such a small number of troops, in the absence of logistical support, to fight against Cao Cao, who is powerful and has a vast territory... This is simply an impossible task. I am afraid that when the time comes, I will lose my own life in minutes and become real cannon fodder. As for what else you want to solve the siege of Xuzhou, it is simply nothing less than a night talk...
However, Liu Bei did not disobey Gongsun Zhan's orders, but took his own men and horses and embarked on the road to rescue Xuzhou with his colleague Tian Kai. This is not because of his moral integrity, which would rather risk his life than selflessly share the worries of others. Rather, because of his superior political sense of smell, he keenly felt that this was a great opportunity for him to take the opportunity to enter the land of Xuzhou and get rid of his "cannon fodder" identity from then on.
To put it bluntly, Xuzhou is now in a chaotic situation of external enemies, internal instability, and panic. At this time, as long as he led his troops into Xuzhou, no matter how many people and horses there were, they were all rescuers who sent charcoal in the snow. In this way, not only can they erect their own sign of benevolence and morality in the minds of the people of the world; they can also play the role of a savior in the minds of the people of Xuzhou.
As for the lack of food and grass in the troops, it is completely possible to find Tao Qian; but the opponent Cao Cao is strong and will definitely encounter danger on the battlefield, which has to be considered... It's just that since Liu Bei started his army, which time has he not licked the blood on the battlefield? Liu Bei was also personally living in the Han Dynasty Sect, and he was determined to be in the world, how could he be afraid of such a little danger?
In this way, Liu Bei led his men and horses, under the banner of "opposing massacres and rescuing the people", and killed Xuzhou. The stories that happened later were indeed staged one by one according to the script that he had already planned in his heart...
Liu Bei first led his troops to bypass the main force of Cao Cao's army, broke through the weak point of the enemy's strength, rushed into the core of Xuzhou, Xia Picheng, and met with Tao Qian. Then, he claimed that there were not enough grain and grass soldiers, and he needed the help of his master to give food to the soldiers, so that the combined army could fight against the Cao army...
Tao Qian, who had already been overwhelmed by the war on the front line, naturally would not refuse such a reasonable request when he saw that it was difficult to come to help. He not only fully satisfied Liu Bei in grain and grass coins, but also allocated a lot of Danyang soldiers under his command to Liu Bei, giving Liu Bei as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy to counter the powerful Cao Cao army.
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of the Ancestors records: When it arrives, it is humble to the Danyang Soldiers to benefit the Lord)
Regarding the specific circumstances of Liu Bei's troops fighting Cao Cao, there is no clear record in the historical records. But what is certain is that Liu Bei's arrival has indeed injected a shot of strengthening the heart into the precarious situation in Xuzhou. For the people of Xuzhou, who are afraid of the people and fear the enemy like a tiger, it has also played a considerable stabilizing role.
Although Liu Bei still lost more and won less on the battlefield, at least the overall strategic situation presided over by him also stopped the tragic situation of xuzhou soldiers collapsing thousands of miles before. In the end, Cao Cao came from afar, and the grain and grass retreated. At this point, Liu Bei is really indispensable...
Since then, Liu Bei's prestige in Xuzhou can be said to be famous. In particular, his performance in leading Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and others to be a pioneer on the battlefield also left a good impression in the minds of the people that they were "not afraid of violence and sacrificed their lives to save the people". Of course, everyone was reluctant to let this "God of War" leave, and almost all the people petitioned for a letter, hoping that Xuan Degong could stay in Xuzhou from now on and guard everyone's peace...
And Tao Qian? Seeing Liu Bei making a big splash on the battlefield, the prestige in the hearts of the people of Xuzhou also had the momentum of concealing him. How will he feel in his heart at this time? What's next?
Could it be that as described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tao Qian felt that Liu Bei's talent, Enyi Gaitian, was more suitable for Xuzhou Mu's position than him. So he took out the great seal of Xuzhou and wanted to generously cede the land of Xuzhou to Liu Bei.
The answer, of course, is no. As we have already said, Tao Qian is not the "good old man" portrayed in the decimal of Yanyi. He was a tyrant, a politician, and also the Emperor of Xuzhou, who certainly cherished more than anyone else, with territory and power in his hands.
So at this time, Tao Qian's attitude towards Liu Bei has slowly changed from gratitude and support at the beginning to taboo and jealousy...
Moreover, Liu Bei did not seem to want to hide his intentions in front of him. While his prestige and fame rose, he also spared no effort to open his "digging the foot of the wall" mode. On the one hand, in front of the people of Xuzhou, he created himself to look like a jishi and love the people; on the other hand, he also had a relationship with the major celebrities in Xuzhou, such as Chen Dengmizhu and others...
Of course, Tao Qian was not a fool, and he understood that if Liu Bei were to be expelled now, it would undoubtedly be a devastating blow to his reputation. Before, when Xuzhou was in danger and desperately hoping for rescue, the powerful princes around them were indifferent and watched the fire from the other side. Only the weak Liu Bei was not afraid of hardships and dangers, and resolutely led troops to rescue. Regardless of his purpose and intentions, the fact that he bravely rescued Tao Qian was beyond doubt.
Therefore, for Tao Qian, if he dares to suppress and expel Liu Bei now, it is equivalent to digging up his own foundation. The situation that he was already in precarious in Xuzhou further deteriorated... Therefore, for Liu Bei, Tao Qian must also be cautious and properly handled. Therefore, he handed over Xiao Pei in Xuzhou to Liu Bei to garrison, and provided his own support in terms of money and grain...
On the surface, Tao Qian was very concerned about Liu Bei, and specially set aside a piece of his own territory for him so that he could have a place to stay. However, we can see from the map that Xiaopei is located at the east gate of Xuzhou, bordering yanzhou. That is to say, Xiao Pei was actually under the threat of Cao Cao's clique at any time. Once the Cao army attacked again, Xiao Pei must be the first place to bear the attack...
In this regard, we can also see Tao Qian's intention at this time. On the surface, he cared deeply for Liu Bei, but in fact he used Liu Bei as a watchdog and sent him to the front line of resistance against Cao Cao. Moreover, Xiao Pei was far away from the core territory of Xuzhou, and Tao Qian placed Liu Bei here, which could also avoid Liu Bei's further encroachment on his foundation... Such a brilliant scheme, such a means, is simply not poisonous.
But what about the results? Tao Qian took such measures, can he really curb Liu Bei's development in Xuzhou?
Only to see Liu Bei gladly take the order, lead the troops to Enter Xiaopei, and then fully start his own propaganda machine, in the minds of Xiaopei people, continue to create their own "benevolent" image. Not only that, Liu Bei's political governance ability was not covered, not only did he arrange all the political affairs inside and outside Xiao Pei in an orderly manner, but he also took the lead and personally led the people to build embankments and dams, improve military employment, and so on...
Soon, Xiao Pei's people all felt Liu Bei's kindness, so word of mouth spread that Liu Bei was stationed on one side of the benevolent and loving deeds... It didn't take long for these news to spread throughout xuzhou. As a result, the people of Xuzhou began to praise Liu Junjun's exploits one after another, not only sacrificing their lives and fighting bravely on the battlefield, but also loving the people like sons outside the battlefield and achieving remarkable results. If he can stay in Xuzhou, it is really a blessing that the people of Xuzhou have cultivated for several lifetimes...
It can be seen that Tao Qian still underestimated Liu Bei's ability. Liu Bei's prestige in Xuzhou was pushed up by one point, which was to pry his foundation in Xuzhou by one point. Watching Cao Cao lead his troops to kill again, this time he not only had to face the external pressure of a strong enemy, but also had to deal with Liu Bei's internal clamor... Tao Qian, who is already over sixty years old, old and weak, and sick, should be good?
On the one hand, Tao Qian fully supported Liu Bei, who was fighting bloodily in the front, and continued to resist Cao Cao's attack. On the other hand, he began to praise Liu Bei after his predecessors, and even personally told the representative of the Hao clan in Xuzhou, Mi Zhu, who was then his "don't drive", said that after his death, Liu Bei was the best successor to Xuzhou Mu, and hoped that the scholars and people in Xuzhou would support him...
(The Zizhi Tongjian records that when he attacked Tao Qian again and again, he went to Lang Evil and the East Sea, and was destroyed.) Also, break Liu Bei in Tandong. ）
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of the Ancestors records: Humble illness Du, said not to drive the elk Zhu Yue: "Non-Liu Bei can not be safe this state also)
It should be said that Tao Qian, who is ill, is not confused in his brain. After fighting with Liu Bei several times, he also truly admitted the fact that he was inferior to Liu Bei in all aspects. Moreover, knowing that his fate was short, he also figured out some things, and understood that in this terrible chaotic world, the territory could only be saved in the hands of truly capable people.
Now, Cao Cao's army is oppressive, he is helpless, and he is dying of old age. Instead of allowing his two sons, Tao Shang and Tao Ying to inherit the great unification and take over xuzhou, the hot potato. It is better to be generous and directly "Zen" the territory to Liu Bei. In this way, it can not only ensure the safety of his own family, but also leave a good name of "Let Xian" in history, so that future generations will admire...
Sure enough, shortly after Cao Cao withdrew (Chen Gong plotted a rebellion and welcomed Lü Bu to attack Cao Cao's old lair), Tao Qian, who was terminally ill, cried out for his life. And Liu Bei, under the impetus of the large families in Xuzhou, first pretended to resign in every way, and finally agreed to come down and "temporarily took" the post of Xuzhou Mu...
(The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms - Book of Shu - Biography of the Ancestor Lord records: Humble death, Zhu led the people of The State to greet the First Lord, and the First Lord did not dare to be..................... The first lord led Xuzhou)
This is the story of "Three Let Xuzhou", the truth in history. Liu Bei, who was even better at strategizing, not only gained the territory of Xuzhou in this incident, but also won a good reputation among the population of the world as "saving people in danger, benevolence, righteousness and good morality". And Tao Qian, too, has left a good name in the history books as "generous style, sincerely let xian"... It can be said that it is a win-win ending.
In this regard, we can also sort out the trajectory of Tao Qian's life in the Three Kingdoms era. How should we evaluate him as a person?
It should be said that Tao Qian's political level and governance achievements in Xuzhou are still worthy of affirmation. It was precisely because of his efforts that Xuzhou was able to change from the original place where thieves rebelled and the people did not have a good livelihood, to a later land with abundant grain and grass and rich armor.
However, in the end, he still lacked the necessary conditions for a "tyrant". Not only is the military ability mediocre, but it is also different in terms of employment and so on. This was also an important reason why his later road to hegemony was frustrated, and the people of Xuzhou were involved in the war.
Personally, I feel that Tao Qian belongs to the kind of figure who can guard the land and govern, but is not enterprising enough in the world. The best positioning for a person like him in the chaotic world is to guard one side, clean himself, and try to mix disputes with others as little as possible.
However, he was ambitious and not satisfied with his own state. Not only did he personally participate in the battle between the Yuan brothers, Gongsun Zhan, Cao Cao and others, but he would also involve the people of Xuzhou, almost leading to the end of the collapse...
Fortunately, Liu Bei came in time to help him resist Cao Jun and calm people's minds. Otherwise, when the city of Xuzhou was destroyed, his own life would be difficult to protect. I am afraid that in the end, Cao Cao will be cut down and sacrificed in front of the grave of his father Cao Song... Not only that, in the mouths of posterity, he is most likely to be named a negative evaluation such as "fighting for hegemony is not a matter of losing his life", which has become a joke in the history books...
However, Tao Qian later realized his own shortcomings and understood that with his own ability and boldness, he could not support his ambition... Therefore, he was willing to gamble and lose, and gave up the land of Xuzhou to Liu Bei on the occasion of his death, which was grateful for Liu Bei's kindness in taking the risk to come to his aid and save him from danger.
On the other hand, it can also be regarded as conforming to the "public opinion" of the people of Xuzhou, and while fulfilling Liu Bei's "dream of princes", it has left himself the reputation of "generous and virtuous".
By the way, this also saved his family, so that his children and grandchildren, from then on, also wandered out of the whirlpool of political struggle, avoiding the subsequent impact...
PS: At the end of the book, we still have to analyze why Wei Zhao's Eastern Wu history book "Book of Wu" has such a capitalized close-up of Tao Qian, an "outsider".
Personally, I think there are two reasons, one is because of the alliance between the two sides. When Tao Qian was sitting in Xuzhou, he was allied with Yuan Shu. The Jiangdong Sun clan originally belonged to Yuan Shu' command, and there was never a hostile war between them and Tao Qian, which can be regarded as a friendly army...
Therefore, later, when the History of Eastern Wu was revised, the biography of Tao Qian, an ally, was entered into the text, which was also reasonable and not surprising.
Second, when the history book "Book of Wu" was revised, the factor of its "political position" could not be ignored.
In order to highlight the orthodoxy of Eastern Wu and achieve the purpose of "supporting Sun and opposing Cao", the things recorded in Wu's book have a strong "bias". From time to time, they flicker their words, blur their words, and avoid the important and light, which completely violates the principle of "objectivity" in history books. Its credibility is indeed controversial...
Therefore, we can see that in the records of the Book of Wu, Tao Qian, an innocent old and good man who guarded himself in peace, and the brutal Cao Cao who forcibly put the charge of "killing his father" on Tao Qian's head and used this as a reason to slaughter the city and the land...
It is very likely that later, when Luo Guanzhong wrote the book, he also referred to the record of the "Book of Wu" to render such a story as "Three Let Xuzhou"... It is revered by posterity as a model of "truly letting the sages" and has been passed down through the ages...
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