Three of the five sons, Zhang Liao, Zhang He and Huang Xu, all surrendered. Zhang Liao was first hired by Ding Yuan, equivalent to an assistant or an assistant. Later, he was seconded by Ding Yuan to the general blades, and blades sent Zhang Liao to Hebei to recruit soldiers. In the process, the blade was killed. Dong Zhuo went to Beijing to control the situation. Even Lu Bu surrendered to Dong Zhuo, and Zhang Liao surrendered to Dong Zhuo after he went to Beijing.
Later, Lu Bu and Wang Yun joined forces to kill Dong Zhuo, and Zhang Liao also participated in this matter. After the success, Lu Bu and Zhang Liao became court generals together. Li Jue and Guo Si counterattacked Chang 'an and defeated Lu Bu. Zhang Liao fled with Lu Bu until 198 when Cao Cao defeated and killed Lu Bu in the battle of Pi. Zhang Liao led his men to surrender to Cao Cao and later became the leader of Cao Cao.
Zhang He also surrendered. Zhang Heyuan was originally the Han Fu Department. After Yuan Shao replaced Han Fu, Zhang He surrendered to Yuan Shao, who was defeated in the battle of Guandu. Zhang He surrendered to Cao Cao again and became one of Cao Cao's five heroes, with many meritorious deeds. It turns out that Huang Xu, a subordinate of General Baibo Yang Feng, surrendered to Cao Cao when welcoming Emperor Han Xian.
In addition, Zhao Qian, Cui Yan, Chen Lin, Tian Yu and Chen Deng surrendered to Cao Cao. There are not only many surrenders here, but also Sun Quan and Liu Bei, such as Gan Ning, who was first under Liu Zhang, and later surrendered to Sun Quan, and was reused by Sun Quan. For example, Li Yan and Wu Yi, originally the Ministry of Liu Zhang, later surrendered to Liu Bei, even during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.
This shows that surrender at that time was normal, not shameful or immoral. Among these surrenders, some are earlier than the ban and some are later than the ban. But why do so many surrenders lose their image after the ban and become a stain on their lives?
There are three main reasons:
First, the situation is different when surrendering.
Yujin surrendered, and the world scored three points. Guan Yu and Zhang Liao were still fighting each other when they surrendered. This is because the situation was different when they surrendered.
During the competition, the situation in the world is uncertain, and all kinds of forces are striving for the surrender of talents in the world. For example, Cao Cao didn't even care who killed his son, nephew and general, Zhang Xiu or Jia Xu. Cao even accepted his enemies. This is equivalent to directly setting an example to the whole world, hoping that all heroes in the world will surrender.
This practice is actually promoting capitulationism and strengthening one's own strength. Guan Yu surrendered to Cao Cao at the beginning of 200 AD, and Zhang Liao surrendered to Cao Cao at the end of 198 AD. At this time, Cao Cao was in a period of vigorously developing his own power. During this period, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu surrendered to Cao Cao, and Zhang He, Gao Lan and others surrendered to Cao Cao after the battle of Guandu. During this period, most people surrendered to Cao Cao.
Guan Yu was forbidden to surrender in AD 2 19. At this time, the situation in the world was clear. Cao Cao, Sun Quan and Liu Bei shared the world equally, and Cao Cao became the most powerful family in the world. By this time, Cao Cao no longer needed the enemy to surrender on a large scale, even if he didn't want to. What Cao Cao needs to do most is to make his generals loyal to themselves, rather than surrender to the enemy.
Yujin's surrender brought a series of negative effects to Cao Cao. If other generals under Cao Cao also surrendered like Yu Jin, what would Cao Cao take to defend the enemy? In addition, the Three Kingdoms were based on the orthodoxy of Cao Wei. Yu Jin's betrayal of Cao Cao and his surrender to Guan Yu is tantamount to betraying the government and taking refuge in anti-government forces, which will naturally become a stain on his life.
Second, different levels have different losses.
Yu Jin's official position at that time was General Zuo. Among the five generals, his official position is the highest, and he has the power to hold holidays and cymbals. This is the only fake festival and fake cymbal in Cao Cao's era. Yu Jin's duty at that time should be to defend the capital of Cao Wei. His seventh army, 30,000, is the central army of Cao Wei, and the post of General Zuo in the Forbidden City is equivalent to the post of Beijing garrison commander.
Think about it, the garrison commander in Beijing led the army to rescue the border guards, and the whole army was wiped out. The master and his elite troops of more than 30 thousand people were all captured. What a loss! At that time, Cao Cao's Central Army was only a few hundred thousand, and it lost about a quarter when it was banned, which was a very big loss for Cao Cao.
Of all the wars in Cao Cao's life, except Battle of Red Cliffs, no war lost more than 30,000 people. Whether Cao Cao fought himself or other generals, Yu Ban's loss record ranked first in the loss record of Cao Wei's regime. Such a big loss also made Yu Ban bear the stigma of his life.
One more thing, in the battle of Xiangfan, the combined strength of Yu Jin and Pound was greater than that of Guan Yu, who was extremely dispersed at that time. Lu Chang, who besieged Xiangyang City, was part of the people, Coss and Man Chong, who besieged Fancheng, were part of the people, and some were water troops. Guan Yu was fighting 30,000 people and Pound with nearly a third to a quarter of the total force.
Let's look at the surrender of others. When Guan Yu surrendered, the number of his men was unknown, no more than one or two thousand, and he was outnumbered. Zhang Liao surrendered directly after Lu Bu was killed. Jiang Wei, Xu Liang, Yin Shang and Liang Qian surrendered Zhuge Liang later than Guan Yu, but Jiang Wei, Xu Liang, Yin Shang and Liang Qian were abandoned by the satrap and had to surrender.
You can find that the surrender in the Three Kingdoms period was the biggest loss to the original owner, and all other surrenders were not as big as the loss in the ban. In addition, Yu Jin's rank was so high, and he was also the highest-ranking surrender officer in the Three Kingdoms period, which was a stain on Yu Jin's life.
Third, the reasons for surrender are different.
Yu Jin's surrender will be a stain on his life, because Pound and Yu Jin were captured by Guan Yu together, and Pound pledged his loyalty to the death, showing his heroism, while Yu Jin immediately surrendered, showing his fear of death. This is why Cao Cao lamented: Yu Jin followed himself for more than 30 years, and the result was not as good as Pound!
Pound is not afraid of death. He is afraid of death in the Forbidden City. As long as Pound is here, the surrender of the Forbidden City will become a negative example, Pound will become an example of Cao Cao's vigorous propaganda, so the surrender of the Forbidden City will become a stain on his life.
When Guan Yu surrendered to Cao Cao, he did not explain why. Judging from the later historical development, Guan Yu wanted to save his life, repay Cao Cao for not killing, make meritorious service for Cao Cao and return to Liu Bei. This is a sign of loyalty. So Guan Yu was not defiled, but his image was brilliant. You know, at that time, Cao Cao represented the imperial court, while Liu Bei was just a small anti-government armed force with no future and life and death unknown. Guan Yu does not pursue wealth, but pursues great prospects.
Zhang Liao surrendered to Cao Cao because his master, Lu Bu, was killed and Zhang Liao was desperate, so he led his troops to surrender to Cao Cao. Zhang Liao's surrender was forced, and Lu Bu was killed. If Zhang Liao does not surrender to Cao Cao, it is impossible to gain a foothold. For example, Seibel was killed when Cao Cao refused to surrender, and Zhang Liao was killed when he refused. Zhang Liao didn't want to die, so he had to surrender to Cao Cao.
Everyone is afraid of death, which is understandable. But if Yu Jin surrendered himself, it wouldn't be a big stain, but he took 30 thousand people and was captured together, and set a wrong example, which would be a big sin. Although Yu Jin later returned to Wei, Cao Pi comforted Yu Jin in the court, but secretly let Yu Jin worship Cao's mausoleum and surrender to Pound to the death.