Cao Cao returned to Yecheng, and the north was temporarily calm. However, to Cao Cao's surprise, his success gave Liu Bei a good opportunity to visit Shu. Here, let's review the history of Yizhou, which is far from our sight. Although Yizhou missed the Central Plains War, it was not calm. In the fifth year of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (A.D. 188), Ada took a fancy to Yizhou, a treasure house of geomantic omen, and put forward a famous proposal to change the history of secretariat to state animal husbandry. At this moment, it happened that Yizhou secretariat made Yizhou people miserable, so the court appointed Ada as Yizhou shepherd, and the former secretariat was criticized. However, Ada soon had a new idea about the court. He sent Zhang Lu and others to attack Hanzhong to kill the satrap, cut off the oblique valley and kill the envoys of the Han Dynasty. Instead, the thief shouted to catch the thief and said that he was like a local tyrant, because "the thief broke the road and could not resume communication." Then, he found fault and killed more than a dozen people, including Wang Xian and Li Quan, the magistrate of Baxian County, to bully himself. The existence of such majesty, of course, aroused the resistance of subordinates. In the second year of Chuping in Xian Di (A.D. 19 1), when the Central Plains governors jointly crusaded against Dong Zhuo, Qian Wei (the source of Jialing River, near Emei Mountain) and others rose up to crusade against Ada, and the war burned all the way to Chengdu. After Ada suppressed these rebellions, he became more and more complacent, made a lot of cars and robes, and began to fantasize about the Ninth Five-Year Plan.
In the first year of Xingping (AD 194), Marten attacked Cui Li and suffered a crushing defeat. Ada * * * has four sons, two of whom stayed in Chang 'an and both died in the war. At that time, Ada was grieving for the death of his beloved son. Mianzhu, where he lived, suffered a sudden fire, and finally he could not afford to get sick. After Ada moved Zhou Zhi to Chengdu, he met his two beloved sons in Chang 'an. Among the two sons alive, the officials of Yizhou saw that Liu Zhang was weak and bullied, so they asked him to make a new Yizhou secretariat, and Liu Xie got nothing. Ada's disloyalty to the imperial court was immediately imitated by his subordinates. Zhang Lu in Hanzhong saw that the new secretariat was a soft egg and began to be dishonest. I don't know, Liu Zhang inherited his father's skill of making an example, and immediately killed Zhang Lu's mother and brother who stayed in Yizhou. Now, the two sides have become enemies and sworn enemies.
Of course, the changes in the Central Plains have also affected Yizhou. In the tenth year of Jian 'an (AD 205), Liu Zhang saw that Cao Cao had dominated the Central Plains, and heard that he had the intention of going south to Jingzhou, so he quickly sent messengers to pay tribute. Cao Cao promoted Liu Zhang to general, and his brother's son was General Pinkou. In the 12th year of Jian 'an, Liu Zhang sent Zhang Su as an envoy to pay tribute to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao also worshipped Zhang Su as the prefect of Guanghan in return. In the 13th year of Jian 'an, after Cao Jin occupied Jingzhou, Yizhou, the younger brother of Liu Zhang School, was returned to Zhang Song. At this time, Cao Cao pacified Jingzhou and was quite complacent. Because I was busy dealing with Liu Bei, I didn't pay much attention to Zhang Songren because he was ugly and not famous. Zhang Song was certainly unhappy at such a cold reception. It happened that Cao Cao defeated Chibi, and Jingzhou finally fell into the hands of Liu Bei after several struggles. When Zhang Song returned home, he spoke ill of Cao Cao, advised Liu Zhang to break up with Cao Cao and marry Liu Bei, and recommended Fa Zheng as a special envoy. Fazheng knew that Liu Zhang was a waste, and now he got this opportunity, but he deliberately refused it again and again, pretending to be helpless and forced to see Liu Bei. After he came back, he discussed with Zhang Song, praised Liu Bei's outstanding talent, and plotted to dedicate Yizhou to Liu Bei. In the 16th year of Jian 'an (AD 2 1 1), Cao Cao sent Zhong You to pretend to attack Zhang Lu in order to oppress Han Sui Ma Chao and other governors. Liu Zhang, who was as timid as a mouse, didn't even distinguish between true and false, and suddenly became afraid. He seemed to feel the magic of Cao Cao beating bears across the mountain. Zhang Song took the opportunity to say, "Cao Cao is powerful, and Mazhuang is invincible in the world. If you occupy Hanzhong, how to resist? " Liu Bei is of the same clan as you, but at odds with Cao Cao. Why not ask him to conquer Zhang Lu first? If we defeat Zhang Lu and occupy Hanzhong, our strength will be greatly enhanced. Even if Cao Cao comes, we need not be afraid. "These words, it is the front door refused to tiger, the back door into the wolf, but Liu Zhang as a good suggestion. Huang Quan, a subordinate of Liu Zhang, dissuaded him from listening; Wang Lei hung upside down at the gate to remonstrate and ignored him. Fa Zheng finally went to meet Liu Bei with four thousand troops.
When Fa Zheng arrived in Jingzhou, he immediately advised Liu Bei: "With your talent as a general, bullying Liu Zhang's cowardice, and people like Zhang Song in it, it is easy to win Yizhou." Liu Bei hesitated, and Pang Tong next to him further persuaded him, "Jingzhou is broken, and there are no more talents. With Sun Quan in the east and Cao Cao in the north, it is difficult to display their talents. Today, Yizhou has a registered population of one million and is a land of abundance. If it can become our capital, we can do great things! " Liu Bei replied, "How can I be as cruel and cunning as Cao Cao now?" Now it's treachery, can it be done? Pang Tong explained: "In wartime, there are no fixed death rules. Moreover, it is a good thing that has been valued since ancient times to annex the weak, attack ignorance and use it clearly. If you don't take it today, others will benefit in the end. "Liu Bei then made up his mind that in the winter of Jian 'an for sixteen years, Liu Bei guarded Jingzhou with Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu and personally brought tens of thousands of troops into Sichuan.
Liu Zhang is looking forward to this good brother who was a family 500 years ago. He happily took 30,000 people to meet him. Zhang Song suggested that Liu Bei should hold a banquet in Liu Zhang at Hongmen to make Yizhou easy to own. Liu Bei disagreed: "I just came here and have no prestige at all." This matter cannot be rushed! " (Note 1) So the two families flatter each other. Liu Zhang recommended Liu Bei as a captain of Fu, and Liu Bei also recommended Liu Zhang as the general of Zhenxi Yizhou Animal Husbandry. One hundred days after the party, Liu Zhang gave Liu Bei "200,000 meters to welcome guests, ride a thousand horses, ride a thousand cars and gather brocade and silks", and gave Liu Bei the command of the war horse. Back and forth, Liu Bei * * * got thirty thousand troops from Liu Zhang and went north to Mengjiaguan in the name of conquering Zhang Lu. However, Liu Bei did not move after he arrived at Jiamengguan, and he planted a tree all day to buy people's hearts.
Since then, Liu Bei has been quiet in Yizhou for a year, concentrating on "gaining weight", but other places are not calm. In July of the seventeenth year of Jian 'an (AD 2 12), it was the harvest season of agriculture, but China suffered a large area of locusts. After Ma Chao was defeated by Cao Cao, he gathered in Lantian to make a comeback, but it was not the magnificent one at the beginning, and was defeated by Xia (note 2). Liang Xing, who fled to Gaocheng Mountain, robbed Feng Yi as a robber. Everyone is a little scared and wants to retreat to it. Zuo Fengyi and Zheng Hun disagreed: "Liang Xing and others have lost their reputations, and it is unpopular to flee to the mountains and forests to become an outlaw. Although someone followed, it was only driven by arrogance. Now we must find ways to attract these people and publicly declare their prestige. Retreating to danger is the best way to show weakness to the enemy. " So all the counties called the officers and people to repair the battlefield, ready for battle, and encouraged the people to suppress Liang Xing, a rogue. Once captured, 70% will be used to reward meritorious soldiers and civilians. Now everyone's enthusiasm has been mobilized and they have come out to fight bravely. On the contrary, some of Liang Xing's men came to surrender after his wife and children were captured. Zheng Hun reprimanded them for their misconduct, but instead of killing them, he returned all their relatives to them. Grateful, these people immediately turned their guns and turned to crusade against Liang Xing. Zheng Hun also sent people with prestige and credibility from all over the country to publicize this policy, and Liang Xing's subordinates also made proper arrangements after they surrendered. Now, Liang Xing is afraid of his relatives and friends, so he has to flee back to his old nest, Gaocheng. Xia then conquered Zheng and killed Liang Xing, completely eliminating this force.
In autumn and winter, Cao Cao had the idea of attacking Sun Quan again. After the news reached Wu Dong, at the suggestion of Lv Meng, Wu Dong immediately built docks on both sides of the ruxu River estuary (Note 3). Before Cao Cao moved his troops to attack Jiangdong in October, his subordinate Dong Zhao said to Cao Cao, "Since ancient times, no one can achieve your achievements, and no one can be a minister for a long time (referring to the examples of Xiao He and Han Xin). Now you care about honor and don't want to damage morality, but as a courtier, you are suspected of being ambitious and must be careful. " Therefore, Dong Zhao discussed with some civil servants and military commanders that Cao Cao should become Wang Wei and accept nine tin medals in recognition of his outstanding achievements. Unexpectedly, this move was opposed by Yu Xun, the first counselor of Cao Cao: "The Prime Minister was originally a Xingyi soldier, assisted the country, was loyal to the court, and made moderate concessions. As a gentleman, it should not be like this. " In this way, since Yu Xun promoted Cao Cao, Cao Cao first expressed his dissatisfaction with Xun. When Cao Cao attacked Sun Quan from the east, he asked Yu Xun to do the work. Yu Xun stayed in Shouchun due to illness and died soon (Note 4). For Cao Cao, Yu Xun is nothing but a small man, loyal, self-denying, resourceful, recommending talents and doing his best. Xun You, Guo Jia, Zhong You, Chen Qun, Hua Xin, Wang Lang, Xun Yue, Du, Xin Pi, Zhao Yan and others headed by Sima Yi were all recommended by him. His death caused a general sigh.
Soochow has not yet fought the Northern Wei Dynasty. Let's look at Jingzhou and Yizhou first. This winter, after a year's rest, Liu Bei finally began to attack Liu Zhang. Pang Tong and Liu Bei discussed: "Now the secret selection of elite soldiers will surprise Chengdu. Liu Zhang has neither military talent nor defense. It is the best policy to win World War I; Yang Pei, commander-in-chief of Baishuiguan, is a famous soldier in Sichuan. He has occupied the dangerous pass and repeatedly suggested that Liu Zhang send you back to Jingzhou. General, you can write and tell them that Jingzhou has something to go back and pretend to be a family. They will come to see me off happily, and then they can easily catch them and March into Chengdu. This is a recruit. After returning to Bai Di and Jingzhou, Xu Tu has made progress, which is a plan. If you don't make a decision now, it will be harmful sooner or later. " After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Bei chose the recruit. When Sun Quan saw Cao Cao's attack, he sent an envoy to Liu Bei to ask for help (Note 5). Liu Bei wrote to Liu Zhang, saying that Cao Cao was menacing, and if he did nothing, Sun Quan, who was as close as lips and teeth to him, would be in danger. In addition, Guan Yu of Jingzhou is fighting Cao Cao's department and must be rescued. Zhang Lu, a guy with strong self-control, won't pose any threat, and asked Liu to give Zhang 10,000 troops and materials. Liu Zhang invited Liu Bei to attack Zhang Lu in Sichuan and forge ahead in Hanzhong. He invested "200,000 meters to welcome guests, ride thousands of horses, ride thousands of cars and gather brocade and silks" just for money and food. Now, a year has passed, and he has found nothing. His disappointment can be imagined. Therefore, only four thousand soldiers and horses were given to Liu Bei, and only half of the grain, hay and salary he asked for was given. Liu Bei, who had long wanted to go to war, just found an excuse to boost the morale of the soldiers: "I conquered a strong enemy for Liu Zhang, and my soldiers and horses were industrious and tired. Now I am stingy with my treasure and get nothing in return. You still expect soldiers and civilians to contribute to death? "Zhang Song's brother Chang Su knew that Zhang Song was communicating with Liu Bei in the dark. Seeing that Liu Bei was finally going to start work, he was afraid of getting burned and came to report to Zhang Song. Confused Liu Zhang also understood now, immediately killed the guy who ate inside and crawled outside, and ordered commanders and soldiers everywhere not to associate with Liu Bei again. Liu Bei was furious and immediately called Yang to Pei's side, reprimanded him and beheaded him. He took the opportunity to take their men, take their wives and children hostage, and then entered the city. Liu Bei and Liu Zhang made a clean break and officially started a two-year battle for Yizhou.
Note 1 If Liu Bei kills Liu Zhang at once, he will tell Yizhou that I am a tyrant. So he took advantage of Liu Zhang's trust, spent a year in Yizhou, cultivated his prestige, and then started work. Liu Bei's patience may be the lesson he learned from Yunan Xinye and other places in Xuzhou. Later, Liu Bei chose Pang Tong for the same reason.
Note 2 Unlike Ma Chao, who is still making waves, the old Han Sui did nothing later, but was not caught by Cao Cao. After Han Sui's death, his men cut off his head and gave it to Cao Cao to surrender, but at the same time admitted that Han Sui never dared to betray him when he was alive.
Note 3 The location of ruxu Estuary is not near the Yangtze River, but on the edge of Chaohu Lake, which was connected with the Yangtze River at that time, almost as close to Hefei and the Yangtze River. Therefore, Jiangdong has always had a unique advantage in this part: although Cao Wei is strong on the whole, he can't cross the Yangtze River; Wu Dong used the elite water army to come and go freely, and was able to go deep into the northern inland, which surprised Cao Wei. Huainan area is the main point of Cao Wei's reclamation, and Sun Quan can't harass it casually. Yangzhou and other places are just plains, which are difficult to defend. This is probably why Cao Cao never took the initiative to attack Liu Bei after Chibi, but personally conquered Huainan twice. "
Note 4 Dong Zhao's suggestion actually implies that Cao Cao's present situation is like sailing against the current, if he doesn't advance, he will retreat. Either you are on earth or you are in Huaiyin. Yu Xun's opposition may be because he is still loyal to the Eastern Han Dynasty, or because Yu Xun is as modest as he advised Cao Cao. On the eve of the Northern Expedition to Wuhuan in February of the 12th year of Jian 'an, Cao Cao paid tribute in Yecheng. In recognition of Yu Xun's three fairs, his words are quite sincere. At that time, Cao Cao was just an ordinary person. Yu Xun politely declined. In this way, Cao Cao sealed Yu Xun, and the two sides tossed and turned a dozen times. Cao Cao saw Yu Xun's determination and gave up. At this time, perhaps Yu Xun hopes that Cao Cao can be treated as well as he is. From then on, it is conceivable that Cao Cao and Yu Xun were very unhappy, but there were different opinions about how he died. The History of the Three Kingdoms records "worrying about people", while The History of the Later Han Dynasty and Zi Tong Zhi Jian say "drinking medicine". By the way, Yu Xun's nephew Xun You is more open-minded and has never been involved in this matter. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yu Xun and Xun You actually died in two ways.
Note 5 Sun Quan does not want Liu Bei to conquer Yizhou. This request has the intention of luring him back to the army, which makes Liu Bei's previous efforts wasted. Liu Bei scolded Sun Quan for taking his wife home behind his back, and took the opportunity to rinse Liu Zhang. At this time, the Sun-Liu alliance has already appeared cracks.