What happened to Zhou Yu leading his troops to the funeral? Did he want to usurp the throne?

We know that in ancient times, military power has always been very important. In many cases, as long as you have military power in your hands, rulers will feel afraid. However, during the Three Kingdoms period, after Sun Ce died unfortunately, Zhou Yu came back for the funeral, but he actually brought an army with him. This made people break out in a cold sweat. Why would he do this? In such an unstable period, could it be that he wanted to To coerce Sun Quan into forcing the palace to usurp the throne?

Sun Quan and Zhou Yu have always been considered by the people as models of wise kings, wise ministers, and harmonious harmony. The two of them worked together, one in charge of political affairs and the other in charge of military affairs, to manage Jiangdong in an orderly and motionless manner. In the 13th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao led his army southward, made a forced landing at Liu Cong, captured Jingzhou, and pushed directly to Jiangdong. Sun Quan made an agreement with Zhou Yu and his ministers to send troops to resist Cao. Finally, he destroyed the main force of Cao's army in Chibi and secured the country's territory. He also pursued to Jingxiang, fought hard and went down to Jiangling, and took advantage of the Yangtze River to fight against the Central Plains. The three-thirds of the general trend will start from this.

Zhou Yu’s name has been passed down through the ages because of his victory at Red Cliff. Su Dongpo's song "Red Cliff Nostalgia", although I am thinking about the wrong place, the sentence "I think back to Gong Jin's time, Xiao Qiao was first married, majestic and heroic. Feather fans and silk scarves, while talking and laughing, the rafts and oars were wiped out." It comes out vividly. A dashing young hero with unparalleled brilliance and unrivaled martial arts achievements. Even after thousands of years, reading it still makes people excited and longing for it.

During Sun Quan's life, he succeeded to the throne and became the leader of Jiangdong at the age of nineteen. He died at the age of seventy-one. He led Jiangdong for fifty-two years, and he was actually the first among the Three Kingdoms in terms of years. Even if we look at the entire history of China, the length of reign of emperors is still at the forefront. Sun Quan was not particularly strong in martial arts in history or folk memory, but he also became a hero because of his victory in the battles of Chibi and Yiling. But in the real historical records, the faces of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, and the relationship between them, do not seem so simple. We have to go back to that period of history to see clearly the indissoluble bond between these two people.

First of all, Sun Ce's death was extremely hasty. He was stabbed during the day and died at night. Therefore, Sun Ce could only entrust the funeral affairs to those who were in Wu at the time, including Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao, etc. There are still important ministers outside, so they cannot accept the last words. Zhang Hong was on a mission in Xuchang but had not yet returned, while Zhou Yu was stationed in Baqiu, Cheng Pu was stationed in Shicheng, and Lu Fan was stationed in Poyang. When the important officials outside heard the news of Sun Ce's death, they had two reactions. The first was to go to Wu for the funeral, and the second was not to attend the funeral. What is strange is that the records of the above-mentioned actions are not the same. Zhou Yu "sent his troops to the funeral", Lu Fan "went to the funeral", Yu Fan "left his uniform to attend the funeral", and Cheng Pu has no record.

Of course, there is no difference in whether or not everyone chooses to attend funerals according to local conditions, but the description in the history books is quite interesting. Zhou Yu was the most unique. He led troops to Wu to attend the funeral. What was his intention? If it was public-spirited, it could be explained that he was afraid of instability and chaos in the capital, so he led troops to pacify the town. If it's selfish, it would mean forcing someone into the palace. But judging from everyone's performance, Zhou Yu's leadership of the army must not have come from Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao's orders. Although Zhang Zhao was also afraid that the world would not obey, he ordered Sun Quan to remove his mourning clothes and mount a patrol to calm people's hearts. However, he did not explicitly order the generals stationed in various places to lead troops to mourn, so Lu Fan and Cheng Pu did not lead troops. Going to the funeral with soldiers is actually a Spring and Autumn style of writing.

Zhou Yu was stationed in Baqiu at this time (different from the Baqiu where Zhou Yu died), located at the intersection of Yuzhang and Luling counties. This was also a territory that had just been conquered a year ago, and was still in deep danger. The land was not yet conquered, otherwise Sun Ce would not have sent Zhou Yu to guard it. Compared with Fuchun at the junction of Wu and Kuaiji counties where Yu Fan was located, the situation in Baqiu was not much better. Zhou Yu and Yu Fan were in similar circumstances, but the actions they took were completely opposite. Since the history books of Yu Fan's actions are quite approving, we can also reflect on the abnormalities of Zhou Yu's actions.

Judging from the results, Zhou Yu led troops to the funeral, and then took charge of state affairs with Zhang Zhao. Zhang Zhao was in charge of state affairs, and Sun Ce had explicitly entrusted him to do so, which can be said to be an obedient inheritance. However, Zhou Yu was in charge of state affairs, but there was no legal basis for it. Two years later, Mrs. Wu asked Sun Quan to serve Zhou Yu as her brother because of the matter of sending her son as hostage. However, this also shows that Mrs. Wu had not said the same thing before. Luo Guanzhong couldn't stand it any longer, so he had to make up a story: "If you don't decide on internal affairs, ask Zhang Zhao, if you don't decide on foreign affairs, ask Zhou Yu." to justify Zhou Yu's name for assisting the government.

Sun Quan was only a nineteen-year-old young man at this time. He had just taken over power and was still in a state of shock.

Originally he only obeyed the orders of his master Zhang Zhao, but this Zhou Yu, who was seven years older than him, his elder brother's sworn brother, and a general with military power, suddenly came to the front with a tough attitude, and he was afraid that he would be angry but dare not speak. However, Sun Quan was also very secretive, hiding his dissatisfaction in his heart, and did not have a direct conflict with Zhou Yu. On the surface, he still respected Zhou Yu as an assistant to the government, but he respected Zhou Yu but did not use him.

From Sun Quan's succession in the fifth year of Jian'an to the Battle of Chibi in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), it was a stage of consolidating political power and fighting for peace. Zhou Yu was nominally a general and was in charge of state affairs with Zhang Zhao. But in fact, he was hidden by Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu was not used for at least six years.

According to Zhou Yu's biography, before the eleventh year of Jian'an, Zhou Yu did not participate in any war. During this period, Sun Quan had at least three major battles, one was to defeat Li Shu in Wancheng, the second was to defeat Huang Zuzhou's army and its affiliated battles, and the third was to send congratulations to Qi to ping Jian'an counties and others. The other generals who attacked Shanyue and put down the rebellion were countless. Zhou Yu did not participate in any of the three battles. This was very different from that under Sun Ce, who had to follow him in every battle.

During this period, there was also a story that Cao Cao sent Jiang Gan here to spy on Zhou Yu's intentions. Cao Cao was a man who was very good at utilizing his time, and he was also very keen. In the battle of Guandu, he was quite effective. For details, please see my humble article "Suspicious Clouds of Guandu". He kept an eye on Zhou Yu and realized that Zhou Yu was frustrated by Sun Quan at this time, so he said that he "can be persuaded to move". Zhou Yu said to Jiang Qian: "When a husband is in the world, when he meets a confidant, he will rely on the righteousness of the monarch and his ministers on the outside, and the kindness of his flesh and blood on the inside. He will obey his words and deeds, and will bring misfortunes and blessings to him." In fact, what he wanted to repay was Sun Ce's kindness in knowing and meeting him. , not Sun Quan. Because Sun Quan could not be said to be a confidant, nor could he be regarded as a kindhearted person, and it was even more ridiculous to obey his advice.

In the first half of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Sun Quan conquered Jiangxia and killed Huang Zu, which not only avenged his father, but also eliminated a serious danger. This attack was the largest battle in Soochow before the Chibi War, and the results were also the most outstanding. Nominally, Zhou Yu was the front commander, but apart from these few words, there is no other record of Zhou Yu's performance in the history books. On the contrary, it was the juniors such as Gan Ning, Lu Meng, Ling Tong, Dong Xi, and Feng Ze who made contributions, offered strategies, and fought on the battlefield. After the war, everyone was rewarded, but Zhou Yu was not rewarded at all. It seems that this former governor was basically in name only. The Battle of Chibi is undoubtedly the most important battle in Soochow, and it is also Zhou Yu's famous work. Anyone in later generations who believes that Sun Quan and Zhou Yu are in harmony will all regard the Battle of Chibi as a model.

The alliance between Sun and Liu in Wulin and Chibi to defeat Cao was actually Lu Su’s original plan. As soon as Liu Biao died, Lu Su took the initiative to ask Ying to go to Jingzhou to befriend Liu Bei and persuade him to fight against Cao together with Soochow. Liu Bei was convinced and sent Zhuge Liang to meet Sun Quan at Jingkou. At this time, the alliance plan had been initially decided. After returning to Jingkou, Lu Su again urged Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao. At this time, Sun Quan's intention was decided. At that time, Zhou Yu was still in Poyang, and it was Lu Su who persuaded Sun Quan to recover Zhou Yu. After Zhou Yu came back, of course he also advocated the use of troops and agreed with Sun and Lu.

It can be seen that although facing a life and death battle, Sun Quan still could not let Zhou Yu go. Regarding the number of troops handed over to Zhou and Cheng, there are reports in the history books of twenty thousand or thirty thousand taels. The specific number of troops has nothing to do with the overall situation. The strength of Soochow's troops at that time can be gleaned from a few examples. In the same year, Jiang Qin and He Qi fought against the bandits of Yi and She. Jiang Qin alone led ten thousand people, and He Qi's troops should also be no less than this number. At the end of the year, when Zhou and Cheng attacked Nanjun, Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao divided their forces to surround Hefei and attack Dangtu. It can be seen that the troops assigned to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu were far from what the whole country could rely on.

Fortunately, Zhou Yu lived up to expectations and led this army, using a fire attack strategy to defeat Cao's army with a small number to defeat a large number, and ensured peace in Jiangdong. Later, they attacked Nanjun. It took more than a year to force Cao Ren back and capture Jiangling. The capture of Nanjun and the garrison of Jiangling took place in the fourteenth year of Jian'an, and the death of Zhou Yu lasted only one year. During this year, there was no more fighting. The battle of Chibi Nanjun was actually the highlight of Zhou Yu's life. Although there was no war, Zhou Yu still offered advice twice during the year.

Sun Quan had never considered taking Shu before, and no one in Jiangdong ever mentioned taking Shu. Even Lu Su's "couch policy", known as the "Longzhong Dui" of Soochow, only focused on Jingxiang and did not see Bashu. Therefore, it is normal for Sun Quan not to have thought about this before. Zhou Yu put forward this strategic idea in a hurry and did not ask Sun Quan for troops. He must have used his own military strength in Jingxiang to seize Shu. Sun Quan changed his past practice of requiring everyone to discuss major decisions, and directly agreed to Zhou Yu's suggestion.

After the battles in Chibi and Nanjun, Zhou Yu's outstanding achievements made Sun Quan, who was already uneasy about Zhou Yu, even more suspicious and fearful. He himself told Liu Bei that he was afraid that Zhou Yu would soon become a minister.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei, who seemed to see a rift, took the opportunity to spread rumors and alienate their monarchs and ministers.

This time the capture of Shu ended with the death of Zhou Yu. Historical records record that Zhou Yu died of illness, which was probably related to an arrow wound sustained during the war in Nanjun. When Zhou Yu arrived to offer the Shu policy, he was already on his deathbed, and died in Baqiu within a few days. After Zhou Yu's death, there was continuous favor and honor. Sun Quan always expressed his condolences, provided unlimited expenses, and expressed his kindness several times. Zhou Yu had two sons and one daughter. Sun Quan married his eldest daughter Sun Luban to Zhou Yu's eldest son Zhou Xun, and his eldest son Sun Deng married Zhou Yu's daughter; Zhou Yu's youngest son Zhou Yin also married Zhou Yu as his clan daughter.

After Zhou Yu's death, Sun Quan's suspicion was gone. He thought of Zhou Yu's contribution and loyalty, and couldn't help but feel deeply in his heart. Therefore, the words he said and the rewards he gave may not necessarily come from the bottom of his heart. However, he was both useful and jealous of Zhou Yu, which fully reflected his nature as a hero.

No one person can completely inherit Zhou Yu, but three people divide the position left by Zhou Yu. Lu Meng later mentioned that the decentralization of power would "cause discord and ruin the affairs of the country." Therefore, if Sun Quan completely believed in Zhou Yu, he might not have such a balanced distribution of troops. This can be seen from the fact that Zhou Yu always assisted in his life. It sounds nice to say that Zhou Yu supervised Sun Yu. In fact, in the ninth year of Jian'an, Sun Yu had already led the governor of Danyang with more than 10,000 men. Zhou Yu sent tens of thousands of troops to the front for the Battle of Chibi. The two Yus went to war at the same time. There may be questions about who led whom to fight. . If Sun Quan really believed in Zhou Yu, the governor of Jingzhou who asked Cao Cao to throw away the chopsticks should not be Liu Bei, but Zhou Yu.

When Zhou Yu led troops to Beijing, it was definitely not a rebellion, but an opportunity to gain political leverage. He probably did it eventually. Literary and military, he is the hero of ten thousand people and the hero of the founding of the country as a young man. The feather fan shakes gently, and a hundred battles become famous. No matter how hard it is, he smiles and waves, and the clouds clear and the sky clears. Returning home in spring, the guests and hosts drink together and play the harp in a drunken manner. As soon as I glanced at it, I heard the wrong music, accompanied by a beautiful woman, and I was speechless. The flags are swept with electricity, and the energy flows through the three armies. Recalling the troops in Chibi, the Tiger and Wolf divisions were frightened. Standing against the wind, the smoke and clouds east of the river are all filled with feelings for Zhou Lang.