Why did Sun Quan marry his sister to Liu Bei and worsen the relationship between them?

During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan of Wu Dong sent General Lu Meng to attack Jingzhou. Guan Yu and his son were defeated and killed, and the Shu Han suffered heavy losses. This is a major turning point in the course of history. Few historians have conducted in-depth research on this issue, and some people believe that Guan Yu did not seriously implement Zhuge Liang's strategy of "alliance with Sun and reject Cao" and placed the main responsibility on Guan Yu. I have a similar view. Now I read the Three Kingdoms again and found that this is not the case. And I once suspected that Zhuge Liang might have changed his strategy of "alliance with Sun and reject Cao". After careful investigation now, the suspicion lacks factual basis and cannot be established.

One

When Liu Bei was stationed in Xinye, Xu Shu recommended Zhuge Liang. Considering that his subordinates lacked the brains to make plans, he hoped to recruit Xu Shu. Liu Bei visited Nanyang Longzhong and met him for the third time. Zhuge Liang comprehensively analyzed the situation at the time and proposed countermeasures. Liu Bei heard this and was convinced, and he reused Zhuge Liang from then on. In Liu Bei's own words, "Being alone is like being alone, and being a fish is like being in water." It can be seen that the degree of intimacy is inseparable in an instant.

Zhuge Liang’s main arguments are recorded in detail in the Biography of Zhuge Liang in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms. Later literary and historical works listed this dialogue as a single article, titled Longzhong Dui. There are two parts, which are closely related. One is "Sun Quan has owned Jiangdong for three generations. The country is in danger and the people are attached to it, and wise men can use it. This can be done for assistance, but not for profit." In short, he can only have grandchildren. One is, "If there is an advantage or disadvantage that crosses the border, there are rocks to protect it, there are Yizhou armies in the west, barbarians in the south, Sun Quan is in peace outside, there is political reform inside, and the world changes, then order a general to lead the Jingzhou army to Wan and Luo , the general led the people of Yizhou out of Qinchuan. Who dares to go to see the general without eating the cauldron? "In short, Lian Sun can both resist Cao and destroy him."

Because they are all expectations of the future situation, there are several vague points in this war: "If there are advantages and benefits", it is not clear how to "cross-own", that is, "possess". It seems that Zhuge Liang also has the intention of not letting go of "Jing Yi" once he possesses it. Moreover, for Sun Quan, "helping but not benefiting" is the first priority, and "Sun Quan is a good person outside" is the second. "Lian Sun" is repeatedly emphasized. But then I thought, "If this is the case, hegemony can be achieved and the Han Dynasty can prosper!" There is no mention of how to solve Sun Quan's existential problem. It can be seen that although Zhuge Liang emphasized "alliance with Sun", he actually still despised Sun Quan to a certain extent.

Zhuge Liang, who advocated "union between Sun and Cao Cao", still despised Sun Quan to a certain extent, while Liu Bei, Guan Yu and others despised Sun Quan even more. Therefore, this situation has its own reasons. Sun Quan knew that he neither had the advantage of using the emperor to control the princes, nor did he have the political capital of Liu Bei's "Queen of Zhongshan and Queen Jing", so he kept a low profile to protect himself, and sometimes even did not hesitate to compromise. Because Sun Quan had no ambition to unify the world, Liu Bei and Guan Yu relaxed their guard against Sun Quan.

Of course, Liu Bei's "joining Sun and rejecting Cao" made a good start. It was when Liu Bei was chased by Cao Cao's army and forced to Xiakou. "Send Zhuge Liang to tie himself up with Sun Quan." Sun Quan also felt embarrassed, so Zhang Zhao and others greeted Cao Cao. The younger generals believed that attacking Cao Cao would be tantamount to suicide, and advocated loyal ministers to oppose it. So Sun Quan "joined forces with his former lord, fought with Duke Cao at Chibi, destroyed it, and burned his ships." He went hand in hand with Liu Bei and Sun Quan and pursued them to Nanjun. When the disease prevailed and the Northern Army died in battle, Cao Gong led the army back." This was the Battle of Chibi, where a small number defeated a large number, thus laying the foundation for the establishment of the Three Kingdoms.

In the Battle of Chibi, both Liu Bei and Sun Quan It is a beneficiary, but whether it is in terms of manpower, material resources or other conditions, it mainly relies on Sun Quan's strength. Liu Bei's contribution is negligible and cannot play a decisive role. Zhou Yu is the prefect of Nanjun. Prepare for war on the south bank. He set up camp at the mouth of Youjiang River and changed his name to Gong'an.

I felt that Liu Bei's territory was still too limited, so he "borrowed several counties from Jingzhou". Was this a problem? It is said that "Cao Gong was defeated at Chibi and led his troops to Ye. The First Lord took over Jiangnan and made Liang the Zhonglang General, putting him in charge of Lingling, Guiyang, and Changsha. "It seems that after Liu Bei captured several counties, Sun Quan acquiesced that these places belonged to Liu Bei's sphere of influence. He also said "take the counties in the south of the Yangtze River first", which is exactly the same. Then why is this matter said to be borrowing Jingzhou? From "borrowing several counties in Jingzhou" There is still a basis for it. There is no doubt that the "three counties of Lingling, Guiyang and Changsha" belong to Jingzhou.

Ask Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang to "supervise the three counties of Lingling, Guiyang and Changsha".

It can be seen that Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang attached great importance to these three counties, and later they kept delaying and prevarication and refused to return them to Sun Quan. That's why.

It should be said that Zhuge Liang's Biography of the Three Kingdoms written by Chen Shou is a masterpiece in terms of historical courage and knowledge, but the use of place names is still not uniformly standardized. There is another saying that "Jingzhou, Changsha, Jiangxia, and Guiyang belong to the east." This Jingzhou does not include Changsha and Guiyang.

No matter how confusing place names may be, one thing is clear. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are determined to use the acquired counties as a base for attacking Yizhou, so they will try their best to manage them and will never return them unless absolutely necessary.

The matter has come to an end. As far as Sun Quan is concerned, it can be said that he was extremely benevolent and righteous to Liu Bei. Not only did they take the initiative to free up the mouth of Youjiang River for Liu Bei, but Liu Bei also asked to occupy Changsha and other three counties, which also satisfied Liu Bei. At this time, we should be intimate and get along very harmoniously. For some reason, Sun Quan went a step further and "married" Liu Bei. The "solid" person must maintain the intimacy between the two parties. 2

The development of the situation was completely beyond Sun Quan's expectation. On the contrary, "brother-in-law" caused sharp conflicts between the two parties. Sun Quan's sister did not realize that she had a political responsibility. She is arrogant and arrogant, with swords and swords in the bridal chamber. Liu Bei felt that he was not gentle, so he became suspicious of Sun Quan's actions and became defensive. Sun Quan's sister felt bored and was forced by her loving mother, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang to let Zhao Yun seize the river. This incident ended with Sun Quan losing his dignity, the "consolidation" failed, and subsequent troubles followed.

Now that the two sides are at odds with each other, Liu Bei's growing strength is of course regarded by Sun Quan as a great threat. The borrowed counties of Lingling, Guiyang, Changsha and others will naturally be taken back. There is no record of whether there is a specific agreement, and it is unknown whether it states that Yizhou will be returned to Jingzhou. Sun Quan claimed Jingzhou after Liu Bei obtained Yizhou, so the timing was very appropriate, otherwise it would be even more difficult to negotiate in the future.

Looking at the biographies of Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Sun Quan, Lu Su, and Monroe, we can find that the proposal to return Jingzhou was not successful. It was carried out many times in several years, with the leaders of Sun Quan and Liu Bei level negotiations, as well as direct negotiations between Lu Su and Guan Yu. These two levels are intertwined.

What is certain is that after the victory in the Battle of Chibi, at least after borrowing the three counties of Lingling, Guiyang, and Changsha, Liu Bei had put behind him the strategy of "joining Sun to resist Cao". Otherwise, he should adopt a more tactful attitude toward marriage and handle it safely. Even if it is difficult to continue, it can make the other person less embarrassed. Sun Quan repeatedly gave in, but Liu Bei had no intention of returning the money he lent to Jingzhou. He has officially sought recourse from Liu Bei, and there is nothing wrong with it.

According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, in the 16th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei invaded Yizhou and Liu Zhang surrendered, further consolidating the situation of the Three Kingdoms. Then:

In order to prepare for the capture of Yizhou, we asked various counties

Here is a screenshot of mid302 using the word "Qiu", and you can see the whole process of Sun Quan's return to Jingzhou. The candidate who dispatched Zhuge Jin was Zhuge Liang's brother, who always appeared as a loyal elder. He is a typical peacemaker, gentle and never domineering. But Liu Bei still refused. The reason is that it cannot be returned until Liangzhou is obtained. Liu Bei failed to keep his original promise and raised the issue of Liangzhou, which can be said to be "cruel". If he still wants to "join Sun Sun and reject Cao Cao", he must not force his words.

Of course, it was Liu Bei's decision to eliminate all "long-term officials" from the three counties appointed to Guanquan. He is the executor. Leading an army of 30,000 to Yiyang was obviously Liu Bei's assignment. It is true that Guan Yu has always been unfriendly to Sun Quan and his men. However, Guan Yu did not take the initiative in these two matters, and there is no doubt that he completely obeyed Liu Bei's orders. According to Wu Zhu's biography, the records are basically the same, but relatively brief. The time is the 20th year of Jian'an, and the two records are four years apart. It goes without saying that Sun Quan's return of Jingzhou to Liu Bei was delayed by Liu Bei's prevarication for at least four years.

Three Kingdoms has many more specific plots than Wu Zhu Zhuan. Especially when the "generals meet", the dispute between Lu Su and Guan Yu made the atmosphere very tense and extremely dangerous. Guan Yu's attendance at the meeting was neither Guan Yu's initiative nor his responsibility. Because he "prepared for information and returned to the police, he sent me to fight for the three counties, go to Yiyang, and reject me", the "Yidao Hui" where "I was invited to meet" took place.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Lu Su were ordered to negotiate. Guan Yu could only obey. Liu Bei was unwilling to return Jingzhou. Guan Yu could not make any claims and agreed to return it. What's more, Guan Yu has always been proud of himself and despises Sun Quan and his civilian and military commanders even more than Liu Bei.

Lu Su asked Guan Yu directly, but Guan Yu did not answer directly at all. "One man said, 'A man who owns land, but virtue is in his ears.' How often?" "". It was probably the wording agreed between Liu Bei and Guan Yu. Saying "there's a person in the seat" is a tactic. This sentence is even more backward than "Liangzhou has been decided, but Jingzhou and Wu'er are the best." I don't want to return Jingzhou at all, but intend to occupy it permanently. Moreover, it is intolerable to beautify one's own complacency as "only virtue is in the ear". This "one knife meeting" ended in tears.

Liu Bei, who was satisfied with his vested interests, had long forgotten the strategy of "alliance with Sun and resist Cao", and Sun Quan did not send troops to fight for it. When Cao Cao's men were stationed in Hanzhong, Liu Bei felt that Yizhou was threatened and was afraid of being attacked on both sides, so he was forced to take a step back. Lu Su Zhuan:

Afraid of losing profits, make peace. In order to make Zhuge Jinbao's power a better alliance, it was divided into Jingzhou, Changsha, Jiangxia and Guiyang to the east, Nanjun, Lingling and Wuling to the west.

It can be seen that Sun Quan did not take advantage of others' danger to retaliate, but humbly "ordered Zhuge Jin to retaliate" and issued a "peace negotiation", once again expressing his attitude of "seeking a better alliance". As usual, this is a good opportunity to resume the strategy of "joining Sun and rejecting Cao". However, things have taken another turn and are heading in a dangerous direction.

Facts have proved that Sun Quan did not care about Zhao Yun's past old grudges such as "cutting off water and grabbing buckets", and went to war in order to "seek a better alliance". Zhu Wu's biography:

Quan sent envoy Suo Yu's daughter, who was humiliated and refused to marry, Quan was furious.

Guan Yu is not entirely responsible for this matter. Liu Bei himself ended up rejecting the marriage from the beginning, which had a great influence on Guan Yu. If he agreed to betroth his daughter to Sun Quan's son, he would be out of tune with Liu Bei. Of course, Guan refused to "insult the envoys", but in terms of Guan's character, insulting the envoys was inevitable.

Guan Yu's attitude towards Sun Quan was basically the same as Liu Bei's. He was rough and domineering, and Liu Bei could not dissuade him. Liu and Guan, the leaders of the Shu Han regime, were the actual rulers of the Jingzhou area, and they had a close relationship with each other. Both marriages ended in failure, so the friendship between Shu Han and Wu Dong was naturally difficult to achieve. "Find a sister and secure a better union" failed, and "find a better union" came to nothing. Sun Quan painfully reflected, but he followed Lu Meng's plan and began to paralyze Guan Yu, and finally destroyed Guan Yu. It seems understandable to think from the perspective of Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu Dong. Guan Yu's murder was certainly unacceptable to Liu Bei. It turned into a deep hatred. He wanted to take revenge immediately, but he was not very calm. Originally, Cao Cao was regarded as the main enemy, but as the situation changed, Sun Quan was regarded as the main enemy. The strategy of "joining Sun and rejecting Cao" has become history and no longer exists. So they marched eastward along the Yangtze River and made repeated tactical mistakes. He was defeated by the famous Wu Dong and Lu Xun. He was so ashamed that he died of illness in Baidi City. Although Liu Bei did not explicitly reflect on his mistakes in implementing the strategy of "alliance with Sun and reject Cao" during his lifetime, he did not blame others for his mistakes and failures. He was still worthy of being a gentleman.

Three

How should we treat Liu Bei and Guan Yu? Sun Quan took great pains to send friendly envoys twice, and both times were chosen after careful consideration. Zhuge Jin is the second-ranking figure in Liu Bei's camp, and is Zhuge Liang's younger brother. He is very qualified and insists on "alliance with Sun and reject Cao". It can be said that Zhuge Jin is the best candidate, and his mission can get twice the result with half the effort. But that's not the case. Did Zhuge Liang change his original strategy?

Because Liu Bei entered Sichuan, he had a group of capable civil servants and generals, and the other Liu Zhang was also a clan member of the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei took advantage of this when he passed by Wang Jing of Zhongshan. Overall, it went smoothly, but Liu Bei's reliance on Zhuge Liang was gradually decreasing. The gap is huge. At first he stayed in Jingzhou with Guan Yu, and later went on the western expedition with Liu Bei. He only said that after Chengdu was pacified, "the First Lord went on an expedition and guarded Chengdu all the time, with sufficient food and grass and sufficient soldiers." That was all. What do you think of Cao Cao of Wei and Sun Quan of Wu? What is war? What's the connection? None of them participated. Being used as a butler!

Liu Bei is overconfident. Guan Yu flooded Cao Cao's 7th Army, turning China into a great power. Liu Bei probably believed that whether he "rejected Cao" or "destroyed Cao", there was no need to "alliance with Sun". He can do this on his own. So his original feeling that Zhuge Liang was "like a fish in water" no longer exists. Even if Zhuge Liang once again emphasized "alliance with Sun and reject Cao", Liu Bei would go in one ear and out the other!