We all know that the members of Sun Quan Group are mainly southerners, and the number of northerners is relatively small. If we look at "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cheng Pu", we can find such a very interesting detail. This famous general is actually from Tuy

The image of Cheng Pu in the game

Before the Battle of Red Cliff began, Sun Quan appointed Zhou Yu as the front-line commander-in-chief, and also appointed Cheng Pu (name Demou) as the deputy commander-in-chief. Regarding this detail, some friends will have this question: Sun Quan also has many famous generals in the world. Why does he "favorite" Cheng Pu so much? Later generations once gave Cheng Pu the title of "No. 1 General of the Eastern Wu". What are his convincing achievements?

was originally a Youzhou person, serving the third generation of Sun family

We all know that the members of Sun Quan Group are mainly South people, and the number of northerners is relatively small. If we look at "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Cheng Pu", we can find such a very interesting detail. This famous general was actually from Tuyin County, Youzhou Youbeiping County, which is now from Yinchengpu Town, Fengrun District, Tangshan City, Hebei Province. How could a northerner like Cheng Pu have something to do with the Sun Group, which occupies the Jiangdong region?

The author believes that the reason why many people do not understand why Cheng Pu did serve Sun's family is simple: Although Cheng Pu is a famous general of a generation, there are not many historical records about him, especially before following Sun Jian. In "The Biography of Cheng Pu", there are only 14 words: "I was a prefecture and county official, with a good appearance and strategy, and good at dealing with it." The general meaning is that when Cheng Pu was young, he worked in prefecture and county . He is a handsome, strategic and good at debate. As for key questions such as his family background, what position he held, and where he went in the future, there is no answer in historical materials. Regarding the communication between Cheng Pu and Sun Jian, the only words "From Sun Jian's conquest and fight against the Yellow Turbans in Wan and Deng" are only mentioned in "The Biography of Cheng Pu". We can only come up with one answer when we see this, that is, the two established a superior and subordinate relationship in 184 AD when the Yellow Turban Rebellion of .

So, between Cheng Pu and Sun Jian, was Cheng Pu actively surrendering to Sun Jian, or Cheng Pu recruited by Sun Jian? Due to the serious lack of detailed historical materials, the author can only guess the answer: in order to avoid Yellow Turban Army or respond to the court's call to wipe out the Yellow Turban Army, Cheng Pu left his hometown and went to the Central Plains region and surrendered to Sun Jian who was ordered to go to Luoyang .

In 189 AD, Emperor Ling of Han died. General He Jin and the Ten Changshi were both defeated in the struggle. Dong Zhuo, who was ordered to enter Beijing, took the opportunity to take over the power, abolished Shaodi of Han Liu Bian changed Chenliu Wang Liu Xie as the emperor and empress. The cruel and unkind Dong Zhuo aroused public outrage in the world. Soon, all the prefectures and counties in the world raised troops to attack Dong Zhuo. When following Sun Jian to attack Dong Zhuo, Cheng Pu was brave in fighting. Whether facing the arrogant Lu Bu or the bloodthirsty Hu Zhen , he was fearless and showed the style of a first-class general. What's even more rare is that although he was a general who led the troops, Cheng Pu rarely hid behind the command. Whether it was siege, siege, or breaking the formation in the field, he led the army, rushed forward, and led his soldiers to fight with the enemy in blood. For this reason, he also left many scars on his body.

In 191 AD, Sun Jian died in battle while attacking Liu Biao's subordinates, and a generation of heroes bid farewell to the historical stage. So, what did Cheng Pu think at this time? Although Sun Ce was only 17 years old at that time, Cheng Pu did not turn to others because his young lord was young. On the contrary, he tried his best to assist the young boss to develop his career.

assisted Sun Ce with all his heart and helped Sun Quan

Sun Ce only took three or four years to obtain Wujun , Kuaiji County , Danyang County , Lujiang County and Yuzhang County , basically controlling the vast areas of Yangzhou , laying a solid foundation for the establishment of Sun Wu Kingdom.Sun Ce’s ability to achieve such a thing is inseparable from his military talent and the heroic battles of his generals on the battlefield. So, if you want to reward merits, which general will have the greatest contribution?

In my opinion, Cheng Pu should be the number one hero, because he played a key role in almost all important military operations. In 195 AD, Sun Ce officially launched an attack on Liu Yao . During this period, Cheng Pu was the general who made the most military achievements; from 198 AD to 199 AD, Sun Ce reached out to Kuaiji , and Cheng Pu served as the Duwei wei in Wujun and Danyang, helping Sun Ce defend the hard-won results. It is worth mentioning that Cheng Pu not only made contributions to Sun Ce on the battlefield, but also saved Sun Ce's life.

At that time, there was a leader of Shanyue named Zulang in Jingxian County, Danyang County, and was called "Danyang Zongshou" by the locals. For many friends, "Zu Lang" was a very unfamiliar name, but for Sun Ce at that time, it was a name that gave him a very headache. Sun Ce's talent in military operations was highly recognized, but he was defeated by Zulang twice, and was even forced to the point of desperate situation by the other party. Once, when Sun Ce was attacking Zulang, he was surrounded by only Cheng Pu and another cavalry guarding him. When he was about to be captured alive by the enemy, Cheng Pu on the war horse "exerted his power": while stabbing the enemy with the spear in his hand, he covered Sun Ce with his entire life-threatening attitude. Although Zulang's soldiers had fought many battles, they had never seen such a tough character, so they were frightened and fled everywhere, while Cheng Pu took the opportunity to lead Sun Ce out of the siege.

In 200 AD, Sun Ce was assassinated by his disciples of Xugong, and his younger brother Sun Quan became the new boss of the group. Although he became the No. 1 person in the group, Sun Quan’s life was not easy, because he was young and had no influence within the group. If he relied on his personal ability, he would not be able to control the overall situation at all. Many friends may know that when Sun Quan first became the group boss, Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao played a key role in controlling the overall situation, but many people don’t know that Cheng Pu also put in a lot of effort at that time. Once the boss of the group has changed, some people inside who are not very obedient or are not sincerely surrendered will take the opportunity to launch a rebellion. This phenomenon was not uncommon during the Three Kingdoms period, and Sun Quan also encountered this problem when he took office. At that time, Sun Quan was facing pressure from several aspects: First, Sun Yang , who stationed troops in Wucheng, Kuaiji County, intended to seize power in the chaos. He was the eldest son of Sun Jian's younger brother, Sun Jing ; second, Sun Jian's second son, Sun Qiang, Sun Fu ( Luling prefect) and Cao Cao secretly intervened; third, Lujiang pm Li Shu publicly took in generals who did not obey Sun Quan's orders, and still held more than 30,000 troops; fourth, Shanyue forces that could never be completely wiped out; fifth, Jiangdong local tyrants who had deep conflicts with the Sun group... How to solve so many troubles? Cheng Pu personally led his troops to fight the three counties to pacify the land.

is deeply trusted by the Sun family and has a very high status in the military. After becoming the group's famous and practical boss, Sun Quan gave Cheng Pu more trust. This can be seen from the changes in Cheng Pu's position.

In 206 AD, a famous general Taishici died. So, who can replace him and stay in Haisheng to resist the nephew of our fellow villager Liu Biao? In addition to having rich combat experience, this successor must also be loyal to the Sun Group. In Sun Quan's eyes, the most suitable candidate is Cheng Pu. In 208 AD, the Battle of Chibi began, and the strategic Zhou Yu served as the commander-in-chief of the front line. Sun Quan arranged for the equally important role of deputy commander-in-chief and allocated 10,000 troops to the other party. In 209 AD, Cheng Pu followed Zhou Yu to take down Nanjun and was appointed as the general of the prefect of Jiangxia.This is a very important arrangement, because Jiangxia County is located in the center of Hanjiang Plain , with dense water networks and staggered roads. Hanshui , the largest tributary of the Yangtze River , converges with the Yangtze River here and is a transportation hub in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This place happened to be at the intersection of Jing, Yu and Yang prefectures. Sun Quan asked Cheng Pu to lead the prefect of Jiangxia, and his purpose was obvious. In 210 AD, after Zhou Yu's death, Cheng Pu took over as the prefect of Nanjun. Nanjun is the most developed region in the entire Jingzhou . It has a large population and a prosperous economy. Its strategic position is no less than that of Jiangxia. Sun Quan's intention to let Cheng Pu in charge of Nanjun is also very obvious.

Seeing this, I believe everyone can understand why Cheng Pu was called the "No. 1 General of the Eastern Wu". It is not only because he assisted Sun Jian, Sun Ce and Sun Quan in succession, but also because he participated in all the key battles fought by the Sun father and son, and was always able to make great achievements and was unparalleled loyalty to the Sun father and son. Who wouldn't like a general like him who is good at fighting, dares to fight and is loyal? By the way, I believe many friends still remember the origin of the idiom "drunk by drinking" in "Zhou Yu is not a petty mind" (page 8 of this newspaper on August 5, 2020). The reason why Zhou Yu gave Cheng Pu's concessions was not only because Zhou Yu himself was open-minded, but also because Cheng Pu's transcendent position within the group was also an important reason why Zhou Yu, the "leader", dared not get angry with Cheng Pu easily. During the meeting, Sun Quan politely called Cheng Pu " Cheng Gong ". How could Zhou Yu treat Cheng Pu?

Cheng Pu did not receive too much trust from Sun Quan. Otherwise, why didn’t he be appointed as the Grand Governor after Zhou Yu’s death? Some netizens believe that this issue can explain Cheng Pu’s embarrassing situation within the group. However, the author believes that this problem should not be considered a problem. The reason is very simple. Zhou Yu's successor must be strategic talents such as Lusu , Lu Meng , Lu Xun , and Cheng Pu is not good at strategy, so he is not the right candidate to take over Zhou Yu in charge of military and political work.

text/Song Yankun