"The situation of the world must be united for a long time, and the world must be divided for a long time." Wei, Shu and Wu divided the world for three times, and finally the Sima family unified the world, and returned to the promotion by three points. Reading the history of the Three Kingdoms again will still make people sigh. The most talked about is Liu Bei’s five tiger generals, Guan Zhang Zhao Huang Ma, and the future generations. The mythical crouching dragon and phoenix chicks. However, with so many talents, why is Liu Bei at a disadvantage? How can such a fierce fighter as Guan Yu Zhang Fei die at his hands?
Actually, Liu Bei's power is getting stronger and stronger, until a turning point- The Battle of Xiangfan, a war in Xiangfan where Guan Yu led the Shu army to attack and Cao Cao, this war can be described as Extremely tortuous, first a big victory, then a big defeat, and finally Guan Yu died. The failure of this war greatly reduced the strength of Liu Bei's army, and the battle of Yiling that broke out in this war caused the Shu Han's vitality to be severely reduced from the previous highest point to the lowest point. So, why did the battle of Xiangfan launched by Guan Yu be defeated? Why is Guan Yu so anxious to start the battle of Xiangfan? It was because Guan Yu had grasped the fleeting time and location, but in the end he couldn't hold people's hearts.
▲Guan Yu
Guan Yu's confidence-like the Shu Han in the sun
First of all, the reason why Guan Yu dared to attack the Cao army so aggressively was the situation that was extremely favorable to the Shu army at that time. To say why Liu Beijun has such a good situation, we have to start with after the battle of Chibi . At that time, Liu Bei, who had fled, formed an alliance with Sun Quan of Soochow, and fought Cao Cao in a decisive battle in Chibi. In the end, relying on resourcefulness and terrain, Sun Liu Alliance completed the feat of defeating Cao Cao's one million army.After that, Liu Bei began the "Road to Ascension." After Chibi defeated Cao Cao, Jingzhou, which had seven counties at that time, was occupied by the Sun and Liu Alliance. Later, relying on the identity of "allies", Liu Bei obtained the three counties of Jingzhou half and half to provide for his military operations. A huge convenience. Secondly, Liu Bei listened to the opinions of Kong Ming and Pang Tong. He expeded to Liu Zhang and finally took the Xishu region, namely Yizhou, as his own. At this time, Liu Bei was already extremely powerful and deeply disturbed by Cao Cao. He immediately took Hanzhong and put down many rebellions in his jurisdiction.
But what is unexpected is that Liu Bei directly declared war on Cao Cao in Hanzhong. This time without Sun Quan’s help, he initiated the battle against Cao Cao with his own power. This can also be seen at the time of Liu Beijun’s The power really should not be underestimated. It’s not too late. In the Battle of Hanzhong, with excellent military judgment and the brave performance of military generals such as , Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong and others, Liu Bei successfully won the battle of Hanzhong and occupied the Hanzhong area. Later, Liu Feng and Mengda were dispatched to occupy and Shangyong. In 219, Liu Bei became the king of Hanzhong and became the founding emperor of Shu Han. At this time, the Shu Han successively occupied the important areas of Yizhou, Hanzhong, and defeated Cao Cao in a frontal confrontation. The powerful strength was enough to make the people of the world afraid of three points. And this is where Guan Yu's confidence in launching a war lies. If Liu Bei fails to take Yizhou or Hanzhong either, Liu Beijun will suffer heavy losses, but Liu Bei has won successive victories, and the morale of the soldiers in the army has reached its peak, which gave Guan Yu a fight against Cao Jun and even Dongwu ally. The confidence.
▲ Schematic diagram of the distribution of Cao Sunliu
Xiangfan's important strategic position
Since Guan Yu wants to launch the battle of Xiangfan to capture the Xiangfan area,Then we must analyze the strategic position of Xiangfan. After the Battle of Chibi, there were seven counties in Jingzhou, and all six counties were occupied by the Sun and Liu Alliance. Cao Cao could only retreat to the Xiangfan area. Afterwards, both Sun and Liu almost broke the alliance for the six counties of Jingzhou. At that time, Sun Quan occupied two counties and Liu Bei occupied four counties. Of course, these four counties were temporarily loaned to Liu Bei by Sun Quanjun. However, Liu Bei's four counties are not large, which is extremely unfavorable for recruiting troops. Liu Bei therefore borrowed a county from Sun Quan and promised to return it after he obtained Bashu. After all, the two were an alliance, and coupled with the persuasion of and Lu Su, Sun Quan lent one county to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei then owned Jingzhou. Five of the seven counties played a very crucial role in strengthening their strength and expanding the army. After this, Liu Bei began to seize Yizhou in the Bashu area. With the help of a group of counsellors and military generals, Liu Bei also succeeded in acquiring Yizhou. Now that Yizhou had already been obtained, Sun Quan began to call Liu Bei to return to the five counties of Jingzhou. Since he wanted to fight for world hegemony, it didn’t matter if he had a thick skin. The Jingzhou area played a very important role in all aspects of Liu Bei’s military development. Liu Bei refused to return it. Sun Liu Lianli was puzzled and self-defeating. However, when he heard that Cao Cao had occupied Hanzhong in the east of Yizhou, Liu Bei began to panic, worried that Cao Cao would take the Yizhou he had just acquired in the next step, and worried that his too much entanglement with Sun Quan in Jingzhou would lead to his loss. Taking into account the decisive battle between Hanzhong and Cao Cao, Liu Bei hurriedly negotiated with Sun Quan, and finally returned a part of it with Xiangshui as the boundary.
▲Map of the distribution of the three countries
The alliance between Sun and Liu almost broke down because of the ownership of several counties in Jingzhou, which is enough to show the importance of Jingzhou's geographic location. And why did Xiangfan have such an important strategic position in the Three Kingdoms period? When Dong Zhuo was under tyranny, the people were not living, the metropolis Luoyang was destroyed by fire, and a large number of people were left homeless. At that time, Liu Biao served as the governor of Jingzhou, and Liu Biao governed Jingzhou in an orderly manner. The economy and agriculture developed the best at that time, so it attracted a large number of people from Chang'an, Luoyang, and Xuchang to settle down.It can be said that Jingzhou at that time was properly regarded as an economic center, which was the opposite of the scenery where the people did not live under the rule of Dong Zhuo in the north. After the Battle of Chibi, the seven prefectures of Jingzhou were divided by three parties, three prefectures Liu Bei, three prefectures Sun Quan, one prefecture Cao Cao, and the prefecture of Cao Cao was Xiangfan. It can be said that Xiangfan is an intersection of the three forces. To the west is Xishu, which has occupied Yizhou, to the east is Soochow, which occupy Jiangdong, and to the north is the most powerful Cao Wei . For Cao Wei, Xiangfan is his last barrier, relying on this area to block Sun Quan and Liu Bei’s forces in the south; for Sun Quan, Xiangfan is the key to his success in going north. If he gets Xiangfan, he can help him go north. Destroy Cao; and for Liu Bei, after taking Xiangfan, Jingzhou has almost merged into his own power. With the addition of Yizhou and Hanzhong acquired before, Liu Beijun can reverse his last situation of strength among the Three Kingdoms. How did Guan Yu, Liu Bei's second brother, know this? Guan Yu, who has a far-reaching military vision, naturally knows that taking Xiangfan is equivalent to taking Jingzhou.
Canonization of positions, dedicated
In July 219, Liu Bei became the king of Hanzhong, so he began the canonization of generals and advisers. Among them, the so-called "Five Tiger Admiral" was the most talked about by future generations, but there was no "Five Tiger Admiral" at that time. Liu Bei's specific canonization was the former general Guan Yu, the left general Zhang Fei, the right general Ma Chao, and the latter general. Huang Zhong, there is no Zhao Yun in it. Moreover, the four generals of Guan, Zhang, Ma, and Huang were all named marquees after this. Zhao Yun was not named marquee until Liu Chan came to power. He was the last general named in the "Five Tiger Generals". Speaking of when Liu Bei was the king of Hanzhong, the four generals of Guan, Zhang, Ma, and Huang were given four important positions. At that time, Ma Chao joined Liu Bei as a vassal. In fact, before joining, the court gave Ma Chao a higher position than Liu Bei, so he joined Liu Bei. It is understandable that the forces were named such a high post. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Liu Bei were born and died for many years, and they should have been given high positions. However, after Huang Zhong was also named, the general made Guan Yu dissatisfied, using "the man is not on the same line as the veteran" as a reason. Refusing to accept the canonization, Zhuge Liang suggested that Liu Bei grant Guan Yu the right to "fake festival yue", and Guan Yu only accepted it. And the false festival yue, which is equivalent to having the status of emperor,Therefore, in this way, Guan Yu is actually the highest rank among the four generals. However, before the canonization, during the Battle of Hanzhong, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao Yu Xiabian participated in the battle. Huang Zhong, whom Guan Yu did not look down on, also killed Cao Cao’s generals and Xiahouyuan, or even none. Zhao Yun, who was given a high-ranking position, also defeated Cao Cao's main force in Hanshui Battle. All four of them made great contributions. However, Guan Yu at the time was sent by Zhuge Liang to guard Jingzhou and did not have the opportunity to participate in the battle. Therefore, with Guan Yu's character, after being granted the title of a former general and having the right to be a false festival yue, Guan Yu is also eager to do meritorious service.
▲The Three Kingdoms Generals
Days come, a rare opportunity
Cao Cao at that time cared about his three regions, so he also sent three of his own capable officers to guard: Xiahouyuan guards Hanzhong, Xiahoudon guards Yangzhou, Cao Ren guards Jingzhou. At that time, Cao Cao's Jingzhou territory was a county in Jingzhou, namely southern county , and the border of the southern county was Xiangfan, Cao Ren guarded Fancheng, and another general Lvchang guarded Xiangyang. Both cities are well-known for defense in history. The Song and Yuan dynasties played in Xiangyang for decades. Moreover, Cao Ren's military qualities are extremely high, and he is also good at defense, which also ensures that the Xiangfan area will not be attacked by Sun Liu's side. Obviously Xiangfan is a sweet potato, and Guan Yu, who guards Jingzhou, is naturally coveted for a long time. Under such a strong defense, as long as there is a trace of flaws, it is a golden opportunity for Guan Yu. So, what good opportunity did Guan Yu encounter?
The first is Liu Beijun’s victory in the Hanzhong battle, repelling Cao Cao, and Cao Cao’s general Xia Houyuan also died on Dingjun Mountain. At this time, the morale of the Shu army was flourishing, and the morale of Cao army was decadent. On the other hand, Sun Quan had no leisure. NS,The battle between Hefei and Cao Cao also made Cao Cao extremely weak. At that time, Cao Cao had begun to dispatch troops from other places to support the war in Hefei, which made the defense of Jingzhou area at its weakest moment. In addition, in Cao Cao’s base camp, Many riots broke out in Xuchang, and Cao Cao could only bring his troops to quell it. At this time, the Cao army and the western army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Hanzhong. The forces of the Central Plains were greatly restrained by Sun Quan. The defenders of Jingzhou were also engaged in the rebellion from the rear. Morale was sluggish. At this time, Xiangfan's defense was as low as freezing point, "everything is ready, only the east wind is owed", and this "East wind" did not disappoint Guan Yu, and soon came. The terrain of Fancheng was low, and it happened that it rained continuously at that time, and Cao Ren only prepared small boats for his army. When the rain was too heavy, the city was almost flooded and the small boats were almost useless. The reinforcements' were flooded with the ban. Guan Guanyu, who had guarded Jingzhou for seven or eight years, had already perfected the navy knowledge and became a senior navy general. He was also equipped with many large ships. Therefore, under the advantage of the enemy’s poor morale and low strength, Guan Yu directly released the water. Obtained an absolute victory in the early stage of the Battle of Xiangfan.
▲Behold the three brothers
The reason for Guan Yu's failure
Was the battle in Xiangfan initiated by Guan Yu reckless? In my opinion, it does not. First of all, under such an important strategic position in Xiangfan, attacking Xiangfan is equivalent to completing a crucial step in Zhuge Liang's strategic route in the "Longzhong Pair". However, Xiangfan was heavily guarded, and finally had such an enemy with low morale and low dispatchable forces. Coupled with the weather factor, it can be said that this is the best chance to win Xiangfan. Obviously Zhuge Liang, who is far away in Yizhou, also thinks this is a Good opportunity, otherwise he and Liu Bei would not acquiesce to Guan Yu's attack. Judging from the previous battles, Guan Yu had almost succeeded. He killed Pound, captured Yu Jin, and surrounded Cao Ren. Unfortunately, he was not betrayed by Sun Quan. Sun Quan was furious because Guan Yu refused to marry his daughter.Later, I learned that once Guan Yu took over Xiangfan, it would be extremely detrimental to and Sun Wu . It was in such a situation that he secretly cooperated with Cao Cao and killed Guan Yu in a sneak attack.
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