Why did Liu Bei let Li Yan take power before he died? The clever thing is that he set aside Zhuge Liang
After the fiasco in the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei had already entered a state of exhaustion, and he felt powerless for the future of Shu Han. However, he couldn't accept that his good brother Guan Yu was killed in the treachery of Soochow, and he was defeated in the battle with Soochow, and he couldn't avenge Guan Yu, which made him exhausted.
Liu Bei carefully planned the White Emperor City Tuogu before his death, although it appeared to be after the Battle of Yiling, but in fact, he had already made detailed plans for this matter long before the war.
In the White Emperor City, Liu Bei met with three important decision-makers, namely Zhuge Liang, the mainstay of the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhao Yun, a loyal general, and Li Yan. All three of them were members of a think tank that Liu Bei trusted and relied on, and their advice and decisions had a crucial impact on Shu Han's future.
Liu Bei summoned Li Yan, which was a deep surprise. Why did he choose Li Yan instead of Zhuge Liang? It turned out that Liu Bei handed over the military power of Shu Han to Li Yan without giving Zhuge Liang any military power, which made people wonder if Liu Bei did not trust Zhuge Liang?
In addition, is it possible that Liu Bei handed over the power to Li Yan because he wanted to put Zhuge Liang in the air? In fact, Liu Bei handed over military power to Li Yan for three important reasons.
As the leader of the halfway uprising, Liu Bei's Shu Han regime was not all smooth sailing. After the struggle and integration of many forces, three major forces were formed within Shu Han: Jingzhou faction, Dongzhou faction and Yizhou faction.
With his wisdom and courage, Liu Bei skillfully reconciled the contradictions between these three factions and achieved a delicate balance. However, this balance was not stable, and the contradictions within Shu Han still existed.
In order to unite the Dongzhou faction, Liu Bei once married the sister of Wu Yi, an important figure in Dongzhou, as a bridge to get closer to them. Although this method of using nepotism to establish ties was very common during the Three Kingdoms period, it is difficult to say whether the Dongzhou faction would remain loyal after Liu Bei's death.
In contrast, the Jingzhou faction has always been loyal, while the Yizhou faction is relatively easy because Shu Han is stationed in Yizhou, and Liu Bei needs to have their work checked regularly.
In order to win over the Dongzhou faction, Liu Bei found a new solution. On his deathbed, he thought of a way to appease Li Yan, the representative of the Eastern faction. Since Li Yan held an important position in the Dongzhou faction, Liu Bei decided to do his best to meet his demands in order to ensure that Shu Han would have the support of the Dongzhou faction.
For this reason, Liu Bei handed over the military power of Shu Han to Li Yan and gave him ** Houlu to stabilize his heart. In this way, Liu Bei successfully maintained good relations with the Dongzhou faction and laid a solid foundation for the future of Shu Han.
Liu Bei asked Li Yan to stay in Yong'an and give full play to his role while preparing to defend against foreign invasions. Although he gave all the military power to Li Yan on the surface, it was actually a hot potato.
Because Eastern Wu and Cao Wei could invade Shu Han at any time, Li Yan could not leave Yong'an and return to Chengdu to establish his own power. Liu Bei's move was to ensure the stability of Shu Han, while also restricting Li Yan's expansion of power.
Liu Bei's strategy is undoubtedly very clever. He skillfully used Li Yan's influence in the Dongzhou faction, and if something happened to Yong'an, the Dongzhou faction's men and horses would definitely rush to support.
However, in peacetime, they must return to their respective posts. This strategy may seem disorganized, but it is well thought out. Although the history books record that Liu Chan is a dou who can't be helped, Liu Bei also left a last word, if Liu Chan can't do it, Zhuge Liang can replace him.
However, after all, Liu Chan is Liu Bei's biological son, and Shu Han is the country of the Liu family, how can he easily give it up? Through this series of operations before Liu Bei's death, we can see that his purpose is to hope that everyone can do their best to assist Liu Chan and fight for the world for the Liu family.
Liu Bei handed over the military power to Li Yan to test whether Zhuge Liang was sincere. If Zhuge Liang is not sincere enough, and the military power is in the hands of Li Yan, he may fail. At the same time, the power of the Dongzhou faction led by Li Yan has increased, and Zhuge Liang may not be their opponent.
Liu Bei's hand seems unnecessary, because Zhuge Liang is known as Mr. Wolong, and his ability should not be underestimated. Even if he wanted to rebel, Liu Bei's position would not be replaced.