In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Guan Yu led Jingzhou and directly took the two cities of Xiang and Fan. Next, he flooded the Seventh Army, beheaded Pang De, captured the ban, and shocked China.
However, when Guan Yu became famous, he was stabbed in the back by Soochow. As a result, the Jingzhou army fell into the situation of being attacked by the enemy on its back and was finally defeated. Even the majestic Guan Yu was defeated by Maicheng and captured by Sun Quan.
The fall of Guan Yu made later readers deeply regretful, and at the same time made people feel strange: when Guan Yu was besieged, why didn't Liu Bei's group send reinforcements in time?
Zhang Taiyan, a master of Chinese studies, proposed in "Zhengge Xushu" that Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei's treatment of Guan Yu was not out of personal grudges, but wanted to get rid of Guan Yu who was disobedient to discipline through Sun Quan's hands.
Although this point of view is amazing, Zhang Taiyan has come to this conclusion through elaboration. He believes that Zhuge Liang played a major role in this process. So, how did Zhang Taiyan come to the conclusion that "Guan Yu disobeyed orders"?
Zhang Taiyan believes that although Zhuge Liang is in Shudi, he knows the movements of Jingzhou well. This is because before Guan Yu took charge of Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang was the master of Jingzhou.
Even after entering Shudi, although Zhuge Liang was far away from Jingzhou, he still had an eye and ears in Jingzhou, listening to local news at any time. Therefore, Zhuge Liang naturally knew Guan Yu's situation.
It is impossible for Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei not to know about Guan Yu's situation, and after Guan Yu's defeat, they did not take action, which may mean that they deliberately did not save Guan Yu in order to take the opportunity to get rid of him.
Zhang Taiyan's view is based on his speculation and is not supported by actual evidence. In order to prove his point, Zhang Taiyan put forward two arguments: first, Zhuge Liang had similar behavior.
According to the record of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Liu Feng", after Liu Bei's righteous son Liu Feng returned to Chengdu to plead guilty, Zhuge Liang persuaded Liu Bei to kill him, because Liu Feng's personality was fierce and difficult to control.
If Liu Bei died, Liu Feng's presence could threaten Liu Chan's throne. Although Liu Bei is often described as benevolent, he eventually followed Zhuge Liang's advice and executed the righteous son.
Zhang Taiyan believes that Zhuge Liang may have used something similar to"Borrow a knife to kill"'s plan to persuade Liu Bei, and his preference for "Liang Fuyin" also shows his pursuit of power and conspiracy.
The poem is about:"Two peaches kill three soldiers"The story shows the superb use of power by the ancients. Zhuge Liang often recites this poem, indicating his desire to use similar power techniques.
Therefore, he may have used a similar strategy to kill Guan Yu. However, most of these conclusions are based on Zhang Taiyan's personal speculation, and his arguments are also far-fetched and do not stand up to in-depth scrutiny.
Why? Because Guan Yu's importance to Shu is self-evident, his prestige has reached the point that Shu cannot afford him to make any mistakes. According to the records of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Liu Ye", Cao Wei's top strategists such as Liu Ye, Sima Yi, and Cheng Yu all believed that Guan Yu should be eliminated at all costs, because he was the only famous general in Shu, and if something happened to him, Liu Bei would lose an arm.
After the expansion of the Wumiao in the Tang Dynasty, sixty-four famous generals were elected, among which the representatives of Shu were only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Cao Wei's advisors regarded Guan Yu as the only general, but that didn't mean they looked down on Zhang Fei.
In fact, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are often mentioned together, and their bravery was unanimously recognized among Cao Wei and the ministers of Eastern Wu. After the Three Kingdoms, other generals often used Guanzhang as a reference standard.
However, from the perspective of comprehensive strength, Zhang Fei was once slightly inferior to Guan Yu because of drunkenness and misconduct. Therefore, Guan Yu is the top military general of Shu State, which is indisputable.
This is also the reason why Liu Bei let Guan Yu guard Jingzhou after entering Shu and let him take the lead alone. Unless Liu Bei just wants to stay in Shu with peace of mind and no longer has the ambition to expand to the Central Plains, no one can take Guan Yu's place.
This also explains why when Guan Yu complained, Liu Bei did not directly reprimand him, but sent Fei Shi to appease him. This incident not only did not herald the break between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, but instead showed a good personal relationship between them.
Although Liu Bei and Guan Yu are not sworn brothers, their relationship is very close. In the early days of the business, they often ate and lived together, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei regarded Liu Bei as their brother and always followed them.
The strategists of the Wei State commented that they were "righteous as kings and ministers, and benevolent as father and son". After Ma Chao entered Shu, he once called Liu Bei the word directly. After Guan Yu heard this, he wanted to cut Ma Chao with a knife, which showed Liu Bei's maintenance.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's plan of "borrowing a knife to kill" could not be passed by Liu Bei. From the perspective of the future of Shu, strategic perspectives, and personal feelings, Liu Bei would never agree to Zhuge Liang killing Guan Yu.
Moreover, Zhuge Liang will not do this, because Guan Yu's death will not only ruin the future of Shu, but also shatter Zhuge Liang's ideals. Zhuge Liang's ideal is to inherit Liu Bei's unfinished business and restore the rivers and mountains of the Han Dynasty, which he mentioned in "Longzhong Pair".
Therefore, Zhuge Liang has been practicing his ideals, even as the prime minister of Shu and a high position, he has never forgotten Liu Bei's entrustment.
In this classic military plan, Zhuge Liang once sketched out the future picture of Shu: first occupy Jing and Yi Erzhou, and then wait for the opportunity to send a fierce general from Jingzhou to take Wan and Luo, and then plot against the Central Plains.
This is enough to see that Jingzhou plays a decisive role in the future of Shu. Although Yizhou is the foundation of the Shu Han regime, the survival of Jingzhou will directly affect the prosperity of Shu.
Therefore, Liu Bei sent his most trusted general, Guan Yu, to protect Jingzhou. No one is perfect, and location is crucial. This was also the main reason why Liu Bei later ventured to attack Eastern Wu in an attempt to recapture Jingzhou.
In this case, how could Zhuge Liang make the "stupid" act of abandoning Jingzhou, abandoning Longzhong, and abandoning ideals in order to get rid of Guan Yu? Moreover, Jingzhou is also Zhuge Liang's base camp, and many of the families of Jingzhou ministers are here, and they did not accompany Liu Bei into Shu.
If Zhuge Liang gave up Jingzhou, how would he explain it to the people in these hometowns?
In the Shu Han regime, the Jingzhou scholars who followed Liu Bei into Shu had the highest status, followed by the Dongzhou scholars, and finally the local Bashu Haoqiang in Yizhou. Although the elders who followed Liu Bei in the early days such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were of high status and respected, they resolutely maintained the authority of the Liu royal family, did not participate in the disputes of the imperial court, and did not choose the camp casually, and only thought about the Liu family.
As the leader of the elders, Guan Yu neither threatened Liu Chan's position nor had the opportunity to contact the Jingzhou scholars. Therefore, whether it is emotionally or logically, Zhuge Liang has no reason to frame Guan Yu.
Moreover, the reason why Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang did not rescue Guan Yu in time was also because they were in a helpless situation. So, what's behind this?
Although Liu Bei knew that Guan Yu was attacked, he was unable to mobilize enough troops to rescue him in a short period of time, and the objective conditions were limited. In addition, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were also ill-prepared for the sudden change in Jingzhou, because the betrayal of Eastern Wu was too sudden and the action was secretive.
It is recorded in the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Lü Meng that Eastern Wu had already planned to seize Jingzhou. In order to reduce Guan Yu's vigilance, Lu Meng pretended to be sick and retired and replaced him with the little-known Lu Xun.
After Lu Xun arrived, he welcomed Guan Yu in every way. Guan Yu relaxed his vigilance and attacked Fancheng with all his might. However, just when Guan Yu's momentum was like a rainbow, Lü Meng secretly returned, led elite soldiers disguised as civilians, captured Nanjun in the night, and successfully persuaded Mizhu and Shiren to surrender and occupy the two counties of Gong'an and Lingling.
Lu Meng joined forces with Xu Huang and others to launch an attack on Guan Yu. When Guan Yu found out, Jingzhou had been captured by Eastern Wu, and he was also surrounded by Eastern Wu.
Since Chengdu was thousands of miles away from Jingzhou, by the time Guan Yu reacted, Lu Meng's knife had already been inserted into his body. Not to mention Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang who are far away in Chengdu.
Therefore, the main responsibility for Guan Yu's rapid defeat in Jingzhou did not lie with Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei, but with Liu Feng and Meng Da, who were stationed in the three eastern counties. According to the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Liu Feng, another reason why Liu Bei executed Liu Feng was because he competed with Meng Da for power and turned a blind eye to Guan Yu's death.
Zhang Taiyan is a person known as a master of Chinese culture, and his historical skills have been recognized by many famous scholars. So, why did he put forward such an immature and obviously subjective point of view on the defeat of Guan Yu?
This brings us to the background of his composition. The essay was written in 1900, at a time when the revolutionary forces were facing a severe test.
Under the pressure of imperialism, the weak, incompetent and selfish Qing ** resorted to all kinds of means to suppress the revolutionary ranks in the country.
Zhang Taiyan's thoughts and actions are not without purpose, he adopts the method of "borrowing ancient irony" to express his deep accusation against Qing **. On the one hand, the Qing ** grovels to the Western powers, but on the other hand, it imposes ** on the Chinese people, this double standard is like Zhuge Liang in "Zhengge", in order to achieve the goal, he does not hesitate to give up the important Jingzhou.
Therefore, "Zhengge" is not only an academic work, but also Zhang Taiyan's satire and criticism of the Qing Dynasty and the current situation. However, after 15 years, Zhang Taiyan realized the mistakes of his youth, and he re-examined his views and behaviors.
He changed the title of the book to "Sige" and made significant changes to his commentary on "Guan Yu's Defeat". This attitude of reflection and self-correction has undoubtedly made him a leader in the academic world.