Continental Center/Comprehensive Report
▲ With the persuasion of Zhuge Liang and others, Liu Bei finally proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu. (Picture / Retrieved from Baidu Encyclopedia)
The love between Liu Guanzhang and the three people is deep and righteous, and they are brothers and sisters. They jointly established the foundation of Shuhan, which is mentioned in “Three Kingdoms”. “The First Sovereign and the two of them slept in the same bed. Enru is like a brother. And the crowds sit widely and stand around all day long. They follow the First Sovereign and do not avoid difficulties and dangers.” However, after Guan Yu was beheaded, the first thing Liu Bei did was To be emperor, not to take revenge, why is this?
In AD 219 (the twenty-fourth year of Jian’an), Guan Yu launched the Battle of Xiangfan. However, what Guan Yu did not expect was that Sun Quan, an ally, dispatched Lu Meng to attack Jingzhou. Under the attack of Cao Cao and Sun Quan, Guan Yu retreated to Maicheng. Sun Quan then dispatched Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran to cut off Guan Yu’s back path. Pan Zhang led his army to Linju and lived in Jiashi, where they met Guan Yu’s army. In December of the twenty-fourth year of Jian’an, Pan Zhang’s subordinate Sima Zhong captured Guan Yu, Guan Ping and the governor Zhao Lei. Guan Yu and Guan Ping were beheaded on the spot in the Linju area.
According to “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and other historical records, Cao Cao died in Luoyang in the first month of the first year of Yankang (220). Cao Pi succeeded the Prime Minister and Wang Wei from Yecheng to Luoyang, and changed An An’s twenty-five years to Yan Kang’s one year. After Cao Cao’s death, Cao Pi formally usurped the throne of the Han Dynasty and became independent. That is to say, he forced Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, to abdicate. So Cao Wei was established for Emperor Wen of Wei. As a result, the Eastern Han Dynasty officially disappeared in 220 AD. For Liu Bei, the king of Hanzhong who helped the Han Dynasty, it was quite embarrassing at this time. If he keeps silent, it is obviously Cao Wei’s acquiescence to replace the Eastern Han.
Guan Yu had just passed away and Jingzhou had been lost. At this time, the army was unstable and morale was low. If Liu Bei wanted to take revenge on Guan Yu, he would have a great chance of failure. At the same time, Liu Bei’s army, which has just passed the war, is also a problem that needs to be considered.
Liu Bei struggled for decades and was about 60 years old at the time, and if he hadn’t proclaimed emperor at this time, he might not have had time to establish Shu Han. Therefore, under the persuasion of Zhuge Liang and others, Liu Bei finally proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu. Although revenge for Guan Yu is also important, not even more important than proclaiming emperor, the most urgent task is to establish Shu Han by proclaiming emperor, and continue to fight against Cao Wei in the name of the Han family.