Changshan zhaozilong: the most loyal general in Shu Han

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This famous general of Shu Han is a household name in China. In foreign countries, it is said that he was a heroic idol of female presidents when they were young; Although he was not close to Liu Bei, he was no less loyal to Liu Bei than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. He is Zhaoyun, the famous general of Shu Han. So what kind of person is Zhao Yun in the conclusive historical records? What is his outstanding performance in his loyalty to Liu Bei? From the perspective of human nature, what are the shining points and unique features of these performances?

Zhaoyun, with the word Zilong, was born in Zhending county (now Zhengding County, Hebei Province), Changshan County, Jizhou. According to the system at that time, if a county became a fief of the royal family, it would be called a country. Therefore, Changshan country is Changshan county that became a fief of the prince. According to the records of “another biography of Zhao Yun” cited by peisongzhi in “biography of Zhao Yun” in Volume 36 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms, he was “eight feet long and had a magnificent appearance”. At that time, one foot was equivalent to 24 centimeters today, and eight feet was 1.92 meters, exactly the same height as Zhugeliang. Tall and majestic, he was born to be a famous general.

When Zhao Yun stepped into society, he was confronted with a change of master in Jizhou. Yuan Shao, the leader of the separatist regime, forced Han Fu, the chief military and political officer of Jizhou to death and occupied Jizhou. In Changshan, where Zhao Yun’s hometown is located, in order to oppose the arrogant Yuan Shao, he organized a group of volunteers, called “Yi cong” at that time, to support Yuan Shao’s opponent, gongsunzan, a military strongman in Youzhou. The general who commands this volunteer army is our hero Zhaoyun.

Zhao Yun went to Youzhou and began his military career. It was also in Youzhou that he met the wise monarch he recognized and devoted his whole life to him. So who is this person?

Yes, this is Liu Bei. As soon as Zhao Yun arrived in Youzhou, his volunteer army was incorporated into gongsunzan’s iron cavalry regiment. This iron cavalry regiment is the main body of Youzhou’s army. Among them, the elite division is a volunteer army all riding white horses. It is called “white horse Yicong”. It is invincible. It is a famous elite army in the Three Kingdoms period. When Zhao Yun led his subordinates on the battlefield, he also got to know Liu Bei. Why is Liu Bei here? It turned out that Liu Bei and gongsunzan studied together under the door of university student Luzhi. They were martial brothers. At present, Liu Bei is frustrated and comes to take refuge with his senior brother. Liu Bei has the intention to recruit heroes from all over the world in order to make a comeback; Zhao Yun also saw that Liu Bei was an extraordinary hero, with a greater future than gongsunzan. So they formed a deep friendship, just as the previously mentioned “farewell biography of Zhao Yun” said: “every time the former Lord accepts the cloud, the cloud is deep and self-supporting.” The name of Zhao Yun comes from the words “the cloud comes from the dragon and the wind from the tiger” in the book of changes – Qian Gua. It is often used to describe the mutual attraction between the Ming emperor and the virtuous officials. Zhao Yun and Liu Bei were just like this.

Before long, Liu Bei was appointed by gongsunzan to seize Qingzhou of Yuan Shao. Liu Bei, who was trying to set up his own house, took the opportunity to ask him to send Zhao Yun to lead the cavalry. Gongsunzan agreed with him because he was a good soldier. So Zhao Yun came under Liu Bei’s command and never left again. This year was the second year of emperor Xiandi’s reign in the Eastern Han Dynasty (191). Liu Bei was 31 years old, and Zhao Yun was about 20 years old.

What is the highlight of Zhao Yun’s arrival? “Three Kingdoms probe” tells you. For Liu Bei, whose career is still in its infancy, the arrival of Zhao Yun is of great significance. There are three main points. First, only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the generals under his command, were able to take action. After Zhao Yun came, he changed from two to three. All three cobblers must be Zhugeliang; Aren’t the three brave generals more powerful? Second, Zhao Yun did not come alone. He also brought a cavalry unit, which made Liu Bei’s infantry and cavalry services well equipped, instead of a simple infantry team with only a thousand people. Third, what Zhao Yun brought with him was not ordinary cavalry, but the “miscellaneous Huqi in Youzhou wuwan”, as mentioned in the biography of the first master in Volume 32 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms, that is, the cavalry of the grassland people such as Youzhou wuwan. The wuwan cavalry in Youzhou was known as “famous cavalry in the world” at that time, and its combat effectiveness was very strong, which was clearly recorded in the biography of wuwan in volume 30 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms. The above three points add up, Liu Bei’s comprehensive strength is significantly improved, so it will not be long before he has the strength to rescue Tao Qian in Xuzhou. Tao Qian will give Xuzhou to Liu Bei before he dies, which will make Liu Bei’s career rise to a new stage. Therefore, it can be said that at the starting point of determining the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, Zhao Yun gave Liu Bei a lot of loyalty with outstanding performance, which can be called one of Liu Bei’s important entrepreneurial heroes. In the past, the three countries rarely mentioned this point.

The second outstanding performance of Zhao Yun’s loyalty was to rescue Mrs. Gan and her son ah Dou from danger at Changbanpo in Dangyang. But what is the real situation of this seemingly well-known story?

In September of the 13th year of Emperor Xian’s reign in the Eastern Han Dynasty (208), Cao Cao sent an army of nearly 200000, known as 800000, to kill Jingzhou in the south. He not only wanted to capture Jingzhou, but also wanted to kill Liu Bei, the sworn enemy living here. Liucong, the new military and political chief of Jingzhou, raised his hand and surrendered. Liu Bei, who learned the news only recently, retreated south in a hurry. Cao Cao immediately dispatched elite cavalry to follow and pursue them. He galloped more than 300 miles a day and night, and finally caught up with Liu Bei and his party in changban, north of Dangyang (now Dangyang city, Hubei Province).

At that time, Guan Yu, one of Liu Bei’s three generals, was sent to command the Navy and rushed to Jiangling (now Jingzhou District, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province) to meet Liu Bei; Zhang Fei was sent to the rear to stop the enemy from pursuing; Zhao Yun’s main task was to protect Liu Bei’s family members from retreating. Seeing that Cao Cao’s iron cavalry regiment had been killed, Liu Bei, together with Zhugeliang and others, left his wife, family and children to fight for his life in the direction of the little populated Han River in the East. Zhao Yun, who was in danger, hugged his son, ah Dou, who had just been born last year, and took care of his biological mother, Mrs. Gan. He struggled along the way where Liu Bei and others fled. Finally, they finally reunited with Liu Bei and others on the West Bank of Han River. Next, the famous battle of Chibi.

The above is the real historical picture at that time. So what are the shining points of Zhao Yun? “Three Kingdoms probe” tells you. There are two main shining points: first, what kind of person Zhao Yun is can be fully demonstrated in this severe test. At that time, in front of him, there were two living examples and two ways: one way was to take Liu Bei as an example and beat his horse and run away. When a great disaster came, they flew separately; Besides, following the leadership and following the crowd can not only protect life but also bear responsibility. The other way is to follow the example of Xu Shu, to break away from Liu Bei, who is already gone, and to change his family to Cao Cao. With his fighting skills, it would not be a problem to occupy a place in the ranks of Cao Cao’s tiger generals. Would Cao Cao not welcome him? However, he did not learn from either of the two models. Instead, he chose the path with the greatest risk: the risk of being pursued by the enemy and the risk of responsibility. Why did Zhao Yun do this? In a word, because of his loyalty. Loyalty is the result of his character, which determines his path and destiny.

The more important second shining point is that Zhao Yun’s loyalty at this time is not only limited to the realm of being loyal to Liu Bei, but also has two levels of improvement: the first level is to improve to a higher realm of being loyal to commitments and not giving up responsibilities; The second level is to raise to the highest level of being loyal to human nature and not abandoning the weak. Please think about it. In the battlefield full of bloody massacres, when the lives of vulnerable groups were despised and trampled like grass mustard, Zhao Yun’s tall figure carrying a baby and taking care of weak women was a rare heroic act among the famous generals of the Three Kingdoms! What a warm scene full of human care in the Three Kingdoms era! He is a tall man, but also a man with incomparably noble human nature. No wonder he will become an idol of future fans, especially female fans.

However, it is a pity that the description of this story in the romance of the Three Kingdoms not only contains many fictional elements, but also fails, damaging Zhao Yun’s tall image. The book says that Zhao Yun was responsible for protecting Liu Bei’s family, but he ran away with Mrs. moo who was holding ah Dou; Although she was found later, Mrs. moo threw herself into the well to save ah Dou. However, according to the reliable records in the biography of Zhao Yun, Volume 36 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms, it was Zhao Yun who held ah Dou in his arms and protected his biological mother, Mrs. Gan, who never separated: “the Lord abandoned his wife and went south. The cloud body held the weak son, that is, the LORD; protecting Mrs. Gan, that is, the mother of the Lord, was all spared.” There is no mention of Mrs. moose here. It can be seen that there is nothing wrong with her at all. The romance of the Three Kingdoms made up the plot of Mrs. moo at the scene and said that she was holding ah Dou. In this way, Zhao Yun did not fulfill his responsibility to protect ah Dou. Why? First of all, I didn’t hold the baby in person. Second, I lost the weak woman holding the baby. Mrs. moose, who did not work at the scene, was praised and beautified; Zhao Yun, who has really been working on the scene, has actually been belittled and damaged. What is this not a failure?

The third outstanding performance of Zhao Yun’s loyalty was to rescue ah dou for the second time when Mrs. sun was about to take him away. This is also a well-known story. What is the real situation?

In the 16th year of Jian’an in the Eastern Han Dynasty (211), Liu Bei accepted the invitation of liuzhang, the chief military and political officer of Yizhou, and personally led the army to Yizhou. In Jingzhou, Zhugeliang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were left to guard the territory. According to peisongzhi’s annotation to the biography of Zhao Yun in Volume 36 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms, before leaving, Liu Bei arranged a special task for Zhao Yun: “lead and stay camp Sima, specially in charge of internal affairs.” The so-called “collar” here means part-time. Sima, who is also staying at the base camp, is particularly responsible for the internal affairs of the base camp. What is Liu Bei’s intention? The intention was to guard against Mrs. sun, who was newly married!

It turned out that ah Dou’s biological mother, Mrs. Gan, died two years ago. At that time, Sun Quan and Liu Bei were having a good time, so he married his little sister to Liu Bei. Sun Quan’s younger sister, whose name is not recorded in history books, has a somewhat tacky name, called sun Shangxiang. There was a hidden crisis in this marriage from the beginning. First of all, its essence is a political transaction, which lacks a deep emotional foundation; Secondly, the Miss Sun family danced with swords and swords since she was a child, which was quite like a father or a brother. What does her newly married boudoir look like? Hundreds of maid maids brought with them all stood beside her with glittering sabres in their hands. They were murderous. As a result, the old bridegroom Liu Bei felt cold on his back as soon as he entered the bridal chamber. Volume 37 of the annals of the Three Kingdoms, FA zhengzhuan, said that “every time the first lord enters, he is always heartfelt and awe inspiring”. It was precisely because of the hidden crisis that Liu Bei went to Yizhou this time, but Mrs. sun did not go with him. There are two other things related to her that Liu Bei is most worried about. The first thing is that Mrs. sun also brought a group of Sunwu officers and soldiers. They usually rely on someone behind them. They are arrogant and indulgent, and do not abide by the rules of Liu Bei’s headquarters. The second thing is that ah Dou, a five-year-old son, can’t run around with the army. He can only stay in the base camp and be raised by Mrs. sun. The tasks that Liu Bei has given Zhaoyun are two “good”: one is to take good care of Mrs. sun’s arrogant officers and soldiers; The second is to take good care of the young lifeblood ah Dou.

Why did Liu Bei entrust such a special task to Zhao Yun? According to the “farewell biography of Zhao Yun” mentioned earlier, it is “serious with the cloud”, which means that Zhao Yun is strict and prudent. Strict, just can control the arrogant Sunwu officers and soldiers; Steady, just in time to take care of my son ah Dou. Liu Bei has an eye for people, but Zhao Yun has more quality. Can Zhao Yun complete the special task assigned by Liu Bei?

Not surprisingly, not long after Liu Bei left, something went wrong at Jingzhou base camp. What’s the situation? It turned out that Sun Quan also wanted to seize Yizhou at first. Now, Liu Bei used Nanjun borrowed from him as a springboard to sneak into Yizhou. Sun Quan was very angry and felt cheated into a loss making business. The prospect of the cooperation between the two countries looks bad. It is serious to take my little sister back to Jiangdong from Jingzhou. So Sun Quan sent a fleet to Jingzhou. Mrs. sun, who had long wanted to go back to her mother’s house, immediately set out on the boat and set off quickly. She also took ah Dou away.

When Zhao Yun heard the news, he immediately chased up with a group of light warships led by Zhang Fei and cut off the path of Sunwu fleet on the vast Yangtze River. Seeing Zhao Yun’s determination to be tough, Mrs. Sun took a hard time to be soft and handed ah Dou over; But she also made up her mind to make a clean break with Liu Bei and never come back. This unparalleled marriage, which was praised by later generations as “the auspiciousness of the dragon and the Phoenix”, was completely ended on the waves of the Yangtze River.

Zhao Yun rescued and protected ah Dou twice, which not only fully demonstrated his loyalty to Liu Bei, but also was of great significance to the future of Liu Bei and Shuhan. Because the protection of ah Dou will ensure the stable inheritance of the power and position of the Shuhan regime in the future, and will not cause violent turbulence. You know, when he entered Yizhou, Liu Bei was over half a hundred and fifty-one years old; But it’s a pity that his own son has left only one, Miao Adou. His entrepreneurial path is too difficult. His wife, family and children have been captured by his opponents for as many as three times before. Even if he has a son, he does not know where he will die. So when I went to Jingzhou to join Liu Biao, I didn’t have a son to carry on the family line. In desperation, he recognized an adopted son Liu Feng in Jingzhou, who is now in his early twenties. Liu Feng was originally surnamed Kou. He was not Liu Bei’s own blood. He was tough and fierce. It was not an ideal candidate to succeed him as a monarch. Fortunately, the year before the battle of Chibi, Mrs. Gan gave birth to ah Dou again. She has a natural successor. If ah Dou had not been protected by Zhao Yun, the political history of Shu Han would have been different.

Speaking of ah Dou, according to my research, he should have two sets of names. It was originally named “dou” with the word “Sheng Zhi”. There is an interesting connection between Dou and Sheng. For example, Volume 21 of the book of Han Dynasty, records of the law, says that “ten liters are Dou”. In addition, the Big Dipper also refers to the constellation of the Big Dipper. It has a better meaning when it rises to heaven and becomes the Big Dipper. At that time, people often added the word “a” before a person’s name to express their feelings. For example, Lu Meng was called “a Meng”, and Gu Li, who whipped Sun Quan on his horse in Xiaoyaojin to help him escape from danger, was called “a Li”. Therefore, Liu Dou was also called a Dou, while Cao Wei called him “Liu Shengzhi”. Later, it was officially renamed “Chan” with the word “Gongsi”. Zen is the non relative transmission of the emperor’s power and position, and the public heir is the heir elected by the public. The meaning is also closely related. As for the change of name, it should be after Liu Bei claimed to be the king of Hanzhong and formally established the regime of Shuhan.

Among the famous generals of the Three Kingdoms, the author also appreciates Zhao Yun. Because of his loyalty, he has his own unique characteristics. The first feature is his loyalty, which is reflected in concrete actions, rather than false rhetoric or empty heroic words. Whether he provided valuable cavalry force at the beginning of Liu Bei’s business; After the death of Liu Bei, he ensured the stable inheritance of power and position, and he has perfectly practiced his loyalty. Loyalty depends on action. This sentence is the most appropriate one to describe him. The second feature is his loyalty and the improvement of his realm, rather than being confined to the narrow Liu Bei himself: on the one hand, he has been promoted to a higher realm of being loyal to his commitments and not giving up his duties; On the other hand, we should be loyal to human nature and never abandon the weak. Loyalty confined to narrow individuals is likely to become foolish loyalty. From this point of view, Zhao Yun can be rated as the most loyal general in Shuhan. Such loyalty with action and realm is certainly rare and necessary in ancient times. In our modern society, it is even more rare and necessary. This is:

The realm of loyalty is high. Zhaozilong has been a constant mountain for thousands of years.

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