Zhugeliang, the famous Prime Minister of the Three Kingdoms
When commenting on Zhang Fei and Guan Yu in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, Yu said: “Yu is proud of the scholar bureaucrats because he is good at treating his soldiers, and Fei loves to respect the gentleman rather than the villain.”
Zhugeliang paid special attention to his discretion in dealing with Guan Yu, and tried to maintain a good relationship with him, because Guan Yu didn’t pay much attention to military affairs. Kongming’s policy of uniting Wu was proved by his ineffective implementation. Although Guan Yu was far away in Jingzhou, he never put his position right. After Ma Chao invested in Sichuan, he made meritorious contributions to solve the problem of Yizhou and won special awards. Guan Yu was not convinced. He wanted to leave Jingzhou and come to Xichuan to compete with Ma Chao. Zhugeliang hurriedly wrote a letter to him to appease him. Only with a high hat did he make this discussion rest. As the queen of Hanzhong, Liu Bei wanted to use Huang Zhong as his rear general. Zhugeliang said, “the reputation of loyalty is not the same as that of Guan and Ma Zhilun, but now it is the same. When Ma and Zhang are near, they can see their merits, and Guan Yaowen may be unhappy, so they can’t help it!” This remark shows Zhugeliang’s attitude towards him.
Zhang Fei is not like this. As long as Zhugeliang points his generals, he will do it carefully. Moreover, how much creative play, often create miracles. In this regard, Zhugeliang and this mang zhangfei often have a tacit understanding. When the news came that he lived in Dazhai village and drank and got drunk day by day, Zhugeliang not only didn’t blame him, but also sent someone to send him good wine, which showed their spiritual communication and sincere friendship.
At the beginning, when Liu Guanzhang started his business, according to his social and economic status, Zhang Fei was the richest man. “He lived in Zhuo County for a long time, and had quite a lot of farmlands.” he was a manor owner with property, industry and wealth. Liu Bei is just a man who sells shoes and weaves seats. Although he claims to be a descendant of the royal family, he has long declined without any test. He is not far from Ah Q’s “Lao Tzu was also rich before”. Later, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty Liu Xie called him “Uncle Huang”, which was just a political necessity. In order to win the hearts of the people, the emperors of the past dynasties also gave a surname, so don’t take it seriously. Who doesn’t put powder on his face? He can only be regarded as a small craftsman. Guan Yu is just a transport specialist with carts.
It follows from this that the relationship between the three brothers and Zhugeliang may also be due to different classes, and their attitudes towards intellectuals are inevitably different, which is worth pondering.
When Liu Bei started his career, he had become a craftsman and a peddler. But he was a declining aristocrat. There is no doubt that he could have a foothold at least in lousang village. He once worshiped Lu Zhi as his teacher, and his natural and cultural level was higher than that of Guan Zhang. In this way, he not only had the same political views as Zhugeliang, but also had more cultural identities. Zhang Fei is the manor owner. He has a rich family. He can have a peach garden for more than 300 people. It is estimated that although he is not a scholar, he is also a kind of landlord. Therefore, his economic foundation is almost the same as that of the military master who owns zhugelu in Nanyang. Maybe he can find a common language. GuanYunChang is a self-supporting man who has no permanent property. His individual transportation industry does not need to rely on groups. He is independent and prone to class prejudice. However, he knows a few words and does not pay much attention to culture and scholar bureaucrats. He is not as harmonious as those two Zhugeliang.
In addition, Guan Yu’s arrogant, self willed and self righteous character, especially after he was granted the Hanshou Pavilion Marquis, he felt better about himself. When I was stationed in Jingzhou, I felt arrogant and misplaced. It’s a funny thing for others, but it’s terrible for him. If master Guan was a little sober, he wouldn’t have gone to Macheng and his head would be different.
As soon as Zhugeliang arrived in Xinye, Guan and Zhang joined forces to boycott the military master, but it was Zhang Fei who jumped out and blamed him. Guan Yu was a man who liked to be deep. He stood behind the scenes and instigated Zhang Fei to go up. Guan Yu did not believe in Zhugeliang’s ability since he had been at home. This is the kind of class feeling that has no confidence in intellectuals at all. There is no way. He came all the way from Shanxi. The local bureaucrats and knife and pencil bureaucrats in the Han Dynasty could not help oppressing him, cheating him, and making him feel rebellious. He said in his heart, what’s the big deal? Let’s put it on the shelf. He said, “brother, it’s too much to pay two visits in person. I think Zhugeliang has a false name but no practical knowledge, so I dare not see him. Brother, why are you so confused about this person?” The word “puzzled” is from his heart, because when Kongming came, his position as deputy was shaken. From then on, the generals and prime ministers will never be close.
When Liu Bei went to the eastern Wu to recruit relatives, Zhugeliang sent Zhao Yun to accompany him, but he did not dare to give Guan Yu the best plan, for fear that he would make arbitrary claims. After taking advantage of the east wind, Zhao Yun was arranged to pick him up. He didn’t want to trouble master Guan, for fear that he might not come as promised. In the battle of Chibi, Zhugeliang ignored him for a long time. Whether he really used the method of motivating generals, there were still difficulties. Or he deliberately asked him to let Cao Cao go. There was no evidence in history, so he had to believe it. However, he was finally arranged to be in Huarong Road. It can be seen that this arrogant general has to think twice. Naturally, there are many thorny concerns, which are imaginable.
Seeing that Guan didn’t put him in an important position, master Guan asked Zhugeliang at that time: “Guan has been fighting with his brother for a long march, and hasn’t fallen behind for many years. What’s the meaning of not appointing a military division when facing a big enemy today?” According to his tone, does Zhugeliang command Guan Yu or does Guan Yu command Zhugeliang? It is puzzling. Perhaps the baibazi brothers have the privilege of being on an equal footing with the military division. It was not until Huarong Dao released Cao Cao and violated the military order that Liu Bei came out to intercede with him. In fact, it was because he knew it must be such a result that he dared to justify Huarong. Privileges, and privileged classes, as well as the poisoned social atmosphere, made him rely on and do not care.
If Kongming was as strict as a mountain in enforcing the law and severely punished Cao Cao since he released Cao Cao from Huarong Road, then he may not have dared to inflate himself and do not know the greatness of the world when he was in power in Jingzhou. Because of Liu Bei’s shield, Zhugeliang had to accommodate himself. He could not blame others, let alone himself, so he had to muddle through; Or, walk in the form and pretend; Or, we should have a deep understanding and deal with it lightly; Or, there is a reason for the incident and there is no solid evidence; Or, the simplest thing is to pay the tuition once and pay attention next time.
It seems that Zhugeliang, as an intellectual, also has his weakness without remedy. What can he do for this high-ranking, hard backstage, working-class hanshouting Marquis, besides encouraging himself to take the overall situation into account and making a big mess of it?
Is it the story of Zhugeliang alone that this kind of muddling difficulty has existed since ancient times? However, the thin mud can only be used for a while, but it can’t be used for a long time. In the end, Guan Yu was defeated in Jingzhou. Isn’t it the result of this kind of accommodation, carelessness and lack of in-depth study, leaving him alone and letting him go!