In the twentieth year of Jian 'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao led an army to attack Hanzhong, and Zhang Lu soon fell and surrendered. Cao Cao's army rallied and took advantage of the situation to enter Shu, just right. In this regard, Sima Yi and Liu Ye, two counselors under Cao Cao's account, both thought that it was now or never, and they should push their luck into Shu. Sima Yi said, "Liu Bei attacked Liu Zhang by deceit, and the Shu soldiers fought for Jiangling without attachment. We can't miss this opportunity. Today, if Wei Yao is in Hanzhong, Yizhou will waver and enter the enemy, and it will inevitably collapse. Therefore, trends can easily become a skill. " Ye Liu also thinks: "Today, if we take Hanzhong as an example, Shu people will be frightened. If this matter is pushed forward, Shu will be determined. " . Liu Bei, an outstanding late arrival, has a shallow position in Shu, but Shu people don't rely on him. The collapse of Hanzhong today shocked the people of Shu, and the situation was self-oblique. "He said," If you don't take it today, you will worry later. "
What these two people said is very reasonable. Sima Yi has a good eye and is Zhuge Liang's main rival. Ye Liu is also very talented in the military, and is often praised by Cao Cao. After xelloss proclaimed himself emperor, he made many suggestions to deal with Wu Shu. What they said should be based on the situation, but Cao Cao didn't take it seriously. He said with a smile, "I am not satisfied when I am old. I have already got Gansu, and I still hope to return to Shu?" He chose to stay in Hanzhong, led his own army and visited many capitals.
After Cao Cao retired, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief. Fa Zheng, a counselor of Shu, later commented on this: "Cao Cao surrendered Zhang Lu and settled in Hanzhong. Instead of taking advantage of Tubo and Shu, he asked Xia and Zhang He to guard the army and lead his army to the north. This is also a mistake. " Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang also "have a deep understanding" of this discussion.
Many people in later generations feel sorry for Cao Cao's actions. Pei Songzhi, a historian of the Southern Dynasties, said: "After defeating Zhang Lu, there were dozens of wonders in Shu. Although Liu Bei was unable to correct it, he did not need Liu Ye's plan and lost the opportunity to sweep. " It can be seen that it was indeed a good opportunity to win by surprise. And if Cao Cao had been able to "recover Gansu and look back at Shu", I'm afraid Liu Bei, who just entered Shu, would have been overwhelmed. If he can go west to Shu in one fell swoop, I'm afraid he will break the tripartite confrontation in Wei Shuwu and unify the whole country in one fell swoop.
Cao Cao's sentence "Looking Back to Shu" was actually changed by a letter written by Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu to General Cen Peng in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, many separatist forces in the world were still struggling. Xiao Wei is divided into Gansu and Gongsun Shu into Sichuan, each of which is king and colluding with each other. Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu and general Cen Peng led an army to attack Tianshui (now Tianshui City, Gansu Province), and Cen Peng and partial general haing s ngor surrounded Xiao Wei in the west. Gongsun Shu sent troops to rescue Xiao Wei and was stationed in Shangbang. Guangwudi sent Gaiyan and Geng Xu to surround him, and he returned to the East because of something.
After returning to Luoyang, Liu Xiu wrote a letter to Cen Peng, which said, "If both cities are captured, they can lead troops south and crush Shu and Lu. If people are not satisfied with their suffering, they will look back at Shu calmly. " It means don't be satisfied after pacifying Gansu, and then pacify Shu in the south. He was told that he should take advantage of Tommy Tam and Hanzhong to occupy Shu. It means encouraging him to advance with victory. Cen Peng followed this strategy, so Emperor Guangwu quickly unified the whole country and became the founder of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, the phrase "calm down and look back at Shu" evolved into the idiom "look back at Shu when you are longan"
From Cao Cao's sentence "He has a long career, but he doesn't look at Shu", we can see that he is far from Guangwudi in strategic wisdom and boldness of vision. In terms of comprehensive ability and personality, Cao Cao is even worse. Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu is the emperor with the highest moral character, ability and quality in the eyes of historians, while Cao Cao is known for his treachery. Therefore, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu established a powerful ethnic policy in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which promoted the rapid development of social productive forces with Emperor Guangwu, thus creating an era with the best folk customs and the highest national quality in China history, while the local regime established by Cao Cao only lasted for several decades, just like Cao Cao usurped the Han Dynasty, and was usurped by the descendants of Sima Yi.