Preface

For the historical understanding of the Three Kingdoms period, we often come from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but the characters in it have been shaped, so we can't look at it from this aspect alone. Among them, is Liu Bei really the king of "benevolence and righteousness"?

Liu Bei has more than one strategist in his hands, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong is naturally another. Even the two of them have the saying of "Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick", you must know that they have a close relationship with Liu Bei, what kind of person Liu Bei is, as a "strategist", will they not know?

This is not Pang Tong warned Wei Yan when he was dying, but Wei Yan didn't pay attention to it, and it also ended in tragedy.

1. Pang Tong saw Liu Bei clearly as a person

Pang Tong is not as reused by Liu Bei as Zhuge Liang, but Pang Tong can be reused by Liu Bei is indeed recommended by Zhuge Liang, and he can be regarded as recognized by Zhuge Liang to a certain extent.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Pang Tong gave people the feeling of being ordinary, and there was no particularly outstanding talent exposed, and not many people found this talented person in the early days. If there is one, I'm afraid it is Pang Degong.

And without Pang Degong's help and advice, Pang Tong's ability may be difficult to discover. Therefore, under the introduction of Pang Degong, Pang Tong first saw Sima Hui, and the two chatted for a long time when they met for the first time.

You must know that Sima Hui was a famous and elegant person at that time, and it was naturally not easy to talk to him, and it could also be said that he couldn't talk to him for long without any ability. For a while, the news of the meeting between Pang Tong and Sima Hui spread, and with the time of "one day and night", the news of Pang Tong's talent naturally spread, and it was difficult to make a noise.

After tossing and turning, Pang Tong threw himself into Liu Bei's camp, so compared with Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong is indeed a bit cheap.

After joining, Pang Tong's talent was not all smooth sailing. Because he was first arranged to serve in Leiyang, and then he was dismissed because of his poor political performance. If it weren't for Lu Su and Zhuge Liang to carry him, I'm afraid Pang Tong would have been like this.

They gave Pang Tong a chance, which can also be said to be an opportunity for Liu Bei to realize Pang Tong's ability. Similar to Sima Hui's previous practice, Pang Tong first met with Liu Bei, and then started a more in-depth conversation, and then Liu Bei's reuse.

It can be said that Zhuge Liang is Liu Bei's first reused, and then Pang Tong is immediately followed.

What kind of person Liu Bei is can be seen from the troop strategy he adopted, Pang Tong has made three plans, corresponding to the three items of "sneak attack, deception and conservatism". According to our current perspective, if Liu Bei is a benevolent and righteous person, it is more likely to choose the latter, and it is also possible to choose the former according to the situation.

But Liu Bei's final choice was the middle, that is, when Zhang Lu was in the northern expedition to Hanzhong, he chose to deceive Yang Huai and others by sending people to deceive, and then take them down in one fell swoop.

After the enemy's forces were eliminated in this way, it was also possible for Liu Bei to take Chengdu. But in fact, Pang Tong's other strategies are not bad, and they always act for one purpose.

In this way, through Liu Bei's choice this time, it is undoubtedly not that Pang Tong has made new discoveries, but even has a new understanding of Liu Bei.

Then Liu Bei acted according to Pang Tong's strategy, and really won the general trend, and conquered the counties one after another along the way, and finally came into Liu Bei's hands. Liu Bei was naturally ecstatic, and the soldiers in the battalion were even more encouraged, and it can be said that it was at a time when morale was greatly increased.

Soon Liu Bei held a "celebration banquet", and the generals and soldiers ate meat and drank wine. However, Pang Tong seemed to be a little out of place in this banquet, because he saw Liu Bei's personality clearly, and even finally said "the soldiers of the unkind" through wine.

Regarding Pang Tong's statement, Liu Bei will naturally think more, but the smart Pang Tong can come back by himself. To put it simply, there were small episodes at the banquet, but they did not hinder their drinking joy.

2. Wei Yan's "character"

Sometimes you have to see to be believing, Pang Tong is considered to have a confidant with Wei Yan, and even said that he was born in Jingzhou, Pang Tong's words are undoubtedly not reminding many people, and Wei Yan is obviously also an important one. After all, in Wei Yan's heart, Liu Bei has always been a benevolent and virtuous king.

Even if anyone said two bad things about Liu Bei, Wei Yan probably had to stop him first. Moreover, Wei Yan is also an arrogant character, and it is difficult for him to change the things he believes in through others. This also caused the difference between his personality and Zhuge Liang, and there was a reason why Zhuge Liang could not be reused.

Wei Yan can be said to have a certain enterprising spirit, and he will be in the limelight in some things. But Zhuge Liang will think carefully about everything, no matter whether he is in the limelight or not, it is obvious that the goal is the most important.

In this way, Wei Yan's personality determines that no matter what kind of person Zhuge Liang likes, or some of Pang Tong's suggestions, it is difficult for him to make a big reaction, let alone pay attention to it.

But no matter what, Wei Yan's pioneering spirit is right, and his enterprising spirit makes him want to be recognized and praised by more people, so whether it is other opinions from the outside world or dissatisfaction with himself, Wei Yan is particularly concerned.

Therefore, Wei Yan's character and focus also determine his ultimate fate. It can be said that Wei Yan is not lacking in a famous Shu Han general who is brave and good at fighting and has outstanding achievements, but as Pang Tong admonished, he didn't pay attention to it, let alone make adjustments himself. This also determined the occurrence of his final tragedy.

Why is it a "tragedy"? As a general who went to the battlefield, Wei Yan did not go to the point of dying on the battlefield, but died at the hands of his superiors. If Pang Tong says that he takes a good look at it, will there be other endings?

3. Pang Tong's "personality"

I have to say that Pang Tong is also a person with a relatively individuality, he was very confident when he first met Liu Bei, and he has his own principles, he will not think about relying on relationships to get Liu Bei's approval, and in terms of some power situations, Liu Bei is naturally the image of the Ming Lord to the outside world, and it has become the best choice for Pang Tong.

Lu Su and Zhuge Liang's help Pang Tong was not used at first, but unfortunately Liu Bei was not what he thought, let alone Liu Bei, who was small before, and it was difficult for Pang Tong, who was a little famous, to get Liu Bei's attention and appointment. As a result, Pang Tong had to think of another way.

But when Pang Tong met Cao Cao, the situation was very different. Cao Cao will reuse capable soldiers, not to mention judging people by their appearance, the arrival of Pang Tong will only make Cao Cao very happy, and he will be respectful when he treats Pang Tong.

At one time, Cao Cao and Pang Tong felt like "confidants", but everyone had their own choices, and Pang Tong was the same. The background they are in is constantly changing, why is Pang Tong not in a hurry to become famous?

Pang Tong is indeed a talented strategist, and Liu Bei's reuse of him in the later period is obvious, but unfortunately his ending is only full of controversy and ends in tragedy.

epilogue

All in all, whether it is in real history or in the circulation of later generations such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", there are different opinions on Liu Bei's evaluation, but there is always a certain reference.

How complex the characters of the Three Kingdoms period are, whether it is Pang Tong or Wei Yan, their images that have been passed down to later generations have been shaped, but when Shu Han employed people, it must not be simple for them to emerge. Moreover, the ending of Pang Tong and Wei Yan is even more intriguing.