Yet inside Liu Bei's heart, he has not forgotten his calling. As a descendant of the Liu family that founded the Han Dynasty (which lasted almost 400 years and brought China to its glory), he saw his country fall into the hands of thieves like Cao Cao, who controlled the Emperor and ill-treated the emperor. The entire nation is divided, with many feudal lords fighting with each other. People are suffering.
The solution: Find a way to get rid of thieves like Cao Cao and re-unite China and bring peace to the country and save people's lives. That is his calling.
He set out to achieve his goal. He gathered 3 strong fighters: Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun. For 20 years, Liu Bei has been fighting one battle after another. Even with 3 strong fighting generals and having a good reputation as a benevolent and righteous leader, Liu Bei faced defeats after defeats and had to retreat to a small county called Xin Ye.
That was the year 207. In the year 221, Liu Bei was declared the Emperor of the Shu Han kingdom, with Chengdu as the capital. The Shu Kingdom occupies the western part of China, with the Wei Kingdom occupying the north and the Wu Kingdom taking the south-eastern part of China. The Shu Kingdom lasted 43 years, with 2 emperors, Liu Bei himself 2 years and his son Liu Shan 41 years.
How did Liu Bei turn himself from zero to emperor in just 15 years? Many people attributed the success of Liu Bei to his military strategist Zhuge Liang. Indeed Zhuge Liang is a genius and through his strategies, he helped Liu Bei build his Shu kingdom from scratch.
The question is: how did Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang come together?
In the year 207, Liu Bei, who had suffered a big defeat against Cao Cao, wanted to give up. Luckily he chanced upon an old wise man called Sima Wei. He asked Sima Wei, "I have a very small army with only 3 generals. In all these 20 years I have been fighting losing battles one after another. How can people like me achieve any success?"
"Well, throughout history, there were many people who broke through all the odds and achieved great success", said Shima Wei.
"The problem about You, Liu Bei, is that you are only flying with one wing. Your single wing is made up of strong fighters but you lack the other wing: strategist. Without a good strategy, you cannot harness the strengths of your fighters, and you cannot win", so said the old man.
"You need a person to help you. This person can see the big picture, he can strategize and plan the future". "I agree with you", said Liu Bei. "But where can I find such a strategist?" asked Liu Bei.
"Xu Su is the man", said the old man.
So Liu Bei found and hired Xu Su as his strategist. True enough, Xu Su helped Liu Bei win a battle against Cao Cao. With the help of Xu Su, Liu Bei's general Zhao Yun broke through the Bagua trap set by Cao Cao's army and out win Cao Cao.
Cao Cao was curious. "How come Liu Bei suddenly can defeat me? How can his one-man Zhao Yun win against my large army? He must have a strategist behind him" remarked Cao Cao.
Soon Cao Cao found out that Xu Shu is behind Liu Bei's success. "We must bring Xu Shu over" declared Cao Cao. One of Cao Cao's advisors told Cao Cao that he knows Xu Shu and his mother. He said he can set up a trap for Xu Shu to come over to visit his aged mother, who is residing in Cao Cao's territory called Xuchang.
This advisor took a letter from Xu Shu's mother and imitate her handwriting and wrote a letter to her son Xu Shu. In the letter, 'the mother' wrote that she is very ill and is going to die soon, and asked that Xu Shu come to her house in Xuchang to see her for the last time.
Being a filial son, when Xu Shu saw the letter, he immediately asked Liu Bei, who was his boss, to let him take leave to go and see his mother.
At this moment, Liu Bei had just tasted his first victory after fighting for so many years, and Xu Shu is the key person that helped him to win. Now Xu Shu is leaving, what would Liu Bei do?
To protect his own interest, Liu Bei would reject Xu Shu's request and tell him to stay on for a while more to help him win one or more battles. He knew that if Xu Shu goes back to see his mother in Xuchang, which is Cao Cao's territory, Xu Shu might not come back to him in the future. Imagine what can happen when Xu Shu, who knows all the ins and outs of Liu Bei's army, would tell Cao Cao all these? Wouldn't Liu Bei face annihilation soon?
Liu Bei is a person well known for his righteousness and benevolence. He put people's interests on top of his own interest. Although very unwilling, he granted Xu Shu's leave of absence without hesitation.
Xu Shu was so touched and as he bid a teary farewell to Liu Bei, he felt that he has to do something to return the kindness of Liu Bei.
Xu Shu recommends to Liu Bei hire Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei has not heard of Zhuge Liang before, and he asked, Xu Shu, "How is this Zhuge Liang's capability as compared to you?" Xu Shu said, "100 times. But it is not easy to get him. Because Zhuge Liang has high expectations. He will only work for a boss that has high character, one that has the interest of people above everything else".
Liu Bei thanked Xu Shu and set on a long and arduous path to locate Zhuge Liang, who is living in the mountains as a farmer. All in, Liu Bei paid 3 visits to Zhuge Liang's cottage and finally found him on the 3rd visit. He humbly asked if Zhuge Liang can help him realize his goal of saving the nation by restoring the glory of the Han Dynasty.
Guess what did Zhuge Liang answer to Liu Bei's offer? A straight no. In fact, not just one rejection, but three. But in the end, Zhuge Liang was moved by Liu Bei's sincerity and offered to help him as a strategist. Zhuge Liang devised a strategic plan, with step-by-step plans for Liu Bei to take over lands in central and western China. He also told Liu Bei who he should fight against and who he can ally with. The plan that Zhuge Liang conceived is the famous Longzhong Plan.
The rest is history. Zhuge Liang helped Liu Bei establish a foothold in the southwestern part of China, called dShu, leading to Liu Bei becoming the Emperor of the Shu Han kingdom. The time: 15 years.
The question to everyone is: who is the one person that started the ball rolling and turnaround Liu Bei?
Is it: Zhuge Liang, who helped Liu Bei for 15 years. Or it is Xu Shu, the person that recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei? Or is it Cao Cao, the cunning villain that used a dirty trick to bring Xu Shu out of Liu Bei's camp? Let me know in the comments, thanks
Written by Andy Ng, Author Trainer Coach, and also Trainer for 3 Kingdoms Wisdom and other courses including Sun Tzu Art of War and 36 Stratagems.
It is Liu Bei who is a man of always putting others before him
ReplyDelete