In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chen Deng's story is mainly in the section of Baimenlou. Chen Deng has both advantages and disadvantages, alienating Lu Bu and Chen Gong, and finally causing Cao Cao to drown and Lu Bu to be killed.
Chen Deng (AD 163 -20 1) was born in Xiapi Huaipu (now Lianshui County, Jiangsu Province) in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Reflection? "Lu Bu Zang Hongchuan" quoted "The Sage" as saying that Chen Deng was "loyal and far-sighted, and rarely had the ambition to help the people. There are books, elegant literature and art, and old articles in the Expo. "
Although the history book "The History of the Three Kingdoms" is introduced by Chen Deng, it is only a few hundred words, and the language is unknown. However, Chen Deng is one of Liu Bei's most unforgettable people. Later, when talking about Chen Deng with Liu Biao and Xu Wei, Liu Bei praised Chen Deng unabashedly: "If Long Yuan is brave and courageous, it is difficult to compare with Gu Er." . For Chen Deng, Cao Cao, a generation of treacherous men, also spoke highly of him. Cao Cao is "sighing every time I reach the river, hating that I didn't use Chen Yuanlong's trick earlier, and ordering people to keep my minions." Chen Shou in Reflection? Lu Bu Zang Hong Chuan commented on Chen Deng: "Chen Deng and Zang Hong are both heroic and strong people, and they fell short the next year. Hong used his troops to defeat the enemy and failed to gain a foothold. What a pity! "
From this point of view, Chen Deng is indeed a rare wizard. But this can only prove that Chen Deng is very capable as an individual, but as a political/ruling figure, how does Chen Deng perform in the political/ruling position? We can analyze:
The situation at the end of the Han Dynasty is just as Zhuge Liang said in the "Model": "Since Dong Zhuo came, heroes have risen together, and there are countless people who have crossed the state and even the county." In this complex social environment, Xuzhou's powerful landlords and clan forces, like other regions, were in a dilemma from the beginning. On the one hand, they should try their best to safeguard their vested interests and do not want regional turmoil and chaos to harm their interests; On the other hand, they are unwilling to accept the intervention of foreign forces and become the battlefield of warlord melee; Third, they all have doubts about the management of outsiders.
Therefore, when Tao Qian, a Yangzhou native appointed by the court, entered Xuzhou, Xuzhou troops took a seemingly supportive but actually wait-and-see attitude. So there will be many celebrities who don't buy it. However, with Tao Qian's fruitful work in Xuzhou, the interests of Xuzhou forces were basically guaranteed, and Tao Qian gradually became the political/political leader of Xuzhou forces. In this case, Tao Qian was able to successfully unify/govern Xuzhou for several years. Because of this, when Tao Qian killed Cao Cao's father and family, causing Cao Cao's bloody massacre, Xuzhou troops United as one to resist Cao Cao's crazy attack. From this point of view, Xuzhou regime itself has not yet appeared a recognized local political/governance leader, so it has to rely on "outsider" Tao Qian.
This situation lasted for a long time in Xuzhou until Tao Qian died.
Although Chen Deng has made great achievements in Xuzhou, he is still young enough to become a leader in Xuzhou army. However, because Chen Deng entered the political arena under the impetus of Tao Qian, he probably maintained a good working and personal relationship with Tao Qian. In addition, Chen Deng's family had great influence in Xuzhou, and Tao Qian and Xuzhou forces regarded Chen Deng as a middleman for communication and coordination between the two sides. At this time, Chen Deng gradually became an important role of Xuzhou spokesperson.
After Tao Qian's death, the role of Chen Deng's spokesman was brought into full play. Liu Bei became a shepherd in Xuzhou, not necessarily because Chen Deng appreciated Liu Bei, but because of the grim reality that Xuzhou had too few troops to choose, which was the only correct choice for Xuzhou to face Cao Cao's crazy attack. Liu Bei asked Chen Deng why he didn't choose Yuan Shu, which is close at hand after the "Four Kingdoms". Chen Deng hit the nail on the head and said that Yuan Shu "arrogant expressway is not a master of chaos."
Cao Cao's two attacks have greatly weakened Xuzhou's influence, and Xuzhou locals themselves have no recognized political/political leaders, so they have to adopt an old method: using their own strength and continuing to use Liu Bei as an outsider to help stabilize the situation in Xuzhou.
According to common sense, counties should recommend officers to the court, but the practice of Xuzhou troops is to tell Yuan Shao, which makes people feel very strange. Why? Because Yuan Shao is an ally of Cao Cao, and the relationship between Liu Bei and Yuan Shao is quite special. Although it is not recorded, we can know from the tone of Yuan Shao's reply that "Liu Xuande Hongya is faithful, and now Xuzhou is happy to wear it, sincerely looking forward to it": Yuan Shao's evaluation of Liu Bei is so high that he is probably an old friend, and the relationship has long been well known.
Xuzhou forces took advantage of this relationship and pushed Liu Beimu to Xuzhou, hoping to dissuade Cao Cao with Yuan Shao in exchange for peace in Xuzhou. The Xuzhou troops themselves don't have so much confidence in Liu Bei. Chen Qun once said in front of Liu Bei: Xuzhou is prepared for the future, and his ministers said: "Yuan Shu is still strong, and now it is the east, so we must compete with it. If Lu Bu attacks the general, the general will have Xuzhou, and nothing will happen. "
The use of Liu Bei by Xuzhou local forces is only temporary, and they are very skeptical about his army command ability and local management ability. Therefore, when Lu Bu, the best military commander in the world, appeared in Xuzhou, Xuzhou troops immediately had another choice: whether to let Liu Bei, who is "generous and kind", continue to rule Xuzhou or let Lu Bu, the best military commander in the world, resist foreign enemies? Obviously, Xuzhou troops chose the latter.
A story is recorded in The Story of the Three Kingdoms and Lu Bu. The story of the hero: Lu Bu went down to the east from land and water, and the army went down to Longxi for forty miles. It is said that the corps commander sent Sima Zhang to Lu Bu overnight, saying that he and Cao Bao had killed the leopard with one virtue, and there was chaos in the city. I don't believe it. There are thousands of Danyang soldiers in Xibaimen City. When he heard that the general was coming to the East, he was as enthusiastic as a shower. When the general arrives at the west gate of the city, the army will open the door and enter, and the general will slap it. " Cloth went in at night and arrived at the gate in the morning. At dawn, Danyang Bing learned to deploy troops inside the door. Sitting on the door, riding a horse and setting fire, a German soldier was defeated, and his wife was separated, and the general was prepared.
It can be seen that Lu Bu captured Xuzhou with the support of Xuzhou forces.
Lu Bu forced Liu Bei to become "the army of Guangling, hungry and cold, and hundreds of officials were hungry and cold. They wanted to control the big with small ones, so they asked hundreds of officials to surrender their cloth."
At this time, Chen Deng didn't give any support and help to Xuande, who was rated as "an outstanding figure with a slight Wang Ba" by himself. Instead, he followed his father Chen Gui and became Lu Bu's Shangguan. It can be seen that Chen Deng's insincere recommendation to Liu Bei at that time was forced by the situation.
After Lu Bu occupied Xuzhou, Cao Cao was busy welcoming the Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, "holding the emperor to make the princes", and at the same time dealing with Yuan Shu, so that Xuzhou could have a brief peaceful scene.
In this case, the forces in Xuzhou began to play a small abacus for their own interests.
Lyu3 bu4 capricious, foolhardy, sooner or later will be eliminated by cao cao. This is very clear to Chen Deng and Xuzhou troops. In order to avoid becoming cannon fodder again, Xuzhou forces, represented by Chen Deng's father Chen Gui, began to look for new backers. They focused their attention on Cao Cao, who had just begun to "support the emperor and make the princes". Although Xuzhou forces had a blood feud with Cao Cao, after all, their own interests were greater than everything else. So when Lu Bu was ready to form an alliance with Yuan Shu through marriage, Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, came forward to dissuade him and solved the problem that Cao Cao had been worried about.
Xuzhou forces have long planned to take refuge in Cao Cao, and the so-called "will be a national disaster" is more accurately understood as "will be a national disaster." At this time, Yuan Shu has gone from bad to worse and won't last for a few days. At this time, Cao Cao's forces are thriving, which Xuzhou forces can see clearly.
Therefore, Chen Deng took advantage of the opportunity of meeting Cao Cao to show his kindness to Cao Cao and stood on the opposite side with Lu Bu. That's why Xuzhou forces attacked Lu Bu as an insider and a pioneer. At this time, Chen Deng was appointed as the prefect of Guangling by Cao Cao because of his repeated meritorious deeds, and gradually became a representative figure of Xuzhou forces.
Based on the same consideration, when Liu Bei returned to Xuzhou and became an enemy of Cao Cao, Xuzhou's power obviously fell to Cao Cao's side. The battle between Liu Bei and Cao Cao was a complete failure: at that time, the generals rushed to Guandu, so they left the generals to station in Guandu and recruited their own troops. At the beginning of the preparation, it was said that it was a public alliance with the enemy and it was not allowed to travel eastward. It was said that Zuo Zongtang had come in person. I was scared, but I still didn't believe it. As dozens of people rode out of Wang Gong, they abandoned the crowd when they saw people's voices.
In the battle of Xuzhou, Liu Bei not only escaped, but also lost his wife, children and favorite Guan Yu.
Why did Liu Bei lose so badly? Because Xuzhou forces saw that Cao Cao's power was obviously higher than Liu Bei's, they simply stood by and even secretly assisted Cao Cao, and Liu Bei naturally fled hastily. What is Chen Deng doing at this time? I am happy to be the prefect of Guangling appointed by Cao Cao. With Chen Deng's prestige and his family's influence in Xuzhou, if he had the heart to help Liu Bei, Liu Bei would never have lost so quickly and so miserably.
Poor Liu Bei has always wondered why Chen Deng and the Xuzhou forces he represents would recommend themselves as Xuzhou shepherds. If he knew Chen Deng's real intention, he didn't know whether he would praise Chen Deng more.
At the same time, how did Cao Cao treat Chen Deng and Xuzhou troops?
Most people tend to focus on Cao Cao's failure to reuse Chen Deng. In fact, this is just one of Cao Cao's ways to deal with problems. The relationship between Cao Cao, Chen Deng and Xuzhou forces can best be illustrated by a dialogue in the History of the Three Kingdoms: the county seat is surrounded by Sun Quan, and Deng Jiao asks Mao for help. Jiao said, Taizu said, "Although the humble county is small, it is also a convenient country. If it is saved and turned into a foreign country, the people of Wu will be rewarded. Xu An is far-reaching in martial arts, patriotic, looking at the scenery, respecting morality and showing off his prestige. So is this Wang Ye. " Mao Qijiao wants to keep it. Exactly. He said, "Our country has fallen to the county. We are in a hurry, but we can't. How dare we forget the meaning of the performance? "Mao sent someone to save. Wu Jun retreats, setting more ambushes, chasing after the soldiers, and breaking.
Cao Cao knew very well the real intention of Chen Deng and Xuzhou forces: he was afraid that the control of outsiders would affect his own interests, so Cao Cao took a federal way to govern Xuzhou, and did not send heavy troops to deploy at the front, so that Chen Deng and Xuzhou forces would consume each other in the confrontation with Sun Ce, further weakening the strength of Xuzhou forces. When Xuzhou forces were almost consumed, he would strengthen control over Xuzhou. In the use and control of Xuzhou power, Cao Cao's wrist is obviously superior to Chen Deng's.
Finally, the real reason why Chen Deng, as the representative of Xuzhou forces, was not reused by Cao Cao: he had a strong sense of place, and what he did was really sinister and sinister in order to safeguard the interests of Xuzhou forces. Fortunately, Cao Cao was not fooled by Chen Deng's illusion. He managed Xuzhou's troops in the right way, controlled the enemy with the enemy, and finally completely controlled Xuzhou.