In A.D. 194, Tao Qian, a shepherd in Xuzhou, was seriously ill. He said to another Zhu Mu: "Without Liu Bei, Xuzhou cannot be stable." After Tao Qian's death, Elk Zhu led Xuzhou people to meet Liu Bei, who was in charge of Xuzhou. Liu Bei did not dare to accept it.

After repeated persuasion by Chen Deng and Kong Rong, Liu Bei led his troops to capture Xuzhou. In the first year of Jian 'an (196), Cao Cao named Liu Bei as the general of Town East and appointed him as Yicheng Hou Ting. Yuan Shu led the army to attack Xuzhou, and Liu Bei met him. The two armies were at loggerheads in Xuyi and Huaiyin. At this time, Lu Bu ambushed Shapi and captured Liu Bei's wife.

As a result, Liu Bei's hard-won foothold was taken away by Lu Bu. It is true that Lu Bu's sneak attack was the direct cause of Liu Bei's loss of Xuzhou. However, from a deeper perspective, Liu Bei really couldn't keep Xuzhou at that time.

First, the external environment of Xuzhou is complex.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xuzhou was undoubtedly a battleground for military strategists. In A.D. 194, when Liu Bei took charge of Xuzhou, the rising Yuan Shao was in the north. Prior to this, Tao Qian chose to form an alliance with Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shu, which led Yuan Shao to be hostile to Xuzhou.

To the south of Xuzhou is Tao Qian's former ally Yuan Shu. However, Liu Bei is not Tao Qian after all. In Yuan Shu's view, Tao Qian's death was his chance to seize Xuzhou. Thus, in 196, Yuan Shu personally led an army to attack Xuzhou, which provided an opportunity for Lu Bu to sneak attack.

Moreover, Cao Cao in the East had led troops to attack Xuzhou many times before. It is true that the relationship between Cao Cao and Liu Bei was not very tense. However, if there is an opportunity, Cao Cao will also seize Xuzhou. Therefore, it is obvious that Tao Qian refused to let his son take charge of Xuzhou before he died, which should also show the harsh environment Xuzhou faced.

Second, there are contradictions within Xuzhou.

After the outbreak of the Yellow turban insurrectionary, Tao Qian was appointed as the secretariat of Xuzhou. In order to defeat the Yellow Scarf Army in Xuzhou, Tao Qian recruited military forces from Danyang County, Yangzhou, Tao Qian's most trusted subordinate. During the Three Kingdoms period, Danyang soldiers were also an elite force.

However, after Liu Bei took charge of Xuzhou, he did not win the heartfelt support of Danyang soldiers. After all, Tao Qian himself is from Danyang, Yangzhou, while Liu Bei is from Zhuojun, Youzhou. It is difficult for Danyang soldiers to regard him as one of their own.

Of course, Tao Qian was able to secure the throne of Xuzhou, not only relying on Danyang soldiers. For example, the bandits in Mount Tai, represented by Cang Ba and Sun Guan, were also appointed by Tao Qian.

After defeating the Yellow Scarf Army, Tao Qian played in the Eastern Han Dynasty, conferring Cang Ba and Sun Guan as riding generals, and ordered them to rule Kaiyang in Tunlang County and station in the north of Xuzhou.

However, Cang Ba, Sun Guan and Tao Qian are mainly cooperative, that is, they are not all subordinates of Tao Qian. Therefore, after Liu Bei ascended the throne, Sun Guan and others will not work for him.

In addition to Danyang soldiers and Taishan bandits, Xuzhou naturally has local aristocratic strongmen, represented by Chen Deng, Mi Fang, Mi Zhu and others. Among them, Chen Deng initially agreed with Liu Bei. However, Chen Deng did not want to abandon his family and follow Liu Bei around. Therefore, Liu Bei only won the support of Mi Fang, Mi Zhu and others in Xuzhou, but did not completely control Xuzhou's power.

Third, Liu Bei lacks fame and his own strength is limited.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the descendants of the Han family were actually called rotten streets, and Liu Bei also belonged to the decline of family wealth. Correspondingly, Liu Yu, Liu Dai, Liu You, Liu Biao, Ada, Liu Zhang and other descendants of the Han Dynasty were not born in poverty, but were also knighted by the imperial court, which was a reputation that Liu Bei did not have at that time.

Besides, in terms of their own strength, Liu Bei had Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other valiant generals (Zhao Yun had left Liu Bei at that time), while Sun Gan, Jian Yong and others were only second-rate counselors, that is, Liu Bei Group at this time, and they did not have the strength to control Xuzhou.

On the contrary, Lu Bu not only used his troops, but also Chen Gong, a top adviser, was able to defeat Liu Bei at 196.

To sum up, from 194 to 196, Xuzhou, where Liu Bei lived, was faced with domestic troubles and foreign invasion, and its own strength was limited, which prompted him to take in Lu Bu. Liu Bei's move, of course, is to pull Lu Bu as foreign aid, but the result is to lead the wolf into the room. Since then, Liu Bei has continued to run around the Central Plains, making it difficult to gain a foothold.