Why Liu Bei Did Not Return Jingzhou to Sun Quan

The alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan had stopped Cao Cao at Red Cliffs.

But alliances survive only when both sides believe the balance is fair. Jingzhou made that difficult.

The Old Jingzhou Account

Jingzhou had once been Liu Biao's territory.

After Liu Biao died, Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao. Cao Cao stayed only briefly before losing at Red Cliffs and retreating north.

Cao Ren remained around Nanyang and Jiangling. Sun Quan's side had carried the heaviest burden at Red Cliffs and gained Jiangxia and Nan Commandery. Liu Bei gained the four southern commanderies: Changsha, Lingling, Guiyang, and Wuling.

By number, Liu Bei seemed to hold more.

But the ownership was complicated. Sun Quan's side believed Liu Bei had only borrowed land to settle himself after the crisis. Liu Bei's side argued that he had also fought after Red Cliffs and had established himself in southern Jingzhou. He was not merely a temporary guest.

Liu Bei still thought four commanderies were not enough. He went personally to Sun Quan and asked to oversee Jingzhou.

Zhou Yu and others opposed giving him more. Some even wanted to keep Liu Bei in Jiangdong so he could not return to build power in Jingzhou.

Sun Quan did not do that. For the moment, he still needed Liu Bei. Cao Cao had lost at Red Cliffs, but he had not vanished from the Central Plains or Huainan. Keeping Liu Bei as a western screen against Cao Cao still made sense.

Zhou Yu Wanted Yi Province

Zhou Yu did not want Jiangdong merely to defend itself.

In 210, he advised Sun Quan to take Yi Province and then move toward Hanzhong. If that plan succeeded, Sun Quan could control the upper Yangzi, pressure Liu Bei, and greatly expand Jiangdong's strategic space.

Sun Quan told Liu Bei about the plan and hoped for cooperation.

Liu Bei refused.

Yi Province lay upstream from Jingzhou and beside Liu Bei's own position. If Sun Quan entered Yi first, Liu Bei's road forward would be blocked.

Liu Bei used Liu Zhang's ability to hold his land as the stated reason to oppose the campaign. When Sun Quan later prepared to send troops by himself, Liu Bei blocked the route and would not let Jiangdong's army pass.

Sun Quan could see what this meant. Liu Bei was not simply borrowing land for safety. He was also watching Yi Province.

The trust between the allies was wounded.

If Zhou Yu had lived, Jiangdong might have pushed west sooner. But while preparing to move again toward Jiangling, he fell ill and died at only thirty-six. Before dying, he recommended Lu Su to replace him.

The Historical Zhou Yu Was Not the Novel's Zhou Yu

Later fiction made Zhou Yu the man who died from anger at Zhuge Liang.

The historical Zhou Yu was not that figure.

He understood music so well that even after drinking he could hear tiny mistakes in a performance. This gave rise to the saying that if the tune was wrong, Zhou Lang would turn his head.

He treated people with courtesy, observed proper ruler-minister etiquette toward Sun Quan, and even tolerated Cheng Pu, who had once looked down on him. Cheng Pu later said that being with Zhou Yu was like drinking fine wine: one became drunk without noticing.

Liu Bei and Cao Cao both understood Zhou Yu's importance.

Liu Bei once privately told Sun Quan that Zhou Yu had both civil and military ability and a large spirit, and probably would not remain below others forever. It sounded like praise, but it also hinted at an attempt to drive distance between Sun Quan and Zhou Yu.

Cao Cao belittled Zhou Yu in a letter, claiming that at Red Cliffs he had burned his own ships because of disease and Zhou Yu merely gained empty fame. Yet Cao Cao had also sent Jiang Gan to try to win Zhou Yu over, which shows he did not truly dismiss him.

After Zhou Yu died, Sun Quan's western advance paused. Lu Su took over and continued the policy of maintaining the Sun-Liu alliance.

Liu Bei Took Shu and Still Held Jingzhou

Lu Su favored joining Liu Bei against Cao Cao. On his advice, Sun Quan handed important areas along the Yangzi to Liu Bei.

But then Liu Bei entered Shu on his own and seized Liu Zhang's territory.

Sun Quan was furious.

When Sun Quan wanted Yi Province, Liu Bei had blocked him. Now Liu Bei had taken Yi for himself and still did not return Jingzhou.

Sun Quan sent for his sister. Lady Sun almost took Liu Shan back to Jiangdong, but Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun stopped her on the river. Later fiction and popular storytelling turned this into the episode of intercepting the child on the river.

In political terms, it was more than a family matter. It showed the Sun-Liu relationship cooling further.

Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang entered Shu. Guan Yu stayed behind around Jiangling.

Lu Su's defense zone bordered Guan Yu's. Guan Yu was wary of him, but Lu Su tried to preserve friendly relations. Envoys continued to travel between the two sides.

Lu Su did this because Cao Cao still stood in the north. If Sun and Liu broke too early, Cao Cao could benefit.

But Sun Quan's patience was running out.

Since Liu Bei now had Yi Province, he should return Jingzhou. Sun Quan sent Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang's elder brother, to ask for it, hoping the family connection might help.

Liu Bei gave a slippery answer. He said he planned to take Liangzhou, and after that he would return Jingzhou.

It sounded like a deadline, but it was almost impossible. Liangzhou was far to the northwest. Liu Bei had only just taken Yi Province and still had to govern it. How could he take Liangzhou immediately?

Sun Quan understood the delay.

He appointed his own administrators for Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang to test Liu Bei's response. If Liu Bei accepted them, he admitted the commanderies should return. If he drove them out, the issue would move toward force.

Guan Yu expelled all three.

Sun Quan was enraged and ordered Lü Meng to lead twenty thousand troops to seize the commanderies.

Lü Meng Entered the Center of the Story

Lü Meng, courtesy name Ziming, had risen from the ranks.

As a youth, he followed his brother-in-law Deng Dang into war. Hot-tempered, he once killed a man who insulted him and went into hiding. Later he was recommended to Sun Ce and entered the Sun army.

After Deng Dang died, Zhang Zhao recommended Lü Meng to succeed him. Lü Meng gained his own troops and a path upward.

When Sun Quan took power, he considered merging the forces of young commanders who had too few soldiers. Lü Meng feared losing his command, so he sold family property, equipped his men, and drilled them strictly. When Sun Quan inspected them, he saw the discipline and increased Lü Meng's troops instead of reducing them.

Lü Meng had not studied much. Sun Quan urged him to read, saying he did not expect him to become a classical scholar, only to learn history and understand command and administration.

Lü Meng listened and began studying.

When Lu Su later passed through Lü Meng's post, he initially saw him as only a soldier. After talking with him, Lu Su was astonished by his analysis of Guan Yu and Jiangdong's strategy. This is the background of the sayings about Lü Meng no longer being the old "A-Meng of Wu" and how after three days apart one should look at a man with new eyes.

Now Sun Quan needed someone to take the three commanderies. Lü Meng was ready.

The Three Commanderies Dispute

When Liu Bei learned Sun Quan had sent troops, he came from Yi Province to Gong'an and ordered Guan Yu to fight for the commanderies.

Sun Quan personally commanded from Lukou. Lu Su stationed troops at Yiyang to hold Guan Yu in check. Lü Meng moved quickly against Lingling.

Hao Pu, Administrator of Lingling, held firm.

Lü Meng used Hao Pu's old connection with Deng Xuanzhi. He sent Deng into the city to persuade him, falsely claiming that Liu Bei had been surrounded by Xiahou Yuan and Guan Yu could not come to help. Hao Pu, cut off from outside information, believed he was isolated and surrendered.

Only when he saw Sun Quan's military letter to Lü Meng did he realize Liu Bei had already arrived at Gong'an and Guan Yu was nearby at Yiyang. It was too late.

Lü Meng left men to handle Lingling and hurried to Yiyang.

The operation showed another side of him. He was not only a hard fighter. He could use information gaps to collapse a defender's will.

Lu Su then decided to meet Guan Yu.

They agreed that both armies would stay one hundred paces away and only the commanders would meet with swords at their sides. This is the source of the later "single sword meeting."

In opera and fiction, the scene often highlights Guan Yu. In the historical record, Lu Su is the one who directly challenges the other side.

Guan Yu argued that Liu Bei had also contributed at Red Cliffs, so he deserved land.

Lu Su replied that after Changban, Liu Bei had been broken and almost had nowhere to stand. Sun Quan had not spared land or people, which gave Liu Bei a foothold. Now Liu Bei had obtained Yi Province and still wanted to swallow Jingzhou. How could that persuade anyone?

Guan Yu had no easy answer.

The meeting did not solve the issue, but it made both positions clear. Jiangdong wanted its land back. Liu Bei needed the connection between Yi and Jingzhou. Neither side wanted to retreat.

Sun Quan could take land, but he could not let the alliance fully collapse. Liu Bei could delay, but he could not fight Jiangdong completely while Cao Cao threatened Hanzhong.

Then news came that Cao Cao was preparing to attack Hanzhong.

Liu Bei feared that if Cao Cao took Hanzhong, Yi Province would be threatened. He asked Sun Quan for peace. Sun Quan also did not want Cao Cao to benefit from a Sun-Liu war.

They agreed to divide Jingzhou along the Xiang River. Changsha, Jiangxia, and Guiyang east of the line went to Sun Quan. Nan Commandery, Lingling, and Wuling west of it stayed with Liu Bei.

Neither side was satisfied, but the wound was temporarily closed. Sun Quan recovered part of the land. Liu Bei kept the pieces that connected Jingzhou with Yi. The alliance did not break on the spot.

The Jingzhou debt was not solved. It was only postponed.

The story now moves toward Cao Cao's late power-building, Hefei, Guan Yu's northern campaign, and the breaking of the Sun-Liu alliance.