Liu Bei Becomes Emperor of Han

Cao Pi had ended the Han and founded Wei.

In Chengdu, Liu Bei could not remain silent.

His most important political identity was that he belonged to the imperial Liu clan. If Cao Pi had removed Emperor Xian, then the banner of Han was now available to Liu Bei.

But the throne came with wounds: Jingzhou was gone, Guan Yu was dead, and the eastern line was broken.

After Guan Yu

Guan Yu's death cost Liu Bei more than one general.

Jingzhou had been the eastern bridge between Yi Province, the Central Plains, and Jiangdong. Now it was gone.

The territories around Fangling, Shangyong, and Xicheng also became unstable.

Meng Da had once helped Liu Bei enter Shu and later worked with Liu Feng in Shangyong. When Guan Yu was besieging Fancheng, he asked Liu Feng and Meng Da for help. They did not come.

After Guan Yu died, Meng Da feared punishment and quarreled with Liu Feng. He defected to Cao Wei.

Cao Pi welcomed him warmly and sent Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang to attack Liu Feng.

Liu Feng could not hold the three commanderies and fled back to Chengdu.

Liu Bei was furious. Zhuge Liang also believed Liu Feng was fierce and difficult to control, and might one day threaten Liu Shan. Liu Feng was ordered to die.

Before Liu Bei became emperor, he had lost a sworn brother, an adopted son, and the eastern gate of his state.

Why Chengdu Needed an Emperor

After Cao Pi's accession, a report spread in Yi Province that Emperor Xian had been killed.

It was false. Liu Xie lived for many years as Duke of Shanyang.

But in Chengdu, the report had political value.

Liu Bei mourned the former emperor and gave him a posthumous title. If the Han emperor had supposedly been murdered, Liu Bei could claim that he was continuing the Han line.

Officials urged him to take the throne.

They cited omens and denounced Cao Pi. Zhuge Liang compared Liu Bei's position to that of Liu Xiu, the founder of the Eastern Han, who had restored Han rule amid chaos.

The comparison was useful. Liu Xiu had not simply inherited in the capital. He rebuilt Han authority in a broken world.

Some later historians questioned Liu Bei's claim. In Chengdu, however, the regime needed a title strong enough to stand against Wei.

In 221, Liu Bei became emperor south of Chengdu at Wudan. His state called itself Han.

Later historians call it Shu Han to distinguish it from earlier Han dynasties and from Wei. Liu Bei's own banner was Han.

Zhuge Liang became chancellor. Xu Jing became Minister over the Masses.

Whom to Attack First

After becoming emperor, Liu Bei quickly looked east.

Guan Yu had been killed. Jingzhou had been seized. To Liu Bei, this was both personal vengeance and strategic loss.

Not everyone agreed.

Zhao Yun argued that Cao Pi was the usurper. If Liu Bei attacked Wei first, people in Guanzhong might respond. If he attacked Wu first, the war would be hard to stop.

Liu Bei did not listen.

He left Zhao Yun in the rear and pressed forward.

The contradiction was sharp. By the logic of Han legitimacy, Cao Pi should be the main enemy. By the logic of Liu Bei's grief and recent losses, Sun Quan stood first.

Liu Bei chose Sun Quan.

Zhang Fei Dies

Before the eastern campaign began, another blow came.

Zhang Fei was preparing to lead troops from Langzhong to join Liu Bei.

He was violent toward subordinates and often flogged them. His officers Zhang Da and Fan Qiang feared punishment, killed him at night, and fled to Wu with his head.

When Liu Bei heard that a report had arrived from Zhang Fei's camp, he sighed that Zhang Fei was dead.

Guan Yu had just died. Now Zhang Fei was gone too.

Chen Shou later praised Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as warriors worth ten thousand men, but he also noted their flaws: Guan Yu was proud, Zhang Fei was harsh and lacked grace toward his men.

Liu Bei went east without the brothers who had stood beside him from the beginning.

Toward Yiling

Zhuge Liang did not join the campaign.

He had not favored the war. His elder brother Zhuge Jin also served Wu, which made his presence on the eastern front politically sensitive.

Liu Bei needed him in Chengdu as well. The new imperial government could not be left without its main organizer.

Liu Bei marched east. Sun Quan first asked for peace, hoping to absorb Jingzhou without another disaster.

Liu Bei refused.

Zhuge Jin also wrote to him, urging him to weigh whether Wei or Wu was the more urgent enemy. Liu Bei still did not turn back.

Sun Quan appointed Lu Xun as commander.

Liu Bei sent Wu Ban, Feng Xi, and Zhang Nan forward. Huang Quan guarded against Cao Wei in the north. Ma Liang went to contact the local peoples around Wuling.

Liu Bei was not simply charging in anger. He tried to give the campaign a front, a northern screen, and local support.

But once battle began, all those arrangements would be tested.

The first major war of Liu Bei's imperial reign could no longer be avoided.

Next, the campaign will burn at Yiling.