Liu Bei Becomes King of Hanzhong

Sun Quan had been stopped at Hefei.

In the west, Liu Bei had taken Yi Province and Hanzhong. For the first time in his life, he no longer lived as a guest under someone else's roof.

But entering Chengdu did not mean everything was settled.

Resentment in Chengdu

In 214, Liu Bei entered Chengdu.

For him, it was a turning point. The wandering years had finally produced a real base.

For many people in Chengdu, however, his arrival looked less glorious.

During the siege, Liu Bei had promised his troops that after the city fell, the treasuries would be opened to them. Once Chengdu surrendered, soldiers rushed into the stores and stripped away the wealth accumulated by Liu Yan and Liu Zhang.

Then the treasury was empty, but rewards and military pay still had to come from somewhere.

Liu Bei's old followers from Jingzhou felt they had earned land and wealth after years of hardship. The local people of Yi Province saw outsiders taking supplies and demanding more.

Liu Bei had a state. He also had resentment to manage.

Liu Bei's New Circle

Liu Bei's government in Yi Province was mixed.

Zhuge Liang stood at the center as a chief adviser. Fa Zheng was the strategist who had helped bring Liu Bei into Shu. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Ma Chao were the great military names. Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, and Xu Jing were older associates or honored guests. Dong He, Huang Quan, Li Yan, and others came from Yi Province society.

These men did not all stand in the same place.

Old followers and Jingzhou men held the inner core. Local Yi Province elites were included, but Liu Bei did not yet fully trust them.

Some advisers suggested giving fertile fields and houses around Chengdu to Liu Bei's longtime officers.

Zhao Yun opposed it.

He invoked Huo Qubing's saying that while the Xiongnu were not destroyed, how could he think of a home? Cao Cao was still alive. The realm was not settled. Liu Bei should let the people return to farming and recover before taking taxes and service from them.

Liu Bei accepted the advice.

It mattered. If Liu Bei had handed local homes to his followers as spoils, Chengdu's anger would have deepened.

Zhuge Liang Governs Shu

Liu Bei then appointed Zhuge Liang to help govern Yi Province.

Zhuge Liang enforced strict laws.

This was different from Liu Zhang's loose style. Under Liu Zhang, local powers and officials had grown used to weak command and soft punishments.

Fa Zheng urged Zhuge Liang to begin with leniency. Liu Bei had just entered Shu and had not yet shown enough grace to the people.

Zhuge Liang disagreed.

When Liu Bang entered Guanzhong after Qin, leniency made sense because Qin had been harsh. Yi Province's problem was the opposite. Authority had become too weak. Favors had no limits. Law had lost its force.

So Zhuge Liang first rebuilt order.

It was not always popular. But Yi Province stabilized.

Jian Yong's Joke

Strict law could still go too far.

Because grain was tight, Liu Bei banned private brewing. Later the enforcement became so severe that people could be punished simply for owning brewing tools.

Jian Yong found a way to object without confronting Liu Bei directly.

One day, while riding with Liu Bei, he saw a man and a woman walking together and said they should be arrested for adultery.

Liu Bei asked how he knew.

Jian Yong replied that they possessed the tools for adultery, just as a household with brewing tools supposedly possessed the tools for illegal wine.

Liu Bei laughed and released those punished only for owning brewing equipment.

The story shows that Liu Bei's new order was not frozen. Strictness was the direction, but advisers still corrected excess.

Hanzhong Changed Everything

When Cao Cao took Hanzhong, some urged him to attack Shu while Liu Bei was newly established and local hearts were unsettled.

Cao Cao did not move immediately. He said people suffer because they do not know when enough is enough: after gaining Long, must one still desire Shu?

Later reports from Shu suggested that the province was indeed anxious. By then the moment had passed.

Liu Bei stabilized Yi Province, defeated Xiahou Yuan at Mount Dingjun, and forced Cao Cao out of Hanzhong.

After Cao Cao withdrew, Liu Bei expanded.

To the west, he took Wudu, though Cao Cao moved many Di households away before Liu Bei could gain their population.

To the east, Meng Da advanced from Zigui toward Fangling and Shangyong. Liu Bei sent his adopted son Liu Feng from Hanzhong to command alongside him.

Yi Province, Hanzhong, and Shangyong now formed a larger arc. Liu Bei was no longer merely holding Chengdu. He could reach north and east at the same time.

King of Hanzhong

By 219, Liu Bei held Yi Province, Hanzhong, and part of Jingzhou.

Cao Cao had already become King of Wei. Liu Bei, as a member of the imperial Liu clan, could not remain only Left General and a minor marquis.

Ma Chao, Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, and more than one hundred others jointly petitioned Emperor Xian to make Liu Bei King of Hanzhong.

The petition accused Cao Cao and presented Liu Bei as a protector of the Han in Ba-Shu and Hanzhong.

Emperor Xian was controlled by Cao Cao. Liu Bei could not wait for real approval.

He set up an altar, arranged the army, received the seals, and declared himself King of Hanzhong.

Only afterward did he send the petition to Emperor Xian and return his old seals.

He also made Liu Shan his heir.

For Liu Bei's camp, this was more than a title. Yi Province supplied the rear. Hanzhong guarded the northern gate. Shangyong connected toward the east. Jingzhou was still held by Guan Yu.

This was the height of Liu Bei's power.

It did not last long.

The news from Jingzhou was about to arrive.