The secret behind Xun Yu's decision: Not Liu Bei but...

Welcome back to Battle Cry of Chinese History. Sun Yu, a name familiar to anyone passionate about the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. With this figure's counsel, Chao Chao won important victories over military factions such as Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shao. This helped Chao Chao gain a foothold and rise to become the strongest of the three remaining warlord factions of the late Han. Yet, as we know, the end of Sun Yu's life became a tragedy, making later generations inevitably liken Chao Chao to one who pulls the plank after crossing the bridge. So who was right, and who was wrong? The strategist who supported the Han and aided Chao. Sun Yu, born in 162, was from Yingying County, Yingchuan Commandery. Sun Yu's grandfather was Sun Shu, who served as a county magistrate. His father was Sun Kun, he and his seven brothers were all gifted, known as the Eight Dragons. Sun Kun once served as chancellor, Sun Kun's younger brother Sun Shuang, Sun Yu's uncle, served as minister of works under Emperor Xian of Han. In his youth Sun Yu was talented, he was recommended as filial and incorrupt, and then employed by the court as an official in Wuyang. In 189, Dong Shuo rebelled, brought troops to control the court, and appointed Sun Yu as county magistrate of Kangfu. After a short time, Sun Yu resigned and returned to his hometown in Yingying. He advised the people of his hometown to quickly prepare to leave, not to cling to Yingchuan, for war was on all sides. Sun Yu, his younger brother Sun Kan, and his fellow townsmen Exian Ping and Guo Tu went to seek out the governor of Ji Province, Yuan Shao, and were taken in. After some time, Sun Yu realized Yuan Shao could not accomplish great things. He left Yuan Shao and went to Dong Commandery in Yan Province to follow Cao Cao, that was in 191. Sun Yu was immediately highly valued by Cao Cao, who regarded him as Zhongliang. As Zhongliang had helped Han Gaozu establish his enterprise and was employed in great affairs. He was the one who advised Cao Cao to welcome Emperor Xian to Xuchang, which laid the foundation for the later success of the Cao faction. Sun Yu set out three great principles for Cao Cao. Called great compliance, great strategy, and great virtue. First, honor the son of heaven and follow the will of the people, this is great compliance. Second, act impartially and selflessly, subdue the powerful, this is great strategy. And third, using righteousness to recruit heroes, that is great virtue. Everyone, note first, revere the emperor. And this emperor is no stranger, he is Emperor Xian of Han. So to some extent, the idea of aiding the Han house was raised by Sun Yu. And many later events showed he was an ardent supporter of the Han. It was because Sun Yu believed Cao Cao remained fervent and loyal to the Han that he served Cao Cao. So a question arises, if he supported the Han, why did Sun Yu not serve Lu Bei? Historians of this period give the following reasons. First, Lu Bei's background must be mentioned. Lu Bei claimed to be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, Lu Xing. The problem is that Lu Xing was later demoted to commoner status, so he was considered no longer of imperial blood. Moreover, Lu Xing was lustful and debauched, with as many as a hundred children. Not to mention later generations, whose vast numbers make bloodline hard to verify. So Lu Bei's claim to be a descendant of Lu Xing is very hard to verify clearly. Supporting the Han was merely a political slogan created by Lu Bei. Based on this, Emperor Xian secretly approved, granted Lu Bei authority, and allowed him to raise an army against Cao Cao. Lu Bei's so-called noble origin is merely a record copied in the Song era. Whether Lu Bei truly bore the Lu surname still requires further study. Therefore, Lu Bei could not represent the Han of that time. Only Emperor Xian of Han, Lu Xia himself, and Emperor Xian was in Cao Cao's hands. Thus, it is easy to understand why Sun Yu followed Cao Cao. Second, Sun Yu helped Cao Cao also because he wanted to revive the Han. At first, in the early period, Cao Cao showed no intention of usurping the Han. Moreover, at that time, only a great hero like Cao Cao was fit for Sun Yu's talents. Third, Sun Yu did not choose to follow Lu Bei then, possibly because Lu Bei's faction had little power and fame at the time. Conversely, tales of Cao Mingde spread everywhere, even when young, Cao Cao was called a hero of chaotic times. It can be seen that Cao Cao himself was an outstanding and talented politician. Later, word that Cao Cao failed to kill Dong Shuo made loyal Han officials, including Sun Yu, deeply admire and respect him. From then on, with Sun Yu's support, Cao Cao gained the strength and resources to launch grueling campaigns. Whenever Cao Cao sent troops out to war, Sun Yu guarded the cities and held the rear. Even in defeat, Sun Yu helped him restore the morale of the whole army. Whenever Cao Cao faced a matter he could not decide, the first person he thought of was Sun Yu. Even while campaigning at the front, he would send someone back overnight to ask Sun Yu's advice. Moreover, Sun Yu never thought of betraying Cao Cao, nor of leaving Emperor Xian of Han. So there was no question of Sun Yu endorsing Lu Bei's claim to Han legitimacy. As his ambitions grew, by continually helping Cao Cao advance on the path of pacification, Sun Yu rose quickly. Sun Yu was in fact by Cao Cao as Marquis of Wansui Pavilion. In all prior history, there had never been anyone like Sun Yu, without any battlefield merit, who was made a Marquis merely for serving as Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat. As Cao Cao achieved success, the relationship between Cao Cao and Sun Yu gradually changed, just as the growing power of the Cao clan pressured the Lu clan at court. Cao Cao's intimidation of Emperor Xian made Sun Yu reconsider his sovereign. In 204, Cao Cao captured Yi, the capital of Ji province, from the Yuan clan, making himself master of most of Hebei and the central plains and driving the Yuan clan north. Some proposed changing administrative boundaries for the Cao clan's private domain, restoring the nine-province system of old. Accordingly, the two provinces of Bing and Yu, along with Fengyi and Fufeng commanderies under Xi province or the Sili protectorate, would be merged into Ji province. Thus Cao Cao's personal territory in Ji province would be enormous. This concerned not only Cao Cao's private domain but also the political question of the Han house. At the time, the two capitals Wuyang and Chang'an of western and eastern Han both belonged to Xi province or the Sili protectorate. Among them, Chang'an belonged to Jingzhao commandery and Wuyang to Hunan commandery. If Sili province is abolished, partitioned, and merged into Ji province, that will be the first step in erasing one of the Han's provinces and increasing territory for a powerful minister. When this was brought up for discussion, Sun Yu objected, saying, My lord has defeated Yuan Shang, captured Xianpei, and shaken the whole realm. If you now merge others' territory into Ji province, it will force them to worry, no longer able to hold their land with any justification, fearing my lord will settle scores with them one by one. Thus they will risk everything and resist. My lord will find it hard to take the realm. Cao Cao found this reasonable and temporarily shelved the plan to partition and expand Ji province. But it surely left a grudge in Cao Cao's heart towards Sun Yu. Later, Cao Cao killed the imperial consort and pressured Emperor Xian of Han. He could accept turning a blind eye. The Han imperial house was already too weak, there had been arrogant, cruel generals like Liang Ji, who poisoned the emperor to death, and men like Dong Zhuo sought personal gain and selfishly deposed the ruler. But in the end, the realm still belonged to the Lu clan, and the court could still continue to function as before. That was exactly the limit Sun Yu could accept, because Cao Cao had truly rendered great service to the Han, so he could serve as Xiao He, this was still the best outcome. If he could not be Xiao He, then He Guang would do, as for arrogant, cruel men like Liang Ji and Dong Zhuo who wanted to replace the emperor, Sun Yu had already seen them. So as long as this realm still answered the Han's call and orders, they could still cooperate with one another. But when Cao Cao wanted to become Wei Wang, he objected at once. Under Han heaven, there cannot be such a position. The sky cannot have two suns. How can a court have both an emperor and a king? What principle is this? Ask across the realm, in every province, prefecture, and commandery, whose orders do they obey? A gentleman who loves others with virtue should not act like this. Lord Cao originally rallied righteous troops to aid the court and pacify the realm, until now, he has kept his loyalty and humility. We should not go against Lord Cao's original intention. Hearing Sun Yu say this, Cao Cao was curious. Then your ideals and mine are completely opposed. Sun Yu, do you still see me, Cao Cao, as the administrator of Dong commandery from our first meeting? Where's this Han house you speak of? Two-thirds of this realm was pacified by my hand alone, Cao Cao. If I did not do this, reality would crush me to death, leaving not even a trace. Your ideals and my reality are opposed. You want me to withdraw, how could I? By this time, the two had become confidants who no longer shared the same aspirations. The empty box that severed their bond. In the 17th year of Jianan, 212 AD, Cao Cao led troops against Sun Quan at Ruxue. Unlike usual, this time Cao Cao decided not to leave Sun Yu behind to guard Xuchang. Instead, he transferred him to the post of minister of the imperial household, aiming to separate Sun Yu from the center of government. Cao Cao then ordered Qin Yu to deliver an empty gift box to Sun Yu. Not long after receiving the empty box, Sun Yu decided to take his own life quietly. The real reason was simple, Cao Cao meant to tell Sun Yu that this was just an empty box, inviting him to help himself. In Chinese, take is a homophone of judge yourself. Sun Yu was clever enough to grasp Cao Cao's implication. Sending this empty box meant he wanted him to judge himself. And remember, this box was an empty box. It was exactly the way Cao Cao had been reminding Sun Yu. The Han house's favors ended long ago. Now you still want to restore the Han, so the Cao clan's favors will end as well. Stop daydreaming. A man as wise as Sun Yu would not find these schemes hard to understand. Not long after, a great fire broke out. In this fire, what Sun Yu burned was not only the secrets of the three kingdoms, but also his ideals. What he pursued all his life, he left not a trace of it to Cao Cao. He lived to 50, though he later deeply regretted causing such enormous ruin. But not long after Sun Yu died, Cao Cao was made king of Wei, one step closer. To let Cao Pi usurp the throne and found Wei. After Sun Yu died, Cao Cao wished to ascend as king. But Sima Yi and Qin Kun, men Sun Yu had recommended, opposed him. But soon after, these men also stepped onto the stage of history. Even deciding both the course and the end of the three kingdoms era. Evil is repaid with evil. And as the old saying goes, evil is repaid with evil. Sun Yu's own descendant later succeeded in avenging his father. When he became one of the first to help bring down Cao Wei. This avenger was Sun Yi, Sun Yu's sixth son. Records say when Sun Yu died, Sun Yu was young and was raised by his brother-in-law Qin Kun. Under Emperor Wen of Wei, he rose to the rank of Zhonglong as Sima Yi and his sons began to seize power. Because Sun Yu had close ties to the Sima clan and still bore the grudge of his father's death, he agreed to help and joined their faction. After his feat of killing Guan Shoujian, he was made Marquis of Guanshui Pavilion and appointed Minister of Works. Sima Zhao died, Sun Yu assisted Sima Yan and was further promoted to Duke of Linhuai, serving as Grand Commandant. Finally, when Sima Zhao usurped the Cao Wei throne, Sun Yi was one of the foremost founding ministers who lifted the clan to its peak. After Jin replaced Wei, he remained one of the most respected figures at court. With his intelligence and cleverness, Sun Yu's descendant became a trusted confidant of many notorious figures of the time. Such as Sima Yi, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, Sima Yan, etc. And afterward, he put a complete end to Cao Wei, completing his revenge for his father. This ending of mutual revenge might have surpassed even Cao Cao's countless calculations.