When it comes to the story of Tao Qian thrice offering Xuzhou to Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms, people immediately think of the benevolent Liu Bei. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is largely due to this narrative that Liu Bei is portrayed as a generous, humble, and righteous gentleman.
Tao Qian offer Xuzhou to Liu Bei
Why did Tao Qian offer Xuzhou to Liu Bei? There different perspectives about this. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tao Qian believed that his own son was utterly incapable of controlling Xuzhou, so he yielded the position to Liu Bei. If his son were to succeed him, it might not only result in the loss of Xuzhou but could even lead to the extermination of his clan. Rather than face that outcome, it was better to give it to Liu Bei. Moreover, another crucial point is that Liu Bei was a relative of the Han imperial family, making his takeover of Xuzhou seem legitimate. Thus, Tao Qian offered Xuzhou to Liu Bei.
Questioning the Traditional Narrative
However, this explanation doesn’t hold water. Although Tao Qian was the ruler of Xuzhou at the time, the matter wasn’t something he could decide alone. In other words, even if Tao Qian genuinely wanted to offer Xuzhou to Liu Bei, it would depend on whether Liu Bei had the capability to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. As for the claim that it was due to Liu Bei’s status as a Han imperial relative, that is even more absurd. Leaving aside whether Liu Bei’s imperial lineage was genuine, at this point, he hadn’t yet interacted with Emperor Xian of Han, verified his genealogy, or received imperial recognition. How could people at the time believe that Liu Bei was a Han imperial relative? Therefore, these reasons are utterly impossible.
Liu Bei’s Power Play
The real reason behind this is more likely that Tao Qian was marginalized by Liu Bei, and in the end, Tao Qian had no choice but to offer Xuzhou to Liu Bei. It can even be argued that Tao Qian never had any intention of yielding Xuzhou to Liu Bei. As for why it was later said otherwise, it was because after Liu Bei seized Xuzhou, he felt that his takeover was illegitimate and unjustified. Therefore, Liu Bei publicly claimed that Tao Qian had voluntarily insisted on giving it to him. If you don’t believe it, go ask Tao Qian’s sons—do you think they dared to say otherwise at the time?
So how did Liu Bei marginalize Tao Qian and seize power? It actually starts with how Liu Bei came to Xuzhou to assist Tao Qian. Historical records state that because Tao Qian’s subordinates killed Cao Cao’s father, Cao Song, Cao Cao launched an attack on Xuzhou under the pretext of avenging his father. Since Tao Qian couldn’t defeat Cao Cao, he sought help from another warlord named Tian Kai. At that time, Liu Bei was with Tian Kai, and upon hearing the news, Liu Bei also went to assist. Thus, Liu Bei arrived in Xuzhou. While Cao Cao, Tao Qian, and Liu Bei were in a stalemate, Lü Bu suddenly attacked Cao Cao’s base in Yanzhou. With enemies on both fronts, Cao Cao had no choice but to retreat to save Yanzhou, allowing Xuzhou to escape disaster. This is known as Liu Bei’s righteous rescue of Xuzhou.
Initially, Tao Qian was very grateful for Liu Bei’s righteous assistance. However, what Tao Qian didn’t expect was that it’s easier to invite a god than to send one away. Logically, since Cao Cao had withdrawn, Liu Bei, who came to help, should have left as well. But surprisingly, Liu Bei showed no intention of withdrawing. This put Tao Qian in an awkward position, and the key issue was that Tao Qian couldn’t directly ask Liu Bei to leave. So, in the end, Tao Qian came up with a desperate solution: he told Liu Bei, “I will offer Xuzhou to you; you become the ruler of Xuzhou.” In reality, this was Tao Qian’s indirect way of urging Liu Bei to leave. But Liu Bei played dumb, saying, “I cannot accept Xuzhou; I came to help, but if you want me to leave, that’s impossible.” This is why Tao Qian repeatedly offered Xuzhou to Liu Bei—because by then, Tao Qian had seen through Liu Bei’s ambition.
The Shift in Alliances
Why did Liu Bei dare to stay in Xuzhou and not leave? It was because Liu Bei had realized that Tao Qian’s patron, Yuan Shu, was no longer reliable. After Yuan Shu was defeated by Cao Cao in Yanzhou, he fled east to Huainan and occupied Jiujiang Commandery, which bordered Xuzhou’s Guangling Commandery. Yuan Shu coveted Tao Qian’s territory, leading to a rift between them. This is also why Cao Cao dared to attack Xuzhou. Faced with Cao Cao’s invading army, the local forces in Xuzhou panicked. In their view, Xuzhou had previously been safe because Yuan Shu was backing them, but now things were different. Not only was Yuan Shu unreliable, but Tao Qian had also incurred Cao Cao’s wrath by the killing of his father. To prevent Cao Cao’s attack, they needed to find a new patron. But looking around, who could stand against Cao Cao at that time? Only Yuan Shao from Ji Province. Therefore, these local forces in Xuzhou sought a leader who had connections with Yuan Shao and was capable in warfare, and they chose Liu Bei. This is why Liu Bei could stay in Xuzhou without being expelled by Tao Qian—because the local forces had shifted their support to Liu Bei. Liu Bei then aligned the local forces of Xuzhou with Yuan Shao. If Liu Bei were to take over Xuzhou, he would inevitably offend Yuan Shu (who considered Xuzhou his own territory). To avoid facing enemies on two fronts, Liu Bei had to exploit the conflict between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, so he actively sought Yuan Shao’s support.
The Fall of Liu Bei in Xuzhou
After Liu Bei took control of Xuzhou, Yuan Shu was not pleased, so he frequently sent troops to attack Liu Bei. As a result, Xuzhou fell into turmoil, which was not what the local forces had originally wanted, as it did not serve their interests. This is why, when Lü Bu arrived in Xuzhou, the local forces chose him instead. In the eyes of the Xuzhou local forces, Lü Bu was far superior to Liu Bei. Lü Bu had assassinated Dong Zhuo, defeated Cao Cao, and had previously served under Yuan Shao. Most importantly, Lü Bu could establish relations with Yuan Shu and communicate with him; later, Yuan Shu even proposed a marriage alliance with Lü Bu, showing Yuan Shu’s attitude toward Lü Bu. Therefore, the local forces ultimately supported Lü Bu and expelled Liu Bei. After losing Xuzhou, Liu Bei went to join Cao Cao, the mortal enemy of the Xuzhou people. Although Liu Bei resented these local forces, he couldn’t blame them, because whoever could bring stability to the people would gain their support. The people of Xuzhou were not wrong.
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