Mencius distinguishes royal kinsmen ministers from unrelated ones. Kinsmen may replace a repeatedly unrepentant ruler after remonstrance, while outsider ministers resign if their earnest advice fails, stressing different political duties tied to blood bonds.
The Master said, “Zang Wuzhong used his fief of Fang to demand that the ruler of Lu appoint his descendants as successors. Even if someone claims he was not coercing his lord, I do not believe it.”
Liu Qi, as the eldest son of Liu Biao, was the legitimate heir to Jing Province. Why did not he join forces with Liu Bei to reclaim the governorship from Liu Cong amid the chaos?
In 208, when Cao Cao launched his southern campaign against Jingzhou, his army swept through Xinye with overwhelming momentum. Behind him marched hundreds of thousands of northern troops; at the vanguard were elite generals like Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun.
After being defeated by Cao Cao, Liu Bei fled south to Jingzhou (Jing Province) and sought refuge with the governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao. Liu Biao not only sheltered Liu Bei and his remaining forces but also generously granted him a city to recuperate. Moreover, Liu Biao actively involved Liu Bei in the administration…