In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), as a future king full of ambition and hegemony, Liu Bei finally chose a young man Zhuge Liang who was less than thirty years old, and Zhuge Liang, who had the talent of the heavens and latitudes, also chose Liu Bei, a down-and-out prince under the fence, but this is not an accident of history, but an inevitable choice.

[Liu Bei chooses Zhuge Liang]

Liu Bei spent the first half of his life basically in wandering, he has taken refuge in many princes, and also served as the master of Xuzhou, but from beginning to end Liu Bei lacked a strong strategist support, and other princes in the same period such as Cao Cao had Xun Yu, Yuan Shao had frustration, and even Sun Ce had Zhang Zhao, and Liu Bei was accompanied by Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others, due to the limitation of ability, Liu Bei could not provide great help, so Liu Bei came to Jingzhou, thirsty for talents, and constantly recruited excellent talents.

Xu Shu was one of Liu Bei's talents in Jingzhou, and then recommended Zhuge Liang for Liu Bei, and Liu Bei also learned the name of Zhuge Liang when he visited Sima Hui, so he did not hesitate to deign to visit Longzhong three times in order to obtain talents.

At this point, it is still necessary to make it clear that Liu Bei looked at the thatched cottage because Liu Bei had high expectations for Zhuge Liang, not that he had already recognized Zhuge Liang, if Zhuge Liang failed to show the corresponding ability in the follow-up contact, then it is needless to say what Liu Bei would do later.

But Zhuge Liang did not disappoint Liu Bei, as soon as they met, they solved Liu Bei's problem, and also planned a long-term strategic policy and specific implementation process for Liu Bei Group, Liu Bei saw that Zhuge Liang was really so powerful, and naturally put a lot of emphasis on it, and the problem of age was no longer a problem in front of Zhuge Liang's ability, "like a fish in water" This is the relationship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang described at that time.

Liu Bei found an unborn genius when he was in urgent need of talents, of course he paid great attention to it, and then after talking about it, he found that his name was well deserved, so Liu Bei knew what to do as long as he was not stupid.

[Zhuge Liang chooses Liu Bei]

Before Zhuge Liang came out, his choices seemed to be many, the north was the strongest prince Cao Cao at that time, the east was Sun Quan, Jingzhou had Liu Biao, the west had Liu Zhang, and there were countless other small and medium-sized princes, but in fact, there were basically none of them that met Zhuge Liang's wishes.

First of all, Cao Cao, as the master of the Ming Dynasty at that time, Cao Cao was definitely a good use of people, but Cao Cao was too strong at that time. Cao Cao's weak period in history is only the few years that have just developed, and the princes who coerced the Son of Heaven to move the capital, Cao Cao was already a big prince after moving the capital to Xuchang, at that time he had a basket of people who took refuge in him, and in the twelfth year of Jian'an (207) Cao Cao even the Yuan family had been eliminated, and the four northern states were pacified, and Cao Cao basically had no shortage of talents and territory, and Zhuge Liang did not have a northern network, and it was difficult for him to take refuge in Cao Cao.

What's more critical is that Cao Cao wanted Zhuge Liang to be useless, at that time Cao Cao was in a big situation, in fact, the world was about to be dominated, even if the princes outside Cao Cao were united, they might not be Cao Cao's opponents, so Zhuge Liang was not of much use to Cao Cao at that time, and Cao Cao was even more unlikely to rely on a young man in his twenties who had not proven himself, so Cao Cao was the first to be excluded by Zhuge Liang.

The second is Liu Biao, in history, Zhuge Liang has an innate advantage in taking refuge in Liu Biao, because he has a deep network in Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang may have considered Liu Biao, but Zhuge Liang has been in Jingzhou for a long time, and he is slowly very clear about what kind of boss Liu Biao is, Liu Biao is impossible to become a big thing, so Zhuge Liang will not choose him.

In addition, a better candidate is Sun Quan, Sun Quan was also a Ming lord at that time, but Zhuge Liang did not choose him, and later Zhang Zhao recommended Zhuge Liang to Sun Quan, Zhuge Liang did not follow, but said: "General Sun can be described as the master of the people, but look at its degree, can be virtuous and bright, but can not be bright, I will not stay." That is, Zhuge Liang thought that Sun Quan could not let himself use his talents to the fullest, so he did not choose Sun Quan.

In addition to Cao Cao, Liu Biao and Sun Quan, Liu Zhang is a great prince. But Liu Zhang is even more unreliable, Liu Yan left three important ministers for Liu Zhang after his death, namely Zhang Lu, Zhao Wei and Pang Xi, but these three people either defected or attempted to rebel, Liu Zhang's weakness is known to the world, and Zhuge Liang can't look at him at all.

The other princes, like Han Sui, Gongsun Kang and others, are weak and weak, and they don't have the appearance of the Ming Lord, and Zhuge Liang has no relationship with them, so Zhuge Liang doesn't even need to think about it.

So why did Zhuge Liang choose Liu Bei?

First of all, Liu Bei was very prestigious at that time and was a recognized potential stock. Let's recall what kind of evaluation Liu Bei was at that time.

First of all, Yuan Shao and Chen Deng, Yuan Shao said: "Liu Xuande Hongya has faithfulness, and now Xuzhou is happy to wear it, and he is honest and hopeful." Liu Bei once served as the minister of the Qingzhou Plain as the minister of the Qingzhou Plain, and directly bordered Jizhou, and also recommended Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan as Maocai, so Liu Bei had an intersection with Yuan Shao before becoming the pastor of Xuzhou, and it can be seen that Yuan Shao recognized Liu Bei.

Although Chen Deng is not famous, he is actually a very powerful figure, both civil and military, who once gave advice to Lu Bu to defeat Yuan Shu's Seven-Route Northern Expeditionary Army, and also repelled Sun Quan with a small number of troops, and even caused Sun Ce to prepare a direct crusade. And as an old subordinate of Liu Bei, he also had a very high evaluation of Liu Bei, and said directly: "The majestic posture is outstanding, there is a strategy of a king, I respect Liu Xuande." ”

And within the Cao Cao Group, which was the strongest at that time, Liu Bei's evaluation was even higher. Cao Cao had commented on Liu Bei twice before, the first time was when he was drinking with Liu Bei and said: "Today's heroes are the only ones who make you and Cao Er." The primordial disciples are not enough. The second time, Cao Cao forcibly sent troops to attack Liu Bei in the face of Yuan Shao's strong pressure, and also said: "Husband Liu Bei, a brilliant person, if you don't fight now, you will be troubled in the future, and you will be worried." ”

In addition to Cao Cao, Cheng Yu even directly suggested that Liu Bei be removed, "Looking at Liu Bei's eloquence and even the hearts of the people, it is better to plan it as soon as possible." That's what Cheng Yu said.

When Cao Cao was preparing for the Northern Expedition to Wuheng, the strategists and generals argued, thinking that "if you go deep into the expedition today, Liu Bei will say that Liu Biao will attack Xu." In case of change, there is no regret. Liu Bei was also seen as a major threat.

So although Liu Bei was still under the fence at that time, it didn't mean that Liu Bei was not recognized by others, Zhuge Liang denied Cao Cao and didn't want to take refuge in Sun Quan, and the only one left was Liu Bei.

Secondly, because Liu Bei Qiucai is thirsty, there is an urgent shortage of characters like Zhuge Liang around him, and Zhuge Liang can completely show his skills after taking refuge in Liu Bei, unlike where Cao Cao or Sun Quan will be restricted.

Again, Zhuge Liang is ambitious and confident. Zhuge Liang is very confident in himself, and he believes that with his help, Liu Bei can achieve the hegemony of the emperor.

Of course, distance is also one of the reasons. At that time, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei were close at hand, as the saying goes, "the building near the water gets the moon first", Cao Cao was able to get Chen Gong and Cheng Yu in Yanzhou, and Liu Bei got Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu in Jingzhou, all of which were the truth.

In the end, Liu Bei is still a clan and has a different appeal. At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were many clans, but there were not many who had the ability, potential, prestige, and ambition.

On the whole, Zhuge Liang's choice of Liu Bei is also inevitable.