Records of the Three Kingdoms
Liu Bei, courtesy name Xuande, was from Zhuo county in Zhuo commandery. The histories call him a descendant of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan, and say the family was poor. Chen Shou credits him with patience, generosity, and the ability to keep men, and says his tactical grasp did not match Cao Cao’s.
He, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei slept on one couch and were as close as brothers. After the Yellow Turbans he depended in turn on Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Biao, gaining ground and losing it. While a guest in Jing he visited Zhuge Liang three times. The Longzhong plan, and the later memorial on the army’s departure, both set the course: hold Jing and Yi, and stay tied to Sun Quan.
In 208 Cao Cao broke him at Changban in Dangyang. Zhao Yun saved the boy Liu Shan. After the Sun–Liu alliance, Red Cliffs stopped Cao Cao’s southern march. Liu Bei took a base in Nanjun, became governor of Yi in 214, and in 219 titled himself king of Hanzhong. The year after Cao Pi replaced the Han, Liu Bei became emperor in Chengdu. The state was still called Han. In 222 he marched against Sun Quan, and Lu Xun burned the linked camps at Yiling. Liu Bei fell back to Baidi and died the next year, leaving the future to Zhuge Liang.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The oath in the peach garden is the novel’s rite: an oath to heaven, not to be born on one day, but to die on one day. The three visits become a search for a worthy man in the snow. At Changban, Zhao Yun fights his way in and out, and Liu Bei throws Adou to the ground.
The marriage in Wu, and the saying that he gained a wife and lost the army, make Sun Quan and Zhou Yu the men Zhuge Liang has counted. The charge at Baidi is lengthened. Liu Bei says Ma Su must not be trusted with much, and that if the heir can be assisted he should be, and if not the minister may take the throne himself. The order of accession, defeat, and testament follows the histories.
Reference: Wikipedia · Liu Bei