刘表想来想去，就跟韩嵩说：要不这样，你到北方去看看，看看情况。韩嵩说：将军啊，请你想好了，如果你打算投靠曹操，韩嵩是可以去的，如果你不打算投靠曹操，韩嵩就不能去，为什么呢？因为曹操是奉天子以令不臣，现在我们万岁爷是在曹操那儿，曹操不是代表他个人，他代表的是朝廷啊，韩嵩从荆州出使朝廷，朝廷多半会给韩嵩一官半职，韩嵩能够把它推辞掉当然没有问题，如果韩嵩推辞不掉，接受了天子的委任，那么我韩嵩从此就是皇上的人，不是将军你的人。韩嵩说得很清楚：“在君为君，不复为将军死也。”那我们关系就变了，我是天子的新臣，将军的故吏，我们只是朋友关系了，没有这个从属关系了，你要想好啊。刘表说你这什么意思嘛？你是不是不敢去啊，去。韩嵩到了北方，到了许都，见了曹操，又见了皇帝，被任命为侍中零陵太守，韩嵩回来以后就说朝廷朝廷怎么好，曹操曹操怎么好，皇帝皇帝怎么好，净说皇帝、曹操、朝廷的好话，刘表勃然大怒，你这小子背叛我啊，杀了。韩嵩说：你不应该杀我啊，你我有言在先啊，将军记不记得我临走之前跟你说了什么话啊。刘表的老婆蔡氏这个时候也来劝刘表，说韩嵩可是个人才，杀不得的，刘表还是很生气，最后把韩嵩关起来，直到后来曹操拿下荆州以后，韩嵩才出狱。所以这个事情陈寿有个评价，说刘表这个人“外貌儒雅，而心多猜忌”，这是第二点。
Liu Biao thought about it and said to Han Song, “Otherwise, go to the north and have a look at the situation.”. Han Song said, “General, please think carefully. If you plan to join Cao Cao, Han Song can go. If you don’t plan to join Cao Cao, Han Song cannot go. Why?”? “Because Cao Cao obeyed the orders of the Son of Heaven and did not obey him, now our Long Live Lord is with Cao Cao. Cao Cao does not represent him personally, he represents the imperial court. Han Song was sent to the imperial court from Jingzhou, and the imperial court will most likely give Han Song a position of office and half. Of course, if Han Song can refuse it, there is no problem. If Han Song cannot refuse and accepts the appointment of the Son of Heaven, then I, Han Song, will henceforth be a member of the emperor, not a general of yours.”. Han Song made it very clear: “If you are the king, you will no longer die as a general.” Then our relationship will change. I am the new minister of the Son of Heaven, and the old official of the general. We are just friends, and there is no such affiliation anymore. You must think well. What does Liu Biao mean by that? Are you afraid to go? Go. Han Song went to the north and Xudu, where he met Cao Cao and the emperor. He was appointed as the governor of Lingling, his servant. When Han Song returned, he said how good the imperial court was, how good Cao Cao was, and how good the emperor was. He spoke kindly of the emperor, Cao Cao, and the imperial court. Liu Biao flew into a rage and betrayed me, killing me. Han Song said, “You shouldn’t have killed me. You and I have a word in advance. Do you remember what I said to you before I left?”. Liu Biao’s wife, Cai Shi, also came to persuade Liu Biao at this time, saying that Han Song was a talented person who could not be killed. Liu Biao was still very angry, and finally locked up Han Song. Han Song was not released from prison until Cao Cao took Jingzhou. Therefore, Chen Shou has a comment on this matter, saying that Liu Biao is a person with a “refined appearance and a suspicious heart.” This is the second point.
第三点，刘表不会用人。前面讲过荆州这个地方是很有些人才的，别的不说，刘备、诸葛亮，刘备天下枭雄，诸葛亮人中之龙，都在刘表身边，刘表都不能用，都视而不见。北方逃难来的那些士人，只见刘表安顿，不见刘表重用，尤其是对于刘备这个人，刘表是表面上客客气气的，暗中时刻提防，《三国志》的说法是“疑其心，阴御之”，是的防刘备的。甚至按照《三国志》裴松之注所引《世语》这本书，说刘表还摆了一个鸿门宴，刘表的手下蔡瑁这些人还准备在席间对刘备下手，是刘备假装上厕所，逃了出去，逃了出去以后，刘备骑了一匹马叫“的卢”，一路跑，跑到檀溪，马掉到水里面不能动，刘备急了说，的卢啊，的卢啊，今天你要努力一下啦！然后的卢马一跃三丈，跃过檀溪，逃得性命。后来《三国演义》写了一回叫做“刘皇叔跃马过檀溪”，有这么一个故事，但这个事情孙盛认为是不可能的，孙盛说如果刘表想杀刘备的话，刘备不可能安然无恙地在荆州待了六年，我也认为这个是不大可能，但是提防他恐怕是事实。
Third, Liu Biao cannot employ people. As mentioned earlier, Jingzhou is a place where there are many talented people. Apart from anything else, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei’s heroes in the world, and Zhuge Liang, the dragon among the people, are all around Liu Biao. Liu Biao cannot use them, and they all turn a blind eye. The scholars who fled from the north only saw Liu Biao settle down, not Liu Biao’s important position. Especially for Liu Bei, Liu Biao was outwardly polite and secretly always on guard. The phrase in “The Records of the Three Kingdoms” is “suspicious of his heart, Yin Yu zhi”, which is to guard against Liu Bei. Even according to the book “Shiyu” cited by Pei Songzhi in the “Records of the Three Kingdoms”, it is said that Liu Biao also held a Hongmen banquet, and Liu Biao’s subordinates, Cai Mao, were also preparing to attack Liu Bei during the banquet. It was Liu Bei who pretended to go to the toilet and escaped. After escaping, Liu Bei rode a horse called “Dilu” and ran all the way to Tanxi, where the horse fell into the water and could not move. Liu Bei hurriedly said, Dilu, Dilu, You need to work hard today! Then, Luma leaped three zhang, leaped over Tanxi, and escaped his life. Later, “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” wrote a story called “Uncle Liu leaped over Tanxi.” There was a story like this, but Sun Sheng thought it was impossible. Sun Sheng said that if Liu Biao wanted to kill Liu Bei, Liu Bei could not have stayed in Jingzhou unharmed for six years. I also think this is unlikely, but it may be true to be on guard against him.
那么刘表的第四个问题，是后继无人。说他后继无人不是说他没有儿子，而是说他的儿子不中用，他安排又不恰当。刘表有两个儿子，大儿子叫刘琦，小儿子叫刘琮，这两个儿子都是刘表的前妻所生，而且刘表本来是喜欢大儿子的，但是他这个后妻喜欢小儿子，为什么呢？因为他的后妻蔡氏把自己娘家的侄女许配给了刘琦，这样就亲上加亲了。这样一来呢，刘表后妻蔡氏背后的这个集团，就是以蔡瑁为代表的这样的一个荆州地方豪门士族集团，就站在了刘琮的一边，然后他们都到刘表那儿，去说刘琦的坏话。刘表这个人是个什么样的人呢？借用一句成都话说叫做“耳朵”，啥子叫“耳朵”呢？就是怕老婆的人，耳朵软，“”是什么东西呢？“”就是一个东西，一种食品，经过加工以后外形不变，里面软了，叫做“”。比方说一只红薯，是个完整的，你放到炉子里一烤，把它烤软了，叫“红薯”。耳朵它是完整的，但是软，这个枕头上风一吹，他就糊涂了，他就喜欢小儿子刘琮了，这刘琦就紧张了，刘琦就想到了一个人，他认为这个人是应该可以帮助他，这个人是谁呢？这个人就是诸葛亮。
So Liu Biao’s fourth problem is that there are no successors. To say that he has no successor is not to say that he has no son, but that his son is useless and that his arrangements are inappropriate. Liu Biao has two sons, the eldest named Liu Qi and the youngest named Liu Cong. Both of these sons were born to Liu Biao’s ex wife, and Liu Biao originally liked the eldest son, but his stepwife liked the youngest son. Why? “Because his stepwife, Cai Shi, betrothed her niece to Liu Qi, and thus joined the knot.”. In this way, the group behind Liu Biao’s stepwife, Cai Shi, was represented by Cai Mao, a powerful and aristocratic group in Jingzhou. They sided with Liu Cong, and then they all went to Liu Biao to speak ill of Liu Qi. What kind of person is Liu Biao? To borrow a Chengdu saying, it is called “ear”. What is it called “ear”? “A person who is afraid of his wife and has soft ears, what is” “?”? “” is a thing, a kind of food, after processing, the appearance remains unchanged, but the inside becomes soft, called “”. For example, a sweet potato is a complete one. You put it in the oven and bake it until it is soft, which is called “sweet potato”. “The ear is complete, but soft. When the wind blows on this pillow, he becomes confused. He likes his youngest son Liu Cong, and Liu Qi becomes nervous. Liu Qi thinks of a person who should be able to help him. Who is this person?”? This person is Zhuge Liang.
