As the old saying goes, "When brothers are united, their strength can cut through gold." A superior team must be one that is united in heart. Only a team with high cohesion can unleash tremendous combat power. "United in heart" primarily means "sharing the same intention," which implies that all members must aim in the same direction and pursue the same goal. Without a consistent objective and direction, a team cannot exert its strength collectively; even with unique advantageous conditions, it is difficult to achieve success. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Zhang's team served as a counterexample. Despite possessing the natural barriers of Western Sichuan, his subordinates were divided in heart: some advocated for war, others for peace, and Zhang Song even planned to sell his lord's interests by hiding a map of Western Sichuan. Such a team with divided loyalties was destined to fail.
Furthermore, unity requires members to abandon selfish motives and suspicions. If private interests or distrust exist, true unity is impossible, and the team will inevitably descend into chaos, characterized by scheming and mutual undermining. Zhang Lu's team in the Three Kingdoms was a case in point. Zhang Lu's strategist, Yang Song, harbored selfish motives due to his greed for wealth and sowed discord. This caused Zhang Lu to suspect his general Ma Chao, forcing Ma Chao to surrender to Liu Bei. As a result, Zhang Lu lost his key combat power and fell into a losing position. In contrast, Liu Bei's team demonstrated a higher degree of unity. Although they started from scratch, their cohesive effort enabled them to establish remarkable achievements.