In the historical stage of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao and others were called the Five Tiger Generals of the Shu Han Dynasty. For Zhao Yun's life, in the early stage, he followed Liu Bei's southern conquest of the northern war and became one of Liu Bei's most trusted military generals. After the Battle of Yiling, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, and Ma Chao, the five tiger generals of the Shu Han Dynasty, either died of illness or were killed, that is, only Zhao Yun was alive. It is worth noting that for Zhao Yun, who was older at that time, he still took the initiative to participate in Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. Among them, as far as the Battle of Migu is concerned, it can be said that it is the last battle of Zhao Yun's career. However, in the Battle of Jigu, Zhao Yun was defeated by Cao Wei's army, why?
One
First of all, according to historical records such as the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, the Battle of Ji (jī) Valley was a battle between Zhao Yun of the Shu Han Dynasty and Cao Zhen of the Wei state during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition. In the Battle of Jigu, the shu Han commander was Zhao Yun and the main general was Deng Zhi; correspondingly, Cao Wei was cao zhen, and the generals involved in the battle were unknown. The battle ended with Zhao Yun's defeat. As far as the historical background of the Battle of Jigu is concerned, in the sixth year of Jianxing (228), Zhuge Liang sent troops to the Northern Expedition after giving Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty. During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition against Cao Wei, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi claimed to be the main forces of the Shu Han Dynasty, and marched from Xiegu Province to occupy Jigu, making Cao Wei mistakenly think that he was going to attack the ancient capital of Chang'an. Of course, in fact, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi only had a small number of troops, that is, they were a suspicious army.
Two
On this basis, Zhuge Liang led the main army of Shu Han to attack Cao Wei's Longyou area. Because it was Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, coupled with Zhuge Liang's previous suspicious tactics, Cao Wei was not fully prepared in the Longyou area. Therefore, Cao Wei's three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding were unable to resist, and Tianshui and Nan'an Taishou even abandoned the defensive city and fled eastward. In order to avoid further expansion of the Shu Han army, Cao Wei sent the general Cao Zhen to personally lead an army to resist the Shu Han army. In the Battle of Jigu, a small number of troops led by Zhao Yun successfully attracted the Wei army led by Cao Zhen to the area around the mouth of Jigu and formed a confrontation. Without the defeat of The Pavilion, the confrontation between Zhao Yun and Cao Zhen might have continued for some time, in order to buy time for Zhuge Liang to attack Long Right.
Three
During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, he arranged for Ma Mo and Wang Ping to guard the street pavilion in town. However, in the Battle of the Street Pavilion, Ma Mo went against Zhuge Liang's previous plan and chose to go up the mountain to defend. In response, the Cao Wei general Zhang Guo decisively surrounded Ma Chen and defeated the Shu Han army at the street pavilion. After Zhang Hao defeated Ma Chen, Cao Zhen began to lead his troops to take the initiative to attack Zhao Yun. In the Battle of Jigu, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi actually had only a small number of troops, so they were naturally outnumbered in the face of Cao Wei's army and suffered a rout. However, the experienced Zhao Yun, after being defeated by Cao Zhen, quickly gathered scattered troops and held on to Jigu, thus minimizing shu Han's losses. And because Ma Mo lost the important town of Jieting, Zhuge Liang finally gave up this Northern Expedition.
Four
Finally, after Zhuge Liang withdrew, Zhao Yun retreated from Jigu, and Cao Zhen's army took the opportunity to pursue. For the Cao Wei general Cao Zhen, he hoped to sweep zhao yun and other Shu Han generals out. In this regard, Zhao Yun took the initiative to ask for Deng Zhi to withdraw grain and grass and other materials to Yizhou first. On this basis, Zhao Yun burned down the boardwalk, making it impossible for Cao Wei's army to continue pursuing. In general, in the Battle of Jigu, Zhao Yun was defeated by the Cao Wei general Cao Zhen because of his huge disadvantage in troop strength. However, in the process of retreat, Zhao Yun was decisive and calm, minimizing the losses of Shu Han, which can be described as a defeat. Because of his old age, the Battle of Migu became the last battle of Zhao Yun's life. According to historical records such as the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, in the seventh year of Jianxing (229 AD), one year after the Battle of Jigu, the Shu Han general Zhao Yun died. Thus, for the Five Tiger Generals of the Shu Han Dynasty, they all bid farewell to the stage of the history of the Three Kingdoms.
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