Original
It is a very difficult thing to make an overall evaluation of Zhuge Liang (immediately after the previous period), there are too many clues, and we can only choose what to say. I can't finish the conversation at one time, and I have to talk about it in several installments. It's just that I don't tell a story anymore, it may be a bit boring, but I hope you have the patience to watch it.
First, let's talk about the mystery of Zhuge Liang's centralized power.
As I said successively, whether it is compared with the "Longzhong Pair" or the "Out of the Division Table", it can be found that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition did not have the conditions he proposed himself, and also analyzed the reasons why Zhuge Liang still had to launch the Northern Expedition one after another, one of which was that Zhuge Liang wanted to achieve the purpose of centralizing power and then monopolizing power through the Northern Expedition.
So, why did Zhuge Liang want to monopolize power?
Liu Chan was only seventeen years old when he succeeded to the throne, and he had mediocre intellect and no prestige among the military and the people, just because he was Liu Bei's son. Liu Bei knew that his ability was not enough to unify the country, so he entrusted himself to Zhuge Liang and warned his sons to respect Zhuge Liang as they respected their father.
As for zhuge liang's last words to replace Liu Chan, it was more of an imperial heart technique than a heartfelt word, otherwise how could he hand over military power to Li Yan to balance Zhuge Liang?
In the early days, Zhuge Liang had a love affair with Liu Bei, but later things changed, and Liu Bei used Pang Tong and Fazheng to balance his relationship with Zhuge Liang. Fortunately, before Liu Bei's death, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other close generals, as well as Fazheng, Pang Tong, and other latecomers, all died, and Zhuge Liang became the only person in the Jingxiang clique who Liu Bei could entrust himself to.
Zhuge Liang relied on Liu Bei's trust to gain power and suddenly came to power, facing three weak links:
First, personal prestige is insufficient.
After entering Shu, Liu Bei's trust in Fa zheng, Zhuge Liang was not in the inner circle of power, and when Fa Zheng was flying and liu Bei launched the Battle of Yiling, zhuge liang's shadow could not be seen, and not hearing Zhuge Liang's voice was the best proof. Fa was Liu Bei's most trusted person, and after Fa Zheng's death, Liu Bei posthumously honored him as the Marquis of Yi, the only minister in Liu Bei's era who had a title, and Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, and others who died in Liu Bei's era were all posthumously recognized by Liu Chan.
Second, the power base is not solid.
Military power was in the hands of Li Yan. There were also important ministers like Dong He who were as senior as Zhuge Liang. Dong He had been serving as a general in charge of the army after Liu Bei entered Shu, and co-served with Zhuge Liang in charge of the affairs of the Left General and the Grand Sima Fu, and it is unknown whether he was willing to submit to Zhuge Liang at this time.
3. Yizhou Group is not satisfied.
Liu Bei was ungrateful and forcibly seized Yizhou, and the original officials of Yizhou were not convinced of the (Shu) Han regime established by Liu Bei, and always had resistance. Such as Tan Zhou, Du Wei, Li Mi and others.
Tan Zhou actually dared to ridicule the names of Liu Bei and Liu Chan, and later advocated surrender. Du Wei pretended to be deaf and dumb, and did not accept Zhuge Liang's appointment as the chief of Yizhou. Zhuge Liang had no choice but to find his own steps and appoint Du Wei as the Counselor, in the name of obedience to his ambitions. Before Liu Bei's death, Li Mi openly opposed Liu Bei's seizure of Yizhou in front of Liu Bei.
When Liu Bei was seriously ill, Han Jia Taishou Huang Yuan rebelled; after his death, the rebellion of the four counties in Southern Central expressed dissatisfaction with the (Shu) Han regime.
If Zhuge Liang wants to realize his political ideals and ambitions, the necessary condition is dictatorship. As a minister, he only has the conditions and reasons for centralizing power, and he does not have the ability to monopolize power, so he first centralizes power and then monopolizes power.
Through the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang completely and completely took the military and political power of the (Shu) Han Dynasty into his own hands, achieving the purpose of centralizing power and monopolizing power.
From the process of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, it can also be seen that Zhuge Liang used the Northern Expedition as a means rather than an end.
First, never take risks. In response to wei Yan's proposed risky actions, Zhuge Liang said that the reason was the best explanation, that is, to take this as a danger, it was better to be safe and honest, and it was possible to take the Long Right at peace, and the ten must be overcome without worry. It is very difficult for military operations to achieve the perfect victory, but Zhuge Liang demanded this, the purpose is to preserve strength, (Shu) Han has so many troops, once lost, all disasters will not be recovered.
Second, when he saw that something was wrong, he immediately retreated. As long as it was found that there was a possibility of defeat, whether it was a battle failure or a shortage of food in the army, Zhuge Liang would immediately retreat and would never love war. In the five Northern Expeditions, Zhuge Liang lost much troops, except for the killing of Several generals such as Ma Mo himself, the important generals had almost no losses.
Because the strength did not suffer a large loss, each retreat was an active early retreat, and there was plenty of time to design and arrange the retreat strategy and the plan after the break, and to win the battle when retreating, kill Wang Shuang, and kill Zhang Guo. It's also a miracle. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is to take advantage of this miracle, avoid the defeat of the attack, exaggerate the victory during the retreat to deify Zhuge Liang, and the writing technique is very superb.
Saying that Zhuge Liang is centralized and exclusive does not have any intention of denigrating Zhuge Liang, it is just a matter of facts. In the situation at that time in the (Shu) Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang had to centralize and monopolize power.
It should be noted that under the imperial power system, the imperial power can only be used as the absolute authority and the monarch as the supreme, and the subordinates are not allowed to centralize the power and establish personal absolute authority. The subordinates who commit this act are either deceitful or trespassing, and are the work of non-human subjects.
However, during the Zhuge Liang period, however, Liu Beituo was isolated from Zhuge Liang and allowed him to stand on his own, instructing the empress dowager Liu Chan and his brother Zhuge Liang to give Zhuge Liang the reasons and conditions for centralizing power. Liu Chan also knew that his ability was limited, and he was willing to hand over power to Zhuge Liang, except for the activities that could not be replaced, such as sacrificing heaven and earth and ancestors, all of which were decided by Zhuge Liang, and the formation of political affairs was no big or small, all depending on Zhuge Liang's ruling situation.
The imperial system is characterized by the rule of society by individual authority, which requires ideological unity; the cohesion of society by personal authority and the demand for absolute obedience. The imperial society that had lost its personal authority was a mess and could easily fall apart, as was the case at the end of the Han Dynasty. During the ancient period of division, small courts were stacked up and warlords were divided.
In the critical situation of Liu Chan's inability to establish imperial power and domestic contradictions, Zhuge Liang centralized power under the conditions allowed by the emperor and established personal absolute authority was the only way out for the (Shu) Han State at that time to unite people's hearts and consolidate the political situation.
From a phenomenological point of view, Zhuge Liang's dictatorship and Cao Cao's dictatorship are almost the same, and in some places they even surpass Cao Cao, such a big rebellion as requiring that "in the palace and the palace, everything is one", why did Zhuge Liang not receive all kinds of criticism like Cao Cao, but won all kinds of praise? Here's why. Zhuge Liang had the permission of the former emperor and the permission of the reigning emperor, and his name was justified. Cao Cao did not, but took it by force.
The five failed Northern Expeditions, was it a waste of resources and nothing? Nor did it, but it also played a certain role in the stability and continuation of the (Shu) Han regime.
Chen Shou attributed the reasons for the failure of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to three points in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, one is that Zhuge Liang's personal military ability is limited, he has the advantages of managing the army, but there are shortcomings that cannot be surprised; second, the opponent is strong, and the comprehensive quality of the Wei generals is generally higher than that of the (Shu) Han generals; and the third is the disparity between the number of people and the widows.
These factors did exist, but they were not the main factors, and the main factor was that the (Shu) Han State was weak and could not compete with the powerful Wei State. In this sense, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, like Confucius's missionary, has a tragic complex of knowing that it cannot be done.
During Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, there were many bold remarks, such as "seeking adultery according to the Tao, not being a widow", "Being guilty according to the right path, but being able to do it", and so on; these are nothing, they are propaganda needs, justice must be based on strength, and shouting slogans cannot defeat the enemy. Moreover, in the world of great strife, it is not clear whose hands justice is in.
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition objectively interfered with and delayed the development of the State of Wei, won a limited living space and time for the (Shu) Han regime, and stabilized and extended the (Shu) Han regime.
The grand goal of "Fixing the Central Plains in the North, Exhausting the Dull, Eliminating the Traitors, Reviving the Han Dynasty, and Returning to the Old Capital" in the "Table of Renunciation" is just a slogan and banner that unites people's hearts, establishes authority, transfers contradictions, and eliminates dissidents, and Zhuge Liang knows that this goal cannot be achieved.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition never took the hinterland of the State of Wei east of Chang'an as the direction of attack, and always aimed at pacifying Longyou, aiming at Yongzhou and Liangzhou. The main strategic intention was twofold: First, to place the battlefield in the territory of the State of Wei. The second is to take Yongzhou and Liangzhou, unite with the local Yu people, Qiang people and other ethnic groups to jointly resist Cao, and gradually encroach on Guanzhong without worries.
After the Northern Expedition began, the western border of the Wei state was not peaceful, and it was always ready for defense. Liangzhou and Yongzhou soldiers did not disarm, and domestic horses did not release their saddles. In addition, the State of Wu also sent troops to harass from time to time, so that the State of Wei could not carry out domestic economic development at ease.
After Zhuge Liang's death, the (Shu) Han regime lasted for another thirty years, so not only can not blame Zhuge Liang for the results of the demise of the (Shu) Han Dynasty, on the contrary, the credit for the continuation of the (Shu) Han regime for such a long time should be attributed to Zhuge Liang, and it is precisely because of Zhuge Liang's strategy of taking over Sun Wu and northern Expedition Cao Wei that it has won time and space for the stability and continuation of the (Shu) Han regime.
Let's talk about Zhuge Liang's Wenzhi martial arts.
Due to the reasons of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and the needs of the rulers, Zhuge Liang is a god-like existence in both the people and the official, and the current textbook evaluation of him is basically: the outstanding politicians, military experts, diplomats, essayists, calligraphers, and inventors of ancient China can be described as highly respected. In fact, there is a suspicion of exaggeration.
There is a strange phenomenon in the traditional evaluation of historical and political figures, dualism, either good or bad, not god or ghost, and to the extreme, good people have no shortcomings, bad people have no advantages, this is no longer called people.
Let's start with Bunji.
First, fair law enforcement, which is the biggest feature of Zhuge Liang's rule.
One of the biggest things that Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao have in common is the emphasis on the law. To put it bluntly, the "law" here refers to the law, technique, and potential in the doctrine of the legalists, not the rule of law in the modern sense.
Zhuge Liang's governance of the country is indeed a good hand, and Chen Shou's summary is very good: Zhuge Liangzhi is also a country, caressing the people, showing etiquette, (that is, the law) about official positions, from the power system, open-mindedness, and fairness. As long as they are loyal and beneficial to the state, even the enemy will appreciate and reuse them; those who violate the law and discipline will be punished as usual; those who confess and repent, even if they are serious crimes, will be treated leniently; and those who make clever remarks and opportunistic will be punished more severely, even if they are very minor. Rewards are given for the smallest good deeds, and derogatory for the smallest evil deeds. Treat things concisely, govern everything from the root, follow the name and responsibility, and be hypocritical and disdainful. The Han people all revered and loved Zhuge Liang, and no one resented even if the torture was severe, because Zhuge Liang's handling was fair and open.
Among them, the most praised is also Zhuge Liang's law enforcement.
At that time, Liu Bei attached great importance to the establishment, improvement and perfection of the (Shu) Han laws and regulations, and after obtaining Yizhou, he began to formulate laws, and Zhuge Liang, together with Fazheng, Liu Ba, Li Yan, and Yi Yuan, participated in the drafting and formulation of the (Shu) Han law "Shu Ke", but unfortunately the book has been lost, and the specific content is unknown.
Zhuge Liang's understanding of law enforcement in governing the country is: "The government of reward and punishment is to reward the good and punish the evil." Reward for meritorious service, punishment for forbidden adultery. Rewards must not be uneven, and punishments must not be uneven", "Rewards must not be falsely applied, punishments must not be imposed in vain", "Make the mind practice the severity of punishment, and reward the benefits of rewards", "Orders must not be committed, and those who violate orders are beheaded" and so on.
Zhuge Liang's law enforcement is indeed very strict, believing that "evil cannot be obeyed, and beauty is irreversible." If evil goes against the United States, its country will perish", so it has always adhered to the rule of law and rarely extrajudicial grace. If the world is never forgiven, the reason is that "the world is ruled with great virtue, not with small benefits." However, instead of abusing the criminal law as a blessing, he repeatedly emphasized that "indoctrination comes first." "To fight for the way of the king, to give priority to the order, to punish the latter, and to fight without teaching is to abandon it." "The order of the teachings is the first, and the punishment is the last" and "the people first raise and then reward, and the first order is then cursed", all of which fully reflect Zhuge Liang's law enforcement thinking of "using peace of mind and exhorting the ming" to be clear.
Although Zhuge Liang enforced the law strictly, he was not strict, and in addition to the mistakes of guarding the streets such as beheading horses and rumors, it was rare to see Zhuge Liang kill people who were inconsistent with his political views or who violated the law and discipline, such as Li Yan, Liao Li, Lai Min, and others, all of whom were punished by being degraded to shuren, moving to remote places, and being dismissed from their posts.
In the specific law enforcement behavior, Zhuge Liang was very cautious, did not kill innocents in vain, and it was good to reward no merit, and it was necessary to achieve "reward and punishment without bending, then people die." The first is the careful selection of law enforcement officials, "loyalty can make prisons, and honesty can make rewards and punishments"; second, prudent punishment. This is also the reason why Zhuge Liang also had to personally punish zhuge Liang if he was punished with more than twenty military sticks.
Zhuge Liang not only attached importance to the formulation and implementation of the law, but also paid attention to the cultivation and education of the rule of law ideology of the later lord Liu Chan. Liu Bei's edict said: "Wen Cheng Xiang wrote shen, Han, Guan Zi, and Liu Tao for (Liu Chan) to complete the pass, did not send it, and died in the Dao, but he could ask for Wen Da even more." These are all ancient Fa scholars' books, so it can be seen that Liu Bei also knew and supported Zhuge Liang in cultivating and educating Liu Chan in Fa-rectification.
The rule of law in the Han Dynasty began with Liu Bei and was perfected by Zhuge Liang. Although Liu Bei ordered Zhuge Liang and five others to formulate the Shu Ke to make it the basis of the rule of law, the specific law enforcement process was not as strict and fair as that of Zhuge Liang later, and the typical example was the Fazheng Incident mentioned earlier. The fact that Fa Zheng killed several people without permission but no one stopped him or punished him by the law shows that Fa zheng is a privileged person who is beyond the law. This incident should have left a deep impression on Zhuge Liang, who had never appeared again since he came to power such a privileged figure or phenomenon that was detached from the law.
Fair law enforcement is the core of Zhuge Liang's heavy law, and it is a breakthrough and opposition to the Confucian idea of "virtue as the main punishment auxiliary". The Confucian privilege of "not being able to punish a doctor, and not being able to pay tribute to the common people" has been subverted here, and the law enforcement concept of equality before the law makes Zhuge Liang's rule of law thinking have a very important progressive significance in the history of China's rule of law.
It also reflects the unanimous opposition of Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang, politicians from the cold door to the Confucian giants of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang's impartial law enforcement has also been highly praised by posterity. Chen Shou said of him: "Rewards and punishments must be believed, no evil is not punished, no good is not revealed, as for officials, they are not allowed to commit adultery, people are self-righteous, the Tao is not left behind, the strong are not invaded, and the weather is solemn." ”
Zhuge Liang also has what other martial arts, his personality characteristics, family situation, children's education, artistic accomplishment, etc., will be discussed in the next issue.
(To be continued)
(All the pictures in the article are from the Internet, invaded and deleted)
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