Wei Yan, a famous general at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was loyal to Shu Han, devoted himself to serving Liu Bei Liu Chan's father and son for two generations, followed Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, and was a pioneer every time, not afraid of sacrifice, made outstanding military achievements, and made outstanding contributions to the establishment of the Shu Han regime.
But unfortunately, Wei Yan's end was very tragic, not to die in battle, but to be killed by his own people. Specifically, he was killed by Yang Yi and others for the crime of "conspiracy to rebel".
So, if Wei Yan did not die and also took over Zhuge Liang's position, what would happen to Shu Han?
In this article, I will carefully analyze this issue for you according to the relevant records of the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms.
I think that Shu Han still cannot escape the danger of extinction, and my reasons are as follows.
First, Wei Yanfei was not a general.
It is undeniable that Wei Yan was indeed a brave and good general. The relevant records of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Biography of Wei Yan are as follows:
"Entering Shu with the first lord, counting the merits of battle, and moving the general of the Yamen Gate." "The Wei generals Fei Yao, Yongzhou Assassin Shi Guohuai, and Yan Zhan Yu Yang, Yan Da broke Huai, and so on."
Even if something happened later, it confirms this. Liu Bei became the queen of Hanzhong and was about to go to Chengdu, and at this time he needed a man to guard Hanzhong. Many people think that the people in the town guarding Hanzhong are none other than Zhang Fei, including Zhang Fei. Unexpectedly, however, Liu Bei entrusted this heavy responsibility to Wei Yan and made him the general of Zhenyuan and the Taishou of Hanzhong.
Liu Bei knew that he could not serve the public, so he asked Wei Yan in front of everyone: I am now entrusting you with this heavy responsibility, what are you going to do? Wei Yan replied, "If Cao Cao raises the whole country's troops to attack, I will help the great king to resist him." If Cao Cao only leads 100,000 soldiers, I will help the great king to destroy him.
It can be seen from this that in Liu Bei's mind, Wei Yan's military talent was better than Zhang Fei's. But at the same time, it can also be seen that Wei Yan only has the demeanor of a general and does not have the talent of a general. Because from Wei Yan's answer to Liu Bei's words, it can only prove that he can fight, dare to fight, and is not afraid of a strong enemy. However, when marching and fighting, relying on bravery alone will not have much effect, not to mention facing a strong enemy Cao Cao.
Even Zhuge Liang, such a general and handsome man, a resourceful man, a great military expert and politician, "six out of the Qi Mountains", the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, every time without success.
Wei Yan could not compare with Zhuge Liang, and even if he took Zhuge Liang's place, the Northern Expedition would not be successful.
Second, Shu Han was the weakest of the Three Kingdoms, and it was not something that Wei Yan could save.
As we all know, after Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, Liu Bei's territory was only Left with Yizhou, becoming the weakest of the Three Kingdoms. The so-called Shu Han regime refers to Yizhou. Zhuge Liang said in the table of renunciations:
"Today's next three points, Yizhou is tired, this is the autumn of the critical survival."
Because of the years of conquest, the Shu Han Dynasty was already weak and overwhelmed, and the lives of the common people were miserable and complained. What is even more fatal is that there are great contradictions within the Shu Han. The native warriors of Yizhou were almost in opposition. When Zhuge Liang was alive, he ruled Shu according to law and treated everyone openly, fairly, and justly, which did not provoke a rebellion. Coupled with Zhuge Liang's extremely strong ability to govern the country, the Shu Han did not split.
Wei Yan was only a general, he did not know how to govern the country, and he could not reconcile the contradictions between the parties. If he succeeded Zhuge Liang, he would certainly be dissatisfied and his position would be unstable. And Wei Yan is a proud person, he can't accept the criticism and accusations of others. So he will definitely use force to suppress it. At that time, the Shu Han Dynasty perished, probably not because of external forces, but because of internal contradictions.
Third, Cao Wei could not be eliminated, and there was only one way to continue the Northern Expedition.
We can see this by looking at Zhuge Liang's arrangement before his death. Before Zhuge Liang's death, after Wei Yan was interrupted, Jiang Wei was second. He also wrote to Liu Chan and asked Jiang Huan to take his place.
If Wei Yan really had great talent and could fulfill Zhuge Liang's will, why didn't Zhuge Liang let him take his place?
In fact, Zhuge Liang knew that Cao Wei could not be eliminated, so before he died, he wanted the Shu army to quickly withdraw to Hanzhong. Wei Yan, on the other hand, was a staunch anti-Caoist, and he was adamantly unwilling to retreat, or he wanted to continue the Northern Expedition. Therefore, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to say to Yang Yi, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei, and others, if Wei Yan did not obey his orders, you would return directly to Hanzhong and ignore Wei Yan (if Yan Yan did not obey the orders, the army would spontaneously).
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