In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is no mention of "Seven Captures and Seven Verticals" or "Meng Yu" in any biography.
The Huayang Guozhi is the first to record the incident of "Seven Captures and Seven Vertical Meng", but the record is very simple and there is no more discussion. The later "Spring and Autumn of the Han Dynasty" is basically the same, while the "Zizhi Tongjian" adopts the record of the "Huayang Guozhi".
The Huayang Guozhi - Nanzhongzhi records:
"In the spring of the third year of Jianxing, Liang Nanzheng. By the waterway from an upper level into the Yue Ridge. Don't send Ma Zhongfa Muke, Li Hui to Yizhou. With Qian as the Taishou Guanghan King, as the Yizhou Taishou. Gao Dingyuan was defended by Cattle, Dingshui, and Beishui. Liang wanted to gather the Yuan army and ask for it, and the army was humbled. Dingyuan Buqu killed Yong Min and Shi] and so on, and Meng was mainly based on Dai Min. Liang beheaded Dingyuan, Ma Zhong broke Muke, and Li Hui was trapped in Nanzhong. In the summer of May, Liang Dulu entered Yizhou. Meng Yu, a prisoner, put him in the army and asked, "How is our army?" "Hate does not know each other, and the public is easy to win the ear." Liang and Yifang are in the north, while the south is good for rebellion, and it is advisable to be deceitful. It is forgiveness, so that the army will be reunited, and the war will be fought. Seven prisoners, seven pardons. Convinced, Yi and Han yi thought against good. Liang Fu asked, "Ming Gong, Tianwei also!" The border chief is not evil." Autumn, Suiping Four Counties. ”
"In March, Liang Nan marched into the four counties, with Hongnong Taishou Yang Yi as his army, from the line, to the government affairs. The infantry lieutenant Xiangyang Xiang Lang made a long history and left the government in charge. Autumn, South Central Flat. The country is rich with military funds. Winter, bright and ,......"
There is some debate about whether there is a "seven-shot, seven-column" thing. But there are more arguments to deny the existence of this matter.
Here's why:
At present, there is confusion about the location of the "Seven Captures and Seven Verticals", some are recorded in Sichuan (that is, before Zhuge Liang crossed the Lulu), and some have even spoken of Yongchang County, and the analysis of these sites is arranged according to folklore.
Zhuge Liang led a large army into the remote ethnic minority wilderness to fight, must be hoping for a quick battle and a quick decision, and would never repeatedly entangle with Meng's troops, which was not in line with the basic military law. This was later evident by Sima Yi during his northern expedition against Liaodong.
From Zhuge Liang's measures after the Southern Expedition, it is not obvious that there is a need for "seven captures and seven verticals" to convince Meng Yu. If Zhuge Liang must convince Meng Yue, he must be ready to leave Meng Yu to govern the southern central region. The actual situation was that after the war, Zhuge Liang brought the leaders of the great clans, including Meng Yue, Meng Yan, and Cui Xi, to Chengdu, and did not stay as local officials. If this is the case, then why does Zhuge Liang have to convince Meng Yu?
Zhuge Liang was most worried that Meng Yu and others would lead their troops to clear the field and not engage in guerrilla warfare without confronting them head-on. In this way, Zhuge Liang's army has nowhere to go, leaving heavy troops, supply and other problems cannot be solved; leave fewer soldiers, and wait for the large army to withdraw and kill them again. Once Meng Yu adopted this tactic once in the "Seven Columns", Zhuge Liang's southern expedition could not be completely successful. With Zhuge Liang's cautious character, how could he take such a risk?
Moreover, the historical MengYu were not really ethnic minorities, but well-educated Descendants of the Han Chinese, enjoying a high prestige among the people of all ethnic groups in the South Central Region. How can such a person be so brazen that he has to wait until he is captured alive seven times in a row before he has the so-called "heart to be convinced"? Such a result would discredit Meng Yu in the southern central region and even the entire Shu state, and it would be impossible to continue to mix in the political arena. Is such a "convincing" Meng Yue still useful to Zhuge Liang?
Meng's base in Yizhou County had already been occupied by Li Hui's flanked roundabout forces, and Meng's troops had actually fallen into a situation where they had no basis in which they had been attacked by the enemy after they had withdrawn south. After Meng Yu was defeated and captured by Zhuge Liang, his troops should have been basically lost. It could not be replenished in large quantities, and only by relying on Zhuge Liang to return the remnants of the captured soldiers could the battle continue. Meng Yue wouldn't be stupid enough to rely on these remnants to defeat Zhuge Liang's army in the future, right? If he did not accept it, he should flee into the mountains, avoid the attack of Zhuge Liang's army, and accumulate strength, rather than immediately fighting a decisive battle with Zhuge Liang's army. Unless this Meng Yu was extremely stupid, he would lead these remnants of his troops to continue to fight a decisive battle with Zhuge Liang's army.
If according to the timetable of the Zizhi Tongjian, Zhuge Liang crossed the lu in May and completed the campaign to quell the rebellion in July. Then, in an area with rough roads and difficult roads, full of dumb springs and miasma, it is impossible to fight 7 battles in 2 months, with an average of one battle per week.
If you start from the ferry port on the eastern front, it is about 600 miles to Jianning, the base of Mengyu. According to the normal marching speed (and the road here must be very narrow and rough), Zhuge Liang's army would take 1 month to march even if it did not fight. There is still 600 miles to go from Jianning to Jinning, and it will take 1 month. According to the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms", it is "Its Autumn Xiping", which means that all the marches and battles have been completed by September of that year at the latest. Therefore, Zhuge Liang only had 4 months from crossing Lulu to the end of the campaign, minus 2 months of marching, and 2 months of combat, during which time not only 7 battles against Meng Yu were fought, but also possible small-scale battles against other tribes later. This was impossible to accomplish in the mountains, lack of roads, jungle-filled areas, and in ancient times, where transportation and communication were very backward.
Therefore, the normal result should be: Zhuge Liang crossed the lu in May to pursue the retreating Meng Yu army in may, overcame various weather and geographical difficulties, defeated Meng Huo in a battle, and captured him alive. He then took his troops to the Jinning area and used the influence of Meng Yu to subdue the other ethnic minorities in Yizhou County (possibly in small-scale battles). Subsequently, Zhuge Liang brought Meng Yu back to Chengdu.