In the eighty-third episode of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Yun was ordered by Zhuge Liang to lead 5,000 elite soldiers to attack Tianshui County, but he did not expect that there was a high-ranking person in Tianshui County, who had already seen through Zhuge Liang's plan, so he made a plan and prepared to wipe out Zhao Yun's army. Zhao Yun was ambushed, attacked by Jiang Wei, Ma Zun, and Liang Qian, and fled in defeat. If it weren't for Zhang Yi and Gao Xiang, Zhao Yun might not have been able to stand out.
Zhao Yun returned to the camp and told Zhuge Liang that he had won the enemy's plan. After Zhuge Liang listened, he was amazed at this man's plan: "Who is this person, who knows my mysterious chances?" At this time, a person from Nan'an told Zhuge Liang: "The surname of this person mentioned by General Zhao Yun is Jiang, the name Wei, and the character Boyo, which is a person from Ji County, Tianshui County. His father died in battle with the Qiang people, and he and his mother were dependent on each other and were very filial to their mother. In addition to these, Jiang Wei is also a hero of the time who is both literate and martial, and has full wisdom and courage. ”
Zhao Yun deeply understood and praised Jiang Wei's excellent marksmanship and was a rare talent. After Zhuge Liang listened, he moved his mind to take it for his own use, and sincerely sighed: "I want to take the heavenly water now, and I don't want to have this person." ”
Zhuge Liang then personally raised a large army and killed Ben Tianshui County. After arriving in Tianshui County, Zhuge Liang sent Wei Yan to lead elite soldiers to kill Jiang Wei's mother's ji county, preparing to lure Jiang Wei out, dividing the relationship between Jiang Wei and Taishou Mazun, leaving him with no way to return, and finally subduing him. In the rendition, after Zhuge Liang subdued Jiang Wei, he favored him and regarded him as his "closed disciple" and prepared to pass on his mantle to him. Jiang Wei was also diligent and studious, and when Zhuge Liang died of illness, he inherited Zhuge Liang's military book and Zhuge Liang's method of making crossbows.
After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wei inherited his legacy, never forgetting to restore the Central Plains and restore the Han Dynasty. In the rendition, Jiang Wei attacked the Central Plains, and in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Jiang Wei made eleven Northern Expeditions, in which there were victories and losses. Careful friends found that Jiang Wei met his opponent Deng Ai, and there were two big defeats and one draw. The two major defeats were the Ninth Northern Expedition and the Eleventh Northern Expedition, and the draw was the Tenth Northern Expedition.
Ninth Northern Expedition: In 256 AD, Jiang Wei and Hu Ji, the general of Ren Zhenxi, agreed to meet at Shangyi, but Hu Ji missed the appointment and did not arrive on time. Jiang Wei fought alone and was defeated by Deng Ai in Duangu, suffering heavy casualties and serious injuries.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms": In the spring of the nineteenth year, Jin Jiang Wei was made a great general, supervising Rong Ma, and meeting with the Zhenxi general Hu Ji, and Ji lost his oath. In the autumn of August, Wei was defeated by the Wei general Deng Ai. The Uighurs returned to Chengdu.
Tenth Northern Expedition: In 257 AD, a rebellion occurred in Cao Wei, the third of the so-called "Three Rebellions of Huainan", the "Zhuge Birthday Rebellion". In response to Zhuge Zhi, Jiang Wei sent troops to Qin Chuan, and the Wei army led by Deng Ai stood firmly for help. It lasted for more than half a year, and in March or April 258, after the defeat of Zhuge Wei, Jiang Wei withdrew his troops. In this sentence, Jiang Wei and Deng Ai are equals, regardless of victory or defeat. However, Jiang Wei belonged to the attacking side, and the losses were naturally greater than Deng Ai's, and he returned without success.
The Eleventh Northern Expedition: In 262 AD, after Jiang Wei rested for several years, he felt that the Shu Han had recovered its national strength, so he sent troops again. He fought with Deng Ai's army against Hou He, but he did not expect that Deng Ai was superior and was destroyed by him. This was Jiang Wei's last Northern Expedition, and his losses were also very large. At that time, Huang Hao wanted to replace Jiang Wei with the right general Yan Yu, and after Jiang Wei unsuccessfully asked the hou lord to kill Huang Hao, he was too frightened to return to Chengdu and retreated to Tuntian in Puzhong.
From the above, it can be seen that when Jiang Wei was young, he dared to act boldly, saw through Zhuge Liang's plan, was favored by Zhuge Liang, and was surprised by him. However, in the later stage, Jiang Wei met Deng Ai, an opponent who was stronger than him at the same time, and fought a battle in a fearful manner, losing twice and drawing a draw.
The reason why Jiang Wei has lost to Deng Ai many times has the following two reasons.
First, the difference between the national strength of shu han and Cao Wei was too great.
At that time, the Shu Han only occupied the remote Yizhou and Hanzhong, and the property and population were far from being comparable to the prosperous Central Plains. Why did Zhuge Liang cut down Wei many times and in vain, is his military level worse than Sima Yi's? Non-also, the core lies in the fact that the national strength of the Shu Han Dynasty and Cao Wei are too far apart.
Second, Deng Ai's military attainment was indeed higher than Jiang Wei's.
In the many confrontations between Jiang Wei and Deng Ai, they were either defeated or futile. Jiang Wei had to admit that Deng Ai was indeed Cao Wei's best general and his biggest rival. Even if Shu Han and Cao Wei were equal in national strength, Jiang Wei might not be able to take advantage of Deng Ai's hands.
epilogue
During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Jiang Wei's newborn calf was not afraid of tigers, and saw through Zhuge Liang's strategy, zhuge Liang was surprised and favored. It was only a small victory, Jiang was still old and spicy, but in the later stage, Jiang Wei, as the commander of the First Army, took into account the overall situation and had long lost the spirit of "adventure". In addition, Deng Ai's military has long been higher than Jiang Wei's, so Jiang Wei's later battles with Deng Ai have been repeatedly defeated.