In 223, Liu Bei died of hatred in the White Emperor's City, and before his death, he was left alone with Zhuge Liang and Li Yan. According to Liu Bei's arrangement before his death, Zhuge Liang was in charge of the government and Li Yan was in charge of the army, and they balanced each other. But why, later, Zhuge Liang could easily crush Li Yan and monopolize the military and government? According to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang's Biography": .. In the first year of Jianxing, he was enfeoffed (Zhuge Liangwu) Marquis of Liangwu Township and opened the government to govern. It is also the pastoral of Yizhou. Political affairs are no big or small, salty and determined to be bright. In addition to political affairs, Zhuge Liang also led the military, and the Southern Expedition to Mengyu and the Northern Expedition to Cao Wei were all self-directed by Zhuge Liang (史載:.. Zhuge Gongxing slept at night, punished more than twenty people, and personally took care of it).
And according to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Li Yan Biography": (Zhang Wu) for three years, the first lord was ill, (Li) Yan and Zhuge Liang and received a testament to assist the young lord; Yan was the protector of the capital, unified the internal and external military, and stayed in the town of Yong'an (White Emperor City). Liu Beiming had the power to command the troops to Li Yan. So why could Zhuge Liang easily crush Li Yan and take military power in his hands?
The reason why Zhuge Liang was able to easily crush Li Yan was, first, Zhuge Liang's noble character, fair handling of things, and deeply popular with the people, but Li Yan's arrogant personality made it difficult to get close. Chen Shou's evaluation of Zhuge Liang was: Although the criminal government is steep, those who have no complaints, use their intentions to calm down and admonish Ming ye. Chen Shou's evaluation of Li Yan was that his sexual self-conservatism was high; and Chen Zhen, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty, once said: "Zhengfang (Li Yanzi Zhengfang) has scales and armor in his belly (桀骜 rebellion), and the township party thinks it is unapproachable." ”
Second, Zhuge Liang was the leader of the Jingxiang faction of the Shu Han Dynasty, while Li Yan was relatively isolated. Zhuge Liang was born in Jingxiang and rose up in Jingxiang, and the Jingxiang faction was the basis of Shu Han rule. However, Li Yan was born in Nanyang (also belonged to Jingxiang according to geography), but was originally a member of Liu Biao, and when Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou, Li Yan entered Shuzhong and surrendered to Liu Zhang. Therefore, although Li Yan belonged to Liu Zhang's old forces, he was relatively junior and was not an indigenous force in Yizhou. Therefore, Li Yan's power base was far from being comparable to Zhuge Liang's.
Third, Zhuge Liang's position was above Li Yan's, and the change of power gradually overridden Li Yan. Zhuge Liang was the head of the auxiliary ministers, and after Liu Chan ascended the throne, Zhuge Liang opened a government to govern affairs. It is reasonable to say that Li Yan also had the qualifications to open a government and administer affairs, but he was not approved. Li Yan did not have the same character as Zhuge Liang, and if he also opened a government to govern affairs, then Shu Han was likely to split the internal strife. Although Zhuge Liang's power to command the army was lower than that of Li Yan, according to the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Zhuge Liang's Biography", Liu Bei was called emperor after ...... Liang recorded Shang Shu shi with the Xiang Xiang, false festival. After Zhang Fei's death, he was assigned to the lieutenant colonel.
That is to say, in addition to the position of chancellor, Zhuge Liang also received the position of lieutenant colonel (formerly Zhang Fei). The lieutenant colonel was equivalent to the commander of the garrison in the capital (Chengdu) and also had the power to command the troops. Zhuge Liang could take advantage of this dual identity and gradually take over military power.
Then, by what means did Zhuge Liang rely on to take over Li Yan's military power? In fact, it is also a trick, which is "Shu (Han) Wu Tonghao". Liu Bei took Li Yan as the protector of the central capital, unified the internal and external military forces, and stayed in the town of Yong'an. It was because after the fiasco of shu han yiling, the relationship between Shu and Wu was the most tense. In addition, Liu Bei was still obsessed with the land of Jingzhou. Because Liu Bei's military direction and defensive center of gravity were on the eastern front, Li Yan was allowed to unify the internal and external military forces and stay in Yong'an.
After Zhuge Liang assisted the government, he changed the direction of Liu Bei's use of troops, and reconciled with Wu Guo, which lifted the high-risk warning on the eastern front of Shu Han. The importance of Li Yan's stay in Yong'an was also seriously reduced, and Zhuge Liang's southern conquest of Mengyu and the northern expedition to Cao Wei could legitimately draw Li Yan's troops.
References to historical books: Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, General Secretary of Seniority, etc.;