History is the memory of things that have been said and done. —Carl Baker
During the Three Kingdoms period, many powerful figures at that time had very loud titles. Zhuge Liang is known as Wolong, and Pang Tong is known as Fengyan. At that time, there was a saying that "Crouching Dragon and Phoenix, two people can have a safe world", which shows the talents of Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong. Liu Bei was very lucky, and he took all the Wolong and Fengchi into his own account. However, Liu Bei's Shu Han did not calm the world in the end. When Liu Bei entered Sichuan, Pang Tong was shot by a stray arrow during his attack on Luocheng, and he was only 36 years old when he was killed. Zhuge Liang lived slightly longer than Pang Tong and died at the age of 54.
After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang took control of the Shu Han Dynasty. After Zhuge Liang restored the strength of the Shu Han Dynasty, he began to raise troops in the Northern Expedition. From 228 AD to 234 AD, Zhuge Liang made five Northern Expeditions before and after. During this period, Shu Han also defended against an invasion by Cao Wei. During Zhuge Liang's lifetime, Shu Han and Cao Wei fought six wars. Of Zhuge Liang's five Northern Expeditions, the first and fifth were large-scale all-out wars, and the second and third were smaller local wars.
In these six wars, Zhuge Liang's main opponents were two, Cao Zhen and Sima Yi. Cao Zhen was weakened in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but in fact Cao Zhen was the commander of the Wei army who resisted Zhuge Liang's first three Northern Expeditions, and also presided over the Battle of Shu. Sima Yi was reinforced in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, exaggerating his abilities. At the time of Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Sima Yi's credit was only to quell the Mengda rebellion, and the Battle of Jieting had nothing to do with Sima Yi. Sima Yi's direct involvement against Zhuge Liang was after the Third Northern Expedition. In 229, when Zhuge Liang's Third Northern Expedition ended, Cao Wei decided to take advantage of the opportunity to cut down Shu, and Sima Yi served as a general and worked with Cao Zhen to cut down Shu.
In 231, Zhuge Liang launched the Fourth Northern Expedition. Cao Zhen was already seriously ill at this time and unable to lead the army. Cao Rui appointed Sima Yi as commander-in-chief and the town guarded Chang'an. Sima Yi led Zhang Gao, Fei Yao, Dai Ling, Guo Huai, and others to resist Zhuge Liang. At this time, Sima Yi really became the commander of Cao Wei's side and confronted Zhuge Liang. At the time of Zhuge Liang's Fifth Northern Expedition, Cao Wei's commander was still Sima Yi. Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition and Fifth Northern Expedition were also fruitless, and Sima Yi made great contributions to the confrontation with Zhuge Liang, and gradually grasped the power of Cao Wei's western army.
Zhuge Liang did not take much advantage of either Cao Zhen or Sima Yi, and all five Northern Expeditions were fruitless. So if Zhuge Liang is replaced by Pang Tong, what kind of results will occur?
The military commanders of the Northern Expedition of the Shu Han Dynasty, whether Zhuge Liang or Pang Tong, had the same final result. Even if Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were present, the Northern Expedition of the Shu Han Dynasty could not have been successful. However, if Zhuge Liang was replaced by Pang Tong, the results of the Shu Han dynasty might be greater, but the losses might also be heavier.
The fundamental reason for the failure of Zhuge Liang's five Northern Expeditions was not that Zhuge Liang's military ability was not good, nor was it the military talent of Cao Wei and Sima Yi, but that the overall national strength gap between Shu Han and Cao Wei was too large. The total strength of the Shu Han Dynasty was 102,000, and the total strength of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was 80,000. Cao Wei's army was more than 600,000, and the army against Shu Han reached 200,000. Due to the huge gap in national strength between the two sides, the Shu Han Dynasty did not succeed in many northern expeditions. The Shu Wei War was only a local war for Cao Wei, and the Shu Han had to devote the strength of the whole country to confront Cao Wei. Therefore, the war between Shu Han and Cao Wei was not a problem that could be solved by changing a commander.
Influenced by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang was seriously exaggerated and even deified. So that in people's minds, Zhuge Liang is a very prominent talent in politics, planning, military and other aspects. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms portrays Zhuge Liang as a combination of Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and Han Xin. In fact, Zhuge Liang was just a combination of Xiao He, one-third Zhang Liang, and one-third Han Xin. Zhuge Liang's political ability is greater than his military ability. In terms of Zhuge Liang's military ability, he was stronger at governing the army than facing the enemy. When Liu Beibai was entrusted with the city, he divided the political power and military power into two, Zhuge Liang held the power, and Li Yan held the military power. Liu Bei certainly did this with the intention of preventing Zhuge Liang's family from becoming dominant, but he also had doubts about Zhuge Liang's military ability.
Zhuge Liang's talent is more reflected in the political aspect, and Pang Tong's talent is more reflected in military convenience. Pang Tong is famous, but there are not many opportunities to perform. Pang Tong's credit is epitomized at the time when Liu Bei took Shu. Pang Tong set up three plans for Liu Bei to take Shu from top to bottom. History says: Yin selects elite soldiers, day and night, and attacks Chengdu; Zhang, who is neither martial nor prepared, has a large army of pawns, and is determined in one fell swoop. Yang Huai, Gao Pei, Zhang's famous general... These two sons not only obeyed the general's honorific name, but also liked the general's going, and Ji bi rode to see him, so the general insisted on it, and advanced his troops, but to Chengdu, this plan is also. Return to the White Emperor, even lead Jingzhou, Xu also tried to do so, this next plan also.
Pang Tong's upper and middle counts are very practical and effective. If Liu Bei chose to make a plan, he might quickly pacify Yizhou. Later Deng Ai defeated Shu Han by sneaking attacks. Liu Bei adopted Pang Tong's plan and eventually won the victory.
Pang Tong had a certain talent in the military and a certain achievement in strategy, and some people even believed that Pang Tong was the first strategist in Liu Bei's camp. Chen Shou once commented on Pang Tong:
Pang Tongya is a good person, through learning and thinking, Yu Shijing and Chu are called Gao Jun.
When Liu Bei attacked Luocheng, Pang Tong was killed by Liu Ya. Pang Tong, as Liu Bei's top strategist, was generally unlikely to be shot by a stray arrow. Unless Pang Tong rushed to the front, or Pang Tong was careless. Either way he was shot, it shows that Pang Tong, as a strategist, is a bit "risky". Pang Tong's military talents and strategies may be above Zhuge Liang's, but they should not be as careful as Zhuge Liang.
If Pang Tong had been the military commander of the Northern Expedition of the Shu Han Dynasty, Wei Yan's Meridian Valley plot might have been adopted. With Pang Tong's military talent, he may fight more smoothly than Zhuge Liang, and it is also possible to achieve more military success. However, because the gap between the two countries' strength was too large, Pang Tong could not succeed. The end result may be that the Battle of Pang Tong was quite lively, but it did not have much practical effect.
Of course, Pang Tong may also have another possibility, that is, a big defeat. Because Zhuge Liang was a very cautious person. Although Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition did not achieve a major victory, it did not suffer a major defeat. Pang Tong's military talent was high, but he was not as cautious as Zhuge Liang, and was even willing to take the lead. If you are not careful, it may cause the defeat of the entire Northern Expedition army, and the impact may be even greater.
Whether it was Zhuge Liang or Pang Tong, the battle against Sima Yi (Cao Zhen) was strong with weakness, and the weak side was still on the offensive. As long as Sima Yi (Cao Zhen) adopted a steady and steady strategy and consumed the Shu Han army, even if it suffered several major defeats, it was called. Shu Han had no chance of winning.