For thousands of years, the image of Shu Xiang Zhuge Liang's loyal subject "bowing down to death and then dying" has remained in the minds of the vast majority of readers. It is true that the image of Zhuge Liang has always been very positive, and even the poet Du Fu wrote a poem that reads, "Before the teacher dies, it makes the hero cry" to praise Zhuge Liang's tireless labor.
However, no one is perfect. Even if Zhuge Liang's image tends to be perfect, he has done some not-so-bright things. For example, in the case of Wei Yan's death and Li Yan's deposing, Zhuge Liang's motives had to be questioned. However, it is understandable that Zhuge Liang was born into the Shi clan group and was also the leader of the Jingzhou group within the Shu State, and some of his political means were actually beyond reproach. However, some of the things Zhuge Liang did during Meng Da's death were somewhat strange. In order to kill Meng Da, Zhuge Liang did not hesitate to give up the three counties of Shangyong, what is going on?
When it comes to Meng Da, many people hate him a little. Because of such a repetitive villain, I am afraid it is difficult to get the reader's like. In both the canonical history and the yanyi, Meng Da was for his own interests, and thus always oscillated between Wei Shu and Wei Shu. In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Meng Da is even more hateful, because he prevented Liu Feng from rescuing Guan Yu; even Xu Huang, one of the five sons of Liang, was shot in the forehead by Meng Da and died. In history, Meng Da has betrayed Liu Zhang, Liu Bei, and Cao Pi, and is indeed a repetitive villain.
Even Zhuge Liang, who was quite elegant, had a bitter hatred for him. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms? The Biography of Fei Shi records that at that time, a descendant named Li Hong came to see Zhuge Liang and Fei Shi. During the banquet, Li Hong said something like this: "Passing by Meng Daxu, it is appropriate to see Wang Chong coming from the south, and the one who talks to him will go away, and the Ming Gong will cut his teeth and want to curse his wife, but Lord Lai Xian will not listen." It can be seen that Zhuge Liang really hated Meng Da so much that he even wanted to blame Meng Da's wife, but was stopped by Liu Bei.
Leaving aside the enmity between Zhuge Liang and Meng Da, let's first look at the cause of Meng Da's death. After Meng Da was ostracized, he had no choice but to sacrifice the three counties of Shangyong and then surrendered to the State of Wei. For Meng Dalai, Cao Pi showed great importance. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms quotes Wei Luo as saying: "Emperor Wen was on the throne at the beginning of his reign, and he knew it well, and he was very pleased with it when he heard it came from... The king came out, took the small dragon, held the hand, and stroked his back: "Qing de wuwei Liu Bei assassin evil? 'And so it goes. He also added Bai San to ride a regular attendant, led the new city too guard, and entrusted him with the task of southwest. The land of the three counties in Meng Da's hands was a strategic place that Cao Pi attached great importance to. With Meng Da guarding the Shangyong area, he could monitor the movements of Jingzhou and Yizhou at all times. After Meng Da surrendered to the State of Wei, he also had a high degree of autonomy over the three counties of Shangyong.
However, after Cao Pi's death, Meng Da felt a threat from the court: "Da was favored by Emperor Wen, and was friendly with Huan Jie and Xiahou Shang, and Emperor Wen collapsed, Shi Huan and Shang were both pawns, and Da thought that he had been in Xinjiang for a long time, and his heart was not at ease." Not only that, Shen Yi, who had betrayed Liu Feng, also attacked Meng Da and attracted Sima Yi's attention: "King Sima Xuan sent liang Jichazhi to join the army, and then persuaded him to enter the dynasty, and Da was frightened. ”
Because of this, Zhuge Liang and others saw hope. After Meng Da surrendered to the State of Wei, Zhuge Liang and Li Yan also frequently exchanged letters with Meng Da, hoping to regain it. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms? The Biography of Fei Shi records: "Liang wanted to seduce Da as foreign aid, but he even worked with Da Shu. In this letter, Zhuge Liang did not talk about Meng Da's faults, and put all the responsibility on Liu Feng: "Woo Mengzi, Si Shi Liu Feng invaded the foot of the tomb, in order to hurt the righteousness of the first lord to treat the soldiers." I have to say that Zhuge Liang's means are still extremely clever, and in just a few words, Meng Da dispelled the doubts in his heart. Immediately afterward, Zhuge Liang used "words of expression, pursuit of the goodness of life, and looking east, so there are books" to express his ardent feelings for Meng Da's return. In this way, Meng Da was successfully fooled by Zhuge Liang and decided to raise an army against Wei.
Soon after, Meng Da rebelled against Wei, but was immediately suppressed by Sima Yi, and Meng Da died as a result. The most bizarre thing about this is Zhuge Liang's attitude. From Meng Da's letters with Zhuge Liang before he raised his army, it can be clearly seen that Zhuge Liang's attitude was that he supported Meng Da. However, after Meng Da raised an army, Zhuge Liang deliberately did not send troops to rescue: "Liang also has the heart of no sincerity, so he does not rescue him." Not only that, Zhuge Liang also sent someone to inform Shen Yi.
The Book of Jin? Emperor Xuan's Chronicle reads: "Da Then even Wu Gushu, subliminal map of China. Shu Xiang Zhuge Liang hated his repetition and worried about his troubles. Da and Wei Xingtai had a gap with Shen Yi, and Liang wanted to promote his affairs, but he sent Guo Mo to surrender and pass the yi, because he leaked his plot. In the "Strategy" written by Sima Biao of the Western Jin Dynasty, the relic agreed upon by Zhuge Liang and Meng Da is a piece of jade. The Taiping Imperial Records also mentioned: "Now send a hat and a jade hat to each to symbolize the intentions." Various records show that Zhuge Liang did play a disgraceful role in Meng Da's death.
In general, Zhuge Liang first fooled Meng Da and let him go on the path of death on his own. Then he deliberately sent someone to inform Shen Yi, who had always been suspicious of Meng Da, so that Meng Da had to raise an army in advance. After this, Zhuge Liang deliberately did not send troops to rescue, preferring to abandon the land of the three counties of Shangyong and put Meng Da to death. Speaking of this, perhaps some readers wonder, why did Zhuge Liang have to kill Meng Da?
In addition to Meng Da's repeated and unusual behavior, it is also related to his killing of Zhuge Liang's brother-in-law, Pu Qi. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms? Liu Feng's biography records: "Twenty-four years after Jian'an, Feng Da returned from Zi to the north to attack Fang Ling, and Fang Ling was killed by Da Bing. "Zhuge Liang can smoothly gain a firm foothold in Jingzhou, which is inseparable from the care of his brother-in-law. But Meng Da did not consider the relationship between Pu Qi and Zhuge Liang at all, and killed them, how could he make Zhuge Liang feel comfortable?
In addition, Zhuge Liang's attitude toward Meng Da is not only "evil and repeated", but also "worried about his troubles". The three counties of Shangyong occupied by Meng Da are located between the two states of the north and Jingyi, and also occupy an extremely important position in Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Pair". Although Meng Da was repeated, judging from Cao Pi's attitude towards him, he did have outstanding talent. Once Meng Da became hostile to the Shu state, the latter would also be greatly threatened. From a comprehensive point of view, Zhuge Liang was cautious in his life, so he would rather give up the three counties of Shangyong and get rid of the unstable factor of Meng Da.
Reference books: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Jin, Taiping Imperial Records, Romance of the Three Kingdoms