Familiar with the history of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang adhered to Liu Bei's legacy, supported the Han Dynasty, restored the Central Plains, and launched several Northern Expeditions. However, unfortunately, Zhuge Liang's sixth out of Qishan, except for the first guanzhong vibration, the rest basically did not have much impact, and eventually died of illness. However, in the course of the Northern Expedition, the general Wei Yan once proposed the Meridian Valley Conspiracy, which caused great controversy, so how high was the success rate of Wei Yan's Meridian Valley Conspiracy, and did it have a chance of winning?
In this regard, it was believed that Wei Yan's Meridian Valley Plot was the only feasible strategy, and it was also the only feasible way to destroy Cao Wei's unified world. Therefore, after Zhuge Liang's defeat later, many people believed that Zhuge Liang was narrow-minded and did not adopt Wei Yan's plan, so that he lost the only opportunity to defeat Cao Wei and fell short. But is this really the case, and is it really possible for Wei Yan's Meridian Valley Conspiracy to be realized?
Meridian Valley, north-south longitudinal, about 330 kilometers long, of which cliffs, countless boardwalks, the terrain is very dangerous.
Before Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Wei Yan proposed to him the famous Meridian Valley strategy, following Han Xin's "Ming Xiu Zhan Dao, Darkness Chen Cang". Wei Yan personally led 5,000 elite troops from the Meridian Valley, taking Chang'an and Tongguan in one fell swoop, and then Zhuge Liang led a large army out of the Valley, and the two armies met at Tongguan.
However, Zhuge Liang felt that this plan was too dangerous and difficult to succeed, so he rejected it.
This strategy was actually a copy of the secret crossing Chen Cang that Han Xin had used in those years, including Deng Ai, who later destroyed Shu Han, who also used a similar method to smuggle Yin Ping and directly reach the gate of Chengdu before forcing Liu Chan to surrender. According to Wei Yan's ideas at that time, he led the Shu army through the Meridian Valley, and suddenly appeared under the eyes of the capital of the Wei state, and the Wei army would definitely abandon the city and flee, so that it could make an immortal contribution. However, Zhuge Liang adhered to the principle of prudence throughout his life, and he thought that such a plan was too sinister. The reasons are as follows: First of all, the terrain of the Meridian Valley is dangerous, if the sneak attack army is discovered, it will definitely be completely destroyed, and the Shu Han army is already less than the Wei army, so it can save the province, and cannot risk the lives of so many non-commissioned officers; secondly, even if Wei Yan takes his troops to Chang'an City, if the Wei army does not abandon the city and flee, but struggles to resist and wait for support, its own army cannot support in time, and this strange army will be dangerous.
Historically, there have been people who have used similar strategies, but the results are mostly unsatisfactory.
In 230, Sima Cao Zhen, believing that Shu Han had repeatedly violated the border, suggested that several large armies attack Shu Han, of which Cao Zhen personally led a large army to march from the Meridian Valley Trail. But the Meridian Valley Trail was too difficult to walk, and it happened to rainy season, and the boardwalk was seriously damaged, and it took Cao Zhen a month to get halfway to the road. In the end, Cao Zhen received an edict from the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui ordering the retreat of the troops, and it was best to return with the army in vain.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Gao Yingxiang, the king of the Chuang Dynasty, led an army of 200,000 to Shaanxi and wanted to attack Xi'an from Hanzhong, but the road was still the Meridian Valley. Gao Yingxiang almost walked through the Meridian Valley, although it took fifteen days, which was five days slower than Wei Yan expected at that time, but he finally reached the valley mouth. More tragically than Wei Yan, Gao Yingxiang only walked to the mouth of the valley and met the 20,000 soldiers and horses that Sun Chuanting had already ambushed here to work at Heishuiyu, while Sun Chuanting only used more than 20,000 recruits. Almost all the troops were destroyed, and Gao Yingxiang was escorted to Beijing, and Ling Chi was executed. The title of King of Chuang was henceforth owned by Li Zicheng.
Our great strategist Chairman Mao has said more than once: "Zhuge is only cautious in his life, and Lü Duan is not confused about major matters." This shows the chairman's appraisal of Zhuge Ge. As for the Meridian Valley Conspiracy, the chairman once commented: Soldiers and noble plots, plots and then moves, Wei Yan's "Meridian Valley Conspiracy" is a radical game, the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, everything is unknown. It also gives a five-word comment that "this plan is too suspenseful", which shows that Wei Yan's Meridian Valley plot has a low success rate and a low chance of winning.