Ordinary growth brigade, hands can not write, they can not know the cross, and dictation of books, are intentional. ——" Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of King Zhang of Huang Li Lüma
This is the evaluation of Wang Ping, a famous general of the Shu Han Dynasty, in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms.
In 220, Guan Yu was killed by Lü Meng of Eastern Wu, followed by the murder of Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong died of old age. Two years later, Ma Chao died of illness, and Zhao Yun also died shortly after. The early establishment of the Shu state was full of talents, but after Liu Chan ascended the throne, he fell into a situation where there were no generals available, fortunately, Liu Bei promoted a fierce general before his death.
Some people say that it was Wei Yan, who was highly valued by Liu Bei early on, and after being captured in Hanzhong, Wei Yan served as the Taishou of Hanzhong. Wei Yanzhen guarded Hanzhong for more than ten years, rarely made mistakes, and was Liu Bei's early confidant. In 221, it was under the advice of Zhao Yun and Wei Yan that Liu Bei ascended the throne as emperor and changed his name to Yuan Zhangwu.
It can be said that although Wei Yan's seniority was not as good as that of the Five Tiger Generals of the Shu Kingdom, he was also the most important fierce general in Liu Bei's early days, and he made great contributions to the Shu Kingdom. By the time of Liu Bei's death, Wei Yan had already served as the Marquis of Duting, following Zhuge Kongming in his northern expedition to the State of Wei. Wei Yan successively served as the Assassin of Liangzhou, confronting the Wei army on the front line, and his merits were outstanding.
In the Fourth Northern Expedition, Wei Yan confronted Sima Yi, a minister of the State of Wei, and under the command of Zhuge Liang, won the Battle of southern Wei. For the Shu state at that time, the strength was not as strong as the Wei state, and the Shu Road was difficult. The Shu army only attacked the State of Wei in one way, often suffering heavy losses, and Wei Yan offered to bring his own soldiers to attack Guanzhong.
Wei Yan's strategy played an important role, Wei Yan had a straight personality, and had a gap with the long history Yang Yi, and was eventually killed by Yang Yi and Ma Dai. Wei Yan was a fierce general of the Shu state, but unfortunately he died young and could no longer serve the Shu state. The fierce general promoted by Liu Bei on his deathbed was Wei Yan's descendant Wang Ping, who was the top pillar of the late Shu Han Dynasty.
When Liu Beibai was entrusted with the city, he instructed Zhuge Liang: "Wen can rely on Li Yan, and Wu can rely on Wang Ping." At Liu Bei's recommendation, Wang Ping was highly valued by Zhuge Liang and held the post of general of Pei. In 228 AD, during the Battle of Jieting, Ma Mo carelessly lost Jieting, causing the Shu army to fall into a rout.
The Famous Wei general Zhang Guo (張郃) took advantage of the victory to pursue, and the rest of the Shu army fled, and in the record:
"The stars were scattered, but the people led by Ping Ping sounded the drum and held themselves, and the Wei general Zhang He suspected that he was ambushing his troops, and did not force him to do so."
Only Wang Ping straightened out the troops and beat the war drums, making Zhang Gao suspect that the Shu army was coming, so he did not dare to pursue them anymore. This battle made Zhuge Liang truly realize Wang Ping's talent, promoted Wang Ping to the rank of general of Qiu Kou, and made him the Marquis of Ting. When Wei Yan fought with Yang Yi, he wanted to lead his troops to kill Yang Yi in order to avoid any trouble.
After Wang Ping learned the news, he led his troops to resist the army led by Wei Yan and avoided a catastrophe, in the record:
"In the twelfth year, Liang died in martial arts, the army returned, Wei Yan rebelled, he was defeated in a battle, and Ping Zhigong was also."
Wei Yan originally wanted to kill Yang Yi, but was resisted by Wang Ping, and was eventually killed by Ma Dai. Wang Ping became a military vassal of the late Shu Han Dynasty and fought for the Shu state. After that, Wang Ping was promoted to the rank of general of An Han, and Zhen Shou Hanzhong fought against the Eastern Wu army.
Every time the Eastern Wu army sent troops to invade Hanzhong, Wang Ping always led the army to resist and repeatedly defeated the Eastern Wu army. For Guan Yu, who was killed by Eastern Wu, Wang Ping could be said to have avenged the blood sea for him, and the Eastern Wu army suffered heavy losses. Sun Quan once commented on Wang Ping: "With Wang Ping present, it is not advisable in Hanzhong. ”
In 244, emperor Wei sent Cao Shuang to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Hanzhong. At this time, the Shu state was crumbling, Zhuge Liang had long since died of illness in Wuzhangyuan, and Jiang Huan acted as the military and government of Shu Han. The officials of Hanzhong saw that the State of Wei was threatening, and there was no soldier or food in Hanzhong, and they were afraid that they would not be able to resist.
Wang Ping's men suggested: "Abandon the prefectures and counties around Hanzhong and only guard the two cities of Hanzhong and Le to preserve Hanzhong." Compared with the pessimism of his subordinates, Wang Ping's view is different, he believes:
"If the thief divides into gold, and a thousand men come down to him, and the Fu army marches to the top of this plan."
After Wang Ping said his proposal, his subordinates all thought it was difficult to implement, and Wang Ping waved a big hand and ordered the troops to implement it. After that, the Shu army in Hanzhong finally defeated the Wei army according to Wang Ping's strategy. The course of the war was the same as Wang Ping had expected, and his subordinates were impressed by Wang Ping.
Wang Ping knew no more than ten words, but he was still familiar with the art of warfare. Wang Ping was illiterate, so he asked his advisers to read military books to him, and he was still familiar with tactics. He did not disappoint Liu Bei's expectations, dealt a heavy blow to the Wei army, and was considered to be angry for Zhuge Kongming. The Shu people often said: "Before there are kings and sentences, and after there are Zhang and Liao." Among them, "Wang" refers to Wang Ping.