If there is anyone in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" who can match Zhuge Liang's, one is Guo Jia, who died young, and the other is the cautious Sima Yi, compared to the arrogant Guo Jia, Sima Yi's personality is more like Zhuge Liang. As a Sima Yi from the Sima clan, unlike other strategists, he paid attention to "becoming famous as soon as possible", and in order not to be recruited as an official, he pretended to be ill for several years, and finally was forced out by Cao Cao. Since the death of Cao Zhen, the most powerful military commander of the Cao family, Sima Yi had taken his place and engaged Zhuge Liang, who led a large army in the Northern Expedition.
Sima Yi's heart of judgment
In the more than ten years of the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang led five times. Sima Yi was in the battle with Zhuge Liang, and since the first defeat, no matter how Zhuge Liang humiliated Sima Yi, he just didn't come out to meet the battle. Until Zhuge Liang died of exhaustion on wuzhangyuan because he had worked for Shu Han for a long time, the Shu army was forced to retreat, and the "war of attrition" between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang ended in Sima Yi's victory. However, after Zhuge Liang's death, Sima Yi never went to the Northern Expedition again, mainly for two reasons. The first reason is related to Cao Rui, the then emperor of the State of Wei. Cao Zhen, as the supreme military commander of the State of Wei, was mainly because he had both rich experience and was a member of the Cao family.
When he died, Sima Yi took this position, and rumors in the Wei court that Sima Yi wanted to rebel, Cao Rui also became suspicious of this old minister who had assisted three generations of Cao's lords. To this end, Sima Yi was well-behaved in every court, and regardless of his age of more than sixty years, he had to pay respectful and respectful salutes to Cao Rui. But this does not mean that Cao Rui's jealousy of him will be reduced, after all, on the side of the bed, it is not allowed for others to snore. Since Zhuge Liang's death, Cao Rui not only felt relieved in his heart, but also removed Sima Yi from the military power and replaced him with a member of his own family. Therefore, Sima Yi did not go to the Northern Expedition, but because his lord was jealous, he did not have the opportunity to participate.
The second reason is related to Sima Yi himself. The relationship between Sima Yi and Cao Shi was not between Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei, and although Sima Yi's talent was discovered and reused by Cao Cao, the lord that Sima Yi valued was not Cao Cao. If Cao Cao had not sent someone to threaten Sima Yi and tell him that he could not pretend to be ill, I am afraid that Sima Yi would have been hiding at home.
Although Sima Yi was very capable, Cao Cao once dreamed of him and the wolf, saying that he had the "appearance of a wolf", so he wanted to kill him many times. One of the genetic problems of the Cao family was suspiciousness, and Sima Yi was indeed like Cao Cao's dream, he had already had different intentions, and with his age and prestige, it was better to run his own power than to run to the Northern Expedition to be affected. There is a proverb called "Sima Zhao's heart, known to passers-by", Sima Yi's rebellious heart and purpose of rebellion, only his son Sima Zhao could see clearly and inherited it.
bibliography:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms