Zhuge Liang and Jia Xu were both wise men during the Three Kingdoms period. In ancient times, the advantages and disadvantages of the two were indisputable. Compared with Zhuge Liang, Jia Xu's popularity is really far behind. If Zhuge Liang is the first gear, then Jia Xu belongs to the wisdom of the third gear at most.
However, in modern times, Under the structure of the Internet celebrity scholar Yi Zhongtian, Jia Xu has the potential to surpass Zhuge Liang. Because in Yi Zhongtian's view, Zhuge Liang did not belong to the strategists such as Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, and should be in the same category as Xiao He and Li Shanchang. At the same time, he also borrowed Chen Shou's comments on Zhuge Liang that "the rule of the rong is long, and the strange plot is short", and defined Zhuge Liang as a person who did not know much about strategy.
On the contrary, Yi Zhongtian gave Jia Xu an overly high evaluation, believing that he was "the smartest person in the Three Kingdoms". On the one hand, he has no exhaustive plans, and the ingenuity is enough to stir up the world. Jia Xu once defeated Lü Bu and defeated Cao Cao twice, counting Ma Chao; on the other hand, Jia Xu was good at the art of self-preservation, and in the Battle of Guandu, he joined the enemy Cao Cao in judging the situation, and the result was not only to save the life of his entire family, but also to receive a generous reward from gaojue. At the same time, Jia Xu was in the political whirlpool, but he could always stand on the right side, and finally survived to the age of 79 as a lieutenant.
Obviously, in Yi Zhongtian's mind, Jia Xu's wisdom was to surpass Zhuge Liang's. So is this really the case?
In fact, in the ancient book that has been lost, the "Xun Xun Wai Biography" of the Western Jin Dynasty, there is such a record, which directly opens the gap between Jia Xu and Zhuge Liang:
"Jin Situ Que, Emperor Wu asked his person Yu Xun. Answer: "The three dukes have their own return, and they cannot be used without others." Emperor Wen of Xi wei used Jia Xu as the Third Duke, and Sun Quan laughed at it. ”
The simple translation is that the position of Situ of the Western Jin Dynasty was vacant, so Sima Yan, the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, asked Xun Xun, "Who can hold the position of Situ?" Xun Xun replied, "The office of the Three Dukes must be performed by those who are expected by all, and must not be all non-human." At that time, The Wei Emperor Cao Pi made Jia Xu a lieutenant, and Sun Quan laughed after hearing it. ”
What does this mean? In the first year of the Huang Dynasty (220), Cao Pi declared himself emperor and appointed Jia Xu as a taiwei. The lieutenant, on the other hand, was one of the three dukes. It is said that a wise man like Jia Xu was included in the center of Cao Pi, and Sun Quan, the king of Wu, should have been afraid. However, Sun Quan's reaction was to "laugh". Apparently, Sun Quan regarded Cao Pi's appointment as a joke, and Jia Xu was no threat to him.
Compared with Jia Xu, Sun Quan's jealousy of Zhuge Liang was overflowing with words. After the Battle of Yiling, Sun Quan won a great victory, and the elite of the Shu Han Dynasty lost all. At this point, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Liu Bei and other people died one after another, and the Shu Han elite was only Zhuge Liang. It is said that Sun Quan should go up the river and seize the opportunity to destroy the Shu Han, so as to take full control of the Yangtze River.
However, when Zhuge Liang took charge of state affairs, Sun Quan did not dare to make any moves. Soon after, Zhuge Liang took Deng Zhi as an envoy and wanted to renew his alliance with Eastern Wu. At this time, in terms of national strength and military strength, Eastern Wu had an absolute advantage over Shu Han, but Sun Quan was shocked by Deng Zhi and could not speak, because Deng Zhi mentioned in the State Book:
"The Great King's Destiny is the Hero of the World, and Zhuge Liang is also the Master of the Moment."
According to etiquette, the Wu lord Sun Quan and the Shu lord Liu Chan should be in an equal position. Deng Zhi, on the other hand, blatantly juxtaposed Sun Quan with his courtier Zhuge Liang. To be honest, this sentence is indeed a bit of a suspicion of disrespect. However, Sun Quan was not angry, but "silent for a long time":
"Junyan is also!"
That is to say, in Sun Quan's view, in terms of talent, although Zhuge Liang was a courtier, he could indeed be in an equal position with himself. In the end, Deng Zhi succeeded in getting Wu Shu to rebuild his alliance and fight against Cao Wei.
In his pact with Shu Han, Sun Quan praised Zhuge Liang vigorously, but did not mention anything about the real Shu lord Liu Chan:
Zhuge Cheng Xiang dewei is far away, wearing his own country, the pawn is outside, he believes in yin and yang, and sincerely moves the heavens and the earth.
Unlike jia xu's "laughter", Sun Quan's appreciation and jealousy of Zhuge Liang coexist. Zhuge Liang led the Northern Expedition many times, and Sun Quan, who liked to backstabbing his allies, did not dare to move a single step. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Pre-biography of Zong, after Zhuge Liang's death, Sun Quan immediately added 10,000 troops to Baqiu at the junction of Wushu and Shu, with the potential to take advantage of the fire and loot. Although Sun Quan did not send troops to invade the west in the end, from this record, Sun Quan was indeed jealous of Zhuge Liang.
In the author's opinion, in terms of Sun Quan's attitude, Zhuge Liang really wants to force Jia Xu too much, and it can even be said that the two are not in the same grade at all. Jia Xu held a high position in the powerful State of Wei, and Sun Quan was dismissive; while Zhuge Liang was in charge of the poor and weak Shu Han, Sun Quan showed full jealousy.
So why did Sun Quan thick Zhuge Liang and thin Jia Xu? In fact, from Jia Xu's own evaluation of Zhuge Liang, it can be seen:
"Liu Has Great Talent, and Zhuge Liang is good at ruling the country."
Compared with Jia Xu, Zhuge Liang has the talent to govern the country. Although Jia Xu is full of wisdom and scheming, he cannot govern the country, cannot manage the people, does not develop production, and does not train the army. Even Jia Xu wouldn't even lead the soldiers. On the other hand, Zhuge Liang is a good hand at governing the country and the people, and it is not a problem to train troops and build weapons. Later, Zhuge Liang was also able to command thousands of troops and horses and launch a large-scale Northern Expedition. And Jia Xu? Never brought a single soldier with him.
It can be said that Zhuge Liang is a chancellor, a commander-in-chief, and even a monarch, and a practical person. And Jia Xu was a strategist at best, and he could only come up with ideas, several grades behind. In terms of temperament, Zhuge Liang's domineering spirit is exposed, but there is "the talent of Yiqun and the instrument of heroism". Jia Xu's temperament is different, he wants to be too introverted too much.