There is a very interesting figure in Cao Cao's group, that is, Xiahou Huan. Xiahou Huan was often ridiculed on the Internet as "General of Farming" and "General of Meat Tickets", but his performance on the battlefield was very unsatisfactory, and he was defeated by Lü Bu, Gao Shun, and Liu Bei successively, but his position in Cao Cao's clique was very high. So there is a saying that describes him: he has never won a war, and his promotion has not stopped. There was also a person like this in Eastern Wu, that is, Zhuge Liang's brother Zhuge Jin. In the "New Language of the World", Zhuge Liang is evaluated as a dragon, Zhuge Jin is a tiger, and a Zhuge family's Zhuge Birthday is evaluated as a dog (non-pejorative).
Zhuge Jin can become the stock of Eastern Wu, the official to the great general, Zuo Du Protector, can be said to be a high authority, proving that Zhuge Jin does have a certain talent, will not make a big mistake. However, from the perspective of summarizing some historical materials, Zhuge Jin can be said to be "insufficient". The "lack of success" mentioned by the editor refers to the fact that he could not accomplish anything major and did not have a record that was enough to be recorded in the annals of history. On the whole, Zhuge Jin's military ability was insufficient compared to Zhou Yu, Lü Meng, Lu Xun, Zhu Ran, and other famous Eastern Wu generals, and he lost a lot of battles. The following small series will introduce them separately.
Cao Pi three ways to cut Wu
After Sun Quan attacked Jingzhou, he knew that he would have to accept Liu Bei's revenge. In order to avoid a two-front battle, only surrender could be expressed to Cao Wei. This kind of surrender is naturally not sincere. Cao Pi asked Sun Quan for a proton, but Sun Quan refused; after the Battle of Yiling, the threat on the Western Front was lifted, and Sun Quan's attitude toward Cao Pi was even worse. So Cao Pi launched a three-way army to cut down Wu. Two of the large armies were in the Jianghuai Battlefield, and the first was in the Jianghan Battlefield, attacking Jiangling, a major military town on the Yangtze River Defense Line in Eastern Wu.
At that time, Zhuge Jin's position was the governor of public security, just south of Jiangling, and he was sure to make a difference and lead an army to support Jiangling, but he was defeated by the Cao Wei general Xiahou Shang, and there was no way to give more help to Jiangling. Gangneung became an isolated city, and under the insistence of Zhu Ran, the governor of Gangneung, and 5,000 warriors, for half a year, cao Wei decided to abandon Gangneung due to the plague and the rise of spring water. At this time, Zhuge Jin attacked the pontoon bridge from Zhongzhou in Jiangling to Jiangling, causing some damage to Cao Wei's army. Overall, Zhuge Jin did not perform well in this battle. The evaluation in the historical data is that "there is no skill of lying down, and the soldier has not been puzzled for a long time." ”
Sun Quanzheng Jiangxia and Xiangyang
In the fifth year of Huangwu of Eastern Wu and the seventh year of the Huang Dynasty of Cao Wei (i.e., 226 AD), Cao Pi died of illness, and Cao Rui became the emperor of Cao Wei, that is, Emperor Ming of Wei. In this time of change between the old and new regimes, turmoil or people's hearts and minds are most likely to occur, and it is also the time for frequent use of swords and soldiers. Therefore, in July of the same year, Sun Quan also launched an attack on Cao Wei. Zhuge Jin and Zhang Ba attacked Xiangyang all the way; Sun Quan, Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, and others attacked Jiangxia Shiyang; and there was also a road to Tunbing Anhui County, which seemed to have moved against the Huainan region.
In the battlefields of these three regions, Cao Xiu defeated the Eastern Wu army in Anhui County; Wen Ping held on to Shiyang and finally fought a pursuit battle while Sun Quan withdrew his troops; on the Xiangyang side, Eastern Wu also suffered defeats, and Sima Yi led his army to defeat Zhuge Jin, killing Zhang Ba and the heads of more than a thousand Eastern Wu soldiers. In this campaign of the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Jin undoubtedly suffered defeat, and his record against Sima Yi was equally unsatisfactory.
The Fourth "Battle of Hefei"
In the third year of Eastern Wu Jiahe and the second year of Cao Wei's Qinglong (i.e., 234 AD), Sun Quan once again carried out the Northern Expedition against Cao Wei. Why send troops at this time? Because at that time, Zhuge Liang also launched the fifth Northern Expedition, holding Sima Yi in the Guanzhong region. So Sun Quan cooperated with Zhuge Liang in attacking Cao Wei. This time Sun Quan still divided his troops into three roads (there was no way for Eastern Wu and Cao Wei to contact the front line was too long, a battle was a multi-way attack), Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin attacked Xiangyang from Jiangxia; Sun Quan personally attacked Hefei Xincheng; and Sun Shao attacked the Qing and Xu regions.
Although there was cooperation between the Shu and Han sides, the Northern Expedition of Eastern Wu still failed, and the new city of Hefei could not be attacked for a long time, Cao Rui was personally driven, and Sun Quan, Sun Shao and others withdrew. At this time, Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin's troops were still stuck in the Jianghan battlefield, and they also received news of the withdrawal. A man named Han Bian in the army communicated with Sun Quan and was intercepted by Cao Wei's army on the way back. This was more dangerous for Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin, after all, the main forces of Eastern Wu had retreated, they had become the target of Cao Wei, and Han Bian's capture also led to the leakage of some information in the army.
Faced with this situation, Zhuge Jin's performance was very frightened, urging Lu Xun to withdraw his troops immediately. Lu Xun's performance is more than enough. He first appeased the army with a calm and unhurried performance; then pretended to attack Xiangyang, so that the Xiangyang defenders did not dare to attack at will, and then retreated in a safe and orderly manner; during the retreat, Lu Xun also suddenly attacked Xinshi, Anlu, Shiyang and other counties, and obtained some battle achievements (although criticized by Pei Songzhi). Compared with the two, it is obvious that Lu Xun's performance is more of a general, and Zhuge Jin has lost his measure.
"Battle of Fancheng, Qianpi"
Cao Rui died and Cao Fang took the throne. The above small editor also said that this situation is the most suitable for the use of soldiers, and Cao Fang is young, the state affairs are under the control of Cao Shuang and Sima Yi, and the lord is less suspicious of the country. At that time, Lingling Taishou Yinli gave Sun Quan an idea: to unite with Shu Han and let Shu Han attack Longyou; Eastern Wu attacked Xiangyang, Shouchun, and Xuzhou with all its might. This plan was very radical and Sun Quan did not adopt it. However, in the following year, in the fourth year of Eastern Wu Chiwu and the second year of Cao Wei Zheng's reign (that is, in 241 AD), Sun Quan still carried out the Northern Expedition.
Eastern Wu said that it was the Northern Expedition of Cao Wei by the Four-Way Army: Quan Chun, Quan Xu, Quan Duan, Zhang Xiu, Gu Cheng, Qin Huang, and others attacked Shouchun; Zhuge Ke and others attacked Lu'an; Zhu Ran, Zhu Yi, Sun Lun, and others attacked Fancheng; Zhuge Jin, Bu Qi, and others attacked Zhaozhong, but in fact there were still two battlefields—Jianghan and Huainan. Generals like Zhu Ran, Zhu Yi, Zhuge Jin, and Bu Qi can also be grouped together. In this "Battle of Qianpi Fancheng", Eastern Wu once again failed. Among them, the losses on the Jianghan battlefield were relatively large. Sima Yi led an army to attack Zhu Ran and others, first making a feint to force the Eastern Wu army to retreat, and then pursuing. According to the records in the "Book of Jin and the Chronicle of Emperor Xuan", this time Sima Yi won the popular record of "winning more than 10,000 people". The records in the Book of Jin should be exaggerated, but there is also a record of "great killing" in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, The Book of Wei, and the Book of Jin.
However, it is worth mentioning that the Eastern Wu soldiers captured by Sima Yi should be Zhu Ran's troops, because the location of the battle was at Sanzhoukou. According to the Notes on the Water Classics, the mouth of the three prefectures was northeast of Xiangyang; and according to the Minutes of Reading the History of Public Opinion, Zhuge Jin's invasion was one hundred and fifty miles southwest of Xiangyang. Logically, Sima Yi's army should not have reached Zhuge Jin. However, in any case, this Northern Expedition was a failure, and Zhuge Jin, as one of the main generals in the Jianghan battlefield, should also bear certain responsibilities.
brief summary
Judging from some of the above-mentioned combat examples, Zhuge Jin's military ability is indeed lacking. However, Zhuge Jin's weight was very large. After Lü Meng's death, Zhuge Jin served as the Taishou of Nan Commandery and the Governor of Public Security, and was one of the front lines facing Cao Wei with Zhu Ran, the governor of Jiangling; when Sun Quan changed huang wu (not yet emperor, but basically separated from Cao Wei), Zhuge Jin moved to the left general; when Sun Quan officially declared himself emperor and founded the Eastern Wu regime, Zhuge Jin served as a great general, Zuo Du Protector, and became Sun Quan's right and left hands in military power with the Shangda general (higher than the great general) and the right capital Protector Lu Xun. "I have never won a war, and I have never stopped being promoted" can not only describe Xiahou Huan, but also zhuge Jin. Judging from Zhuge Jin's eunuch career, it is indeed very important to do a good job in the relationship with the leader.
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Jin, Minutes of Reading History, Notes on the Classics of Water, Historical Maps of China