In March of the ninth year of the Shu Han Dynasty (231 AD), Zhuge Liang launched the Fourth Northern Expedition of his life. The Northern Expedition was based on two years of recuperation, fully summarizing the experience of the previous three Northern Expeditions, and formulating detailed strategic plans again.
There are many articles on the Internet about the Northern Expedition, which have been deeply analyzed and interpreted from different angles such as geography, class, and faction, even to the extreme. Therefore, when we discuss the strategy, tactics, and gains and losses of the Northern Expedition today, they are only repetitive.
"Fragments of the short record of heroes, always for the name of merit to lead." Everybody was vigorous, and everyone was in a hurry." History is written by people, people participate in it, and it is created by people. In the course of history, those who are either protagonists or supporting characters, or famous or famous or infamous for thousands of years, as well as small people who are unknown or even who have not left their names but rewrite history, are the founders of the times.
Today, we have taken a unique approach, briefly describing the whole process of the Northern Expedition, focusing on the performance of various characters in this military operation, and seeing how human nature influences the outcome of the war.
I. The background of Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition
In the face of the three military operations of the Shu Han from the spring of 228 to the beginning of 229 AD, although Cao Wei did not suffer much loss, cao Wei needed to take the initiative to launch a war against the Shu Han, regardless of the face, the perspective of military defense and the conventional war retaliation.
In Cao Wei's eyes, Shu Han was a bit like the Yongguo in the Spring and Autumn Period (Note 1), because it was too weak, the Chu State did not bother to annex him, and it was good to stay honestly in his own acres and three-quarters of land, but as a result, the Yongguo itself owed money and took the initiative to send troops to attack the Chu State.
The Yong state, which had a huge disparity in national strength, not only did not take advantage of any advantage, but was also repulsed by the State of Chu, and was eventually destroyed by the three kingdoms of Qin, Chu, and Ba. For posterity, the idiom of "mediocrity disturbs themselves" has been left.
Therefore, for Cao Wei, whether it was a "mediocre person" or a "Shu person", in their eyes, the Shu Han who did not measure up to his own strength, even if he did not need to destroy his country in a war, he also needed to teach a proper lesson.
Specifically, the person who proposed the cutting of Shu was Cao Zhen, the Grand Sima of the Western Theater of Cao Wei at that time. The finalized plan was for the main force to take the meridian road, Sima Yi to take the waterway from the eastern three counties, Zhang Gao's planning troops to take the Chu Chuan Road, and Guo Huai, who guarded longyou, to take the Qishan Road, and their targets were Hanzhong, the base camp of the Shu Han front.
Cao Allah's schematic map of the Shu route is derived from the download resources provided by the geopolitical world
All the voices of opposition before the war were unfortunately spoken: the trail in the Qinling Mountains had fallen into disrepair, the supply of various large armies was difficult, Sima Yi's westward waterway along the Han River was too difficult, and there were also unfavorable factors that had not been expected before the war: Cao Zhen's main force in the Meridian Valley encountered continuous heavy rain.
The boardwalk was washed away, the logistics supply was intermittent, and the morale of the army was poured out. Qishan Dao's Guo Huai forces, which responded to Cao Zhen's forces, were also annihilated by Wei Yan, who took the initiative to attack, that is, the famous "Battle of Yangwei" in the late Three Kingdoms period. Emperor Cao Rui was also very clever, knowing that cao Zhen was difficult to ride a tiger at this time, so he personally issued an edict to stop this military operation.
The reason why the background is introduced in detail is because through this battle, a lot of problems have been explained. We analyze them one by one.
First, Cao Wei entered Hanzhong along the eastern three counties, which was once again proved to be not feasible, the upper reaches of the Han River were rapid, there were many dangerous beaches and reefs, and it was against the current, if Cao Zhen progressed smoothly and entered Hanzhong along the meridian road, Sima Yi was worth a gamble, the reality was that the main force and the other two strategic forces had withdrawn, and there was no need to gamble.
That is to say, advancing into Hanzhong along the Han River west, from the geopolitical point of view of Cao Wei, is not the first choice, and can only be used as a strategic force at most. Later generations repeatedly criticized Wei Yan's Meridian Valley plot and Zhuge Liang's several Northern Expeditions, and the question of why Cao Wei did not copy Hanzhong from the Three Eastern Counties was clearly answered.
Second, what is the positioning of Wei Yan in Shu Han by posterity? Whether it is a gambler who ignores the overall situation, or a courtier who does not listen to the generals. In the Battle of Yang, Wei Yan's mission was to defend Guo Huai, but that did not mean that he could not fight back. In the process of Guo Huai's retreat, Wei Yan skillfully used mobile warfare, not only fulfilling the heavy task of defense, but also annihilating the enemy's partial division, seriously dealing a blow to the morale of Cao Wei and Shu.
If Wei Yan was willing, he could have continued to work hard and "represented" Zhuge Liang on the front line of Qishan Province to continue his march, and it was entirely possible to take several counties on the right side of Long. However, Wei Yan was able to accept the good as he saw, not only completed the task within the scope of his duties, but also did not risk risking without authorization.
This fully explains Wei Yan's military standards, adaptability and military style of obeying unified command. Therefore, Wei Yan's theory that the Meridian Valley Conspiracy would most likely fail, and even Wei Yan might lead his direct subordinate troops to stand independently as a prince of one side, was self-defeating.
Third, although the second generation of leading figures of the Cao family has extremely high military attainments, they generally lack Cao Cao's heart and temperament. After the main force returned to Chang'an, Cao Zhen fell ill. Cao Rui personally took him to Luoyang for recuperation, but still failed to save Cao Zhen's life.
From Cao Xiu's death from humiliation and depression due to the defeat of Shiting, to Cao Zhen's death from the dismal end of the Shu dynasty he personally led. For another example, Cao Pi said that the empress dowager was difficult to release and return to, and the second generation of the Cao family, regardless of IQ and emotional intelligence, as well as the ability to lead troops in actual combat, did not lose to their father Cao Cao, but their hearts and temperament were much worse.
Cao Cao experienced defeat in his life at the height of his life, and was also attacked by people when he was proud, such as Zhang Xiu in the Battle of Wancheng, Chibi encountering Zhou Lang, and Hanzhong meeting Liu Bei. Every time he lost, he never saw Cao Cao think behind closed doors, and he didn't see anyone.
At the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao, who had just passed on Jingzhou, was defeated by Sun Liu's combined forces, and in the process of retreating, he encountered bad weather such as strong winds, forcing Cao Cao to order his soldiers to pave the way with firewood and grass, and only then did he barely pass. The Zizhi Tongjian records that "the sky is strong and the wind is strong, so that the soldiers will bear the burden of the grass, and the riding will be passed." The soldiers were followed by men and horses, trapped in the mud, and many people died. ”
In the face of such a tragic situation, the CCTV version of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" vividly depicts Cao Cao's heart, temperament, and ability to resist setbacks, facing the cool words of the strategist Cheng Yu: Xiang Xiang, this night... Cao Cao looked up at the sky and laughed: "Oh! Victory or defeat is a common thing for soldiers! Although our side lost this battle, the northern base areas are still there, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses still exist, and they need to be reorganized and will be victorious in the next day!
Cao Cao film and television image map
After saying that, he did not forget to order the soldiers to kill horses and get meat, and they should eat and drink. Life has failures, don't care about other people's eyes, ridicule and ridicule, as long as you are healthy, adjust your mentality, you can come again at any time.
In this regard, the second generation of the Cao family's monarchs were much inferior. Cao Zhen or Cao Xiu, what can you do if you lose once in your life? With the withering of the clan generals one by one, the Cao family could only rely on the third generation of emperor Cao Rui to support themselves. This also laid the groundwork for Sima Yi's later road to seize power.
Second, an overview of the whole process of Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition
With The death of Cao Zhen, Cao Wei had Zhang Jaw in Chang'an, and Longyou was still stationed by Guo Huai, but the death of Cao Zhen, the commander of the Western Theater, still caused Guanzhong and Longyou to lose their unified dispatch, and Zhuge Liang, who learned of this news, once again chose to take the Northern Expedition on the Qishan Road.
Chen Cangdao walked through, and the Meridian Road was proved by Cao Zhen in reverse, and the Chu Chu Dao was only suitable for lightly armed marching, that is to say, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition this time could not use the concept of sneak attack. Cao Wei was definitely prepared in all directions.
Since the sneak attack could not be done, let's come to the "positive attack", Zhuge Liang hoarded grain and grass for two years, and deliberately chose to march in March (lunar calendar) of this year, because Zhuge Liang calculated the solar terms, and when his main force reached the end of qishan Road, he would confront the defenders for a period of time, and it was the season of wheat ripening outside the city.
Zhuge Cheng Xiang's experience points really rose with several Northern Expeditions, and this time he not only prepared enough grain and grass himself, but also used the new transportation equipment of the high-tech "Wooden Cow (Note 2)" to improve the efficiency of transportation, and at the same time prepared to harvest the enemy's grain on the spot.
The restored wooden cow physical map in later generations comes from the download resources provided by the geopolitical world
Cao Rui, who had received news in Luoyang, had no available generals, so he had to recruit Sima Yi's general Guanzhong Yongliang for military affairs, and Guo Huai and Zhang Gao were all under his control.
Sima Yi arrived in Chang'an, and sent a small number of reinforcements such as Fei Yao and Dai Ling to quickly take the Weishui Road to support Guo Huai there, and he and Zhang Gao led the main force to take the Guanlong Avenue to support Shanghao.
When Guo Huai saw that he had reinforcements, he consulted with Fei Yao and Dai Ling's brothers, not knowing whether to praise each other for their self-confidence, or to forget that the Battle of Yangwei had been fought continuously, and the three actually planned to use the existing defenders and a small number of reinforcements to intercept Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang's main force already had the advantage and was fully prepared, and beautifully drove the three back to Shangyi City.
At the beginning of April, taking advantage of the fact that Sima Yi's main reinforcements had not yet arrived, in order to grab this batch of grain, Zhuge Liang harvested the green wheat in the Shangyi area (the wheat could only be ripe in late April of the lunar calendar), calculating that Sima Yi was about to arrive, Zhuge Liang did a more desperate thing, and cleared the remaining wheat fields.
A while ago, there were many revelations on the Internet that some people bought green wheat seedlings for feed at high prices, and in order to ensure national food security, the relevant departments are thoroughly investigating. Zhuge Liang did this, so that he did not want to engage in any food security war, I also specially checked it, and the green wheat seedlings can really eat in addition to making feed. There are a lot of practices on the headlines, and it is also a traditional processing method, which does not require any modern processing equipment.
Unripe wheat seedlings
The supply of food will not be a problem in the short term. By the time Sima Yi arrived in Shangyi, it was late April, and seeing that Sima Yi was coming menacingly, Zhuge Liang came to an orderly retreat. After all, the defense of Shangyi City was strong, and if Sima Yi's main force and the defenders inside the city attacked internally and externally, the main force of Shu Han would not have an advantage.
Because the retreat of the Shu Han was planned and organized, and in order to attract cao Wei's main force to take the initiative to attack, the two sides chose the opportunity to fight in the field in the movement war, and countless previous battles proved that this was more conducive to giving play to the advantages of the Shu army. At first, Sima Yi only pressed forward step by step, but he chased but did not attack.
Sima Yi did this for two reasons, one was that although the wheat in Shangyi was cut and destroyed by Zhuge Liang, relying on Guo Huai's many years of operation in this area, he actually collected a batch of grain and grass in Qianghu, and history records that Guo Huai "used Wei En to caress Qiang and Hu, and his family went out of the valley, leveled its loss, and the army ate enough." Guo Huai not only collected grain, but also paid attention to the principle of fairness and took the opportunity to engage in sub-ethnic unity.
Second, there was no longer the trouble of supplies, and Sima Yi wanted to consume the morale of shu Han through such a confrontation, either to consume Zhuge Liang again or to choose the opportunity to annihilate. If we look at Sima Yi's resolute blitzkrieg against Meng Da, and then look at the decision to kill Gongsun Yuan in liaodong later, Sima Yi confronted Zhuge Liang for the first time in his life, and how much he valued this opponent.
Like a football game, if the strength of the two sides is very different, the strong team can find a breakthrough at any time to take the lead, and then fight back without hurrying to expand the results. If it is a strong encounter, most of them will be cautious and careful, first tentative attack, and gradually find a breakthrough, like the 94 World Cup final, Brazil and Italy did not intend to win in regular time, but directly stayed up until overtime to bet on penalties.
But this process has attracted the questions of many generals. First, the two sides are on an equal footing in this region, and it is also the territory of the State of Wei. Second, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to choose to retreat, and in the case of not knowing Zhuge Liang's intentions, it was obvious that this was a signal that Zhuge Liang intended to withdraw his troops, and it was even more important to pursue and attack them. Third, although Sima Yi was appointed as the commander-in-chief of this campaign and could restrain the generals, he did not have an advantage in terms of seniority and position in the army.
When Zhuge Liang retreated to the position of Halo City, he camped and did not retreat. From Zhuge Liang's side, this place has been distanced from Cao Wei's stronghold in Shangyi, although it is still wei territory, but it is close to the border between the two countries, and it is not up to whom is the master and who is inferior.
From the perspective of Sima Yi's side, his own internal public opinion advocated going to war, and he could not resist his curiosity and wanted to test the true strength of Shu Han. In early May, Sima Yi sent Zhang Jaw to lead a force to attack Zhuge Liang's flank Wang Ping, and he himself led the main force to face Zhuge Liang head-on.
Such an arrangement is typical of a field horse race. Sima Yi sent Zhang Jaw, the only remaining zhang jaw of Cao Wei who was good at field warfare, to attack Wang Ping, who was good at defense, to engage in a tough battle. However, his main force faced Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, and Wu Ban, who were the most adept at attacking the Shu Han.
The facts again, again, and again (important things said three times) prove that in the late Three Kingdoms period, the generals who could be taken by the State of Wei were already very rare. In areas where the terrain was not conducive to a large-scale charge of cavalry, the field combat ability of Shu Han was definitely a grade higher than that of Cao Wei.
Wei Yan's own Meridian Valley plot was "controlled and not allowed" by Zhuge Liang, and in the Battle of Yangxiao, he was a partial division against Guo Huai, and winning was also a defensive success, and he could not expand his achievements without authorization. This time facing Cao Wei's main force and commander, Wei Yan excitedly came up with a Tianjin sentence: Catch up with the thief!
The result of the battle was a major defeat for Sima Yi, who not only lost a number of troops, but also captured a large number of materials by Zhuge Liang. After this battle, Sima Yi avoided confronting Zhuge Liang all his life, except that he understood that the shortcomings of Shu Han were always logistical supplies, and I think this battle must have left a deep impression on him, and a psychological shadow.
The overall situation map of Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition comes from the download resources provided by the geopolitical world
Sima Yi quickly retreated to Shangyi, and for the rest of his life he was no longer at odds with Zhuge Liang. In the process of retreating, Sima Yi must have thrown a piece of soup to the generals: I said not to fight, you must fight, this is a heavy loss, I can not carry this pot alone.
Seeing Sima Yi retreating, Zhuge Liang also played Tai Chi and once again formed a confrontation with Sima Yi. From March onwards to defeat Sima Yi in Xiacheng, Zhuge Liang brought grain this time, plus the wheat harvested on Shangyi, it should have been almost eaten. To this end, Zhuge Liang repeatedly wrote to Li Yan, who was in charge of logistics in Hanzhong, and repeatedly confirmed whether the grain could be received from the ground. Li Yan did not think of trying to overcome the difficulties as much as possible, but sent two couriers and Zhuge Liang complained.
As a leader, since you chose Li Yan, you must trust him. Although he had just won a big victory, Zhuge Liang saw that it was difficult to receive grain, but he still made a difficult decision: to withdraw his troops. After winning the battle but retreating again, Sima Yi guessed that Zhuge Liang must have no food to eat.
The second Northern Expedition was committed by Wang Shuang, who had to go after Zhuge Liang's troops, but was ambushed and killed. This time it was Sima Yi's turn, except that it was Zhang Gao who was awarded this glorious task. In the literary work Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in order to highlight Sima Yi's old traitorous giant, the literary work describes this pursuit as Zhang Gao's repeated initiative to ask for help, and Sima Yi was worried that there was an ambush and would not allow it.
The canonical record is the opposite, but also more credible, from age to experience, from the command of the front to the degree of familiarity with the opponent, Zhang Gao is far above Sima Yi. Zhuge Liang's Qishan Road this time, from a geographical point of view, belongs to the complex land type corresponding to the Qishan and Hanyuan Valleys, and the rivers and valleys are intertwined and crisscrossed, which is an excellent place to set up ambushes.
At the same time, Zhang Gao believed that Zhuge Liang took the initiative to withdraw his troops in the case of victory, and must have made full preparations, and once pursued, it was easier to encounter an ambush. Unfortunately, Zhang Gao, as a soldier, chose to obey. In addition, there was another reason, the glory of the battle at the street kiosk was enough for Zhang Hao to be confident for a lifetime, and what could he do with an ambush.
The fact was originally developed according to Zhang Gao's idea, Zhuge Liang retreated in an orderly manner, and calmly setting up an ambush was a routine operation, the main purpose was nothing more than to scare the pursuing troops and win precious time for the retreat of the side, and it was enough to kill or capture a partial general of the enemy, and did not intend to kill the pursuing troops, if he could kill Wang Shuang, a fierce general like the second Northern Expedition, it would really be a big fish.
To Zhuge Liang's surprise, this time it was a really big fish caught - Zhang Gao. History records that Zhang Gao died of an arrow in the knee, and some documents also record that Zhuge Liang used his own invention of the "profit and loss crossbow" this time, which is an ancient version of the rapid-fire machine gun, if so, Zhang Gao should not be an arrow in the knee, it should be shot into a sieve.
A schematic map of Zhang Gao's pursuit of Zhuge Liang and the location of the ambush
We are strict, how can an arrow in the knee lead to death? Because ancient clinical medicine and contemporary medicine are two concepts, in that era when there were no anti-inflammatory drugs, it was common for small traumas to cause infections and cause various complications and lead to death.
If it were not for this accident, Zhang Gao's super long standby would not have survived Sima Yi, and if that were the case, the history of the Three Kingdoms would have been rewritten. Throughout the Three Kingdoms period, and even the whole of ancient China, like Zhang Gao and Sima Yi, there are only three factors in longevity: good genes, not easy to produce various diseases; Do not suffer trauma, because there is no specific medicine; Zhang Gao and Sima Yi have a good mentality, but they are different, and we will talk about this last time.
Some people say that Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition had the highest probability of success, was unexpected, and achieved significant results in the early stage. In the next few Northern Expeditions, Cao Wei had a key deployment, which was purely a measure that knew that it could not be done. In fact, every time Zhuge Liang went on a northern expedition, he could conscientiously sum up the lessons learned and make corresponding adjustments.
The first sneak attack, the wrong use of horse mo, the second Northern Expedition to encircle Chen Cang, the grain is not enough to withdraw troops. The Third Northern Expedition took the Chicken Rib Wudu. I think that the Fourth Northern Expedition of the Shu Han Dynasty was the closest Zhuge Liang came to success, the generals on the front line were all brave, and Zhuge Liang was more familiar with everyone's ability level, accumulating grain for two years and harvesting wheat from Shangyi.
From Zhuge Liang's own point of view, his eldest son Zhuge Zhan was born in 227 AD four years before the Northern Expedition, and in 234 AD after the Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang was able to launch the Fifth Northern Expedition as a commander, indicating that during this time Zhuge Liang's body was healthy and experienced enough, and the front-line troops gradually exercised their strong combat effectiveness.
Zhuge Liang finally withdrew his troops, and could not avoid the Li Yan we mentioned above.
Third, the hidden topic of the Northern Expedition - human nature
One is Li Yan. Li Yan's coming is not small. When Cao Cao conquered Jingzhou, Liu Chun surrendered without a fight, and Li Yan, who was serving in Jingzhou, did not look at Cao Cao, who had already pacified the north at that time, but directly surrendered to Liu Zhang's account in Yizhou. After Liu Bei took Yizhou, Liu Zhang sent Li Yan to resist, and Li Yan changed the task to surrender and directly led the troops to surrender to Liu Bei.
He didn't look up to Liu Zhang's normal behavior, he actually looked down on Cao Cao, and finally chose Liu Bei. Liu Bei's love for Li Yan could not be pretended under any circumstances. When Liu Bei launched the Battle of Hanzhong, the rear was not too peaceful. At that time, there were people in Qianwei County who gathered a crowd to rebel, and Taishou Li Yan did not request more troops, did not even ask for instructions to report, and directly used regular defenders to quell the rebellion.
In addition, Li Yan also showed strong administrative management ability during his term of office. Therefore, the White Emperor City trust is naturally indispensable to Li Yan, who is both literate and martial. On the one hand, Liu Bei used "If the heir can be supplemented, it is supplemented; If he is not talented, the king can take it upon himself" to motivate and beat Zhuge Liang in such a way, on the other hand, to use Li Yan to restrain Zhuge Liang and avoid his monopoly of power.
Li Yan's film and television image picture is derived from Baidu pictures
There have been more than two of the past generations, and the reasons are the same, but all the people have only one result, that is, one of them kills several other people and becomes a powerful minister himself, such as Huo Guang, Sima Yi, and so on. But what he did not expect was that Zhuge Liang achieved monopoly of power, but did not embark on the road of usurpation, nor did he eliminate Li Yan, who was holding himself back.
Everything has two sides, and since Li Yan has lost the meaning of containing Zhuge Liang, it is inevitable that he will become a burden to Zhuge Liang. As the same chancellor, Zhuge Liang was stationed in Hanzhong and Li Yan was stationed in Jiangzhou. One sits at the northern gate of Shu Han, and one town guards the eastern gate of Shu Han. However, it was obvious that after the Shu Han and Eastern Wu had once again allied, the importance of the Eastern Gate where Li Yan was located had been greatly reduced.
The change in Li Yan's mentality should have started at this time. Since you can't become a power like Zhuge Liang, you can monopolize the scenery and unlimited scenery, so let's play a role in the garrison as a prince of one side. To this end, he proposed to Zhuge Liang with ulterior motives to divide Yizhou into two, set aside several counties to build a separate Bazhou, and proposed that he be appointed as the "Assassin of Bazhou".
The territory of "Bazhou" that Li Yan wants to establish separately is within the yellow line in the figure. Map source geopolitical view of the world, I post-production
The scope of this division is roughly to restore the two countries of Pakistan and Shu in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States Period. The problem was that at that time, shu Han was such a big place, and the officials at all levels were already very large, and Zhuge Liang obviously would not agree, let alone get used to Li Yan's problem.
In the face of Cao Zhen's destruction of Shu, the pressure in Hanzhong increased sharply, zhuge liang sent Li Yan and his direct subordinate troops to Hanzhong to join, he did everything possible to shirk, Zhuge Liang also knew it, and promoted his son Li Feng to be the governor of Jiangzhou to replace him, which was equivalent to still retaining his direct territory.
Li Yan rushed to Hanzhong with a twist and a squeeze, Zhuge Liang made smooth progress in the front, and also won the battle, Li Yan did not share the happiness for the progress of his colleagues, but was jealous of the fire, passive and sluggish in logistical work, Hanzhong to the front line of the supply is already difficult, he is no longer careful, it is no wonder zhuge Liang did not withdraw troops.
The most heinous thing is that Li Yan also played a little clever after Zhuge Liang withdrew to Hanzhong, met Zhuge Liang, and explained clearly according to theory, such as catching up with the rainy season, lagging behind in the collection of grain and grass, unstable factors in Chengdu, and so on, which led to problems in logistics and supplies.
Li Yan pretended to be surprised and said that the grain stored in Hanzhong was enough for the front line, and I had been urging it to be transported to the front line. Li Yan not only played this little cleverness, but also set up a archway behind the lord Liu Channa: trying to help Zhuge Liang explain the reason for winning the battle but withdrawing his troops.
Zhuge Liang finally couldn't bear it any longer, and the correspondence exchanged, the courier who went to the front line to report difficulties, and the human and physical evidence were all there. In the later lord, Zhuge Liang did the work of cutting first and playing later (Note 3), and this time the Northern Expedition withdrew troops normally, and there was no need to explain at all, Li Yan operated in this way, committing the big taboo of leadership: using the superior leader of the leader to suppress his own leadership.
Li Yan's various behaviors not only had the demeanor of losing trust and being a lonely minister, but also broke through the bottom line of being a man in that era. Li Yan did not expect that his sin was so great, and he still fantasized about Zhuge Liang's repeated tolerance of himself, so he directly bowed his head and confessed his mistake.
Facts have proved that Li Yan no longer has the conditions for "the prodigal son to turn back and not change the gold", and may also become a further obstacle to shu Han. Li Yan's sin would not cause him to "slay the horses with tears", and he would also be reduced to exile as a commoner.
The first human nature we learned about was Li Yan's selfishness, jealousy, narrow-mindedness, and the little cleverness of a three-year-old. Through the selfishness of these human beings, Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition was also decidedly going to lead to the withdrawal of troops.
The second is Zhuge Liang. Some people say that later generations have boasted of Zhuge Liang as too mythical, the Eight Arrays, the Wooden Cow Flowing Horse, the Book of Commandments, and the Table of The Master, and these halos add up, and Zhuge Liang's positioning is that of a famous politician, military expert, writer, and inventor during the Three Kingdoms period.
These auras, whether true or false, did play a blessing role in Zhuge Liang's image. But purely from the perspective of human nature, Zhuge Liang is indeed almost perfect. As one of the trusted and lonely ministers, he did not purge his peers, let alone embark on the counterattack road of "jun can take it upon himself".
Statue of Zhuge Liang at the Wuhou Ancestral Hall in Chengdu
The later lord Liu Chan did not doubt that Zhuge Liang had monopolized power, but he did not turn power into seeking personal fame and family fame (Zhuge Liang's eldest son Zhuge Qiao died during the First Northern Expedition), and he did not indulge in the sense of pleasure and achievement brought by power to show off.
For Li Yan, who is difficult to control and always plays a chicken thief, Zhuge Liang repeatedly guides and helps from the perspective of making the best use of his talents. In the face of the temptation proposed by Li Yan, such as persuading Zhuge Liang to "add nine tins" to the throne, hoping to raise Zhuge Liang's rank, he naturally upgraded his station from the department level to the deputy ministerial level.
Zhuge Liang replied frankly to Li Yan that as a courtier, my honor and status had reached its extreme. It is not difficult to add nine tin, in the future, our team has achieved "rejuvenation of the Han Room, but also in the old capital", not to mention the addition of nine tin, plus "ten tin" can be done. At that time, if the program was put on the line, it would be a big reversal. Zhuge Liang dared to say this, which just shows that his heart is straight.
Later generations studied conspiracy theories and Zhuge Liang sent Li Yan to Hanzhong in order to deprive him of his military power and make Li Yan lose his base area, which was equivalent to a change of direction and the purge of this powerful minister.
In fact, in terms of Li Yan's ability, how Zhuge Liang hoped that Han would have such a literary and martial all-rounder as him, the two joined forces, if they worked together, the absolute 1+1 > 2.
From the perspective of talent reserves, this is Shu Han, not Cao Wei. When Zhuge Liang learned that his former friend Xu Shu had stayed up for many years before he was in Cao Wei's official to the Right Lieutenant General, Yushi Zhongcheng (about four pins), he couldn't help but sigh: "Wei Shu Duoshiye! Why don't the two of them see the use? (The other person is Shi Tao)
For the Shu Han regime, which had a small population base, it was best to have both ability and political integrity, and it was also necessary to use talented but flawed people. After being transferred away from Li Yan, Zhuge Liang still deliberately arranged for Li Yan's son Li Feng to be the governor of Jiangzhou to replace him, which was a compromise with Li Yan and made Jiangzhou his family property.
Li Yan was convicted and exiled, and his son Li Feng was not implicated in any way, and eventually remained an official to Zhu Ti Taishou. Knowing that Zhuge Liang died of illness in Wuzhangyuan, Li Yan, who was exiled, knew that there was no one in the world who could tolerate him, and he had no chance to make a comeback at all, so he fell ill and died of melancholy.
Zhuge Liang bowed to the Hou lord Liu Chan and the Shu Han regime. For his colleague Li Yan, he did his best to be benevolent and righteous. The most shining aura on Zhuge Liang's body is the selflessness of human nature.
The third is Sima Yi. The history books record that Sima Yi had the "wolf care", that is, when he looked back, he only turned his head and body. This brain supplement seems to be a little scary indeed. Therefore, many later scholars believe that Sima Yi had long been antipathic, and he was born a person with a dark personality. Especially this time forcing Zhang Gao to pursue Zhuge Liang is to kill people with a knife and eliminate his potential opponents who will seize power in the future.
Sima Yi film and television image map, derived from Baidu pictures
Let's first look at the situation of Cao Wei during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition: at the beginning of Cao Rui's reign, his ability level, IQ and emotional intelligence obviously surpassed that of his father Cao Pi, and the country was politically stable and the people were united.
Sima Yi was 24 years younger than Cao Cao, 8 years older than Cao Pi, and 25 years older than Cao Rui, and there was no indication at that time that Sima Yi would never be a prophet, that is, he actually survived three generations of the Cao family, and even Cao Rui died in front of him.
In terms of Sima Yi's position at that time and the degree to which Cao Rui valued him, he had already entered the high-level rule of Cao Wei. According to the development of the fairy tale model, Sima Yi should bow down for Cao Rui, retire honorably, take the hand of his son Sima Shi Sima Zhao, and return to his hometown to enjoy the joy of heaven together.
From a comprehensive point of view, Sima Yi at that time did not think that he would rebel in the future, nor did he think that he could rebel in the future, let alone predict in advance that he would rebel in the future. Then why did Sima Yi force Zhang Hao to pursue Zhuge Liang?
With the military structure of the western theater of the State of Wei at that time, Sima Yi ordered Zhang Guo to pursue, which was both natural and in line with conventional operations. Zhang Gao's death stemmed from Sima Yi's failure to fully absorb the lessons of the great defeat of Halo City, and his understanding of his opponent was not as thorough as Zhang Gao's, and finally, it also stemmed from the fact that Sima Yi and Zhang Gao were not selfless friends, and he did not seem to take Zhang Guo too seriously.
Later, in the gaopingling change, Guo Huai, a general who had also been trained by Cao Wei for many years, did not fall out with the Sima family, and still steadily guarded the western gate for the Sima family. Zhang Gao's death does not mean that Sima Yi eliminated potential political opponents in order to seize power in the future.
At most, we can force Sima Yi to pursue Zhuge Liang with Zhang Guo in order to eliminate his competitors. What is the difference between a political opponent and a competitor? In terms of military command ability, the two are on an equal footing, and Zhang Gao seems to be even better; In terms of seniority, Sima Yi was only qualified to "sit in the front row" in the late Cao Cao period.
In the promotion of the position, sooner or later, the two cannot avoid conflicts. The fellow is a wrongdoer, and the pancake seller will not be jealous of the egg seller, but he is jealous of other pancake sellers who are better than him.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition, from the perspective of human nature, Sima Yi did not show ambition to seize power, but also did not show the selflessness of the Grand Duke. Halo city lost a battle, but his belly was blackened to get rid of his rival Zhang Guo, and Sima Yi did not do a good job of completing the task entrusted to him by the public, but he did a private job perfectly.
Finally, let's talk about Zhang Gao. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's evil relationship with Zhang Guo began when Cao Cao conquered Zhang Lu, and at the same time that Liu Bei initially settled Yizhou, Cao Cao also took Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. Zhang Gao, who was ordered to carry out the next step of the strategy, actually crossed the Daba Mountain Wave to plunder the population around the Tangqu.
This is the northern part of the Sichuan Basin, which is the core area of Liu Bei Group. Although defeated by Zhang Fei, who was "a million enemies", Zhang Gao successfully completed the task of population migration.
After that, xiahou yuan, the commander of the Battle of Hanzhong, was beheaded on the front line, and Cao Wei was leaderless, and everyone jointly elected Zhang Guo as the "temporary commander", quickly stabilizing the situation and delaying Liu Bei's process of taking Hanzhong. Even Liu Bei sighed that killing a Xiahou Yuan didn't mean much, how good it would be if he could kill Zhang Guo!
Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, by all calculations, did not count Zhang Gao's reinforcements walking in the street pavilion, and defeated Ma Mo in the shortest possible time, and the dream of the first Northern Expedition was shattered.
The second Northern Expedition besieged Chen Cang, Zhang Gao had not yet had time to rush to the front line of support, relying on his eyes to survive Zhuge Liang (Zhang Guo calculated the grain that Zhuge Liang brought, it is estimated that he had not yet arrived at Chen Cang, Zhuge Liang withdrew), and the second Northern Expedition was cool.
Liu Beijunchen must have sighed: Zhang Gao, are you bothering (Note 4) me! When I wrote about Zhuge Liang's Second Northern Expedition, I said that between Shu Han and Zhang Gao, sooner or later there must be a break.
Zhuge Liang lamented Zhang Gao's brave film and television image picture, which comes from Baidu pictures
From Zhang Gao's own point of view, as a famous general who defected to the Cao Wei group at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Gao has been waiting for an opportunity, that is, when he can become a "leader". Xiahou Yuan, the commander of the Battle of Hanzhong, was beheaded, and Zhang Gao was elected as the "acting commander", but it is not because Cao Cao eventually abandoned Hanzhong that Zhang Gao did not "turn right".
During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, the emergency adjustments made by Cao Rui were Cao Zhen's governor Yong Liang, and Zhang Gao was the vanguard to aid Long Right, and the hard work was all his. Jieting defeated Ma Chen, and Zhang Gao made great merit and head merit, but the commander-in-chief of the Western Theater was still Cao Zhen.
After Zhuge Liang's second Northern Expedition, Zhang Guo still had excellent performances, but yes, the commander-in-chief was still Cao Zhen. Until Cao Zhen returned home from shu and died of depression, this time it was time for me!
Zhang Gaozuo could not wait, the right could not wait, and finally waited for Sima Yi, who had entered this unit for a shorter time than him, had a shallower seniority than him, and was younger than him, as the commander.
Zhang Gao never became the commander-in-chief of a theater of the Cao Wei clique, and in addition to his status as an early demoted general, there was an old saying: a dial cannot catch up, and a dial cannot catch up.
Zhang Gao's film and television image picture is derived from Baidu pictures
Sometimes fate really loves to joke with people. But Zhang Hao can survive, just waiting for one day fate can take care of. As we discussed earlier, Zhang Gao's ultra-long standby should have a good attitude in addition to his own genes. In the decades of loyal service to the Cao Wei Group, in the face of several opportunities that could be taken by himself, Zhang Hao did not complain about the world or even vent his dissatisfaction, but did not work hard and complain.
Faced with a commander who disagreed with him, Sima Yi, Zhang Gao, as a professional soldier, obeyed orders even when he knew that there was danger. A soldier's lifelong wish was fulfilled: To wrap the body and return it.
What shines on Zhang Gao is the style of a loyal, brave, wise, dedicated, regardless of personal gains and losses, paying attention to rules, and obeying orders. Even if he obstructed Zhuge Liang again and destroyed The Strategic Plan of Shu Han several times, Zhuge Liang, after ambushing Zhang Gao, in addition to taking a breath, would certainly take off his scarf with pity, stand up, and mourn for Zhang Gao for three minutes.
The famous generals of the early Three Kingdoms Era, with the death of Zhang Gao, can be regarded as the official end. Cao Wei had Zhang Gao, and he was lucky. A unit, there are employees like Zhang Gao, why not hesitate!
Our article analyzing Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition is the fifth: from the perspective of comprehensive national strength, we have analyzed the root causes of the failure of the First Northern Expedition; From the gorgeous turn of history, the possibility of success of the first Northern Expedition was conceived; From the surprise of the art of war and the lack of preparation, the gains and losses of the second and third Northern Expeditions were analyzed. In this article, we deduce human nature from the important figures who appeared on both sides of Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition, from the process and results, and also analyze the inevitable results of this Northern Expedition from the perspective of human nature.
Faced with the lessons learned from the previous three Northern Expeditions, Zhuge Liang made careful arrangements in advance, used wooden cattle to improve the efficiency of grain transportation, chose the right season, and harvested the enemy's grain. Facing a wolf-like opponent, Shu Han showed ambition and desire beyond wolf nature, but eventually lost to his teammates like pigs.
Looking at Zhuge Liang's first four Northern Expeditions, the fundamental problem is the grain problem, that is, the cost and efficiency of grain transportation. Although the four Northern Expeditions all ended in failure, Zhuge Liang became increasingly unwilling. The shortcomings of their own logistics and supply have been slowly solved, the combat effectiveness of the team is getting stronger and stronger, and the experience of the front-line generals has been further enriched.
Shu Han, who has been defeated many times, but has repeatedly defeated and repeatedly enhanced his self-confidence, when will the next Northern Expedition be? What improvements will be made? What perspective will we analyze? What is the end result? Even why did the Shu Han Dynasty go north? We will continue to discuss this in a later article.
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Note 1: Yong, the ancient name of the country, is reported to have accompanied King Wu of Zhou to destroy the Shang, and is one of the "Eight Kingdoms of pastoral oath". The capital was Shangyong (present-day southwest of Zhushan County, Hubei Province). In 611 BC, the State of Chu encountered a serious famine, and the State of Yong did not measure up to its own strength and took the initiative to attack the State of Chu. In the end, it was destroyed by the three kingdoms of Chu, Qin and Ba.
Note 2: Wooden cattle and flowing horses are means of transport invented by Zhuge Liang, the Shu Han chancellor of the Three Kingdoms period, and there have been many versions of inferences about their form, structure and actual transportation capacity in later generations. On the whole, the wooden cow is a wheelbarrow still in use in many rural areas today, but the structure is slightly more complicated, and the flow horse is an upgraded version of the wooden cow.
Note 3: Zhuge Liang's Second Northern Expedition was essentially a temporary operation, Cao Wei's grand sima Cao Xiu died of illness, zhuge Liang took advantage of the fact that the army was still cultivating in Hanzhong, and quickly attacked, and the fastest was also to report to the rear lord Liu Chan at the same time, and it was too late to ask for instructions. Afterwards, Zhuge Liang wrote the "Table of Later Teachers", which many people believe was the violation of his nephew Zhuge Ke. But looking at the wording, it was more like Zhuge Liang explaining to Liu Chan why he had rushed to send troops this time without asking for instructions in advance.
Note 4: Obstruction, the second interpretation in the encyclopedia is: Superstitious people refer to someone or something that is unfavorable to people, commonly known as xiang ke, such as obstructing the lord and hindering the family.