Wei Yan (?) ~234), courtesy name Wenchang, was a native of Yiyang. Around the time of the Battle of Chibi, Wei Yan began to follow Liu Bei and was deeply influenced by Liu Bei. In 211, when Liu Bei entered Sichuan, Wei Yan followed. After the Outbreak of the Battle of Yizhou, Wei Yan was promoted to general of Yamen because of his many military achievements. In 219 AD, Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong, promoted him to the rank of General of Zhenyuan and Taishou of Hanzhong, and became a general on his own side, guarding Hanzhong for more than ten years, ensuring that the region was solid. In 221, after Liu Bei ascended the throne as empress, Wei Yan was worshipped as a general of Zhenbei.
Since 228 AD, Wei Yan accompanied Zhuge Liang on the Northern Expedition, Bai Liang Prefecture (白梁州刺史), the Marquis of Fengdu Ting, and the Marquis of Yangxi (陽溪) to destroy Fei Yao and Guo Huai. He planned to personally lead soldiers and horses to attack Guanzhong from the Meridian Road, imitating Han Xin's story, and meeting with Zhuge Liang to master TongGuan, but was opposed by the cautious Zhuge Liang. It is true that Wei Yan fought bravely, but Wei Yan had an arrogant personality and was at odds with The Long Shi Yang Yi. In 234, Zhuge Liang died of illness, and the contradictions between Wei Yan and Yang Yi intensified, fighting for power, Wei Yan was defeated and fled, and was pursued by Ma Dai and destroyed by the three tribes.
Therefore, for Wei Yan, he did not betray Shu Han, but because of the struggle between him and Yang Yi, he lost his life. Moreover, Yang Yi also exterminated the Three Clans of Wei Yan, which made even more sense. So, the question is, after Wei Yan was killed, why didn't Liu Chan rehabilitate him?
One
First of all, the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms records: "The original Yan intended not to surrender to Wei in the north and return to the south, but to get rid of the killing instrument and so on." Hao Jing of the Yuan Dynasty believed that Yang Yi "killed the general with private anger, and the sin was floating in the delay."
Chen Shou, the author of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, also believes that Wei Yan's death was not due to rebellion, because Wei Yan had always had great ambitions and conflicts with Yang Yi and others, which led to the end of being killed. Wei Yan was later killed on charges of treason, and indeed he died unjustly. Moreover, in the thirteenth year of Jianxing (235), Yang Yi, who had killed Wei Yan, was stripped of his post and exiled to Hanjia Commandery because of his complaints. However, after being exiled, Yang Yi still did not reflect on herself, and wrote a letter of slander, fierce rhetoric, and finally went to prison and committed suicide.
However, after Yang Yi was killed, neither Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty, nor the military general of the imperial court, stood up to defend Wei. The reasons for this are mainly divided into the following points. As far as the first point is concerned, this is that Wei Yan did disobey Zhuge Liang's order to withdraw.
In the autumn of 234, Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty, became ill and secretly discussed a plan to retreat with The Chief Shi Yangyi, Sima Feiyi, and the protector Jiang Wei. According to Zhuge Liang's request, it was after Wei Yan was interrupted. After Zhuge Liang's death, Yang Yi ordered Fei Yi to go to figure out Wei Yan's intentions. Wei Yan replied, "Although The Prime Minister is dead, but with me, how can the world be wasted because of the death of a person?" Besides, who was Wei Yan, and how could I be at the mercy of Yang Yi and be a general after the break?
Soon after, the Shu Han army slowly retreated with Yang Yi, and Wei Yan was furious, and he traveled day and night in front of Yang Yi's army, burning down the Pavilion Road everywhere he walked. As a result, Wei Yan, who was supposed to be broken, ran to the front of the army and burned down the Pavilion Road. More crucially, Wei Yan first occupied Nangukou and led an army to attack Yang Yi's army, and Yang Yi ordered Wang Ping to defend Against Wei Yan in front. Wang Ping scolded Wei Yan's vanguard troops: "Zhuge Cheng Xiang has just died, the bones are not cold, do you dare to do this!?" "The army knew that the fault lay with Wei Yan, and did not listen to Wei Yan's orders, and all the birds and beasts scattered." Only Wei Yan and several of his sons fled to Hanzhong. Yang Yi sent Ma Dai to catch up with Wei Yan and behead him, offering his head to Yang Yi.
Two
From this point of view, Wei Yan did have a fault first, which provided Yang Yi with a handle to get rid of him. If after Zhuge Liang's death, Wei Yan cut off the rear according to the requirements and retreated to Chengdu, not only could he save his life, but he could even add officials to the knighthood. However, Wei Yan's personality prompted him not to seek perfection.
As far as the second point is concerned, Wei Yan has an arrogant personality and has offended too many civilian and military generals. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms and other historical records, Wei Yan was good at raising soldiers and brave, but his personality was arrogant and his temperament was extremely evil, and everyone avoided his sharp edge. Only Yang Yi despised Wei Yan and became involved in water and fire with him, and even several times Wei Yan took a knife to kill Yang Yi; Zhuge Liang cherished the two, and Fei Yi often mediated for the two.
In addition to Yang Yi, Wei Yan also had a conflict with Liu Yan, a minister, which prompted Zhuge Liang to personally mediate. Liu Yan (?) –234), courtesy name Weishuo, was a native of the State of Lu in Yuzhou (豫州, in modern Qufu, Shandong), and an official of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. Liu Yan began to accompany Liu Bei when he was in Yuzhou, and after Liu Bei took Yizhou, he was appointed as the Taishou of Guling Commandery. After the lord Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, Liu Yan was given the title of Marquis of Duxiang, promoted to the post of general who served as a wei lieutenant and a chinese army division, and then promoted to a cheqi general.
Three
In this regard, in the author's opinion, it is precisely because the relationship with the Wenchen warlords of the Shu Han is too poor, which leads to the fact that after Wei Yan was killed, no one did justice for him. In other words, if after Wei Yan was killed, there were some ministers who could play Liu Chan and play for Wei Yanming, then the later lord Liu Chan might push the boat along the water and serve Wei Yan Zhaoxue. However, the Shu Han generals generally remained silent, which prompted Liu Chan to say much.
Finally, as far as the third reason is concerned, it is Wei Yan who was killed, which seems to be promoted by Yang Yi, but behind Yang Yi, there are actually many Shu Han ministers. In 234, after Zhuge Liang's death, Yang Yi and Wei Yan both went to each other to express Liu Chan, saying that the other was plotting rebellion. After learning of this situation, Liu Chan did not know who to believe, so he asked Dong Yun and Shi Jiangwan, the governor of the liufu, who really wanted to rebel. In this regard, both Jiang Huan and Dong Yun guaranteed that Yang Yi did not rebel, but suspected Wei Yan.
After Wei Yan was killed, Jiang Huan, as Zhuge Liang's heir, was crowned Shangshu Ling, and added the title of Capital Protector, False Festival, Led yizhou Assassin History, and then moved the general to record Shang Shushi, and gave him the title of Marquis of Anyangting. In the first year of Yanxi (238), Jiang Huan was ordered to open the capital and was given the title of Grand Sima (大司馬). For Jiang Huan at this time, he can be called one person below and above ten thousand people. As for Dong Yun, he assisted Liu Chan during the crown princehood and later became the deputy of the general Fei Yi. Therefore, it is very obvious that once Liu Chan wants to rehabilitate Wei Yan, Jiang Huan and Dong Yun, who were suspicious of Wei Yan at the beginning, will naturally be more embarrassed, that is, Liu Chan is not willing to offend Jiang Huan and Dong Yun for Wei Yan.
In general, although Wei Yan was a major general of the Shu Han, he was actually isolated for a long time among the civilian and military generals of the Shu Han. Of course, before Zhuge Liang died, he reused this martial general, and in fact protected Wei Yan. However, after Zhuge Liang's death, Yang Yi was already dissatisfied with Wei Yan, and Ministers such as Jiang Huan and Fei Yi did not have the prestige to control Wei Yan, which prompted him to finally leave a desolate ending.