Author: Our special guest author Qian Qiuyuan
Friends who are familiar with the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" must be familiar with Li Yan. Because in the novel, this brother is very cattle: first of all, the armed cattle - "Huang Zhong came out of the horse, fought with Li Yan for forty or fifty times, and won or lost." "Being able to draw huang Zhong, one of the five tiger generals, this force value is absolutely first-class." The second was a high-ranking official—one of the shu Han's most bullish ministers: Zhuge Liang, the chancellor, and Li Yan.
But at the same time, the end of this brother's life is really a bit unbearable: "Abolish the peace for the people, migrate to Zitong County." The translation is: from the deputy state-level cadres to the end!
So, how did Li Yan's life come about?
First, swing li Yan
As we all know, Uncle Liu Huang's lifelong entrepreneurial process is called a turbulent displacement! And it comes with its own unlucky attributes - with whom is unlucky, do not believe you see: Gongsun Zhan, Yuan Shao, Lü Bu, Liu Biao... The end.
And it is precisely because there are many mixed mountains, so the shareholders of the Lao Liu Group are full of factions, which are roughly divided into: the Elder Faction, the Jingzhou Faction, the Dongzhou Faction, and the Yizhou Faction.
So, which faction does Li Yan belong to? Hey, other people are good to say, but he we have to look at the experience:
Li Yan's initial boss was Liu Biao, who at that time gave him the position of Zigui County Order, in addition, Li Yan also served as a clerk in the Jingzhou government. However, when Cao Cao attacked Jingzhou, seeing that the situation was not good, Li Yan smeared oil on the soles of his feet and slipped to Sichuan. To Liu Zhang's boss to mix rice and eat, Liu Zhang's appointment to him is the provincial capital mayor - Chengdu Ling, which is basically a high-level migrant worker.
As a worker, Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Li Yan have all done it. Therefore, at a glance, Li Yan is a typical swing party!
Second, the capable Li Yan
As a swing man, it is doubtful which faction Li Yan's ass is sitting on. However, the ability of the swing man Li Yan was beyond doubt, and he was soon revealed under Liu Bei's command:
In the 22nd year of Jian'an, that is, in 217 AD, Gao Ding, the king of Yueyi in the Shu Han Dynasty, led a group of ethnic minority brothers to start their own business. And the performance was very "outstanding", besieging Xindao County in one fell swoop. Who to send? Li Yan got out of the horse, one top two, three times five divided by two, and drove Gao Ding away.
The next year, that is, in 218 AD, Ma Qin and Gao Sheng in Sichuan played a rebellion cause, don't look at these two people are not well known, but once they pulled the flag and rebelled, there was also tens of thousands of scales. At that time, Uncle Liu Huang was playing with Cao Cao in Hanzhong, which was really "the war in front was tight, and the backyard suddenly caught fire", at this moment, Old Liu just wanted to divide the troops to rescue, and he couldn't afford to play. At this "peak moment", Comrade Li Yan, who remained behind in the rear, once again made a shining appearance: No soldiers? Recruit! In a short period of time, Li Yan recruited 5,000 people. Five thousand dozen tens of thousands, is the number a little small? No, under the command of Li Yan, Ma Qin and Gao Sheng did not play a little flower, and they were swept out. And the heads of Ma Qin and Gao Sheng have become a bucket of gold shining on Li Yan's workplace road!
Li Yan used two sweeps to prove to Boss Liu: Li Yan is here, you can rest assured!
Not only martial arts, but also in terms of civil rule, Li Yan also has two brushes. The famous "Shu Ke" was formulated by Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Yi Yuan, Liu Ba, and Li Yan.
Wu was able to put an end to the chaos, and Wen was able to draft the Shu Ke. At this point of both literature and martial arts, Li Yan is definitely a well-known figure in the Shu Han Clique.
Why did Uncle Liu Huang choose Li Yan on his deathbed - because people are indeed a hard stubble!
In terms of personal ability, not only did Liu Bei trust him, but even Zhuge Liang said: "Li Yan is in the White Emperor City, and this person can be Lu Xunye." In Zhuge Kongming's mind, Li Yan's level was almost comparable to that of Lu Xun, the number one figure in Eastern Wu.
In a word, Li Yan is quite level!
Third, Li Yan, who is good at drilling camps
Not only is his personal ability high, Comrade Li Yan - he is also very sensible!
In 219 AD, the Battle of Hanzhong finally ended, and in this battle, Boss Cao had no choice but to retreat north, and Uncle Liu Huang raised his eyebrows. Sitting in Hanzhong and Yizhou, Liu Daye finally got a piece of feng shui treasure land that could be attacked and retreated, and his personal career reached the peak of his life. What's next? Of course it's king!
In a troubled world, everyone is a de facto independent kingdom that can be called king - then it is necessary to be leisurely. Generally speaking, whoever claims to be king first will die quickly, and Chen Sheng and Yuan Shu are typical examples, so most rebel leaders like to "build walls high, accumulate grain, and slowly become king" and fight steadily.
This is the same in today's capital market, many safe entrepreneurs have to choose the right time to IPO listing, if there is not enough strength to support and sufficient preparation, many companies have not been able to develop rapidly, but they are drowned in the waves of capital.
Moreover, Lao Liu has been carrying the banner of the Xingfu Han Room, and if he suddenly becomes the king himself, then the banner of your "Xingfu Han Room" will not become a rag! Therefore, many people are opposed to the fact that Lao Liu is "listed in advance", such as Zhao Yun is not active.
However, Zhao Yun is not active, there are people who are active, such as Li Yan. At the moment when Lao Liu was "happy in life", Ma Chao, Li Yan and others went to the table to "persuade him to advance". This is really, which piece of meat the boss itches, Li Yan scratches which piece!
Fourth, the stinky Li Yan
From personal ability to political position, at the critical moment of Liu Bei's entrepreneurship, Comrade Li Yan's performance was amazing. Such a good comrade, can Uncle Liu Huang not like it? Li Yan's personal position was also promoted from general Pei to General Qian to Taishou, General Xingye, General Fuhan, and Shang Shuling, and eventually became Emperor Liu's trusted vassal.
However, people with outstanding abilities often have a big temper, and Li Yan is like this:
Li Yan was too punctual to be the qian, and fully carried forward the "first way to get rich": chiseling through the Tianshe Mountain, building a road along the river, and building a large number of civil engineering. "The view of the building is magnificent, and it is a state that wins the universe", so that "the officials are pleased with it". Imagine that "old and broken" has become "new and ambitious", who doesn't like it?
However, since building a building is engaged in construction, let's take the opportunity to build a building for ourselves, using public funds to build private houses, and Li Yan has indeed done so. It is inevitable that some people will put forward opinions, such as his assistant Cao Yanghong, who is opposed to Li Yan, and his opposition is very correct. But can you win the boss as an assistant? The dispute could not stop, Yang Hong was angry, did not play - resigned and left.
This was the beginning, but not the end: Li Yan later oversaw Jiangzhou, but during his term of office, he had friction with his subordinate yagumi Wang Chong. Subordinates clash with bosses, and only subordinates can suffer losses. Yang Hong is the precedent! In this regard, the grumpy Wang Chong knew it well - if he stayed any longer, he might have to move his head. Wang Chong simply chose to defect and surrender to Wei.
Li Yan's performance perfectly confirms a proverb: how much ability there is, how big the temper is!
Fifth, Li Yan whose desire is inflated
And Li Yan's problem is not limited to stinky temper, but also lies in desire. Sometimes, desire is a good thing that can motivate people to forge ahead. But sometimes, desire is the poison that kills you. People's desires often rise with the improvement of status, and Li Yan is especially so.
Although they are both ministers of trust, in fact, the gap between Li Yan and Zhuge Liang is very large:
Zhuge Liang, the chancellor, the military and political power of the Shu Han Empire, is equivalent to the CEO of the Shu Han Group. And Li Yan, the protector of Zhongdu, was in charge of the internal and external military affairs, and the town guarded Yong'an.
Zhongdu Hu was similar to today's commander of the Central Army Group, but in fact the leader of the Central Army of the Shu Han Dynasty at this time was Zhao Yun, who li Yan controlled only a little of Yong'an's troops.
One is a real CEO, one is just a nominal executive director, this gap, for Li Yan - so embarrassing!
In the face of this gap, Li Yan's forge ahead in those years has gradually shifted to how to cash in on the value of life.
In 226 AD, Li Yan proposed to "split the land and seal the marquis", the specific method was to divide five counties from Yizhou, and establish another Bazhou, and serve as the pastor of Bazhou himself. This purpose is obvious: everyone is a trusted minister, why are you Zhuge Liang a minister and still lead the State Pastor, and I Li Yan can't get a solid State Pastor?
As for this "split" demand, Zhuge Liang naturally refused!
In order to strengthen the military defense of the rear, Zhuge Liang transferred Li Yan to be the governor of Jiangzhou to facilitate command and sit in the rear. But in Jiangzhou, Li Yan played another big project: in his eyes, the original Jiangzhou City was really old and broken, and it had to be repaired to a big one, and this was Li Yan's matter of building a big city. Not only that, Li Yan also wanted to dig up the Jialing River and the Yangtze River at Eling, so that the Yuzhong Peninsula would completely become a Jiangxin Island, but the project was really huge, so it was stopped. Li Yan's purpose in building the great city was, of course, for the sake of grandeur.
"Splitting the earth and sealing the marquis" did not work, and soon after, Li Yan came up with another idea: to persuade Zhuge Liang. At that time, he could take the lead in persuading Liu Bei, and today he would persuade Zhuge Liang again: The merits of Xiang Xiang are so great, they should add nine tin (nine kinds of high-standard rewards), and they should also be enthroned as kings!
However, for such a small political trick and a small trap, how could Zhuge Liang, the first cattle man of the Three Kingdoms, jump into the pit! Direct refusal: If it is really Xingfu Han Room, you let me add nine tin, ten tin, no problem, but now even the side of the "Xingfu Han Room" has not been touched, how can it be eaten, drunk and fun in advance!
After being repeatedly punched in the face, Li Yan and Zhuge Liang's life values have become more and more divided.
In 230 AD, Cao Zhen led an army into Hanzhong, and at this critical moment, it was natural to need a heavyweight to sit in, except for Zhuge Liang, Li Yan was naturally the best candidate. However, Li Yan was already accustomed to his luxuriously decorated Jiangzhou and went to the front line with difficult conditions, which was really not wanting to go! In order not to go to the front line, Li Yan even forged a letter of surrender from the empire: Eh, this Wei state is ready to hire me as an executive and CEO.
This momentum, just like today's NBA, such as this year's Rondo in the Lakers to play a value, the Clippers are ready to raise the offer to grab people, what can the Lakers do? Can only improve the treatment for salary matching ah!
This is true in today's workplace, and it is true a thousand years ago! For Li Yan's little trick, Zhuge Liang knew it well: then give you a promotion, let you be a general on horseback, and give your son Li Feng a promotion, and he will succeed you as the governor of Jiangzhou.
Lao Tzu and his son were promoted together, and Li Yan went to the front line upside down.
6. Li Yan dismissed the official
For Zhuge Liang's bowing, Li Yan continued to reap personal benefits in the struggle for power again and again, and at the same time, his arrogance also escalated!
In the spring of 231 AD, Zhuge Liang sent troops to Qishan, and Li Yan was responsible for logistics services.
However, the weather this year was not good, the rain was continuous, and the supply of grain and grass transportation was not available. It is said that this is a force majeure, and it is not purely Li Yan's personal problem, if Li Yan tells the truth, Zhuge Liang will at most blame a few words even if he is dissatisfied.
However, Li Yan, who was accustomed to playing with power, played another game this time: he sent a message to Zhuge Liang, saying that Eastern Wu was going to march, and asked Zhuge Liang to quickly retreat. After receiving the news, Zhuge Liang could only withdraw his troops helplessly.
Back in Chengdu, after learning the truth, Zhuge Liang's lungs were about to explode: Since the death of old Boss Liu, you Li Yan have been messing around with small actions, not thinking about how the company will be bigger and stronger, always making money for yourself, making special supplies, splitting Bazhou, and persuading me to be king, and what Wei State has recruited you, and you still want to build an independent kingdom in Jiangzhou! When did you think about the collective good?
In a word, Li Yan was red in the face and poor in reason. Li Yan was swept to the end and deposed as a commoner.
VII. Conclusion
Looking at Li Yan's life of ups and downs in the late festival, from the once literary and martial arts, forge ahead, to the final fly camp dog, selfish, and even lawless, this is a typical inward-rolled life. And it is precisely this mode of life that causes Li Yan to fall from the peak of his life to the bottom.
Perhaps, in the workplace, when we set out, we should always examine whether we still have the original intention, whether we are still the spirited self at the beginning, and always remind ourselves: Don't roll inside!
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Romance of the Three Kingdoms
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