In the twelfth year of Jianxing (234), Zhuge Liang's fifth Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. After staying with Sima Yi until autumn, Zhuge Liang's condition worsened. On his deathbed, Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty, made arrangements for Wei Yan to break off, and if Wei Yan did not obey, he would do as he pleased. However, after Zhuge Liang's death, the contradiction between Wei Yan and Yang Yi completely intensified. In response, Yang Yi sent Ma Dai to kill Wei Yan. From this, it is very obvious that Ma Dai, who killed Wei Yan, can be said to have made a great contribution to Shu Han, that is, he controlled the adverse effects of Wei Yan's rebellion, so as not to bring opportunities for Cao Wei. So, the question is, after Zhuge Liang's death, where did Ma Dai, who killed Wei Yan, go, that is, what was the final outcome of Ma Chao's younger brother Ma Dai?
One
First of all, according to the Records of the Three Kingdoms and other historical records, in the second year of the Shu Han Zhangwu (222), Ma Chao fell seriously ill and gave Liu Bei: "The two hundred people under the clan of the subjects were killed by Cao Cao, and only ma Dai was left, and when my humble clan let him inherit, he was deeply entrusted to Your Majesty, and there was nothing else to say." As a general of the Five Tigers of the Shu Han Dynasty, Ma Chao entrusted his brother Ma Dai to Liu Bei and Shu Han before his death. From brother, that is, cousin meaning. As Ma Chao's cousin, Ma Dai was heavily used in the Shu Han Dynasty, at least during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, allowing Ma Dai to follow him on the battlefield. However, it may be that his ability is limited, and during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Ma Dai did not make any dazzling military achievements. However, after Zhuge Liang's death from illness, Ma Dai ushered in the highlight moment of his career.
Two
After Zhuge Liang's death in the twelfth year of Jianxing (234), Wei Yan and Yang Yi fought for power, and Ma Dai led an army to kill Wei Yan at the behest of Yang Yi. For Yang Yi, the reason why Ma Dai was sent to kill Wei Yan was twofold, one was because Ma Dai, as Ma Chao's younger brother, was more courageous and had the strength to kill Wei Yan. On the other hand, among the warriors of the Shu Han Dynasty, Ma Chao and Ma Dai did not belong to either the yizhou local faction nor the Jingzhou faction, so the possibility of Ma Dai falling to Wei Yan was relatively small. Based on these two reasons, Yang Yi entrusted the heavy task of killing Wei Yan to Ma Dai, and as far as the latter was concerned, he also completed this task well. However, after killing Wei Yan, Ma Dai gradually disappeared from the history of the Shu Han Dynasty. In the thirteenth year of Jianxing (235), the general of Pingbei and Marquis Madai of Chen Cang led a crowd to cut down Wei and repulse Niu Jin.
Three
That is, after killing Wei Yan, Ma Dai was made a general of Pingbei and marquis of Chen Cang by Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty. As far as the General of Pingbei is concerned, as the name suggests, it means the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains and the Northern Expedition, which shows that Ma Dai, like Jiang Wei and others, advocates the Northern Expedition against Cao Wei. However, in 235 AD, during the Northern Expedition against Cao Wei, Ma Dai was repelled by the Cao Wei general Niu Jin, that is, by a lesser-known Cao Wei general. After this defeat, there are almost no records of Ma Dai in the historical records. In this regard, in the author's opinion, it is likely that because of this defeat, Ma Dai was "hidden" by the Shu Han, such as transferring Ma Dai back to Chengdu from the front line of the Northern Expedition, that is, taking back Ma Dai's military power and letting him hold an idle post. And this, prompting Chen Shou, who cherished ink like gold, naturally did not mention Ma Dai again in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Four
Finally, in the view of many historians, after Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Huan was worshipped by Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty, as a Shangshu Ling, and then added the capital protection, false festivals, led the Yizhou Assassination History, and then moved the generals, recorded Shang Shushi, and sealed the Marquis of Anyang Pavilion. During the period when Jiang Huan was in power over the Shu Han Dynasty, Jiang Huan also repeatedly ordered Jiang Wei to lead his division to the west, that is, in the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Jiang Wei trusted Jiang Wei more than Ma Dai. Further, because of Shu Han's limited resources, once it was decided to focus on cultivating Jiang Wei, it was obviously impossible to give Ma Dai any more room to play. Therefore, after the defeat of the First Northern Expedition in the Central Plains, Ma Dai was immediately subjected to "snow hiding" and transferred back to the rear from the front line of the Northern Expedition. In addition, according to historical records, the ruins of Ma Dai's tomb are located at the junction of Juntun Town and Mimu Town in Xindu District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, so from the burial place of Ma Dai, it is indicated that his later years were spent in Chengdu. For a warrior, Ma Dai's ending was a bit bleak.
Text/Sentimental History