Kongming's Northern Expedition has always been a controversial topic in the history of the Three Kingdoms. On the surface, it is believed to be to revive Liu Bei's great cause and support the Han Dynasty; But Wei Yan's death has revealed the truth behind the Northern Expedition. Let's take a closer look at this historical puzzle.
More than 200 years ago, Liu Bei Group was still in its heyday. At that time, Cao Cao personally led a large army to attack Hanzhong, intending to crush the momentum of the rise of Shu in one fell swoop. However, surprisingly, Liu Bei not only defended Hanzhong, but also defeated Cao's army at Dingjun Mountain, directly reversing the situation. Cao Cao was almost trapped in the hinterland of Hanzhong and had to retreat in disgrace. A small Shu State can defeat the main force of Wei State, and its strength is impressive.
In the subsequent battle of Xiangfan, Guan Yu's record was even more astonishing. He killed 100,000 enemies with one hundred, directly threatening Jiangbei, the heart of Wu State. The strength of Liu Bei Group has become so strong that it is daunting. However, the good times were short-lived. Under the joint efforts of Wei and Wu, the strength of Shu was greatly damaged. Jingzhou was seized, the territory was greatly reduced, and Liu Bei had to retreat to Shuzhong.
And when Zhuge Liang took over the overall situation, it was no longer the prosperous era of the Central Plains. Compared with Wei and Wu, the strength of Shu is obviously weak. But Zhuge Liang still launched the Northern Expedition, which is puzzling. What was the real purpose of the Northern Expedition?
After careful study, there were two main considerations for the Northern Expedition: first, it was to divert domestic contradictions. After all, Liu Bei's group is an external force, and it will inevitably be estranged from the local scholars in Shuzhong. Frequent Northern Expeditions can divert attention and reduce conflict. The second is to weaken the strength of Wei. The Northern Expedition harassed the Wei state, preventing it from concentrating on development and slowing down its annexation. All in all, the Northern Expedition was not really about overthrowing Wei rule, but only about buying time and preserving strength.
This can be clearly seen from Wei Yan's death. Wei Yan advocated using a trick to quickly annihilate the Wei army, but Zhuge Liang did not dare to make a desperate bet. Before the end of the Northern Expedition, he handed over military power to Wei Yan's political enemies, and Sheng Sheng excluded Wei Yan from the inner circle. Obviously, this was because Wei Yan was worried that Wei Yan would be desperate for the Northern Expedition and put the country in an irrational risk.
To sum up, the real purpose of the Northern Expedition was not to swear to the death to support the Han family, but only a realistic helpless move to gain more time for Shu to survive. As history tells the truth, Wei Yan's death has shown this. Today, we should not be critical of the deceased heroes of history, because they are just ordinary people, who are just improvising in the changes of that great era. History does not affect Zhuge Liang's loyal character, he is still a minister who sacrificed his life for the country. The heroes of every era have done their best and should be respected and remembered by future generations.