The Battle of Yiling, a key battle in the fate of Shu Han from prosperity to decline. In the Chu River and Han Realm, the flames are soaring, and the shame of Chibi seems to be staged again, but it is the prelude to the end of another hero. Liu Bei had revenge in his heart, waved his army south, covered the mountains and rivers with banners, and pointed his troops directly at Eastern Wu. Providence made people, and Lu Xun's fire burned out the hope of the Shu army. Shu suffered heavy losses, like a broken candle shaking the wind, and it was in danger.
At this time, Cao Wei in the north, with the assistance of the Grand Governor Sima Yi and other strategists, did not choose to take advantage of the situation and attack Western Shu in one fell swoop. On the other hand, south of the Yangtze River, Soochow was triumphant of victory in the Battle of Yiling. However, Cao Pi had no intention of letting go of this southern rival.
The wheels of history rolled forward, and between September 222 and 224, Cao Wei repeatedly attacked Wu. The soldiers wore armor and held halberds, and gathered into a killing atmosphere in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. And each expedition ended in failure. Why was it that when Shu was on the verge of collapse, Cao Wei was busy with the Eastern Wu soldiers?
Strategy is like a chess game, one wrong move will lose the whole game. Although Cao Pi loves literature and art, he is also well versed in the art of war and strategy. He knew that although Liu Bei was defeated, he was still glorious and the people wanted it, and if he blindly cut down Shu, it might provoke a greater backlash. At the same time, he looked at the situation in the world: Wei, Wu, and Shu had already achieved the goal of dividing the world, and it was probably not a wise choice to destroy a country like a withering and decaying country.
Soochow is different. Sun Quan was located in the south of the Yangtze River, mastered the superiority of the naval army, and had made the northern overlord suffer in the Battle of Chibi. If the expansion of its power is not curbed as soon as possible, it will become more and more difficult to unify the world in the future. When Sun Quan knew that he was a good man and asked Cao Pi to join forces to attack Shu, a gleam flashed in the latter's eyes - isn't this a good opportunity to divide and sow discord between the two southern countries?
Therefore, in that turbulent era, Cao Pi chose to use diplomatic means to find a balance in the political game. He stepped up efforts to rectify internal affairs and eliminate separatist forces, and took the initiative to attack Soochow from the outside.
Although these expeditions did not appear to be a great success at first glance, they actually had far-reaching significance: they demonstrated the resolute attitude of Cao Wei's northern powers, made Eastern Wu dare not act rashly, and Western Shu had a temporary respite, and at home, they strengthened their control over local forces and unified the national spirit through war.
Sima Yi and other advisers looked at the overall situation and knew that the ultimate goal was to unify the three kingdoms. So in the tug-of-war behind this, it is not inaction.
Looking back at those years of strife in the long river of history, we may be able to better understand the difficulty and wisdom of the decisions made in the complex environment of princes dividing their territories and competing with each other.
The strife that followed the Battle of Yiling was not in vain; it was a microcosm of a dynasty's survival and strategic adjustments; it reflected the test of an era's leader's ability to weigh the situation and assess the situation.
To sum up, Cao Wei did not directly attack Shu after Yiling, but focused on Wu because of multiple considerations: domestic stability takes time to precipitate, foreign relations need to be strengthened, and most importantly, to maintain the stability of the three-legged situation to ensure that they maximize their own interests—in this complex and delicate balancing act to find the most suitable development path for their own national interests.
The Three Kingdoms are like a giant chessboard, where vibrant vitality and strategic wisdom coexist, and the stars are shining brightly, even after thousands of years, they still shine endlessly, giving a profound inspiration to future generations: making decisions in the context of any era requires a combination of broad vision and precise thinking in order to win the opportunity for future development.