In 234, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu Han, sent the general Wei Yan as the vanguard and personally led the army to launch a northern expedition from Qishan, intending to conquer Cao Wei. In August of the same year, the exhausted Zhuge Liang died suddenly in the Wuzhang Yuan Army at the age of 54. After Zhuge Liang's death, the Shu Han army retreated into internal strife, and Yang Yi, the chief historian, sent people to behead Wei Yan on the grounds of rebellion and exterminate his three clans. In the literary masterpiece "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Wei Yan is portrayed as a naturally rebellious and capricious villain. So, what is the truth of history, and why is Wei Yan's rebellion regarded as a strange injustice for the ages?
Wei Yan, with a long character and writing, was born in Yiyang (now Xinyang, Henan). In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Wei Yan defected to Liu Bei when he pacified the four counties of Jingnan, when Zhuge Liang claimed that Wei Yan had a backbone in the back of his head and suggested that Liu Bei kill him, but this episode is not recorded in the history books. Wei Yan first appeared on the stage of history in 211, when Liu Bei entered Shu at the invitation of Liu Zhang, the pastor of Yizhou, and Wei Yan entered Shu as a subordinate to fight in Shu with Liu Bei. In the battle to pacify Yizhou, Wei Yan was named the general of Yamen because of his outstanding military exploits. During the Battle of Changbanpo that year, Zhao Yun also won this honor for protecting Adou.
In 218, Liu Bei personally led a large army to attack Hanzhong, and Cao Cao also personally led a large army to resist after hearing the news, and this battle is known as the Battle of Hanzhong. In the Battle of Hanzhong, Wei Yan made many military exploits, and finally helped Liu Bei win Hanzhong. In 219, Liu Bei proclaimed himself king of Hanzhong in Weiyang and set up his administrative office in Chengdu, so he needed to select a general to guard Hanzhong. At that time, Guan Yu had already guarded Jingzhou, and many people thought that Zhang Fei should be responsible for guarding Hanzhong, and Zhang Fei himself was full of confidence.
However, when Liu Bei announced the final candidate, the whole army was shocked. Liu Bei unusually promoted Wei Yan to the governor of Hanzhong and the Taishou of Hanzhong, and promoted him to the general of Zhenyuan. Liu Bei summoned his ministers and asked Wei Yan, "What are your plans to entrust you with this important task today?" Wei Yan replied in a loud voice: "If Cao Cao pours all the strength of the whole country to come, I will resist the king, and if I only send 100,000 people to the king, I will swallow it up for the king." Liu Bei was extremely satisfied after hearing this, and the ministers were also amazed by Wei Yan's arrogance.
Wei Yan guarded Hanzhong for eight years, until 227, when Zhuge Liang entered Hanzhong to plan the Northern Expedition. In 230, Wei Yan led an army to attack the Liangzhou region of Cao Wei, and defeated the Wei generals Fei Yao and Guo Huai. However, every time Wei Yan accompanied the army on the Northern Expedition, he asked Zhuge Liang to let him lead 10,000 soldiers and find another way to attack Guanzhong through the Meridian Valley, but Zhuge Liang never allowed it. Therefore, Wei Yan believed that Zhuge Liang was too cautious and dissatisfied with the fact that he had not made full use of his talents.
Wei Yan is brave and brave, and treats soldiers well, but he has a proud personality and a strong temperament, and everyone avoids his edge, which is quite like Guan Yu in his later years. Only Prime Minister Shi Yang Yi disdained Wei Yan, and the relationship between the two was like fire and water. There were even a few times when Wei Yan drew his sword and wanted to kill Yang Yi, but Zhuge Liang cherished the talents of the two, and Fei Yi often mediated for them. At this time, Sun Quan of Eastern Wu had already seen the internal contradictions in Shu Han: "Yang Yi and Wei Yan are the villains of the erection of the people, although they have been helpful to current affairs, but they have been appointed, and it is difficult to ignore them. If there is no Zhuge Liang for a while, it will be a disaster. ”
In August 234, Zhuge Liang left a testament before his death: "After the order is extended, Jiang Wei will follow; After Zhuge Liang died, Yang Yi sent Fei Yi to test Wei Yan's tone. Wei Yan replied: "Although the prime minister is dead, I am still there. The relatives and officials of the government can return the funeral to the burial, and I should lead the army to fight the thieves, how can I abolish the affairs of the world with the death of one person? And who Wei Yan is, how can he be extorted by Yang Yi, and he will be determined after making a decision!" It can be seen from Wei Yan's words that he has no intention of rebelling.
After learning the news of the withdrawal of the army, Wei Yan was furious, and he desperately traveled day and night, rushing in front of Yang Yi's troops and burning down the plank road. This turmoil caused Yang Yi and Wei Yan to write to Liu Chan separately, accusing each other of rebellion. However, Wei Yan is a military general, and in the eyes of civilian officials, Yang Yi is obviously more trustworthy.
When Wei Yan tried to intercept Yang Yi's army, the general Wang Ping angrily rebuked Wei Yan's vanguard troops: "The lord has just passed away, and his body has not yet cooled down, how dare you be so rude!" Wei Yan's army scattered and fled without knowing the truth.
Wei Yan and several of his sons fled to Hanzhong rather than Cao Wei. However, Yang Yi did not let them go, and he sent the general Ma Dai to pursue them, eventually beheading Wei Yan. After Yang Yi saw Wei Yan's head, he angrily trampled his head with his foot, and mocked: "You mediocre person, can you still do evil again?" With Yang Yi's victory, Wei Yan's accusation of rebellion was confirmed.
However, Chen Shou, the author of "Three Kingdoms", has a different view, he believes that "Wei Yan's original intention was not to surrender to Cao Wei, but to get rid of Yang Yi and others." In Chen Shou's view, Wei Yan's actions were more like personal revenge against Yang Yi than rebellion. Hao Jing of the Yuan Dynasty even bluntly said that Yang Yi was "killing a general because of personal grudges, and his crime far exceeded that of Wei Yan". Therefore, Wei Yan's rebellion case is actually an unjust case, and after the depiction of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Wei Yan's image is even more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has become a strange injustice in history.
As for Yang Yi, the protagonist of this unjust case, his ending is not good. In 235, Yang Yi complained about his high merits, and was stripped of his official position and exiled. However, instead of repenting and reforming, he continued to write and slander, and his rhetoric became more and more intense, and he was eventually imprisoned and committed suicide.