The Battle of Jieting was a battle fought by Zhuge Liang during his first Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. In the spring of the second year of Taihe (228), Zhuge Liang led an army to attack Cao Wei, claiming that He had captured Yu County by Xiegu Dao, and sent Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi as suspects, and according to Jigu, Cao Zhen went to defend Yu County; Zhuge Liang personally led his armies to attack Qishan and launch the first Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition caused the three counties of Tianshui, Nan'an, and Anding to rebel against Wei, and Guanzhong was shaken, and the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui personally went to Chang'an to supervise the battle and sent Zhang Gao to resist Zhuge Liang who attacked Qishan. When Zhuge Liang attacked Qishan, everyone suggested using the old generals Wei Yan and Wu Yi as the vanguard, but Zhuge Liang did not listen, and appointed Ma Chen, who he admired very much, to command the army and defend against the attack of the Cao Wei general Zhang Gao at the street pavilion.
In the Battle of Jieting, Ma Mo violated Zhuge Liang's arrangement at Jieting, took troublesome measures, abandoned water sources even more, and chose to climb Nanshan to defend rather than occupy the town under the mountain; the general Wang Ping had repeatedly advised, but Ma Mo did not accept it. After Zhang Gao arrived, he surrounded the mountain, cut off the water source of the Ma Chen army on the mountain, and launched a large-scale attack, breaking the Ma Chen army, scattering the soldiers and soldiers, and collapsing into an army. At this time, Wang Ping ordered his soldiers to beat the drums to defend themselves, Zhang Gao suspected that there was an ambush and did not dare to advance, Wang Ping was able to have time to clean up the remnants of the army, and led the defeated army to withdraw. After Ma Mo lost the street pavilion, Zhuge Liang lost his important stronghold and was left without a basis for further fighting, so more than a thousand households in The Western County of the State of Wei were moved to Hanzhong. It is worth noting that after the Battle of Jieting, Zhuge Liang executed three people and demoted three officials, but only this person was promoted!
Zhuge Liang executed three people: Ma Chen, Zhang Xiu, and Li Sheng
After the Battle of Jieting, Shu Han executed three generals, Ma Chen, Zhang Xiu, and Li Sheng. Among them, as far as Zhang Xiu and Li Sheng are concerned, there is no record of their life deeds in historical materials such as the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, that is, both of them are likely to be Ma Chen's subordinates. Moreover, in the Battle of Jieting, Zhang Xiu and Li Sheng, as subordinates, did not play the role of persuading the commander. From this point of view, Zhuge Liang's execution of them along with Ma Mo was obviously not to harm the innocent.
Of the three, Ma Mo naturally bore the main responsibility for the defeat in the Battle of the Street Pavilion. Ma Chen (190–228), courtesy name Youchang, was a native of Yicheng, Xiangyang (present-day southern Yicheng, Hubei), brother of Ma Liang, and an official and general of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. At the beginning of his career as Jingzhou, he followed Liu Bei into Shu and successively served as Mianzhu County Ling, Chengdu County Ling, and Yue Yue Taishou.
In 223 AD, when the White Emperor was alone, Liu Bei once said to Zhuge Liang: "Ma Chen's words are exaggerated, more than actual talents, and you cannot entrust major matters, you must examine him more." As the saying goes, people will die, and their words are good, and Liu Bei's dying words are obviously reasonable. However, it is a great pity that Zhuge Liang, instead of alienating Ma Mo, continued to reuse him. In the sixth year of Jianxing (228), during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Ma Mo was killed by Zhuge Liang for violating Zhuge Liang's combat orders, resulting in the loss of the street pavilion, and after the Shu army withdrew, Ma Mo was executed by Zhuge Liang, and there is also a theory that Ma Mo died in prison.
During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, if Ma Mo could hold the street pavilion, that is, drag Zhang Guo's army, then the situation on the entire battlefield would change dramatically. In other words, as long as Ma Mo could buy Zhuge Liang time, the latter would be able to pacify Cao Wei's Longyou region, and by this time, Zhuge Liang would be able to free his hands to support Ma Mo. Therefore, Ma Chen's mistake made Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition ultimately fail and his previous achievements were abandoned, so he was executed, and naturally there was nothing to regret.
Three demoted officials: Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, and Huang Xun
In this regard, it is recorded in the Zizhi Tongjian that when Zhao Yun and Deng Zhibing were also defeated at Jigu, Yun's people were stubborn, so they were not hurt, and Yun was also demoted to the rank of general of the Zhen Army.
After the Battle of Jieting, the suspected soldiers led by Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi were naturally exposed, and thus lost to the Wei army led by Cao Zhen. Therefore, Zhao Yun, one of the five tiger generals of the Shu Han Dynasty, was also demoted to the rank of general of the Zhen Army. In this regard, in the author's opinion, Zhao Yun was demoted to an official, which is really a bit unjust. For Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi, there were only a small number of troops, which played a role in containing Cao Allah forces. If it were not for Ma Chen's loss of guarding the street pavilion, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi's suspicious tactics would obviously not have been recognized by Cao Zhen.
More crucially, in the process of retreating, Zhao Yun, a veteran general, personally went to the palace to ensure that Shu Han's supplies were not lost much. Therefore, for Zhao Yun, at least it is also a counterpoint of merit, that is, it should not be degraded. Of course, because Zhuge Liang himself took the initiative to degrade his official position, Zhao Yun could only accept this punishment.
In the Zizhi Tongjian, it is recorded that (Zhuge Liang) Shangshang asked himself to be demoted to the third rank, and the Han lord took Liang as the right general and did things like him.
In the Battle of Jieting, Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty, was responsible for the negligence of the employment of people, so he took the initiative to demote his official to the right general and continued to deal with the affairs of the Chancellor's Office. In addition to Zhuge Liang, the shu Han chancellor, the general Huang Raider was not only demoted to an official, but also stripped of his military power by Zhuge Liang, that is, the "Capture of the General Huang Raid and other soldiers" recorded in the historical records. For Huang Xun, a military general, due to the lack of historical records, we do not know what his final outcome will be, that is, it is likely to be abandoned after returning to Chengdu.
Zhuge Liang promoted one person: Wang Ping
Wang Ping(?) –248), courtesy name Zijun, was a native of Gongqu County, Sichuan (present-day Qu County, Sichuan), and was born in Yizhou. A famous general of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. Wang Pingyuan belonged to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao and Liu Bei fought in Hanzhong and were able to surrender to Liu Bei. During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, he guarded the street pavilion with Ma Mo.
In the Battle of Jieting, Ma Mo shed the water mountain, the move was inappropriate, Wang Ping repeatedly advised Ma Mo, Ma Mo did not listen, was cut off by the Wei general Zhang Hao, and then Ma Mo's army was defeated, and the soldiers scattered. Only the more than a thousand soldiers led by Wang Ping sounded the drums to hold their own, and Zhang Gao suspected that Wang Ping had ambushed troops and did not dare to attack. So Wang Ping gathered the soldiers of the battalion and led them to return safely. Therefore, it is very obvious that it was Wang Ping's calm handling that caused the large army led by Ma Mo not to be completely destroyed. For Shu Han, there was a shortage of troops, so Wang Ping was able to reduce the loss of personnel, which was also a great achievement.
In the sixth year of Jianxing (228 AD), Zhuge Liang killed Ma Mo and the generals Zhang Xiu and Li Sheng, taking away the military power of the general Huang Xun and others, and Wang Ping, because of his outstanding performance, was worshipped by Zhuge Liang as a member of the army, commanded the Wudang Flying Army, and was enfeoffed as a general of Kou and the Marquis of Fengting. For the Wudang Flying Army, it was an elite army formed after Zhuge Liang pacified the South Central. Now that Wang Ping was in charge, it naturally highlighted Zhuge Liang's trust and importance to him. In the twelfth year of Jianxing (234 AD), after the death of Zhuge Liang, the shu Han chancellor, Wang Ping was promoted to the post of Houdian army and an An Han general, and assisted the cavalry general Wu Yi in hanzhong, concurrently serving as the taishou of Hanzhong.
In the fifteenth year of Jianxing (237 AD), Wang Pingjin was enfeoffed as the Marquis of An Han and replaced Wu Yi as the governor of Hanzhong. At that time, Ma Zhong was in Nanzhong, and the town guarded the tribes in Nanzhong; Deng Zhi was stationed in Yong'an to guard against Eastern Wu; Wang Ping was in Hanzhong to guard against Cao Wei; the three of them each guarded one side to ensure the peace of the Shu Han territory, and the prestige of the Three Marquises of Ping'an began at this time. In the eleventh year of Yanxi (248 AD), Wang Ping died, and his son Wang Xun inherited the title. For Wang Ping, he stood out because of the Battle of the Street Pavilion and eventually became a pillar in the middle and late Shu Han Dynasty, which may be the horse of Sai Weng. What do you think about that?