Zhuge Liang worked so hard, it is no wonder that this country could not be maintained for several years after his death. There is a question that can confuse future generations. Why did Jiang Wei's Record of the Northern Expedition not get too good results compared to Zhuge Liang's? Is it Jiang Wei's lack of ability?
In fact, in the late Three Kingdoms period, Jiang Wei's ability was still very little played. In the face of the endless young talents of the Wei Kingdom, Jiang Wei was not inferior, and the war was inseparable. Jiang Wei's ability was not only inferior to Zhuge Liang's, but even the environment he was in was different.
After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wei was not the main leader of the country. On his head, there were Jiang Huan, Fei Yi and many elders who suppressed him. Many people may have forgotten a little. Jiang Wei was a general of the State of Wei, and he only had such a status after being appreciated by Zhuge Liang. After Zhuge Liang fell ill, Jiang Wei had no supporters of his own. How could he be trusted by the people of the Shu Kingdom? Therefore, Jiang Wei had to protect himself and was abandoned for a long time.
Second, after Zhuge Liang's death, the national strategy underwent earth-shaking changes. When Zhuge Liang was still alive, he used the constant Northern Expedition wars to consume the State of Wei in exchange for living space. On the occasion of Zhuge Liang's death, he ordered Jiang Huan and Fei Yi to be chancellors, with the obvious intention of ending the Northern Expedition and restoring the vitality of the Shu state. Zhuge Liang was well aware that the Northern Expedition had depleted the country's military and popular strength. If the war continues, it will not be possible to maintain the survival of the country.
In such an environment, Jiang Wei could not persuade the public that he could not persuade Liu Chan to continue the Northern Expedition. He did not dare to make a proposal for the Northern Expedition to the monarch against the important opinion of the majority of the people in the country. Comparing the tranquility of the people of all ethnic groups in the Shu kingdom, the ambition to revive the Han Dynasty has nothing to do with them. In any case, who wins will not affect their position.
In the spring of the sixteenth year of Yanxi (253), after Fei Yi was assassinated, Jiang Wei was able to take power. That summer, Jiang Wei led tens of thousands of soldiers out of the stone camp, besieged Nan'an, and began the Northern Expedition. But what is the hope of the Northern Expedition? Jiang Wei only had tens of thousands of people, and Chen Tai of the Wei state did not even need to ask the central government for reinforcements to hold the city, waiting for Jiang Wei to exhaust the grain and grass of his army and then had to retreat. From then on, in the Northern Expedition, Jiang Wei could only make a small voice, failed to achieve great achievements, and was even defeated by Deng Ai, causing many casualties.
The Zizhi Tongjian records that at the last time of the Northern Expedition, general Liao Hua said to Jiang Wei: "If the soldiers do not fight, they will automatically perish, and when the time comes, what will we do to save the country!" This explains the reason for Jiang Wei's failure, he will only hurt himself in the end. Jiang Wei's wisdom is not higher than that of the enemy, and his military strength is not as strong as that of the enemy. However, he always waged war and provoked his opponents. How could he win? What do you think of the shu kingdom at the end of the period?