Wang Ping, a great general of the Shu Han Dynasty: Usually unremarkable, he is always reliable at critical moments, and has repeatedly turned the tide

There is a kind of person who is usually very inconspicuous, but can always afford things at critical junctures, and the Shu Han general Wang Ping is such a reliable person at such a critical moment, he has repeatedly turned the tide with his own composure and courage, and saved the fate of Shu Han.

1 Descending will

The Battle of Hanzhong in 219 was the last battle of kings in the lives of Liu Bei and Cao Cao, a pair of fateful enemies, and a rare example of Liu Bei's head-on defeat of Cao Cao. History proves that the fruit of Liu Bei's victory in this battle was not only the capture of Hanzhong, but also the harvest of a future general, Wang Ping.

Wang Ping, Zi Jun, a Brazilian canal person. At first, when Cao Cao first broke Zhang Lu and invaded the Sanba region, Wang Ping followed the leaders Du Hao, Pu Hu and others to surrender to Cao Cao and served as a lieutenant in Luoyang.

After the outbreak of the Battle of Hanzhong, Wang Ping joined the army in the battle, and when the Cao army was defeated and retreated, Wang Ping chose to surrender to Liu Bei, and was made a tooth general by Liu Bei. The Yamen gate is a small defensive fortification used to defend against the enemy in battle, and the yamen will be the officer responsible for commanding the fortification to undertake defensive tasks.

It is not difficult to see from the official position that Wang Ping at this time is still just a small role that does not enter the stream, not only has a humble official position, but also faces the embarrassing identity of a demoted general, he lacks an opportunity to prove himself, and this opportunity has been waiting for nearly ten years.

2 The Battle of the Street Pavilion blocks Zhang Gao

Wang Ping was truly well known to future generations, and he also had to be blessed by Ma Chen. During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, the main force was capturing Longxi, and he entrusted the task of defending the street pavilion and blocking Cao Wei's reinforcements to Ma Mo, who was the vanguard of Ma Mo.

According to Zhuge Liang's deployment, as long as fortifications are set up at the dangerous point of the street pavilion to block the Wei army, when the main force of the Shu army successfully takes Longxi, the Northern Expedition will be victorious.

However, after Ma Mo arrived at the street pavilion, he chose to abandon the pass under the mountain and defended the mountain with the main force, trying to defend the street pavilion from a commanding height, but ignoring the fatal flaw that the mountain was not close to the water source, Wang Ping bitterly advised that this move was inappropriate, and it was finally not adopted by Ma Mo.

Ma Mo "violated the brightness of the festival and acted inappropriately" ("The Biography of Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms"), "Gave up the water on the mountain, and the measures were troublesome" ("The Biography of the Three Kingdoms Zhi Wang Ping"), "obstructed the South Mountain, did not go down to the city" ("The Biography of Zhang Guo of the Three Kingdoms Chronicle").

As a result, Zhang Hao keenly discovered the flaws of Ma Chen, cut off the water source of the Shu army on the mountain, and within three days, the Shu army was in chaos, "greatly broken by Gao" and "scattered by the stars". The Defeated Army of Jieting Shu fell like a mountain and scattered to escape for their lives.

At the Battle of Jieting, the Shu army was defeated miserably, and the Wei army led by Zhang Gao could drive straight into Longxi, so that Zhuge Liang, who was attacking Longxi, faced the danger of being caught between front and rear, and in desperation, Zhuge Liang gave up the three counties of Tianshui, Nan'an, and Anding, which had surrendered to Shu Han, and chose to withdraw his troops, "Liangjin had no basis, and the retreat was returned to Hanzhong."

However, it takes time to withdraw the army, and if it is caught up by Zhang Gao, the main force of the Shu army may be difficult to protect.

When the situation in the street pavilion collapsed, Wang Ping stepped forward, he was not afraid of danger, calmly and calmly ordered more than a thousand of his soldiers to beat the drum to strengthen the momentum, Zhang Gao saw the situation worried about the ambush, did not dare to advance lightly. Zhang Gao's hesitation gave the Shu army precious time to retreat, and Wang Ping was able to lead his troops to retreat slowly, and he gathered the remnants of the street pavilion all the way and finally brought the remnants back.

Afterwards, Zhuge Liang tearfully beheaded Ma Chen, demoted himself to the third rank, demoted from Cheng Xiang to Right General, and Zhao Yun was also demoted to the general of the Zhen Army. Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition failed, and the generals who participated in the war were either killed or degraded, but Wang Ping was promoted and rewarded.

"Pinte saw Chongxian, joined the army, unified the five departments and served as a camper, took the throne as a general of the Kou, and was the Marquis of Fengting" ("The Biography of the Prince of the Three Kingdoms")

Wang Ping's style of a great general who collapsed in front of Mount Tai and did not change his color, and his merit of winning time for the main force to retreat, made Zhuge Liang really notice Wang Ping in the big defeat. Zhuge Liang appointed Wang Ping to join the army as the Governor of Xiangfu, replacing ma Mo's previous position, and also had Wang Ping command five soldiers and horses, promoted to the rank of general of Qiu Kou and Marquis of Fengting.

At this point, Wang Ping jumped from an ordinary partial general to an important general who led the first army alone, and became Zhuge Liang's confidant, he finally had a platform to fully display his ability, what he lacked was the next opportunity, and this opportunity came soon.

3 The Fourth Northern Expedition against Zhang Gao

In 231, Zhuge Liang led the Shu army to return to Qishan, which was also the fourth Northern Expedition. During the Northern Expedition, the Shu army progressed smoothly, successfully grabbing the wheat field in Shangyi, and the Wei army faced a shortage of grain. In the decisive battle of Halo City, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi fought for the first time, and the two men each led the main force to fight at Halo City, and Sima Yi sent Zhang Guo to attack Wang Ping, who was south of Halo City, in an attempt to break Wang Ping and defeat Zhuge Liang with a pincer attack.

At the Battle of Jieting, Zhang Gao defeated the Shu army strongly, forcing Zhuge Liang to take the lead in the first Northern Expedition to return without success, becoming a major problem for Shu Han's confidants, "Knowing the variables, being good at camping Chen, anticipating the terrain of the battle, everything is as good as planning, and Zhuge Liang is afraid of it."

In the face of Zhang Gao's prestige, can Wang Ping bear it? If Wang Ping had not defended the Southern Wall, Zhang Gao could once again stage the scene of the Battle of Jieting and attack Zhuge Liang's main army with Sima Yi from north to south, which was a nightmare for the Shu army.

However, Wang Ping held the Southern Siege, and Zhang Gao was unable to defeat Wang Ping and join Sima Yi.

"Ping Bei guarded the southern wall." The Wei general Sima Xuanwang attacked Liang, Zhang Gao attacked Ping, Ping held still, and Gao could not be defeated. ”

Wang Ping's persistence ensured the safety of the flanks for the decisive battle of Zhuge Liang's main army, the Battle of Halo City, the Shu army won a great victory, won the first rank of the Wei army, won the first rank of the Wei army, obtained 5,000 pieces of trophy Xuan armor, 3,100 pieces of horn crossbow (taking the "Han Jin Spring and Autumn" saying, "The Book of Jin" Sima Yi's great victory theory lacked evidence), afterwards, Sima Yi "feared Shu like a tiger" and "thousands of miles to ask for battle", and Zhuge Liang "did not continue every grain, so that he did not have the will to declare", in other words, after this war, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was only afraid of lack of grain, and he was not worried about the combat strength of the Wei army.

This time, Wang Ping avenged the street pavilion, and he proved himself that he did not live up to Zhuge Liang's heavy trust!

4 Forced Wei Yan to successfully withdraw his troops

In the autumn of 234, Zhuge Liang died of illness in Wuzhangyuan and was ordered by Yang Yi to lead an army to retreat. Unexpectedly, Wei Yan, who had always been at odds with Yang Yi, was not willing to obey Yang Yi's orders, and Wei Yan preemptively led his army to return to the south and burned the boardwalk all the way, while Yang Yi saw the situation and split the mountain to open the road, chisel the passage, and travel day and night. Eventually, Wei Yan withdrew first, defended the Mouth of the Southern Valley, and sent troops to attack Yang Yi.

Wang Ping stepped forward and loudly reprimanded Wei Yan in front of the battle, saying, "The bones of The chancellor are not cold, how dare you act so arbitrarily!" Wang Ping's righteousness shocked Wei Yan's generals, and Wei Yan did not take it seriously, and Wei Yan's troops were scattered, refusing to obey orders, and the soldiers and soldiers were scattered.

Ping Ling Yan xian deng: "Gong died, his body is not yet cold, how dare you nair!" "The Yanshi are all known to be in Yan, and the army is scattered.

The Wei Yan Rebellion was quickly put down, and this Northern Expeditionary Army, which had been entrusted to Zhuge Liang's life's work, avoided the tragedy of internecine slaughter and was able to withdraw safely and roundly.

"Wei Yan rebelled, lost a war, and Ping Zhigong also", the history books gave a fair evaluation of this, which is Wang Ping's credit! He made a firm and correct choice at the critical moment of Shu Han's life and death, he saved the situation with his own ability, and he did not live up to Zhuge Liang's trust and high hopes!

5 The Battle of Xingshi broke Cao Shuang

After the Wei Yan rebellion was put down, Wang Ping was given the title of General of An Han and Taishou of Hanzhong for his merits. In 243, when The Shu Han dynasty member Jiang Huan moved from Qiuyang to Fucheng, Jiang Promoted Wang Ping to the position of former superintendent and general of Zhenbei, and the general of Hanzhong affairs, and handed over full authority to Wang Ping of the Hanzhong defense line, which proved to be a correct decision.

In the spring of 244, the Wei general Cao Shuang led an army of more than 100,000 people to cut down Shu through Luo Dao, and when the news came, the Hanzhong garrison was less than 30,000, and the Shu army was greatly surprised. Many people believe that the enemy is strong and we are weak, and we should concentrate our forces to hold on to the two cities of Han and Le, and guan pass will let the Wei army pass, and the Hanzhong side will hold out until Jiang Huan's Fucheng reinforcements arrive.

Wang Ping rejected the proposal, saying, "This is the way to take disaster and perish." Hanzhong to Fucheng was thousands of miles away, and if the Wei army entered the Pass, it would be impossible to clean up. Elite troops should be sent to occupy Xingshi Mountain, and defend it with favorable terrain, and I will be the support. If the Wei army could not capture the pass, it would be consumed, and during this time, the Fucheng reinforcements would arrive."

Therefore, Wang Ping sent the general Liu Min to camp at Xingshi Mountain, with many banners, stretching for more than a hundred miles, bluffing, and he personally led his army to the rear to prevent the Wei army from attacking through the Golden Valley in Xingshi Shandong.

As Wang Ping expected, Cao Shuang's army marched hundreds of miles on Luo Road, and was blocked at Xingshi Mountain, making it difficult to advance.

The Road is the shortest road from Guanzhong to Han, and although this road is the shortest, it has the longest section without water. Before the Wei army left the valley, a large number of cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and other transported livestock in charge of transportation died of thirst due to lack of water. Cao Shuang had to recruit tens of thousands of servants to transport grain and grass for the coolies, many of whom also died of thirst. The Wei army's transportation collapsed and supplies were difficult, the soldiers were hungry and thirsty, and their morale plummeted, and the whole army was dissatisfied with Cao Shuang.

"When the time comes, Guanzhong and The Qiang and Qiang cannot be supplied, the cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys die, and the Minyi weeps on the road." (The Biography of Cao Shuang in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms)

At this time, the reinforcements from Fucheng and the reinforcements from Chengdu led by the general Fei Yi arrived one after another, and Fei Yi led his army to detour and occupy the three ridges of Luogu (Shenling, Yaling, and Watershed, all in the Luo Valley southwest of present-day Zhouzhi County, Shaanxi) and set up camp, cutting off the way for the Cao army to return. The Cao army was intercepted and barely escaped back to Guanzhong after paying a heavy casualty price.

The victory at the Battle of Xingshi had a great impact, and Fei Yi was made a township marquis for his victory, and took over the power of Shu Han after Jiang Huan's death. On the contrary, Cao Shuang's prestige and influence plummeted, which also laid the groundwork for his eventual downfall in the Gaopingling Rebellion.

Unfortunately, in 262, Cao Wei once again launched a large-scale attack on Shu, at that time Shu Han had no Wang Ping to sit in Hanzhong, and the general Jiang Wei gave up the battle method of defending Guan Pass in the Battle of Xingshi, and chose to let the Wei army enter the Guanguan Gate to fight dogs, and finally Shu Han perished, verifying Wang Ping's judgment on this (if the thief gets to pass, it will be a disaster).

Among the many military generals of the Three Kingdoms, Wang Ping's reputation is not obvious, he does not have a distinct personality, he is not talked about, and the history books record that Wang Ping strictly abides by the law, is cautious in words and deeds, always sits in danger, and his speech and demeanor are even a little humble and self-effacing, and he does not look like a military general at all.

But it is such an illiterate Wang Ping who can only let people read to himself, no matter who delivers the heavy responsibility, he has done his best to complete it, and has never made a mistake, compared with Zhang Fei's loss of Xuzhou and Guan Yu's loss of Jingzhou, Wang Ping's always reliable general is equally precious.