Summary of Sima Yi's Death and Zhuge Liang

During the Three Kingdoms period, in February, the second year of Qinglong in Wei Mingdi (AD 234), Zhuge Liang "led more than 100,000 people", starting from Hanzhong, went north to Guanzhong along the road inclined to praise, and made a northern expedition to Cao Wei. In April, the Shu army "went out of the oblique valley" and marched to Yan County on the south bank of Wei River. When Wei Mingdi and Cao Rui got the news, "Qin Lang, the garrison of Shu, was sent to ride twenty thousand troops" to reinforce Hanzhong, under the unified command of Sima Yi, to resist the Shu army.

After all Wei Jun arrived, Sima Yi called people to discuss the strategy of retreating the enemy. All the generals advocated stationing troops on the north bank of Weishui, but Sima Yi thought that "people gathered in Weinan, which is also a battleground for military strategists", and Zhuge Liang could not be handed over to the south bank of Weishui. After discussion, Wei Jun crossed the Wei River, "based on backwater" to stop the Shu army. After the deployment, Sima Yi called the generals to analyze the movement of the Shu army. He said, "Zhuge Liang should occupy Wudu (Han Zhi County) first if he dares to fight. So it is located in Wugong West, Shaanxi Province, along the northern foot of Qinling Mountains to Chang 'an. But Zhuge Liang has always been cautious and dare not take risks. He is likely to go west to Wuzhangyuan. Weihe River is located in the west of Nanxi Gukou, Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, and flows through its north from west to east. ), relying on Wuzhangyuan, and then make steady progress. In this way, it's easy to handle. "

Sure enough, as Sima Yi expected, Zhuge Liang occupied Wuzhangyuan and planned to cross the Weihe River and attack Fengxiang (now Shaanxi). Sima Yi "sent the general Zhou Dangtun Yang Sui (near the military commander)" to lure the Shu army to attack it. A few days later, nothing happened to the Shu army. Sima Yi said to the generals, "Zhuge Liang didn't attack Yang Sui, but planned to attack Jishi Garden (now near caijiapo Town, Shaanxi Province) before attacking Fengxiang. His attempt is already obvious. " According to this judgment, Sima Yi immediately adjusted his deployment. He sent generals Hu Zun and Guo Huai, the secretariat of Yongzhou, to stick to Yang Sui, and assembled their main forces in Timely Garden to stand by. Soon, Zhuge Liang led an army to attack Jishi Garden, which was blocked and returned to Wuzhangyuan. When the Shu army was defeated, Sima Yi took the opportunity to send troops to pursue it. "More than 500 people were killed, more than 1,000 people were captured, and more than 600 people were reduced" ("The First Xuandi of the Jin Dynasty"), which was a small victory. Then, the two sides formed a stalemate.

Relying on Wuzhangyuan, Zhuge Liang controlled the northern end of the praise ramp and was in a favorable position to attack and retreat. Therefore, he did everything possible to provoke Sima Yi to participate in the war. Sima yi knew that he was outnumbered and had no worries about food and grass. The longer you fight, the better for yourself. So, you can make fun of me all you want, and I just stay where I am. In this way, from April to July, the two sides were deadlocked for more than 100 days.

Zhuge Liang saw that Sima Yi refused to fight, so he used a goad. He wrote a letter to Sima Yi and asked the messenger to bring a set of women's clothes to Sima Yi. The letter said: "You command hundreds of thousands of people in the Central Plains, and you are right to persevere and fight to the end. However, you are willing to give in. What is the difference between this and women? Now give the women to you, you can thank them. Be ashamed of being humiliated and fight on schedule! "

However, Sima Yi was not angry after reading the letter. Instead, he picked up a woman's towel and enjoyed it leisurely. He casually chatted with the Shu emissary: "How is Prime Minister Zhuge? Are you busy with business? " How does he eat? "Don't talk about military.

The messenger replied, "Zhuge Gong stayed up all night and had a lot of work to do. Even if it is the mistake of the 20 th Army Club, it should be tried in person; Eat only three or four liters of rice every day. " (Huang Bi Publishing House: At that time, the elevator was very small, and people with large appetite could cook in one meal. )

After the Shu soldiers left, Sima Yi said to his men, "Zhuge Liang is so tired that he has to ask everything himself, but he eats too little. How long can he live? "

Sima Yi believed that when Zhuge Liang died, the Shu army was defeated without fighting. As a result, he further strengthened his determination to persist in the stalemate for a long time.

However, General Wei Jun was angered by Zhuge Liang. They were very dissatisfied with Sima Yi's willingness to be humiliated and rushed to ask for a fight. Sima yi still refused to answer, but he didn't want to continue to hurt the soldiers' fighting mood. So he pretended to be as excited as the soldiers and sent an army special envoy to the court to ask for a decisive battle.

As early as the beginning of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Wei Mingdi Cao Rui clearly instructed Sima Yi: "The Shu army came from afar, and it was difficult to transport grain, and it could not last long. It should be fortified until its food and grass are exhausted, and then pursue it. " At this time, he received a well-documented letter from Sima Yi, and Wei Mingdi sent Wei Yanxinpi as his military adviser to stop him before Staff Day. Soon, the Shu army scolded the array again, and Sima Yi mounted his horse and went to the gate of the camp to prepare for the battle. But Xin Pi stopped him from going back. When Jiang Wei, the general of Shu, learned of this incident, he said to Zhuge Liang, "Xin Pi is in the army, so it seems that Sima Yi can't go out." Zhuge Liang said with a smile, "This is all a trick that Sima Yi used to cheat his generals. According to Sun Tzu's Art of War, life will not be affected when you are away from home. If he had a way to win, he would have won. Why bother the court for approval? He did this just to show his courage and boost morale. "

The commanders of Wei and Shu are experienced and wily military strategists. Both sides' strategies failed to exceed each other's expectations. It seems that if there is no sudden change, Wei and Shu will have to be deadlocked.

Soon, Zhuge Liang died of illness in Wuzhangyuan. The Shu army retreated quickly. People told Wei Jun the news that the Shu army had retreated. Sima Yi led the army in pursuit, but as soon as he approached, the Shu army turned over the banner and beat drums and shouted. Sima yi did not dare to chase after him, so he could only watch the Shu army March away.

One day later, Sima Yi went to the Shu military camp to check the actual situation, and found that the Shu army not only discarded a lot of food, but also threw your legend documents everywhere. He immediately judged: "Zhuge Liang must have died of illness. This man is really a genius in the world! " To this, Xin Pi still can't believe it. However, Sima Yi firmly said: "Military operations are the most taboo to reveal secrets. The Shu army originally retreated by itself, but it was so scared that it lost all the documents on the ground. If it weren't for losing the coach, what could be so flustered? Don't hesitate, hurry up! "

It was August, and the road was covered with thistles, which brought great inconvenience to the March. Sima Yi ordered the production of 2000 pairs of clogs for the vanguard troops to put on and open the way. In this way, the thistle on the wooden shoes was taken away, and the troops behind them let go and caught up. However, at this time, the Shu army has gone far.

It was only after catching up with Chian (now northeast of Liuba, Shaanxi) that it was clear that Zhuge Liang was dead and the Shu army retreated smoothly. Sima Yi sighed and returned to Guanzhong with a great army. Since then, there has been a joke among local people that "Zhuge's death scared off Zhong Da (Sima Yi's word Zhong Da)". This was later heard by Sima Yi. Instead of being angry, he smiled and said, "I can only expect to fight with the living, how can I expect to fight with the dead?"

"Hundreds of battles? An Zhan: "Anyone who is far away and sharp is conducive to a quick decision; "I am deep in the ditch, high in the base, so I will stay in a safe place and wait for it. If he bothers me, he can't move. " The meaning of this passage is that when the enemy comes from afar and his morale is fierce, it is conducive to a quick decision; For this kind of attacking enemy, our army should rely on deep trenches and high bases, stick to the defense, and not rush to send troops to fight, so as to wait for the enemy to get tired. If the enemy makes trouble and provokes me to participate in the war, we should not be disturbed by their plots and go out at will.

The experience of war practice shows that it is undoubtedly a safe and correct decision to adopt the defensive operational policy of "being safe and not answering, waiting for it" in the face of the attack of a strong enemy without knowing the specific conditions for a quick victory. Because, for a powerful enemy who is brave and eager to fight a decisive battle, only by avoiding the enemy's edge and not confronting it can we preserve our strength; Only by sticking to the enemy's base areas can we consume and fatigue the enemy and create favorable conditions for the final annihilation of the enemy. Sima Yi's battle in Weinan defeated Zhuge Liang's attack, which is a prominent example of the operational policy of "waiting for the number in peace". In view of Zhuge Liang's desperate efforts, Sima Yi, commander-in-chief of Wei Jun, prepared for a decisive battle and adopted the operational policy of avoiding the enemy's sharp edge and sticking to the enemy. Relying on the abundant local manpower and material resources, he persevered, frustrated the offensive spirit of the Shu army and forced Zhuge Liang to retreat to the narrow area of Wuzhangyuan. In the 100 days after the two sides were at loggerheads, Sima Yi was even put on the "embellishment of women" despite Zhuge Liang's repeated challenges, humiliating and provoking him to go out to war, but Sima Yi saw through his intentions and always adhered to the policy of staying put. As a result, the Shu army wasted its national strength and gained nothing. Finally, Zhuge Liang died in the army and had to retreat.

Small data

1. During the Three Kingdoms period, we thought Wei was orthodox and he was the heir of the Han Dynasty, so from Zhuge Liang's point of view, Wei was just a rebel, so it was an irreconcilable contradiction with Wei. In other words, it was just a larger foe. Moreover, it is also a country, and Wei is also a country. All countries, big or small, are sovereign equals. Without vassal relationship, it is impossible to establish vassal relationship.

2. The territory of Shu and Han is only a part of Sichuan, Yunnan and Shaanxi, among which Yunnan is still ruled by uncivilized barbarians, and its productivity is extremely backward. However, Wei did occupy the northeast, north China, the central plains, the two lakes and most of the northwest. It can be said that China has two-thirds of the territory and three-quarters of the population, and the productivity of the Central Plains is quite developed, and agriculture is basically good. Zhuge Liang actually wants to develop the productive forces, but in the face of such a powerful country as Wei, Shu develops one day, Wei develops one day, Shu's productive forces increase 100, Wei can increase by 200 or more, Shu can find one talent, Wei can find three, that is to say, Shu is strong, Wei is stronger, and it is almost impossible to destroy Wei. Under this premise, Zhuge Liang had to concentrate his forces as soon as possible and attack Wei in the north.

3. Judging from Zhuge Liang's attitude towards Fa Zheng, Ma Su and Jiang Wei, he respects, values and cultivates talents. However, several famous soldiers in the Three Kingdoms were all Sichuanese, and even in the later period of the Three Kingdoms, the quality of the people in the Central Plains was far superior to that of Shu and Wu Qiang, which was also a condition for unifying the State of Jin.

Let's go back to the question of time. If Shu was better, Zhuge Liang would certainly spend a lot of time to let his men exercise, but at that time, time was the condition for defeating Wei. A day earlier, he will have more opportunities, and a day later, he will have less. Zhuge Liang's military and political talents are beyond doubt. Seven mountains did not shake the foundation of Shu. This is the best proof of the demise of Shu for more than 20 years after Zhuge Liang's death.

5. In fact, the strength of Shu and Wu did not collapse on a large scale, and the battle of xiaoyaojin did not lose too many troops. However, at the beginning of the founding of Shu, Liu Bei had the old capital burned down, and Zhuge Liang's strength in capturing Meng Huo and Qifenshan was all accumulated by himself. But Wu has always been defensive, and its territory is much larger than that of Shu. Shu attacked actively, and the failure of confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi could not be attributed to the battle.

6. The armies (Yong, Jing, Yan, Yu) of half the countries where Zhuge Liang led Yizhou army and civil administration against Sima Yi did not fall behind. It can be seen that Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang are not at the same level (Sima Yi still doesn't care about internal affairs).

So to sum up, Zhuge Liang is stronger than Sima Yi.