Zhuge Liang is wise and close to the devil. Why did Masu lose the street pavilion?

Lu Xun's evaluation of Zhuge Liang's "being wise and approaching demons" in A Brief History of Chinese Novels is quite representative. In the eyes of the world, Zhuge Liang is clever and omnipotent, which is the embodiment of wisdom and the existence of God.

As a real figure in history, Zhuge Liang is, after all, a "man" rather than a "god" or a "demon". It is impossible and impossible to be invincible. Zhuge Liang was able to go to the altar because of the advocacy of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Under Luo Guanzhong's brilliant pen, through various techniques, such as replacing trees with flowers, making things out of nothing, catching shadows, playing tricks, etc., he invented strange plots such as eight arrays, offering sacrifices to ghosts in green water, borrowing from the east wind, and seeking longevity in heaven, and successfully portrayed Zhuge Liang as a Taoist who could catch turtles in five oceans for nine days in a month.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the most successful case of hiding Zhuge Liang's decoration should be the lost street pavilion in Ma Su.

The Shu army invaded Cao Wei to the north and left Qishan. Zhuge Liang lost the street pavilion because of the misuse of Ma Su, and the situation took a turn for the worse. The Shu army changed from active to passive, and finally lost to Hanzhong. There was never an invincible division in the fierce battle, and Zhuge Liang had an unshirkable responsibility for the loss of the street pavilion. Even a wise man sometimes nods, and Zhuge Liang's knowledge of the consequences of being kind did not put the Shuhan regime in a passive position. Zhuge Liang can make a comeback, but out of the need of "respecting Liu and belittling Cao", The Romance of the Three Kingdoms deliberately avoided Zhuge Liang's major decision-making mistakes and invented an "empty city plan", which not only lost the street pavilion, but also did not damage Zhuge Liang's knowledge of employing people, and successfully shaped his image of being calm in a crisis and full of ingenuity.

In the Three Kingdoms, Chen Shou deliberately played down Zhuge Liang's defeat and simply described the lost street pavilion: "Chang 'an, the west town of Wei Mingdi, ordered Zhang He to refuse to take photos, and made Ma Su supervise the armies in front and fight with them in the street pavilion. We violated the light, acted improperly and suffered great harm. Ming uprooted more than a thousand households in West County, returned to Hanzhong, and killed Xie Zhong. "

After losing the street pavilion, all Zhuge Liang did was threaten thousands of people to return to Hanzhong. In order to explain to Liu Chan, Ma Su became a scapegoat.

In history, before he died, Liu Bei said to Zhuge Liang, "Ma Su is exaggerating, so he can't use it. You can observe it!" But Zhuge Liang ignored Liu Bei's advice. Six years after lite, Zhuge Liang decided to explore the Northern Expedition. "There are old generals Wei Yan and Wu Yi. And theorists all say that it is appropriate to be a pioneer, and those who are wise are against the public and the public are in the forefront. Zhang He fought Wei in the street pavilion, and the soldiers were divided into two ways. Bright into groundless, retreat to Hanzhong. After I went to prison, I cried. "

According to historical records, Zhuge Liang ignored Liu Bei's advice before he died, reused Ma Su, went his own way, did not listen to others' advice, and sent Ma Su to lead the troops as a pioneer, so he was defeated in the street pavilion, showing his ignorance and willfulness. Ma Su's arrogance was not the reason for the failure of the Northern Expedition, but the biggest reason for the failure of the war was Zhuge Liang's decision-making mistakes. Angry historians have noticed this. Famous historians in the Eastern Jin Dynasty criticized Zhuge Liang and thought that Zhuge Liang made two mistakes in the incident of losing the street pavilion: first, it was a big mistake to "pull the curtain against the public" and keep the street pavilion; The street pavilion fell and was killed by Xie Zhong. Being "killed" when there are few talents in Shu and Han is even worse.

But in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Luo Guanzhong ignored historical facts and deliberately excused Zhuge Liang's loss:

Knowing that Sima Yi led the troops out of the customs, Zhuge Liang first decided to "seize the street pavilion and commit suicide", and then asked "Who dares to lead the troops to guard the street pavilion"? It seems that Masu's appointment was not made by anyone's courage, but by Masu's coming forward. In order to highlight Zhuge Liang's foresight, Ma Su volunteered, but Zhuge Liang did not immediately answer. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of street kiosks as strategic pillars and the cunning of opponents, which shows that Zhuge Liang is not fully sure of Ma Su's troops. After Ma Su volunteered to make a statement of life and death, Zhuge Liang was still uneasy, so he made careful arrangements: assisted by Wang Ping, Gao Xiang was sent to guard Liucheng, Wei Yan was sent to station troops in the street pavilion, and Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi were sent out to the valley as suspicious soldiers. Before the departure of the four generals, he repeatedly reminded them one by one, subtly depicting Zhuge Liang's caution.

Under such strict remedial measures, the street kiosks are still lost, which is naturally Ma Su's arrogance and empty talk. Knowing that Jieting was lost, Zhuge Liang quickly adjusted his military strategy and arranged to withdraw troops in an orderly manner after "falling with a sigh". It fully embodies its military quality of staying calm in times of crisis and improvising.

The loss of the street pavilion is all due to Ma Su's failure to remonstrate. Under the constant suggestion of Luo Guanzhong, Zhuge Liang's ignorance and improper employment were weakened and finally ignored.

If Wei Yan is appointed as a pioneer from the beginning, can the street kiosks change hands? Why use Masu without unique experience instead of veteran Wei Yan?

Judging from the Ma Su Street Pavilion incident, the so-called "Zhuge was cautious all his life" is a joke, which is quite ironic.

Bibliography of the Three Kingdoms, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, A Brief History of China's Novels