What kind of person is Zhuge Liang?

Let's talk about the process of Zhuge Liang's coming out of the mountain and consolidating his position. Everyone knows the story of three visits to the thatched cottage, but few people know the story of Zhuge Liang's initiative to ask for Liu Bei recorded in Wei lue and Jiuzhou Chunqiu. The book said: "Cao Gong made a decisive decision, knowing that Jingzhou was the next enemy, while Liu was slow to respond and did not understand military affairs. Bright northbound, bright and young, for business ... "Later, Liu Bei made his own hat, but Zhuge Liang dissuaded him, and he didn't notice the young man-the plot was slightly adapted and added to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

There were many famous scholars in Jingzhou at that time. Because of Xu Shu's words, Liu Bei went to see Zhuge Liang, who was not very famous among Jingzhou scholars. It is unlikely, unless it is based on the following two considerations: first, all the celebrities have been searched by Liu Biao, so Liu Bei has to find a second-rate celebrity; Second, Liu Bei wants to follow the story of "a thousand dollars for a horse bone" and improve his reputation of loving talents by visiting a young man.

In a word, no matter what reason Liu Bei personally visited Zhuge Liang, since this statement has been adopted by the official history, let's just believe it. But there is a big problem behind it, that is, "long-term confrontation." Longzhong pair has always been regarded as an extremely brilliant strategic policy, but after careful study, it has two great defects. First, the contradiction between "Lian Wu" and "According to Jing" (Sun Wu has been eyeing Jingzhou for a long time, and both dogs are staring at the same bone. How can they not bite? However, this question has nothing to do with the theme, so let's leave it at that. The second is how to obtain Jingzhou. As far as the second question is concerned, it is understandable that Zhuge Liang's Longzhong Dui is dedicated to Liu Biao. Liu Bei had only a small new field at that time. How could he possibly get to Jingzhou? No matter how clever Zhuge Liang is, he is not a demon. He won't know when Liu Biao will die, when Cao Cao will go south, and he won't know that Liu Cong surrendered so simply. Without this first step, Longzhong will be a dead letter. It may still be a good strategic policy, but it was too big and useless to attract Liu Bei who couldn't even sit on his ass at that time.

Therefore, some people have estimated the basic strategy of "long-term confrontation". In fact, Liu Bei has long understood it. He just wants to see if the young man's thinking is the same as his own. Since this is roughly the case, he will not care about the details, so he will hire a mountain first. Some people think that the so-called "Longzhong Dui" is just some fragments of Zhuge Liang's long talk with Liu Bei, and it is just a series connection, which is not a real strategic countermeasure in itself.

Let go of Longzhong first, and Zhuge Liang finally came out of the mountain. But he didn't go out for a long time, and Cao Jun went south, so he beat Liu Bei badly and fled to the East. In fact, in the official history, there is no record of "burning a fire to have a look" and "burning a new field". Zhuge Liang's first contribution after he came out of the mountain was actually to cross the river and talk about Sun Quan and unite against Cao Cao. After Battle of Red Cliffs, "the patriarch took over Jiangnan and took Liang as the commander of the army, making him supervise Lingling, Guiyang and Changsha, and adjusting taxes to banish the army." In the meantime, the four counties of borrowing Dongfeng, Fuhuarong and Shoufu did not exist, and until now, Zhuge Liang was mainly responsible for internal and external affairs and never went to the front to fight.

Liu Bei attacked Sichuan, and Zhuge Liang went into battle for the first time. Soldiers trapped Pang Tong to death. There is no way, just call it "(Zhuge Liang) and Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, etc. In order to lead the people to the river, the original owner is divided into counties. " . Sichuan pingding, "take (Zhuge Liang) as the chief strategist and take charge of the general office. When my late Lord went out, (Zhuge) was always guarding Chengdu, and he was still a civilian. It is said that Zhuge Liang fought like a god, at least not before Liu Bei died-Liu Bei rarely asked Zhuge Liang to lead troops, and he didn't seem to trust him very much.

It has long been demonstrated by predecessors that there are three schools under Liu Bei: the original school (the original school), represented by Guan, Zhang, Zhao, Huang and Wei (by the way, Wei Yan is not a general); Jingzhou School, represented by Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang and Ma Liang; The representatives of Sichuan School are Fa Zheng, Huang Quan, Liu Ba and Li Yan. What Liu Bei trusts most is Yuancong Group (all old buddies, understandably), and the second is Sichuan Group, which is much worse for Jingzhou Group-especially after his old brother Guan Yu died in Jingzhou. Later, Fa Zheng became the biggest celebrity under Liu Bei. "He is the prefect of Shu County, and he is the general of Yang Wu, the capital of the capital, and the inner master." He likes to report personal dissatisfaction. Someone advised Zhuge Liang to talk to Liu Bei and take care of the law, but Zhuge Liang did not dare. He replied: "Your master is in public security, and he is afraid of Cao Gong's strength in the north, Sun Quan's force in the east, and recently he is afraid that Mrs. Sun will be born under her elbow and armpit;" It's time to advance and retreat to a certain extent, and use the wings of filial piety to make it take off and cannot be copied. How to prohibit the law from doing evil! " It can be seen from this sentence that Zhuge Liang's position at that time was not the first under Liu Bei, at least Fa Zheng was still above him.

In 222 AD, Liu Bei's crusade was defeated by Lu Xun in Yiling and he fled back to Baidicheng. Before he moved eastward, many ministers went to the table to dissuade him, but Zhuge Liang, who had always advocated the union of Sun and Liu, said nothing. Some people think that Zhuge Liang agrees with Liu Bei's adventure, while others think that Zhuge Liang knows that it is useless to say it, so he has made a fortune by focusing on it. When Liu Bei was defeated, Zhuge Liang sighed in the sky: "If the law is filial, it can control the Lord and make it not east; If you go back to the East, you won't be in danger. " It can be seen that Zhuge Liang's position in Liu Bei's heart is not as important as that in Romance. The so-called "like a duck to water" is just a facade of Liu Bei's courtiers.

When Liu Bei died, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Pang Tong, Fazheng, Huang Quan and other officials who were more important than Zhuge Liang all died and left. He only "left Zhuge Liang alone and made Li Yan his deputy". In fact, Zhuge Liang is in charge of civil affairs and Li Yan is in charge of military affairs. In the first year of Jianxing, Zhuge was named the township head and set up a government director. In a word, Yizhou animal husbandry is also introduced, and the political affairs are not detailed, and the salt is determined by Zhuge. "As for Zhuge Liang's military and political power, that was later.

Having said that, what are we trying to say? We want to make it clear that Zhuge Liang is not the two military and political wizards described in Romance, nor did he become the first minister of Liu Bei's confidant as soon as he came out of the mountain. To say that his greatest talent lies in political struggle, it is necessary to start from the opposition of the three groups. ...

Of course, Yuan Cong Group is the most trusted one under Liu Bei. Among them, Guan Yu was defeated by Sun Quan in 2 19, Zhang Fei was killed by Zhang Da and Zhang Da in 22 1 9, and Mi Zhu died of "shame" because his brother Mi Fang surrendered to Soochow. Shortly after Liu Bei entered Shu, Sun Gan died, and Jian Yong also died in the year of his death. From the heroes to the Zhuge Liang era, only Zhao Yun and Wei Yan were qualified.

Liu Bei trusted Sichuan Group for the second time. Among them, Fa Zheng died in 220, Huang Quan was forced to land after Liu Bei defeated Yiling, and Cao, Xu Jing and Liu Ba all died in 222. Only one person with weight, Li Yan, was born in Nanyang, but returned to Sichuan.

That is to say, Liu Bei died in the third year of Zhangwu (AD 223), and Liu Chan acceded to the throne, changing the title to Lite. At this time, the original subordinate group has declined, and there is only one Li Yan left in the powerful Sichuan Group. Zhuge Liang deliberately finally got rid of Li Yan before he was able to take charge of the state affairs.

Li Yan, also known as Li Ping, died of illness in history. "(Li) Yan and Zhuge Liang were assisted by testamentary edicts; With (Li) Yan as the central lord protector, he unified internal and external military affairs, guarded Yong 'an, and became the minister of Fuzheng. Later, he was promoted many times, and his reputation was not as good as Zhuge Liang's. However, after Liu Chan ascended the throne, although Li Yan's rank rose, he gradually lost his actual position as the first military leader. First Zhuge Liang personally led the army to invade the south, then Li Yan moved from Yong 'an to Jiangzhou, and then went to Hanzhong in the name of resisting Cao Zhen's invasion to get closer and closer to the central government controlled by Zhuge Liang. During Zhuge Liang's third Northern Expedition, he simply seized the handle of his soldiers and asked him to escort food and grass. The road in Shu is difficult, and grain and grass often cannot be put in place in advance. Even Zhuge Liang himself "won't apply every time food and grass suffer." "Now he throws this hot potato to Li Yan, and Li Yan doesn't go wrong-and if someone finds your faults, he can't escape if he wants to!

As for Li Yanzhi's demotion, the history books say: "In the spring of nine years (Literatures), the army was well-known in Qishan, urging the governor to lift things. In autumn and winter, when it rains, the grain transportation is not continued. Governor Hu Zhong was sent to join the army and became a vassal. Show your determination to retreat from the army. Pingwen was even more surprised when he heard that he was retreating. He said,' There is enough food for the army. Why should we pay it back?' In order to relieve our responsibility of not doing it, we obviously won't move forward. He also said that' the army retreated to lure thieves to fight'. Smart enough to show that the handwriting before and after is sparse, which violates the wrong chapter ... moving to Zitong County is a waste for people. "At first glance, Li Yan (Ping) really deserved it, even if the food and grass can't be put on the front line. Why lie? Why do you want to call Zhuge Liang back to the army? But when I think about it, I feel a lot of doubts-what kind of person is Li Yan? Zhuge Liang also said that he was "a member of the current, reluctant to give up". No matter what his tricks are, at least he can be outstanding, not a coward. How can such a person play such a clumsy trick? Just like Zhuge Liang died in power, an idiot would not believe this so-called "conspiracy" even if he could fabricate lies on both sides, regardless of his own personal letter still in the hands of others!

In a word, Li Yan's political career is over, and Zhuge Liang has become the first minister of Shu Han. At best, it's Huo Guang, at worst, it's Lv Buwei (actually, it's not bad, but he can't compare with Cao Cao and Wang Mang, because he has the power to dominate after all, and he has no real power). Li Yan has a bad moral character. Maybe just to kill Zhuge Liang, but it is not a gentleman's move to use that kind of intrigue. We want to remind everyone that in politics, there is no perfect gentleman, otherwise he will certainly not live. Don't treat Zhuge Liang as a saint. Confucius is the only saint, so the old guy can't display his political ambitions at all.

Continue, with the consolidation of Zhuge Liang's power, the former slave group and Sichuan Group completely retired to the second line, and the Jingzhou gang was in the ruling and opposition. There are always people who praise Zhuge Liang's meritocracy, so let's take a look at the origin of those "sages"-the younger generation that Zhuge Liang is close to and cultivated by one hand is nothing more than Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and Jiang Wei who succeeded to the throne, Ma Su who was as close as a father and son, Yang Yi who was entrusted with his last life, and Dong Yun, Guo Youzhi and Xiang Chong recommended by Fan Li. In addition to Jiang Wei, these people include Lingling of Jiang Wan, Jiangxia of Fei Yi, Xiangyang, Yeung Yi and Xiang Chong of Ma Su, and Nanjun of Dong Yun and Guo Youzhi-and Lingling, Jiangxia, Xiangyang and Nanjun all belonged to Jingzhou Secretariat Department at the end of Han Dynasty, that is, they were all from Jingzhou, and they were all Zhuge Liang's hometown. Not to mention the original group, Sichuan group has a large number of famous ministers, and they are all in their hometown. If you want to say that your children are useless, you have to choose talents from Jingzhou people occupied by Sun Quan. It's unbelievable.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang's employment is not or at least not all meritocratic, but based on the interests of the group. There is no doubt that his political struggle ability is first-class.

It is said that Zhuge Liang is a great politician. If this so-called "politics" refers to political struggle, we have nothing to say, but if it mainly refers to civil affairs, I am afraid that Kong Ming will not wear this high hat. Zhuge Liang's transportation and compensation ability is good. As a local magistrate, you can always give the front "enough food and soldiers", which is Xiao He's legacy. However, behind this capacity, no one knows whether it depends on reasonable overall arrangement and encouragement of production, or on efforts to find it.

Zhuge Liang finally climbed to the highest position and became the home of the whole Shu Han. What he received was a mess. Economically, Longzhong Dui mentioned that "Yizhou is in danger, fertile land is thousands of miles away, and the land of abundance", but as soon as Liu Bei, the nouveau riche, entered Chengdu, he was rewarded with military merits and the state treasury was empty. Although he later paid a lot of money according to Liu Ba's suggestion to stabilize prices, it can only be a measure of rights and interests. If it is implemented for a long time, it is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst. Politically, the laws of Shu are strict. It is said that as soon as it was introduced, "gentlemen and villains complained bitterly", and later generations explained that it was necessary to use heavy codes to control chaos. However, Zhuge Liang ruled Shu Han 12 years, but these policies showed no signs of changing. Economically, he only depended on exporting Shu brocade to Dongwu. He himself said that "profits are exhausted"; Political pressure, talent carving, academic atrophy, even the history books are not left-Shu Chen Shou suffered from not getting enough historical materials, and even wrote Shu Shu, which is the thinnest volume in the history of the Three Kingdoms. Can Zhuge Liang be regarded as a great politician by sticking to the old law and not keeping pace with the times?

Perhaps Zhuge Liang deliberately maintained this "wartime pattern" in order to accumulate strength, and then changed it after the Northern Expedition achieved certain results. However, the last Northern Expedition failed, even if he had this heart, it became a bubble of dreams; Second, history cannot be based on speculation, and it cannot be said whether it reflects anything. Even if Zhuge Liang put his long-term plan into words, it is empty, and no one can say that he will succeed without implementation, thus putting him on the top hat of a great politician.

In the spring of the third year of Jianxing (AD 225), Zhuge Liang went south. It is said that it is because of the strategy of "attacking the heart first, then attacking the city". "Autumn Peace", "National Wealth and Military Capital" and "Zi Tongzhi Sword" also said: "There is light in the world, and foreigners will not look back." This has always been regarded as a great proof of Zhuge Liang's brilliant use of troops in governing the country. But is this really the case?

We should know that although most of the authors of China's ancient history books have correct attitudes towards historical management and will not tamper with it, the feudal concept of "the difference between Chinese and foreigners" is very strong. They don't treat ethnic minorities as human beings at all, and think that the central government's failure to slaughter them is good governance. Therefore, there are too many compliments about Zhuge Liang's southern expedition, which is certain.

The productivity in Central and South China is low, but Zhuge Liang put it down. Is there any truth in saying that "the country is rich and the people are strong"? And are barbarians really "no longer rebellious"? The History of the Three Kingdoms records the deeds of Li Hui, a famous minister: "When the army returned, the barbarians in the south rebelled and killed the defenders. (Li) went back to beg, removed all evils, moved the soldiers to Chengdu, gave gold and silver rhinoceros skins to farm cattle and horses, and supplemented the military assets. At that time, there was no shortage of expenses. " Needless to say, there must be a lot of robberies. Cha Li Hui died in the 9th year of lite (AD 23 1), while Zhuge Liang died in the 12th year of lite, so this rebellion should have happened before Zhuge Liang's death.

In his deeds, he also mentioned: "After the Prime Minister Liang Yi, he set out to attack foreigners and killed the satrap Gong Lu and Jiao Huang ..." The above two proofs can show that the so-called "not opposing barbarians" is completely fictitious. At present, some ethnic minorities in southwest China have a legend that "Meng Huo captured Zhuge Liang seven times, but Liang dared not invade the south again", which shows what impression Southwest Yi actually had on Kong Ming.

After talking about politics, let's talk about the military. First of all, we must make sure that 90% of the so-called "six exits of Qishan" and the process in the romance are fictional. In just seven years, from six to twelve years, Zhuge Liang made four pro-unification northern expeditions. Qishan, which really came out of the mountain for the first time, was destroyed by Zhang He's "pulling more than a thousand households in Xixi County and staying in Hanzhong". In the winter of that year, Zhuge Liang "went through the customs and surrounded Chencang, but Cao Zhen refused, and (Zhuge) gave up all the bright food." "Wei led his horse to chase (Zhuge) to the light, and (Zhuge) fought at the light, breaking it and beheading (Wang)." The following year, Chen Shi was sent to attack Wudu and Yin Ping, but Guo Huai refused. "(Zhuge) went out to Jianwei, (Guo) returned to Huai, and Suiping County" was a coordinated invasion, which did not count. In the eighth year of lite, Wei sent Cao Zhen and others to attack Hanzhong, saying that "(Zhuge) stays bright in Chenggu, Akasaka, the heavy rain stops, and (Cao) returns" is a defensive war, and the contact scale is very small, so it is impossible to count. In the ninth year of Wen, Zhuge Liang went to Qishan again, saying, "Give up all the grain and fight with General Wei Zhang He, and shoot him", which was the most brilliant victory when retreating. Finally, in the spring of the twelfth year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang went out of the oblique valley, confronted Sima Yi on the south bank of Weishui, and finally died in Wuzhangyuan.

This is how Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was recorded in the history books. He invaded the army many times, not only failed, but also didn't even get an inch of land. It is said that Zhuge Liang is a great strategist-there is no successful example at all. How can we prove his strong military ability? What's more, careful analysis of his quarrelling and mediocrity can always be seen. Mr. Li Zhen, a military historian in Taiwan Province Province, put it well: "When you look at Zhuge Liang's use of troops, you can only look at his strategic correctness, and you can't defend it. As for romance novels, those who call Zhuge Liang's use of troops magical and unpredictable are rootless. "

Take the first Northern Expedition as an example. This northern expedition can be said to be the best time. Cao Wei thought that after Liu Bei was finished, there was no one in Shu and there was no defense at all. I got hit with a stick. Zhuge Liang "raised his voice to take Gu Jie's reward, which made Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi suspicious. According to Ji Gu, Cao Zhen, the general of Wei, rejected them. (Zhuge) showed up and led all the troops to attack Qishan ... Nan 'an, Tianshui, Anding Rebellion (Zhuge Liang), Guanzhong echoed ",the situation is excellent. Therefore, later generations commented, "If (Zhuge) improves, the three counties will not be returned to China". It is a pity that Zhuge Liang's "Xu Xing did not advance, and then the officers and men went to Gansu, and the three counties resumed." (Zhuge) was bright without dimension. "Zhuge Liang marched for stability and refused to rush. At that time, Cao Cao "rode more than 300 Li a day and night", so it was inevitable to defeat Liu Bei in Changban, Dangyang. But the Bright Plan is not so, and it sticks to the old saying that "you must be a general". How different is it from Zhao Kuo?

War is a continuation of politics. Zhuge Liang ruled Shu, but he could not make Qiang Bing rich. What is the difference? Besides, its use of troops is really mediocre. Scholars such as the Chen family in the Southern Song Dynasty said: "Kongming marched more than 100,000 feet and traveled thousands of miles to the west to fight against it. Zhong Da, riding 300,000 by strength, can only hold himself, but he dare not confront the enemy and dare not pursue it. " He believes that the Shu army holds the initiative in the war, which is a clear evidence of Zhuge Liang's elite soldiers and strong generals. In fact, the success or failure of the war depends on whether the strategic objectives are achieved. Zhuge Liang's goal is to occupy the right in the west and enter the Central Plains. Did he achieve his goal? Can he take the initiative? As soon as Qishan came out, Zhang hit it together, saved it-the street pavilion, broke Ma Su, and lost all its merits; Second, when Cao Zhen leaves Qishan, it is expected that he will leave Chencang, which will make Zhao Hao wait for it and greatly frustrate Zhuge Liang's spirit; Three out, four out, Sima Yi stick to the policy, teach its grain back. From beginning to end, Zhuge Liang tried his best, but could not move; Lao Wei had few soldiers in this war, but he took all the credit for this defensive war to himself. In fact, the initiative of the war has always been in the hands of Wei Jun, so Shu was weakened by the war, Wei was not injured by soldiers, and finally two scholars destroyed Shu. Therefore, wei ren said that "(Zhuge) was poor in grain, worried about vomiting blood, burned camp overnight, went into the valley, and died of illness". Although the language is ironic, it makes sense to think about it carefully.

To sum up, Zhuge Liang is neither a great politician nor a great strategist. At that time, he may be an outstanding figure, but if someone really wants to wear his hat, probably only the word "inventor" can barely fit in. The evolution of Zhuge Liang's image is very similar to that of Guan Yu. As a tool for the ruling class to promote loyal ministers and dutiful sons, Zhuge Liang was gradually promoted and eventually became a saint in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. If you like the fictional characters in the novel, no one will care. If you want to talk about this history, please take them off the altar, wipe away the heavy fog hanging over their faces, and summarize a more realistic historical figure image through history books.