Welcome back to the History Talk Club, today we will talk about "Zhugeliang's First Northern Expedition" .
The two words most used by the world to describe Zhuge Liang are "a lot of wisdom and a demon" and "put your best, you will die." Especially in the later period of the Shu Han, Zhuge Liang knew that he couldn't do it, alone and hard to support the shaky Shu Han, and sent troops to the Northern Expedition five times, but in the end they all returned without success.
In fact, in these five Northern Expeditions, the first dispatch of troops was very close to success.
In 228 AD, Zhuge Liang sent troops to the Northern Expedition for the first time. The first battle went smoothly, and soon the three counties of Longxi were captured, and the Bingfeng pointed directly at the Central Plains, but because of the loss of the Jieting, the troops had no choice but to withdraw.
On the surface, this didn’t hurt much, but in fact, suffered a terrible defeat in this battle. Together with , Zhao Yun, he lost 11 generals. How did return? What's the matter?
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In the spring of 228 AD, Zhuge Liang, with a very complicated mood, wrote the "List of Masters" that has been passed down through the ages, and then personally led the army and began the first Northern Expedition.
At this time, it was only 6 years after and the battle of Yiling was defeated. It stands to reason that the vitality of the Shu Han could not be alleviated, so Cao Wei did not expect to be at all. In this situation,Shuhan dared to take the initiative to send troops, and was beaten instantly.
The entire Longxi area fell, and the officials of Wei State were shocked.
At this time, Cao Pi's eldest son, Wei Mingdi Cao Rui, has been on the throne for less than two years, but he is no less inferior to his father Cao Pi and grandfather Cao Cao, who is also a wise Ming Jun .
Cao Rui quickly calmed down, and personally led tens of thousands of troops to the front line , Changan, and quickly learned about the movements of the Shu army, and immediately sent generals Zhang Yun_, Cao Zhen led the troops against Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun respectively.
At that time, the Wei State, under the painstaking management of the three emperors of Cao's grandparents, had already become a rich and powerful country with good soldiers and food.
On the Shu Han side, due to the defeat in the Yiling battle, the elite was lost. In just a few years, there was no recovery at all. Not only was the army limited, but there was also insufficient food and grass.
What is even more desperate is that horse did not listen to Zhuge Liang's command, and lost the street pavilion , and lost the favorable terrain. If they continue to die, the Shu army will only be annihilated.
Out of desperation, Zhuge Liang had to retreat.
The Shu army was defeated all the way, Cao army was killed all the way, and finally the Shu army fled back to Hanzhong in embarrassment.
This battle was a big defeat. As the commander of the three armies, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to demote himself to three ranks, which was regarded as an explanation.
This first Northern Expedition,How great was the loss of the Shu army?
Zhuge Liang’s "Last Disbursement Form" is recorded as follows:
From his minister to Hanzhong, in the middle of the year, he lost Zhao Yun, Yang Qun, Ma Yu, Yan Zhi, Ding Li, Bai Shou, Liu Yun, Deng There are more than seventy people in Tong, Quchang and Tunjiang, and more than 1,000 people such as Tujiang, Wuqian, Xinguo, Qingqiang, Sanqi, and Wuqi. These are the elites of the Quartet within decades. Ownership of a state. If there are multiple years, it will lose two-thirds. Why should we try to win the enemy?
Obviously, Zhao Yun, Yang Qun, Ma Yu, Yan Zhi, Ding Li, Bai Shou, Liu Yun, Deng Tong, and other eight generals of Shu Han lost in the first Northern Expedition.
Although generals such as Zhao Yun were not all killed in battle, it was also indirectly caused by the failure of the first Northern Expedition.
In addition, Zhuge Liang also beheaded three generals such as Ma Di, Zhang Xiu, and Li Sheng in order to strictly enforce laws and enforce military laws.
In general, Zhugeliang lost 11 generals in the first Northern Expedition!
The wounds of the battle of Yiling have not healed yet, and a handful of salt has been heavily sprinkled on the wounds. There is also the sentence "There is no general in the Shu Han, Liao Hua is the pioneer." It can be seen how weak the national power of the Shu Han in this period is, and how scarce the generals are!
So why did Zhuge Liang disregard the impact of the defeat in the battle of Yiling, instead of hiding his capacity and accumulating national power, but instead focusing on the Northern Expedition?
It is very clear in the "Late Departure Table". In general, there is only the Northern Expedition, and the offensive is used to replace the defense, and there is still a line of death to preserve the foundation of the Shu Han.Otherwise, we can only wait to die.
Then the failure of the first Northern Expedition was really due to the loss of the street pavilion? If the street pavilion is not lost, can the first Northern Expedition really succeed?
According to historical data analysis, I think that even if the street pavilion is still , Zhuge Liang will not be successful.
In the spring of 228 AD (the sixth year of Jianxing), Zhuge Liang personally led the army to start the first Northern Expedition. He ordered Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to lead a division as suspected soldiers. 郿县.
This Jigu is not far from Chang'an. Zhao Yun's troops are here, and he can directly look at the core of Wei's rule. Of course, Cao Rui dare not care, so he immediately sent General Cao Zhen to face Zhao Yun himself.
As Zhuge Liang expected, Zhao Yun successfully attracted the main force of Cao Jun.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to lead the main force of the Shu army to and Qishan. Taking advantage of the emptiness behind Cao Jun to attack Longyou, it was a time difference. When Cao Jun reacted, the three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui and Anding had already been taken by Zhuge Liang. It was captured, and in the Battle of Tianshui, , Jiangwei and others were also conquered.
So far, the first Northern Expedition, between Zhuge Liang's strategizing and making a huge start. But even if the Shu army took the lead, it would still be difficult for the Shu army to compete with the Wei army with the strength and combat effectiveness of the Shu army at that time.
Let me talk about the strength first.
The official history does not record the strength of the Shu army for the first Northern Expedition. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" says that the Shu Han dispatched 300,000 troops, which is completely impossible.
Because during the Northern Expedition, Wei Yan once suggested to lead 10,000 people to attack Chang'an from the Ziwu Valley, but Zhuge Liang refused. Although this method has a chance to succeed, it is too risky. Zhuge Liang can't accept the loss of these ten thousand people.
If Zhuge Liang really held a 300,000 army at the time, how could he cherish this mere 10,000 horses?
Later, when the Shuhan was destroyed, the force was only one hundred and twenty thousand. The main force of Commander Jiang Wei was 40,000 to 50,000, and the rest were troops stationed in various states, counties and borders.
In this way, when Zhugeliang first expedition to the Northern Expedition, there were only a few tens of thousands at most.
And only Cao Rui personally brought reinforcements to 50,000 people, so in terms of military strength, the Shu army has no advantage.
Let’s look at combat power again.
If Zhuge Liang led the elite Shu Han who participated in the Battle of Yiling at this time, then the combat power would naturally not be said, but the elite Shu Han was lost in the Battle of Yiling. Now these soldiers are all recruited and drilled by Zhuge Liang in the past few years. Yes, although the army has been tempered through the suppression of Nanzhong, how can the combat effectiveness of the Shu army compete with the elite of the Wei army at this time?
At that time, Zhuge Liang was surprised and personally led an army to attack Longyou . In addition to the three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui and Anding, Guangwei County and Longxi County did not attack.
" Weilue " records that when the Shu army besieged Longxi County, the prefect of Longxi County You Chu did not attack the Shu army at all, and even took the initiative to go out of the city to fight, and the Shu army retreated after losing.
And the so-called main force of the Wei army in Longyou,At best, they are only some state and county soldiers, and their equipment and combat effectiveness are far inferior to that of the Central Army. However, the Shu Army still cannot be defeated. It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of the Shu Army is not that good.
and the battle of street pavilion also fully proved this point.
Many people feel that the defeat of Jie Ting is that Ma Di led his troops up the mountain without guarding the intersection. Zhang Yun cut off the water source and disrupted the Shu army, which was defeated in one fell swoop.
You should know that the main force of the Wei army led by Cao Zhen at that time was all dragged to Jigu by Zhao Yun. Zhang Yi who came to attack Jieting was definitely not the main force of the Wei army, and the strength of the two sides was almost the same.
If the strength of the Shu army is acceptable, how can there be a one-sided defeat?
The most uncomfortable thing is that at the same time as the battle of Jieting started, Yongzhou Governor Guo Huai also took the initiative to attack Lieliu City, and the defending place was the well-tested veteran of Shuhan Gao Xiang , But even if he occupied the position of defending the city, Gao Xiang was still defeated by Guo Huai.
Zhao Yun on the other side was also defeated by Cao Zhen in Jigu.
So far, Zhuge Liang lost all four battles in the first Northern Expedition.
Originally, Zhuge Liang planned to use the street pavilion to block the main force of the Wei army and encircle and wipe out the remnant Wei army in Longyou. Once this street pavilion was lost, the main force of the Wei army could drive straight in, and had no chance of winning with a strong front, so Zhuge Liang could only choose to retreat.
The first Northern Expedition had to end in complete failure.
Then suppose the street kiosk is not lost,So what?
Zhao Yun's partial division faced the main force of Cao Zhen's Wei army, and it could not be delayed for a long time. As long as Zhao Yun was defeated, Cao Zhen would bring the main force to come to help.
Moreover, the generals of the Wei army such as Yongzhou governor Guo Huai, Liangzhou governor , Xu Miao, Jincheng Taishou, etc., have also begun to lead their troops southward. If the Shu army does not retreat, they will be made dumplings by the Wei army. Annihilated.
Zhuge Liang saw this, so when Jie Ting was lost, no matter how unwilling he was, he immediately retreated without hesitation.
So in general, although Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition was the closest to success, failure is still inevitable. Then, what happened in the subsequent Northern Expeditions? If you are interested in this, please leave a message in the comment area, we can continue to discuss Zhugeliang's Northern Expedition later.
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