As we all know, the famous Shu Han general Wei Yan has a very good image in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Zhuge Liang said that he had " reverse bone " behind his mind and was born a traitor. Although Wei Yan fought for Shu Han and made many military achievements, he was never trusted. After Zhuge Liang's death, Wei Yan really rebelled, but was killed by the Ma Dai arranged by Zhuge Liang during his lifetime. So is Wei Yan really a born traitor?
Wei Yan is extremely brave and has both civil and military skills. After surrendering to Liu Bei, he was named General Zhenyuan and Prefect of Hanzhong. Liu Bei handed over the important task of guarding Hanzhong to Wei Yan, which shows his importance to him. It can be said that Liu Bei's only generals who can be the only ones under him are Guan Yu and Wei Yan. However, Guan Yu was still careless and lost Jingzhou. In comparison, it would not be an exaggeration to Wei Yan as the general of the Five Tigers of Shu Han. Then why did Wei Yan behead him by Ma Dai as soon as Zhuge Liang died? The root cause lies in the struggle between the Shu Han faction controlled by Zhuge Liang.
After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang made six Northern Expeditions Cao Wei . At this time, the generals of Shu Han, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, , Huang Zhong, , and Huang Zhong, , were all dead. The only generals who could make a move were Wei Yan. In the Shu Han army, Wei Yan was the second second person after Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang is very cautious and must be trustworthy in hiring people. Because Liu Bei took over Bashu from his relatives Liu Zhang , Zhuge Liang was worried about the local talent in Bashu. The only people who can make Zhuge Liang trust are Ma Su , Yang Yi and others, because these people come from their hometown Jingzhou . Yang Yi is an expert in logistics management and administrative management, but his weakness is that his character is that he is narrow-minded and often conflicts with Wei Yan head-on due to work matters. Wei Yan was born as a military general and was as fierce as a fire. He could not say anything about Yang Yi at all. He drew his sword and threatened him when he was anxious, which scared Yang Yi so much that he cried bitterly.
As the immediate boss of the two, Zhuge Liang could not resolve the conflict between them. Because of the factional relationship, Zhuge Liang also has a tendency. He protected Yang Yi, which also laid the groundwork for the future tragedy of Wei Yan.
Shu Han army confronted Cao Wei's army across Wuzhangyuan , Zhuge Liang fell ill and felt that he was not long ago, so he held a supreme military meeting and made arrangements for what he had after his death. Those attending the meeting were all the ministers of the Jingzhou faction, Zhuge Liang's confidant. In addition to Yang Yi, Fei Yi, , and Jiang Wan, there was also a newcomer who was deeply trusted by Zhuge Liang - the general Jiang Wei . However, the second person Wei Yan was not notified to attend the meeting.
Meeting decision: Yang Yi was the commander-in-chief of the Shu Han army and retreated when Zhuge Liang passed away. The task of quitting the rear was arranged for Wei Yan. Zhuge Liang also emphasized at the meeting that if Wei Yan disobeyed, others would be able to withdraw normally.
Zhuge Liang's arrangement deeply shows the shortcomings and flaws in employment as a leader. He simply distrusts Wei Yan. Even though he knows that Wei Yan and Yang Yi have been in conflict for a long time, he still let Yang Yi be the commander-in-chief, which further intensifies the conflict between the two. He arranged the task of Wei Yan's hijacking off the rear, but he did not notify him in advance. After the others withdrew, they obviously wanted to abandon Wei Yan and his subordinates. Wei Yan faced only two ways of escape, either surrendering to Wei State or facing Cao Wei's pursuers alone. Neither of them was optimistic.
Wei Yan was extremely angry after receiving the report and stopped Yang Yi from withdrawing his troops, on the grounds that the withdrawal of the troops was not only wasted, but also sorry for Prime Minister Zhuge's will during his lifetime. Then Yang Yi put Wei Yan as a rebellious person without any suspense. In desperation, Wei Yan had to flee to Hanzhong, but was killed by Ma Dai who was chasing him.
