Wei Yan in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a tragic character. In the novel, he has a talent, exquisite martial arts, brave combat, resourcefulness, and when the talents of the Shu Han were not available, he resolutely carried the banner of the Shu Han. He was given the important task of the Northern Expedition by the prime minister Zhuge Liang, but he still couldn't trust him.
1. Wei Yan is a handsome talent who is highly regarded by Liu Bei
The old saying goes, “general talent is often obtained, but handsome talent is not often obtained”, and Wei Yan is a rare handsome talent in the court of Shu Han . He followed Liu Bei into Sichuan and made great contributions all the way, which was highly regarded by Liu Bei. After Liu Bei took down Hanzhong, everyone thought he would give this military town to Zhang Fei, but in fact Liu Bei gave it to Wei Yan. During the dinner, Wei Yan also made bold remarks to Liu Bei, saying that if Cao Wei's army of 100,000 comes, he can guarantee no worries in Han; if it is less than 100,000, he will definitely let him come back and forth. For decades, Hanzhong where Wei Yan was stationed was stable, and Wei Junqiu did not commit any crimes. Liu Bei appointed him to be an official and jue, and trained him as a handsome talent.
The greater Wei Yan's ability, the higher his heart. In the Shuhan court, he was afraid of nothing more than two people, one Liu Bei, the two Zhuge Liang, and the others ignored them. Therefore, his relationship with court officials has been tense. After Liu Bei's death, Wei Yan became more arrogant and openly quarreled with Minister Yang Yi in the courtroom. The relationship between the two always depended on Zhuge Liang.
2. Since Wei Yan was a handsome talent, why was he killed by Zhuge Liang?
Zhuge Liang killed Wei Yan directly because of Wei Yan's prestige in the army. Liu Bei took Wei Yan as a handsome talent to train, so his status in the army was very high. Once he died, the position of the general was definitely Wei Yan's. However, Wei Yan is rebellious. If he leads Shuhan soldiers to surrender to Cao Wei after he died, wouldn't the foundation of Shuhan be ruined? That's why Zhuge Liang set up a strategy, and only after the evidence of Wei Yan's rebellion was found, he let Ma Dai shoot him with a knife.
In addition, Wei Yan's death can also prevent the internal fighting of the Shu Han court. In Zhuge Liang's view, the Shu Han was originally a corner. If the courtiers couldn't agree, then the dynasty would soon fall apart. He was still alive and able to mediate the contradictions between his courtiers, on the contrary, if he died...it is hard to imagine what the Shu Han would be like.
So Zhuge Liang must choose between Yang Yi and Wei Yan. In Zhuge Liang's view, Yang Yi has a close relationship with courtiers. If he is allowed to take power, courtiers will get along with each other in harmony. Wei Yan had always had a tense relationship with courtiers. If he was in power, then the Shu Han would not need Cao Wei Nanzheng, and only internal fighting would defeat the Shu Han's foundation.
Furthermore, there is a strategic difference between Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan. As early as during the Northern Expedition, Wei Yan proposed a surprise attack on Ziwu Valley. He thinks that if a rare soldier crosses the Qinling Mountains and attacks Chang'an with lightning speed, it will definitely bring the Wei army into chaos. But Zhuge Liang doesn't think so. He thinks that step by step, steady and steady is the best policy.
So if Wei Yan is in power, he will definitely break his established strategy, which Zhuge Liang cannot tolerate. Only when you change into your own person (especially Yang Yi, etc.) can you firmly implement your propositions and complete the task of restoring the Han Dynasty.
Three, if you are handsome, you can’t die, what about the Shu Han?
As mentioned above, Wei Yan is a real handsome talent. If he does not die, then he will definitely take over the post of General Shuhan. Can the Shuhan go out of Xichuan and complete the kingly hegemony?
This is impossible. Even if Wei Yan did not die, the Shuhan would still perish. There are three reasons. For one thing, Wei Yan will not die, Yang Yi will die, and the Shuhan army will not retreat. Wei Yan will definitely continue the Northern Expedition with his soldiers. But at this time, how much chance does Wei Yan have to win against Wei Jun? How much victory can be achieved? It should be noted that Shuhan and Cao Wei are like ants and elephants. For Wei Yan, victory can only improve his status in the Shu Han; if he loses, he will subdue Wei to Hanzhong, which is also a way to preserve prosperity and wealth.
Of the two, Wei Yan became a general. With his aloof personality, it is difficult to deal with conflicts with the king and courtiers. Liu Chan is not a fool, he will not be a good baby and don't care about anything.The courtiers would most likely be against him. Even if the generals and sergeants trust Wei Yan again, what can Wei Yan who only have complete control over the army do? It should be noted that fighting is not only dependent on the soldiers, but also on the courtiers to make suggestions and raise food.
of the three, even if Wei Yan is a prodigy again, he cannot resist absolute strength. In terms of talents, the later Cao Wei can be said to be full of talents. What Deng Ai, Zhong Hui, Sima Zhao, etc., can pull out a person who can be alone. But what about Shuhan? Apart from Wei Yan and Jiang Wei, how many talents can be driven by them? In terms of land area, Cao Wei occupies most of the Central Plains, Han Ting 13 prefectures account for nine of them, and Shu Han has only one. We must know that the size of the country's land area directly determines the amount of national resources. How can a Shuhan in Yizhou compete with Cao Wei? So even if Wei Yan's personal strength is strong, but the country is such a country, what can he do?
