丨Zhu Ziyan
Excerpt丨He Anan
Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang were both famous historical figures in the Three Kingdoms era, and played a decisive role in the historical stage of the Three Kingdoms. But for thousands of years, people have regarded Zhuge Liang as the embodiment of the wisdom of the Chinese nation, a model of incorruptibility, a symbol of justice, a sage who loves the people, and an example of loyal ministers. However, people have characterized Sima Yi as a ferocious, cruel, murderous, and cunning man. A careerist and conspirator in matters of flattery. Why are they both famous military strategists and politicians during the Three Kingdoms period, but have completely different images in history?
According to Zhu Ziyan, a professor at the Department of History at Shanghai University, historical figures often have both merits and demerits. During the Han and Jin Dynasties, these two were talented politicians and military strategists who dominated the historical stage. They were indistinguishable historical figures in terms of governance and military strategy. The final historical evaluation contrast is as big as clouds and mud. Astonishing and inexplicable.
How was Sima Yi’s historical image formed? Are the comments made by famous ancient historians about Sima Yi appropriate? Is " empty city plan " true? Who is Zhuge Liang or Sima Yi in terms of intelligence? Regarding these issues, Zhu Ziyan conducted in-depth research on important joints in the historical process and came to his conclusion: Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were both geniuses in the world at that time. Their military strategies and military talents were equally matched, and they were indistinguishable. . The two men worked together to perform a magnificent and thrilling historical drama in the history of the Three Kingdoms War. Its brilliance was enough to shine through the ages and serve as a model for future generations.
Stills from "The Great Military Advisor Sima Yi's Military Advisor Alliance".
At the same time, Sima Yi defeated Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, and eventually Zhuge Wuhou fell to Wuzhangyuan and died of illness in the Weishui military camp. With the death of Zhuge Liang, the last pillar of Shu Han , Shu Han can no longer pose a substantial threat to Cao Wei . With this military achievement, Sima Yi's prestige was at its peak.
The following content is excerpted from the chapter "A Historical Drama of Two Heroes' Battle of Wisdom" in "The Biography of Sima Yi" written by Zhu Ziyan, a professor of the Department of History at Shanghai University. It has been authorized by the publishing house for publication.
"The Biography of Sima Yi", written by Zhu Ziyan, People's Publishing House, June 2020 edition.
In order to deify Zhuge Liang,
later generations made up the story of the "Empty City Strategy"?
Zhuge Liang launched a total of five Northern Expeditions, which lasted eight years from 227 to 234 AD. Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, the main generals on Cao Wei's side were General Cao Zhen and General Right Zhang He. At this time, Sima Yi was in charge of the military affairs of the two states of Jingyu and garrisoned in Wancheng to guard against Soochow and did not participate in the war against the Shu Han at all. In order to beautify and deify Zhuge Liang, later generations made up a story about the "empty city strategy" after Zhuge Liang lost his street pavilion in an attempt to disparage Sima Yi.
The earliest version of the "Empty City Strategy" story can be found in the "Book of Shu" quoted by Pei Songzhi in " Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms Zhuge Liang Biography". The content is that when Sima Yi's son, Fufeng King Sima Jun, was guarding Guanzhong, he and his subordinates Sima Liu Bao and Chang Shi Huan Xi and others discussed Zhuge Liang's talents together. At that time, the commentators "mostly ridiculed Liang for being in a wrong place, working hard for the people of Shu, having little strength and making great plans, and being unable to measure his virtue and his strength. Jincheng Guo Chong thought that Liang's power, wisdom and strategy were beyond the pale. Guan
(Zhong)
, Yan
(Ying)
, their achievements have not been completed, the commentators are confused, and the five bright things have disappeared from the world, and
(Liu)
treasures and others cannot be restored. King Fufeng was generous and kind. Chongzhiyan".
Stills of Zhuge Liang from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
There are five things that Guo Chong said about "hiding from the world", and the third thing among them is the so-called "empty city strategy". Guo Chong's words are hereby recorded as follows:
(Zhuge)
Liang stationed himself at Yangping and sent all the armies of Wei and Yan to move eastwards, but Liang left ten thousand people to defend the city. Emperor Xuan of the Jin Dynasty led 200,000 people to resist Liang, and went the wrong way with the Yan army. He went forward and was supposed to be at Liang's sixty-mile position. When he was waiting, Emperor Bai Xuan said that Liang's troops were small and weak in the city. Liang also knew that Emperor Xuan was coming, and was already forcing him to go to Yanjun. He wanted to go to Yanjun, but he was far away.Liang was in a high mood and ordered all the troops to lie down and stop their drums. They were not allowed to leave the nunnery. He also ordered the four city gates to be opened wide and the floors to be swept but sprinkled with water. Emperor Xuan often said that Liang was prudent, but seeing that he was weak, he suspected that there was an ambush, so he led his troops to Beiqu Mountain. During the eclipse of the sun tomorrow, Liang said that Shen Zuo held up his hands and laughed loudly and said: "Sima Yi will definitely tell me that I am cowardly, and there will be a strong ambush, so I will follow the mountain." Hou Luo was still white, just as Liang said. Emperor Xuan later found out and deeply hated him.
Pei Songzhi believed that this record was not credible. He put forward four reasons to refute it: First, Yangping Pass was located in Hanzhong. When Zhuge Liang was stationing troops at Yangping Pass, Sima Yi was still the governor of Jingzhou and guarded Wancheng. It was not until Cao Zhen's death that he began to compete with Zhuge Liang in Guanzhong. Cao Wei once sent Sima Yi from Wancheng to Xicheng to attack Shu, but he encountered heavy rain and returned without success. Before and after, there was no fighting at Yangping Pass. Second, as Guo Chong said, since Sima Yi led an army of 200,000, and it was known that Zhuge Liang's army was small and weak, if he suspected that he had an ambush, he could have set up a strong defense, so why would he withdraw the army? Thirdly, the "Three Kingdoms: Biography of Wei Yan" says: "Every time Yan Yan showed up with Zhuge Liang, he often wanted to recruit tens of thousands of soldiers, and he met with Liang Wei at Tongguan. Just like the story of Han Xin, Liang made it. No. Yan often says that Liang is cowardly and laments that his talents are not used up. "Zhuge Liang did not allow Wei Yan to command an army of ten thousand men. How could he, as Guo Chong said, let other generals lead a heavy army while he led a light one? What about the weak army? Fourth, Guo Chong's speech to Fufeng King Sima Jun highlights the shortcomings of his father Sima Yi. This is a son destroying his father, which is unreasonable.
Pei Songzhi's accusation is justified. In fact, Zhuge Liang did not use the "empty city strategy". In the battle of Jieting , the Wei army was led by Zhang He, not Sima Yi. So where was Sima Yi at this time? Volume 71 of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" makes it very clear, The battle of Jieting broke out in "the spring of the second year of Taihe, in the first month, Sima Yi attacked Xincheng. On the sixth day of the tenth day, he pulled it out and killed Mengda. Shen Yi had been in Wei Xing for a long time and was good at it. I was responsible for making and engraving seals, and received many false teachings. I summoned and held them, and returned them to Luoyang ." It turned out that when Zhuge Liang led his troops to fight Zhang He in a street pavilion, Sima Yi was thousands of miles away in Luoyang. Therefore, Kong Ming frightening Sima Yi is a comedy of "Guan Gong versus Qin Qiong". Guo Chong's Five Matters were not included in Chen Shou's "Three Kingdoms", and historians such as Sun Sheng and Xi Zhizhi ignored them. Pei Song cited them and criticized them, so its credibility is not high. As for the The empty city plan is even more futile.
The first time Sima Yi led an army to conquer Shu was in the fourth year of Wei Taihe.
(230)
. Prior to this, Zhuge Liang had conducted three Northern Expeditions. A brief description is as follows:
In March of the first year of Wei Taihe's
(227)
, Zhuge Liang led his army to Hanzhong and immediately attacked Mianyang(today's Mian County, Shaanxi Province)
. In the spring of the following year, Zhuge Liang raised his voice and took the Xiegu Road to capture Yicheng. He ordered Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to set up suspicious troops to attract Cao Zhen's heavy troops, and he led an army to attack Qishan(today's Li County, Gansu Province)
. The Shu army was invincible. Nan'an, Tianshui , and Anding counties in Liangzhou rebelled against Wei one after another. In response to Zhuge Liang, Wei Tianshui County joined the army Jiang Wei also surrendered to the Shu Han. Emperor Wei Ming was shocked when he heard this. He quickly rushed from Luoyang to Chang'an and took charge in the rear. He sent General Cao Zhen to supervise all the armies in Guanyou and rush to aid Yicheng; he also ordered General Zhang He of the right to lead an army of 50,000 to Qishan. Zhang He defeated the pioneers of Shu Ma Su in Jieting(today's Zhuanglang, Gansu)
. Zhuge Liang had no control over his advance, so he forced more than a thousand families in Xi County to return to Hanzhong. The first Northern Expedition failed. After Zhuge Liang returned to Hanzhong, he killed Ma Su, and asked Shangshu to demote himself to the third rank. He would act as the prime minister as the general on the right, and the president would be as before. Cao Zhen defeated the Shu generals Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi who were guarding Jigu, and took the opportunity to regain Tianshui and other three counties.Cao Zhen predicted that Zhuge Liang would attack Chencang again, so he sent General Hao Zhao to guard Chencang
(today's east of Baoji City, Shaanxi)
to prevent the Shu army. Zhou Li, the governor of Poyang County in Wu, pretended to surrender to Wei. Cao Xiu, the commander-in-chief of Wei, led a hundred thousand troops to attack Wu. When they reached Shiting, they were defeated by Lu Xun, the governor of Soochow. In the winter of that year, Zhuge Liang took advantage of Wei's troops moving eastward and Guanzhong's weakness to advance northward.Zhuge Liang's troops left Sanguan(southwest of today's Baoji City, Shaanxi Province)
to besiege Chencang, but were rejected by Wei general Hao Zhao. Zhuge Liang failed to persuade him to surrender, and because he could not continue to supply food and grass, he had to return to Hanzhong. Wei general Wang Shuang came to pursue him and was beheaded. It was Zhuge Liang's second attack on Wei.In the third year of Wei Taihe,
(229)
, Zhuge Liang launched his third Northern Expedition. Zhuge Liang sent General Chen Shi to attack Wudu(today's Chengxian County, Gansu)
and Yinping(today's Wenxian County, Gansu Province)
. Cao Wei general Guo Huai led his troops to rescue, and Zhuge Liang led his army to Jianwei. Seeing Zhuge Liang's sudden arrival, Guo Huai was afraid that his retreat would be cut off, so he made an emergency retreat. The Shu army successfully occupied the two counties. Zhuge Liang appeased the local Di and Qiang people, then left troops to defend the area and led his army back to Hanzhong. This was Zhuge Liang's greatest victory since his Northern Expedition. Because of the successful capture of Wudu and Yinping counties, Liu Chan issued an edict to restore Zhuge Liang's position as prime minister.
Before Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain,
he was just an unknown "township scholar"
Zhuge Liang's three Northern Expeditions greatly shocked the court and the public of Cao Wei, completely beyond Cao Wei's expectations. The reason is that Cao Wei despised the national power of Shu Han and underestimated its military strength. As early as the founding of the Shu Han Dynasty, the Wei people no longer paid attention to the Shu Han. After Guan Yu was killed, Cao Wei held a court meeting to discuss whether Liu Bei would send troops to attack Soochow. "Public opinion Xianyun:' Shu is a small country with only one famous general: Guan Yu. Once Guan Yu died, Shu Han had no power to use troops abroad.
Stills from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
After Liu Bei's death, the Wei people paid no attention to Shu. Wei transferred heavy troops to the eastern front Huainan and Yangzhou to guard against Soochow. The Guanlong area was extremely empty of troops for a while. "Wei Lue" says: "In the beginning, the country
(referring to Cao Wei)
had only Liu Bei in Shu. After Bei died, he had been silent for several years, so there was no preparation. When the news of the death was revealed, the government and the public were afraid, Longyou, This is especially true in Qishan, so the three counties should be lit up at the same time. "Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition really caught Cao Wei off guard. The reason was that Cao Wei believed that only Liu Bei in Shu could lead the army to fight. After Liu Bei's death, Shu had no power for several years. The movement was enough to prove that Shu could only defend itself and did not have the strength to take the initiative to attack Cao Wei.
Before Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, the monarchs and ministers of Cao Wei did not regard Zhuge Liang as a strong enemy. When Zhuge Liang was in Gaolongzhong, although he was highly praised by Xu Shu, Sima Hui, Pang Degong and other celebrities, many people disagreed. As for the scholars in the northern Central Plains, they did not know Zhuge Liang well. Before Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain, he was just an unknown "township scholar". After Zhuge Liang joined Liu Bei's group, he served as a military advisor for a long time and never led an army alone in battle. After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei took over the four counties south of the Yangtze River in Jingzhou. He did not entrust Zhuge Liang with important military and political responsibilities, but only gave him "supervision of the three counties of Lingling, Guiyang, and Changsha, and adjusted their taxes to strengthen the army."
Tian Yuqing pointed out: "Before Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang was not with Liu Bei for a long time. There was no fact that Zhuge Liang was a counselor during the military affairs. His determination to enter Shu and rebel against Liu Zhang was a plan of Fazheng and Pang Tong. He was in Jing was not allowed to intervene in Shu's plans, and he was not allowed to participate in the discussion of leaving the Xiaxia. Whether these key matters were correct or not, he had nothing to do with it." Tian's analysis shows that Zhuge Liang did not participate in the war when Liu Bei was in power. The fact that Dazheng led the troops in battle. In the eyes of Wei's monarchs and ministers, the Shu Han Dynasty was small and had weak troops, located in a corner of the southwest, and was unable to compete with a large country like Cao Wei.
In the third year of Emperor Zhangwu of Shu Han
(223)
, Liu Bei was newly mourned and Prince Liu Chan ascended the throne. Cao Pi believed that this was a God-given opportunity, and hoped that Bashu could be pacified without fighting. At the beginning of Zhuge Liang's reign, Cao Pi sent Xian Yufu to Shuhan to persuade Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang to surrender. Cao Pi also instructed famous people such as Hua Xin, Wang Lang, Chen Qun, Xu Zhi, Zhuge Zhang to write to Zhuge Liang, "Chen Tian appoints personnel and wants to make the whole country a vassal state." This is naturally a fantasy, like a fool's dream.Wei and Shu were always tit-for-tat enemies, and Zhuge Liang often called for "the Han and the thieves cannot be at odds, and the royal family cannot be in peace." Zhuge Liang did not reply to Cao Wei's letter that he wanted to make the Shu Han "a vassal country", but wrote a "Serious Discussion" , sternly refuted the fallacies of Hua Xin and others, and exposed them to the world.
The above historical facts fully show that before Zhuge Liang's large-scale northern expedition to Cao Wei, Cao Wei took the Shu Han lightly. However, during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, the Shu army's "forms were well organized, rewards and punishments were solemn, and orders were clear. The three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding rebelled against Wei Yingliang, and Guanzhong was shaken." This gave Cao Wei a blow. According to the "Book of Wei" cited in the annotation of "Three Kingdoms: Chronicles of Emperor Ming", when "Shu general Zhuge Liang invaded the border area, and the three counties of Tianshui, Nan'an and Anding rebelled against Ying Liang", the courtiers of Cao and Wei panicked and "unknown about the plan", they were simply devastated. Zhuge Liang was frightened. Although Emperor Ming of Wei pretended to be calm, he comforted the officials and said: "Liangzhi Mountain is solid, and now he has come, and he has combined the art of military writing to teach people; and Liang is greedy for the three counties, knowing how to advance and not knowing how to retreat. Now, because of this, it is broken." "Liang will definitely do it."
Although he was as confident as an ox, Cao Rui was not sure, so he personally took command of Chang'an and mobilized the elite troops of the Wei army. He ordered Cao Zhen, Zhang He and other top generals of Cao Wei to lead heavy troops to resist Zhuge Liang. After the Wei army won the battle of Jieting by chance, Cao Rui issued the edict "Expose the world and sue Yizhou". A nationwide publicity campaign was launched to denounce Zhuge Liang's "crime".
Stills from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
There are four main points in the edict: First, it denounces "Zhuge Liang abandoned the country of his parents and became a party of crippled thieves. The gods and men were poisoned, and the evil accumulation was destroyed. Liang admired the name of Ligu externally, but was greedy and good at the inside. Liu Sheng
(Liu Chan was mistakenly called Liu Shengzhi)
Brothers are just guarding the empty city." Second, attacking "
(Zhuge)
Liang also insulted Yiyi soil and abused its people, so Lilang, Danqu, Gaoding, and Qingqiang all collapsed and became Liang's enemies. But Liang turned Qiu back and paid his salary. The hair inside is all gone, the toes are cut off to fit the shoes, the muscles are carved and the bones are damaged, but they are more praised, thinking that they can march at the bottom of the well, and walk on the hooves of cattle." Thirdly, they boasted that the Wei army was brave and good at fighting, "The king's army was vigorous and courageous. Ma Di and Gao Xiang looked at the flag and ran to defeat. The tiger ministers drove north, walking on corpses and wading in blood." Fourth, he called for "the generals, officials, and people of Bashu to be robbed and forced by Zhuge Liang, and all the ministers have already obeyed and restrained their hands." Although the edict arbitrarily attacked, slandered, and vilified Zhuge Liang, it also reflected the fear of Cao Wei's monarchs and ministers towards Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition. Otherwise, why would Cao Rui, as an emperor of the ninth grade, denounce the prime minister of an enemy country?
Why was Sima Yi able to defeat Zhuge Liang in the end?
Zhuge Liang's death was a huge loss that the Shu Han regime could not make up for. After Zhuge Liang, although Jiang Wei launched a small-scale Northern Expedition, it no longer posed a threat to Cao Wei. In this sense, Sima Yi is the ultimate winner.
Sima Yi (179-September 7, 251), courtesy name Zhongda, was a native of Xiaojingli, Wen County, Hanoi County (now Wen County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province). During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei was a politician, military strategist, and powerful minister, and one of the founders of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Why was Sima Yi able to defeat Zhuge Liang in the end? The author attempts to make the following analysis: First, Sima Yi attaches great importance to the relationship between food and war. He proposed that "the key to destroying thieves is to accumulate grain" and advocated vigorously developing farmland and developing the economy to lay a material foundation for defeating the Shu Han. During Zhuge Liang's fourth Northern Expedition, there was no valley in Longyou, and Sima Yi could not resist Zhuge Liang's attack. After Zhuge Liang retreated, Sima Yi took advantage of the three years when Zhuge Liang did not attack and moved farmers from Jizhou to the Shanggui area of the war zone to farm. Under his promotion, Longyou passed through the fields and stored more military rations. Sima Yi regarded the land of accumulation of grain as a must-win area. During Zhuge Liang's fifth Northern Expedition, he used martial arts and stationed troops Weinan . The generals of Wei State tried to defend the north of Wei, but Sima Yi saw that people and food were accumulated in Weinan, so he ignored his advice, crossed the Wei River, and camped on the back of the water in Weinan, thinking that the place where the accumulated valleys were located was the place to compete with the enemy. Don't give up easily and don't let the food fall into the opponent's hands.
Zhuge Liang stationed troops at Wuzhangyuan. Emperor Wei Ming believed that Zhuge Liang's army came from afar and was in a hurry to fight, so he ordered Sima Yi to be cautious and watch the changes of the Shu army. Sima Yi resolutely maintained and implemented this long-term policy.He realized that he was no match for Zhuge Liang in the field, but he could take advantage of the Shu army's food shortage and long-distance transportation to force the Shu army to retreat when they ran out of food and refused to fight. He could even accept the women's clothing given to him by Zhuge Liang and endure the ridicule from his enemies suggesting that he was not a man.
Secondly, "Sun Tzu's Art of War" emphasizes that when using troops to fight, you must "know yourself and the enemy." Relatively speaking, "confidant" is relatively easy to achieve. The key is to "know the enemy", that is, to be familiar with the enemy general in order to grasp his situation and understand his intentions. Sima Yi knew Zhuge Liang very well. He pointed out: "Zhuge Liang has many plans but few decisions. He is ambitious but does not see opportunities. He is a good soldier but has no power." He also predicted that after Zhuge Liang retreated from his fourth attack on Wei, he would not attack Wei again next time. The siege of the city will be changed to a field battle, and the troops must be sent to Longdong , not to Longxi . Zhuge Liang always resented the lack of food, so he would always accumulate grain when he returned home. He would not be able to take action unless he had three crops. These judgments are all accurate. He asked the Shu army envoy about Zhuge Liang's daily life and official affairs, regardless of military matters. From what he learned, he predicted that Zhuge Liang would not live long, and the result was correct, which showed that he paid attention to seizing the enemy general's vital points when encountering difficulties. The problem is investigated.
After Zhuge Liang retreated from the Fifth Northern Expedition, Sima Yi visited Zhuge Liang's remaining fortress. Military advisor Xin Pi believes that it is not yet known whether Zhuge Liang is dead. Sima Yi judged that what the military attaches great importance to are military secrets, military secrets, soldiers, horses, food and grain. Now that they have been abandoned, how can anyone survive without losing their internal organs? He believed that Zhuge Liang would definitely die. When the Wei army pursued them to Chi'an, they got the definite news that Zhuge Liang was dead. It can be seen from the different judgments made by Xin Pi and Sima Yi that Sima Yi was familiar with military maneuvers and was good at making judgments based on the patterns of enemy actions, so he understood the true situation and intentions of the enemy general.
No matter what angle or position people of later generations take, there is no denying the fact that Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang are both talented and unparalleled politicians and military strategists. Both of them are proficient in the art of war and resourceful. The Battle of Wuzhangyuan has become a classic battle roughly equivalent to the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Chibi, and the Battle of Yiling. Judging from the course and outcome of the war, Kong Ming and Zhongda were roughly equal in intelligence and strategy. It can be said that they met their opponents and met good talents. However, those who do good deeds in later generations still want to compare the two. Sun Wu Dahong and Zhang Yan wrote the book "Mo Ji", which includes "Shu Zuo Pian", which discusses the talents of Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. It goes like this:
The Han Dynasty collapsed, the world collapsed, and heroes competed for artifacts. The Wei family crossed the Central Plains, and the Liu family occupied Yizhou . They also claimed to be the world's overlord in the sea of war. Zhuge and Sima, the two prime ministers, met at the meeting and entrusted themselves to the emperor, either to take advantage of the Shu Han, or to register their names in Yi and Luo. When Pi and Bei were gone, the heirs succeeded to the throne. Each of them was responsible for the role of Bao'a, supporting the young master. He lived up to his promise and was also the official of a country and the sage of the overlord. Looking at past lives to observe recent events, the advantages and disadvantages of the two aspects can be obtained and detailed. Kong Ming started from the land of Bashu and crossed the land of a state. It was a big country with one-ninth of its warriors and people. He used tribute and Zhi to fight against the enemy in the north, so that there were troops for farming and fighting, and the criminal law was neat. With tens of thousands of infantrymen, they drove towards Qishan, and they had the ambition to drink from Ma River and Luo. Zhongda occupied ten times the land in the world, fought against the annexed people, occupied the prison city, and supported the elite. He had no intention of capturing the enemy and only wanted to protect himself. Let Kong Ming come and go on his own. If this person does not die, but carries out his will and will, thinks about it year after year, and makes plans day by day, then Liang and Yong will not be able to disarm, China will not be able to release its saddle, and the victory or defeat will be decided. In the past, when Zi Chan was in charge of Zheng, the princes did not dare to add troops, and Shu was close to him. Sima Fang is so good!
Zhang Yan believes that Zhuge Liang can fight in and out of Cao Wei whose comprehensive national power is several times greater than his own with the Bashu state. If he enters an uninhabited land, Sima Yi can only "just protect himself" and there is nothing he can do. Can't beat the opponent. Therefore, Zhuge Liang's intelligence is superior to Sima Yi. If Zhuge Liang had not died early, his Northern Expedition would have been successful.Zhang Yan's views are representative to a certain extent and have a considerable influence on later generations. However, Tang Taizong Li Shimin's views are different from Zhang Yan's. Tang Taizong personally produced the "Book of Jin: Chronicle of Emperor Xuan" Book, Zhiyun:
Looking at his heroic strategies, he was determined internally, and Yingyou was decisive externally. He killed his grandson in a hundred days, and captured Mengda in ten days. He thought that his troops were moving like a god, and there was no more plans. Now that you have supported the people in Xiju, you are in a stalemate with Zhuge. If you suppress your armored soldiers, you will have no fighting spirit. If you leave your women alone, you will become angry. The stick section is at the door, the ambition suddenly surrenders, and the battle is thousands of miles away, and the deceitful desire is to demonstrate. Moreover, the people of Qin and Shu are brave and cowardly, and are not enemies. The dangerous road is difficult, and work and rest are different. If you strive for merit, the benefits can be seen. When returning to the seclusion camp, no one dares to fight, they are timid but do not move forward, they are still doubtful but still run away, this is the way of a good general!
Li Shimin believed that Sima Yi conquered Mengda in ten days and defeated Gongsun Yuan in Ji Ri. His military skills were as good as those of the famous military strategists Sun Wu and Wu Qi during the Warring States Period. However, when fighting against Zhuge Liang, although he had the advantage, he did not dare to go out to fight Zhuge Liang. He was afraid of Zhuge Liang and could not find a chance to defeat Zhuge Liang. Therefore, although Sima Yi had military talents, his excessive caution and timidity also destined him to not become a first-class military officer. Home. Obviously, in Li Shimin's mind, Sima Yi's military literacy and military strength are higher than Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was just a strict commander in charge of the army, and his military strength and military talents were not as good as Sima Yi's. Sima Yi's problem was that he was too afraid of Zhuge Liang, that is, the Wei generals ridiculed him for "fearing Shu as much as a tiger".
Stills of Sima Yi from the TV series "Tiger Roars and Dragon Roar".
Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi
were both geniuses of that era
No matter how different and biased Zhang Yan and Li Shimin's evaluations of Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi are, there is one problem that we cannot avoid no matter what: that is, Sima Yi is competing against Zhuge Liang. Why did we only take defense from beginning to end and not take the initiative to attack? Where is the mystery? This is a question we must seriously consider. The author attempts to answer the following questions. First, Sima Yi may not have an advantage in terms of military strength. Although Cao Wei had a large number of troops, the national border was too long, and the fronts it defended were north, east, and west, so its troops were scattered. For Cao Wei, there is also the worry of the Soochow army, which is more powerful than the Shu Han and is eager to invade at any time. When Zhuge Liang entered Weinan, he allied with Soochow. The leader of Wu Sun Quan sent 100,000 troops to attack Huainan, Hefei and other places. Wu and Shu were connected end to end, attacking from the east and west at the same time. Cao Wei was attacked on both sides, and the situation was very serious for a while.
Stills of Sima Yi from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
"Three Kingdoms·Biography of Master Wu" records: "In the fifth month of summer, Quan sent Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin and others to Tunjiangxia and Miangkou, Sun Shao, Zhang Cheng and others to Guangling and Huaiyang, and Quan led the masses to surround Hefei New City. At that time, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, showed his military exploits, and Quan told Emperor Ming of Wei that he could not go far away, but the emperor sent troops to assist King Sima Xuan to march eastward. Before Shouchun arrived, Quan returned. huge pressure. So much so that Sun Quan believed that "Emperor Wei Ming could not go far away" and the Wu army could take the opportunity to attack Huainan.
One thing can be seen from here, that is, the entire battle is not good for Sima Yi. Otherwise, Sun Quan would not think that "Emperor Wei Ming cannot go far away", and Cao Rui would not send Qin Lang to lead troops to reinforce Sima Yi. Referring to Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, it was because of the surrender of the three counties in Longxi that Emperor Wei Ming sent Zhang He as reinforcements to help Cao Zhen. A few years later, Zhuge Liang launched his northern expedition again. If Sima Yi also had the upper hand, why would Emperor Wei Ming have to lead the expedition himself? It can be seen that on the battlefield of Wuzhangyuan in Guanzhong, where the battle clouds were thick, the Wei and Shu sides were at a stalemate, and the Wei army did not take any advantage.
The Cao Wei government and the public were very worried and nervous about Zhuge Liang's fifth Northern Expedition. Emperor Wei Ming actually issued this order to Sima Yi: "At that time, the imperial court used Zhuge Liang's overseas troops to attack the invaders, so it was advantageous to fight urgently. Every time, the emperor was ordered to be cautious and wait for changes. He would challenge several times, but the emperor would not come out." It can be seen that Emperor Wei Ming's attitude towards Zhuge Liang was very jealous, even afraid. The strategy of being defensive against Zhuge Liang without taking the initiative was actually formulated by Cao Rui himself, and Sima Yi just carried it out resolutely.Moreover, the strategy and tactics of "waiting for work" and "waiting for changes" against Zhuge Liang were the lessons learned by Cao Wei's monarchs and ministers from actual combat. This led to a high degree of tacit ideological understanding and consensus between Cao Rui, Sima Yi, and Xin Pi. If you can win, then fight; if you can't fight, then defend; if you can't defend, then retreat. This is the basic strategy of a military strategist in using troops. For such an important battle, Sima Yi's use of troops naturally did not allow for mistakes, and there was no room for negligence.
Second, Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang are in different political environments. After Liu Bei was left alone, Zhuge Liang became prominent in the Shu Han Dynasty. In the Shu Han Dynasty, "all political affairs were determined by Liang." Zhuge Liang "used Liu Chan to be busy with politics" as an excuse to "take charge of internal and external matters", that is, regardless of domestic affairs, diplomacy, or military affairs, Zhuge Liang completely ignored Liu Chan and made his own decisions. Moreover, Zhuge Liang also formed an alliance with Soochow, so he had almost no worries.
Since Zhuge Liang had sole control and no constraints, the Shu Han made several northern expeditions, using almost all the troops, ranging from 70,000 to 80,000 to as many as 100,000. During the Cao Cao period, Sima Yi was just a minister in the prime minister's office. During the Cao Pi period, his status improved, but he was unable to take charge of the military. After Cao Rui ascended the throne, due to the decline of the Cao Wei clan and the death of the leading generals, Cao Rui had no choice but to let Sima Yi serve as the general to lead the army against Zhuge Liang. However, Cao Rui was arbitrary and did not trust Sima Yi completely, so the troops assigned to him were very limited. The author has pointed out in the previous article that the troops led by Sima Yi were roughly equivalent to Zhuge Liang's army. They were definitely not as exaggerated by Zhang Yan, who said that he "occupied ten times the land of the world, fought and annexed the masses, occupied the prison city, and supported the elite". Huge advantage. Since Sima Yi at that time did not have the same status as Zhuge Liang in the Shu Han Dynasty, where "the government was controlled by the Ge family" and he kept his word, the strength of the Wei army he led was about the same as that of Zhuge Liang's army. Moreover, Cao Wei always focused on defense against Shu Han and rarely took the initiative to attack. Therefore, it was a wise move for Sima Yi to adopt defensive tactics when his military strength was not dominant.
Third, although Sima Yi was familiar with military books and tactics, he was not like Cao Wei's five good generals. He was purely from the military and had rich practical experience. Sima Yi was originally a literary scholar in the palace of Prime Minister Cao Cao, just a scholar. It was not until the time of Cao Pi and Cao Rui that he got involved in the military by chance, and gradually became a commander in command of the army. This shows that he was a Confucian general who became a monk halfway. The biggest flaw of literati leading troops is lack of actual combat experience. Ma Di, a contemporary of Sima Yi, is a typical example of armies on paper. Ma Su was "extraordinary in talent and good at discussing military strategies. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang further enhanced his skills".
When Zhuge Liang was pacifying Nanzhong, Ma Di offered the good strategy of "attacking the heart first, attacking the city below, fighting with the heart first, and fighting with troops below", which made outstanding contributions to Zhuge Liang's rapid pacification of Nanzhong. But Zhuge Liang used his horse to guard the street pavilion, but he always resented it. The reason why Ma Su lost Jieting was not that he did not understand the art of war, but that he lacked actual combat experience and could not adapt to changes. This led to the defeat of the entire army. Not only Ma Di was like this, but Zhuge Liang himself was also a Confucian general. When Mao Zedong commented on Zhuge Liang's misuse of Ma Di, he pointed out: "In the first battle, Liang should approach the battle on his own." He believed that in the battle of Jieting, Zhuge Liang should advance with a large army and make arrangements before the battle, rather than spreading his troops and assigning responsibilities to others. . This also reflects Zhuge Liang's shortcomings in using troops. Zhuge Liang was cautious in his military use throughout his life and never took risks. Why Zhuge Liang refused to take risks, in the final analysis, was due to lack of actual combat experience.
Similar to Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi was not a battle-hardened veteran. He had been handling political affairs in the central organization of Cao Wei for a long time. What he lacked was experience in marching operations and military formations. Before fighting Zhuge Liang, his main victory in leading the army was to put down the Mengda rebellion. However, Zhuge Liang is by no means comparable to Meng Da. After the deaths of Liu Bei and Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang has become Cao Wei's number one enemy. Wei counselor Jia Xu once said: "Liu Bei has great talents, Zhuge Liang is good at governing the country, Sun Quan knows the truth and the truth, Lu Yi
(un)
sees the strength of the army, holds strong positions in danger, and travels around the rivers and lakes, all of which are difficult to plan."
What was outstanding about Sima Yi was that he was able to assess the situation, know himself and the enemy, and anticipate the enemy's opportunities. He knew that Zhuge Liang was a genius in the world and was difficult to deal with.When encountering an opponent like Zhuge Liang, how could he dare to underestimate the enemy? Without full confidence, Sima Yi could only rely on danger and wear down Zhuge Liang with defensive warfare, in order to achieve the goal of defeating the enemy without fighting. Wei Liaozi said: "For example, a soldier is a murderous weapon, a fighter is a perverse virtue, and a general is a dead official, so he has to use it as a last resort." Once the war is lost, the generals cannot absolve themselves of the blame. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu State lost the Battle of Chengpu, and Chu ordered Yin Ziyu to commit suicide to apologize. After the Battle of Jieting, Zhuge Liang resigned from the post of prime minister and demoted himself to the third level. In the same way, if Sima Yi were defeated, not only would his prestige in the court plummet, but his position as general would also be difficult to preserve. In 228 AD, Wei Dasima Cao Xiu was defeated in the Battle of Shiting. Although Cao Rui refused to pursue him because of his clan, Cao Xiu himself was extremely ashamed and eventually died of depression. Yin Jian's past events may also lead to death. This was one of the reasons why Sima Yi was unwilling to compete with Zhuge Liang.
Fourth, although Zhuge Liang was not a strategist who used troops like a god, he was rigorous in running the army, and measured rewards and punishments. The Shu army was well-trained and fought bravely. This made Sima Yi regard Zhuge Liang as a powerful enemy and never dare to take it lightly. Zhuge Liang attached great importance to the training of sergeants. Chen Shou called him "the leader in military control"; Yuan Zhun said that his army "stops like a mountain, advances and retreats like the wind. When the troops are sent out, the world is shaken, but the people are not worried." This shows that the Shu army is well-trained. During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, he did not listen to Wei Yan's advice and refused to attack Guanzhong directly. One of the reasons is that he knew that the Shu army's combat effectiveness was not strong enough, and he was not sure of victory in a head-on confrontation with the Wei army.
Stills of Zhuge Liang from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
After the defeat of Jieting, the Shu army underwent careful and arduous training by Zhuge Liang, and its combat capabilities were greatly improved. In order to change the Shu Han's disadvantage of insufficient military strength, Zhuge Liang devoted himself to studying the "Eight Formations" in the ancient military art, innovating and improving it, which included both inheritance and innovation. This is why Zhuge Liang's "Eight Formations" was so important and famous at that time. The main reason for future generations. Chen Shou said that Zhuge Liang "deduced the art of war and made eight formations, and he got the key points." Liu Hong, a general of the Jin Dynasty, also said: "It is not Sun or Wu who promotes the eight formations." After the eight formations were completed, Zhuge Liang said with confidence: "The eight formations are completed. From now on, I will not be defeated." In fact. , this is not Zhuge Liang's self-praising remarks. Since setting up an ambush to kill Wei general Wang Shuang in the Battle of Chencang, the Shu army has "come and gone on its own" and has never lost to an opponent in a field battle. When Yuan Zhun of Jin Dynasty analyzed the reasons why the Shu army was able to fight, he said: "The laws are clear, the rewards and punishments are faithful, the soldiers are loyal to their lives, and do not care about danger, so they can fight." Because the Shu army has extremely strong combat effectiveness, Zhuge Liang also Being very resourceful and well-organized in marching formation, Sima Yi had nothing to do.
However, the generals of Wei were not convinced by Zhuge Liang and still insisted on fighting the Shu army. Although Sima Yi always kept a clear head, he was also worried that if he was too conservative and retreated without fighting, the morale of the Wei army would be dampened. Therefore, during Zhuge Liang's fourth Northern Expedition, he sent general Zhang He to lead an army to attack Shu general Wang Ping, and personally led the main force to storm Zhuge Liang's camp. As a result, he failed in both battles, losing thousands of elite soldiers and a large amount of ordnance and supplies. Practice has proved that Sima Yi's strategy of not fighting a decisive battle with the Shu army and finishing his battle in one battle was correct. Moreover, after this battle, he also taught the Wei army soldiers a lesson and blocked the mouth of Youyou.
No matter how Chen Shou evaluated Zhuge Liang's military ability, whether he said that he "managed the army to his advantage and made clever plans to his shortcomings" or "managed the people better than generals". The author believes that during the Three Kingdoms era, Zhuge Liang's military ability was still first-rate. Facing the powerful Wei State whose comprehensive national strength was several times his own, Zhuge Liang used offense as defense and took the initiative to launch a large-scale attack on Cao Wei. "It is not easy. It can be said to have created a miracle in the history of ancient and modern wars.
Sima Yi was proficient in the art of war and knew strategy well. He was also the first-class military strategist during the Three Kingdoms period. Examine several important battles he commanded in his life: for example, in the first year of Taihe, he defeated Zhuge Jin of the Wu Kingdom and invaded Xiangyang; in the second year of Taihe, he defeated Meng Da who was stubbornly defending Shangyong; in the second year of Jingchu, he defeated the Xuan Army Thousands of miles deep into Liaodong, to attack Gongsun Yuan, they all set up a battle array with the enemy, winning decisively on the battlefield, without fear.However, regarding Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, although Sima Yi had "Yongliang's powerful soldiers", he was cautious and refused to fight, which only earned him the ridicule of "fearing Shu like a tiger" and "a woman". In fact, it was not that Sima Yi did not want to annihilate the Shu army in one battle and make an unparalleled contribution to Guanlong. However, Zhuge Liang was resourceful and resourceful. The Shu army was a well-trained force. After assessing the situation, he felt that he was not sure of victory, so he decided to stand firm and not fight. Based on the strategy of the old Shu division. Therefore, Zhuge Liang said to Jiang Wei: "The general is in the army, and the emperor's orders are not accepted.
(Sima Yi)
If you can control me, how can you come thousands of miles away to fight against evil!" This is indeed Zhuge Liang's words to see through the secrets of the enemy commander and penetrate the enemy.
"The Great Military Advisor Sima Yi's Military Advisor Alliance" poster.
In short, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were both geniuses in the world at that time. Their military strategies and military skills were equally matched and indistinguishable. The two men worked together to perform a magnificent and thrilling historical drama in the history of the Three Kingdoms War. Its brilliance was enough to shine through the ages and serve as a model for future generations. Du Fu, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty, eulogized Zhuge Liangyun: "Zhuge's fame is immortalized in the universe, and the portraits of his ancestors and ministers are kept high. The three-part division is based on Yu, and planning is a feather in the sky for eternity. When brothers and sisters meet Yilu, the commander Ruoding loses Xiao Cao. Transport and transfer It is difficult for Han Zuo to recover, and he is determined to annihilate the army. "I think the line in the poem "When brothers meet Yi Lu, if the commander is determined to lose Xiao Cao", it can be shared by Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, because they were both in the Three Kingdoms era. Outstanding statesman and military strategist.
Sima Yi defeated Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, and eventually Zhuge Wuhou fell to Wuzhangyuan and died of illness in the Weishui military camp. With the death of Zhuge Liang, the last pillar of Shu Han, Shu Han could no longer pose a substantial threat to Cao Wei. With this military achievement, Sima Yi's prestige was at its peak. The "Destiny Chapter" in "Book of Jin·Le Zhixia" proudly praises Sima Yi's martial arts: "Zhuge does not know destiny, and rebels against nature. He has more than 100,000 followers, and they invade the border areas. My emperor is so powerful, He held the Yue to suppress Yongliang. Liang was afraid of the power of heaven and surrendered before fighting. "Although this was the praise of the Jin people, since Sima Yi established this achievement, no matter in terms of reputation, qualifications, ability, or military merit, the military and political circles of Cao and Wei No one can match him anymore.
This article is excerpted from "The Biography of Sima Yi". It has been abridged and modified from the original text. The subtitles were added by the editor and are not owned by the original text. It has been authorized by the publisher for publication.
author | Zhu Ziyan
excerpt | He Anan
editor | Zhang Ting
introduction proofread | Chen Diyan
