Whether the life plan is correct or not is directly related to the success or failure of a person's life. In the era of fierce competition for survival, it is particularly important for a person to have a correct life plan in order to survive in this world. The period of Wei, Shu and Wu in history was an era of fierce competition for survival. "Wise men stick to their own plans, while brave men move forward by their own strength." Those who stand out in history and remain immortal, such as Jia Xu, Xun You and Zhuge Liang, are all masters who correctly grasp their own life plans. But among the three kingdoms, it is the most perfect and wonderful one in his life planning. The author thinks that Sima Yi of Wei is the only one.
Sima Yi is a crucial figure in the history of the Three Kingdoms. Without him, the history of the dispute between the three countries would probably not end so soon, and it might be interpreted for decades; Without him, the Great Jin Dynasty complied with the great cause of the unity of the people, and it would not be so natural and ingenious. It was he who inherited the prosperity of Wei State, initiated the unification of Jin State, achieved great achievements like Han Emperor, and saved all the people in the world from troubled times. Therefore, he can be called "the hero of the world"
Extraordinary people must have something extraordinary. The Book of Jin said that Sima Yi was "rare, intelligent, knowledgeable and obedient to Confucianism." The chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty was often full of worries about the world. "In my opinion, the word" smart and broad "can best explain that Sima Yi is good at planning his own life. Based on historical data, let's take a look at how Sima Yi used his intelligence to plan his life.
The ancients said, "Good birds choose wood to live in, and good ministers choose their masters." . In feudal society, a person's career achievements were mainly political and military; But political and military achievements depend entirely on the relationship between individuals and superiors. Therefore, according to the four monarchs assisted by Sima Yi, their life planning can be roughly divided into four stages: Wei Wudi period, Wei Wendi period, Wei Mingdi period and Wei Shaodi Cao Fang period. And we can observe Sima Yi's life planning in stages from these four periods.
First, the Wei Wudi period.
First of all, it is necessary for us to understand the character and political style of Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei. According to historical records, Cao Cao "knows people well, but it is difficult to show off people falsely, create a great cause, and have both civil and military skills." At the same time, he "firmly grasps the law, and those who will have plans to win over themselves will be punished by law and will not be at peace." He is a veritable "guess master".
In addition, Cao Cao has serious problems in the orientation of employing people, such as "emphasizing talents and avoiding talents;" The duality of employing people and suspecting people. He attaches great importance to the talents and strengths of his subordinates, but does not allow them to go beyond the control of him and his descendants. The History of the Three Kingdoms records such an example: Zhou Buyi, a boy from Jingzhou, was seventeen years old, talented and accomplished a lot. Cao Cao wants to marry his wife, but Zhou is not worthy of clothes. Cao Cao loves his son Cao Chong very much, and also has extraordinary wisdom, which can be compared with Zhou Buyi. After Cao Chong died, Cao Cao was jealous of Zhou Buyi and wanted to get rid of him. Cao Pi thinks it is impossible. Cao Cao said, "This man is out of your control." So he sent an assassin to kill him. This case fully proves the "dual orientation" of Cao Cao's employment route.
Sima Yi has a deep understanding of Cao Cao's employment orientation. When he took office, he was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's treacherous move, which made the princes "know that the Chinese side is weak and unwilling to bow to Cao Shi." When Cao Cao longed for his name and wanted to include him in the account, he pretended that he was suffering from "wind arthralgia" as the reason for refusing, and also fooled people sent by Cao Cao to spy on the actual situation with his superb acting skills. But you can fool for a while, but you can't fool for a lifetime. After Cao Cao became prime minister, he urged Sima Yi to be an official, and made it clear that he would accept it if he survived. At this time, Sima Yi knew that he was not enough to compete with the powerful Cao Cao, so he had to be "timid". How can I be loyal to you when you are rude in front of you? ! Obviously, in this extremely passive situation, although Sima Yi has joined Cao Cao's camp, it is difficult to immediately exert his extraordinary ambition and strategy.
Even if he entered the Prime Minister's office, Sima Yi was very unsafe. "Book of Jin" records: "Di Cha (referring to Sima Yi) is ambitious, and it is said that wolves protect each other. If you want to test it, you are called to move forward, look back, face forward and don't move. I also dreamed that Sanma ate the same food, which was very evil. Because prince pi said,' Sima yi is not a minister, but he will also predict your family affairs.' "Visible, cao cao's suspicion of him, reached the point of" want to get rid of it and then quickly ".
At this time, the first focus of Sima Yi's life planning is to "keep a low profile, look ahead and protect yourself". He decided to exchange his pragmatism and hard work for Cao Cao's trust. "So he is diligent in his official duties and forgets to sleep at night. As for Cao Mu, I learned that he was on the job, and Wei Wuyi was happy. " Yes, how can any monarch have ulterior motives to control such a loyal minister who is selfless, sleepless and dedicated to himself? Cao Cao finally accepted Sima Yi's loyalty and promoted him, so he was able to become the main book of the Prime Minister's Office (equivalent to the current Secretary-General of the State Council) from the "document" (official document) that just entered the Prime Minister's Office.
However, Sima Yi didn't relax his experience at all while staying rational. This is the second focus of his life planning during this period. He found two role models in the Prime Minister's House at that time-Yu Xun and Cao Cao. It should be said that in the experience of the Prime Minister's Office, he has been learning the advantages of these two examples. However, Sima Yi noticed this: As a brilliant strategist, Yu Xun's strength is limited to strategic planning, and the space for development is too narrow, so he can only hide behind the scenes all the time, unable to gallop on the battlefield and board the big stage of history. Cao Cao, on the other hand, is a lean man who can seek and fight, and his development space is broader than that of Yu Xun. Since noticing this, Sima Yi, who has always had the ambition of "ruling the country and leveling the world", has learned to exercise himself in a planned and step-by-step way, and gradually promoted himself to be a real strong man who combines the strengths of Cao Cao and Yu Xun.
Finally, let's talk about Sima Yi's life plan in Wei Wudi, which is the most important and wonderful one-helping Cao Pi become a prince. The Book of Jin said: "When the State of Wei was built, the monarch moved to an illegitimate child. Every time you make a great plan, you have a strange plan, which has won the trust of the prince. " Confucianism said: "If you want to stand, you must stand first, and if you want to reach it, you will be quick." In order to get rid of the fate of being a middle-level bureaucrat, Sima Yi worked directly on Cao Pi. As long as Cao Pi, who is at a disadvantage in the struggle for power and profit, is put on the throne of the prince, he can become the founding father and enter the highest ruling class of Wei State. Therefore, he thought of various strategies to defeat the attack of Cao Pi's political enemy, Cao Zhi, and finally made Cao Pi ascend to the position of prince. The success of this move directly affected Sima Yi's life. From then on, he gradually approached the highest ruling class of Wei.
During this period, it took eleven years from Sima Yi's entry into the Prime Minister's Office at the age of 29 to Wei Wudi's death at the age of 40.
In these eleven years, it can be seen that Sima Yi's life planning completely follows the Confucian way of life: self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world. Sima Yi firmly grasped the core link of Confucianism-"self-cultivation". Only when the "self-cultivation" kung fu is really done, the ambition of "governing the country and leveling the world" will not be a rootless tree and passive water.
In Sima Yi's view, the topic of "self-cultivation" can be embodied in eight words, that is, "understanding the times": according to the needs of the times, closely connecting with reality, taking the great ambition of governing the country and the world as the guide, solidly exercising one's abilities in all aspects, and being ready to accept the test and challenge of fate at any time. What he is best at is that he has always calculated accurately when and under what circumstances he needs to highlight his ability to stand out from the crowd. Therefore, Sima Yi was able to rise quietly during the Wei Wudi period.
His ascent to the top of the world has indeed confirmed the famous saying in Xunzi: "Those who have no ambition in the dark have no bright future; Those who have nothing to do have no merit. "
Second, the Wei Wendi period.
In the period of Wei Wendi Cao Pi, Sima Yi really ushered in a smooth stage of his life.
In the spring of the twenty-fifth year of Jian 'an, Sima Yi was forty years old, and the Prime Minister of Han Dynasty and Wang Cao died in Luoyang. Cao Zhang, who came to seize power at that time, was an inquisitive teacher outside the Wei Palace. There were traces of riots from various military forces inside, and the ministers of the Han Dynasty were also stirring. According to historical records, "Wei Wu is in Luoyang, and the ruling and opposition parties are in danger". Sima Yi resolutely stood up at this time, saying that "the loss of discipline is a great shock to China and foreign countries". With his outstanding talents, he knew the precarious situation, stabilized the people's hearts, and persuaded Emperor Xian of Han to formally make Cao Pi the prime minister, Wang Wei.
His first move further won the trust and reuse of Cao Pi. As soon as Cao Pi was established as Wang Wei, he was named Hou Ting, Tianjin Wei, and was transferred to the Prime Minister Changshi, becoming one of the core figures of Wei Palace.
At this time, Sima Yi has eliminated the threat of being suppressed everywhere in Wei Wudi, and can speak freely and show his talents. He first planned a "rough plan" to meditate during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and then "stayed in Xuchang, the people in the town, and provided troops outside" for Wei Wendi's southern expedition, which was called "Xiao He" by Wei Wendi. When Wei Wendi was seriously ill, he still did not forget to make him, Cao Zhen and Chen Qun assistant ministers, and wrote a letter to Prince Cao Rui: "Don't doubt the existence of these three officials." Obviously, Sima Yi has been among the top decision makers of the Cao Wei regime.
Now we can analyze Sima Yi's life planning in this period: First of all, Sima Yi made the greatest contribution to Cao Pi's life as a prince and Wei Emperor (although Sima Yi's strategy was not clearly described in the history books, which showed his "yin" and "depth"). Cao Pi himself is very grateful to Sima Yi, so Sima Yi need not be afraid of the suspicion of the monarch. In addition, Cao Pi gave him a relaxed development environment and a broad historical stage, which was an excellent foreshadowing for him to "achieve great things and win great posts".
But Cao Pi always likes to throw his weight around and make great achievements. He has no military talent and loves to fight. So militarily, Sima Yi did not dare to expose his true talents and knowledge, and let this vain monarch make a splash. However, he worked hard, shouldered the heavy responsibility of the prime minister in a down-to-earth manner, and made achievements in politics and politics. At this time, Sima Yi didn't want to be sharp-edged, which seemed a bit low-key. There is a reason for this: although Cao Pi trusts him very much, he still tends to rely heavily on his Cao clan militarily. There is no need for Sima Yi to show his intention of mastering the military power-"to be safe first and then to be outside". After all, the position of Prime Minister is a good platform for Sima Yi.
Sima Yi's specialty of self-reliance can also be clearly seen at this moment: foresight, strategizing, being proactive, meticulous, watertight and impeccable. Therefore, he was able to rise steadily and steadily during the Cao Pi period, and he was always in an invincible position.
Cao Pi died at the age of 47. During the seven years when Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, Sima Yi ushered in a brilliant period of emerging. However, in these seven years, his stage was not broad enough, but he quietly consolidated the foundation of the Wei family in the rear. However, Sima Yi is no longer willing to hide behind the scenes, and he is ready to show his talents on the historical stage. And this opportunity will come soon.
Third, the Wei Mingdi period.
In 227 AD, in the first year of Wei Taihe, Cao Rui, the son of Cao Pi, became Ming Di. He gave Sima Yi a chance to show his military talents. At that time, Sun Quan of Soochow led tens of thousands of strong men to besiege Jiangxia City of Wei State, and sent generals and Zhang Ba to attack Xiangyang City. Sima Yi immediately led the army to attack and defeated Wu Kou. Zhu Gejin escaped and Zhang Ba was beheaded. Sima Yi's brilliant exploits immediately paid off, and he was appointed general of a title of generals in ancient times.
At this point, Sima Yi can be in charge of state affairs-with his own official position, he can command the army and cultivate his own strength. Wu Zhi, one of Cao Pi's "Four Friends of the Eastern Palace", once praised him before Cao Rui: "Loyalty and wisdom are supreme, and he is a minister of the country". Sima yi's prestige is growing.
With the death of Cao Zhen, the most effective minister's clan was Wei, and Sima Yi began to dominate the political circle of Wei Guojun. Wei Mingdi's free appointment is more conducive to his further development. During Wei Mingdi's time, he successfully changed from a consultant to a dramatic military commander. His hidden military talents have been further developed. He was in power in Ming Di for thirteen years, starting from Mengda in the south, rejecting Zhuge Liang in the west and destroying Gongsun Yuan in the north. He was so brave that even Sun Quan, the king of Wu, had to fear him: "Sima Yi is good at fighting. If he changes generals, he will go all the way."
At this time, Sima Yi's life planning focused on consolidating his political position with outstanding military achievements, and at the same time used the strategy of "relying on the emperor to make the princes" to gradually erode the Wei family's military and political inheritance.
It should be said that Sima Yi's vision at this time was not limited to maintaining the security of Wei. He has already begun to implement the ambition and outline of "eliminating Wan Li and often leveling the world with eight famine". When I was a teenager, I was "worried about the world". When I was close to old age, I finally had the opportunity and conditions to "solve problems for the world and solve problems for all the people". This course has made him painstakingly run for 37 years!
First of all, let's take a look at Sima Yi's wonderful first military stroke-capturing the rebel Mengda alive in ten days and ten months. He is a master who is good at using emergency marching and stealth troops. When Meng Da suddenly descended from the sky and came to the gate of Shangyong, he was still dreaming his big dream in the Spring and Autumn Period! So, poor Mengda was swept away by him quickly, forcefully, cleanly and without delay. This shows the characteristics of Sima Yi's use of troops: hiding under nine places, not being observed; The movement took place within nine days, which made people unprepared. From his argument with Ming Di, he said to himself: "Anyone who attacks the enemy must first seize his throat and hit his heart hard", which shows that he is good at concentrating superior forces to attack the enemy directly. So he often doesn't send it, but the first shot will hit him, and when ghosts and gods are unpredictable, they will be enemies.
But why didn't Zhuge Liang use this agile, decisive and powerful tactic when he confronted Zhuge Liang? This is exactly what the author wants to say-the focus of his life planning is not to show off his military talents blindly, but to start implementing his overall idea of "sweeping the Three Kingdoms and unifying the world"!
Let's carefully analyze the battle of Qishan between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi. This is a protracted war. Sima Yi fought for six years from forty-nine to fifty-five. He played Zhuge Liang's eternal reputation of "doing his best and dying" and Sima Yi's powerful capital of "sweeping the Three Kingdoms and unifying the world". Influenced by Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, people always think that Sima Yi's military ability is not as good as Zhuge Liang's, and Zhuge Liang leads him everywhere. However, according to historical records, this is not the case at all. First of all, we need to find out their real purpose in the battle of Qishan. Zhuge Liang's strategic goal is simple: to capture the Central Plains, destroy Cao Wei and restore the Han Dynasty. Sima yi's strategic objectives are much more complicated: first, to defeat the attack of the Shu army; Second, accumulate strength and replace it with Cao Wei; Third, raise troops for a thousand days and wait for an opportunity to unify the world. This multiple strategic purpose makes Sima Yi seem somewhat passive on the surface. However, according to his own strategic purpose, he first realized the balanced strategy of maintaining the status quo: on the one hand, he prevented Zhuge Liang from gaining great advantages and posing a fatal threat to Wei and himself; On the other hand, we must not defeat Zhuge Liang, but also maintain Zhuge Liang's offensive power. If the "empty plan" is a true historical fact, it verifies Sima Yi's balance strategy-therefore, he would rather be called "afraid of Shu as a tiger" by his subordinates than rush into Xicheng County to catch Zhuge Liang. If Zhuge Liang is really caught, Sima Yi can only repeat the dramatic fate of heroes of past dynasties.
In the second step, Sima Yi implemented the usurpation strategy of "stealing the day to change the day". During the Battle of Qishan, he gradually established his absolute authority in the army, purged dissidents in the army, reused loyal generals such as Jinniu and Guo Huai, and consolidated his military power base. We can learn from the later historical research that when his sons Sima Shi and Si Mazhao rebelled against Wei, the ministers of Wei rarely stood up and rebelled, and even there were only a few strokes in the history books. The Cao Shi regime collapsed like a paper house. The accumulation of this amount was not done by Sima Shi and Si Mazhao at that time. It should be that Sima Yi began to pave the way for his sons from the beginning of mastering military and political power.
In the third step, Sima Yi has begun to accumulate capital and is ready to "destroy Wu and Shu and unify the world" in the battle of Qishan. He commanded the army to confront Zhuge Liang, and big battles were inevitable, and small battles were inevitable. He trained non-commissioned officers in actual combat, improved the prestige of the army in actual combat, and successfully established an army capable of recruiting good fighters, making military preparations for the future elimination of Wu Shu and the unification of the world. Guo Huai, Wang Chang and Wargo, the generals who fought against the destruction of Shu by Wu at the end of Wei Dynasty, were all trained and promoted by Sima Yi in the battle of Qishan at that time.
The fourth step, Sima Yi has begun to experience the successors of his career-his sons Sima Shi and Si Mazhao. He took his two sons to the battle of Qishan, where they were trained in blood and fire, life and death, and made full quality preparations for them to successfully inherit the cause of "unifying the world" in the future.
These four brilliant moves are Sima Yi's real career in the confrontation with Qishan, and they are also ingenious strokes in his life planning during this period. Although he did not seem to win in the confrontation with Zhuge Liang, all his strategic goals were achieved. This is his greatest victory-more importantly, he exhausted Zhuge Liang.
Shortly after Zhuge Liang's death, Sima Yi just returned to the imperial court and was sent by Cao Rui to Liaodong to attack Gongsun Yuan. It was a large-scale expedition, but Sima Yi, who used his troops like gods, led only 40 thousand troops and said, "Go for a hundred days, return for a hundred days, attack for a hundred days, and rest for 60 days." It took only one year to wipe out Gongsun Yuan and consolidate the rear area of Wei.
At this time, Cao Rui was seriously ill, and a battle of power transfer in the imperial court began again. Sima Yi painstakingly placed beside Ming Di-Liu Fang, the supervisor of Wei Zhongshu, and Sun Zi, the manager of Zhongshu, fought to the death, and once again put Sima Yi, who returned triumphantly thousands of miles away, in the position of Fuzheng. At this point, Sima Yi returned to Wei's political arena as a "veteran of the Three Dynasties", and a new journey began at his feet. At this time, although Sima Yi is over sixty years old, his ambition remains unchanged, and he is actively preparing for the future and creating greater glories. Wu and Shu felt the great threat of Sima Yi at this moment, but it was too late, and no one in their country could stand up to Sima Yi.
Fourth, Wei Shaodi's Cao Fang period.
When Wei Shaodi was in Cao Fang, Sima Yi had reached the peak of power. At this time, no one should be able to stop him from showing his talents. With the prestige of "the elder of the four dynasties" and the talent and virtue of "Yi Yin and Duke of Zhou", no one dares to compete with his foresight. Every decision and action he made in Wei Junzheng was perfect.
Cao Shuang, another minister of Fuzheng, was afraid that the Sima family would one day monopolize state affairs. So he respected Sima Yi as his father and recommended him as a "teacher" to show his respect, but in fact he took away his military and political power.
Sima yi existed in name only and had no real power. It was ten years in a flash. In the past ten years, he has shown weakness everywhere, forbearing to watch. Sure enough, after Cao Shuang's ambition was full, he went crazy and slowed down. He took power as a blessing, and his politics was rampant, so that his ministers were eccentric and feverish, and Wei was weakening day by day.
This is unbearable for Sima Yi. He can tolerate Cao Shuang's seizure of power and Cao Shuang's extravagance, but he can never tolerate Cao Shuang's destruction of the great foundation of "unifying the world" that he has worked so hard to consolidate for Wei. He has worked tirelessly for nearly forty years in order to help the world at the same time. How could he let Cao Shuang, an ignorant child, stop him!
As a result, the "Gaopingling Incident" inevitably happened. Cao Shuang School was destroyed by Sima Yi by thunder.
When Sima Yi finally disposed of Cao Shuang, he used the method of "uprooting the grass" to eliminate Cao Shi's clan. This move even attracted the opposition of his good friend Jiang Ji. But he has to do it. Only by leaving no future trouble can we ensure the stability of North Korea! Besides, Sima Yi has embarked on the road of no return to break with the Cao Wei regime.
In 25 1 year, Wei Jiaping was three years old and Sima Yi was seventy-two. After getting rid of the last political enemy, the tomb, he died of illness in Luoyang, which can be described as "endless life and endless war."
Before he died, Sima Yi called his two sons, Sima Shi and Si Mazhao, to the couch and said, "I worked as a teacher in the Wei Dynasty and was a very important person and minister." Everyone suspects that I have different ambitions, and I am afraid. After my death, you two are good at managing state affairs, so be careful! Be careful! "
As for Sima Yi's "caution", there may be two meanings that can be understood: first, let the second son manage state affairs well and not have different ambitions; The second is to let the second son protect state affairs and not entrust others easily. However, whether Sima Yi himself has different ambitions or not, one thing is certain, that is, he created the best political, military and economic conditions for the cause of later generations through unremitting management and efforts. After Sima Yi's death, Sima Shi and Si Mazhao were named generals and generals in title of generals in ancient times respectively, and they have been in charge of the confidential affairs of ministers. From then on, for Cao Wei, the emperor was weak and the country was strong, and the military and political power was completely arbitrary.
"Mountains and seas compete for water, and water belongs to the sea. If you don't seek the sea, you will be smooth. " After Sima Yi, the general trend of the world presented to Si Mazhao and Sima Yan can be described as "looking down like bamboo". All they have to do is go downstream and complete some inevitability given by history.
In 262 AD, Wei smuggled Wargo to and suddenly attacked Chengdu. The following year, Liu Chan, the ruler of Shu, was captured by Wei. At this point, the Shuhan regime, which lasted for 42 years, finally came to an end.
In 265 AD, Si Mazhao's son Sima Yan forced Wang Wei Cao Huan to meditate. After he acceded to the throne, he changed his country name to gold. In 280 AD, Sima Yan entered the State of Wu, and Sun Hao, the monarch of the State of Wu, was captured by the State of Jin, and the State of Wu perished. At this point, the 72-year-old melee between Wei, Shu and Wu ended, which is the "three points belong to Jin" in the history of China.
summary
Sima Yi is a master of Confucianism, a politician, strategist and tactician. Of course, this is the nature given to him by people after his success.
People will say that Confucianism is based on "loyalty and filial piety". Sima Yi is not a pure minister of Wei, nor is he devoted to Cao Zhi. How can you say that he is a genius of Confucianism? In fact, the foundation of Confucianism is the word "benevolence". Isn't it "benevolence" for Sima Yi to get rid of the tyranny of Wei and comfort the people? Isn't it "benevolence" for Sima Yi to eliminate disputes in troubled times, unify the world and save all the people from war? -"Benevolence" is greater than "loyalty"! This is a view that true Confucianism should hold.
Because the benevolent is invincible, Sima Yi is invincible.
Sima Yi went from a talented teenager to a world-famous domestic and military genius, and then to a hero who ruled the country and leveled the world. This is entirely due to his perfect life planning. In every important opportunity period of his life, he can always seize the best opportunity to make a move, and once he catches it, it is fruitful and commendable.
What is more valuable is that he can endure: in the face of Cao Cao's discrimination and suppression, he can endure; In the face of colleagues' exclusion and framing, he can bear it; In the face of Zhuge Liang's "women's humiliation", he can bear it; In the face of Cao Shuang's bullying, he can bear it. The highlight of his life planning is his "forbearance"-perseverance in order to achieve success. A word "forbearance" runs through Sima Yi's life planning; A word "forbearance" has created Sima Yi, the first emperor of the ages.