During the Three Kingdoms period, only Cao Cao could compete with Zhuge Liang. In authoritative dictionaries such as Ci Hai and Encyclopedia Britannica, only two people mentioned the great "home" in the Three Kingdoms period: one was Cao Cao, a politician, strategist and writer (or poet), and the other was Zhuge Liang, a politician and strategist. Such an evaluation should be said to be accurate.
Cao Cao's civil and military skills were second to none in the Three Kingdoms period, but after Zhuge Liang came out to assist Liu Bei, Cao Cao did not take any advantage: he was defeated by Sun and Liu Lianjun in Chibi, and then by General Xia when he confronted Liu Bei in Hanzhong. With Zhuge Liang's assistance, Liu Bei changed from "not being good at fighting, losing every battle and overwhelming with death" (Notes on the Three Kingdoms of Pei Songzhi) to being invincible. Therefore, no one was more powerful than Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period.
Now there are always people who bring out Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Zhou Yu, Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang to "compete", but can they really "compete"?
Guo Jia did give Cao Cao a lot of good ideas, but not every victory of Cao Cao originated from Guo Jia's strategy: for example, in the battle of Guandu, when he was at loggerheads with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao wanted to retreat, but Yu Xun, not Guo Jia, stopped him. In fact, Tian Feng, Jushou and even Chen Gong under Lu Bu in Lombardi camp are no worse than Guo Jia. Their analysis and suggestions to their masters are accurate and good, but Yuan Shao and Lu Bu are not democratic, so the talents of these counselors are ignored by future generations. What's more, even if Guo Jia was here, Cao Cao was not defeated, such as Puyang lost to Lu Bu, Wancheng lost to Zhang Xiu, and Liu Biao's plan to recruit Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu.
Since Yi Zhongtian said in "Lecture Room" that "in my opinion, Jia Xu was probably the smartest in the Three Kingdoms period", it has been regarded as the Bible by some "Yi Fen". In fact, they don't know that when Yi Zhongtian was questioned by fans of the three countries in CCTV chat, he replied: "Jia Xu is smart and Zhuge Liang is smart." Like other counselors such as Guo Jia, Jia Xu has an idea and can give it to his master. If not, he won't talk. For example, Cao Cao levied Wancheng to break Zhang Xiu, and Jia Xu had no choice but to surrender; After Zhang Xiu rebelled against Cao Cao, he attached himself to Liu Biao. Cao Cao went to the army to break it. Jia Xu is also helpless. Cao Cao retired because Lu Bu attacked Xudu. At this time, Jia Xu's inspiration came, which led to "Jia Wenhe expected the enemy to win" (at this point, the description in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is basically the same as that in the History of the Three Kingdoms). Why does Yi Zhongtian only mention the "expected enemy victory" behind him but avoid talking about what he can do in front of him?
Especially Guo Jia, Jia Xu or other counselors, who have neither universally recognized monographs on military theory (such as Sun Wu) nor practical experience in commanding military forces, how can they be said to be better than Zhuge Liang? Ma Su's advice to Zhuge Liang is always accurate. If he didn't guard the street pavilion later, can he also be called "a natural military wizard whose military ability surpasses Zhuge Liang"? If it can be regarded as a military wizard only on paper, then Zhao Kuo can be called "the first military wizard in the world". Sean, one of three outstanding heroes of early han dynasty, was not called a strategist or a "military wizard". 1. There is no work on military theory. Second, if you have not commanded an army of thousands of people, you will be called a "military wizard", which is really a "military anecdote." In Romance of the Three Kingdoms * Pang Tong, Chen Shou said: "Chen is mainly about Xun, and he is right. Is the country evil?" -Pang Tong and Yu Xun (called "my ovary" by Cao Cao) are neck and neck, and Dharma is equal to Cheng Yu and Guo Jia-even Pang Tong and Yu Xun are above Guo Jia!
Where is Zhou Yu? Besides Battle of Red Cliffs, how many tough battles has he fought? How many hard roles does the opponent have? Even Battle of Red Cliffs, he is not a person playing:
"The power sent Zhou Yu and other tens of thousands of water troops to join forces with the former master and fight Tsao Kung in Chibi, which greatly broke ... the former master and Wu Jun went hand in hand ... Tsao Kung led them back." -Biography of the Three Kingdoms *;
"Yes ... that is, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Lu Su and other 30,000 water troops were sent to touch the light of the original owner and refuse Tsao Gong. Tso Gong was defeated in Chibi ... "-"The History of the Three Kingdoms * Zhuge Liang Biography ";
"Yu, pu for around governors, each with ten thousand people, nearly prepared. Meet at Chibi and defeat Cao-Biography of the Three Kingdoms * Wu Zhu Zhu;
"Quan Sui sent Yu and other troops to attack Tsao Gong. When they met at Chibi ... the army retreated, and they also protected the Confederate army. Prepare Yu et al. to kill * * * "-"History of the Three Kingdoms * Zhou Yu Biography "No matter what information you read, Zhou Yu didn't play Battle of Red Cliffs alone. Zhou Yu's contribution is really great, but it can't be all on his head;
As for the comparison between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang, let's take a look at how Zhang Yan, a neutral person outside the Shu, Han and Wei Dynasties, evaluated it-"Notes on the Three Kingdoms of Pei Songzhi * Biography of Zhuge Liang": "Zhang Yan of Wu Dahong wrote in Memories," Essays on the Beam "and" Sima Xuanshu "said: ... The Wei family crossed the middle earth, and the Liu family was in Yizhou, which was called the overlord of the world. Zhuge and Sima were honored by the international community, known by the Lord, or made contributions, or registered in Iraq and Romania. Pi, the equipment is absent, and the successor system is appointed by Bao, assisting the young master and living up to his promise. He is also a minister of a country and a sage of overlord. Looking at recent events through past lives, we can draw the advantages and disadvantages of the two phases and explain them in detail.
Starting from the land of Bashu and following the land of a country, Kongming became a big square country, covering one-ninth of the country's military and civilians. However, he paid tribute to Dawu and defended the enemy in the north, which made the agricultural war orderly and the criminal law neat. Tens of thousands of soldiers marched in Qishan, so they had Yinmahe and Luo Zhizhi.
Zhong Da is ten times the size of the world, and it is a fortified city. It has no intention of being an enemy, so it is just to protect itself and let him know that he has come and gone. This man will not die, so he will think about it for several years. When he plans, it will be cool and harmonious. China will not put his saddle on, and the outcome has been decided. "
"Today, there are fewer talents in Zhong Da than in Kongming"-this is a considerable evaluation!
Or see Zhuge Liang:
Paper Road, "Outreach, the inner level of South Vietnam, the implementation of legislation, sorting out the Rong brigade, craftsmanship, research, strict with science and education, believing in rewards and punishment, not punishing evil, not showing goodness, as for officials, the people are self-satisfied, the road is not forgotten, the strong does not invade the weak, and the weathering is terrible" ("The History of the Three Kingdoms * Biography of Zhuge Liang");
On military strategy: not only military theoretical works such as General Garden, Southern Expedition, Military Essentials, Biography and Military Orders (up, middle and down) were invented, but also military weapons and equipment such as wooden oxen and horses, crossbows and bows were invented; It not only helped Liu Bei "take Jingzhou first, then Sichuan" under the situation that the world has been basically divided up, but also realized the prediction in Longzhong Dui. Some scholars even led hundreds of thousands of troops to help Chibi break Cao, and directly took Chengdu from Jingzhou, which made Cao Wei, a powerful northern expedition, feel uneasy all day long. Besides, his opponents are very strong. Needless to say, Cao Wei Group is the Yizhou Liu Zhang, who has lived in Sichuan and Sichuan for a long time and has been a local strongman for generations. It is also a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Zhuge Liang can also help Liu Bei win the battle (Sichuan, Sichuan and Pang Tong were meritorious deeds, but he died young). It was Zhuge Liang who finally solved the problem. Is this something that "general military capabilities" can do?
As early as in "Longzhong Dui", Zhuge Liang said: "... if you have an advantage, you can benefit from it and protect its rock resistance. The west is prosperous, the south is prosperous, the sun quan is outside, and the politics is built inside; If the world changes, a general will be ordered to lead Jingzhou troops to Wan and Luo, and the general will lead Yizhou people out of Qinchuan. Who dares to see the general without eating kettle pulp? "
Then, why did he attack Cao Wei before "the world changed"? Some people say that Zhuge Liang relied on his own belligerence. But the problem can't be seen this way:
After Liu Bei's death, Liu Chan succeeded to the throne. It is well known that this is a fatuous emperor. With Zhuge Liang around, Liu Shu can protect himself, but once Zhuge Liang dies, Liu Shu will inevitably become something in the mouth of others (or Cao Wei or Sun Wu), which is also well known to all. Therefore, Zhuge Liang must complete the great cause of reunification when he is alive, even if he is unable to do so. The so-called "I try my best to die; As for failure and frankness, I don't know. " (Zhuge Liang's "Model").
Knowing this, it is not surprising that Zhuge Liang frequently conquered the strongest Cao Wei with the weakest Liu Shu. However, the weak Shu Han failed to complete the great cause of reunification after all. In this regard, Chen Shou, the author of the Three Kingdoms, believes that "there is a destiny to return to, and there is no wisdom." It should be said that this view is more accurate. However, some people criticized Zhuge Liang's military talent for this. Such people are really superficial!
Napoleon was defeated in the French-Russian war, and the final battle of Waterloo made him powerless to return to heaven, but no one in the world denied his status as a strategist.
Throughout Cao Cao's life, although there were many advisers to advise him, he also suffered repeated defeats and battles, especially after the destruction of Yuan Shao and the capture of Jingzhou, and his strength was the best in the world. However, he was defeated in Chibi, and later he was defeated by Xia's general and Liu Bei in the campaign to levy Hanzhong. But no one denies Cao Cao's status as a strategist;
Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, relied entirely on his own personal wisdom to command thousands of troops in the Western Expedition. More often, he was in the position of defeating the enemy and winning the enemy, but he was still able to attack the city and seize the pass freely. How can he be "mediocre in military ability"? This is a double standard.
What's more, is the Northern Expedition really futile? The first Northern Expedition captured three counties, although they were recovered, but the migrants entered Hanzhong and strengthened their national strength. In the second Northern Expedition, the enemy general Xinmeile Co., Ltd. was beheaded for some reason when withdrawing troops, which scared off Wei Jun. The third Northern Expedition captured Wudu and Yin Ping counties, which expanded the territory of Shu Han. The fourth time, Cao Wei stormed Shu, and Zhuge Liang resisted the strong with weakness, lifted his weight lightly, and defended the enemy from behind, easily repelling Sima Yi's invasion; In the fifth Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang confronted Sima Yi and achieved the results of "three thousand ranks of armor, five thousand collars of armor and three thousand and one hundred crossbows". When he retired because of poor food and grass, he also shot and killed the famous Zhang He. The sixth Northern Expedition arrived in Weishui, pointing to Chang 'an. One hundred thousand troops fought against two hundred thousand people, and they took the initiative to attack and won one after another, which made Sima Yi afraid to go out. If it weren't for Five Posts of Autumn Wind, the final outcome would be hard to say.
As for some people who think that Zhuge Liang's reputation is praised by The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is even more absurd. The person who said this has neither basic historical knowledge nor basic literary knowledge: "Zhuge's prestige transcends the earth, and there is only reverence for his face." In order to plan the strategy of the world, generations seem to be Luan Feng's Luan Feng. Yi Yin and Lv Shang are neck and neck, and their command of military operations is calm, which makes Xiao He Cao Can far behind. Although I knew that the Han family was hopeless, I still risked my life and left. " , "where is the hall of fame? In a pine forest near the Silk City. The steps are dotted with green grass in spring, and birds are chirping happily under the leaves. The third call aggravated his state affairs, and he gave his sincerity to two generations. But before he conquered, he died, and since then the heroes have been crying on their coats. " Who speaks highly of Zhuge Liang? Poet Du Fu. You know, Du Fu's position is to respect Cao Wei for orthodoxy. Even he said this about Zhuge Liang. Will Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty be influenced by the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the Ming Dynasty?
Anyone who has been to Wuhou Temple in Chengdu knows that there is a monument in Chengdu to Wuhou Temple of Zhuge, the Prime Minister of Shu, which was built in the fourth year of Yuanhe (AD 809). The author of the tablet is Du Fei, a famous figure in the middle Tang Dynasty, with outstanding achievements. Liu, a writer, is Liu Gongquan's brother and a great calligrapher, and the seal engraver was the outstanding seal engraver at that time. Because writing, calligraphy and seal cutting have always been called unique, this monument is called the "Three Wonders Monument". Is it also influenced by the romance of the Three Kingdoms? The inscription said: "The Shang father (Jiang Ziya) was a Zhou Dynasty, and Ah Heng (Yi Yin) was a businessman, who was also in charge of strict management. He was born in different generations, and he is reasonable in different places and has received rich commitments. " Is such a high evaluation also influenced by the romance of the Three Kingdoms? Actually, to be more accurate, Luo Guanzhong, Mao Zonggang and others were influenced by their predecessors, not the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Because, after all, people's lives are hundreds of years closer to the Three Kingdoms period than we are.