As one of the three major battles in the Three Kingdoms period, the battle of Yiling was not only huge in scale, but also had an important impact on the historical process, just like the battle of Guandu and Battle of Red Cliffs.
The result of this battle was quite tragic. Not only did Liu Bei, who had proclaimed himself emperor, and most of the troops of the Shu army be wiped out, but his military supplies were also lost. Zhuge Liang's blueprint for helping Liu Bei in Longzhong was also shattered.
Faced with such a tragic failure, many people questioned Liu Bei's personnel arrangements for this expedition to the East. Liu Bei often said that getting Zhuge Liang's assistance was "like a duck to water". Why is the "fish" going to the east different this time? This opinion goes further. Some people think that if Zhuge Liang is brought into this battle, the crusade may be successful.
So is this really the case?
Figure 1 Liu Bei (1665438+223-June 10)
As for why Liu Bei didn't take Zhuge Liang, the popular view is that Zhuge Liang didn't agree or even oppose Liu Bei's plan to attack Wu, so Liu Bei didn't ask Zhuge Liang to accompany him in this military operation. This is the basic viewpoint in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but it is untenable in reality.
First of all, Liu Bei's attack on Wu may not lead to opposition from all over the country, and there may not be the possibility that Zhuge Liang will try his best to dissuade him.
At this time, Sun Quan had just annexed Jingzhou and beheaded Guan Yu, the famous Shu Han, which greatly weakened Shu Han. If Liu Bei doesn't respond to this, he will not only be unable to give an explanation to his subordinates, but also leave a laughing stock for the whole world. On the other hand, Jingzhou is not only the birthplace of Liu Bei, the source of counselors and generals, but also the strategic base for the heart-to-heart relationship in Longzhong. How can Han Shu Group not try its best to save such a confidant? It took three years from Guan Yu's murder to Liu Bei's sending troops. During this period, he also experienced Liu Bei's claim to the throne and long-term war preparation. As a prime minister, Zhuge Liang could not dissuade him day and night, nor could he be passive. He was more prepared for the war with Liu Bei.
Figure 2 Sun Quan (182-May 252,21)
Secondly, it is Zhuge Liang's position in the Shu-Han camp.
Influenced by romance and long-term experience in leading troops, Zhuge Liang gives people the image of an outstanding military commander who can fight and win the battle. However, if you carefully browse Zhuge Liang's resume following Liu Beishi, you will find some different findings.
After Battle of Red Cliffs, Liu Bei gradually owned his own territory and army, and began the road of expansion and conquest. Until the defeat of the battle of Yiling, he had three large-scale experiences of personally leading the army.
The first is a surprise victory. The war lasted from sixteen years to nineteen years. During the war, Liu Bei's strategist was first Pang Tong and then Fazheng. When did Zhuge Liang join the war? That was when Li Yan led the army to surrender to Liu Bei and the last fortress of surprisingly was breached, and the war had come to an end. The task that Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei were ordered to go upstream was that Liu Bei wanted to "send generals to subordinate counties"-in other words, to clean up the site and transfer the main base to Sichuan. Therefore, Zhuge Liang, as a large and influential soldier of Han Shu Group, did not follow Liu Bei like water and fish.
Figure 3 The Battle of Yiling
Second, Sun Quan sent Lu Meng to attack Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang counties. The reason is that after Liu Bei seized Xichuan, Sun Quan wanted to take Jingzhou back, but Liu Bei refused. After the news of Lv Meng's raid on Chengdu reached Chengdu, Liu Bei quickly dispatched and led 50,000 troops to fight against Lv Meng with Guan Yu. During this period, Cao Cao captured Hanzhong, posing a direct threat to Liu Bei's north. Liu Bei had to make peace with Sun Quan and return to Chengdu. Unfortunately, a wonderful battle between Wu and Shu failed to be staged. But this time, Zhuge Liang didn't come either.
The third is the battle to capture Hanzhong. At first, Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei and others to defeat Zhang He in Dangqu, and then collected Nanzheng. Later, he sent Ulan Tong Lei to attack Wudu (defeated). Finally, Liu Bei personally took command. After a year in Yangpingguan, he took the initiative to attack in the twenty-fourth year of Jian 'an, commanding Huang Zhong to kill Xia He, a general of Cao Wei, in Dingjun Mountain. Later, Cao Cao personally led the army from Chang 'an, and Liu Bei said calmly, "Cao Gong has come, and there is nothing I can do. I want Hanchuan. " With the help of the crisis, Cao Cao, who sighed chicken ribs, was forced to go back. Zhuge Liang didn't give advice as a strategist in the whole battle.
Fig. 4 Zhuge Liang (18 1 year -234), whose name is Kong Ming.
So where is Zhuge Liang?
At base camp.
Attack surprisingly, Zhuge Liang was guarding Jingzhou; Attack Hanzhong, resist Lv Meng, Zhuge Liang is in Chengdu. But does this mean that Zhuge Liang didn't play much role in Liu Bei's army?
On the contrary, Zhuge Liang made the greatest contribution during Liu Bei's founding. Just like Liu Bang, after pacifying Xiang Yu, decided to let Xiao He be the first hero when rewarding his achievements. The reason is that "although he has made great contributions in the field and strategy, at this special moment, Xiao He has always been waiting for your majesty in Guanzhong, which is also a great achievement." Zhuge Liang played the role of Xiao He in Liu Bei's camp.
When Liu Bei led the army to pacify Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang was "a corps commander of the military division, making him supervise Lingling, Guiyang and Changsha, and adjusting his taxes to banish the army." ; After Liu Bei conquered Sichuan, "Chengdu Ping, with Liang as the chief strategist, was in charge of the left general office. When my ancestors went to war, they often guarded Chengdu, with plenty of food and grass and soldiers. " Always sitting in the back, scheduling logistics.
Figure 5 Jingzhou territory of the Three Kingdoms
In the era of the Three Kingdoms, disorder, abandoned production and logistical strength often became the main factors for the two armies to win the battle. If the rear is unstable and the logistics are discontinuous, the morale of the front line will not be maintained at all. It was Cao Cao who adopted the barracks system, which made the rear military assets abundant and the family members of the troops stable, and formed a stable combat group that could successfully compete in the Central Plains. Therefore, Zhuge Liang is indeed the first hero in Liu Bei's army, and there is no dispute.
Therefore, the role of this first hero is to arrange military pay and supplement military strength from the rear of the town, rather than following the advice of the Lord. This is Zhuge Liang's real position in Liu Bei's army. Therefore, Liu Bei's conquest of Wu without Zhuge Liang's accompanying him was his basic operation-it has always been like this, not the result of bad blood and deliberate rejection.
Figure 6 Map of Three Kingdoms
As for some people's assumption that Zhuge Liang accompanied Liu Bei's expedition to Wu, is it possible to win?
First of all, this assumption itself is difficult to realize. In the era when the prime minister still existed, the prime minister was the head of * * * and the emperor was the head of state. The two are interdependent and jointly manipulate the state machine. From ancient times to the present, the prime minister's role is to defend the rear and maintain stability, and there are few examples of accompanying the expedition. Once something happened on the front line, the regime would collapse overnight without the timely suppression of the prime minister-this is indeed the case.
Secondly, suppose Zhuge Liang really goes out with him, and can he defeat Wu Jun with his talent? Then we should sort out Wu Jun's tactics and Zhuge Liang's methods.
Wu Jun's tactics are simple. Judging from the feedback from the history books, the Shu army has no record of lack of food and less reimbursement, so what is Wu Jun doing? To maintain the morale of the Shu army, it is not difficult to launch a surprise attack when the morale is exhausted and a flaw is found.
Fig. 7 Zhuge Liang's road map of Northern Expedition
And Zhuge Liang is here, what method will he use to break the game? Zhuge Liang's strength is that he is strict in running the army and rarely plays dangerous chess. If Zhuge Liang had been in Liu Bei's army during the Yiling War, the army would have been more orderly and stronger in defense, so that Lu Xun could not find a flaw. However, Wu Jun's local operations and numbers are equal to those of the Shu army, and the Shu army with weak national strength must be the first to lose its strength.
Besides, Zhuge Liang made five northern expeditions, both of which ran out of food and grass, so it can be seen that fighting extreme wars is not his favorite. If Kong Ming were by Liu Bei's side, he would surely persuade Liu Bei to set an ambush and return the whole army the night before he ran out of food and grass. Of course, Liu Bei's loss will be much smaller.