Zhuge Liang's "empty city plan" may be fictional, but the plot of "empty city plan" sung by Zhao Chu in the annals of the Three Kingdoms is more credible. Wen Pin was originally the ministry of Liu Biao, but he didn't try his best. After the return of Cao Cao, he was reused as Jiangxia Prefecture. The History of the Three Kingdoms said that he "had been in Jiangxia for decades and was a well-known enemy, and thieves dared not invade." According to Wei Lue, Sun Quan personally led tens of thousands of people and suddenly attacked Shiyang in Jiangxia. Because of the continuous rainstorm, the city walls and fortifications were damaged, and Ding Zhuang was scattered in the field beyond repair. When Wen Pin heard the arrival of the enemy, it was too late to assemble troops and repair the city gate. In desperation, he carried out an "empty city plan". When Sun Quan met him, he felt that Wen Pin was an enemy. "Today, I won't move. There is no secret plan here, so I must be rescued from the outside. " As a result, I did not dare to attack, but retreated.

After the Three Kingdoms, the Northern Wei Dynasty attacked Liu Song in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Xiao Chengzhi, the satrap of Jinan, also used the empty plan to retreat to the enemy soldiers. Until modern times, during the Second Revolutionary Civil War, the Red Army also effectively used the "empty city plan" in the struggle against "encirclement and suppression".

Attachment: Three empty cities in history.

The first one is the most famous one, which is recorded in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The "inventor" was a man named Guo Chong in the Western Jin Dynasty. When Zhuge Liang was stationed in Yangpingguan, he sent troops eastward to attack Wei, leaving 10,000 men guarding the city. Unexpectedly, when Sima Yi took 200,000 troops to meet the enemy of Wei, he did not fight with Wei Yan's military forces. He passed by and came to Yangpingguan, only six miles from the city, and Zhuge Liang realized it. This is waiting, it is impossible to get Wei Yan back, and it is too late to go to Wei Yan's army. So Zhuge Liang ordered the army to block the way, open the city gate wide and send several soldiers out of the city to sweep it. Sima yi led the troops to see this situation, thinking that Kongming was cautious on weekdays and there would be an ambush in the city, so he led the troops to retreat to the mountains. The next day, Kong Mingxiao told his men that Sima Yi had retreated for fear of my ambush. The spies went out to spy, and sure enough, Wei Jun was gone.

There are holes in this story. If Sima Yi suspects an ambush, he can stay nearby to observe the actual situation. Why not leave at once? Novels are not history books after all. It can be regarded as folklore and appreciated by people.

The second is the story that is not recorded in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but actually recorded in Wei Lue. Also in the Three Kingdoms period, its credibility seems to be more than Zhuge Liang's.

Xelloss's position was guarded by General Wen Pin in Jiangxia area. On one occasion, Sun Quan personally surrounded Wen Pin with 50,000 military forces in Shiyang. Shiyang was besieged by Wen Pin for a long time, and Sun Quan suddenly attacked. No sooner had it rained continuously than the fortifications were damaged and not repaired. The able-bodied men are also working in the fields and have not come back yet. Wen Pin believes that it is impossible to fight outside the city, and it is difficult to defend the enemy if the city is closed. He thought hard and shouted loudly, telling the city people to hide, so that the city was silent, and he himself hid in the official office and did not show up. Sun Quan weighed it carefully and found it suspicious. He said to the ministries: "This man is a general trusted by Cao Cao, and naturally he is not as good as others. Since you knew I was going to attack, but you were unprepared, there must be a lot of cunning in it, or there was an ambush outside. It is better to retreat. " So he led the troops away.

This rumor is not true. In any case, this is also an empty plan. In Wen Pin, adding novels is resolute and meaningless, but it is redundant.

Besides, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were also free plans. This was the seventh year of Yuanjia's reign in Liu Yilong, Song Wendi (AD 430). At that time, Tuoba nobles in the Northern Wei Dynasty occupied the north, and Emperor Wu of the South established the Song Dynasty. In today's northern Shandong Province, along the Yellow River, it is the junction of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, and Jinan County on the south bank of the Yellow River is an important part of this junction. This year, the Northern Wei suddenly sent troops to attack Jinan. There are only a few hundred soldiers under Xiao Chengzhi, the prefect of Jinan. Because the enemy came unexpectedly, it was too late to call for reinforcements. Xiao Chengzhi suddenly had a plan, so he called to open the city gate and hid the soldiers, deliberately pretending to be a mysterious atmosphere. People in the city said, "Thieves are outnumbered. How can our army serenade the enemy? " Xiao Chengzhi said, "Now Serenade is an isolated city in the city, and it is difficult to reach the enemy. If you show weakness to the enemy again, the disaster will be unimaginable; It is the best policy to make the enemy suspect that I am lying in ambush and dare not enter. " Sure enough, only soldiers, seeing this appearance outside the city, were very confused and retreated in succession. Looks like great minds think alike.

This is recorded in Zi Tongzhi Song Jianji. Some people say that perhaps Xiao Chengzhi has read Guo Chong's Empty City Strategy, which is unexpected. Even if Xiao Chengzhi is inspired by the story of Wen Pin, it is not impossible.