Zhuge Liang’s political and military talents

From the perspective of comprehensive national strength. The Shu Kingdom that Zhuge Liang took over was a Shu Kingdom that had just suffered a tragic defeat in Yiling and was severely damaged. It was a Shu Kingdom that suffered from internal and external troubles. In the Battle of Yiling, the Shu Kingdom lost tens of thousands of elite troops who went east, lost countless military supplies and equipment, and lost soldiers like Fu Tong, Cheng Ji, Zhang Nan, Feng Xi, Du Lu, Liu Ning, Huang Quan, and Ma Liang. The generals and talents of the new Shu Han regime were seriously damaged. Furthermore, in addition to the Battle of Yiling, other talents in the Shu Kingdom were also lost one after another. In the second year of Zhangwu (222), Shu's Tai Fu Xu Jing, Shangshu Ling Liu Ba, and Hussar General Ma Chao passed away one after another, making the talent crisis in Shu even worse. In addition to the talent crisis, the South-China issue also increasingly needs to be addressed. In the early days of the establishment of the Shu Kingdom, Gao Ding, the leader of Cui Yi in South China and Vietnam, led his troops to rebel. When their army reached Xindao County, they were defeated by Li Yan. Huang Yuan, the governor of Hanjia County, heard that Liu Bei was seriously ill in Yong'an, so he rebelled in December of the second year of Zhangwu. In March of the following year, Huang Yuan took advantage of Zhuge Liang's visit to Yong'an to visit Liu Bei and led his army to burn Linqiong County. Finally, he was defeated by the Shu army. Although both rebellions were put down, due to the short time since the Shu Kingdom was established, the measures of "pacifying the Yi and Yue in the south" have not been implemented. Moreover, Liu Bei, the leader of Shu, died of illness in the third year of Zhangwu. The new defeat of Yiling, the great loss of vitality, the talent crisis, the Huangyuan rebellion, the Nanzhong problem and the loss of the new leader are all the internal worries of Shu. The foreign invasion of Shu refers to the breakdown of the Sun-Liu alliance. It has been mentioned before when analyzing the "Longzhong Pair". Dong and Sun Quan occupy an extremely important position in the "Longzhong Pair". Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were only willing to make a complete break with Sun Wu on the basis that Jingzhou was completely captured and the strategic intention of the two-pronged attack on the Central Plains could not be implemented. After the defeat in Yiling, the national power of the new Shu Kingdom was almost exhausted, but at this time, the hostile relationship with Soochow had not improved. At this time, the Shu Kingdom not only had to face its old enemy Cao Wei on the way forward, but also had a powerful opponent Sun Wu. If the hostility between Shu and Sun Wu continues for a long time, Shu will never be able to get rid of its passiveness and crisis in diplomacy, and the goal of "reviving the Han Dynasty and returning the old capital" will be even more difficult to achieve. It is not an exaggeration to say that "he was given orders when the army was defeated, and he was ordered to be in danger".

From a political perspective. The Shu Kingdom under the governance of Zhuge Liang can be said to be the most organized country among the Three Kingdoms. In the first two or three years of his rule, he adopted the method of seclusion to calm the people in order to restore the vitality of the Shu Kingdom. Later, he pacified Nanzhong and used the richness of the Nanzhong area to further enrich the national power. In addition, he used "severe punishments" to "Law" was used to crack down on corrupt officials and local powerful people who were "arbitrary and self-indulgent", and the whole country of Shu showed a clear and stable situation. He is also very good politically. But after all, the Kingdom of Shu was founded not long ago. If we count from the time Liu Bei acquired Yizhou to the death of Zhuge Liang, it would only be 20 years. Compared with the 40-year history of Cao Wei, which has gone through three generations, it is obviously not as long as Cao Wei. Furthermore, the governance level of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui is also relatively high. As an excellent politician, Cao Cao's ability and level of governance are obvious to all, and the overall political framework of the subsequent Wei State was basically constructed by Cao Cao. During his six or seven years in power, Cao Pi also implemented a series of positive political measures, such as issuing some edicts that were beneficial or caring for the people; prohibiting women, eunuchs, and relatives from intervening in political affairs; and selecting wise and virtuous people. ; Promote the law of nine-grade officials. Cao Rui also showed relatively good political talents before Zhuge Liang's death. For example, he had outstanding performances in terms of being good at military strategy, discerning and breaking prisons, allowing others to remonstrate directly, and not killing remonstrating ministers. Therefore, in the early days of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui (referring to before the death of Zhuge Liang), the political situation of Wei was also relatively good, but Cao Wei was established 20 years earlier than Shu Han. These 20 years were very important for a developing regime. , can be said to be crucial. Therefore, in terms of the overall political situation, Cao Wei is still superior to Shu Han, and its ruling foundation is more stable than Shu Han.

From a military perspective. In ancient cold weapon wars, the most important criterion for measuring whether a country's military strength was strong was the size of its army. The relationship between soldiers and people is inseparable. Its specific performance is as follows: soldiers come from the people, and the number of people restricts the number of soldiers. This is an absolute quantitative indicator; the other is a relative quantitative indicator, which refers to the ratio of the absolute total number of troops to the total number of people. Because soldiers are supported by the people, there must be an appropriate ratio between soldiers and people. The land of Shu is small and there are few people.

The area is no more than one state, and the total population is no more than 900,000. But Cao Wei owns the land of Kyushu. According to records in "Tongdian", the population of Wei at the time of its death was 4.4 million! Of course, during Zhuge Liang's reign, it is questionable whether Wei had such a large number of people. But the next best thing is to say that Wei has a population of more than three million, so there should be no problem. The total number of troops in the Shu Kingdom at that time was about 140,000. On average, less than two households had to support one soldier, which was almost the limit of the Shu Kingdom's ability to support the army. Even so, it is still much smaller than Wei's army of more than 400,000. Therefore, the situation that "Shu soldiers are weak and weak" is objective and real.

From an economic point of view. Cao Wei has always attached great importance to economic issues. As early as the third year of Chuping (AD 192), when Cao Cao captured Yanzhou, his subordinate Mao Jie, who was in charge of governing the country, clearly pointed out to Cao Cao the suggestion of "repair farming, livestock and military resources" (see "The Biography of Mao Jie") Cao Cao appreciated Mao Jie's suggestion very much. Moreover, in the first year of Jian'an (AD 196), Cao Cao adopted Zao Dan and Han Hao's suggestions and tried farming in Xuchang, and appointed Zao Dan as the Diannong Captain to preside over the affairs. In that year, he harvested millions of dendrobium and obtained A huge success. After Zaodian's death, Ren Jun succeeded Dian Nong Zhonglang General, appointed land officials in all prefectures and counties, recruited refugees, organized production, and promoted farming. Due to the implementation of the "farming system", the development of agricultural production in Cao Wei was promoted, the national strength of Wei was enhanced, the military grain supply was better solved, and the labor burden of farmers in transporting grain and grass was reduced. Historically, it is known as Cao Cao's farming. He "conquered the four directions without the labor of transporting grain, and then wiped out the bandits and brought peace to the world." (See "Book of Wei" cited in the "Book of Emperors"). This paved the way for Cao Cao's unification of the north and future development. A solid material foundation has been laid. Many refugees and surrendered soldiers who did not engage in production were transformed into producers. According to the "Biography of Guoyuan", "Yuan repeatedly stated the profits and losses, dealt with the people, planned the people and appointed officials, and explained the methods of work. In five years, The warehouses were plentiful and the people were encouraged to work happily.” Therefore, to a certain extent, the “farming system” also eased the class contradictions at that time. As Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi not only continued to implement the "garrison system", but also specially set up Duzhi Shangshu "specialized in military and state support plans" to be responsible for planning military rations to provide enough food for the army, further strengthening the control of agricultural production. Attention. From the perspective of Shu, Zhuge Liang also took a series of measures to restore economic production. In response to the new defeat of the Shu Kingdom, Zhuge Liang put forward the policy of "farming and cultivating valleys and seclusion for the people" so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment. Li Yan was also ordered to immigrate 20,000 people to enrich Hanzhong, so that Hanzhong, which had been desolate due to Cao Cao's large-scale migration of people, once again presented a scene of "men and women spread wild fields, farmland and valleys occupy acres". (See "The Biography of Jiang Wan") In order to develop agriculture, Zhuge Liang attached great importance to the construction of water conservancy. He specially set up weir officers and ordered 1,200 soldiers to be stationed at the Dujiangyan, the largest water conservancy project at the time, all year round to protect and manage it. Zhuge Liang also attached great importance to the development of industry and commerce. He was very concerned about the production of salt and iron industry, and made great efforts to greatly utilize and promote the brocade industry of Shu. On the one hand, Zhuge Liang took the lead in raising silkworms and mulberry trees, and on the other hand, he appointed full-time brocade officials to organize the production and allocate Shu brocade. Shu brocade is Shu's main commodity for trade with Wei and Wu. Its quality is far superior to that of Cao Wei. While increasing the national income of Shu, Zhuge Liang also advocated diligence and thrift and opposed extravagance and waste. Under Zhuge Liang's leadership, most officials in Shu became frugal. After Zhuge Liang implemented a series of policies to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, Shu's economy recovered and developed very well. In terms of subjective effort, both countries are similar, but Shu may be even better in terms of subjective effort. However, the effectiveness of any economic activity must also be based on certain material conditions. There are thirteen states in the world, and Cao Wei owns nine states. It has a large land and a large number of people, and a large number of people and rich resources. Although Yizhou, where the Shu Kingdom was based, was known as the "Land of Abundance", compared with Cao Wei, it was only a rich state. Moreover, Cao Wei also had the equally fertile Yellow River Basin and Huaihe River Basin. Therefore, in terms of economic strength, Cao Wei still has an absolute advantage.

Let’s look at the nature of war and the conflict between people’s hearts. Before the Three Kingdoms was fully formed, the situation was relatively complicated, and loyalty to the Han Dynasty at that time was still a banner to rally the people. Therefore, Cao Cao "held the emperor to order the princes", Liu Bei stayed in the Han Dynasty and served as an orthodox official and took orders to punish the thieves, while Sun Quan cleaned up the filth of the Han Dynasty. The three families were able to establish peace in the complex situation of divided power among the heroes. Consolidate your own political power. But as time went by, the appeal of the banner of "restoring the Han Dynasty" became less and less. Cao and Liu proclaimed themselves emperors one after another, and it was no longer easy to distinguish who was the so-called national traitor.

By the time Wu and Shu formed an alliance in 229 AD, the "Han-restoration-Han Dynasty" had completely lost its appeal, and gradually turned to the view that "the destiny of the people has its destiny, and it cannot be fought with intelligence." Therefore, there is no so-called justice or injustice in the nature of war. Wei, Shu and Wu all formed separate countries. Whichever country had the strongest comprehensive national strength would receive support from scholar-bureaucrats and the people. Zhuge Liang said in his "Longzhong Dui" that "the common people dare not eat pots of pulp to welcome the generals". This is an extremely important mass foundation that Liu Bei's group must have if they want to revive the Han Dynasty. . Among Zhuge Liang's previous Northern Expeditions, except for the one when he left Qishan, which caused Cao Wei's Guanzhong to tremble, and the three counties of Tianshui, Nan'an, and Anding rebelled against Wei Yingliang, the other several Northern Expeditions never received a strong response from the people of Cao Wei. The powerful enemy Cao Wei became stronger after the Sun and Liu families were weakened in the battle of Yiling. Although Shu Han and Soochow Wu frequently attacked east and west for a period of time after the two sides formed an alliance, both sides hoped that the other party could take chestnuts from the fire for them, making it difficult for Cao Wei to fight on two fronts at the same time in the true sense. For Shu, the weakest country at the time, the success of the Northern Expedition became less and less likely.

Finally, let’s look at the talents and generals of the two countries. Among the three kingdoms, Shu has the fewest talents. Yuan Zi said that Shu is a small country with few talents and good generals; Sun Sheng pointed out that Shu has few scholars; Chen Shou said when talking about the talent situation in Shu that "there are no famous generals such as Cheng Fu and Han Xin." , so the achievements are delayed and the great righteousness is not fulfilled." Xi Chizhi also said the same thing when he held the view that "Shu is a remote and poor place, and few talents can go to the country" when Zhuge Liang killed Ma Su. Looking at the opponents sent by Cao Wei to fight against Shu, all of them were wise, brave and strategic. I have read in the past that many people have always believed that "Sima Yi was a good man in political struggle, acceptable in strategy, and he may not be much better than Kong Ming in leading troops." Obviously it needs to be pointed out here that Sima Yi was a man with great military strategy and good at using troops. strong rival. Speaking of Sima Yi's military strategizing and adaptability abilities, there are two things that can explain it. One was Sima Yi's attack on Meng Da, the governor of Xincheng. According to conventional logic, Meng Da estimated that the Wei army would arrive in 30 days. After Sima Yi received the news that Meng Da had rebelled against Wei, he made an immediate decision and took both measures. He arrived at Meng Da City in just 8 days and captured the new city in 16 days. , killing Mengda by surprise. The other incident was Sima Yi's expedition against Gongsun Yuan, the governor of Liaodong. Sima Yi correctly analyzed the defensive measures Gongsun Yuan could take, successfully defeated Xiangping, killed Gongsun Yuan, pacified Liaodong, and completed the mission assigned to him by Emperor Wei Ming as scheduled. From these two incidents, we can see Sima Yi's wisdom in predicting the enemy and his skill in using troops. Zhang He, "recognizes variables, is good at setting up camp, knows the battle situation and terrain, and can plan everything." (See "The Biography of Zhang He"). Guo Huai, "Fang Ce Jingxiang" (see "Guo Huai Biography"). Cao Zhen is also a battle-hardened and experienced commander. Huan Fan once praised her as "the beautiful lady Cao Zidan" (see "The Biography of Cao Shuang" cited in "Wei's Spring and Autumn Annals"), which shows that she was also an excellent strategist. Chen Shou said: "The enemy you fight may be someone who is outstanding, but the enemy is weak." This is very reasonable. It is precisely because Cao Wei has strong opponents like Sima Yi, Zhang He, Guo Huai, and Cao Zhen that it is always difficult for Zhuge Liang's military strategy to be effectively used.

Let us take a look at Zhuge Liang’s previous Northern Expeditions under such an unfavorable situation.

In the first Northern Expedition, in the spring of the sixth year of Jianxing (228), Zhuge Liang raised his voice and captured Mei County from Xiegu Road. He sent Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to lead a detachment of soldiers and horses as suspected troops to occupy Jigu. Zhuge Liang then led his army to attack Qishan. Due to a sudden incident, the three counties of Tianshui, Anding and Nan'an all rebelled against Wei Yingliang. Emperor Wei Ming Cao Rui sent General Cao Zhen to supervise the troops in Guanyou and stationed them in Mei County. The right general Zhang He was ordered to lead 50,000 infantry and cavalry to reinforce Longshang. Ma Di, the vanguard of the Shu army, was defeated by Zhang He in Jieting. The Shu army had no foothold and drove more than a thousand families from Xi County back to Hanzhong. After this battle, Zhuge Liang demoted himself to the third rank and appointed Liang as the right general, performing the duties of prime minister. The president was as before.

In the second Northern Expedition, in the winter of the sixth year of Jianxing (228), Zhuge Liang used Dongwu Lu Xun to defeat Wei Dasima Cao Xiu at Shiting and returned to attack Wei. In December, Zhuge Liang led his troops out of Sanguan and surrounded Chencang. Because Cao Wei had already made preparations, he "sent generals Hao Zhao and Wang Sheng to guard Chencang and govern the city" (see "Cao Zhen Biography"). Hao Zhao held on to the city, and Zhuge Liang besieged the city for more than 20 days before returning after running out of food. Wei general Wang Shuang led his cavalry to pursue him, but was ambushed and killed by Liang.

The Third Northern Expedition.

In the spring of the seventh year of Jianxing (229), Zhuge Liang sent Chen Shi to attack Wudu and Yinping. Guo Huai, the governor of Wei Yongzhou, led his troops to attack Shi. Zhuge Liang came to Jianwei, Guo Huai returned, and then conquered the two counties. In winter, Liang moved his camp to the lower plains of Nanshan Mountain and built Han and Le cities.

The Fourth Northern Expedition. In July of the eighth year of Jianxing (230 years), Wei sent Sima Yi from Xicheng, Zhang He from Ziwu, and Cao Zhen from Xiegu. They advanced in parallel and attacked Hanzhong. It rained heavily for more than thirty days, hindering the Wei army's attack. The Shu army was waiting for work. On the one hand, Zhuge Liang actively organized defensive forces and mobilized Li Yan to lead 20,000 troops to reinforce Hanzhong. He personally led the army to garrison Chenggu and Chiban to meet the enemy. On the other hand, we actively plan counterattack forces. He ordered Wei Yan and Wu Yixi to enter the Qiangzhong Nan'an border, and defeated the Wei queen general Fei Yao and the Yongzhou governor Guo Huai at Yangxi.

In the fifth Northern Expedition, in February of the ninth year of Jianxing (231),

Zhuge Liang led his army to encircle Qishan again, using newly built wooden oxen to transport grain, and ordered Governor Li Yan to Logistics food and fodder. At this time, Cao Zhen, the great Sima of Wei, was ill. Emperor Ming of Wei ordered Sima Yi to station in Chang'an on Zhen's behalf, supervise the military affairs of Yongliang and Liang prefectures, unite Zhang He, Dai Ling, Fei Yao, and Guo Huai, and send troops to Qishan. Zhuge Liang led his army to attack Sima Yi in Shanggui. In the first battle, Zhuge Liang defeated Wei generals Guo Huai and Fei Yao, and took advantage of the victory to harvest Shanggui wheat to make military rations. I wanted to meet Sima Yi in Shangguidong, but Yi gathered his troops and retreated to the danger. He was unable to fight and led his troops back. Sima Yi led his army to follow Liang to Xicheng, but never fought with Zhuge Liang. Wei generals Jia Xu and Wei Ping asked for battle several times, but Yi refused. The generals said, "If you fear Shu like a tiger, the world will laugh at you" (see "The Biography of Zhuge Liang" cited in "Han, Jin, Spring and Autumn"). In May, Sima Yi sent Zhang He to attack Shu general Wang Ping at Nantun in Qishan, and he led the main force to attack Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang ordered Wei Yan. Wu Ban and Gao Xiang fought against the Wei army and defeated the Wei army, "obtaining 3,000 level armor heads, 5,000 collars of mysterious armor, and 3,100 horned crossbows." Yi returned to camp and stood firm. On the Nantun side of Qishan Mountain, Shu general Wang Ping defended the area well, but Zhang He failed to attack, so he also returned to his army. In June, the Shu army retreated because they could not transport food. Sima Yi forced Zhang He to pursue the Shu army. Zhang He had no choice but to advance. After chasing him to the wooden gate, the Shu army ambushed him, and Zhang He was hit by an arrow and died.

In the Sixth Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang saw that in every Northern Expedition, the troops retreated due to running out of food, so after the ninth year of Jianxing (231), he persuaded the troops to practice martial arts and become wooden oxen and stray horses. Transporting rice to gather at the entrance of Xiegu, and managing Xiegu's mansion; resting the army for three years for wartime use. In February of the twelfth year of Jianxing (234), Zhuge Liang mobilized all the troops he could muster, left Xiegu, and sent envoys to make an appointment with Sun Quan of Eastern Wu to send troops at the same time to attack Cao Wei. After the Shu army arrived at Mei County, they stationed themselves south of the Weishui River. Sima Yi also led his troops across the Wei River and used the water as a base to resist the light. Sima Yi still followed the method of holding on and retreating when the Shu army ran out of food, while Zhuge Liang also "divided his troops into farmland to form a base for a long-term garrison." The two armies resisted each other for more than a hundred days. Zhuge Liang challenged him several times, but Yi never came out. Liang sent a woman's clothes to Yi's office, and Yi deliberately asked for a fight in order to frustrate the generals. The Shu army and the Wei army were in a stalemate for more than half a year. In August of that year, Zhuge Liang became ill from overwork and died in the army at the age of fifty-four. Sima Yi learned the news and led his army to pursue him. Jiang Wei, the general of Shu, ordered Yang Yi to counterattack and make a counterattack, but Yi did not dare to force him. The Shu army was able to form a formation and go away. After entering the Xie Valley, they were mourned. The people's proverb said: "Dead Zhuge can retreat and rebirth Zhongda." Yi therefore laughed at himself and said: "I am good at science, but it is inconvenient to expect death." (See the "Han, Jin, Spring and Autumn Annals" cited in "The Biography of Zhuge Liang"). When the Shu army retreated, Yi inspected the Shu army's camp and sighed, "He is a genius in the world!" (See "The Biography of Zhuge Liang")

In Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang first raised his voice and captured Mei from the Xiegu Road. County, Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi led a group of soldiers and horses as suspected troops, and occupied Ji Valley to attract Cao Zhen, the main force of the Wei army. And he himself led an army to attack Qishan. Due to the sudden incident and the fact that the Shu army's "formation was neat, rewards and punishments were solemn and orders were clear," the three counties of Tianshui, Anding, and Nan'an all rebelled against Wei Yingliang. The situation at that time was: Three of the five counties on the right side of Longlong rebelled and returned to the Shu army, and only the two counties of Longxi and Guangwei refused to submit. As long as the Guanlong Passage can be cut off and this advantage is maintained for about a month, the entire Longyou area will be occupied. (Refer to "Three Kingdoms·Wei Shu·Zhang Ji Zhuan" Pei's annotation quotes "Wei Lue" records: "If you can cut off Long, so that the troops from the east cannot advance, in one month, the officials in Longxi will surrender without attacking; if you cannot, , Deficiency is harmful to the ears”). It can be seen that the key to obtaining Longyou lies in cutting off the Guanlong Passage, and the key to cutting off the Longdao lies in guarding the choke point from Guanzhong to Long, Jieting! Zhuge Liang ordered Ma Di, who was "very talented and good at military strategy", to lead the vanguard of the Shu army to guard Jieting. His purpose was to prevent the Wei army's Kwantung reinforcements from outside Long and cooperate with the main force of the Shu army to capture Longyou. In other words, in terms of specific tactical arrangements, Zhuge Liang did everything and was impeccable.

The defeat of Jieting was entirely due to the fact that Ma Su "disobeyed the rules of the bright festival, abandoned the water and went up the mountain, and acted inappropriately", and was also headstrong and self-willed. Wang Ping, who joined the army, "continuously admonished Su, but Su could not use it." Zhuge Liang only had the responsibility of unclear personnel, which had nothing to do with his specific tactics and military strategies. From this point of view, Kong Ming's use of troops is not high, so why is he arrogant? !

Let’s look at Zhuge Liang’s situation at that time. "The Biography of Zhuge Liang" quotes "Yuan Zi" as saying: "The soldiers of Shu escaped easily, and there were few good generals. Liang first came out. He didn't know the strength of China, so he tasted it with suspicion; and the conference did not seek immediate success. So it was not about the ground." What Yuan Zi said is extremely reasonable. It is a fact that no one can deny that the Shu army has only a small number of generals. As soon as Zhuge Liang left Qishan, this was the first time in his life that he used large-scale troops against Cao Wei. After the defeat in Yiling, Zhuge Liang worked hard for five or six years before he had the 100,000 Northern Expedition army he has now. Looking back at Cao Cao's first battle against Dong Zhuo, he was ambushed and defeated because he did not know the details of the enemy's army. It is completely understandable that Zhuge Liang took a cautious attitude without knowing the actual situation in the Central Plains. This is one of them. The second is the so-called "at the end of a strong crossbow, its power cannot penetrate Lu's silk". The result of forced march will inevitably cause a serious weakening of the combat effectiveness of the troops. "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Planning and Attack Chapter" said, "So the first is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the army, and then to attack the city. The method of attacking the city is the last resort." Longxi County and Guangwei County have already been attacked by the Wei army. Occupying the territory, the Wei army had a strong city and a solid pond, and they were at ease waiting to work. Using troops whose combat effectiveness has been weakened to directly attack a city is not what a wise man would do. Third, the Wei army at that time was different from the army led by Liu Bei, which had a mixed army and civilians and was not very effective.

In Zhuge Liang's second Northern Expedition, he faced the veteran general Hao Zhao, who was "a majestic man, with numerous military exploits, and a miscellaneous general" in Chencang, a fortified city renovated by the Wei State (see " ("Ming Di Ji" annotated "Wei Lue") and the Wei army, which had been well prepared, retreated without success. But the reason why Hao Zhao defeated the enemy in the whole city, just as Hu Sansheng noted in "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", "His talents are not derived from the attacker, and the power of the guest and host is different." However, Wei general Wang Shuang failed. Thinking that the Shu army was weak and could be bullied, he wanted to pick up a "wallet", so he led his army to pursue him. Wang Shuang abandoned the fortified city and fought in the field with the Shu army. How could he be Zhuge Liang's opponent? Zhuge Liang set up an ambush and easily eliminated Wang Shuang.

In Zhuge Liang's subsequent Northern Expeditions, he achieved many partial victories. These can directly reflect Zhuge Liang's military strategy. Let’s take a look at the losses suffered by Wei and Shu during the Northern Expedition. Judging from the losses of troops and generals, except for the first Shu army vanguard Ma Su who suffered heavy casualties (but the main force of the Shu army did not suffer any losses) and the second time when the troops attacked Chencang, the Shu army suffered some casualties in many other battles. , Basically, if you can win, you will win, if you can't win, then the whole army will retreat. The loss of men and horses will not be big. Except for the Wei army's defeat of the Shu army's vanguard Ma Su in the Battle of Jieting, the Wei army had no major gains in other times. On the contrary, in the remaining battles, they suffered heavy losses. First, Shu generals Wei Yan and Wu Yixi entered the Qiangzhongnan'an border, and then defeated the general Fei Yao and the Yongzhou governor Guo Huai at Yangxi. Later, he was defeated by the Shu army, and the Shu army "won the first three thousand levels." During the entire Northern Expedition, the Shu army only lost one person, Ma Di, due to combat defeats. Moreover, even this Ma Di was killed by Zhuge Liang for Ming military law. However, Wang Shuang, the general of the Wei army, and Zhang He, who was known for his clever tactics, were directly killed by the Shu army. Let’s look at the loss of cities and population. No city or residents in Shu were captured by the Wei army. On the other hand, the Wei State lost Wudu and Yinping counties, and Zhuge Liang "pulled more than a thousand families from Xi County back to Hanzhong." As for the military capital, Yinping played an extremely important strategic role in the Shu army's occupation of Guanlong and in protecting the Shu country from the Wei army from the side. (The Kingdom of Shu was later destroyed due to a successful sneak attack by Wei general Deng Ai at Yinping). Judging from the loss of strategic materials, the Shu army once took advantage of the victory to harvest wheat outside Wei State's Shanggui County for military rations, "obtaining 5,000 collars of mysterious armor and 3,100 horned crossbows." The grain produced by the land was used by the military, "which was the basis for dividing the troops into camps and stationing them for a long time.

The cultivators were mixed among the residents of Weibin" (see "The Biography of Zhuge Liang"). In other words, if we look at the losses suffered in combat alone, the losses suffered by the Wei army were much greater than those suffered by the Shu army. Zhuge Liang was under the unfavorable conditions of having few soldiers and few generals and difficulty in transporting food. Facing the powerful Wei army and the solid defense line constructed by Wei's famous generals such as Sima Yi, Zhang He, Guo Huai, and Cao Zhen, he still took the initiative against Wei many times. It is not easy to launch a devastating attack and inflict heavy damage on the Wei army, which greatly consumes the strength of the Wei army.

He also allowed Sima Yi, who "occupied ten times the land of the world, fought and annexed the masses, held the city in prison, and supported the elite" and a rich military strategist, to do as he pleased. He was even humiliated by being "dressed like a woman" and was also criticized by the people of the time. They ridiculed him as "fearing Shu as much as fearing tigers" and "dead Zhuge can live Zhongda". And Sima Yi once said, "There are five basic principles of military affairs: if you can fight, fight, if you can't fight, defend, if you can't defend, leave." (See "Zizhi Tongjian" Volume 74, Jingchu 2nd Year) Kuang Sima Yi did not want to destroy the Shu army. Moreover, he twice ordered the Wei army to pursue the Shu army that was retreating south, but they failed in vain, and instead lost the life of General Zhang He. If we look at it this way, it is really unconvincing to say that Zhuge Liang's military use is mediocre.

Although Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was not ultimately successful, it cannot be regarded as a failure. Because there is a difference between failure and failure to succeed. Zhuge Liang achieved this during the Northern Expedition: "Those who are good at fighting can be invincible and cannot make the enemy invincible." Moreover, the war itself is that "victory can be known but cannot be done" ("Sun Tzu's Art of War. Military Form Chapter"). Counting from the time of the Southern Expedition to the end of Zhuge Liang's star falling in Wuzhangyuan, Zhuge Liang only fought for nearly ten years. In these ten years, although Zhuge Liang had no military exploits, he was not defeated in the end. Looking back at Cao Cao, in the first ten years of his military use, although Cao Cao won many battles, he also lost many battles. And some of them failed quite miserably, almost losing their lives several times. After Zhuge Liang suffered setbacks in the first and second Northern Expeditions, he did not get depressed. On the contrary, he learned the lessons from the failed battles and never gave the Wei army an opportunity to take advantage of him in the subsequent battles. Looking at Cao Cao again, when he was campaigning against Zhangxiu, he swore to his subordinates, "I know why I was defeated. As you see, I will never be defeated again from now on." (See "Wudi Ji"). But what's the result? Didn't Cao Cao still lose at the hands of the same person during his second campaign against Zhang Xiu? Isn't that like giving yourself a hard "slap"? There is a saying that goes well, it doesn't matter if a person makes a mistake once in one place, but if the same person makes the same mistake again in the same place, then there is something wrong with him. Even if Zhuge Liang could use troops again, how could he complete the Northern Expedition in just ten years? You must know that Cao Cao destroyed 100,000 Yuan Shao's army after the Battle of Guandu, and Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were at odds with each other. However, under such circumstances, Cao Cao spent eight years to unify Hebei. Moreover, no matter from any perspective, the opponent Zhuge Liang faced was much more difficult to defeat than Cao Cao's pacification of Hebei. With all the odds stacked against him, Zhuge Liang preserved himself as much as possible and waited for an opportunity to inflict heavy damage on his opponent. The outcome was evenly matched, and in some sense he still had the upper hand. From this point of view, Zhuge Liang had the upper hand. We tried our best. As a great military strategist, Cao Cao had already dominated the Central Plains before Zhuge Liang assisted Liu Bei. At that time, Liu Bei had no territory. Later, when Zhuge Liang came out, Cao Cao not only failed to eliminate his powerful enemy Liu Bei and achieve unification, but instead allowed him to seize the enemy step by step and establish the foundation of Shu Han to compete with himself and stand as a tripartite. Viewed in this way, Cao Cao's military ability may not necessarily be higher than that of Kong Ming, and military success or failure is inseparable from factors such as politics, economy, diplomacy, and personal comprehensive quality. It is not conclusive to unilaterally infer that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition failed and Kong Ming was clumsy in using troops!

Finally, some additions will be made to Zhuge Liang’s military talents.

First, the troops commanded and trained by Zhuge Liang have strict military discipline, are well-trained, and have strong combat effectiveness.

The Biography of Zhuge Liang records: "Liang personally led the troops to attack Qishan. The troops were in order, the rewards and punishments were solemn, and the orders were clear." He also said: "This is the basis for dividing the troops and stationing them for a long time. The cultivators Mixed among the residents of Weibin, but the people are safe, the army is selfless. "The "Yuan Zi" quoted in the "Zhuge Liang Biography" also said, "The soldiers come in and out like guests, and they do not hunt. In the country, the army is as stationary as a mountain, and its advance and retreat are like the wind. When the army goes out, the world is shaken, but the people's hearts are not worried... The march of light is quiet and strong; it is quiet and easy to move, and strong and strong can advance and retreat. The laws are made clear, rewards and punishments are kept, and the soldiers serve their lives without hesitation." These all talk about Zhuge Liang's military discipline being very good, not killing people at will and disturbing the people's daily life, unlike Cao Cao and his generals who often massacre cities. An act of killing. Because Zhuge Liang paid great attention to "education" in the process of running the army. He said: "The way to be a king is to teach and order first, and to punish and punish later. To fight without teaching is to abandon it." (See Volume 3 of "Zhuge Liang Collection" "Sixteen Cheap Strategies: Teaching Orders") Zhuge Liang governs the army , its military laws and disciplines are very strict.

Zhuge Liang believes that the seven manifestations that seriously weaken the combat effectiveness of the army, such as "light army", "slow army", "stealing army", "bullying army", "backing army", "misleading army" and "chaotic army", must be at the highest level. Beheading. (See Volume 3 of "Zhuge Liang Collection" "Sixteen Cheap Strategies. Cut Off"). While strictly enforcing military discipline, Zhuge Liang also emphasized that rewards and punishments must be clear. He believed that "the government of rewards and punishments means rewarding good and punishing evil. Rewards are used to promote merit, and punishments are used to prohibit adultery. Rewards must not be unequal, and punishment must not be unequal." He advocated " Rewards should not be given in vain, and punishments should not be imposed indiscriminately." (See Volume 3 of "The Collection of Zhuge Liang", "Sixteen Cheap Strategies: Rewards and Punishments") It is precisely because Zhuge Liang emphasized education, strict military discipline, and clear rewards and punishments that he could establish a unit with unified orders, strict discipline, and courage. The fighting force allowed the 100,000 Shu troops to always come and go in an orderly manner and advance and retreat freely in the Wei territory. "But Zhongda, with his 300,000 strong cavalry, could only defend himself. He did not dare to attack when he came and did not dare to pursue when he went."

Second, Zhuge Liang is a well-deserved outstanding military thinker in ancient China.

Zhuge Liang was born in Yangdu, Langxie, Shandong. In this land of Qilu, outstanding military strategists such as Jiang Taigong, Sima Ranju, Sun Wu, and Sun Bin emerged successively. Zhuge Liang compares himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi, and has made extremely in-depth and detailed research on military strategists' thoughts since he was a child. In Zhuge Liang's military theoretical thoughts, he not only inherited the excellent theories of the former Qin strategists, but also touched on and surpassed many valuable points that had not been noticed by his predecessors. The most typical example is that Zhuge Liang paid full attention to the important position of soldiers in a warring country. Zhuge Liang believed that "With controlled troops and incompetent generals, we cannot defeat; without controlled troops, with capable generals, we cannot defeat." (See "The Essentials of War" in Volume 2 of "The Collection of Zhuge Liang") Here "with controlled troops, we can't defeat capable generals." Soldiers refer to soldiers with high political quality and strong combat effectiveness. In this way, even if the general's commanding ability is slightly inferior, he may not necessarily lose the battle. On the contrary, if the political quality of the troops is poor and the combat effectiveness is not strong, even if the combat generals are excellent, they may not win the battle. He also advocated that "the hearts of the people must be used to start a war" (see Volume 3 of "Zhuge Liang Collection", "Sixteen Cheap Strategies. Joy and Anger") and "observe the hearts of the people and promote the abilities of the soldiers" (see Volume 3 of "Zhuge Liang Collection", "Cheap Strategies") Sixteen Strategies for Managing the Army"). Here I especially compare it with "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. "Sun Tzu's Art of War." It is said in "Nine Places Chapter" that "it can fool the soldiers' ears and eyes and make them ignorant", so that the soldiers "are like driving a flock of sheep, driving them back and forth". "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is intended to deceive the soldiers' ears and eyes, making them ignorant of the military situation, like a flock of sheep, only driven by the generals, without giving full play to the subjective initiative of the soldiers. Comparing the two, Zhuge Liang attaches great importance to the role of soldiers in actual wars. This is not only very consistent with the specific national conditions of the Shu Kingdom at that time, which was located on the border and with few talented people, but also has a better understanding of the role of soldiers than the former Qin military strategists. Great progress and perfect sublimation. From this point of view, we are advocating today to vigorously improve the overall combat political quality of the troops.

Third, Zhuge Liang paid attention to equipment and formations.

In the era of cold weapons, small countries with few people are often no match for large countries with thousands of vehicles. The most fundamental reason is that they are outnumbered. Guan Zhong once said: "If you attack the strong, the weak will be strong, and if you attack the weak, the strong will be weak." Shu and Wei fought against each other, and Shu was weak and Wei was strong. Therefore, if you want to weaken Shu and strengthen Wei, you must always maximize your strengths and avoid weaknesses in the confrontation between the two sides. In terms of the absolute number of troops, the Shu army obviously cannot defeat Wei. The only option is to strengthen the overall combat effectiveness of the army. In addition to what was mentioned above, Zhuge Liang made great efforts in training the army. Zhuge Liang also improved the weapons and equipment of the troops to achieve the purpose of turning the Shu army from weakness into strength. Among all the combat commanders during the Three Kingdoms period, no one spent so much effort, exerted so much effort, and achieved such great results on this issue than Zhuge Liang. Chen Shou said that he was "good at ingenious thinking." He also said that "the craftsmanship skills are the best." The weapons of the Shu army improved by Zhuge Liang include crossbows, knives, axes, daggers, steel armor, iron caltrops, etc. Among them, the one that left the deepest impression on everyone was the serial crossbow. History calls it "the Yuan Rong, which uses iron as arrows, eight inches long, and can fire ten arrows in one crossbow."