Sima Yi (179-251), courtesy name Zhongda, was a native of Xiaojingli, Wen County, Hanoi (now Zhaoxian Town, Wen County, Henan Province). He was an outstanding statesman, military strategist and powerful minister of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He led his army against Zhuge Liang many times and was granted the title of King Xuan for his merits. After his grandson Sima Yan became emperor, he was honored as Emperor Xuan of Jin Dynasty.

Sima Yi was first descended from Chongli, the son of Emperor Gaoyang, and was Zhurong, the official of Xia. He served in Tang, Yu, Xia and Shang, and his positions were sequenced in the dynasty. In the Zhou Dynasty, Xia Guan was the Sima. Later, during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou Dynasty, Cheng Baixiu's father used the official family to defeat Xu Fang, and Xi used the official family, so he became the surname. During the Chu and Han Dynasties, Sima Yang served as a Zhao general and fought with the princes against Qin. After the death of Qin, he was established as King of Yin and his capital was Hanoi. The Han Dynasty regarded its land as a county, and its descendants considered it their home. From the eighth generation of Yang, to the time of Emperor An of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Si Junjun, the general who conquered the west, was born, named Shuping. Si Junjun was born to Si Junliang, the prefect of Yuzhang, whose courtesy name was Gongdu. Si Jun was born to Si Junjun, the prefect of Yingchuan, with different characters. Si Junjun was born in Jingzhao Yin Si Junfang, with the courtesy name Jiangong. Sima Fang is Sima Yi's father (the above contents are all taken from "Book of Jin: Records of Emperor Xuan"). Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, said in one of his edicts: "Every family is born, and the rites will last for a long time" ("Book of Jin·Book of Rites").

Sima Yi was the second son of Sima Fang. Historical records describe him as "rarely eccentric, intelligent, sage, erudite, and devoted to Confucianism" ("Book of Jin·Xuan Di Ji"). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Sima Yi was born in troubled times and "often felt worried about the world" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

Nanyang Prefect Yang Jun was known for his ability to know people and be kind to them. Before Sima Yi was 20 years old, Yang Jun had met him and said that he was by no means ordinary. Cui Yan, the minister, had a good relationship with Sima Yi's brother Sima Lang and once treated Sima Yi. Lang said: "Your younger brother is smart, bright and wise, and has a firm and decisive talent, which is beyond the reach of your son" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

In the sixth year of Jian'an (201), the county elected him as a senior official. At that time, Cao Cao was serving as Sikong. After hearing about his reputation, he sent someone to summon him to serve in the government. Sima Yi saw that the fortunes of the Han Dynasty were declining and he did not want to be under Cao Cao, so he excused himself as suffering from wind paralysis and was unable to live in good health. Cao Cao didn't believe it and sent people to spy on the news at night. Sima Yi lay there motionless, as if he was really suffering from wind paralysis.

In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), after Cao Cao became prime minister, he began to use coercive means to appoint Sima Yi as a literary official. Cao Cao told the envoy, "If Panhuan is restored, he will take it back" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). Sima Yi was afraid of this and had no choice but to take office. Cao Cao allowed him to travel with the prince, and he successively held the posts of Huangmen Shilang, Yilang, Prime Minister Dong Cao, and Prime Minister Zhu Bo. When Sima Yi served under Cao Cao, he was cautious and diligent. "As for the husbandry and herding, he did everything he could."

In the 20th year of Jian'an (215), Cao Cao conquered Zhang Lu, and Sima Yi accompanied the army. He said to Cao Cao: "Liu Bei used deceitful force to capture Liu Zhang. The Shu people did not join and went to fight for Jiangling. This opportunity cannot be missed. If Yao is powerful in Hanzhong, Yizhou is shaken, and the army approaches, it will inevitably collapse. Therefore, the situation is easy to change. For power. A saint cannot go against the times, and he will not lose the time. "Cao Cao said: "People are miserable and want to win Shu after they have gained Longyou" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan")! His advice was not followed.

In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Sun Quan expressed his vassalage to Cao Cao and encouraged Cao Cao to proclaim himself emperor. Cao Cao said: "This son wants to sit on the charcoal of my furnace!" Sima Yi said: "The fate of the Han Dynasty is coming to an end. Your Highness is worthy of the world and has nine of them to serve it. It is the intention of heaven and man to call a minister with power. Yu, Those in the Xia, Yin, and Zhou Dynasties who did not show humility were afraid of heaven and knew their destiny." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). At that time, many of the powerful bureaucrats under Cao Cao supported the Han Dynasty, and they were deeply tabooed by Cao Cao. However, Xun Yu, Cui Yan and other famous figures did not end well because they had objections to Cao's succession to the Han Dynasty. Probably Sima Yi had already expressed support for Cao Cao on this key issue, so Cao Cao gradually turned from suspicion to trust in him.

Cao Cao was granted the title of Queen of Wei, and was promoted to Sima Yi as the crown prince's concubine, assisting Cao Pi. At that time, Sima Yi "always came up with strange strategies every time he had big plans" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). He was trusted and reused by Cao Pi, so the relationship has always been good. Sima Yi was also known as the Four Friends together with Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, and Zhu Shuo.

After that, Sima Yi often planned state affairs and came up with many strange strategies. Soon, Sima Yi became Prime Minister and Army Sima.

He pointed out that Hu Xiu, the governor of Jingzhou, was rude, and Fu Fang, the governor of Nanxiang (governing Nanxiang, southeast of today's Xichuan, Henan Province), was arrogant and extravagant, and they should not be stationed at the border. Cao Cao did not pay attention to them.

In June of the same year, after Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he sent Meng Da and Liu Feng to capture Fangling, Shangyong and other places in the eastern part of Hanzhong County, and his power expanded. In July, Sun Quan wanted to attack Hefei, so most of the Wei army mobilized Huainan to defend against the Wu army. Guan Yu, the former Shu general who was guarding Jingzhou, took this opportunity to leave Mi Fang, the prefect of Nanjun (governing Jiangling, today's Jiangling, Hubei Province) to guard Jiangling, and General Fu Shiren to guard Gong'an (northwest of today's Hubei Public Security Bureau), and led the main force to attack Jingxiang (wei Jingzhou governed Xinye). , now Xinye, Henan; Xiangyang County governs Xiangyang, now Xiangfan, Hubei). Encircling Wei general Cao Ren, flooded Fan Qi's army and killed Pang De. At that time, there were only a few thousand defenders in Fan City, and the city walls collapsed in many places due to flooding. Cao Ren considered abandoning Fan City, but was dissuaded by Man Chong, the prefect of Runan who assisted Cao Ren. Cao Ren was determined to resist bravely. As expected, Hu and Fu took the opportunity to descend to Shu. At this time, Sun Lang and others from Luhun (now northeast of Song County, Henan Province) also killed officials and raised troops to respond to Guan Yu. Guan Yu's momentum "shocked China" for a while ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Guan Yu").

At that time, the capital was in Xuchang, which was very close to Fancheng. Cao Cao felt threatened. In order to avoid Guan Yu's attack, he once prepared to move the capital to Hebei. Sima Yi, Cao Rong, and Jiang Ji promptly dissuaded him: "The ban was lost by the water, and it was not lost in battle. It did not harm the country's plan, so they moved the capital. This not only showed that the enemy was weak, but also made the people of Huaimian very uneasy." Sun Quan , Liu Bei, who is not close to the outside but is sparse at home, can be said to be in a position of power, and if he is ordered to follow him, then Fan Wei will be relieved." (Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan). Cao Cao followed his plan, and Sun Quan sent Lu Meng to attack Jiangling, and Guan Yu was captured and killed.

With the victory of this battle, Cao Cao took advantage of the conflict between Sun and Liu competing for Jingzhou, fully utilized diplomatic strategies, and reaped the benefits. He not only defeated Guan Yu's powerful offensive and lifted the siege of Fancheng, but also made Zhuge Liang's original plan The plan to hit Yuan with a double-sided pincer all the way to Wanluo and all the way out of Qinchuan could not be realized. More importantly, he destroyed the alliance between Sun and Liu, changed the strategic situation at that time, and took the initiative.

After Xu Huang defeated Guan Yu, Cao Cao disliked the people in Jingzhou and nearby and wanted to move them all away. Sima Yi believed: "Jingchu is easily escaped, and it is easy to move but difficult to secure. Guan Yu is newly broken, and all those who are evil are hiding and watching. Now that the good ones are moving away, it will hurt their intentions and make those who left dare not come back." ("Book of Jin· "Xuan Di Ji"). Since then, there have been no immigrants. As expected, all those who fled from hiding came back and became naturalized.

In the first year of Yankang (220), Cao Cao passed away, and the government and the public were in danger. Sima Yi managed the funeral affairs, and he was solemn both inside and outside.

In the same year, Cao Pi ascended the throne of Wei, and Sima Yi was granted the title of Marquis of Ting of Hejin and became the Prime Minister.

At that time, Sun Quan led his army to the west. The court officials believed that Fancheng and Xiangyang lacked food and could not resist the Wu army, so they asked Cao Ren to return to Wancheng. Sima Yi believed that the two cities should not be abandoned: "Sun Quan has recently defeated Guan Yu, and when he wants to form a knot, he must not dare to cause trouble. The rush of water and land in Xiangyang is a key point for the imperial invaders, so it cannot be abandoned." Cao Pi did not follow his advice and ordered Cao Ren to set fire to the two cities. Later, Sun Quan did not invade. Cao Pi regretted it.

In the same year, Cao Pi ascended the throne and was known as Emperor Wen of Wei in history. Because Sima Yi contributed greatly to Cao Pi's "usurpation of the Han Dynasty", after he ascended the throne, Cao Pi appointed Sima Yi as Shangshu, and soon he was transferred to military governor, censor Zhongcheng, and was granted the title of Marquis of Anguo Township.

In the second year of Huangchu (221), he was removed from the post of governor and promoted to Shizhong and Shangshu Youpushe.

In the third year of Huangchu (222) and the fifth year of Huangchu (224), Cao Pi attacked Wu twice. In both cases, Sima Yi was appointed to guard Xuchang, and Sima Yi was granted the title of Xiangxiang Marquis. In the spring and February of the sixth year of the sixth year of Huangchu (225), he was transferred to the post of general of the Fu army, Jiajie, and led five thousand troops. He was also added to Shizhong and Lu Shangshushi. When Sima Yi resigned, Cao Pi said: "I am engaged in common affairs, night and day, without a moment's rest. This is not to take pride, but to share worries" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

In the same year, Cao Pi launched a large naval army to attack Wu, but still ordered Sima Yi to stay behind and "control the people internally and provide military supplies externally" ("Book of Jin·Xuan Emperor Ji"). Before leaving, he issued an edict to Sima Yi and said: "I am deeply concerned about the future, so I appoint you. Although Cao Shen has military exploits, Xiao He is more important.

Isn't it okay to save me from the worries of traveling to the west?" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan")! Later, Cao Pi returned to Luoyang from Guangling and issued an edict to Sima Yi: "I am in the east, and the Fu army will be the commander-in-chief of the west; In the west, Fu Jun was in charge of the Eastern Affairs" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). So Sima Yi stayed in Xuchang.

In May of the seventh year of Huangchu (226), Cao Pi died. On his deathbed, he ordered Sima Yi, the general of the Chinese army, Cao Zhen, the general of the Zhenjun, Chen Qun, and the general of the Eastern Expedition, Cao Xiu, were the assistant ministers. Cao Pi said to the prince: "If there are any of these three princes, be careful not to doubt them." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). ). Emperor Ming ascended the throne and renamed Sima Yi the Marquis of Wuyang.

After Sun Quan learned of Emperor Wen's death, he ordered Wu Zuo General Zhuge Jin to attack Xiangyang (now Hubei) in two directions. Xiangfan), personally led the army to attack Jiangxia County (Zhi'an Lu, southwest of today's Yunmeng, Hubei Province). Sun Quan was defeated by the Wei army and withdrew his troops. However, Zhuge Jin was defeated by Sima Yi and killed Wu general Zhang Ba, beheading thousands of people. In December, he was promoted to general of hussars.

In June of the first year of Taihe, Emperor Ming ordered Sima Yi to station in Wancheng and supervise the military affairs of Jing and Yu states.

When Shu general Meng Da surrendered to the Wei Dynasty, the Wei Dynasty treated him very well. Sima Yi thought that his words and deeds were unreasonable and could not be trusted. However, the emperor did not listen and appointed Meng Da as the governor of Xincheng. Later, Meng Da fell out of favor, and Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang secretly communicated with him, plotting to rebel against Wei. Zhuge Liang was afraid that he would be erratic in his words and deeds, and wanted to encourage him to rebel quickly. Knowing that Shen Yi, the prefect of Wei Xing, had a conflict with him, he sent Guo Mo to Shen Yi. Chu pretended to surrender, intending to leak the news. After Meng Da heard about this leak, he was ready to raise troops immediately.

After Shen Yi reported the matter to Sima Yi, Sima Yi was afraid that he would suddenly attack, so he wrote to him with details. The letter said: "In the past, the general abandoned Liu Bei and joined the country. The state commissioned the general to take charge of the territory, and he was appointed general to plan the affairs of Shu. It can be said that he has a clear mind. Shu people are so stupid that they will gnash their teeth at the general. Zhuge Liang wanted to break up with each other, but he had no way out. What Muzhi said is not a trivial matter. How can I take it lightly and let it be revealed? This is almost easy to understand." ("Jin Shu·Xuan Emperor Ji").

Meng Da was overjoyed to receive the letter, but he was hesitant. Sima Yi secretly led his troops to attack. When the generals saw Meng Da handing over to Wu and Shu, they advised Sima Yi to observe before taking action. Sima Yi said: "If Da has no faith, he should not make a decision until he is in doubt." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). Sima Yi personally led his troops to attack Mengda day and night, and arrived at the gate of Xincheng eight days later. Wu and Shu sent reinforcements to rescue Mengda, but were blocked by Sima Yi's troops at Anqiao and Mulansai in the west city. Before that, Zhuge Liang had warned Meng Da to take precautions and not to be fooled. Meng Da wrote to Zhuge Liang, thinking: "Wan has gone to Luo for eight hundred miles, and to me for one thousand two hundred miles. If he hears about my actions, he should express his gratitude to the emperor." On the contrary, in one month, our city will be solid and all the troops will be able to handle it. Then my place is in deep danger, and Sima Gong will not come by himself; in the future, I will have no trouble." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). When the army came to the city, Meng Da wrote another letter to Zhuge Liang, exclaiming: "I will do something in eight days. How quickly the troops reached the city" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan")!

Shangyong City is surrounded by water on three sides, and Mengda set up wooden fences outside the city to strengthen the city defense. Sima Yi sent his troops to cross the water, In the first month of the second year of Taihe (228), Sima Yi's troops attacked the city in eight directions. After sixteen days of attack, Meng Da's nephew Deng Xian and his general Li Fu entered the city and surrendered. After reaching the capital, Sima Yi returned to the army and stayed in Wancheng. He rewarded farmers and banned excessive fees.

At the beginning of the previous year, Shen Yi was in Weixing County and was in charge. He used the emperor's name to engrave the seal without permission and granted it privately. After Meng Da was killed, Shen Yi had doubts. At that time, the governors of various counties congratulated Sima Yi on his victory and let him know. Shen Yi had no choice but to come to congratulate him. Sima Yi took the opportunity to arrest him and send him to the capital.

Sima Yi then moved more than 7,000 Mengda people to Youzhou. He led more than 7,000 of his subordinates to surrender.

At that time, the border county was newly attached and the household registration was false. The court wanted to verify it and asked Sima Yi to come to Beijing to ask for his opinion. Bundle it down, so throw it away. If you follow the outline, you will be naturally happy" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

Emperor Ming also ordered him to attack both Wu and Shu. Where should he start first? Sima Yi replied: "Wu thinks that China is not used to water warfare, so he dares to live in Dongguan. Anyone who attacks the enemy must grab his throat and rip his heart out." Kou and Dongguan are the heart and throat of thieves. If the army moves towards Wancheng and leads eastward, and the water war army moves towards Xiakou and takes advantage of its weakness, it will be destroyed by the magic soldiers falling from the sky. "("Jin Shu·Xuan Emperor Ji"). Emperor Ming agreed with him and ordered him to remain stationed in Wancheng.

In May of the second year of Taihe (228), Wu Poyang Governor Zhou Li sent a personal letter to Cao Xiu, lying that he had been criticized by the King of Wu and planned to abandon Wu and surrender to Wei, and requested to send troops to support him. Without distinguishing the authenticity, Cao Xiu led 100,000 infantry and cavalry troops to Wancheng (now Qianshan, Anhui) to respond. Emperor Ming Ye (who governed Jinyang, now southwest of Taiyuan) ordered Sima Yi to lead his army to Jiangling (now Jiangling, Hubei) to coordinate with Cao Xiu. In August, Cao Xiu was defeated by the Wu army. Fortunately, Jia Kui rescued the remaining troops and survived.

In the third year of Taihe (227), Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang sent troops to attack Wei for the third time and occupied Wudu and Yinping counties. In the fourth year of Taihe (230), Emperor Wei Ming decided to launch an army to attack Shu. Sima Yi was promoted to general, governor, and fake Huangyue, and he and Cao Zhen, the great Sima, conquered Shu.

In August, Emperor Wei Ming ordered Cao Zhen to lead the main force from Chang'an into the Ziwu Valley, General Zhang He of the left left the Xie Valley, and Sima Yi followed the Han River from Jingzhou and left Xicheng (now northwest of Ankang, Shaanxi), and divided his troops into three groups to attack. Hanzhong. Sima Yi opened up a road from Xicheng, advanced by land and water, and went upstream along the Mian River to Quji. He captured Xinfeng County and garrisoned Dankou.

In February of the fifth year of Taihe (231), Zhuge Liang, Prime Minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, led his fourth army to attack Wei, surrounded Jia Si and Wei Ping in Qishan (now the mountains of southeastern Gansu), and used wooden oxen and flowing horses to transport grain and grass. Emperor Ming said to Sima Yi: "There is trouble in the west, and no one but the emperor can take care of it" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"), so he sent him to the west to station in Chang'an, with the commander-in-chief of the left general Zhang He, the governor of Yongzhou Guo Huai and others to defend the Shu army. Sima Yi left his generals Fei Yao and Dai Ling to guard Gui (now Tianshui, Gansu) with 4,000 men, and led the main force west to rescue Qishan. Zhang He persuaded Sima Yi to divide his troops and station them in Yong and Yi to serve as backstops for the army. Sima Yi disagreed. He said: "It is expected that the front army can only take the lead. The general said so. If it cannot take the lead and is divided into the front and rear, then the three armies of Chu will be tattooed." So he advanced towards Yu Mi.

When Zhuge Liang heard that the Wei army was approaching, he also divided his troops to attack Qishan and led the main force to attack Sima Yi. Guo Huai, Fei Yao and other troops attacked the Shu army, but were defeated by Zhuge Liang. He personally led the Shu army to take advantage of the situation to harvest ripe wheat first and obtain military rations.

At this point, there are two completely different records of future battles in the history books.

The "Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan" records as follows: ... When Liang heard that the army was coming, he ordered his generals to harvest the wheat from Gui. All the generals were afraid, and the emperor said: "I am tired of the road. This is what those who know how to fight are greedy for. Liang does not dare to hold the Wei River, so it is easy for him." When he entered Hanyang, he met Liang, and the emperor formed a formation to wait for him. He sent Niu Jinqing Qingqi to bait him, and the soldiers then retreated and pursued them to Qishan. Liangtun Lucheng (now south of Tianshui, Gansu Province) was surrounded by two mountains in the north and south, and was cut off from water. The emperor attacked the siege and escaped at dawn. Pursue them, defeat them, capture and kill them all.

"Zi Zhi Tong Jian·Volume 72" records as follows:...Guo Huai, Fei Yao and others went to Liang, Liang broke it, because the big scorpion was cutting the wheat, and they met Yi in Shanggui. to the east. Yi Lian's army was in danger, and the soldiers could not be handed over, so Liang led them back. Yi waited for Liang and arrived at Lucheng. Zhang He said: "He came from afar to rebel against me, but he could not fight. He said that our advantage was not in fighting, so we wanted to control him with a long-term plan. Moreover, Qishan knew that the army was approaching, and the human situation was solid, so he could stop and station here, divide it into strange troops, and show that After leaving, it is not advisable to advance and not dare to push, otherwise you will lose the hope of the people. Now Liang's army has little food, so he will go. "Yi refused, so he sought Liang. When they arrived, they climbed mountains and dug camps, refusing to fight. Jia Xu and Wei Ping asked for a battle several times, because they said: "The public is as afraid of Shu as a tiger, but the world will laugh at it!" Yi Bingzhi. The generals are eager to fight. In the fifth month of Xia Dynasty, at the end of Xin Dynasty, Yi Nai sent Zhang He to attack He Ping, the prisoner who was not in charge, in Nanwei, and committed suicide in the middle of the road to Xiang Liang. Liang sent Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, and Wu Ban to fight against the enemy, and the Wei army was defeated. The Han people received three thousand soldiers, and Yi returned to the camp. In June, Liang withdrew his army after running out of food, and Sima Yi sent Zhang He to pursue him. He entered Mumen (southwest of today's Tianshui, Gansu Province) and fought with Liang. The Shu people were lying on high ground, their bows and crossbows fired wildly, and flying arrows hit He's right knee and he died.

It can be seen that the former said that Sima Yi was victorious, while the latter said that Sima Yi was defeated.

The biographies of Zhuge Liang, Zhang He, Guo Huai and others in "Three Kingdoms" all mention this in passing. Moreover, the former avoided talking about Sima Yi asking Zhang He to pursue Shu. Relatively speaking, the latter is more credible. Current military reference books are also based on the latter records.

After the Shu army retreated, military advisor Du Xi and warlord Xue Ti both estimated that Zhuge Liang would invade again next year when the wheat was ripe, and suggested that grain should be transported in winter to solve the problem of lack of grain in Longyou. Sima Yi thought: "Liang came out of Qishan again and attacked Chencang. He was defeated and turned back. Even if he goes out later and does not attack the city again, he should seek field battles, which must be in the east of Longxi, not in the west. Every time Liang hated the lack of food, he returned home There will be accumulation of grain, and according to my predictions, it cannot be moved unless it is Sanmin." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

In February of the second year of Qinglong (234), Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang led 100,000 troops out of Xiegu to attack Wei. In April, Zhuge Liang arrived at Yi County (now north of Mei County, Shaanxi Province) and stationed south of the Weishui River. Wei general Sima Yi led his army across the Wei River and built a fortress behind the water to stop them. The generals wanted to stalemate Zhuge Liang across the water in Weibei, but Sima Yi said: "The people are all gathered in Weinan, and this is a must-win place" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). Then he crossed the Wei River and set up camp on his back. After Sima Yi analyzed the situation, he said to the generals: "If you are as bright as a brave man, you should use your martial arts to follow the mountains to the east. If you go west to Wuzhangyuan (southwest of Meixian County, Shaanxi Province today), then the troops will be fine." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan" ).

As expected, Zhuge Liang went to Wuzhangyuan. All the generals in Wei were happy, but Guo Huai, the governor of Yongzhou, was worried. He said: "The Northern Plains will be fought for when the light is bright, so it is better to occupy it first" ("Zi Zhi Tong Jian, Volume 72"), but many generals disagreed. Guo Huai said: "If Liang crosses the Wei River and climbs the plains, and joins the troops in the northern mountains, cutting off the Long Road and destabilizing the people and barbarians, this is not in the interests of the country" ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Biography of Guo Huai"). Only then did Sima Yi realize the importance of Beiyuan, and ordered Guo Huai and others to lead his troops to move to Beiyuan. Before the barrier was completed, the Shu army arrived but failed to attack, and the two armies became in a confrontation.

In May, the Wu army attacked Wei in three directions with 100,000 troops to cooperate with the Shu army. Emperor Wei Ming sent Qin Lang to lead 20,000 people to aid Sima Yi, and he led the main force to counterattack the Wu army. In July, the Wu army withdrew.

Zhuge Liang's eastward advance was blocked by Sima Yi. He advanced from the Wei River and was blocked by Guo Huai, so he moved his army to attack Sanguan, Longcheng and other places, and then returned to attack Sima Yi.

In August, Sima Yi followed the instructions of Emperor Ming to "refuse to defend the wall and wait for work at ease" and stayed with Zhuge Liang for more than a hundred days. Zhuge Liang challenged him several times, but Sima Yi refused to come out. He wanted to wait for the Shu army to run out of food and then counterattack. Zhuge Liang sent someone to send Sima Yi "Women's Ornaments" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan") to humiliate him, hoping to provoke Sima Yi to fight, but Sima Yi still refused to fight. In order to calm the dissatisfaction of his subordinates, he deliberately pretended to be angry and asked for a fight. Emperor Ming did not allow it, and sent his minister Xinpi Zhangjie to be Sima Yi's military adviser to control his actions. As soon as Zhuge Liang came to challenge him, Sima Yi would lead his troops to attack. Xinpi's staff was placed at the military gate, so Sima Yi did not send troops.

When Xinpi arrived, Shu general Jiang Wei said to Zhuge Liang: "Xinpi's staff has arrived, and the thief will never come back." Zhuge Liang said: "He has no fighting spirit, so if you insist on asking, To show force to others. If the general is in the army and the emperor's orders are not accepted, how can he control me even though he has traveled thousands of miles to fight against evil?" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan")! Zhuge Liang then divided his troops to garrison the fields and made preparations for a long-term garrison.

Sima Yi’s younger brother Sima Fu wrote to ask about the military situation on the front line. Sima Yi wrote back: "Liang Liang has great ambitions but does not see opportunities. He has many plans but few decisions. He is a good soldier but has no authority. Although he has raised 100,000 soldiers, he has fallen into my trap." In the painting, it must be broken" ("Jin Shu·Xuan Emperor Ji").

Soon, Zhuge Liang sent an envoy to ask for war. Sima Yi did not talk about military affairs, but asked the envoy: "How is Duke Zhuge's daily life? How many meters can he eat?" The envoy said: "Three or four liters." Then he asked about political affairs, and the envoy said: "Twenty punishments have been handed down, so I can reflect on myself." After some casual questioning, Sima Yi said to the person: "How long has Zhuge Kongming been able to do this" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan")! Sure enough, Zhuge Liang died of illness in the Wuzhangyuan Army that month.

The Shu general did not announce his mourning secretly, and the whole army retreated. When the local people saw the Shu army withdrawing, they reported to Sima Yi, who sent troops to pursue them. Yang Yi, the general of Shu, returned with flags and drums and pretended to fight back. Sima Yi thought he had been tricked and hurriedly gathered his troops and retreated. The next day, Sima Yi visited Zhuge Liang's camp and "viewed his remains and obtained many of his books and grains" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

Based on this, Sima Yi concluded that Zhuge Liang was dead and praised Zhuge Liang as "a genius in the world" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

Xinpi believed that it was still unknown whether Zhuge Liang was dead. Sima Yi said: "The most important things in the military family, including military secrets and plans, and food and grain for soldiers and horses, are all abandoned now. How can anyone donate his five treasures and survive?" Huh? We should pursue him urgently" ("Jin Shu·Xuan Di Ji"). So he led his troops to pursue him. There are many thorns in Guanzhong, so Sima Yi sent three thousand soldiers to wear flat wooden clogs made of soft materials and walk in front of the army. The thorns were all stuck on the wooden clogs, and then the army marched forward on horseback. After chasing him all the way to Chi'an, he got the exact news of Zhuge Liang's death. There was a proverb at that time: "Zhuge died and Zhongda was born." Sima Yi smiled and said: "It is convenient for me to predict life, but it is not convenient to predict death" ("Book of Jin·Xuan Emperor Ji").

This is the end of Zhuge Liang's seven-year campaign to attack Wei. Zhuge Liang ignored his strategic missteps and used a single state to attack Wei in the Central Plains. Even though he tried his best to be loyal and wise, he was unable to achieve his strategic goals due to the disparity in strength. Under the correct command of Sima Yi and others, the Wei State adopted a defensive strategy with superior force, and finally won the final victory by not retreating the Shu army without fighting.

Shu generals Yang Yi and Wei Yan fought for power after withdrawing their troops, and Yang Yi killed Wei Yan. Sima Yi wanted to take the opportunity to attack Shu, but Emperor Ming did not approve it, so he gave up.

In the third year of Qinglong (235), Sima Yi was promoted to Taiwei.

When the warlords were fighting in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Gongsun Du occupied Liaodong. This separatist force was weak and submissive to the Cao Wei regime. It sometimes rebelled and sometimes surrendered, maintaining a semi-independent status. After Gongsun Yuan became the governor of Liaodong, he became even more unkind to Wei. In the first year of Jingchu (237), Gongsun Yuan, the former prefect of Wei and Liaodong, betrayed Wei and established himself as King of Yan. He appointed hundreds of officials and made his capital Xiangping (today's Liaoyang, Liaoning).

In the first month of the second year of Jingchu (238), Emperor Wei Ming summoned Sima Yi back to Beijing and ordered him to lead an army to attack. Emperor Ming said: "This is not enough to trouble the king. The desire to do things must be suppressed, so it is annoying to the ears. What is the king's plan to do it?" Sima Yi said: "Abandoning the city and moving forward is the first plan. According to the Liao River to distance the army, the second plan is Ye. Sitting in Xiangping, this is a good idea." Emperor Ming asked again: "What's the plan?" Sima Yi replied: "Only those who are wise can go deep into the enemy's territory, and this is beyond his reach. The army's expedition will not last long, so we must first move away from the Liao River and then defend. This is a trick. " Emperor Ming asked: "How long will it take to return?" Sima Yi said: "Go for a hundred days, return for a hundred days, attack for a hundred days, and then take six. Ten days is for rest, and one year is enough” (Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan).

At that time, the imperial court overhauled the palaces and added military supplies, which resulted in the people being starved. Before Sima Yi went on an expedition, he dissuaded Emperor Ming, saying: "In the past, the Duke of Zhou controlled Luoyi, and Xiao He built Weiyang. Now the palace is not prepared, and it is the responsibility of the minister. However, from the north of the river, the people are poor, and there are wars outside and inside. The situation is not prosperous at the same time. It is appropriate to He pretended to be in charge of internal affairs in order to save himself from emergencies" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

In the first month of the first month, Sima Yi led Niu Jin, Hu Zun and others with 40,000 cavalry, starting from the capital, passing through Guzhu, crossing Jieshi, and in the sixth month, they entered Liao River. Sure enough, Gongsun Yuan urgently ordered the generals Bei Yan, Yang Zuo and others to lead tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to encircle the trench for more than 20 miles along the Liao River and build strong walls and high bases to block the Wei army.

Sima Yi adopted the strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west. He first set up multiple flags on the southern front to pretend to attack the siege, attracting the main force of the enemy army, and then used the main force to covertly cross the Liao River and push into the enemy camp. Then, instead of attacking the enemy camp, he sent his troops directly to Xiangping, Gongsun Yuan's base (Liaodong County Administrative Office, today's Liaoyang, Liaoning Province). The general did not understand what he meant and said: "We do not attack the thieves but encircle them. This is not the reason for showing off to the public." Sima Yi explained: "The thieves have established a strong camp and want to use my soldiers. Attacking them is in line with their plan. This is This is why Wang Yi was ashamed to cross Kunyang. The ancients said that although the enemy has a high base, if he has to fight with me, he must attack it. If the thieves are here, their nest will be empty, and I will attack Xiangping. If you harbor inner fear and seek battle out of fear, you will surely defeat it." ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). Then the enemy was forced to abandon the encirclement and return to rescue Xiangping. Sima Yi's commander turned back to the mountain (today's southwest of Liaoyang, Liaoning Province) to meet the enemy's reinforcements, and said to the generals: "That's why I won't attack his camp. I'm going to do this, so I can't lose it" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan"). The Wei army attacked and won all three battles, so they took advantage of the victory and marched into Xiangping.

When Gongsun Yuan heard that the Wei army was attacking, he asked for help from Sun Quan. Sun Quan also sent troops to support him and wrote a letter to Gongsun Yuan: "Sima Gong is good at using troops, his transformation is like a god, he is indomitable, and he is deeply moved. My brother is worried about it" ("Jin Shu·Xuan Emperor Ji").

It was the first month of the third year of Jingchu (239 years).

Qi King Cao Fang was only eight years old, so Sima Yi and General Cao Shuang accepted the imperial edict to assist the young master. When the King of Qi came to the throne, Sima Yi was appointed as Shizhong, Chijie, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese and foreign armies, and Recorder of Secretariat. Sima Yi and Cao Shuang each commanded 3,000 elite troops to rule the government.

Cao Shuang wanted to squeeze out Sima Yi and wanted Shangshu to approve him in advance so that he could have exclusive power and advise the emperor to change Sima Yi to the position of Grand Sima. The courtiers believed that many of the former great ministers had died in office, which was unlucky, so they appointed Sima Yi as a Taifu without real power. Like Xiao He in the Han Dynasty, he did not rush into the palace, praised and worshiped without fame, and went to the palace with swords and shoes.

In April of the second year of Zhengshi (241), Emperor Wu Sun Quan divided his troops into four groups to attack Wei: Wei General Quan Cong led tens of thousands of troops out of Huainan to attack the water at Shaipei (now south of Shouxian County, Anhui). Weibei general Zhuge Ke attacked Lu'an (now northeast of Liu'an, Anhui), former general Zhu Ran attacked Fancheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei), and general Zhuge Jin attacked Zuzhong (now the Nanzhangman River Basin in Hubei).

In May, Wu general Quan Cong invaded Shaopi, Zhu Ran and Sun Lun besieged Fancheng, Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhao invaded and plundered Taizhong, and Sima Yi himself asked to send troops to fight. The court officials believed that the enemy troops came from afar to attack the fortress and should be defeated by themselves. Sima Yi said: "The border city is attacked by the enemy and sits in the temple. The battlefield is turbulent and everyone is doubtful. This is a big worry for the country" ("Book of Jin: Chronicles of Emperor Xuan").

In June, Sima Yi led the army to reinforce the army. Sima Yi knew that the south was hot and humid and it was not suitable for the army to stay here for a long time. He first sent Qingqi to challenge, but Zhu Ran did not dare to move. So, the native soldiers rested. Select elites, recruit warriors, issue orders, and prepare to attack the city. The Wu army was frightened and retreated overnight. At Sanzhoukou (the junction of Jing, Yu, and Yangzhou), the Wei army pursued them, and the Wu army was wiped out. More than 10,000 people were wiped out, and a lot of ships and materials were lost. The Wu army that attacked Lu'an and Pizhong also returned without success.

In the seventh month, Sima Yi was added to Shiyun and Linying, and he conquered four counties, with ten thousand households in the city, and eleven of his sons were all princes.

Previously, the state of Wu sent Zhuge Ke to garrison Wancheng, which made people around him feel miserable. Sima Yi was about to lead his troops to attack it. The deputies thought that Zhuge Ke occupied a strong city and had a wide range of grain and grain. He could attack alone from a distance and reinforcements would surely arrive. At that time, he was out of position and did not see any convenience. Sima Yi said: "The leader of the thieves is Shui Ye. Now we attack the city to see what happens. If we use our strengths and abandon the city and run away, this will be a victory for the temple. If we dare to hold on, the lake will be shallow in winter and the boats will not be able to move." It is bound to abandon the water to save each other, and it is also my benefit to be short-changed" ("Book of Jin·Xuan Emperor Ji"). So, in September of the fourth year of Zhengshi (243), Sima Yi led his army to go on an expedition. When the army arrived at Shu City, Zhuge Ke burned the troops and abandoned the city.

In the spring of the fifth year of Zhengshi (244), the general Cao Shuang wanted to establish his reputation in the world. He refused to listen to the dissuasion of Grand Tutor Sima Yi and advocated an attack on Shu. Emperor Wei followed. As a result, Wang Ping, the former supervisor of Shu and the general of Zhenbei, was defeated. The Wei army was blocked from rising, and the rear was not supplied with military supplies. A large number of cattle, horses, mules and donkeys died. Shufu County and Fei Yi's reinforcements also arrived one after another.