Of course, when it comes to the word "motivation", no matter to the ancients or the present, except my self-expression, others can only talk about their own motives subjectively. At present, the court sometimes analyzes the motivation according to the behavior and profit results of the parties. For Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, we can also use his related actions and profit results to analyze his hidden motives under the high-sounding slogan.
I think that Zhuge Liang's constant northern expedition, no matter what the slogan is called, is the greatest motivation for his repeated northern expeditions for personal centralization. Only in the wartime state of the Northern Expedition did Zhuge Liang have an excuse to raise his political opponent Li Yan and take the opportunity to get rid of him. Only in the name of the Northern Expedition can we command the emperor around the "model" like that, and arrange his cronies Xiang Chong and others to take charge of the court. At the same time, the process of centralization in the Northern Expedition is the necessary guarantee for Zhuge Liang to enjoy the privilege and firmly grasp the army to maintain his position.
Let's briefly review Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition:
Zhuge Liang made careful preparations for the first Northern Expedition. Liu Bei entrusted orphans, but did not put Zhuge Liang in charge of military affairs. However, through the organizational process of the first Northern Expedition, he skillfully squeezed out Li Yan, who was also an orphan entrusted by important officials, and became a full-fledged military commander for the first time. The Northern Expedition was indeed a good way for Zhuge Liang to gain personal centralization and fame, but it is undeniable that he did contribute to the country at that time, and it was a public interest for the emperor to return to his former residence. "
But after the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang was demoted and blocked everyone's mouth. Only by launching the next war, even if he makes a little contribution, can he restore his official position and prestige. So the so-called Northern Expedition began again and again. Only in this organizational state of the Northern Expedition can Zhuge Liang combine military power, political power, human rights and property rights, so he will launch five northern expeditions again and again regardless of the results of the Northern Expedition and whether it wastes people and money. For the centralization of the rulers, the result of the Northern Expedition is secondary. Even if it is a key result, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition often doesn't care about the whole strategy because of that starting point. It is not how or when or whether the Northern Expedition can be successful, but only on the premise of trying to ensure less risk (this is the starting point of disagreeing with Wei Yan's plan), focusing on plundering a part of the population and temporarily occupying several cities, so that it can be recorded in the "credit" book of Prime Minister Zhuge.
Zhuge Liang's performance in the Northern Expedition was basically in vain, but the final result was not completely under his control, so it is natural that Zhuge Liang's behavior and motivation cannot be analyzed in isolation simply by the results of the Northern Expedition. Although the result of the "after-the-fact" labor in the Northern Expedition can be regarded as one aspect, it is not the key point of the problem. The key to explore Zhuge Liang's motivation for the Northern Expedition is to analyze whether all his actions during the Northern Expedition were necessary for the military deployment of the Northern Expedition, whether it was conducive to the Northern Expedition and whether it was conducive to individual centralization.
Let's take a look at Zhuge Liang's actions, such as "taking the opportunity to get rid of his political enemy Li Yan", "installing cronies to defend the court", "bossing the emperor around" and "redeploying troops to restore his title after a crushing defeat", to see if they are all actions that have nothing to do with the real purpose of the Northern Expedition, but are conducive to his personal centralization.
1。 Ask Li Yan to seize the military power: Is it necessary for Zhuge Liang to mobilize Li Yan who was entrusted by his will to "unify internal and external military affairs" and seize his military power for the purpose of the Northern Expedition?
As early as before the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang asked Li Yan to send troops stationed in Jiangzhou to Hanzhong on the grounds that there would be empty military power in Hanzhong after the Northern Expedition. If Li Yan really goes to Hanzhong, it is obvious that his army will be incorporated and he will become a general under Zhuge Liang's account. Jiangzhou is a second-tier town in the eastern part of Shu-Han, bordering Wu Dong and Cao-Wei. Facing the forces of Cao-Wei in the north, Hanzhong is in a similar position. At that time, Zhuge Liang couldn't come up with a convincing reason why Li Yan and Jiangzhou troops had to move to Hanzhong and had to give up temporarily.
Later, after several concentrated northern expeditions, Li Yan was finally coerced and his son was promoted. In the ninth year of lite, Zhuge Liang made the fourth northern expedition, was deprived of military power, and became Zhuge Liang's "Zhong Hu Fu", which was soon abolished as Shu Ren for his crimes.
Was it really important for the purpose of the Northern Expedition that Li Yan was transferred to Zhuge's men? Or simply get rid of an orphaned political opponent in the name of the Northern Expedition? I once saw that there was a heated discussion about Li Yan's position and his own right and wrong. I think these are secondary issues. Li Yan himself is really not a good bird, but in the end he was caught by Zhuge Liang. It was Zhuge Liang who, in violation of the wishes of his late master, used threats and inducements to mobilize Li Yan, who was entrusted by the audience and unified internal and external military affairs, for his own use and seized military power, not because Li Yanxian made a mistake and was caught. Zhuge Liang used the excuse of the Northern Expedition to do it first, so Li Yan's later mistakes have nothing to do with this article. If anyone has the ability to prove that it is necessary to mobilize Li Yan and seize his military power in the Northern Expedition, and the result is beneficial to the Northern Expedition and the country, then the suspicion that Zhuge Liang used the Northern Expedition to eliminate dissidents and centralize power can be cleared.
2。 Confidant of Shu: If Zhuge Liang really wants to carry forward the legacy of his late master, as the teacher said, he clearly said, "Ma Su exaggerates, so don't use it too much. You have to abide by it! " Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, "disobeyed the public" because the Ma brothers were his cronies of Jingchu Group, making him a pioneer candidate for the first Northern Expedition. If this matter is still related to the Northern Expedition, and Zhuge Liang didn't know the consequences at that time, then I would like to ask the Lord to "work in the palace, no matter how big or small" and "learn from the cronies of the listed Jingchu Group (no one in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and Yizhou) and then implement it", so that the late Lord completely lost the rights that a monarch should have. What does this have to do with the purpose of the northern expedition? Is it a necessary military action? Or in the name of the northern expedition, set a network of cronies around the left master?
As a foreign regime, it is for the stability of the country to prevent local people from getting their hands on the top. "。 This is not appropriate. Zhuge Liang himself is absolutely attached to Jingchu Legalists, and Liu Bei's political power of Han Shu, Dongzhou and Yizhou people have also made great contributions. For the sake of national interests and meritocracy, Liu Bei once relied heavily on these people. Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, ignored the last words of his late master and only used his cronies Jingchu Group. First of all, he violated the principle of meritocracy and obviously had his own selfishness. Guo Youzhi, Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Xiang Chong and others in Jingchu Group, which Zhuge Liang called "pro-saints", proved to be virtuous ministers, but in other words, aren't He Zong, Guan Fei, Wang Mou and others all virtuous ministers? Moreover, they are all officials of the Jiuqing Palace, and their rank alone is much higher than these assistant ministers and assistant ministers. Not to mention them, if there is no selfishness, it is all for the national interest, and it is unreasonable to be emotional and rational.
3。 Command the emperor around: Zhuge Liang used the order of the Northern Expedition as an excuse to say that "all palaces are one" and equated his "mansion" with the emperor's court. Is this the duty and etiquette that a courtier should abide by? No matter whether I am unfaithful or not, at least Zhuge Liang always borrows the legacy of his late master and "revives the Han Dynasty" in the mode of the Northern Expedition, acting like an old man admonishing his son, which completely violates the way of courtiers. Is this attitude towards the monarch necessary for officials of the Northern Expedition to do good?
In addition, Cao Cao said that he tied the world, and his wish was to be called a general at most (whether sincere or not, at least in public). As for the so-called "loyal minister" Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, he publicly declared that if the Northern Expedition is successful, he can take the emperor back to his old capital. "Although ten lives are tolerable, the situation is not as good as nine evils" (nine fingers plus nine tin), Zhuge Liang made it clear. Such an arrogant attitude really violates the duty of a courtier, and all this can only be implemented under the slogan and excuse of the Northern Expedition.
Some people will say that Zhuge Liang has always been admired by future generations, such as Zhu and Yue Fei, and has become the idols of many future generations. So there is no problem with his attitude and tone towards the monarch. It is the attitude that a courtier should have towards the emperor in feudal times, and I can only be speechless. We should look at the original historical materials and make an objective analysis, instead of analyzing the problems with the emotional admiration of some later generations for their own ideals or political purposes. Zhuge Liang was born in humble background, and he was also a very important minister. He was the only powerful minister in ancient China who was famous both before and after his death. If we take the attitude of idolatry as an example, then Guan Yu, who was respected by later generations for political purposes, is also great. Therefore, I think it is better to treat the original records of historical materials such as the History of the Three Kingdoms objectively and coldly, and don't use some statements and habitual thinking of later generations as arguments.
4。 After the defeat, he once again mobilized the army to restore his title: if Zhuge Liang really repented of his demotion after his first defeat, why did he "be the prime minister and the president as before"? Let's put it this way, Zhuge Liang thinks that he is incompetent in the Northern Expedition, but he will not delegate power for the Northern Expedition ("If he dies, he can't emulate the Central Plains and compete with the country")
Then, after the first defeat, Zhuge Liang hastily launched the second Northern Expedition in the winter of the same year, without seriously learning the lessons of the failure, paying attention to the needs of the people all over the country after the war, and making preparations before the war and making clear operational plans. This is not the pursuit of victory. It is rare to launch a second war urgently and frequently after such a crushing defeat.
Is there a clear reason to explain this behavior if you don't take credit for returning to your post as soon as possible in order to gag everyone? In the end, the Northern Expedition came back in vain, showing insufficient preparation. It is precisely because of the hasty preparation time and impure motives that such a waste of people and property is caused.
The slogan and so-called boldness of vision of the Northern Expedition should be supported by a detailed strategic plan when launching every war. Before that, Zhuge Liang realized that there was a very similar confrontation in Longzhong, but when he really led the troops (except for Liu Bei's trip to Yizhou, Zhuge Liang basically had little chance to lead troops to fight), except for the first time, the so-called "Northern Expedition" later never split up, where to attack first and then where to attack. Some people will say that if the weak Shu State does not continue to take the initiative to attack, it will be wiped out by Wei immediately, but historical facts tell us that the Northern Expedition was interrupted after Zhuge Liang's death, and Shu State remained intact for more than 20 years. It can be seen that Zhuge Liang's theory of harassing the Northern Expedition, which is necessary for the founding of the country, is completely untenable.
Military strength is the foundation of strength. Although Zhuge Liang took power, in the process of the Northern Expedition, he could take all the military power that Liu Beiben had not fully granted. Only by having complete military power (depriving Li Yan and other political opponents of the right to lead troops independently) can the peak of power be guaranteed. If Zhuge Liang did make a contribution to the country in the first Northern Expedition, except for his intention to make strict adjustments and build up his military strength, then the "harassment" of the Northern Expedition without a clear strategic plan was mostly his "achievement project" for centralization and prestige, regardless of whether the country and people could benefit. In order to maintain his centralization, he had to follow rather than drive the chariot of the Northern Expedition.
Through the analysis of Zhuge Liang's related behaviors, why did Zhuge Liang, such a cautious person, launch wars with unclear strategic goals again and again so casually, regardless of the actual advantages and disadvantages of the country? I'm afraid the reason can only be explained by his purely personal starting point that he hopes to maintain and enjoy centralization in wartime and gain a reputation equivalent to his position, thus completely overriding the interests of the country and the people. Although he was already a "very important minister, he gave tens of billions" in the centralization of the Northern Expedition again and again, he never felt at ease. At the same time, he needs to constantly exercise his rights to maintain his current position, and he needs "fame" to increase the persuasiveness of his position. If we analyze from this angle, how can a smart person like Zhuge Liang keep doing things that are "short of talents", which is not good for the country and makes sense. Zhuge Liang's behavior of "knowing what not to do" in the Northern Expedition was forced to sit in that position by him.
Some people may ask, after Liu Beigang's death, Zhuge Liang has set up a government to manage affairs. "No matter how meticulous, it is necessary for him to centralize power through repeated northern expeditions."
In fact, at the beginning of Zhuge Liang's power, important appointments may not be fully in place during the first Northern Expedition. It was through the Northern Expedition that Zhuge Liang firmly grasped the military power that Liu Bei did not fully grant him the privilege of bossing around the emperor. Besides, exercising power is a pleasure, and some people who once had power are willing to take a rest. Why don't the 70-or 80-year-old Red Army want to retire? Thinking about making trouble all day long, Zhuge Liang continued to harass the Northern Expedition, and he had to make a personal decision on the trivial matters of beating twenty, so it was hard to say that he did not enjoy the privilege of "commanding" in the army. Moreover, military power is the basis for maintaining political power. Zhuge Liang can only maintain his position at the peak of power by going through the Northern Expeditions again and again and firmly grasping the army.
When excessive centralization is out of control, there will be a general situation that personal interests are above the interests of the country and the people. Zhuge Ke, as Zhuge's nephew, later learned from others in the Northern Expedition that the attack on Xincheng was also due to a similar situation. This is why he concocted a "post-learning example" (which has been verified by historical experts), because he, like Zhuge Liang, did not take the Northern Expedition as the real purpose. But as a weight of individual rights, it's just that Zhuge Ke is unlucky or not as good as his uncle. Failure in the Northern Expedition doesn't count. He can't deal with internal opponents. If he learns from his uncle, he will replace the Sun Shi Guards in charge of the court with someone like Xiang Chong, and he will have to pretend to be demoted several times after his failure. In these respects, if he can learn as much as his uncle, he may not lose everything in the end. In this respect, Zhuge Liang is indeed a great politician, and no one can match him.