In recent years, **, TV series, and games with the theme of the Three Kingdoms have emerged in an endless stream, and with it, criticism of historical figures has also come and gone.
Jiang Wei, the famous general of the Shu Han Dynasty who stood out from the crowd and was invincible in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", gradually gained the label of "General Waterloo". So, why did Jiang Wei, who is strong in martial arts and deeply appreciated by Zhuge Liang, collapse in the later period?
Jiang Wei, whose name is Boyo, was born in a family of military generals in Tianshui County, Shu Han Dynasty. His father, Jiang Yu, was a well-known local general who led an army to quell a Qiang rebellion, but died young due to his remaining injuries. 's mother has been widowed for many years and raised Jiang Wei with her meager savings.
Jiang Wei, who lost his father at a young age, was more introverted, but he was diligent and studious, not only training in mounted archery, but also extensively dabbling in the art of war. It is said that Jiang Wei, whose parents died, should live a hard life, but he is still filial to the woman and tries to take care of his mother's daily life. The two mothers and sons depend on each other for their lives, and their relationship is very deep.
When Jiang Wei was in his 20s, he was already famous for his bravery and good fighting. He inherited his father's ministry and protected the local people to live and work in peace and contentment. Jiang Wei is strong in martial arts and has a scholarly demeanor, which is very popular with the people. During this period, Jiang Wei gradually grew in strength and had a bright future, and was regarded as a rising star in the Shu Han regime.
In 228 AD, after learning that Jiang Wei was brave and brave, Zhuge Liang decided to win him over for his own use. Zhuge Liang had insight into Jiang Wei's advantages of filial piety, so he moved out of his elderly mother and threatened Jiang Wei to come to work. At that time, Jiang Wei was in his 30s, and it was the ** period when he was a big use. In order to repay the kindness of nurturing and to have more room for development, Jiang Wei finally decided to leave his hometown and embark on a journey to serve Shu Han.
Soon after coming to Chengdu, Jiang Wei was highly praised by Zhuge Liang. Jiang Liang was well raised and won the hearts of the people. Jiang Wei is well-read, dabbles in the art of war, and inherits his father's martial arts, so it can be said that he has both ability and political integrity. Zhuge Liang valued Jiang Wei very much, and successively worshipped him as General Fengyi, General of the Left Army, and Overseer.
In 234, Jiang Wei won a great victory in the battle with Sima Yi, a heavy general of Wei, for Wuzhangyuan, and became famous in a battle. In the following ten years, he led the army to the Central Plains many times and performed many miraculous feats. However, as time passed, Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition gradually became proud, and dozens of battles, large and small, all ended in failure.
Why did Jiang Wei go from invincible to invincible?The reason is actually very simple - he is brave and unstrategic, not good at planning, and difficult to take on big responsibilities.
Jiang Wei is upright and simple-minded, which is his advantage and disadvantage. He was patriotic and zealous and decisive in carrying out orders, which made him deeply appreciated by Zhuge Liang;But he was also reckless and lawless, which became the root cause of his repeated defeats.
For example, in 262 AD, Jiang Wei besieged Nan'an (present-day southern Gansu) and was unable to win. One of the main reasons was that he did not take into account the cold wave in the northwest after the autumn, and the army could not support it.
However, Jiang Wei was subject to Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition strategy of "Jedi counterattack" and did not dare to take the initiative to retreat. This kind of neglect of the time made Jiang Wei suffer a big loss. For example, in 263 AD, when Jiang Wei attacked Nan'an again, he attacked lightly and was occupied by the Wei general Deng Ai in a strategic place, so he could only be defeated. It can be seen that although Jiang Wei is brave, he is not good at planning and it is difficult to take on big responsibilities.
Of course, Jiang Wei's defeat also has a lot to do with the decline of Shu Han's national strength. The big ship of Shu Han has gradually sailed towards the beach and reef.
The Shu Han regime was at a disadvantage from the beginning. The territory under its jurisdiction is limited to the southwest corner, and most of them are high mountains and dense forests, and the financial revenue is limited. Coupled with the benevolence of the monarch Liu Bei, the situation of the people's poor livelihood has not been fundamentally improved. As a result, the combat effectiveness of the Shu Han army has always been difficult to compete with Wei and Wu.
More critically, in 246, Liu Bei, the center of power in Shu Han, died and was succeeded by Liu Chan. Unlike Liu Bei, who is eloquent and talented, Liu Chan is mediocre and incompetent, and after the Hedong Incident, he even wanted to surrender directly. The government is gradually controlled by Huang Hao and Fei Yi, who are in power. They suppressed loyalty, caused the government and the opposition to be centrifuged, and laid a hidden danger for the demise of Shu Han.
In such an environment, Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition was destined to be difficult to produce practical results. Every campaign he commanded was shrinking the already barren treasury. And when he returns in triumph, all the spoils of war must be handed over to the monarch, and he will get nothing. This undoubtedly broke the morale of the Northern Expeditionary Army. And the traitors in the DPRK and China were extremely dissatisfied with Jiang Wei's reckless military force, and slandered him in front of Liu Chan many times.
As long as there are reasonable people, they can see that the general trend has gone, and the foundation of Shu Han is crumbling. However, the upright Jiang Wei couldn't accept this fact and insisted on fighting against the water. This led to his useless work on the eve of the fall of his home country. It wasn't until Deng Ai's army approached Chengdu that Jiang Wei realized that the rebellious Huang Hao and others were the source of the collapse of the regime. However, it was too late, and the fall of Shu Han was imminent.
Although Jiang Wei has clearly understood the situation, he is still the hot-blooded young man who sees death as if he were home. In 265, Deng Ai captured Chengdu, and Jiang Wei couldn't bear to survive, so he killed himself. This famous general with infinite scenery can only perish with his family and country.
Jiang Wei's failure is actually reasonable. As a martial artist, he should have charged into battle and made great contributions. But as a strategist, he was unable to do it, and in the end he could not escape the fate of defeat. But even so, Jiang Wei will still be remembered by history - a tragic hero who moves forward bravely, but also stubbornly.
Jiang Wei's life is a microcosm of the fall of Shu Han at the end of the Three Kingdoms. It shows the helplessness and desolation of a regime that declines and never returns to its heyday. But at the same time, it also reflects the indelible blood and hard work in human nature - even if the mountains and rivers are exhausted, they still have to fight against fate to the end!
Jiang Wei has grown from a young talent with unlimited potential, to the second-largest general in Shu Han, and then to a tragic hero who witnessed the fall of his mother country, his life trajectory has been full of ups and downs, which can be described as singing and crying. If it weren't for the fact that the giant ship of Shu Han was slowly sinking, maybe Jiang Wei would be the one who changed the world and unified the Three Kingdoms - what a moving historical paragraph!
However, precisely because the general trend of Shu Han has gone, Jiang Wei and his Northern Expedition cannot escape the fate of failure. Jiang Wei failed without complaint, because the country was ruined, and it was difficult for loyal ministers to survive in troubled timesJiang Wei's defeat was gloriously remarkable because he was defeated by the general trend, not by manpower. It's a pity that he was born at the wrong time, and his talent has nowhere to be displayed;But he regards death as home, and his blood stains the Shu River!
Jiang Wei's life condenses all the elements of the last years of the Three Kingdoms: the ups and downs of the Mandate of Heaven and the change of dynasties;The ministers are fighting inward, and the border generals are fighting outside. His defeat is the epitome of a historical tragedy;His unhesitating righteousness is also a microcosm of the spirit of loyalty and righteousness in Chinese culture. This is Jiang Wei, a true hero who is doomed to defeat but still fights bravely!