We will ** a national policy of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period - the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains and the revival of the Han Dynasty. Although many people believe that Zhuge Liang's six northern expeditions were futile and costly, if these actions had not been taken at the beginning, Shu might have been able to exist for a few more decades.
However, I think this view is debatable, and I will elaborate on my opinion below.
There were three forces within Shu Han: the Localists, the Dongzhou Faction, and the Jingzhou Faction. The localists have been oppressed by outsiders for a long time, so after Liu Bei's death, the entire southern Sichuan was reversed, and the Shu Han regime could only control the Chengdu Plain and Hanzhong, facing the crisis of losing the country.
When Zhuge Liang faced the mess left by Liu Bei, he did not rush to quell the rebellion, but first sent Deng Zhi to Eastern Wu to restore the alliance relationship and ensure the stability of the external environment.
At the same time, the rebel forces in southern Sichuan originally had the support of Soochow, and after the realliance, it was equivalent to drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle and solving this problem. After these relations were straightened out, Zhuge Liang crossed Lu in May and went deep into the barren, and finally succeeded in solving the problem of the rebellion of the localists.
Although there are many rebel forces, to explore the future path of the country, Zhuge Liang grasps two points: one is to ensure the reputation, and the other is to establish a system. The name and the system complement each other, as the so-called name is not right, the word is not good, and if the word is not good, it is difficult to achieve.
The name provides the guarantee for the implementation of the system, and the implementation of the system becomes the backing of the name. Zhuge Liang chose to adopt the Legalist system of governing the country, treating everyone equally, regardless of relatives or relatives, and integrating public and private rights.
Implement strict rule of law and extract resources to the maximum. In order to ensure the effective implementation of the rule of law, fairness must be ensured. Only in this way can the opposition be left speechless.
Therefore, even if Zhuge Liang's heir, Ma Tan, makes a mistake, he must strictly enforce the law and show no mercy.
Zhuge Liang was a highly respected historical figure who proposed the politically correct idea of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains and the restoration of the Han Dynasty, and on this basis, the Jingzhou faction was able to govern in Shu.
However, whether we should abandon this policy and choose a more secure corner is a question worth discussing. There are also some misunderstandings about whether Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was futile.
The six Northern Expeditions out of Qishan were actually not decisive battles with the main forces of the Wei army, but military exercises. Wei Yan's Meridian Valley plot was an important strategy, but Zhuge Liang did not adopt it, because he did not intend to force the main force of Wei to fight to the death with Shu.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was not to occupy Chang'an, but to revive the Han dynasty and return to the old capital, but finally chose to carry out it in Gansu.
The real purpose of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was to consume the national strength of Wei. Although the Wei state occupied the most developed area at the time, the warlords in the Central Plains had already left the land scarred and would take decades to recover.
The Sichuan Basin, as a paradise in troubled times, has not experienced the devastation of war, so the gap in strength between Wei and Wu Shu is not as big as imagined.
In order to maintain the balance of strength between the two sides, we must constantly put pressure on Wei and must not give it a chance to recuperate. Otherwise, competing with Wei to recuperate and recuperate is self-defeating.
During this period of the Yellow Turban Army, Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan cooperated tacitly, Sun Quan took the initiative to attack Wei shortly after Cao Pi's death, and Zhuge Liang also began his first Northern Expedition, which lasted for ten years, Wu and Shu continued to provoke Wei State, so as to keep it in a state of war for a long time.
Many people may ask, won't Zhuge Liang exhaust himself by doing this?The answer is no, because Zhuge Liang has a special ** - Shu brocade. In ancient times, Shu brocade was regarded as a high-end work of art, and some friends even said that the Americans exchanged a plane for tens of thousands of pairs of pants for us, and Zhuge Liang was exchanged for the grain of Wei through the secret international **.
In this way, Shu has a considerable competitive advantage, the Shu brocade produced by three people can be exchanged for the grain of five people, and the food of the remaining two can feed an army.
In order to meet the needs of the Wei state, Zhuge Liang also popularized the production technology of Shu brocade, which allowed it to spread in the southern minority areas, such as the Tujia brocade we know today.
Even Zhuge Liang himself once said: "If you want to resist the enemy's resources, there is only Shu Jin." Finally, let's take a look at the possibility of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.
In fact, there is a possibility of success. We see that the purpose of Zhuge Liang's several northern expeditions was to Gansu, not to Chang'an directly. In the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang successfully captured the three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding, cutting off the connection between Wei and the west.
If there was no battle of Jieting at that time, Zhuge Liang could have assured and boldly attacked the western region of Wei, opened up the Western Regions, and captured Liangzhou, so that he could not only obtain the huge profits brought by the Silk Road, but also get the war horses and warriors of Liangzhou.
With the wealth of Sichuan, the armed forces of Xiliang and the ** of the Western Regions, there is enough capital to conquer Guanzhong and attack Chang'an in a dignified manner.
Why did Zhuge Liang come out of Qishan six times, all referring to Gansu, not Chang'an? Until the last Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Zhuge Liang attacked Chang'an. This move was Zhuge Liang's plan, Sima Yi thought that Zhuge Liang crossed the Weishui and Chang'an was within reach, and he thought that he would seize the opportunity and occupy a favorable terrain.
Zhuge Liang once took the Xiliang Iron Horse to Wuzhangyuan, Sima Yi was happy about this, thinking that as long as Zhuge Liang stayed in Wuzhangyuan, there was nothing to worry about. However, Guo Huai's words woke up his dream: if Zhuge Liang's goal was not Chang'an, but to take the opportunity to attack Wugong City, then Liangzhou would no longer be our territory.
However, this opportunity was missed, and the fate of Shu was also affected. Ma Tan lost the street pavilion, although on the surface it was the failure of the street pavilion, but in fact, it was the loss of the national fortune of Shu.
The Northern Expedition to the Central Plains was not only for the destruction of the enemy, but also for the survival and development of Shu.