Is Wei Yan's conspiracy feasible? years laterTen thousand lives to solve the mystery
In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", one of China's four famous novels, Zhuge Liang followed Liu Bei's will and actively went on the Northern Expedition. Among them, Zhuge Liang's six departures from Qishan Mountain, as well as the scene of tears and horses in the first Northern Expedition, have been widely praised.
Ma Tan violated Zhuge Liang's orders, did not listen to the dissuasion of the deputy general Wang Ping, and set up camp in the mountains, but was defeated by the Wei general Zhang He, and Shu Han lost its strategic location. At the same time, Zhao Yun lost in the Bao Slope, and Gao Xiang also suffered a setback in Lieliucheng.
Coupled with the arrival of Wei reinforcements, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to withdraw his troops, and the first Northern Expedition ended in failure. In this Northern Expedition, Wei Yan, the Taishou of Hanzhong of Shu State, proposed the controversial "Meridian Valley Scheme", he advocated leading 5,000 elite soldiers to raid Chang'an from the Meridian Valley, taking advantage of Xiahou Nan's weakness, and capturing Chang'an, while Zhuge Liang led the army to set off from Qishan, and the two met at Tongguan.
Zhuge Liang once put forward the strategy of "being sure to overcome and be safe" to take Longyou, but because Zhang He broke Ma Tan, the plan of the Northern Expedition was not realized. In order to verify the feasibility of the "Meridian Valley Conspiracy", we assume that Zhuge Liang agreed that Wei Yan would lead 5,000 soldiers and horses to attack Chang'an through the Meridian Valley.
However, the first question is whether it will be able to pass through the Meridian Valley smoothly. Looking at history, Cao Zhen took the Meridian Valley to attack the Hanzhong region of Shu in 230 AD, but failed because of the rugged road in the Meridian Valley and the heavy rain that fell for more than 30 days.
According to the records of the Ming Emperor, at that time, "Yi, Luo, He, and Han overflowed", and even caused the serious consequences of "years of fierce hunger". Roads were destroyed due to continuous heavy rains, damp and moldy grain and grass, and the morale of the army was low.
Therefore, the feasibility of the "Meridian Valley Conspiracy" still needs to be deepened and verified.
Meridian Valley didn't pass smoothly if he wanted to, because Wang Yaowu's troops didn't go out after three or four days of crawling in Meridian Valley. And the water is running out and the supplies are running out.
What's more, it was impossible for Wei Yan to carry a siege while passing through the Meridian Valley. If Xiahou Nan didn't run, then Wei Yan would not be able to attack the city.
In the second Northern Expedition, in order to capture Chencang City, Zhuge Liang used cloud ladders to rush cars, wells, tunnels and other means, but many sieges were unsuccessful, and finally had no choice but to withdraw his troops.
As Chang'an is an important town in Guanzhong, if Wei Yan adopts a siege strategy, the problems he faces will only be more severe. Although the siege strategy was the best strategy, if Cao Wei's reinforcements arrived in time, Wei Yan's plan could fail.
Therefore, the first army is to attack, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the army, and the next is to attack the city. For Wei Yan, there may be more factors to consider.
To make matters worse, Wei Yan also faced a shortage of food when he was separated from the large army. What the raid needs is a surprise, so it is impossible to carry too many supplies, if Chang'an cannot be attacked for a long time, the food ** of the Shu army will be interrupted, then Wei Yan will have no choice but to fail.
Moreover, even if Wei Yan successfully passed through the Meridian Valley and occupied Chang'an, he would need to face the problem of insufficient troops. Chang'an is an important town in Guanzhong, and the city is large, and it is difficult to hold it with only the 5,000 elite soldiers he brings.
Although Xiahou may abandon the city and flee, this is only the ideal scenario, and the actual situation may be more complicated. Therefore, whether it is to occupy Chang'an or defend Chang'an, Wei Yan needs to face great challenges.
1.The environment of Chang'an is complicated, and the Wei State has occupied it for a long time, even if Xiahou Nan flees without a fight, how many dissidents are there in the city? Will there be a Wei army? What is the attitude of the people towards Shu Han?
As long as there is a problem in any link, the plan to stick to Chang'an may fail. 2.Wei Yan is fighting alone, and Zhuge Liang's support speed is the key.
If he wanted to support Wei Yan, Zhuge Liang must first take the Longyou region. However, once Zhuge Liang was delayed on the way, Wei Yan's army would face the risk of fighting alone, and defeat would be almost inevitable.
To sum up, the "Meridian Valley Scheme" proposed by Wei Yan has the possibility of implementation, but because the risk of failure is too great, and the Shu State has just recovered from the Battle of Yiling, Zhuge Liang cannot agree to the execution of such a risky plan.
In the competition between countries, the decisive factor for victory or defeat is the comprehensive national strength. The main reason for Zhuge Liang's cautious use of troops was that Shu could no longer afford further defeat.
It is impossible to know whether Gao Yingxiang's "Meridian Valley Plot" and Wei Yan's "Meridian Valley Plot" were successful, but after 1400, Gao Yingxiang, who was named "King Chuang" earlier than Li Zicheng, solved this mystery for us at the cost of 50,000 people.
In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Gao Yingxiang intended to enter Xi'an through the Meridian Valley in order to expand his sphere of influence. However, his enemy was Sun Chuanting, a famous minister of the Ming Dynasty who enjoyed the reputation of "Chuan Ting died and Ming died".
Gao Yingxiang led more than 50,000 people, planning to enter Chang'an through Heishuiyu and then through Zhouzhi County. However, they ran into trouble on their way forward. Sanhe Pass is the only way to pass through the Meridian Valley, the geographical location is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, Gao Yingxiang fought hard with it for four or five days before it broke through.
However, before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the peasant army was ambushed by Sun Chuanting in Heishuiyu.
At the exit of Heishuiyu and on both sides of the valley, Sun Chuanting skillfully deployed heavy troops, and personally led part of the army to detour behind Gao Yingxiang's army, forming an impenetrable encirclement posture like an iron bucket.
At the same time, it was pouring rain in the sky. In such a harsh environment, Gao Yingxiang's army was forced to confront the Ming army, which was waiting for work, and was finally annihilated under the siege of more than 20,000 people of Sun Chuanting.
Many peasant army generals were captured, and Gao Yingxiang also ended his career with the cruel fate of Ling Chi's execution. Therefore, I personally do not think that Wei Yan's "Meridian Valley Conspiracy" is not feasible.
If you have a different opinion on this, you are welcome to comment and exchange positively.