Under the sky of Shu Han, the stars are bright, and the most dazzling one is the "Wolong" Zhuge Liang. With his thoughtful strategy and noble personality strength, he escorted the Shuhan foundation pioneered by Liu Bei in the turbulent times of the Three Kingdoms. However, even if it is Mr. Kong Ming, who is as wise as the sea and has a well-known virtue, in his magnificent chapter of life, there are also regrettable and even major decisions that may change the direction of history, just imagine, if Zhuge Liang can make different choices at the key historical node, leaving any of these three generals, perhaps the fate of Shu Han will be rewritten, and it is not an unattainable dream to stand alone in the Central Plains and dominate the world.
The first to bear the brunt was the young and promising Ma Yan, who was quick and quick-witted, but he fell into a tragedy due to the negligence of the Battle of the Street Pavilion. Secondly, Liu Bei's son Liu Feng finally lost Jingzhou because of his forbearance for a while, laying a path of no return for himself. In the end, it was Wei Yan, who was brave and good at fighting but was repeatedly suspicious, and finally died in Hanzhong.
These three generals were originally the pillars of Shu Han, however, due to Zhuge Liang's fatal decision, they fell one after another, becoming one of the most regrettable regrets in the history of Shu Han. What decisions led to this chain of irreparable tragedies? Let's walk through the fog of history, uncover this forgotten story, and consider the intricate intertwining of fates between Zhuge Liang and these three generals.
Ma Jian is young and talented, and his intelligence is highly valued by Zhuge Liang. However, in the Battle of Jieting, the key of the Northern Expedition to Wei, Ma Tan's mistakes became a painful lesson for Shu Han. In the sixth year of Jianxing, Zhuge Liang went on a northern expedition, and encountered a strong enemy Zhang He in the first battle. The Jieting battlefield, which was supposed to be an important strategic node, became the key to the defeat of the Shu army. Although Ma Tan was theoretically proficient in the art of war, due to his lack of actual combat experience, he underestimated the battle situation, resulting in serious military mistakes.
Under Zhuge Liang's trust in Ma Tan, he was appointed as the general of the Four Towns and became the chief general of the Battle of Jieting. However, the young Ma Tan, who played a pivotal role on the battlefield, showed an overly impatient and underestimated attitude. He violated Zhuge Liang's deployment and chose to camp on Nanshan, giving up the water source in his hands, which led to confusion and improper scheduling of the troops.
Ma Tan's opponent was Zhang He, one of the four famous generals of Hebei, who took the opportunity to cut off the Shu army's road to get water, and then launched an attack. Zhang He's strategy is ingenious, while the young Ma Tan is inadequate at a tactical level. Despite the repeated admonitions of the pioneer Wang Ping, Ma Jian was overconfident and refused to adopt his plan.
In the face of Zhang He's onslaught, Ma Tan fell into passivity and almost died on the battlefield. Fortunately, Wang Ping created the illusion of the arrival of reinforcements and rescued them. However, the street pavilion was lost, the Shu army was defeated, and Zhuge Liang had to"Tears slash horses", in order to calm the morale of the army, Zhang Xiu, Li Sheng and others who fought with him were all executed.
Ma Tan's talent and young life came to an abrupt end in the Battle of the Street Pavilion when he died at the age of 39. His death makes people sigh that this outstanding military commander who could have become the future of Shu lost the opportunity to show his talents when he was young. The cause of Ma Tan's death was not entirely due to his fault, but more to Zhuge Liang's impatience and lack of patience. If Zhuge Liang could be more cautious and patiently cultivate this young general, maybe the Battle of Jieting would have a different ending, and the possibility of Shu Han unifying the world would be more realistic.
Liu Feng, who was originally the son of the Marquis Kou of Changsha Luo, was later favored by Liu Bei and became Liu Bei's righteous son, and changed his name to Liu Feng. He was faithful and frugal, and at one time even picked up meat from the ground and ate it. Liu Bei valued him very much, regarded him as a ** person, gave him the position of deputy lieutenant general, and trusted him to guard the mediocrity.
Liu Feng performed heroically in the Battle of Yizhou and made great achievements, and Shu Han won the victory. Liu Bei appointed important positions for him and handed over the Shangyong area to him to rule, which shows his trust in him. However, Liu Feng was killed in the Battle of Wuchao, and the reason can be traced back to a feud with Guan Yu.
When Guan Yu was in the midst of an emergency in the battle of Wuchao, he repeatedly asked Liu Feng to send troops to support. However, Liu Feng was suspicious of Guan Yu's earlier dispute with Liu Bei about his son, and at the same time, he was instigated by Meng Da and rejected Guan Yu's request. He failed to see Guan Yu's predicament, which eventually led to Guan Yu's defeat and death.
Liu Feng was reprimanded for failing to support Guan Yu and returned to Chengdu to plead with Liu Bei. However, at this time, Liu Bei had already been influenced by Zhuge Liang, and privately believed that Liu Feng was difficult to control and became a potential threat to Shu. So, Liu Bei listened to Zhuge Liang's words and gave Liu Feng to death.
Liu Feng's death was a huge loss for Shu Han. He was originally Liu Bei's heavy cadre and loyal, but he died due to a momentary misjudgment and grievances. The tragedy also highlights the complex power and interpersonal relationships between Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhuge Liang, as well as the tragic price paid for personal grievances in the war.
Wei Yan, a brave and warlike general of Shu, although he made great achievements in his life, he came to a tragic end under Zhuge Liang's suspicion. At the beginning, Wei Yan was not highly valued by Liu Bei's side, and compared to Huang Zhong, he was regarded as a "little transparent". However, his bravery and force gradually attracted Liu Bei's attention, especially after the battle of Hanzhong, where he excelled, and his prestige grew.
Liu Bei admired Wei Yan and appointed him as the governor of Hanzhong and the Taishou of Hanzhong, which made Wei Yan the focus of attention. He has excelled in this role, demonstrating a high level of governance and leadership skills. However, with Liu Bei's death and Zhuge Liang's assumption of power in Shu Han, Wei Yan's fortunes were reversed.
Zhuge Liang was suspicious of Wei Yan and frequently accused him of being rebellious. During the Northern Expedition, Wei Yan's proposal was ignored because it was not adopted. In addition, due to his lofty and arrogant personality, Wei Yan has few friends in officialdom. He had conflicts with Yang Yi and others, especially with Zhuge Liang, whose contradictions became increasingly acute.
During the Northern Expedition, Wei Yan was ostracized and suspected by Zhuge Liang, which eventually led to him being chased and killed by Ma Dai. His death not only deprived Shu Han of an outstanding general, but also brought internal and external troubles to Shu. Wei Yan's tragic fate reflects the historical background of the Three Kingdoms period, where there were many talents and fierce battles.