Because there are tendencies in the "Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Dynasty" and the "Book of Jin", the historical truth about the fifth Northern Expedition of Shu Han and Zhuge Liang's fourth northward expedition can only rely on existing materials to make some reasonable speculations. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info But the speculation is more or less discounted in terms of truthfulness.

Regarding the confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, there are two key points, one is the ownership of the grain and grass, and the other is the victory or defeat of the direct confrontation between the two sides.

【Ownership of Shangtai Grain and Grass】

In the "Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Jin Dynasty", it is recorded that Zhuge Liang defeated Guo Huai and others to seize the grain and grass of Shangqi, and in the "Book of Jin", Zhuge Liang was expelled by Sima Yi. Personally, I think that the final result is that Cao Wei has generally preserved the grain and grass in Shangtai.

First of all, the "Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Dynasty" about the grain and grass record in Shangqi is actually a bit contradictory, and Zhang He once said later in the book: "Today, the army in Liang County has little food, and it is okay to go." It means that Zhuge Liang has not much grain and grass, and the wheat is almost ripe around the fifth month of the lunar calendar, Zhang He also led troops to fight on the tenth day of the fifth month of the fifth month after Zhang He in the book, and Zhuge Liang should not have run out of grain and grass so quickly if he really succeeded in seizing Shangtai.

And the "Book of Wei" records: At the beginning, when it was revealed, the speaker thought that the Liang army had no baggage, and the grain would not continue, and it would not break itself, and there would be no labor; Or if you want to take raw wheat from the top of the rice to grab the thief's food, the emperor will not obey. Before and after, troops were sent to increase the king's army, and envoys were sent to protect the wheat. King Xuan and the appearance held, relying on this wheat as military food.

From this account, it can be seen that Cao Wei should have kept the Shangqi wheat land in the end. However, "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Guo Huai" records that when Zhuge Liang was in Lucheng, Longyou had no grain, and Cao Wei also lacked grain and grass. At this time, it was Guo Huai who recruited Qiang, Hu, and Enwei to give them both food and grass, so that each family could share the grain and grass, so as to solve the urgent need for military food, and Guo Huai turned to General Yangwu.

Personally, I think that Cao Wei generally kept the grain and grass in Shangqi, but the grain field is so big, Zhuge Liang may have captured a part, or even destroyed a part, so Cao Wei's later soldiers were also short of food, but because Guo Huai's action finally had no worries about grain and grass, Zhuge Liang did not have enough supplies.

Judging from these records, Zhuge Liang only went to Shangtai to seize grain after Sima Yi sent troops, and before, Zhuge Liang did not divide his troops to Shangqi, on the one hand, it may be because Zhuge Liang needed to concentrate his troops to capture Qishan, and on the other hand, it may be because the grain and grass in Shangtai were far from mature earlier. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Zhuge Liang went to Qishan to destroy the wheat fields in Shangqi and cut off Cao Wei's supplies.

"The Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Dynasty" also records the confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Guo Huai and others, but this is not recorded in other sources, so Zhuge Liang may indeed have a conflict with Guo Huai and others, and seized a small part of the grain and grass, or it may be that this matter is completely false, and it is also possible that this record refers to the earlier Zhuge Liang sent Wei Yan and Wu Yi to defeat Guo Huai and Fei Yao.

【Focus of Victory and Defeat】

Both the Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Jin Dynasty and the Book of Jin record that Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi eventually had a large-scale confrontation in the Lucheng area, but the outcome is different. Personally, I tend to favor Zhuge Liang's victory and Sima Yi's defeat, and the authenticity of the record of this matter in the Book of Jin is extremely low.

It is recorded in the Book of Jin: "Liangtun Lucheng, according to the two mountains in the north and south, the water is heavily encircled. The emperor attacked and pulled out the siege, and escaped at night. pursue, break, capture and behead thousands of tricks", that is to say, after Zhuge Liang did a good job of defense, Sima Yi broke the Shu army with a frontal battle, and the pursuit won a complete victory. "Capture and behead 10,000 people" means that the losses of the Shu army are counted in the unit of 10,000 people, which means that this battle is an unprecedented victory, Zhuge Liang's total strength in this attack on Wei may be less than 100,000 people, and tens of thousands of people were lost in the battle of Lucheng, what does this mean?

If it is really as recorded in the Book of Jin, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition has actually ended here, and he himself has been completely abused by Sima Yi in frontal combat, and the army has also suffered heavy losses. Sima Yi doesn't have to beware of Zhuge Liang's attack again in the future, Zhuge Liang's army has been wiped out by Sima Yi, how can he go on a northern expedition! Sima Yi can already directly attack Hanzhong and eliminate Shu Han.

As for the later records in the "Book of Jin" - the military advisor Du Xi and the overseer Xue Yi both said that next year's wheat is ripe, Liang will be Kou, Longyou has no valley, and it is appropriate to winter Yuyun. The emperor said: "Liang came out of Qishan again, attacked Chen Cang, and frustrated and reversed." Even if he goes out later, he will not attack the city again, and when he seeks a field battle, he will be in Longdong, not in the west. Liang every time he hates the lack of food, he will accumulate grain, and he will not be able to move if he is not three. “

This is very funny, Zhuge Liang was disabled, how could he come back in the second year, he lost tens of thousands of troops, Shu Han will take at least three or five years to recover, and Sima Yi also used a serious discussion of Zhuge Liang's military rations.

In the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", the reason for Zhuge Liang's retreat was not because of the defeat and retreat, and most of the records were because the army was exhausted.

After running out of food, he retreated and fought with the Wei general Zhang He and shot He. - "Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Zhuge Liang"

In the spring and February of the ninth year, Liang returned to the army to surround Qishan, and began to transport it with wooden oxen. Wei Sima Yi and Zhang He rescued Qi Shan. In the summer and June, Liang ran out of food and passed the army, and he chased to Qingfeng, fought with Liang, and was killed by arrows. - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Later Lord"

You must know that after the defeat of the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang was demoted to three levels, if he failed miserably as recorded in the Book of Jin, Zhuge Liang would have to be demoted by several levels! Therefore, the record of this battle in the Book of Jin is too exaggerated and too distorted to be recognized.

So is the record of this battle in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Jin Dynasty true? I can only say that although this book is inclined to Shu Han, this account is indeed more reasonable.

In May, Xin Si made Zhang He attack He Ping, who was not in prison, in Nanwei, and he was in the middle of the case. Liang made Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, and Wu Ban refuse, broke it, and obtained the first 3,000 levels, 5,000 Xuan armor, 3,100 crossbows, and King Xuan returned to the camp. - "Spring and Autumn of the Han Dynasty"

The account of this battle is very detailed in the book, with a time, a place, and a clear result. It can be seen that although Zhuge Liang won, Sima Yi did not suffer much loss, and he could calmly return to the camp.

You must know that during Zhuge Liang's last Northern Expedition, Sima Yi was afraid of head-on confrontation, if Sima Yi had not suffered a loss, it was hard to imagine, after all, Sima Yi himself was also one of the few famous generals in the Three Kingdoms era, his military ability was strong, if he could defeat Zhuge Liang head-on, he would not choose to avoid the battle.

In this way, the record in the "Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Dynasty" is more reasonable, Sima Yi suffered a big loss when he fought Zhuge Liang head-on for the first time, so he was afraid, and then he took a procrastination decision, unwilling to fight Zhuge Liang.

And this loss can't be too big, it must be within Cao Wei's tolerance, otherwise Cao Rui should be punished afterwards, but it can't be too small, otherwise Sima Yi may not take it as a warning, the loss of the Wei army in "Han Jin Spring and Autumn" just fits this point.