At the same time as Zhuge Liang sent troops, Sun Quan also launched a comprehensive Northern Expedition operation, Cao Wei was full of favor, and Cao Rui, the emperor of Later Wei, personally led the troops to attack and forced Sun Quan to retreat. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

On the battlefield of the Western Front, Sima Yi refused to fight, Zhuge Liang had no way to take it, and finally died of illness in Wuzhangyuan.

【Sun Quan's Retirement】

Soon after Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Sun Quan also led his troops to Chaohukou and pointed directly at Hefei New Town, known as the army of 100,000; He also sent Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin to lead more than 10,000 people into Jiangxia, Chukou, and Xiangyang; Generals Sun Shao and Zhang Cheng entered the Huai River and pointed directly at Guangling and Huaiyin.

Cao Wei confronted it with full favors, and then Cao Rong personally conquered Eastern Wu, but before he arrived, Sun Quan had been defeated. At this time, Cao Rui judged that Zhuge Liang would not retreat day and night after Sun Quan retreated, so he did not go to Chang'an, but went south to Shouchun and rewarded the heroes.

【Stalemate Gojohara】

Zhuge Liang could not overcome the frontal attack, Sun Quan retreated one after another, still did not retreat, but he absorbed the lessons of the previous few times of insufficient food, worried that the grain and grass could not be helped, and his own will not be realized, so the army was divided into two parts, one part of the land was cultivated on the spot, as the basis for long-term stationing. The soldiers of cultivation live among the people near the Wei River, the people live a stable life, and the soldiers do not plant for personal gain, so the problem of grain and grass in Shu Han is not big for the time being, Zhuge Liang did not give up the Northern Expedition, and Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi began a stalemate of more than 100 days in the Wuzhang Plain.

Once, Zhuge Liang sent Meng Yan, the Hubu supervisor, to be stationed in Wugong Shuibei, which coincided with the rising tide and blocked the connection between Zhuge Liang and Meng Yan. Sima Yi took the opportunity to send troops to attack Meng Yan. As a result, Zhuge Liang sent sappers to build bridges on the one hand, and crossbowmen to shoot arrows at Sima Yi's troops on the other. Sima Yi saw that the bridge was about to be built, so he had to retreat. (Note 1)

According to the records of the Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Dynasty, after Zhuge Liang came, he challenged Sima Yi several times, and Sima Yi also asked for battle, and Emperor Ming sent the guard Xin Bi to hold the Fu Jie as a military advisor to control Sima Yi's actions. The protector Jiang Wei said to Zhuge Liang: "When the Xinbi Fu Festival comes, the thief army will not fight again." Zhuge Liang said: "Sima Yi had no intention of fighting, so he must ask to fight, just to show his subordinates that he dares to use force." The general is in the army, and the monarch's orders can not be accepted, if he can defeat our army, will he have to ask for battle from a distance of thousands of miles? ”

The matter of Sima Yi's request for war is also recorded in the rest of the sources.

First of all, the general Sima Xuan asked Wang Shu to fight with Liang, but Emperor Ming did not listen. It is a year that I can't forbidden, but I take Bi as a general and a military advisor, and I hold the festival; The six armies are all suppressed, and they dare not violate the rules. - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Biography of Xinbi"

King Xuan counted the number and wanted to attack, but he did not listen. Although King Xuan is able to do what he wants, he succumbs to Vi. - "Wei Luo"

There is also a more detailed record of this incident in the Book of Jin, when the Wei court thought that Zhuge Liang was on an expedition to a foreign land, and it was advantageous to fight in a hurry, and each time he ordered Sima Yi to hold his weight and wait for the internal changes of the enemy army. Zhuge Liang challenged him many times, but Sima Yi did not come out, so Zhuge Liang gave him a picture of a woman's headscarf and jewelry and other things to humiliate Sima Yi.

After Sima Yi got it, he was furious and asked the Son of Heaven for a decisive battle. The Son of Heaven did not allow it, so he sent the upright minister Xin Bi to take the Son of Heaven Fu Jie to control the Wei army as a military advisor. Later, Zhuge Liang came to challenge again, Sima Yi will send troops to fight, and Xin Bi stood at the military gate, so he retreated. At that time, Jiang Wei, the general of Shu, heard that Xin Bi was coming, and said to Zhuge Liang: "Xin Bi is holding the festival to the army, and the thieves will not come out again." Zhuge Liang said: "Sima Yi has no intention of fighting, so he must resolutely ask for war, just to show his soldiers the bravery of the general, the general is in the army, the king's order is not subject to it, if he can subdue us, why go thousands of miles away to ask for war?" ”

Sima Yi's brother Sima Fu wrote a letter to ask about the situation in the army, and Sima Yi replied: "Zhuge Liang has great ambitions but can't act at the opportunity, more strategic and less decisive, good use of troops but no power, although he led an army of 100,000, he has fallen into the trap of my plan, and the ruined Shu army is certain." ”

The relevant records of various sources are generally consistent, and it can be seen from these materials that the reason why Sima Yi refused to go to war was that on the one hand, he was a little jealous of Zhuge Liang's military ability, and on the other hand, it also had a lot to do with the opinions within the imperial court.

【Cao Wei Strategy】

During the Zhuge Liang period, Shu Han launched a total of six Northern Expeditions, and the overall trend of confrontation was in favor of Shu Han:

Zhuge Liang was defeated and lost in the first time, and all the three battles of Keigu, Jieting and Liucheng were defeated; The second Northern Expedition Cao Zhen expected in advance, and sent Hao Zhao to block Zhuge Liang in Chencang, Zhuge Liang ran out of food and retreated, although he beheaded Wang Shuang, but it was still a small defeat; In the third Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang launched a lightning launch, Cao Wei was caught off guard, successfully recovered the second county, forced Guo Huai back, and it can be said that he won a small victory; In the fourth confrontation, Cao Zhen attacked in a big way, and the loss of troops returned in vain, Zhuge Liang sent Wei Yan and others to the north to defeat Guo Huai and Fei Yao, which can be described as a big victory; In the fifth Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang personally led the troops against Sima Yi, and the scene had the upper hand, but in the end, he had to withdraw because he had not achieved much success because of the exhaustion of food, and he also killed Zhang He, the general of Cao Wei who came to chase after him, and this wave was actually not a loss.

It can be seen that after several confrontations, Cao Wei has suffered a lot, and he is still very jealous of Zhuge Liang, and after Cao Zhen's crusade against Zhuge Liang failed, Cao Wei was even more uninterested in the proposal to destroy Shu. For Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, it is likely that Cao Rui thinks that Zhuge Liang is sharp with his troops, and Cao Wei's troops may not be his opponents, so he is simply ready to get through, after all, Zhuge Liang has had problems with the food of his troops in the Northern Expedition several times.

However, Sima Yi's own intention to send troops may not be very strong, if he is sure to defeat Zhuge Liang, he will not say anything as the commander and ask for his life, don't forget that Cao Rui once went south to Shouchun, and the time was wasted back and forth, he may also do this to reflect a gesture, not really want to fight, after all, when Sima Yi crusaded against Meng Da, he did not waste time waiting for the reply of the imperial court, but hurriedly marched to catch Meng Da by surprise and eliminate him.

As for Zhuge Liang, after he came, it was not that he did not launch an attack, but several times the troops had no effect, and the attack on Beiyuan and Yangsui was not satisfactory, in the case of the Wei army completely entrenched and geographically advantageous, Zhuge Liang forcibly sent troops basically had no chance of winning, after all, Cao Wei was well prepared, and Wei's national strength was much stronger than Shu Han, and Sima Yi, Guo Huai and others were not easy people, so Zhuge Liang could only look forward to a head-on showdown with Cao Wei.

In the case of a fruitless attack, a hopeless head-on duel, and the Wei army stubbornly defending, Zhuge Liang was also helpless, and it was the same for anyone who came over to tell the truth. Zhuge Liang still did not retreat in this situation, but dragged it down, and he was determined to stay up with Sima Yi to the end and wait for the time to come.