Why did Zhugeliang have to kill Mengda

In the first year of the reign of Emperor Wen of the Wei Dynasty (220 A.D.), Liu Bei’s superior general Mengda Jue demoted Liu Cao, resulting in the occupation of the three eastern prefectures by the Cao Wei Dynasty. Mengda served as the new town’s prefect in the southwest border of the Cao Wei Dynasty for several years. In the first year of Taihe (AD 227) of the Weiming emperor, Mengda wanted to betray Wei and return to Shu. At the beginning of the next year, Sima Yi broke it. In addition, Mengda had returned to Liu Bei after carrying Liu Zhang, so he left a name of “Repetition” in the history books. Many later generations believed that his ultimate defeat was his own fault. The author believes that the so-called “Repetition” of Mengda is not just for Mengda’s own reasons. It is a wise move to follow the overall situation to return to Liu Bei behind Liu Zhang’s back; Both Jue Liu’s surrender to Cao and his betrayal of Wei and return to Shu were forced, which had deep-seated political reasons. The defeat of Mengda was actually a victim of the internal group struggle of Liu Shu regime.

Internal group struggle of Liu Bei’s regime before Meng Da’s downfall

As for Meng Da’s surrender to Wei, the biography of Liu Feng in the annals of the Three Kingdoms has a detailed record: “since Guan Yu surrounded Fancheng and Xiangyang, he repeatedly called on Feng and Da to send troops to help himself. Feng and Da CI were attached to the mountain county at the beginning, and they were unshakable and would not accept Yu’s orders. Hui Yu was defeated, and the former LORD hated him. He was also enmeshed with Da Fen, and Feng sought to seize Da for advocacy. Da was afraid of sin and was angry with the seal, so he resigned from the former Lord and led him to surrender to Wei.” Sima Guang’s “Zizhi Tongjian” has a slightly different record on this matter: “Meng Datun, the general of Shu, was the superior in tun, but he did not cooperate with Liu Feng, the vice army commander. When he was granted the tomb, he led more than 4000 families to surrender.” It can be seen that although there is a slight difference in the method, in the view of historians, the main reason for Mengda’s surrender to Wei was Liu Feng’s “invasion of the mausoleum”, and the failure to save Guan Yu was also one of the reasons. The above statements seem to conform to common sense, but in fact they are all superficial phenomena. The real reason for Mengda’s downfall to Wei should be the result of the struggle between Jingzhou and Dongzhou political groups within Liu Bei’s group.

Mengda was a Fufeng man. His father, Meng he, was the governor of Liangzhou in the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the beginning of Jian’an, Mengda and the same county law were going to Sichuan to join Liu Zhang, and they have not been able to get important positions. In the 16th year of Jian’an (A.D. 211), “Liu Zhang, the herdsman of Yizhou, was afraid when he heard that Cao Gong would send Zhong Yao and others to Hanzhong to beg Zhang Lu… The method was sending fourthousand people to meet the former Lord, and he offered hundreds of millions of bribes before and after. It was precisely because of Chen Yizhou’s advisable strategy”. According to the records in the annals of the Three Kingdoms – Liu Fengzhuan, Mengda also took refuge in Liu Bei at this time: “Liu Zhang sent Fufeng to Mengda, deputy Fazheng, with 2000 generals and soldiers to meet the first lord. The first lord ordered him to reach and lead his people, leaving the river tombs… After Shuping, Da became the governor of Yidu”. Yidu is located in the hub of Jingzhou and Yizhou, and is an important military town. As for the importance of the post of prefect of Yidu during the Han and Wei dynasties, we can see one or two from the following historical data: “the former Lord established Jiangnan, and took (Zhang Fei) as the prefect of Yidu and the general of capture”; After Sun Quan captured Jingzhou, he ordered Lu Xun to “lead the imperial guards of Yidu”; When Liu Pei attacked Wu, he met Liao Hua, the former general Guan Yu, who pretended to die and returned to the East. “Great joy turns him into a prefect of Yidu.”. Shortly after Mengda joined Liu Bei, he was appointed to administer Yidu, an important military area connecting Jingzhou and Yizhou. It can be seen that Liu Bei attached great importance to Mengda at this time.

After Liu Bei occupied Yizhou, there were mainly three political factions within his ruling group, namely, Jingzhou group, the old Dongzhou group and Yizhou group. Led by Zhugeliang, Jingzhou group mainly includes Jingzhou people who joined Liu Bei when he was in Jingzhou, such as Ma Liang and Jiang Wan; The Dongzhou group, led by Fazheng and Li Yan, has a strong military force, which is the political basis and military guarantee for Liu Yan and Liu Zhang to maintain their rule in Yizhou; Yizhou aboriginal group is composed of local landlords in Yizhou, represented by huangquan. As early as the reign of Liu Yan and his son, the contradiction between the Dongzhou group and the Yizhou group had intensified. According to the legend of Liu Zhang in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, the hero records: “Nanyang and Sanfu people entered tens of thousands of homes in Yizhou and took them as soldiers. They were called Dongzhou soldiers. Zhang was gentle and had no authority. Dongzhou people invaded and raped the old people. Zhang could not be banned. There were many government decrees, and Yizhou was very resentful.” Due to its remote location and inconvenient transportation, Yizhou is relatively backward in politics, economy and culture compared with the Central Plains region, even Jingzhou and Jiangdong regions, and fails to form a unified strong landlord group, which is in a disadvantageous political situation; In military affairs, Yizhou group can not compete with Dongzhou group, and has been in a inferior position.

Liu Bei took Yizhou, and the main figures of the Dongzhou group successively attached themselves to Liu Bei, which greatly helped Liu Bei to occupy Yizhou. Among them, France played a decisive role, so it was also trusted and valued by Liu Bei. After the capture of Chengdu, Liu Bei “took Zheng as the prefect of Shu Prefecture, General Yang Wu, unified the capital outside the city, and the schemer inside”, and even trusted him more than Zhugeliang. After the defeat of Liu Bei in the battle of Yiling, Zhugeliang said that “if the law and filial piety are straight, then the Lord will be able to stop moving eastward; if you go eastward again, you will not give up danger” is the best explanation. Besides Fazheng, the main figures of the Dongzhou group have also been put in the important position of Liu Bei. Mengda still lives in Yidu, guarding Jingyang and yiyaochong. Li Yan is “the governor and general of Qianwei”. Dong He, another important member of the Dongzhou group, is “the commander in chief of the army, and he and Zhugeliang, the general of the military division, co-ordinate the affairs of general Da Sima”. In name, he can even be on an equal footing with Zhugeliang. The status of the Dongzhou group rose abruptly, seriously threatening the dominant position of the Jingzhou group within Liu Bei’s regime, and the contradictions between the two sides began to intensify. FA Zheng was appointed the Empress Dowager of Shu Prefecture, “The virtue of a meal and the resentment of the Jain are all vindictive. He is good at killing and injuring several people. In other words, Zhugeliang said:” the law is too far in Shu County, so the general should enlighten the Lord and suppress his authority. “Liang replied:” the Lord is also in the public security. He is afraid of the strength of Cao in the north, afraid of the force of Sun Quan in the East, and afraid of Sun Fu’s life changing under his elbows and armpits in the near future. At this time, he advances and retreats from the wolves, and the filial piety of the law is the auxiliary wing, so that he can soar and cannot be copied. How to prohibit the law from being evil! ” From Zhugeliang’s words, we can not only see that he was dissatisfied with FA Zheng’s behavior but had no choice, but also truly reflected the attitude of Jingzhou group towards Dongzhou group at that time.

However, Jingzhou group cannot allow Dongzhou group to grow up alone. It is just waiting for an opportunity to weaken the power of Dongzhou group. In the 24th year of Jian’an (AD 219), Mengda attacked Fangling, giving Jingzhou group such an opportunity.

Reasons for Meng Dajue’s demotion to Cao

In the 24th year of Jian’an, after Liu Bei occupied Hanzhong, “Da was ordered to attack Fangling from Zigui to the north, and Kuai Qi, the governor of Fangling, was killed by Da Bing. Da Jiang attacked Shangyong, and the first lord Yin was afraid that Da could not be alone. He sent an order from Hanzhong to join the Da Yong army under the Mianyang river. Shen Dan, the governor of Shangyong, sent his wife and clan to Chengdu. The first lord Jia Dan enlisted the general of the north, led the governor of Yong, Xiang Hou, as before, and took Dan Diyi as the general of Jianxin, the governor of Xicheng, and moved to Chengdu as the deputy general”. Originally, Mengda led the attack on Fangling alone. After Kuai Qi was killed, Liu Bei “feared that it would be difficult for him to take up the post alone, but sent Feng from Hanzhong to join the Da army under the Mianyang river. In fact, he deprived Mengda of his military command and became Liu Feng’s subordinate; Secondly, after the pacification of the three prefectures, even the generals Shen Tan and Shen Yi were granted rewards, but Mengda was not among them, and there was no reward for meritorious deeds. In a short time, Liu Bei’s attitude towards Mengda was quite different. Why? Through careful analysis of the historical materials cited above, it is not difficult to see that the key to the change of Liu Bei’s attitude towards Mengda lies in the murder of Kuai Qi.

Through a specific analysis of Kuai Qi’s situation, it is not difficult to see the reasons for Liu Bei’s attitude change. Kuai Qi belongs to the Kuai family of the Zhonglu clan in Jingzhou. His wife is Zhugeliang’s eldest sister. As for Zhugeliang’s reaction after Mengda attacked and killed Kuai Qi, we can see a little from a passage of Li Hong’s surrender recorded in the annals of the Three Kingdoms: Fei Shizhuan: “after passing through mengdashi, I saw that Wang Chong came from the South and said that he would go. The Duke of Ming was gnashing his teeth and wanted to kill Da’s wife, but the former Lord didn’t listen to him. Da said:” Zhugeliang saw that there was a cause and effect in his mind. He didn’t believe what he said. He trusted the Duke of Ming, and there was no end. ” Wang Chong’s statement that Zhugeliang “wanted to kill Da’s wife” may not be true, but Zhugeliang’s “gnashing teeth” at Mengda should be in line with the facts. Mengda said that “Zhugeliang will not kill my wife and children even though he hates me.” the so-called “Hongdao Wangchong makes empty words, the cloud steps down to measure my heart, and will not be attacked” in the letters between Zhugeliang and Mengda recorded in simultaneous interpreting also shows this. So what is the reason why Zhugeliang “gnawed his teeth” at Mengda? Some people may think that it should be Mengda’s act of treason to surrender to the Wei Dynasty, but Zhugeliang and Mengda’s book contain the words “Lament Mencius, Shi Liu Feng invades the mausoleum, so as to hurt the righteousness of the first lord to treat scholars”, which attribute all the responsibility for Mengda’s surrender to the Wei Dynasty to Liu Feng’s “invasion of the mausoleum”, so Zhugeliang should not hate Mengda to the extent of “gnashing teeth” for this matter. Based on the comprehensive analysis of various factors at that time, the reason why Zhugeliang was “gnashing his teeth” was that Mengda attacked and killed his brother-in-law Kuai Qi.

Zhugeliang’s parents died when he was young. His elder brother zhugejin left home in his early years to avoid chaos in the east of the river. Since he was young, he and his sister have depended on each other for life. Naturally, there is a deep love between them. Mengda did not consider this relationship and killed Zhugeliang’s brother-in-law rashly. Although it was not necessarily intentional, it must have had a profound impact on Zhugeliang. Whether Zhugeliang was killed together in the Mengda war disaster is unknown because there is no written record in the history books. If Zhugeliang’s eldest sister was also harmed by Meng Dabing, Zhugeliang would hate Meng Dabing to the bone; If he had not been in Kuai Qi’s army at that time, or had survived, and had lost his husband in his middle age, it would have hurt his heart and lungs, and Zhugeliang would not have been unaffected. This is one of them. More importantly, there are countless family interests between the Kuai family and Jingzhou, especially Xiangyang. Kuai, Pang, Huang, Xi, Ma, CAI and other Jingzhou clans may have marriage relations or have close ties with the foreign Liu Biao and Zhugeliang families. Although Mengda’s attack on Fangling was Liu Bei’s order, it was intolerable for the Jingzhou group to attack and kill Kuai Qi. In particular, Zhugeliang was Liu Bei’s adviser and the head of the Jingzhou group. The response of the Jingzhou group represented by him will inevitably affect Liu Bei’s decision. This is a good opportunity for the Jingzhou group to weaken the strength of the Dongzhou group by attacking Mengda. Liu Bei learned from Cao Cao and had to take drastic measures. As early as the first year of Xingping (194 AD), Cao Cao killed Chen Liu, a famous scholar, Bian rang, which led Chen Gong and Zhang Miao to rebel against Lv Bu, almost making Cao Cao lose the whole Yanzhou. Mr. tianyuqing pointed out in his article “the struggle between Cao Yuan and aristocratic families”: “the rabbit dies and the fox mourns, and the thing hurts its kind. Yanzhou scholar bureaucrats were deeply saddened and frightened by the side letting incident, so ‘scholars are sad and angry, people complain and the sky is angry, and one man raises his arms and raises the state in unison’, so that Cao Cao ‘bow to Xufang and seize the land from Lvbu’. Obviously, this is not an individual making waves, but standing on the side and letting the Yanzhou aristocratic families together launch a sudden attack on Cao Cao.” Due to the lessons learned from Cao Cao’s killing the enemy and giving way to the enemy, and considering the important position of Jingzhou group in his own regime, Liu Bei had to take action against Mengda and seize his military command. This should be the real reason why Liu Bei was “afraid of reaching the enemy alone”.

After Mengda attacked and killed Kuai Qi, Liu Bei sent Liu Feng to lead Mengda. “Liu Feng was the son of the Kou family of benluo Marquis, and the nephew of the Liu family in Changsha. The first Lord came to Jingzhou and took the title as his son. When the first lord entered Shu, he attacked Liu Zhang from Jiameng. He was more than 20 years old. He had martial arts skills and great strength. All his soldiers and Zhugeliang, Zhang Fei, etc. went west to fight. Yizhou was established to be the vice army commander.”. It can be seen that although Liu Feng was Liu Bei’s adopted son, he actually belonged to the Jingzhou group. He had the dual identity of Liu Bei’s confidant and the backbone of the Jingzhou group, and was a rare brave general in the Jingzhou group dominated by civil servants. It was not only in the interests of the Jingzhou group, but also in the interest of Liu Bei to strengthen his rule over the three eastern counties.

After Liu Feng succeeded Mengda in pacifying the three prefectures, he “argued with Da Fen, and Feng sought to seize Da to advocate.” advocating “refers to the military band, which is a symbol of power and status. Liu Feng’s move is obviously an insult to Mengda, and in fact it is an attack by Jingzhou group on Dongzhou group. FA Zheng died in the same year that Mengda fell to the Wei Dynasty. At this time, FA Zheng either died of illness or was seriously ill and could not help Mengda politically. Other Li Yan, Dong he and others could not compare with Zhugeliang in the status of Liu Bei group. Naturally, they could not provide strong political support to Mengda. Mengda actually faced the whole Jingzhou group alone. In this case, it is reasonable for Mengda to protect himself from Liu Cao.

When Mengda fell to the Wei Dynasty, he made an unreasonable move, that is, “saying that he was the first master”, which said:

His highness Fu Wei will build Yi and LV Zhiye, pursue the achievements of Huan and Wen, and make great achievements. He pretends to be the leader of Wu and Chu, which is deeply appreciated by promising people. My commissar has come. I still know that I am in trouble with you! This dynasty is prosperous and handsome. There are no auxiliary tools in the courtiers and no generals outside. It is a shame to be ranked as a secondary meritorious official. I heard that Fan Li knew little and floated in the five lakes; He apologized for his sins and wandered on the river. Between husband meetings, please beg for your life. What then? It’s a matter of dying. Kuang Chen is despicable and has made great contributions. He is a man of his time. He admires his predecessors and thinks of his shame. In the past, Shen Sheng was so filial that he was suspicious of his relatives, Zixu was so loyal that he was punished for killing the king, Meng Tian was severely punished for expanding his territory, and Yue Yi broke through Qi and was slandered. Every time I read his book, I would shed tears generously, but I would do it personally, which would hurt me. Who? Jingzhou was defeated again, and the ministers lost their integrity. There was no return. However, when the officials were looking for things, they would lead to the house mausoleum and the Supreme Court, but they would beg again and leave them alone. Your Highness’s gratitude for the holy grace, your heart for your ministers, and your actions of mourning your ministers. I’m a sincere villain. I can’t do it all the time. It’s not a crime to dare to do it when I know it! Every time I heard of my friendship, there was no evil voice. I didn’t complain when I left. I had been taught by a gentleman. The original King encouraged him.

Between the lines of this list of words, Mengda’s helplessness and sadness are everywhere. The article takes Shensheng, Wuzixu, Mengtian, Leyi and other predecessors who were loyal to the country but failed to reach a good end as a metaphor to express Mengda’s helpless mood at that time. The most critical sentence is “the ministers have come, and the evil mountain accumulates, and the ministers still know it, and the situation depends on the king”. The so-called “evil mountain accumulates” is not generally believed not to save Guan Yu, because at that time Mengda had lost his military command, and Liu Feng should decide whether to save him or not; At the same time, due to the intensification of the contradictions between the two groups, Mengda is unlikely to affect Liu Feng’s decision to deal with Guan Yu. It is obviously Liu Feng’s decision not to rescue Guan Yu. Therefore, the “evil mountain accumulation” here refers to attacking and killing Kuai Qi, offending the entire Jingzhou group. “I still know that I am better than you.” Mengda also pointed out that Liu Bei should be aware of this, but he allowed the actions of Jingzhou group. This should be the main reason why Mengda fell to the Wei Dynasty. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why Mengda expressed his old master’s motivation when he rebelled.

It is not difficult to see from the above analysis that Mengda’s surrender to the Wei Dynasty was actually a helpless act for self-protection under the attack of the Jingzhou group, and a phased victory of the Jingzhou group in its struggle against the Dongzhou group. FA Zheng died, Mengda fell to Wei, the power of Dongzhou group was greatly weakened, and Jingzhou group consolidated its dominant position within Liubei group.

After Mengda was demoted to the Wei Dynasty, he was put in important position by Cao Pi, the leader of the Wei Dynasty. The notes and citations of Wei Lue in the annals of the Three Kingdoms – Emperor of the Ming Dynasty contain the following records:

At the beginning of Emperor Wen’s reign, he was very happy to hear of his arrival. He made his officials who had knowledge and observation look at it. He also said “generals’ talents” or “Qing Xiang’s tools”. Wang Yi was Qinda. The villain and Da Shu said: “… In the past, when Yu Qing came to Zhao, he saw each other and took the prime minister again. Chen Ping was in the Han Dynasty. He was alone in Qing today. His feelings were too much. Therefore, his Royal horse and objects were loyal and loved.” As soon as he reached Qiao, he was able to argue with others before he came to meet him. When the king came out, he took a small chariot, reached for his hand, stroked his back and said, “why did you get to be an assassin of Liu Bei?” Then it is loaded with. He also paid homage to the new town governor and appointed him to the southwest. At that time, many ministers thought it was too obscene to treat them, and it was not appropriate to entrust Fang Ren. Wang Wenzhi said, “I will protect it from others. It is also like shooting a Artemisia annua in the middle ear with a Artemisia annua arrow.” Da was not only favored by Emperor Wen, but also friendly to Huanjie and Xiahou.

It can be seen that Mengda’s talent has been affirmed by caoweijuanchen. The evaluation of “generals’ talent” and “Qing Xiang’s tools” may be exaggerated, but “people can argue only when they have an elegant view”, which fully shows Mengda’s talent. However, for Cao Pi, the most important significance of Mengda’s surrender was to help Cao Wei realize the strategic policy of occupying the three eastern prefectures and consolidating the southwest frontier.

In the same year, Cao Pi “sent xiahoushang, a general of the south, and xuhuang, a general of the right, and Da to attack Liu Feng”. As a result, “Shen Yi rebelled against the Feng, and the Feng was broken and returned to Chengdu”. “Since the seal was granted, the first lord blamed the seal for invading the mausoleum and not saving Yu. Zhugeliang thought that the seal was strong and fierce. After changing the world, it was difficult to control the emperor. He advised the first lord to eliminate it. So he sealed it to death so that he could judge himself.” It is worth noting that Liu Bei’s accusations against Liu Feng have two points: invading Mengda and not rescuing Guan Yu, and putting the crime of invading Mengda before not rescuing Guan Yu. Although Liu Bei took some punitive measures for Mengda’s attack on Kuai Qi, as the supreme ruler, he certainly could not tolerate the fact that Mengda was forced to surrender to Wei due to the group struggle, resulting in the loss of the three eastern prefectures. Although it was Zhugeliang’s opinion to kill Liu Feng, Liu Bei obviously also considered the coordination of the interests of the two groups. For him, the killing of Liu Feng was beneficial to quell the doubts and anxiety of the Dongzhou group caused by Mengda’s forced rebellion and consolidate the rule of the Shuhan regime. As for Liu Bei’s choice of Zhu Geliang and Li Yan to assist in the administration of Bai Di Cheng Tuogu, in addition to their talents, it is obviously also out of consideration of balancing the interests of the group and consolidating the rule.

Zhugeliang and the fall of Mengda

After Mengda’s surrender to the Wei Dynasty, Zhugeliang and Li Yanjun, two assistant ministers of Shu Han, had correspondence with Mengda. The biography of Li Yan in the annals of the Three Kingdoms states that Li Yan and Mengda wrote: “I am entrusted with Kongming, deeply worried and responsible, and have a good companion.” Li Yan’s words showed the situation of himself and the whole Dongzhou group at that time. After the death of Liu Bei, Zhugeliang, as the prime minister, assumed the power of the central government and put Ma Su, Yang Yi, Jiang Wan, Deng Zhi and other members of the group in high positions. Although Li Yan, who was also the assistant minister, was “unifying the internal and external military”, he could only sit in Yongan, Jiangzhou and other places and could not participate in the military and political decisions of the imperial court. The group balance that Liu Bei tried to maintain was broken, and Dongzhou group has been overwhelmed by Jingzhou group. In this case, Li Yan’s so-called “worry deeply, take responsibility seriously, think of a good partner” expressed the hope that Mengda would return and jointly assist the Shuhan regime. If the three counties to the east of Mengda were returned to Shu, it would undoubtedly be a great support to the Dongzhou group in both political and military aspects. Therefore, the Dongzhou group is likely to regain its balance with the Jingzhou group, and even take this opportunity to overwhelm its opponents and control the regime of Shu and Han when the later leader is young.

Zhugeliang and Meng Da in the above-mentioned biography of Fei Shi in the annals of the three kingdoms also expressed the hope that Meng Da would return to Sichuan: “in previous years, when he was younger than [later], he met Li Hong in Hanyang, received the news, and sighed forever with regret. To keep his ordinary ambition, it would be better to make a name for glory. You would be obedient to leave! Call on Mencius, and Si Shi Liu was granted the right to invade the mausoleum, so as to hurt the former Lord’s righteousness of treating scholars. Also (LI) Wang Chong, the great Taoist priest, made up empty words. He measured my heart under the cloud and was not attacked. Look for the words of expression, pursue the goodness of life, and look East, so send a book. ” Zhugeliang expressed his desire for Mengda to repent and return to his native country with the words of “pursuing the good in life and looking east”. His intention can be described as good and bitter. There are records about Mengda’s rebellion against Wei in Wei Lue cited in the annals of the Three Kingdoms – Emperor Ming: “Da was not only favored by Emperor Wen, but also befriended Huan Jie and Xiahou Shang. When Emperor Wen collapsed, both Huan and Shang died. Da Zi had been on the battlefield for a long time and was uneasy. Zhugeliang heard that Yin wanted to lure da. He wrote several books and strokes, and Da responded to him. There was a gap between Shen Yi, the governor of Wei Xing, and da. He secretly expressed his secret communication with Shu, and the emperor did not believe it. King simaxuan sent him to Liang Jicha and persuaded him to enter the dynasty. Da was frightened, so he rebelled.” According to Emperor Xuandi Ji in the book of Jin, “the emperor ordered the Emperor (SIMA Yi) to garrison in Wan and supervise the military affairs of Jing and Henan prefectures. At the beginning, Mengda, a general of Shu, was surrendered to the Wei Dynasty. The emperor was clever in his words and deeds, so he could not be allowed to do anything. He did not listen to his sudden admonition.” Sima Yi, the governor of Jingzhou, commanded Mengda, who was bound to be “uneasy”. It can be seen that Mengda’s dilemma in Wei was very similar to his previous situation in Sichuan. Zhugeliang seduced Mengda at this time, and put all the responsibility of forcing him to surrender to Wei on Liu Feng, without mentioning their personal gratitude and resentment. Zhugeliang’s timing and strategy for plotting against Mengda were appropriate, and the plan was naturally easier to succeed. However, it is worth noting that Mengda’s name of “Repetition” was despised at that time. Just after Zhugeliang met Li Hong and expressed his desire to write to Mengda, Fei Shi once expressed his objection: “Mengda boy, the former Zhenwei (Liu Zhang) was unfaithful, and then betrayed the former Lord. The repeated people are not evil books!” Zhugeliang’s response to this was “taciturn refusal to answer”. In addition, simultaneous interpreting records that Zhugeliang’s attitude of “reaching without money and sincerity, so he did not help” when Sima Yi attacked Mengda, which shows that he agreed with Fei Shi. In that case, why should Zhugeliang and Mengda seduce a “repeated” villain who has a family feud with him? Chen Shou’s so-called “tempting Da to think of foreign aid” is obviously not in line with the fact, because when Mengda “got the book, made several communications, and wanted to betray the Wei Dynasty”, Zhugeliang adopted a completely opposite approach to his previous remarks, which led to Mengda’s defeat.

As for the defeat of Mengda, there are detailed records in the book of Jin, Emperor Xuandi Ji: Da then linked Wu and Gushu, and explored China. Zhu Geliang, the Minister of Shu, hated his repetition and worried about his trouble. Da had a gap with Shenyi, the governor of Wei Xing. Liang wanted to urge him to do something, but he sent Guo Mo to feign surrender and pass the ceremony, because he leaked his plan. Hearing of the leak of his plan, he will raise his army. The emperor was afraid of being quick to attack, so he wrote: “the general abandoned Liu Bei and entrusted himself to the state. The state appointed a general to serve as a battlefield commander and a general to pursue the affairs of Shu. The people of Shu are stupid and wise, and they all hate the general. Zhugeliang wants to break with each other, but there is no way to overcome the difficulties. As the model says, it is not a small matter. It is easy to tell if it is light enough to make it known.” He was overjoyed at the book, but remained undecided. The emperor is a hidden army. All generals should wait and see before moving. The emperor said, “there is no faithfulness, so when it is doubtful, it should be decided before it is decided.” He traveled both ways and came to the city on the 8th. Wu and Shu sent their generals to the west city to build a bridge and a wooden fence to save da. The emperor divided them into generals. At the beginning, DA and Liang wrote, “when Wan goes 800 miles to Luo and 1200 miles to me, he hears that I raise an issue. When he appears as the son of heaven, he compares it with each other repeatedly. In a month, my city has been consolidated, and all the troops are ready to do it. Then I am in a deep danger, and Sima Gong will not come from here. In the future, I will have no trouble.” As soon as the soldiers arrived, Da told Liang, “I will raise my hand. After eight days, the soldiers will arrive at the foot of the city. How fast!” The Shangyong city blocks water on three sides. It is a wooden fence outside the city to strengthen itself. The emperor crossed the water, broke the barrier, and built the city directly. There were six days in ten days after the eight way attack. His nephew Dengxian and General Li Fu opened the door and went down. When you reach the capital, you will be handed down to the capital. More than ten thousand people were captured, and the zhenlv returned to WAN.

According to the above records, Zhugeliang played a very important role in the process of Mengda’s rebellion against Wei until his defeat. He first persuaded Mengda to return to Shu, and then sent Guo Mo to pretend to surrender to reveal Mengda’s conspiracy to betray Wei. When Mengda was attacked by Sima Yi, he did not do his best to send troops for rescue, which directly led to Mengda’s defeat. There is no record in the annals of the Three Kingdoms about Guo Mo’s false surrender, but there is a detailed record about it in the strategy written by Sima Biao of the Western Jin Dynasty: “in the first year of Taihe, Zhugeliang went from Chengdu to Hanzhong and wanted to be revealed again. He left jade Jue, woven Zhang juice and Suhexiang. Liang sent Guo Mo to the Wei Dynasty. There was a gap between Shen Yi, the governor of Wei Xing, and da. The model said:” the jade Jue, the plan has been decided; the weaver, the plan has been completed; Suhexiang, the plan has been agreed. ” In addition, according to the book of the Taiping Imperial Palace (volume 692), Meng Da and Zhugeliang were quoted as saying: “today, we send a Lun hat and a jade Jue to Zhugeliang to show our intention”. It can be seen that Meng Da gave Zhugeliang a jade Jue, and Guo Mo’s feigning surrender should be true. In this way, according to the book of Jin emperor Xuandi Ji, Zhugeliang’s treatment of Mengda was not only Chen Shou’s “no rescue”, but also his failure. Lu Bi cited Zhugeliang and Mengda’s book “Look East, so there is a book” in the collection of the annals of the Three Kingdoms · biography of Fei Shi “and noted that” the words in the book are moving, and Zhuge is also treacherous. It is not known by the poem that he did not answer in silence “, which shows that Zhugeliang really has another purpose in dealing with Mengda, which is treacherous and abnormal. Chen Shou and simabiao were contemporaries. The historical materials they saw should be roughly the same. Why do they differ so much in recording this matter? This can only be explained by Mr. tianyuqing’s statement that Chen Shou, an old minister of Shu Han, was taboo by the sages of this dynasty.

Zhugeliang killed Mengda with the help of the three eastern prefectures. This is contrary to common sense. Why? The author believes that besides Mengda’s personal gratitude and resentment of attacking and killing Kuai Qi, the struggle between Jingzhou and Dongzhou political groups is the most fundamental reason. When the book of Jin Xuandi Ji recorded Zhugeliang’s attitude towards Mengda, in addition to the same meaning as in the annals of the Three Kingdoms, there was also the language of “thinking about his suffering”. Since Mengda had betrayed Wei and returned to Shu, why did Zhugeliang “worry about it”? Obviously, the so-called “suffering” here does not mean that Mengda, as an enemy general, will threaten the Shuhan Dynasty, but that his return to Shu will strengthen the political and military strength of the Dongzhou group and pose a threat to the Jingzhou group within the Shuhan regime. As mentioned above, Li Yan and Mengda said in their books that they “have deep worries, heavy responsibilities, and think of a good partner”. They hoped that Mengda would return and jointly assist the government of Shu and strengthen the power of Dongzhou group. Zhugeliang could not have foreseen the possible impact on the internal power balance of the regime after the three counties to the east of Mengda betrayed Wei and returned to Shu. As the leader of Jingzhou group, he certainly would not let the situation develop. Therefore, persuading Mengda to return to Sichuan and divulging his plan, and then not making every effort to help Mengda to defeat, has become the best choice for Jingzhou group to solve the threat of Dongzhou group. After the defeat of Mengda, Dongzhou group was severely hit and was unable to compete with Jingzhou group. Three years later, in the ninth year of Jianxing of Shu Han (AD 231), Zhugeliang “borrowed an unbelievable pretext” to depose Li Yan, the leader of the Dongzhou group, and the Jingzhou group won a complete victory in the struggle against the Dongzhou group.

Zhugeliang abandoned the three eastern prefectures for the interests of the group, which led to the defeat of Mengda, but at the same time, he also lost a good opportunity to recapture the strategic location of the three eastern prefectures. The three eastern prefectures are located in the upper reaches of Mianyang. “It is easy for boats to get into the water, but it is difficult to get into the water.” if Shu Han occupies the three eastern prefectures, they can go straight down the river and unite with the eastern Wu, directly threatening Xiangyang, Fancheng and other places in Jingzhou controlled by the Cao Wei Dynasty. In Longzhong Dui, Zhugeliang once proposed the strategic policy of sending troops from Jingzhou to Yizhou to attack Wei, but it could not be realized due to the loss of Guanyu to Jingzhou. If he could recapture the three eastern prefectures and occupy Xiangyang, Zhugeliang’s two route strategy of attacking Wei from Wanzhou to Luozhou could be realized again. The eastern Wu would certainly send troops from Jiangling or Huainan to cooperate, so that the Wei really fell into the enemy’s situation, although it might not be possible to defeat the “Han thieves” at one stroke, However, at least there will not be an embarrassing situation in which more than ten northern expeditions from Hanzhong before and after Shuhan failed. It is a pity that Zhugeliang either did not expect this, or gave up on his own initiative to solve the internal contradictions of the regime before the northern expedition to the Cao Wei Dynasty. In short, missing this good opportunity can not help but make people sigh with regret.

After solving the threat of the Dongzhou group to the group’s ruling position, Zhugeliang absorbed some elites of the Dongzhou group, such as Wu Yi, Fei Yi and Dong Yun, to participate in the political power. While maintaining the ruling position of the Jingzhou group, he also paid attention to coordinating the interests of the two groups, and gave full play to the talent power within the political power to the greatest extent. After Zhugeliang’s death, the leaders of the two groups, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, followed Zhugeliang’s strategy of governing Sichuan. There was no major group struggle, and the Shuhan regime continued.