On Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition Route in the Three Kingdoms Period

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition Route Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was the most important historical event in the Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was because Shu was already quite powerful at that time. In order to pacify other regimes, Zhuge Liang decided to lay down a piece of land while he was alive, so he made plans for the Northern Expedition many times, and the four roads were established. Among these routes, the most important one is the first and the longest one.

Portrait of Zhuge Liang

The first route of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was from Chengdu, passing through Hanzhong to Tianshui, and then from Tianshui to Xipingguan. This road failed at first. Due to the incompetence of his generals, Zhuge Liang was forced to return to Chengdu, and the first route took too long. It took Zhuge Liang half a year to walk from Chengdu to Tianshui. In addition, China's north-south span is relatively large, and most soldiers living in the south are unfamiliar with the north, which led to the failure of the Northern Expedition.

The second route of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition starts from stability, stops in the south of Gansu, and goes all the way through Xipingguan and Qishan to Qilian Mountain. This northern line took a short time, but it passed through many areas with dangerous terrain, especially the steep mountains around Xipingguan, so Zhuge Liang's northern expedition was not successful. The third route designed by Zhuge Liang is from Jieting to Lieliucheng, and then around to Yangpingguan in the east. On this route, the later famous event of Zhuge Liang beheading Ma Su with tears happened. It was because of Ma Su's dereliction of duty that Zhuge Liang lost this place and ruined him. The whole plan became a bubble.

The last route of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was relatively short, that is, from Xicheng to Hanzhong. Zhuge Liang's base camp is in Chengdu, and it only takes three days from Chengdu to Xicheng, so Zhuge Liang set out from Chengdu to Xicheng and then to Hanzhong. This route has little effect. For Zhuge Liang, this route is the worst, because it is obviously not as energy-saving as the previous routes. Unfortunately, Zhuge Liang's fourth Northern Expedition also failed.

Geographical analysis of the failure of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition If you fail in one thing, then in order to achieve the next success, you must analyze the reasons for the failure, and then sum up experience and strive for the next success. The same is true of studying history. You can learn a lot from the stories of former people. So what are the reasons for the failure of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition in history, and what can we learn from it?

Zhuge Liang statue

As far as the geographical location of the Northern Expedition is concerned, Sichuan Basin is located at the southern foot of Qinba Mountain, surrounded by mountains. In other words, Shu is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and its contact with the outside world is very limited. This situation actually has advantages and disadvantages. It is conducive to avoiding the impact of war and economic development. But the bigger disadvantage is that it hinders the external expansion of Shu, and the transportation of grain and grass is very difficult because of traffic congestion. As a military strategist said, "Before the soldiers and horses move, grain and grass come first", which shows the importance of grain and grass in the war. If you want to fight for a long time, you need to get timely supplies of grain and grass, and the grain and grass transportation of the Shu army is a big problem, and it is difficult to win the war.

At the same time, Shu, which is composed of several small units, has inconvenient transportation and limited mutual contact, which leads to certain cultural differences. Such a group of troops without centripetal force have high morale in the course of combat, not to mention unity with the outside world. In addition, Shu is far from the center of war, and people are tired of war because of the long-term cultivation of life interest. In this case, people seriously lack the martial spirit of good soldier and his generals.

These are the reasons for the failure of the war because of the topography of Shu.

Zhuge Liang served as prime minister during the Northern Expedition to the Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge Liang's life is full of legends. He devoted all his energy to Shu Han, and later broke down from overwork, which was regretted by the world.

Map of Zhuge Liang's First Northern Expedition

When we mention Zhuge Liang, we have to mention his Northern Expedition. Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition took place in the Three Kingdoms period, which was a battle launched by the Shu army to Cao Wei under the leadership of Zhuge Liang. The map of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition refers to the route of Zhuge Liang's five expeditions to Cao Wei. The Northern Expedition was a move by Zhuge Liang to unify the Central Plains.

According to the map of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, the first battle of the Northern Expedition was that he personally led an army to attack Qishan. Wei's Nan 'an, Tianshui, Anding and other places could not resist because they were unprepared in advance, and many defenders surrendered to Zhuge Liang. Then Zhuge Liang sent Ma Su to guard the street pavilion, only to find that the street pavilion fell because Ma Su did not listen to the command. The first battle ended like this.

From the map of the Northern Expedition, the second and third wars were Chen's attack on Wuduhe, Zhuge Liang's attack on Jianwei, and the Shu army finally succeeded in occupying it after fighting.

Then Zhuge Liang launched the fourth Northern Expedition. The map of the Northern Expedition shows that Zhuge Liang first surrounded Qishan and met Sima Jun in the east. Sima Jun refused to fight. Later, Zhuge Liang could only order the troops to retreat because of lack of food and grass. The Fifth Northern Expedition was the last battle of Zhuge Liang's life. From the map, Zhuge Liang first led the army out of Xiegukou, and then camped in Wuzhangyuan. Although the two armies fought, there was no result. In August, Zhuge Liang finally broke down from overwork and decided to lead the army to retreat.

From the map of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, we can see that although Zhuge Liang only captured two counties in five northern expeditions, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition inspired the whole country of Shu and played a positive role in it.

Zhuge Liang's several northern expeditions Zhuge Liang was a well-known historical figure in China and a celebrity in the Three Kingdoms period. In his life, there were many famous strategic wars, all of which were successful. However, did he also have a major successful battle, that is, five northern expeditions in his life?

Zhuge Liang stills

The first Northern Expedition was in the spring of 228 AD. At that time, Emperor Wei had just ascended the throne, but the national strength of Shu almost recovered with the support of Zhuge Liang, and Shu also pacified the south. So Zhuge Liang began the northern expedition and adopted the meridian valley plan. Although some people didn't follow his plan, they succeeded.

The second time was almost a year from the first Northern Expedition. At that time, Zhuge Liang won almost without fighting. He just used his prestige to scare away the generals of Wei and occupied two counties.

The third time happened in 230 AD. This time, the initiative is in Wei Jun's hands, and Hanzhong will be attacked first. However, due to the terrain and weather here, Wei Jun had to retreat.

The fourth Northern Expedition was the siege of Qishan. The siege, sima yi is trying to delay the time, let the shu army ran out of food and grass. Therefore, Zhuge Liang dared to let Sima Yi go to war. After the war, Sima Yi was defeated, so Sima Yi stopped going to war. Because Zhuge Liang's men misjudged the grain and grass, Zhuge Liang was recalled in advance and the battle was over.

Zhuge Liang prepared for the fifth Northern Expedition for three years, and did not go to war again until AD 234. This time Zhuge Liang even persuaded Sun Quan to fight Wei, but Sun Quan was defeated by Wei early. Only Zhuge Liang's army continued to fight. This battle is another confrontation with Sima Yi. Sima Yi once again ordered not to fight, and the two armies were deadlocked for hundreds of days. Finally, Sima Yi seized the opportunity that Zhuge Liang was ill and could not lead the army and began to attack the Shu army. The Shu army had no choice but to retreat. Zhuge Liang also died in the northern expedition.

What is the real purpose of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition? In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang was Liu Bei's military in Shu. He was brilliant, devoted himself to the foundation of the Han dynasty, and finally died in the military camp. About his life, the most controversial is probably the Northern Expedition. So why did Zhuge Liang want the Northern Expedition?

Zhuge Liang statue

There is a saying that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was to help Liu Bei recover from the Han Dynasty. Because Zhuge Liang was invited by Liu Bei's "three visits to the cottage", that is, he went out to help Liu Bei unify the world. Before Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Liu Bei was already dead, so it can be considered that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was to help Liu Bei fulfill his last wish of recovering the Han Dynasty.

There is also a saying that Zhuge Liang is trying to fulfill his promise to Liu Bei. Because when Liu Bei died, he entrusted Liu Chan to him and asked him to take care of him. At the same time, it is said that Zhuge Liang's talent is more than ten times that of Cao Pi, which can make the country maintain long-term stability. If you are willing to help Adou, help him with your heart. If you don't want to, the Jiangshan of the Han Dynasty will hand him over. At that time, Zhuge Liang thanked Liu Bei for his trust and expressed his willingness to die for his country.

There is another saying that Zhuge Liang said during Liu Bei's inspection of the thatched cottage that if he wants to unify the whole country, it is best to seize Jingzhou first, attack Xichuan, take one of the generals, and make a northern expedition from Jingzhou. However, when Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain to realize his ambition and want to show his talents, Liu Bei attacked Wu in order to avenge Guan Yu and destroyed Zhuge Liang's plan. When he succeeded to the throne, Zhuge Liang became the actual ruler of Shu, allied himself with Wu, and resisted the king. In this case, Zhuge Liang thought that he could realize his long-cherished wish, so he began the Northern Expedition!

It is hard to say which of these three reasons is the purpose of Zhuge Liang's northern expedition, perhaps all of them, but with the failure of the northern expedition, his purpose could not be achieved after all.