Why did Zhuge Liang s five Northern Expeditions end in failure, and what is the truth?

In fact, Zhuge Liang is too stable and unwilling to use the "Meridian Scheme", although this is an unsafe move, but at the time when Shu was no longer strong, this was also the only way to try.

It was because there were not so many soldiers at that time, which increased the possibility of defeat, and sometimes tactics could not replace the soldiers.

Of the five Northern Expeditions, only the first and fifth were larger-scale, and the others were only local conflicts. As for the reason for Zhuge Liang's failure, later generations believe that Zhuge Liang did not dare to take a risky move, and did not follow Wei Yan's "meridian strategy" to directly conquer Chang'an. Wei Yan believes that the fatal reason for the Northern Expedition of Shu Han is that the grain and grass are not available, so there is no war of attrition with Cao Wei, and only surprise troops can be sent directly from the Meridian Valley to conquer Chang'an, and victory will be achieved.

Because Shu's national strength was insufficient and could not withstand consumption, and Wei sent a general like Sima Yi to defend the city, Zhuge Liang returned many times in vain.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, led the army to the north six times, all of which ended in failure, and Zhuge Liang himself became ill from hard work and died of illness in Wuzhangyuan. Why did Zhuge Liang's six Northern Expeditions fail? The fundamental reasons for the failure of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition are:

There is a huge difference between the national strength of Shu Han and Cao Wei, which leads to Shu Han lagging behind Cao Wei economically and militarily, and the destruction of Shu Han is an inevitable trend of historical development. During the Three Kingdoms period, China's economic center was in the Yellow River Valley, and the Yellow River Valley was the core area of Cao Wei's rule. Although Cao Wei launched several wars against Shu Han and Wu, Cao Wei was able to recover his strength relatively quickly after the war.

Therefore, Cao Wei was the only one of the three regimes of Wei, Shu and Wu that had the ability to unify the whole country. The territory of Shu Han is mainly distributed in the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The Sichuan Basin is blessed with unique natural conditions, which is very suitable for the growth of crops; The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau has a high altitude and large undulating terrain, and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau was inhabited by ethnic minorities at that time, so the Shu Han ** ** had limited control over this area, and even sometimes sent troops to suppress the rebellion of the local ethnic minorities (Zhuge Liang's Southern Expedition).

Therefore, on the whole, the agricultural production area of Shu Han is smaller than that of Cao Wei, and the agricultural production capacity of Shu Han is not as good as that of Cao Wei, which also leads to the weak national strength of Shu Han. In addition, the Northern Expedition route determined by Zhuge Liang was undulating and difficult to transport grain and grass, so Zhuge Liang's first five Northern Expeditions were all withdrawn due to poor supply of grain and grass. In the last Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang invented the "Wooden Ox Flowing Horse", which greatly improved the grain and grass transportation capacity of Shu Han, but it could only barely fight a protracted battle with Cao Wei.

Once Cao Wei commanded properly and chose to hold on, the Shu Han army was unable to launch a general attack and could only retreat in the end. Fundamentally speaking, the reason for this dilemma lies in the relatively disparity in national strength between Shu Han and Cao Wei. :Internet.

Everyone who is familiar with "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" knows that Zhuge Liang is a resourceful talent, and if there is no Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei would not be able to talk about establishing Shu Han. In 208 AD, Liu Bei had just invited Zhuge Liang out of the mountain, and Zhuge Liang used the clever plan of "burning Bowangpo", which caused Cao Jun to suffer heavy losses. After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang presided over the Shu Han Dynasty and sent troops to the Central Plains five times, although they all returned in vain, but they also frightened Cao Wei.

So the question is, why did Zhuge Liang's 5 Northern Expeditions to Cao Wei all fail? First of all, let's take a look at the reasons for the failure of Zhuge Liang's 5 Northern Expeditions. During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, due to the appointment of Ma Tan, the street pavilion failed miserably, and Zhuge Liang returned in vain; And the second Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang met his lifelong enemy Hao Zhao, no matter what tactics Zhuge Liang used, he couldn't conquer Chencang, and soon the food of the Shu Han army ran out, so he had to retreat.

Only in the third Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang captured Wudu and Yinping counties, which made the territory of Shu expand. In the fourth Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang surrounded Qishan and was about to be captured, but Li Yan had to retreat because of insufficient food. Summarizing the lessons and lessons of the first 4 Northern Expeditions, it can be seen that 2 of the Northern Expeditions were withdrawn because the Shu Han army did not have enough food and grass, so during the Fifth Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang would fight steadily and steadily, ordering the soldiers to Tuntian, fighting a war of attrition with the Wei army, and finally died of illness in Wuzhangyuan.

However, after 56 years, Chen Shou finally finished writing the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", for the real reason for Zhuge Liang's failure, Chen Shou explained in the book: "Although the original purpose of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains was good, so that Shu could transfer domestic contradictions and inherit the last wish of Emperor Liu Bei, but the long-term recklessness of military force also caused public resentment in Shu, in this case, the effect of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains began to decline." At this time, if Zhuge Liang is willing to change the method to fight Cao Wei, he can revive the Han family again.

Chen Shou meant that if Zhuge Liang adopted the method of stubbornly holding on to let Shu Han rest and recuperate, with the geographical advantage of Shu, it would be more than enough to defend for 50 years, and then sit back and wait for a coup d'état within Wei, and then take advantage of the internal strife in Wei to send troops to really achieve the victory of the Northern Expedition.

Heaven is not as good as people. Zhuge Liang used too much to scheming the world's sense of existence, and he had already seen through the mystery by the enemy, so he naturally ended in failure.

Zhuge Liang's troops are not enough, and the national strength of Shu is not strong, so Zhuge Liang's logistics support is not very good, and Zhuge Liang's generals are gradually withering, and there is no one to replenish them.

Because when Zhuge Liang went on the Northern Expedition, Shu no longer had many outstanding talents, so Zhuge Liang had no available people

Because at that time, the national strength of Shu could not shake the Wei State of the Cao family at all. Not in terms of financial and material resources, food and grass.

Because Shu Han did not have the strength of the Northern Expedition, Shu Han was originally the weak one in the Three Kingdoms, and then Zhuge Liang may not be suitable for war.