Wei Yan

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Wei Yan bigraphy, stories - Shu Han general

Wei Yan : biography

Unknown – 234

Wei Yan (died 234),de Crespigny (2007), p. 857. style name Wenchang, was a military general of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. Originally a foot soldier under the warlord Liu Bei (the founding emperor of Shu), Wei Yan rose through the ranks and became a general when Liu Bei invaded Yi Province (益州; covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) in 211.de Crespigny 2007, p.857. His talent and performance during battles helped him to become a prominent figure in the Shu military in a short period of time. He was later appointed as the Administrator of Hanzhong commanderyThis post had previously been held by Lu Su. See Passage G of Jian’an 15 in the Zizhi tongjian of Sima Guang; . and as an Area Commander in 219. Between 228 and 234, he participated actively in the Northern Expeditions led by the Shu chancellor Zhuge Liang against Shu’s rival state, Cao Wei. After Zhuge Liang’s death in 234, Wei Yan was killed by another Shu general, Ma Dai, for alleged treason.

Ziwu Valley Plan

Each time Wei Yan followed Zhuge Liang to battle, he would request to command a separate detachment of about 10,000 men and take a different route and rendezvous with Zhuge’s main force at Tong Pass (present-day Tongguan County, Shaanxi), based on an earlier strategy used by Han Xin during the Chu–Han Contention in the 200s BC. Zhuge Liang rejected the plan, and Wei Yan felt that Zhuge was a coward and complained that his talent was not put to good use.(延每隨亮出,輙欲請兵萬人,與亮異道會于潼關,如韓信故事,亮制而不許。延常謂亮為怯,歎恨己才用之不盡。) Sanguozhi vol. 40.

When Chen Shou compiled the unofficial works on the history of Shu to write the Sanguozhi, he only mentioned that Wei Yan suggested to Zhuge Liang to split the Shu army into two, and the two forces would take two different routes and rendezvous at Tong Pass.Not much details were recorded due to the fact that when Zhuge Liang served as chancellor-regent in Shu, he banned the position of Historian (an official whose task was to maintain records of historical events) in the Shu imperial court. When Chen Shou attempted to compile the histories of Shu, he lamented on Zhuge Liang’s policy of banning official historical records. It is noteworthy that Shu had 40,000 civil servants when it was conquered by Wei in 263, but out of these 40,000, none of them held the appointment of Historian. Quote from Sanguozhi vol. 32: (又國不置史,注記無官,是以行事多遺,灾異靡書。諸葛亮雖達於為政,凡此之類,猶有未周焉。)

Wei Yan’s reasoning for his Ziwu Valley Plan was recorded in the historical text Weilue, which was then added as annotations to his biography in the Sanguozhi. It stated: Wei Yan received intelligence that the defender of the strategic city Chang’an, Xiahou Mao, was cowardly and incompetent. Thus, he reasoned, it would be easy for him to take 5,000 troops (and another 5,000 to carry supplies) across the Qin Mountains via the Ziwu Valley (子午谷) and into Chang’an. Wei Yan estimated that he would reach Chang’an in ten days and scare Xiahou Mao into flight, leaving the grain in Chang’an’s storehouses for Shu’s taking. There, Wei Yan’s force can wait for Zhuge Liang’s main army to take the safer road out of Xie Valley (斜谷) and rendezvous in Chang’an. In this way, the region west of Xianyang could be conquered in one movement.(魏略曰:夏侯楙為安西將軍,鎮長安,亮於南鄭與羣下計議,延曰:「聞夏侯楙少,主壻也,怯而無謀。今假延精兵五千,負糧五千,直從褒中出,循秦嶺而東,當子午而北,不過十日可到長安。楙聞延奄至,必乘船逃走。長安中惟有御史、京兆太守耳,黃門邸閣與散民之穀足周食也。比東方相合聚,尚二十許日,而公從斜谷來,必足以達。如此,則一舉而咸陽以西可定矣。」亮以為此縣危,不如安從坦道,可以平取隴右,十全必克而無虞,故不用延計。) Weilue annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 40.

When the Cao Wei court received intelligence about Wei Yan’s Ziwu Valley Plan, the emperor Cao Rui immediately removed Xiahou Mao from his military command in Chang’an and reassigned him to be an Imperial Secretary (尚書) in the capital.(魏略曰: … 楙性無武略,而好治生。至太和二年,明帝西征,人有白楙者,遂召還為尚書。) Weilue annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 9.

Analysis

The reason as to why Zhuge Liang rejected Wei Yan’s plan remained dubious due to the absence of details in historical records. However, it is generally believed that Zhuge Liang considered Wei Yan’s plan to be dangerous and he preferred to travel along the flat roads so that Longyou (隴右) could be taken easily. He was certain that his plan would work out without any worry, so he did not accept Wei Yan’s plan.