Everyone in the world knows that Zhuge Liang is full of wisdom, and the empty city plan is even more famous. But have you ever thought that this seemingly seamless scheme is actually full of loopholes? In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang scared off Sima Yi's 150,000 army with two boys and a piano, which is really amazing. However, when you look closely, this situation is too absurd. Think about it, if you lead a large army to attack, and see the enemy general sitting on the tower, leisurely, will you really retreat without a fight? What's more, Sima Yi, who is known for being suspicious! So, what is the truth of history? Why is Sima Yi so jealous of Zhuge Liang? Could it be that the truth is hidden in the faces of those two boys?
The origin and legend of the empty castle plan
Everyone in the world knows Zhuge Liang's empty city plan, but do you know how this story spread? Listen to me slowly.
It is said that it was a hot summer day during the Three Kingdoms period, and Zhuge Liang was resting his army in Xicheng. Suddenly, a scout came running in a panic and reported: "Prime Minister, it's not good! Sima Yi is leading an army of 150,000 towards us! "
After hearing this, Zhuge Liang asked unhurriedly: "How many troops does our army have?" "
The scout replied: "Back to the prime minister, our army has only 5,000 men. "
Zhuge Liang stroked his long beard, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. He pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Okay, let's have an empty city plan!" "
In this way, Zhuge Liang ordered the city gate to be opened, and he took the two boys to the city tower and stroked the piano leisurely. This scene can make Sima Yi who rushed over stunned.
Sima Yi saw Zhuge Liang's actions from a distance, and doubts suddenly arose in his heart. He pondered: "What kind of medicine is sold in this Zhuge Liang gourd?" Could it be that he is setting some kind of trap? "
But you know what? This story is actually from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". In the official history "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", such a dramatic scene is not recorded. So, where did the legend of the empty city plan come from?
It turned out that the earliest mention of the empty city plan was Fan Ye in the Southern Song Dynasty. In his book "Book of the Later Han", a similar story is recorded. The protagonist of the story is not Zhuge Liang, but Zhao Yun at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
When Zhao Yun was defending the city, he did not panic in the face of the enemy's attack. Instead, he ordered his soldiers to take cover, while he himself opened the gates wide and stood alone on the towers. Seeing this, the enemy thought that there was an ambush, but did not dare to attack, and finally returned in a huff.
This story was later spread and interpreted by the people, and gradually evolved into the Zhuge Liang empty city plan that we know today.
Interestingly, the empty city plan is not Zhuge Liang's patent. There are many similar stories of outwitting in Chinese history. For example, in the Spring and Autumn Period, Tian Dan, the general of the State of Qi, used a similar strategy.
At that time, the army of Yan besieged Jimo City. Tian Dan ordered the people in the city to live as usual, the city gates were wide open, and people were sent to play the orchestra at the head of the city. Seeing this, the Yan army was suspicious of deception and did not dare to attack rashly.
Another example is the Warring States Period, the famous Wei general Wu Qi also used this trick. On one occasion, he led 3,000 elite soldiers to defend Katsuragi. When the army of Chu came to attack, Wu Qi not only did not defend himself, but ordered his soldiers to change into civilian clothes and leisurely drink and eat meat at the head of the city. Seeing this, the Chu army thought that there was an ambush in the city, and finally had to retreat.
It can be seen from this that the strategy of using false momentum to frighten the enemy has a long history in Chinese history. It not only embodies the wisdom of ancient Chinese military strategists, but also shows a superb psychological tactic.
However, although the empty city plan sounds wonderful, it is very difficult to use in actual warfare. After all, this requires great courage and an accurate grasp of the psychology of the enemy. The slightest carelessness can lead to the loss of the city or even the destruction of the entire army.
Therefore, when we hear the story of Zhuge Liang's empty city plan again, we might as well think about it: If you are Sima Yi, how would you choose in the face of such a situation?
Zhuge Liang's dilemma and decision-making
The background of Zhuge Liang's empty city plan should start with the battle of Jieting. In 228 AD, Zhuge Liang led his army on a northern expedition, intending to recover Hanzhong, Longyou and other places. This Northern Expedition was supposed to have good fighters, but because of a wrong decision, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
Zhuge Liang sent Ma Tan to guard the street pavilion, which was a vital strategic location. Ma Tan was Zhuge Liang's protégé and had outstanding literary talents, but lacked practical military experience. Zhuge Liang wanted to take this opportunity to exercise Ma Yan, but he didn't expect that this decision almost caused a catastrophe.
After Ma Tan arrived at the street pavilion, he did not listen to the advice of the military advisor Wang Ping, and insisted on stationing the army on the top of the mountain. He believed that by occupying a high place, he would be able to stand on top and easily repel the enemy. However, he overlooked a fatal problem: the lack of water in the mountains.
When Zhang He, the general of Wei, learned of this, he immediately led his army to surround Jieting. He adopted the strategy of besieging but not attacking, just holding the water source and waiting for the Shu army to disarray. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the Shu army to lose morale due to lack of water, and finally the army was defeated.
The news of the loss of the street pavilion reached Zhuge Liang's ears, like a thunderbolt on a sunny day. The loss of this strategic location not only disrupted the overall plan of the Northern Expedition, but also directly threatened the security of Xicheng, where Zhuge Liang was located.
At that time, Zhuge Liang only had 5,000 men and horses stationed in Xicheng. This force is composed mainly of civilian officers and logistics personnel, and its combat effectiveness is very limited. What's worse is that Zhuge Liang doesn't even have a general around him who can fight well.
Faced with such a predicament, many believe that there should be an immediate retreat. However, Zhuge Liang has a different view. He knew very well that if he retreated in a hurry at this time, he would not only lose the territory he had occupied, but also seriously hit the morale of the army.
At this critical moment, the spies reported that Sima Yi was leading an army of 150,000 to Xicheng. This news is undoubtedly worse, and Xicheng is in danger.
However, Zhuge Liang did not show the slightest fluster. He convened the crowd to discuss a course of action, but no one could make a valid proposal. Seeing that the enemy army was coming, Zhuge Liang suddenly thought of a bold plan.
He said to the crowd, "Don't panic, I have a plan to retreat from the enemy. With that, he ordered his men to open the gates and sweep the streets, and ordered the soldiers to hide and not show their faces.
After hearing this, everyone felt that Zhuge Liang was talking nonsense. Someone couldn't help but ask: "Prime Minister, the enemy army is large, and our troops are weak, wouldn't opening the door now bring about your own destruction?" "
Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and explained: "It is precisely because of our weak troops that we have to use this strategy. Sima Yi has always been cautious and suspicious, and if we act too flustered, it will arouse his suspicions. Now that we have opened the gates of the city and behaved with confidence, it will make him suspicious and dare not act rashly. "
After speaking, Zhuge Liang took the two boys to the city tower, ordered someone to bring a piano, and began to play it leisurely. His move not only made the soldiers in the city feel incredible, but also puzzled the upcoming Sima Yi.
Zhuge Liang's decision can be said to be a risky move. If Sima Yi saw through this plan, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, Zhuge Liang is convinced that in this case, only by suppressing people with courage can he turn danger into a disaster.
This strategy not only reflects Zhuge Liang's wisdom, but also shows his calmness and courage in a critical moment. He skillfully used Sima Yi's personality traits and the battlefield situation at that time to stage a wonderful psychological warfare.
Zhuge Liang's decision not only saved the crisis in Xicheng, but also left the famous story of "empty city plan" for future generations. This story has also become a classic case in China's military strategy, and has been repeatedly studied and used for reference by later generations.
Sima Yi's suspicious personality and battlefield experience
Sima Yi, whose name is Zhongda, is a native of Wen County, Hanoi. As an important minister and military strategist of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, he was known for his suspicion and prudence. This character trait not only influenced his decision-making, but also shaped his military career to a large extent.
Sima Yi's suspicious personality can be traced back to his early years. Legend has it that Sima Yi was persecuted when he was young, which made him develop the habit of not trusting others easily. During Cao Cao's reign, Sima Yi was spared calamity on several occasions because of his prudence. For example, once Cao Cao tested his ministers and asked them if they looked like King Wu of Zhou. Most people echoed the words, but only Sima Yi was silent. Later, Cao Cao rebuked the flattering ministers and praised Sima Yi for his honesty.
This suspicious and cautious personality was especially evident during Sima Yi's military career. In 234 AD, Zhuge Liang's fifth northern expedition, Sima Yi was ordered to resist. At that time, Zhuge Liang sent his generals Wang Ping, Zhang Wei and others to feint, and he led the main force to attack Shangqi. Sima Yi saw through this plan and decisively sent troops to reinforce Shangqi, so that Zhuge Liang's plan failed.
However, Sima Yi's caution sometimes affected his ability to seize the opportunity. In the same year, in the Battle of Wuzhangyuan, the Shu army retreated due to the lack of food. Many generals suggested pursuit, but Sima Yi ordered the troops to remain unmoved. He said: "Kong Ming is good at using soldiers, there must be a rear, and he should not enter lightly. As a result, the Shu army retreated safely.
This character trait of Sima Yi is especially obvious in his many encounters with Zhuge Liang. Every time he faced Zhuge Liang's attack, Sima Yi always took a defensive position and rarely took the initiative to attack. Although this practice was repeatedly criticized by the imperial court, it did avoid major losses.
Once, Zhuge Liang sent people to plant melons near the Wei military camp. When Sima Yi found out, he immediately ordered the soldiers to pull out the melon seedlings. Some people were puzzled and asked why they did this. Sima Yi explained: "Kong Ming must have a deep meaning, if you don't pull it out, I'm afraid there will be disaster." It was later confirmed that there was gunpowder buried under those melon seedlings, which was a trap set by Zhuge Liang.
Sima Yi's suspicious personality influenced not only his military decision-making, but also his political career. During the reign of Emperor Cao Pi of Wei, Sima Yi resigned due to illness, in fact, to avoid disaster. After Cao Pi's death, Sima Yi pretended to be sick for many years, and it was not until Emperor Sima Zhao of Wei Ming took power that he "recovered". This practice of protecting himself wisely enabled him to protect himself during the turbulent period of the Wei dynasty, and finally laid the foundation for the Sima family to usurp Wei in the future.
Sima Yi's cautiousness and suspicion are not only reflected in major events, but also in daily life. It is said that he rarely laughs and is always wary of everything around him, even at home. Once, his son Sima Shi asked him why he was always like this. Sima Yi replied: "How can you not be cautious in dealing with people? "
This character trait, while making Sima Yi seem overly conservative in many cases, also allowed him to survive in a complex political and military environment. In many encounters with Zhuge Liang, although Sima Yi did not achieve decisive victories, he did not suffer significant losses either. This result of "undefeated and undefeated" also reflects his character to some extent.
It was this suspicious and cautious character that made Sima Yi choose to retreat in the face of Zhuge Liang's empty city. Although it was wise from a military point of view to attack a city that was virtually undefended, Sima Yi chose the safest option. This decision cost him a chance to win, but it also avoided a possible risk.
Sima Yi's suspicious personality and rich battlefield experience made him always extra vigilant when facing opponents like Zhuge Liang. He was well aware of Zhuge Liang's resourcefulness, so he was cautious in every confrontation, for fear of falling into the trap of the other party. This attitude was vividly demonstrated in the empty city plan incident.
The implementation process of the empty city plan
The implementation of the empty city plan is a clever layout of Zhuge Liang at a critical moment. The success of this strategy not only reflects Zhuge Liang's wisdom, but also shows his accurate grasp of the enemy's psychology.
It all started with the defeat of the street pavilion. Ma Tan's mistake caused the Shu army to suffer a heavy defeat at Jieting, and Zhuge Liang had to abandon the territory he had occupied and retreat to Xicheng. At this time, Zhuge Liang had only 5,000 men under his command, most of whom were civilian officials and logistics personnel, and there was almost no combat effectiveness to speak of.
At this critical moment, the spies reported that Sima Yi led an army of 150,000 to Xicheng. In the face of such a disparity in strength, Zhuge Liang seemed extremely calm. He convened the crowd to discuss a course of action, but no one could make a valid proposal.
In this case, Zhuge Liang came up with a surprising plan. He ordered his men to open the gates, sweep the streets, and hide all the soldiers from showing their faces. This decision puzzled everyone, and some even thought that Zhuge Liang was killing himself.
However, Zhuge Liang explained that it was precisely because of the weak army that this strategy was used. He analyzed that Sima Yi has always been cautious and suspicious, and if we act too flustered, it will arouse his suspicions. On the contrary, if we act confident, we can make him suspicious and dare not act rashly.
As soon as the plan was formulated, Zhuge Liang immediately began to act. He first ordered the gates to be opened, which was an extremely bold move. In the war at that time, the city gate was the key to defense, and opening it rashly was tantamount to throwing yourself into a net. But Zhuge Liang did the opposite, using this seemingly ridiculous move to confuse the enemy.
Then, Zhuge Liang ordered the streets to be cleaned. This may seem like a trivial move, but it actually has a lot of meaning. The clean and tidy streets give the illusion that the city is prepared, which is very different from the expected image of a city that is about to fall.
The most crucial step was that Zhuge Liang ordered all the soldiers to hide and not show their faces. This decision seems to be risky, but in fact it cleverly makes use of the psychology of "there is no silver three hundred taels here". If the city is really empty, it will arouse the suspicion of the enemy. On the other hand, if there are a few ordinary people walking around the street occasionally, it is more in line with the scene of a normal city.
After the preparations were completed, Zhuge Liang personally climbed the city tower and took the two boys to play the piano leisurely. This scene can be described as the finishing touch of the whole scheme. Zhuge Liang chose to come forward in person, showing his confidence in this plan. And the act of playing the piano shows a calm attitude, as if he is confident, and does not take the enemy in his eyes at all.
It is worth noting that Zhuge Liang's choice of location is also very particular. He sat on the castle tower, a position that allowed the approaching enemy to see him clearly, while keeping a certain distance so that too many details would not be revealed.
When Sima Yi led the army to the city of Xicheng, he saw such a picture: the city gate was wide open, the streets were cleaned, and Zhuge Liang was leisurely on the city tower. This is completely different from Sima Yi's expectation of a city that is about to fall.
Faced with this abnormal situation, Sima Yi fell into deep confusion. It stands to reason that a city with only 5,000 defenders should be panicked in the face of an army of 150,000. But everything in front of him showed an unusual calmness, which couldn't help but make Sima Yi wonder if there was fraud in it.
Sima Yi began to carefully observe the situation in the city. He noticed the occasional movement of people in the streets, but there was no sign of any soldiers. This deepened his suspicions. If the city is really heavily guarded, why can't there be any military activity? But if the city is empty, why are there people walking around the streets?
Just when Sima Yi was hesitating, Zhuge Liang's piano sound came. The melodious sound of the piano seemed to mock Sima Yi's hesitation, which exacerbated his uneasiness.
In the end, Sima Yi made the decision to withdraw the troops. He would rather miss an opportunity to attack than risk falling into Zhuge Liang's trap. This decision is exactly the result that Zhuge Liang expected.
In this way, Zhuge Liang relied on his own strength and 5,000 troops to block the attack of the 150,000 army. This miraculous scheme, later known as the "Empty City Scheme", became one of the most famous schemes in Chinese military history.
The impact of the empty city plan on future generations
As a classic example of Chinese military history, the influence of the empty city plan has far exceeded the military field and penetrated into many aspects such as politics, culture, and art. This seemingly simple strategy contains profound wisdom and has become an important object for future generations to study and reference.
In the military field, the empty city plan provided a completely new way of thinking for later generations of strategists. It tells people that in the face of disparity in strength, it is not only possible to choose a head-to-head confrontation, but to defuse the crisis through clever psychological warfare. This idea of defeating the strong with the weak was applied in many later battles.
For example, Guo Ziyi, a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, used a similar strategy to defuse the rebel attack during the Anshi Rebellion. At that time, Guo Ziyi's troops were insufficient, and in the face of a large-scale attack by the rebels, he ordered his soldiers to pretend to be indifferent, sweeping the floor on the city wall and washing clothes. Seeing this, the rebels thought that there was an ambush in the city, and did not dare to act rashly, and finally retreated.
During the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang also borrowed the idea of empty city planning in the process of fighting against the Japanese invaders. He set up a large number of beacon towers in the coastal areas, and lit them whenever he found a Japanese pirate. When the Japanese saw the flames raging, they thought that the Ming army was ready for battle, and they often retreated. Although this method is not a direct imitation of the empty city plan, its core idea is the same, which is to create an illusion to confuse the enemy.
In the political realm, the impact of the empty city plan is equally far-reaching. When faced with a formidable opponent, many politicians draw on the idea of empty city planning and defuse the crisis by showing a calm attitude. This approach is especially common in diplomatic negotiations.
During the Song Dynasty, the famous politician Fan Zhongyan used a similar strategy. When the envoy of the Liao State came to visit, Fan Zhongyan deliberately furnished the palace poorly, showing a weakened national strength. However, when the Liao envoy made an unreasonable request, Fan Zhongyan resolutely refused. This seemingly contradictory approach made the Liao envoy scratch his head, and finally had to give up his original plan.
In the field of culture and art, the empty city plan has become a well-known allusion. The image of Zhuge Liang playing the piano and retreating from the enemy has been depicted by countless literary works, dramas, film and television works. This story not only shows the wisdom of ancient Chinese military strategists, but also becomes a symbol of wit, courage and composure.
In the Yuan Dynasty dramatist Guan Hanqing's "Single Knife Meeting", there is a plot that describes Zhuge Liang using an empty city strategy to retreat from the enemy. This drama vividly depicts the image of Zhuge Liang in the face of danger and outwitting, and has become a classic on the stage of opera.
In modern literature, the influence of the empty city plan remains. Many writers borrow this allusion in their work, either to describe historical events directly, or to incorporate their ideas into modern stories. For example, in the famous writer Lao She's novel "Four Generations in the Same Hall", there is a character who draws on the idea of empty city planning when facing the Japanese invaders, and responds to the crisis with a calm and calm attitude.
The impact of the empty city plan even extends to the commercial sector. When faced with a strong competitor, many companies will adopt a strategy similar to empty the city, confusing the opponent by showing a calm attitude to buy themselves time and opportunity. This strategy is not uncommon in business negotiations and market competition.
For example, some startups will deliberately appear comfortable in the face of competitive pressure from large companies in order to boost investor confidence, but also make competitors suspicious and afraid to take aggressive actions.
In the field of education, the empty city plan has also become an important teaching case. In many schools, when teaching history or military theory, they will explain the empty city plan as a key content. Through this case, students will not only learn about history, but also learn about strategic thinking and the use of psychology and tactics.
In addition, the idea of empty city planning has also been applied to the fields of psychology and management. Psychologists have seen patterns of human behavior in the face of stress, and management experts have summarized crisis management strategies.