When I read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms before, I always felt indignant about Wei Yan's fate. Such a brave and strategic general ended up with a result of rebellion. Why was this? Was Wei Yan disloyal to Shuhan? No, I see Wei Yan as a thousand-mile horse, and only the connoisseur Liu Bei could recognize him. After Liu Bei died, his brilliance ended and his tragedy began. Who let him not leave a good impression on his superior, Zhuge Kongming?
Since Wei Yan followed Liu Bei, he has been loyal and devoted himself wholeheartedly. After Liu Bei became king, he did not let his sworn brother Zhang Fei stay in Hanzhong but instead entrusted this granary and military stronghold of the Shuhan regime to Wei Yan. This shows how much he valued and deliberately cultivated Wei Yan. At that time, according to modern language, Wei Yan was a reserve cadre in Liu Bei's heart. If Liu Bei were still alive and promoted Wei Yan heavily, there would be no regret of "there are no great generals in Shu, so Liao Hua becomes the vanguard." Wei Yan died because of Zhuge Liang's narrow-mindedness and judging people by their appearance.
Later generations wrote such a letter to Wei Yan, which I think is very good and right, and it can also vindicate Wei Yan!
In real society and around us, how many people are like Wei Yan, with great talent and often lamenting that sparrows do not know the aspirations of swans. Everyone should take a look at this letter and will know how to go forward.
"A Letter of Advice to Wei Yan"
Dear Brother Wei Yan:
After reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I know that there was a special person like you in the Three Kingdoms. As an outsider, I think it was correct for Kongming to arrange for someone to kill you. Please don't take my straightforward words too seriously. In fact, everyone who has read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms thinks this way, I'm just as straightforward as you.
I admire your talent very much. When I close the book and think about it, I can't help but feel some regret and melancholy that you were eventually killed by a dead man. If you had followed my advice at the beginning, although I can't guarantee high rank and wealth or rapid promotion, you wouldn't have been killed by your own leader.
Why do you often give advice to the leader? You shouldn't have so many opinions. When others assign tasks, you just need to bring your ears and listen attentively. When listening, it's best to lower your head slightly to show submission, but don't lower it too much, otherwise they might think you're not paying attention or even falling asleep. After listening, work hard on the task. With your abilities, I think there's no task you can't accomplish. After finishing the work, just sleep and drink, isn't this a good way to pass the time? When reporting your work, you must not say how easily you completed the task. It's better to exaggerate the difficulties, so people will think you're good at overcoming difficulties and work seriously.
Why do you love to seek attention so much? Actually, being at the end is better than being at the front, staying in the middle is the best. Maybe you seek attention to show off your abilities, but what's the use of human ability? The most important thing is to flatter. Do you have the ability in this aspect? If you do, then show it off, if not, then don't. Maybe you seek attention to vie for credit, you often resent not being placed in the position of first merit, but what's the use of seeking credit? Isn't it better to have no credit? Don't you see Yang Yi, who doesn't fight in battles, only works in front of the leader, and overnight becomes the commander-in-chief of the three armies.
Sometimes you have some self-proclaimed brilliant battle plans, and you feel guilty if you don't propose them. I completely understand this feeling. But I think you'd better not propose them yourself. The leader doesn't have a good impression of you, and if you propose them, they won't be taken seriously, and it may increase their misunderstanding of you. You'd better let Ma Su, Jiang Wei, and others propose them. Since the leader values them, they will value the plans they propose. Even if these suggestions are adopted, you shouldn't say they were proposed by you. You should tell people how wise the leader is, etc., to gain the leader's gradual goodwill.
When I saw the scene where you told Fei Yi to let Yang Yi escort Prime Minister Kongming's coffin back, and you wanted to take command and continue the campaign against Wei, I was greatly shocked. Is this the duty of a minister? The prime minister has died, and such a smart person naturally wouldn't die confused and make mistakes. There's no doubt all major affairs would have been arranged properly, why should you interfere? Moreover, if you want to take over the prime minister's troops, aren't you placing yourself above the prime minister to make arrangements? Too arrogant! What's your identity? "If you're not in the position, don't meddle in politics!" You should have said that the leader's arrangement is reasonable, and you would defend it with your life, etc. You think you can be the commander-in-chief, but I always think you're not mature enough. Oh, what is maturity? You probably don't know, and I can't explain it clearly either. In short, you need to get along well with your colleagues, especially with your leader. Think carefully, how are you doing in this aspect?
Can the above advice be achieved? In fact, you have two other ways out: First, boldly join Cao Wei. If Cao Cao's style of using people still exists, Wei will surely heavily use you, allowing you to fulfill your lifelong ambitions. Why endure those frustrations under Kongming? They give you a hard time, spread rumors, and don't allow you to complain. Actually, this is not bad, didn't Han Xin run from Xiang Yu to Liu Bang and achieve fame and success? Second, if you still have feelings for Liu Bei, or remain loyal to the Shu kingdom you helped establish, then after achieving great merits, you can retire gracefully. Of course, you're not old enough to retire, but you can say you have a problem with your toes or stomach discomfort, then resign due to illness, hand over your military power, and then go sightseeing. You may think this suppresses your talent, but actually, it's not a big deal. There have been many talented people since ancient times, and many have suffered and been harmed. Even without people like you who are talented, society continues to exist, and the earth continues to rotate.
Frank advice is harsh, brother, please consider it carefully.