Wei Yan Wei Yan ( died 234 ) , 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 . 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 and as an Area Commander in 219 . Between 228 and 234 , he participated actively in the Northern Expeditions led by the Shu 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 . Early and mid - career . Wei Yan was a native of Yiyang ( 義陽 ; around present - day Tongbai County , Nanyang , Henan ) in Jing Province . As one of Liu Bei ' s personal retainers , he followed Liu Bei into Yi Province ( covering present - day Sichuan and Chongqing ) in 212 to attack the warlord Liu Zhang . He had many military accomplishments and was assigned as a " General of the Standard " ( 牙門將軍 ) . When Liu Bei became " King of Hanzhong " in 219 after his victory over his rival Cao Cao in the Hanzhong Campaign , he selected Wei Yan as the general who would guard Hanzhong and then honoured him with the title " General Who Suppresses the North " ( 鎮北將軍 ) . This was despite Zhang Fei being considered by the majority and himself to be the likely candidate for the position , which assumed the imminent military responsibility to resist invasion from Cao Cao . When Wei Yan was nominated by Liu Bei , the court was shocked . Liu Bei then asked Wei Yan in front of the mass how would he serve his new post , wherein Wei confidently replied : " If Cao Cao mustered all his forces and invaded , let me assist my lord to repel the enemies ; if an Assistant - General came with 100 , 000 troops , let me engulf them for my lord . " During his tenure , Wei Yan borrowed the concept of " double gates " from the ancient text " Zhou Yi " ( 周易 ) and laid numerous camps along the outskirt and trail exits linking to Hanzhong . His defence mechanism was very effective in driving the enemy out , and his arrangement would be adopted by those who later succeeded his post . In 221 , Liu Bei founded the state of Shu Han and became its first emperor . He died in 223 and was succeeded by his son Liu Shan . In that year , Wei Yan was enfeoffed by Liu Shan as a " Marquis of a Chief Village " ( 都亭侯 ) . About four years later , Shu ' s Zhuge Liang launched the first of a series of campaigns to attack Shu ' s rival state Cao Wei , and Wei Yan was called into battle . Wei Yan supervised the front division , and he held the appointments of Major under the Chancellor ( 丞相司馬 ) and Inspector of Liang Province ( 涼州刺史 ) . Wei Yan treated his soldiers well and was known for his bravery . However , he was also boastful of his talents and his peers tended to avoid him . The minister Yang Yi , who was a close aide of Zhuge Liang , made no concession to Wei Yan , and Wei was extremely resentful of him . Northern Expeditions . Wei Yan participated in most , if not all , of the Northern Expeditions against the state of Cao Wei . However , he was disappointed with his superior Zhuge Liang because the latter employed Ma Su as the vanguard for the first campaign , which ended up in a total disaster after the Shu defeat at the Battle of Jieting . During the second campaign , Wei Yan suggested to Zhuge Liang to take an alternative route to attack Chang ' an , a strategic city in Wei , but Zhuge rejected his plan . Zhuge Liang then led the Shu army to besiege Chencang , where they could only lament upon the staunch defence of the 1 , 000 defenders commanded by the Wei general Hao Zhao . In late 230 , when the Cao Wei regime launched a counteroffensive with a sizeable army , Zhuge Liang sent Wei Yan and Wu Ban as military attaché s to join forces with the Qiang tribes in the northwest to harass the Wei army ' s rear . Wei Yan swiftly led a mixed cavalry - infantry force to his destination , and he sold the famous Chengdu silk brocades to the Qiang people in return for their military support , as well as for horses and weapons . From the very beginning , the Cao Wei attack encountered problems : heavy rains continued for more than 30 days , which rendered that the narrow valleys impassable , while the Wei general Zhang He was threatened in the west by Wei Yan ' s pincer movement towards his rear . After one and a half months of little progress , the ill - fated campaign was terminated . However , the Wei generals Fei Yao and Guo Huai wanted to earn some merits before their retreat , so they attacked Wei Yan at Yangxi ( 陽谿 ) , but Wei Yan inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy . Thus , the Shu force behind the enemy lines was able to make a prudence dictated return to Hanzhong . Wei Yan was then promoted to " Front Military Advisor Senior General Who Attacks the West " ( 前軍師征西大將軍 ) , and he also received the title of " Marquis of Nanzheng " ( 南鄭侯 ) . During the fourth Northern Expedition , Zhuge Liang sent Wei Yan , Wu Ban and Gao Xiang to counter the Wei commander Sima Yi , who was leading a frontal assault from the central main road . They resisted Sima Yi ' s forces outside the fortress and scored a major victory over the enemy , killing 3 , 000 Wei armoured soldiers and seizing 5 , 000 sets of armour and 3 , 100 crossbows . 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 BCE . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 . The viability of Wei Yan ' s Ziwu Valley Plan ( before Xiahou Mao ' s reassignment ) became a subject of debate among historians over the centuries . However , there is no doubt that Zhuge Liang had forfeited a chance to execute Wei Yan ' s plan , regardless of whether it would have turned out to be successful or not . When Zhuge Liang ' s own strategy during the second Northern Expedition failed , Wei Yan sighed that his talent was not employed to its full potential . Death . In 234 , Zhuge Liang set out on his last northern expedition against Cao Wei , with Wei Yan leading the vanguard force . During the standoff in the Battle of Wuzhang Plains , Zhuge Liang fell sick and issued secret orders to Yang Yi , Fei Yi and Jiang Wei for the Shu armies to retreat after his death . Wei Yan was to guard the rear with Jiang Wei after him . If Wei Yan refused to accept the order , they were to retreat without him . When Zhuge Liang died , news of his death were kept secret . Yang Yi sent Fei Yi to meet Wei Yan and test the latter ' s intentions . Wei Yan said , " Although the Chancellor ( Zhuge Liang ) had died , I ' m still around . The officials serving in the Chancellor ' s Office may bring his body back ( to Chengdu ) for burial , but I should remain behind to lead the armies to attack the enemy . Must we neglect the affairs of the State just because of the death of one man ? Besides , who am I , Wei Yan , to follow the command of Yang Yi and become the general of the rearguard ? " Wei Yan and Fei Yi then took command of the troops left behind , and Fei wrote a letter to be signed by both of them which would be read out to all the commanders . Fei Yi offered to go on Wei Yan ' s behalf and explain the situation to the Chief Clerk Yang Yi , saying that Yang was a civil official and was not experienced in military affairs , making it certain that Yang would not disobey him . Wei Yan then let Fei Yi go , but he immediately regretted his decision and he went after Fei , but could not catch up with the latter in time . He then sent his subordinate to meet Yang Yi and the others , but was shocked to discover that the various encampments were preparing to retreat , in accordance with Zhuge Liang ' s final orders . Wei Yan wanted to continue the campaign against Cao Wei even though Zhuge Liang had died , so he was furious when he heard of the retreat . He intended to block the Shu forces from retreating , so he led his force towards the south , ahead of the main army commanded by Yang Yi , and then sealed the return route by destroying the gallery road s leading back to Shu . Wei Yan and Yang Yi separately wrote memorials to the Shu imperial court , accusing each other of treason . Their memorials arrived in the Shu capital Chengdu on the same day , and the emperor Liu Shan asked the ministers Dong Yun and Jiang Wan for their opinions . Both of them sided with Yang Yi and felt that Wei Yan ' s actions were suspicious . In the meantime , Yang Yi ordered his men to cut down trees to rebuild the gallery roads , and his troops marched day and night in order to catch up with Wei Yan . Wei Yan arrived at the southern valley first , and he ordered his soldiers to attack Yang Yi , while Yang sent Wang Ping to resist Wei Yan . Wang Ping shouted at Wei Yan , " His lordship ( Zhuge Liang ) had just died and his body had yet to turn cold , and now you dare to do something like this ? " Wei Yan ' s men knew that their commander was in the wrong so they deserted . Wei Yan was left with only his sons and a few followers , and they fled towards Hanzhong . Yang Yi ordered Ma Dai to give chase . Ma Dai caught up with Wei Yan , decapitated him , brought his head back , and threw it in front of Yang Yi . Yang Yi trampled on Wei Yan ' s head and said , " You inferior slave ! Now , can you still commit evil ? " Wei Yan ' s family members and close relatives were executed as well . Prior to Wei Yan ' s death , Jiang Wan had led divisions of the imperial guards from Chengdu to deal with the conflict . They had travelled for about 10 " li " ( about a quarter of a mile ) when they received news of Wei Yan ' s death , so they returned to Chengdu . Analysis . Chen Shou , who wrote Wei Yan ' s biography in the " Sanguozhi " , analysed Wei Yan ' s death as such : A similar , but somewhat different and more detailed account exists in the historical text " Weilue " , which states : Pei Songzhi , who added the " Weilue " account to Wei Yan ' s biography and annotated the " Sanguozhi " , commented on the " Weilue " account as follows : Wei Yan ' s death was explained in political terms in " Injustice to Wei Yan " ( 魏延的千古奇冤 ) , a neoteric article by Zhu Ziyan , a history professor from Shanghai University . In the article , Zhu wrote that Zhuge Liang personally appointed Jiang Wan , Fei Yi and Jiang Wei to be his successors , but Wei Yan ' s appointments and contributions were greater than those of any of them at that time . Zhuge Liang ostracised Wei Yan and cracked down on him because he wanted to eliminate Wei Yan as a possible obstacle to his appointed successors . In fiction . Wei Yan appears as a character in the historical novel " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " by Luo Guanzhong , which romanticises the historical events leading to , and during the Three Kingdoms period . See the following for some fictitious stories in " Romance of the Three Kingdoms " involving Wei Yan : Modern references . Wei Yan is featured as a playable character in Koei ' s " Dynasty Warriors " and " Warriors Orochi " video game series . He also appears in Koei ' s " Dynasty Tactics 2 " .