What was Zhuge Liang's last plan before his death? "The coffin was carried south, and the rope was broken and buried"?

In history, Zhuge Liang can be said to be one of the smartest people. Although there are beautification elements in romance novels, there is no doubt about his wisdom. Throughout Zhuge Liang's life, he performed many unique skills. It is said that before he died, he left the entrustment of "lifting the coffin south and burying it with broken rope", which is considered as his last unique skill. So, is it true that Zhuge Liang used this plan in history? Why are you doing this?

First of all, to explore the history of the Three Kingdoms period, of course, we have to open the official history book "The History of the Three Kingdoms", which records in black and white: "Ming Yi was ordered to bury Dingjun Mountain in Hanzhong, because the mountain was a grave and the coffin was full, so he took it in time without utensils." That is to say, after Zhuge Liang's death, the soldiers of Shu Han buried him in Dingjun Mountain in Hanzhong according to his wishes, and dug a grave at the side of the mountain, just enough to put down the coffin. In addition, Zhuge Liang did not wear any gorgeous clothes when he died, but only wore the same clothes as usual, and there was no gold, silver and jewelry buried with him.

According to historical records, Zhuge Liang's burial accords with his virtue of diligence and "indifferent to fame and fortune", which is also reflected in his last letter to the late master Liu Chan. Zhuge Liang felt that he was running out of time, so he wrote: "There are 800 mulberry plants in Chengdu, with 15 hectares of barren land. The children have enough food and clothes. As for the minister's position outside the country, there is no other scheduling. Take food and clothing, learn to be an official, don't treat students differently, and grow up. If on the day I die, there is not a shred left in it, and if I win money outside, I will be in debt to your majesty. " Later, Liu Chan sent someone to count Zhuge Liang's wealth, and found that Zhuge Liang really kept his word.

According to historical records, Zhuge Liang was buried in Dingjun Mountain, so will the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which has a lot of fictional content, be the source of "the coffin was carried south and the rope was broken"? When we open the novel, we will find that the record of Zhuge Liang's burial is also: "Fei Yi said:' The Prime Minister was buried in Dingjun Mountain on his deathbed, and there was no need for masonry or all sacrifices. "After the master. On the auspicious day of October this year, the late Lord sent the coffin to Dingjun Mountain for burial. "

It can be seen that there is no record of this matter in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so the so-called "breaking the rope and carrying the coffin to the south for burial" is only a legendary story widely circulated among the people, and it does not exist in history. After clarifying the first point, let's look at the second question. Why did Zhuge Liang ask this question? Before explaining the reason, let's take a look at the widely circulated version of this story.

Zhuge Liang was seriously ill in Wuzhangyuan, but the war was tense at that time, and the soldiers and horses of Shu Han were waiting for an opportunity to retreat. So the Prime Minister of Shu Han charged that after Zhuge Liang's death, he would send four strong men to carry coffins south, and when the rope was broken, he would be buried on the spot. Later, Liu Chan, the late ruler of Shu Han, knew this commandment. He called four people and told them to act according to their words and deeds. However, the thick straw rope is not so easy to break, and the four strong men have not changed after carrying it for two or three days. So the four of them simply buried Zhuge Liang on the spot and then came to me.

Although Liu Chan was stupid in governing the country, he also knew that such a thick rope could not be broken in two or three days, and he was suspicious at that time. Under its coercion, the strong men confessed the truth. Liu Chan, who has always regarded Zhuge Liang as his father's respect, saw that the four men had disobeyed his father's orders and dragged them to be beheaded in a rage, but forgot to ask Zhuge Liang's exact burial place. Since then, no one has known the exact burial place of Zhuge Liang.

One of the most popular views about Zhuge Liang's last wishes is that he had guessed that the coffin bearer would not do it honestly, so he was prepared to bury it in a random place from the beginning. Zhuge Liang, who has an extraordinary IQ, uses this tactic only because the condition of "a strong man breaking his wrist" is very casual. Only in this way can he really keep his burial place from outsiders.

The reason why it is so mysterious may be that Zhuge Liang is on guard against two things: First, although tomb robbery has been regarded as evil since ancient times, Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao, Sun Quan and others in the troubled times of the Three Kingdoms have all done such things, and Zhuge Liang is not sure whether someone will attack his grave and body, so he has to choose a low profile and try to bear it as much as possible; Secondly, as the prime minister of Shu Han, political enemies of the imperial court and enemies of other countries may harbor hatred towards themselves. If their burial place is exposed to people, they may be retaliated.

As cautious as Zhuge Liang, there are actually his old rivals Cao Cao and Sima Yi. Legend has it that Cao Cao set up 72 suspected graves after his death because he made too many enemies in his life and it was difficult to find the location of the graves. Similarly, according to the Book of Jin, Sima Yi ordered that "the son official should not be buried" before his death to prevent his tomb from being discovered by outsiders. It can be seen that it is not easy for the ancients to be clean after death. When they are still alive, they should plan their own affairs.