Fei Yi
Fei Yi, courtesy name Wenwei, was a Chinese diplomat, military general, politician, and regent of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the late Eastern Han dynasty, Fei Yi started his career as an attendant to Liu Shan, the eldest son and heir apparent of Liu Bei, a warlord who became the founding emperor of Shu. After Liu Shan became emperor in 223, Fei Yi gradually rose to prominence under the regency of Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor of Shu. During this time, he concurrently served as a military adviser under Zhuge Liang and as Shu's ambassador to its ally state Wu. He also played a significant role in the conflict between the Shu general Wei Yan and Zhuge Liang's chief clerk Yang Yi. After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Fei Yi served as a deputy to the new regent Jiang Wan and progressively assumed greater responsibilities as Jiang Wan gradually relinquished his powers due to poor health. In 244, Fei Yi led Shu forces to victory at the Battle of Xingshi against their rival state Wei and succeeded Jiang Wan as regent of Shu two years later following the latter's death. On the first day of the Chinese New Year in 253, Fei Yi was assassinated by a Wei defector, Guo Xiu.
Early life
Fei Yi was born in Meng County, Jiangxia Commandery, which is located northwest of present-day Luoshan County, Henan, during the late Eastern Han dynasty. His father died when he was still young so he was raised by an older relative Fei Boren, whose aunt was the mother of Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yi Province. When Liu Zhang invited Fei Boren to join him, Fei Yi accompanied Fei Boren as a travelling student and entered Yi Province.In 214, after the warlord Liu Bei seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang and became the new Governor, Fei Yi chose to remain in Yi Province. During this time, he became as equally famous as two other notable scholars: Xu Shulong from Runan Commandery and Dong Yun from Nan Commandery.
Anecdote at the funeral of Xu Jing's son
When Xu Jing's son died, Fei Yi and Dong Yun wanted to attend the funeral so Dong Yun asked his father Dong He to help them arrange their transport. After Dong He provided them a small chariot with no rear covering, Dong Yun seemed reluctant to board it while Fei Yi eagerly got on board. When they reached their destination, they saw that Zhuge Liang and other key officials had shown up in well-decorated carriages. As they dismounted the carriage, Dong Yun showed signs of embarrassment while Fei Yi appeared calm and composed.After they returned, Dong He asked the chariot driver and learnt that Dong Yun and Fei Yi reacted differently when they saw that their transport was of inferior design compared to others'. Dong He then told his son: "I always wondered how you and Wenwei compare with each other. Now I have the answer to my question."
Service under Liu Bei
In 221, after Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established the state of Shu, he designated his eldest son Liu Shan as crown prince and appointed Fei Yi and Dong Yun to serve as the newly anointed heir apparent's close attendants.Service during Zhuge Liang's regency
When Liu Shan became the Shu emperor in 223 following Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor, served as regent because Liu Shan was still underage at the time. After his coronation, Liu Shan appointed Fei Yi as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate.Around the autumn of 225, when Zhuge Liang returned from a military campaign against rebels and the Nanman tribes in southern Shu, Fei Yi and many of his colleagues travelled tens of li out of the capital Chengdu to welcome him back. Most of the officials were around the same age as Fei Yi and their ranks in the Shu government were about the same as his. Among all of them, Zhuge Liang chose only Fei Yi to ride in the same carriage as him for their journey back to Chengdu. The others felt very surprised and they changed their opinions of Fei Yi after this.
As Shu's ambassador to Wu
In 223, Shu reestablished its alliance with its former ally state Wu against their common rival state Wei. After Zhuge Liang returned from his southern campaign in 225, he commissioned Fei Yi as a Colonel of Illustrious Trust and sent him as Shu's ambassador to Wu.During his mission to Wu, Fei Yi kept his cool when the Wu emperor Sun Quan tried to ridicule and poke fun at him. Sun Quan treated Fei Yi to alcoholic drinks, saw that he appeared drunk, and then bombarded him with a series of questions about current affairs. Fei Yi gave an excuse that he was no longer sober and declined to answer immediately. He noted down all the questions, went back and thought through carefully, and came back to Sun Quan later with all the answers without missing out any question. Some Wu officials such as Zhuge Ke and Yang Dao, who were known for their oratorical talents, attempted to challenge Fei Yi and pose difficult questions to him. However, Fei Yi managed to respond in a calm and dignified manner, and provide well-reasoned answers to their questions. He held his ground well throughout his mission.
In one instance, a drunk Sun Quan asked Fei Yi: "Yang Yi and Wei Yan behave like immature boys. Even though their contributions are insignificant, they can still cause big trouble because they are in positions of power. If one day Zhuge Liang is no longer around, there will definitely be disaster. All of you are confused. No one has considered the long-term implications of this problem. Isn't that harmful to your descendants?" Fei Yi, stunned by Sun Quan's question, could not respond immediately and started glancing around as he tried to think of an answer. Fei Yi's deputy, Dong Hui, stepped up, looked at Fei Yi and said: "You can say that the conflict between Yang Yi and Wei Yan is a private issue between them. They don't have wild ambitions unlike Ying Bu and Han Xin. As of now, our priority is to eliminate our powerful enemy and reunify the Empire. Only after we have achieved that can we consider our mission accomplished and be able to expand our legacy. If we put our priority aside and focus on preempting internal problems such as this, it would be equivalent to not building a boat at all to avoid getting caught in a storm. That wouldn't be beneficial at all in the longer term." Sun Quan was very amused by Dong Hui's reply.
In another instance, Sun Quan instructed his officials: "When the Shu ambassador arrives, all of you just remain seated, continue eating, and don't stand up to greet him." When Fei Yi arrived, Sun Quan and his officials deliberately ignored his presence and continued feasting. Fei Yi then said: "When a fenghuang shows up, the qilin will stop eating. Donkeys and mules are ignorant. That's why they continue eating." Zhuge Ke replied: "We planted parasol trees for the fenghuang's arrival. A brambling came along instead. Why don't we scare away the brambling and force it to go back to where it came from?" Fei Yi stopped chewing on the pastry and asked for a brush to compose a rhapsody. Zhuge Ke also did the same. They then exchanged their works and praised each other.
Sun Quan was so impressed with Fei Yi that he told him: "Sir, you are one of the most virtuous men in the Empire. You will definitely become an important pillar of state in Shu. By then, I am afraid you will no longer be able to visit us often." Sun Quan also gave Fei Yi a precious sword, which he used to carry with him all the time, as a parting gift. Fei Yi told him: "I am untalented. What makes me deserve such an honour? A sword is meant to be used against enemies of the state and to put an end to chaos. I hope that you, Great King, will do your best to rule your kingdom and work together to support the Han dynasty. I may be ignorant and weak, but I will never disappoint the hopes you have placed in me."
As a military adviser
Fei Yi was promoted to the position of a Palace Attendant after returning from his diplomatic mission to Wu.In 227, Zhuge Liang mobilised military forces from throughout Shu in preparation for a large-scale campaign against Shu's rival state Wei in the following year. As the troops gathered at the staging area in Hanzhong Commandery, Zhuge Liang summoned Fei Yi from Chengdu and appointed him as an Army Adviser. In his Chu Shi Biao, Zhuge Liang named Fei Yi, Guo Youzhi and Dong Yun as examples of trustworthy, loyal and competent officials who could provide good advice and assist the emperor Liu Shan in governing Shu more effectively.
Between 227 and 230, Fei Yi alternated between his roles as a military adviser and Shu's ambassador to Wu. Apart from serving as an assistant to Zhuge Liang during the military campaigns against Wei, he was also often sent by the Shu government on diplomatic missions to Wu during this period of time. In 230, he was reassigned to serve as Central Protector of the Army and then as a Major in the Shu army.
Role in the conflict between Wei Yan and Yang Yi
, a senior Shu general, was on bad terms with Yang Yi, Zhuge Liang's chief clerk. Wei Yan was known for being boastful, and his colleagues generally gave in to him. Yang Yi was one of the few who made no concession to Wei Yan, so Wei Yan deeply resented him. Zhuge Liang was upset by the lack of harmony between Wei Yan and Yang Yi, but he was unwilling to take sides because he appreciated the talents of both men and needed their help.When Wei Yan and Yang Yi got into heated quarrels, the former drew his sword and brandished it in front of the latter. Yang Yi sobbed as tears rolled down his cheeks. Fei Yi then stepped in to stop them from fighting and managed to keep them under control while Zhuge Liang was still alive.
Battle of Wuzhang Plains
In 234, Zhuge Liang became critically ill during a stalemate at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains against Wei forces. During this time, when Li Fu asked Zhuge Liang who could succeed him as the head of the Shu government, Zhuge Liang replied that Jiang Wan could succeed him and that Fei Yi could succeed Jiang Wan. After Li Fu left, Zhuge Liang secretly instructed Yang Yi, Fei Yi and Jiang Wei to lead the army back to Shu after his death, with Wei Yan and Jiang Wei in charge of the rearguard. If Wei Yan refused to follow orders, they were to retreat without him. After Zhuge Liang died, Yang Yi ordered news of his death to be kept secret, and then instructed Fei Yi to meet Wei Yan and assess his intentions.When Wei Yan refused to follow Zhuge Liang's final orders and submit to Yang Yi's command, Fei Yi pretended to help Wei Yan make new arrangements for part of the Shu army to remain behind and continue with the campaign, while the rest would return to Shu. Fei Yi then wrote a letter about the new arrangements, got both of them to sign it, and told Wei Yan that he would read out the letter to all the officers later. He also told Wei Yan: "I will go back and explain your point of view to Chief Clerk Yang. The Chief Clerk is a civil official who knows little about military affairs. He will definitely not oppose the new arrangements."
Fei Yi then left Wei Yan and sped back to the main camp. Wei Yan soon regretted his decision and tried to stop Fei Yi but could not catch up with him in time. After sending his subordinate to find out the situation in the main camp, he was shocked to learn that Fei Yi had lied to him because all the Shu units were preparing to retreat in accordance with Zhuge Liang's final orders. Wei Yan turned furious as he wanted to continue the battle, so he tried to stop the Shu army from retreating by leading his own unit to destroy the gallery roads leading back to Shu.
Wei Yan and Yang Yi separately wrote to the Shu government to accuse each other of treason; the Shu government believed Yang Yi's account and suspected that Wei Yan was plotting a rebellion. Wei Yan eventually met his end at the hands of the Shu general Ma Dai, and the conflict came to an end.