Translated & Authored by Jonathan
Wu
Place of Birth: Nanyang Prefecture (Presently Nanyang
in Henan Province)
Lifespan: 185 – 234 A.D. (49 Years)
Titles: Chief of the Palace Administration, General of the Flying Cavalry,
Lord of Fief
Li Yan was a talented officer and able commander under Liu
Zhang. When Liu Bei took over Yi Zhou, Zhengfang gladly offered his services
to him.
Li Yan was appointed General Who Assists the Kingdom and
Chief of the Secretariat. When Liu Shan succeeded the throne as Shu Emperor,
Li Yan was made Central District Guard and managed the general affairs with
Zhuge Liang.
His career was going smoothly as he was successively appointed
as Chief of the Palace Administration and General of the Flying Cavalry, and
also titled Lord of Fief.
When Zhuge Liang was not present, Li Yan would take over
official matters concerning the Empire. Around this time, his name was changed
from Li Yan to Li Ping (1). When Kongming
marched his troops into Qishan, Li Yan was in charge of organizing the military
food supplies and depots. However, because of serious rain fall, there was
no way to supply Zhuge Liang’s troops with food.
Zhengfang asked Kongming to withdraw his forces, but in
order to avoid being blamed for losing Qishan, Li Yan claimed that Zhuge Liang
withdrew because he was uncertain of his own position.
When Kongming found out about Li Yan’s cowardice,
he immediately reported it to the Emperor (2).
Li Yan was stripped of rank and demoted to commoner. He died of natural causes
in the year 234 A.D., at the age of forty-nine.
(1) Upon reaching certain heights of Nobility,
officers were able to change their name to something nobler, if they were
from a low class background. To avoid confusion, I decided to use Li Yan through
the whole text. My guess is that after he was dismissed from his office, he
went back to the name Li Yan. <return>
(2) The irony of the situation was that Zhuge Liang claimed
that Li Yan was equal in ability to Wu’s Lu Xun. However, Li Yan’s
cowardly attitude must have disappointed the Prime Minister greatly. <return>
© Copyright Jonathan
Wu 2002
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