Is “Proposed the strategy of a surprise attack via the Ziwu Valley” true?
Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Wei Yan, Pei's annotation cites the Brief History of Wei, recording that Wei Yan once suggested leading elite troops directly out through the Ziwu Valley to attack Chang'an, but Zhuge Liang deemed it too risky and did not adopt the plan. As the annotation in Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biographies of Liu, Peng, Liao, Li, Liu, Wei, and Yang, citing the Brief History of Wei, states: 「今假延精兵五千，负粮五千，直从褒中出，循秦岭而东，当子午而北，不过十日可到长安。」
In official history, he was a key minister of Shu Han who guarded Hanzhong and achieved many military exploits, but in the novel, he is portrayed as a traitor with a 'rebellious bone' at the back of his head.
Other claims about Wei Yan
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