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Li Yan later changed his name to Li Ping, with the courtesy name Zhengfang. He was from Nanyang (now Nanyang, Henan). He was an important official of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.
Together with Zhuge Liang, he was the minister entrusted by Liu Bei before his death. He first served Liu Zhang and then Liu Bei, but was later demoted to a commoner by Zhuge Liang.

In his early years, Li Yan worked as a county official under Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, and was known for his talents. After Cao Cao captured Jingzhou, Li Yan went west to Yizhou and was appointed as the magistrate of Chengdu County by Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou.

In the 213th year of Jian'an ( AD) during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei attacked Yizhou. Liu Zhang ordered Li Yan to lead his army to Mianzhu to stop Liu Bei. Li Yan surrendered on the battlefield and was appointed as a general by Liu Bei.

After Liu Bei pacified Yizhou, he appointed Li Yan as the prefect of Jianwei County and General Xingye. Li Yan led his troops to quell the rebellions of bandits and barbarians in the territory and was promoted to General Fu Han.

In the second year of Zhangwu reign of Shu Han (222 AD), Li Yan was appointed Shangshu Ling. The following year, Liu Bei died of illness and left a will that Li Yan would assist Zhuge Liang in governing the country. Li Yan was promoted to Zhongdu Hu.

After Liu Shan succeeded to the throne, Li Yan was granted the title of Marquis of Duxiang, given the title of Imperial Guard, and granted the title of Guanglu Xun. Later, he was transferred to the position of General. Zhuge Liang stationed troops in Hanzhong.

Li Yan was responsible for handling the rear affairs. In the eighth year of Jianxing of Shu Han (230 AD), Li Yan was promoted to General of Cavalry. The following year, Zhuge Liang led his troops to Qishan.
He ordered Li Yan to urge the transportation. As the army ran out of food, Li Yan forged an imperial edict to order Zhuge Liang to withdraw his troops. He was convicted and demoted to a commoner. In the 234th year of Jianxing ( AD), Li Yan heard that Zhuge Liang had passed away and fell ill and died.

Li Yan was known for his ability to handle government affairs, and Zhuge Liang once praised him for this.

But after Li Yan was convicted, Zhuge Liang accused Li Yan in an official document of accepting the emperor's favor but not thinking of repaying his kindness, harboring treacherous thoughts, and disrupting politics and breaking the law.

Shu ministers Chen Zhen and Yang Xi also believed that Li Yan was cunning, which led to his crime and demote him.

Li Yan was not highly regarded by later generations. Chen Shou commented that Li Yan was "arrogant by nature" and that although he was a prominent minister, he brought disaster upon himself. Modern scholar Yu Mingxia also believed that Li Yan was cunning and selfish, and had no public spirit.

Li Yan was a native of Nanyang County. In his early years, he worked as a county official in his hometown. He was known for his outstanding talents. Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, once sent Li Yan to inspect various counties.

In the 208th year of Jian'an ( AD) during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao went south to attack Jingzhou. At that time, Liu Biao had passed away, and his son Liu Cong succeeded him as the governor of Jingzhou. He led his people to surrender to Cao Cao.

At that time, Li Yan was the county magistrate of Zi County, so he went west into Yizhou and was appointed as the magistrate of Chengdu County by Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou. He was also known for his ability.

In the 213th year of Jian'an ( AD) during the reign of Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Zhang promoted Li Yan to be the guard general and Fei Guan to be the military officer, and led the army to Mianzhu (now Donghuangxu Town, Mianzhu County, Sichuan) to block Liu Bei's army.

Li Yan and Fei Guan led their troops to surrender to Liu Bei, and were appointed as generals by Liu Bei.

In the summer of the following year, Liu Bei led his army to Chengdu and laid siege to the city for dozens of days. Eventually, Liu Zhang surrendered. Liu Bei occupied Yizhou.

He rewarded his officers and soldiers generously, and Li Yan was promoted to General Xingye and appointed as the governor of Qianwei County. At this time, the law and discipline in Yizhou were lax under Liu Zhang's governance.
Liu Bei then ordered General Military Advisor Zhuge Liang, General Yangwu and Shu County Governor Fa Zheng, General Zhaowen Yi Ji, General Zuo Xicao Yuan Liu Ba and Li Yan to jointly formulate the "Shu Code", which laid the foundation for the Shu Han legal system.

In the 218rd year of Jian'an ( AD) during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, bandits Ma Qin, Gao Sheng and others rebelled in Pi County, gathered a force of tens of thousands and attacked Zizhong County.

At that time, Liu Bei was fighting Cao Cao in Hanzhong and could not send troops to suppress the rebellion. Li Yan did not ask for help from the army in Hanzhong, but led 5,000 troops from his county to suppress the rebellion.

After the rebel leaders Ma Qin, Gao Sheng and others were beheaded, their remnants naturally dispersed. Li Yan did not pursue them, but registered them all and restored their status as civilians.

Soon, Gao Ding, the leader of the barbarian tribe in Yuexi County, rebelled and sent troops to besiege Xindao County. Li Yan led his troops to help put down the rebellion and quickly defeated the enemy.

The rest of the troops fled in disarray. Li Yan was also promoted to General of Assisting Han for his merits, and continued to serve as the governor of Qianwei County.

In the second year of Zhangwu reign of Shu Han (222 AD), Liu Bei led a large army to attack Sun Wu, but was defeated in the Battle of Yiling. He led the remaining troops to retreat to Yong'an (now Fengjie County, Sichuan Province).

Liu Bei summoned Li Yan to the Yong'an Palace and promoted him to the position of Shangshu Ling. The following year, Liu Bei was seriously ill, and Li Yan and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang jointly accepted the will to assist him.
Assisting the later emperor Liu Chan who succeeded to the throne; Liu Bei appointed Li Yan as the Central Protector, in charge of all military command inside and outside the country, and stayed in Yong'an County to garrison.

In the first year of Jianxing of Shu Han (223 AD), Li Yan was granted the title of Marquis of Duxiang, and was granted the title of Guanglu Xun. In the fourth year of Jianxing of Shu Han (226 AD), Li Yan was promoted to General Qian.

Zhuge Liang was going to send troops to Hanzhong to prepare for the Northern Expedition against Cao Wei. Li Yan was responsible for handling the rear affairs and moved from Yong'an to Jiangzhou (now Yuzhong District, Chongqing) for stationing.
General Chen Dao, the General who Conquers the West, replaced Li Yan as the garrison commander in Yong'an, and Chen Dao's army was also under the command of Li Yan.

In the eighth year of Jianxing (230 AD) of the Shu Han Dynasty, Li Yan was promoted to General of Cavalry. In the autumn of the same year, Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, sent Sima Yi to take the route of Xicheng.

Zhang He took the Ziwu Valley, Cao Zhen took the Xie Valley, and divided the troops into three groups to attack Hanzhong. Zhuge Liang ordered Li Yan to lead 20,000 troops to rush to Hanzhong.
Zhuge Liang also submitted a memorial to the later emperor Liu Shan, appointing Li Yan's son Li Feng as the governor of Jiangzhou, commanding the army in the Jiangzhou area.

Responsible for handling official business after Li Yan left. Because heavy rain washed away the road, Cao Zhen and others were forced to retreat.

Zhuge Liang stationed his troops in Hanzhong. Considering that he would send troops to the north to attack Cao Wei the following year, he appointed Li Yan as the Central Protector General to act as the prime minister and handle the official business of the prime minister's office.

In the ninth year of Jianxing (231 AD), Zhuge Liang led his army to attack Cao Wei for the fourth time and attacked Qishan (now Qishan, Li County, Gansu Province).

Wei generals Sima Yi and Zhang He led their troops to rescue, and the two armies were in a stalemate. At that time, Li Yan was in charge of transporting food and grass in the rear. It was summer or autumn.
As it rained heavily, the army ran out of food. Li Yan sent his military officer Hu Zhong and his military commander Cheng Fan to meet Zhuge Liang and tell him to withdraw. Zhuge Liang obeyed and led his army back.

When Li Yan heard that the army had retreated to Hanzhong, he pretended to be surprised and asked Zhuge Liang, "There is enough food for the army, why do you want to withdraw?"
He wanted to use this to absolve himself of the responsibility for not completing the task of supervising the transportation of grain and fodder, and to shift the blame to Zhuge Liang's poor advancement.

Li Yan submitted another memorial to the later emperor Liu Chan, stating that the army had deliberately retreated to lure the enemy deeper into their territory before launching an attack.

Zhuge Liang displayed the detailed contents of Li Yan's handwritten letters and memorials, and the results proved that Li Yan's statements were inconsistent.

Li Yan was speechless and extremely embarrassed, so he had to confess his crime.

Zhuge Liang submitted a memorial to the later emperor Liu Shan, saying that Li Yan was accumulating private property and seeking fame. Zhuge Liang wanted to transfer Li Yan's troops when he was stationed in Hanzhong.
Li Yan repeatedly obstructed and instead demanded that five counties be divided to allow him to be the governor of Bazhou. Last year, Zhuge Liang went west to Qishan and ordered Li Yan to stay in Hanzhong.

Li Yan, however, used the privilege of Sima Yi of Cao Wei to establish a government office, hoping to use this to threaten Zhuge Liang to let him establish a government office. Therefore, Zhuge Liang promoted his son Li Feng to lead Jiangzhou and gave him preferential treatment to appease Li Yan and ensure the success of the Northern Expedition. After Li Yan arrived in Hanzhong,

Zhuge Liang entrusted all the affairs of the Prime Minister's Office to him. All the officials were puzzled as to why Zhuge Liang treated Li Yan so well. It was because the Northern Expedition was not completed.

At this time, it was not possible to expose Li Yan's shortcomings. Unexpectedly, Li Yan's intentions were not right, delaying important matters and causing disasters.

The court then held Li Yan accountable, demoted him to a commoner, and exiled him to Zitong County.

In the 234th year of Jianxing ( AD) during the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang led his fifth northern expedition. He marched out of Xiegu and fought a stalemate with Wei general Sima Yi at Wuzhangyuan (now in Qishan County, Baoji, Shaanxi).
Zhuge Liang divided his troops to cultivate the land, intending to stay there for a long time. In August of the same year, Zhuge Liang died of illness in the army. When Li Yan heard of Zhuge Liang's death, he fell ill and died.

When Li Yan was alive, he often hoped that Zhuge Liang would re-employ him; after Zhuge Liang's death, he speculated that his successor would not be able to re-employ him.

That's why he got sick and died because of anger. After Li Yan's death, his son Li Feng became the governor of Zhuti County.

Zhuge Liang once commented in a letter to Meng Da: Handling official business is as smooth as flowing water, and making decisions carefully without any obstacles. These are Li Yan's strengths.

But after Li Yan was convicted, Zhuge Liang commented on him: As a minister who was overly favored by the monarch, Li Yan did not think about being loyal and serving the country, but instead created trouble and avoided important issues.

He deceived his superiors and subordinates, violated the law, and instructed others to do bad things. He was narrow-minded and arrogant, and had no respect for the monarch. When he found out that his evil deeds were exposed, he became disloyal.

Chen Zhen, a minister of the Shu Kingdom, commented that Li Yan had "scales in his belly", meaning that he was vicious and cunning, and people from his hometown did not dare to approach him.

Yang Xi, a minister of Shu, commented on Li Yan in "A Praise of the Ministers of the Later Han Dynasty": He accepted the will of the late emperor and participated in the administration of state affairs, but he was cunning and did not abide by the law.
In the end, because he made a big mistake, he was demoted in the prime of his life, and all his achievements and career were lost.

Chen Shou, a historian of the Jin Dynasty, commented that Li Yan was "arrogant by nature" and was appointed because of his talents and abilities.

Chen Shou listed Li Yan in the same biography as Liu Feng, Peng Ying, Liao Li, Liu Yan, Wei Yan, and Yang Yi in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, believing that they were all important officials of Shu.

But none of them had a good ending. Looking at their actions and the way they handled things, it can be said that they eventually brought disaster and sin upon themselves.

Yu Mingxia, a professor of modern history, commented on Li Yan in his "Critical Biography of Zhuge Liang": "He was a completely treacherous, selfish, sinister and cruel person who did not take state affairs seriously."

This comment was made based on two things recorded in the "Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Li Yan", which stated that Li Yan took the initiative to request to divide the land to establish Bazhou, to become the governor of Bazhou himself, and to instigate Zhuge Liang to "accept the Nine Gifts and advance to the throne of king."

According to Li Daoyuan's "Notes on the Classic of Waterways", there were frequent wars in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and large-scale water conservancy projects such as Dujiangyan and Liushuimen were seriously dilapidated.

During the period when Li Yan served as the prefect of Jianwei County, he presided over the reconstruction of the Pujiang Weir, also known as the "Six Water Gates" hub project, which connected the two sides of the river.

The river bridge in Jianwei County was called Han'an Bridge, which was one and a half miles wide. Every autumn and summer when the water level was high, the bridge would be washed away, so it needed to be repaired every year, causing great inconvenience to the people.

In the 216st year of Jian'an ( AD), Li Yan dug through Tianshe Mountain, connected the roads, and saved three bridges, which made the officials and people of Qianwei County very happy.

Li Yan's water conservancy project had a great influence on later generations. Later, Li Xinchuan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works in the Southern Song Dynasty, believed that "Meizhou Tongji Weir was founded during the Jian'an period" and attributed the credit to Li Yan's great event at that time.

In 223 AD, Liu Bei died of illness in Baidi City. He entrusted his son Liu Chan to Zhuge Liang and appointed Li Yan as the Protector General of the Central Army, in charge of internal and external military affairs and garrisoning Yong'an.

In 231 AD, Li Yan forced Zhuge Liang to withdraw his troops due to a shortage of grain. In order to shirk responsibility, he accused Zhuge Liang of withdrawing his troops without authorization.
Eventually he was demoted to a commoner. From being Zhuge Liang's deputy to being demoted to a commoner, Li Yan's tragedy was all his own fault!
It must be said that Li Yan was a very capable person, both civil and military. In his early years, Li Yan was a local official under Liu Biao and Liu Zhang.

After pacifying Chengdu, Li Yan was appointed governor of Qianwei and general of Xingye.

Li Yan also worked with Zhuge Liang, Fa Zheng, Liu Ba and others to formulate the "Shu Code", which shows that he understood the law.

In 218 AD, bandits Ma Qin, Gao Sheng and others raised an army in Pi County, with a force of tens of thousands of people, and arrived in Zizhong County. At that time, Liu Bei was fighting with Cao Cao in Hanzhong.
Without waiting to send out additional troops, Li Yan led 5,000 soldiers from his county to attack and killed Ma Qin, Gao Sheng and others. The rest fled in all directions.

Soon, Gao Ding, the chief of the Yi tribes in Yuexi County, led his troops to besiege Xindao County. Li Yan went to rescue them, but Gao Ding was defeated and fled.

Li Yan served under Liu Biao and Liu Zhang successively. When Cao Cao went south to attack Liu Cong and surrendered, Li Yan preferred to join Liu Zhang rather than surrender to Cao Cao.
In 213, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang turned against each other. Liu Zhang sent Li Yan to lead his army to Mianzhu to resist Liu Bei. Li Yan surrendered directly to Liu Bei.

He definitely made Liu Bei regard him as his best friend, so when Liu Bei entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang before his death, he left behind Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Wu Yi and others and chose Li Yan as Zhuge Liang's deputy.

However, although Li Yan was capable, he also had character problems. The "Jiang Biao Zhuan" records: "Yan was a county official when he was young.
Li Yan's fellow villager Chen Zhen also told Zhuge Liang that Li Zhengfang "has scales on his belly".
This means that Li Yan is an arrogant person with a strong desire for power, and he is not someone who would be content with his lot.

After becoming the minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor, Li Yan became even more complacent. Not satisfied with his existing power, he continued to press Zhuge Liang further.

In 226 AD, Zhuge Liang entered Hanzhong and prepared to attack Wei, so he wanted to transfer Li Yan to lead the army to guard Hanzhong.

But Li Yan tried every means to refuse, but asked to divide five counties into Bazhou and let him serve as the governor of Bazhou. Zhuge Liang did not agree.

He once advised Zhuge Liang to accept the Nine Gifts and encouraged Zhuge Liang to be promoted to the title of king, but was refuted by Zhuge Liang. The Nine Gifts were not a good suggestion.
Since Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, the next step for ministers to receive the Nine Gifts was to become emperor. Li Yan did this simply to test Zhuge Liang and at the same time hoped that his power could be further enhanced.

In 230 AD, the three armies of Cao Wei approached Hanzhong. In order to strengthen the defense of Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang dispatched Li Yan to lead people to Hanzhong to stop the enemy. (End of this chapter)