Why was Sima Yi ranked third in the rankings of the strategists of the Three Kingdoms? Who was ranked first?

Answer 1

During the Three Kingdoms period, Sima Yi was usually ranked third on the list of strategists. Some people would rank him before Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao. However, Sima Yi's actual status and influence were not as prominent as Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang at that time.

Sima Yi was one of the founders of Wei. He became the first emperor of Wei through a coup and achieved great political success. He implemented a series of reforms and measures that made the Wei Kingdom's politics, economy, and culture develop greatly.

Although Sima Yi was very talented in strategy and military affairs, he was more conservative and not good at expressing his thoughts, so his reputation was not very high in the cultural atmosphere at that time. Cao Cao, on the other hand, was widely praised for his ability to express his thoughts and often taking risky military actions.

Zhuge Liang was one of the most famous strategists during the Three Kingdoms period. He was known as "Mr. Wolong" and later generations called him "the most outstanding politician and strategist during the Three Kingdoms period". During the period of Shu Han, he helped Shu Han overcome many crises and became one of the founders of Shu Han.

Therefore, although Sima Yi was an outstanding strategist, he was usually ranked third on the rankings while Zhuge Liang was ranked first.