Fei Yi

Fei Yi is a Shu adviser and envoy whose role becomes visible at two critical moments: he seeks aid from Sun Quan when Kong Ming’s northern campaign suffers heavy losses, and he helps carry out Kong Ming’s final orders during the army’s retreat. Later, he becomes head of the secretariat under Liu Shan, placing him among the officials responsible for Shu’s government after Kong Ming’s death.

Diplomatic Mission to Wu

After Kong Ming’s attempt to destroy Wei’s pontoon bridges across the Wei River fails, Shu suffers heavy losses. In desperation, Kong Ming sends Fei Yi to Sun Quan to ask for assistance. Sun Quan agrees to attack Wei, though his stated willingness to help does not prevent him from pursuing his own territorial aims: he intends to use the campaign as cover for moves against Xincheng, Xiangyang, and Huaiyang.

At the banquet celebrating the alliance, Sun Quan asks who commands the Shu vanguard. Fei Yi names Wei Yan, whom Sun Quan considers untrustworthy. Fei Yi carries this warning back to Kong Ming along with news of the agreement. Kong Ming treats Sun Quan’s judgment as evidence of his ability as a commander, but answers obliquely when Fei Yi urges caution about Wei Yan. The exchange reveals Fei Yi’s place between two rulers’ military calculations and Kong Ming’s confidence in his own plans.

Kong Ming’s Final Orders

After Kong Ming dies, Fei Yi becomes a key intermediary between the dead strategist’s instructions and the commanders still in the field. Wei Yan wants to continue the campaign against Sima Yi rather than retreat. Fei Yi points out that Kong Ming’s final order was to withdraw and promises to discuss Wei Yan’s proposal with Yang Yi, who has been entrusted with leadership responsibilities.

Fei Yi then reports the conversation to Yang Yi. Yang says Kong Ming had warned that Wei Yan would rebel, and the army gives Jiang Wei the rearguard position instead of Wei Yan. When Fei Yi does not return to Wei Yan, Wei Yan grows suspicious; learning that Jiang Wei has taken the post on Yang Yi’s command, he becomes angry and asks Ma Dai to help him kill Yang Yi. Fei Yi’s effort to relay the proposal thus sits at the turning point between orderly retreat and the dispute that breaks out among the Shu commanders.

Government After Kong Ming

Once the army returns, Liu Shan appoints Jiang Wei to take Kong Ming’s place as prime minister and makes Fei Yi head of the secretariat. Yang Yi, who expected a higher position than his junior, feels slighted and remarks that he might have been better rewarded had he defected to Wei. Liu Shan dismisses him and sends him into internal exile; unable to bear the disgrace, Yang Yi commits suicide.

Fei Yi’s elevation marks the transfer of responsibilities after Kong Ming’s death, while Yang Yi’s fall exposes the strain surrounding that transition. The evidence places Fei Yi in diplomacy, the enforcement of the retreat order, and the new administration, but does not detail his subsequent career or eventual fate.