Fei Yi 費禕

Fei Yi, courtesy name Wenwei, was a man of Meng County in Jiangxia Commandery. Orphaned young, he relied on his clansman uncle Boren. Boren's paternal aunt was the mother of Liu Zhang, Governor of Yi Province. When Liu Zhang invited Boren to join him, Boren took Fei Yi with him to Shu to study. When the First Sovereign, Liu Bei, happened to pacify Shu, Fei Yi stayed on in Yi Province, and became as well known as Xu Shulong of Runan and Dong Yun of Nan Commandery. When Xu Jing lost a son, Fei Yi and Dong Yun wished to attend the funeral together, and Dong Yun's father Dong He lent them a small deer cart open at the back. Dong Yun was reluctant to ride in it, but Fei Yi climbed in first, and even where Zhuge Liang and the other nobles had gathered with their splendid carriages he remained perfectly at ease. On hearing of this, Dong He told Dong Yun that only now did he know which of the two of them, he or Wenwei, was the better. Records, Shu 14 §20–21

When the First Sovereign established his heir, Fei Yi and Dong Yun became Retainers (sheren) to the Heir Apparent; Fei Yi was then transferred to Companion (shuzi), and when the Later Sovereign, Liu Shan, took the throne he became Gentleman of the Yellow Gate (huangmen shilang). Earlier, when Sun Quan had sought peace, the First Sovereign repeatedly sent Song Wei, Fei Yi and others to return the courtesy. When Zhuge Liang came back from the southern campaign, the whole body of officials went out tens of li to meet him; many were older and higher in rank than Fei Yi, yet Zhuge Liang specially had Fei Yi ride in his carriage with him. From then on everyone looked on him differently. Records, Shu 14 §22Records, Shu 15 §3

Zhuge Liang soon made Fei Yi Colonel Who Displays Good Faith (zhaoxin xiaowei) and sent him as envoy to Wu. Despite Sun Quan's mockery and the sharp rebuttals of Zhuge Ke, Yang Dao and others, Fei Yi, courteous in speech and sincere in purpose, answered on the basis of reason and was never bested. Sun Quan called him "a man of the finest virtue in the realm" and said he would surely become a pillar of the Shu court. On his return he became Palace Attendant (shizhong), and in his Memorial on Dispatching the Troops Zhuge Liang named him together with Guo Youzhi and Dong Yun as loyal and pure, saying that affairs of the palace should be referred to them. When Zhuge Liang was stationed at Hanzhong, he requested Fei Yi as his Army Adviser (canjun), and Fei Yi, carrying out his missions to Zhuge Liang's satisfaction, went to Wu many times. Records, Shu 14 §22–23Records, Shu 5 §26Records, Shu 9 §27

In the 8th year of Jianxing (230) he became Central Protector of the Army (zhong hujun), and later Marshal (sima). At this time the Military Adviser Wei Yan and the Chief Clerk Yang Yi loathed each other; whenever they sat together they quarreled, Wei Yan at times raising his blade at Yang Yi while Yang Yi wept streams of tears. Fei Yi always stepped in between the two, admonishing and separating them. Chen Shou wrote that it was through Fei Yi's efforts in correcting and rescuing matters that Zhuge Liang was able to make full use of both men for as long as he lived. Records, Shu 14 §24

In the autumn of the 12th year of Jianxing (234), when Zhuge Liang fell gravely ill, he secretly settled with Yang Yi, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei and others how the army would withdraw after his death. When Zhuge Liang died, Yang Yi sent Fei Yi to sound out Wei Yan's intentions. Wei Yan declared he would attack the enemy himself, divided the troops who would go with him from those who would stay, and had Fei Yi write a document with their names side by side. Fei Yi deceived Wei Yan by saying he would go back and persuade Chief Clerk Yang, and as soon as he was out of the gate he galloped away; Wei Yan gave chase but could not catch him. Records, Shu 10 §61–62

On Zhuge Liang's death Fei Yi became Military Adviser of the Rear (hou junshi). People avoided Yang Yi, who resented his position, but Fei Yi alone went to console him. When Yang Yi said that had he taken the army over to Wei when the Chancellor died, he would not have fallen so low, Fei Yi secretly reported his words in a memorial. In the 13th year of Jianxing (235), Yang Yi was reduced to a commoner and moved to Hanjia Commandery. Before long Fei Yi replaced Jiang Wan as Director of the Imperial Secretariat. Records, Shu 14 §24Records, Shu 10 §71–72

In the winter of the 4th year of Yanxi (241), Fei Yi went to Hanzhong to discuss plans with Jiang Wan and returned at the end of the year, and after these discussions with Fei Yi and others Jiang Wan memorialized proposing that Jiang Wei be made Inspector of Liang Province. In the 6th year of Yanxi (243), when Jiang Wan returned from Hanzhong to Fu County, Fei Yi became General-in-Chief and Overseer of the Imperial Secretariat. Records, Shu 3 §22–23Records, Shu 14 §12 · 24

In the 7th year of Yanxi (244), when Cao Shuang and Xiahou Xuan of Wei headed for Hanzhong and the Wei army reached Xingshi, Fei Yi was granted the Credential (jiajie) and led troops out to resist them. When the preparations for departure were complete, the Grand Master of Splendid Happiness Lai Min came to take his leave and asked for a game of weiqi, and Fei Yi gave his mind to the game without any sign of impatience. Lai Min said he had merely been testing him and that he would surely deal with the enemy. When Fei Yi arrived, the Wei army withdrew, and he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Chengxiang. Records, Shu 14 §25Records, Shu 3 §24

When Jiang Wan firmly declined his provincial duties, Fei Yi concurrently took the post of Inspector of Yi Province. Chen Shou wrote that the merit and fame Fei Yi won while in charge of the state were roughly comparable to Jiang Wan's. At the time of the great amnesty in the autumn of the 9th year of Yanxi (246), Meng Guang reproached Fei Yi before everyone, and Fei Yi apologized, deeply ill at ease. Whenever Jiang Wei wished to raise a large army, Fei Yi always held him back, never giving him more than ten thousand troops. Records, Shu 14 §26 · 35Records, Shu 12 §32–33

In the 11th year of Yanxi (248), Fei Yi went out to be stationed at Hanzhong. From Jiang Wan to Fei Yi, even while they were away from the capital, rewards and punishments were always first referred to them from afar before being carried out. In the summer of the 14th year (251) he returned to Chengdu, but because a diviner of vapors said that the capital held no place for a chief minister, he went north again in the winter to be stationed at Hanshou. In the 15th year (252) he was ordered to open his own office. Records, Shu 14 §26–27Records, Shu 13 §57

Earlier, when Fei Yi had first become General-in-Chief, Zhang Ni saw that he placed too much trust in newly submitted men and sent him a letter of warning. At the great banquet on New Year's Day of the 16th year of Yanxi (253), Guo Xun, who had surrendered from Wei, was present; Fei Yi drank merrily until he was very drunk and was stabbed to death by Guo Xun. The Annals of the Later Sovereign recorded the place as Hanshou, and Zhang Ni's biography and the Wei edict gave this man's name as Guo Xiu. His posthumous title was Marquis Jing, and his son Fei Cheng succeeded him. Records, Shu 13 §57Records, Shu 14 §27Records, Shu 3 §33Records, Wei 4 §36

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Jiang Wan was upright and strict, with dignity and weight, while Fei Yi was magnanimous, helped others and loved all broadly. Because both carried on Zhuge Liang's rules without altering them, the frontiers were free of trouble and the state was at peace, but, he wrote, they did not fully grasp what was fitting for governing a small state or the principle of keeping still. Records, Shu 14 §52