When Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang confronted each other in Wuzhangyuan, they met an envoy sent by Zhuge Liang. Sima Yi didn't ask anything else, but casually asked, "How has Zhuge Liang been eating recently? Are you busy at work? " The messenger didn't think much. Anyway, it's not a military secret, so he replied truthfully, "The Prime Minister goes to bed late and gets up early every night, and he has to personally ask about more than 20 crimes, with a meal of three or four liters." Sima Yi smiled and sent an envoy out. Then tell everyone in the tone of old Chinese medicine that Zhuge Liang's workload is so big, but his appetite is only three or four liters. He certainly won't live long.

It is not empty talk to say that Sima Yi is an old Chinese doctor.

Sima Yi lived 73 years, his father Sima Fang lived 70 years, and his younger brother Sima Fu lived 93 years. The average life expectancy during the Three Kingdoms period was no more than 30 years. It can be seen that in addition to the longevity gene, his family must be very proficient in health preservation and have healthy eating habits, so it is not an exaggeration to say that he is an old Chinese doctor.

When a patient goes to the hospital, the doctor always asks how his appetite is recently. This is not to say that doctors have nothing to talk about, but the amount of food they eat can really reflect a person's health (except dieters). Sima Yi usually pays attention to health preservation, and naturally understands this truth, so he will "casually" ask the messenger like an old Chinese doctor, but he did not expect to ask very important information.

So what is Zhuge Liang's concept of eating three or four liters per meal? We might as well make a comparison.

Lian Po, a famous soldier in the Warring States, ate a bucket of rice and ten catties of meat in front of the angel of the prince of Zhao in order to show that he was still strong when he was old. It can be seen that this appetite should be the average level of soldiers at that time. There is little difference between the weights and measures systems of the Han Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty, and Zhuge Liang is not a soldier, so under normal circumstances, Zhuge Liang's appetite should be the same as that of Lian Po in his later years, or slightly lower.

A bucket made in the Han Dynasty is equal to ten liters, so Zhuge Liang's appetite is only 30%-40% of that of old Lian Po (only rice is mentioned here). And Zhuge Liang's height of 1.8 meters, coupled with the overwork of going to bed late and getting up early, was extremely exhausting. Zhuge Liang's appetite at that time was really small, even far from the average standard.

Consumption is large, and appetite can't keep up. Zhuge Liang was probably malnourished at that time. No wonder Zhuge Liang can only come out in a four-wheeled vehicle to direct operations, and he is only 50 years old. Therefore, it is reasonable for Sima Yi to conclude that Zhuge Liang is dying, because with Zhuge Liang's hard work and such a small appetite, he will be exhausted alive.

Sure enough, the two armies were deadlocked for more than a month, Zhuge Liang died of illness, and the Shu army retreated across the board. When Sima Yi arrived at the camp of the Shu army, he could not help sighing when he saw Zhuge Liang's arrangement. "What a genius in the world!"

But wizards should also know how to combine work and rest, or they will be exhausted.