In the ninety-seventh episode of the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Zhen recommended to Cao Rui a general named Wang Shuang, and praised this person for "making sixty pounds of large knives, riding thousands of miles to march on a horse, opening two iron tire bows, hiding three meteor hammers, and having the courage of a thousand men and women." Cao Rui summoned Wang Shuang to the temple, and when he saw that this man was "nine feet long, with a yellow face and a bear's waist and tiger's back", he smiled and said, "What are the worries of this great general?" When Wang Shuang and Shu generals clashed in the ninety-eighth time, they first killed the Shu Han general Xie Xiong, and then only triaded to kill Gong Qi. Soon after, Wang Shuang injured Zhang Ling with a meteor hammer in a fraudulent attempt. Zhang Ling vomited several mouthfuls of blood, returned to Kong Ming, and praised Wang Shuang as "invincible hero". In the end, Wang Shuang was attacked by Wei Yan while pursuing the Shu army and killed with a knife. Wang Shuangsui became one of the most remembered fierce generals of the late Three Kingdoms period.
So, what is the talent of Wang Shuang in the history books?
In the history books, both Wu and Shu record a person named "Wang Shuang".
Let's first look at Wang Shuang recorded by the State of Wu. The battle went like this: Sima Caoren, the Grand Sima of the State of Wei, led an army to attack the Eastern Wu general Zhu Huan with the strategy of attacking the west from the east. Zhu Huan made a plan and transferred part of the army away. Later, Cao Ren also made a decision at the moment, sending Chang Diao, Wang Shuang and other generals to take the opportunity to attack Zhongzhou, where Wu Jun's family was located. Unexpectedly, Zhu Huan was in a hurry to gain wisdom, and before the army had returned, he made a big plan to emptie Cao Ren, and sent his army to use the advantages of the Eastern Wu water battle to defeat the Wei army in Zhongzhou, behead Chang Diao, and capture Wang Shuang.
Let's take a look at Wang Shuang recorded in the Shu Han Dynasty. When Zhuge Liang attacked Chen Cang and retreated with all the grain, Wang Shuang led his army to pursue him bravely, but was killed by Zhuge Liang's counterattack.
According to the Wei dynasty, Cao Zhen's first generals sent to Chen Cang were Hao Zhaohe and Wang Sheng ("sheng", not "shuang"), and later sent Fei Yao and others to rescue them. However, Emperor Wei Ming still felt that it was not safe enough, so he mobilized Zhang Hao to support. However, Zhang Gao did not go to Chen Cang, but instead led his army to "Southern Zheng", threatening Zhuge Liang's rear, and Zhuge Liang quickly retreated. In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, the records of the Wei state side did not have the person "Wang Shuang" from beginning to end.
Combined with the three-party records, the so-called Wang Shuang is just a very ordinary character with few strokes in the history books, which can be called a "soy sauce-style" mediocre general, not a fierce general.
The reason why Luo Guanzhong rendered Wang Shuang extremely powerful in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is nothing more than because zhuge Liang's deeds in the history books were lackluster, especially Zhuge Liang's attack on the Wei army with absolute superiority was blocked by Hao Zhao, which was really difficult to accept, if Zhuge Liang did not have the record of killing Wang Shuang, it was simply a trip in vain. Therefore, Luo Guanzhong vigorously advocated wang shuangzhi's courage, thus embodying Zhuge Liang's divine ingenuity and clever calculations, and giving people the impression that Zhuge Liang had achieved good results in the Second Expedition.
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