The six famous generals who were smeared by the novel: one in the Northern Song Dynasty, two in the Three Kingdoms, and three in the Tang Dynasty
We all know that there are many famous generals in history, but they have been distorted and denigrated by many literary and artistic works of later generations, so those who do not know enough about history take it for granted. Today I want to talk about several generals who have been tainted by the legends of history: one in the Northern Song Dynasty, two in the Three Kingdoms, and three in the Tang Dynasty. Zhou Yu and Cao Zhen were not killed by anger at all, and Li Daozong and Zhang Shigui did not frame Xue Rengui.
Northern Song Dynasty: Pan Mei
In "Yang Jia Jiang", the artistic image of Yang Zhongyi is mainly highlighted, and at the same time, the famous general Pan Mei in the early Northern Song Dynasty is greatly belittled. In "The General of the Yang Family", Yang Linggong refused to send troops in front of Li Lingbei for his personal revenge, forcing him to commit suicide. Pan Mei, the villain of Yang Sanlang, is the historical prototype of Pan Mei in the early Northern Song Dynasty. According to the History of Song, the real culprit of Yang Jiye's defeat was Wang You, who had little to do with Pan Mei. It can be said that Pan Mei has been a black pot for more than a thousand years.
Three Kingdoms: Zhou Yu and Cao Zhen
Speaking of those famous generals who were misunderstood during the Three Kingdoms period, perhaps the first thing you think of is Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu has been established in history as a narrow-minded image, and Zhuge Liang has survived several tribulations and come back from the dead. In fact, Zhou Yu was not a narrow-minded person in official history, but a person with a broad temperament. He is known as "the hero of the world, the beautiful husband of Jiang Zuo".
The reason why Zhou Yu was deliberately smeared in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was to highlight Zhuge Liang. In fact, however, the victory of Sun Liu's allied forces in the Battle of Chibi was mainly attributed to Zhou Yu. Zhuge Liang did nothing, no east wind, no grass boats and arrows. Of course, Zhou Yu did not give Zhuge a death.
Judging from the degree of slander, there was one person in the Three Kingdoms who was stronger than Zhou Yu, and this was Cao Zhen. Cao Zhen was the most prominent general of the second generation of the Cao Wei clan in official history, responsible for the Western Front and the Battle of Shu Han. Zhuge Liang returned from two unsuccessful Northern Expeditions and was closely related to Cao Zhen
But in the novel, Cao Zhen not only faces the situation of Zhuge Liang's repeated defeats, but also dies of anger by a letter from Zhuge Liang (like Zhou Yu, Cao Zhen is not killed by anger). It can be said that Cao Zhen is the most tragic general in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Tang Dynasty: Zhang Shigui, Su Dingfang, Li Daozong
During the Eastern Expedition with Xue Rengui, Zhang Shigui was not only jealous of Xue Rengui but also often made trouble everywhere, and even asked his son-in-law He Zongxian to impersonate Xue Rengui's merits. After the defeat, he even tried to resist and was killed.
Historically, Zhang Shigui, a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, was a figure with "great arm strength, good riders and shooters". He was not only a general under Li Shimin. But it was discredited by the novel. We also have to lament that these authors wantonly smeared historical figures for money, and let these characters suffer thousands of years of black cauldron. Although we should pay attention to art, we should pay more attention to facts.