The highest ranked Shu Han was the "Five Tiger Generals", namely Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, and Huang Zhong. Although they had the highest status, they were not the highest-ranking military generals of the Shu Han Dynasty. The highest-ranking warriors of the Shu Han Dynasty were these three men, namely Jiang Huan, Fei Yi, and Jiang Wei, and the analysis is as follows.
First of all, it is necessary to find out the rank level of the Shu Han. The Three Kingdoms Shu Han, after Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, claimed to inherit the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the policies implemented were the same as those of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
For example, the rank of general is set with reference to the Eastern Han Dynasty. The ranks of the Eastern Han Dynasty ranged from large to small as follows:
Grand Sima Grand General Grand General Hun Riding General Che Riding General Wei General (位比三公, 三公 rank general) Si Zheng General Si Zhen General Si An General Si Ping General Front, Left, Right, rear General Miscellaneous General Qiu General Qiu General (Partial, Qiu General Standing) Lieutenant Colonel Lang.
Second, let's see what the highest ranks of the five Shu Han Five Tiger Generals are.
In the early days of entrepreneurship, when Liu Bei served as the Minister of Pingyuan, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were only sima of other departments, a low-level officer with dozens of soldiers under his command, which was equivalent to the current company platoon level officers. With the continuous growth of Liu Bei's power, Guan Yu's status also rose, such as when Liu Bei was a pastor in Xuzhou, Guan Yu guarded Xia Pi, which was equivalent to Taishou.
Later, Liu Bei and Cao Cao were defeated and fled, and after Guan Yu was defeated, he temporarily submitted to Cao Cao and was appointed as a general. Soon, Guan Yu beheaded Yan Liang, relieved Cao Cao of the siege of Baima, and was made the Marquis of Hanshouting by Cao Cao. Guan Yu has also always considered himself the Marquis of Hanshouting, but the Marquis of Hanshouting is only Guan Yu's title, not a military rank.
In July 219, after Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he proclaimed himself the King of Hanzhong and was enfeoffed as a minister of culture and military affairs. For example, Xu Jing was appointed Taifu, Fa Zheng was made Shang Shuling, Guan Yu was made a former general, Zhang Fei was made a right general, Ma Chao was a left general, and Huang Zhong was made a rear general. At that time, Guan Yu was thousands of miles away in Jingzhou, and Liu Bei sent Sima Feishi, the former head of Yizhou, to Jingzhou to send guan Yu an official seal. However, after Guan Yu heard that Huang Zhong's status was the same as his own, he angrily said, "The eldest husband will not be in the same line as the veterans in the end!" In the end, under the persuasion of Fei Shi, Guan Yu gladly accepted the official seal.
From the above, it can be seen that Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhong were the former generals, the right generals, the left generals, and the rear generals, respectively. After Liu Bei divided the Sifang generals, Guan Yu died in the same year (219) and Huang Zhong died in 220 AD, neither of them lived long enough for Liu Bei to ascend the throne as emperor, so the Sifang general was the highest rank for both of them.
In the first year of Zhang Wu (221), Emperor Xian of Han abdicated, and Liu Bei, in order to continue the Han Dynasty, conformed to the trend of history and became emperor, established the Shu Han Dynasty, and made Zhang Fei a general on horseback riding, and Feng Machao as a general on horseback. After the two of them were enthroned, they died in just two or three years, which was their highest rank. Therefore, Zhang Fei's highest military rank is Che Riding General, and Ma Chao is Hussar General.
As for Zhao Yun, in 219 AD, he was only a "Huwei general", which sounded quite "tall", but in fact he was a miscellaneous general, that is, an unpopular rank. In the first year of Jianxing (223 AD), Liu Bei died of illness at the Yong'an Palace in the White Emperor's City, and the later lord Liu Chan ascended the throne, and Zhao Yun was promoted to the general of Zhendong and the Marquis of Yongchangting. After the defeat of Zhuge Liang's First Northern Expedition, Zhao Yun applied to demote himself to the rank of general of the Zhen Army. It can be seen that Zhao Yun's rank is very low, and until his death, he has not reached the rank of four generals of the other four Five Tiger Generals.
Finally, let's see what the highest ranks of Shu Han Jiang Huan, Fei Yi, and Jiang Wei are.
Jiang Huan
Jiang Huan followed Liu Bei into Sichuan, and after pacifying Yizhou, he was appointed as the county magistrate of Guangdu County. Later, Jiang Huan was vigorously promoted by Zhuge Liang, from the county governor, Shang Shulang, and Dong Cao Tuan, and after Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Huan, as Zhuge Liang's heir, was promoted to Shang Shu Ling, added capital protection, false festivals, led the History of Yizhou Assassination, and then promoted to the rank of Grand General, Lu Shang Shushi, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Anyang Pavilion. At this time, Jiang Huan's rank was Great General, which was already more than the Four Generals of the Five Tigers.
Fei Yi
Fei Yi rose from the rank of Prince Sheren, Imperial Palace Attendant, Lieutenant Zhaoxin, Soldier, Middle Guard, and Rear Army Division, all the way to the Rank of Grand General (243 AD). He took over the position of great general in Jiang Huan's poor health and became the second great general of the Shu Han Dynasty.
Jiang Wei
Jiang Wei originally joined the army of Tianshui County, and during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, he submitted to Zhuge Liang and became a close associate of Zhuge Liang. After that, Jiang Wei's official Yun Hengtong, from Cangcao Tuan, the general of the Central Supervision Army Zhengxi, the general of the Right Supervision Army Auxiliary Han, the battalion Sima and the general of Zhenxi, the general of Wei, and the general of Wei, to the general of the general. Jiang Wei was in Shu Han, from a grassroots officer, step by step, all the way up. He was not like Jiang Huan and Fei Yi, who were crossed by civilian ranks, but a real military general, a veritable general.
epilogue
Through the above introduction, we know that General Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and Huang Zhongwuhu were not the highest ranked military generals of the Shu Han Dynasty, the highest rank of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei was General of Sifang, the highest rank of Zhang Fei was General of Che Qi, and the highest rank of Ma Chao was General of Hun Riding. The most pitiful one was Zhao Yun, who had worked hard all his life and was just a general of the Zhen Army. Jiang Huan, Fei Yi, and Jiang Wei all became great generals with the highest rank in ancient times.