Foreword: The debate over who is stronger in the kung fu of the "Five Tiger Generals" has never stopped. Many people are discussing, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, who is the most powerful, and what is their kung fu ranking? Many people, due to the influence of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", will unanimously believe that Zhao Yun is the most powerful, thinking that in that year, Zhao Yun saved Ah Dou in Cao Cao's thousands of troops and horses, and was still unscathed, how dashing and brave. But I'm sorry, Zhengshi only said that Zhao Yun saved Ah Dou in the rebellion, which is not as mysterious as it is said in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. After Zhao Yun, it was Guan Yu, and then Ma Chao, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong. Just as the so-called "one Lü two Zhao three Dianwei, four passes, five horses and six Zhang Fei", how smooth it is to say. But we must know that "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is only a novel, and its authenticity is very questionable. For example, in history, there is no such thing as a "five tiger general", according to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu Bei became the queen of Hanzhong, and only four generals were named, namely the former general Guan Yu, the right general Zhang Fei, the left general Ma Chao, and the later general Huang Zhong, and there was nothing about Zhao Yun. So in this article, I will restore the real "Five Tiger Generals" in history to see who is the most powerful.
1. Guan Yu
Guan Yu, loyal and courageous, sentient and righteous, coupled with his high martial arts, has long been known as "martial saint", which can be described as a household name, women and children. There are many stories of Guan Yu circulating in the folk, such as "passing the five passes, cutting the six generals", "chopping Huaxiong with warm wine", "chopping yanliang, cursing wen ugly", "Huarong moral interpretation of Cao Cao", which is simply a person who combines martial arts and righteousness. But in fact, Guan Yu was mythologized by people, because there were many stories that Luo Guanzhong had invented. For example, Wen Ugly was not killed by Guan Yu, but by Cao Jun.
Of course, Yan Liang was killed by Guan Yu. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, after Guan Yu surrendered to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao sent the general Yan Liang to attack Dong Commandery (東郡太守) liu Yan at Baima (白馬, in modern Hua County, Henan). When Cao Cao heard about it, he made Guan Yu and Zhang Liao the forwards. Guan Yu killed Yan Liang in the midst of the rebellion, and none of Yuan Shao's generals could resist Guan Yu. Therefore, Guan Yu relieved the siege of The White Horse.
Is Guan Yu better than Ma Chao? After Ma Chao defected to Liu Bei, he was given the title of General of Pingxi. When Guan Yu learned of this, he was angry, so he wrote to Zhuge Liang and asked him why Ma Chao could be reused by his eldest brother. In his reply, Zhuge Liang said:
"Meng Qi is both a scholar and a martial artist, a heroic and outstanding person, a master of the first life, a disciple of Tuo and Peng, when he competes with Yide and drives the first, he has not yet reached the extraordinary Yiqun of Hair."
Meng Qi is Ma Chao's word. And Tuo refers to Tuobu, also known as Yingbu, and Peng refers to Peng Yue, who were all famous generals of the Western Han Dynasty and made immortal contributions to Liu Bang's world. Zhuge Liang's meaning is very simple, Ma Chao is also a master, compared with Tuobu, Peng Yue, Zhang Fei, but compared with his hair, it is still a little worse. Some people say that from here it can be seen that Guan Yu is super powerful than Ma. But in fact, not necessarily, Zhuge Liang said that, he was comforting Guan Yu. Because Zhuge Liang knew Guan Yu's personality very well, he was afraid that once he told the truth, it would cause Guan Yu to be jealous and cause Guan and Ma to disagree. Of course, it can't be proved that Ma Chao is stronger than Guan Yu.
Is scraping the bone to cure the poison, is it true?
According to the "Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu Biography", Guan Yu was once shot by an arrow, although he received effective treatment, but whenever it rained, the bones would always be painful. After the consultation, the doctor said:
"The arrow is poisonous, poisonous to the bone, when the broken arm is wounded, the bone is scraped to remove the poison, and then the disease is removed from the ear."
Guan Yu did so, and laughed freely during the operation. It can be seen that Guan Yu is a fierce general, which is admirable.
2. Zhang Fei
Zhang Fei was also a fierce general under Liu Bei, thinking that in that year, Liu Bei was chased by Cao Cao to Changshanpo, if it were not for Zhang Fei's roar, Liu Bei would be in danger.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Fei's Biography": "Cousin, Cao Gong entered Jingzhou, and the first lord ran to Jiangnan. Cao Gong chased after him, one day and one night, and the long saka of Dangyang. The first lord heard that Cao Gong had arrived, abandoned his wife and left, so that Fei would refuse to ride twenty horses. Flying according to the water broken bridge, the blind spear said: "As Zhang Yideye, you can come to the joint decision to die!" No one dares to approach the enemy, so he is spared. ”
At this time, Zhang Fei was so powerful, and those generals under Cao Cao were estimated to be frightened when they saw Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei most respects the hero and the good man, and the love gentleman despises the villain Zhang Fei very much, and it can be seen from his brotherly love for Guan Yu. After Guan Yu's death, Zhang Fei was devastated and repeatedly expressed his desire to kill Eastern Wu and avenge his second brother. During this period, his temperament changed greatly, he was short-tempered, and was eventually killed by his subordinates Zhang Da and Fan Qiang. There is another thing that can also be seen as Zhang Fei's personality. After Liu Bei attacked Yizhou, BaJun was too defensive to defend Yan Yanning and did not surrender, and Zhang Fei angrily rebuked: The army has arrived in the city, why don't you surrender, and dare to fight? Yan Yan replied: My state has not surrendered to the general, and if you want to kill, you will kill it. Zhang Fei couldn't stand it and planned to have yan Yan killed.
So, how did Yan Yan react? He was fearless and composed. When Zhang Fei saw this scene, he sincerely admired Yan Yan and let him go. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who is high in martial arts?
"In the beginning, Fei Xiong was mighty and mighty, and he was subordinate to Guan Yu, Wei Mouchen Cheng Yu, and other xianxian and fei wanren enemies."
That is to say, Chen Shou believes that Zhang Fei is strong and strong, but slightly inferior to Guan Yu. In addition, Cao Cao's adviser Cheng Yu and others admired Zhang Fei and Guan Yu very much, saying that they were "enemies of ten thousand people" and had the courage of ten thousand men.
Third, Ma Chao
Ma Chao's origin is much better than the previous two, his father is named Ma Teng, and he served as Sima (司馬), General Zhengxi (征西將將軍), and Zhengdong (征東將軍). Ma Teng and Han Sui had a brotherhood, and later the two had a conflict, and Han Sui killed Ma Teng's wife and children. However, after the mediation of Lieutenant Zhong Xuan and Liangzhou Muwei Duan, the two gradually reconciled. This can explain why Cao Cao later made a small plan, so that Ma Chao and Han Sui suspected each other and killed each other. How brave is Ma Chao? After Cao Cao defeated Ma and the Han army, he pursued Ma Chao all the way, just at this time, there was a problem in Cao Cao's rear, and he led the army back to Xuchang. According to Pei Songzi's commentary on the "Records of the Goat Gong zai", Cao Cao chased after Ma Overtime and once said to people: If Ma Chao does not die, I will die without a place to bury! Even the people cao Cao was afraid of, you can imagine how powerful Ma Chao is.
A man named Yang Fu under Cao Cao said to him:
"There is super faith and courage, and even Qiang and Hu Xin." If the army is still there, it is not strictly prepared for it, and the counties of Longshang are not owned by the state. ”
That is to say, Yang Fu believes that Ma Chao is as brave and powerful as Han Xin and Lü Bu, and he is also very prestigious and should not be taken lightly. Sure enough, Ma Chao suddenly attacked Longshang County, and Longshang County responded. Ma Chao killed the assassin Shi Weikang, occupied Jicheng, surrendered the soldiers inside, and then claimed to be the general of Zhengxi and led the governor. However, outnumbered, Ma Chao was still repelled by Cao Jun, so he defected to Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. Later, Ma Chao asked Zhang Lu for his life, wanted to recover Liangzhou, and hoped that he would send soldiers to himself. Who knew Zhang Lu's men said that Ma Chao could not be trusted, and he could not give his request. Ma Chao had no choice but to turn to Liu Bei of Shu Han.
Why did Liu Bei reuse Ma Chao so much?
When Liu Bei heard of Ma Chao's surrender, he immediately sent someone to greet him, making him the general of Pingxi and the Marquis of Former Duting, and administering Linfeng County. According to Pei Songzhi's commentary on the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Ma Chao' commentary, Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard that Ma Chao surrendered to him, and said to people: I will soon be able to gain Yizhou. According to the "Records of the Duke of Shanyang", Ma Chao often called Liu Bei's character because Liu Bei treated him very well. Guan Yu looked at it, envious, jealous, hateful, angry, and begged Liu Bei to kill Ma Chao. Liu Bei said to Guan Yu:
"When people are poor and come to me, qing and so on are angry, and kill them because they call me, so why show it to the whole world!"
The next day, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood in front of Ma Chao with weapons, with a disdainful look. Ma Chao saw the situation and deliberately pretended not to see them. Even so, Liu Bei still re-ma Chao. For example, he became the queen of Hanzhong and made Ma Chao a general of the left, a false festival; after becoming emperor, he made Ma Chao a general of the Hussars, led Liangzhou Mu, and entered the township marquis of Fengxi (tái). After Ma Chao's death, Liu Bei posthumously honored him as the Marquis of Wei, having his son inherit his title, and his daughter marrying his son Liu Li the Prince of Anping. Feng Ma Chao's cousin Ma Dai was made a general of Pingbei and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Chen Cang.
4. Huang Zhong
Huang Zhong, this person, in the rendition, was portrayed as a person who was very good at archery, known as the "sharp archer" of the Three Kingdoms, the so-called "hundred steps through Yang, arrows without false hair". However, Huang Zhong, who is in the history, is not so good at archery. Huang Zhong initially worked under Liu Biao, a mu of Jingzhou, and was given the title of General of Zhonglang. Later, Liu Bei became the pastor of Jingzhou, and he followed Liu Bei. Huang Zhong was also a general, and in the process of attacking Liu Zhang and capturing Yizhou, he made great contributions to Liu Bei's clique. After Yizhou was pacified, Huang Zhong was made a general of the Jurchens. It is worth mentioning that Huang Zhong was extremely brave and fierce, when he attacked Xiahou Yuan at Dingjun Mountain in Hanzhong. Xiahou Yuan's army was unusually brave, but Huang Zhong defeated Xiahou Yuan in one fell swoop and killed him.
"The people are very refined, loyal to push the front will advance, persuade the soldiers, the golden drum vibrates the heavens, the joy moves the valley, the first battle cuts the abyss, and the Yuan army is defeated."
Liu Bei became the queen of Hanzhong and wanted to make Huang Zhong a general, but Zhuge Liang advised him that doing so would cause dissatisfaction among Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others. Liu Bei was stubborn and insisted that Huang Zhong was not wrong, so that he could sit on an equal footing with Guan Zhangping.
5. Zhao Yun
The name of Changshan Zhao Zilong must have been heard by everyone. But Zhao Yun was not as powerful as we thought, he was originally a general under Gongsun Zhan, and later defected to Liu Bei. While in Changshanpo, Zhao Yun rescued Liu Bei's eldest son, Ah Dou, and was soon made a general of Yamen. "General Yamen" is to put it bluntly, it is a miscellaneous general. After Zhao Yun and Liu Bei entered Shu, they successively served as generals of the Yi Army, the Middle Protector Army, the General of Zhengnan, and the General of Zhendong. That is to say, Zhao Yun did not get Liu Bei's reuse throughout his life. It can be seen that his martial arts will not be very high. Otherwise, a person like Liu Bei, who was thirsty for wisdom and strict rewards and punishments, would not fail to use Zhao Yun.
Conclusion: In the end, I think that in the "Five Tiger Generals", Guan Yu and Ma Chao are inseparable: if Zhuge Liang is telling the truth, Guan Yu is stronger than Ma Chao; if Yang Fu is telling the truth, then Ma Chao is stronger than Guan Yu. After that, zhang fei, Huang Zhong, and Zhao Yun were ranked in order. Among the "Five Tiger Generals", who is the most powerful and what is the ranking? It is difficult to draw conclusions from the historical data alone, because they have not tried. In addition, everyone has their own ranking in mind, and the results are also very different. Personally, I think that Guan Yu is better than Ma Chao, Ma Chao is better than Zhang Fei, Zhang Fei is better than Huang Zhong, and Huang Zhong is better than Zhao Yun.
Reference: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Zhangguan Huang Zhao Biography"