The first generation of generals of Cao Cao and Liu Bei's clique were generally about the same age.
Most of them were born between 160 and 170 years old, and when they were about 20 years old, they caught up with the "chaotic beginning" events such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the crusade against Dong Zhuo, and began to make meritorious achievements.
By the time of the Battle of Hanzhong in 219, the first generation of generals was mostly around 50.
Around the age of 50, he is considered to be rich and powerful today, but in the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, he was already an out-and-out veteran.
Therefore, when the veteran general Huang Zhong killed the veteran general Xiahou Yuan, both camps had reached the moment of alternating between the old and the new.
At that time, the overall situation of Liu Beijun was slightly better than that of Cao Cao's army.
The situation of the first generation of generals of the Cao Army during the Battle of Hanzhong
The first generation of generals of Cao Cao's army, the representative figures were "Marquis Cao of Zhuxia" and "Five Sons of Liang General".
Marquis Cao Zhong, Cao Cao's cousin, The Tiger and Leopard General Cao Chun, had already "taken one step first" and died around 210.
After that, Xiahou Huan sat in Juchao and was in charge of the eastern front; Cao Ren sat in Fancheng and was in charge of the central front; Xiahou Yuan sat in Hanzhong and was in charge of the western front, and these three people became the main generals of Cao Cao's forces.
After Xiahou Yuan was beheaded, Xiahou Huan and Cao Ren were still there.
However, Xiahou Huan was already old, and a year later, that is, in 220, he followed Cao Cao's front and back feet.
Cao Ren was still in Fancheng, and a year later in the Battle of Xiangfan, he struggled to defend the city, making a great contribution to the stability of Cao Cao's camp. Subsequently, after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he participated in the Battle of "Three Dao Fa Wu".
However, Cao Ren was also born in 168, a veteran in his 50s, and died in 223, four years after Xiahou Yuan was beheaded.
Cao Hong, on the other hand, took on the task of "alternating the old and the new" hub.
He was slightly younger than Xiahou Huan, Cao Ren, and others, but his ability was also slightly weaker, so he "hung up" to lead the army, and with his seniority, the actual command was already held by Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen and other "new generation" generals.
The situation of the "Five Sons and Good Generals" is basically similar.
Lejin has passed away.
Yu Ban had passed his peak, and a year later, in the Battle of Xiangfan, the entire army was destroyed and captured by Guan Yu.
Zhang Liao, who was "Wei Zhen XiaoYaojin" a few years ago, is also getting older. A year later, Zhang Liaochi aided the Xiangfan battlefield, and before the battle was over, he fell ill after returning to the Eastern Front, "for a long time", and his physical condition seriously declined.
Instead, Xu Huang and Zhang Hao gradually entered a better state.
During the Battle of Hanzhong, Xu Huang broke the Chen style, and Zhang Gao first resisted Liu Bei in Guangshi, and then after Xiahou Yuan was beheaded, he was pushed to become the military commander of the Hanzhong Army, and gradually opened the mode of "old and strong".
A year later, Xu Huang first showed the "wind of Zhou Yafu" in the Battle of Xiangfan, drove straight in, broke Guan Yu, and achieved his famous general "masterpiece".
Zhang Gao was promoted to military lord after Xiahou Yuan was beheaded, stabilizing the situation, and later broke the horse at the Battle of Jieting, and repeatedly resisted Zhuge Liang of the Northern Expedition, becoming the "bitter lord" of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.
In general, most of the famous generals in Cao Cao's camp have passed the peak, but Zhang Gao and Xu Huang are still in good shape, while a new generation of generals such as Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, and Guo Huai have gradually risen, which can be described as the beginning of the replacement of the old and the new.
The situation of Liu Beijun's "first generation" generals
Most of the main generals of Liu Bei's army also began to emerge in the early years of chasing deer in the Central Plains, and their overall age was comparable to that of the first generation of generals of the Cao Army.
However, their overall state was better than that of the generals of the Cao Army.
Guan Yu sat in Nan Commandery (南郡), fiercely armed with horses, and his military strength made Cao Cao and Sun Quan jealous.
Judging from the performance of the Battle of Xiangfan a year later, Guan Yu's health was still good, and his state was perfect, "Wei Zhen Huaxia".
Zhang Fei's state is also good. Although defeated by Cao Jun at the Battle of Xiayi, he and Ma Chao still blockaded Fengguan, preventing The Cao army of Longxi from entering Hanzhong and dividing the Cao army.
Huang Zhong needless to say, although he is a veteran general, he has just won a victory in Dingjun Mountain, which is synonymous with old and strong.
In addition, Ma Chao, who was born in 176, was only in his early 40s at this time, and should have won another "golden decade".
In addition, Wei Yan also grew up and became a veteran general on his own, while other young generals such as Feng Xi, Gao Xiang, Chen Shi, and Zhang Nan were not as prominent as Wei Yan, but they were also growing.
In general, Liu Beijun's "first generation" generals, although the overall age of Cao Cao's "first generation generals" was comparable, but the state at that time seemed to be much better, and the generals who grew up like Wei Yan made Liu Beijun not inferior in the talent structure.
Of course, war is never just a "general", and experienced veterans are also a key factor affecting combat effectiveness.
At this point, Liu Beijun's state was far better than That of Cao Jun.
Veteran status
Since the Battle of Chibi, the Cao army seems to have lost the momentum that swept everything in the past.
In the battle against Ma Chao and Han Sui, the Cao army fell into crisis several times, and finally won with strategy.
The crusade against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong was also once helpless, almost retreating, and finally relying on the mistake of the opponent Zhang Wei, he seized the opportunity and won the battle.
In addition, in addition to Zhang Liao's "Wei Zhen Xiaoyaojin", in the duel with Sun Quan and Liu Bei, Cao Jun either returned without success or suffered defeat.
This is related to the age structure of Cao Jun's generals.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, warlords generally adopted the "world military system".
That is, the military households are succeeded by their fathers and sons, and the brothers are the last brothers.
The advantage is that soldiers and generals have a personal attachment relationship, a very deep relationship, and can live and die together.
The disadvantage is that when a generation of soldiers is old, the children are not yet mature, and there will be a situation of "green and yellow".
Later, Zhuge Ke calculated the wei and Wu reserve soldiers, and only looked at the age structure of the soldiers, proposing that around 253 years in Eastern Wu was the last time for Eastern Wu's Northern Expedition.
It can be seen that the age structure, at that time, the impact on combat effectiveness was extremely critical.
In 219, Cao Jun was in a period of "green and yellow".
Most of the strong armies of the Cao Army were formed around 190, and most of them were post-70s.
When the crusade against Hebei, they were mostly around 30, at the peak, and by the time of the Battle of Chibi, it was close to 40, and thereafter, as they grew older, the combat effectiveness of the veterans gradually declined, and at the time of the Battle of Hanzhong, most of them were around 50. The veterans are old, the recruits are not yet mature, and they are "green and yellow".
In contrast, Liu Beijun's age structure is slightly better.
In the early years of the Northern Expedition, Liu Bei's soldiers were basically beaten to the core, and there was nothing left.
At the Time of Chibi, Liu Bei had only 10,000 people each from Guan Yu and Liu Qi.
After the Battle of Chibi ended and gained territory, Liu Bei's army began to form.
That is to say, Liu Beijun's main source of troops began to form an army around 209.
In this way, when Liu Beijun fought in the Battle of Hanzhong, the average age of soldiers was in their 30s, which was at its peak.
Therefore, whether in Hanzhong or Xiangfan, Liu Beijun was able to confront Cao Jun, who was stronger than himself, and not fall behind.
That is to say, after the Battle of Hanzhong, although on the whole, Cao Qiang and Liu Were weak, liu Beijun did not fall behind in terms of the state of generals or the situation of soldiers, and the combat strength of the two sides was relatively close.
If the situation continues to develop in this way, it will be extremely unfavorable to Cao Cao, and Liu Bei will have a chance.
However, the situation soon changed.
The situation suddenly changes
Although the veteran general of the Cao Army was in a poor state, he still played the role of "passing on the help".
Although Cao Hong's ability is slightly weaker, he uses his seniority to "town field" and let Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu exert their talents. Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu gradually became the main representatives of the "Second Generation of Cao".
Zhang Guo was old and strong, traveling east and west, taking on great responsibilities, so that Guo Huai and other generals did not have to be "promoted by pulling up seedlings" and gradually became famous generals who were on their own.
"Although Zhang Liao is ill, he must not be light", although Zhang Liao's physical condition declined, he still shocked Eastern Wu, and with his prestige, helped the Cao Army in Huainan win the time to mature.
At the Battle of Xiangfan, Xu Huang had mostly new recruits in his hands, but after being replenished, he defeated Guan Yu, stabilized the situation in Jingzhou, and also contributed to the maturity of the new recruits of the Cao Army.
It can be said that the veteran generals of the Cao Army, whether or not they continue to have "representative battles" on the battlefield, have contributed to the Cao Army's passage through the trough.
In contrast, Liu Beijun suffered a sudden change.
The first is that Guan Yu's army was completely destroyed in its heyday.
Recruits and veterans in the Jingzhou area, collective reimbursement.
Subsequently, Zhang Fei was assassinated, Huang Zhong died of illness, and Ma Chao, who was only 40 years old, also died young.
From 219 to 221, the collective curtain of Guan Zhang Mahuang made Liu Beijun's "old generation of generals" in good condition collectively end.
Moreover, Guan Yu Zhang Fei died of death, and Ma Chao died young, and it was too late to complete the smooth transition.
During the Battle of Yiling, Liu Bei had to use Feng Xi, Wu Ban, Chen Shi, Zhang Nan, Fu Tong, and other immature "new generation generals" to rush into battle.
As a result, "Xiu Yuan was light and light, causing harm when the time was lost, wen jin struggled, and this was turbulent..." The results of seedling uprooting are tragic.
Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, Fu Tong and other "new generation generals" collectively died in the Battle of Yiling, and even the veterans who were fighting with Liu Bei's army were also lost!
Therefore, when Zhuge Liang first went on the Northern Expedition, the Shu army in Qishan and Jigu was "more soldiers than thieves, and it is impossible to cause the enemy to turn against the enemy", and Shu not only had a weaker national strength than the opponent, but even the combat effectiveness was not as good as the opponent!
In this way, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, what are the chances of winning?
In general, when Xiahou Yuan was beheaded, the "first generation veterans" of both sides were still alive.
In contrast, whether it is the situation of generals or veterans, the Cao army is at a low point, and Liu Beijun is in a slightly better state.
In 219, when Xiahou Yuan was beheaded, it was the time when Liu Bei and Cao Cao were closest in battle.
However, the veteran generals of the Cao Army exerted their residual heat to stabilize the situation, and made the new recruits and new generals gradually mature in the war, so that the Cao Army achieved a smooth transition and survived the trough.
In contrast, Liu Beijun's veteran generals either died of death, or died young, or their health deteriorated sharply, and they collectively closed the curtain in a short period of time, and did not complete the smooth transition.
Guan Yu lost Nan Commandery and Liu Bei defeated Yiling, and these two disastrous military operations wiped out Liu Bei's veterans and a large number of "new generation generals".
After that, The Cao army crossed the trough, the essence of the Shu army was completely lost, and the gap between Wei and Shu was further expanded, and it was difficult to reverse!