In Liu Bei's camp, Guan Yu held a high position of authority. However, in terms of knighthood, his knighthood was marquis of Hanshouting. Zhang Fei's title was Marquis of Xixiang and Zhuge Liang was Marquis of Wuxiang. Although Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang's titles have township characters, according to research, they are all county marquises. So, why is There a huge discrepancy between Guan Yu's title and their title?
1. The origin of the knighthood of both parties.
Guan Yu's title was Tinghou, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's title was County Marquis, and according to the System of the Han Dynasty, marquises were divided into three levels: county marquis, township marquis and Tinghou marquis. Guan Yu's title level was much lower than zhuge liang and Zhang Fei. However, in Liu Bei's camp, Guan Yu had a very high status and was the head of the military generals. How did this happen?
This is because the two sides have different origins of knighthood. Guan Yu's Marquis of Hanshouting was enfeoffed by the imperial court of Emperor Xian of Han and was conferred by the orthodox central government. This title was not easy to come by, and if according to common sense, Guan Yu would not be able to get it at all. After the Battle of Xuzhou, Guan Yu joined Cao Cao's camp. In order to repay Cao Cao's kindness, he killed Yan Liang in the Battle of white horses and made a battle achievement. In order to prevent Guan Yu from leaving, Cao Cao sponsored Guan Yu as the Marquis of Hanshouting.
If Guan Yu did not have this legendary experience, he would not have been rewarded with this award. Because Cao Cao controlled the Han Dynasty, it was impossible for him to sponsor the generals of the opposing camp to be marquises, and it was also impossible for Liu Bei's position to sponsor Guan Yu to be marquis. Only when Guan Yu made great contributions under Cao Cao could he be rewarded. And this adventure, let Guan Yu encounter, the probability is almost one in ten thousand.
Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's marquises were not given by the court of Emperor Xian of Han, but from the court of shu han. After Cao Pi usurped The Han Dynasty, Liu Bei succeeded to the throne as emperor and established the Shu Han court. In the first year of Zhang Wu's reign, Zhang Fei was made a cheqi general, a lieutenant of the leading division, and the Marquis of Xixiang. Zhuge Liang, after Liu Bei's death, Liu Chan succeeded to the throne in the first year of Jianxing, and was made the Marquis of Wuxiang and the governor of Kaifu.
From the origin of the knighthoods of both sides, it can be seen that Guan Yu's titles were far earlier than Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei. Before Liu Bei became emperor, he had no right to be knighted by his opponents. At that time, all the feudal titles had to be approved by the court of Emperor Xian of Han, which was controlled by Cao Cao, and it was impossible to do so. Therefore, Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's knighthoods could only be obtained after the fall of the Western Han Dynasty and the establishment of the Shu Han Dynasty.
At this time, Liu Bei and Liu Chan were already emperors of the Shu Han Dynasty, and their knighthoods were also rising. It is conceivable that if Guan Yu lived to that time, he would never have received the title of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei. It is precisely because of the different origins of knighthood that the difference between the two sides has been caused.
2. The treatment of the two parties is different.
However, although Guan Yu's title was the Marquis of Ting, its gold content far exceeded that of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's county marquis. This is because before Liu Bei became emperor, due to the constraints of the Han Dynasty's etiquette system and Cao Cao's control of the imperial court, liu Bei's camp had a marquis title.
At that time, only Liu Bei was the Marquis of Yicheng Ting, and Guan Yu was the Marquis of Hanshou Ting. In this way, Guan Yu became the natural second in command of Liu Bei's camp. It was not until Liu Bei captured Yizhou and Hou Machao of Duting joined that Liu Bei's camp had a third marquis. To this end, Guan Yu also wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang to inquire about Ma Chao's situation.
Before Liu Bei became emperor, he had always been under the banner of Kuangfu Han Room, and the court of Emperor Xian of Han was orthodox. Therefore, Guan Yu has always enjoyed the treatment of a marquis. Liu Bei, who was also the Marquis of Ting, did not have the right to make himself a marquis. All this did not change until Liu Bei ascended the throne of Hanzhong. Liu Bei's rewards to his subordinates only improved everyone's official positions, and did not touch the knighthood. Even so, it also caused Guan Yu's dissatisfaction.
Liu Bei's ascension to the throne of Hanzhong was formally illegal. Although Liu Bei was considered a relative of the Han Dynasty, he was qualified to be crowned king. However, at that time, the imperial court of Emperor Xian of Han was still there, and Liu Bei adopted the form of being elected by a group of courtiers, completely disregarding the system of knighthood in the imperial court. This practice of establishing himself as king completely exposed the true face of his so-called Kuangfu Han Room to everyone.
Guan Yu, as a loyal believer in the Kuang Fu Han Room, certainly did not support this in his heart. Therefore, when he was rewarded, he was very dissatisfied with the reward. Of course, Liu Bei was very aware of this, so he did not touch the title that Guan Yu valued most, but only became the king himself, and the other marquises did not change, ensuring that Guan Yu's status would not be shaken.
At that time, Liu Bei's behavior also made many people dissatisfied, and the strongest reaction was Cao Cao. Liu Bei's move showed that he had broken with Cao Cao, who controlled the imperial court. Cao Cao was furious at this, and despite his illness, he personally led an army to attack Liu Bei, only to give up after his subordinates dissuaded him.
However, what is intriguing is that Cao Cao's attitude towards Guan Yu has not changed. After Sun Quan attacked Jingzhou and captured Guan Yu, he gave Guan Yu's head to Cao Cao. Cao Cao buried Guan Yu with the courtesy of a prince, still allowing Guan Yu to enjoy the due treatment of the Marquis of Hanshouting. Behind this move, it contains Cao Cao's admiration for Guan Yu, and also shows Cao Cao's praise for Guan Yu's determination to support the Han Room. Cao Cao affirmed that Guan Yu's death was the death of a loyal Han dynasty official, implying contempt for Liu Bei and Sun Quan.
As for Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's county lords, they were knights of the Shu Han court. Judging from the situation at that time, with the power of the emperor to be knighted, the two people who served as the first in The Civil and Martial Arts were made county lords. However, the status of the two of them in the Shu Han regime was comparable to that of Guan Yu at that time. At this time, the county marquis was not even as good as Guan Yu's Tinghou, because at that time Liu Bei was only a Tinghou.
epilogue:
Historically, Guan Yu's title was marquis of Hanshouting, while Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's titles were all county marquises. This is because Guan Yu's knighthood came from the court of Emperor Xian of Han, and the knighthoods of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei came from the Shu Han regime. During Liu Bei's period, due to the etiquette system of the Han Dynasty and the control of Cao Cao, the marquises of the entire Liu Bei camp were like a rarity.
Therefore, although Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei's titles were high, their status was still comparable to That of Guan Yu. At that time, the Shu Han regime already had an emperor, and due to the rising tide, it was normal for subordinates to be given the title of county marquis. If Guan Yu could live to that time, he would also be made a county marquis. Moreover, Guan Yu's status as Marquis of Hanshouting even surpassed that of Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei, because Liu Bei was only the Marquis of Yicheng Pavilion at that time.