In 221 AD, after years of hard work, Liu Bei finally ascended the throne in Chengdu and established the Shu Han regime with the responsibility of continuing the orthodoxy of the Han dynasty. At this important historical moment, who held the highest position in the Shu Han Dynasty and the martial arts? Although both candidates were Liu Bei's cronies, their backgrounds and experiences were very different. One was born in a famous family and was highly regarded by Liu Bei, while the other rose from recklessness and won reuse by virtue of his extraordinary martial arts and loyalty. Who are they? Let's find out.
Liu Bei was proclaimed emperor, and civil and military power was newly distributed
At the beginning of the establishment of the Shu Han Dynasty, Liu Bei was faced with the heavy task of redistributing civil and military power. After years of conquest, the civil and military talents under his command have gradually matured, each with its own strengths, and needs to be reasonably arranged to give full play to its talents. And in the process, Liu Bei also had to make difficult choices, some people will be reused, and some people will be marginalized.
Since Liu Bei started his army in Jian'an, he has had many civil and military cronies to follow him and share weal and woe. Now that the great cause has been accomplished, it is natural to reuse these old ministers. But at the same time, there are also some emerging forces that are emerging and cannot be ignored. How Liu Bei weighs the pros and cons in the replacement of the old and the new will be a new test.
Just as Liu Bei was about to redistribute the civil and military power, a bad news broke his mind. Wenchen Fazheng, who was originally pinned on high hopes, died young, adding a layer of haze to Liu Bei's personnel arrangements. Fa Zheng was highly valued by Liu Bei during his lifetime and was entrusted with important tasks, and now his death is undoubtedly a big loss.
Faced with Fa Zheng's death, Liu Bei was deeply shocked and saddened. He personally visited Fa Zheng when he was seriously ill and instructed his ministers to take good care of him. But Fa Zheng couldn't survive after all, which made Liu Bei very sad. Liu Bei cried for several days before he could barely stop his sadness.
Fa Zheng's death undoubtedly added a layer of difficulty to Liu Bei's distribution of civil and military power. His original intention was to reuse the law and confer important civilian posts, but now this plan has failed. Liu Bei had to reconsider the candidate for Wenchen, and this candidate seemed to be doomed.
The head of Wenchen: Zhuge Liang's dominance
Fa Zheng's death undoubtedly added a layer of difficulty to Liu Bei's distribution of civil and military power. His original intention was to reuse the law and confer important civilian posts, but now this plan has failed. Liu Bei had to reconsider the candidate for Wenchen, and this candidate seemed to be doomed.
Zhuge Liang, whose name is Kongming, is Liu Bei's most relied on Wenchen. The two met in Taoyuan and formed a revolutionary friendship of sharing weal and woe. Zhuge Liang is not only knowledgeable and strategic, but also a commander who governs the army well. In the process of Liu Bei's establishment of the Shu Han regime, Zhuge Liang can be said to have made great contributions.
As early as when Liu Bei first arrived in Yizhou, Zhuge Liang was already his guest. At that time, Liu Bei was in a difficult situation, and Zhuge Liang took the initiative to give him advice and guidance. Later, he personally supervised the formation, commanded the battle, and assisted Liu Bei in unifying Yizhou. Without Zhuge Liang's wise strategy, Liu Bei may not be able to capture Yizhou in a short period of time.
As Liu Bei's territory continued to expand, Zhuge Liang's position became increasingly important. In the Battle of Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang played a key role. He not only formulated an elaborate battle plan, but also personally supervised the battle on the front line and commanded it with certainty. It was precisely with Zhuge Liang's commanding power that the Battle of Hanzhong could achieve a decisive victory.
Since then, Zhuge Liang's military status has become more prominent. Whether it was to crusade against Zhang Lu or fight against Cao Wei, Zhuge Liang was Liu Bei's most trusted military advisor. He not only commanded the army, but was also responsible for formulating the overall strategic deployment. It can be said that Shu Han's military strength largely depended on Zhuge Liang's military talents.
Now that Shu Han has been officially established, Liu Bei naturally wants to reuse this all-round talent who can be described as a father. Fa Zheng's death undoubtedly cleared the last obstacle for Zhuge Liang. Liu Bei did not hesitate to worship Zhuge Liang as the prime minister and take charge of the government and military power.
As the prime minister of a country, Zhuge Liang's power can be described as incomparably huge. He was not only in charge of civilian duties, but also actually controlled the military power of Shu Han. Liu Bei had high hopes for Zhuge Liang, hoping that he would be able to strategize and open up a bigger world for Shu Han.
Since then, Zhuge Liang has dominated the situation and has become the highest power core in the Shu Han civil and military field. His status is transcendent and unmatched, and even Liu Bei has to be cautious. The throne of the head of the Wenchen of the Shu Han Dynasty deservedly fell into the hands of Zhuge Liang alone.
Ma Chao was unexpectedly elected as the head of the generals
The candidate for the head of the civil servants has been decided, and the next step is the selection of the head of the generals. In this process, Liu Bei faced a difficult choice.
Among the military generals of the Shu Han Dynasty, the oldest and most prestigious were Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. The two can be said to be Liu Bei's most trusted veteran-level generals, who have been following them for a long time and have made outstanding achievements. It stands to reason that the throne of the head of the generals should be inherited by them.
However, fate played a big joke on Liu Bei. At the beginning of the establishment of Shu Han, Guan Yu was attacked by Eastern Wu, and he was killed young after serving Shu Han for many years. Guan Yu's death was undoubtedly a great loss for Shu Han, and Liu Bei personally swept the tomb for him, and his condolences were overflowing.
Another veteran-level general, Huang Zhong, also died of old age and decay during the same period. Although Huang Zhong is old, he is the founding father of Shu Han after all, and his death also makes Liu Bei feel extremely regretful.
Just when Guan Yu and Huang Zhong passed away one after another, Zhang Fei, the most senior general, was also dying. Although he is still serving under Liu Bei, his energy and combat power are not as good as before. Liu Bei naturally would not hand over the heavy responsibility of the head of the military generals to an old veteran.
In this case, it seems that there is no choice for the head of the generals. However, at this moment, an unexpected candidate surfaced, and he was Ma Chao.
Ma Chao was originally a famous general in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but later defected to Cao Cao, and was eventually marginalized because of Cao Cao's suspicion. In one battle, Ma Chao was defeated by Cao Cao's army and had to flee. Just when Ma Chao was displaced, he encountered Liu Bei's army.
Liu Bei was naturally ecstatic about Ma Chao's joining. After all, Ma Chao is a rare warrior in the world, who can add a lot of combat power to Shu Han. So, Liu Bei personally met with Ma Chao and arranged important positions for him.
Soon, Ma Chao established great military exploits in Liu Bei's army. He not only personally supervised the battle, but also won many times at the moment of opportunity. It was with Ma Chao's merits that Liu Bei was able to finally unify Yizhou and clear the last obstacle to becoming emperor.
For Ma Chao's contribution, Liu Bei is naturally grateful. He not only rewarded him heavily, but also specially crowned Ma Chao as a hussar general when he was called the emperor, led the Liangzhou herd, and entered the township marquis. This title has actually surpassed Zhang Fei and other veterans.
Since then, Ma Chao's status among the military generals of the Shu Han Dynasty has suddenly risen and he has become a well-deserved leader. Although he is not old, he unexpectedly won this honor with his extraordinary martial arts and military exploits.
Ma Chao and Zhuge Liang: The beginning of the civil and military dispute
Zhuge Liang, the head of the civil ministers, and Ma Chao, the head of the generals, are undoubtedly well-deserved for their election. However, their ascension also planted a seemingly small, but actually fatal bane for the future of Shu Han.
Zhuge Liang and Ma Chao, one is strategic, the other is extremely brave, and their temperaments and styles are very different. Zhuge Liang has always liked to strategize, and Ma Chao is more accustomed to charging into battle in person. This kind of civil and military division is destined to have differences between the two in dealing with military affairs.
At first, the contradiction between Zhuge Liang and Ma Chao was not too obvious. After all, Shu Han had just been established, and there were constant internal and external troubles, and both of them were going all out to serve Shu Han. But as time went on, some hidden dangers began to emerge.
For example, on the issue of dealing with Eastern Wu, Zhuge Liang and Ma Chao had obvious differences. Zhuge Liang advocated striking first, taking the initiative to seize Eastern Wu in one fell swoop, while Ma Chao believed that the current strength of Shu Han was still shallow, and it was not appropriate to act rashly, and that it was necessary to stick to the territory and take precautions.
The disagreement between the two eventually led to Zhuge Liang's trip to Xichuan on the Northern Expedition. Zhuge Liang personally supervised the expedition in an attempt to expand his territory in preparation for the future conquest of Eastern Wu. However, this action was strongly opposed by Ma Chao.
Ma Chao believes that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition is tantamount to self-isolation from the world and is a doomed adventure. He wrote to Liu Bei many times, urging the danger of the Northern Expedition and hoping that Liu Bei would be able to stop Zhuge Liang's decision.
In the end, although Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition achieved some minor victories, it also paid an extremely heavy price. The Shu Han army suffered a heavy blow in Xichuan, and Zhuge Liang himself was greatly injured because of this, and he has been in a state of collapse ever since.
The Battle of Xichuan in the Northern Expedition was undoubtedly a climax of the contradiction between Ma Chao and Zhuge Liang. The differences between the two on the military plan have been completely exposed. From then on, the Shu Han began to divide into two factions, one faction followed Zhuge Liang, and the other faction supported Ma Chao, and the civil and military struggle began.
end
This kind of civil and military controversy ran through the entire history of the late Shu Han Dynasty. After Zhuge Liang died, his protégé Fei Yi inherited his mantle and frequently had disagreements with Ma Chao on military affairs, and Ma Chao's son Ma Dai was also once opposed to the Shu Han government and the opposition. It can be said that the contradiction between Ma Chao and Zhuge Liang laid a bane for Shu Han, and eventually led to the decline of Shu Han.