In the first year of Chuping (190 AD), Yuan Shao relied on the family heritage of the "Fourth Emperor and Three Dukes" to be the ally of the princes of the Kwantung during the crusade against Dong Zhuo, and successfully drove Dong Zhuo away. After that, Yuan Shao successively occupied the four prefectures of Ji, Qing, He, and You, and became a giant in the north.
When Yuan Shao attacked the north, people like Han Fu were very garbage, and they could not fight Yuan Shao, and only Gongsun Zhan caused Yuan Shao a lot of trouble. Gongsun Zhan fought against the northern nomads for many years, and his subordinates "White Horse Yicong" were invincible and invincible. In the second year of Chuping (191), Gongsun Zhan led 20,000 people on foot and rode 300,000 Qingzhou Yellow Turban troops in Dongguang South. Gongsun Zhan was also Liu Bei's "senior" and generously donated money many times to help Liu Bei. The reason why Gongsun Zhan was able to achieve such achievements mainly depended on the three major generals under him. So how will these three be ranked?
Third place: Zhao Yun
Zhao Yun, known as Changshan Zhao Zilong, was the most famous of the three generals. If Gongsun Zhan reused Zhao Yun, perhaps Zhao Yun became the first general under Gongsun Zhan, it is not known. Unfortunately, when Zhao Yun led his men and horses to defect to Gongsun Zhan, he was sneered at by Gongsun Zhan. Gongsun Zhan said to Zhao Yun: "Hearing that everyone in Guizhou is the original Yuan clan, how can Jun He return to his heart alone, and can he be confused and can do the opposite?" ”
After Zhao Yun listened, he was very cold, and he went to great lengths to defect to Gongsun Zhan and came to admire him, not only was he not warmly welcomed, but he was sneered at. At that time, Liu Bei was also at Gongsun Zhan's place, and in the process of contacting Liu Bei, Zhao Yun knew that Liu Bei was a big man with a promising future and wanted to submit, but he could not bear to betray Gongsun Zhan and do such an unrighteous thing.
Zhao Yun also fought with Liu Bei, was the leader of Liu Bei's cavalry, and made great achievements for him, and the two established a friendship in the fires of war. After the defeat of Gongsun Zhan, Zhao Yun went on and on for many years and submitted to Liu Bei. After that, Zhao Yun gained liu Bei's trust and made great contributions to his birth and death, and to the establishment of shu Han.
Among the many merits made by Zhao Yun, Changshanpo saved Xiao Adou and Lady Gan, and robbed the river to save Ah Dou these two times were the merits of saving the driver, and became Liu Bei's confidant general.
Because Zhao Yun was only an ordinary low-level officer under Gongsun Zhan, he had not yet been trusted by the lord Gongsun Zhan, so he could only rank third.
Second place: Tian Yu
Tian Yu initially began as Liu Bei's subordinate, and then requested to return to his hometown on the grounds that his mother was old, and soon returned to Gongsun Zhan and was appointed as the commander of Shoudong Prefecture County. Gongsun Zhan's subordinates betrayed Wang Men and led an army of 10,000 to attack Dongzhou. Tian Yu's men were terrified and wanted to open the city gate and surrender. Tian Yu did not panic or chaos, and a few words of scolding made the traitor Wang Men dumbfounded, and he walked away in shame. It can be seen that Tian Yu is very capable, and with just one mouth, he has withdrawn ten thousand troops.
After the defeat of Gongsun Zhan, Tian Yu persuaded the newly appointed Xian Yufu to say: "Whoever can finally determine the world will be Cao Shiye." It is advisable to return to life quickly, and there is no aftermath. Xian Yufu then led his people to submit to Cao Cao and was highly valued by Cao Cao. Tian Yu was appointed as the Military Commander of the XiangFu Commandery, Yingyin and Lang Lingling, and later promoted to Yiyang Taishou.
Tian Yu was buried next to Gongsun Zhan and was not outstanding. After he submitted to Cao Cao, he could gradually reveal itself. He guarded the northern frontier of Cao Wei for many years and began a career of meritorious service. For example, from Wuhuan of Zhengdai County, the bone of the King of Karasuma, and the destruction of Kebineng, attacked and killed Zhou He, and Xincheng defeated Sun Quan's 100,000 troops. This pile, piece by piece, is Tian Yu's great achievement. He also relied on this to become an official to the rank of Taizhong Doctor and was given the title of Marquis of Changle Pavilion.
First prize: Yan Gang
Speaking of Yan Gang, many people are unfamiliar with him, very unfamiliar with him, and think that he is an incompetent person. Everyone was wrong, Yan Gang was the first general under Gongsun Zhan, and his position was not something that Tian Yu and Zhao Yun could shake. The reason why Gongsun Zhan was able to defeat the ethnic minority army many times was because of his own invincible and unfavorable "special forces", which were "white horses and righteous subordinates".
According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "Dozens of people who were good at shooting often rode on white horses, thinking that they were left and right wings, and called themselves 'white horses and righteous followers'. ”
This force was on a par with Cao Cao's Tiger and Panther Riders, Yuan Shao's Euphorbia, and Liu Bei's Wudang Flying Army, and even more powerful than them. Why? It turned out that Gongsun Zhan was the first to form the "White Horse Yicong" cavalry to give an effective blow. To this end, he spent countless energy and time training a cavalry, which was used to fight against the nomadic armies of the north.
In Youzhou, many ethnic minorities are very strong in combat, and the cavalry of all colors comes and goes without a trace. In response to this situation, Gongsun Zhan set up a more powerful light cavalry "White Horse Yicong". He selected soldiers who were good at riding and shooting, and everyone was equipped with a white horse, and he could burst into the battlefield at any time and change the situation of the war. The "White Horse Yicong" was highly mobile and lethal, which made the warlords and Hu cavalry at that time feel frightened. The general who commanded this special force was Yan Gang. Therefore, Yan Gang was the most powerful general under Gongsun Zhan.
Unfortunately, Yan Gang and the main cavalry of "White Horse Yicong" were destroyed by the nemesis JuYi in the Battle of Jieqiao, and the "White Horse Yicong" army was completely destroyed, and Yan Gang was also killed by Koji. The reason why the "White Horse Yicong" was defeated was not that they were not strong, but that the main responsibility was that Gongsun Zhan made a mistake in command, causing him to fall into passive defeat. After Yan Gang's "White Horse Yicong" army was completely destroyed, Gongsun Zhan was worse than a day, and finally he was defeated.
epilogue
Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and Yan Gang, as the three generals under Gongsun Zhan, made immortal contributions to Gongsun Zhan. Among them, Zhao Yun belonged to Liu Bei and became one of the "Five Tiger Generals", Tian Yu returned to Cao Cao, sat in northern Xinjiang for Cao Wei, and grew into one of the senior generals of Cao Wei, while Yan Gang, the most powerful leader of the "White Horse Yicong", unfortunately died in battle at jieqiao, which is sad and lamentable.