The General of Zhengnan was a high-ranking official position established in the army by the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu in the early Eastern Han Dynasty. However, throughout the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, only Cen Peng held this position, or the General of zhengnan. By the end of the Han Dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms period, in order to meet the needs of the special situation at that time, when Cao Cao set up the General of the Four Expeditions in the army, the General of Zhengnan became a common high-level military position, of which the more senior one was appointed as the General of Zhengnan. Six members of the Cao Wei clique held the position, three of whom were generals of the Southern Expedition.
First place: Cao Ren. In his early years, Cao Ren followed Cao Cao around in his battles, and he was deeply respected, and he served as the general of Zhengnan three times, but the first two times were agents, and the third time he officially turned regular. The first time was in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), when Cao Cao pingjing Jingzhou, he appointed Cao Ren as the general of Xingzhengnan. During this period, Cao Ren was stationed at Jiangling in Nan County, and confronted the generals led by the Eastern Wu commander Zhou Yu for more than a year. During this period, the two sides launched several fierce battles, Cao Ren and Zhou Yu both had many experiences of fighting in front of the enemy, and Zhou Yu was seriously injured in the battle. In the long battle, Cao Renbu suffered heavy losses and abandoned the city and retreated.
The second time was in the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217 AD), after Cao Ren followed Cao Cao to participate in the first conquest of Eastern Wu at the Battle of Shushu, Sun Quan sent envoys to surrender, Cao Ren reinstated as the general of the March west, tun troops stationed in Fancheng, and false festival command of the Jingzhou military. During this period, Cao Ren increased his military service in order to expand his strength. The officials of Wancheng were overwhelmed and united with Guan Yu to rebel under the leadership of the general Hou Yin and others, and Cao Ren immediately led his troops to suppress the rebellion for more than a year. In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219 AD), cao ren quelled the rebellion in Wancheng before he was officially transferred to the general zhengnan. Cao Ren's main achievement during this period was to resist the siege of Guan Yu, a famous General of the Shu Han Dynasty. After Emperor Wen of Wei succeeded cao pi to the throne, Cao Ren was promoted from general of Zhengnan to general of Cheqi.
Second place: Xiahou Shang. Xiahou Shang was a close vassal of Cao Wei's clan, and had great military achievements in his early years of following Cao Cao in his conquests, and after Cao Ren was promoted, Xiahou Shang served as the general of Zhengnan as the assassin of Jingzhou, and falsely commanded the southern military. During Xiahou Shang's tenure, he led his troops into the Eastern Three Counties, and together with the general Meng Da defeated Liu Bei's righteous son Liu Feng, and was promoted to the rank of General of Zhengnan for this feat.
Later, Xiahou Shang participated in Cao Wei's conquest of Eastern Wu at the Second Battle of Wu. In this battle, Cao Ren led his troops to defeat Zhuge Jin, a famous minister of Eastern Wu. After the war, Cao Pi rewarded him for his merits, and Xiahou Shang was promoted to Jingzhou Mu .jpg. However, Xiahou Shang's ending was not good, because Cao Pi strangled his favorite concubine, and finally became ill and died depressed in the seventh year of the Huang Dynasty (226 AD).
Third place: Xiahou Ru. Xiahou Ru was both a close vassal of Cao Wei and a cousin of xiahou Shang, the general of The Southern Expedition. Xiahou Ru is not well documented in historical records, and after joining the Cao Wei clique in his early years, he served as a horseman under Cao Zhang's younger brother Cao Zhang, the emperor of Wei, and later participated in the Western Front, and was an official to defend the Shu army. According to the "Official List of the Three Kingdoms", in the second year of the first year (241 AD), Xiahou Ru was promoted to the position of general of Zhengnan and the governor of Jing and Yu prefectures. During Xiahou Ru's tenure, he accompanied Sima Yi in defeating the famous Eastern Wu general Zhu Ranjiangong, and was soon summoned to the imperial court to be promoted to the post of eunuch.
Fourth place: Wang Chang. Wang Chang was the second general to conquer the south after Xiahou Shang. During the first year of the reign, Wang Chang was promoted from Xuzhou Assassin to Zhengnan General, and falsely oversaw Jing and Yu Erzhou. During his tenure, Wang Chang supervised the training of sailors and the storage of grain in Tuntian, and his achievements in the local government were very prominent, and Jiaping was promoted to the rank of General of Zhengnan in the third year (251 AD). Later, Wang Chang participated in the suppression of the rebellion of Qiu Jian and others, and was promoted to general of the Hussars in the second year of the Zhengyuan Dynasty (255 AD).
Fifth place: Wang Ji. After Wang Ji joined the Cao Wei clique, he held important positions in the localities, the imperial court, and the military, and his achievements in both the military and the government were very prominent. During Wang Ji's tenure as jingzhou assassin, he repeatedly made military achievements in the process of defending against Eastern Wu, and later followed Sima Shi and Sima Zhao to participate in two rebellions in the Huainan region, and was highly valued by the Sima family. In the fourth year of Ganlu (259 AD), he was transferred to the post of general of Zhengnan and commanded the military of Jingzhou, but died of illness shortly after.
Sixth place: Chen Qian. After Chen Qian was a meritorious warrior, his father Chen Jiao was the Situ of the Cao Wei clique, and he was the last general of the Cao Wei clique to zhengnan, and at the same time, the third general of the zhengnan clique. Chen Qian joined the Cao Wei clique in his early years with his father's merits, initially serving as Shangshulang, and later successively serving as Taishou, Changshi, Yushizhongcheng, and Shangshu. Chen Qian later transferred to the military, participated in the campaign against the Shu army on the western front, and also participated in the suppression of the rebellion of Zhuge Zhi in Huainan during the Ganlu period, and in the fourth year of Ganlu (259 AD), he was directly transferred to the post of General of Zhengnan, and made jie jie oversee the military of the Jingzhou region. After Sima Yan usurped Wei Jianjin, Chen Qian was promoted to Sima Da in the Western Jin clique.
Reference Books: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, List of Officials of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Jin