In 208 AD, Liu Bei joined forces with Sun Quan to win the Battle of Chibi, thus laying the foundation for the establishment of the Three Kingdoms. Taking advantage of Cao Cao's serious injuries, Liu Bei led a large army to capture four counties in the south of Jingzhou. After this, Sun Quan lent Nan Commandery to Liu Bei. In 211, at the invitation of Liu Zhang, Liu Bei led a large army into Yizhou. A year later, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang broke up, and the Battle of Yizhou officially broke out. In 214, Liu Bei defeated Liu Zhang and captured the land of Yizhou.
In 219, Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and captured the land of Hanzhong. On this basis, Liu Bei ascended the throne as King of Hanzhong. In 221 AD, Liu Bei ascended the throne as emperor in Chengdu, using Han as the state name, that is, officially establishing the Shu Han. In this regard, Liu Bei naturally needed to reward the military generals who had followed him for many years. So, the question is, when Liu Bei was proclaimed emperor, who were the highest-ranking civil servants and military generals?
On the one hand, at the beginning of the establishment of the Shu Han Dynasty, the head of the martial generals was Ma Chao.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ma Chao's father, Ma Teng, had divided the guanzhong and Liangzhou areas. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Ma Teng, under the persuasion of Zhang Jie, entered the imperial court as an official and was appointed as a wei lieutenant. Ma Chao's two younger brothers, Ma Xiu, and Ma Tie were also given the titles of Che Du Wei and Qi Du Wei, but Ma Chao remained in Liangzhou, and was made a partial general and the Marquis of Duting, commanding Ma Teng's soldiers and horses, still in Huaili.
In March of the sixteenth year of Jian'an (211), Cao Cao sent Zhong Xuan and Xiahou Yuan to lead an army out of Hedong to attempt to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong through the territory of Ma Chao and other Liangzhou warlords, and the princes led by Ma Chao and Han Sui suspected that Cao Cao was going to attack and annex Liangzhou. Ma Chao believed that this was Cao Cao's false way to destroy Cao Cao, so he united with the Guanzhong generals Zhang Heng, Liang Xing, Yang Qiu of Anding, Hou Xuan of Hedong, Cheng Yin, Li Kan, Ma Qiao, Cheng Yi and other ten hundred thousand troops to rebel against Cao Cao, which was the Battle of Weinan.
In this battle, Cao Cao adopted the strategy of divisive strategy and successfully defeated Ma Chao and Han Sui. In the seventeenth year of Jian'an (212), in the first month of Ma Chao's defeat, he quickly annexed the counties of Longshang (Longxi, Nan'an, Hanyang, Yongyang, etc.), and Zhang Lu also sent the general Yang Ang to help Ma Chao, gathering more than 10,000 people and besieging Liangzhou's assassin Shi Weikang at Liangzhou's seat of Jicheng (present-day gangu County, Gansu).
However, in the subsequent battle, Ma Chao still suffered defeat, which prompted him to come to Hanzhong and surrender to Zhang Lu. In 214, Liu Bei led a large army to besiege Chengdu and sent people to contact Ma Chao. Therefore, Ma Chao decided to surrender Liu Bei and also led his army to Chengdu, which forced Liu Zhang to give up resistance.
In the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217), in October, Liu Bei and Cao Cao competed for supremacy in the land of Hanzhong, and Liu Bei sent Ma Chao to argue with Zhang Fei, Wu Lan, Lei Tong and other generals Tun Bing. However, Ma Chao instigated more than 10,000 people from the Lei Ding clan to respond to Liu Bei and contain the vanguard main force of the Cao Army. In the twenty-third year of Jian'an (218), in the first month, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Wu Lan, Lei Tong, and others led an army to garrison Fengshui, pretending to attack Wudu and Yinping Counties. Wu Lan and Lei Tong were defeated by Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, and others, and Wu Lanbu killed Ren Fu. In March, Cao Cao personally led a large army to fight for Hanzhong, Liu Bei held it, and Ma Chao and Zhang Fei led their troops back to Hanzhong.
In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Liu Bei captured all of Hanzhong with the courage of his generals. In the autumn of the same year, more than 120 Shu Han officials led by Ma Chao jointly played "Li Hanzhong Wang Shangbiao Han Emperor" to persuade Liu Bei to become the King of Hanzhong. Liu Bei claimed the title of queen and promoted Ma Chao to the rank of General of the Left, false festival. Correspondingly, Guan Yu was a former general at that time, Zhang Fei was a right general, and Huang Zhong was a rear general, that is, Ma Chao sat on an equal footing with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, and others. By 221, because Guan Yu had already been defeated and killed, Liu Bei vacant the official position of general and made Ma Chao a general of the Hussars.
For the General of the Hun Horse, starting from the Western Han Dynasty, the first Hun General was the familiar Huo Qi disease. During the Three Kingdoms period, the status of the Hussar general was second only to that of Sima Da and the Great General, and his status was very prominent. In this regard, in the author's opinion, Ma Chao can become the head of the Shu Han warlords and suppress Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others, on the one hand, because Ma Chao has indeed made a lot of military achievements, on the other hand, because Ma Chao was originally a prince of one side, which prompted him to receive Liu Bei's favor. However, it is a great pity that in 222 AD, Ma Chao died of illness at the age of 47.
On the other hand, as far as the civil servants were concerned, when Liu Bei ascended the throne as emperor, Zhuge Liang was the highest-ranking civil servant.
Zhuge Liang (181 – October 8, 234), courtesy name Kong Ming (孔明), was a native of Yangdu,Langya (present-day Yinan County, Shandong). When Zhuge Liang was 3 years old, his mother Zhang Shi died of illness. Zhuge Liang lost his father when he was 8 years old, and together with his younger brother Zhuge Jun, he followed his uncle Zhuge Xuan, who was appointed by Yuan Shu as Yuzhang Taishou, to Yuzhang (豫章, in modern Nanchang, Jiangxi), and the Eastern Han court sent Zhu Hao to replace Zhuge Xuan, and Zhuge Xuan went to Liu Biao in Jingzhou.
In the second year of Jian'an (197), Zhuge Xuan died, Zhuge Liang lived in seclusion in Longzhong, usually liked to recite "Liang Fu Yin", and often compared himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi, when people were dismissive of him, only his friends Xu Shu and Cui Zhouping believed in his talents. In the sixth year of Jian'an (201), Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and defected to Liu Biao in Jingzhou, while actively contacting the local Haojie. At that time, Liu Bei was attached to Liu Biao, and Tun Bing was in Xinye (新野, in modern Nanyang, Henan). Later, when Sima Hui met with Liu Bei, he recommended Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to him.
In 207 AD, Liu Beisan took care of Maolu and invited Zhuge Liang out of the mountain. In this regard, Zhuge Liang put forward the "Longzhong Pair", which pointed out the direction for the establishment of the Shu Han. After this, Liu Bei often discussed with Zhuge Liang, and his relationship became increasingly close. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and others were greatly displeased, and Liu Bei explained to them: "I have Kong Ming, just like a fish gets water, I hope you will not say it again." Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others stopped complaining.
In 211, when Liu Bei entered Yizhou, Zhuge Liang initially assisted Guan Yu in defending Jingzhou. Of course, after the Battle of Yizhou entered a critical moment, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others also came to Yizhou to help Liu Bei defeat Liu Zhang. In 217 AD, when Liu Bei launched the Battle of Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang stayed in Chengdu and was responsible for the transportation of logistics such as grain and grass.
In 221 AD, Zhuge Liang persuaded Liu Bei to claim the title of emperor. On this basis, Liu Bei made Zhuge Liang a chancellor. Because the power of the chancellor was too great, the Han Dynasty had long abandoned the official position of chancellor. In 208 AD, in order to control power, Cao Cao restored the official position of chancellor. From this point of view, Liu Bei was able to make Zhuge Liang a chancellor, which naturally highlighted his trust in the latter.
Moreover, in 234 AD, after Zhuge Liang died of illness, although Jiang Huan and Fei Yi continued to hold the power of Shu Han, Jiang Huan, Fei Yi and others did not obtain the official position of chancellor. And this also reflects the respect of the later lord Liu Chan for Zhuge Liang, after all, Zhuge Liang's ability and status are indeed unique.
In addition, when Liu Bei established the Shu Han Dynasty, Xu Jing, who held the official position of Situ, was not inferior to Zhuge Liang in terms of status. As early as the Qin Dynasty, the three dukes were Cheng Xiang, Tai Wei and Yu Shi Dafu. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Situ, Taiwei, and Sikong were the three dukes. The Situ here actually corresponds to the official position of chancellor. Therefore, Xu Jing, who ranked among the three dukes, can also be said to be the head of the Shu Han Wenchen.
Of course, during the Three Kingdoms period, Situ was usually an honorary official, that is, he did not hold any real power, such as the familiar Wang Lang, who served as The Situ of Cao Wei. Therefore, for Xu Jing, it was impossible to participate in the handling of imperial court affairs like Zhuge Liang. In 222 AD, Xu Jing died of illness. After Xu Jing's death, Shu Han did not continue to establish Situ.