It is understandable that Guan Yu felt aggrieved for Zhao Yun.
After all, Zhao Yun is Guan Yu's old brother. When Liu Bei was still hanging out with Gongsun Zan, Guan and Zhang knew Zhao Yun.
During his more than 20 years of fighting career, Zhao Yun officially followed Liu Bei. Except for the few years when he returned to Changshan to deal with his brother's funeral and was not with Liu Bei, he followed Liu Bei the rest of the time. He never gave up despite many setbacks.
This is loyalty and qualifications.
Let's talk about achievements. Zhao Yun followed Liu Bei in the early years. Even Liu Bei didn't win any decent battles, let alone Zhao Yun.
But Liu Bei encountered danger several times, and it was indeed Zhao Yun who protected Liu Bei from danger time and time again.
This is not a question of ability, but a question of opportunity. Zhao Yun did not have a good time.
However, after Liu Bei pacified the four counties in Jingnan, Zhao Yun was immediately appointed by Liu Bei as the acting governor of Guiyang, taking charge of his own role. When he entered Sichuan, he pacified Jiangyang and Qianwei counties one after another, completing the strategic siege of Chengdu.
These are all achievements of defending one side or leading an army to victory.
For such achievements, both public and private, one of the four generals should be given to Zhao Yun.
But to be honest, although Zhang Xi thinks so too, it is more due to friendship and filters. Putting aside these factors, it is only reasonable that Zhao Yun was not selected as the general of the four directions.
The most important factor in Liu Bei's ascension to the throne of Hanzhong was the capture of Hanzhong. Therefore, the important criterion for considering whether to be promoted or not is actually the battle of Hanzhong.
In the Battle of Hanzhong, although Zhao Yun assisted Huang Zhong in breaking out and at the same time set up suspicious formations to scare off Cao's troops, the battle itself was a grain-stealing operation initiated by Liu Beifang. The purpose of the battle was not achieved and it was considered a failed attack. .
In this case, even if Liu Bei personally praised "Zhao Zilong is full of courage", there is no way to credit Zhao Yun. After all, it was a failed battle, but after Zhao Yun's efforts, the consequences of the failure were not serious.
As for his achievements during his time in Sichuan, Liu Bei had already rewarded him. Zhao Yun's promotion from General Yamen to General Yijun was an affirmation of Zhao Yun's achievements during his time in Sichuan. Any rash promotion now would also cause dissatisfaction among others.
Finally, there are indeed Liu Bei's political considerations. The four generals cannot all be Liu Bei's own.
Ma Chao is used to attract those talents in the Yongliang area who are dissatisfied with Cao Cao. This banner must be set up, which will be beneficial to the future attack on Yongliang.
Huang Zhong himself had made great achievements, and he must set an example for the Jingzhou faction, so Huang Zhong was also selected.
Needless to say, there is no need for any reason for Guan and Zhang to be selected, just because they are Liu Bei's adopted brothers and Liu Bei's first disciples.
What's more, Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou and flooded seven armies, and Zhang Fei violently beat Zhang He at Wakou Pass. These two people have not yet been rewarded for their achievements, so it is impossible not to be selected.
After all this calculation, Zhao Yun can only be wronged.
Who told Zhao Yun to be generous and knowledgeable? Liu Bei calculated over and over again and had no choice but to arrange the positions of the four generals in this way.
Therefore, it is understandable for Zhang Xi that Guan Yu is aggrieved for Zhao Yunming. But in fact, it is not impossible to remedy the situation.
We can't bully people like this just because Zhao Yun is easy to talk to, right? !
There are only four positions for the Four Generals. It is difficult to distinguish among the five, and it is an official system that is difficult to change. But there are five Five Tiger Generals.
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as "Five Tiger Generals" in history, but Cao Wei's "Five Good Generals" have similar records.
Chen Shou recorded in "Three Kingdoms. Wei Shu Volume 17": "Taizu established his martial arts, and among the good generals of the time, the five sons are the first." This is the earliest saying that the five sons are good generals.
Chen Shou's original intention was to list the generals with foreign surnames in Cao Wei except for the Xia lords Cao, and put the five with the highest merit together. However, because Chen Shou was considered to be from about the same era, he listed these five people together and specifically mentioned them. When it comes to "five sons come first", it is estimated that under the social background at that time, there is indeed a similar saying to "five sons are good generals".
This is more or less well documented.
What a coincidence, when Chen Shou wrote "Three Kingdoms. Shu Shu", he also combined the five people into one biography, which is the "Guan, Zhang, Ma, Huang, Zhao" biography. Although Chen Shou did not explicitly say that these five people were the "Five Tigers" title, but it can't stand up to the imagination of later generations. They think that even Cao Wei can "put five sons first", so isn't it normal for Shu Han to have a "Five Tiger General"?
The theory of the Five Tiger Generals has spread like this. In addition, Luo Guanzhong directly gave you a final conclusion when he wrote "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and the theory of the Five Tiger Generals has completely spread.
But after all, the statement of the Five Tiger Generals is just a fiction in the novel and is not recognized by official history.
But, isn't there a time-travel dog here now? This time-travel dog is still working within the Liu Bei Group.
Therefore, Zhang Xi encouraged Guan Yu. Since he felt that the reward of the Four Generals was unfair to Zhao Yun, then we might as well go to the King of Hanzhong and get the honorary title of Five Tiger Generals.
This is not a specific official position, it is just an honorary title. It will not affect the normal operation of the government. No one will object, right? !
What? ! Old man Wei? !
No matter what that old man is doing! Does Zhang Xi have a good relationship with him? !
Besides, Wei Yan was jealous that he was not named one of the Five Tiger Generals. This was completely made up by Luo Guanzhong in order to blackmail Wei Yan.
This old man can't compare with the Five Tiger Generals in terms of merit or status. Being named Hanzhong Prefect by Liu Bei to take charge of his role is already an exceptional promotion. How could he think that he is qualified to be selected as one of the Five Tiger Generals? !
Zhang Xi encouraged Guan Yu, wrote a memorial, and then attached his name to the King of Hanzhong, saying that in order to encourage the morale of the army, he hoped to be awarded five honorary titles, collectively known as the "Five Tiger Generals" .
Of course, it is still up to Liu Bei to decide who will be selected in the end. Neither Guan Yu nor Zhang Xi are so mean-spirited in this regard.
But when this memorial was sent to Hanzhong, Liu Bei felt there was something wrong with it.
The second brother guarded Jingzhou, occupied Cao Cao in the north, retreated from Sun Quan in the south, and flooded the seven armies. Did he feel that the position of a mere former general could not satisfy his desire for fame? !
Otherwise, why would you bring up the honorary title of "Five Tiger Generals" for nothing? !
Liu Bei did not believe that Guan Yu would have different intentions, but he knew Guan Yu and knew that Guan Yu always had a good reputation, and this time Guan Yu did an outstanding job in Jingzhou. He captured and defended Xiangfan, and his influence on Liu Bei's group was not inferior to another Hanzhong. battle.
If you think about it from this perspective, it seems that the reward is indeed a bit low.
However, Liu Bei no longer has any official positions that can be rewarded. The positions of general of guard, general of chariots and cavalry, and general, which are higher than the general of the four directions, cannot be awarded by a prince. They must be appointed by the emperor.
Moreover, this memorial was not only sent in the name of Guan Yu, but also included Zhang Xi. In other words, Zhang Xi also agreed to Guan Yu's request for this memorial.
Liu Bei must pay attention to this.
If it was just Guan Yu's whim, then Liu Bei would send someone to explain his difficulty. With Guan Yu's respect for him, the matter would be over.
But even Zhang Xi signed the memorial, which forced Liu Bei to think more. Most officials in Jingzhou were not very satisfied with this reward.
Indeed, there is a saying that after Liu Bei became the Queen of Hanzhong, the rewards he gave to his subordinates were more concentrated on bureaucrats from Yizhou. After all, they were able to win the Battle of Hanzhong because these people worked hard. .
Although it has not really reached the point where "men are in charge of fighting and women are in charge of luck", all kinds of money and food consumption are provided by Yizhou. Now to get the benefits, they must give them a big share.
For example, it is said that as the mastermind of Liu Bei's attack on Hanzhong and the key strategist who led the entire Hanzhong war, after Liu Bei became the queen of Hanzhong, he was directly named Shangshu Ling and Protector General.
Pang Tong, who went on the expedition together, and Zhuge Liang, who was in the rear preparing supplies, still only had the title of "strategist general", and their official positions remained unchanged.
By the way, Zhang Xi is still the governor of Nanjun and has not been promoted. Even because the current Zuo General is Ma Chao, Zhang Xi's Zuo General Sima title has also been revoked.
In other words, after Liu Bei became the Queen of Hanzhong, in order to consolidate the rule of Yizhou, he did favor the Yizhou native faction in this reward and ignored the interests of the Jingzhou faction.
In particular, the Jingzhou faction was not idle. In Jingzhou, they not only captured Xiangfan, but also blocked Jiangdong's sneak attack. They actually won the battle on both fronts. For such a great contribution, no one was rewarded. Is it unreasonable? !
Therefore, after Liu Bei received this joint report from Guan Yu and Zhang Xi, he thought for a long time and decided to call several people to Hanzhong to have a serious discussion.
It's not just the issue of rewards, but also the issue of development routes. The current situation is too good, and there are too many choices before Liu Bei. Liu Bei also doesn't know what to do, so he summons his counselors to discuss it carefully. It is also necessary.
As for Jingzhou, Guan Yu must not move. He not only has to guard Xiangyang and guard against Cao Cao in the north, but also has to take care of Nanjun and Jingnan.
For the same reason, Wang Ji of Nanjun cannot be moved. On the other hand, it is not a big problem for Xu Shu to leave temporarily.
Zhuge Jin, the Jiangdong envoy, has arrived in Hanzhong recently. Although Liu Bei is still ignoring him, Liu Bei does not believe that Sun Quan will attack Jingnan under such circumstances.
Therefore, Zhang Xi and Xu Shu could only be called to Hanzhong to inquire about the specific situation.
At the same time, he also sent a letter to Zhuge Liang, who was guarding Chengdu, asking him to come to Hanzhong as soon as possible.
In this way, in late March of the 23rd year of Jian'an, Zhang Xi received an edict from his lord Liu Bei and went to Hanzhong to discuss state affairs.
(End of chapter)
