When Liu Bei was proclaimed the King of Hanzhong, divided into the Five Tiger Generals, namely Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong. These five people were the top combat forces of the Shu Han. If we refer to the framework of "Five Tiger Generals of the Horse Army and Eight Hussars of the Horse Army" in the Water Margin on Liangshan Mountain, who can be on the list under the Five Tiger Generals of the Shu Han and the Eight Hussars? Don’t question it, it’s the following eight people.
Wei Yan has always been known as the first among the Five Tiger Generals of the Shu Han Dynasty. He has great martial arts skills and outstanding strategy. Some people say that Wei Yan is the replica of Guan Yu, as arrogant as Guan Yu, but also as capable as Guan Yu. For example, Wei Yan once proposed the famous "ziwu valley strategy". If Zhuge Liang adopted it, he might not be able to capture Chang'an in one battle. Guan Yu is the leader of the Five Tiger Generals, and Wei Yan is the leader of the Eight Hussars.
Li Yan was originally a subordinate general under Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang. He later surrendered to Liu Bei and was appointed as General Pi. He became prosperous after Liu Bei's disastrous defeat in the Battle of Yiling, and was appointed by Liu Bei as Shangshu Ling. In 223 AD, before Liu Bei died, he appointed Li Yan and Zhuge Liang as ministers of Tuogu to jointly assist the later master Liu Chan. At this time, Li Yan was the Protector of the Central Government and had military power, so he was left to guard Yong'an. Li Yan suddenly became a big shot on par with Zhuge Liang.
Liao Hua , in the official history, he was the chief clerk of Guan Yu's account at first. After Guan Yu's defeat, he used the trick of cheating death and miraculously arrived in Shuhan. After Liu Bei saw Liao Hua, he was very happy and appointed him as the governor of Yidu. Since then, Liao Hua has been a very important general in the Shu Han Dynasty, and he is present in every battle. The iron-clad Liao Hua, the flowing general, Liao Hua successively followed Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei and others. These generals all passed away, but he was still alive and lived until the demise of the Shu Han Dynasty. He died of illness on the way to Luoyang.
Wang Ping, originally from Danqu, Brazil, was forced to move to Luoyang by Zhang He and became a captain under Cao Cao. In the Battle of Hanzhong, after Huang Zhong killed Xia Houyuan, Wang Ping surrendered to Liu Bei and returned to Yizhou. Liu Bei appointed him as General Yamen and General Pi. Wang Ping performed exceptionally in the Street Pavilion Battle . Not only was he not punished by Zhuge Liang after the war, he was also promoted and became a member of the army. Zhuge Liang trusted Wang Ping very much and asked him to command the special forces and become a flying army , and made many military exploits.
Ma Dai is the cousin of the Five Tiger General Ma Chao, and he and Ma Chao work together for the Shu Han. Ma Dai followed Ma Chao wherever he went. He was Ma Chao's right-hand man, charging into battle for Ma Chao and making great achievements in battle. After Ma Chao's death, Ma Dai followed Zhuge Liang in his southern and northern expeditions, such as the Conquest of the Southern Barbarians and the Northern Expedition. One of his most outstanding performances was that after Zhuge Liang died of illness Wuzhangyuan , he chose Yang Yi between General Wei Yan and Chang Shi Yang Yi and led his troops to kill Wei Yan. In the second year (AD 235), Ma Dai led his troops to the Northern Expedition. After being repulsed by Wei general Niu Jin , he disappeared.
Wu Yi followed Liu Yan to Sichuan and married his sister to Liu Yan's son Liu Mao. When Liu Bei entered Sichuan, Wu Yi brought Zhang Ren, Liu Huang, Leng Bao, Deng Xian and other generals to fight Liu Bei. Unfortunately, they were all defeated, and he had no choice but to surrender to Liu Bei. Wu Yi was relatively good at taking matters into his own hands. He married his sister who was previously married to Liu Mao to Liu Bei (Liu Mao was already dead and Wu Yi's sister was a widow at the time) and became in-law with Liu Bei. From then on, Wu Yi flourished in the Shuhan Group and still held power.
Wu Ban is the younger brother of Wu Yi and a senior general of the Shu Han Dynasty. In 221 AD, Liu Bei sent all his troops to the east to defeat Sun Quan. Wu Ban and Feng Xi were the vanguards. Wu Ban and Feng Xi led their troops to defeat Wu Bing many times and pushed the battle line to the vicinity of Zigui .
However, due to Liu Bei's mistake in setting up camp, Lu Xun seized the opportunity, burned the camp , Liu Bei's army was defeated miserably, and suffered heavy casualties.Wu Ban's luck was not too bad, and he followed Liu Bei and retreated safely to Yizhou. In Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition , Wu Ban made many military exploits and was one of the most important generals of the Shu Han Dynasty.
Yan Yan was originally the prefect of Bajun under Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang and was stationed in Jiangzhou. He is a highly respected veteran who blocked Zhang Fei's way when he entered Sichuan from Jingzhou . After a hard fight, Zhang Fei broke through the city and captured Yan Yan alive. Fortunately, Zhang Fei was polite to the scholar-officials and respected Yan Yan as a man. He personally untied him, surrendered him, and treated him as a guest. Yan Yan reciprocated the favor and gave Zhang Fei the green light along the way, so Zhang Fei successfully entered Sichuan and met Liu Bei one step ahead of Zhuge Liang. After that, Yan Yan disappeared.
Conclusion
In official history, Liu Bei was confident in calling the King of Hanzhong . He not only had the Five Tiger Generals, but also the Eight Horsemen, who formed the backbone of the Shu Han. The eight hussars under Liu Bei are Wei Yan, Li Yan, Liao Hua, Wang Ping, Ma Dai, Wu Yi, Wu Ban, and Yan Yan. Among them, Wei Yan ranks first, and the other seven are about the same strength, in no particular order.
(This article mainly refers to " Three Kingdoms ")
