What does the "three armies" in Romance of the Three Kingdoms mean? Who is more powerful, Zhuge Liang or Cheng Yu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the first chapter novel in the history of Chinese literature. It is the pioneering work of historical romance novels and the first long novel written by literati. It was even known as the "first book of talent" in the Ming and Qing dynasties. So, what does the three armies in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms mean? Who is more powerful between Zhuge Liang and Cheng Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Let's take a look at the introduction of Encyclopedia Knowledge Network to answer these questions!

Contents of this article

1. What does the Three Armies in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms mean?

2. Who is more powerful in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang or Cheng Yu?

3. Ranking of Generals in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

What does the Three Armies mean in Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

Since ancient times, China has referred to the "three armies" as the front, middle and rear armies. This has been a fixed name since the Spring and Autumn Period. It was not until the establishment of the navy and air force in New China that it was gradually changed to the navy, army and air force.

The division of the army into three armies, front, center and rear, is a unified organization during marching and fighting, while the left, center and right are only divided when fighting in battle array. Therefore, the statement that the "three armies" refer to the left, center and right is untenable.

Moreover, until the Ming Dynasty, Mao Yuanyi's "Wubei Zhi" in the "Lianzhen System" still distinguished between the front, middle and rear armies.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, large countries usually had three armies, but the names of each country were different. For example, Jin called them the Central Army, Upper Army, and Lower Army; Chu called them the Central Army, Left Army, and Right Army; Qi, Lu, and Wu all called them the Upper, Central, and Lower Armies. Each of the three armies had ranks such as general and assistant, and the general of the Central Army was the commander-in-chief of the three armies. As time went by, the Upper, Lower, and Central Armies were gradually replaced by the Front Army, the Central Army, and the Rear Army.

After the Tang and Song dynasties, this organization had become a fixed military system. At this time, the main features of the three armies were various troops that performed different combat tasks. The front army was the vanguard; the central army was the army led by the commander and was also the main force; the rear army was mainly responsible for cover and guard tasks.

In ancient Chinese armies, the largest organizational unit was the corps. The organization of the corps has been inherited from generation to generation, but the number of people has changed. In the Han Dynasty, 5 people formed a squad, 2 squads formed a fire, 5 fires formed a team, 2 teams formed an officer, 2 officers formed a group, 2 groups formed a division, 2 divisions formed a school, 2 schools formed a lieutenant, and 2 lieutenants formed a corps. Today, the organization of the front corps, the middle corps, and the rear corps has completely disappeared, and has been replaced by the modern army, navy, and air force.

Who is more powerful, Zhuge Liang or Cheng Yu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

Both of them have their own strengths.

Zhuge Liang, courtesy name Kongming and nicknamed Wulong, was a native of Yangdu, Langya, Xuzhou. He was the prime minister of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, an outstanding politician, military strategist, diplomat, writer, calligrapher, and inventor. Later, Liu Bei visited him three times at his cottage and invited him to assist Liu Bei in establishing Shu Han. After the establishment of Shu Han, Zhuge Liang was named prime minister and Marquis of Wuxiang. He died of illness at Wuzhangyuan in the 12th year of Jianxing of Shu Han at the age of 54. Liu Chan posthumously named him Zhongwu Marquis. Later generations often respectfully addressed Zhuge Liang as Marquis of Wu and Zhuge Wuhou. Zhuge Liang's representative prose works include "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" and "Admonitions to My Son".

Cheng Yu, courtesy name Zhongde, was a native of Dong'e, East County, Yanzhou. He was a famous official of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His real name was Cheng Li. He changed his name to Cheng Yu because he dreamed of holding the sun on Mount Tai. He led the people in Dong'e to fight against the Yellow Turbans. Later, he followed Cao Cao to Yanzhou and was granted the title of Shouzhang Ling. In the Battle of Cangting, Cheng Yu proposed the "Ten-sided Ambush" strategy to Cao Cao, which led to the defeat of Yuan Shao's army. The court was about to make Cheng Yu a duke, but Cheng Yu died at the age of 80. Cao Pi also shed tears for him and posthumously awarded him the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry and the posthumous name of Marquis Su.

Ranking of the Three Kingdoms

Advisor Ranking:

First place: Zhuge Liang, who is extremely intelligent, fearless in the face of danger, talented, and can be regarded as the top strategist. He is also an inventor. His shortcomings: he does not have the spirit of a good mentor and uses the wrong people.

Second place: Sima Yi, calm and resourceful, full of resilience, and able to act crazy and stupid. His shortcoming: he has a fear of Zhuge Liang.

Third place: Zhou Yu. It is extremely rare for someone to be both civil and military. He should be ranked third for his achievements in the Battle of Red Cliff. His shortcoming: he is too thin-skinned.

Fourth place: Chen Deng, who is extremely intelligent and would rather die than surrender. Disadvantages: Not smooth enough, and his plans fail.

Fifth place: Jia Xu, a genius, who knows the times and has a strong sense of the overall situation. His shortcoming: he is not clear.

Sixth place: Guo Jia, decisive and devoted to his work. Disadvantage: Poor health.

Seventh place: Tian Feng, Ju Su, an expert in situation assessment and a master in planning things. Disadvantage: a poor strategist.

Eighth place: Yang Xiu, a master of psychology, with extraordinary intelligence. Disadvantage: He is too ambitious.

Ninth place: Xu Shu, strategic expert, weakness: putting his own family first and ignoring the public.

Tenth place: Lu Xun, keeping a low profile and harboring murderous intentions. Weakness: not able to handle internal relations well.