About the military strength of Wei, Shu and Wu during the Three Kingdoms period
First of all, let me admit my mistake. Lao and Zhuang are a little lazy now and don’t really like to write about data research? There are two reasons. First, a novel is a novel, and the storyline is king. Data research is actually not important. Some books often include a few
With hundreds of thousands or millions of troops, readers are still happy to see it, and the results are so good that Lao Zhuang is jealous. It can be seen that these testimonials are really meaningless. Secondly, to be honest, Lao Zhuang really has no love and readers with zero fan value.
Competition.
To be honest, today I am a bit of a jerk, and I really feel that my chest is broken, Oishi-kun is a little excited, so I will post so many posts at once tomorrow. I personally don’t care, but some readers who are not clear about it may have some misunderstandings.
, so explain two sentences.
Let me explain first that the settings of this book are all based on "Three Kingdoms", and the data in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" will not be involved.
Mainly centered on Wei State.
In addition to the county soldiers stationed in each county, the main group army of the Wei State was divided into four parts. The southeast theater was under the charge of General Sima, the Jingxiang District War was under the charge of Hussar General Sima Yi, and the northwest theater was under the charge of General Cao Zhen.
Responsible. Cao Zhen was recuperating in Luoyang at the time and was not in Chang'an.
In addition to these three war zones, the most elite forces of Cao Wei are in the hands of the emperor, which are the so-called Forbidden Army and the Northern and Southern Army. Wei's strategy is to replace the attack with defense and recuperate. Once something happens, the central Forbidden Army will mobilize reinforcements.
The total number of these four groups of people is not stated clearly in the history books, but there are several data that can provide supporting evidence.
First, it is the military strength of both sides during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition in history.
In 228 AD, the sixth year of the Jianxing of the Shu Han Dynasty and the second year of the Qinglong period of the Cao Wei Dynasty, Zhuge Liang launched the Northern Expedition with a total force of more than 100,000. According to the "History of Chinese War in the Past Dynasties" of Taiwan's three armies,
"Three Kingdoms Volume" states that excluding the troops who stayed in Hanzhong and the 10,000 people in Zhaogu Valley, Zhuge Liang's troops who left Longyou were between 60,000 and 70,000. The exact total number of troops is not recorded in the history books, but considering that Shu later surrendered,
There are 100,000 taels of armored soldiers nationwide
Thousands, then at the time of Zhuge Liang, the total military strength of Shu, which had not yet been conquered, was around 200,000, which was acceptable. Excluding the troops stationed in various places and the troops of Chao Liyan guarding Soochow, Zhuge Liang's rate was more than ten?
There won't be much error.
Wei's military strength consists of two parts, one is the original military strength in the western theater, and the other is the reinforcements from the center. I think the remaining troops are three?, whether this is reasonable or not, we will discuss later, let's talk about the reinforcements first.
Military strength, this has clear figures.
"Book of Wei" is quoted in the "Book of Wei" in the Chronicle of Emperor Ming: Naibu led troops and horsemen with 50,000 infantry and cavalry to resist the attack.
The situation at that time was that Zhuge Liang sent troops to the three counties of Longyou, Tianshui, Nan'an and Anding to rebel. The situation was critical. Presumably these five troops were the maximum that Emperor Ming could allocate (of course not all the forbidden troops. It was unnecessary to leave some to guard Luoyang.
Doubtful), in other words, under normal circumstances, the main force of the Forbidden Army that can be mobilized from Luoyang is about 50,000 at most. Including the remaining officers, the main force of the Northern and Southern Army should be around 70,000 to 80,000.
The main force of the Forbidden Army is like this. The strength of the three theaters cannot exceed the main force of the Forbidden Army, so it will not exceed 50,000. This is one of the reasons.
The second reason is that after Liu Bei's death, the Shu Han was unknown for a while. Cao Wei neglected to guard against the Shu Han and did not have heavy troops to guard it. As the top military commander in the western theater, General Cao Zhen was recuperating in Luoyang, and the famous general Zhang Hetun
In the west of Jingzhou, there are only Xiahou Mao and Yongzhou governor Guo Huai.
It is conceivable that the troops under his command were not strong enough to fight. It is conceivable that Zhuge Liang went to capture Longxi without conquering Shanggui and asked Ma Di to guard Gui. It is conceivable that Zhuge Liang did not take Guo Huai seriously at that time.
Ma Di defended the street pavilion and blocked Cao Wei's reinforcements, so he was confident enough to capture Longyou. This is proof. If Guo Huai had thirty or forty thousand people in his hands, he would not be so passive, and Zhuge Liang would not be so careless.
.
It can be seen that the remaining troops in Guanzhong and Longyou will not exceed 50,000. I said about 30,000, which should be tenable. The total strength of Wei is about 70,000 to 80,000, which is equivalent to Zhuge Liang's. In view of this
Cao Wei had more cavalry than Shu Han. Under such circumstances, it is understandable that Zhuge Liang withdrew from Longyou.
This is the general military strength of both sides during Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition. There are definitely errors, but they are not too outrageous because there are subsequent military strength in Wancheng as a reference.
Second, the soldiers in the Battle of Luxun Shiting.
Let’s talk about Cao Wei’s military strength first. Cao Wei’s military strength is divided into three parts. One is Da Sima, the main force in the southeast theater, the other is former general Man Chong led by Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou, and the prefect of Dongguan Hu
The first is the Jingxiang War Zone led by the hussar general Sima Yi. The famous general Zhang He is in Sima Yi's army. The total strength is "100,000 infantry and cavalry" (see "The Biography of Zhu Huan").
There is a misunderstanding here. These 100,000 soldiers are individuals, or they include three parts. It seems reasonable to say that only 100,000 soldiers are leading troops and horses. There are 50,000 people in the southeast theater, plus the Central Committee of Cao Rui's faction.
The army has 50,000 troops, but in this case, plus the troops led by Sima Yi and Jia Kui, the total military strength will be around 150,000. Think about Cao Cao’s military strength
Jingzhou had only 150,000 or 60,000 people when it was time to join Sun Quan in hunting. The troops and horses it led seemed to be a bit too much. So I think that the 100,000 infantry and cavalry were combined into three parts, and were always available in the war zone.
The total number of soldiers plus the reinforcements of the imperial army is 60,000 to 70,000, and Jia Kui's four armies total more than 10,000 people, plus Sima Yi's 20,000 to 30,000 people, which should be more reasonable.
The reason why I say this is because the total strength of the Wu army is probably the same.
The same is said in "The Biography of Zhu Huan", "At that time, Lu Xun was the marshal, Quan Cong and Huan were the left and right capitals, and each capital had three masters. If you don't know when you are being bullied, you should lead the army to fight back. If you are conceited, invite a battle." It can be seen that the general of Soochow.
The military strength is also ten?, the strength of both sides is similar, but?
Fu was ahead, but Sima Yi and Jia Kui didn't arrive in time. In fact, his strength was only about five or six. If he met an ordinary general, he might be able to rely on the advantage of more cavalry to fight. Unfortunately, he was facing Lu Xun.
, so he was defeated.
A digression. When Sima Yi attacked Mengda, his troops were very fast, but when cooperating with other battles, his speed was always very poor. He went down the Han River and should have rushed to Xunyang, but?
When fighting hard
, he didn’t know where he was, anyway he didn’t show up. Later, when Cao Zhen wanted to attack Shu, the forward Xiahou Ba had already arrived in Hanzhong, but strangely, when he retreated, Sima Yi didn’t show up either. He actually arrived at Qu Ren in Bajun (see "Book of Jin").
"Xuan Di Ji"), it is really weird to the extreme. Combining these two times, I can only think that I am sinister?? I want to see it deliberately?? Cao Zhen's joke.
From this battle, I can roughly infer that the main force in the Southeast Theater should be less than 50,000, and the Jingxiang Theater should not be too many, but should be less, around 30,000 to 40,000, and the Forbidden Army participating in the war should be around 20,000.
Probably only accounted for one-third of the Luoyang Forbidden Army.
Third, Zhuge Liang’s military strength during his second Northern Expedition.
The second Northern Expedition was the attack on Chencang in the winter of 228. As for the strength of both sides this time, "Ming Di Ji" quoted Wei Lue as saying: "Liang thought he had tens of thousands of troops, while Zhao's troops only had more than a thousand." Zhuge Liang said.
So there are only tens of thousands,
Presumably, the losses in the Battle of Longyou at the beginning of the year were not small, and it was not easy to transport food from Xiegu. Later, the troops retreated due to the lack of food, so they were not dispatched. What Buji was concerned about was not his military strength, but Zhang He.
of military strength.
"The Biography of Zhang He" records: "The Emperor was lucky enough to have the city of Henan. He bought wine to send He, and sent 30,000 soldiers from the north and south, as well as armed guards and tiger warriors to guard He." Emperor Ming gave him a force of 30,000 forbidden troops. From this, two questions can be imagined.
, First, Zhuge Liang's troops will not be too many, probably around 30,000 to 50,000. Second, Chen Cang is in Guanzhong, and his position is very important.
, Emperor Ming was so solemn that if there were soldiers, he would not give more. Therefore, these 30,000 soldiers are definitely not a small number. Some of the troops were lost before the test. They were damaged in the Wancheng area. According to my estimate, 30,000 soldiers
The North and South Army can account for about half of the main force of the Tenth Army. In other words, the main force of the Forbidden Army is about 70,000 to 80,000, and will not exceed 100,000.
Based on the strength of both sides in the above three battles, I make the following basic judgments.
1. The main force of Cao Wei's imperial army in Luoyang is between 70,000 and 80,000, and at most it will not exceed 100,000.
Second, the strength of Cao Wei's three main war zones is between 30,000 and 50,000, and will not exceed 50,000. If a local battle occurs, there is no need to call in the central Forbidden Army, and the troops can be mobilized at 3??. If there are reinforcements from the Forbidden Army, the total strength is at
Between five and sixty thousand.
Third, when Zhuge Liang first left Qishan, the total military strength of Shu was around 200,000. The Northern Expedition led by Zhuge Liang had about 100,000 troops, and the troops that left Longyou were between 60,000 and 80,000.
Fourth, Wu's total military strength is about 250,000 to 300,000. Excluding the troops stationed in various places, the maximum number of mobile troops that can be mobilized is 100,000.
Attached are some more circumstantial evidence.
1. "The Biography of Deng Ai": "Order 20,000 troops in Huaibei and 30,000 troops in Huainan. They will rest at twelve points and always have four 丂." This refers to the standing force in the southeastern theater. Immediately following, there is another sentence: "Six or seven
During the year, three thousand can be accumulated in Huaishang, which makes one hundred thousand.
We will have food for five years." The purpose of Deng Ai's camp was to destroy Wu. Among the 100,000, excluding the 50,000 standing troops in Huainan, there were another 50,000 from other war zones, which of course included the Forbidden Army. The 100,000
The crowd also corresponds to the people and horses led by the leader.
2. "The Biography of Zhuge Dan": "The great general Sima Wen, under the command of 260,000 Chinese and foreign armies, came to Huaihe to attack them." This was the largest number of troops in the "Three Kingdoms", and it was almost an all-out attack.
3. "Zhong Hui Zhuan": "??, then issued an edict to Deng Ai, Zhuge Xu each commanded more than 30,000 troops? Commanded more than 100,000 troops, divided into Xiegu and Luogu." The total force will not exceed two.
One hundred thousand.
The second and third examples are the two times in "Three Kingdoms" where Cao Wei dispatched the most troops. However, this was after Cao Wei used defense instead of attack and rested for forty years. When Zhuge Liang went on the Northern Expedition, there should not have been such a situation.
strength.
This is the relevant military force excerpted from "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Readers who are used to seeing "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" may find it boring. This is actually normal. Just look at the 800,000-strong army in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". When you hear it, your blood boils.
But "San? Li" actually only costs 150,000 to 600,000, and no more than 200,000 at most. Compared with "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it is really shabby.
There is nothing we can do about it. This is probably because in the romance and history, Guan Yu can use the Qinglong Yanyue Sword, but in history, Guan Erye can only use the spear honestly. Reality is often not bloody enough, and it is not enough.
Hot blooded.
Regarding the data verification of military strength, I can only say this much. If anyone has concrete evidence, you are welcome to chat privately with Lao and Zhuang. Lao and Zhuang like book friends who subscribe and support, and they are not absolutely opposed to reading the D version. But there is no need to continue.
??posted it in the book review area. First of all, I am so tired. I won’t give you more information. You are also working hard. Please improve it. It is not very reliable. You will be laughed at and it will also affect Lao Zhuang.
Readers who don't understand the mood may think it's Lao Zhuang's nonsense.