Wu Kuang (born and died unknown), a native of Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡, in present-day Kaifeng, Henan). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he was a minister and a general of the great general He Jin. For Wu Kuang, a historical figure at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there may be some people who are still relatively unfamiliar. However, when it comes to Wu Kuang's sons, nephews and nieces, they are historical figures that everyone is familiar with. For Wu Kuang, his son Wu Ban and nephew Wu Yi were both famous generals in the history of the Shu Han Dynasty. As for Wu Kuang's niece Wu Shi, she married Liu Bei and became Liu Bei's empress.
1. Wu Kuang
First of all, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, He Jin, as a great general, was naturally a major courtier. In the first year of Guangxi (189 AD), the Han Ling Emperor died. In this context, in order to take power in the imperial court, the general He Jin and the eunuchs engaged in a fierce contest. As a subordinate of the great general He Jin, Wu Kuang naturally participated in it. Soon after, the general He Jin was killed by eunuchs. Therefore, Wu Kuang joined forces with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and others to kill all the eunuchs, and attacked and killed the Cheqi general He Miao.
It is worth noting that it was precisely because the great general He Jin and the eunuch died together, which provided an excellent opportunity for Dong Zhuo to usurp power. For Dong Zhuo to enter Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wu Kuang was supportive. After all, after the great general He Jin was killed, Wu Kuang also needed to surrender to a general.
In 192, Wang Yun joined forces with Lü Bu to get rid of Dong Zhuo. Of course, Wang Yun and Lü Bu were unable to control the situation, which led to the Han Emperor Liu Xie being held hostage by Dong Zhuo's generals. In October of the second year of Xingping (195 AD), Li Dai and Guo Feng regretted letting Emperor Xian of Han return to Luoyang, so they joined forces to pursue, and Cao Cao raised an army to quell the rebellion. However, beginning in 196 AD, Cao Cao blackmailed Tianzi to order the princes to also empty the Han Emperor Liu Xie, which was opposed by Wu Kuang.
However, since 196 AD, Wu Kuang has not appeared in historical materials such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Considering that Wu Kuang's sons and nephews had both come to Yizhou, it was likely that Wu Kuang had also left the Eastern Han court. Of course, because of the lack of historical records, Wu Kuang's ending naturally does not have a clear statement.
2. Wu Ban
Wu Ban (吴Ban), courtesy name Yuanxiong, date of birth and death unknown, was a native of Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡, In modern Kaifeng, Henan), yanzhou, and the son of Wu Kuang. Wu Ban was a heroic and chivalrous man, and was famous at that time. Later, he followed Liu Bei and thus became a general of the Shu Han Dynasty. In July of the first year of Zhang Wu's reign (221), Liu Bei sent an army to attack Sun Wu and appointed Wu Ban and Feng Xi as vanguards. At that time, Wu stationed Lu Xun, Li Yi, Liu A, and others in the area of Wu County and Zigui County, and Wu Ban and Feng Xi unified the army from Wu County to defeat Li Yi and others, and advanced all the way to Zigui. In the second year of Zhang Wu (222), Shu Han suffered defeat at the Battle of Yiling. In response, Wu Ban followed Liu Bei and retreated to Yong'an.
In the third year of Zhang Wu (223), Liu Bei died of illness, and the crown prince Liu Chan succeeded to the throne and changed his name to Yuan Jianxing. During the Jianxing period, Wu Ban was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral and was given the title of Marquis of Anle Ting. Beginning in 228 AD, Wu Ban followed Zhuge Liang in his Northern Expedition to the Central Plains and made military achievements. After the death of Zhuge Liang, the shu Han chancellor, Wu Ban gradually rose to the rank of general of the Hun Horse, conferred the title of Festival Charm, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Mianzhu. As a result, it is very obvious that Wu Ban became an important general in the middle and late Shu Han Dynasty.
3. Wu Yi
Wu Yi(?) –237), a work of Wu Yi (吴壹), with a character far away. A native of Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡, In modern Kaifeng, Henan). During the Three Kingdoms period, he was a famous general and foreign relative of the Shu Han Dynasty, and the elder brother of Empress Wu of the Shu Han Dynasty. For Wu Yi, he is Wu Kuang's nephew.
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and other historical records, in the seventeenth year of Jian'an (212), Liu Bei led his people to attack Liu Zhang, occupying Fucheng in Guanghan County. In the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213), Liu Zhang sent Wu Yi, who was then a general of Zhonglang, and Liu Zhang's generals Zhang Ren, Liu Xuan, Leng Bao, and Deng Xian to lead troops to engage Liu Bei's army in the area of Fu County, but they were all defeated by Liu Bei, and the troops retreated to Mianzhu. Wu Yi led his army to surrender to Liu Bei and was appointed as a rebel general. In the summer of the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214), Liu Bei pacified Yizhou, worshiped Wu Yi as a protector, and married Wu Yi's sister Wu Shi as his wife. For Wu Yi's sister Wu Shi, she is naturally Wu Kuang's niece.
In the first year of Zhang Wu 's reign ( 221 ) , Liu Bei declared himself emperor and established the Shu Han Dynasty , and Wu Yi was promoted to governor of Guanzhong. It is worth noting that Wu Yi's position as governor of Guanzhong was a fictitious position, that is, shu Han did not actually occupy the Guanzhong region. In the third year of Zhang Wu (223), Liu Bei fell ill and died. In May of the same year, the crown prince Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, changed the yuan jianxing, and Wu Yi was made the Marquis of Tingting.
In the eighth year of Jianxing (230), Wu Yi and Sima Weiyan, under the orders of Zhuge Liang, led an army west into Qiangzhong and attacked the Liangzhou region of Cao Wei, and the Han army marched to the Yangxi area, encountering the large armies of Cao Wei's generals Fei Yao and Yongzhou Shi Guohuai. Wu Yi was awarded the title of Marquis of Tingting for his merits, and was made the Marquis of Gaoyang Township, and promoted to the post of General of the Left. In this regard, in the author's opinion, during Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, Wu Yi and Wei Yan can be said to be two military generals who he relied heavily on.
In the twelfth year of Jianxing (234), Zhuge Liang died of illness. Wu Yi was appointed as the governor of Hanzhong Prefecture, the gateway to Shouyi Prefecture, Hanzhong Commandery, and was transferred to the post of CheQi General, awarded the Jiefu, led the Yongzhou Assassin History, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Jiyang. In the fifteenth year of Jianxing (237), Wu Yi died.
4. Wu Amaranth
Wu Amaranth (?) –245), a native of Chenliu Commandery (陳留郡, in present-day Kaifeng, Henan), sister of the che general Wu Yi, empress of Liu Bei, emperor of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. For Wu Amaranth, she is Wu Kuang's niece. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms and other historical records, Wu lost his father at an early age, because his father had a deep friendship with Liu Yan of Yizhou, so the whole family followed Liu Yan to Shudi. Later, Liu Yan married Wu for his son Liu Mao. However, before Liu Bei captured Yizhou, Liu Mao had already died of illness.
In the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214), Liu Bei pacified Yizhou, when Liu Bei's wife Sun Shi (Sun Lady) had returned to Eastern Wu, and his subordinates advised Liu Bei to marry Wu. Liu Bei hesitated considering that he was of the same clan as Liu Mao, and Fa Zhengjin persuaded: "Regarding the closeness of relatives and relatives, where is the closeness of Jin Wengong and Zi Yuan in this relationship?" So Liu Bei na Wu shi as a lady. In this regard, in the author's opinion, Liu Bei married Wu Kuang's niece Wu Amaran, obviously to win over the Wu family's intentions. After all, the Wu Yi and Wu Ban brothers still have a certain foundation and strength in Yizhou.
According to historical records such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao and captured the land of Hanzhong. On this basis, Liu Bei proclaimed himself the King of Hanzhong and established Wu as the Queen of Hanzhong. In the first year of Zhang Wu (221), Liu Bei declared himself emperor, established shu han, and made Wu empress. In the third year of Zhang Wu (223), Liu Bei died, and the crown prince Liu Chan took the throne, and his concubine Wu Shi was made empress dowager. In the eighth year of Yanxi (245), Wu died, and empress Dowager Mu was buried in Liu Bei's Huiling Tomb.