Shu

Shu (蜀), also known as "Shu Han", is one of the three influential kingdoms in the Dynasty Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Dynasty Tactics series. In Dynasty Warriors, the country is symbolized by the color green and a Chinese dragon. They are sometimes symbolized by peach blossoms, a reference to the Peach Garden Oath.

Shu was ruled by Liu Bei, who along with his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei spent most of his life in exile wandering from lord to lord to escape Cao Cao, until finally seizing the lands of Shu from his cousin Liu Zhang to establish his kingdom. Shu's main area of dominion was the mountainous eastern province, Yi. Residing in Yi, was it's capital of Cheng Du. Shu was also comprised of Hanzhong, and Jing province. Jing was subsequently conquered by Wu in 219 A.D. In 263 A.D after years of war between Shu and Wei, the Kingdom of Shu Han fell.

Shu also had its own elite generals, famed for their deeds and service to Shu, known as the Five Tiger Generals. Contrary to popular belief, though, the respective Generals classified as the Five Tigers had no abnormal rank unattainable by those not a Tiger General.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the kingdom of Shu experienced many troubles, and many triumphs. Before gaining land of his own, Liu Bei had joined the other influential figures against Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turbans, and also against Dong Zhuo. During that time, Liu Bei gained many followers, including his future oath brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. To gain a strategist, Liu Bei visited the hermit Zhuge Liang three times. On the third visit, Zhuge Liang agreed to help Liu Bei on his conquest. With the advice of his new ally, Liu Bei gained lands from relatives, and took his own.

Around the year 208, at the naval Battle of Chi Bi, Zhuge Liang had allied with Wu to attack a common adversary, Wei. Zhou Yu, Wu's strategist, devised a master plan with Shu to burn Wei's ships down. While Shu strategist Pang Tong was placed into Wei, in order to persuade the enemy, Zhou Yu tortured a Wu veteran, Huang Gai, making it seem like the latter would turn against his force. Wei believed this trick, and welcomed Huang Gai into their army. Pang Tong had made the Wei army chain their ships together, and when the time was right, Huang Gai and his following unit lit one Wei boat on fire. Zhuge Liang had prayed at an altar for winds to spread the fire, and because of Pang Tong's chain strategy, the Wei fleet had burned to the sea.

In 219, Lu Meng, a strategist for Wu, had gained the land of Jing. Guan Yu, who had been attacking near there at the time, was captured by the alliance of Wu and Wei, and was executed. This enraged Liu Bei, who, in the novel, had sworn along with Zhang Fei and Guan Yu to die on the same day. Ignoring advice from others, Liu Bei went for the attack on Wu, and was met with no success.

In the year 220, Cao Pi seized the Imperial Throne, and declared that it was the Wei Dynasty. In response, Liu Bei proclaimed himself the new Han Emperor. A few years after, however, after many battles, including the loss at the Battle at Yiling, Liu Bei died of illness. The Shu kingdom's rule was succeeded by Liu Chan, Liu Bei's son. Zhuge Liang had made several invasions to the north, including the Nanman Campaign, but it was a failure. On the sixth attempt, Zhuge Liang, Prime Minister of Shu, passed away of illness.

Zhuge Liang was succeeded by many, but the last successor was Jiang Wei. He tried to continue the former strategist's plans to invade the north, but each time, he was left with fewer men and supplies. In 263, Wei campaigned against Shu one last time, and succeeded. Jiang Wei tried to rebel, but was killed. Liu Chan, however, gave up and retired, after being named the Duke of Comfort. Many nobles and commoners alike were displaced, and fled.

The cause of Shu's fall has been debated often over the years. Some attribute it to Jiang Wei's foolishness, and some attribute it to Shu's poor lands, which were mountainous and rugged. However, Shu made many contributions to it's areas in the modern world.

Allies

 * Han
 * Cao Cao (before the Battle of Guan Du)
 * Wu (before Guan Yu's capture and death at the Battle of Fan Castle)
 * Nanman (after the Nan Zhong campaigns and the seven captures of Meng Huo)

Enemies

 * Wei
 * Wu (after Guan Yu's capture and death at the Battle of Fan Castle)
 * Yuan Shu (After declaring himself emperor)
 * Nanman (after the Nan Zhong campaigns and the seven captures of Meng Huo)

Rulers

 * Liu Bei
 * Liu Chan

Advisers

 * Fa Zheng
 * Jiang Wei (after betraying Wei)
 * Ma Liang
 * Ma Su
 * Mi Zhu
 * Pang Tong
 * Sun Qian
 * Xu Shu
 * Zhuge Liang

Five Tiger Generals
The Five Tiger Generals are five generals of Shu considered by Liu Bei to be of extraordinary value to the kingdom. They include:
 * Guan Yu: Oath brother of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, head of the Tiger Generals.
 * Zhang Fei: Oath brother of Liu Bei and Guan Yu.
 * Zhao Yun: Former officer of Gongsun Zan, admirer of Liu Bei.
 * Ma Chao: Enemy of Cao Cao and head warrior of an esteemed family.
 * Huang Zhong: Old Shu general.

This "rank" isn't an official title and isn't mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In official records for Shu, however, the five generals' biographies were featured and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were mentioned as "tigers". This source is the likely origin but its importance has been exaggerated in popular culture.

Generals

 * Sha Moke
 * Chen Dao
 * Chen Deng (until he surrendered to Cao Cao)
 * Guan Ping
 * Guan Xing
 * Liu Feng
 * Liu Xian
 * Meng Da
 * Yan Yan
 * Zhang Bao
 * Fu Shiren (until betraying Guan Yu at the Battle of Fan Castle)
 * Gong Zhi (after defecting from Jin Xuan)
 * Liao Hua (after Zhang Jiao's death in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
 * Li Fu (until Meng Da rebelled)
 * Liu Du (after his comrade Xing Daorong died)
 * Liu Pi (after betraying Zhang Jiao)
 * Liu Zhang (after his surrender at the Battle of Cheng Du)
 * Mi Fang (until betraying Guan Yu at the Battle of Fan Castle)
 * Shen Dan (until Meng Da rebelled)
 * Shen Yi (until Meng Da rebelled)
 * Wang Ping (after defecting from Wei)
 * Wei Yan (after betraying Han Xuan)
 * Xiahou Ba (after defecting from Wei)
 * Zhou Cang (after Zhang Jiao's death; Romance of the Three Kingdoms character)

Ladies

 * Yue Ying
 * Xing Cai