Guan Yu (162?-220) was born in the Yanxi period of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His courtesy name was Yunchang, his real name was Changsheng, and he was a native of Jieliang, Hedong (now Yuncheng, Shanxi). A famous general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. After his death, he was highly praised by the people and praised by successive imperial courts. He was regarded as the Guan Sheng Emperor, and in Buddhism he was called Jialan Bodhisattva. A famous general of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period. He was revered as the "Martial Saint" by later rulers, as famous as Confucius, who was also known as the "Literary Saint". Later generations wrote poems praising Guan Yu:

At the end of the Han Dynasty, he was invincible, and Yunchang stood out from the crowd.

His divine power can lead to martial arts, and his elegance can improve his literary skills.

The sun and the heart are like mirrors, and the meaning of "Spring and Autumn" is thin as the clouds.

It is clear that it will last through the ages, and it will not only be crowned with three points.

Guan Yu’s life experience has never been clear before. It was not until the Kangxi period in the early Qing Dynasty that Zhu Dan, the governor of Jiezhou, unearthed Guan Yu's tomb bricks while dredging and repairing ancient wells. On it are engraved the names of Guan Yu's ancestor and father, the dates of birth and death, etc. The information is relatively detailed, and Guan Yu's family situation is also slightly mentioned. Therefore, he wrote "The Tombstone of Guan Houzu". According to the written records on the tomb bricks, the Guan family was actually a family of scholars. Guan Yu's grandfather was called Guan Shen, also named Wen. Gengyin was born in the second year of Emperor Yongyuan of the Han Dynasty and lived in Baochi, Changping Village, Jiezhou. Records say that he "loved Mu and loved Taoism" and often taught his son in "Yi" and "Spring and Autumn". He died in the second year of Yongshou, Emperor Huan, at the age of sixty-eight. Yu's father, Guan Yi, was named Daoyuan. He was extremely filial by nature. After his father's death was judged, he built a hut on the tomb and stayed in mourning for three years. After mourning, in the third year of Emperor Huan's Yanxi reign, Gengzi gave birth to Guan Yu on June 24th. After Yu grew up, she married Hu and gave birth to a son, Guan Ping, on May 13th in the first year of Emperor Guanghe's reign.

Guan Yu met the Eastern Han government in Zhuojun (now Zhuoxian, Hebei) and mobilized powerful landlords from all over the country to organize armed forces to suppress the Yellow Turban Uprising. Here he met Liu Bei (Liu Bei claimed to be a descendant of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan, son of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty) and Zhang Fei, who were gathering people to raise troops in the area. The three of them had the same goals and fell in love at first sight. Their friendship was extraordinary and they were as close as brothers. It is said in later generations that Liu, Guan and Zhang once became sworn brothers in Taoyuan. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" describes their oath: "Although they have different surnames, as brothers, we will work together to rescue the poor and help the people in danger; we will report to the country and live in peace and prosperity. We do not wish to be born in the same year, the same month and the same day, but only wish to be born in the same year, the same month and the same day." Die." Although this is a novelist's words, it has a huge impact because it conforms to the mentality of the middle and lower classes in an era of frequent turmoil. Many peasant uprisings in later generations imitated the form of sworn friendship to consolidate the ranks and strengthen unity. The three organized an armed force and participated in the attack on the peasant rebel army. Guan Yu began his military career from then on. From the first year of Zhongping (184) until his death, Guan Yu followed Liu Bei loyally, "following Liu Bei and not avoiding hardships and dangers" ("Three Kingdoms·Book of Shu·Biography of Guan Yu").

Liu Bei raised troops and participated in suppressing the Yellow Turban Uprising. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei served as his bodyguards and were his powerful right-hand men. In the first year of Zhongping (185), Liu, Guan, and Zhang took their newly organized soldiers and horses and first defected to Zou Jing, the captain of Zhuojun. When the Yellow Turban Army reached Zhuojun, they cooperated with the officers and soldiers to resist, and won the first battle, which was a great achievement. Then, they left Zhuojun and went to join Lu Zhi, the Zhonglang general who was besieging the Yellow Turban leader Zhang Jiao in Guangzong (east of Wei County, Hebei Province). After arriving at Guangzong, Lu Zhi was framed and escorted back to the capital, so they decided to return to Zhuojun. On the way back, he encountered Zhang Jiao, the Tiangong general of the Yellow Turban Army, who was chasing Dong Zhuo, who had replaced Lu Zhi. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led a group of troops and suddenly attacked the Yellow Turban Army and rescued Dong Zhuo. Liu Bei later defected to Gongsun Zan, the warlord of Youzhou, and was appointed Prime Minister of Pingyuan due to his repeated military exploits. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei served as commanders of other departments, and divided the divisions. The three of them still "sleep in the same bed, and they are like brothers" ("Three Kingdoms·Shu·Biography of Guan Yu"). Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stand by Liu Bei's side and protect Liu Bei all day long.

In the first year of Jian'an (195), Cao Cao welcomed Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and moved the capital to Xuchang (today's east of Xuchang, Henan). He took sole control of military and political power and took charge of the government, with the emperor becoming a puppet. In the third year of Jian'an (AD 198), Liu Bei was defeated by Lu Bu and defected to Cao Cao. Cao Cao commended him as General Zuo, and worshiped Guan Yu as General Zhonglang (the military attache second to the general). At that time, the cavalry general Dong Cheng accepted the emperor's imperial edict and conspired with Liu Bei, Changshui captain Zhong Ji, general Wu Zilan, Wang Zifu, etc. to get rid of Cao Cao.

In the fourth year of Jian'an (199), Liu Bei was afraid of Cao Cao's suspicion and wanted to wait for an opportunity to break away from Cao Cao's control. Taking advantage of the defeat of the right general Yuan Shu, he took the initiative to request that he and his general Zhu Ling go to intercept. Cao Cao's advisers Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao and others believed that Liu Bei, who had ulterior motives, should not be let go. Cao Cao immediately sent people to chase him, but it was too late. Yuan Shu fled south to Shouchun (now Shouxian County, Anhui Province), and Zhu Ling returned to the court with his troops. In December, Liu Bei killed Chezhou, the governor of Xuzhou, and appointed Guan Yu as the governor of Xiapi (now northwest of Suining, Jiangsu Province). He stationed troops in Xiaopei and recruited troops. , to expand its strength and echo the anti-Cao forces in the DPRK and China. Chang Xi, the leader of the rebels in Donghai (now Tancheng, Jiangsu Province), and the surrounding counties and counties all joined Liu Bei. Liu Bei's troops soon grew to tens of thousands, and he sent envoys to form an alliance with Yuan Shao, posing a serious threat to Cao Cao. He defeated Sima Changshi Liu Dai and Zhonglang General Wang Zhong who came to attack, and temporarily obtained the Xuzhou and Xiapi areas as a base for rest and development.

In the first month of the fifth year of Jian'an (200), the plan of Chariot General Dong Cheng and others to assassinate Cao Cao was leaked. Dong Cheng, Wang Fu, and Zhong Ji were all massacred. Only Liu Bei, who participated in the plot, was lucky. Escape and become more and more powerful. Cao Cao personally conquered Liu Bei. Liu Bei was shocked to learn that Cao Cao's army was approaching. He led dozens of riders out of the city to observe. Sure enough, he saw Cao's army's flag and had to rush to fight. Cao Cao's army was defeated and Liu Bei's wife was captured. Cao Cao then captured Xiapi and forced an emergency landing at Guan Yu. Liu Bei fled to Yecheng (now southwest of Linzhang, Hebei Province) to join Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao admired Guan Yu as a person and worshiped him as a partial general, treating him with great courtesy. Soon he realized that Guan Yu was unsettled and had no intention of staying for a long time, so he said to Zhang Liao, who had a good relationship with Guan Yu, "Please try to ask him with affection." Zhang Liao went to ask Guan Yu, but Guan Yu sighed and said, "I know very well that Duke Cao has treated me well. However, I have received such kindness from General Liu. I swear to the death of my mother-in-law and cannot repay it. I will not stay in the end, and I will repay the favor by performing my duties." Duke Cao is leaving" ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Guan Yu"). Zhang Liao conveyed Guan Yu's words to Cao Cao. After hearing this, Cao Cao not only did not resent Guan Yu, but believed that he was benevolent and righteous and valued him even more.

In the fifth year of Jian'an (200), the Battle of Guandu broke out. In February, Jizhou Mu Yuan Shao mobilized more than 100,000 horses to march to Liyang (now northeast of Huaxian County, Henan Province) to conquer Cao Cao and sent General Yan Liang to siege Baima. , attack Liu Yan, the governor of Dongjun, to ensure that the main force crosses the river and advances southward. Liu Yan asked for help urgently. In April, Cao Cao went north to rescue Liu Yan in order to remove the threat from his flanks. Counselor Xun You suggested: "Today we are outnumbered by a small force, so we can divide our forces. When the Duke arrives at Yanjin, if he sends his troops to the rear, Shao will respond to them from the west, and then attack the white horse with light troops to cover up his unpreparedness. Yan Liang can "Qin Ye" ("Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei·Biography of Emperor Wu"), Cao Cao followed his plan. When Yuan Shao heard that Cao's troops had crossed the river, he divided his troops westward and advanced towards Yanjin. Cao Cao took the opportunity to lead his troops towards Baima. When he was more than 10 miles away from Baima, Yan Liang was shocked and hurriedly fought. Cao Cao sent Zhang Liao and Guan Yu as vanguards to lead the attack. Guan Yu jumped on his horse in front of the formation and saw Yan Liang's command cap (the general's military chariot with banners and banners) from a distance. He rushed over, stabbed Yan Liang to death in the midst of thousands of people, and beheaded him before returning. Yuan Shao's generals "No one can be worthy" ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Guan Yu"). Cao Cao ordered his army to charge and kill, Yuan's army was defeated and dispersed, and the siege of Baima was broken.

Cao Cao praised Guan Yu's bravery, rewarded him heavily, and named him Hanshou Tinghou (Hanshou, place name; Tinghou, marquis name). After Guan Yu killed Yan Liang, Cao Cao knew that he must go, so he rewarded him heavily. Guan Yu sealed up all the rewards Cao Cao had given him many times, hung the seal and ribbon of Hou Tinghou of the Han Dynasty in the hall, wrote a farewell letter to Cao Cao, protected Liu Bei's family, left Cao Cao's camp, and went to Yuan Shao's army to look for Liu Bei. After Cao Cao's soldiers heard about it, they wanted to pursue him, but Cao Cao dissuaded him and said: "Everyone is his own master, so don't chase him" ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu VI, Biography of Guan Yu").

From the time Guan Yu was captured to the time he repaid Cao with meritorious service and defected to Liu Bei again, this experience has been passed down orally and spread widely. By the time of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", a colorful and splendid story unit has been formed, including three things about Guan Gong's settlement in Tushan (surrendering the Han but not Cao Cao; treating his second sister-in-law politely; once he learned Liu Bei's whereabouts, he would resign); Cao Cao treated Guan Yu favorably , the small banquet lasted three days and the big banquet lasted five days; Cao Cao presented a robe, Guan Yu wore it under the clothes, and covered it with the old robe given by Liu Bei, not daring to forget the old with the new; Cao Cao presented a red rabbit horse, Guan Yu thanked him, thinking that he would ride on this horse , you can meet Liu Bei in one day; Guan Gong kills Yan Liang and punishes Wen Chou; Guan Gong seals the gold with a seal; rides alone for thousands of miles, crosses five passes and kills six generals; brothers meet in the ancient city, etc. In China, few people do not know this story.

Yuan Shaoxing marched south and sent Liu Bei south to Ru and Ying to attack Cao Cao's rear, but was defeated by Cao Cao's general Cao Ren. Liu Bei fled back to Yuan Shao's army. He was jealous and secretly planned to break away from Yuan Shao, so he suggested that Yuan Shao form an alliance with Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, so that Cao Cao would be attacked from both sides. Yuan Shao believed it was true and sent Liu Bei to lead his troops south to Runan again to meet up with the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, Gong Du and others. The force expanded to thousands, posing another threat to Cao Cao's rear. In July of that year, in order to stabilize the rear, Cao Cao sent general Cai Yang to lead his troops to attack Liu Bei. Liu Bei made full preparations and arrangements and led his troops to fight against Cai Yang. The two armies fought fiercely, Cao's army was defeated, and Cai Yang was killed. In the autumn of the sixth year of Jian'an (201), Cao Cao led his army to attack Liu Bei in Runan. In September, Guan Yu followed Liu Bei to join Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and Gong Du and other troops dispersed. At this point, Liu Bei separated from Yuan Shao and gained the opportunity to develop his own power. Liu Biao treated Liu Bei with courtesy. After that, Liu Bei stationed troops in Jingzhou.

From the sixth to the thirteenth year of Jian'an (201-208), Liu Bei devoted himself to recruiting talents and expanding his military strength during these eight years. Especially in the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), he "visited the thatched cottage three times" and invited Zhuge Liang. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were unhappy when they saw the increasingly close relationship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang. After Liu Bei noticed it, he severely criticized him and Zhang Fei, saying: "A solitary person has a hole in the sky, just like a fish has water. I hope you will not say anything more" ("Three Kingdoms·Shu·Zhuge Liang Biography"). Guan Yu and Zhang Fei no longer expressed any objection.

In the 13th year of Jian'an (208), Cao Cao personally led an army to conquer Liu Biao southward. Liu Biao died, and Liu Cong, who succeeded Jingzhou as pastor, surrendered to Cao Cao. In order to avoid the sharp edge of Cao's army, Liu Bei withdrew from Fancheng and retreated to Jiangling (today's Jiangling, Hubei Province). He sent Guan Yu to lead more than 10,000 naval troops to join Jiangling via the waterway.

When Liu Bei's army retreated to Dangyang Changbanpo (today's northeast of Dangyang, Hubei Province), they were severely defeated by Cao Cao's cavalry who pursued them all the way. The road to Jiangling was cut off by Cao's army, so Liu Bei had to move diagonally toward Hanjin. Guan Yu led his navy to respond and protected Liu Bei as he retreated to Xiakou.

According to the "Book of Shu", Liu Bei was hunting with Cao Cao in Xuchang. Guan Yu once advised Liu Bei to take advantage of the chaos and kill Cao Cao to avoid future troubles. Perhaps because the situation did not allow it, Liu Bei did not agree. This time they met in Hanjin and were homeless. Guan Yu was indignant and said: "If you had listened to me on the hunting ground back then, you would not have been in such trouble today." Liu Bei explained: "At that time, it was also for the sake of the country. , cherishing Cao Cao is a rare talent. Besides, if God's will assists the righteous, how can we know that today's wandering is not our blessing?"

After Cao Cao occupied Jiangling, he became more powerful and engulfed "Wu Wu". Liu Bei, who established the "Zi Zhui", and destroyed Sun Quan in Jiangdong. This led to the famous Battle of Chibi where the combined forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei defeated Cao Cao. In November, the coalition forces of Sun and Liu defeated Cao Cao in Chibi (now northwest of Puqi County). The 10,000 elite navy troops led by Guan Yu were Liu Bei's main force and played an important role in this battle. In order to highlight Guan Yu's characteristics of "all friendships and righteousness", later generations dramatized the details of his interpretation of Cao Cao on Huarong Road, which is still popular today.

After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei took the opportunity to capture the four counties of Wuling, Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling (all in today's Hunan). Liu Bei obtained the four counties, plus the Nanjun lent to him by Sun Quan, and finally He gained a foothold in Jingzhou. Then Liu Bei made him a hero. Guan Yu was appointed as the governor of Xiangyang and the general of Dangkou to guard Jingzhou.

In December of the 16th year of Jian'an (211), Liu Bei led troops into Bashu and captured Yizhou, while Guan Yu stayed in Jingzhou. Since Yizhou was at peace, Guan Yu was given five hundred catties of gold, one thousand catties of silver, fifty million coins, and one thousand pieces of brocade.

Jingzhou includes seven counties: Nanyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, Wuling, Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling. It is a strategic location that Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan must compete for. After the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao still occupied Nanyang County and the northern part of Nanjun, and Sun Quan occupied Jiangxia County and the southern part of Nanjun. The so-called "borrowing Jingzhou" means that Sun Quan lent the southern part of Nanjun he occupied to Liu Bei. In the second year after Liu Bei acquired Yizhou (215), Sun Quan sent Zhuge Jin as an envoy to discuss with Liu Bei and request that several counties in the southern part of Jingzhou be returned to Soochow. Liu Bei refused, so Sun Quan sent a group of officials to take over the three counties of Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang. Guan Yu refused to give in and drove back all the officials sent by Sun Quan. Sun Quan was furious and immediately sent Lu Meng with 20,000 troops to take over the three counties by force. After Lu Meng captured the two counties of Changsha and Guiyang, Liu Bei hurriedly led 50,000 troops to the police station and sent Guan Yu to lead 30,000 troops to Yiyang to recapture those two counties. Sun Quan also personally went to Lukou and sent Lu Su to lead 10,000 troops to Yiyang to resist Guan Yu. Soochow's army and Guan Yu's army both camped in Yiyang and faced each other.

The Sun and Liu families were competing for Jingzhou. At this time, Liu Bei (161-223) heard that Cao Cao (155-220) had captured Hanzhong, and hurriedly divided Jingzhou equally with Sun Quan (182-252) to resist Cao Cao. At the same time, Guan Yu hosted a banquet to invite Lu Su (172-217) to attend the banquet and wanted to discuss matters in Jingzhou, but was criticized by Lu Su.

After the Battle of Chibi, Guan Yu, who guarded Jingzhou, was named "Prefect of Xiangyang", while important towns such as Xiangyang and Fancheng in Jingzhou were still controlled by Cao Cao. In order to realize the plan of Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei in "Longzhong Dui" to occupy Jingzhou and Yizhou, when the time is right, the Jingzhou army will go directly to Wan (now Nanyang, Henan) and Luo, and the Yizhou army will go west to Qinzhou (now southern Shaanxi) ), to complete the strategy of unifying the great cause, Guan Yu has been eyeing Xiang and Fan.

In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Liu Bei defeated Cao Bing in Hanzhong, and Cao Cao had to withdraw from Hanzhong. Therefore, with the support of his civil and military officials, Liu Bei established himself as the King of Hanzhong. He appointed Guan Yu as a former general and gave him the knot and Yue.

In June of that year, after Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he sent Meng Da and Liu Feng to capture Fangling, Shangyong and other places in the eastern part of Hanzhong County, and his power expanded. In July, Sun Quan wanted to attack Hefei, so most of the Wei army mobilized Huainan to defend against the Wu army. Guan Yu, who was guarding Jingzhou, seized the opportunity to fight. He left Mi Fang, the governor of Nanjun (governing Jiangling, today's Jiangling, Hubei Province) to guard Jiangling, and General Fu Shiren to guard Gong'an (today's northwest of Hubei Public Security Bureau), and led the main force to attack Jingxiang northward.

Xiangyang and Fancheng are opposite each other across the Han River and form an angle with each other. They are important battle preparation areas for Cao's army to resist the southern army's northward march. At that time, General Cao Ren of Wei Zhengnan was stationed in Fancheng, and General Lu Chang was stationed in Xiangyang. After he withdrew his troops from Hanzhong to Chang'an, he sent the general Xu Huang to lead his army to support Cao Ren and stationed in Wancheng (now Nanyang, Henan). After the Battle of Fancheng began, Cao Cao sent Zuo General Yu Jin and Liyi General Pang De to assist in the defense and garrisoned north of Fancheng.

Yu Jin made a fatal mistake in this battle. Cao Ren asked him and Pang De to station troops to the north of Fan City to coordinate with the city. Without considering the low terrain of the area, he took all seven of his troops to station there. In August, there were continuous heavy rains, and the Han River surged, reaching a depth of several feet in the flat areas. Yu Jin's seven armies were all flooded, and they had to lead a few soldiers to Gaofu. Guan Yu attacked fiercely in a warship, but he had no way to retreat and was forced to surrender.

The troops led by Pound continued to resist stubbornly and fought to the death. They fought from morning to noon. When all their arrows were exhausted, they fought hand to hand. Some soldiers died in battle, and some surrendered. Guan Yu stepped up his offensive. At the same time, the water rose even more fiercely, the earth embankments were submerged, and Cao Cao's troops surrendered. Pound wanted to take a boat back to Cao Ren's camp, but the water was too strong and the boat capsized. He was captured and died unyielding.

Guan Yu took advantage of the victory to besiege Fancheng and surrounded Xiangyang with a force. There were only a few thousand defenders in Fancheng, and the city walls collapsed in many places due to flooding. Cao Ren considered abandoning Fancheng, but was dissuaded by Man Chong, the prefect of Runan who assisted Cao Ren. Man Chong thought: "The mountains and rivers are moving rapidly, and I hope it won't be long. I heard that Yu's farewell generals were already under Jia County (now Jia County, Henan Province). From the south of Xu, the people were harassing them. If Yu didn't dare to advance, he was afraid that our army would kill him." "If you escape now, you will not be able to recover the country south of the Hong River. You should wait for it." ("Three Kingdoms·Wei Shu·Man Chong Biography") Cao Ren was determined to fight to the death and encouraged the soldiers to work together to resist bravely.

Although Guan Yu's army attacked fiercely by boat, they were still unable to disembark for a while. At this time, Hu Xiu, the governor of Wei Jingzhou, and Fu Fang, the governor of Nanxiang (governing Nanxiang, southeast of today's Xichuan, Henan Province), all surrendered to Guan Yu. Sun Lang, a native of Luhun (northeast of today's Songxian County, Henan Province), etc. also killed officials and raised troops to respond. Guan Yu, Guan Yu's momentum "shocked China" for a while ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu VI, Biography of Guan Yu").

Cao Cao felt threatened and once prepared to move the capital, but was stopped by Prime Minister Sima Yi and Cao Jiangji. They believed: "The ban and so on were lost by the water. They were not lost in war and defense. They did not harm the country's plan. So they moved the capital. This not only showed that the enemy was weak, but also made the people of Huaimian very uneasy. Sun Quan and Liu Bei were close relatives at home and abroad." "Sparse" means that when Yu is satisfied, Quan is not willing to do so. It can be described as Quan's place, and if he is ordered to follow him, then Fan Wei will be relieved." ("Book of Jin·Biography of Emperor Xuan").

Cao Cao adopted this strategy of using conflicts to destroy the alliance between Sun and Liu in order to reap the benefits, and sent an envoy to see Sun Quan. At the same time, he ordered Xu Huang to lead his army to rescue Cao Ren. Xu Huang advanced to Yanglingpi (north of Fancheng), and Cao Cao sent generals Xu Shang and Lu Jian to convey an order: they must wait for the follow-up reinforcements to gather before attacking. At that time, Guan Yu's front troops were stationed in Yancheng (five miles north of Fancheng), and Xu Huang pretended to build a long moat to show that he would cut off the Shu army's retreat. The Shu army was afraid of being surrounded, so they burned their camps and withdrew. Xu Huang's army marched into Yancheng and gradually approached the besieging Shu army.

At the beginning, Zhuge Liang said in "Longzhong Dui": "If there are Jingyi across the road, protect the rocks and block them, make peace with the Rong in the west, care for the Yi and Yue in the south, tie up with Sun Quan on the outside, and cultivate political principles on the inside. When there is a change in the world, the general (Liu Bei) is ordered to lead the troops from Jingzhou to Wanluo early in the morning. He will lead the people from Yizhou out of Qinchuan. Is there any people who don’t want to eat pots of pulp to meet the general?" ("Three Kingdoms·" Shu Shu·Zhuge Liang Biography")? This means that after Liu Bei established his foundation in the two states of Jing and Yi, he must form a solid alliance with Sun Quan, and then he could conquer the Central Plains in the north. It can be seen that the alliance between Sun and Liu is the basis for Liu Bei to conquer the Central Plains in the north. However, there were obvious cracks in this alliance due to several reasons:

First, the issue of ownership of Jingzhou. Jingzhou is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It borders Han Mian to the north, takes full advantage of the South China Sea, connects Wuhui to the east and Bashu to the west. It has important strategic significance for the Sun, Liu and Cao families. Cao Cao once wanted to occupy Jingzhou and unify the world, but the Battle of Chibi made his dream come true; the Sun Group has always believed that Jingzhou is a battleground. Because Jingzhou is in the upstream position, as long as it is in the hands of others, it will be in a passive position. After the Battle of Chibi, in order to continue to unite with Liu to fight against Cao, he had no choice but to temporarily lend Jingzhou to Liu Bei. But after Liu Bei obtained Yizhou, he had no intention of returning Jingzhou.

Second, Guan Yu relied on his bravery and was always arrogant and disrespectful towards the Sun Group. Lu Su met him alone to ask for Jingzhou. Although he lost money, he still refused to properly solve the problem from the perspective of uniting the two families. Sun Quan sent an envoy to propose to Guan Yu's daughter for his son. Guan Yu not only refused to agree to the marriage, but instead scolded the envoy harshly, and the relationship between the two parties became increasingly tense.

Third, among the officials of Soochow, from the overall situation, Lu Su, who believed that he should reconcile with Liu Bei's group and resist Cao Cao, has passed away, while other officials, such as Lu Meng, who replaced Lu Su in commanding the army, have died. He believed that Guan Yu was always brave and good at fighting, and had the ambition to annex the state of Wu, so he asked to send troops to deal with Guan Yu. He said: "The emperor and his ministers should be wary of their deceitful power, and they should not be treated with caution" ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Wu, Biography of Lu Meng").

So after Sun Quan received Cao Cao's letter, he readily agreed. He summoned Lu Meng back to Jianye to discuss the plan to seize Nanjun. Guan Yu also knew that the alliance between Sun and Liu was not consolidated. At this time, he not only wanted to capture Fancheng, but also had to guard against Sun Quan's surprise attack on Jingzhou. When he saw General Lu Meng of Dongwu stationing troops in Lukou, he repeatedly asked Mi Fang and Fu Shiren to guard Jingzhou carefully, and left most of the troops in Nanjun. He also fortified defenses along the river, built a watchtower and a beacon tower twenty or thirty miles away. Lu Meng found out that Guan Yu's defense was tight and impeccable, so he pretended to be seriously ill and wrote to Sun Quan, asking to go back to recuperate. Sun Quan publicly issued an order to transfer Lu Meng back to Jianye to recuperate. Lu Meng recommended Lu Xun to replace him. At that time, Lu Xun was young, talented but not famous, and was serving as the captain of Dingwei. Sun Quan appointed him as a partial general and right-wing governor to succeed Lu Meng. After Lu Xun arrived, he sent an envoy to Guan Yu with gifts and a letter. The letter complimented Guan Yu for flooding the Seventh Army, and credited Jin Wengong for his victory in the Battle of Chengpu and Han Xin's defeat of Zhao. He also encouraged Guan Yu to use his power to seize the throne. Complete victory.

Guan Yu saw that Lu Xun was an unknown junior and was so respectful and sincere to him, so he felt confident and transferred most of Jingzhou's troops to Fancheng one after another. He planned to attack first before Xu Huang's troops arrived and the flood had not completely receded. Go to Fancheng. He personally supervised the battle and stepped up the attack on the city, but Cao Ren still held firm. Lu Xun reported the mobilization of Guan Yu's troops to Sun Quan in detail, and explained his opinion that Guan Yu could be captured in one battle.

Guan Yu had more and more troops in Xiangfan, and with the tens of thousands of newly surrendered troops, he was short of food. He blamed Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, the governor of Nanjun, for not being able to keep up with the delivery of grain and grass, and angrily said: "We should still control it" ("Three Kingdoms·Book of Shu·Biography of Guan Yu"), so the two became treasonous. Later, in order to meet his urgent need, Guan Yu seized the grain stored in Xiangguan by Soochow without permission. Sun Quan learned of this and felt that the time was ripe, so he appointed Lu Meng as the commander-in-chief and sent troops to attack Guan Yu's rear.

In November of that year, Lu Meng led his army out of hiding and entered Xunyang (now northeast of Guangji, Hubei Province). He ambush the elite soldiers in disguised merchant ships, and ordered the soldiers to wear white clothes and disguise themselves. The merchants recruited people to row oars, traveled day and night, drove rapidly up the river, and attacked Jiangling. Everything was done very covertly and cunningly. The soldiers of the Shu army stationed at Jiangfeng were deceived by the disguised Wu army and were caught off guard. They were all captured. The city of Jiangling was empty and fell into chaos. Lu Meng first asked Yu, the former cavalry captain, to translate a letter to induce Shu general Fu Shiren, who was stationed at Public Security Bureau (today's Hubei Public Security Bureau North), to surrender. He also asked Fu Shiren to lure the Wu army to surrender to Mi Fang, the prefect of Shunan County who was guarding Jiangling. The two of them were usually dissatisfied because Guan Yu was arrogant towards them. This time they heard that Guan Yu was coming back to punish them, and they were even more frightened. So when the Soochow army approached the city, they dedicated the city to greet them. Lü Meng then led his army to march into Jiangling and recapture Jingzhou, which Shu had long occupied. After Lü Meng captured Jiangling, he captured all the families of Guan Yu and his generals. He treated them preferentially and comforted them, and ordered the army not to disturb the people. He also showed concern for the people in the city, sending medicine to the sick and clothing and food to the hungry and cold, so that order in the city was quickly restored. Guan Yu, who was proud and underestimated his enemy, was completely unaware of Lu Meng's attack.

Cao Cao's envoy returned to Luoyang and brought a secret message from Sun Quan, saying that he would send troops westward to attack Guan Yu, but please keep it secret in case Guan Yu knew that he was prepared. Most of Cao Cao's subordinates believed that it should be kept secret on Sun Quan's behalf. Counselor Dong Zhao held the sole objection, believing that the secret should be leaked secretly while pretending to keep it secret. Guan Yu knew that Sun Quan was coming to attack, and if he withdrew his troops and returned to defense, the siege of Fancheng would be relieved. Guan Yu returned south to fight Sun Quan. The two enemies fought each other and reaped the benefits. It will not be beneficial to me if I keep it a secret and allow Sun Quan to gain power. Furthermore, the besieged soldiers had not been rescued for a long time, and they were worried about the lack of food and panic. Once an accident occurred, the situation would be difficult to deal with. Therefore, it is better to divulge secrets. Cao Cao adopted Dong Zhao's advice and ordered Xu Huang to shoot the contents of Sun Quan's secret letter with arrows into Fancheng and Guan Yu's camp respectively. After the besieged Wei army gained the trust, their morale doubled and their defense became stronger. After Guan Yu gained the trust, he was afraid of being attacked from both front and rear, but was unwilling to waste all his previous efforts. At the same time, he judged that the defenses of Jiangling and Gong'an were strong. If the Wu army really came to attack, it would be impossible to capture them for a while, so he was in a difficult position. Wandering and hesitating, in a dilemma. At this time, Cao Cao had led the main force from Luoyang to Mobei (southeast of today's Jiaxian County, Henan), and had sent 12 battalions of soldiers including Yin Shu and Zhu Gai to Yancheng, under the command of Xu Huang. The main force of Guan Yu's army was stationed at Weitou, and the other group was stationed at Sizhong. Xu Huang used the tactic of attacking from the east to the west and threatened to attack Beitou, but he unexpectedly raided Sizhong. Guan Yu was afraid that the four tombs would be lost, so he led 5,000 infantry and cavalry to fight. However, the few soldiers were repulsed by Xu Huang. When he retreated from the camp, Xu Huang led his army in pursuit and rushed into the camp. At that time, Guan Yu's camp had deep trenches and ten layers of antlers on the outside. The obstacles were extremely tight, making it extremely difficult to attack from outside the camp. Taking advantage of the chaos that his army was in, he made a surprise attack from within, defeated them in one fell swoop, and killed Hu Xiu and Fu Fang who had surrendered to Shu. At that time, Guan Yu was shocked to learn that Jiangling had been lost, so he withdrew and the siege of Fancheng was relieved. Many of Cao Ren's generals wanted to take advantage of the victory to pursue him, but Zhao Yan, who joined the army, believed that Guan Yu should retain a certain strength to fight against Sun Quan, and it was not appropriate to pursue him. Cao Ren agreed with Zhao Yan and did not deploy a pursuit. After Cao Cao learned about Guan Yu's retreat, he sent someone to convey the order not to pursue Guan Yu.

When Guan Yu withdrew his troops and returned, Sun Quan had arrived at Jiangling first and sent Lu Xun to capture Yiling (today's Yichang, Hubei) and Zigui (today's Zigui, Hubei) to cut off Guan Yu's retreat to Sichuan. On the way back to the army, Guan Yu sent people to Jiangling many times to inquire about the news. Every time, Lu Meng treated the envoys politely and allowed them to travel around the city. When the envoy returned to Guan Yu's army, the soldiers knew that their families were safe and their fighting spirit was gone. Most of them fled halfway. Guan Yu knew that he was alone and sent people to ask for help from Shu generals Liu Feng and Meng Da who were stationed in Shangyong. The two refused to support them on the grounds of Shangyong's new decision. Guan Yu was trapped in the dilemma of losing ground and being attacked from both sides, so he headed west to Maicheng (southeast of today's Dangyang, Hubei Province). At this time, Lu Xun took advantage of the victory to advance westward and captured Yidu. Guan Yu saw that the east, west and south sides of Maicheng were surrounded by enemies, and reinforcements were still arriving, so he decided to break out and return to Xichuan.

Lu Meng knew that Guan Yu had few soldiers, and expected that if he wanted to escape, he would definitely take the path leading to Xichuan in the north of Maicheng, so he sent troops to bury him in advance. In December, Sun Quan sent envoys to Maicheng to persuade Guan Yu to surrender. Guan Yu proposed that the Wu army retreat ten miles and then meet at the south gate. As expected, Lü Meng retreated ten miles and waited for Guan Yu to surrender. Guan Yu and his son Guan Ping took the opportunity to sneak out of the north gate and fled westward with more than a dozen cavalry. They were captured by Sima Zhong of Wu general Pan Zhang and were killed together with his son Guan Ping. He was about fifty-eight years old when he died. age. Liu Chan, the empress of Shu, posthumously named Guan Yu "Zhuang Miaohou" in the third year of Jingyao (AD 260), and his son Guan Xing succeeded him.

"Three Kingdoms: Biography of Guan, Zhang, Ma, Huang and Zhao" discusses Guan Yu and Zhang Fei: "Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are known as enemies of ten thousand people and are tiger ministers in the world. Yu serves Duke Cao, and Fei interprets his righteousness. Yan also has the style of a scholar. However, Yu is strong but conceited, and Fei is violent and ungrateful. He is defeated by shortcomings, which is normal. " He also said: "Yu treats soldiers well but is proud of scholar-bureaucrats, but Fei loves and respects gentlemen but does not show mercy. Villain." Indeed.

In the 19th year of Jian'an (214), Liu Bei surrendered Ma Chao in the process of capturing Yizhou. After taking over as the pastor of Yizhou, he worshiped Ma Chao as General Pingxi. Guan Yu was dissatisfied because Ma Chao was not an old friend, and he heard that Ma Chao was brave, so he wrote to Zhuge Liang and asked: "Who can compare superhuman talents to others?" Zhuge Liang knew what he meant, so he wrote back and said: "Meng Qi (Ma Chao's courtesy name Meng Qi) is both civil and military. He is an outstanding hero and a hero of his generation. He is a disciple of Ting Bu and Peng Yue. He should be associated with Yide." (Zhang Fei's courtesy name is Yide) They are all fighting to be the first, but they are still not as good as Beard's peerless group." ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Guan Yu"). Guan Yu had a good beard, so Zhuge Liang called him the Beautiful Beard Gong. Guan Yu was overjoyed and showed it to his guests.

In July of the 24th year of Jian'an (219), Huang Zhong's formation killed Xia Houyuan, a famous general of Cao's army, and was promoted to the general of the Western Conquest for his merits. In the same year, Liu Bei ascended the throne as King of Hanzhong and appointed Guan Yu as the former general, Huang Zhong as the rear general, Zhang Fei as the right general, and Ma Chao as the left general. Zhuge Liang said that Liu Bei said: "The reputation of loyalty has never been the same as Guan and Ma's ethics, and now he has ordered them to be in the same rank. If Ma and Zhang are close, if they see their achievements in person, they can still be compared to them; if Guan and Zhang hear about them from afar, they will probably be displeased. "Isn't it impossible?" Liu Bei said: "I should explain it myself" ("Three Kingdoms·Shu·Huang Zhongzhuan"). He also sent Sima Feishi from the front of Yizhou to deliver seals and ribbons to Guan Yu.

When Guan Yu heard that Huang Zhong was on the same level as himself, he was furious and said: "A real man will not be on the same level as a veteran?" He refused to accept the appointment. Fei Shi said to Guan Yu: "My husband established a kingship for different purposes. In the past, Xiao (Xiao He) and Cao (Cao Shen) were close to Gaozu (Liu Bang) when they were young, but Chen (Chen Ping) and Han (Han Xin) fled to the throne. , when it comes to the ranking, Han is the best, and I have never heard of Xiao and Cao complaining about it. Now they are honored by Han Sheng for their temporary merits. However, in terms of importance, should they be equal to the kings and princes? The arms are like one body, sharing the same kinship, misfortunes and blessings are the same. If you are a prince, you should not care about the level of your official title or the amount of your salary. A servant is an envoy, and the person who receives the order is not worshiped by the prince. If so, I will return it, but if I cherish this move, I may regret it." ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Fei Shi")? Guan Yu was greatly enlightened and worshiped and received the seal ribbon.

Guan Yu’s natural weakness of arrogance led to the Battle of Fancheng. From the beginning, his command was correct, which shocked China, to the end, he was deceived, the entire army was annihilated, and Jingzhou was carelessly lost, which ultimately led to the alliance of Sun and Liu. Disintegration, the lessons are painful. At the beginning, Cao Cao often warned Xia Houyuan: "When a general is timid, he should not rely only on courage. A general should take courage as his foundation and act with wisdom; but he knows that no matter how brave he is, a man is no match for his ears." ("Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Xia Houyuan") "), and ended up being played in the palm of his hand. Xia Houyuan finally died due to his bravery. This was the case for Xia Houyuan, as was the case for Guan Yu and Xiang Yu.

But Guan Yu has an even better side, which makes him famous throughout the ages.

Guan Yu was faithful to his word, kept his word, and was infinitely loyal to the interests of Liu Bei and his group. He and Liu Bei shared the joys and sorrows for many years and kept their faith unswervingly. Even though Baima was captured and was in Cao's camp, he still did not forget his old kindness and finally returned to Liu Bei. His loyalty was unwavering.

Guan Yu was extremely brave and was the best in the entire army. Later novels include stories about him beheading Hua Xiong while warming wine, three heroes fighting Lu Bu, beheading chariots and armors, beheading Yanliang, punishing Wen Chou, sealing gold with seals, riding alone for thousands of miles, beheading six generals through five passes, Huarong Road, attending meetings alone, and floods. The Seventh Army, etc., although there are some deviations from historical facts, they also highlight his bravery and charm. As for bone scraping to cure poison, everyone knows it.

Guan Yu was shot by random arrows, which penetrated the other left arm. Although the wound is healed, the bones often hurt in rainy weather. The doctor said: "The arrowhead is poisonous, and the poison has penetrated into the bone. It is necessary to break the arm and scrape the bone to remove the poison. Then the ear will be removed." Guan Yu stretched out his arm and asked the doctor to open the wound. At that time, Guan Yu was hosting a banquet for the generals. "The blood flowed from his arms and filled the dishes, while his feathers were cut and burned to drink wine, and he talked and laughed freely" ("Three Kingdoms·Shu Shu 6·Guan Yu").

The description of this period in the novel "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is even more exciting: "Tuo then cut open the skin and flesh until it reached the bone, which was already green; Tuo used the knife to scrape the bone, and there was a sound. Everyone who saw him in public was drinking and eating meat, talking, laughing and playing chess, with no sign of pain."

In order to consolidate their dominance, the feudal ruling classes in the past dynasties regarded Guan Yu as his master. The embodiment of "loyalty", Guan Yu's status was raised higher and higher, "from a lord to a king", "to become an emperor", and finally he was revered as a "martial saint". During the Chen and Sui Dynasties, the Buddhist capital built Guan Yu's temple in Dangyang under the pretense that Guan Yu would appear. In the third year of Jianzhong of the Tang Dynasty (782), Guan Yu was listed as one of the sixty-four famous generals in ancient and modern times, and was put into the Wu Temple to share with Jiang Taigong. After the Song Dynasty, Guan Yu was crowned "Martial Saint". Guan Yu, who had been unknown for 800 years, was promoted three levels by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty: first, he was named "Lord Hui Gong", then "Zhenjun Chongning", and then "King Zhaolie Wu'an" and "Yiyong Wu'an King".

Emperor Wenzong of the Yuan Dynasty named Guan Yu the "King of Zhuang Miao Yi Yong Wu An Xian Ling Ying Ji", Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty named him "The Great Emperor of the Three Realms to Suppress Demons, the Power of the God is far-reaching to the sky and the Lord of Guan Sheng", and the temple of Guan Yu was named the "Martial Temple"