First, Guan Yu died because Liu Bei was killed;
Second, Guan Yu died of Zhuge Liang's fault;
Third, Guan Yu died of his "just and proud" personality (Chen Shouyu) and was killed.
First of all, let's analyze whether Guan Yu died of Liu Bei's murder. As we know, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei "have their own merits"
First of all, let's analyze whether Guan Yu died of Liu Bei's murder. We know that Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei "summarized their deeds". No matter their feelings or benevolence, Liu Bei was not allowed to "slow down the troops" in the battle of Xiangfan, let alone when employing people in the war of the Three Kingdoms. For Liu Bei, Guan Yu's death obviously did more harm than good. Not to mention that Guan Yu's defeat in Maicheng was accompanied by great risk of losing land. This is a far cry from Liu Bei's image of loving people and things, being a corporal of courtesy and virtue, and being a man of lofty ideals who knows how to do things well. Even with the records of relevant historical materials, it is quite inconsistent.
Secondly, whether Guan Yu died of Zhuge Liang's fault is analyzed. No matter in the description of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms or the annals of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang is undoubtedly the embodiment of the wisdom of the wise. Although he was cautious all his life, he also made many great achievements that were talked about by later generations. Zhu Ziyan, a professor of history at Shanghai University, wrote in Historical Records that Guan Yu was defeated by the strangulation of the Wu-Wei alliance, but it was probably Zhuge Liang, a member of his own family, who really sent Guan Yu to the guillotine. Liu Bei and Guan Yu "summed up their own deeds", and Liu Bei will never "slow down" and just stand by. At that time, Zhuge Liang was not in charge of military and political power, but he knew that the conditions for Guan Yu to capture Xiangfan were not mature, which completely violated the strategic decision of "the world has changed" put forward by Longzhongdui, and explored Cao Wei in two ways: but there was no record of Zhuge Liang's exhortation in the text of the Three Kingdoms and Fiji Notes. Therefore, it is concluded that Zhuge Liang has an unshirkable responsibility for Guan Yu's death. I think this view is reasonable, and the specific reasons will be detailed below.
Third, Guan Yu's death was caused by his own personality and environment, which is not true. As the supreme leader guarding Jingzhou, Guan Yu's actions are related to the success or failure of the whole campaign. From the geographical distribution map of Wei, Shu and Wu, Jingzhou is located in the central border of the three countries, and its strategic position is very important. Zhuge Liang said in Longzhong Dui: Jingzhou is bordered by Han, Mian and Linnan Seas in the north, Wu Hui in the east and Bashu in the west. This military country is a battleground for military strategists. According to the strategic order delivered by Zhuge Liang to Jingzhou Legion: "Reject Cao Cao in the north and Sun Quan in the east". The world remains the same, I don't move, the world changes, and I move randomly. This is the best way for Liu Group to stay in Jingzhou. But Guan Yu somewhat despised the planning of Zhuge Liang, a military commander. Therefore, Chen Shou, the author of the Three Kingdoms, attributed his failure to Guan Yu's "headstrong" and set the tone for commenting on Guan Yu. Later theorists mostly set out from this angle, and almost became thousands of people.
In fact, "just pride" is only Guan Yu's personal shortcomings, but it is unreasonable and unscientific to blame all the responsibilities on Guan Yu's personal shortcomings. The outcome of the inevitable battle is not a game played by Guan Yu alone, but a struggle of the whole group, a contest between overall quality and comprehensive national strength. As a wartime behavior, it is not only related to the level and ability of commanders, but also restricted by many factors such as regulations, organizational discipline and system management. It is impossible for a person to act subjectively.
Therefore, on the basis of the above basic analysis, the author draws the conclusion that Guan Yu's death was not the result of a single cause, but the result of the comprehensive action of many factors, which was the necessity of the grim situation at that time. The main reasons are:
First, Guan Yu's death was the result of the development of the war situation.
According to records, the battle of Xiangfan began in July of the 24th year of Jian 'an and ended in February of 65438. In the early stage, Guan Yu won many battles, which not only drowned the Forbidden Seventh Army, but even made Cao Cao want to move the capital. Finally, because Cao Cao saw that Liu Bei was a big shot and Sun Quan didn't want it, he decided to unite with Sun Quan to fight against feathers, thus turning the situation around. In addition, Guan Yu's subordinates, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, took refuge in Sun Quan at that time, which led to Guan Yu being caught between Scylla and Charybdis. Finally, Guan Yu had to go to Maicheng unbeaten. In the same year, he was captured in February 65438 and killed in October 65438. It is obviously far-fetched to say that Liu Bei or Zhuge Liang wanted to kill people with a knife. Imagine that Guan Yu won many battles at that time, and the news of Guan Yu's victory spread to Shu. It was less than a month before Guan Yu defeated Maicheng and was captured and killed. Even if Guan Yu's teacher is found to have lost, it is difficult to guarantee the time to send troops to rescue (Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once said: "It is difficult to get through the road, and it is difficult to get to the sky." It can be seen that the traffic in Sichuan was extremely inconvenient until the early years of the Republic of China. Besides, Liu Bei will not allow anyone to stand by at this time.
Therefore, the author privately believes that some later generations accused Zhuge Liang of killing Guan Yu with a knife a bit too much, and at most it was ruined. Judging from the sudden change of the war situation, it seems too late for Zhuge Liang to send troops to reinforce Jingzhou. However, if we look at it from another angle, Zhuge Liang was cautious all his life and often strategized. It is impossible for him not to have various strategic plans for the development of the campaign at that time. He should have various contingency measures to ensure safety. If Zhuge Liang can arrange his right-hand man to help Guan Yu in advance, the situation is likely to be completely different. Of course, we should also consider that Zhuge Liang is a man, not a god, and he can't manipulate the evolution of the whole campaign with one hand. Zhuge Liang may not have been able to "predict" that Guan Yu would play so beautifully at first, let alone "calculate" that Monroe would attack Jingzhou and let Guan Yu lose so badly. Guan Yu's departure from Maicheng was definitely not planned by Zhuge Liang, but Jingzhou fell at the last minute and the defeat was irreversible. Then you can only be sorry for Guan Yu (you can take the blame alone).
Secondly, Guan Yu's death is the external manifestation of the internal contradictions of Liu Bei Group.
Although we say that Guan Yu's death is mainly due to the influence of the war, we do not deny that there is a fierce struggle for power and interests within Liu Bei Group.
First, the relationship between Liu Bei and Guan Yu is not intimate. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms said that Liu Bei "let out a cry and fainted to the ground" after hearing the news of Guan Yu's death, which was completely invented by Luo Guanzhong. There is no record in historical materials that Liu Bei wept for Guan Yu after his death. On the contrary, after Pang Tong's death, "my father lamented, but I cried". After the death of Fazheng, "people who cried for him were tired for several days", and actually cried for several days. After Guan Yu died, Liu Bei didn't cry. It seems that although the relationship between Liu Bei and Guan Yu has never been doubted, it is only the impression left by literary works, which is not the case. In addition, after Guan Yu's death, it is also reasonable to say that he died for his country. Liu Bei should seal it for him and give it to posthumous title, but there is no record of Liu Bei sealing Guan Yu in historical materials. Guan Yu's posthumous title Miao Zhuang marquis was sealed by the late emperor Liu Chan. On the contrary, after Fa Zheng's death, Liu Bei immediately named him Yong Hou. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei and Guan Yu are "sharing the same bed and feeling like brothers". It is really puzzling and unbelievable why Guan Yu's treatment after his death is not as good as Fa Zheng.
Second, it is an indisputable fact that Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu have different political views.
The contradiction between Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu in national interests. As we all know, the core of Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Dui" is to unite Wu against Cao, and the policy of uniting Wu against Cao was formulated by Zhuge Liang himself and was Zhuge Liang's overall strategy. Zhuge Liang's attitude towards Sun-Liu Alliance is very firm. Although this is Zhuge Liang's major policy, Guan Yu does not seem to approve of Sun's alliance with Liu. There is a story in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Sun Quan once sent Zhuge Liang's younger brother Zhu Gejin to propose to Guan Yu, saying that Sun Quan had a son and Guan Yu had a daughter. Sun Quan wants to form children in-laws with General Guan. After the marriage, they can deal with Cao Cao. Unexpectedly, Zhu Gejin's proposal touched the dust on his nose. Guan Yu lost his temper and pointed to Zhu Gejin and said, "Will my tiger girl marry her son?"
Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu also have personal contradictions. This can't be seen in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but it is recorded in the History of the Three Kingdoms. For example, Zhuge Liang just walked out of Longzhong, and Liu Bei was very kind to Zhuge Liang. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are very unhappy. Liu Bei said, "Being alone with Kong Ming is like fish and water." Guan Yu and Zhang Fei just fell silent. Silence does not mean that the contradiction has been eliminated, but because of Liu Bei's face, they temporarily suppressed their grievances.
Later facts also proved that Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu were at odds. Jingxiang has been located in the throat since ancient times and is a battleground for military strategists. Zhuge Liang, as a wise strategist, could not fail to know this. Why did he only send Guan Yu's first division, but not more big shots to assist him? Is it negligence or another conspiracy? This problem caused a lot of discussion in later generations. The author believes that although it cannot be said that it must be the result of the struggle between power and interests, it cannot be denied that there is such a connection.
Lu Xun said that The Romance of the Three Kingdoms looks like Zhuge Liang is wise and close to the demon, and I agree with him very much. When Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain, his position was not only significantly lower than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, but even lower than many other ministers. In order to realize his lofty ideals and ambitions, Zhuge Liang could not help but try his best to rank among the ten thousand people under one person. So he took the opportunity to attack, belittle or indulge Guan Yu's practice, and he did something.
Regarding Guan Yu's defeat in Maicheng, Zhuge Liang said that it was Guan Yu's own fault and he was not responsible. I don't think so, so we might as well analyze it from two aspects: from a tactical point of view, Guan Yu's defeat was because he executed Zhuge Liang's wrong order to attack Fancheng. Because of the blind attack on Fancheng and the lack of cooperation from other main forces, Guan Yu single-handedly confronted the allied forces in Cao Sun, which eventually led to Guan Yu's complete annihilation. From a strategic point of view, Guan Yu's invasion of Xiangfan violated Zhuge Liang's strategic concept of "Long Zhong Dui" in his early years. As a wise man, why Zhuge Liang made a decision that he was not a wise man is worthy of study and reflection.
Thirdly, Guan Yu's death is the subjective internal cause of his tragic life caused by his personality characteristics.
As we all know, Guan Yu has a bad personality and some arrogance. He had a bad relationship with Liu Bei, and Liu Bei was very uneasy about him (Liu Bei sent Mi Fang to guard Jingzhou with him, and there was a saying that he was watching Guan Yu), not to mention his relationship with others, which was undoubtedly the most important internal factor of his tragic death.
Guan Yu's bad interpersonal relationship is also manifested in his extremely tense relationship with many people. In the battle of Dingjun Mountain, Huang Zhong beheaded Xia, a general under Cao Cao, and made great contributions to Liu Bei's capture of Hanzhong. Liu Bei called the Queen of Hanzhong, named Guan Yu as a former general, and Huang Zhong as a post-general, both of whom had equal status. When Liu Bei sent someone to chase Guan Yu, Guan Yu swore. How does a gentleman associate with veteran Huang Zhong? Finally, the messenger said a lot of good things, and Guan Yu reluctantly accepted Liu Bei's knighthood.
Guan Yu and Liu Feng also have contradictions. Liu Feng is Liu Bei's adopted son and has an uncle relationship with Guan Yu, but their uncle relationship is very bad. Guan Yu's relationship with his generals, Shang Yong and the prefect of Mengda, was also very tense. He offended almost everyone around Liu Bei, and no one would save him then.
There is a passage in the History of the Three Kingdoms: "Scud loves to respect the gentleman and ignores the villain, and he is good at dying and arrogant." It is said that Zhang Fei respects scholar-officials very much, but he doesn't know how to care for soldiers. Guan Yu, on the other hand, was very kind to soldiers, but his relationship with literati was very tense. Scholar-officials are all civil and military officials, and they are all talents. How can they have a good result when their relationship is stiff?
Fourthly, Guan Yu's death is the tragic ending of his complacency.
Many people in China loved to make gods in the past dynasties, and Guan Yu was the most successful example in the movement of making gods. In its heyday, I'm afraid no one knows how many Guandi temples were built for Guan Yu. In fact, Guan Yu's merits and demerits, his merits and demerits, his honor and disgrace, his honor and disgrace, his respect and criticism, his contribution to Shu, his irreparable loss to Shu and so on. , are worthy of being treated in two, and can be used as a mirror for us to learn.
Only during the Three Kingdoms period, among Guan Yu's flatterers, the first flatterer was Cao Cao, who had a small banquet on the third day and a big banquet on the fifth, leaving him almost ignorant. I gradually lost the feeling of seeking truth from facts about my own estimation, forgetting that I used to be an archer on horseback, but I really became the curator of Hanshou. Zhuge Liang, the second famous artist, let Cao Cao, who was waiting to be captured in Huarong Road, not chase him. This was a right-leaning mistake of his, which made him more headstrong and self-righteous. Sun Quan, the third famous artist, had to entrust someone to Jingzhou as a matchmaker and wanted to marry Guan Yunchang's daughter as a daughter-in-law. As a result, Master Guan didn't even show his face. He shouted "Tiger Women Match Dogs" and drove the matchmaker away. Sun Quan was rejected. Gal, Guan Yunchang more cocky, which see Wu Dong in the eye.
Everyone with a discerning eye knows very well that Cao Cao holds Guan Yu as a show, seeing how humble, broad-minded, eager for talents and warm and touching the Prime Minister. To put it bluntly, it is to attract people and expand their influence. Its real meaning is only to promote itself through show. Zhuge Liang praised Guan Yu for seeking internal stability and unity. In the process of carrying out his policy, he will not be disturbed by this arrogant Liu Xuande brother, but will bring convenience to himself. Sun Quan praised Guan Yu for a simpler purpose, that is, to paralyze his opponent and recapture Jingzhou. So all the actors in the world have ulterior motives. In this world, there are not only free lunches, but also people who flatter and please others purely for the sake of art.
Riding thousands of miles alone and getting through the customs is Guan Yunchang's proudest achievement in his life. At the same time, his conceit and pride also planted the seeds of defeat and death in Maicheng in the future. Chen Shou's evaluation of his "integrity" in the History of the Three Kingdoms is an accurate evaluation of his character. Honesty, honest and frank, fortitude and bravery are undoubtedly good qualities, but it would be terrible if you can't be both rigid and flexible and be proud of yourself.
Practically speaking, arrogance, whether it is a great man or a grassroots, is almost spared, just to varying degrees. "Blessings are before disasters, and benefits are before disasters" is a dialectical causal relationship. Good things can be turned into bad things, and bad things can also be turned into good things. Therefore, President Mao Zedong repeatedly warned: "Modesty makes people progress, while pride makes people lag behind". In fact, it can be seen from the death of Guan Yu that pride not only makes people lag behind, but may even lose their lives. This is obviously the best warning.