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Pada tahun ke-5 JianAn ([[200]] M), Cao Cao menguasai wilayah Liu Bei dan Liu Bei mencari suaka pada Yuan Shao. Cao Cao berhasil menangkap Guan Yu dan mengangkatnya menjadi perwira, dengan pangkat Pian Jiangjun ([[Letnan Jendral]]). Yuan Shao mengirim jendralnya Yan Liang untuk menyerang [[Liu Yan]] di Baima, dan Cao Cao membalas dengan mengirimkan [[Zhang Liao]] sebagai panglima pelopor. Guan Yu yang melihat payung kebesaran Yan Liang langsung memburunya dan membunuh Yan Liang. Ia membawa kepala Yan Liang sedangkan pasukan Yuan Shao mundur dari pertempuran. Guan Yu dianugerahi gelar Hanshou Tinghou ([[Marquis]] Hanshou).
Awalnya Cao Cao merasa puas dengan Guan Yu tetapi lama kelamaan tahu bahwa Guan Yu ragu untuk menetap. Akhirnya ia memerintahkan Zhang Liao untuk menemui dan membujuknya. Jawab Guan Yu, "Saya sangat memahami penghormatan yang diberikan Cao Cao, namun jendral Liu (Bei) juga telah memperlakukan saya dengan baik maka saya bersumpah untuk mati bersamanya dan tak akan mengkhianatinya. Saya tak akan tinggal di sini selamanya, tetapi saya mau menorehkan jasa besar sebelum pergi untuk membayar kebaikan Cao Cao." Zhang Liao menjelaskan hal itu kepada Cao Cao yang terkesan dengan kebaikannya.
At the beginning, Cao Cao was pleased with Guan Yu but later began to realise of the latter’s reluctance to stay on, thus ordered Zhang Liao, “Go and speak with him and probe about his feelings.” Thus, when Zhang Liao spoke with Guan Yu, the latter sighed and said, “I am in full knowledge of the honor and privilege Cao Cao had shown me, however, General Liu [Liu Bei] had treated me well also, hence I swear to die with him and I will never betray him. I will not be staying here forever, but I will contribute a [sizeable] exploit first to repay Cao Cao’s favor first before I take my leave”. Zhang Liao related his words to Cao Cao, and the latter was impressed by his honorable attitude (3). Seeing Guan Yu had killed Yan Liang, Cao Cao knew that he would surely take his leave soon, hence further showered him with rewards. Guan Yu did not accept any of the gifts and sealed all of them [a sign of rejection]; he also proceed with writing a letter to tender his resignation before leaving for Yuan Shao’s land where Liu Bei was situated. Some of Cao Cao’s subordinates wanted to chase after him but Cao Cao replied, “each for his own master; hence do not give chase” (4).
Melihat Guan Yu membunuh Yan Liang, Cao Cao mengerti Guan Yu akan segera meninggalkannya, maka ia segera membanjirinya dengan hadiah. Guan Yu menyegel semua hadiah itu sambil menyerahkan surat pengunduran diri sebelum pergi menyusul Liu Bei. Cao Cao mencegah anak buahnya mengejar sambil berkata "Semua punya tuannya masing-masing, janganlah kita memburunya."
Tak lama Liu Bei bergabung dengan Liu Biao. Saat Liu Biao meninggal, Cao Cao mengamankan Jingzhou dan Liu Bei harus mengungsi ke selatan. Liu Bei mengutus Guan Yu membawa beberapa ratus kapal untuk menemuinya di [[Jiangling]]. Cao Cao mengejar sampai ke jembatan Changban sehingga Liu Bei harus menyeberanginya untuk bertemu Guan Yu dan bersamanya pergi ke Xiakou. [[Sun Quan]] mengirim pasukan untuk membantu Liu Bei bertahan dari Cao Cao, hingga Cao Cao menarik mundur pasukannya. Liu Bei kemudian menentramkan wilayah Jiangnan, mengadakan upacara penghormatan korban perang, mengangkat Guan Yu sebagai gubernur [[Xiang Yang]] dan menggelarinya Dangkou Jiangjun (Jendral yang Menggentarkan Penjahat). Guan Yu ditempatkan di utara sungai Kuning.
(3)Fu Zi: Zhang Liao wanted to pass on the message to the Grand Progenitor (Cao Cao), but he was afraid that Cao Cao would kill Guan Yu. But if he did not pass the message on, that would be contrary to the right way of serving a lord. He sighed and said, “The lord is my ruler and my father; and Yu is just a brother.” Thus he told Cao Cao about it. Cao Cao said, “Serving a lord and not forgetting his origins—he is indeed a righteous man out of all men! When do you think he would depart?” Liao said, “Since Yu is receiving a favour for you, my lord, he would definitely do something to repay you before leaving.”
Saat Liu Bei menentramkan Yizhou, dia mengutus Guan Yu untuk menjaga Jingzhou. Guan Yu mendapat kabar Ma Chao menyerah. Karena ia belum pernah berkenalan, maka ia mengirim surat pada [[Zhuge Liang]], "Siapa yang dapat menandingi kemampuan Ma Chao?" Untuk menjaga perasaan Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang menjawab, "Ma Chao sangat pandai dalam seni literatur dan seni perang, lebih kuat dan berani dari kebanyakan orang, seorang pahlawan yang dapat menandingi Qing atau Peng dan dapat menjadi tandingan [[Zhang Fei]] yang hebat, tetapi dia bukan yang dapat menandingi Sang Jendral Berjanggut Indah" (yaitu Guan Yu). Guan Yu bangga membaca surat itu dan menunjukkannya pada tamu-tamunya yang hadir.
(4)Pei Song Zhi: I, your humble servant, feel that Lord Cao perceived Guan Yu’s reluctance to stay but was impressed by Guan Yu’s aspirations in his heart; he did not send his men to pursue either, to allow Guan Yu fulfil his wish. Thus, if Cao Cao did not have the magnanimity of a king and conqueror, how could he act to such extent? Lord Cao’s gesture was good indeed.
Soon after, Liu Bei was with Liu Biao. When Liu Biao passed away, Cao Cao pacified Jingzhou, whereas Liu Bei was forced to escape southwards via crossing a river. Liu Bei specially ordered Guan Yu to take several hundreds of ships to meet him at Jiangling. Cao Cao gave chase till Changban at Dangyang. Liu Bei hereby crossed over to Hanjin and met Guan Yu’s fleet and together they moved to Xiakou (5). Sun Quan sent troops to assist Liu Bei to defend against Cao Cao, and Cao Cao led his troops to retreat. Liu Bei eventually pacified to various commanderies at the Jiangnan area; he then held a ceremony to honor the martyrs and appointed Guan Yu as the governor of Xiangyang and also the rank of Dangkou Jiangjun (General Who Terrifies Criminals) and stationed him to guard at the north of the river.
(5)Shu Ji (Records of Shu): Earlier, Liu Bei and Cao Cao went on a hunting trip together in the capital. During the hunt when the mass was dispersed, Guan Yu advised Liu Bei to kill Lord Cao. Liu Bei did not heed. When they were at Xiakou, floating on the river waters, Guan Yu said furiously, “During the hunt in the previous occasion, if you had listened to my words, we would not have met the predicament today.” Liu Bei said, “At that point, it was for the country’s sake, if the Heaven’s Will aid the righteous ones, who knows if this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise?”
Pei Song Zhi: When Liu Bei plotted together with Dong Cheng and others thereafter (the hunt incident), their plan was leaked out and thus failed. If he had valued Cao Cao for the country’s sake, what did he imply by speaking thus? If Guan Yu had really persuaded Liu Bei but he did not heed the advice, it could be that Liu Bei had considered the fact that Cao Cao’s henchmen were numerous. Moreover, this idea was not planned out carefully enough thus he did not adopt the advice. Although it was possible to slay Cao Cao, but the murderer will definitely not escape alive, so Liu Bei decided to abort this plan. Where did it show that Liu Bei value Cao Cao? This past event was used as a means of justification (of why Liu Bei did not kill Cao Cao).
When Liu Bei pacified Yizhou, he appointed Guan Yu to take care of all the affairs in Jingzhou. Guan Yu got news of Ma Chao’s surrender and they were never acquaintances in the past, hence he wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang asking, “Who can rival against Ma Chao in terms of ability?” Zhuge Liang had to take into account of Guan Yu’s feelings, hence replied him, “Ma Chao is well versed in both literal and military affairs, more courageous and powerful than most men, a hero who can rival Qing or Peng and can be a worthy rival of Yide (Zhang Fei) but he is not someone who can rival the Beautiful Bearded One”. Guan Yu had a beautiful beard; hence Zhuge Liang addressed him thus. Upon finishing the letter, Guan Yu was overjoyed and showed the letter to the guests present.
Guan Yu was once hit by a stray arrow on his left arm and although the wound had healed, the bone would still hurt badly especially during a rainy day. The doctor told him that, “The arrow tip had poison on it, and the poison had entered the bone. The remedy would be to open the arm and scrape away the poison, lest it becomes too problematic in the future”. Guan Yu promptly stretched out his arm and bid the doctor to cure his arm. During the surgery, Guan Yu was eating and drinking with his fellow officers whilst the blood flowed from his arm into a basin below. Throughout the process of treatment, Guan Yu drank wine and conversed and laughed as usual.
(10)Shu Ji (The Records of Shu): Pang De’s son, Hui, followed Zhong Hui and Deng Ai’s army to conquer Shu. Upon entering Shu, he had the Guan family annihilated.
==Pemujaan Guan Yu==
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