Why is it said that the direct murderer of Guan Yu's death was Zhuge Liang, and the accomplices were Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Cao Cao, and Guan Yu?

I have watched the Three Kingdoms since I was a child, and I always felt a little strange when I saw Guan Yu’s death. There is Cao Cao in the north, Sun Quan in the east, and Guan Yu goes north alone without any support behind him. What else is it if he is not seeking death? Even if Guan Yu can't understand it, Liu Bei can't understand it, and Zhuge Liang can't understand it either?

I finally understood it later. In fact, Liu Bei understood it, Zhuge Liang understood it, Guan Yu also understood it, and even Cao Cao and Sun Quan also understood it. As long as Guan Yu doesn't die, everyone's life will be uneasy; if Guan Yu dies, everyone will feel relieved. Therefore, the entire "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" actually centers on Guan Yu's death.

So the conclusion is: Guan Yu died of murder.

So, who murdered Guan Yu?

Why Guan Yu must die

First of all, let’s talk about why Guan Yu must die? This might as well start with the death of Xun Yu.

Xun Yu was the first counselor to follow Cao Cao. He ranked second only to Guo Jia among Cao Cao's counselors. He was loyal to Cao Cao and made many contributions. Cao Cao respected him very much. The Xun Yu family has "four generations and three princes", and the family status is much higher than that of Cao Cao. Therefore, Xun Yu's contribution to Cao Cao also includes the benefits brought to Cao Cao by the Xun family's status in the world.

However, Xun Yu's purpose in helping Cao Cao was to help him support the Han Dynasty. Later, Cao Cao was granted the title of King of Wei and added nine tins. Xun Yu found out that he had the ambition to usurp the Han Dynasty, so he stood up against Cao Cao. As a result, Cao Cao was furious and gave Xun Yu a cup of poison, which killed Xun Yu.

Why talk about Xun Yu first? Because Guan Yu and Xun Yu are the same kind of people.

Guan Yu likes to read "Spring and Autumn" and talks about righteousness. Although he followed Liu Bei out of brotherly loyalty, the most fundamental thing was that he hoped to help the Han Dynasty and leave a name for the ages.

One thing that illustrates the problem is that after Guan Yu was captured by Cao Cao, Cao Cao named him "Han Shoutinghou". Nominally it was granted by Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, but in fact it was granted by Cao Cao. Guan Yu valued this title very much. After all, it was nominally granted by the Han Dynasty, and he was considered an official of the Han Dynasty from then on.

After leaving Cao Cao, it stands to reason that Guan Yu should avoid mentioning this "Han Shoutinghou" again, so as not to irritate his elder brother Liu Bei. Because in Liu Bei's eyes, this is what Cao Cao granted. However, Guan Yu still loudly called himself "Han Shouting Hou", and the banner was embroidered with "Han Shouting Hou Guan". In his eyes, this is an honor, but in the eyes of his elder brother, this is a candy bar given by Cao Cao. After Huarong Dao Guan Yu released Cao Cao privately, Liu Bei actually felt a little cold. It seemed that this brother was a bit unreliable.

Why did Guan Yu release Cao Cao privately? There is an element of ambition, but there is a deeper consideration: if Liu Bei kills Cao Cao, then Liu Bei will probably be the next Cao Cao.

Zhuge Liang expected that Guan Yu would let Cao Cao go, because he knew that Guan Yu's goal was to help the Han Dynasty. Why do you have to let him guard the last level when you expected it? Because he knows that the best result is the tripartite confrontation.

The three families of Wei, Shu and Wu had headaches

When Liu Bei took Xichuan, Zhuge Liang, Fazheng and other brothers tried their best to persuade Liu Bei to proclaim himself emperor, but Liu Bei refused and proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong first. Why? Because Guan Yu was in Jingzhou at this time, if he proclaimed himself emperor, he would force Guan Yu to surrender to Cao Cao.

But Guan Yu was also very dissatisfied with the matter of proclaiming himself King of Hanzhong: without the approval of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, this was trespassing. Therefore, Liu Bei named Guan Yu the leader of the Five Tiger Generals, but Guan Yu refused to accept the order.

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is actually written very vividly. When Fei Shi came to Jingzhou with Liu Bei's letter of appointment, Guan Yu asked directly: "What title will the King of Hanzhong grant me?" The tone was obvious. With dissatisfaction and disdain, because he knew that as a king, Liu Bei was not qualified to be knighted. Later, he was furious when he heard that he had been named the leader of the Five Tiger Generals.

Guan Yu’s reaction is very abnormal, don’t you feel it? Although Guan Yu reluctantly accepted the title ban in the end, his dissatisfaction was already obvious.

Fei Shi must have told Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang exactly what Guan Yu said. For Liu Bei, it was difficult to do so at this time.

Let Guan Yu enter Sichuan, and there will definitely be a falling out in the future. Guan Yu will probably end up like Xun Yu, and he will be notorious for crossing rivers and destroying bridges; let Guan Yu continue to guard Jingzhou, there is no guarantee that he will surrender to Cao Cao at any time. What to do?

Sun Quan was also scratching his head at this time, because Guan Yu occupied Jingzhou and could go down the river at any time to attack Wu. Cao Cao also had a headache, because Jingzhou was a strategic hub and he could go north to the Central Plains and attack Xuchang at any time.

So by this time, Guan Yu had become a headache for all three families of Wei, Shu and Wu.

However, Guan Yu himself also had a headache. If you follow Liu Bei, you are a Han traitor; if you surrender to Cao Cao, you are also a Han traitor; if you surrender to Sun Quan, you are also a Han traitor. If you establish yourself as a king, you will still be a Han traitor. What to do? The last thing you want to do is to be a Han traitor, but the word "Han traitor" is written on all roads.