In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ma Mo once issued a military order after the street kiosk was lost. Zhuge Liang had no choice but to dispose of Ma Chen's military law. It should be known that the relationship between Ma Mo and Zhuge Liang is extraordinary, Ma Mo regards Zhuge Liang as his father, and Zhuge Liang is also very appreciative of Ma Mo and often discusses military information with him. However, Ma Mo, who was close to Zhuge Liang, was beheaded by Zhuge Liang for violating military orders.
In sharp contrast, at the end of the Battle of Chibi, Guan Yu also issued a military order asking Huarong Dao to intercept and kill Cao Cao. However, after Guan Yu met Cao Cao, who fled in a daze, not only did he not intercept Cao Cao, but he felt compassion, plus recalled how well Cao Cao treated himself in the past, and did not want to take revenge, so he let Cao Cao go.
Obviously, Guan Yu had already violated the military order, and he also knew what he had done, so after returning home, Guan Yu asked for the death penalty. However, Guan Yu's final outcome was that nothing happened, and Zhuge Liang neither dealt with Guan Yu's military law nor severely punished Guan Yu.
The original work says: "At that time, Zhuge Liang originally planned to pull Guan Yu out and behead him", only because the boss Liu Bei said to Kong Ming: "I and Yun Chang are brothers, I have vowed to live and die together, and I also asked the military master to spare his life for the time being, so that he can wear the sin and make meritorious deeds." Obviously, Liu Bei's meaning is very clear, you Zhuge Liang can't kill him, otherwise I will die for you to see. Hindered by Liu Bei's face, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to give up.
This shows that Guan Yu violated the military order but was safe and sound, because there was a backstage like Liu Bei who was too tough. In fact, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei were also singing double reeds. In the original work, Zhuge Liang told Liu Bei that the reason why he let Guan Yu make a military order was not to want Guan Yu's life, but only to sell this person to Guan Yu.
Since Zhuge Liang wanted to sell guan yu people, why did he still need Guan Yu to issue a military order? Wouldn't that be superfluous? I don't know if you noticed, in fact, Zhuge Liang also made a military order, Guan Yu said that Cao Cao may not have escaped from Huarong Dao, and Zhuge Liang promised that Cao Cao would definitely take Huarong Road.
It can be said that Guan Yu's military order is conditional on Zhuge Liang's military order, and if Zhuge Liang miscalculates, Guan Yu will certainly not have to bear any responsibility. It can be seen that Guan Yu is actually still a little dissatisfied with Zhuge Liang. However, since this incident, Guan Yu has let go of his prejudices against Zhuge Liang. At this moment, it also shows that Zhuge Liang has foresight and resourcefulness.
All in all, Zhuge Liang asked Guan Yu to issue a military order, not to take Guan Yu's life, but to establish prestige in front of Guan Yu, and at the same time, to improve the relationship with Guan Yu. Moreover, Zhuge Liang also knew that Cao Cao could not die now, and if he let other generals go to Huarong Dao, it was estimated that something big would happen.