There was once a generation of heroes, who had two identities, and while they were meritorious, they were inevitably dominated by the nature of gamblers. He is Guan Yu, who was respected as "Emperor Guan Sheng" by later generations, but in the world, he was just a chivalrous man in the rivers and lakes, going with the flow and acting as he pleased. He served Cao Cao and became famous in the first battle; Take refuge in Liu Bei and fight for the first. Jingzhou is brave and unparalleled in attack and defense; Xiangfan was defeated and embarrassed. His personality is very different, and his choices are contradictory, which often makes people unbelievable. Is it a loyal and brave general, or a gambler? How does his story solve this mystery?
1. The beginning of the outlaw: the gambler's true colors are emerging
Guan Yu was an outlaw at a young age, wandering in the rivers and lakes, relying on his martial arts ability to make a living. In his early years, he and Zhang Fei were arrogant and arrogant in the local area, armed with violence, and committed crimes. The two later took refuge in Liu Bei, a squire from Shandong, and became the vanguard force under Liu Bei.
In the fifth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and switched to Yuan Shao. Guan Yu was captured by Cao Cao at this time, and could have stayed in Cao Ying to serve. However, because he "received the kindness of General Liu and swore to die together and not to betray him", he finally chose to leave Cao Ying and return to Liu Bei's side.
This decision fully revealed Guan Yu's "chivalrous" side. As a former outlaw, he has friendships and personal debts on the rivers and lakes to Liu Bei. Even though Cao Cao was in power, Guan Yu resolutely gave up the safety of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the opposition, and once again followed Liu Bei, who was in his fate.
However, there is another theory that Guan Yu "abandoned Cao and returned to Liu" more because of selfishness. It is reported that Guan Yu once fell in love with Qin Yilu, a beautiful woman under Lu Bu, and Cao Cao promised to give it to Guan Yu after defeating Lu Bu. However, Cao Cao later "accepted himself", which made Guan Yu eager to go.
Whatever the reason, Guan Yu's decision to leave Cao Ying was selfish and risk-taking. He could have enjoyed the glory and wealth in Cao Ying'an, but he insisted on going his own way and taking refuge in Liu Bei, who was desperate, was reckless.
After returning to Liu Bei's command, Guan Yu's status was not prominent. But he soon made a splash on the battlefield. It was his short career in Cao Cao's army that gave Guan Yu the opportunity to show his talents, defeating the world's famous general Yan Liang in one fell swoop and becoming famous all over the world. Since then, this outlaw from humble background has truly stepped onto the stage of history.
2. Martial Arts: A gambler's gamble
After the battle of Yan Liang, Guan Yu became famous and his worth doubled. When Liu Bei took Xichuan, he did not hesitate to let Guan Yu sit in Jingzhou. This move is tantamount to the maximum trust and reuse of Guan Yu.
As the foundation of Shu Han, the importance of Jingzhou is self-evident. Guarding Jingzhou and firmly controlling the Yangtze River not only ensures the security of the Shu Han front, but also is the key to maintaining the rule of Shu Han. It can be seen how deeply Liu Bei attaches importance to Guan Yu.
Guan Yu really lived up to his expectations. He was eloquent and strategic, making Jingzhou a solid rear base for Shu Han. Cao Wei was eyeing the tiger, but there was no chance to take advantage of it; Wu was ambitious, but he didn't know where to start. As a result, Shu Han was able to fully develop Xichuan and gradually grow.
Guan Yu governed Jingzhou well, was brave and fearless in wartime, and deserved to be the world's first fierce general. After Liu Bei got Xichuan, he personally canonized Guan Yu as a 'fake festival Yue', this honor even the "Prime Minister" Zhuge Liang has not been awarded, it can be seen that Guan Yu is brave and brave, and he has a great military exploit.
However, Guan Yu is arrogant, and the chivalrous spirit of the rivers and lakes is difficult to change, so he uses the power technique a little unrestrainedly. Just when his prestige was growing, he suddenly decided to make a northern expedition to the Central Plains and started a big gamble.
It is reported that Guan Yu "led the crowd to attack Cao Ren and Yu Fan" and attacked Cao Wei's army. Whether this action was approved by Liu Bei has always been controversial. But it is undeniable that Guan Yu's Northern Expedition did have the intention of killing the Quartet, and wanted to snow the humiliation of being defeated by Cao Cao back then.
This Northern Expedition was really smooth sailing at the beginning, and the results were fruitful. In just a few months, Guan Yu broke Xu Huang, drowned the Seventh Army, beheaded Pang De, and swallowed China. Cao Wei was shocked, seeing that Guan Yu was unmatched, Cao Cao even wanted to move the capital to escape his edge.
At this time, if you can take the opportunity to capture Xuchang and move west to Cao Wei, it will definitely rewrite the historical process of the Three Kingdoms. But Guan Yu actually cooked raw rice and cooked rice, despised the pros and cons, and refused to join forces with Sun Quan, but instead provoked Sun Quan to suffer the enemy on his belly and back, and finally fell into a desperate situation.
This decision is a bit reckless. Some scholars analyzed that Guan Yu was arrogant at that time, and his chivalrous spirit was difficult to change; Some people also think that Guan Yu regards himself as excellent in martial arts and refuses to break up with others because of arrogance. But no matter which way it is said, it cannot hide the gambler psychology behind Guan Yu's behavior at that time.
That is: I, Guan Yu, am a generation of martial artists, isn't my generation really self-defeating? What's so difficult about breaking Cao Cao? I have my own ambition not to go through the tribulation with the world!
Gambling on all one's abilities and not taking others into account is the gambler's consistent style and philosophy, and it is also a true portrayal of Guan Yu at his peak.
3. Conceited hubris: the gambler's obsession
Even the battles were victorious, making Guan Yu proud and complacent, and his actions became more and more conceited and arrogant. He began to regard the small country of Yuer as weighing the pros and cons as nothing, and only relied on a martial arts skill, thinking that it was invincible.
At that time, although Sun Wu's national strength was not as strong as Cao Wei's, his military might was still there. In order to defuse the coercion, Sun Quan twice sent envoys to persuade Guan Yu, hoping to join forces with Shu Han to fight against Cao Wei. But Guan Yu completely ignored the overall situation, insisted on fighting alone, and never dealt with Sun Quan.
Among them, of course, there are factors related to the brilliant results of the early feathers. But more importantly, it is out of the chivalrous spirit and arrogance of a gambler.
Guan Yu regarded Sun Quan as a rat and didn't care about it at all. He only obeyed by force, focusing on the Northern Expedition, and turning a blind eye to power and diplomacy. even arrogant, thinking that "making Sun Quan know that he is defeated" Yunyun. A hollow-eyed frame is a complete portrayal of a gambler.
What's more, Guan Yu didn't even pay attention to the heroes in Liu Bei's army. It is reported that he was "deeply suspicious of Zhuge (Liang), Huang (Zhong), Ma (Tan), etc." As the mastermind of Shu Han's wisdom and bravery, Zhuge Liang's status is needless to say. Huang Zhong Ma Jian was also a famous general in the world, fighting side by side with Guan Yu. Guan Yu harbored deep jealousy and jealousy of them, believing that they intended to encroach on their authority.
Everything stems from Guan Yu's martial arts conceit, and all the feats that Shu Han can establish come from him alone. He doesn't understand the power changes, he only respects the supremacy of force, and thinks that with him, a peerless general, no one can escape death.
This way of thinking is the same as the individualism of gamblers. When gamblers gamble money, they only think about whether they can win all, and never consider the impact of winning or losing on their families; Guan Yu guarded Jingzhou in the same way, only caring about his own martial arts, and did not care about the overall situation of Shu Han. He is obsessed with his own power and thinks that he is invincible.
It was this kind of blind conceit and obsession that made Guan Yu embark on the road of arrogance at the peak of his career. He began to go against the will of Shu Han and make decisions without authorization; disobeyed Liu Bei's orders and acted indulgently. What's more, he doesn't even care about the lives of the people. The Sun-Wu coalition army went straight into Jingzhou, killing and injuring countless civilians, but Guan Yu still ignored them and insisted on going his own way. From this moment on, he has become a pure gambler.
Fourth, defeat and despair: the fall of the gambler
Guan Yu was conceited and arrogant, and finally suffered a catastrophe in the Battle of Xiangfan. At that time, Sun Wu's army attacked Guan Yu's garrison in Jingzhou, and they were defeated one after another.
At the beginning of the sneak attack, although Guan Yu's strength was inferior to that of the coalition army, as long as he held on to the fortified base and moved with the camera, he could still retreat with his whole body. It's just that because of his arrogance, he didn't take Sun Wu in his eyes at all, blindly resting on his laurels and insisting on fighting alone. As a result, Jingzhou was lost, and he led the remnants to flee in embarrassment, and the defeat was like a collapse and could not be formed.
At that time, Guan Yu did not have many troops left, so he could only flee in all directions, and had no time to defend against the enemy. But he still has a fluke mentality, thinking that as long as he escapes, he will definitely be able to make a comeback. So he ran for his life, lest he fall into the hands of the enemy.
All this is exactly the wishful thinking of gamblers who still have to turn defeat into victory after losing money. Guan Yu equated his martial skills with a lifelong talisman, and was extremely proud and arrogant.
By the time he fled to Gangneung, Guan Yu's situation had reached a desperate level. He had been killed in battle many times before, and the morale of the army was gradually lost. In the later stage, his martial strength was not as good as before. Even Guan Yu, who was quite famous in Cao Wei, could only retreat at this time.
However, at this critical moment, Guan Yu still made a rather abrupt decision - resolutely not to surrender. He foraged for food everywhere and had a hard time, and his soldiers were displaced, like wandering spirits. But he still rests on his laurels, preferring to take his last breath rather than surrender.
This decision is already the final embodiment of Guan Yu's gambler nature. He was determined to die in the hope of a miracle; It's like a gambler in a desperate situation, always expecting a big gamble to turn over and make decisions.
Finally, when the desperate situation came, Guan Yu lost the bet. The Sun-Wu coalition cut off his last supply lines, and he and the remnants of his retinue were forced to break out nearby. In this hasty action, Guan Yu was finally captured and killed in great shame by the world.
In this way, this generation of fierce generals fell short, and finally died in a different place because he was not subject to the psychology of a rational gambler, and he regretted it in the end. He was invincible all his life, but he was eventually intimidated by his conceit and arrogance. The madness of gamblers is finally a footnote to Guan Yu's life.
5. Legacy after death: Gamblers are gamblers after all
Guan Yu's death shocked China and foreign countries, and made countless followers saddened. However, looking back at the ups and downs of his life, there will still be different interpretations and evaluations of his losses.
Some people believe that the root of Guan Yu's tragedy lies in arrogance. He blindly relied on prowess and regarded strategy as nothing, which made him finally fall into a desperate situation. Some people also say that Guan Yu's defeat was due to the fact that he attached too much importance to personal honor and ignored the general interests of the country. No matter what kind of evaluation it is, it is difficult to hide the essence of Guan Yu as a gambler.
As an outlaw, Guan Yu has been the embodiment of a gambler from the beginning. He followed Liu Bei almost desperately, hoping that one day he could show his ambitions in troubled times. During the conquest, he made many desperate bets, gambling all his martial talents to win at all costs. Eventually, he was killed in a gamble-like bet.
Whether it is glory or defeat, Guan Yu is a gambler. He has a chivalrous heart, but he also has the nature of a gambler. He was true to his ideals, but he was also true to his own desires. He has made great achievements, but he has also been remembered for thousands of years. Having these contradictory qualities is the biggest footnote to Guan Yu's fate.
If he hadn't been a gambler, maybe he wouldn't have made a desperate bet in the battle of Jingzhou; If he weren't a gambler, he probably wouldn't have hoped for a miracle in a desperate situation; If he hadn't been a gambler, he might not have ended up isolated. However, his gambler personality has long been doomed to this life end.
Therefore, some commentators believe that Guan Yu is "thin and shallow", and he is not enough to be a generation of heroes; Some people also say that Guan Yu is just a martial artist and embarrassed. But none of these assessments are arbitrary. Although Guan Yu is arrogant, he is also a loyal and brave general of a generation after all. He had a brilliant life and outstanding achievements, and even if he lost, he was by no means without roots.
His biggest regret may lie in his insistence on going his own way, sticking to martial virtues, and never giving in to outsiders. However, this is precisely Guan Yu's biggest trait as a gambler. Blindly pursuing the ideal absolute victory, just like a gambler always expects to make a fortune with a big gamble, Guan Yu is also on this road and never returns.
Gamblers are certainly ambitious, but they also often lack rational thinking. Guan Yu is exactly like this, he gambled everything he had, and in the end he had nothing. This is the greatest sorrow of his life.