Yan Yu (阎宇), courtesy name Wenping, was a native of Nanjun County, Jingzhou, and a general of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he is portrayed as a snobbish and incompetent person, but the real him in history is not so.
There is no detailed account of his birth. When Uncle Liu Huang entered Sichuan, he brought some talents from Jingzhou with him, and Yan Yu was also among them. He was known for his talents and merits, but he has always been unknown. In the last year of Yanxi, he succeeded Zhang Biaoshu Han as the sixth governor of Shu Han. This is not a good errand, Zhuge Liang once wrote in the "Table of Departures", "Therefore, in May, the crossing of The Lu, deep and barren", Nanzhong is a barren land, often large and small rebellions. After Receiving the transfer order, Yan Yu did not complain and went to his post. He was diligent and meticulous, and gradually gained the approval of the people of South China, but his prestige was still inferior to that of his predecessor, Ma Zhong.
During his reign in Nanzhong, the allied Sun Wu regime was in a miasma of black smoke. The chancellor Sun Qi's prestige was insufficient, so he killed his ministers, deposed the emperor, and then monopolized power, and the ministers were very dissatisfied. The Hussar general Shi Ji was worried that the State of Wei would take advantage of the civil unrest in Wu to take advantage of the fire, so he secretly contacted Shu Han to explain the situation between the two countries, hoping to get support.
After receiving the letter, Liu Chan was very happy, so he sent Yan Yu, who was then the Right General, to lead 5,000 soldiers and horses to the White Emperor City to strengthen the defense and cooperate with Shi Ji's future plans. In the first year of Jing Yao's reign, when Emperor Zong of Yong'an returned to Chengdu due to illness, the imperial court asked Yan Yu to take over his official position as the Governor of Yong'an, guarding the border between Shu Han and Sun Wu, Badong County.
In the same year, Shang Shu ling Chen Qi died, and the eunuch Huang Hao took control of the imperial government. At that time, Luo Xian refused to attach himself to him, and Huang Hao demoted him to the title of Taishou of Padang County. Although Yan Yu also seduced Huang Hao, he valued Luo Xian's talent and made him the leader as his deputy.
In the fifth year of Jing Yao, another general of the Shu Han Dynasty, Jiang Wei, failed the Northern Expedition again, and even after several years of northern expeditions, Huang Hao wanted to get rid of it and promote Yan Yu, who was attached to himself. After Jiang Wei heard about it, he did not dare to return to Chengdu because of fear.
The following year, Sima Zhao, in order to divert the contradictions between the emperor and the emperor, launched the War of Shu. In August, Cao Wei's army set out from Luoyang and marched into Shu Han. The general Deng Dun proposed that Shu should not be cut down, and sima Zhao beheaded him for public display. In September, Sima Zhao had Tianshui Taishou Wang Ji attack Jiang Wei's forces; Longxi Taishou (陇西太守) intercepted Him in front; and Jincheng Taishou Yang Xin marched towards Gansong. Zhong Hui led his army directly to Yang'an, and Hu Lie attacked Guancheng. When Jiang Wei heard this, he led his army to retreat, and Wang Ji took advantage of the victory to pursue and defeat the Shu army at Qiangchuan.
Liu Chan ordered Yan Yu to go west to rescue, and after Yan Yu received the order, he asked Luo Xian to take the remaining 2,000 people to guard Yong'an City, and he himself led tens of thousands of soldiers back to Chengdu to rescue. However, no one expected that Yan Yu would disappear on the way back. At the same time, Deng Ai smuggled himself into Yinping, directly defeated the Shu army at Mianzhu, killed Zhuge Zhan, and sent his head to the Beijing Division. Then directly approaching Chengdu, Liu Chan, under the persuasion of Tan Zhou, took the initiative to open the city gate and surrender, and at this point, the Shu Han regime collapsed.
Some people say that after Yan Yu heard that Hou Lord surrendered, he led his men to deng Ai, and later served as a general of the Jin Dynasty. However, there is no evidence for this statement, and it is not known whether it is true or not. Where Yan Yu went and what he did on his way back to Chengdu is still an unsolved mystery.