Yu Gui, a native of Juping County, Taishan County, during the Three Kingdoms period, was the son of Yu Ban, a general of Wei. In 216 AD, Cao Cao was canonized as the king of Wei, and Yu Ban was made a general of Zuo for his merits, and was granted the privilege of false Jieyue, which meant that he had the right to act on behalf of the king and had extremely high military power. As his father's position in the court became more and more prominent, Yu Gui naturally received wide attention from all walks of life as a general.
In 219 AD, Guan Yu, a famous Shu Han general, besieged Xiangyang and Fancheng. Yu Ban was sent to lead the Seventh Army with a total of 30,000 people to Fancheng to support Cao Ren. Yu Gui believed that with his father's military experience, he would definitely be able to defeat Guan Yu and defend the glory of Wei.
However, the brutality of the war far exceeded Yu's expectations. His father Yu Ban encountered continuous autumn rains during the battle outside Fancheng, which caused the Han River to swell, and the Seventh Army was trapped in the water, and the situation was extremely unfavorable. In desperation, Yu Ban made a decision that shocked everyone - he chose to surrender to Guan Yu. After this news was transmitted back to the Wei State, it caused a huge shock, and Yu Gui also received this sad news.
Yu Ban's surrender not only lost his respect for his father, but also made him unable to hold his head up in front of his colleagues and friends. In that era, the loyalty of a general was seen as the supreme quality, and the surrender of Yu Ban was seen as a betrayal of this quality. Yu Gui's position in the army was seriously affected, and his heart was full of helplessness.
In 221 AD, Sun Quan returned to Wei with a ban on repatriation. At this time, Yu Ban was no longer the majestic general he was back then, but an old man with white hair and a haggard face. He was extremely tormented, both physically and mentally.
When Yu Gui saw his father's appearance, he felt unspeakable pain in his heart, but he still chose to persuade him with good words and tried to comfort his father. He knew that his father must have struggled in his heart at the moment of surrender, just like Li Ling, a general of the Han Dynasty back then, who faced a desperate situation and made a choice that was considered a betrayal.
Li Ling's surrender to the Xiongnu due to defeat and capture during the Han Dynasty also caused great controversy at the time. However, Li Ling's surrender was not out of betrayal, but out of responsibility for the lives of the soldiers. Yu Ban's situation may be similar to Li Ling's, he suffered a natural disaster of force majeure on the battlefield, and faced with the lives of soldiers and the cruel reality of war, he chose survival over honor.
Although Yu Gui understood his father's hardship, he also knew that such a choice was unacceptable in the Wei State at that time. Yu Ban's surrender was seen as a betrayal of the Wei state, a betrayal of Cao Cao, and a betrayal of the soldiers.
After Cao Pi became the emperor of Wei, he ordered him to go to Yecheng in the forbidden north to pay homage to Cao Cao's mausoleum. On the walls of Cao Cao's mausoleum in Yecheng, there are murals depicting Guan Yu Zhanke, Pang De's anger, and Yu Ban's surrender. These murals are undoubtedly a satire of the prohibition of surrender. After Yu Ban saw these murals, he felt extremely ashamed. He could not bear such humiliation and was devastated, both mentally and physically. Soon after, Yu Ban fell ill and died, ending his life as a general of Wei.
After Yu Ban's death, Yu Gui inherited Yu Ban's title and became the Marquis of Yishou Pavilion. Although Yu Gui inherited his father's title, he also inherited the stain on his father's reputation. This is a heavy and complex legacy for Kyu. He had to work hard to preserve the dignity of his family while his father's reputation was damaged, while also finding his place in the political and military arena of Wei.