Guan Yu carelessly lost Jingzhou and himself was killed by Eastern Wu, which was not only a personal tragedy for him, but also a tragedy for the Shu Han regime. This incident not only caused Shu Han to lose a famous general like Guan Yu, but also lost a main force. More importantly, the loss of jingzhou, such a starting point for a campaign, also declared the bankruptcy of the "Longzhong Pair" formulated by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.
When Guan Yu sent troops to Xiangfan, he also took precautions against Eastern Wu. He set up beacons along the river to serve as alarm facilities. However, what he never expected was that after he won the victory of the flooded Seventh Army, Eastern Wu would actually send troops to cross the river in white clothes and attack Jingzhou.
First analyze Guan Yu's defeat at Maicheng
Guan Yu, who was at the front, was caught between Cao Cao and Sun Quan, and had no choice but to lead his army south in an attempt to retake Jingzhou. Who knows, since the general's family members are in Jiangling, Jiangling was captured by Eastern Wu, which made Guan Yu's military heart waver. After learning that his family was unharmed, Guan Yu's army left without a fight. Guan Yu was therefore poor and forced to go to Baomai City.
However, although Maicheng was small and strong, Jingzhou had been lost, and Guan Yu was trapped in an isolated city. Therefore, Guan Yu took the opportunity of Eastern Wu's persuasion to break through from Maicheng and wanted to return to Xichuan. Unfortunately, when he reached Linfeng, he was ambushed by Eastern Wu. Guan Yu's father and son were captured by Eastern Wu during the battle and were killed immediately.
We see that the place where Guan Yu was captured is depressed. This place is located in today's Anyuan County, Hubei Province, where there is a small road leading to Xichuan. It was here that Guan Yu was captured by Eastern Wu's ambush troops, only two hundred miles away from Yizhou. There are still some relics and place names related to Guan Yu left here.
However, if we look at history, we will be very surprised to find that this despondency is also related to another of Liu Bei's generals. This general is Ma Chao. In that year, after Ma Chao surrendered to Liu Bei, he personally went out on horseback and forced Liu Zhang to surrender. In recognition of Ma Chao's exploits, Liu Bei made Ma Chao a general of Pingxi and oversaw His depression. As soon as this member came, Linfeng became the place where Ma Chao was the governor.
There is a question here, since Guan Yu fled to Linfeng, why didn't Ma Chao come to the rescue?
The answer to this question is simple, because Ma Chao is not depressed at all. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Linfeng was under the jurisdiction of Nan Commandery,while Nan Commandery was a dependency of Jingzhou. We can think that when Ma Chao was appointed as the governor of Linchuan by Liu Bei, it was when Liu Bei had just taken Xichuan.
At this time, something happened. That is, Guan Yu heard that Ma Chao had come to surrender to Liu Bei, so he wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang to discuss who Ma Chao was and who he could compare. Zhuge Liang knew Guan Yu's thoughts, so he wrote back to Guan Yu, saying that Ma Chao was an all-rounder in humanities and martial arts, a heroic and heroic, a Haojie of the first generation, and a first-class figure with Yingbu and Peng Yue under Liu Bang of Han Gaozu. However, he is just on a par with Zhang Fei, and he can't catch up with Guan Yu, who is absolutely superior. Guan Yu read Zhuge Liang's reply and was very happy, and also passed this letter to everyone.
We can see from the incident that although Ma Chao was appointed by Liu Bang as the governor of Linfeng, he did not take office. Otherwise, Linfeng would be under the rule of Nam Gun, and Guan Yu's seat of government would be in Gangneung, Nam Gun. Guan Yu wanted to see Ma Chao, but after a day or two of kung fu, why waste kung fu and write a letter to Nishikawa Zhuge Liang to ask?
After this, Ma Chao stayed in Xichuan and never came to Jingzhou again. When Liu Bei ascended to the throne of Hanzhong, Ma Chao was one of the leading personnel in the advance, ranking before Zhuge Liang. As for ma chao not coming to Jingzhou and to his despondent pipe, there was nothing more than one reason, that is, Guan Yu could not tolerate people.
Liu Bei asked Ma Chaodu to be frustrated, which was nothing more than a purpose, to strengthen the defensive forces of Jingzhou. In this place, the land is fertile and rich in products, and it is also the throat of Jingzhou and Xichuan. Liu Bei arranged Ma Chao here, and entering could help Guan Yu in the Northern Expedition, and retreating could protect Guan Yu's rear, leaving a retreat for Guan Yu.
However, Guan Yu was narrow-minded and could not tolerate people. When he heard that Ma Chao was coming to the capital to oversee Linfeng, he wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang and asked about Ma Chao's situation. Zhuge Liang originally appeased Guan Yu and said some compliments to Guan Yu, but did not demean Ma Chao's original intentions. However, Guan Yu made the letter between the two open to everyone. In this way, everyone's impression of Ma Chao cannot be complimented.
In this case, how else does Ma Chao go to Linfeng to take office. Therefore, Ma Chao has remained in Nishikawa. After the Battle of Hanzhong, Ma Chao, as a hero in advancing Liu Bei's claim to the throne, was made a left general by Liu Bei. Liu Bei also changed his appointment to Ma Chao, preparing to use his strengths to use him in the direction of Liangzhou.
In this way, the location of Linfeng was no longer defended by generals and heavy soldiers. After Guan Yu's defeat, he was easily captured by Eastern Wu. When Guan Yu and his party fled to Linfeng, they were captured by the Eastern Wu army, which had been ambushed for a long time, and lost their lives.
If Guan Yu had not been narrow-minded and competitive, Ma Chao would have stayed in Linfeng according to Liu Bei's arrangement. This tragedy of Guan Yu would not happen. This is also caused by the flaws in Guan Yu's personality. Therefore, as the history books say, Guan Yu's failure was entirely due to his personality, which makes some sense.