Guan Yu’s passage through five passes and slaying of six generals

Guan Yu’s passage through five passes and slaying of six generals turns a promised departure into a perilous journey: after learning Xuande is alive, Guan Yu leaves Cao Cao’s service with Xuande’s two wives and must force a route through guarded checkpoints. The episode binds loyalty to action. Guan Yu will not abandon the women in his care, but neither does he treat every soldier in his path as an enemy; he fights the commanders who bar the way, pardons troops who flee or submit, and reaches the far shore still conscious that Cao Cao will regard his departure as betrayal.

The decision to leave

Guan Yu’s resolve follows a private reckoning over the vow he made with Xuande and Zhang Fei in the Peach Orchard. Xuande’s smuggled letter asks why he seems to have abandoned that pledge. Guan Yu weeps, then writes back that he had entered Cao Cao’s service to protect Xuande’s two wives and that, now he knows Xuande is alive and where he is, he intends to bring them to him. His departure is therefore not an abrupt change of allegiance: in his own account, service under Cao Cao had been a temporary means of fulfilling a responsibility to Xuande’s household.

Guan Yu tries to leave openly before resorting to force. He goes to Cao Cao to remind him of the agreement that he may depart once Xuande’s whereabouts are known, but is repeatedly told that the prime minister is not at home. Recognizing that these absences are intended to prevent him from leaving, Guan Yu places a farewell letter at Cao Cao’s gate. He packs the gifts he has received and leaves them behind, ensuring that his departure cannot be mistaken for taking Cao Cao’s property.

Mounted on Red Hare and carrying his Green Dragon Sword, Guan Yu escorts the two women in their carriage out through the north gate. Cao Cao’s officers report both his departure and the fact that he has taken none of the gifts. Commander Cai Yang offers to pursue him with three thousand men, but Cao Cao instead chooses to appeal to Guan Yu’s honour and sends Zhang Liao to catch up with him. When Cao Cao arrives, Guan Yu explains that he had repeatedly tried to say goodbye and is leaving because he has found Xuande. The exchange confirms the promise between them, but does not end the journey: Guan Yu still has to pass the checkpoints between him and his lord.

The guarded passes

The officials’ repeated demand for papers turns the road into a series of tests. At one checkpoint, a commander insists that the two women remain behind as security. Guan Yu refuses to accept the delay. When the commander returns with armed men, Guan Yu kills him in the ensuing fight; the frightened soldiers bow, and Guan Yu pardons them before the convoy continues toward Luoyang.

At the next district, Governor Han Fu prepares an ambush rather than risk a direct contest. His adviser plans to draw Guan Yu into pursuit while Han Fu waits with a bow. When Guan Yu again says he has no papers, Han Fu declares him a fugitive. The adviser attacks and then pretends to retreat, but Guan Yu catches and kills him. Han Fu’s arrow strikes Guan Yu’s arm without stopping him. Guan Yu removes it with his teeth, pursues Han Fu, and kills him; the soldiers scatter, and the convoy proceeds with Guan Yu bandaging his arm as he rides.

Commander Bian Xi tries a different form of deception. He welcomes Guan Yu and invites him to drink at a Buddhist temple, where two hundred guards are waiting for a signal. Pujing, a monk from Guan Yu’s home town, learns of the plot and warns him through discreet signals. Once Guan Yu recognizes the ambush, he denounces Bian Xi. Bian Xi orders his men to attack and is killed; Guan Yu drives off the troops surrounding the women’s carriage and thanks Pujing for saving them. The monk says he must leave with his robe and alms bowl, but that the two men will meet again.

The escape from Wang Zhi’s city

Wang Zhi, a relative of Han Fu, offers rest and shelter to the exhausted women while concealing another plan to kill Guan Yu. Guan Yu trusts the welcome enough to make the women comfortable, remove his armour, and lie down. Wang Zhi has a thousand soldiers surround the lodging, intending to set it on fire at a signal.

The commander of those troops, Hu Ban, is the son of Hu Hua, and Guan Yu carries a letter from Hu Hua for him. While inspecting the preparations, Hu Ban looks through a window and sees Guan Yu reading and stroking his beard. Guan Yu hears him and calls him in, then gives him the letter. Its contents persuade Hu Ban that Guan Yu is a man of honour. Hu Ban reveals the plan and secretly opens the city gate so Guan Yu and the women can escape.

The escape does not deceive Wang Zhi. After the party has crossed beyond the walls, Hu Ban sets fire to the lodging they have left behind, and Wang Zhi rides after Guan Yu with his men. Guan Yu kills Wang Zhi as he charges; the pursuing soldiers flee when their commander falls. The episode thus distinguishes Hu Ban’s decision to help from Wang Zhi’s treachery, while making the women’s safe passage the immediate stake of the confrontation.

Crossing into Yuan Shao’s lands

At the border, Guan Yu meets Liu Yan, an old friend who warns that the river crossing is guarded by Qin Qi, a deputy governor under Xiahou Dun. Guan Yu asks Liu Yan for a boat to avoid the checkpoint, but Liu Yan is too afraid of Qin Qi to help. Guan Yu presses on and is again asked for papers authorizing his departure from Cao Cao’s service. He refuses the premise that he needs them. Qin Qi declares that no one without papers can cross, and challenges Guan Yu to try. Guan Yu kills Qin Qi with one stroke, then tells the soldiers at the crossing that he has no quarrel with them and asks them to ferry the convoy across. They comply.

On the far shore, Guan Yu and the women have reached Yuan Shao’s territory. The journey has taken them through five places, where Guan Yu has killed six officials. He regrets that events have made this necessary and understands that Cao Cao will feel betrayed. The crossing therefore marks both a physical threshold and a moral cost: Guan Yu has secured passage toward Xuande, but not without violence or the loss of the cordial relationship he had sought to preserve with Cao Cao.

The journey’s turn and significance

The far shore is not the end of the journey. Sun Qian arrives from the north to warn Guan Yu not to continue to Yuan Shao’s court. Frustrated by Yuan Shao’s indecision, Sun Qian has persuaded Xuande to move toward Runan and join Liu Pi; Liu Pi sent him because Guan Yu would be in danger if he rode to Yuan Shao. Guan Yu and the women therefore turn toward Runan, only to have Xiahou Dun and a troop of horsemen thunder up behind them just as they set out.

The episode’s repeated confrontations make loyalty more than a declaration: Guan Yu keeps moving toward Xuande despite Cao Cao’s obstruction, the danger to the women, and the successive demands for official authorization. Yet the narrative also gives his violence limits. He kills commanders who attack, scheme against, or physically block the party, while sparing troops who flee or obey his request to help the convoy cross. His regret on entering Yuan Shao’s lands preserves the tension at the heart of the episode: fidelity to Xuande requires breaking with Cao Cao, even though Guan Yu recognizes the debt and honour binding him to both.