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WARNING! THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!!!!! (Ummm, actually, NO football rules. Seriously, what a dumb sport...)
Ahem. Anyways...now that I've got most of the capital letters out of me for the time being, it's time to get down to the commentary...
So Guan Yu, previously a sort of "Free-Agent" working for Cao Cao, has learned of the whereabouts of his true Master, his sworn-brother Liu Bei. Here's the funny part...it turns out that Liu Bei is up north, chilling with Yuan Shao, a man who just so happens to be at war with Cao Cao at the moment. (Guan Du, anybody?)
So naturally, the beginning of this chapter is filled with a sense of apprehension and terrible anticipation. Cao Cao has proven in the past that he can be utterly ruthless when he doesn't get what he wants, and Guan Yu is definitely what Lord Cao Mengde wants. In fact, throughout Cao Cao's entire life, there was no officer in all the Middle Kingdom whom Cao Cao wanted more, no one he would rather have won over to his side.
Not that anyone could have blamed him. After all, after the fall of Lu Bu, Guan Yu pretty much became the NEW Baddest Mo'focko in the land, and he pretty much remained so until his death, decades later. Everyone gets better at what they do with lots of time and experience. Guan Yu started out a badass, and by the time he died (in his sixties), he had become a veritable God of War.
Perhaps the equal of Lu Bu on the field of battle, he far surpassed Bu in mental acumen and charisma, and that made Lord Guan, the "Duke of the Beautiful Beard", at least three times as dangerous as Lu Bu. This sentiment is echoed, somewhat, by Cheng Yu, one of Cao Cao's top advisors, who urges Cao Cao to kill Guan Yu rather than let him escape. I'm glad that Cao Cao doesn't seem to listen to such advice, since it means Guan Yu will be around for some time to make the story that much more interesting, even though in all fairness, Cheng Yu was seeing the situation honestly and far less subjectively.
Cheng Yu is correct, of course. The slaying of Guan Yu, while a reprehensible act, would have been the correct path to follow. Much later in the novel, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei both demonstrate an utter irrationality after the death of Lord Guan, and this failure to see reason leads to both their demises. By killing Guan Yu, Cao Cao might very well have stood there and watched as Liu Bei and Zhang Fei quite literally self-destructed, honoring the vow to "die in the very same hour of the very same day.."
However, Lord Cao Cao, in a rare moment of high principle perhaps, decides not only to honor his vow to let Guan Yu return to Liu Bei, but also to send him off with gifts for his journey. Cao Cao has lost Guan Yu, but he's gained Guan Yu's respect. And that will serve Cao Cao in very lucky stead during the Huarong Episode, following the great Battle of the Red Cliffs, years later.
While I was scoring the soundtrack for this chapter, I changed my Facebook status. From time to time, just to tease anyone who's paying attention, I make my Facebook status reflect some of the things going on in the story at the time. This time, the status read "....and it only takes 6 Pass Commanders....and their armies...to prove that it's a very bad idea to stand in Guan Yu's way..."
That, of course, is pretty much true. Guan Yu, escorting Lady Gan and Lady Mi, wives of Liu Bei, is determined to reach his Brother once again. And at every checkpoint, stubborn pass commanders (who appear not to have gotten Cao Cao's memo about not interfering with Guan Yu...if he actually sent it...) decide THEY'RE going to be the ones to apprehend the mighty Guan Yu.
I believe this is where the term "Making someone famous" came from...
Case in point, each and every one of those Pass Commanders has a name attached to them, and the only mention that those names are given in the novels is as victims of Guan Yu...that's it. Just about everyone of "quality" in the Middle Kingdom was obsessed with dying famous. Guan Yu made 'em famous, all right... :p
Enjoy this, a highly amusing chapter, if I do say so myself.