
Chapter 53: Guan Yu’s Righteous Release of Huang Hansheng; Sun Zhongmou’s Great Battle with Zhang Wenyuan
Zhang Fei kills Prefect Huang Xuan to take Wuling; Guan Yu duels Huang Zhong at Changsha until Wei Yan’s timely rescue secures victory.
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Zhang Fei kills Prefect Huang Xuan to take Wuling; Guan Yu duels Huang Zhong at Changsha until Wei Yan’s timely rescue secures victory.
At Huarong Pass, Guan Yu faces the defeated Cao Cao but, honoring past favors and righteousness, he spares him and allows his escape, fulfilling his bond.
Zhou Yu lures Zhuge Liang into Wu’s camp under the pretense of seizing Cao Cao’s supplies at Jutie Mountain, secretly intending to have Cao’s forces eliminate him. Zhuge Liang, aware of Zhou Yu’s plot, feigns compliance while planning to strike by water instead. Meanwhile, Liu Bei sails to meet Zhou Yu, but Guan Yu’s presence thwarts the assassination. Back at camp, Zhou Yu executes Cao Cao’s envoy, provoking Cao’s fury. Naval battles ensue at the Three Rivers’ mouth: Gan Ning’s archery routs Cai Yan, and Wu’s fleet overwhelms Cao’s poorly trained soldiers. Cao rebuilds his river defenses under Mao Jie and Yu Jin. Zhou Yu, cautious of Zhuge Liang’s insight, prepares further stratagems, while Lu Su and Zhuge Liang conspire to secure victory.
Guan Yu defies Xiahou Dun, freed by Zhang Liao’s orders, spares a farmer’s son, gains Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao as comrades, and reunites with Zhang Fei.
Guan Yu declines pursuit, meets Cao Cao for a cordial sendoff, then charges through five passes—slaying six guarding generals—to reunite with Liu Bei.
Yuan Shao’s forces rout Cao Cao’s vanguard at Guandu, but Guan Yu bursts through, slays General Wen Chou, recovers the supplies, then hangs up his seal and rides off to Liu Bei.
Guan Yu, besieged on Tu Mountain, surrenders to Cao Cao under three conditions, protects his family, then charges out to slay Yan Liang at White Horse.
As Yuan Shao and Cao Cao muster vast armies, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei storm Xuzhou’s gates, seizing Generals Wang Zhong and Liu Dai to secure Liu Bei’s position.
In a rain-soaked pavilion, Cao Cao and Liu Bei share wine beneath a dragon-shaped cloud, debating who truly is a hero—and only they fit the measure.
As floodwaters engulf Xiaopei, Lü Bu’s fortunes collapse. Betrayed from within, the mighty warrior is at Cao Cao’s mercy atop White Gate Tower.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei unite under Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao. The alliance battles Dong Zhuo’s champion Lü Bu—first at Sishui Pass, where Guan Yu slays Hua Xiong, then in an epic three-way duel at Hulao Pass.
After crushing the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Fei punishes a corrupt censor at the county gate, and Liu Bei must temper justice with mercy.
Amid Han dynasty chaos and the Yellow Turban revolt, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei swear brotherhood in a peach garden, win early battles, and unite heroes.