Chapter 32: Cao Cao: My Veteran Subordinate of Twenty Years Has Actually Knelt to Liu Bei?

Guan Yu remained a man of deep sentiment and loyalty. Although he and Cao Cao were now leaders of opposing states, he could not simply forget the many favors Cao Cao had shown him in the past. When he had been in Cao Cao’s camp, Yu Jin had always treated him with respect. Furthermore, Liu Bei had given explicit instructions that Yu Jin must be captured alive. With these considerations weighing upon him, Guan Yu had no intention of a total slaughter; he was prepared to grant Yu Jin a path to survival.

The personal guards turned their heads tremblingly, their gazes converging on Yu Jin. They knew that their lives hung entirely upon their general’s single decision. Before them stood the "Lord of the Beautiful Beard"—to kill them all, man and horse alike, would be easier for him than chopping vegetables. Whether they lived or died depended solely on Yu Jin’s choice.

At that moment, the palms of Yu Jin’s hands, gripping his long blade, were slick with cold sweat. He gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on Guan Yu with a mixture of fear and inner conflict. The memory of Guan Yu slaying Yan Liang and Wen Chou—a feat that had seemed like the work of a heavenly deity—flashed repeatedly before his eyes. Did he really have the mettle to face the Lord of the Beautiful Beard? He feared he would not last a single exchange before being cut down from his horse.

Having followed Cao Cao for decades, surviving life-and-death struggles like the Battle of Guandu, he had finally reached the point where he could soon rest on his laurels. He never imagined he would capsize in such a small gutter. Must he cast away a lifetime of achievements and die under Guan Yu’s blade just for the sake of dignity?

Yu Jin’s grip on his long blade loosened, and the resolve in his eyes was gradually eclipsed by fear.

"Will you fight or surrender? Decide at once!" Guan Yu, lacking the patience for delay, held his Green Dragon Crescent Blade horizontally and shouted with a thunderous, piercing voice.

Yu Jin shuddered, his fingers losing their strength; the long blade slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.

"So be it, so be it. This defeat is not due to my incompetence; who could have foreseen that Guan Yu would be so skilled in naval warfare?"

"I am the foreign-born general most trusted by the Prime Minister. I must preserve this useful life for him; I must endure the humiliation and bear the burden..."

Yu Jin consoled himself, searching for justifications. After weighing his options for a long moment, he let out a sigh of resignation. Then, taking a deep breath, he pushed past his guards and walked forward, head hung in defeat.

Thump.

Reluctantly, Yu Jin knelt before Guan Yu’s horse.

"General Guan’s might is unparalleled. Today, I, Jin, overestimated my own abilities. Having lost to you, I am truly convinced and submissive."

"I am willing to submit without a fight. I hope that for the sake of Lord Cao, you will grant me a path to live."

Yu Jin knelt to surrender!

A flash of surprise crossed Guan Yu’s cold, iron-like eyes.

He had not expected Yu Jin to surrender; he had been prepared for a desperate fight to the death, intending to capture him by force. After all, Yu Jin was one of Cao Cao’s most trusted confidants, the most senior and prestigious among all the generals of non-Cao lineage. Even if he were to surrender, he should at least have made a grand, spirited stand or negotiated some terms.

To surrender so cleanly and decisively? And to kneel and beg for mercy, almost pleading?

After a brief pause, Guan Yu sheathed his Green Dragon blade and sighed lightly: "Bind Yu Jin, take him back to Xiangyang, and leave him for my brother to deal with."

Yu Jin felt a sense of relief, collapsing onto the ground as if his strength had been sapped away. The soldiers behind him swarmed forward, bound Yu Jin tightly, and escorted him onto the ship. The remaining guards, seeing their commander surrender, lost any heart for a desperate fight and prostrated themselves in surrender.

Once Guan Yu boarded his ship, in order to shatter the morale of the Cao army, he specifically ordered the warship to sail close to the northern bank.

On the shore, the Cao army was still frantically raining arrows down upon the Liu forces' ships in the river. Cao Cao clutched his hands tightly, staring fixedly at Yu Jin’s flagship, praying that Yu Jin might carve a path through the blood and return. Only when Yu Jin’s ship ran aground on a sandbar did the last embers of hope in Cao Cao’s eyes extinguish completely.

"Cease the arrows. It is no longer necessary."

With a look of profound desolation and disappointment, Cao Cao waved his hand. The archers stopped. Around him, generals like Cao Ren and Le Jin, and advisors like Cheng Yu and Liu Ye, all shook their heads and sighed. The naval force had been annihilated, and Yu Jin’s flight to the sandbar was effectively a flight into a dead end.

"Wenze followed me for decades. Now that the world is about to be unified, I was just about to share the prosperity with him."

"To think that today, he would die at the hands of Guan Yunchang!"

"Wenze, oh Wenze, I..."

As he spoke, Cao Cao choked up, his face overtaken by sorrow and indignation.

"Prime Minister, Yu Wenze has sacrificed himself for the state. Though he dies, his loyal soul will live forever; his name shall be inscribed in history and praised by future generations," Cheng Yu said with a tragic, comforting tone.

The others chimed in to console Cao Cao, expressing their admiration and praise for Yu Jin, as if he were already in the grave. This was only natural. As a trusted confidant of Cao Cao, now trapped in a desperate situation, it was assumed he would fight to the death to preserve his reputation—there was no need to question it. Everyone, Cao Cao included, naturally believed that Yu Jin must have already died heroically.

Just as the ministers and court of the Cao camp were lamenting Yu Jin, Guan Yu’s flagship sailed past the northern bank with a show of force.

"Prime Minister, on that enemy ship—it looks like Yu Wenze!"

Xu Chu suddenly roared.

Cao Cao’s heart jolted, the sorrow in his eyes vanishing instantly. He squinted, staring urgently at the river. The surrounding civil and military officials of the Cao camp were all stunned, their gazes shifting to Guan Yu’s flagship.

That warship was sailing so close to the northern bank that the details on the deck were clearly visible. The figure of Yu Jin appeared plainly on the bow.

Cao Cao shuddered, his riding crop slipping from his hand. His eyes widened to an exaggerated degree, his mouth agape.

Yu Jin had not died for his loyalty!

He had been captured alive by Guan Yu.

Yu Jin had surrendered!

A clamor erupted on the shore; the Cao troops who witnessed this were struck with shock and dismay.

"Is that General Yu? Did he actually surrender to Liu Bei?"

"General Yu was the Prime Minister's most trusted follower! How could he not have died for his cause?"

"Time reveals a person's heart. So, Yu Jin is just another coward who fears death."

Exclamations of astonishment, regret, and contempt rose one after another. Each comment felt like a blade cutting into Cao Cao’s heart. He clenched his fists so tightly his teeth ground together; his face flushed red, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"Yu Jin, you—"

The fury within him was about to burst forth. But at the final moment, Cao Cao forcibly swallowed it.

Guan Yu had deliberately sailed close to the northern bank specifically so they would see Yu Jin captured, hoping to strike a heavy blow to his morale and crush the spirit of the entire army. If he were to be provoked and lose his composure, cursing Yu Jin openly, would he not be falling right into Guan Yu’s trap?

Realizing this, Cao Cao had no choice but to bite his tongue and swallow his rage.

"Yu Jin and I have known each other for nearly twenty years, yet to think that in his hour of despair, he could not die for my sake. What a pity, what a pity..."

After this sigh of disappointment, Cao Cao turned his horse and rode away in loneliness, saying not another word. Cheng Yu and the others could only shake their heads in a sigh and follow him in silence.

"This Liu Xuande seems quite different from the man he was back then. Something is not quite right..."

Only Jia Xu remained by the river, gazing toward the city of Xiangyang, a flicker of suspicion crossing his eyes.