Pei Yuanshao 裴元紹

In Chapter 28 of the Romance, Guan Yu leaves Guo Chang's manor with Sun Qian, escorting the carriage of his two sisters-in-law. Before they have gone thirty li, more than a hundred men swarm out from behind a hill, led by two men: the one in front wears a yellow turban, and the one behind is the son of Guo Chang, who had tried to steal Guan Yu's horse the night before. The man in the yellow turban says that he is a lieutenant of Zhang Jue, the General of Heaven, and that he will let them pass if they leave the Red Hare behind. Guan Yu laughs loudly and asks whether, having followed Zhang Jue as a bandit, he also knows the names of the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang. Romance, Ch. 28 §13–14 · 16–17

He replies that he has only heard that the man with the red face and long beard is called Guan Yunchang, but does not know his face. When Guan Yu holds back his blade, undoes his beard bag and draws out his long beard to show him, he tumbles from his horse, seizes Guo Chang's son by the topknot and drags him before Guan Yu's horse to hand him over. He then reveals that his surname is Pei and his given name Yuanshao, and that since Zhang Jue's death he has had no master to serve and has been hiding here with a band gathered in the hills and forests. This morning, he says, Guo Chang's son came and proposed seizing the thousand-li horse of a traveler lodging at his house, and unexpectedly he has met the general. Guan Yu spares the life of Guo Chang's son out of regard for his father. Romance, Ch. 28 §18–19

When Guan Yu asks how he knew his name without knowing his face, Pei Yuanshao names Zhou Cang, a man from west of the passes on Mount Woniu, twenty li away. Zhou Cang, he says, has the strength of a thousand jin in his two arms; originally a general under Zhang Bao of the Yellow Turbans, he gathered a band in the hills and forests after Zhang Bao died, and has often spoken of the general's great fame, regretting that he had no way to meet him. When Guan Yu tells him that the greenwood is no place for a hero to set foot, and that from now on they should abandon evil and return to the right path, Pei Yuanshao bows and thanks him. When a troop of men and horses is seen approaching in the distance, Pei Yuanshao says that it must be Zhou Cang. Romance, Ch. 28 §20–22

Zhou Cang asks to follow Guan Yu, but when Lady Gan points out that he had earlier turned away even Liao Hua when Liao Hua wished to join them, and asks why he should accept Zhou Cang's band alone, Guan Yu tells them to go back to the mountain. Zhou Cang asks that, if having many followers is inconvenient, the band all go with Pei Yuanshao while he alone follows, even on foot, and this is granted. When Pei Yuanshao says that he too wishes to follow General Guan, Zhou Cang tells him that if he leaves, the band will all scatter, so he should lead them for the time being, and that Zhou Cang will come for him as soon as they have somewhere to stay. Pei Yuanshao takes his leave disappointed. Romance, Ch. 28 §23–26

After meeting Zhang Fei at Gucheng, Guan Yu asks Zhou Cang about Pei Yuanshao's men on Mount Woniu, and Zhou Cang answers that there are about four or five hundred. But when Guan Yu, having met Liu Bei, is on his way to Mount Woniu, Zhou Cang appears wounded and reports that before he reached Mount Woniu, a general came riding alone, ran Pei Yuanshao through and killed him in a single bout, called on the whole band to surrender and took over the mountain stronghold. That general is Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun says that he was passing through when Pei Yuanshao came down from the mountain to seize his horse, so he killed him and has been staying here for the time being. Romance, Ch. 28 §43 · 53–57