Lü Meng's invasion of Jing Province 麥城之戰

Lü Meng, who was stationed at Lukou after Lu Su's death, judged that Guan Yu was valiant, had a mind to swallow up others and occupied the upper reaches above the state, so that the situation could not last long, and he secretly proposed to Sun Quan that they attack Guan Yu and take the whole of the Yangtze. Earlier, Sun Quan had asked for Guan Yu's daughter for his son, but Guan Yu had berated and insulted the envoy and refused, and Sun Quan was furious. Mi Fang, Administrator of Nan Commandery at Jiangling, and General Shi Ren at Gong'an resented Guan Yu's slighting of them, and when Guan Yu, having taken the field, said that they had not properly supplied his army and that he would deal with them when he returned, they were afraid. Records, Wu 9 §77–80Records, Shu 6 §11–12

When Guan Yu, attacking Fan, left many defending troops at Gong'an and Nan Commandery, Lü Meng submitted a memorial proposing that he return to Jianye on the pretext of illness so as to make Guan Yu withdraw those troops, and Sun Quan recalled him by an open dispatch. Lü Meng recommended Lu Xun, who was not yet well known and so would not alarm Guan Yu, and when Lu Xun, on arriving at Lukou, sent him a humble letter, Guan Yu was greatly reassured. Guan Yu gradually withdrew troops and sent them to Fan, and when his men and horses numbered in the tens of thousands after he captured Yu Jin and the others, he took the rice of Xiang Pass (湘關) on his own authority, claiming a lack of provisions. Hearing of this, Sun Quan finally set out. Records, Wu 9 §81–82Records, Wu 13 §9–12

In the intercalary month Sun Quan attacked Guan Yu, sending Lü Meng ahead. At Xunyang Lü Meng hid his elite soldiers inside covered boats and had men in white clothes, dressed as merchants, row them, and he seized and bound all the lookouts Guan Yu had posted along the river, so that Guan Yu knew nothing of it. The Biography of the Lord of Wu records that Lü Meng raided Gong'an and captured Shi Ren, and that when he reached Nan Commandery, Mi Fang surrendered the city; the Biography of Lü Meng records that Shi Ren and Mi Fang both surrendered. Yu Fan urged Lü Meng to enter quickly and take hold of the keys, since not everyone in the city could be trusted, and because of this a plan for an ambush inside the city was never carried out. Lu Xun separately took Yidu and garrisoned Yiling to guard the mouth of the Gorges. Records, Wu 2 §27Records, Wu 9 §82–83Records, Wu 12 §7–8Records, Wu 13 §12–13

Lü Meng, having taken Jiangling, secured and comforted all the families of Guan Yu and his officers and men; he forbade his army to intrude on people's homes, and with tears he beheaded a soldier from his own home district who had used a commoner's rain hat to cover an official suit of armor. He had the elderly looked after and gave physicians and medicine to the sick, and sealed Guan Yu's storehouses to await Sun Quan. When Guan Yu, on his way back, repeatedly sent envoys, Lü Meng let the envoys go all around the city, and Guan Yu's officers and men, hearing that their families were safe, lost their will to fight. Sun Quan released Yu Jin and the other prisoners. Records, Wu 9 §83–84Records, Wu 2 §27

Guan Yu, having been defeated by Xu Huang and withdrawn, found his troops scattering because Sun Quan had already taken Jiangling and captured the wives and children of his officers and men; he returned to Dangyang and to the west held Maicheng. When Sun Quan sent someone to induce him to surrender, Guan Yu pretended to surrender, set up flags and straw figures on the walls and fled, but his soldiers all scattered and only a dozen or so horsemen remained. The Biography of Wu Fan records that when Guan Yu at Maicheng sent an envoy asking to surrender, Wu Fan said it was a trick because he showed signs of wanting to flee. Records, Shu 6 §12Records, Wu 2 §27–28Records, Wu 18 §5

Sun Quan had already sent Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang to cut off his route, and in the 12th month Ma Zhong, Major under Pan Zhang, captured Guan Yu, his son Guan Ping, the Commander Zhao Lei and others at Zhangxiang, and Jing Province was at last pacified. The Biography of Pan Zhang says that Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran reached Linju and stationed themselves at Jiashi, and the Biography of Guan Yu records that Guan Yu and Guan Ping were beheaded at Linju. A great epidemic broke out that year, and Sun Quan exempted the people of Jing Province from taxes, while Cao Cao memorialized the throne to make Sun Quan General of Agile Cavalry and Governor of Jing Province. The Annals of Emperor Wu record that in the 1st month of the 25th year of Jian'an Sun Quan beheaded Guan Yu and sent his head. Records, Wu 2 §28Records, Wu 10 §92Records, Wu 11 §14Records, Shu 6 §12Records, Wei 1 §171

Liu Feng and Meng Da at Shangyong had been repeatedly asked to send troops after Guan Yu surrounded Fan and Xiangyang, but did not comply, on the grounds that the mountain commanderies had only just submitted. When Guan Yu was defeated, Liu Bei resented them, and Meng Da surrendered to Wei. Lü Meng was appointed Administrator of Nan Commandery and enfeoffed as Marquis of Canling, but soon his illness flared up and he died at forty-two. Records, Shu 10 §4–5Records, Wu 9 §86–87