After saying this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei bow to Liu Bei and designate him as the eldest brother. Guan Yu became the second eldest and Zhang Fei was the youngest. Their brotherly oath saved them from wishing for death numerous times and kept the three brothers hopeful for the future. The same oath appears in the Sanguozhi Pinghua as well as several other Three Kingdoms folklore. There are no historical records of this oath occurring but the three men were supposedly close in history.