My translation of the Romance describes Yan Yu as "a man without a shred of merit" who only got his job by fawning over Huang Hao. Is that a fair assessment?
That may be true of the fictional character but the real man is more complicated than that.
Little is recorded about him, but we do know a few things. SGZ 43.4 has this passage discussing the men who succeeded Ma Zhong in Nanzhong.
Zhāng Biǎo was at the time a famous scholar, whose reputation for refinement surpassed Zhōng. Yán Yǔ showed ability for achievement and in affairs was meticulous and diligent. They continued [administering the south] after Zhōng, but their authority and merits both did not match Zhōng.
So, Chen Shou at least thought Yan Yu possessed an appreciable amount of ability, charges of corruption notwithstanding.
