Lü Bu

Lü Bu came from Jiuyuan in Wuyuan commandery, on the northern frontier.

He entered service in Bing province on the strength of his martial prowess.

Cavalry Commandant Ding Yuan made Lü Bu his registrar and treated him with marked favor.

Lü Bu cut off Ding Yuan’s head and brought it to Dong Zhuo, who made him cavalry commandant and swore to treat him as a son.

Superb with horse and bow and of surpassing strength, he was nicknamed the Flying General.

Pei Songzhi’s annotation preserves the saying of the day: among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare.

The biography records an affair with one of Dong Zhuo’s maids and Lü Bu’s constant fear of discovery — the kernel the novel later dressed up as Diaochan.

In league with Wang Yun, Lü Bu killed Dong Zhuo with his own blade; he was made General of Manifest Might and Marquis of Wen.

Li Jue and Guo Si retook Chang’an; Lü Bu was defeated and fled through the Wu pass with a few hundred riders.

Serving Yuan Shao, he charged Zhang Yan’s lines with a few dozen riders three or four times a day until the bandit army broke.

Sensing Yuan Shao meant to kill him, Lü Bu slipped away; the pursuers all feared him and dared not close in.

While Cao Cao campaigned in the east, Zhang Miao and Chen Gong invited Lü Bu in as Governor of Yan province; he held Puyang and the counties rallied to him.

At Puyang his cavalry smashed Cao Cao’s Qingzhou troops and broke his battle line — the closest Cao Cao came to capture in the whole war.

Famine ended the Yan province war: grain reached half a million cash a hu, people ate each other, and both armies dispersed for want of food.

While Liu Bei fought Yuan Shu in the east, Lü Bu surprised his base at Xiapi and took Xu province; Liu Bei returned and was sent to garrison Xiaopei.

To lift Ji Ling’s siege of Liu Bei, Lü Bu wagered on a single arrow at the tip of a halberd blade planted at the camp gate — and hit it; the generals withdrew in awe.

He first promised his daughter to Yuan Shu’s son, then recalled the convoy, broke the betrothal, and sent the envoy Han Yin in chains to be beheaded at Xu.

In 198 he broke with Cao Cao for Yuan Shu again; his officer Gao Shun smashed Liu Bei at Pei, and Cao Cao marched on him in person.

Chen Gong urged him to camp outside the walls and strike Cao Cao’s supply lines while Chen Gong held the city; Lü Bu could not bring himself to do it.

With the city flooded and morale gone, his officers Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu seized Chen Gong and Gao Shun and surrendered.

Begging to serve Cao Cao, Lü Bu nearly swayed him — until Liu Bei asked whether he had forgotten what became of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo.

Cao Cao had Lü Bu strangled; the heads of Lü Bu, Chen Gong, and Gao Shun were sent to Xu before burial.

Pei Songzhi’s quoted source records Lü Bu’s dying glare at Liu Bei: “This fellow is the least trustworthy of all.”