Li Su 李肅

In Chapter 3 of the Romance, when Dong Zhuo, badly beaten by Ding Yuan's troops, longs to win Lü Bu, a man steps forward in front of the tent and says that, being from Lü Bu's home district, he knows Lü Bu to be brave but without strategy, one who forgets loyalty at the sight of profit, and that with his three-inch tongue he will persuade Lü Bu to come over and surrender. Dong Zhuo looks and sees that it is Li Su, General of the Household Rapid as Tigers. When Li Su proposes binding Lü Bu's heart with the famous horse called the Red Hare and with gold and pearls, Dong Zhuo, on Li Ru's advice, gladly gives up the horse and adds a thousand taels of gold, several dozen bright pearls and a jade belt. Romance, Ch. 3 §36–38

Calling himself an old friend, Li Su visits Lü Bu's camp and presents the Red Hare, and over wine he sways Lü Bu by saying, 'A good bird chooses the tree it roosts in; a worthy minister chooses the lord he serves.' After saying that none of the ministers is the equal of Dong Zhuo, he lays out the gold, pearls and jade belt and reveals that these and the Red Hare were all sent by Lord Dong, whereupon Lü Bu says he will kill Ding Yuan and lead his troops over to Dong Zhuo. The next day, when Lü Bu comes with Ding Yuan's head, Li Su takes him to Dong Zhuo. Romance, Ch. 3 §38–39 · 42–45 · 47

In Chapter 5 Dong Zhuo makes Hua Xiong Colonel of Valiant Cavalry, gives him 50,000 horse and foot, and sends him racing through the night to the pass together with Li Su, Hu Zhen and Zhao Cen. When Yuan Shu withholds grain and Sun Jian's army falls into disorder, Li Su proposes to Hua Xiong a plan in which he himself will go down from the pass by a byway and attack the rear of Sun Jian's camp while Hua Xiong strikes the front camp; that night he reaches the rear of Sun Jian's camp and sets fires that blaze up to the sky, scattering Sun Jian's troops. Romance, Ch. 5 §19 · 25–26

In Chapter 9, when the question arises of who should lure Dong Zhuo out of Meiwu, Shisun Rui recommends Li Su, Chief Commandant of Cavalry from the same commandery as Lü Bu, saying that he bitterly resents Dong Zhuo for not promoting him. When Lü Bu, recalling what happened before, urges him to become a loyal minister together with him, Li Su says that he too has long wished to be rid of this traitor, and breaks an arrow as an oath. The next day he goes to Meiwu with a dozen or so horsemen and delivers an edict, saying that the Son of Heaven intends to assemble the civil and military officials in the Weiyang Hall to discuss abdicating in favour of the Grand Preceptor, and that Minister over the Masses Wang has already had a terrace built for receiving the abdication. Dong Zhuo says that when he becomes emperor he will make Li Su Bearer of the Golden Mace. Romance, Ch. 9 §14–18

On the road to Chang'an, when a wheel of the carriage breaks, the horse snaps its reins, a fierce wind and dark fog arise, and children sing the song of the 'grass of a thousand li', each time Dong Zhuo asks, Li Su interprets it as a good omen of receiving the abdication. A Taoist with a cloth tied to a pole, the character '口' written at each end, he dismisses as a man sick in mind and has driven away. When Dong Zhuo, inside the Northern Side Gate, sees Wang Yun and the others holding treasured swords and asks in alarm what it means, Li Su does not answer but pushes the carriage straight in, and when Lü Bu stabs Dong Zhuo in the throat, Li Su swiftly cuts off his head and holds it in his hand. Romance, Ch. 9 §20–25

After Dong Zhuo's death Li Su volunteers to go and seize Li Ru, and on Wang Yun's orders he leads 50,000 troops to Meiwu together with Lü Bu and Huangfu Song to confiscate Dong Zhuo's property and household. When Li Jue and the others march on Chang'an, he goes out to fight on Lü Bu's orders and drives back Niu Fu, but at the second watch that night he is raided by Niu Fu, flees more than thirty li in defeat and loses more than half his troops. When Li Su returns, Lü Bu flies into a rage, saying, 'How dare you blunt our keen edge!', beheads him and hangs his head at the gate of the camp. Romance, Ch. 9 §27–28 · 38–39