Lü Bu 呂布

When Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bing Province, became Chief Commandant of Cavalry and was stationed in Henei, he made Lü Bu his Registrar and held him in great favor. When Emperor Ling died, Ding Yuan went to Luoyang, plotted with He Jin to kill the eunuchs, and became Bearer of the Golden Mace. After He Jin fell and Dong Zhuo entered the capital intending to absorb Ding Yuan's troops, Dong Zhuo induced Lü Bu, whom Ding Yuan trusted, to kill Ding Yuan. Lü Bu cut off Ding Yuan's head and went over to Dong Zhuo, who made him Chief Commandant of Cavalry, loved and trusted him dearly, and swore with him to be as father and son. Records, Wei 7 §2–3

Lü Bu was skilled at archery and horsemanship and surpassed others in physical strength, so that he was called the Flying General; he rose to General of the Household and was enfeoffed as Marquis of a Chief Precinct. Dong Zhuo, fearing that others would harm him, always had Lü Bu guard him, but being harsh and narrow-minded, when Lü Bu once slightly displeased him he drew a hand halberd and hurled it at him. Lü Bu nimbly dodged it, but from then on he secretly resented Dong Zhuo. Moreover, while guarding the inner gate he had an affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maidservants and was uneasy lest it come to light. Records, Wei 7 §4

The Minister over the Masses Wang Yun had long treated Lü Bu, a man from his own province and home region, generously. When Lü Bu told him how he had nearly been killed by Dong Zhuo, Wang Yun, who was plotting with Shisun Rui to kill Dong Zhuo, asked him to act as an inside agent. When Lü Bu said, "What of our being father and son?", Wang Yun replied, "Your surname is Lü; you are not his flesh and blood." In the 4th month of the 3rd year of Chuping (192), carrying the edict, Lü Bu stabbed Dong Zhuo to death with his own hand when Dong Zhuo came to an assembly at the Weiyang Hall. Records, Wei 7 §5Records, Wei 6 §16–17

Wang Yun made Lü Bu General of Vehement Might, granted him the Tally of Authority and ceremonial honors equal to those of the Three Excellencies, and raised his fief to Marquis of Wen, and the two held the government of the court together. But Lü Bu feared and hated the men of Liang Province, so Li Jue and the others banded together and attacked Chang'an; sixty days after Dong Zhuo's death Lü Bu was defeated and left through the Wu Pass with several hundred horsemen. Lü Bu believed that in killing Dong Zhuo he had avenged Yuan Shu, but Yuan Shu, loathing his fickleness, would not take him in. Records, Wei 7 §6–7

He went north to Yuan Shao and joined him in attacking Zhang Yan at Changshan; riding his fine horse called Red Hare, Lü Bu broke through the enemy ranks and routed Zhang Yan's army. But when he asked for more troops and his officers and men took to plundering, Yuan Shao grew wary of him, and when Yuan Shao sent strongmen to kill him by night, Lü Bu fled to Henei and joined Zhang Yang. On the way he stopped at Zhang Miao's, and the two clasped hands and swore an oath, which Yuan Shao deeply resented. Records, Wei 7 §7–8 · 12

In the 1st year of Xingping (194), while Cao Cao was away attacking Tao Qian again, Zhang Miao's younger brother Zhang Chao and Cao Cao's officer Chen Gong and others plotted to rebel. Chen Gong persuaded Zhang Miao that since Lü Bu was a fine fighter whom no one could stand against, they should welcome him and govern Yan Province together; they welcomed Lü Bu, made him Governor of Yan Province, and occupied Puyang. The commanderies and counties all rallied to them. Records, Wei 7 §12–13

When Cao Cao returned and attacked Puyang, Lü Bu first struck the Qingzhou troops with his cavalry and threw Cao Cao's ranks into disorder, and Cao Cao, breaking out through the flames, fell from his horse and burned the palm of his left hand. After a standoff of more than a hundred days, locusts appeared and food ran out, and both sides withdrew. In the 2nd year of Xingping (195) Lü Bu went to rescue Xue Lan at Juye and was defeated; fighting again with Chen Gong and more than ten thousand men, he was badly beaten by an ambush and fled east to Liu Bei. Records, Wei 1 §29–30 · 33–34Records, Wei 7 §14

While Liu Bei was confronting Yuan Shu, Lü Bu made a surprise attack on Xiapi. Cao Bao, who was holding Xiapi, turned traitor and let Lü Bu in, and Lü Bu captured Liu Bei's wife and children. When Liu Bei returned and submitted, Lü Bu stationed him at Xiaopei and styled himself Inspector of Xu Province. When Yuan Shu's general Ji Ling attacked Liu Bei with thirty thousand infantry and cavalry, Lü Bu went to rescue him, reasoning that if Yuan Shu broke Liu Bei, he himself would be surrounded by Yuan Shu. Lü Bu set up a halberd inside the camp gate and said that if he hit its small side-blade with a single shot, they should withdraw; when the arrow struck the side-blade squarely, the generals exclaimed in amazement, "General, you possess the might of Heaven," and both sides withdrew their troops. Records, Shu 2 §12Records, Wei 7 §16–18

When Yuan Shu sought an alliance with Lü Bu through a marriage for his son, Lü Bu agreed to give his daughter. But when Chen Gui, Chancellor of Pei, persuaded him to join forces with Cao Cao, Lü Bu, who resented Yuan Shu for not taking him in at first, called back his daughter, who was already on her way, and sent Yuan Shu's envoy Han Yin to Xu to be beheaded. The court appointed Lü Bu General of the Left. When Yuan Shu sent Zhang Xun to attack him, Lü Bu followed Chen Gui's plan, won over Han Xian and Yang Feng, and crushed Zhang Xun. Records, Wei 7 §19–20 · 24

In the 3rd year of Jian'an (198) Lü Bu again sided with Yuan Shu and sent Gao Shun to defeat Liu Bei at Pei. When Cao Cao campaigned against him in person and reached Xiapi, Lü Bu wanted to surrender, but Chen Gong and others stopped him; he went out to fight and lost his valiant general Cheng Lian, who was taken captive. Following the plan of Xun You and Guo Jia, Cao Cao breached the Si and Yi rivers to flood the city, and after a three-month siege Lü Bu's officers Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu tied up Chen Gong and surrendered. Chen Shou wrote that Lü Bu was valiant and fierce but lacked strategy and was highly suspicious, so that he could not control his followers. Records, Wei 7 §25–26Records, Wei 1 §48–49

Lü Bu climbed the White Gate Tower with his men, and when the siege grew desperate he came down and surrendered. When he asked that his bonds, which were too tight, be loosened a little, Cao Cao said, "One cannot tie up a tiger without tying it tight." When Lü Bu pleaded that if he were given command of the cavalry, pacifying the realm would not be difficult, Cao Cao showed signs of hesitation, but when Liu Bei said, "Have you not seen how Lü Bu served Ding Jianyang and Grand Preceptor Dong?", Cao Cao nodded. Lü Bu pointed at Liu Bei and said, "This fellow is the least trustworthy of all." Lü Bu was strangled, and his head, together with those of Chen Gong, Gao Shun, and the others, was sent to Xu and displayed before being buried. Records, Wei 7 §26–27

In his assessment, Chen Shou wrote that Lü Bu had the valor of a roaring tiger but lacked outstanding strategy, and that he was rash, cunning, and fickle, looking only to his own profit; from ancient times to the present, no one of that kind had ever escaped destruction. Records, Wei 7 §62