Translated & Authored by Jonathan
Wu
Place of Birth: Jiuyuan, Wuyuan County (Presently
an area north-west of Baotou)
Lifespan: 156 – 199 A.D. (43 Years)
Titles: Chief Secretary, General of the Left, Lord of a Capital Precinct,
Graceful Lord
Lü Bu was a master of horse riding, archery, and armed
combat. He was tall and had strong arms, because of this; he was nicknamed
the “Flying General.” Fengxian was one of the foremost warriors
in Chinese history.
Lü Bu originally started his career as Chief Secretary
in the office of Ding Yuan, and Ding Yuan treated him as his own son. When
Dong Zhuo marched into the capital and caused chaos in the Imperial Palace,
Lü Bu was enchanted with the many splendid gifts from Dong Zhuo, and
was talked into killing Ding Yuan.
Lü Bu was appointed Cavalry Commander and Imperial
Corps Commander by Dong Zhuo successively, and was titled Lord of a Capital
Precinct.
Fengxian and Dong Zhuo swore to be foster son and father,
and since then Lü Bu became Dong Zhuo’s closest guard. Later on,
Imperial Minister of Interior Wang Yun devised a plot to have Lü Bu kill
Dong Zhuo.
After Lü Bu killed his foster father he was titled
Graceful Lord and was treated as a high official. When Li Jue, Guo Si and
Fan Chou attacked Chang An, Lü Bu was forced to retreated and sought
refuge with Yuan Shao.
In the year 195 A.D., Lü Bu was defeated by Cao Cao
at Juye and then went over to Liu Bei. In an attempt to surpass Liu Bei, Fengxian
appointed himself as Prefect of Xu Zhou. He sought to ally himself with Yuan
Shu to the south but this failed due to a plot engineered by Chen Gui.
Lü Bu then turned to Cao Cao and was appointed General
of the Left. In the third year of Rebuilt Tranquility (198 A.D.), Lü
Bu betrayed him and allied with Yuan Shu. Together they attempted to beat
the allied armies of Liu Bei and Cao Cao.
Later on, Cao Cao was able to capture Lü Bu alive in
Xia Pi. Lü Bu again tried to join Cao Cao, but Liu Bei dissuaded him.
Cao Cao had Lü Bu strangled to death at White Gate Tower.
© Copyright Jonathan
Wu 2002
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