Neutral Warrior
Lu Bu, the Flying General
呂布died 1995 star
In short
Lu Bu (died 199) was a cavalry commander of the late Han dynasty, called the Flying General for his skill with horse and bow. He killed his first master, Ding Yuan, for Dong Zhuo, then killed Dong Zhuo in 192. After seven years of taking and losing provinces he was besieged at Xiapi, bound by his own officers, and executed on Cao Cao's orders.
| Lived | died 199 |
|---|---|
| Name in Chinese | 呂布 |
| Courtesy name | Fengxian |
| Served | Ding Yuan, Dong Zhuo, then no one for long |
The history
Lu Bu came from Jiuyuan in Wuyuan commandery, on the northern frontier of the Han, where a man was judged by how he rode and shot. The history says his strength with the bow and on horseback had no equal, and that the army called him the Flying General.
He served Ding Yuan, Inspector of Bing Province, as a trusted officer. In 189 Dong Zhuo wanted Ding Yuan’s troops, and Lu Bu killed Ding Yuan and brought them over. Dong Zhuo swore to treat him as a son and kept him as a bodyguard. In 192 the minister Wang Yun drew him into a plot, and Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo at the palace gate.
Dong Zhuo’s officers retook the capital within weeks, and Lu Bu spent the next seven years moving east. He left Yuan Shu, then Yuan Shao, took Yan Province from Cao Cao in 194 and lost it again, and was sheltered by Liu Bei in Xu Province, which he seized while Liu Bei was away at war.
In the winter of 198 Cao Cao besieged him at Xiapi and turned two rivers into the city. After three months his officers bound him and opened the gates. Lu Bu offered to lead Cao Cao’s cavalry. Liu Bei reminded Cao Cao of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu was strangled.
The novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms makes him the measure of every other fighter. It gives him the duel at Hulao Pass, where he holds off Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at once, and it gives him Diaochan, whose promise to both men turns him against Dong Zhuo. Neither is in the history. The halberd, the pheasant feathers and Red Hare as his constant mount are how the stage and the novel taught everyone to picture him.
Lu Bu in the game
In Warlords of the Three Kingdoms Lu Bu is the Flying General: a 5 star warriorwho serves no Kingdom. The game's line for him: “He served Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, killed them both, and was surprised when no one else would trust him.”
| Kingdom | Neutral, sworn to no Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Role | Warrior |
| Rarity | 5 star |
| Base attack and defense | 60 and 50 |
| Where from | Assembled from 100 shards, and the shards come only from the weekly Kingdom War: five to each of the a hundred highest scorers. No purchase reaches this General. |
Red Hare is his signature: holding it raises his attack and defense by 15%. Sky Piercer is his signature: holding it raises his attack and defense by 15%.
Five star is where he starts. Duplicates become shards, shards add stars, and each star adds a tenth to both numbers.
Questions
Who killed Lu Bu?
Cao Cao had him executed in early 199. Lu Bu's own officers bound him and surrendered the city of Xiapi, Liu Bei advised against sparing him, and he was strangled.
Was Lu Bu really the strongest warrior of the Three Kingdoms?
The history calls him unmatched as a rider and archer, and records the saying that among men there was Lu Bu and among horses Red Hare. His duel against Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei together is from the novel.
Did Lu Bu and Diaochan exist?
Lu Bu did. Diaochan is the novel's invention. The history says only that Lu Bu had an affair with one of Dong Zhuo's maids and feared being found out.
How do you get Lu Bu in Warlords of the Three Kingdoms?
Assembled from 100 shards, and the shards come only from the weekly Kingdom War: five to each of the a hundred highest scorers. No purchase reaches this General.
Sources
The history follows Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the third century, with Pei Songzhi's annotations of the fifth, and Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han for the years before the Han court fell apart. What the page calls the novel is Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, of the fourteenth century. Where the two disagree, the page says which is speaking. For more on him, see Lu Bu on Wikipedia.
Written by Gitkonek Studio, .
Keep reading
- Who was Lu Bu, and why is he always the strongestLu Bu was a real cavalry officer who killed two adoptive fathers and lost anyway. Here is the history, and why games keep making him unbeatable.
- Diaochan, the Beauty Who Shamed the MoonA singer in Wang Yun's house who set Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu against each other, and so ended a tyranny.
- Dong Zhuo, the Tyrant of LuoyangHe entered the capital to restore order, deposed an emperor, burned the city, and stored grain for thirty years.
- Zhang Jiao, the General of HeavenA healer with a book of the Great Peace, whose followers rose in yellow turbans across eight provinces at once.