Among the senior staff officers of the Jiangdong Sun family, Lu Su's unique scenery is undoubtedly its distinctive personality and charm. At the age of 46, he died of an illness and served as a Hanchang Taishou and Hengjiang general, although his status was not as prominent as those famous Eastern Wu generals who were made marquis for military merit. However, as time passed, his reputation soared.
For Lu Su, some people will be full of praise, saying that he has great ambition, superior intelligence, and the ability to govern the country and the state. Of course, there are also people who criticize him, considering him timid and incompetent, and even regard him as a sinner of Eastern Wu. However, in the eyes of those who firmly believe that "Liu Bei is a villain", Lu Su is their focus.
However, Lu Su's most remarkable moment was not on the battlefield, but at the negotiating table. With his elegant demeanor and weak image, he created the legend of "going to the meeting with a single knife" that has been passed down for centuries. At the meeting, he successfully refuted Guan Yu and even succeeded in recapturing the three counties of Jingzhou from the Shu Han. What is even more surprising is that shortly after Lu Su became famous, he died suddenly.
So, what kind of person is Lu Su? And how did he carry out that legendary "one-handed meeting"? Why did he die suddenly?
Lu Su was born in a family of the late Han Shi clan, and his family was a local Wang. His father died when he was young, and he grew up with his grandmother, developing a charitable and helpful personality.
During the Yellow Turban Uprising, Lu Su's hometown became the site of four wars. In this time of chaos, the atrocities of officers and soldiers are intertwined with the rampant behavior of thieves, and life becomes difficult and difficult. However, Lu Su, who grew up in this environment, showed unusual courage and wisdom. He decided to sell his property to buy a lot of food and make friends with heroic heroes. From Liu Ye to Zhou Yu to Yuan Shu, he won fame and connections, and gradually became the object of competition among various princes.
However, Lu Su was not interested in Yuan Shu's solicitation. At that time, Yuan Shu appointed Lu Su as the governor of Dongcheng, but he did not choose to join forces in the evil forces. Instead, he moved south with his clan to Juchao and defected to Zhou Yu. When Yuan Shu discovered and sent people to hunt down and kill Lu Su, he used passionate words to persuade the pursuers not to force himself and his clansmen into a corner.
Despite living in troubled times, Lu Su did not indulge in the use of force to solve all problems. He has grand ideals in his heart, but it is difficult to realize them because he is in troubled times, he is not good at military strategy, and because of his outstanding talents, he is high and low, so if he is not careful, he may hang up the seal and stay away from the hustle and bustle. However, shortly after Lu Su arrived at Juchao, he followed Zhou Yu across the Yangtze River to join Sun Ce, and although Sun Ce greatly admired Lu Su's talent, he did not entrust this talented man who aspired to build a great cause.
In the golden age of the Three Kingdoms, in 200, Zhou Yu used an ingenious strategy to lure Lu Su back to Jiangdong. Lu Su, from an insignificant aide during Sun Ce's period, became Sun Quan's right-hand man.
During this turbulent period, Cao Cao demonstrated strong control throughout the north, while the south of Huaishui was the focus of contention among various forces, and Sun Quan, Liu Biao, Wu Ju, Shixie and others all wanted a piece of the pie. However, Lu Su had a unique insight into the current situation, and he clearly pointed out that in this world, the Han court could no longer be revived, and Cao Cao could not dominate the world. We can only stabilize Jiangdong, occupy the key territory of Jingzhou, and use the natural advantages of the Yangtze River to compete with Cao Cao. Wait for the situation in the world to change, and then send troops to the north and dominate the world.
For 18-year-old Sun Quan, Lu Su's advanced consciousness undoubtedly brought him a great shock. He deeply recognized Lu Su's strategic thinking of dividing the world into two parts, and has been working hard to implement the strategic policy formulated by Lu Su in the early days.
However, just as Lu Su was about to show his strength, Liu Biao of Jingzhou suddenly died of illness, and Liu Jun, who succeeded Liu Biao in charge of Jingzhou, gave a large area of land to Cao Cao under the control of Cai Yao, Zhang Yun and others. Although Liu Bei, Liu Qi, and others resisted desperately, their strength could not stop Cao Cao's march south. Therefore, how to protect Jiangdong became the primary task before Sun Quan and Lu Su.
Although Lu Su's initiative to cross the river to contact Liu Bei was attacked and hindered by some people, and even some people joined forces with the Jiangdong Shi clan to put pressure on Sun Quan, Lu Su was not removed from his official position because of this, but was used more.
In fact, for Lu Su's personal ability and his loyalty to Jiangdong Sun Quan, Sun Quan was very clear in his heart, and his loyalty to Jiangdong Sun Quan was far beyond Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, Lu Ji and others, when Liu Biao died of illness, Lu Su was not afraid of personal safety, and crossed the river alone to mourn, which fully tested his courage and loyalty. When Cao Cao led a large army to Linan Commandery, Lu Su went to Dangyang City tirelessly to persuade Liu Bei to join forces with Wu to resist Cao and lay the foundation for Sun Quan to win the Battle of Chibi. In Chaisang City, when Eastern Wu's advisers Zhang Zhao and Zhuge Jin urged Sun Quan to surrender, Lu Su used Emperor Xian of Han and Liu Jun as examples to resolutely oppose Sun Quan's surrender to Cao.
Compared with Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong and others, Lu Su's importance to Sun Quan is self-evident, as the lord of Eastern Wu, Sun Quan knew that once he surrendered, Cao Cao would inevitably end up like Emperor Xian of Han. However, although Jiang Dong is handsome, only Lu Su really thinks about him. Therefore, after strengthening his determination to resist Cao Cao, Sun Quan specially set up the post of Zanjun Captain for Lu Su to assist Zhou Yu in military decision-making.
After the Battle of Chibi, Zhou Yu's reputation reached its peak, and Lu Su also rose to fame, and was called Eastern Wu Deng Yu by Sun Quan, when Liu Bei went to Chaisang to ask for Jiangling to be borrowed as a place to live, Zhou Yu learned the news and suggested that Sun Quan detain Liu Bei to prevent him from growing up in Jingzhou, and in the eyes of Lü Fan and other Eastern Wu generals, Liu Bei's presence was the greatest threat to Jiangdong, but Sun Quan took Lu Su's suggestion, and instead of destroying the Sun-Liu alliance, he agreed to Liu Bei's request, and Lu Su did this not because of his benevolence, but because of deeper considerations.
As an outstanding strategist in the late Han Dynasty, although Lu Su did not personally participate in the battle, he was able to accurately see the changes in the form of the battlefield and flexibly adjust his strategy. After Cao Cao's army suffered a defeat at Chibi, Jiangling and Nanjun came under the control of the Eastern Wu regime led by Sun Quan. However, the hearts of the people in Jingzhou had not yet been completely subordinated, and rebellions in Lingnan and Shanyue were frequent, and it was quite difficult to completely occupy Jingzhou by relying on the strength of the Eastern Wu side. Therefore, Lu Su's real purpose was to establish Liu Bei's forces as a bridgehead against Cao Cao by propping them up, in order to buy Sun Quan time to consolidate Eastern Wu's position.
It is worth mentioning that when Lu Su's idea of "dividing the world into two" spread in Xuchang, Cao Cao, who was writing a letter, was so shocked that his pen fell to the ground when he heard the news. What made Sun Quan even more gratified was that when Zhou Yu died, he strongly recommended Lu Su to take over his position. Zhou Yu once regarded Liu Bei as a thorn in his side, and even wanted to get rid of him immediately, repeatedly rebuking Lu Su's suggestion in public as wrong. However, on Zhou Yu's deathbed, he recommended Lu Su to take over as a lieutenant general regardless of previous suspicions. These reactions show that Lu Su's talent is no less than that of many famous generals in the late Han Dynasty.
However, Lu Su has always been a dignified and simple person. He did not foresee that Liu Bei would quickly occupy the four counties of Jiangnan in a short period of time, and then capture Yizhou, becoming the third powerful force to compete with Cao Cao and Sun Quan. More importantly, the Shu Han occupied the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, posing a great threat to Eastern Wu downstream.
In 215, Sun Quan ignored Lu Su's advice and sent Lü Meng to attack the three counties of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang. In order to cope with this sudden attack, Liu Bei sent 50,000 troops to the public security, and Guan Yu led 30,000 troops directly into the three counties. This made the alliance between Sun and Liu face an instant rupture.
At this critical moment, Lu Su chose to garrison Yu Yiyang, and when he saw Guan Yu's army approaching, he immediately decided to negotiate with him, and in order to ease the tension between the two sides, Lu Su personally entered the enemy camp and went to the meeting single-handedly. During the talks, Lu Su repeatedly condemned Guan Yu as "ungrateful", and although Guan Yu was arrogant, he showed calm and restraint in front of Lu Su.
Soon after, Liu Bei adopted Lu Su's suggestion to divide Jingzhou with Eastern Wu as the boundary between Xiangshui and the three counties of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang to Eastern Wu. This hair-trigger battle was cleverly defused by Lu Su, and it was clear that Lu Su's actions had always been to maintain the "Sun-Liu Alliance", and in his opinion, Cao Cao remained the biggest enemy of Sun and Liu, and since Cao Cao began to implement the tuntian system, Lu Su felt more and more seriously threatened. Whether it was Eastern Wu or Shu Han, it was difficult to achieve it by relying on one side to fight against Cao Wei. Therefore, after the Xiangshui Alliance, Lu Su conducted diplomatic maneuvers in the Jingzhou area, handled the relationship between the two sides cautiously, and gradually dissolved Guan Yu's desire for revenge.
However, an unfortunate event in 217 made Lu Su leave the world, Xiahou Wei and Zang Ba sent troops to attack Wu, and soon after arriving at Juchao, he encountered a pandemic, and countless people died of illness in the army, and Lu Su, who was originally weak, could not escape this difficulty, and he died of illness at the age of 46.
After Lu Su's death, although Eastern Wu had famous generals such as Lü Meng and Lu Xun, there were no more far-sighted strategists. They deviated from the original "Xiangshui Alliance" and launched a sneak attack on Jingzhou without authorization, killing Guan Yu, which completely broke the balance between Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan.
However, Sun Quan's evaluation of Lu Su was not as everyone imagined, in his opinion, Lu Su's decision to suggest that he lend Jiangling City to Liu Bei was a mistake, and this decision indirectly promoted Liu Bei to glory, and whenever he talked about Lu Su, Sun Quan would always sigh: "Lu Su advised me to borrow Xuande land, which is one of its shortcoming." However, Lu Su's death did detach Eastern Wu from its balance to the Shu Han, and Cao Wei gradually acquired the strength to annex the other two countries after continuously implementing the tuntian system.