Li Ru's image has two, well known is his artistic image in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Luo Guanzhong gave him "drama", acted as Dong Zhuo's son-in-law and chief strategist, helped Dong Zhuo to give advice, and was very eye-catching in the early plot of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
In the history books, Li Ru's record can be described as a single word, and there are no legends, and there are only two records when you search for it.
First, at the beginning of the first year of Chuping (190), Li Ru served as the former deposed emperor, and Lang Zhongling of Liu Zheng, the King of Hongnong, accepted Dong Zhuo's instructions to poison Liu Zheng. This frustrated the political demands of the anti-Dong army in Kwantung (because Yuan Shao and others who rebelled against Dong tried to restore Liu Wei's throne).
"Later Han Shu : Empress Jixia": Next year (190), shandong rebels rose up to discuss Dong Zhuo's rebellion. Zhuo Nai placed King Hongnong on the cabinet and made LangZhong order Li Ru to enter the palace.
Second, in the third year of Chuping (192), Li Dai took control of the imperial government and recommended Li Ru to Tianzi Liu Xie as a servant, but Liu Xie categorically refused, and also wanted to punish Li Ru for poisoning his brother Liu Wei, and Li Dai hurriedly pleaded guilty, saying that poisoning Liu Wei was Dong Zhuo's idea, and Li Ru was also acting on orders, and was innocent and should not be punished. There is no follow-up record of this matter, and it seems that it will not be resolved.
Later Han Dynasty, Vol. 27: Li Daiju's dr. Li Ru was a servant, and the edict said: "Before Ru, for the Hongnong Wang Lang Zhongling, he forced my brother (Liu Yan), and it was advisable to add to the crime." "What Dong Zhuo did is not The original intention of Confucianism, and the innocent cannot be punished." ”
There are only two paragraphs in the history books, which can be analyzed:
Li Ru was a close associate of Dong Zhuo and Li Dai from Liangzhou.
Li Ru has served as a doctor, indicating that he is very knowledgeable and is a famous scholar, so Dong Zhuo and Li Dai will reuse him.
This is the historical image of Li Ru.
On the "Cao Quan Stele" collected by the forest of steles museum in Xi'an, there is also the name of Li Ru.
Excerpts from the Cao Quan Stele: Guanghe Six Years, Re-raising Filial Piety, March of the Seventh Year, Except for Lang Zhong, Worship jiuquan Lu Fuchang, The Thief Zhang Jiao, Qibing Youji, Yanyu Jingyang, and moving at the same time, while the county people Guo Jia, etc., restore rebellion, burn the city temple, harass the people, people are uneasy, the three counties are in a hurry, Yu Tan is still coming, the Lord of the Time counselor, the crowd of officials Xian Yue: Junzai! Turn to Guo Yang Ling, harvest the embers, QianYi is cruel, and his roots are extinct, so he visits the old man for consultation, Junai Wang Chang, Wang Bi, etc., the people's needs, consolation for the elderly, the raising of widows, the family money and rice millet, the gift of the blind, the eldest daughter Tao Wei, etc., the seven medicinal gods, the personal departure from the pavilion, the officials Wang Gao, Cheng Heng, etc., endowed with the sick, the xianmeng, the flow of the government, even more than the post, the people are negative, the opposite is like a cloud, the house is cured, the city is listed in chen, in the wind and rain, the years are harvested, the farmer weaver woman, the hundred workers Are Daen, the county is in front of the river pingyuan year, Suffered from the water disaster of the Baimao Valley, retreated to the middle of the Hai, built the city of Guo, is the old surname and self-cultivation of the people, the official position is not ascended, the Jun nai Min Jin gentry disciples are not good, open the south temple gate, undertake huayue, xiangming and rule, Shu envoy scholars Li Ru, Luan Zhi, Cheng Yin, etc., each received the reward of the lord.
The cao quan stele records that Li Ru donated money in the yin
In the stele, there is also a record of Li Ru donating money.
Here, we can also know Li Ruzi Wenyou.
In March of the seventh year of Guanghe (184), Cao Quan was appointed by the Han court as the governor of Fulu County, Jiuquan County, Liangzhou, and later the governor of Feng Yi county, where he did many good deeds and was deeply supported by the people. Local scholars did not have the opportunity to be promoted to officials by the imperial court, and through Cao Quan's efforts, Li Ru, Luan Gui, Cheng Yin and others had the opportunity to become officials in the imperial court.
It can be seen from this that Li Ru's place of origin was a native of Si Li Zuo Feng Yi County, not a Liangzhou native with Dong Zhuo and Li Dai; after connecting the inscription, Li Ru's name was "Dr. Zheng", which shows that Li Ru had already been recruited as a doctor by the imperial court at that time.
Because this "doctor" coincides with the record of "Li Ru served as a doctor" in the Later Han Dynasty, it is speculated that Li Ru in the Cao Quan Stele is likely to be Li Ru in the history books.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Li Ru is Dong Zhuo's adviser, or son-in-law, and even Dong Zhuo's chief strategist, and many of Dong Zhuo's schemes are provided by Li Ru.
Turning to the canonical history, the truth is: before Dong Zhuo Bingzheng, Li Ru was just a doctor in the imperial court, a reader. He was a native of Feng Yi County, a member of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and had no previous record of any intersection with Dong Zhuo.
Li Ru is only a dispensable small role in Dong Zhuo's team.
The reason why Li Ru has such a big reputation now depends on Luo Guanzhong to add drama to him in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Li Ru's film and television image
After Dong Zhuo Bingzheng, Dong Zhuo deposed the Young Emperor Liu Wei and renamed him the Prince of Hongnong, at which time Li Ru was able to become the Langzhong Commander of the Hongnong Palace.
On the twelfth day of the first month of the first year of Chuping (190), Dong Zhuo sent Li Ru to offer poisoned wine to Liu Wei in order to make guandong rebels (such as Cao Cao and others) lose political chips, and Liu Zhuo was forced to drink and die.
In this case, Li Ru accepted Dong Zhuo's instructions to go.
For example, in the "Book of Heroes", it is said that Dong Zhuo pretended to call Wang Taifu to rebuke him before sending Li Ru to leave: "I heard that King Hongnong was sick, why didn't you report to me?" Then he sent soldiers to find Tai Yi to get medicine, forced Tai Yi to hand over the poison, and finally let Li Ru offer poison wine.
Whether Li Ru was forced to act or was willing to assist Dong Zhuo is impossible to verify.
Portrait of Li Ru
Anyway, after Liu Xie's death, Liu Xie, the puppet emperor of Han, silently remembered this vendetta in his heart.
At the end of the third year of Chuping (192), Li Dai wanted to show Li Ru as a servant (serving as an official of Emperor Xian's side of The Han Dynasty), but Liu Xie refused to agree and took out his previous revenge for killing his brother. He said, "Li Ru killed my brother, how could such a guilty person still let him become an official?" ”
At this time, the atmosphere of the scene was awkward, and Li Dai had to play the round field, saying that poisoning Liu Zhuo was Dong Zhuo's intention, and Li Ru was just acting on orders and should not be punished (the subtext is: Anyway, Dong Zhuo is also dead now, let's not mention this matter, all turned the page, okay?). ）。
Li Ru's record is nothing more. In the canonical history, it is by no means as powerful as in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.