There’s an appraisal attributed to the Wú shū, annotated to the historiography entry on Lǔ Sù in the Sān Guó zhì:
After [the death of] Zhōu Yú, [Lǔ] Sù was the greatest.1
Lǔ Sù was indeed Zhōu Yú’s immediate successor as Sūn Quán’s chief commander over his western territories in Jīng province, inheriting command of Zhōu Yú’s troops and most of Zhōu Yú’s former offices and titles,2 and the compilers of the Wú shū apparently also considered Lǔ Sù to have been the greatest of the surviving Wú officers of that era after Zhōu Yú’s death. (Readers are free to agree or disagree with them, of course).
However, the appraisal probably works on another level as well. Among the major Wú officers of that particular era, Lǔ Sù perhaps is also second after Zhōu Yú in distortion in a mythology that can probably considered rather hostile.
Summary
The Lǔ clan of Dōngchéng Línhuái does not seem to have had a tradition of higher-level government service, as the historiography does not include any mention of any Lǔ Sù’s ancestors or clansmen holding high government office (in contrast, for example, to the record of Zhōu Yú’s father holding a magistrate office and two other members of the Zhōu clan reaching the Three Excellencies level). Nevertheless, the clan was still recorded as having been very wealthy, and so probably still had great social status and local influence (and potentially could have held lower level offices the historiography writers thought not worth recording). Lǔ Sù reportedly used much of that family wealth to build up a personal following and private army, to the apparent disapproval of some of the local elders: “The Lǔ clan declined over the generations, and so produced this wild boy!”3
Around 195-196, when Zhōu Yú was serving as Jūcháo Chief under Yuán Shù's patronage, he happened to be leading a small army of several hundred men, passed by the Lǔ estate, and requested provisions from Lǔ Sù. The Lǔ estate had two large granaries, and Lǔ Sù immediately pointed to gift one to Zhōu Yú’s group. From this Zhōu Yú immediately recognized that Lǔ Sù was an exceptional person, and the two quickly became close friends. Yuán Shù also soon heard of Lǔ Sù’s reputation and sought to recruit him, but Lǔ Sù observed the weakness of Yuán Shù’s regime, and instead led his personal army and following south to Jūcháo to join with Zhōu Yú.4 He crossed the Jiāng south together with Zhōu Yú, but then left his family south in order to return north with the body of his paternal grandmother (who had raised Lǔ Sù after Lǔ Sù’s father had died when Lǔ Sù was still young) to bury her in the clan’s ancestral homeland in Dōngchéng. At this stage, Lǔ Sù’s friend Liú Zǐyáng (probably Liú Yè) sent him a letter encouraging him to remain in the north and establish an independent position, citing the example of a local warlord Zhèng Bǎo who had done the same in their general area.5 Lǔ Sù agreed to this and went back south with intentions to bring his family back north, but Zhōu Yú urged him to instead stay in the south and join him in serving Sūn Quán. Zhōu Yú also recommended Lǔ Sù to Sūn Quán, urging Sūn Quán to recruit him, stating that a talent like Lǔ Sù could not allowed to leave.6
Sūn Quán then summoned Lǔ Sù to an audience, and was so impressed with him that after the audience he invited Lǔ Sù to come back alone for a private conversation. In that conversation, Sūn Quán expressed a wish to emulate the celebrated hegemons Huán and Wén of the Spring and Autumn Period, who had used their military power to uphold the failing but legitimate government of Zhōu, and asked if Lǔ Sù had any advice. However, Lǔ Sù then boldly (and seditiously) stated that he did not think it was possible to support the failing Hàn, and instead outlined a general plan by which Sūn Quán should build up his own power and instead aim to become Hàn’s successor. Of course, Sūn Quán quickly replied that he did not dare have such high (and technically treasonous) ambitions.7 It is also recorded that the senior minister Zhāng Zhāo criticized Lǔ Sù as lacking in modesty and being too young and uncouth to be trusted with serious employment, but Sūn Quán instead honored Lǔ Sù all the more, granting bestowals and gifts so that the Lǔ family became as wealthy as it had been in the north.8
In 208, Liú Biǎo, the warlord in control of the neighboring Jīng province (Jīngzhōu), died. Lǔ Sù urged Sūn Quán to send him west on the excuse of giving condolences, in order to observe the situation and seek out opportunities for westward expansion. Before Lǔ Sù arrived, Liú Biǎo's son and successor Liú Cóng had already formally surrendered to Cáo Cāo, but the popular Liú Bèi had also rallied an opposition party around himself, only to be seriously defeated by Cáo Cāo and forced to flee east, so that Liú Bèi and Lǔ Sù encountered one another. Lǔ Sù proposed that Liú Bèi join with Sūn Quán against Cáo Cāo, and Liú Bèi sent his officer Zhūgě Liàng east with Lǔ Sù to negotiate the alliance.9
By this time, Cáo Cāo had also sent open letters to Sūn Quán announcing his recent successes against Liú Cóng and Liú Bèi and calling for Sūn Quán’s submission as well. It is said that all of Sūn Quán’s senior officers argued in favor of welcoming Cáo Cāo, and that only Lǔ Sù remained quiet. Then, when Sūn Quán left to go to the lavatory, Lǔ Sù also went, and in a private conversation Lǔ Sù explained that all the other officers were thinking of their own status: after a surrender, they could eventually transfer their services and gain high positions in Cáo Cāo’s regime, but Sūn Quán certainly could only hope to spend the rest of his days in a golden cage.10
Lǔ Sù also urged Sūn Quán to summon Zhōu Yú, and when Zhōu Yú arrived he joined with Lǔ Sù in arguing in favor of resistance against Cáo Cāo. Sūn Quán mobilized an army under Zhōu Yú’s command, and sent Zhōu Yú, with Lǔ Sù as a supporting officer and advisor, west to join up with Liú Bèi. The allied force met Cáo Cāo’s advance at Wūlín and Chìbì, and successfully defeated him. Lǔ Sù went back first to report the victory to Sūn Quán. It is said that when Lǔ Sù arrived at the gates, Sūn Quán personally went out to receive him, and asked if this was enough to honor him. Lǔ Sù replied that it was not, to the shock and amazement of everyone around them. When they had gone inside and were seated, Lǔ Sù explained his answer: when Sūn Quán was Emperor over all the empire and sending a proper Imperial-style recruitment summons to Lǔ Sù, only then would that be enough. Sūn Quán clapped his hand and laughed.11
In the aftermath of Chìbì, Zhōu Yú had continued operations against Cáo Cāo’s remaining garrisons in Nán prefecture on the northern side of the Jiāng, while Liú Bèi led operations on the southern side, securing much of the southern parts of Jīng province. At this stage, Liú Bèi personally traveled east to meet with Sūn Quán, and requested that Sūn Quán sponsor him as a claimant Governor of Jīng province. Zhōu Yú had written a letter stating that this situation was becoming dangerous and that Liú Bèi should be detained in the east, and it is also said that the senior officer and advisor Lǚ Fàn, a veteran from the time of Sūn Quán's elder brother Sūn Cè, also urged Sūn Quán to detain Liú Bèi. However, Lǔ Sù argued that they should instead leverage Liú Bèi’s popularity in Jīng province, and strengthen Liú Bèi’s position to serve as an ally against Cáo Cāo. Sūn Quán ultimately followed Lǔ Sù’s proposals, sponsoring Liú Bèi’s claim and sending him back west.12
In 210, Zhōu Yú died of illness. In his final letters he nominated Lǔ Sù as his successor as commander over the west, and Sūn Quán indeed had Lǔ Sù inherit command over Zhōu Yú’s troops. At this stage, it seems that Lǔ Sù also persuaded Sūn Quán to cede, loan, or trade (depending on one’s political leanings) the territory they held in Jīng province on the northern bank of the Jiāng to Liú Bèi, and Lǔ Sù withdrew downstream east, establishing a new Hànchāng prefecture in eastern Jīng province while Liú Bèi’s officer Guān Yǔ took over the former Nán-Nányáng front against Cáo Cāo. This would prove a rather controversial decision.
Nevertheless, Lǔ Sù certainly did not become inactive after this eastward transfer. He continued to build up the military strength of the army he had inherited from Zhōu Yú and develop his local territory in Hànchāng, and in 214 he participated in Sūn Quán’s successful attack on Huán13 city, leading to an advance in his rank as a General.14
Also in 214, Liú Bèi led a western campaign to seize Yì province, and at this stage Sūn Quán demanded that, as Liú Bèi had established himself in a new base, all of Jīng province still under Liú Bèi's control should be “returned” to Sūn Quán’s control, and so sent his own appointments to the respective regional administration offices held by Liú Bèi’s appointments. Quite naturally, Liú Bèi’s forces sought to block the arrival of these appointments, and both sides mobilized their armies.15
Lǔ Sù led his army to block Guān Yǔ while another officer Lǚ Méng led a quick campaign through the south of Jīng province, securing the surrenders of the local administrators. As the two armies faced one another, Lǔ Sù requested to meet with Guān Yǔ personally. Both armies would remain stationed some distance away, while Guān Yǔ and Lǔ Sù (and probably some other senior officers), each only armed with sabers, would meet between the lines. The accounts in the Wú historiography portray Lǔ Sù as quite decisively defeating Guān Yǔ in their verbal sparring at this meeting, and the extant Shǔ historiography does not contain any disputes of this portrayal (though the mythology certainly does).16
In any case, it was in the interests of both Liú Bèi and Sūn Quán to reach a settlement quickly, lest their common enemy to the north Cáo Cāo take advantage of their discord, and a compromise was reached where Liú Bèi ceded his territories in Jīng province east of the Xiāng river.17
Though Lǔ Sù’s own biography entry does not mention it, it is recorded in other entries that he played a role in the suppression of various uprisings in the newly acquired territories in Jīng province.18
Lǔ Sù died soon after in 217, aged forty six in traditional reckoning, probably of illness as there is record of an epidemic around that time.19 Sūn Quán held mourning, as did the Shǔ officer Zhūgě Liàng in the west.20
Appraisal
Most portrayals of Lǔ Sù in mythology tend to be rather mild, even weak, or at most extreme treacherous to Wú,21 which is quite at odds at what is presented in the historiography. Note that when Lǔ Sù replied to Sūn Quán’s question on how he could emulate the hegemons Huán and Wén by saying that he could not and should instead focus on emulating the founding Emperor Gāo of Hàn, he was committing sedition against Hàn. This is quite strong evidence that his loyalties were to Sūn Quán and to Wú, not to the dying Hàn, and moreover that he had the courage and daring to admit that to Sūn Quán. As an example for how such activities could be personally dangerous and therefore require a measure of courage, there is a story of Yuán Shào being forced to execute one of his subordinate officers Gěng Bāo for daring to suggest that Yuán Shào could become a founding Emperor for a successor to Hàn after this suggestion became publicly known.22
I would suspect that some of the popular view of Lǔ Sù as “weak” come from two main factors. The first is over-reliance on the ideal of the “civil vs military” divide. The ideal of such a divide in government offices and responsibilities was indeed a real thing used by ancient regimes, including Hàn,23 but popular imagination has tended to perhaps apply this ideal too strongly to individual persons, and imagine that a person must be one or the other. This forgets that individuals can certainly be skilled in both “civil” and “military” tasks, and any gentleman of status was surely expected to be trained and educated in both, and that individuals could certainly “wear many hats” and hold multiple offices simultaneously, especially during times of chaos and war. Most likely Lǔ Sù has tended to be viewed as a “civil official” in the popular mythology, and therefore assumed to be “not a tough military man” like those commonly viewed as military officers in the mythology, which is actually quite funny when one remembers that Lǔ Sù’s highest ranks were as a military General and that he spent his youth building a personal army and personally training together with these private troops. There is even one anecdote of him personally showing off his archery skills to intimidate a group of pursuers during his journey south to cross the Jiāng and join up with Zhōu Yú.24
The second factor is probably his attempts to maintain a harmonious alliance with Liú Bèi, which perhaps tends to come off as a “weak” approach compared to Zhōu Yú’s proposals to detain Liú Bèi as a “guest” in the east or to Lǚ Méng’s later successful seizure of all of Liú Bèi’s remaining holdings in Jīng province by a lightning campaign. Probably this has contributed to various popular views of Lǔ Sù as unreliable or even questions as to his loyalty to Sūn Quán, which should obviously be ridiculous to anyone familiar with the stories of his urging of Sūn Quán to build an independent position and his urging of Sūn Quán to oppose rather than welcome Cáo Cāo.
Why then, did he argue in favor of alliance with Liú Bèi, going so far as to cede (or “loan” as Sūn Quán would later claim) the territory of Nán that Zhōu Yú had fought hard (and personally bled) to capture from Cáo Cāo? We can of course only speculate, but the account in the Hàn Jìn Chūnqiū annotated to the biography entry on Lǔ Sù might give some hint:
“[You are] only beginning to oversee Jīng province, [your] favor and trust not yet extensive; it is appropriate to lend it to [Liú] Bèi, to have him succor and secure it.”
Prior to the events of 208, the Sūn family regime based in Yáng province had been at war with Liú Biǎo and thus with Jīng province from as early as Sūn Cè’s campaigns into Jiāngxià in late 199/early 200. The animosity for the Sūn family specifically potentially started even earlier, as Sūn Jiān had been killed in battle against Liú Biǎo’s forces in 191 back when Sūn Jiān had been serving Yuán Shù. Probably the people of Jīng province were used to thinking of the Sūn family as an enemy after nearly a decade of war, and perhaps Lǔ Sù may have had concerns over the potential difficulties in pacifying the territory. In contrast, Liú Bèi had become a “guest” of Liú Biǎo around 201 and built up a strong personal following since then. Most likely Lǔ Sù’s hope was to use Liú Bèi’s popularity in Jīng province as an intermediary to pacify the territory, and then keep Liú Bèi under their control. The death of Zhōu Yú in 210, their most prestigious military commander, probably added to Lǔ Sù’s potential anxieties over their ability to hold the territory of Nán through military strength against both Cáo Cāo to the north and Liú Bèi to the south.
There are less flattering accounts and appraisals of Lǔ Sù in the historiography, though of course not included in his entry due to the traditional structuring of letting subjects have a best possible portrayal in their own entry. For instance, the story of a meeting between Lǔ Sù and his eventual successor Lǚ Méng is preserved in Lǚ Méng’s entry:
Lǔ Sù succeeded Zhōu Yù, was about to go to Lùkǒu and passed below [Lǚ] Méng's garrison. [Lǔ] Sù still thought little of [Lǚ] Méng, but someone advised [Lǔ] Sù saying: "General Lǚ’s achievements and fame become daily more prominent; he cannot be intentionally ignored, you should visit him.” Therefore he went to visit [Lǚ] Méng. They drank and were intoxicated, [Lǚ] Méng asked [Lǔ] Sù: “Sir, you have received a heavy responsibility, with Guān Yǔ as a neighbor. What strategies have you planned to prepare for the unexpected?” [Lǔ] Sù without thinking answered: “When the time comes I will do whatever is appropriate.” [Lǚ] Méng said: “Now although east and west are like one family, yet Guān Yǔ truly is a bear or tiger. How can plans not be in advance decided?” Therefore he drew up five strategies for [Lǔ] Sù. [Lǔ] Sù therefore left his seat to go to him, and patted his back saying: “Lǚ Zǐmíng, I did not know that your talent and strategy reached to this!” Therefore he paid respects to [Lǚ] Méng’s mother, joined in friendship and departed.25
The anecdote is of course primarily intended to portray Lǚ Méng positively, but if an actual event, it also perhaps implies that Lǔ Sù may not have been completely prepared to handle the difficulty of having Guān Yǔ as a neighbor. At the very least, there is record of Sūn Quán having doubts of Lǔ Sù in that regard:
[Lǔ Sù] Zǐjìng answered my letter saying: “In the rise of Emperors and Kings, all had their momentum. [Guān] Yǔ is not worth fearing.” This was Zǐjìng inside not being able to manage it, and outside only making a great boast. I also forgive this, and do not blame him.26
Interestingly, the evolution of the Lǔ Sù character in the mythology may have been partially foreshadowed by comments attributed to Sūn Quán himself. In his recorded discussion with Lù Xùn about Zhōu Yǔ, Lǔ Sù, and Lǚ Méng, though Sūn Quán praised Lǔ Sù highly, he also expressed disappointment over how Lǔ Sù had handled the diplomatic troubles with Liú Bèi and Liú Bèi's officer Guān Yǔ. However, in that regard, Sūn Quán also qualified his complaints by stating:
Zhōu-gōng did not seek everything from a single person, and therefore I forget [Lǔ Sù’s] shortcomings and value his strengths, always comparing him to Dèng Yǔ.27
Dèng Yǔ was one of the chief officers of the “second founder” Emperor Guāng-Wǔ of Hàn and later even ranked as the first of the Twenty-Eight Generals honored by the Hàn Emperor Míng, but who also suffered several humiliating military defeats when holding a separate command which greatly hurt his reputation as an independent commander.28
As Sūn Quán explained, he chose to forget his disappointment with Lǔ Sù’s handling of the situation with Liú Bèi and Guān Yǔ, and instead remember the positives and joys, particularly the incident where Lǔ Sù had dared advise Sūn Quán to build an independent position in hopes of an Imperial title, and the incident where Lǔ Sù alone of Sūn Quán’s senior officers had argued to oppose rather than welcome Cáo Cāo (though Zhōu Yú was also famously of the pro-resistance group, he was not present at those initial meetings and had only been summoned later at Lǔ Sù's urging). But with the mythology, it has apparently been the other way around, where portrayals tend to forget what Sūn Quán valued most in Lǔ Sù, and instead focus on the troubled dealings with Liú Bèi.
But speaking of those troubled dealings, the version in the historiography still portrays Lǔ Sù as thoroughly loyal to Sūn Quán, and as capable of great personal courage, particularly in the story of his seeking to face Guān Yǔ alone. Guān Yǔ had a reputation as a strong and fearsome warrior even in his own time, and even accounting for that fact that Lǔ Sù was also something of a warrior himself, Guān Yǔ was famously described as a match for ten thousand men, and Lǔ Sù did not have any reputation for military prowess comparable to that. Yet Lǔ Sù still agreed to face such a man almost alone with only a sword. Perhaps it is natural that the standard mythology must rewrite the story of the meeting almost entirely, because otherwise Lǔ Sù would probably come off as the much more sympathetic party. (In most versions given in the mythology, Lǔ Sù attempts to trap Guān Yǔ, inviting Guān Yǔ to come alone into a waiting Wú ambush, only for Guān Yǔ to save himself by seizing Lǔ Sù and holding him hostage against the armed Wú officers.)29
And, based on Liú Zǐyáng's letter, there is another point showing both the degree of Lǔ Sù’s loyalty to Sūn Quán and to Lǔ Sù’s abilities as a commander and leader. Liú Zǐyáng had suggested that Lǔ Sù had the potential to build up his own position, and had Lǔ Sù gone through with that, he could have established himself as a warlord in his own right for a while. (Though he would probably have been a smaller one that would have most likely ended up being absorbed by a larger one eventually, like how Liú Yè himself was eventually absorbed into the following of Cáo Cāo.)
So much like the case with his predecessor Zhōu Yú, the portait of Lǔ Sù that has evolved in the standard mythology seems quite at odds with the portait given in the original historiography, though perhaps it does not go quite as far in attempting to portray Lǔ Sù as treacherous to Sūn Quán and Wú.30
《三國志注·吳書九·魯肅傳》吳書曰:肅為人方嚴,寡於玩飾,內外節儉,不務俗好。治軍整頓,禁令必行,雖在軍陣,手不釋卷。又善談論,能屬文辭,思度弘遠,有過人之明。周瑜之後,肅為之冠。
The title Dà dūdū 大都督 popularized by the romance and mythology does not appear to be an actual official title ever held by either Zhōu Yú or Lǔ Sù. There is no record of Wú creating such an office until Lù Xùn was granted this title when assuming command over the defense against Liú Bèi in 222. Note that in the 200s-210s, Sūn Quán’s own rank was still too low to be bestowing such lofty titles upon his subordinates.
《三國志·吳書十三·陸遜傳》黃武元年,劉備率大衆來向西界,權命遜為大都督、假節,督朱然、潘璋、宋謙、韓當、徐盛、鮮于丹、孫桓等五萬人拒之。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》魯肅字子敬,臨淮東城人也。生而失父,與祖母居。家富於財,性好施與。爾時天下已亂,肅不治家事,大散財貨,摽賣田地,以賑窮弊結士為務,甚得鄉邑歡心。
《三國志注·吳書九·魯肅傳》吳書曰:肅體貌魁奇,少有壯節,好為奇計。天下將亂,乃學擊劒騎射,招聚少年,給其衣食,往來南山中射獵,陰相部勒,講武習兵。父老咸曰:「魯氏世衰,乃生此狂兒!」
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》周瑜為居巢長,將數百人故過候肅,并求資糧。肅家有兩囷米,各三千斛,肅乃指一囷與周瑜,瑜益知其奇也,遂相親結,定僑、札之分。袁術聞其名,就署東城長。肅見術無綱紀,不足與立事,乃攜老弱將輕俠少年百餘人,南到居巢就瑜。瑜之東渡,因與同行,
Liú Zǐyáng is most probably Liú Yè, who has a biography in SGZ 14 and records him having the appellation Zǐyáng. Some have objected to this identification, because the biography of Liú Yè records that Liú Yè was an enemy of Zhèng Bǎo. However, I suspect that this is based on a misreading of Liú Zǐyáng's letter to Lǔ Sù. In much of the scholarly commentary on the letter, it is commonly believed that the letter is praising Zhèng Bǎo and encouraging Lǔ Sù to join with Zhèng Bǎo, but on closer inspection, this is not necessarily the case. The letter does not seem to actually praise Zhèng Bǎo in any particular way, only stating that Zhèng Bǎo was able to build a large following. Therefore, the letter’s comment of “why not us then” may not mean “why not also join the large following of Zhèng Bǎo” like commonly believed, but instead “why not also build a large following like Zhèng Bǎo did.” In this case it would not be advising Lǔ Sù to join Zhèng Bǎo, but to instead seek to establish an independent position as a local warlord like Zhèng Bǎo was able to do.
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》劉子揚與肅友善,遺肅書曰:「方今天下豪傑並起,吾子姿才,尤宜今日。急還迎老母,無事滯於東城。近鄭寶者,今在巢湖,擁衆萬餘,處地肥饒,廬江閒人多依就之,況吾徒乎?觀其形勢,又可博集,時不可失,足下速之。」肅荅然其計。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》葬畢還曲阿,欲北行。會瑜已徙肅母到吳,肅具以狀語瑜。時孫策已薨,權尚住吳,瑜謂肅曰:「昔馬援荅光武云『當今之世,非但君擇臣,臣亦擇君』。今主人親賢貴士,納奇錄異,且吾聞先哲祕論,承運代劉氏者,必興於東南,推步事勢,當其歷數。終搆帝基,以協天符,是烈士攀龍附鳳馳騖之秋。吾方達此,足下不須以子揚之言介意也。」肅從其言。瑜因薦肅才宜佐時,當廣求其比,以成功業,不可令去也。
Some have questioned how the conversation was recorded if it was private, but most likely the record was based on a personal recollection by Sūn Quán after the fact, for it seems in character for Sūn Quán to have boasted about Lǔ Sù’s comments after coming to power. Indeed, Sūn Quán reportedly referenced this private conversation with Lǔ Sù in a later conversation with Lù Xùn, and again at his very coronation ceremony.
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》權即見肅,與語甚恱之。衆賔罷退,肅亦辭出,乃獨引肅還,合榻對飲。因密議曰:「今漢室傾危,四方雲擾,孤承父兄遺業,思有桓文之功。君旣惠顧,何以佐之?」肅對曰:「昔高帝區區欲尊事義帝而不獲者,以項羽為害也。今之曹操,猶昔項羽,將軍何由得為桓文乎?肅竊料之,漢室不可復興,曹操不可卒除。為將軍計,惟有鼎足江東,以觀天下之釁。規模如此,亦自無嫌。何者?北方誠多務也。因其多務,勦除黃祖,進伐劉表,竟長江所極,據而有之,然後建號帝王以圖天下,此高帝之業也。」權曰:「今盡力一方,兾以輔漢耳,此言非所及也。」
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》權稱尊號,臨壇,顧謂公卿曰:「昔魯子敬甞道此,可謂明於事勢矣。」
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》張昭非肅謙下不足,頗訾毀之,云肅年少麤踈,未可用。權不以介意,益貴重之,賜肅母衣服幃帳,居處雜物,富擬其舊。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》權即遣肅行。到夏口,聞曹公已向荊州,晨夜兼道。比至南郡,而表子琮已降曹公,備惶遽奔走,欲南渡江。肅徑迎之,到當陽長阪,與備會,宣騰權旨,及陳江東彊固,勸備與權併力。備甚歡恱。時諸葛亮與備相隨,肅謂亮曰「我子瑜友也」,即共定交。備遂到夏口,遣亮使權,肅亦反命。
Similar to the story of the private conversation after their first interview (see note 7 above), the story of this private conversation outside the lavatory has had its share of detractors, questioning how a private conversation could be recorded. Much like the other story, this record is most likely based on a personal recollection by Sūn Quán after the fact, to boast of Lǔ Sù’s private advice after the successful resistance against Cáo Cāo at Chìbì as the only pro-resistance argument he had received from his senior officers at the time.
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》會權得曹公欲東之問,與諸將議,皆勸權迎之,而肅獨不言。權起更衣,肅追於宇下,權知其意,執肅手曰:「卿欲何言?」肅對曰:「向察衆人之議,專欲誤將軍,不足與圖大事。今肅可迎操耳,如將軍,不可也。何以言之?今肅迎操,操當以肅還付鄉黨,品其名位,猶不失下曹從事,乘犢車,從吏卒,交游士林,累官故不失州郡也。將軍迎操,將安所歸?願早定大計,莫用衆人之議也。」權歎息曰:「此諸人持議,甚失孤望;今卿廓開大計,正與孤同,此天以卿賜我也。」
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》時周瑜受使至鄱陽,肅勸追召瑜還。遂任瑜以行事,以肅為贊軍校尉,助畫方略。曹公破走,肅即先還,權大請諸將迎肅。肅將入閤拜,權起禮之,因謂曰:「子敬,孤持鞌下馬相迎,足以顯卿未?」肅趨進曰:「未也。」衆人聞之,無不愕然。就坐,徐舉鞭言曰:「願至尊威德加乎四海,總括九州,克成帝業,更以安車軟輪徵肅,始當顯耳。」權撫掌歡笑。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》後備詣京見權,求都督荊州,惟肅勸權借之,共拒曹公。
《三國志注·吳書九·魯肅傳》漢晉春秋曰:呂範勸留備,肅曰:「不可。將軍雖神武命世,然曹公威力實重,初臨荊州,恩信未洽,宜以借備,使撫安之。多操之敵,而自為樹黨,計之上也。」權即從之。
In modern transcriptions, the name of the city 皖 is pronounced Wǎn, but it has become something of an informal convention in amateur communities to use Huán instead (it is also a valid modern reading of the modern character), to avoid confusion with the Wǎn 宛 further west in Nányáng.
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》即拜肅奮武校尉,代瑜領兵。瑜士衆四千餘人,奉邑四縣,皆屬焉。令程普領南郡太守。肅初住江陵,後下屯陸口,威恩大行,衆增萬餘人,拜漢昌太守、偏將軍。十九年,從權破皖城,轉橫江將軍。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》備旣定益州,權求長沙、零、桂,備不承旨,權遣呂蒙率衆進取。備聞,自還公安,遣羽爭三郡。肅住益陽,與羽相拒。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》肅邀羽相見,各駐兵馬百步上,但請將軍單刀俱會。肅因責數羽曰:「國家區區本以土地借卿家者,卿家軍敗遠來,無以為資故也。今已得益州,旣無奉還之意,但求三郡,又不從命。」語未究竟,坐有一人曰:「夫土地者,惟德所在耳,何常之有!」肅厲聲呵之,辭色甚切。羽操刀起謂曰:「此自國家事,是人何知!」目使之去。
《三國志注·吳書九·魯肅傳》吳書曰:肅欲與羽會語,諸將疑恐有變,議不可往。肅曰:「今日之事,宜相開譬。劉備負國,是非未決,羽亦何敢重欲干命!」乃自就羽。羽曰:「烏林之役,左將軍身在行間,寢不脫介,自力破魏,豈得徒勞,無一塊壤,而足下來欲收地邪?」肅曰:「不然。始與豫州觀於長阪,豫州之衆不當一校,計窮慮極,志勢摧弱,圖欲遠竄,望不及此。主上矜愍豫州之身無有處所,不愛土地士人之力,使有所庇廕以濟其患,而豫州私獨飾情,愆德隳好。今已藉手於西州矣,又欲翦并荊州之土,斯蓋凡夫所不忍行,而況整領人物之主乎!肅聞貪而棄義,必為禍階。吾子屬當重任,曾不能明道處分,以義輔時,而負恃弱衆以圖力爭,師曲為老,將何獲濟?」羽無以荅。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》備遂割湘水為界,於是罷軍。
《三國志·吳書十五·呂岱傳》建安二十年,督孫茂等十將從取長沙三郡。又安成、攸、永新、茶陵四縣吏共入陰山城,合衆拒岱,岱攻圍,即降,三郡克定。權留岱鎮長沙。安成長吳碭及中郎將袁龍等首尾關羽,復為反亂。碭據攸縣,龍在醴陵。權遣橫江將軍魯肅攻攸,碭得突走。岱攻醴陵,遂禽斬龍,遷廬陵太守。
《後漢書·孝獻帝紀》二十二年夏六月,丞相軍師華歆為御史大夫。冬,有星孛于東北。是歲大疫。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》肅年四十六,建安二十二年卒。權為舉哀,又臨其葬。諸葛亮亦為發哀。
In the 2018 movie Shadow, (spoiler warning) the Lǔ Sù stand-in is portrayed as taking bribes from the Shǔ stand-in to serve as a spy and traitor against the Sūn Quán stand-in.
《三國志注·魏書六·袁紹傳》典略曰:自此紹貢御希慢,私使主薄耿苞密白曰:「赤德衰盡,袁為黃胤,宜順天意。」紹以苞密白事示軍府將吏。議者咸以苞為妖妄宜誅,紹乃殺苞以自解。
See the Tables on Bureaucracy in the Hàn shū, which include mention of offices being divided into “civil offices” and “military offices” and having corresponding different uniforms.
《三國志注·吳書九·魯肅傳》又自植盾,引弓射之,矢皆洞貫。騎旣嘉肅言,且度不能制,乃相率還。肅渡江往見策,策亦雅奇之。
As an aside, the Wú officer Zhāng Zhāo has also tended to suffer from this over-emphasis on the civil-military divide ideal in classifying characters. For most of his career under the Wú Imperial Bureaucracy, Zhāng Zhāo technically held a military office as a General rather than a civil office, but that topic, which might have had some political implications (only speculation!), should be addressed elsewhere.
《三國志·吳書九·呂蒙傳》魯肅代周瑜,當之陸口,過蒙屯下。肅意尚輕蒙,或說肅曰:「呂將軍功名日顯,不可以故意待也,君宜顧之。」遂往詣蒙。酒酣,蒙問肅曰:「君受重任,與關羽為鄰,將何計略,以備不虞?」肅造次應曰:「臨時施宜。」蒙曰:「今東西雖為一家,而關羽實熊虎也,計安可不豫定?」因為肅畫五策。肅於是越席就之,拊其背曰:「呂子明,吾不知卿才略所及乃至於此也。」遂拜蒙母,結友而別。
《三國志·吳書九·周瑜魯肅呂蒙傳》子敬荅孤書云:『帝王之起,皆有驅除,羽不足忌。』此子敬內不能辨,外為大言耳,孤亦恕之,不苟責也。
《三國志·吳書九·魯肅傳》周公不求備於一人,故孤忘其短而貴其長,常以比方鄧禹也。
For Dèng Yǔ see Hòu Hàn shū 16.
Interestingly, this situation could perhaps be comparable to Xiàhóu Dūn in the north: though highly valued by Cáo Cāo and treated as Cáo Cāo’s most senior officer, he suffered several humiliating defeats while in an independent command which has damaged his reputation, at least among current commenators.
Sān Guó Yǎnyì chapter 66.
Maybe excepting Shadow (2018).