page_title: Lü Bu
section_title: Allying with Cao Cao against Yuan Shu
hierarchical_section_title: Lü Bu / Allying with Cao Cao against Yuan Shu
caption_attribution_description: English: Qing Dynasty illustration of Lu Bu
context_page_description: Lü Bu, courtesy name Fengxian, was a military general and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed and murdered Ding Yuan and defected to Dong Zhuo, the warlord who controlled the Han central government in the early 190s. In 192, he turned against Dong Zhuo and killed him after being instigated by Wang Yun and Shisun Rui, but was later defeated and driven away by Dong Zhuo's followers.
  From 192 to mid-195, Lü Bu wandered around central and northern China, consecutively seeking shelter under warlords such as Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and Zhang Yang. In 194, he managed to take control of Yan Province from the warlord Cao Cao with help from defectors from Cao's side, but Cao took back his territories within two years. In 196, Lü Bu turned against Liu Bei, who had offered him refuge in Xu Province, and seized control of the province from his host. Although he had agreed to an alliance with Yuan Shu earlier, he severed ties with him after Yuan declared himself emperor – treason against Emperor Xian of Han – and joined Cao and others in attacking the pretender.
context_section_description: In early 197, Yuan Shu declared himself emperor in Shouchun, the administrative centre of his territories, and founded a Zhong (仲) dynasty. This was deemed an act of treason against the reigning Emperor Xian of the Han dynasty, so Yuan Shu soon found himself the target of attacks by Cao Cao and other warlords who had received orders from the Han imperial court to eliminate the pretender.
  Earlier on, Yuan Shu wanted to form an alliance with Lü Bu so he proposed a marriage between his son and Lü Bu's daughter. Lü Bu initially agreed. After proclaiming himself emperor, Yuan Shu sent his subordinate Han Yin (韓胤) to meet Lü Bu and escort Lü Bu's daughter back to his territory for the marriage. However, Lü Bu changed his mind after Chen Gui convinced him to do so, and after he recalled how Yuan Shu rejected him when he first sought shelter under him. He then sent his men to chase Han Yin's convoy, which was on its way back to Shouchun, and retrieve his daughter. He also captured Han Yin and sent him as a prisoner to Xu, where Han Yin was executed.
  
  The Yingxiong Ji recorded: 
  When Emperor Xian was in Hedong, he once sent a written order to Lü Bu, ordering the latter to lead his men to Hedong to escort him. As his army lacked supplies then, Lü Bu did not personally travel to Hedong, but he sent a messenger to pass a memorial to the emperor. The Han imperial court later appointed Lü Bu as General Who Pacifies the East (平東將軍) and granted him the title "Marquis of Pingtao" (平陶侯). However, the emissary who was tasked with bringing the official seal to Lü Bu lost the seal in Shanyang. Cao Cao personally wrote to Lü Bu to console him, and he also mentioned his desires to defend the emperor, pacify the empire, and help the emperor eliminate Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu, Han Xian, Yang Feng and others. Lü Bu was overjoyed, and he wrote another memorial to Emperor Xian: "I should have come to defend Your Majesty, but I heard that Cao Cao is loyal and filial and he has escorted Your Majesty safely to the new capital Xu. Earlier on, I fought battles with Cao Cao, and now he has come to defend Your Majesty. I am a general outside the central government, so I feared that if I brought along my troops and followed Cao Cao to escort Your Majesty, others may doubt my intentions. As such, I chose to remain in Xu Province and wait for Your Majesty to punish me for disobeying your order. I did not dare to make my own decision on whether to act or not." Lü Bu also wrote a reply letter to Cao Cao: "I am guilty (of disobeying the Emperor's order) and I deserve to be punished. However, you comforted me and gave me encouragement. When I receive the Emperor's decrees for the elimination of Yuan Shu and the others, I will, with my life, help His Majesty execute his orders." Cao Cao then sent Wang Ze (王則), a Commandant of Equipage (奉車都尉), as an emissary to bring Emperor Xian's decree to Xu Province and bestow upon Lü Bu the official seal of the General Who Pacifies the East. Cao Cao also wrote a personal letter to Lü Bu: "The officials in Shanyang offered a replacement for your official seal, which was lost there. However, the imperial treasury lacks gold reserves (for making your seal), so I took from my personal stores. The imperial treasury also lacks purple silk, so I took from my stores again. You are not making wise moves. Yuan Shu (committed treason when he) proclaimed himself emperor, so you should break all your connections with him. The Imperial Court trusts you, which was why they were willing to send you your commission again. You should prove your loyalty to the Emperor." Lü Bu sent Chen Deng (Chen Gui's son) as a messenger to Xu to thank Emperor Xian and pass a fine silk cord to Cao Cao to express his gratitude.
  The main text of the Sanguozhi, however, mentioned that the Han imperial court appointed Lü Bu as General of the Left (左將軍) instead of General Who Pacifies the East (as stated in the Yingxiong Ji). Nevertheless, Lü Bu did allow Chen Deng to go to Xu as his representative to thank the imperial court. In Xu, Chen Deng urged Cao Cao to get rid
caption: An illustration of Lū Bu.
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