Lyu Bu

Lü Bù or Lyu Bu is the courtesy name of Fengxian (160, Jiuyuan District, Imperial China-7 February 199, Pizhou, Imperial China), who was a general and later warlord during the late Han dynasty and during the Three Kingdoms era in China. Originally a subordinate of the minor warlord Ding Yuan, he was to betray and assassinate him, then defected and joined Dong Zhuo, the warlord who controlled the central Han government in the early 190s. In 192, he turned against Dong Zhuo and assassinated him at the instigation of Wang Yun and Shisun Rui, but was defeated and expelled by Dong Zhuo’s followers.

Between 192 and mid-195, Lü Bu wandered through central and northern China, consecutively seeking refuge under various warlords such as Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and Zhang Yang. In 194, he managed to wrest control of Yan Province from warlord Cao Cao with the help of defectors from Cao Cao’s side, but Cao Cao regained his territories two years later. In 196, Lü Bu turned against Liu Bei, who had offered him refuge in Xu Province, and seized control of the province from him. Although he had previously agreed to an alliance with Yuan Shu, he broke ties with him after Yuan declared himself emperor – a betrayal against the Xian emperor of Han – and joined Cao and others in attacking the pretender to the throne. However, in 198, he again sided with Yuan Shu and was attacked by the combined forces of Cao and Liu, resulting in his defeat at the Battle of Xiapi in 199. He was captured and executed on Cao’s orders.