魯肅

Profile

The strategist who designed — and then held together — the Sun–Liu alliance that defined the era. He befriended Zhou Yu by giving away an entire granary; to Sun Quan he offered a "divide the realm in two" plan that rivals Zhuge Liang’s more famous one. At Red Cliffs he was nearly the only voice for war, steeling his lord’s resolve. Succeeding Zhou Yu as commander, he kept the alliance alive through the Jing Province feud — down to the famous single-blade parley.

Key events

1. 208

   Battle of Red Cliffs

   Zhou Yu’s Sun–Liu alliance burns Cao Cao’s armada with fire ships, halting his southern conquest. The three-way division of the realm was sealed here.

   Zhou YuCao CaoSun QuanLiu BeiZhuge LiangHuang GaiCheng PuGan Ning

2. 210

   Death of Zhou Yu

   Zhou Yu, hero of Red Cliffs, dies at 36; his successor Lu Su becomes the pillar of the Sun–Liu alliance.

   Zhou YuSun Quan

3. 215

   The Xiang River Accord

   Guan Yu and Lu Su face off at Yiyang over Jing Province — the single-blade parley — settling on a split along the Xiang River.

   Guan YuSun QuanLiu BeiZhuge Jin

History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel

The novel’s Lu Su is a good-natured go-between fumbling amid geniuses; the historical Lu Su read the board better than almost anyone. Even the single-blade parley is his scene in the histories, not Guan Yu’s.