陸遜

Profile

The commander who broke Liu Bei at Yiling and Wei at Shiting — later chancellor of Wu, master of both pen and sword. For the Jing Province strike he weaponized his own obscurity, lulling Guan Yu with humble letters. At Yiling he crouched for half a year until Liu Bei’s army frayed, then ended it with one fire attack; the old generals who had scorned the "schoolboy" submitted on the spot. His end was darker: entangled in the succession feud, he died under his own emperor’s rebukes. Glory and tragedy in one life.

Key events

1. 219

   Lü Meng Takes Jing Province — the Death of Guan Yu

   Lü Meng’s soldiers, disguised as merchants, seize Jing Province without a fight. His retreat cut, Guan Yu is captured at Maicheng and executed.

   Lü MengGuan YuSun Quan

2. 222

   Battle of Yiling

   Marching east to avenge Guan Yu, Liu Bei is annihilated by the young commander Lu Xun’s single fire attack. Ma Liang also perished in the campaign.

   Liu BeiSun QuanMa LiangZhao Yun

3. 228

   Battle of Shiting

   Lu Xun crushes a Wei host at Shiting — his second great victory after Yiling, paving the way for Sun Quan’s enthronement.

   Sun Quan

4. 229

   Sun Quan Takes the Throne

   With Sun Quan’s enthronement, three emperors reign at once — the Three Kingdoms in name as well as fact. Shu, pragmatically, recognized him.

   Sun QuanZhuge Liang

History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel

The novel humbles him after Yiling with Zhuge Liang’s magical stone maze — pure invention. In the histories, Chen Shou honored him with a solo biography, an honor given no other Wu subject: the kingdom’s most esteemed minister.