The under-praised qualities of Lu Meng

[Lord Lu Meng]

Let me begin by stating my utter devotion to the pursuit of learning everything i possibily can regarding the truly spectacular, heart-rendering, gripping saga known to us as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The nobility, the brutality the struggle of human nature in the face of such arversity and ardour; it has spell-binded me and endeared my spirit to the endeavours of so many of the great warriors and leaders of that era. One of which met a truly unworthy and gruesome death, a death tinged in supernatural causes. I am of course referring to Lu Meng of Wu. Initially soley a warrior, until scolded by the ruler of Wu for indiscipline, devoted himself to becoming a paradigm of wisdom, valor and strategy. His superhuman efforts at Fan Castle (the name of the district escapes me) ensured the capture of the 'God of War' himself, something not even the Great Cao Cao could manage. Lu Meng was a warrior and a strategist, he eclipsed his peers in terms of talent, valor and guile. Does anyone else believe this man was not given the posthumous plaudits and fame he so dearly deserves?

"So long, God of War"

[Famed Hero]

I am a big Lu Meng fan, I think his operation to take back Jing was definately one of the most well executed attacks of the time. Although it was a bad thing in the end, still he did a good job pulling it off and getting rid of the "Schmuck of War" Guan Yu.

Indeed he was a great talent, it is very inspiring how he rose from being a peon troop to being Wu's top military commander. Definately a great example to follow, I can't remember how many times I've read over his SGZ bio just to feel better about my military self

[Master Still Water]

Didn't he need Lu Xun's help to capture Guan Yu? Would Lu Meng have been able to do it without him?

[Liu Yuante]

I don't know that i 'like' Lu Meng a lot, but I certainly respect his ability. He was a capable commander and good at strategy, although, like Zhou Yu and Lu Su, he didn't live very long, so the scope and range of his accomplishments is not very broad. I wouldn't rate him as one of the very best of the era but certainly well above average.

As far as the Jing campaign goes, though SGYY makes Lu Meng's illness a ruse or strategy, historically he actually was ill, leading to the appointment of Lu Xun. Though Lu Meng played a significant role in how things unfolded, and did acompany the Wu troops into Jing, I think more of the credit should go to Lu Xun.

Adrian

[Jiang Qin]

Certainly Lu Meng was a great historical figure. The most interesting part was the ablility of his to learn. He was a junk but under (i think) Lu Su's advise he pick up very fast and everyone was surprise with the improvements. His best part was his military and battle prowness. A great warrior and commander (for his leadership). Something about him that i hate is he got no honourable type personality. He got no shame for backstabing Guan Yu.

[Destiny Edge]

Didn't he need Lu Xun's help to capture Guan Yu? Would Lu Meng have been able to do it without him?

I wouldn't call that a bad thing, though. When two people work together to achieve something great, it's just as meritable as doing it alone.

[Honour and Power]

His superhuman efforts at Fan Castle (the name of the district escapes me) ensured the capture of the 'God of War' himself, something not even the Great Cao Cao could manage.

I hope you know that Cao Cao could have managed to capture Guan Yu if he was in the same situation as Lu Meng

What if Guan Yu was attacking Wu instead of Wei and if Shu was allied to Wei I am quite sure that Cao Cao could stab a knife in Guan Yu's back too

(not that I think Lu Meng wasn't talented, but it wasn't real fair play)

[Lady Wu]

Actually, it was Sun Quan who exhorted Lu Meng to study (and I love Sun Quan for that. ^^). In a passage from Jiang Biao Zhuan quoted in Lu Meng's bio, it is said that after Lu Meng applied himself to studying books, he was tireless in his efforts, and soon the breadth of his knowledge and understanding surpassed that of long-time scholars.

These are the events in Lu Meng's SGZ that are cool (apart from the capture of Guan Yu):
1. Once, Lu Meng was garrisoned next to three other generals, who then died (Generic Fatal Disease). Since their kids were still young, Sun Quan wanted to relocate their troops to Lu Meng, which would make Lu Meng more powerful. However, Lu Meng desisted, saying that since those three generals had worked so hard for the state, it would be bad for their command and their legacy to be relinquished. After petitioning Sun Quan many times, Sun Quan allowed the status quo be kept. So Lu Meng went out and found good teachers for the kids and helped them be good captains.

2. Lu Meng was good at recognizing talent in people, even those who didn't get along with him. Grand Administrator of Jiangxia, Cai Yi, complained to Sun Quan a lot about Lu Meng's illiteracy (earlier on), but Lu Meng still recommended him for high positions. Originally, Gan Ning had disappointed Lu Meng many times and frequently disobeyed Sun Quan's orders. Sun Quan was really really pissed off at him. But at Lu Meng's plea SQ kept him and put him to good use, and thus Gan Ning became an important player in Wu's history.

3. After Lu Meng defeated Guan Yu, Sun Quan granted Lu Meng 100 million cash and 500 catties of gold, but Lu Meng refused to take it. Sun Quan kept trying to make him take it but he wouldn't. After he died, Sun Quan found out that all the treasures and monetary rewards that Lu Meng has ever received in his life were all safeguarded with the instruction to return them to the state upon his death.

Lu Meng kicks ass. (Even though I still like Lu Xun more)