Lü Meng

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Lü Meng was born in 178, the first year of Guanghe, at Fupo in Runan. His family was poor, and the histories do not record his father's name. Because his home region north of the Huai was frequently affected by war and livelihood was difficult, Lü crossed south, or according to another account crossed the Huai, and joined his brother-in-law Deng Dang. Deng Dang was a subordinate of Sun Ce and had repeatedly campaigned against the Shanyue. At about fifteen or sixteen, Lü Meng secretly followed Deng Dang into battle. Deng was shocked and rebuked him, but Lü continued to join the fighting. After returning, Deng told Lü's mother, who wanted to punish him. Lü replied that poverty was impossible to endure, that military service might bring merit and wealth, and invoked the saying that one cannot obtain a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. His mother relented.

One of Deng Dang's subordinate officers despised Lü for his youth and repeatedly mocked him, saying that the boy was only feeding meat to a tiger. Lü became enraged and killed him with a knife, then fled to the home of a fellow townsman, Zheng Chang. He later surrendered through Commandant Yuan Xiong. Yuan spoke on his behalf and recommended him to Sun Ce. Sun Ce summoned Lü, recognized unusual qualities in him, and kept him nearby. After Deng Dang died several years later, Zhang Zhao recommended that Lü take over Deng's position, and he became a Major of a Separate Command.

Rise to Prominence

In 200, the fifth year of Jian'an, Sun Ce was assassinated and Sun Quan inherited control of Jiangdong. Sun Quan considered consolidating the troops of younger officers whose commands were small and ineffective. Lü Meng heard of the plan and realized that if his men were merged into other units he would have fewer opportunities to advance. He obtained supplies on credit, equipped his soldiers with crimson clothing and leggings, and intensified their training. When Sun Quan reviewed the force, its formation and drill impressed him. Rather than reducing the unit, Sun Quan increased Lü Meng's manpower.

In 203 Sun Quan campaigned against Huang Zu and broke Huang Zu's naval force, but had to withdraw when Shanyue uprisings broke out in Danyang, Yuzhang, and Luling. Lü Meng took part in the campaign and, together with Huang Gai, Han Dang, Zhou Tai, and others, guarded strategic positions and administered districts where Shanyue activity was intense, suppressing local resistance by force. For these achievements Lü became Commandant Who Pacifies the North and concurrently chief of Guangde.

Major Military Achievements

In 208 Sun Quan followed Gan Ning's advice and attacked Xiakou. Huang Zu blocked the Miankou with large warships anchored by massive ropes and stones, with more than a thousand soldiers shooting bows and crossbows from the decks. Sun Quan ordered Dong Xi and Ling Tong to lead one hundred heavily armored volunteers each in ships against the blockade. Dong Xi cut the ropes, allowing the obstructing vessels to drift away and the Wu fleet to advance. Huang Zu then sent naval commander Chen Jiu to counterattack. Lü Meng led the vanguard, fought at the front, and personally killed Chen Jiu. The Wu army pressed forward by land and water, captured Xiakou, and Huang Zu was killed while fleeing. Sun Quan regarded Chen Jiu's defeat as the decisive point and appointed Lü General of the Household Who Sweeps Across the Wilderness, awarding him ten million cash.

In the tenth month of the same year, Lü fought with Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and others at Red Cliffs and helped defeat Cao Cao. Cao withdrew north and left Cao Ren at Jiangling. Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu to confront him. When Xi Su, a commander from Yi Province, surrendered with his troops, Zhou Yu proposed assigning Xi Su's men to Lü Meng. Lü argued instead that Xi Su had courage and ability and had come from afar out of admiration; his force should be increased rather than taken from him. Sun Quan accepted Lü's advice.

When Zhou Yu later sought to take Jiangling, he first sent Gan Ning to seize Yiling. Cao Ren detached troops and surrounded Gan Ning. Gan requested aid, but the other officers feared that rescuing Yiling would leave Jiangling open. Lü told Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu to leave Ling Tong to hold the base while the main force relieved Gan Ning, arguing that the operation would not take long and promising that Ling Tong could hold for ten days. Lü also advised blocking the difficult mountain road with timber so that a retreating enemy would have to abandon its horses. Zhou Yu adopted the plan, defeated Cao's relief force at Yiling, and killed more than half. During the night retreat, cavalrymen were forced to leave their horses at the blocked road. Zhou Yu and Lü pursued and captured about three hundred horses. They then returned across the river, attacked the northern bank, built camps, and pressed Jiangling. After nearly a year of losses Cao Ren abandoned the city. Zhou Yu became Administrator of Nan Commandery, and Lü Meng was appointed General of a Separate Command and concurrently magistrate of Xunyang.

Devotion to Learning

On one occasion Sun Quan told Lü Meng that a man holding important office and command could not afford not to study. Lü replied that military duties left no time. Sun Quan said he did not expect Lü to master the Confucian classics as a professional scholar, only to read broadly enough to understand earlier events. He added that his own responsibilities were greater yet he regularly read and benefited greatly from doing so. Lü accepted the advice and began serious study. Over time, the histories say, he read more extensively than many older scholars.

Sun Quan later praised Lü Meng and Jiang Qin as men who continued to improve after reaching adulthood, saying that although they had become wealthy and honored they humbled themselves to study, delighted in books, treated wealth lightly, valued righteousness, and behaved as true men of the state.

In 210, after Zhou Yu's death, Lu Su succeeded him. Passing Lü Meng's station at Lukou, Lu Su initially looked down on Lü as a soldier of rough background. Someone warned him that Lü's fame and ability had grown and that he should not judge him by old impressions. Lu Su visited. During the banquet Lü asked what strategy Lu Su intended to use while holding a frontier next to Guan Yu. Lu Su replied vaguely that he would respond according to circumstances. Lü warned that although Sun and Liu were formally allied, Guan Yu was a formidable commander and that preparations were essential. He then analyzed the situation and proposed five measures. Lu Su was astonished, moved closer, patted Lü on the back, and said he had never imagined Lü Ziming's ability and planning had reached such a level. The famous exchange followed in which Lu Su said Lü was no longer the "A-Meng of Wu," and Lü replied that after three days apart a scholar should be viewed with fresh eyes. The two thereafter became close friends.

Guarding Strategic Areas

Lü Meng's camps lay near those of Cheng Dang, Song Ding, and Xu Gu. When the three died and their sons were too young to take command, Sun Quan wanted to merge their troops into Lü's force. Lü firmly declined, arguing repeatedly that the men had served the state diligently and loyally and that their descendants should not be dispossessed simply because they were young. Only after three memorials did Sun Quan accept his position. Lü also arranged teachers for the sons of the three commanders and took care with their education.

Cao Cao appointed the Lujiang man Xie Qi to supervise agricultural colonies at Qichun, with a base in the farming districts around Wan, from which he repeatedly harassed the frontier. Lü Meng first tried to induce his surrender; when Xie refused, Lü found an opportunity to attack. Xie withdrew, and many of his people surrendered with their families.

In the first month of 213 Cao Cao personally led one hundred thousand troops against Sun Quan and advanced to Ruxu, taking a camp west of the river and capturing the commander Gongsun Yang. Lü Meng helped Sun Quan lead seventy thousand defenders. He repeatedly proposed stratagems that proved effective and urged Sun Quan to build a naval stockade at the narrow water passage. Other officers objected that soldiers could simply go ashore to fight and return to the ships. Lü replied that battle could not always be won and that if enemy infantry and cavalry pressed them unexpectedly they might not have time to reach the water. Sun Quan agreed and built the stockade. Cao later observed the orderly and imposing Wu army and uttered his famous praise that a son should be like Sun Zhongmou. With spring flooding approaching and Sun Quan urging withdrawal, Cao judged the situation and withdrew.

Operations in Jing Province

In 214 Cao Cao sought to increase grain supplies by having Lujiang Administrator Zhu Guang farm around Wan and by sending agents to recruit local bandit leaders around Poyang. Lü Meng argued that the fertile land of Wan would quickly strengthen Cao's army and that the city should be taken before its harvest. Sun Quan accepted the recommendation and attacked Wan in the fifth month. The other commanders wanted to build siege mounds and engines. Lü argued that this would take days, allowing the defenders to strengthen the walls and relief troops to arrive, while the high water that had carried the Wu army there would fall and make withdrawal difficult. He judged the city vulnerable to an immediate assault and urged a four-sided attack while morale was high. Sun Quan agreed. Lü recommended Gan Ning as the officer leading the wall assault and followed with elite troops. The attack began at dawn; Lü beat the drum himself, and the city fell after breakfast. Sun Quan rewarded him by appointing him Administrator of Lujiang, assigning captured people and troops to him, and granting an additional six hundred agricultural soldiers at Xunyang and thirty officials.

In 215 Liu Bei placed Guan Yu in charge of Jing Province. Sun Quan sent Lü Meng with twenty thousand troops under officers including Xianyu Dan, Xu Zhong, and Sun Gui to take Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang. Lü sent letters calling on the three commanderies to surrender. Changsha and Guiyang submitted, but Lingling Administrator Hao Pu refused. Liu Bei then came to Gong'an and ordered Guan Yu with thirty thousand troops to Yiyang to contest the territory. Sun Quan summoned Lü back to help Lu Su confront Guan Yu and ordered him to abandon the siege of Lingling. Lü concealed the message, assembled his officers at night, and the next morning both prepared an attack and sent Deng Xuanzhi into the city with false intelligence that Liu Bei was trapped and Guan Yu had been defeated, leaving Lingling isolated. Hao Pu was deceived and agreed to surrender. Lü had four commanders prepare one hundred men each to seize the gates as soon as Hao emerged. Only after Hao came out did Lü show him Sun Quan's letter, revealing that Liu Bei was already at Gong'an and Guan Yu at Yiyang. Hao was deeply ashamed. Lü left Sun Gui of Sun He's force to hold Lingling and marched to Yiyang. The episode became a celebrated example of taking three commanderies through strategy with little fighting.

The "Crossing in White Clothes" and Death

In 217, after Lu Su's death, Lü Meng replaced him at Lukou, bordering Guan Yu's territory. Lü regarded Guan Yu as a powerful and ambitious commander occupying the upper Yangtze and privately advised Sun Quan to seize Jing Province. When Sun Quan asked whether to take Xu Province or Jing Province first, Lü argued that Xu Province's open terrain favored cavalry and was difficult to hold, while control of Jing would secure the Yangtze. Sun Quan accepted the strategic logic.

In 219 Guan Yu campaigned north against Fan. He left troops at Gong'an and Nan Commandery. Lü petitioned to return to Jianye on the pretext of illness, intending to lull Guan Yu into relaxing his defenses. Guan Yu believed the report and transferred much of his reserve north. At Jianye Lü and Sun Quan secretly planned the attack. Asked who should replace him at Lukou, Lü recommended Lu Xun as thoughtful, capable, and suitable for a heavy responsibility. After taking up the post, Lu Xun wrote Guan Yu an extremely deferential letter of praise. Guan became less cautious and further reduced his defenses.

In the intercalary tenth month, Lü Meng led elite troops upriver. At Xunyang he hid soldiers inside boats and had men dressed in plain white clothes row them while posing as merchants, traveling day and night. Along the river, Guan Yu's watch posts were quietly captured, preventing news from reaching him. Lü first sent Yu Fan to induce Shi Ren, the defender of Gong'an, to surrender, then used Shi Ren to persuade Mi Fang, Administrator of Nan Commandery, to surrender. Lü occupied Jiangling and gained control of the families of Guan Yu's soldiers. He ordered that civilians were not to be disturbed or requisitioned. When one of Lü's own fellow townsmen took a straw hat from a household to cover government armor from rain, Lü judged that the use of public property did not excuse violation of military law and, weeping, had him executed. Discipline became so strict that the histories say dropped objects were not picked up from the road.

When Guan Yu learned Nan Commandery had fallen, he returned south. Lü treated the families of Guan's soldiers well, undermining their willingness to fight. Guan's army disintegrated through desertion. He withdrew to Maicheng, while Sun Quan ordered Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang to block the escape route. In the twelfth month Guan Yu and his son Guan Ping were captured near Linju by Pan Zhang's subordinate Ma Zhong and executed on Sun Quan's orders. Jing Province was secured. Lü Meng was appointed Administrator of Nan Commandery, enfeoffed as Marquis of Chanling, and awarded one hundred million cash and five hundred jin of gold.

Before he could formally receive the enfeoffment, an old illness returned. Sun Quan had him moved into the inner palace and offered a reward of one thousand jin to anyone who could cure him. Wishing to see Lü without exhausting him, Sun Quan reportedly made an opening in the wall to observe him; when Lü improved Sun rejoiced, and when his condition worsened Sun sighed in distress. Lü also had Daoists pray for his life beneath the stars. He died at Gong'an in the twelfth month of Jian'an 24 at the age of forty-two. Sun Quan grieved deeply and reduced his own expenditures in mourning.

Entering the Army Young, Killing an Officer, and His First Merit

At fifteen or sixteen Lü Meng secretly followed his brother-in-law Deng Dang on campaign; Deng Dang, finding him out, was astonished and scolded him, but he went on following in secret. On his return Deng Dang told Lü Meng's mother, who was angry and meant to punish him, and Lü Meng said: "Poverty and low estate are hard to live in; by chance, if one wins merit, wealth and honour may be had. And if one does not go into the tiger's den, how shall one get the tiger's cub?" and his mother, "pitying him, let him be." A subordinate officer of Deng Dang, taking him for a child, despised him, saying that "what can that brat do? He means to feed himself to the tiger"; and when the man mocked and insulted him again Lü Meng, in a fury, "drew his sword and killed the officer, and fled to the house of Zheng Zhang." Because the colonel Yuan Xiong surrendered himself in his place and spoke for him at the right moment, Sun Ce summoned him, "thought him remarkable and kept him at his side." When Deng Dang died some years later Zhang Zhao recommended Lü Meng in his place, and he was made commander of a separate division. After Sun Ce's murder in 200 and Sun Quan's assumption of power, when Sun Quan meant to merge the small and useless commands of the young officers, Lü Meng, knowing that he could do even less once merged, "borrowed on credit" to make crimson coats and leggings for his men and drilled them hard, so that on inspection day "his array was brilliant and his men trained," and Sun Quan, delighted, "increased his troops." He followed the campaign against Danyang "winning merit wherever he went," and was made commandant of the north, in charge of Guangde. In the campaign against Huang Zu, Huang Zu sent his commander Chen Jiu out with the fleet, and Lü Meng "drew up the vanguard and cut off Jiu's head with his own hand"; the troops pressed on and took the city, and Huang Zu abandoned it and fled, so that Sun Quan said that "the success of the affair came of Chen Jiu's being taken first," making Lü Meng general of the sweep and giving him ten million coins. When the Yi officer Xi Su came over with his troops and Zhou Yu memorialized that Xi Su's men be transferred to Lü Meng, Lü Meng praised Xi Su's courage and ability and said that "as he comes from far away out of admiration for our rule, it is right to increase rather than take away his troops," and Sun Quan, approving, returned them — not to seize a surrendering officer's troops being his constant way.

Merit after Red Cliff, and "No Longer the A-Meng of Wu"

After Red Cliff he broke Cao Cao with Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu at Wulin and besieged Cao Ren at Nanjun. When Zhou Yu sent Gan Ning forward to hold Yiling and Cao Ren detached troops against him, Gan Ning in extremity begged for aid, and the generals all feared that they had too few men to divide; Lü Meng said to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu: "Leave Ling Gongji; I shall go with you, and to raise the siege and relieve the crisis will not take long — I guarantee Gongji can hold ten days," and further advised Zhou Yu to "send three hundred men to block the steep road with firewood, and when the enemy flees we may take his horses." Zhou Yu followed him, and reaching Yiling fought the same day, "killing more than half"; the enemy fled by night and, coming on the blocked road, "all the riders left their horses and went on foot," and the pursuers "took three hundred horses," so that "the officers' and men's spirits doubled," and they crossed the river, set up camp and attacked, so that Cao Ren withdrew and they occupied Nanjun and settled Jingzhou; Lü Meng was made a general of the side and governor of Xunyang.

Sun Quan's urging him to study was the turning point of his life. Sun Quan told him that "now that you hold office and authority, you should study to open and enrich yourself," and when Lü Meng pleaded the multitude of military business, Sun Quan answered: "Do I want you to master the classics and become a scholar? Only to skim and learn the past... you should read Sunzi, the Six Secret Teachings, the Zuo Commentary, the Guoyu and the three histories at once," and added that Confucius had said that "to think all day without eating and all night without sleeping is of no use; it is better to learn," that Guangwu "kept his book unrolled even amid armies," and that Cao Cao "called himself a lover of learning in old age" — "why should you alone not exert yourself?" Lü Meng "then began to study, firm of purpose and tireless, and what he read the old scholars could not surpass." When Lu Su, succeeding Zhou Yu, passed his camp and argued with him, "he was constantly worsted," and Lu Su, patting his back, said: "I thought my young brother had only military skill; as for now, his learning is broad and excellent — no longer the A-Meng of Wu." Lü Meng answered that "a gentleman parted from another for three days should be looked at with new eyes," and privately set out three plans for Lu Su, who received them respectfully. Sun Quan used to sigh that "in growing older and advancing, none can match Lü Meng and Jiang Qin; amid wealth and honour to bow to learning, to delight in books, to think little of wealth and much of right — such conduct may be followed, and both are true knights of the state." To his subordinates too he was generous: when the three commanders Cheng Dang, Song Ding and Xu Gu, whose camps adjoined his, died leaving young sons, and Sun Quan meant to merge their troops into his, Lü Meng "firmly refused," memorializing that "Gu and the others laboured at the state's business and, though their sons are young, they may not be abolished," and "the memorial went up three times before Sun Quan consented," whereupon Lü Meng "chose teachers for the sons to instruct them."

Major Activities

Military Contributions

Lü Meng participated in many of Sun Wu's major campaigns, including Ruxu, Wan, Yiling, and the struggle for Jing Province. In 208 he personally killed Huang Zu's vanguard commander Chen Jiu and helped eliminate a long-standing enemy of the Sun regime. The same year he fought at Red Cliffs and the next helped Zhou Yu take Nan Commandery. In 213 at Ruxu he helped resist Cao Cao's army and advised construction of a naval stockade. In 214 he proposed a rapid assault on Wan and helped capture the city. In 215 he took Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang, deceiving Hao Pu into surrendering. These campaigns established him as one of Sun Quan's principal commanders.

The "Crossing in White Clothes"

In 219 Lü Meng feigned illness to persuade Guan Yu that the Lukou command no longer posed an immediate threat. When Guan transferred reserve troops north to attack Fan, Lü concealed elite soldiers in ships and used rowers dressed as ordinary merchants in white clothes to approach by surprise. He induced Shi Ren and Mi Fang to surrender, occupied Jiangling, protected the families of Guan Yu's soldiers, and enforced severe discipline among his own troops. The resulting collapse of morale caused Guan Yu's army to disperse, and Guan was eventually captured near Linju. The operation brought Jing Province under Sun Wu control and expanded Wu power into the middle Yangtze, becoming one of the most famous examples of deception and psychological operations in the Three Kingdoms period.

Transformation through Learning

Lü Meng came from poverty and had little formal education as a youth. After Sun Quan's encouragement around 209, he applied himself to reading works including the Art of War, Six Secret Teachings, Zuo Commentary, Discourses of the States, and the histories. His learning accumulated to the point that Lu Su, after hearing his strategic proposals, said he was no longer the "A-Meng of Wu." Sun Quan praised Lü Meng and Jiang Qin for humbling themselves to study after attaining wealth and rank. Lü Meng's transformation from a rough soldier into a strategist became the basis for the famous saying that after three days apart a man should be regarded with fresh eyes.

Political Judgment

Lü Meng also displayed political judgment beyond battlefield command. When Xi Su of Yi Province surrendered, Zhou Yu wanted to take away his troops, but Lü argued that someone who had come from afar in admiration should be strengthened rather than stripped of his command. After the deaths of Cheng Dang, Song Ding, and Xu Gu, Sun Quan wanted to merge their units into Lü's force, but Lü repeatedly refused and secured the posts and education of their young heirs. His recommendation to build the Ruxu naval stockade likewise reflected strategic foresight.

Travels and Movements

Lü Meng's career covered much of the middle and lower Yangtze. From Fupo in Runan he moved south to Jiangdong, fought Shanyue groups in Danyang, Yuzhang, and Luling, campaigned against Huang Zu at Xiakou, fought Cao Cao at Red Cliffs and Wulin, assisted at Nan Commandery and Yiling, defended Ruxu, attacked Wan, took Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang, and finally crossed the Yangtze to seize Jiangling before dying at Gong'an.

Relations with Contemporaries

Sun Ce recognized Lü Meng early, while Sun Quan promoted him and encouraged his studies. Lu Su became a close friend after initially underestimating him. Lü worked with Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu and advised Zhou Yu during the Yiling operations. Sun Quan often mentioned Lü together with Jiang Qin as examples of commanders who became learned. Lü recognized Lu Xun's potential and recommended him to succeed at Lukou, while Guan Yu became his principal strategic opponent in the seizure of Jing Province.

Wan City, Ruxu, and the Plan to Hold the Whole Yangtze

In 214 Cao Cao sent Zhu Guang as governor of Lujiang to camp at Wan city, "opening rice fields on a great scale" and sending agents to win the bandit chiefs of Poyang as agents within. Lü Meng held that "the fields of Wan are rich, and if there is one harvest their numbers will grow, and in a few years Cao Cao's advantage will appear; they should be destroyed early," and Sun Quan campaigned against Wan in person. The generals all urged "building earth mounds and adding siege engines," but Lü Meng said: "To make siege engines and earth mounds will take many days, and by then the defences will be repaired and relief will certainly come, and it cannot be taken. Moreover, we came in on the rains and high water; if we stay many days the water will run off, and the way home will be difficult, which I fear. This city is not very strong; with the keen spirit of our three armies attacking on four sides it can be taken before the hour passes, and we may return with the water — that is the way of complete victory." Sun Quan followed him; Lü Meng recommended Gan Ning as commander of the escalade, "who with a rope in his hand climbed the wall himself, foremost of the soldiers, while Lü Meng followed with picked troops, drumming with his own hand, so that the men leapt up; the attack began at dawn and by breakfast the city was broken," and Zhu Guang was taken with tens of thousands of men and women, and Zhang Liao, reaching Jiashi, turned back on hearing the city had fallen; Sun Quan made Lü Meng governor of Lujiang. At Ruxu, when Sun Quan wished to build a dock and the generals said that "to fight the enemy one goes ashore and to return one washes one's feet and boards the ship — what need of a dock?", Lü Meng answered: "In war there is fortune and misfortune, and no hundred victories; if we meet them suddenly and their foot and horse press us, with no time to reach the water, how shall we board the ships?" and Sun Quan agreed and had it built; afterwards, when Cao Cao came out in force at Ruxu, Sun Quan made Lü Meng his commander, "holding the dock already built and setting ten thousand strong crossbows on it to withstand Cao Cao," and Cao Cao's vanguard, not yet encamped, was broken by Lü Meng, so that Cao Cao withdrew and Lü Meng was made general of the left guard and general of awesome majesty. At Hefei, when Sun Quan attacked the city and Zhang Liao seized the chance to fall on him with foot and horse, Lü Meng, Gan Ning and Ling Tong fought hard to cover his retreat to the Xiaoyao ford, where Sun Quan spurred his horse across.

After Lu Su's death Lü Meng camped west at Lukou, "all Lu Su's ten thousand men being given to him," and was made governor of Hanchang. Sharing a border with Guan Yu, he "knew Yu to be brave and heroic, with designs of annexation, and to be upstream of the state, so that the situation could not last." While Lu Su and others still held that "Cao Cao being alive and the troubles only beginning, we should support one another as of one mind," Lü Meng had already secretly set out his plan: "Let the general of the expedition hold Nanjun, Pan Zhang be stationed at Baidi, Jiang Qin with ten thousand mobile troops patrol up and down the river to meet the enemy wherever he is, and I hold Xiangyang for the state — and then what need we fear Cao Cao, or depend on Guan Yu?" Sun Quan took his plan deeply to heart, and asking about taking Xuzhou, Lü Meng answered that Xuzhou "is open by land, where swift cavalry gallop," and that even if taken "Cao Cao will come to dispute it within ten days, and with seventy or eighty thousand men to hold it we should still be anxious," concluding that "it is better to take Guan Yu and hold the whole Yangtze, and so be the more imposing." Taking over from Lu Su, he "redoubled his civility and made friends with Guan Yu" at Lukou, and later returned to Jianye on the plea of illness to draw Guan Yu's rear troops away; he moreover recommended Lu Xun to Sun Quan in his place, as one "deep in thought and fit for heavy responsibility... yet without a great name, and so not feared by Guan Yu"; and when Sun Quan would have made Sun Jiao and Lü Meng joint commanders of left and right, Lü Meng argued that "if Your Majesty thinks the general of the expedition able, use him; if he thinks me able, use me," citing Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, who "were both commanders and so fell out, nearly ruining the state's affairs." Sun Quan saw the point and answered that "you shall be the chief commander and Jiao shall follow" — the crossing in white being made possible by this chain of judgments and arrangements.

Personal Relations

• Lü Meng's mother: Once intended to punish him for secretly joining military campaigns but relented after hearing his explanation.
• Deng Dang: Lü Meng's brother-in-law and a subordinate of Sun Ce who campaigned repeatedly against the Shanyue; Lü later succeeded to his position.
• Sun Ce: Recognized Lü's ability and kept him close.
• Sun Quan: Ruler of Sun Wu, urged Lü to study, relied heavily on him, and personally cared for him during his final illness.
• Zhang Zhao: Recommended Lü Meng to succeed Deng Dang as Major of a Separate Command.
• Lu Su: Initially underestimated Lü but later admired his ability and became his friend.
• Jiang Qin: Like Lü, encouraged by Sun Quan to study and praised for continued learning.
• Lu Xun: Recommended by Lü to replace him at Lukou and later became one of Sun Wu's leading commanders.
• Zhou Yu: Received Lü's strategic advice during the Yiling campaign.
• Cheng Pu: Fought alongside Lü at Red Cliffs and Nan Commandery.
• Gan Ning: Recommended by Lü as the officer leading the wall assault at Wan.
• Ling Tong: Left by Lü to hold the main camp during the relief of Yiling.
• Guan Yu: Lü designed and led the seizure of Jing Province that resulted in Guan's capture and death.
• Huang Zu: Lü participated in the campaign against him and personally killed his vanguard commander Chen Jiu.

Historical Assessment

Contemporary

• Sun Quan praised the continued intellectual growth of Lü Meng and Jiang Qin, saying that despite wealth and rank they humbled themselves to study, delighted in books, treated wealth lightly, and valued righteousness. He also said Lü's learning and strategic insight could be compared with Zhou Yu's and that his plan to take Guan Yu surpassed Lu Su's. (Records of the Three Kingdoms, Pei Songzhi's annotations citing the Jiangbiao Zhuan)
• Lu Su expressed astonishment at Lü's strategic progress and declared that his abilities were no longer those of the old "A-Meng of Wu." (Records of the Three Kingdoms, "Biography of Lü Meng")
• Cao Cao's praise of Sun Quan after observing the well-ordered Wu army at Ruxu indirectly reflects the discipline and planning of commanders including Lü Meng.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance gives a detailed account of the operation against Jing Province and praises the ingenuity of Lü Meng's plan.
• Hong Mai's Rongzhai Suibi cites Lü's transformation through study as evidence for the saying that a man should be viewed differently after three days apart.
• Hao Jing's Continuation of the Book of the Later Han describes Lü as first famous for martial bravery and later devoted to learning, with unusually strong strategic judgment.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Li Zhi's Cangshu praises Lü Meng not only for martial ability but also for strategy and treats the operation against Guan Yu as evidence of exceptional talent.
• Wang Mingsheng's Discussions of the Seventeen Histories characterizes the seizure of Jing Province as a carefully planned use of deception, unorthodox but highly effective in military terms.
• Zhao Yi's Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories discusses Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lü Meng, and Lu Xun as outstanding Sun Wu commanders and particularly emphasizes Lü's use of planning.

Modern Period

• Lü Simian's Informal History of the Three Kingdoms emphasizes Lü's transformation from youthful warrior to learned strategist and regards his plan for Jing Province as far-sighted.
• Tian Yuqing's historical studies treat Lü as a representative case of a military man developing into a cultivated commander and highlight the sophistication of the Jing Province operation.
• Zhang Dake's History of the Three Kingdoms regards the seizure of Jing Province as a decisive event in the formation of the tripartite balance and emphasizes Lü's strategic use of intelligence to offset limitations in military strength.