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Lu Kang and Yang Hu were generals of Sun Wu and Western Jin respectively. When the two armies were fighting, Yang Hu would inform the other side in advance. If any general proposed a sneak attack, Yang Hu would make these generals drink until they were drunk and unable to tell their plans.

Yang Hu's troops harvested rice in the territory of Wu as military rations, and Yang Hu repaid them with silk each time according to the amount of rice harvested.

Once, Lu Kang fell ill, and Yang Hu sent someone to deliver a medicine to Lu Kang, saying that he had prepared it himself. After receiving the medicine, General Wu was afraid that there was something fishy in it, so he advised Lu Kang not to take it. However, Lu Kang was convinced that Yang Hu was not the one who secretly poisoned him, so he took the medicine sent by Yang Hu.

Lu Kang was well aware of Yang Hu's well-intentioned behavior. He often warned his officers and soldiers that he was only promoting benevolence while he was only promoting tyranny, so that we would surrender without fighting.

Each of us should protect our own dividing line and not seek benefits within it.

When Sun Hao, the King of Wu, heard about Lu Kang's actions on the border, he sent people to reprimand him. Lu Kang replied that a country must be trustworthy and that doing so would demonstrate the virtue of a great country.

Sun Hao was speechless. Later generations called the friendship between the two countries "the friendship between Yang and Lu" because the generals of the two countries fought against each other.

Sun Hao, the King of Wu, frequently sent his army to war, and the people were exhausted. Lu Kang wrote a memorial to the King of Wu advising him to seize favorable opportunities when sending troops, and not to send troops lightly before the opportunity is right.

He believed that the most important thing for the State of Wu was to enrich the country and strengthen the army by recuperating, cultivating talented people, and clearly distinguishing rewards and punishments, and then wait for the right opportunity to conquer the world.

If we allow our generals to sacrifice themselves for fame and engage in war, their achievements will waste tens of thousands of national funds and make the soldiers suffer and exhausted. The enemy will not be defeated, but we ourselves will be exhausted.

Now, you are only striving for the qualification to be emperor, and are blinded by small interests. This is the evil of a minister, not a good policy for the country.

"Warriorism" means to use up all military strength and launch wars at will.

"Lu Kang was born in the fifth year of Huangwu in the Three Kingdoms period. He was from Wu County, Wu Commandery. He was the second son of Lu Xun, a famous general of the Eastern Wu, and the grandson of Sun Ce, the King Huan of Changsha."

"In the eighth year of Chiwu, Lu Xun died. Lu Kang inherited his father's title and was appointed Jianwu Commandant by Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu. He temporarily took over 5,000 people from his father Lu Xun's army and transported his father's coffin back to his hometown Wujun for burial.

After burying his father, Lu Kang returned to Beijing to meet with Sun Quan. Sun Quan questioned Lu Kang about the twenty charges that Yang Zhu had accused Lu Xun of. Lu Kang answered each one of them to defend his father and dispelled Sun Quan's anger towards Lu Xun.

In the ninth year of Chiwu, Sun Quan appointed Lu Kang as General of the Central Army, exchanging defense zones with Zhuge Ke and stationing him at Chaisang. Later, he was promoted to General of the Power.

"In the second year of Wu Taiping, Zhuge Dan of Wei raised an army in Shouchun to rebel against Sima Shi. Wu sent troops to reinforce him. Lu Kang was appointed as the governor of Chaisang. He defeated Wei Yamen Jiang and was promoted to General Zhengbei.

"In the second year of Yong'an, Lu Kang was appointed General of the Zhenjun Army and stationed in Xiling, responsible for the military operations from Guanyulai to Baidicheng.

In the sixth year of Yong'an, Liu Chan, the ruler of Shu, surrendered to Wei. The following year, Sun Xiu, the ruler of Wu, wanted to seize Badong County. He ordered General Bu Xie to lead his army westward into Yizhou to attack Yong'an. However, he was defeated by Luo Xian, the former governor of Badong County of Shu.

"Sun Xiu was furious and sent Lu Kang to lead more than 30,000 troops to reinforce. The Eastern Wu army ultimately failed to capture Badong County. Cao Wei sent Hu Lie, the governor of Jingzhou, to lead 20,000 troops to attack Xiling to rescue Luo Xian. Lu Kang and others had to retreat.

"In August of the same year, Sun Hao succeeded to the throne and promoted Lu Kang to the rank of General of the Garrison Army and Governor of Yizhou.

"In April of the second year of Jianheng, Shi Ji, the Grand Marshal of Wu, died, and Lu Kang was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the military forces of Xinling, Xiling, Yidao, Lexiang, and Gong'an, stationed in Lexiang.

"After Sun Hao ascended the throne, there were many shortcomings in government affairs. Lu Kang wrote a memorial to persuade Sun Hao, the King of Wu, to maintain the internal stability of the country with virtue. At the same time, he analyzed the current situation of Eastern Wu, that is, there was no strong external support, the country itself was not strong, the internal politics was corrupt, and the people were uneasy. The conditions that Wu relied on now were only the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and the dangerous mountains, which were the least important conditions for defending the country.

"Lu Kang said he was always worried about state affairs, and he presented 17 suggestions on the current situation, asking the King of Wu to read them, but Sun Hao ignored them.

"At that time, He Ding was hated by the people for playing with power in the court, but Sun Hao believed that He Ding was loyal and wanted to confer him the title of Marquis.

"Lu Kang wrote to the emperor and said that He Ding was a treacherous and lowly person who could not be trusted or employed, but Sun Hao did not listen to his advice.

"In August of the first year of Fenghuang, Bu Chan, the governor of Xiling in the Eastern Wu, occupied the city and launched a rebellion. In September, he surrendered the city to the Jin Dynasty and sent his nephew Bu Ji to Luoyang as a hostage. Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty ordered Bu Chan to be the commander-in-chief of all military forces in Xiling, the general of the guards, the chief minister of the three divisions, the minister of the court, the governor of Jiaozhou, and the Duke of Yidu.

Li Bai: Wu Emperor Sun Quan was worried about Lu Xun, who had been in power for many years, so he took advantage of the dispute over the Eastern Palace to force him to death, and ordered his son Lu Kang to be the Jianwu Cavalry Captain, leading 5,000 of Lu Xun's men to escort the coffin.

After Lu Kang buried his father and returned to the capital to report, Sun Quan took out the twenty charges against his father and questioned Lu Kang. Lu Kang verified them one by one with Sun Quan, defended his father and quenched Sun Quan's anger.

In the first year of Taiyuan, Lu Kang came to the capital Jianye for treatment because of a serious illness. At this time, Sun Quan was about to die. He burned the materials that had slandered Lu Xun in front of Lu Kang. The longest-lived king of the Three Kingdoms lowered his noble head before his death in exchange for the lifelong loyalty of a good minister.

In the first year of Jianxing, the Wu Emperor Sun Quan died and was succeeded by his son Sun Liang. He issued a general amnesty throughout the country, promoted and rewarded all the civil and military officials in office, promoted idle officials by one level, and Lu Kang was appointed General Fenwei.

However, there were undercurrents in the officialdom of Eastern Wu at this time. The Grand Tutor Zhuge Ke, who was riding on the momentum of the great victory at Dongxing, was intercepted by the new city of Hefei as expected. But Zhuge Ke did not reflect on his mistakes, but became more domineering, and was therefore murdered by the new emperor Sun Liang and the general Sun Jun.

However, the internal conflict did not end there. After expressing his loyalty, Sun Jun immediately attacked the royal family, which triggered even greater conflicts. Sun Liang was even deposed and killed.

With the previous experience of his father intervening in the dispute over the Eastern Palace as a warning, Lu Kang did not join in this internal strife, but guarded the important position, standing firm.

In the second year of Yong'an, Lu Kang was appointed as General of Zhenjun Army by Sun Xiu, the Emperor Jing of Wu, and was granted special authority the following year.

In the first year of Yuanxing, Sun Hao, the last emperor of Eastern Wu, ascended the throne and promoted Lu Kang to the rank of General of the Zhenjun Army.

In the first year of Fenghuang, Lu Kang became famous. Bu Chan, the second son of Wu Prime Minister Bu Zhi, surrendered Xiling City to the State of Jin and sent his eldest brother's two sons as hostages.

Lu Kang reacted quickly and immediately sent troops to attack Bu Chan.

But the Jin Emperor Sima Yan acted just as quickly, sending three groups of troops to support Bu Chan, among whom was Lu Kang's lifelong enemy - Yang Hu.

Lu Kang arrived at the city of Xiling earlier than the reinforcements from Jin State, but he did not rush to win a quick victory over Bu Chan. Instead, he built high walls, "besieged Chan from within and defended against the invaders from without, and advanced day and night as if the enemy was approaching."

The generals were puzzled and eager to fight, so Lu Kang had to let them fight first. As expected, it was difficult to conquer, which convinced the generals. At this time, the reinforcements of Yang Hu, the general of the Jin State, and Yang Zhao, the governor of Jingzhou, also arrived. However, Lu Kang was well prepared and blocked Yang Hu and the main force of the Jin State outside Jiangling City. He also predicted Yang Zhao's attack intention. After forcing the Jin army to retreat, Lu Kang attacked Xiling with all his strength and killed the rebellious Bu Chan.

Lu Kang's grand move made him famous. In addition, unlike Zhuge Ke and Sun Jun, he was not arrogant after his great achievements. "He was not arrogant and was humble as usual, so he won the hearts of the officers and soldiers." Yang Hu knew that he had met his lifelong enemy.

Although the Eastern Wu seemed capable of fighting, people with insight also discovered that it was only strong on the outside but weak on the inside, including Yang Hu.

At that time, Shu Han had been destroyed and Cao Wei was replaced by Jin. Eastern Wu and Jin each occupied half of Jingzhou. In order to further undermine the will of Eastern Wu, Yang Hu used a strategy of winning over the people and implementing a conciliatory strategy to make the people of Wu sincerely convinced. Many Wu people surrendered to Yang Hu out of fear of the harsh policies of Eastern Wu.

“After Lu Kang received the news of Bu Chan’s rebellion, he immediately ordered his generals Zuo Yi and Wu Yan to attack him.

Emperor Wu of Jin ordered Yang Zhao, the governor of Jingzhou, to go to Xiling to support Bu Chan, ordered General Yang Hu to lead 5 infantry to attack Jiangling, and ordered Xu Yin, the military supervisor of Badong, to lead the navy to attack Jianping to rescue Bu Chan.

"Lu Kang ordered the various armies to surround Xiling and build fortifications from Chixi to Gushi, to encircle Bu Chan internally and resist the reinforcements from the Jin Dynasty externally.

“Some generals have suggested that we launch an attack now while morale is high. By the time Jin’s reinforcements arrive, Xiling will have been conquered, so there is no need to use the siege method.

"Lu Kang said that Xiling was in a strategic location, with strong walls and abundant food and grass, and that we could not capture it immediately. If we did not build fortifications, our army would be attacked from both sides when the Jin army arrived.

"But the generals insisted on launching an attack, and Lu Kang ordered an attack, but nothing was achieved, so the generals were relieved to build siege works.

"At this time, Jin sent Yang Hu to attack Jiangling, but Lu Kang led his army to Xiling to supervise the battle. The generals of Eastern Wu persuaded Lu Kang to supervise the battle in Jiangling. Lu Kang believed that Xiling was a strategic location that could not be lost, so he rushed to Xiling.

“In November, Jin Yang Zhao led his army to Xiling, and Lu Kang ordered Gong’an Supervisor Sun Zun to fight against Yang Hu along the south bank of the Yangtze River;
"Liu Lu, the commander of the navy, went westwards against the Yangtze River to fight Xu Yin; Lu Kang personally led the main force into the Xiling siege camp to fight Yang Zhao. At this time, the Eastern Wu generals Zhu Qiao and Yu Zan defected to Yang Zhao's army.

"Lu Kang took into account that Yu Zan was familiar with the military deployment, so he adjusted the deployment overnight and replaced the weakly defended areas of the Wu army with elite troops. The next day, the imperial army attacked this area as expected. Lu Kang ordered the Wu army to counterattack, and the Jin army was defeated.

"In December, Yang Zhao's army collapsed under the pursuit of Lu Kang's light troops, and Yang Hu's troops also retreated.

"Afterwards, Lu Kang conquered Xiling, killed Bu Chan and dozens of his generals, and exterminated all three clans;
"Lu Kang requested that tens of thousands of other people be pardoned and spared from death. Lu Kang was promoted to Protector General because of his merits.

"In March of the second year of Fenghuang, Lu Kang was appointed as Grand Marshal and Governor of Jingzhou.

"The following year, Emperor Wu of Jin appointed Wang Jun as governor of Yizhou and ordered him to build warships and train naval forces in Bashu, which posed a serious threat to the State of Wu.

"In July of the same year, Lu Kang was seriously ill. During his illness, he wrote to Sun Hao asking him to pay more attention to Xiling and Jianping counties.
"He said that if Xiling was lost, a state would be lost, and asked Sun Hao to pay attention to strengthening the defense of the western border. Unfortunately, Sun Hao did not adopt his advice.

"In the autumn of the same year, Lu Kang died of illness at the age of 49, and was posthumously named "Wu Hou".

"After Lu Kang passed away, his troops were led by his sons Lu Yan, Lu Jing, Lu Xuan, Lu Ji, and Lu Yun.
"Afterwards, the Jin army attacked Wu, and Jin's Dragon General Wang Jun led a large army down the river, advancing in the exact direction that Lu Kang had expected.

Su Shi: Although Lu Kang saw through Yang Hu's intention, he could not prevent the decline of Wu and had to restrain his men.

As one side was exercising benevolent policy with ill intentions and the other side was deliberately patient in order to avoid mistakes, the border between Jin and Wu in Jingzhou was in a strange state of peace.

Lu Kang was so smart that he saw through Yang Hu's intention, but what could he do?

The atrocities of Wu Emperor Sun Hao were known to everyone, and there were eunuchs interfering in government affairs. Lu Kang's wish to revive Eastern Wu would never come true, so he could only "protect his own territory and not seek small profits."

Once, Lu Kang fell ill, and Yang Hu sent someone to deliver homemade medicine. Lu Kang did not suspect anything and took it.

Although they were enemies, they valued virtue and trustworthiness in each other, and thus the "Yang-Lu friendship" became famous.

However, the Wu Emperor Sun Hao was unhappy. He would not allow his governors to flirt with the enemy country. However, when Sun Hao's apology was delivered to Lu Kang, Lu Kang argued, "Even a town or a village cannot be without people of integrity, let alone a big country. The fact that I am not like this is enough to show my virtue, and it will not harm Hu at all." Sun Hao was speechless.

However, many people disliked both Yang Hu and Lu Kang, and therefore ridiculed them as disloyal ministers.

Interestingly, their immediate superiors, Sun Hao and Sima Yan, did not change their positions because of various slanders.

Lu Kang was far away from the central government and did not know about state affairs in a timely manner, but he still performed his duties conscientiously and repeatedly wrote letters to advise Sun Hao to be diligent in his work and love the people.

However, the "auspicious signs" discovered many times in Wu made Sun Hao lose himself, and he often changed the reign title and issued amnesty in response to the auspicious signs.

What Sun Hao thought was a good omen was nothing but a trick played by treacherous and treacherous ministers. The reason why Sun Hao and Eastern Wu were able to survive for a while after the fall of Shu Han was entirely because Cao Wei and Western Jin were in turmoil.

Lu Kang saw all of this, and his advice was sincere and heartfelt. He advised Sun Hao to "appoint people according to their talents and suppress and dismiss the petty people", "have sympathy for the common people and clean up the criminal network", etc. He also made 17 suggestions to outline the urgent tasks of the time.

However, no matter how hard Lu Kang tried, he could not wake up a person who was pretending to be asleep, especially Sun Hao, who firmly believed that destiny was in his own hands and insisted on using "divine" methods such as calendar and fortune-telling to govern the country. The sincerity of his loyal ministers was completely left behind by Sun Hao.

The Wu State was weak and its ruler was cruel, while the Jin State's virtue was growing stronger and stronger with the strategy of Emperor Wu. "The people were wary of their enemies, and the whole country was worried about abandoning their ruler." Even though Lu Kang had the talent to save the world, he found it difficult to display his talents. Devoted to his country, he could neither awaken the stupidity of the Wu Emperor nor destroy the Jin State in one fell swoop.

It can be said that Lu Kang was lucky. He left his name in history for the Battle of Xiling, and he had a good ending after repeatedly admonishing Sun Hao, instead of seeing the humiliating end of his country being destroyed and his king surrendering.

It can also be said that Lu Kang was unfortunate. He had no colleagues who were loyal to him and could only watch his country deteriorate day by day.

Finally, Lu Kang died. Ironically, the route of Wang Jun, the general of the Jin State, to destroy Wu was exactly what Lu Kang had worried about. This is what was meant by "If Lu Kang survives, Wu survives; if Lu Kang dies, Wu dies." (End of this chapter)