Editing Lu Su (section)

==Nearly leaving Jiangdong==
[[Liu Ye (Three Kingdoms)|Liu Ye]], a friend of Lu Su, once wrote a letter to him: "Warlords and heroes have emerged all over the Empire. I believe the time has come for me to put my talents to good use. I am in a rush to fetch my mother but I will be stopping at Dongcheng County for a while. I heard that recently there is one Zheng Bao (鄭寶) who has rallied thousands of followers in [[Chaohu]] and gained control over some very fertile lands. Many people in Lujiang Commandery are planning to join him – including myself. As of now, he is still gathering followers. You should act fast and not miss this opportunity." Lu Su agreed with what Liu Ye told him. After his grandmother's funeral, Lu Su returned to Qu'e County and planned to leave Jiangdong and head north to join Zheng Bao. However, after he found out that [[Zhou Yu]] had fetched his mother to [[Wu Commandery]] (around present-day [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]], [[Jiangsu]]), he gave up his plan to leave Jiangdong and headed to Wu Commandery to meet Zhou Yu.<ref group="Sanguozhi">(劉子揚與肅友善，遺肅書曰：「方今天下豪傑並起，吾子姿才，尤宜今日。急還迎老母，無事滯於東城。近鄭寶者，今在巢湖，擁衆萬餘，處地肥饒，廬江閒人多依就之，況吾徒乎？觀其形勢，又可博集，時不可失，足下速之。」肅荅然其計。 ... 葬畢還曲阿，欲北行。會瑜已徙肅母到吳，肅具以狀語瑜。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref>

In 200, after [[Sun Ce]] was assassinated, his younger brother [[Sun Quan]] succeeded him as the warlord controlling the Jiangdong territories. When Lu Su arrived in Wu Commandery, Zhou Yu told him, "In the past, [[Ma Yuan (Han dynasty)|Ma Yuan]] once told [[Emperor Guangwu of Han|Emperor Guangwu]], 'In this era, not only do lords choose their subjects; subjects also choose the lords they wish to serve.' The new lord [Sun Quan] welcomes and respects persons of virtue and talent. He has recruited many extraordinary people. Besides, I also heard a saying that in the past, philosophers predicted that the successor to the Liu clan's empire [the Han dynasty] will rise in the southeast. As you can see, these events are already in motion. This is the time for heroes to rise up and showcase their talents and abilities, and contribute to the construction of a new empire to receive the [[Mandate of Heaven]]. Having said this, I don't think you need to take Liu Ye's words to heart." Lu Su heeded Zhou Yu's advice<ref group="Sanguozhi">(時孫策已薨，權尚住吳，瑜謂肅曰：「昔馬援荅光武云『當今之世，非但君擇臣，臣亦擇君』。今主人親賢貴士，納奇錄異，且吾聞先哲祕論，承運代劉氏者，必興於東南，推步事勢，當其歷數。終搆帝基，以協天符，是烈士攀龍附鳳馳騖之秋。吾方達此，足下不須以子揚之言介意也。」肅從其言。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref> and remained in Jiangdong.{{efn|In vol.63 of ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', [[Sima Guang]] dated Liu Ye's killing of Zheng Bao to the 4th year of the ''Jian'an'' era ({{circa}}199), while dating Zhou Yu's persuasion of Lu Su to stay in Jiangdong to the 5th year of said era ({{circa}}200). In the record of the incident found in ''Tongjian'', the account was very brief, with no mention of Liu Ziyang (鲁肃将北还，周瑜止之，因荐肃于权曰：“肃才宜佐时，当广求其比以成功业。”...). In vol.03 of ''Zizhi Tongjian Kaoyi'', Sima Guang expressed his skepticism that the "Liu Ziyang" mentioned in Lu Su's biography in ''Sanguozhi'' was referring to Liu Ye. Sima Guang argued that Lu Su was about to join Zhou Yu, and by extension, Sun Quan. Thus, Sun Quan could also help persuade Lu Su to stay. According to the account in Liu Ye's biography in ''Sanguozhi'', Liu killed Zheng Bao and Zheng Bao's troops subsequently joined [[Liu Xun (warlord)|Liu Xun]]. Liu Xun was then defeated by Sun Ce. If "Liu Ziyang" was indeed Liu Ye, then the chronology of events would not make sense. (肃传曰刘子杨招肃往依郑宝. 肃将从之瑜, 以权可辅止肃. 按刘晔杀郑宝以其众与刘勲, 勲为策所灭, 宝安得及权时也.)}}

The historian [[Chen Shou]], who wrote Lu Su's biography, believed that Zhou Yu recommended Lu Su to Sun Quan because he knew that his lord needed to widely recruit more of such talents to accomplish his goal of building up his power bloc. Therefore, he could not afford to let Lu Su leave.<ref group="Sanguozhi">(瑜因薦肅才宜佐時，當廣求其比，以成功業，不可令去也。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref>