Editing Lu Su (section)

==Formation of the Sun–Liu alliance==
When [[Liu Biao]] died in 208, his younger son [[Liu Cong (Han dynasty)|Liu Cong]] succeeded him as the Governor of [[Jing Province]] (covering present-day [[Hubei]] and [[Hunan]]). Upon receiving news of Liu Biao's death, Lu Su told Sun Quan, {{blockquote|"Jing Province is our neighbour. Its water routes lead to the north; it is connected to the major rivers; and it has mountainous terrain. It is firm and stable; its lands are fertile; and its population is wealthy and prosperous. Whoever controls that region has the resources for building an empire. Liu Biao has recently died; his two sons are in disharmony; and his subordinates are more concerned about advancing their own interests. [[Liu Bei]] has the reputation of an ambitious hero, and he's [[Cao Cao]]'s rival. When he took shelter under Liu Biao, Liu Biao was jealous of his talent and didn't assign him important responsibilities. If Liu Bei can unite with us in spirit and work together with us, we can win him over and form an alliance with him. If he's unwilling to join us, we should seek alternative ways to accomplish our grand objective. I hereby request you to appoint me as your representative to attend Liu Biao's funeral and offer condolences. At the same time, I'll ask Liu Bei to persuade Liu Biao's followers to join us in resisting Cao Cao. Liu Bei will be most happy to do so. If he agrees to ally with us, we'll be able to pacify the Empire. We must act fast because I fear we may lose the opportunity to Cao Cao."<ref group="Sanguozhi">(劉表死。肅進說曰：「夫荊楚與國鄰接，水流順北，外帶江漢，內阻山陵，有金城之固，沃野萬里，士民殷富，若據而有之，此帝王之資也。今表新亡，二子素不輯睦，軍中諸將，各有彼此。加劉備天下梟雄，與操有隙，寄寓於表，表惡其能而不能用也。若備與彼協心，上下齊同，則宜撫安，與結盟好；如有離違，宜別圖之，以濟大事。肅請得奉命弔表二子，并慰勞其軍中用事者，及說備使撫表衆，同心一意，共治曹操，備必喜而從命。如其克諧，天下可定也。今不速往，恐為操所先。」) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref>}} Sun Quan then sent Lu Su as his representative to Jing Province.<ref group="Sanguozhi">(權即遣肅行。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref>

When Lu Su reached Xiakou (夏口; present-day [[Hankou]], Hubei), he heard that Cao Cao and his forces were advancing towards Jing Province so he travelled day and night in the hope of reaching [[Xiangyang]] (Jing Province's capital) in the shortest time possible. When he arrived at [[Nan Commandery]] (南郡; around present-day [[Jingzhou]], Hubei), he received news that Liu Cong had already surrendered to Cao Cao, and that Jing Province was now under Cao Cao's control. At the same time, Liu Bei had been defeated at the [[Battle of Changban]] and was trying to cross the [[Yangtze]] and head further south. Lu Su met Liu Bei at Changban (長阪; in present-day [[Dangyang]], Hubei), where he conveyed Sun Quan's intentions to Liu Bei and pointed out that [[Jiangnan|Jiangdong]] was very stable. Liu Bei was delighted. Lu Su also met and befriended Liu Bei's adviser [[Zhuge Liang]]; he told Zhuge Liang that he was a friend of [[Zhuge Jin]], Zhuge Liang's elder brother. Liu Bei moved to Xiakou, where he instructed Zhuge Liang to follow Lu Su to meet Sun Quan and discuss the formation of a Sun–Liu alliance against Cao Cao.<ref group="Sanguozhi">(到夏口，聞曹公已向荊州，晨夜兼道。比至南郡，而表子琮已降曹公，備惶遽奔走，欲南渡江。肅徑迎之，到當陽長阪，與備會，宣騰權旨，及陳江東彊固，勸備與權併力。備甚歡恱。時諸葛亮與備相隨，肅謂亮曰「我子瑜友也」，即共定交。備遂到夏口，遣亮使權，肅亦反命。) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref>

===Contradiction===
[[Pei Songzhi]], who annotated Lu Su's biography, argued that Lu Su was actually the first person to propose forming a Sun–Liu alliance against Cao Cao. When Lu Su told Zhuge Liang that he was Zhuge Jin's friend, Zhuge Liang would probably have already heard of Lu Su but had yet to meet him in person. Pei Songzhi pointed out that Zhuge Liang's biography in the ''Shu Shu'' (蜀書; ''Book of Shu'') recorded: "Zhuge Liang persuaded Sun Quan with his argument on forming an alliance. Sun Quan was very pleased."<!-- The following line, '亮以連橫之略說權，權乃大喜。', claimed by Pei Songzhi to be from Zhuge Liang's biography in the ''Book of Shu'', is not found in Zhuge Liang's biography in volume 35 of the ''Sanguozhi''. Is there another ''Book of Shu'', apart from the collective name of volumes 31-45 in the ''Sanguozhi''? --> Going by the ''Shu Shu'' account, the first person who suggested the Sun–Liu alliance should be Zhuge Liang instead of Lu Su. Pei Songzhi commented that the historians in [[Eastern Wu]] and [[Shu Han]] gave conflicting accounts on who was the first person who conceived the idea of the Sun–Liu alliance because they wanted their respective states to claim that credit. Pei Songzhi also remarked that this was one of the flaws in the ''Sanguozhi'' because the author [[Chen Shou]] wrote both Lu Su and Zhuge Liang's biographies but the two biographies contradict each other on this point.<ref group="Sanguozhi zhu">(臣松之案：劉備與權併力，共拒中國，皆肅之本謀。又語諸葛亮曰「我子瑜友也」，則亮已亟聞肅言矣。而蜀書亮傳云：「亮以連橫之略說權，權乃大喜。」如似此計始出於亮。若二國史官，各記所聞，競欲稱揚本國容美，各取其功。今此二書，同出一人，而舛互若此，非載述之體也。) Pei Songzhi's annotation in ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 54.</ref>