Li Su (died June 192''Sanguozhi'' indicated that Li Su died soon after Dong Zhuo, who died in May 192. Thus, Li Su's death date should be June 192) was a Chinese military officer serving under the warlords

Dong Zhuo Dong Zhuo () (died 22 May 192), courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minist ...

and

Lü Bu Lü Bu () (died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betr ...

during the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

of China.

Life

Li Su was from Wuyuan Commandery (五原郡), which was around present-day

Baotou Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

. He served as a Cavalry Commandant (騎都尉) under

, the warlord who controlled the Han central government and figurehead Emperor Xian between 189 and 192. In May 192, Li Su joined

and Wang Yun in a plot to assassinate Dong Zhuo in

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

. He led about a dozen soldiers and pretended to stand guard near the entrance. When Dong Zhuo arrived, Li Su tried to stab him with a ''ji'', but Dong Zhuo's body armour saved him. Lü Bu then came up close and killed Dong Zhuo. Later in 192, Lü Bu ordered Li Su to lead troops to attack and kill Niu Fu, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law. However, Niu Fu defeated Li Su in battle and forced him to retreat to

Hongnong Commandery Hongnong Commandery ( zh, 弘農郡), also known as Hengnong Commandery ( zh, 恒農郡), was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern western Henan and southeastern Shaanxi. Hongnong was established in 113 BC. Th ...

(弘農郡; south of present-day

Lingbao City Lingbao (; postal: Lingpao) is a county-level city and the westernmost county-level division of Henan province, China, bordering the provinces of Shanxi to the north and Shaanxi to the west. In ancient times, the Hongnong Commandery was loca ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

), where Lü Bu had him executed for his failure.

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

In the 14th-century historical novel ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD ...

'', Li Su was also credited with persuading Lü Bu to kill his adoptive father Ding Yuan and join Dong Zhuo. Among the many gifts Li Su brought along with him when he visited Lü Bu, the most outstanding one was the horse called the

Red Hare The Red Hare or Chi Tu () was a famous horse owned by the warlord Lü Bu, who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In historical records The Red Hare was mentioned in Lü Bu's biographies in the historical texts ''Records of the T ...

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220� ...

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * * Fan, Ye (5th century). ''

Book of the Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'' (''Houhanshu''). * Luo, Guanzhong (14th century). ''

'' (''Sanguo Yanyi''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Su 192 deaths 2nd-century births 2nd-century executions Chinese military officers Dong Zhuo and associates Executed Han dynasty people Executed military personnel Executed people from Inner Mongolia Lü Bu and associates People executed by the Han dynasty

Life

In ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''

See also

References