Lu Meng

Lu Meng is one of the characters introduced in Dynasty Warriors 2 who continues to appear in the series's consecutive titles. Originally a man who only lived for battle, he became an educated scholar through dedicated perseverance. He is one of the respected commanders for Sun Quan and acts as a mentor for Gan Ning and Lu Xun.

In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 29 years old and his height is 181 cm (a little over 5'11"). He stands at 175 cm (close to 5'9"). in Kessen II.

Dynasty Warriors
After Zhou Yu's death, Lu Meng becomes the main strategist for Wu. He acts as army's commander for He Fei and Fan Castle. In the latter battle, he leads the Wu reinforcements and claims Guan Yu's life. He often suffers a mortal wound during the conflict and is succeeded by Lu Xun. Unless players are playing his own story, he will usually not appear after Fan Castle.

His Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends details his final campaign against Guan Yu. Aiming to destroy the weakened Shu general, he corners his target at Mai Castle. He orders the Wei and Wu soldiers to surround Guan Yu as soon as possible and personally leads the assault. Lu Meng challenges each enemy officer until he defeats their commander. Guan Yu commends his opponent and calmly requests his worthy foe to deal the finishing blow. Although Lu Meng expresses his doubts, he complies with a quick farewell.

Lu Meng starts as a through and through warrior in Dynasty Warriors 5. Trained since childhood to only fight, he is recruited by Sun Ce to be one of his elite guards during the Conquest of Wu. He serves the Wu kingdom after his master's death and is ordered by Sun Quan to be more scholarly. His predecessor also encourages for him to learn patience and strategy at Chi Bi. Lu Meng persists in his studies and gradually becomes a capable officer with equal academic and military strengths. As Wu's Commander, he leads the advance in Jing Province and ends Guan Yu's life with his strategies at Fan Castle. Though the land is still at war in his ending, Lu Meng continues to guide his home's army in several glorious battles.

He shares his Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion with four other Wu generals in the Battle of Ru Xu Kou. Entrusted with leading the troops, Lu Meng coordinates the events of the battle. He heads eastward with Taishi Ci and may impress Zhang Liao if the strategist defeats him.

During Dynasty Warriors 6, Lu Meng appears as an experienced adviser during the stories for Wu's characters. He fights at Chi Bi and reinforces Wei at Fan Castle. Special also has him lead the army at Ru Xu Kou and act as the mediator between Ling Tong and Gan Ning. He dies in most scenarios after the army claims victory at Fan Castle. Lu Xun's scenario reveals that he suffers from a mortal arrow wound. In Gan Ning's story, he speaks for the younger man's favor and tries to reinforce the importance of unity to the youth. His death finally makes Gan Ning realize the responsibility he shoulders, which encourages the former pirate to cooperate with his allies.

In Ling Tong's scenario, Gan Ning emphasizes with his friend's feeling of loss since he felt the same pain with Lu Meng's passing. Lu Meng lives to see the land united and congratulates the two friends during Taishi Ci's ending.

Warriors Orochi
In the first game, Lu Meng is among the many officers of Wu captured by Orochi, and is the third to be released just before Sun Ce's failed attempt to rescue Sun Jian. Lu Meng plays a larger role in Wu's Gaiden stages, leading the effort to rescue Nō from where she was imprisoned and leading the expedition against Tadakatsu, who had been tricked into believing that they were members of the Orochi Army.

During Warriors Orochi 2, he is surrounded by Lu Bu's army and on the verge of defeat. Wanting to gain Wu as an ally, Sima Yi aids his plight. The two armies work together and drive the opposition back. As gratitude, Lu Meng and his army join Sakon's army. In one of the game's dream modes, he teams with Guan Yu and Xiahou Dun to save Liu Chan from Hideyoshi's army. While these men ordinarily are not on good terms, they look past their differences and collaborate with one another. He suggests stopping Motochika's bombardment and taking the enemy storehouse to energize Liu Chan.

Kessen
In Shu's story, Lu Meng persistently pursues Guan Yu at the Battle of Wu Chang. He is very difficult to distract as he will continuously target the Shu general until either one's defeat. During the epilogue battle for both stories, he is one of the Wu generals who reinforces the opposing side. He has a high War stat with average Magic capabilities.

Personality
Honest and perceptive, Lu Meng is a man who believes in steadfastness. While he speaks with a gruff tone, he is a calm and flexible leader with universal capabilities. Praised for his determination and cunning, he tries to impart his wisdom to several of Wu's younger retainers, as he finds them to be the hope for their kingdom should he fall. He particularly sees talent in Lu Xun and respects the younger man's intellect. He is sensitive about his age and isn't too flattered with Gan Ning's nickname for him.

Character Symbolism
The original names for Lu Meng's third and fourth weapons -and his Level 11 weapon- are references to one of the Four Divine Beast of Constellations famous in Eastern Asia, the White Tiger. In this case, the name doubles as a nod to Wu and being the polar opposite of the Blue Dragon. Within the Dynasty Warriors series, the Blue Dragon often represents Guan Yu.

Lu Meng's weapons for his Dynasty Warriors 6 appearance had a wordplay when they were collected. His Standard weapon roughly means "Indomitable Spirit". Its literal definition means "unwavering", defined as whatever challenges a person faces, their will -their human heart- will always prevail. His Skill weapon can be translated as "Unbending Will" or more literally, "No Surrender". The definition can mean to never give into pressure. When these two names are combined, they create the four kanji proverb Futou Fukutsu (不撓不屈): whatever challenges a person meets, they will never falter. In Japan, this phrase was originally coined with tax evasion. But as the controversy extended and times changed, the trends encouraged aristocrats to abandon their high-class life styles to become men of war.

The name for his Strength weapon implies to abandon one's care for one's enemy or to not care for impulsive acts (不敵, futeki). It is usually translated as being callous or rambunctious.

His original personal item in Warriors Orochi is Zhan Guo Ce, an indispensable document that details the strategies, politics, and conditions of China's Warring States Period. It is a compilation spread throughout the time period and describes plans created since Shi Huangdi's time of power.

Voice Actors

 * R. Martin Klein - Dynasty Warriors 4 (English)
 * Daran Norris - Dynasty Warriors 5~7, Warriors Orochi (English)
 * Tony Oliver - Dynasty Warriors 6 Special~Strikeforce, Warriors Orochi 2 (English)
 * No Min - Dynasty Warriors 2 (Korean)
 * Kim Seung Tae - Dynasty Warriors 3 (Korean)
 * Lee Cheol Yong - Dynasty Warriors 4~5 (Korean)
 * Yukitoshi Hori - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Kazunari Tanaka - Kessen II (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Lu Meng/Quotes


 * "Guan Yu... With all of my strength and wisdom, as well as the might of Wu to finally defeat you. You truly were the God of War, truly a real hero."
 * "I've warned you about that, you insolent pirate!"

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Sends a fireball forward.
 * , undefined: Wide slash that hits foes skyward.
 * ,, undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined): Left and right diagonal swings that ends with a wide attack.
 * ,, , undefined: Spinning cut with his polearm's staff end.
 * ,, , , undefined: Hops and stabs the ground, creating an uplifting shockwave.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Jumps for a wide slash.
 * Left and right slashes. In his True Musou version, he stomps the ground for a shockwave.


 * , : Wide swing to the left.
 * , undefined: Flips in the air before slamming his weapon's spear end into the ground.
 * Dashing : Holds his weapon horizontally and bashes it forward as he comes to a stop.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Hits both sides of his mount with two alternating swings.
 * ,, , , , : Left and right slashes.
 * Repeating slashes to both sides until the Musou gauge empties.


 * Warriors Orochi
 * ,: An airdash that makes him temporarily invincible. Lu Meng rolls forward in the air.
 * R1: Casts a spell to enhance a multi-hitting arrow trap, which ignites the arrows that are fired from behind him. Uses some musou.
 * direction + R1: Quick guard. Blocks attacks from any direction.

Dynasty Warriors 6
He shares his moveset with Xu Huang, Guan Ping, Cao Ren, and Ling Tong. See Dynasty Warriors 6/Weapon Movesets for more details.
 * Special Attack: Rockfall: lets loose giant boulders of land on the enemy and, when used near a cliff or an area with elevation differences, the rocks fall down and slide on the ground.

Weapons

 * See also: Lu Meng/Weapons

Historical Information
Lu Meng originated from Fupo in Runan. His sons were Lu Ba, Lu Zong, and Lu Mu. Around his teenage years, Lu Meng stayed with his sister's husband, Deng Dang, who was also an officer under Sun Ce. When Deng Dang was ordered to battle the Shanyue barbarians, Lu Meng secretly followed him, and after finding out, Deng Dang failed to convince Lu Meng to go home. After the operations were complete, Lu Meng's mother found out and wished to punish Lu Meng. She relented after her son said, "One cannot stay poor forever. But if by chance I gain merit and honor in something, fortune and prestige would come. As they say, 'if you don't go deep into the tiger's den, how can you hope to catch a tiger cub?'" An officer under Deng Dang insulted Lu Meng because he was so young, and insinuated that he would be dead weight on the army because of his youth. The sameoficer insulted Lu Meng again another day, and Lu Meng killed him, then seeking shelter under a village elder.

He would turn himself in later, and the colonel who received him brought the tale of what had happened to Sun Ce. Sun Ce met with Lu Meng and made him his personal officer after becoming impressed with the young lad. When Deng Dang passed away years later, Zhang Zhao recommended Lu Meng to succeed Deng Dang's rank, and thus he was appointed as Major of a Separate Command.

Sun Ce died and Sun Quan inherited control of the administration. Lu Meng had his command increased and was promoted to Colonel who Pacifies the North and Chief of Guangde commune after impressing Sun Quan with his troops and accomplishing much in a campaign for Danyang. When Sun Quan sailed to conquer Huang Zu, Huang Zu had Chen Jiu, his chief commander, to repel the attackers. Leading the vanguard, Lu Meng killed Chen Jiu and forced Huang Zu to flee his positions. Sun Quan commended that the conquest's success was due to the quick defeats of Chen Jiu. Lu Meng was promoted to General of the Interior Who Crosses the Fields.

After Cao Cao and his fleet was defeated at Chibi, Lu Meng routed them during their escape at Wulin, and after accompanied Zhou Yu in besieing Nanjun. Gan Ning requested reinforcements to come after he engaged Cao Ren at Yiling, and the commanders pleaded that they did not have enough troops to rescue him. Lu Meng suggested to Cheng Pu and Zhou Yu to allow himself to go with them and reinforce Gan Ning, and also to seal off the enemy's escape routes with wood so the enemy horses could be taken. The advice was taken, and after arriving at Yiling, Cao Ren's forces were massacred. They fled during the night, but the escape routes were blocked by the wood set up before by Zhou Yu, and so, the troops dismounted and retreated on foot. The remaining horses were captured, and most parts of Cao-controlled Jing province were pacified. Lu Meng was made the Chief of Xunyang commune and Lieutenant-General.

On one occasion, Sun Quan recommended to the hesitant Lu Meng and Jiang Qin that with their new ranks, they should study military strategy. The former especially began to vigorously study, and his knowledge quickly advanced to amount more than more experienced scholars.

Lu Su thought very little of Lu Meng when he succeeded Zhou Yu, who had passed due to illness. He was astounded during a meeting with the hosting Lu Meng with the latter's foresight in having five diffeent plans on how to deal with Guan Yu, whose territory was bordering theirs. The guest honored Lu Meng's mother and the two became good friends.

Lu Meng later would defeat Xie Qi, an officer under Cao Cao sent to manage farming colonies at Wan and would interfere with the Wu border.

Sun Quan wanted to build forts on the northern side of the Yangtze in case they would need to attack enemy forces there. Many generals opposed it, saying there would be no need for forts if they're attacking, but Lu Meng supported the idea, countering that the events of battle are manifold and should they need to retreat, there would be no time to board ships or get into the water. The forts were built, and during the defense of Ruxu around 213 AD, Lu Meng proposed many good plans, also suggesting that forts should be build all around for a well-prepared defense. The enemy would soon retreat, not being able to pierce through the defenses.

When Cao Cao had Zhu Guang set up a fort and expand the farming colonies at Wan, Lu Meng proposed that an attack should be made to halt the expansions to prevent more enemy troops from being stationed there from good harvests. Sun Quan accepted the advice and led a march on Wan. Lu Meng had Gan Ning lead the charge for the city while Lu Meng backed him up and personally beat the drums to increase allied morale. The city was quickly taken, and the arriving Zhang Liao ahd to retreat upon hearing of the defeat. Lu Meng was promoted to Grand Administrator of Lujiang and the captured soldiers were put under his command. Lu Meng's merits amounted to number one, with Gan Ning taking the second spot. On his way to another area a rebellion rose in Luling, and no generals sent could put it down. Lu Meng was sent and upon arriving, he killed the instigator and quelled the uprising.

Lu Meng was ordered to take three southern commanderies of Jing controlled by Liu Bei ― Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang. Changsha and Lingling quickly submitted after receiving a letter, but Hao Pu, Grand Administrator of Lingling, did not. Guan Yu was battling Lu Su at Yiyang, and Sun Quan was away from the action west in Lukou. Lu Meng was ordered to abandon Lingling and to reinforce Lu Su. Instead of following orders, Lu Meng kept it a secret and summoned his commanders instructing them to attack Lingling before noon. Lu Meng sent a civilian friend of Hao Pu to convince him to surrender the city. As expected, Hao Pu came out and surrendered, and unbeknownst to him, four generals of Lu Meng took control of the city gates as Hao Pu left. He assigned Sun Jiao to manage Lingling while Lu Meng left for Yiyang. Liu Bei requested a peace treaty, and Sun Quan released Hao Pu to him, as well as Lingling. Lu Meng was given Xunyang an Yangxin as a fief.

When Sun Quan marched onto Hefei in 215 AD, he was repelled by the defenders led by Zhang Liao, Li Dian, and Yue Jin. Sun Quan began a general retreat but was ambushed by Zhang Liao; Lu Meng and Ling Tong fiercely fought the enemy. In 217 AD, at the second defense of Ruxu, Lu Meng was made the chief controller for the army, and held the forts built earlier on. He was able to repel Cao Cao's vanguard before they could make a good attack with ten thousand crossbowmen. Cao Cao would retreat, and Lu Meng was rewarded with the titles Keeper of the Left Army, and General of Tiger Might.

Lu Su died and his command was put under Lu Meng. Four fiefs were given to him, as well as the Grand Administrator of Hanchang position. Guan Yu, Liu Bei's administrator for Jing province, shared a border with him. Lu Meng commented that if more areas of Jing could be taken with Sun Jiao holding Nanjun in the north, Pan Zhang stationed at Baidi, Jiang Qin reinforcing riverside positions opposing the enemy, and Lu Meng himself heading north to take Xiangyang, then Guan Yu and Cao Cao would be of no consequence. Furthermore, he said that Guan Yu was haughty, and was not attacking Sun Quan's and because of Lu Meng and other officers still living and once they were gona, Guan Yu could easily take over Sun Quan's land by force. Sun Quan agreed and brought up the topic of taking Xu province, which was north of Sun Quan's capital of Jianye and west of the Han capital of Xuchang. Lu Meng's reply was that though taking Xu province would be easy, keeping it would be difficult, and that taking Guan Yu's portion of Jing would be better.

Lu Meng doubled the efforts in befriending Guan Yu. The Liu general attacked Fan, and Lu Meng noticed that he had left a large army behind worrying that Lu Meng wanted to take his positions. At this time Lu Meng had become ill. Accordingly and using it to his advantage, he had word passed around that he was severely ill, and Sun Quan, in cahoots with him, had an edict set that Lu Meng was to return to Jianye. Guan Yu then had the reserve troops recalled to fight on the frontlines. The bearded general's worries were lessened even more when Lu Meng's replacement, Lu Xun, began to send letters praising him.

When Guan Yu conquered Fancheng, capturing Yu Jin and executing Pang De, and after Cao Cao expressed his fear that Xuchang could be taken by Guan Yu, Sima Yi was able to send an emissary to Sun Quan requesting assistance in the form of attacking Guan Yu's rear. The plan was accepted, and Sun Quan wanted his cousin Sun Jiao to share joint command with Lu Meng for the attack. Lu Meng argued against it, reminding Sun Quan of how Cheng Pu had temporarily resented Zhou Yu leading the Chibi defense as Cheng Pu himself was a more senior general. Lu Meng's words were appreciated and he alone was put in command.

Lu Meng hid his best troops in minor naval crafts disguised as lowly merchants. With the illusion set they were able to take Guan Yu's guard boats, holding them captive so Guan Yu would not be notified. Lu Meng had Yu Fan convince Fu Shiren to surrender Gong'an, and Fu Shiren induced Mi Fang to surrender Nanjun. Lu Meng consoled the families of Guan Yu and his subordinates, and ordered that no soldier was to harass a peasant family. A soldier from Runan, where Lu Meng originted, took an item from a civlian family to protect and preserve his state-issued armor from the rain. Lu Meng, in tears, had him executed to follow the law, and there was no further issue. He had his colleagues care for the sick, poor and elderly in the city, giving them clothes, food, and other necessities wherever needed, and protected the belongings of Guan Yu. Messengers were sent from Guan Yu asking for news, and Lu Meng would treat them kindly and escort them around the city where families would ask for knowledge concerning the state of their friends and kinsmen in the Liu army. When the messengers came back to their camps, soldiers found out about the treatment of their families and how much better it was compared to treatment in the past. Sun Quan marched on Guan Yu and he fled to Maicheng. Guan Yu and his son were ityaptured and beheaded.

With Jing province pacified of any control from Liu Bei, Lu Meng was made Marquis of Chanling and Grand Administrator of Nanjun along with generous amounts of cash after personal declinations. Lu Meng became ill and was taken into the palace for treatment. Doctors from far and wide were recuited and a reward for one thousand catties of gold was set as a reward for whoever could cure Lu Meng's ailment. Sun Quan was deeply saddened by the illness and wanted to go and see Lu Meng during his aupuncture treatment, but because it might interrupt him, Sun Quan punched a hole through a wall to watch Lu Meng. If Lu Meng ate, Sun Qua would rejoice, but if he didn't, Sun Quan would not be able to rest at night. Lu Meng seemed to get healthier, and in honor Sun Quan held an amnesty for all. The illness got worse and after personally visitng him, Sun Quan ordered Taoist priests to pray for his life. Lu Meng had his gold and treasures organized and died at the age of 42. Under his order, the gold and treasures were given back to the state and Lu Meng wished to have his funeral modest and for expenses to be minimal, further depressing Sun Quan.

During the siege at Nanjun, an officer defected to Zhou Yu along with his troops, and Zhou Yu wanted to add the troops to Lu Meng's command. Lu Meng, on the basis that it would be courteous to reward a defecting officer instead of taking away from him, persuaded Zhou Yu not to and to leave the defector with his original command. When three generals stationed close to Lu Meng died, leaving sons and younger brothers lacking the age to inherit heir troop, Sun Quan wanted to assign those troops to Lu Meng. However, Lu Meng wrote several times declining on the pretese that the three generals had given theselves to the fullest for the state and so the troops were not given to him, and Lu Meng assigned teachers to the future inheritors.

In his youthful years under Sun Quan, because Lu Meng had not devoted himself to the texts of military strategy yet, the administrator of Jiangxia, Cai Yi, had filed complaints against him. He bore no grudge, and when the Grand Administrator of Yuzhang died, recommended Cai Yi to replace him. Sun Quan laughed and followed the proposal.

Gan Ning was a new officer who often disobeyed orders. Sun Quan became angry at him, but Lu Meng would always present himself in Gan Ning's favor, saying that in the tough times tolerating Gan Ning would be the best. He would eventually earn many achievements under Sun Quan. According to Gan Ning's scroll in the Records of Three Kingdoms, a kitchen boy of his committed an offense and fled to Lu Meng. Caring for the boy, Lu Meng did not show him to Gan Ning until later, and Gan Ning promised that he would not harm the boy. He went back on the promise, and tying him up to a tree, killed the offender himself, then going onto his boat to rest. Lu Meng wanted to muster his troops to attack Gan Ning on his boat, but the mother of the filial Lu Meng stopped him with a few words. Gan Ning and Lu Meng went to see the latter's mother and then feasted.

Sun Quan later told Lu Xun that Lu Meng's strategic ability was second only to that of Zhou Yu, and in capturing Guan Yu, he was better than Lu Su.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, his plan to feign sickness to fool Guan Yu into feeling secure about his rear force during the siege of Fancheng is given to Lu Xun, with Lu Meng feigning sickness because he was unsure in how to defeat him. After Guan Yu's death, his spirit possessed Lu Meng and made blood spill out of his orifices, killing him.