History Characters / RavagesOfTimeLiuClan

** At Hulao Pass, he teamed up with his brothers to stop Lu Bu from completely curbstomping and annihilating the Guandong warlords whom Yuan Fang tricked (in the following order) into stationing their troops in an unfavorable terrain, using up their rations, sacrificing their best generals and being left behind for Lu Bu's picking[[hottip:*:although Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were the real "matches" for Lu Bu, they specifically performed so that it would look like Liu Bei had been the one to strike the winning blow]]. This incident earned him some land, a sizable army and an unofficial acknowledgement of his title as Imperial Uncle[[hottip:*:later formalized by an Imperial decree that Liaoyuan Huo tricked the Emperor into issuing]].

** He was the first warlord to answer Xuzhou's call for help when Cao Cao attacked and massacred their civilians. Moreover, behind his back his brother Zhang Fei proposed a deal with Xuzhou's official Mi Zhu to forge a will for Xuzhou's still-living administrator Tao Qian which would leave the office and the land to Liu Bei, and to back Liu Bei's claim should Tao Qian drop dead in battle. When Tao Qian did[[hottip:*:and with Liaoyuan Huo preventing Cao Bao from revealing another will that would have let in Lu Bu]], Liu Bei became the next governor of one of the biggest cities in the Middle Land.
** Of course, all of this set up his path to the welcoming arms of the powerful (though declining) warlord Liu Biao and Jingzhou civilians as the last remaining Loyalist after Yuan Shao's defeat at Guandu[[hottip:*:the Sun clan were at war with Liu Biao despite also opposing Cao Cao]].

** PureAwesomeness: [[spoiler:How he drove ''[[ImplacableMan Sun Ce]]'' away and his troops from Cao Cao when the former led a surprise strike against Cao Cao's troops near Shouchun[[hottip:*:Though Sun Ce scapegoats his ''horse'' as the one too intimidated by the sight of Guan Yu atop Red Hare, it doesn't fool Lu Meng]].]]

* CulturedWarrior: His other identity is a renowned calligrapher landscape artist[[hottip:*:which is a rather convenient cover for his map-making skills up until he's exposed at Xuzhou]], and the Eight Geniuses' teacher is a fan of his. Who could have known? As an added bonus, [[spoiler:although none of those involved realize this, he actually painted a portrait of Sima Yi as a toddler for a marriage proposal over a decade years before the story's beginning, which ended up in the possession of the ''fiancee'', one Shan Wuling[[hottip:*:alias Zhang Chunhua]]]].

** At Changban, he [[spoiler:narrowed the iconic bridge to only two riders' width[[hottip:*:allowing Zhao Yun to ride by while preventing anyone else from being able to just slip by past Zhang Fei's reach, such as Zhang Liao or the rest of the Cao army]], then hid a bunch of spears under a board and covered the whole thing in moss. When his famous taunting of the Cao army was followed by him marching forward as if to confront them even closer, Cao Ren orders the archers to fire... to which Zhang Fei responds by simply kicking up the moss-covered board, turning it into a makeshift shield, before flipping it over all the way to reveal the spears... which he then chucks at Cao Cao's army, impaling multiple soldiers with each ''from outside of the archers' range''. Oh yeah, that other bridge that he "overlooked"? It can't support the weight of all the Cao troops who try to cross the river to outflank him, which was why he'd left it to act as bait. Finally, the whole thing was a setup: the spot at which Zhang Fei made his stand and thus where the Cao army massed is a relatively flat grassland, an open plain and thus ripe for a fire attack by Guan Yu's troops. Unlike the novel version, here they actually damage the Cao army and force its retreat, which Zhang Liao estimates buys Liu Bei a two days' headstart.]]
* [[BeautifulAllAlong Handsome All Along]]: Zhang Fei's unpainted face is yet to be seen as he always covers his face below his eyes with a cloth when he doesn't have all those painted tattoos[[hottip:*:such as when he was using his "Mr. Zhang, Peach Garden artist" ''alter ego'' against the Cao army's first Xuzhou campaign]], but from what we can see he does not look half bad.

* DoomedByCanon: His service to Liu Bei turns out to be more short-lived than the novel counterpart when his mother is kidnapped by Sima Yi soon after he scores some points for team Liu Bei by burning up a few troops of Cao Cao. [[hottip:*:In this adaptation his mother is held hostage during Changban instead of well before, and instead of him recommending Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was already formally serving Liu Bei and working with Zhou Yu beforehand.]]

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Basically his life story.

* WhatAnIdiot: Being a righteous, honor-bound man in this setting even after a StartOfDarkness and several times he TookALevelInJerkass comes in a package with frequently getting almost all of his judgements questioned by his brothers and subordinates and ''a lot'' of his decisions end up shooting him in the foot when too many opposing strategists take advantage of his good-naturedness to work it into their favors (and mock him in the process).

* BlueBlood: Claims to have it, as an "Imperial Uncle" (relative to the Emperor). Not everyone believed him at first until Liaoyuan Huo pretended to be one of Lu Bu's men and tricked Emperor Xian into issuing an edict formalizing the claim, and eventually nobody cares.

* ButtMonkey: As in the novel and history, he keeps losing to Cao Cao and Lu Bu over and over again... but each time he loses, his prestige increases and his reputation as a loyal Han follower and a righteous man shoots up. However, being constantly on the TraumaCongaLine results in his gradual development into [[KnightInSourArmor a much more cynical, calculating man]], and [[spoiler:the usurpation of Xu province by Lu Bu]] cemented that change.

* BigDamnHeroes: He and Guan Yu once saved Huo when Wen Chou and Yan Liang ganged up on the boy[[hottip:*:even if Huo insists that thanks to Xiao Meng and Zhang Lei he was never actually in danger]]. Over a decade later, at Changban [[spoiler:he appeared just in time to fend off Zhang Liao when Huo was exhausted and disarmed of Cao Cao's sword by Zhang Liao... and of course, Zhang Fei's the one who would singlehandedly hold the line against the entire Cao army at that very bridge.]]

* BlueBlood: Claims to have it, as an "Imperial Uncle" (relative to the Emperor). Not everyone believes him at first[[hottip:*:which is why Liaoyuan Huo pretended to be one of Lu Bu's men and tricked Emperor Xian into issuing an edict formalizing the claim, which Huo promptly took off with]], but eventually nobody cares.

* ButtMonkey: As in the novel and history, he keeps losing to Cao Cao and Lu Bu over and over again... but each time he loses, his prestige increases and his reputation as a loyal Han follower and a righteous man shoots up. However, constantly being on the TraumaCongaLine results in his gradual development into [[KnightInSourArmor a much more cynical, calculating man]], and [[spoiler:the usurpation of Xu province by Lu Bu]] cemented that change.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Liu Bei talked [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] into surrendering so that a grateful Cao Cao would let Liu Bei near the Emperor, but when Liu Bei ends up forced to side against Cao Cao, [[spoiler:Zhang Liao -- who rather hated Liu Bei to begin with --]] sticks with Cao Cao and becomes one of Liu Bei's pursuers. [[spoiler:When Liaoyuan Huo "went Zhao Yun for good" at Changban, Zhang Liao would be the only warrior who could contend with Liaoyuan Huo and nearly killed him and Adou before being intercepted and knocked off of the bridge by Zhang Fei.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: Besides the inevitable aspects of this from being a warlord during this period, he [[spoiler:"returned the favor" from the usurpation of Xuzhou by convincing Cao Cao to execute Lu Bu]]. Then he was an active participant in Jingzhou's succession crisis between the Cai family and Liu Qi, where he [[spoiler:staged the River Tan incident, including lying about his physical condition]], so that [[spoiler:Cai Mao would get in trouble, possibly even executed, while Liu Bei could -- by backing Liu Qi -- end up in command of Liu Biao's main army]].

* SlaveToPR: Is frequently accused of this by more overtly practical subordinates, though lately he's been more... calculating about it.
* StartOfDarkness: After the loss of Xiapi to Lu Bu, although [[spoiler:it had actually been engineered by Zhang Fei to minimize casualties to Liu Bei's force]]:

* TheMessiah: Although since being ousted from Xuzhou [[spoiler:for the second and final time]] he's been showing traits of a DarkMessiah. Not that the populace adoring him notices.
* TookALevelInJerkass: But he's still nicer than most.

* WorthyOpponent: Cao Cao regards him as this since the first time they met in Xuzhou, even when back then Liu Bei was only a minor warlord and Cao Cao already got a strong start after obtaining the service of the remnant Yellow Turban troops in Qingzhou and ''two'' Geniuses[[hottip:*:for comparison, only the Yuan clan had a Genius of its own participating actively in Yuan Fang; Jia Xu was more taking care of Zhang Xiu than actively backing him, while Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong had yet to formally enter the scene, yet Cao Cao already had two in Xun Yu and Guo Jia, and the latter was the one behind this whole Xuzhou campaign]].

* HonorBeforeReason: He outright lets go an exhausted, wounded Lu Bu near the end of the Xiapi campaign... because he's too busy shedding ManlyTears at [[spoiler:Red Hare's UndyingLoyalty to Lu Bu]].

* ''{{Badass}}''

* DoomedByCanon: His service to Liu Bei turns out to be more short-lived than the novel counterpart when [[his mother is kidnapped by Sima Yi soon after he scores some points for team Liu Bei by burning up a few troops of Cao Cao. [[hottip:*:In this adaptation his mother is held hostage during Changban instead of well before, and instead of him recommending Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was already formally serving Liu Bei and working with Zhou Yu beforehand.]]

* TookALevelInJerkass

** SuperStrength: Can't engage in [[GoodOldFisticuffs good ol' fisticuffs]] with Lu Bu without this! Before that, Zhang Fei found out the hard way when he tried jumping Guan Yu and got sent flying with a punch to the face.

* {{Badass}}

* DoomedByCanon: [[spoiler:Although in this adaptation his mother is held hostage during Changban instead of well before, and instead of him recommending Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was already formally serving Liu Bei and working with Zhou Yu beforehand.]]

* DoomedByCanon: [[spoiler:Although in this adaptation his mother is held hostage during Changban instead of well before, by which time Zhuge Liang was already formally serving Liu Bei and working with Zhou Yu.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: He essentially made a career out of just being this for other warlords.
** At Hulao Pass, he teamed up with his brothers to stop Lu Bu from completely curbstomping and annhilating the Guandong warlords whom Yuan Fang tricked (in that order) into stationing their troops in an unfavorable terrain, using up their rations, sacrificing their best generals and being left behind for Lu Bu's picking[[hottip:*:although Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were the real "matches" for Lu Bu, they specifically performed so that it would look like Liu Bei had been the one to strike the winning blow]]. This incident earned him some land, a sizable army and an unofficial acknowledgement of his title as Imperial Uncle[[hottip:*:later formalized by an Imperial decree that Liaoyuan Huo tricked the Emperor into issuing]].

** He was the first warlord to answer Xuzhou's call for help when Cao Cao attacked and massacred their civilians. Moreover, behind his back his brother Zhang Fei proposed a deal with Xuzhou's official Mi Zhu to forge a will for Xuzhou's still-living administrator Tao Qian, leaving the office and the land to Liu Bei, and to back Liu Bei's claim should Tao Qian drop dead in battle. When Tao Qian did[[hottip:*:and with Liaoyuan Huo preventing Cao Bao from revealing another will that would have let in Lu Bu]], Liu Bei became the next governor of one of the biggest cities in the Middle Land.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Lu Bu realized this only too late [[spoiler:at his execution at White Gat Tower, when Liu Bei persuaded Cao Cao to execute instead of sparing his life as Cao Cao originally intended]].
** Cai Mao was already thinking this about Liu Bei after his arrival in Jing, but the River Tan incident and the subsequent appointment of Liu Bei [[spoiler:to command Jingzhou's main army]] cemented it.
* BlueBlood: Claims to have it, as an "Imperial Uncle" (relative to the Emperor). Not everyone believes him at first, but eventually nobody cares.
* BreakThemByTalking: At the White Gate Tower, to Zhang Liao. [[spoiler:Later turned around and used as an emotional catharsis for Liaoyuan Huo, furthering the parallels between him and Liao.]]

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Liu Bei talked [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] into surrendering so that a grateful Cao Cao would let Liu Bei near the Emperor, but when Liu Bei ends up forced to side against Cao Cao, [[spoiler:Zhang Liao -- who rather hated Liu Bei to begin with --]] sticks with Cao Cao and becomes one of Liu Bei's pursuers. [[spoiler:When Liaoyuan Huo "went Zhao Yun for good" at Changban, Zhang Liao would be the only warrior who could disarm Liaoyuan Huo and nearly killed him and Adou before being intercepted and knocked off of the bridge by Zhang Fei.]]

* TheEmpath: ''Very'' good at discerning the personality and the wants and desires of people he come across.
* HonorBeforeReason: Then again, he has a good excuse for putting his honor first. Next to the backing of his sworn brothers who are legendary fighters (which commands at least some respects from other warlords), he knows that his reputation is about the only thing he has going for him if he ever want to gain an army and a land of his own, so most of his decisions are based on how to polish it and not sacrifice it.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: People think he's a patriotic idiot, but Cao Cao knows better - they're both would-be hegemons who seek power with which to suppress corrupt vassals against Imperial Han, who just so happen to consider the other to be one such corrupt vassal.

* TheMessiah: Since [[spoiler:being ousted from Xuzhou]] he's been showing traits of a DarkMessiah. Not that the populace adoring him notices.

* WorthyOpponent: Cao Cao regards him as this since the first time they met in Xuzhou, even when back then Liu Bei was only a minor warlord and Cao Cao already got a strong start after obtaining the service of remnant Yellow Turban troops and two Geniuses.

** BadassBeard

** SuperStrength: Can't engage in [[GoodOldFisticuffs good ol' fisticuffs]] with Lu Bu without this!

* GeniusBruiser: Earlier on in the story at least. For example, the ploy to ensure that Liu Bei got the credit for defeating Lu Bu was all ''Guan Yu[='=]s'' idea!

** For this, Zhang Fei says, "Second brother is always like that - he never takes advantage of a person. Too bad history will remember his ignorance one day."
* LawfulGood: Irrefutably so; knowing this is part of why Cao Cao gave Red Hare to Guan Yu.

* BigDamnHeroes: He and Guan Yu once saved Huo when Wen Chou and Yan Liang ganged up on the boy. [[spoiler:At Changban, he appeared just in time to fend off Zhang Liao when Huo had already been disarmed of Cao Cao's sword by Zhang Liao and exhausted. Then of course, he's the one who will single-handedly hold the line.]]
* CulturedWarrior: His other identity is a renowned landscape artist[[hottip:*:which is a rather convenient cover for his map-making skills up until he's exposed at Xuzhou]], and the Eight Geniuses' teacher is a fan of his. Who could have known?

** At Changban, he [[spoiler:actually narrowed the iconic bridge, hid a bunch of spears under a board ''and'' covered the whole thing in moss. When his famous taunting of the Cao army as followed by him marching forward as if to confront them even closer, Cao Ren orders the archers to fire -- and Zhang Fei simply kicks up the moss-covered board, turning it into a shield, before flipping it over to reveal all the spears]].
* [[BeautifulAllAlong Handsome All Along]]: Zhang Fei's unpainted face is yet to be seen as he always covers his face when he doesn't have all those painted tattoos, but from what we can see he does not look half bad.
* MakeMeWannaShout: [[spoiler:It doesn't kill anyone at Changban like the novel version, as Xiahou Jie isn't mentioned here, but the emitting force is still awesome enough to intimidate Cao Cao's frontline soldiers and shake the horses, almost toppling his cavalry and even Cao Cao's horse bucks wildly at the sound.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Specifically cultivated on his part, and he doesn't mind being considered a brute.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Not nearly as straitlacedly righteous as his brothers, and ''he'' comes up with most of the schemes from before Zhuge Liang formally joins.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: And ''how'', as [[spoiler:Lu Bu realizes at his execution]][[hottip:*:Cao Cao hadn't appeared right away because he'd been considering sparing Lu Bu; when the executioner Xu Chu tells Lu Bu that he wasn't the one who changed Cao Cao's mind, Lu Bu admits that he already knew who had done so, and the next page has Liu Bei standing at Cao Cao's side]].
** Cai Mao was already thinking this about Liu Bei after his arrival in Jing[[hottip:*:]], but the River Tan incident and the subsequent appointment of Liu Bei [[spoiler:to command Jingzhou's main army]] cemented it.

* ButtMonkey: As in the novel[[hottip:*:and history]], he keeps losing to Cao Cao and Lu Bu over and over again... but each time he loses, his prestige increases and his reputation as a loyal Han follower and a righteous man shoots up. However, constantly being on the TraumaCongaLine results in his gradual development into [[KnightInSourArmor a much more cynical, calculating man]], and [[spoiler:the usurpation of Xu province by Lu Bu]] cemented that change.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Liu Bei talked [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] into surrendering so that a grateful Cao Cao would let Liu Bei near the Emperor, but when Liu Bei ends up forced to side against Cao Cao, [[spoiler:Zhang Liao -- who rather hated Liu Bei to begin with --]] sticks with Cao Cao and becomes one of Liu Bei's pursuers. [[spoiler:When Liaoyuan Huo "went Zhao Yun for good" at Changban, Zhang Liao would be the only warrior who could match Liaoyuan Huo and even disarm him, before being intercepted and knocked off of the bridge by Zhang Fei.]]

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[spoiler:When he persuades Zhang Liao to surrender to Cao Cao and thus saves his life.]]
* GoodIsDumb: He gets over it after [[spoiler:Lu Bu usurps Xuzhou from him]].
* GoodIsNotNice: Besides the inevitable aspects of this from being a warlord during this period, he [[spoiler:"returns the favor" from the usurpation of Xuzhou by convincing Cao Cao to execute Lu Bu]], then he was an active participant in [[spoiler:staging the River Tan incident, including lying about his physical condition]], so that [[spoiler:Cai Mao would get in trouble, possibly even executed, while Liu Bei could -- by backing Liu Qi -- end up in command of Liu Biao's main army]].

* HonorBeforeReason: Then again, he has a good excuse for putting his honor first: he knows that his reputation is about the only thing he has going for him[[hottip:*:besides having one of the Eight Geniuses, along with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun]], so most of his decisions are based on how to polish it and not sacrifice it.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: People think he's a patriotic idiot, but Cao Cao knows better: they're ''both'' [[spoiler:would-be hegemons who seek power with which to suppress corrupt vassals against Imperial Han, who just so happen to consider the other to be one such corrupt vassal]].

-->'''Liu Bei:''' Lu Bu took Xiapi from Xiaopei... [[spoiler:why can't I? Fake a truce, then pay him back when we can![[hottip:*:Right before Lu Bu is strangled, he realizes that Liu Bei had convinced Cao Cao to execute Lu Bu.]]]]
* TheMessiah: And lately, has been showing traits of a DarkMessiah... not that the populace adoring him notices.

* AFatherToHisMen: ... but not much to his own child, whom he considers of lesser importance than his sworn brothers.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "Are you satisfied... with dying like this?"

** At Hulao Pass, he teamed up with his brothers to stop Lu Bu from completely curbstomping and annhilating the Guandong warlords whom Yuan Fang tricked (in that order) into stationing their troops in an unfavorable terrain, using up their rations, sacrificing their best generals and left behind for Lu Bu's picking. This incident earned him some land, a sizable army and an unofficial acknoledgement of his Imperial title.
** He saved Gongsun Zan from under Yuan Shao's nose and threatened the lives of Yan Liang and Wen Chou, forcing ''Yuan Shao'' himself to address him by his Imperial title.
** He was the first warlord to answer Xuzhou's call for help when Cao Cao attacked and massacred their civilians. Behind his back, his brother Zhang Fei proposed a deal with Xuzhou's official Mi Zhu to fake the will of Xuzhou's (still living) administrator Tao Qian to leave the land to Liu Bei and back Liu Bei's claim should Tao Qian drop dead in battle. Tao Qian did, and Liu Bei became the next governor of one of the biggest cities in the Middle Land.
** Of course, all of this set up his path to the welcoming arms of the powerful warlord Liu Biao and Jingzhou civilians.
* BewareTheNiceOnes
* BlueBlood: Claims to have it. Not everyone believes him at first, but eventually nobody cares.
* BreakThemByTalking: At the White Gate Tower, to Zhang Liao.
* ButtMonkey: As in the novel, he keeps losing to Cao Cao and Lu Bu over and over again. But each time he loses, his prestige increases and his reputation as a loyal Han follower and a righteous man shoots up. However, constantly being on the TraumaCongaLine results in his gradual development into [[KnightInSourArmor a much more cynical, calculating man]].
* ChewingTheScenery: Pretty much how he delivers said ArmorPiercingQuestion to [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]].
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Liu Bei talked [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] into surrendering so that a grateful Cao Cao would let Liu Bei near the Emperor, but when Liu Bei ends up forced to side against Cao Cao, [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] sticks with Cao Cao and becomes one of Liu Bei's pursuers.

* GoodIsNotNice: Besides the inevitable aspects of this from being a warlord during this period, he [[spoiler:"returns the favor" from the usurpation of Xuzhou by convincing Cao Cao to execute Lu Bu]], then he was an active participant in [[spoiler:staging the River Tan incident, including lying about his physical condition]], so that [[spoiler:Cai Mao would get in trouble while Liu Bei could (by backing Liu Qi) end up in command of Liu Biao's main army]].

* ObfuscatingStupidity: People think he's a patriotic idiot, but Cao Cao knows better.

-->'''Liu Bei:''' Lu Bu took Xiapi from Xiaopei... [[spoiler:why can't I? Fake a truce, then pay him back when we can![[hottip:*:As Lu Bu is strangled, he realizes that Liu Bei had convinced Cao Cao to execute Lu Bu.]]]]
* TheMessiah: And lately, has been showing traits of a DarkMessiah... not that the populace adoring him notice.

* BigDamnHeroes: He and Zhang Fei once saved Huo when Wen Chou and Yan Liang ganged up on the boy, and in the first Xuzhou campaign he saved Zhang Liao's life even though they were technically still enemies simply because he was moved by Zhang Liao's AFatherToHisMen attitude towards his soldiers.
* GeniusBruiser: Earlier on in the story at least.

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:In Guandu arc, he sides with Cao Cao in the Battle of Baima. When Liu Bei sees him leading the Cao troops, he immediately stops the archer team from firing, leaving Guan Yu free space to off Yan Liang.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: He and Guan Yu once saved Huo when Wen Chou and Yan Liang ganged up on the boy. [[spoiler:At Changban, he appeared just in time to fend off Zhang Liao when Huo had already lost his sword fighting him.]]
* CulturedWarrior: His other identity is a renowned landscape artist[[hottip:*:which is a rather convenient cover for his map-making skills]], and the Eight Geniuses' teacher is a fan of his. Who could have known?

* MakeMeWannaShout: [[spoiler:It doesn't kill anyone at Changban like the novel version (here Xiahou En was killed by Huo), but the emitting force is still awesome enough to intimidate Cao Cao's frontline soldiers.]]

* TokenEvilTeammate: Not nearly as straitlaced righteous as his brothers and comes up with most schemes while they haven't recruited a good advisor.

* BreakThemByTalking: At the White Gate Tower, and that should be enough hint as to whom this speech was directed at.

** CoolHorse: The Red Hare (like you wouldn't know). He even ''talked it over to his side''. And [[http://mangafox.me/manga/the_ravages_of_time/v37/c306/15.html when he first mounted it]], they both '''''[[MundaneMadeAwesome radiated awesomeness]]''''' ([[http://mangafox.me/manga/the_ravages_of_time/v37/c306/17.html really]]). [[spoiler:A throwaway line in chapter 373 reveals that by the time of the Jing succession conflict Red Hare had died of old age but had had offspring.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: Several times.

* CreateYourOwnVillain: Liu Bei talked [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] into surrendering so that a grateful Cao Cao would let Liu Bei near the Emperor, but when , [[spoiler:Zhang Liao]] sticks with Cao Cao and becomes one of Liu Bei's would-be pursuers.

* ChewingTheScenery: Pretty much how he delivers said ArmorPiercingQuestion to Zhang Liao.
* CruelToBeKind: Debuts by pretending to be a henchman of Dong Zhuo who robs people of their fortune, so that they would hate Dong Zhuo, and in return welcome the anti-Dong coalition as their saviors -- which so touched the coalition soldiers that they forgot ''their'' own plan to loot the city.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[spoiler:When he persuades Zhang Liao to surrender to Cao Cao and thus saves his life.]]
* GoodIsDumb: He gets over it.

-->'''Liu Bei:''' Lu Bu took Xiapi from Xiaopei... [[spoiler:why can't I? Fake a truce, then pay him back when we can!]]
* TheMessiah: And lately, has been showing traits of a DarkMessiah. Not that the populace adoring him notice.

** PureAwesomeness: [[spoiler:How he drove ''[[ImplacableMan Sun Ce]]'' away from Cao Cao when the former led a surprise strike against Cao Cao's troops near Shouchun[[hottip:*:Though Sun Ce scapegoats his ''horse'' as the one too intimidated by the sight of Guan Yu atop Red Hare, it doesn't fool Lu Meng]].]]

* OneManArmy: Fights Lu Bu to a standstill twice. Five of Cao Cao's best generals (together) fail to manage it even once.

* WoundedGazelleGambit: [[spoiler:He orchestrated the incident at River Tan to expose Cai Mao's scheme to get rid of Liu Bei in front of Jingzhou's officials.]]

** CoolHorse: The Red Hare (like you wouldn't know). He even ''talked it over to his side''. And [[http://mangafox.me/manga/the_ravages_of_time/v37/c306/15.html when he first mounted it]], they both '''''[[MundaneMadeAwesome radiated awesomeness]]'''''. [[spoiler:A throwaway line in chapter 373 reveals that by the time of the Jing succession conflict Red Hare had died of old age but had had offspring.]]

** CoolHorse: The Red Hare (like you wouldn't know). He even ''talked it over to his side''. And when he first mounted it, they both '''''[[MundaneMadeAwesome radiated awesomeness]]'''''. [[spoiler:A throwaway line in chapter 373 reveals that by the time of the Jing succession conflict Red Hare had died of old age but had offspring.]]
** CurbStompBattle: Of Lu Bu-level curbstomping. Whenever he fights someone not named Lu Bu, expect his opponent to turn HalfTheManHeUsedToBe in one page.

** PureAwesomeness: [[spoiler:How he drove ''[[ImplacableMan Sun Ce]]'' away from Cao Cao when the former led a surprise strike against Cao Cao's troops near Shouchun[[hottip:*:though Sun Ce scapegoats his ''horse'' as the one too intimidated by the sight of Guan Yu atop Red Hare, it doesn't fool Lu Meng]].]]

* HonorBeforeReason
* LawfulGood: Irrefutably so.

* HonorBeforeReason: Then again, he has a good excuse for putting his honor first: he knows that his reputation is about the only thing he has going for him, so most of his decisions are based on how to polish it and not sacrifice it.

** CoolHorse: The Red Hare (like you wouldn't know). He even ''talked it over to his side''. And when he first mounted it, they both '''''[[MundaneMadeAwesome radiated awesomeness]]'''''.

** PureAwesomeness: [[spoiler:How he drove ''[[ImplacableMan Sun Ce]]'' away from Cao Cao when the former led a surprise strike against Cao Cao's troops near Shouchun.]]

** CurbStompBattle: Of Lu Bu-level curbstomping. Whenever he fights (someone not Lu Bu), expect his opponent to turn HalfTheManHeUsedToBe in one page.

** SuperStrength: Can't engage in good ol' fisticuff with Lu Bu without this.
* GeniusBruiser

* ObfuscatingStupidity: Specifically cultivated on his part, and that he doesn't mind being considered a brute doesn't help.

* ''{{Badass}}''

* SpannerInTheWork: [[spoiler:In Guandu arc, he sides with Cao Cao in the Battle of Baima. When Liu Bei sees him leading the Cao troops, he immediately stops the archer team from firing, leaving Guan Yu free space to off Yan Liang.]]

* {{Badass}}

* OneManArmy: On the same level with Lu Bu.

* PureAwesomeness: [[spoiler:How he drove ''Sun Ce'' away from Cao Cao when the former led a surprise strike against Cao Cao's troops near Shouchun.]]

* HundredPercentAdorationRating
* AFatherToHisMen: ...but not much to his own child, whom he considers of lesser importance than his sworn brothers.

* BlueBlood: Claims to have it. Not everyone believes him at first, but eventually nobody cares.

* TheEmpath: ''Very'' good at discerning the personality and the wants and desires of people he come across.
* HonorBeforeReason: Then again, he has a good reason to put his honor first. He knows that his reputation is about the only thing he has going for him, so most of his decisions are based on how to polish it, not sacrifice it.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: People think he's a patriotic idiot. Cao Cao knows better.

* SlaveToPR: Is frequently accused of this by his (more practical) subordinates.

* CulturedWarrior: His other identity is a renowned artist, and the Eight Geniuses' teacher is a fan of his. Who could have known?

* GeniusBruiser

* ObfuscatingStupidity