After three months, the morale of Lü Bu's army fell drastically and his men gradually alienated him.
[1] Around this time, Hou Cheng sent a trader to purchase 15 horses, but the man escaped with the horses and headed towards Xiaopei (小沛; present-day Pei County, Jiangsu) with the intention of defecting to Liu Bei.
Lü Bu's officers then threw a feast to celebrate Hou Cheng's achievement.
Lü Bu was furious and he said, "I banned alcohol, but you and the others dare to throw a party!
On 7 February 199,[a] Hou Cheng, along with his colleagues Song Xian (宋憲) and Wei Xu (魏續), captured Lü Bu's strategist Chen Gong and general Gao Shun, and led their troops to surrender to Cao Cao.