Lü Meng (pronunciationⓘ) (178 – January or February 220),[a] courtesy name Ziming, was a Chinese military general and politician who served under the warlord Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

[Sanguozhi 4] Lü Meng participated in Sun Quan's conquest of Danyang Commandery (丹楊郡; around present-day Xuancheng, Anhui) and made many contributions in battle.

[Sanguozhi 5] In the spring of 208, Lü Meng was assigned to be the navy commandant when Sun Quan launched a campaign against Huang Zu, the Administrator (太守) of Jiangxia Commandery (present-day eastern Hubei).

After the battle, Sun Quan deemed Lü Meng's contributions to be the most significant because Chen Jiu's death secured their victory.

Sun Quan's forces, led by Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu, pressed on their attack and besieged Cao Ren in Nan Commandery.

[Sanguozhi 7] Around the time, Xi Su (襲肅), a military officer from Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), brought along his men to defect to Sun Quan's side.

Sun Quan's pursuing forces arrived at the blockade and seized about 300 horses left behind by the enemy, which they transported back to their camp on boats.

The morale of Zhou Yu's army improved greatly, so they crossed the Yangtze River, set up a garrison near the enemy base, and then engaged Cao Ren's forces in battle.

Sun Quan's forces captured Nan Commandery and gained control over central Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan).

"[Sanguozhi zhu 2] Lü Meng was so inspired by Sun Quan's words that he began to study diligently and acquire more knowledge.

[Sanguozhi zhu 3] In 210, after Lu Su succeeded Zhou Yu (who died of illness earlier that year) as the frontline commander of Sun Quan's forces, he passed by Lü Meng's garrison on his way to Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day Chibi, Hubei).

[Sanguozhi zhu 6] The Chinese idioms "Ah Meng from Wu" (吳下阿蒙; 吴下阿蒙; wú xià ā méng) and "rub one's eyes and look" (刮目相看; guā mù xiāng kàn) originated from this conversation.

Sun Quan wanted to construct a dock at Ruxu, but his subordinates said, "We should land on the other side of the river and attack the enemy, then return to our ships.

Zhu Guang developed the area for agricultural use, while bribing bandits from Poyang County to cause trouble in Sun Quan's territories.

Lü Meng warned Sun Quan: "The lands in Wan County are very fertile so the enemy's numbers will rise after they gain a bountiful harvest.

[Sanguozhi zhu 8] Lü Meng recommended Gan Ning to lead the assault on Wan County while he followed behind with the elite troops.

Liu Bei returned to Jing Province when he heard of Lü Meng's advances and garrisoned troops at Gong'an County while ordering Guan Yu to lead an army to take back the three commanderies.

At the time, Sun Quan was at Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day Chibi, Hubei) and he sent Lu Su to lead 10,000 troops to Yiyang to block Guan Yu.

[Sanguozhi 17] When Lü Meng pacified Changsha, he passed by Ling County (酃縣; east of present-day Hengyang, Hunan) and met Deng Xuanzhi (鄧玄之), an old friend of Hao Pu.

[Sanguozhi 18] The territorial dispute between Sun Quan and Liu Bei was eventually resolved when both sides agreed to divide Jing Province between their respective domains along the Xiang River.

While retreating, Sun Quan was caught up in a fierce counterattack by Zhang Liao, but managed to break out of the encirclement and reach safety when his officers, including Lü Meng, fought with their lives to protect their lord at all costs.

[Sanguozhi 21] In 217, when Lu Su died, Lü Meng took over command of the former's troops, numbering over 10,000, and moved west to the garrison at Lukou (陸口; at Lushui Lake near present-day Chibi, Hubei).

Lü Meng was aware of Guan Yu's military prowess and his intention of seizing Sun Quan's territories in Jing Province.

He left behind his subordinates Shi Ren and Mi Fang to defend Gong'an County and Nan Commandery (南郡; around present-day Jingzhou, Hubei) respectively.

When Lü Meng heard about that, he wrote to Sun Quan:[Sanguozhi 29] "When Guan Yu went to attack Fancheng, he left behind many backup forces because he was afraid that I would seize the territories in his absence.

"[Sanguozhi 30] Sun Quan agreed to Lü Meng's plan and played along by openly approving his request to return to Jianye for medical treatment.

[Sanguozhi 32] Shi Ren, who was defending Gong'an County, surrendered to Lü Meng after Yu Fan, an official under Sun Quan, persuaded him to do so.

Lü Meng won the hearts of the people by showing kindness towards them – he provided necessities such as food and clothing to the elderly and the poor, and distributed medicine to the sick.

Before Lü Meng died, he had instructed his family to store all their prized possessions – including gifts from Sun Quan – in a vault and return them to his lord after his death.

During the banquet, Guan Yu's spirit suddenly possesses Lü Meng, grabs Sun Quan and shouts, "Green-eyed brat!