三英战吕布

English (for the teacher)

When Dong Zhuo heard that Hua Xiong was dead, he led a hundred and fifty thousand men to Hulao Pass himself, and had Lü Bu hold the ground in front of the pass with thirty thousand, waiting for the lords to attack.

What kind of man was Lü Bu? He wore a golden crown and a red robe, held a crescent-bladed halberd in his hand, and rode a fine horse called Red Hare. The horse was red all over, like a ball of fire; it could run a thousand li in a day and went up mountains and through rivers as if on flat ground. When Lü Bu rode out in front of the pass on it, everyone who saw him felt a little afraid.

The lords sent eight forces against Lü Bu. The first general charged and was run through by Lü Bu's halberd within a few blows; the second was speared off his horse the same way; the third was badly wounded and nearly lost his life. Only when all eight forces charged together did they get him back. Cao Cao said: "Lü Bu is too strong; no one can beat him one against one. We must find a way together. Once we've caught Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo will be easy to deal with."

The next day Lü Bu came out to the battle lines again. Liu Bei's old classmate rode out to fight him himself, lost after a few blows, turned his horse and fled. Red Hare was so fast it caught up in no time, and Lü Bu's halberd was about to pierce his back.

"Slave of three surnames, don't run! Zhang Fei of Yan is here!" A great roar suddenly came from one side. Lü Bu was born a Lü; he took one man as his adoptive father, then killed that adoptive father with his own hands for Dong Zhuo's gift of Red Hare and gold and silver, and took Dong Zhuo as his adoptive father instead, which was why Zhang Fei called him "a slave with three surnames."

Lü Bu left Liu Bei's old classmate and went to fight Zhang Fei. The two of them fought more than fifty rounds, and neither could beat the other. Seeing that Zhang Fei couldn't win quickly, Guan Yu rode up whirling his great blade and joined Zhang Fei against Lü Bu. The three horses wheeled round and round for another thirty rounds, and Lü Bu was still not the least bit flustered.

When Liu Bei saw this, he took up his two swords and rode in too. The three of them surrounded Lü Bu and fought him in circles. The soldiers of both sides stood watching from afar, so stunned they even forgot to shout.

One against three, Lü Bu was finally starting to tire. He feinted a thrust at Liu Bei's face, and as Liu Bei dodged, Lü Bu burst out through the gap, dragging his halberd, and galloped on Red Hare back toward the pass. The three brothers had no intention of letting him escape and chased close behind.

When they reached the foot of the pass, Zhang Fei looked up and saw a big blue-green parasol fluttering in the wind on top of it. He shouted: "That must be Dong Zhuo! What use is catching Lü Bu? Better to catch Dong Zhuo first!" He was about to ride up to the pass, but arrows and stones came down from it like rain, and the three brothers had to fall back.

Later, whenever people talked about this battle, they would say: "Among men, Lü Bu; among horses, Red Hare." That is: the most formidable of men was Lü Bu, and the best of horses was Red Hare. One man fighting three and still getting away safe and sound: how many men like that are there under heaven?

Sadly, the lords were not united. Before long they started quarrelling over their own interests, and in the end they each took their troops and went home. And the one who grew stronger step by step out of all this chaos was the man who had poured the hot wine for Guan Yu: Cao Cao.