Records of the Three Kingdoms
Lü Bu, courtesy name Fengxian, was from Jiuyuan in Wuyuan. He was famous for courage and called the flying general. He began as a clerk of Ding Yuan, inspector of Bing Province. Dong Zhuo induced him to kill Ding Yuan, adopted him, and gave him the household troops.
In 192 Minister Wang Yun plotted with him, and Lü Bu stabbed Dong Zhuo with his own hand. Dong Zhuo had thrown a hand-halberd at him over a small matter, and Lü Bu was also uneasy because he had an affair with one of Dong Zhuo’s maids. The maid is not named.
After Dong Zhuo’s death, Lü Bu and Wang Yun could not control Li Jue and Guo Si, and Lü Bu left Chang’an. He changed masters repeatedly, held Xu Province for a time, and fought Liu Bei. In 198 Cao Cao besieged Xiapi and flooded it from the Yi and Si. Lü Bu’s own men bound him and brought him out. He asked to live. Cao Cao hesitated. Liu Bei mentioned Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao had Lü Bu strangled.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The novel uses Diaochan, the chained plots, and the Phoenix Pavilion to explain why he killed Dong Zhuo. The unnamed maid becomes a person with a name. An assassination becomes love and jealousy.
The three heroes against Lü Bu, the halberd shot at the camp gate, and the White Gate Tower are his three set pieces. On the tower he still wants to live. One sentence from Liu Bei costs him his life. The novel does not slander his changes of side. What it turns into a love plot is the maid who had no name.
Reference: Wikipedia · Lü Bu