Xu province changed hands among Liu Bei, Lü Bu, and Yuan Shu. The Records have borrowed troops, raids, and Liu Bei driven out by Lü Bu and turning to Cao Cao. The causes are grain and cities, not one perfect letter.
The novel gathers one quarrel into “driving the tiger to swallow the wolf”: Liu Bei provokes both beasts and profits. It serves the cunning the novel wants for him, and it competes with Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang. As history it is cleaner marked romance. The city is Xiapi. The men are Lü Bu and Liu Bei.