Lei Xu, alternatively Lei Pu or Lei Bo, (died 209) was a military officer and rebel who was mainly active in the 200s in
China. Initially loyal to
warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...
, Lei Xu abandoned his master when the latter's regime collapsed, becoming an independent bandit. In 200, he accepted the authority of
Liu Fu, an official loyal to
Cao Cao, but rebelled again in 208. In the following year, he was killed by Cao Cao's general
Xiahou Yuan
Xiahou Yuan () (died 219), courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China (in parts of present-day G ...
.
Biography
Lei Xu (then called Lei Pu) was first recorded as an officer serving under
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189 ...
, a
warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
active during the
end of the Han dynasty. Yuan Shu had declared himself "emperor of Zhong" in 197, resulting in a coalition of other warlords
taking up arms against him. The "Zhong" regime quickly collapsed, and Yuan Shu fled his capital in 199. He travelled to the hills of
Lujiang
Lujiang County () is a county of Anhui Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei, the capital of Anhui. It is the southernmost county-level division
The administrative divisions of China ...
which were controlled by Lei Xu and another officer,
Chen Lan. However, the two refused to accept their former superior, and drove him away.
By 200, Lei Xu, Chen Lan, and Mei Cheng were operating as bandits from Lujiang, using their dissident armies to plunder the area between the
Yangzi
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
and
Huai River
The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to ea ...
.
Cao Cao, a powerful warlord who held the lands to the north, sought to restore some order to the region. He sent
Liu Fu to become the inspector of
Yang Province
Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''.
Name
There are four different theories regarding the origin of t ...
, and Liu managed to convince Lei Xu, Chen Lan, and Mei Cheng to submit.
In 208, Cao Cao suffered a maor defeat in the
Battle of Red Cliffs at the hands of three rival warlords,
Sun Quan,
Liu Bei
Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a warlord in the late Eastern Han dynasty who founded the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period and became its first ruler. Although he was a distant relative of the ...
, and
Liu Qi. In addition, Liu Fu died around 209. These events caused Lei Xu, Chen Lan, and Mei Cheng to rebel once more. Cao Cao responded by sending one of his generals,
Xiahou Yuan
Xiahou Yuan () (died 219), courtesy name Miaocai, was a Chinese military general and politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known for his exploits in western China (in parts of present-day G ...
, who defeated Lei Xu and evicted him from Lujiang. However, the rebel leader survived and still commanded a sizable force of followers; he fled westward and submitted to Liu Bei. The ''
Records of the Three Kingdoms'' reported that Lei then settled in
Jing Province with tens of thousands of followers, but
sinologist Rafe de Crespigny considers these numbers to be an exaggeration. Despite his escape, Lei found only temporary respite, and was killed by Xiahou Yuan around 209.
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
Notes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lei, Xu
Year of birth unknown
2nd-century births
209 deaths
Han dynasty people killed in battle