a feast for Liu Bei and called Liu his "younger brother". Liu Bei knew that Lü Bu was unpredictable and untrustworthy, but he kept quiet and pretended to be friendly towards Lü Bu. When Liu Bei was governing Xu Province, he was stationed in the provincial capital Xiapi and he drew boundaries with Yuan Shu in the areas around the Huai River. When Yuan Shu learnt that Lü Bu was in Xu Province, he wanted to instigate Lü Bu to help him deal with Liu Bei, so he wrote to Lü Bu: "In the past, Dong Zhuo monopolised state power, harmed the imperial family, and murdered my family. I participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo but did not manage to kill him. You slew Dong Zhuo and sent me his head. In doing so, you helped me take revenge and salvage my reputation. This was the first favour you did me. When Jin Yuanxiu (金元休) was heading to Yan Province to assume office, Cao Cao defeated and nearly drove him to the point of destruction. Later, you attacked Cao Cao in Yan Province and helped me regain my reputation. This was the second favour you did me. Throughout my life, I have never heard of the existence of Liu Bei, but he started a war with me. With your mighty spirit, you are capable of defeating Liu Bei, and this will be the third favour you do me. With these three favours you did me, I am willing to entrust matters of life and death to you even though I may not be worthy. You have been fighting battles for a long time and you lack food supplies. I hereby send you 200,000 hu (斛) of grain and open my doors to you. If they are insufficient, I will continue to provide you a steady flow of supplies. If you need weapons and military equipment, just ask." Lü Bu was delighted and he agreed to help Yuan Shu attack Xiapi. The contents of Yuan Shu's letter, as recorded in the Houhanshu, were slightly different and briefer as compared to that recorded in the Sanguozhi. Lü Bu led his forces to some 40 li west of Xiapi. Xu Dan (許耽), who was from Danyang (丹楊) and was serving as a General of the Household (中郎將) under Liu Bei, sent Zhang Kuang (章誑) to meet Lü Bu at night. Zhang Kuang