Lu Fang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lu Fang (吕方) is a character in the Water Margin.
Lu Fang was also from Tanzhou, just like Jiang Jing. He donned a flowery robe, covered with a suit of fiery-red armour, along with a silk belt and a headdress. He rode on a fiery-red steed as well, and wielded a spear similar to Lu Bu's. Since young, Lu has been an admirer of Lu Bu, and his appearance was similar to Lu Bu, so his was nicknamed the 'Little duke of Wen' (小温侯).
Initially, he made a living by selling medicine, but he made a loss in Shandong and had no money to return home. Thus, Lu Fang became a bandit on Duiying Mountain. Guo Sheng heard about Lu's reputation as a mighty warrior and challenged Lu to a duel. Both of them duelled for more than ten days but neither emerged the winner.
After Song Jiang and Hua Rong had conquered Qingfeng Fort and were on their way back to Liangshan, they passed by Duiying Mountain. At that time, Lu Fang and Guo Sheng were duelling and their spears were caught together. Hua Rong fired an arrow which separated the spears and everyone cheered. Lu and Guo stopped duelling and came to pay their respects to Song Jiang. In the end, Song managed to persuade Lu and Guo to join the Liangshan band.
Lu Fang became one of the leaders of the Liangshan cavalry and 72 Earthly Fiends. Both Lu Fang and Guo Sheng had protected Song Jiang from danger many times before, making great contributions. After Song Jiang had obtained amnesty from the emperor, Lu Fang followed the heroes on their campaigns. During the Fang La campaign, Lu Fang was assigned to attack Wulong Ridge. He fought with Bai Qin fiercely but neither won. Then, both men discarded their weapons and fought with their bare hands. In the end, both men exerted too much strength and rolled down the slope to their deaths.
