During the spring and autumn period (chūn qiū 春秋时期,770-476 BC), the state of wu launched an attack against the state of yue. The king of wu was seriously wounded and soon died. His son fu chai became the new king. Fu was determined to revenge. He drilled his army rigidly until it was a perfect fighting force. Three years later, he led his army against the state of yue and caught its king gou jian. Fu took him to the state of wu. In order to avenge his father's death, fu let him live in a shabby stone house by his father's tomb and ordered him to raise horses for him.

Lv Meng (lǚ méng 吕蒙) was a general of Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period (sān guó 三国时代,220-280AD). He was born in such a poor family that he did not get any chance to go to the school when he was a child. However, there was still less time for reading when he served in the army after he grew up.