To attend a potentially dangerous meeting or negotiation alone, showing great courage, wisdom, and resourcefulness; to go single-handedly to a difficult or perilous assignment.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Antonym:
Story:
In 215 AD, after Liu Bei conquered Yizhou, Sun Quan dispatched Zhuge Jin to demand the return of Jingzhou from Liu Bei. Liu Bei refused, which deeply angered Sun Quan. Consequently, Sun Quan sent Lu Meng to lead troops to capture the three commanderies of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang. The Shu generals in Changsha and Guiyang promptly surrendered.
Upon learning of this, Liu Bei personally hastened from Chengdu to Gong'an (present-day Gong'an, Hubei) and ordered General Guan Yu to retake the three commanderies. Sun Quan, in turn, advanced to Lukou and stationed Lu Su in Yiyang to counter Guan Yu. Tensions escalated, pushing the Sun-Liu alliance to the brink of collapse.
At this critical moment, Lu Su, aiming to preserve the alliance and prevent Cao Cao from taking advantage, decided to meet Guan Yu in person for talks. He proposed, "Lu Su invited Guan Yu for a meeting, with both sides keeping their main forces a hundred paces away, and only the generals would attend, each bringing a single sword." Through their discussion, the tense situation was alleviated. Subsequently, Sun Quan and Liu Bei agreed to divide Jingzhou equally, "with the Xiang River as the boundary, and then disbanded their armies," thus allowing the Sun-Liu alliance to be maintained.