Zhuge Liang commanded him to make 3000 steel swords at Xiegu. Pu felt the water of the nearby River Han was "dull" and thus not suitable for quenching, so he sent a soldier off to Chengdu to fetch him some of the "brisk" water of the River Shu.
有一次諸葛亮命他在斜谷造鋼刀三千把，蒲元嫌漢水的水質「鈍弱」，不適宜淬火之用，就派人到成都，取來「爽烈」的蜀江水。