Zhang Lu

Zhang Lu (onyomi: Chō Ro) was formerly the ruler of his own kingdom in Hanzhong, but surrendered to Cao Cao at 215. Having rebelled to refuse service under Liu Zhang, and Zhang Lu remained in Hanzhong. Under his rule, Hanzhong prospered, having roads and checkpoints around the territory and an elite army also blessed with natural barriers. His people supported him so much that on one occasion, they presented him with a jewelled seal and implored Zhang Lu to become emperor.

Zhang Lu's grandfather was Zhang Daoling, the founder of the "Way of the Five Pecks of Rice", also known as "The Celestial Masters", a Chinese Daoist movement.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms downplays Zhang Lu's role in history, and he is portrayed as a greedy individual who is unable to properly use great generals such as Ma Chao or Pang De, and whose rule is plagued by Yang Song's corruption.

Dynasty Warriors
Zhang Lu first appears in Dynasty Warriors 4 in the Shu, Wei, and Wu tales mission "Return Of The Yellow Turbans". Zhang Jiao requests assistance from Zhang Lu who arrives to meet with Zhang Jiao at an altar to prepare a spell to turn a respective warlord's entire army against him, including their own officers. The player must annihilate all of Zhang Lu's forces before he reaches Zhang Jiao to stop this from happening. Zhang Lu is an illusion and cannot be killed until his forces are destroyed.

There are two battles in Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends focused on Zhang Lu: The Battle of Jia Meng Gate and the battle of Yang Ping Gate. At Jia Meng Gate Zhuge Liang outwits Zhang Lu by cutting off Zhang Lu's reinforcement routes and the player character convinces Ma Chao to join Shu. At the Battle of Yang Ping Gate Cao Cao's forces make their way towards Zhang Lu's fortress by seeing through his sorcery, Shu arrives as enemy reinforcements for Zhang Lu, as well as Pang De, who guards the gate to Zhang Lu's fortress. Upon victory Cao Cao seizes control of Han Zhong.

Dynasty Warriors 6 has Zhang Lu appear as an enemy in Shu's Hanzhong battle. He is also a lieutenant under Sima Yi during the Wu Zhang Plains battle.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Zhang Lu is the enemy commander at Yangping Gate. He uses his magic to heal the peasant soldiers who fight against Cao Cao's troops, with the peasants stating that their wounds will be healed in no time thanks to Zhang Lu. Eventually, he is killed by Xiahou Yuan.

Zhang Lu's defeat by Cao Cao is only mentioned during the narration of Wei's story in Dynasty Warriors 8. He further appears at the Wuzhang Plains in Shu's story and at Runan in Wu's hypothetical path, serving the Wei forces in both battles. The DLC version of Yangping Gate allows players to fight against him or side with his forces.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, Zhang Lu appears in one of Wei's hypothetical stages where he, Liu Zhang, and the forces from Xiliang band together to invade Chang'an. His contribution to this battle is healing up his peasant troops together with Zhang Wei until their sorcery is thwarted by Jia Xu's insight. He also participates as an enemy officer in Wu's strategist tournament.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Romance of the Three Kingdoms has him appear as the ruler of Hanzhong in most scenarios. He has above average intelligence and politics, as well as very high charisma. His strength in battle is fairly low, on the other hand. His skill in the eleventh installment increases the food harvest per season, likely based on his Five Pecks of Rice movement.

The Power-Up Kit features a challenge scenario of the battle of Yangping Gate. Once the pass is conquered, Zhang Lu will surrender Hanzhong to Cao Cao.

Voice Actors

 * Matthew Mercer - Dynasty Warriors 7 (English-uncredited)
 * Richard Epcar - Dynasty Tactics 2 (English-uncredited)
 * Osamu Ryutani - Dynasty Warriors 4 (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "You have no hope of defeating me!"
 * "My people look up to me, they need me... I must fight on!"

Historical Information
Zhang Lu was the grandson of Zhang Daoling, the founder of a religious group called "Celestial Masters". Upon the death of his father Zhang Heng, Zhang Lu became its leader. This was during the time when the Celestial Masters were in conflict with another shamanistic group in Hanzhong led by Zhang Xiu. During the early 190's, the governor of Yi Province, Liu Yan, ordered the two groups to stop fighting and instead attack the Han forces in Hanzhong. Before going to battle, Zhang Lu killed Zhang Xiu and absorbed his forces and religious followers. He went to attack Hanzhong and defeated the Han general Su Gu, taking over the region and renaming it to Han'ning. He ruled over the region by the principles of his religion, but did not stop to follow Liu Yan's orders. However, when Liu Zhang succeeded Liu Yan, Zhang Lu did not follow his orders, leading to many of his family members, including his mother, to be executed. Zhang Lu's rule over Hanzhong was said to be very humane, for instance he would distribute the taxes to the common people and build roads with rest stops that were free of charge. He also built a strong defense, preventing the likes of Li Jue from attacking his territory. The Han government eventually recognized his authority and he was made Governor of Han'ning and became a general. The common people presented him a jeweled seal, which was a sign from heaven to become king. Although many of his generals urged him to become king, his advisor Yan Pu advised against it, stating that it would cause much disaster. Zhang Lu heeded his advice and refused to become king.

In 211, Cao Cao's advisor Zhong Yao proposed an attack on Hanzhong. Cao Cao marched his troops to the west, but the warlords Han Sui and Ma Chao of Liang Province interpreted it as an attack on their own territory and rebelled, causing the execution of Ma Teng. Cao Cao eventually defeated Ma Chao, who then fled to Zhang Lu and Zhang Lu considered to marry his daughter to him. However, his servant Yang Bo advised against it, saying "A man like that, who has no love for even his parents, cannot love another". Zhang Lu abandoned his plan. Ma Chao then borrowed troops from Zhang Lu and attacked Cao Cao, but was defeated, causing the ties between Ma Chao and Zhang Lu to deteriorate. When Liu Bei attack Liu Zhang in Chengdu, Ma Chao chose to leave Zhang Lu. His subordinate Pang De stayed with Zhang Lu.

Finally, in 215, Cao Cao invaded Hanzhong. Zhang Lu initially wanted to surrender, but his younger brother Zhang Wei insisted on fighting. Zhang Wei was soon killed at Yangping Gate and Zhang Lu again wanted to surrender, but Yan Pu urged him to instead retreat to his fortress Bazhong in order to gain a better position when negotiating surrender. Zhang Lu agreed and moved to Bazhong, leaving his wealth and treasures behind, saying "These things belong to the country, not to me". When Cao Cao entered Hanzhong, he was greatly impressed by this act and sent a messenger to Bazhong to ask Zhang Lu to surrender. Yan Pu thus succeeded in his plan and Zhang Lu agreed to surrender. Cao Cao gave him a warm welcome and appointed him General who Suppresses the South and granted his sons the rank of marquis. Zhang Lu also married his daughter to Cao Cao's son Cao Yu. Cao Cao turned Ma Chao's oldest son Ma Qiu, who was captured by his forces, over to Zhang Lu, who promptly executed him for Ma Chao's betrayal. One year later, Zhang Lu died and was created a marquis by Cao Cao. His son Zhang Fu continued the "Five Pecks of Rice" religion, which later evolved to the Taoist "Zhengyi Dao" religion.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Zhang Lu strongly craved the title of King of Han'ning and aggressively tried to expand his territory. He tried to attack Liu Zhang and invade Yi Province, but he was stopped eventually. When Ma Chao left his army, he sent Yang Bo as a spy, but Yang Bo was killed when Ma Chao joined Liu Bei. His other actions are the same as in historical records.