Zhang Liang

Zhang Liang (onyomi: Chō Ryō) was the brother of Zhang Jiao and the younger brother of Zhang Bao. He was said to be an able general and is the grandson of the founder of the Tianshi (Celestial Masters) Sect of Taoism, Zhang Daoling.

Dynasty Warriors
He has appeared in all games in the Dynasty Warriors series to date as a strategist along his older brother. In Dynasty Warriors 2, he created winds to impede the enemy forces. During the third installment, he freezes the northern river to allow Zhang Jiao's main force to directly attack. In Dynasty Warriors 5, he creates tornadoes to directly halt Cao Cao's advance.

In his brother's Musou Mode, he assists by initiating a giant rock slide against Dong Zhuo's forces. He then helped his brothers create a tornado to prevent the advance of Yuan Shao's forces and to convert Nanman troops to the way of peace.

Dynasty Warriors 6 has Zhang Liang summon exploding phantoms once the Han forces approach the altar. Defeating him will stop the phantoms. He also appears during Lu Bu's Musou Mode, where he is resurrected with his brothers to halt Lu Bu at Mt. Ding Jun. He also opposes Lu Bu with his brothers in the former's final stage at Hu Lao Gate.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Zhang Liang is the first of the three brothers to face at the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He causes a rock slide when the Han forces approach his position.

Zhang Liang is found on the eastern route of the map in Dynasty Warriors 8. With his magic, he causes a rain of ice that gradually depletes the health of any Han soldiers who run into it. If Zhang Bao is defeated, he will give up his position to avenge his brother. In Shu's story, the player has the option to let Zhang Jiao live by rescuing the peasants in the center of the map. If the player chooses to do so, Zhang Liang will arrive with his brothers as reinforcements in the hypothetical version of Fan Castle to fight the Wu army.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, Zhang Liang will be engaged with Huangfu Song's forces. When the player arrives, Zhang Liang will summon phantom doubles of himself to help fight against the imperial forces. If Bo Cai was defeated beforehand, Cao Cao's forces may also arrive to help fight Zhang Liang's doubles.

Warriors Orochi
In Warriors Orochi, Zhang Liang serves as Zhang Jiao's replacement officer during the Battle of Si Shui Gate in the Samurai storyline. He also acts as a substitute for Musashi during the sequel.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Zhang Liang is a decent general in Romance of the Three Kingdoms with high battle stats and charisma, as well as above-average intelligence. He usually commands the southern portion of the Yellow Turban army in the respective scenario. His skill in the eleventh game enables him to use the stragey Sorcery, a costly high risk strategy that can either confuse or misinform multiple units at once.

Voice Actors

 * Michael Forest - Dynasty Warriors 4 (English-uncredited)
 * Kenji Nojima - Dynasty Warriors 7 (Japanese)
 * Moriya Endo - Dynasty Warriors series (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "You heretics! None shall pass here!"
 * "Behold! Haa!"
 * "Excellent. I shall now punish those that defy the heavens!"
 * "Spirits of the east! Rise and join our battle for freedom!"
 * "Heavens! Save the children of the Yellow Turban! Strike down those that do us harm!"

Historical Information
Zhang Liang was born in Julu, Ji Province. He was the younger brother of Zhang Jiao and possibly Zhang Bao, although there are sources which state that Zhang Liang was actually older than Zhang Bao. In the 170's, Zhang Jiao founded his religious sect "Way of Peace" and named himself "Great Teacher", whereas Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang were known as "Great Healers". The popularity of this movement increased greatly and in the early 180's, it had about 360.000 followers.

In spring of 184, Zhang Jiao started the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Zhang Liang became the "Lord of Man". Despite some early successes, the Yellow Turban forces started to lose ground. Zhang Jiao himself fought general Lu Zhi, but lost many troops and retreated to Guangzong, where he caught an illness. Lu Zhi was sent back to Luoyang after being slandered by the eunuch Zuo Feng and was replaced by Dong Zhuo. Zhang Liang took over Zhang Jiao's troops after the latter's death and stationed himself in a stronghold, where he held out against Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was unable to make any gains and was replaced by Huangfu Song.

In September 184, Zhang Liang clashed with Huangfu Song's men and fought bravely. His troops' morale was high after the victory against Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song withdrew. After having closed the gates of his camp to give his men some rest, Huangfu Song saw an opportunity as Zhang Liang started to let down his guard. At night, he started a surprise attack against Zhang Liang. They fought until the next day and Zhang Liang's forces were annihilated. Zhang Liang himself was killed in battle, his head was cut off and sent to Luoyang. His remaining soldiers were either killed or drowned at the Yellow River.

The Julu Brothers
Zhang Liang was the youngest of his siblings, which included Zhang Bao, the middle brother, and Zhang Jue, the eldest. After Zhang Jiao became proficient in the arts of magic, he taught his brothers what he knew, and in time, Zhang Liang himself could summon the wind and invoke the rain, and was just as knowledgeable in the arts as his brothers. As time passed, Zhang Jue began to accumulate a large following, who were versed in the mystical arts as well. The following was named the Yellow Turbans.

Later Zhang Jue asked his brothers after the Yellow Turbans had amassed strength, "Popular support is the hardest thing to win. Today the people favor us. Why waste this chance to seize the realm for ourselves?" All three siblings agreed in moving against the Han, and so they had yellow banners made in preparation for the upcoming rebellion.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion
Before the rebellion's set date arrived, the Han court found out about the Yellow Turbans, so the brothers prematurely marched. Zhang Liang was titled General of People by his eldest sibling, and set off with Zhang Bao to Yingchuan. Wherever the armies marched, government troops scattered without giving battle, but when they arrived at Yingchuan, a massive army led by Han Generals Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun met them. After a brief skirmish with the government forces, Zhang Liang led his army back to Changshe in retreat, and set up camp there.

On the same night, Zhang Liang along with his brother noticed a fire at one side of the encampment. The fire quickly spread, and the forces there were ambushed by the same army of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun. Unable to offer any resistance, Zhang Liang gathered what he could of his men and fled with his brother. During the escape, Zhang Liang ran into a new regiment of soldiers with flying flags of red. They were led by a Han Cavalry General, Cao Cao. At this point the Yellow Turbans were surrounded at all side, yet Zhang Liang led his men straight through Cao Cao's ranks and was able to cut a path. He and Zhang Bao then split to fight the government battalions on different fronts. The latter brother took ninety thousand to remain at Yingchuan, and Zhang Liang took a smaller amount to aid Zhang Jue at a fight in Quyuang.

Zhang Liang had arrived at Quyang to discover that Zhang Jue had been killed mid-battle, and now the regiment was without a commander. So, he took over the army as commander and continued fighting the imperial army commanded by Huangfu Song. Zhang Liang lost each of his seven successive battles and fled back to Quyang. Huangfu Song, however, had caught up with him and killed Zhang Liang. Zhang Bao suffered a similar end, and the Rebellion itself ended a year later.