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Zhang Lu, whose birth and death dates are unknown, courtesy name Gongqi, was a native of Feng County, Pei State (present-day Feng County, Jiangsu Province). He was a warlord who seized power during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the leader of the Way of the Celestial Masters (also known as the "Way of the Five Pecks of Rice"), the grandson of Zhang Ling, the founder of the Way of the Celestial Masters, and the third Celestial Master of the Way of the Celestial Masters. Later generations of Taoist followers revered him as their lineage master.

In the second year of the reign of Emperor Xian of Han (191 AD), Zhang Lu served as the Chief Military Advisor to Liu Yan, the Governor of Yi Province. He led his followers to capture Hanzhong Commandery (present-day Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province) and was known as Master Jun.

After Liu Yan's death, his son Liu Zhang succeeded him. Zhang Lu was dissatisfied with Liu Zhang's incompetence and weakness, and refused to obey him. Subsequently, Liu Zhang sent troops to attack Zhang Lu several times, but was defeated each time.

Zhang Lu later seized Ba Commandery (present-day Chongqing and parts of Sichuan Province). Thereafter, Zhang Lu called himself "Master-Lord" in his territory, governed using the Way of the Celestial Masters, and society was stable, attracting many people from various regions to migrate there.

The imperial court found it difficult to subdue Zhang Lu, so it appointed him as the General of the Garrison and concurrently the Prefect of Hanning Commandery (present-day Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province). As a result, the regime established by Zhang Lu was able to maintain itself in the Ba Commandery and Hanzhong region for nearly thirty years.

In the 20th year of Jian'an (215 AD), Cao Cao attacked Hanzhong and defeated Zhang Lu's defense line at Yangping Pass. To avoid the war, Zhang Lu fled to the Bazhong region and later surrendered to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao then appointed Zhang Lu as General Who Guards the South, enfeoffed him as Marquis of Langzhong, granted him a fief of ten thousand households, and brought him back to live in the Central Plains.

Zhang Lu's five sons, along with Yan Pu and others, were granted the title of Marquis. His daughter married Cao Yu, the son of Cao Cao. After Zhang Lu's death, he was given the posthumous title "Yuan," and his son Zhang Fu inherited his title.

In the first year of the Zhida era of Emperor Wuzong of Yuan (1308 AD), Zhang Lu was posthumously honored as "Zhengyi Master Taiqing Zhaohua Guangde Zhenjun".

During his rule over the Ba-Han region, Zhang Lu established a theocratic regime. While stabilizing the social situation, he also further promoted the Five Pecks of Rice sect, laying an important foundation for its development into a nationwide religion.

Chen Shou, a historian of the Western Jin Dynasty, believed that Zhang Lu's surrender to Cao Cao at a critical moment, which avoided the disaster of destruction and allowed him to enter the ranks of meritorious officials, was a wise move.

Hao Jing, a politician in the early Yuan Dynasty, believed that Zhang Lu's willingness to surrender when he was not capable, thus preventing the people from suffering the ravages of war, was commendable.

Wang Fuzhi, a thinker from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, believed that Zhang Lu was able to escape death despite spreading "heretical doctrines" because he controlled a region but did not declare himself king, demonstrating the wisdom to protect himself.

Zhang Lu was from Feng County, Pei State (present-day Feng County, Jiangsu Province), and is said to be a descendant of Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu of the Han Dynasty.

Zhang Lu's grandfather, Zhang Ling, lived in Shu during the reign of Emperor Shun of Han. He studied Taoism at Huming Mountain and founded the Celestial Masters sect by forging Taoist books to deceive the people.

Because those who join the Dao are required to pay five pecks of rice, the Celestial Masters Dao is also known as the "Five Pecks of Rice Dao".

Zhang Ling then passed on his teachings to his son, Zhang Heng. After Zhang Heng's death, Zhang Lu inherited his father's mantle and continued to spread the teachings.

At that time, Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, moved his capital from Luoxian (now Guanghan City, Sichuan Province) to Mianzhu (now Deyang City, Sichuan Province). Zhang Lu's mother happened to be spreading the Five Pecks of Rice sect in the Mianzhu area.

Zhang's mother was beautiful and knowledgeable about ghosts and spirits, and often associated with Liu Yan. As a result, Liu Yan appointed Zhang Lu as the Inspector General of Righteousness and sent him and Zhang Xiu, another Inspector General, to lead troops to attack and kill Su Gu, the governor of Hanzhong Commandery (now Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province), while cutting off the Xiegu Road and killing the envoy sent by the court.

After occupying Hanzhong, Zhang Lu killed Zhang Xiu, seized his troops, and further consolidated his power.

In the first year of Xingping (194 AD), Liu Yan passed away, and his son Liu Zhang succeeded him. Zhang Lu believed that Liu Zhang was incompetent and weak, and no longer obeyed his orders.

Enraged, Liu Zhang killed Zhang Lu's mother and younger brother, and sent generals Pang Xi and others to attack Zhang Lu, but they were all defeated by Zhang Lu.

Since Zhang Lu's troops were mostly from Ba Commandery, Liu Zhang appointed Pang Xi as the governor of Ba Commandery to lead troops to resist Zhang Lu.

Zhang Lu then seized Ba Commandery. He used the Five Pecks of Rice sect to educate the people, established a theocratic regime, stabilized the social situation, and then dominated the Ba Commandery and Hanzhong region for nearly thirty years.

In his territory, Zhang Lu called himself "Master-Lord" and used the ways of the supernatural to educate the local people.

Those who went to learn the Way from Zhang Lu were called "ghost soldiers," while those who were already convinced of Zhang Lu's Way were called "priests." Each of these priests had followers under their command.

The one who led the most believers was called the "Chief Priest." The priests taught their followers to be honest and trustworthy, and forbade deception and illegal activities.

They asked the sick to repent for their personal faults and then pray for them; the priests also built charitable houses along the roadside, which were similar to the post stations set up by the government on the road, where rice and meat were hung and provided free of charge to travelers.

Those who consume food should eat until they are full; if they eat too much, the spirits will make them sick.
Christians who break the law have three chances to be pardoned, but those who do not change their ways will be punished.
Furthermore, since Zhang Lu did not appoint county officials or chief clerks within his territory, but instead used a libationer to govern all affairs and government, both the Han people and ethnic minorities were happy to accept this and trusted him greatly.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the court, finding it difficult to subdue Zhang Lu, sent an envoy to Yizhou (present-day Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou, and most of Hanzhong) to appoint him as General of the Garrison and concurrently Prefect of Hanning Commandery (present-day Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province), allowing him to pay tribute to the court.

In 211 AD, the sixteenth year of the Jian'an era, Ma Chao and Han Sui rebelled against the imperial court, and Cao Cao personally led an army to suppress them. During this period, tens of thousands of households from Guanzhong fled through the Ziwu Valley to Hanzhong to seek refuge with Zhang Lu.

At this time, someone dug up a jade seal from the ground, and his men wanted to use it to honor Zhang Lu as the King of Hanning.

At this time, Zhang Lu's chief clerk Yan Pu advised: "The population of the Han River basin has exceeded 100,000 households. Not only is the land fertile and the produce plentiful, but it is also surrounded by strategic terrain that can serve as a barrier."

With such advantages, Zhang Lu could either follow the best strategy of supporting the emperor and becoming a powerful ruler like Duke Huan of Qi or Duke Wen of Jin, or, like Dou Rong, submit to the court and retain his wealth and status.

Now, Zhang Lu, acting on the emperor's decree, is here to appoint and dismiss officials, issue orders, and wield absolute power.

If he hastily declared himself king, he would surely be the first to suffer disaster. Zhang Lu adopted Yan Pu's advice.

In the 20th year of Jian'an (215 AD), Cao Cao led his troops from Sanguan (present-day Baoji City, Shaanxi Province) out of Wudu (present-day Longnan City, Gansu Province) to attack Zhang Lu, and drove straight into Yangping Pass.

Zhang Lu wanted to surrender Hanzhong, but his younger brother Zhang Wei disagreed and led tens of thousands of troops to defend Yangping Pass. Later, Zhang Wei's defenses were breached by Cao Cao, and Zhang Wei fled south to Shu.

Upon hearing that Yangping Pass had fallen, Zhang Lu once again considered surrendering. Yan Pu advised Zhang Lu that surrendering now out of urgency would yield little merit;
It would be better to temporarily go to Bazhong and rely on Du Huo, then join forces with Pu Hu to resist the enemy. Afterwards, we can send hostages, present gifts, and submit to the emperor. The merit would certainly be greater.

So Zhang Lu led his troops through the southern mountains and fled to the Ba ethnic minority area to the south. When Zhang Lu fled, his men wanted to burn all the treasures in the warehouses. Zhang Lu, however, claimed that he had always wanted to submit to the imperial court, but his wish had not been fulfilled.

I fled today only to avoid the army's advance; I had no malicious intent. The warehouses and treasures should rightfully belong to the state.

Zhang Lu then sealed up all the warehouses before leaving. After Cao Cao entered Nanzheng, he obtained all the treasures from Zhang Lu's treasury and greatly praised Zhang Lu's actions.

Since Zhang Lu already harbored a desire to surrender, Cao Cao sent someone to comfort him and put his mind at ease. Zhang Lu immediately led his family to welcome Cao Cao and surrendered.

Cao Cao then appointed Zhang Lu as General Who Guards the South, enfeoffed him as Marquis of Langzhong with a fief of ten thousand households, and brought Zhang Lu back to the Central Plains to live, treating him with the courtesy due to a guest.

Zhang Lu's five sons, along with Yan Pu and others, were all ennobled as marquises. Zhang Lu's daughter married Cao Yu, the son of Cao Cao.

In the twenty-first year of Jian'an (216 AD), Zhang Lu died and was given the posthumous title "Yuan". His son Zhang Fu inherited his title.

In the first year of the Zhida era of Emperor Wuzong of Yuan (1308 AD), Zhang Lu was posthumously honored as "Zhengyi Master Taiqing Zhaohua Guangde Zhenjun".

Since Zhang Lu seized control of Hanzhong, he established a theocratic local regime, which strengthened his rule over the people in his jurisdiction by maintaining a relationship between religious law and administrative power.

In order to better govern the people in the Hanzhong region through the Five Pecks of Rice sect, Zhang Lu called himself "Celestial Master" and abolished local officials below the prefecture level, such as counties, townships, and pavilions. He replaced them with twenty-four administrative offices, with "Libationers" exercising the functions of "governing the people" and "managing the people" that were originally the grassroots officials.

The libationer was a high-ranking member of the Five Pecks of Rice sect, whose responsibility was to manage the newly recruited "ghost soldiers".

In addition, above the chief priest, Zhang Lu established a higher leadership level, the "chief chief priest," to assist him in ruling the local Christians.

In order to stabilize the people's hearts in the Bahan region, Zhang Lu adopted a relatively lenient and simple criminal law.

He gave those who broke the law a chance to reform, stipulating that offenders could be forgiven three times, but if they still failed to reform after three times, they would be punished.

As for those who had committed minor offenses, Zhang Lu punished them by making them repair a hundred paces of road as a way to atone for their sins.

New "ghost soldiers" who joined the Five Pecks of Rice sect had to pay five pecks of rice as a prayer fee. Zhang Lu later expanded this religious burden to include rice, meat, cloth, silk, utensils, paper, and pens, making it a universally implemented tax.

With this economic foundation in place, Zhang Lu ordered the chief priests at all levels to build charitable shelters, where free rice and meat were provided for travelers to eat as much as they could. He also warned, according to religious doctrine, that if one took too much or was too greedy, one would be punished by the ghosts and fall ill.

The prices of goods in the market were also very fair; in addition, Zhang Lu implemented a policy of prohibiting killing and drinking in spring and summer in accordance with the "Monthly Ordinances of the Rites of Zhou" in order to revitalize the development of local agriculture and industry.

When Zhang Lu governed the Hanzhong region, he established a theocratic local government. He used religious teachings to promote moral education, change customs and habits, effectively boosting people's production and improving their lifestyle, thus creating a relatively stable social situation in the Ba-Han region.

In addition, Zhang Lu's political and economic policies in local rule not only consolidated his own rule, but also achieved the effects of restoring and developing the social economy and "protecting the borders and securing the people" during the chaos and economic devastation at the end of the Han Dynasty. As a result, people from the Central Plains and Guanzhong fled to Hanzhong along the Ziwu Valley and other passages, numbering in the tens of thousands. It was said in history that "the people and barbarians were happy with it." As a result, Zhang Lu was able to maintain his rule in the Ba-Han region for as long as thirty years.

When Zhang Lu ruled Hanzhong, the Han Chinese people and ethnic minorities such as the Cong, Yi, Qiang, and Di under his control mostly accepted the Five Pecks of Rice sect. Even outsiders who "migrated and stayed in his territory" "dared not refuse to pay tribute."

The Five Pecks of Rice sect spread extensively in the Ba-Han region under Zhang Lu's regime. Although it suffered some setbacks after the fall of Zhang Lu's regime, the Five Pecks of Rice sect did not decline. Instead, it spread further with the migration of people from Hanzhong, gradually developing from a regional religion into a nationwide religion that spread throughout the north and south.

Until the Northern Wei Dynasty, Taoism was once regarded as the state religion. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Five Pecks of Rice sect underwent transformations and became the Northern and Southern Celestial Masters sects. It transformed from an early folk religion into an official Taoism and has continued to this day as the Zhengyi sect of Taoism.

Zhang Lu seemed like a character who would shine in a chaotic world. His background was quite interesting; he was a third-generation descendant of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism. The religious atmosphere mixed with his family's glory naturally gave him the destiny of a protagonist in the context of the transition between the Western and Eastern Han dynasties.

His father and grandfather passed down the Five Pecks of Rice sect from one to the other, and he managed to make a name for himself in Hanzhong.

In modern terms, Zhang Lu was simultaneously managing his territory and becoming an internet celebrity, upholding his beliefs while also protecting his empire.

But how were things going? Actually, it wasn't that complicated. Zhang Lu conquered Hanzhong through cunning; he made connections with Liu Yan and infiltrated the city through his mother's influence.

Liu Yan, Zhang Xiu, Su Gu, and that fierce battle—all of these were battles fought with real swords and spears to establish their empires. Zhang Lu fought alongside Zhang Xiu, only to turn around and kill him himself.

It's not surprising when you think about it. In those days, you couldn't get by without having some special skills. It was precisely because he was ruthless that he gained control of Hanzhong.

But maintaining power isn't just about ruthlessness. To exaggerate a bit, he relied on the spirit of the Five Pecks of Rice sect, along with some small acts of kindness like distributing porridge and medicine to the people, to turn a territory of 300,000 households into his own little kingdom.

Zhang Lu truly understood the everyday life of ordinary people. He was not only skilled in warfare but also adept at pacifying the populace, and he always opened the granaries during famine years.

People say that Hanzhong was a paradise for thirty years, and that's not far from the truth. However, as peaceful as it was, who knew when the crisis lurking beneath the surface would arrive?

Peaceful times always come to an end, and undercurrents always surge. Liu Yan is gone, and Liu Zhang has taken over. He is weak-willed and unable to control Zhang Lu.

As a result, all the leaders of the Ba tribes fled to Zhang Lu's side, and Liu Zhang, though furious, was powerless to stop him. He even went so far as to behead Zhang Lu's own brother before finally settling the score, thus sealing their grudge.

Desperate, Liu Zhang sought outside help, and Liu Bei was invited to clean up the mess. The result was that Zhang Lu and Liu Bei fought while testing each other, both aware of the other's formidable nature. This sowed grudge, which was irreconcilable.

External threats were worse than internal troubles. Cao Cao sent an imperial edict to Zhang Lu, appointing him as the General Who Pacifies the People. The euphemism was, in reality, a message to him: if you don't follow the rules, you'll get a beating.

Zhang Lu didn't really have a choice, but everyone wants to prove themselves. He had been stationed in Hanzhong for thirty years, with many loyal ministers and fierce generals under his command, and he could also win over the people through the Five Pecks of Rice sect. For a time, he was truly helpless. But fate was precarious, and his empire was mostly just a dream. (End of Chapter)