Lu Xiangsheng

Biodata

Background / History

Lu Xiangsheng began his career as a civil official. A metropolitan graduate of the second year of Tianqi, he held posts including Ministry of Revenue bureau director, vice director, and prefect. His education included extensive study of the classics and the teachings of Confucius and Mencius 5 31.

When the Jurchens besieged Beijing in the second year of Chongzhen, he independently raised more than ten thousand men and rushed to aid the emperor. Although his force provided little substantial assistance, Chongzhen recognized his loyalty and promoted him the following year to provincial administration commissioner responsible for troop training. His trained soldiers became the Heavenly Hero Army, while he earned the nickname King Yama Lu 5.

Before his palace audience during the current invasion, his father died. Seven memorials requesting permission to observe the mourning period of dingyou were rejected, requiring him to remain in command. He continued wearing white mourning garments beneath his official robes 5.

In the history recalled by the reborn emperor, Yang Sichang persuaded Chongzhen to demote Lu to vice minister of war and transfer military authority to Gao Qiqian. Gao subsequently withheld support during the battle at Julu, where Lu died. Preventing that death is one of Zhu Youjian’s earliest priorities in the altered timeline 1.

Appearance

Lu’s scholarly appearance contrasts with his reputation as a frontline fighter 5 24.

• Build and complexion: Lean, fair-skinned, with a slightly pointed jaw and sparse whiskers 5.
• Eyes and eyebrows: Sword-like eyebrows and “tiger eyes” conveying an unyielding spirit 5.
• Official dress: Second-rank official robes, with a visible white mourning collar and hemp mourning netting in his cap 5.
• After Changping: Bloodied clothing, missing shoulder armor, a split breastplate, and loose hair clinging to his face 26.
• During imprisonment: Noticeably thinner and haggard, with wounds on the backs of his hands 32.

Personality

Lu is fiercely loyal to Great Ming and committed to resisting the Jurchens. He initially rejects peace negotiations as an acceptance of defeat that could cost both territory and money. His position is not simply opposition to diplomacy: he argues that negotiations can succeed only after victory has hurt the enemy enough to make them fear Ming strength 5 6.

His loyalty coexists with strict observance of imperial authority. Even when his commanders draw weapons to prevent his arrest, he orders them to stand down and submits to the decree. He also displays careful court etiquette, initially expressing his objections indirectly because he fears provoking the emperor 6 31 32.

Lu holds himself responsible for the lives entrusted to him. After Changping, he admits that his miscalculation nearly destroyed twenty thousand soldiers and endangered the emperor’s larger plan. He is equally willing to intercede for others, asking Zhu Youjian to spare the officials imprisoned for defending him despite a warning that this could look like factional collusion 32 33.

His severity as a commander occasionally gives way to dry humor. Once the Jurchens are trapped in foodless Jinan, he orders his men to cook where the wind will carry the aroma toward their hungry opponents 41.

Abilities & Skills

Military Command and Training

Lu’s troop training produced the Heavenly Hero Army, whose loyalty to him is strong enough to make the emperor anticipate resistance to his arrest 5 28.

• Promotes capable soldiers: after noticing Li Zhongzhen’s bravery while wounded, he entrusts him with important duties and advances him to deputy commander 23.
• Mediates disputes between officers, reminding Hu Dawei and Wang Pu that battlefield comrades must protect one another 21.
• Enforces uncompromising combat discipline, threatening execution for disobedience 21.
• Recognizes that numerical superiority alone cannot guarantee victory 21.

Tactics and Operational Planning

Lu proposes denying the Jurchen cavalry local provisions and later carries out Zhu Youjian’s evacuation-and-encirclement plan 6 7 40.

• Supply denial: Advocates fortified local defenses and stripping the countryside of food 6.
• Counter-ambush: Uses empty tents and concealed forces to turn a planned Jurchen night raid against its attackers 21 24.
• Concealed movement: Splits his returning army into small groups and hides it in the mountains ten li outside Jinan 38.
• Ambush discipline: Keeps soldiers silent and motionless while enemy scouts search nearby 39.
• Limitations: Gao Qiqian’s interference, delayed reinforcements, and Wang Pu’s flight nearly overwhelm his Changping operation 21 26 32.

Personal Combat

Lu leads from the front with a large iron blade and is described as skilled in mounted archery 5 23.

• Exchanges repeated weapon strikes with Yoto; neither defeats the other during their brief duel 24 26.
• Charges Yoto again when the Jurchens block the Ming retreat, attempting to attack the enemy commander directly 26.
• Retains considerable strength while injured: Zhu Youjian cannot pull him to his feet during their prison meeting 32.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wrought-Iron Broadsword — His frontline weapon, also described as a great refined-iron saber 23 24 26.
• Golden Token — An imperial token representing Zhu Youjian’s trust. Lu gives its box to Chen Guowei, who uses it to compel Gao Qiqian to release the Heavenly Hero Army 7 21 24.
• Battle armor — Includes shoulder armor, breastplate, and helmet; badly damaged during the fighting at Changping 26.
• Mourning garments — White clothing and hemp netting worn while serving despite his father’s death 5.
• Embroidered Uniform Guard clothes — Supplied by the emperor for his concealed departure from the Imperial Prison 32 33.

Relationships

• Zhu Youjian — Sovereign and secret operational partner. Resolves to save Lu from his historical fate, entrusts him with the Jinan plan, and privately reaffirms his confidence after Changping 1 7 32 33.
• Chen Guowei — Trusted subordinate who retrieves the Heavenly Hero Army, arrives in time to rescue him, and fiercely opposes his arrest 21 24 26 31.
• Hu Dawei — Shanxi regional commander who fights beside him at Changping, protests his arrest, and helps maintain the concealed ambush near Jinan 21 24 31 39.
• Yang Guozhu — Xuanfu regional commander who participates in the counter-ambush and keeps his exhausted troops fighting after Wang Pu flees 21 24 26.
• Wang Pu — Datong regional commander whose flight during the battle leaves the remaining Ming forces under greater pressure 21 26.
• Li Zhongzhen — Officer Lu recognizes and promotes for bravery; continues monitoring Lu’s situation after being transferred to Gao Qiqian’s camp 23.
• Yang Tinglin — Trusted subordinate dispatched to carry out Gaoyang’s evacuation under strict secrecy 7 18.
• Gao Qiqian — Obstructive military supervisor who requisitions Lu’s army and supplies, rejects his attack plan, and delays relief 21 22 23.
• Yang Sichang — Pro-peace grand secretary and political opponent who seeks Lu’s removal, then discovers that Lu and the emperor have concealed his return to command 27 28 42.
• Fan Fucui and Huang Daozhou — Officials imprisoned for pleading on Lu’s behalf. He thanks them personally and later asks the emperor to spare them 31 33.
• Luo Yangxing — Carries out Lu’s arrest but protects him from mistreatment; later helps conceal his release 28 31 33.
• Sun Chuanting — Defends Lu against sole responsibility for Changping, replaces him in overall command, and is later ordered to coordinate with him at Jinan 27 28 44.
• Dorgon and Yoto — Enemy commanders. Dorgon considers Lu too dangerous to bypass, while Yoto fights him personally at Changping; both are subsequently trapped in Jinan 20 24 40.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Imperial Audience and Evacuation Plan

Lu arrives at the palace troubled by reports of peace negotiations. After testing his resolve and challenging his assumptions about Ming military strength, Zhu Youjian reveals that defeating the enemy can create leverage for negotiations 4 5 6.

The emperor orders Gaoyang and Jinan evacuated. Lu keeps the operation secret, tells Yang Sichang only that he has been ordered not to fight recklessly, and dispatches trusted subordinates toward both cities 7.

Battle at Changping

With the Heavenly Hero Army requisitioned by Gao Qiqian, Lu has twenty thousand men from the Xuanfu, Shanxi, and Datong commands. He learns of the planned Jurchen night raid and prepares a counter-ambush while sending Chen Guowei to recover his own troops 21.

The trap initially catches the attackers, but Wang Pu’s flight and delayed reinforcements threaten disaster. Lu orders a withdrawal in small groups, then charges Yoto when the retreat is blocked. Chen’s arrival with the Heavenly Hero Army forces the Jurchens to retreat, leaving Lu alive but wounded 24 26.

Imprisonment and Secret Release

Zhu Youjian publicly removes Lu from command and orders him sent to the Imperial Prison, while explicitly forbidding injury or torture. Lu prevents his followers from resisting and encounters officials imprisoned for pleading on his behalf 28 31.

During a private visit, the emperor assures Lu that he still trusts and needs him. Lu acknowledges his tactical failure and promises renewed service. He leaves secretly in guard clothing, while Luo Yangxing and Wang Cheng’en are ordered to maintain the fiction that he remains imprisoned 32 33.

Encirclement of Jinan

After returning to his army, Lu conceals it in the mountains outside Jinan without fires that could expose its position. His soldiers narrowly escape discovery by Jurchen scouts 38 39.

Dorgon’s forces enter the evacuated city and find empty granaries and destroyed Red-Clad Cannons. Ming troops then occupy the surrounding high ground, with Lu at their head. The emperor reveals the encirclement to the court and later orders Sun Chuanting to coordinate with Lu to prevent an escape—even if the trapped army offers to surrender 40 42 44.

Notable Quotes

“Your Majesty, peace negotiations are possible only after we fight and win, after we hurt the enemy and make them fear us.” 6

“Gentlemen, only with the resolve to act even when it seems impossible can we have any hope of victory!” 21

“All that matters is that you came!” — To Chen Guowei after the arrival of reinforcements at Changping 26