Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The candlelight flickered in the hall. Before Zhang Lu could speak, Li Ru, stroking his beard, asked with a smile, "Is this Miss Qiying, the eldest daughter of the Heavenly Master?" Zhang Qiying bowed, her wide sleeves falling like flowing clouds. "Greetings to the Western Liang Envoy." Li Ru quickly raised his hand to support her, his eyes flashing with admiration. "Young lady, please don't be so polite. We will be family from now on. Such formalities are embarrassing for me."

These words were like cold water poured down her throat, yet Zhang Qiying maintained a faint smile. "I shall obey my father's orders in everything, but etiquette must be upheld." Li Ru's gaze burned, as if he could see through the bitterness within her eyes. "Young lady, are you truly willing to arrange a marriage for your sister with my Xiliang?" She dug her nails into her palm, a taste of blood rising in her throat. "Indeed. But I wonder which general you would marry her to?"

"Haha!" Li Ru clapped his hands and laughed, startling the sparrows on the beams. "Miss, you're worrying too much. How can an ordinary general compare to the one my Liang prince is seeking to marry? The daughter of the Hanzhong governor should be a good match for the lord of Xiliang."

Zhang Fubao, standing by, stamped his feet anxiously, his eyes wide open. "When Ma Chao was in Hanzhong, he looked like a gentleman. How could he be so... so..." The little girl blushed, unable to find any harsher words. "We already have Sister Dong Bai and Sister Wen Ji in Xiliang, and we have Sister Zhen Mi in Hanzhong. Now he wants to marry my sister, isn't that..." She clutched the jade pendant at her waist, as if wanting to eat the King of Xiliang alive. "How can he be so lustful!"

Li Ru deliberately narrowed his eyes, stroked his goatee and smiled at Zhang Fubao, saying: "Miss Fubao, you don't know that what my Liang Wang wants is your pair of Hanzhong pearls..." Before he finished speaking, Zhang Fubao staggered back half a step, and the jade pendant on his waist hit the corner of the table with a "ding".

"Father!" The little girl's eyes were red, and she pointed at Li Ru with trembling fingertips, "Is what he said true?" She suddenly turned around and grabbed the corner of Zhang Lu's sleeve, her embroidered shoes making a small sound on the blue bricks, "How can you...how can you decide our life like this?" The tears finally fell on the hem of her skirt, spreading dark water marks.

Zhang Lu looked at the shocked faces in the room, the whispers of his staff rising and falling. The candlelight cast his shadow on the screen, suddenly twisting it into a hideous shape. He sighed heavily, untied the Celestial Master's seal from his waist, and slammed it on the table: "That's all! Come, quickly inform the civil and military commanders and the Five Pecks of Rice Sect elders! Let's lay this matter out today to avoid any doubts!"

A breeze rushed in from outside, causing the lamp to sway violently. Zhang Fubao still clutched his father's sleeve tightly. Zhang Qiying silently stepped forward to support her trembling shoulders, while Li Ru leaned against the table, a meaningful smile on his lips.

For nearly an hour, the candles in the conference hall flickered, the armor and robes of civil and military officials were intertwined, the crane cloak of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect elders brushed the ground, and even the tiger-shaped seal-bearing officer of the central military tent came with the seal, and the blue bricks in front of the hall made a noise under his feet.

Zhang Lu stroked the black ribbon on the Heavenly Master's crown and suddenly coughed twice. The whispers in the room stopped abruptly, and everyone's eyes fell on his suddenly tense jawline.

"You all saw me acting ridiculously today." He pushed the bamboo slips on the table into the hall, "But in today's world, the imperial court has lost its authority, and the princes have each established their own vassal states. Although Hanzhong is rich in rice and grain, it is only a small place. If we want to survive in troubled times..." Before he finished speaking, one of the civil servants on the steps could no longer hold back, sweeping the hem of his court robe across the blue bricks, "Prefect! That Ma Chao is just a warrior from Xiliang, how can he be worthy of..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Lu slammed the table, shaking the teacup to the ground. Li Ru calmly held his feather fan across his chest, his eyes sweeping over the panicked faces of the crowd. Zhang Lu relaxed his expression: "The King of Liang governs the three prefectures of Western Liang, with hundreds of thousands of cavalry under his command. How can Hanzhong compare to such a magnificent force?"

He suddenly turned and looked behind the screen. Zhang Fubao was clutching his sister's hand, his knuckles turning white. "Today, I present our two daughters' engagement letters as a gift to show my sincerity to the King of Liang. From this day forward, the military, civilians, and religious followers of Hanzhong will all be supported by Xiliang!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall erupted in an uproar. The civil officials' tall hats clashed, their jade belts jingling; the military commanders' knuckles turned white, their hands gripping their swords until the hilts ached. The chief Five Pecks of Rice Sect elder abruptly stood up, his crane cloak sweeping over the talisman water on the table: "Heavenly Master! Our sect was founded by our ancestor, Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling, and has defended Hanzhong for four generations. Our foundation has always been 'giving away five pecks of rice and curing the sick and saving lives.' How could we be loyal to a warrior vying for world domination?"

Zhang Lu stroked the nine-tasseled jade on the Heavenly Master's crown and suddenly chuckled. He slowly stood up, the cloud patterns on his black Taoist robe flowing in the candlelight, as if a spirit snake was moving. "My elders, I have read every page of this sect's Taiping Jing since I was a child. Who can understand the depth of the doctrine better than me?"

The elders looked at each other, their mahogany staffs unconsciously dropping. Zhang Lu walked to the scripture desk, his fingertips tracing the yellowed silk scroll: "When the First Heavenly Master conquered the demons on Huming Mountain, he relied on the will of the people. Now, Prince Ma Chao of Liang is sweeping across the three prefectures, and a hundred thousand refugees are offering food and drink to welcome the King. Isn't this what the people want?" He suddenly turned, his eyes sweeping across the room. "As the Heavenly Master, I must protect the people of the sect. Following the Prince of Liang is the way to follow Heaven's will!"

The old priest was about to argue, but Zhang Lu raised his hand to stop him: "Fu Bao is a saintly maiden, and I betrothed her to the King of Liang because she possesses the Dragon Qi." With a flick of his sleeve, he slammed the Heavenly Master's seal on the table, "Do you think you understand the will of heaven better than I do?"

The elders bowed their heads and twirled their beards, their expressions uncertain. Zhang Lu suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "Do you remember, everyone, the special fate that Fu Bao was born with?" He flicked the jade talisman with his fingers, and the clear sound startled the sparrows on the beams and made them flutter in flight. "With such a fate, how could she be an ordinary woman?"

In the hall, the civil and military officials murmured among themselves. The military officers looked at Zhang Fubao, while the civil officials stared at the calm Li Ru. Zhang Lu slowly turned half a circle, the cloud pattern on the Taoist priest's robe seeming to rise in the candlelight. "If I hadn't calculated that the Prince of Liang had the potential to be a great ruler, how could I have entrusted my ancestors' foundation and a hundred thousand followers to him?"

The old priest's Adam's apple rolled, and just as he was about to speak, Zhang Lu raised the Heavenly Master Seal and said, "I am the Heavenly Master. Once I issue a decree, it becomes the rule of the sect!"

"There's one more thing." He raised his hand to signal everyone to be silent. "From today on, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect will officially be renamed the Celestial Master Sect." His sleeves swept across the shocked faces in the room. "You all need to spread the word in the sect—the Prince of Liang is the chosen one by heaven, possessing the aura of a true dragon. In the future, all the sect members in the world must rally behind him!" His eyes swept over Zhang Qiying, who was clutching the engagement letter. He paused, "When the Prince of Liang establishes his rule in the Central Plains, the Celestial Master Sect will be the state religion!"

Suddenly, thunder roared outside the hall, rattling the window frames. Zhang Lu looked at the elders lying on the ground below, a meaningful smile curling his lips.

One of the generals "clanged" and drew his sword, and the sound of armor clashing exploded in the hall: "Tianshi! Our Hanzhong Yangping Pass is impregnable. The hundred thousand believers in this sect are all capable of taking up arms. Even if the Western Liang cavalry comes, they will be defeated!" Before he finished speaking, dozens of generals in the hall responded with a roar, and the tiger seals and seals clashed against the table.

Zhang Lu turned around abruptly, the jade beads on the Heavenly Master's crown swaying loudly: "Stupid! Who said Xiliang wants to go to war with me?"

Veteran General Li Xiu took a half step forward, sweat seeping through the cracks in his armor: "But we have been eating Hanzhong's salary for generations..."

"With the feudal lords of the world fighting for their own interests, how long can Hanzhong hold out?" Zhang Lu slammed the teacup on the table, sending shards flying. "The Liang King's cavalry swept through Yongliang, leaving the feudal lords of the world afraid to confront them. How can Hanzhong compare to such a force?"

The hall suddenly fell silent. Zhang Lu relaxed his expression and stroked the cloud pattern on the Celestial Master's robe. "From today on, I will focus solely on the management of the Celestial Master Sect, and all military and political affairs will be directed by the King of Liang." He glanced at the tense faces of the generals. "If you can achieve merit under the Xiliang camp, you will all be founding heroes in the future. Why bother guarding this small place like a trapped beast?"

Zhang Lu stood at the front of the hall, his hands behind his back, his robes rustling in the draft. No matter how heated the arguments from the civil and military officials on the steps, he always rebuffed them with the simple phrase, "Heaven's will cannot be defied." The clink of the generals' swords faded, and the trembling of the civil officials' sleeves ceased—everyone knew that the walls of the pass, shattered by the Xiliang cavalry, were far more persuasive than words could ever be.

Li Ru leaned against the table, looking at Zhang Lu's excited face, and suddenly chuckled: "The Heavenly Master is very understanding of justice. Such a decision will be recorded in history one day."

In the hall's silence, the old chief priest was the first to prostrate himself, his peachwood staff clattering against the blue bricks. "We will faithfully obey the Celestial Master's command." Immediately afterwards, the military commanders in their iron boots and the civil officials in their black boots knelt one after another, their armor and wide sleeves spreading like waves on the ground. Zhang Fubao clutched his sister's hand, feeling the coolness of her fingertips. His father, with his back to the crowd, the jade tassels on the Celestial Master's crown shone with a shimmering light.

Zhang Lu clasped his hands together, the jade tassels on the Celestial Master's crown swaying slightly as he moved. He said respectfully, "Since Hanzhong has sincerely submitted, the treasury's money, grain, armor, and weapons are all at the King of Liang's disposal." He paused, his gaze turning to Zhang Fubao, who was hiding behind his wife. "On the day of my daughter's wedding to the King of Liang, my eldest son, Zhang Fu, will personally lead his troops and load the Celestial Master's treasury with precious treasures as a dowry, as a token of his sincerity."

After saying this, he took a half step forward and lowered his voice, "It's just that I'm currently planning the defense of Hanzhong and deploying soldiers. I hope you can give me some advice, sir."

Li Ru stroked his beard and chuckled: "Don't worry, Tianshi. Now that I have surrendered to the King of Liang, I will take care of all military defense matters." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned around and clapped his hands, his voice like tearing silk: "Come here! Bring the Yizhou envoys here!"

Outside the hall, there was the clatter of armor as Fei Yi and Qiao Zhou were carried in by two Xiliang warriors. Fei Yi's official robes were disheveled, but he still stiffened his neck and glared at Zhang Lu: "Brother Gongqi! In the past, my lord and you defended Bashu together. Now the King of Liang has evil ambitions. If you surrender to him, you will be the butcher's block one day!"

Qiao Zhou slumped to the ground, his forehead pressed against the bricks, trembling. Li Ru walked up to the two of them and looked at Fei Yi with a smile: "Sir, you are a real man." Suddenly, he turned to Qiao Zhou and sneered: "I heard that you are an expert in prophecies. Did you predict the situation today?"

Qiao Zhou fell to the ground, sobs swirling in his throat, and he kowtowed with his forehead touching the ground. Li Ru stood at the front of the steps and slowly spoke to the two limp men: "Zhang Tianshi has led 100,000 followers in Hanzhong to submit to the King of Liang."

He suddenly raised his hand and said, "I will let you two go back today. Tell that scoundrel Liu Zhang that Hanzhong has been returned to the King of Liang. If he dares to lead his troops to attack, my Western Liang cavalry will crush Chengdu in a matter of months. If he dares not, then surrender and wait for the day when the king's army will punish you!"

Before he could finish his words, the rattling of chains could be heard from outside the hall. As Fei Yi was being dragged out, he turned his head and shouted, "Zhang Lu! You surrender without a fight, and one day you will be..." Before he could finish his words, a warrior punched him in the back of the neck. Qiao Zhou was being held up like a sieve, and the envoy's seals and ribbons he had brought from Jinguan City had already been scattered to the ground.

Li Ru looked at the two men's embarrassed backs, a cold smile on his face, and turned to Zhang Lu and said, "Master, please be at ease. When this news gets back to Yizhou, I'm afraid that little Liu Zhang will have a sleepless night."

After saying this, he looked at Zhang Lu with a meaningful look in his eyes: "Master, just focus on preparing for your daughter's wedding. The world will naturally move forward along the path it should take."