2
Zhang Hongce, styled Zhenjian, came from Fangcheng in Fanyang—a younger paternal cousin of Empress Wenxian. As a boy he was known for filial devotion. When his mother fell ill she refused food for five days, and Hongce refused food as well. She made him swallow porridge; he ate only what remained of hers. In mourning for his mother he took no salt or greens for three years, almost to death. The brothers loved one another and hated to part even briefly; though each had a home, they usually slept and rose together—the age likened them to the Jiang Gong brothers. He began as an attendant in Qi's Prince of Shaoling kingdom, then became court attendant and acting staff officer to the Western Zhonglang General, Prince of Jiangxia.
3
弘策與高祖年相輩，幼見親狎，恒隨高祖游處。 每入室，常覺有雲煙氣，體輒肅然，弘策由此特敬高祖。 建武末，弘策從高祖宿，酒酣，徙席星下，語及時事。 弘策因問高祖曰：「緯象云何？ 國家故當無恙？」 高祖曰：「其可言乎？」 弘策因曰：「請言其兆。」 高祖曰：「漢北有失地氣，浙東有急兵祥。 今冬初，魏必動； 若動則亡漢北。 帝今久疾，多異議，萬一伺釁，稽部且乘機而作，是亦無成，徒自驅除耳。 明年都邑有亂，死人過於亂麻，齊之歷數，自茲亡矣。 梁、楚、漢當有英雄興。」 弘策曰：「英雄今何在？ 爲已富貴，爲在草茅？」 高祖笑曰：「光武有云：『安知非僕』。」 弘策起曰：「今夜之言，是天意也。 請定君臣之分。」 高祖曰：「舅欲效鄧晨乎？」 是冬，魏軍寇新野，高祖將兵爲援，且受密旨，仍代曹虎爲雍州。 弘策聞之心喜，謂高祖曰：「夜中之言，獨當驗矣。」 高祖笑曰：「且勿多言。」 弘策從高祖西行，仍參帷幄，身親軍役，不憚辛苦。
Hongce was Gaozu's contemporary; as youths they were close, and Hongce was always at Gaozu's side. Each time he stepped into a room he seemed to sense cloud and mist; his bearing turned grave, and from that he revered Gaozu the more. Late in Jianwu, Hongce lodged with Gaozu; drunk, they shifted their seats beneath the stars and talked of the age. Hongce asked Gaozu, "What do the omens say? Will the realm truly be safe?" Gaozu said, "Can such things be said aloud?" Hongce said, "Then tell me the signs." Gaozu said, "North of the Han the land will slip away; east of Zhe urgent armies will rise. Early this winter Wei will surely stir; and if it moves, the north of Han is gone. The emperor has been ill long, and talk runs every way; if someone seizes the moment, Kuaiji may rise too—yet it will win nothing, only purge itself in vain. Next year the capital will fall into chaos; corpses will outnumber knotted hemp; Qi's fate ends with this. In Liang, Chu, and Han heroes will rise." Hongce said, "Where is that hero now? Already rich and honored, or still in the grass?" Gaozu laughed. "Guangwu said, 'How do you know it is not me?'" Hongce stood. "Tonight's speech is Heaven's decree. Let us settle lord and minister now." Gaozu said, "Uncle—do you mean to play Deng Chen?" That winter Wei struck Xinye; Gaozu marched to relieve it and, on secret orders, took Yongzhou in place of Cao Hu. Hongce was delighted and told Gaozu, "What we said that night is about to come true." Gaozu laughed. "Say no more—for now." Hongce followed Gaozu west, served in the command tent, and shared the hardships of every campaign.
4
In autumn of year five Mingdi died; by his final edict Gaozu became inspector of Yongzhou and named Hongce recording secretary with concurrent charge of Xiangyang. Gaozu saw chaos spread across the land and meant to rescue it; he stocked supplies in secret and weighed every plan with Hongce alone. The Xuanwu Prince of Changsha had just left Yizhou and again held the Western Zhonglang long-term staff post, acting for Ying province. Gaozu sent Hongce to Ying to present the plan to the prince, as told in the Annals of Gaozu. Hongce urged the prince, "When Zhou waned, lords fought for power; Duke Huan of Qi was no more than an ordinary man, yet he united the realm nine times, and men still praise him. Qi's virtue is spent; the four seas are in turmoil; the people must have their ruler. Ying lies at the midstream's hinge; Yong is rich in war-horses; you and your brother are heroes without peer—hold two provinces like tigers, split the realm, raise righteous arms, plead for the people, topple the dark and set up the bright: as easy as turning your palm. Do that, and the deeds of Huan and Wen are yours, and glory beyond the age is within reach. Do not let some stripling fool you and make you a jest in later ages. Yongzhou has thought this through; plan wisely." The prince was ill pleased but could not refuse.
5
義師將起，高祖夜召弘策、呂僧珍入宅定議，旦乃發兵，以弘策爲輔國將軍、軍主，領萬人督後部軍事。 西臺建，爲步兵校尉，遷車騎諮議參軍。 及郢城平，蕭穎達、楊公則諸將皆欲頓軍夏口，高祖以爲宜乘勢長驅，直指京邑，以計語弘策，弘策與高祖意合。 又訪寧遠將軍庾域，域又同。 乃命衆軍卽日上道，沿江至建康，凡磯、浦、村落，軍行宿次、立頓處所，弘策逆爲圖測，皆在目中。 義師至新林，王茂、曹景宗等於大航方戰，高祖遣弘策持節勞勉，衆咸奮厲。 是日，仍破朱雀軍。 高祖入頓石頭城，弘策屯門禁衛，引接士類，多全免。 城平，高祖遣弘策與呂僧珍先入清宮，封檢府庫。 于時城內珍寶委積，弘策申勒部曲，秋毫無犯。 遷衛尉卿，加給事中。 天監初，加散騎常侍，洮陽縣侯，邑二千二百戶。 弘策盡忠奉上，知無不爲，交友故舊，隨才薦拔，搢紳皆趨焉。
As the righteous army gathered, Gaozu called Hongce and Lü Sengzhen to his house by night to settle the plan; at dawn he marched, making Hongce Supporting State general and army commander over ten thousand men in charge of the rear. When the western headquarters was set up, he became colonel of foot soldiers, then cavalry and chariots advisory staff officer. After Ying fell, Xiao Yingda and Yang Gongze wanted to camp at Xiakou; Gaozu meant to drive the victory straight to the capital and told Hongce, who agreed. He also asked Pacify the Distant general Yu Yu, who agreed as well. He ordered the armies to march at once; from the river to Jiankang, every ford, beach, and hamlet where men camped or halted, Hongce had charted beforehand and held it all in mind. At Xinlin, Wang Mao and Cao Jingzong fought at the Great Crossing; Gaozu sent Hongce with staff to hearten them, and all fought the harder. That same day they broke the Vermilion Bird force again. Gaozu encamped at Shitou; Hongce held the gates, received scholars and gentry, and saved many from harm. When the city fell, Gaozu sent Hongce and Lü Sengzhen first into the inner palace to seal the treasuries. Treasures lay piled within the walls; Hongce forbade his men strictly, and nothing was touched. He was made commandant of the guards and also attendant within the yellow gates. Early in Tianjian he was also made scattered cavalry attendant and marquis of Taoyang with two thousand two hundred households. Hongce served with full loyalty and left nothing undone; he raised friends and old ties by their gifts, and the gentry gathered to him.
6
Dong Hun's remnant followers had just been pardoned and many still feared for their lives; several hundred, under cover of reed transport, smuggled torches and arms through the side gates, burned Shenhu Gate and Zongzhang View, and rose in revolt. Front army chief clerk Lü Sengzhen held the inner palace with the night guard and broke them; robbers slipped into the commandant's quarters while Hongce fought the blaze—a thief crept behind and killed him. He was forty-seven. Gaozu grieved for him bitterly. He granted a house in the first ward, a suit of robes, one hundred thousand cash, one hundred bolts of cloth, and two hundred jin of wax. An edict said, "My late maternal uncle, commandant of the guards, was cut down in a careless hour by wicked men. His mind was clear and his conduct straight; his talent ran deep; from the provinces he came to court and shared every trial. My mother's kin had dwindled and rites were often broken; reading the Wei-yang, I fixed my heart on him. I meant to lean on his loyal service to shore my slender reign; he answered with no sign, and my sorrow deepens. Grant him posthumously scattered cavalry attendant and general of cavalry and chariots. Grant one suite of drums and pipes. Posthumous name Lamented."
7
Hongce was generous, frank, and true to old friends. Even in great office he never lorded it over others. Old friends and guests were welcomed as when he wore common cloth. Stipends and gifts he scattered among kin and friends. When he was killed, all who knew him mourned. His son Mian succeeded him; his life is told elsewhere.
8
Yu Yu, styled Sida, came from Xinye. When the Xuanwu Prince of Changsha held Liang province, he made Yu recording secretary and concurrent administrator of Huayang. Wei besieged Nanzheng; the province held dozens of empty granaries; Yu sealed them and told the troops, "Every bin is full--two years' grain. Hold fast." The army took heart. When the enemy withdrew, he was made feathered forest commandant, then southern Zhonglang headquarters recording secretary.
9
At the end of Yongyuan Gaozu rose in arms and wrote to summon Yu. When the western headquarters was set up, he was made pacify-the-north general with acting charge of selection and followed Gaozu east. At Yangkou, Emperor He sent imperial censor Zong Guai to comfort the armies. Yu pressed Guai: "Without the yellow battle-ax you cannot command the lords." Guai went back to the western headquarters, and the yellow battle-ax was given to Gaozu at once. When Xiao Yingzhou became area commander of all armies, some said Gaozu should send a formal letter of submission; Yu objected and the idea was dropped. Ying city fell. Yu and Zhang Hongce argued as Gaozu wished, and the armies marched downstream at once. Plans he offered were usually taken. When the hegemon's headquarters opened, he became an advisory staff officer. Early in Tianjian he was made viscount of Guangmu and rear army chief clerk. He went out as pacify-the-north general and administrator of Brazil and Zitong. Xiahou Daoqian, Liang's long-term staff officer, rebelled and surrendered the province to Wei; Wei cavalry struck Brazil; Yu held more than a hundred days; grain ran out and men ate grass and earth--more than half died--yet none wavered. When Wei withdrew, an edict added two hundred households to his fief and raised him to earl. In the sixth year, he died in the commandery.
10
11
12
Shaoshu was orphaned young and lived in poverty. Past twenty he was magistrate of Anfeng and won a name for competence in the district. The province called him to chief clerk, then made him supervising clerk. Inspector Xiao Dan's younger brother Shen had been put to death; when court troops came to take Dan, his attendants fled in panic, but Shaoshu alone rode to him at the news. When Dan died, Shaoshu escorted the coffin in person, and everyone praised him. At the capital, Minister of Works Xu Xiaosi took notice and said, "This is Zu Ti's kind of man."
13
When Gaozu held Sizhou, he made Shaoshu Middle Army Aide in charge of the long patrol, and Shaoshu thereafter attached himself closely. When Gaozu left the province for the capital and released his guests, Shaoshu alone insisted on remaining. Gaozu told him, "Your talent will surely serve somewhere; I cannot help you yet. You should look elsewhere." Shaoshu said, "I have pledged myself. My loyalty knows no second allegiance." Gaozu still refused, and Shaoshu went back to Shouyang. Inspector Xiao Yaochang pressed him repeatedly, yet Shaoshu never accepted command. Yaochang flew into a rage and meant to imprison him, but others intervened and he was spared. When Gaozu took Yongzhou, Shaoshu stole west by back roads and was made Chief of Ningman and Administrator of Fufeng.
14
Once Donghun had slain the court's leading ministers, his suspicion of Gaozu deepened. Shaoshu's brother Zhi was Donghun's rear-palace attendant; Donghun sent him to Yongzhou under the pretense of visiting Shaoshu, while secretly ordering him to kill Gaozu. Shaoshu learned the plot and secretly told Gaozu. When Zhi came, Gaozu feasted him at Shaoshu's house and said in jest, "The court sent you to kill me. This leisurely banquet is your finest opening." Host and guest burst out laughing. He sent Zhi up on the ramparts to tour the compound: troops, arms, boats, and horses were all lavishly supplied. On leaving, Zhi told Shaoshu, "Yongzhou is not a prize easily seized." Shaoshu said, "Go back and report all of this faithfully to the throne. If you come for Yongzhou, I will meet your army in open battle with these men." He sent his brother off at South Xian, and the two held each other, weeping, before they separated.
15
When the righteous army rose, Shaoshu was made General of the Champions, then General of Valiant Cavalry; accompanying the eastern advance to Jiangzhou, he was left to oversee the province and supervise grain transport for Jiang and Xiang, without a single lapse. In early Tianjian he entered court as Minister of the Guards. Shaoshu served with absolute loyalty; whatever reached him from outside, he concealed nothing. When he reported good news to Gaozu, he said, "I am too dull for praise; this is the sagely lord's doing alone." If matters went wrong, he said, "My judgment was shallow. I thought it should be done this way and nearly led the court astray. The fault is mine." Gaozu cherished and relied on him utterly. He left office to mourn his mother. Shaoshu's filial devotion ran deep; Gaozu repeatedly sent attendants to restrain his grief. Soon he returned as General of the Champions and Right Army Major, enfeoffed Marquis of Yingdao with a thousand-household fief. He was soon again Minister of the Guards, also bearing the rank General of the Champions. As Yingdao's households had withered, his title was shifted to Marquis of Dongxing, the fief unchanged. From youth he had lost his father; he was famed for honoring mother and grandmother, and deferential toward his elder brother. In high rank, every stipend, gift, and tribute went straight to his brother's house.
16
In year three, Wei besieged Hefei; Shaoshu commanded the armies at Dong Pass. After peace returned, he was again Minister of the Guards. Then Yiyang fell to Wei, and the Sizhou headquarters shifted south of the Pass. In year four he was made Bearer of the Staff, General Who Subdues the Barbarians, and Inspector of Sizhou. He built ramparts, sharpened arms, opened fields, hoarded grain, and received refugees until the people rested easy. He was proud and quick-tempered, mindful of his power, yet open-handed in friendship and generous in recommendations, and scholars gathered to him.
17
In year six he was recalled as Left General, also Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry and chief rectifier of Si and Yu. By the time Shaoshu reached home, he was desperately ill. The throne invested him at his house, had him borne back to office in a litter, and sent physicians from court several times a day. In year seven he died at his government house, forty-five years old. Gaozu wished to visit the bier, but Shaoshu's alley was too cramped for the imperial coach, and he desisted. The edict said, "To honor the dead and reward merit is what former kings treasured; to hold fast to old loyalty across ages is one law for every dynasty. Shaoshu, Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry, Right Guard General, and founding Marquis of Dongxing, was upright in conduct and utterly loyal; from long service on the frontier his devotion and deeds shone clear. From the first rising of the righteous cause he won great merit; governing the marches, his achievements where he served were evident. He was on the verge of greater trust, to stand at the ruler's right hand; when suddenly he fell—grief cuts to the bone. Let him receive added honors and this lofty posthumous grace. Posthumously: Regular Attendant of the Scattered Cavalry and General of the Guards, with one set of martial music, Eastern Garden burial vessels, one court robe, one suit of garments, and whatever the funeral required supplied as needed. His posthumous name was Loyal."
18
After Shaoshu died, Gaozu once told the court through tears, "Zheng Shaoshu lived for loyalty; in success he praised his lord, in failure he blamed himself. I doubt we shall see his like again." So deeply was he valued and mourned. His son Zhen succeeded.
19
20
Lü Sengzhen, styled Yuanyu, came from Fan in Dongping. His clan had lived in Guangling for generations. He rose from humble want. Still a boy at his teacher's school, a physiognomist reviewed the pupils, pointed at Sengzhen, and told the master, "That voice is not ordinary. He has the bearing of a man who will be enfeoffed." Past twenty he served Song's Danyang administrator Liu Bing; after Bing's death he entered the founding Emperor Wen's gate as a Secretariat clerk. He was seven feet five inches tall, with a commanding presence. Among equals he rarely indulged in familiarity; his fellows all honored him.
21
When the founding emperor held Yuzhou, he made Sengzhen Master of Documents and concurrent Magistrate of Mengling, and he performed well. When the founding emperor took command of the guards, Sengzhen became chief clerk. When the sorcerer rebel Tang Yu struck Dongyang, the founding emperor marched east and put Sengzhen in charge of the army's marching bureau. His home stood east of Jianyang Gate; from the day he was ordered out, his road passed the gate daily and never turned homeward, and the founding emperor prized him the more. As Administrator of Danyang he was again made the commandery's chief postal inspector. When Qi's Prince of Sui Zilong went to Jing as inspector, Qi Wudi made Sengzhen his guard captain on the march to the province. In Yongming year nine, Yongzhou inspector Wang Huan rebelled; Sengzhen was sent west under Pacifying-the-North General Cao Hu as Master of Documents, with concurrent magistracy of Xincheng. When Wei raided north of the Mian, Minister of Works Chen Xianda took the field; at first meeting he was astonished, dismissed the room, seated Sengzhen above, and said, "You bear a noble face. Your later days will not fade. Drive yourself."
22
In Jianwu year two, Wei invaded south on a great scale, five armies advancing together. Gaozu marched to relieve Yiyang, and Sengzhen went with the host. The Prince of Changsha, the Xuanwu King, then held Liangzhou. Wei besieged month after month; no spy could get through, and the road from Yiyang to Yongzhou was severed. Gaozu meant to send someone to Xiangyang for news of Liangzhou; all shrank from the road, but Sengzhen insisted and that same day sailed alone upstream. At Xiangyang he drove the relief forces, secured the Xuanwu King's letter, and returned; Gaozu commended him in the highest terms. After peace he was made Supervisor of the Forest of Feathers.
23
When Donghun succeeded, Xu Xiaosi ran the government and sought his help; Sengzhen guessed the ground would not hold and never went. Gaozu already held Yongzhou; Sengzhen begged to go west and was made Magistrate of Qi. On arrival Gaozu made him Middle Army Aide and trusted him as his right hand. Sengzhen quietly gathered men who would die for him, and a great host rallied. Gaozu drew fierce fighters until more than ten thousand gathered; he had the open ground west of the wall surveyed for thousands of lodgings, cut timber and bamboo and sank it in Tan Creek, and piled thatch into hillocks—yet used none of it. Sengzhen alone understood the plan and privately stockpiled hundreds of oars. When the righteous army rose, Gaozu called Sengzhen and Zhang Hongce at night to decide; at dawn the host moved out, pulled up the Tanxi timber and bamboo, rigged them as warships roofed with thatch, and had all in an instant. As the armies prepared to sail, the generals fought over oars; Sengzhen brought out his hidden store, two oars per vessel, and the dispute died.
24
高祖以僧珍爲輔國將軍、步兵校尉，出入臥內，宣通意旨。 師及郢城，僧珍率所領頓偃月壘，俄又進據騎城。 郢州平，高祖進僧珍爲前鋒大將軍。 大軍次江寧，高祖令僧珍與王茂率精兵先登赤鼻邏。 其日，東昏將李居士與衆來戰，僧珍等要擊，大破之。 乃與茂進軍于白板橋築壘，壘立，茂移頓越城，僧珍獨守白板。 李居士密覘知衆少，率銳卒萬人，直來薄城。 僧珍謂將士曰：「今力旣不敵，不可與戰； 亦勿遙射，須至塹裏，當並力破之。」 俄而皆越塹拔柵，僧珍分人上城，矢石俱發，自率馬步三百人出其後，守隅者復踰城而下，內外齊擊，居士應時奔散，獲其器甲不可勝計。 僧珍又進據越城。 東昏大將王珍國列車爲營，背淮而陣。 王茂等衆軍擊之，僧珍縱火車焚其營。 卽日瓦解。
Gaozu made him Supporting-the-State General and Colonel of Footmen, entering the inner quarters to speak the ruler's mind. At Ying, Sengzhen encamped his men at Crescent Fortress, then pressed forward and took Qicheng. After Ying fell, Gaozu promoted him to Grand General of the Vanguard. The army stopped at Jiangning; Gaozu sent Sengzhen and Wang Mao with elite troops to take the Red Nose picket first. That day Donghun's general Li Jushi brought his force to battle; Sengzhen intercepted and shattered them. He and Mao pushed to Whiteboard Bridge and built a fort; when it stood, Mao shifted to Yuecheng and Sengzhen held Whiteboard alone. Li Jushi spied and saw how thin the garrison was; he led ten thousand elite men straight against the walls. Sengzhen told the troops, "We are too few to fight them head-on; and we must not loose arrows from afar. When they reach the ditch, we break them together." Soon they crossed the moat and wrenched down the stakes; Sengzhen put men on the wall with stones and arrows raining, led three hundred horse and foot around their rear, and had the corner guards leap down as well—inner and outer struck as one, Jushi fled instantly, and arms taken were beyond reckoning. Sengzhen pressed on and took Yuecheng. Donghun's great general Wang Zhenguo formed chariot encampments with his back to the Huai. Wang Mao and the allied armies struck; Sengzhen rolled fire-chariots against the camps and burned them. That same day the enemy host dissolved.
25
When Jiankang fell, Gaozu had Sengzhen lead his men first into the inner palace; with Zhang Hongce he sealed and checked the treasury. That day he kept his rank as acting Nan Pengcheng administrator, was made Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Yellow Gate, and held the Tiger guards colonelcy. When Gaozu took the throne, he was made Champion General and front army marshal, enfeoffed as Marquis of Pinggu with twelve hundred households. Soon he became Attending Within and Right Guard General. Before long he became Left Guard General, was made Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, took regular duty in the Secretariat, and oversaw the palace guard. In winter of Tianjian year 4 the court launched a major northern campaign; military business piled up, and Sengzhen spent his days at the Central Secretariat and his nights back at the Secretariat. In summer of year 5 he was again ordered to lead crack Feathered Forest troops from Liangcheng. That winter the army came home; he kept his post and was made concurrent crown prince's assistant in the palace.
26
Long away from home, Sengzhen petitioned to visit his family graves. Gaozu meant to honor him with his home province and appointed him Bearer of the Staff, General Who Pacifies the North, and Southern Yanzhou inspector. In office Sengzhen was even-handed with subordinates and never favored relatives. A son of his father's elder brother had sold scallions for a living; when Sengzhen came to the province, the man quit the trade to seek an official post. Sengzhen said, "I owe the state a heavy debt I cannot repay; you each have your proper place—how can you seek promotion rashly? Go back to your scallion stall at once." Sengzhen's old house stood north of the market, with the postal inspector's office in front; neighbors all urged moving the office to enlarge his home. Sengzhen snapped, "The postal inspector's office is a government building; it has stood here since it was built—how can you move it to enlarge my private house!" His elder sister had married a Yu and lived west of the market in a little house on the street amid the shops; Sengzhen often led his full guard escort to her door and felt no shame. After a hundred days in the province he was recalled as Commandant of the Guards, soon made Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, given ceremonial drums and pipes, and kept his Secretariat duty as before.
27
Sengzhen had great merit, stood at the heart of power, and enjoyed favor so close that none could match him. Deeply respectful and cautious by nature, on palace duty he would not loosen his clothes even in fierce summer heat. Whenever he attended the throne he held his breath and bowed low; he never once touched the fruit set before him. Once, drunk, he took a mandarin and ate it. Gaozu laughed and said, "That is real progress." Beyond his salary he also received a hundred thousand cash a month; and other gifts and rewards never stopped.
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十年，疾病，車駕臨幸，中使醫藥，日有數四。 僧珍語親舊曰：「吾昔在蒙縣，熱病髮黃，當時必謂不濟，主上見語，『卿有富貴相，必當不死，尋應自差』，俄而果愈。 今已富貴而復髮黃，所苦與昔正同，必不復起矣。」 竟如其言。 卒於領軍府舍，時年五十八。 高祖卽日臨殯，詔曰：「思舊篤終，前王令典； 追榮加等，列代通規。 散騎常侍、領軍將軍、平固縣開國侯僧珍，器思淹通，識宇詳濟，竭忠盡禮，知無不爲。 與朕契闊，情兼屯泰。 大業初構，茂勳克舉。 及居禁衛，朝夕盡誠。 方參任台槐，式隆朝寄； 奄致喪逝，傷慟于懷。 宜加優典，以隆寵命。 可贈驃騎將軍、開府儀同三司，常侍、鼓吹、侯如故。 給東園秘器，朝服一具，衣一襲，喪事所須，隨由備辦。 諡曰忠敬侯。」 高祖痛惜之，言爲流涕。 長子峻早卒，峻子淡嗣。
In year 10 he fell ill; the emperor came in person, and palace envoys brought medicine several times daily. Sengzhen told kin, "Once in Meng county I had fever and turned yellow and was sure I would die. His Majesty said, 'You have a nobleman's look—you will not die and will soon recover'—and I did. Now that I am wealthy and honored I have turned yellow again with the same illness as then—I will not get up again." In the end it was as he said. He died at the Commandant of the Guards residence at fifty-eight. Gaozu came to the mourning hall that same day. The edict said, "Cherishing the old and honoring the dead is the ancient kings' model; adding posthumous glory is the rule of every age. Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, Commandant of the Guards, and Marquis of Pinggu Sengzhen had broad talent and penetrating thought, detailed knowledge and accomplished bearing, gave exhaustive loyalty and full ritual, and left nothing undone. He shared our hardships, his heart holding both hard times and good. When the great enterprise was first raised, he won splendid merit. In palace guard service he gave his utmost morning and evening. Just as he was to take his place among the highest ministers and bear the court's heavy trust, he suddenly died—grief filled our hearts. Let superior rites be added to honor his service. Posthumously grant him General of Fast Cavalry and an office equal to the Three Excellencies in staff; his cavalier attendant rank, drums and pipes, and marquisate remain as before. Grant eastern-garden funeral vessels, one court robe, and one suit of clothes; prepare whatever the funeral requires. Posthumous title: Loyal and Respectful Marquis." Gaozu grieved deeply and wept as he spoke. His eldest son Jun died young; Jun's son Dan inherited.
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Chen Minister of Personnel Yao Cha said: Zhang Hongce was steady and careful, Lü Sengzhen tireless in duty, and Zheng Shaoshu loyal and upright; in founding the dynasty all three gave real force. Sengzhen's grave courtesy in the palace guard and Shaoshu's candid words at close audience show they understood a subject's duty.