张肃 / Zhang Su (Late Han)

Overview

张肃 / Zhang Su is 张松’s elder brother, represented in Hanji 1126 as the person who reports Zhang Song’s covert letter to 刘璋 and thereby exposes the pro-刘备 transfer project.

Current Profile

Hanji 1126 gives Zhang Su one decisive role. He obtains a letter in which Zhang Song urges Liu Bei not to leave Yizhou, fears that his brother’s covert alignment will implicate him, and reports the letter to Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang then executes Zhang Song, and the alliance rupture becomes open conflict.

The source therefore presents Zhang Su less as an independently profiled political actor than as a family-risk decision point. His report protects him from possible collective implication while making his brother’s treason case actionable for Liu Zhang.

Key Characteristics

• Elder brother positioned close enough to Zhang Song’s communication channel to obtain the incriminating letter.
• Responds to perceived implication risk by reporting family misconduct to the ruler.
• Acts as the immediate disclosure channel between covert alignment and formal punishment.

Evidence

• Letter and report: Hanji 1126 says Zhang Su obtains Zhang Song’s letter to Liu Bei and reports it to Liu Zhang.
• Stated motive and consequence: Hanji 1126 attributes the report to fear of implication and connects it directly to Zhang Song’s execution.

Qualifications

The current profile rests on one popular-history summary. It does not establish how Zhang Su obtained the letter, whether fear was his only motive, what prior relationship existed between the brothers, or whether other officials participated in the investigation. The episode’s claim that the letter “had to” reach Zhang Su is the host’s speculation and does not prove a larger Liu Bei design.

What Changed

• Created the page around Zhang Su’s bounded role in exposing Zhang Song’s letter.
• Kept motive, access route, and any wider conspiracy explicitly source-scoped.

Relationships

• 张松 - younger brother whose covert letter Zhang Su reports.
• 刘璋 - ruler who receives the report and orders Zhang Song’s execution.
• 刘备 - intended recipient and beneficiary of Zhang Song’s covert support.
• 益州 - provincial order in which the family-risk decision becomes politically consequential.