Lu Kai (198 – December 269 or January 270), courtesy name Jingfeng, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in the influential Lu clan of the Wu region towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, Lu Kai started his career around the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period as a county chief and later a military officer under Sun Quan, the founding emperor of Eastern Wu. During the reign of Sun Liang, he participated in some battles against bandits and Eastern Wu's rival state Cao Wei, and was promoted to the rank of General. Throughout the reign of Sun Xiu and early reign of Sun Hao, Lu Kai continued to hold military commands until September or October 266, when Sun Hao appointed him and Wan Yu as the Left and Right Imperial Chancellors of Eastern Wu respectively. Well known for being outspoken and candid, Lu Kai strongly objected to Sun Hao's decision to move the imperial capital from Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to Wuchang (present-day Ezhou, Hubei) in 265, attempted to dissuade Sun Hao from going to war with the Jin dynasty that replaced the Cao Wei state in 266, and spoke up against Sun Hao's cruel and extravagant ways on numerous occasions. Although Sun Hao deeply resented Lu Kai for openly defying him, he tolerated Lu Kai because Lu Kai held an important office and also because he did not want to antagonise the Lu clan. After Lu Kai's death, Sun Hao sent his family away to a distant commandery in the south.
Family background Lu Kai was from Wu County, Wu Commandery, which is present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu. The Lu clan, which he was from, was one of the four most influential clans in Wu Commandery and also in the Jiangdong (or Wu) region at the time. He was also a relative of Lu Xun, the third Imperial Chancellor of Eastern Wu.(陸凱字敬風，吳郡吳人，丞相遜族子也。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Service under Sun Quan Lu Kai started his career around the time Sun Quan established the independent state of Eastern Wu in 222 near the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period. He first served as the Chief of Yongxing County (永興縣; present-day Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang) and later as the Chief of Zhuji County, before he was commissioned as a Commandant Who Establishes Martial Might () and given command of troops.(黃武初為永興、諸曁長，所在有治迹，拜建武都尉，領兵。) Sanguozhi vol. 61. While serving in the military, Lu Kai was often seen reading books. He was particularly interested in the Taixuanjing and fortune-telling / divination.(雖統軍衆，手不釋書。好太玄，論演其意，以筮輒驗。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
During the Chiwu era (238–251) of Sun Quan's reign, Lu Kai was appointed as the Administrator () of Dan'er Commandery (儋耳郡; around present-day Danzhou, Hainan). He led Wu forces to attack Zhuya (朱崖; present-day Haikou, Hainan) and succeeded in conquering it for Wu. As a reward for his achievement, he was promoted from Commandant to Colonel under the title "Colonel Who Establishes Martial Might" ().(赤烏中，除儋耳太守，討朱崖，斬獲有功，遷為建武校尉。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Service under Sun Liang In 255, during the reign of the second Wu emperor Sun Liang, Lu Kai led Wu forces to attack bandits led by Chen Bi () in Lingling Commandery (零陵郡; around present-day Yongzhou, Hunan) and succeeded in eliminating Chen Bi and the bandits. He was then promoted to Lieutenant-General () and appointed as the Area Commander of Baqiu (巴丘; present-day Yueyang, Hunan), in addition to being enfeoffed as a Marquis of a Chief District (). He was subsequently reassigned to serve as the Area Commander of the Right Section of Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei).(五鳳二年，討山賊陳毖於零陵，斬毖克捷，拜巴丘督、偏將軍，封都鄉侯，轉為武昌右部督。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
During Sun Liang's reign, Lu Kai participated in a military campaign against Wu's rival state, Wei, at Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui). After he returned from the Shouchun campaign, he was promoted to the rank of General, first under the title "General Who Defeats Wei" () and later "General Who Pacifies Distant Lands" ().(與諸將共赴壽春，還，累遷盪魏、綏遠將軍。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Service under Sun Xiu After Sun Xiu came to the throne on 30 November 258, he appointed Lu Kai as General Who Attacks the North () and granted him the nominal appointment of Governor of Yu Province,(孫休即位，拜征北將軍，假節領豫州牧。) Sanguozhi vol. 61. which was actually the territory of Wu's rival state Wei.
Service under Sun Hao When Sun Hao became emperor of Wu on 3 September 264 following Sun Xiu's death, he reassigned Lu Kai to the position of General Who Guards the West (), granted him the appointment of Governor of Jing Province, and ordered him to station at Baqiu (巴丘; present-day Yueyang, Hunan). He also elevated Lu Kai from the status of a district marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Jiaxing" ().(孫皓立，遷鎮西大將軍，都督巴丘，領荊州牧，進封嘉興侯。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Advising Sun Hao against relocating the imperial capital In late September or October 265, Sun Hao relocated the Wu imperial capital from Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to Wuchang (武昌; present-day Ezhou, Hubei).([甘露元年]九月，從西陵督步闡表，徙都武昌， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 48. His decision to relocate the imperial capital became a heavy burden on the people of Yang Province as they were hard-pressed into providing supplies and resources for the relocation process. At the same time, the Wu government's numerous policy failures had also imposed hardships on the people and forced them into severe poverty.(皓時徙都武昌，揚土百姓泝流供給，以為患苦，又政事多謬，黎元窮匱。) Sanguozhi vol. 61. Around this time, Lu Kai wrote a memorial to Sun Hao to dissuade him from relocating the imperial capital, and to advise him to rule with benevolence.
Dissuading Sun Hao from attacking the Jin dynasty In February or March 266, Sun Hao sent Ding Zhong () as his emissary to make peace with the Jin dynasty, which replaced Wu's rival state Wei on 4 February 266. After Ding Zhong returned from his mission, he urged Sun Hao to launch an attack on the Jin dynasty's Yiyang Commandery (弋陽郡; around present-day Xinyang, Henan) because he saw that the Jin defences were inadequate. When Sun Hao called for an imperial court session to discuss this issue,(寶鼎元年正月，遣大鴻臚張儼、五官中郎將丁忠弔祭晉文帝。及還，儼道病死。忠說皓曰：「北方守戰之具不設，弋陽可襲而取。」皓訪羣臣， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 48. Lu Kai spoke up:
The Wu general Liu Zuan () urged Sun Hao to seize this opportunity to launch an attack, and suggested that they send spies to assess the situation in Yiyang Commandery first.(車騎將軍劉纂曰：「天生五才，誰能去兵？譎詐相雄，有自來矣。若其有闕，庸可棄乎？宜遣閒諜，以觀其勢。」) Sanguozhi vol. 61. Although Sun Hao wanted to heed Liu Zuan's suggestion, he eventually dropped the idea after considering the recent fall of Wu's ally state Shu in 263.(皓陰納纂言，且以蜀新平，故不行，然遂自絕。) Sanguozhi vol. 48.(孫皓與晉平，使者丁忠自北還，說皓弋陽可襲，凱諫止，語在皓傳。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
As Left Imperial Chancellor Around September or October 266, Sun Hao appointed Lu Kai as Left Imperial Chancellor () and Wan Yu as Right Imperial Chancellor ().([寶鼎元年]八月，所在言得大鼎，於是改年，大赦。以陸凱為左丞相，常侍萬彧為右丞相。) Sanguozhi vol. 48.(寶鼎元年，遷左丞相。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
As Sun Hao was known for his dislike of receiving feedback about himself, his subjects did not dare to defy him when they spoke to him.(皓性不好人視己，羣臣侍見，皆莫敢迕。) Sanguozhi vol. 61. Lu Kai, however, told the emperor: "If a ruler and his subjects don't understand each other, when something unexpected happens, everyone will be at a loss on what to do." Sun Hao listened to Lu Kai and allowed feedback from him.(凱說皓曰：「夫君臣無不相識之道，若卒有不虞，不知所赴。」皓聽凱自視。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
At the time, Sun Hao had an attendant, He Ding (), who was notorious for fawning on the emperor, speaking ill of officials behind their backs, and giving unfair preferential treatment to those who were close to him.(時殿上列將何定佞巧便辟，貴幸任事， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 61. Lu Kai once reprimanded him: He Ding bore a grudge against Lu Kai for this, and he constantly thought of ways to get back at Lu Kai. However, Lu Kai remained unfazed and continued to perform his duties in a professional and impartial manner. He continued to show his sincerity and loyalty towards Sun Hao by being candid and not mincing his words whenever he gave advice to the emperor.(定大恨凱，思中傷之，凱終不以為意，乃心公家，義形於色，表疏皆指事不飾，忠懇內發。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Alleged plot to overthrow Sun Hao According to one account, sometime in January or early February 267, Lu Kai plotted with Ding Feng and Ding Gu () to overthrow Sun Hao while he was visiting the imperial ancestral temple, and replace him with Sun Xiu's son. Lu Kai then secretly instructed an official to recommend Ding Feng to lead the 3,000 imperial guards escorting Sun Hao to the temple. However, Sun Hao rejected the suggestion and chose Liu Ping () instead. Lu Kai and the others then contacted Liu Ping and asked him to join the plot. Although Liu Ping refused to participate, he also promised them that he would not reveal anything. Without Liu Ping's help, the plot could not be carried out. Around the same time, an imperial clerk Chen Miao () warned Sun Hao that there were ominous signs (e.g. dark clouds but no rain, winds changing direction) so Sun Hao, being superstitious, ordered his guards to be on high alert.(或曰寶鼎元年十二月，凱與大司馬丁奉、御史大夫丁固謀，因皓謁廟，欲廢皓立孫休子。時左將軍留平領兵先驅，故密語平，平拒而不許，誓以不泄，是以所圖不果。太史郎陳苗奏皓乆陰不雨，風氣迴逆，將有陰謀，皓深警懼云。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
The Wu Lu () recorded that Lu Kai had instructed his son Lu Yi () to secretly contact Liu Ping and ask him to join their plot. However, before Lu Yi could tell him, Liu Ping, who was not on good terms with Ding Feng, smiled and told Lu Yi: "I heard that a wild boar broke into Ding Feng's camp. That is a bad omen." Lu Yi thought that Liu Ping already knew, so he became fearful and did not dare to say anything about the plot.(吳錄曰：舊拜廟，選兼大將軍領三千兵為衞，凱欲因此兵圖之，令選曹白用丁奉。皓偶不欲，曰：「更選。」凱令執據，雖蹔兼，然宜得其人。皓曰：「用留平。」凱令其子禕謀語平。平素與丁奉有隙，禕未及得宣凱旨，平語禕曰：「聞野豬入丁奉營，此凶徵也。」有喜色。禕乃不敢言，還，因具啟凱，故輟止。) Wu Lu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Death When Lu Kai became critically ill in 269, Sun Hao sent Dong Chao (), the Prefect of the Palace Writers, to visit Lu Kai and hear his last words.(建衡元年，疾病，皓遣中書令董朝問所欲言， ...) Sanguozhi vol. 61. Lu Kai said:
Lu Kai died sometime between 11 December 269 and 8 January 270 at the age of 72 (by East Asian age reckoning).(遂卒，時年七十二。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
Family Lu Kai's son, Lu Yi (), also served in the state of Eastern Wu like his father. He started his career as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate () before enlisting in the Wu army and rising through the ranks to become a Lieutenant-General (). After his father's death, Lu Yi was reassigned to serve in the imperial palace, where he became an attendant to the crown prince.(子禕，初為黃門侍郎，出領部曲，拜偏將軍。凱亡後，入為太子中庶子。) Sanguozhi vol. 61.
During this time, the state historian Hua He wrote a memorial to the emperor Sun Hao as follows: "Lu Yi is physically tough, exceptionally talented, and strong in willpower. He will make a brilliant military commander; even Lu Su could not have been better than him. When he was summoned to the Imperial Capital, he passed by Wuchang but he did not stop to visit his family there and did not take any military equipment and supplies from Wuchang. He shows decisiveness and determination in leading troops, and great integrity in performing his duties. Xiakou is a strategic location near the border that will come under attack by enemy forces, so we need a competent commander to lead the defence. After careful consideration, I think there is no better person suitable for this task than Lu Yi."(右國史華覈表薦禕曰：「禕體質方剛，器幹彊固，董率之才，魯肅不過。及被召當下，徑還赴都，道由武昌，曾不迴顧，器械軍資，一無所取，在戎果毅，臨財有節。夫夏口，賊之衝要，宜選名將以鎮戍之，臣竊思惟，莫善於禕。」) Sanguozhi vol. 61.