As we all know, among the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, the national strength of Shu Han was the weakest. However, the weak Shu Han persisted for more than 40 years before it came to extinction. The reason for this is that Shu Han has long insisted on uniting with Eastern Wu in order to counter Cao Wei's strategy. It is worth noting that at the beginning of the establishment of the Shu Han, because Guan Yu carelessly lost the battle of Jingzhou and Yiling, the relationship between Shu Han and Eastern Wu naturally came to the freezing point. Of course, after the Battle of Yiling, shu han had internal rebellions, and Eastern Wu had cao pi's offensive pressure, which provided a favorable opportunity for the recovery of the Shu-Wu alliance.
In this context, shu han sent a number of emissaries to Eastern Wu, thus restoring and consolidating the Shu-Wu alliance. Among them, Chen Zhen, who is mentioned in this article, sent an envoy to Eastern Wu when Sun Quan was proclaimed emperor, and agreed that Shu Han and Eastern Wu would work together to eliminate Cao Wei and divide the world.
One
Specifically, Chen Zhen (?) –235 AD), courtesy name Xiaoqi. A native of Nanyang Commandery (南阳郡, in modern Nanyang, Henan). Although Chen Zhen was a jingzhou native, there is no record that Chen Zhen once served Liu Biao. In 208, after Liu Biao's death, Cao Cao led a large army to pacify Jingzhou. However, in the ensuing Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao was defeated by a coalition of Sun Quan and Liu Bei. In 209, taking advantage of Cao Cao's retreat to the Central Plains, Liu Bei led a large army to capture four counties in the south of Jingzhou. Moreover, after Liu Qi's death, Liu Bei also obtained the official position of Jingzhou Mu.
On this basis, Liu Bei recruited Chen Zhen to his command and appointed him to Jingzhou. In 210, after Zhou Yu's death, Liu Bei borrowed the land of Nan Commandery from Sun Quan, highlighting his ambition to capture Yizhou. In 211, at the invitation of Liu Zhang, Liu Bei led a large army into Yizhou. Chen Zhen, as a jingzhou, also followed Liu Bei to the land of Bashu.
Two
In 212, due to Zhang Song's killing and other reasons, Liu Bei and Liu Zhang broke up, which led to the Outbreak of yizhou. In 214, Liu Bei defeated Liu Zhang and captured the land of Yizhou. In this regard, Liu Bei made Chen Zhen the governor of the northern part of Shu County, and due to the change of the name of the county, He was appointed as the Taishou of Wenshan, and then transferred to The Commander of the Qian Dynasty. In 221, Liu Bei ascended the throne as emperor in Chengdu and officially established the Shu Han Dynasty. In 223 AD, Liu Bei died of illness in the White Emperor City of Yong'an, and the later lord Liu Chan took the throne.
In 225 (the third year of Jianxing), Chen Zhen came to Chengdu and held the official position of Shangshu. In 227 (the fifth year of Jianxing), Zhuge Liang led an army to Hanzhong to prepare for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. At that time, Chen Zhen was promoted to Shang Shu Ling. In this regard, in the author's opinion, because Zhuge Liang often led troops to fight outside, he could not take into account the affairs of the imperial court. Therefore, Chen Zhen was promoted to Shang Shu Ling at this time, which naturally helped Zhuge Liang to deal with the government. During the Three Kingdoms period, Shang Shuling was very close to the official position of the Chancellor. For example, after Zhuge Liang's death, Ministers such as Jiang Huan, Fei Yi, and Dong Yun also held this official position.
In 229 (the seventh year of Jianxing), Sun Quan chose to ascend the throne at Wuchang as emperor. In response, Shu Han appointed Chen Zhen as a wei lieutenant and sent him to congratulate Sun Quan on his ascension to the throne. After Chen Zhen came to Eastern Wu, he had a friendly conversation with Sun Quan and consolidated the Shu-Wu alliance. In addition, Chen Zhen and Sun Quan ascended the altar alliance in Wuchang, swearing to divide the Shu Han and Eastern Wu into two worlds.
To a certain extent, Shu Han still had a grudge against Sun Quan's behavior of claiming the title of emperor, after all, there was no room for two tigers in one mountain, and now in the Three Kingdoms, there were already three emperors. However, after all, Shu Han's strength was limited, and it was impossible to go to war with Cao Wei and Eastern Wu at the same time, which prompted Chen Zhen to recognize and even congratulate Sun Quan, who was proclaimed emperor.
Three
In the end, it was precisely because of the completion of the heavy mission to Eastern Wu that Chen Zhen obtained the title of Marquis of Chengyangting after returning to Chengdu. Like Guan Yu's Hanshou Tinghou, Chengyang Tinghou also belongs to the rank of Tinghou. As a courtier, Chen Zhen was able to obtain the title of Marquis of Ting, which was already a relatively rare situation. In 235 (the thirteenth year of Jianxing), the second year after Zhuge Liang's death, Chen Zhen, the chancellor, also died of illness. After Chen Zhen's death, his son Chen Ji attacked the lord.
It is worth noting that in the Wuhou Ancestral Hall in the southern suburbs of present-day Chengdu, Sichuan, in the west corridor of the Liu Bei Hall, there are fourteen statues in honor of the Wenchen of the Shu Han Dynasty, called the Wenchen Corridor. The statue of Chen Zhen ranks eighth among them, and was sculpted in the 29th year of Qing Daoguang (1849 AD). The fourteen Statues of Wenchen are listed in order of Pang Tong, Jian Yong, Lü Kai, Fu Wei, Fei Yi, Dong He, Deng Zhi, Chen Zhen, Jiang Wan, Dong Yun, Qin Mi, Yang Hong, Ma Liang, and Cheng Qi.