We read all the lead to present a different history.
As mentioned above, Emperor Sun Quan of Wu was dimwitted and incompetent in his later years, especially the behavior of wantonly excluding dissidents, which eventually buried deep hidden dangers for the situation in Eastern Wu. It is lamentable that he only cared about suppressing the Jiangdong Shi clan, but forgot to beware of the Sun clan relatives. As a result, after the young emperor Sun Liang succeeded to the throne, Sun Jun and Sun Qiang successively caused chaos in the government, which triggered a series of turmoil and eventually shook the eastern Wu state. In this regard, the historian Pei Songzhi commented when he wrote a commentary on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "If the power is not abolished, Hao is suitable for the world, and eventually perishes, what is the difference?" This loss of the country is due to the sadness, not to the abolition of the country. If liang protects the country, Hugh will not die early, and Hao will not be able to stand. If Hao cannot stand, then Wu will not perish. ”
▲ Stills of Emperor Wu Sun Quan
That is to say, if Sun Quan did not depose the crown prince at will, the young emperor Sun Liang would not be arbitrarily manipulated by Sun Clan's relatives. Later, Sun Liang was deposed and Sun Xiu succeeded to the throne, although it solved the chaos of Sun's relatives and relatives, but this also indirectly promoted the ascension of sun hao, the late Wu emperor, which led to the eventual demise of Eastern Wu. From this point of view, Sun Quan and the sun clan relatives must bear the greatest responsibility. However, later generations have rarely noticed the "contribution" of Sun's relatives in the chaos of Eastern Wu, and today I will focus on it. Before talking about Sun Jun, it is necessary to mention the Zhongshu Ling Sun Hong. Since there is no biography of Sun Hong in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and his life is unknown, it is impossible to determine whether he is a clan or not, but in terms of what he himself has done, it can also be called a disaster and chaos.
▲Wu Shao Emperor Sun Liang stills
However, strictly speaking, Sun Hong is just a substitute ghost pushed out by the powerful minister Sun Jun. Sun Hong has few records in the historical records, and he does not know how he can be, but he is trusted by Sun Quan. In his short life, he did only two things—to frame courtiers and to exclude dissidents. After the "Nanlu Party Struggle", Sun Hong sensed Sun Quan's intention to suppress the Jiangdong Shi clan, and began to wantonly bite the courtiers. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, "Zhongshu ordered Sun Hongyou to be falsely and dangerously sued, and Xiu Su was angry, and Erhong, because it was a lawsuit, issued an edict to give Hugh death." Zhang Xiu (Zhang Zhao's second son) had a vendetta against Sun Hong, and was also slandered to death by the latter. Another important minister, Zhu Zhi, also died under the trap of Sun Hong, "(Zhu Zhi) did not arrive, zhongshu ordered Sun Hong to run the evidence, because of quan's illness, Hong's death for the edict." Zhuge Ke, who had a relationship with the same situation as water and fire, and Sun Hong were appointed as auxiliary ministers at the same time, sun Quan could be described as a "faint chess move".
▲Zhuge Ke stills
Historian Hu Sansheng, when commenting on the Zizhi Tongjian, also put forward a view that the murder of Empress Pan, the biological mother of the Young Emperor Sun Liang, was most likely led by Sun Hong. However, although Sun Hong is sinister, his means are somewhat immature compared with Sun Jun. After Zhuge Ke became the chief assistant chancellor, Sun Hong was instigated by Sun Jun and thought of fighting with Zhuge Ke for power. "Hongsu and Ke are not even, afraid of being ruled by Ke, secretly asking questions, wanting to correct and eliminate Ke." Jun yi said goodbye, respectfully asked hongshi to consult, and sat down to rebuke him. It is not difficult to find that Sun Hong has always been a "marionette" in Sun Jun's hand. Although Sun Hong was quite ambitious, he did not have enough scheming and means, and in the end he was killed by Zhuge Ke and made a laughing stock for posterity.
▲ Sun Jun (middle) stills
Next came Sun Jun, who was the culprit of the chaos. Sun Jun was the great-grandson of Sun Jian's younger brother Sun Jing, and was counted as Sun Quan's grandson and nephew of Sun Liang, the Shao Emperor of Wu. As one of the members of the clan, Sun Jun not only has an identity and ambition, but also has enough strength. Sun Jun's performance in his youth is still remarkable, "less bow horse, fine and decisive". After entering the dynasty as an official, he naturally became Sun Quan's confidant. In addition, Sun Jun had a cousin who married Quan Shang, and Quan Shang's uncle Quan Chun was a pawn horse. With this relationship, Sun Jun hooked up with Sun Quan's eldest daughter, Princess Quan, Sun Luban.
▲The image of Princess Sun Luban painted by the present person
On the other hand, Sun Jun's grasp of the situation is also very good. According to the Yin Ji Tong Yu, "The affliction of power is called Sun Junyue in the service: 'If the sons and daughters are not harmonious, the subordinate divisions will have the defeat of the Yuan clan and laugh for the whole world.' One-man standing, and peace is not chaotic? At the end of the "Nanlu Party Struggle", Sun Jun sensed Sun Quan's thoughts, so he joined forces with Princess Quan and others to help Sun Quan's young son Sun Liang to the position of crown prince. However, Sun Jun hid it very deeply, and even Sun Quan did not find his thoughts. "When the courtiers xian all paid attention to Yu Ke, while Sun Jun's cousin Wasque was an auxiliary government and could pay big things. Quan Suspect Ke Gang is very self-conscious, and Jun is beyond the reach of today's courtiers, so he will guarantee it, but it is Zheng Ke. It can be seen that it was precisely because of Sun Jun's strong recommendation that Zhuge Ke was appointed as the chief auxiliary minister. So the question is, why did Sun Jun recommend Zhuge Ke to the throne?
Judging from the previous analysis, Sun Jun and Sun Hong should have had some contradictions. Sun Jun recommended Zhuge Ke, who was very optimistic about the ministers, and in addition to hiding himself behind the scenes, he could also use Sun Hong to compete with Zhuge Ke and thus wait for an opportunity to move in secret. As for why Zhuge Ke? Sun Jun had already seen that this person was ambitious and talented, and it was a good solution. Sure enough, after Zhuge Ke got rid of Sun Hong, he began to act arbitrarily, which attracted the opposition of many courtiers. Later, Zhuge Ke launched the fifth "Battle of Hefei" and returned with a crushing defeat, which caused the dissatisfaction of the Young Emperor Sun Liang. "Sun Jun, because of the many grievances of the people and the suspicions of the people, constituted a desire for change, conspired with Liang, and put wine to please." At a banquet, Sun Jun suddenly staged a coup d'état, killed Zhuge Ke, and took control of the Eastern Wu Dynasty.
▲Stills of the Young Emperor Sun Liang
However, what the young emperor Sun Liang did not expect was that after Sun Jun took power, he also gradually became absurd and murderous, and also had an affair with Sun Luban, the princess who had already lost her husband. "Junsu has no heavy name, is arrogant and dangerous, has many tortures and killings, and the people are arrogant." He also raped the palace people and had an affair with Princess Luban. Sun Jun himself held the power of the government, and with the support of Princess Quan, the Eastern Wu Court at this time became his "Hall of Words". However, good and evil will eventually be rewarded, and Sun Jun will later die violently during the expedition to wei. Ironically, legend has it that he was scared to death by Zhuge Ke's ghost. "According to the imperial army, the imperial army was in order, and it was said that the heart was painful, and the dream was struck by Zhuge Ke, and he was afraid of illness and death."
▲ Stills of The Power Minister Sun Qiang
However, after the death of the second courtier, the Young Emperor Sun Liang still could not turn over. After Sun Jun's death, Sun Qi, who was even more ferocious and tyrannical than him, took over the authority of his cousin Sun Jun at the first time. Sun Qiang not only did not take Sun Liang in his eyes, but also embarrassed the Young Emperor many times in front of the courtiers, "Sun Liang was pro-government affairs, and he was difficult to ask and was very afraid. Over time, Sun Liang finally decided to unite with Princess Quan, Grand Sima Quanshang, general Liu Cheng, and others to secretly plan to get rid of Sun Qiang.
▲ Wu Jing Emperor Sun Xiu and Sun Qiao stills
Unexpectedly, Quan Shang did not handle the matter secretly, and told his wife about this matter, and the wife immediately told Sun Qiao. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, "Li Chong, the Zhongshu Lang of the Three Kingdoms, seized the Liang Seal and accused him of the crime of liang. Shangshu HuanYi refused to sign his name and killed him in anger. Sun Qiang acted cruelly and forcibly deposed the young emperor Sun Liang and replaced Sun Liang's brother Sun Xiu the Prince of Langya as emperor. After Sun Xiu succeeded to the throne, he was assisted by his courtiers for Emperor Jing of Wu, and eventually got rid of the powerful minister Sun Qi.
▲ Sun Qiang's arrest stills
Regrettably, when Sun Xiu succeeded to the throne, the Wu Dynasty Hall had already been tormented by Sun's clan relatives. Although Sun Xiu had a good performance in the early days of his reign, because he himself had no political foundation and was also supported by courtiers, the Eastern Wu court still could not truly eliminate the chaos of powerful ministers interfering in politics. Coupled with the fact that Sun Xiu died within a few years, the Eastern Wu Dynasty continued to tear apart and deteriorate. Under these circumstances, the deposed crown prince And his grandson Sun Hao succeeded to the throne, thus setting off a chapter in the demise of Eastern Wu.
Resources:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yin Ji Tong