In the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", there is a person who can be said to be extremely well-known, that is, Liu Bei's son, the second monarch of Shu Han, and Liu Chan, the king of the subjugated country. When he was the emperor of the Shu state, he achieved nothing, and after the fall of the Shu state, he was happy to think about Shu, because his nickname was Adou, which was in the folk, so there was a "Ah Dou who could not be supported". Liu Chan has also become a typical representative of Yongjun. However, from the historical records, there are many clues and traces, which make people wonder about Liu Chan's fainting, is he really a mediocre?
First, Liu Chan is not an incompetent person
According to the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" quoted in the "Spring and Autumn of the Han Dynasty", once Sima Zhao drank wine with Liu Chan and deliberately arranged to perform Shudi song and dance, hoping to test Liu Chan's heart. The people around Liu Chan touched the scene and were very sad, but Liu Chan "laughed freely". Sima Zhao relaxed his heart and quietly said to his close confidant Jia Chong: "The ruthlessness of man, even so, although Zhuge Liang is there, he cannot be completed for a long time, and Jiang Wei is evil!" ”
Gao Zheng, the chancellor who had descended to Wei with Liu Chan, felt that Liu Chan's answer was too unorthodox. After returning, Gao Zheng criticized Liu Chan and said, "There is something wrong with the lord's answer. Liu Chan said, "Then what should I say?" Guo Zheng instructed, "If the King of Jin asks you again, you should say to him with tears in your eyes: The graves of my ancestors are all in Shudi, and I have not wanted to go there for a day, so I am very sad." In this way, maybe the King of Jin will let us go back. Liu Chan nodded and said, "You're right, I'll remember." ”
A few days later, Sima Zhao, whose suspicions had not yet been completely dispelled, asked Liu Chan again and said, "We treat you well here, do you still miss Shudi?" Liu Chan repeated what Guo Zheng had taught him, and at the same time tried his best to pretend to be sad, because he couldn't squeeze out the tears, so he had to close his eyes. Sima Zhao looked at him like this, smiled and said, "It seems that Gao Zheng said this!" Liu Chan's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked at Sima Zhao foolishly and said, "Yes, yes, it is exactly what Gao Zheng taught me." How do you know? Sima Zhao couldn't help but laugh, and the attendants on the left and right couldn't help but laugh out loud. Sima Zhao thought that Liu Chan was a confused person and would not pose a threat to himself, so he was relieved.
Just because Sima Zhao was not wary of Liu Chan, not only did he never kill him, but he also used the name of Emperor Yuan of Wei to make him the Duke of Anle and 10,000 households, and also made his descendants and more than fifty ministers of the original Shu Han Marquis.
Liu Chan is so confused, it is no wonder that people see him as a typical example of a mediocre lord. Is Liu Chan really as cowardly and incompetent as people have always thought? Non also. Let's look at some historical records about Liu Chan after Zhuge Liang's death.
After Zhuge Liang's death, Liu Chan abolished the system of ministers, appointed Jiang Huan as the Grand Sima (大司馬), in charge of administration and concurrently in charge of the military, and appointed Fei Yi as a general in charge of the military and oversaw the administration. The powers of the two men intersect and contain each other, but they have their own emphases. Then, Liu Chan stopped the Northern Expedition, which was empty of national strength and labored and hurt the people. When Sima Yi led a large army to conquer Gongsun Yuan in Eastern Liaoning and the rear was empty. Liu Chan was afraid that Jiang Huan would make Zhuge Liang's old mistakes, and he specially issued an edict to warn Jiang Huan not to act rashly. After Jiang Huan's death, Liu Chan "took charge of state affairs" and took over the power alone, changing the situation that "everything was big and small, and it was decided by the chancellor" for many years in the Shu state during Zhuge Liang's lifetime. Imagine that the person who can make such a political arrangement will be the lord of mediocrity?
Second, Liu Chan was helpless to be a yongjun
Why did Liu Chan appear so cowardly and incompetent when Zhuge Liang was alive? A careful analysis of the political situation at that time shows that Liu Chan, as a "mediocre prince", can be said to have been forced to do so.
When Liu Bei died, he entrusted Zhuge Liang to be lonely, and Liu Chan, who was only 17 years old, succeeded to the throne and began to work with Zhuge Liang, the "father". According to Liu Bei's will, Liu Chan treated Zhuge Liang "as a father", and Zhuge Liang also treated Liu Chan as a father, and was not at ease with him. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and The Biography of Zhuge Liang records that in the Shu Han Dynasty, "political affairs are not too big or small, and saltiness is determined by the light." That is to say, the affairs of the Shu Han state, no matter how big or small, everything was decided by Zhuge Liang. So what does Liu Chan, the "long live master", do? Pei Songzhi's note quoting Liu Chan in the Wei Luo makes it very clear: "The government is governed by Ge Shi, and the sacrifice is widowed." That is to say, all military and political affairs were decided by Zhuge Liang, and Liu Chan only did one thing: to sacrifice heaven and earth and ancestors as an emperor. As the titular emperor, Liu Chan was even worse than a puppet. He has no commanding power and is a completely empty shelf.
The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms records that in April of the fourteenth year of Jianxing, shortly after Zhuge Liang's death, Liu Chan traveled to "Huan", watched "Wenshui", played dark and unhappy, and played for a full ten days before returning to Chengdu.
Mr. Yi Zhongtian had this judgment on this matter: "After Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, I estimated that I had never been out of the palace, and it was not until after Zhuge Liang's death that Liu Chan went to Dujiangyan once in April of the fourteenth year of Jianxing. This matter was specially written by the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", telling liu Chan to go to Dujiangyan, where and where, and saw the water of the Minjiang River. And it is said that there are still people who talk about whether he can go if he is alive! Do you think that Liu Chan succeeded to the throne at the age of 17, a young man in his seventeens and eighteens and twenties, who could not walk around in the palace all day, and look at Dujiangyan and be said to be a plaything, is he cool? ("Three Kingdoms" Thirty-seven Extraordinary Monarchs)
If it is only "offering", although Liu Chan is not happy, he should be able to endure, but Zhuge Liang is not only "offering", but also "managing". There is a passage in the famous "Table of Renunciation" that is very brilliant: "In the palace and the palace, everything is one; it is not advisable to be different from each other; if there are adulterers and those who are loyal, it is advisable to pay a division, and to discuss their punishments, so that His Majesty is clear; it is not advisable to be selfish, so that the internal and external laws are different." ”
"In the palace, everything is one; it is not appropriate to disagree or disagree" means that the emperor and the chancellor should be like one person, and all major state affairs should be out of one door. This is an explicit statement, telling Liu Chan not to interfere in the government affairs of the government; in addition, the matter of punishment and reward, I have handled it and you should not have any objections. As for the meaning of "it is not advisable to be selfish, but to make the law different inside and outside" is: "If you are different from me, that is selfishness, which is absolutely not allowed!" ”
Not a single word in the "Table of Renunciation" is asking for instructions, and the whole text is a lesson for Liu Chan. Hu Sansheng, annotator of the Zizhi Tongjian, commented under this passage: "If the so-called two are not suitable for Guan Kongming, then the lord will be known as the king." These two sentences of Hu San Province hit the point and made people have a good understanding of Liu Chan's situation. Just imagine, personal freedom has been controlled by Zhuge Liang like house arrest, and he is always taught and blamed, and can only be blamed at any time, except for Wei Wei, what else can Liu Chan do?
Third, liu chan and zhuge liang's way of getting along
Faced with Zhuge Liang's monopoly of power, Liu Chan had a variety of choices. First, what emperors have always feared most is that their courtiers will do high and shock the lord, especially such courtiers will monopolize power. In this case, the best way is to eliminate it, so as not to cause trouble. This is also the most common method used by most emperors in history; second, when it is really impossible to destroy the lord of merit, he will be constrained at every turn, reducing his power, and making him retreat from difficulties; third, it is to show his ability as much as possible, regain power, and make the other party fearful and destroy his own thoughts; fourth, if he can neither destroy nor restrain the other party, and his own ability is indeed inferior to the other party and needs the other party to continue to fight for himself, then he can only seek perfection and express his unparalleled trust in the other party, so as to seek peace and tranquility for both sides. Obviously, Liu Chan took the last resort. Facts have also proved that this is the best strategy used by Liu Chan.