In the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Sun Quan and Liu Bei established the Sun Liu Alliance and defeated Cao Cao at the Battle of Chibi, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Three Kingdoms. In the first year of Huang Wu's reign (222), Sun Quan was crowned King of Wu by Emperor Cao Pi of Wei and established the state of Wu. In the same year, Liu Bei was defeated in the Battle of Yiling. In the first year of Huanglong (229), he was officially proclaimed emperor in Wuchang, with the state name Wu, and soon moved the capital to Jianye. For Sun Quan, who was called emperor, it was natural to appoint a prince. As far as Sun Quan is concerned, there are 7 sons in total.
Among these 7 sons, the eldest Son Sun Deng can be said to be the most virtuous. Therefore, after ascending the throne and becoming emperor, Sun Quan naturally made the eldest son Sun Deng the crown prince. However, it is a great pity that Sun Quan's most important son died young. In the fourth year of Chiwu (241), Sun Deng died at the age of thirty-three, and his title was Prince Xuan. After Sun Deng's death, the fate of Sun Quan's other sons also changed. In the end, of Sun Quan's seven sons, three died of illness and four were killed!
Eldest Sun Deng: Died of illness
In the fourth year of Chiwu (241), Sun Quan's eldest son Sun Deng died at the age of thirty-three, and his title was Prince Xuan. In this regard, in the author's opinion, as far as Sun Quan's eldest son, Sun Deng, is concerned, he can be compared with Zhu Biao, the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang. Both were very virtuous princes, both loved and valued by their fathers, and as a result, they both died young and had an important impact on the direction of history after that. For example, if Zhu Biao had not died young, the Ming Dynasty would probably not have had the Battle of Jingnan. As far as Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period is concerned, if Sun Deng succeeds to the throne, not only will the national strength of Eastern Wu be enhanced, but sun Quan's other sons will probably not fall into a tragic end.
Second generation: Death
In the first year of Jiahe (232), Sun Quan was proclaimed empress dowager, and the second son Died of Illness at the age of twenty.
Three sons and grandsons and: Killed
After the death of the second son Sun Wei and the eldest son Sun Deng, the third son and grandson became Sun Quan's de facto eldest son. As a result, Sun He was made crown prince by Sun Quan. However, Crown Prince Sun He gradually lost power because he was framed by Sun Ba, the King of Lu, and Princess Quan. In the thirteenth year of Chiwu (250), he was demoted to the rank of King of Zhang, and then the King of Nanyang. In the second year of Jianxing (253), it was rumored that he was greeted by the taifu Zhuge Ke and died of his sins, that is, Sun He could be said to have been killed by Sun Jun, a powerful minister of Eastern Wu. In the winter of the second year of Jianxing (253), after Sun Jun killed Zhuge Ke, he was promoted to the rank of general of The Chancellor, thus killing Sun He and other Eastern Wu clansmen.
Four Sons and Grandsons: Killed
After the death of Sun Quan's eldest son, Sun Deng, the fourth son and the third son and grandson began a struggle to win the wife. Although this dispute was not as fierce as the Qing Dynasty's nine sons, it still implicated many Eastern Wu ministers, such as Lu Xun, who was blamed by Sun Quan for this and eventually died in anger. In August of the thirteenth year of Chiwu (250 AD), Sun Ba was given death for plotting to kill Sun He, and his henchmen were also killed. For Sun Quan's fourth son, Chen Shou, the author of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, commented: "With shu gan, strive not to obey the rules, and solidify the way of danger." That is, the end of Sun Ba's murder can be described as self-inflicted and does not deserve sympathy.
Fifth Son: Killed
Sun Fen, as the son of Sun Quan, was initially enfeoffed as the King of Qi, but was deposed as a Shuren (庶人) for killing officials of the feudal state without authorization, and later changed his title to Marquis Of Zhang'an. In the second year of Jianheng (270), one of sun fen and Sun Feng, the marquis of Shangyu, would become emperor, which made the reigning emperor Sun Hao very angry. Therefore, Sun Hao killed Sun Fen and his five sons and revoked his knighthood. For Sun Fen, there was no act of rebellion, and as a result, the whole family was killed by Sun Hao, which can be said to be sympathetic.
Sixth Son Hugh: Died of illness
In the history of the State of Wu, Sun Xiu was the third emperor, and as for the second emperor, it was Sun Quan's seventh son, Sun Liang. On September 26, the third year of taiping (258), Sun Xiu launched a mutiny, deposing Sun Liang as the Prince of Huiji and installing Sun Xiu as emperor. For the powerful minister Sun Qi, he hoped to continue to hold the power of Eastern Wu. However, what he did not expect was that Sun Xiu was not Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han. After ascending the throne and becoming emperor, Sun Xiu conspired with Zhang Budingfeng to remove Sun Qi.
To a certain extent, if Sun Qi's powerful subject is not removed, Eastern Wu is likely to be like the Eastern Han Dynasty in the last years, the government was controlled by the powerful ministers, and the monarch gradually became a puppet emperor like The Han Xiandi. Therefore, among the successive emperors of Eastern Wu, Sun Xiu was still relatively successful. In the view of many historians, during Sun Xiu's reign, he promulgated a good system to benefit the people and promote the prosperity of Eastern Wu, which became one of the reasons why Eastern Wu could become the last of the three kingdoms of Wei Shu and Wu to perish.
Seventh Son Liang: Killed
Sun Liang was the youngest son of Sun Quan, but because of his intelligence, he was loved by Sun Quan. In the first year of Jianxing (252), the ten-year-old Sun Liang officially ascended the throne as emperor. However, in 258, Sun Liang was deposed by his powerful minister Sun Qiang as the Prince of Huiji and lost the throne. In the third year of Yong'an (260), Sun Liang was demoted to the rank of Marquis of Waiting, and was forced to commit suicide (said to have been poisoned) on his way to the fiefdom, at the age of 18. Therefore, whether he was forced to commit suicide or poisoned, for Sun Liang, this is not a good ending. In summary, as far as Sun Quan's seven sons are concerned, because of the untimely death of the eldest Son Deng, the fate has changed. In the author's opinion, if Sun Deng can successfully ascend the throne, the other brothers, as kings, do not need to touch the throne of the Eastern Wu Emperor, and naturally will not fall into a tragic end. What do you think about that?