Preamble:
Have you ever wondered how a young emperor took on the responsibility of governing the country in that turbulent era, and how did he choose between power and freedom? Liu Chan's life was destined to be a tragedy, but his story left a profound inspiration for future generations.
A mediocre and incompetent monarch
In 223 AD, Liu Chan, who was only 17 years old, succeeded to the throne of Shu Han. Faced with the situation of internal and external troubles, Liu Chan seemed very at a loss. Fortunately, Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang to assist Liu Chan and assist him in handling the government before his death.
At the beginning of Liu Chan's accession to the throne, he trusted and relied on Zhuge Liang very much. Whenever there was a major decision in the court, Liu Chan always asked Zhuge Liang's opinion first. Zhuge Liang was an upright person and rigorous, he solved problems for Liu Chan, and took care of the political, economic, military and other affairs of Shu Han in an orderly manner. With the assistance of Zhuge Liang, a relatively stable situation temporarily appeared in Shu Han.
However, Zhuge Liang was not an emperor after all, and his power was always constrained by other ministers in the court. In order to consolidate his position, Liu Chan began to promote some villains who were close to him, the most representative of which was Huang Hao.
Huang Hao was Liu Chan's childhood playmate, and because he was good at amusement, he was deeply loved by Liu Chan. After Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, Huang Hao relied on his clever words to make a difference, and soon rose to prominence in the court, and the official was still the secretary.
Huang Hao is insidious and cunning, and is good at sowing discord in front of Liu Chan and cracking down on dissidents. Under his influence, Liu Chan gradually alienated Zhuge Liang and other loyal ministers, and turned to some courtiers and villains.
As a result, the political environment of Shu Han changed. The phenomenon of the struggle for power and profit between the DPRK and China became more and more serious, and the officials only cared about currying favor with the emperor and did not care about state affairs. In addition, Liu Chan himself did not care about political affairs, and indulged in lust all day long, and the politics of Shu Han gradually fell into corruption and chaos.
An emperor who has been tricked by fate
In 234 AD, Zhuge Liang died in Wuzhangyuan. The death of this famous minister who had assisted Liu Chan for many years undoubtedly brought a heavy blow to the Shu Han regime. Without the powerful assistant of Zhuge Liang, Liu Chan relied more on Huang Hao and other ministers in court politics. The political struggle between the DPRK and China intensified, and the contradictions between the monarchs and ministers became more and more acute.
At the same time, the military situation in Shu Han also deteriorated. After Zhuge Liang's death, Shu Han launched several Northern Expeditions one after another, but all of them ended in failure. In addition, the domestic wars have been fought for many years, and the people are not able to make a living, and the national strength of Shu Han is declining day by day.
In 263 AD, Zhong Hui, the general of Wei, led an army to attack Shu Han. In the face of a powerful enemy, Liu Chan did not personally supervise the battle, but handed over the military power to Huang Hao and other ministers. Huang Hao was greedy for life and afraid of death, and had no intention of fighting at all, which finally led to the rout of the Shu Han army on all fronts.
The situation is stronger than people, and Liu Chan finally chose to surrender. He wrote to the Wei State, expressing his willingness to submit to it, and asked the Wei State to treat the people of Shu Han well. In this way, the Shu Han regime came to an end, and Liu Chan also became the king of a generation of dead countries.
A king of the dead country who pursues freedom
In 263 AD, Shu Han fell, and Liu Chan was forced to surrender to Wei. According to the practice at that time, Liu Chan, the king of the dead country, should be executed. However, Sima Zhao, who was in charge, did not do this, but welcomed Liu Chan to Luoyang, named him An Le Gong, and let him enjoy his old age in peace.
The reason why Sima Zhao treated Liu Chan so leniently was not out of kindness, but out of other considerations. He was worried that Liu Chan still had remnants of power in Shu, and if Liu Chan was executed, it might provoke a revolt from the Shu people. Sima Zhao hoped to use Liu Chan's influence to settle down in Shu as soon as possible.
In order to test Liu Chan's true thoughts, Sima Zhao specially set up a banquet and asked Liu Chan in front of everyone if he still wanted to return to Shu. What Sima Zhao didn't expect was that instead of showing any nostalgia for his homeland, Liu Chan was overjoyed, praised the prosperity of Luoyang, and expressed his willingness to stay here and never want to return to Shu again.
Sima Zhao is still skeptical of Liu Chan's performance. He was afraid that Liu Chan was pretending to be confused and secretly planning a comeback. In order to completely dispel Sima Zhao's doubts, Liu Chan did one thing, that is, he carved the three big characters of "Mountain Village" in his mansion.
What exactly does "mountain village" mean? Sima Zhao was puzzled and asked his ministers. The ministers were also confused and confused.
Sima Zhao had an idea, and read these three words upside down, reading them as "in the village of the mountain", which means "in the village in the mountain". He suddenly realized that Liu Chan was showing his heart to himself, and he was willing to stay in Luoyang and had no intention of returning to the country.
Only then did Sima Zhao put his mind at ease, no longer doubted Liu Chan, and allowed him to spend his old age in Luoyang City as An Le Gong. Liu Chan was able to save his life and lived a free life in Luoyang. He spent his days drinking and having fun with his friends, enjoying singing and dancing, and never asked about political affairs or missed his homeland.
However, Liu Chan's actions aroused the dissatisfaction of the old ministers of Shu Han. These loyal courtiers were filled with grief and indignation when they saw the fall of the Shu Han regime. They originally hoped that Liu Chan would make a comeback and rebuild Shu Han, but they didn't expect Liu Chan to be so spineless and willing to surrender to others.
Among them, there was a minister named Xiang Lang, who once questioned Liu Chan in person: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, how can you endure the humiliation of losing the country and still enjoy yourself here?" After hearing this, Liu Chan did not get angry, but said with a smile: "I have long been tired of the life of an emperor, and now it is better to be able to enjoy my old age here." "
Xiang Lang saw Liu Chan say this, knowing that it was impossible for him to regain his strength, and said sadly: "I will not be disgraced to Xiang Lang's death, and I must not live like Your Majesty!" Then he drew his sword and killed himself. Xiang Lang's actions shocked Liu Chan, but he did not change his mind because of this.
Epilogue:
Liu Chan lived in Luoyang until the first year of Xianning, and was succeeded by Cao Huan, Emperor of Wei Yuan. Cao Huan was very respectful to Liu Chan, and specially issued an edict to raise his title and let him live for the rest of his life. In this way, Liu Chan spent his old age in Luoyang peacefully until his death in 271 AD at the age of 65.
Throughout Liu Chan's life, he was born at the wrong time, born in a turbulent era. He was expected to inherit his father's business and become the overlord of the party. But Liu Chan was cowardly by nature and had no talent and ambition to govern the country, but was forced to take on the heavy responsibility of the monarch.
With the assistance of Zhuge Liang, although Liu Chan was named the king of a country, the actual power was in the hands of Zhuge Liang and other ministers. With the death of Zhuge Liang, Liu Chan became more dependent on his ministers in court politics, which led to the increasingly corrupt politics of Shu Han. In the end, in the face of a powerful enemy, Shu Han was defeated.
After Liu Chan surrendered, although he saved his life, he lost his dignity. He was willing to submit to others, lived a free life, and no longer asked about political affairs and did not miss his homeland. This behavior aroused the dissatisfaction of the old ministers of Shu Han, who denounced Liu Chan for being spineless and turning his back on the people of Shu Han.