In the long scrolls of the history of the Three Kingdoms, the image of Liu Chan, the queen of the Shu Han dynasty, is often portrayed as incompetent and weak. However, in the story of his life, there is a fragment of wisdom that has been praised by later generations, that is, he wrote 3 words after surrendering, these 3 words not only saved his life, but also left a deep mark on history, so, what are these 3 words?
In 263 AD, Shu Han and Cao Wei went to war, and just when the war was in a stalemate, Wei smuggled Deng Ai into Yinping Road and approached the city of Chengdu. Under the coaxing of civil and military officials, Liu Chan chose to surrender in Kaecheng, and the Shu Han Dynasty, which had been established for 43 years, perished.
After Liu Chan surrendered, Sima Zhao, the real power of Wei, did not kill him and named him the Duke of Anle, which puzzled many Wei ministers. It turned out that a "Zhongshanzhai" plaque written by Liu Chan when he surrendered became the key to his escape.
At the time of surrender, Liu Chan was ready to be killed. As a fallen monarch, he understands that his end is often tragic. But surprisingly, Sima Zhao did not harm him, but treated him with courtesy. This made some Wei ministers feel incredulous, and they persuaded Sima Zhao to execute Liu Chan to prevent his comeback. Sima Zhao was unmoved.
Later generations learned that after Liu Chan surrendered, he hung a plaque of "Zhongshan Village" on the door of the mansion, and it was these three big characters that became the key to his survival. When the Wei ministers didn't understand what they meant, Sima Zhao asked everyone to read these three words upside down, and they suddenly realized - "in the mountains". It turned out that this was Liu Chan conveying to Sima Zhao that he had returned to the mountains and had no intention of political power, hoping that Sima Zhao would let him go.
This move is in Sima Zhao's arms. As a politician, Sima Zhao paid more attention to whether his opponent posed a threat to power. Liu Chan's actions showed that he had long since died of the country and was no longer attached to power, thus dispelling Sima Zhao's doubts.
Coupled with Liu Chan's series of self-deprecating actions, Sima Zhao finally let his guard off him, thus saving his life. Otherwise, with Sima Zhao's ruthless methods, he would never let go of this hidden danger. From this point of view, Liu Chan's life-saving actions at that time can be said to be wise and foolish, which not only reflects political skills, but also demonstrates the wisdom of survival.
As the monarch of the dead country, it is not easy for Liu Chan to save his life. He knew that the general situation was gone, and opened the city gate for the people, while he swallowed the humiliation of surrender, regardless of his previous suspicions, and tried his best to curry favor with Sima Zhao. He also understood that if he wanted to live, he couldn't have any political ambitions, so he made a series of self-humble moves to the end and successfully persuaded Sima Zhao to let him go.
Liu Chan spent the rest of his life in Luoyang relatively peacefully, and he was given the title of "Duke of Anle", and although he lost the dignity of the emperor, at least his life was saved. The three words "Zhongshanzhai" express his determination to retreat to the mountains and forests and have no intention of politics. This move made Sima Zhao let down his guard against him and became the key to his escape from the political vendetta of the Wei State.