You see Liu Chan, a mediocre and incompetent emperor, when facing Cao Wei's iron cavalry, he actually surrendered to the city without a fight, which can be described as an incompetent person who insulted his ancestors. However, as an emperor, he himself may be able to live secretly, but how can he ignore his children? Liu Chan's seven sons and two princesses, what will be their fate after the fall of Shu Han? Is it fine clothes and food, or is there no place to bury you? Or did he suffer a fate worse than death? Let's take a look at how miserable the fate of these royals is...
The beginning of the fate of the Shu Han family
In 221 AD, Liu Bei established the Shu Han Dynasty in Chengdu, calling himself the "King of Hanzhong", and created the foundation of the three Shu and Han dynasties. This is an exciting moment, once upon a time, Liu Bei's family was just an ordinary cloth body, but they could finally expand their territory in the troubled times and establish their own country.
At the beginning of Liu Bei's establishment of Shu, he also thought about opening up the Central Plains and restoring the rule of the Han dynasty in the Central Plains. However, Liu Bei was suspicious by nature, coupled with the remote location, the grain and grass were difficult to transport, and he failed to achieve his wish in the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains for the rest of his life. Even with Zhuge Liang, a military wizard, who made suggestions and made repeated expeditions to the Central Plains, he failed to expand his territory.
After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang continued to take charge of the Shu Han Dynasty and fully assisted the young Emperor Liu Chan. However, what is deplorable is that Liu Chan is not a dragon and phoenix among people, on the contrary, he is incompetent by nature, entertains all day long, ignores state affairs, and even favors traitors and villains, and wreaks havoc on the political ecology of Shu Han.
Just when Zhuge Liang was exhausting his efforts to maintain the Shu Han regime, it coincided with the advance of Cao Wei's army. Zhuge Liang led his army to the north several times without success, and he died on the battlefield, and the Shu Han regime was unexpectedly unexpectedly unsuccessful, and the national strength was declining day by day. Later, Zhuge Liang's cronies passed away one after another, leaving Liu Chan to fight alone, and the fighting spirit of Shu Han was lost, and the people's hearts gradually lost.
Seeing that the building was about to collapse, the people of the court were confused, and Liu Chan, the emperor, was helpless, and finally surrendered without a fight. When Cao Wei's army set foot in Shu, Shu Han did not resist at all, so they destroyed themselves without a fight. After a generation of British kings in Hanzhong, the three dynasties of Shu and Han died abruptly, which shows Liu Chan's incompetence and inconspiracy.
The shameful life of the slaves of the country
After the fall of Shu Han, the fate of Liu Chan's family, as the former ruling class, naturally changed. As the former emperor, Liu Chan himself still received Cao Wei's generous arrangement, but his relatives, friends, and harem beauties were not so lucky.
Although Cao Wei was forgiving and generous on the surface, his methods against the king of the fallen country were still ruthless. In order to show the majesty of the victors, they humiliated the concubines and palace maids around Liu Chan and gave them to the wivesless soldiers as trophies. These once noble beauties were reduced to servants overnight, for people to play with.
"The Spring and Autumn Period of the Han Jin Dynasty" records such a paragraph: "Wei Yishu palace people gave the generals without wives, Li Zhaoyi said: 'I can't be humiliated two or three times', but commit suicide." It shows how deep the humiliation suffered by the palace people after the death of Shu Han. Li Zhaoyi would rather commit suicide than be humiliated, which shows her pride and self-esteem.
And for those other concubines, fate was not as lucky as Li Zhaoyi. They are either forced to serve others or humiliated and left unclaimed. Thinking back then, they were the royal concubines admired by thousands of people, but they suffered this tragic fate overnight, and the pain can be imagined.
As for Liu Chan's sons, they were not treated too harshly. Based on the consideration of benevolence, the Sima clan took good care of these former kings and grandchildren. They were placed in the position of eunuchs in name only, and although they no longer had the honor they once had, they were finally safe in terms of food and clothing.
However, this is only a superficial article. As the former royal family of Shu Han, they have to endure endless shame and white eyes every day. As the descendants of the deceased monarch, these princes and grandsons had to flatter the Cao Wei royal family and bow down to their former vassals.
What's more, they are worried day and night, for fear that they will be found out of some conspiracy and will be subjected to the terrible fate of the nine clans. Therefore, these kings and grandsons can only live an extremely restrained and trembling life, always cautious, in order to protect themselves.
The bleak lives of the princes and princesses
Although Liu Chan himself was protected by Cao Wei, his former kings and grandsons were not so lucky. As the descendants of the former Shu Han royal family, they had to continue to bear the humiliation of losing their country and live a humble life.
Liu Chan's eldest son, Liu Xuan, was supposed to be the heirloom crown prince of the Shu Han Dynasty, but unfortunately he was killed during the civil war and was unable to witness the collapse of the country. However, Liu Xuan's fate can be regarded as the better among these kings and grandsons.
As for Liu Chan's other sons, fate was not so lucky. The second son Liu Yao, the fourth son Liu Zhan, the sixth son Liu Xian, and the seventh son Liu Xuan were all alive when Shu Han died and surrendered to Cao Wei with his father. At first, they were also relatively well settled, but as time went on, the situation of these princes and grandchildren became more and more worrying.
The worst is Liu Xuan and the other four princes. After they fell in the Western Jin Dynasty, they were taken captive by the Huns and were killed alive. The tragic scene of these four former high-ranking kings and grandsons when they were dying must be unimaginable.
Liu Chan's eldest son Liu Chen and third son Liu Chen's fate were also not satisfactory, they were both martyred when Shu Han perished, which can be regarded as a solemn aura for the Shu Han royal family. However, compared with several other princes who were abused, killed, and humiliated, their deaths were more glorious and natural.
In addition to these sons, the ending of Liu Chan's two princesses is also worth playing. The whereabouts of the eldest princess Liu Chun are still a mystery, some say that she was taken away by Cao Wei's soldiers very early, and some say that she fled to a foreign land with relatives and friends, in short, her final fate is unknown. Liu Chun's sister Liu Gui suffered even more miserably, being defeated and retreating when she was pursued by Cao Wei, and was finally killed by a rebellious outlaw, and her death was extremely miserable.
In general, the fate of the kings and grandchildren of this family is extremely bumpy. As the former Shu Han royal family, they should have been clothed and fed, and enjoyed all the glory and wealth. But once the country was ruined, they immediately became slaves of the country, and they were humiliated and destroyed. Although Liu Chan saved his breath, he also had to watch his own flesh and blood suffer this tragedy, as the king of a country, he was simply embarrassed.
The final fall of the Shu Han royal family
Although at the beginning of the fall of Shu Han, Cao Wei treated Liu Chan's family politely and gave them a relatively generous placement. But as time passed, the former royal family was eventually wiped out.
In the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, the government became increasingly chaotic, and many peasant rebels appeared on all sides. In this wave of turmoil, the remnants of the former Shu Han royal family will naturally be unable to escape their doom. As the former ruling class, they were suspicious of the new separatist forces, and soon became the target of wanton murder.
In the midst of this chaos, Liu Chan's royal descendants were brutally slaughtered one after another. According to historical records, Liu Xuan's son Liu Xun was killed alive in this turmoil, and even his bones remained. Liu Xun's son, Liu Rong, was taken captive by the rebels and his whereabouts have been unknown ever since.
What is even more distressing is that even some of the young descendants of the king's grandchildren are not immune to this wave of killing. Liu Xuan's grandson Liu Xuan was still young and ignorant, but he was also killed by the rebels, and his death was extremely tragic.
In the face of such rampant killings, the former imperial relatives were naturally frightened and fled in all directions. However, after all, they came from illustrious backgrounds, and soon revealed their whereabouts and became prey. Some were killed, some were taken captive, and some were lost and never heard from.
In general, the endings of these Shu Han kings and grandchildren are extremely tragic. They should have been glorious and wealthy, but they were killed because of their former status. As the former ruling class, they really did not deserve death, but they could not escape such a miserable end.
Some scholars have commented that the reason why this former royal family came to such a dismal end was that they had neither outstanding military strength nor sufficient wealth. Blindly relying on the alms of the Cao Wei court is destined to suffer from this deprivation and harm. It's a pity that the fall of Shu Han is not only the emperor who lost the country, but even the entire royal family is also wiped out.
Deep reflection on the fall of Shu Han
Throughout the course of the fall of Shu Han, it is not difficult for us to find that there are some deep-seated reasons. Geography, the incompetence of the rulers, and the loss of popular support all contributed to the eventual defeat of this temporary dynasty.
First of all, the geographical environment in which Shu Han is located doomed it to a bad fate. Shu is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and can be attacked and defended when retreating, which is extremely beneficial to the establishment of political power. But at the same time, this environment also set up a natural obstacle to the development of Shu Han. The middle of the river is mountainous, the plains are narrow, and the grain production is limited; Surrounded by mountains and isolated from the Central Plains, the supply route is far and tortuous.
It was precisely because of the limitations of the geographical environment that Shu Han encountered many obstacles in expanding its territory. Zhuge Liang's repeated unsuccessful northern expeditions were largely due to the inability of logistical supplies to keep up. Even if it occupies a heavy place, there is no source of food and grass, and its strength will gradually disappear. The territory of Shu Han eventually stopped at a corner of Bashu, and could not dominate the whole country like Cao Wei Han.
Secondly, the incompetence of the ruler Liu Chan was an important reason for the demise of Shu Han. Liu Chan was mediocre by nature, entertaining all day long, and completely indifferent to national affairs. What's more, he favored a group of villains and traitors, which led to the corruption of the entire government. Zhuge Liang worked hard for half his life, but in the end, there was no one to replace him, which led to the rapid decline of Shu Han's national power.
Liu Chan's incompetence as emperor was not only reflected in politics, but also exposed his incompetence during the war years. In the face of Cao Wei's sharp mastery, Liu Chan blindly surrendered without the slightest resistance. This kind of incompetence in spite of danger directly led to the loss of morale of the Shu Han people, and finally collapsed without a fight.
In addition to the factors of geographical environment and rulers, the final defeat of Shu Han also lies in the loss of popular support. At the beginning of Liu Bei's founding of the country, the people of Shu Han yearned, and the hearts of the government and the opposition resonated. However, with the passage of time, the corruption of the ruling class of the Shu Han Dynasty deepened, coupled with the restrictions of the geographical environment, the life of the common people became more and more difficult, and the people's hearts naturally became more and more dispersed.
end
When Cao Wei's army pressed the border, Shu Han was already divided. The upper class is corrupt and incompetent, and the lower class is miserable, which dooms Shu Han to be quickly destroyed. Sure enough, when Cao Wei's army set foot in Shu, no one from Shu Han resisted, so they destroyed themselves without a fight, and the dragons were leaderless. Isn't this proof that Shu Han has long lost the hearts of the people?