In February 453, after some careful fundraising, the deposed crown prince Liu Shao led his troops into the inner temple, personally killed his father Emperor Wen of Song, and impatiently ascended the throne, becoming the fourth emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty. However, his reign was too short, and he was snatched back by his brother Liu Jun in less than three months.
According to historical records, Liu Jun was born in 430 AD, the third son of Emperor Wen of Song Liu Yilong, and his biological mother was Empress Zhao of the Lu clan. Since childhood, he has been intelligent and astute, and he has both literature and martial arts, not only has the ability to see ten lines and never forget, but also military and military strategy, horseback archery and archery.
Liu Jun held the positions of general and magistrate at the age of nine, and with the help of the important ministers selected by Liu Yilong, he gradually took over the military and political training.
At the age of fifteen, he was crowned king of Wuling, the assassin of Qinzhou, and the general of the Jiafu Army. In the following year, he moved to Yongzhou to serve as the Assassin of Yongzhou, and led his troops out of Zhenyong Prefecture, supervising the military forces of Yongzhou, Qin, and Jing, and was the first member of the imperial family in the Xiangyang region of Zhenshu since the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At that time, Yongzhou, due to its special geographical location and topography, was a bordering area where various forces intertwined their teeth, and the environment in all aspects was very complicated and the situation was extremely dangerous.
Liu Yilong put his son in such an environment to train, and the benefits of Liu Jun's growth in all aspects are naturally self-evident.
During the three years of Liu Jun's tenure in Yongzhou, he received the help of Shen Qingzhi and other generals, and grew very quickly in both military and local governance.
He built water conservancy projects at the local level, appointed honest officials, and popularized farming, so that agriculture in the Yongzhou area has developed by leaps and bounds. Militarily, he and his generals gathered displaced people, recruited volunteers, formed a strong "Jingyong army", and led this force to sweep away the barbarian rebellions in many places, conquer and capture more than 100,000 barbarian displaced people, so that the region has an unprecedented Level of Peace, and has a high reputation in the Yongzhou area.
In 448, Liu Jun moved to Xuzhou and Yongzhou to serve as the general of Jia'anbei and the military of The Eight Prefectures of Jiejie, Qing and Yan. During this period, Liu Jun participated in the Northern Expedition against the Northern Wei regime and inflicted heavy losses on the Northern Wei army several times.
After 451, Liu Jun led his troops to fight in many places to suppress rebellion and thieves, and eventually settled in the area of present-day Hubei. In his long-term military career, he accumulated rich military experience and local governance experience, which laid a solid foundation for him to rule the country after he succeeded to the throne.
In February 453, after Liu Xun's father seized the throne, he ordered his confidant Shen Qingzhi to find a way to get rid of Liu Jun.
However, in the process of Shen Qingzhi following Liu Jun in the southern expedition to the northern war, the two had already established a deep and strong revolutionary friendship, and after receiving Liu Xun's secret letter, they told Liu Jun at the first time.
When Liu Jun learned of the news of his father's murder, he wept bitterly and discussed with his generals to stop and return to Beijing with his male soldiers.
After more than three months of arduous conquest, the twenty-three-year-old Liu Jun led his troops to attack Jiankang, killed his brother Liu Xun and others, and successfully became the fifth emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty.
Liu Jun was an ambitious emperor who made many achievements during his reign. And his deeds of making several private visits, personally reviewing and judging cases, and leading his troops to resist the Northern Wei Dynasty were even more rumored to be beautiful talks.
However, during Liu Jun's reign, there were also many actions that were criticized by later generations.
Many of Liu Jun's brothers, perhaps inspired by his extermination of the throne, followed suit. Unfortunately, eight brothers followed suit and all ended in failure, and all of them eventually died at the hands of Liu Jun.
In addition, there is a controversial record of Liu Jun in the historical records, that is, the issue of Liu Jun's style, especially his relationship with his birth mother Lu Shi, is the biggest focus.
According to the Book of Wei, after Liu Jun became emperor, he was "promiscuous", and there was also a "sound of filth, clothed in Ouyue" with his birth mother Lu Shi. For this record, some historians believe that this is a deliberate smear of the Northern Wei regime. There is a similar record in the Book of Song, claiming that Liu Jun often fornicated with palace women in his mother's palace. Although the relationship between him and his mother is not clear, it also uses the saying that "the secret of the palace is not discernible".
Judging from many historical records, Liu Jun was indeed absurd and lustful in the late period, but whether he and his birth mother were as recorded in the Book of Wei is still an unsolved mystery.
Reference books: Book of Wei, Book of Song, Zizhi Tongjian