In 263, Deng Ai smuggled Yin Ping suddenly appeared in Jiangyou, and the defenders of Jiangyou surrendered. Liu Chan hurriedly sent Zhuge Zhanzhen to guard Mianzhu. As a result, Zhuge Zhan's army was defeated, and Deng Ai's army reached the city of Chengdu, and the later lord Liu Chan accepted Yu Zhou's suggestion to surrender to Deng Ai. When Liu Chan decided to surrender, his son Liu Chen, the King of Northern Lands, was adamantly opposed. Liu Chen said:
"If the reason is poor and weak, and the disaster will be defeated, then the father and the son and the king will fight with the city behind their backs, and die together with the society, so as to see the former emperor Keye."
Liu Chen's words cannot be described as unpretentious. Unfortunately, Liu Chan's intention to surrender was already decided, and he rejected Liu Chen's suggestion. Liu Chen saw that the country was about to perish, and vowed to die not to be a slave to the country. Liu Chen ran to the Zhaolie Temple to cry bitterly, killed his wife and children, and then committed suicide. Liu Chen also became the only descendant of the Liu clan to be martyred.
Liu Chen stills
In fact, Liu Chen suggested that Liu Chan stick to Chengdu to a certain extent. After all, Deng Ai was just going deep alone. As long as Chengdu can be defended, other armies will come to Qinwang one after another, and Jiang Wei's main force can also divide a part to return to reinforcements. Even if the country is inevitably destroyed in the end, at least it will let future generations see their determination. Liu Chenning's character of not surrendering to death has been appreciated by posterity. Compared with his father, who could not be supported, Liu Chen's historical evaluation was much better.
Liu Chan stills
Chen Shichong once commented:
Kong Ming's sons Zhan and Sun Shang were killed in battle, Zhang Fei's grandson Zun, Zhao Yun's second son Guangye was killed in battle, the King of Beiping wept at the Zhaolie Temple, killing his wife first was suicide, Wei Yishu Palace people gave soldiers, Li Zhaoyi did not humiliate himself. Zen is not particularly ashamed of the soldiers, nor is it ashamed of the woman.
Zhong Jingbo praised Liu Chen:
The king of the Northland shamed his father's surrender, cried and blessed the temple, and killed his wife, saying: "Shame to see the foundation and abandon others", Liu Chen is worthy of his ancestors, Liu Chan is ashamed of his son.
Mao Zonggang commented:
After the death of the Later Han Dynasty, although Liu Chan was cowardly, he was fortunate to have the king of the Northern Lands to die and make a difference for the Han Dynasty.
Liu Chen's heroic ambition to martyr the country should certainly be respected by posterity and history. If Liu Chen fled, he could look for Jiang Wei's army. After Liu Chen found Jiang Wei's army, Jiang Wei could support Liu Chen as emperor and re-establish power following the example of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. In this way, it may be possible to continue the Shu Han regime. Why didn't Liu Chen choose to flee? I think the following factors should be considered.
Deng Ai's 30,000-strong army had already besieged Chengdu, and Chengdu's troops must have been far less than Deng Ai's army. With Liu Chan already decided to surrender, it was almost impossible for Liu Chen to break through and leave. Liu Chen could not choose to break through, and it would be difficult to escape. At that time, Deng Ai's army had already set up an encirclement circle on the periphery, and it was unlikely that Liu Chen would want to disguise and escape. Under normal circumstances, it is easy to take advantage of the chaos to flee when the soldiers are in chaos, and there was no war in Chengdu at that time. Under normal circumstances, Deng Ai could not let the people in Chengdu go out casually. Liu Chen's chances of fleeing are too small. Instead of running away and being captured, it is better to be heroic and righteous.
In fact, I think Liu Chen may not have wanted to flee at that time. Liu Chen chose to commit suicide after Liu Chan decided to surrender, before he could formally surrender. It shows that Liu Chen's idea at that time was not to flee from another regime, but to make up his mind to martyr the country. Since Liu Chen did not have the idea of fleeing, he would naturally not flee, let alone look for Jiang Wei. Otherwise, he will try everything he can to escape, and even if he fails, he will try his best.
The fundamental reason why Liu Chen chose to die instead of fleeing should lie in the traditional concept in Liu Chen's heart. In Liu Chen's heart, there was a strong concept of father and son. At that time, Liu Chan had already announced his surrender, and Liu Chen, as Liu Chan's son and courtier, could only choose to accept. In Liu Chen's view, if he fled to Jiang Wei, he would violate his father's orders and imperial orders. Liu Chen did not choose to flee, and he was not willing to be the king of the subjugated country, so he chose to commit suicide. At that time, not only Liu Chen had such a concept, but also Jiang Wei and others had the same idea. After Liu Chan surrendered, even though Jiang Wei still had heavy troops in his hands, he finally chose to lay down his weapons.
Jiang Wei stills
The situation at that time also did not allow Jiang Wei to proclaim Liu Chen emperor. The area of the Shu Han was not very large, and the core and foundation of the Shu Han's rule were near the Chengdu Plain. After Liu Chan chose to surrender, the Chengdu Plain basically fell completely, and the foundation of Shu Han's rule was completely lost. Another base of the Shu Han Dynasty, Hanzhong, had also fallen before that. At this time, the areas where the Shu Han could support the regime had basically fallen. Even if Jiang Wei and others supported Liu Chen as emperor, they did not have the economic basis for declaring himself emperor. The end result can only be failure.
After the fall of Chengdu, Jiang Wei's position seemed very awkward. If Chengdu did not fall, Deng Ai's position would be very awkward. Jiang Wei is most likely to wrap Deng Ai in dumplings. After the fall of Chengdu, Jiang Wei was in a state of being attacked on his stomach and back. The situation of Jiang Wei's army is also very dangerous! Jiang Wei is most likely to be dumplings wrapped by Zhong Hui and Deng Ai. After the fall of Chengdu, Jiang Wei's army also lost the support of grain and grass ordnance, Jiang Wei could not rely on the vicinity of the Sword Pavilion for a long time, and Liu Chen's defection to Jiang Wei was useless.
Considering all the reasons, Liu Chen chose to commit suicide instead of choosing to flee. Of course, these are only vague speculations. The real reason why Liu Chen did not choose to flee was known only to himself.