In August 264, the twenty-three-year-old Sun Hao ascended the throne and became the fourth emperor of Eastern Wu. In the early days of his reign, Sun Hao ordered the opening of warehouses to provide relief and sympathize with the people, which was quite a bit of work, but he soon changed, "rough and arrogant, more taboo, good wine". Sun Hao was cruel and murderous, indiscriminately killing the ministers of the Imperial Chinese, especially those who gave him advice, and most of them could not escape death. However, there was a minister, although Sun Hao had a grudge in his heart, but he did not dare to provoke, why was this?
The reason why Sun Hao was able to inherit the throne was directly related to the Zuo Dianjun Wan Yu, the Chancellor PuYangxing, and the Zuo General Zhang Bu. It was Sun Hao, whom Wan Yu recommended to Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu, "who said that Hao was able to discern and judge, and that he was the domain of the Huan King of Changsha, plus he was eager to learn and obeyed the law." After Sun Hao ascended the throne, Puyang Xing and Zhang Bu had some regrets, and as a result, they were framed and executed by Sun Hao. Later, Wan Yu, who was already a minister, was also forced to commit suicide.
Although Sun Hao killed three important courtiers, he did not dare to move against another person, and this person was Lu Kai! Lu Kai was a native of Wu County, Wu County, which is today's Suzhou, Jiangsu. Long before Sun Quan became emperor, Lu Kai had already served as a county official in Yongxing, Zhuji and other places in Eastern Wu, with considerable political achievements, when Sun Hao's father Sun He was not long after he was born. After that, Lu Kai took up the military post and served as a jianwu lieutenant, but he still had a hard hand and was diligent and studious.
In 242, Lu Kai came to Hainan Island, and in dan'er Taishou's post, "begged Zhu Ya, won meritorious service, and moved to Jianwu Lieutenant", this year Sun Hao was born. In 255, Lu Kai led an army to attack the thief Chen Yi of Lingling Mountain, and once again made a meritorious contribution, "Bai Baqiu Governor, General Biao, Fengdu Xianghou, and became the Right Governor of Wuchang". In 258, Sun Xiu ascended the throne, and Lu Kai was promoted to "General of the Northern Expedition, False Festival, and Leader of Yu Prefecture". Lu Kai is very talented and has deep qualifications, but his promotion is very slow, why is this?
It turned out that Lu Kai was from the Lu clan of Wu County, a famous man in Jiangdong, and the famous Eastern Wu general Lu Xun was his uncle. In the later period of Sun Quan's reign, the Southern Lu Party Struggle broke out in the DPRK, and the entire Lu clan of Wu County was involved in it, and was brutally attacked by Sun Quan. In the end, Lu Xun was forced to die, Lu Yin (Lu Kai's younger brother) was arrested and imprisoned, almost died, Although Lu Kai was an official in other places, he was also implicated, so he could not be promoted for a long time.
However, the strength of the Lu clan of Wu County was still there, and the emperors of Eastern Wu had to rely on them, and in this case, Lu Kai and Lu Kang were promoted. In 264, Sun Hao made Lu Kai the Grand General of Zhenxi, "Du Du Baqiu, Leading Jingzhou Mu", and Lu Kang was made a great general of the Zhen Army and a lingyi prefecture pastor. In 266, Lu Kai was promoted to Zuo Cheng Xiang (左丞相) and was a very popular subject. Sun Hao did not want others to look at him, so the minister did not dare to look up when he went to court. Lu Kai didn't care so much, he spoke bluntly, and Sun Hao allowed Lu Kai to look at himself.
After that, Lu Kai advised Sun Hao many times, and even went against Sun Hao's will, and Sun Hao held a grudge against it, but he dared to be angry and did not dare to speak, let alone move Lu Kai's hair. The reason is very simple, first of all, Lu Kai is a heavy minister of the imperial court, "both as a heavy minister, it is difficult to bring justice to the law." Secondly, Lu Kai is not Puyang Xing or Zhang Bu, standing behind him is Wu Junlu. Lu Kai served as a chancellor in the middle of the dynasty, and his cousin Lu Kang served as a general in the Zhen Army, holding heavy troops in his hands.
In the end, although Sun Hao was brutal, he was not dimwitted, and he knew that his Eastern Wu regime relied on the Lu brothers, "lu kai on the inside is the prime minister, and the outside is the general who resists the land." In 269, Lu Kai became seriously ill, and Sun Hao sent people to visit and inquire about his last words. Lu Kai still persuaded Sun Hao to stay away from the villain and get close to Xianchen. After that, Lu Kai fell ill and died at the age of seventy-two. Although Lu Kai died, Sun Hao still did not dare to retaliate, and it was not until Lu Kang died of illness five years later that Sun Hao exiled Lu Kai's family to Jian'an.
References: 1. Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms; 2. Zizhi Tongjian