Lu Xun, who burned the company camp and defeated Liu Bei, ended up embarrassing in his later years

Mondo History Updated on 2024-03-02

Lu Xun, whose name is Boyan, was an outstanding military strategist and statesman of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period, who outwitted him in the battle of burning the company camp, successfully repelled Liu Bei's attack, and relieved a major crisis for Eastern Wu. However, Lu Xun's later years were not as glamorous as his military career.

Lu Xun's military talent was fully demonstrated in the Battle of Yiling. In 222 AD, Liu Bei personally led a large army to attack Eastern Wu, intending to avenge Guan Yu and recapture Jingzhou. Lu Xun, as the chief general of Eastern Wu, adopted a strategy of holding on and waiting for the opportunity. When Liu Bei's army was exposed due to the company's camp of 700 miles and its flaws, Lu Xun decisively launched a fire attack and defeated Liu Bei's army, which is also known as "burning the company camp". After this battle, Lu Xun's prestige reached its peak, and he was canonized as a general by Sun Quan, with a prominent status.

However, Luxun's political career has not been without its challenges. In Sun Quan's later years, there was a fierce power struggle within the Soochow court, the so-called "Ergong Dispute". The struggle stemmed from Sun Quan's hesitation about the crown prince Sun and the issue of establishing a prince with Sun Ba, the king of Lu. Lu Xun remained neutral in this struggle, but his neutrality did not save him from being implicated. Lu Xun once wrote to Sun Quan, advocating that the status of the crown prince be clarified in order to stabilize the court situation, but this behavior was misunderstood by Sun Quan as interfering in the affairs of the imperial family, which caused Sun Quan's dissatisfaction.

Sun Quan's dissatisfaction with Lu Xun gradually escalated, and he began to doubt Lu Xun's loyalty, and reprimanded him many times. Lu Xun's nephews Gu Tan and Gu Cheng were exiled for being attached to the crown prince, and the crown prince's wife Fu Wucang was imprisoned and died because of his close correspondence with Lu Xun. Although Lu Xun himself was not directly punished, Sun Quan's continuous rebukes made him feel extremely resentful and confused.

Under this pressure, Lu Xun's health deteriorated rapidly. In 245 AD, Lu Xun died of illness in Wuchang at the age of 63. His death was a great loss for Soochow. Lu Xun's death was not only because of his personal talent and contributions, but also because of his important position in the politics and military of Soochow. His death also marked a climax in the internal power struggle of Soochow, which eventually led to the weakening of Soochow's internal ** and strength.

Lu Xun's life can be said to be full of glory and tragedy. His military talents and political wisdom contributed greatly to the establishment and development of Soochow, but his end was bleak because of the power struggle at the court. Despite this, Lu Xun's name and deeds are still remembered by later generations, and he became one of the famous military strategists and politicians in Chinese history. His resourcefulness and loyalty, as well as his place in the history of Soochow, made him a figure to be reckoned with during the Three Kingdoms period.

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