History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 819 Death of Sun Sheng
【Death of Sun Sheng】

When the Later Zhou Dynasty first conquered Huainan, it besieged Shouzhou and destroyed Chuzhou, causing great shock in the Jiangzuo area. So Li Jing sent Sun Sheng with a letter to ask for peace, and Sun Sheng was detained in the Later Zhou Dynasty since then.

During this period, Chai Rong sent Sun Sheng to the city of Shouzhou to persuade Liu Renzhan to surrender. After Sun Sheng arrived at the city, he actually encouraged Liu Renzhan to defend Shouzhou to the death to fulfill his loyalty.

Chai Rong asked Sun Sheng about the strength of Southern Tang. Sun Sheng insisted that Li Jing was afraid of the royal army and sincerely wanted to submit to Later Zhou. He guaranteed that he had no ulterior motives and tried his best to promote Southern Tang to emulate Liangzhe and Hunan, advocating that this was a win-win result.

It can be said that Sun Sheng’s sweet words, to a certain extent, interfered with Chai Rong’s judgment.

Unexpectedly, when Chai Rong returned, all his previous efforts were in vain. Except for Shouzhou, which was still under siege, all other cities were recaptured by the Southern Tang. When Chai Rong saw the letter, he was furious. The original text of the letter was not recorded in historical records, only saying that "the letter denounced many of Zhou's faults" and "the book was full of slander and sowing discord."

Chai Rong called Sun Sheng over, wishing he could throw the evidence in his face, "Look, this is what you called 'Jing fears my divine power and is willing to serve me as a vassal and have no second thoughts'?" He then threw Sun Sheng and more than 200 others into prison and ordered them to be executed.

According to records, Chai Rong sent his confidant Cao Han to make a final test on Sun Sheng.

During the Later Han Dynasty, Guo Wei was stationed in Weizhou. He thought Cao Han was smart and capable, so he arranged him to serve under his adopted son Chai Rong. Cao Han became Chai Rong's confidant. When Guo Wei was seriously ill, it was Cao Han who reminded Chai Rong that he should "enter the palace to serve the sick", indirectly helping Chai Rong take over the throne, and thus won Chai Rong's trust.

Cao Han invited Sun Sheng to drink and tried to persuade him to change his mind and serve the great, glorious and correct Comrade Chai Rong, but Sun Sheng refused. Finally, Cao Han was helpless and regretful, and finally said the purpose of his trip, "The emperor has spoken a word, and he has sentenced you to death."

"Oh? Haha." Sun Sheng looked pleased with himself, as if he had heard some good news. He slowly stood up, took out his robe and scepter, and straightened his clothes in front of the mirror, as if he was going to attend a court meeting or a ceremony to worship the heaven. He knelt down facing the south where Li Jing was, and left his last words in life, "I will die for my country." Then, Sun Sheng held his head high and died bravely. The more than 200 people who accompanied him were also slaughtered.

When the news of Sun Sheng's martyrdom came, Li Jing cried bitterly (shed tears in grief), and issued an edict to posthumously confer the title of Taifu on Sun Sheng, posthumously confer the title of Duke of Lu, and bestow the posthumous title of "Wen Zhong". He also provided generous relief to his family, promoted his son to the position of Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites, and gave his son the name "Lu Si".

Heroes appreciate heroes. After Chai Rong killed Sun Sheng, he felt very regretful (he felt pity for his loyalty and felt quite regretful).

Historical records have a very high opinion of Sun Sheng, saying that he was an unarmed old scholar who was able to remain unyielding and sacrifice his life for justice when the country was in danger, and his death was as heavy as Mount Tai.

Zhong Mo, who was also an envoy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was demoted by Chai Rong to the position of Sima of Yaozhou. Later, because Chai Rong regretted killing Sun Sheng, he summoned Zhong Mo to be the Shaoqing of the Imperial Guard.

There is no harm without comparison. As envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Zhong Mo and Li Deming succumbed to the tyranny and rushed to submit to the Later Zhou Dynasty and betray their motherland.

Some people's death is as light as a feather, leaving a bad reputation for thousands of years; some people's death is as heavy as Mount Tai, and their names are recorded in history. Ouyang Xiu included Sun Sheng in the "Death Records".

However, Sun Sheng was not a pure person, nor was he free from vulgar tastes. He also had some minor flaws, such as in his lifestyle. According to records, Sun Sheng was extremely extravagant in Southern Tang. He lived a life of debauchery, but not wine and meat. He did not have a dining table at home. Whenever he ate, he would have prostitutes stand around him with plates and bowls in their hands. This was named "Meat Table Plate", and became a social trend that the upper class of Southern Tang was eager to imitate. It was comparable to the "Nyotaimori" of Japan.

(End of this chapter)