This sentence Zhuge Liang said to his son seems to explain why he did not abolish Liu Chan and establish himself as king.

Zhuge Liang was born in Yangdu, Langya, Eastern Han Dynasty. He had a rich experience. In his life, he experienced the struggle for hegemony among the heroes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the subsequent division of the world between Wei, Shu and Wu. Zhuge Liang had outstanding political and military talents, and he was also a writer. Not only that, he was also an inventor, and he was simply an all-round talent. In 221 AD, Liu Bei established the Shu Han regime in Chengdu, and Zhuge Liang was appointed prime minister. In March 223 AD, Liu Bei fell seriously ill and left Zhuge Liang alone. Soon after, Liu Bei died and Liu Chan, who was only 17 years old, succeeded to the throne. From then on, when Zhuge Liang was still alive, Shu Emperor Liu Chan was basically just a "fashion", "political affairs, no matter how big or small, were decided by Liang". However, Zhuge Liang, who had total power, never replaced Liu Chan, nor did he really exclude Liu Chan.

Before talking about Zhuge Liang, I have to mention one person, and that is Liu Bei's son Liu Chan. In 207 AD, after Liu Bei invited Zhuge Liang, the "extraordinary expert" who was only 27 years old at the time, to "come out of the mountain", Zhuge Liang formed an indissoluble bond with Liu Bei, Liu Chan and his son. From then on, in the first half of the period, Zhuge Liang mainly assisted Liu Bei, which can be said to be In the second half of the game, Zhuge Liang mainly assisted Liu Chan, and he could be said to have dedicated his whole life.

Evaluations of Liu Chan may sometimes be extreme. Liu Chan's nickname is Adou, and Adou who cannot help him is often synonymous with being fatuous and incompetent. In 263 AD, after the Shu Han was destroyed by Cao Wei, Liu Chan was arranged to live in Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei, and was granted the title of Duke of Anle County. Once, Sima Zhao (son of Sima Yi), a powerful minister of Cao Wei at that time, hosted a banquet in honor of Liu Chan. At the banquet, Sima Zhao deliberately asked the musicians to play Shu music to test Liu Chan's reaction. The old Shu Han officials present either bowed their heads in tears or felt so ashamed that they almost lowered their heads to their crotches.

But Liu Chan was still very happy. At this time, Sima Zhao, who was full of tricks and scheming, felt relieved. He didn't expect Liu Chan to be so "heartless", so he asked Liu Chan: "An Le Don't you miss Shu?" Liu Chan replied calmly: "I am happy here, but I don't miss Shu." Regarding Liu Chan's answer, some people may think that Liu Chan is a heartless fool, while others may think that he is such a heartless fool. It is a sign of great wisdom and foolishness, but I think he may be more motivated by self-preservation or open-mindedness.

When Zhuge Liang was alive, any minister who could threaten Liu Chan in Zhuge Liang's opinion had long been suppressed by Zhuge Liang. After Zhuge Liang's death in 234 AD, Liu Chan could be said to have fully taken control of the military and political power of the Shu Han Dynasty. However, Liu Chan still reused Jiang Wan, who was recommended by Zhuge Liang during his lifetime. "Three Kingdoms" said that Zhuge Liang secretly reported to Liu Chan during his lifetime, saying, "If the minister is unlucky, I will pay for Wan later." After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wan was appointed as Shangshu Ling, leading the charge. As the governor of Yizhou, in 238 AD, Jiang Wan was ordered to open a government and take charge of the military and political affairs of the Shu Han Dynasty. Later, after Jiang Wan was unable to handle government affairs due to illness, Fei Yi became the general of the Shu Han and handled the military and state affairs of the Shu Han. Dong Yun became Fei Yi's deputy. Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and Dong Yun were all people whom Zhuge Liang valued during his lifetime. Although their abilities were not as good as Zhuge Liang, a genius of this world, their characters were as upright as Zhuge Liang's. From this point of view, Liu Chan's life is surprisingly good.

It was only in 258 AD that Liu Chan’s favored eunuch Huang Hao began to take charge of the affairs of the Shu Han Dynasty. According to "Huayang Guozhi", Shu Han general Jiang Wei wanted Liu Chan to execute Huang Hao, but Liu Chan did not agree. Liu Chan said: "Hao goes to court and gnashes his teeth at Dong Yun. I always hate him. Why do you mind?" It can be seen that Liu Chan also knew that Huang Hao was a villain. Compared with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, Liu Chan's ability is much worse, and he cannot achieve "talent, strategy, wisdom and martial arts". However, Liu Chan has enough magnanimity, can recognize people, reuse wise ministers, and has self-awareness. He also knew who was good to him. Dong Yun always suppressed Liu Chan's favorite Huang Hao when he was alive, but Liu Chan still respected Dong Yun. After Zhuge Liang's death, Shu Han minister Li Miao, who had been "saved" by Zhuge Liang, wrote a letter to slander Zhuge Liang, which made Liu Chan furious and Li Miao was executed.

I think Liu Chan is definitely not stupid, he can recognize people and judge things, but he also has his own obvious weaknesses and shortcomings. I don’t think Liu Chan is too mediocre or too wise. He is just an ordinary person with good intentions and shortcomings.

Let’s talk about Zhuge Liang next. After Liu Bei’s death, Zhuge Liang’s status in Shu Han was absolutely extraordinary. Not only did he take charge of the military and political affairs of the Shu Han Dynasty at that time, in 223 AD, Liu Bei, who was seriously ill, specially issued an edict to his queen (Liu Chan): "You and the prime minister will work together like your father." Not only that, Liu Bei also treated him when he was dying. King Zilu Liu Yong also solemnly said: "After my death, your brother's father will serve the prime minister, and your minister will have sex with the prime minister." This meaning is quite obvious. Liu Bei is telling his sons that their biological father After Liu Bei died, in the Shu Han Dynasty, they had another "father" Zhuge Liang. They had to listen to Zhuge Liang and not do anything random or messy.

Although Zhuge Liang has such a high status in the Shu Han Dynasty, if Zhuge Liang wants to replace Liu Chan at this time, there may be an obstacle, that is, Zhuge Liang has taken "helping the Han Dynasty" as his mission throughout his life, although Liu Bei's The first line is not the imperial line of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but after all, Liu Bei is also a clan member of the Han Dynasty. In addition, Zhuge Liang is still Liu Chan's "sub-father". If he replaces Liu Chan, he will be laughed at emotionally. However, at this time, the Eastern Han Dynasty had already perished, and the world had been divided into three parts. Even if Zhuge Liang no longer went to "support the Han Dynasty", others would not be able to say anything.

Some people may think that Zhuge Liang is not strong enough to replace Liu Chan. In the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang did not have many "best friends". In addition, the internal affairs of the Shu Han Dynasty at that time were also quite complicated. In 214 AD, Liu Bei occupied Yizhou (an ancient place name in Sichuan), which was controlled by Liu Zhang, a clan member of the Han Dynasty. After Liu Bei occupied Yizhou, he was able to establish the Shu Han regime. Therefore, in Among the generals of the Shu Han Dynasty, there were both people from Jingzhou and Yizhou. Despite this, in the Shu Han at that time, there was no Shu Han minister who could check and balance Zhuge Liang. When Liu Bei died, Liu Bei's "right-hand men" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were already dead, and general Zhao Yun did not have the ability to check and balance Zhuge Liang. When Liu Bei was entrusted with an orphan, in addition to Zhuge Liang, there was another minister, Li Yan, who was also the minister of entrustment. Later, Zhuge Liang easily "manipulated" him and deposed him as a commoner.

In my opinion, all the so-called obstacles are nothing, because Liu Bei once said this to Zhuge Liang when he was left alone: ??"If the heir can be assisted, assist him; if he is not talented, , you can take it yourself." These words were quite fatal to Liu Chan who succeeded him. This was simply equivalent to the late emperor's edict. This was the Sword of Shang Fang. Zhuge Liang could use these words to depose Liu Chan and establish himself as king.

Why did Liu Bei say these fatal words? I think this is related to the specific historical environment of the Three Kingdoms and the situation of Liu Bei Group at that time. At that time, there were constant wars and fierce competition between the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, and the weakest one was probably the Shu Han. Moreover, Liu Bei had just occupied Yizhou, the base camp of the Shu Han, for a few years. The Shu Han was not stable at that time. When he died, his eldest son Liu Chan was only 17 years old, and his other two sons were even younger. After Liu Bei's death, if there was a slight mistake, Shu Han might fall into the hands of Cao Wei or Soochow. In Liu Bei's view, looking around, only Zhuge Liang can continue to lead Liu Bei's unfinished business, fight against Cao Wei, and guard against Soochow.

There is no better way to know a son than a father. Liu Bei still knew Liu Chan. Liu Bei probably felt that Liu Chan did not have the talent for "great talent and great strategy", so he gave Liu Chan many instructions and asked Liu Chan to listen to Zhuge Liang's words. I think Liu Bei gave his complete trust to Zhuge Liang when he was alone. Maybe in Liu Bei's view, even if Zhuge Liang is allowed to establish himself as the king of Shu Han, Shu Han cannot be eaten by Cao Wei and Soochow. And Zhuge Liang did not let Liu Bei down in the end, "You completely believed in me, and I will not let you down until my death." How sincere is this? I think the friendship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang in history is more beautiful than true love.

There is no harm without comparison. Let’s take a look at Zhuge Liang’s old rival, Cao Wei’s powerful official Sima Yi. In 226 AD, Cao Pi passed away at the age of forty. Sima Yi, who was trusted by Cao Pi, became one of Tuogu's ministers. In 239 AD, Cao Pi's son Wei Ming Emperor Cao Ruiying died earlier at the age of thirty-six. Sima Yi and General Cao Shuang assisted the young Cao Fang. Since then, Sima Yi has been suppressed by Cao Shuang. In 249 AD, Sima Yi launched the Gaopingling Incident to get rid of Cao Shuang and sideline Cao Wei. Later, Wei Emperor Cao Fang appointed Sima Yi as prime minister, but Sima Yi refused. Later, Wei Emperor Cao Fang ordered Sima Yi to be given the gift of nine tins, but Sima Yi also refused. This addition of Jiuxi is sometimes simply a standard procedure for ancient powerful officials to establish a new dynasty. Historically, Wang Mang was awarded Jiuxi by the Western Han Dynasty and later established the new dynasty. Cao Cao was awarded Jiuxi by the Eastern Han Dynasty, and his son Cao Pi established Cao Wei. At this time, Sima Yi, who knew that his days were numbered, seemed to plan to be Cao Wei's minister for the rest of his life. I think this felt a bit like "a bitch still needs to build an archway". Later, Sima Yi's grandson Sima Yan replaced Cao Wei and established the Western Jin Dynasty.

As for why Zhuge Liang did not replace Liu Chan, the queen of the Shu Han Dynasty, and proclaimed himself king, I think what Zhuge Liang said to his son can explain the reason quite well. Before Zhuge Liang died, he wrote a family letter "Book of Commandments" to his young son Zhuge Zhan. There is such a sentence on it: "Without indifference, there is no clear ambition, without tranquility, there is no way to reach far." This means that Zhuge Liang takes fame and wealth very lightly. After Liu Bei's death, Li Yan, another minister of the Shu Han Dynasty who cared about life, also advised Zhuge Liang He accepted Jiuxi and became the king, but Zhuge Liang sternly refused. I think Zhuge Liang's indifference to fame and fortune is also one of the reasons why he managed the Shu Han in an orderly manner.

Sometimes, when you meet the right person, you will be right no matter what. For example, Liu Bei, Liu Chan and his son met the kind Zhuge Liang. Character is very important. One side of Zhuge Liang is that he has extraordinary abilities, intelligence, and "many tricks". Even Sima Yi is afraid of him. The other side of Zhuge Liang is that he is kind to the king of Shu Han and the people, which is a bit perfect. It is easy to say it, but it is so difficult to do it. Sometimes people can easily be controlled by various desires in their hearts and fall into the quagmire of seven emotions and six desires, unable to extricate themselves.

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Reference materials: "Three Kingdoms", "Huayang Kingdom", "Book of Commandments".