The Fall of Shu: The Crown Prince’s Deadly Gambit

To the readers: When people talk about the later history of Shu Han, who leaves the deepest impression? Zhuge Zhan, defeated at Mianzhu? Liu Chen, the Prince of Beidi, who took his own life at the ancestral temple? Or Jiang Wei, whose scheme brought down three worthy men? While reading the original Records of the Three Kingdoms, I came across a brief yet thought-provoking passage: “In the first month of the first year of Xianxi, Zhong Hui rebelled in Chengdu, and Xuan was killed by the rebel soldiers.” It made me wonder: when Zhong Hui launched his rebellion in Chengdu, Liu Shan and his other sons all survived, so why was only Crown Prince Liu Xuan killed? Yet even after searching through the historical records, I could find very little about Liu Xuan, Crown Prince of Liu Shan. This story therefore boldly supposes that the historical Liu Xuan took part in Jiang Wei and Zhong Hui’s plan and was ultimately killed. As he lay dying, Liu Xuan lamented, “If Heaven would give Xuan just one more chance…” before the rebel soldiers cut him down. After his death, he is reborn on the eve of Shu Han’s surrender, carrying the memories of Zhang Yun, a modern student. With both his former life’s memories and a general understanding of history, how will Liu Xuan break the deadlock of Shu Han’s impending fall and the Wei army’s coming rebellion in Chengdu? The biggest difference between this story and other transmigration novels is that, although the protagonist has memories from a later age to guide him, he has no System. Nothing goes his way as if he were using cheats, and he will face many setbacks along the way. By stoking the conflict between Zhong Hui and Deng Ai and rallying Jiang Wei, Jiang Bin, Huo Yi, Yan Yu, Luo Xian, and other forces, he attempts to rewrite his fate and the course of history before the Chengdu rebellion erupts.