Lü Shao

Biography

Appointment as Crown Prince and Failure of the Northern Campaign

In the sixth month of Longfei 1 (396), Lü Guang formally ascended to the position of Heavenly King, established the Later Liang regime, and officially invested Lü Shao as Crown Prince. By the fifth month of Longfei 4 (399), Lü Shao, together with his elder brother Lü Zuan, the Duke of Taiyuan, led the main forces of Later Liang to campaign against Northern Liang. The ruler of Northern Liang, Duan Ye, sought aid from the ruler of Southern Liang, Tufa Wugu. Tufa Wugu dispatched the Grand General of Agile Cavalry, Tufa Lilugu, and Yang Gui to provide support. The Northern Liang general Juqu Mengxun advised Duan Ye, pointing out that the Later Liang army had penetrated deep into their territory and was in a desperate situation, and that reinforcements were about to arrive. He argued that engaging in battle at this time would be as precarious as stacked eggs, and it was better to hold their positions. Duan Ye adopted this advice, and the Northern Liang army did not engage the Later Liang forces. Seeing no opportunity to exploit the situation, Lü Shao and Lü Zuan had no choice but to withdraw their army.

Succession and Crisis

In the twelfth month of Longfei 4 (399), Lü Guang's condition became critical. On his deathbed, Lü Guang appointed his son Lü Shao as Heavenly King and styled himself Retired Emperor. He appointed Lü Zuan, the Duke of Taiyuan, as Defender-in-chief and Lü Hong, the Duke of Changshan, as Minister of Education. Lü Guang admonished Lü Shao that the state faced many difficulties, and that the three powerful neighbors—Southern Liang, Western Qin, and Northern Liang—were waiting for an opportunity. He advised that after his death, Lü Zuan should command the six armies, Lü Hong should manage court affairs, and Lü Shao himself should be respectful and cautious, entrusting the great power to his two brothers, which might allow them to overcome the crisis. At the same time, Lü Guang also admonished Lü Zuan and Lü Hong that Lü Shao was not a talent capable of rectifying chaos; he had only ascended to the throne due to his status as the legitimate eldest son. If the brothers were harmonious, the state's longevity would last for ten thousand generations; if there was internal suspicion, great disaster would befall them. Lü Guang specifically instructed Lü Zuan, noting his rough and violent temperament, to properly assist Lü Shao and not to listen to slander. On that day, Lü Guang died.

Coup and Suicide

After Lü Guang's death, Lü Shao kept the news of the death secret. Lü Zuan pushed open the small eastern gate to enter the hall and wail, and after venting his grief, he came out. Lü Shao, filled with fear, attempted to yield the throne to Lü Zuan, stating that his brother had high merit and was older, and should inherit the great succession. Lü Zuan refused, citing Lü Shao's status as the legitimate son. Lü Shao's cousin, Lü Chao, the General of Agile Cavalry, advised Lü Shao to eliminate Lü Zuan early, arguing that Lü Zuan's prestige shook the inside and outside, and his lack of sorrow at the funeral indicated he must have other intentions. Lü Shao refused, citing the late emperor's last will, and stated that he regarded death as returning home and could not bear to harm his brother.

Subsequently, Lü Hong, the Duke of Changshan, secretly sent the Minister of State Affairs, Jiang Ji, to persuade Lü Zuan, claiming that Lü Shao was dull and weak, unable to bear the weight of the state, and that Lü Zuan's prestige and virtue were well-known; therefore, for the sake of the state, he should not be bound by minor details. That night, Lü Zuan led several hundred brave warriors to scale the northern city wall and attack the Guangxia Gate of the imperial palace. Lü Hong also led the troops of the Eastern Garden and used axes to break open the Hongfan Gate of the imperial palace. The General of the Left Guard, Qi Cong, defended the Rongming Pavilion. Seeing Lü Zuan enter the forbidden city in the dead of night, he drew his sword and struck Lü Zuan on the forehead, but was subdued by Lü Zuan's attendants. Lü Shao dispatched Lü Kai, the General of the Gentlemen of the Rapid-as-Tigers Guard, to lead the palace guard troops to resist at the Duan Gate. Lü Chao also arrived with two thousand troops. However, the guard soldiers had always feared Lü Zuan's prestige and scattered on their own before any battle took place. Lü Zuan entered the forbidden city through the Qingjiao Gate and ascended the Qianguang Hall. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Lü Shao fled to Zigé and committed suicide. Lü Chao fled to Guangwu.

Major Activities

Campaign Against Northern Liang

In the fifth month of Longfei 4 (399), Lü Shao and Lü Zuan led a northern campaign. This was the only recorded military action personally commanded by Lü Shao. Facing Duan Ye, the King of Northern Liang, and the reinforcements from Southern Liang, Lü Shao's army failed to achieve any results and ultimately withdrew. This military action failed to weaken Northern Liang and instead consumed the national strength of Later Liang, exacerbating internal contradictions.

Secret Mourning and Abdication

After Lü Guang's death, Lü Shao chose to keep the mourning secret, attempting to stabilize the situation. After Lü Zuan entered the hall to mourn, Lü Shao, out of fear, proactively proposed to yield the throne. This move reflected Lü Shao's psychological fragility and political passivity during the period of power transition and provided a psychological breakthrough for Lü Zuan's subsequent coup.

Refusal to Eliminate Lü Zuan

Facing repeated advice from his cousin Lü Chao, Lü Shao insisted on obeying his father's last will and refused to eliminate Lü Zuan before he had formally rebelled. Lü Shao believed that brotherly harmony was the foundation of national stability and was unwilling to engage in fratricide even when facing the risk of death. This "soft-hearted and timid" personality trait ultimately led to his inability to control the situation, resulting in his overthrow by the combined efforts of Lü Zuan and Lü Hong.

The stages before and after his accession were as follows: in 389 (fourteenth year of Taiyuan, Eastern Jin), according to another account, he reached Guzang by way of Chouchih and was made heir by Lü Guang; in 396 (twenty-first year of Taiyuan), after Lü Guang took the title of Heavenly King, he was made crown prince; in 399 (third year of Longan) he campaigned with Lü Zuan against Duan Ye of the Northern Liang and withdrew because the Northern Liang held out; in the same year he was raised as Heavenly King and succeeded his father, only to take his own life soon afterwards in a palace coup. His progress from heir to crown prince and to Heavenly King was arranged by Lü Guang alone, and his swift downfall after succeeding shows that the contest over the imperial clan and military power in the later Liang could no longer be controlled in its founder's last years.

The clan struggle in the Later Liang broke out at once after his accession: his brother Lü Zuan and others commanded the troops, the palace coup followed, and Lü Zhao took his own life while Lü Zuan succeeded, a course directly connected with Lü Guang's arrangement of leaving the succession to his heir without reconciling his other sons.

The founding and decline of the Later Liang were both very brief: Lü Guang founded the state on the base of Liangzhou and left the succession to his heir in his last years without reconciling his other sons, so that Lü Zhao was faced with a palace coup at once and took his own life, after which Lü Zuan and Lü Long perished in turn and the state was finally destroyed by the Later Qin. The records of Lü Zhao himself are bound up with the dates of these events, his verifiable actions being only the campaign against the Northern Liang and his accession.

From Lü Guang's founding to the successive downfall of his sons the Later Liang lasted less than twenty years: centred on Liangzhou, its army and its ruling clan were very closely joined, so that Lü Guang's arrangements in his last years directly determined politics after his death. Although the record of Lü Zhao is scanty, his successive holding of the titles of heir, crown prince and Heavenly King, and his taking his own life in a palace coup at once after his accession, sufficiently show the fragility of the throne: each change depended on the choice of those clansmen who held military power rather than on the order of succession itself.

He reigned only days before the politics of the Later Liang passed into Lü Zuan's hands.

His accession and his death fell in the same year, and the palace coup of the Later Liang became the main thread of its last years.

As evidence, the record appears chiefly in the records of the Book of Jin and the Jin annals of the Comprehensive Mirror, and concerns the three changes of his status as heir, crown prince and Heavenly King together with the palace coup after his accession; no orders, appointments or other measures of his reign are recorded, so the entry lists only the verifiable years and events without supplying his character or government from later comment.

He took his own life soon after his accession, and internal disorder in the Later Liang continued without interruption thereafter.

The group of commanders that had made his father Lü Guang's state split rapidly after his death.

Neither his posthumous title nor his burial place is recorded.

Personal Relations

• Father**: Lü Guang (Emperor Yi of Later Liang)
• Brothers**:
• Lü Zuan (Emperor Ling of Later Liang, Duke of Taiyuan)
• Lü Hong (Duke of Changshan)
• Lü Wei (Duke of Longxi)
• Cousin**: Lü Chao (General of Agile Cavalry)
• Wife**: Lady Zhang

Historical Assessment

• Lü Guang: "Yongye's talent is not suited for rectifying chaos." (Believed Lü Shao lacked the ability to govern a chaotic world and rectify disorder)
• Lü Zuan: "Your Majesty is the legitimate eldest son of the state; how dare I usurp him!" (When Lü Shao offered to yield the throne, Lü Zuan refused on the grounds of his legitimate status, ostensibly upholding the clan system)
• Jiang Ji: "The ruler is dull and weak, unable to bear many difficulties." (Believed Lü Shao was dull and weak, unable to withstand the state's crises)
• Historians' View: As the legitimate eldest successor, Lü Shao's tragedy stemmed from his timid personality and the harsh political environment. He lacked both Lü Guang's grand strategic vision and Lü Zuan's military prestige. Caught between powerful enemies and his brothers' power struggle, he was unable to maintain political stability.