Sun Chen

Sun Chen (onyomi: Son Chin) is one of Sun Liang's advisers and responsible for Sun Xiu's ascension as Emperor. Arrogant and brazen, he abused his power as regent often to Wu's detriment.

Role in Games
In Dynasty Warriors 7, Sun Chen aids Zhuge Dan's rebellion by sending Wu reinforcements for his cause. He executes Zhu Yi which causes dissent in his army and surrenders. At the end of the first part, he finally arrives himself and has to be defeated in order to proceed with the second part. In the sequel, he retains a similar role and defends the Wu main camp. Making the Quan family defect will make them open the gates to him, but he will try to prevent the defections by sending out generals that have to be prevented from reaching the Quan officers. Defeating Sun Chen will open the path towards Shouchun Castle.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms games give Sun Chen low overall stats, especially his charisma and politics, which mirror his historical incompetence. Only his intelligence stat stands out, although it is average at best. He only appears quite late into the game, but can generally be seen to serve Sun Jian in the Rise of Heroes scenario.

Quotes

 * "You use people, and bring war, death and destruction. As my father would have said, you are an imbecile."
 * "You dare to call me that?! You shall be punished for your impropriety!"
 * Sima Zhao and Sun Chen; Dynasty Warriors 7


 * "My lord, our enemies are powerful. They have gotten past all of our traps..."
 * "How dare you come and tell me of your defeat! Your incompetence brings shame to all of Wu!"
 * Zhu Yi and Sun Chen before the former's execution; Dynasty Warriors 8


 * "They... They allowed the enemy into my castle?! Just how worthless are they!"
 * "So this is what happens when I try and help Zhuge Dan. This is the last time I'll ever cooperate with him!"

Historical Information
Sun Chen was the son of Sun Chao and great-grandson of Sun Jing. In 256, the Wu regent Sun Jun fell ill and decided to hand over his power to Sun Chen, who was his cousin. When Sun Jun died, Sun Chen thus succeeded him. The Wu general Lu Ju was angry at this development as Sun Jun had a dictatorial style and lacked accomplishments, so he attempted to overthrow Sun Chen together with minister Teng Yin. Sun Chen discovered the plan and attacked Lu Ju and Teng Yin, defeating them. Due to that victory, Sun Chen became very arrogant. He executed Teng Yin and his entire clan and forced Lu Ju to commit suicide.

In 257, the 14-year-old Wu Emperor Sun Liang began to handle some affairs by himself. He would sometimes question Sun Chen's actions and also form a group of guards around him that were of his age, stating he would want to grow up with them, which Sun Chen did not like. Later that year, Wei general Zhuge Dan rebelled against Sima Zhao in Shouchun. Wen Qin was sent with a small detachment of troops to aid him, while Sun Chen led the main army of Wu north. However, he camped many miles away from Shouchun and did nothing. After some time, he suddenly ordered Zhu Yi to take some troops and relieve the siege, but Zhu Yi refused, stating the troops were tired and unfed. Sun Chen had Zhu Yi executed, which caused many people who admired Zhu Yi for his skills to grow angry. Zhuge Dan was defeated in 258 and Sun Chen withdrew.

Sun Chen knew that the people were angry at him and Sun Liang detested him, so he chose not to return to Jianye, but instead sent some of his confidants to take care of the capital. Sun Liang grew even more angry, so he plotted with his sister Sun Luban, Liu Cheng, Quan Shang and Quan Ji to overthrow Sun Chen. Quan Shang was unable to keep the plot for himself and told it to his wife, who was the cousin of Sun Chen and told the latter of it. Sun Chen acted swiftly and had his men surround the palace. Liu Cheng was killed, Quan Shang captured and Sun Liang deposed, which Sun Chen tried to justify by claiming that Sun Liang had suffered psychosis.

Sun Chen chose Sun Xiu to succeed Sun Liang. Sun Xiu added five counties to his fief and created his brothers marquises. Sun Chen and Sun Xiu had an argument soon after, when Sun Chen brought wine and beef to the palace to feast with Sun Xiu and the latter refused, causing Sun Chen to feast with general Zhang Bu instead, to whom he said that he should have chosen another Emperor. Zhang Bu reported Sun Chen's words to Sun Xiu, who became concerned about Sun Chen. Sun Chen himself also became concerned about his standing with Sun Xiu and offered to take up a post at Wuchang, which Sun Xiu approved.

However, Sun Xiu soon feared that Sun Chen would rebel and take the city for himself, so he plotted with Zhang Bu and Ding Feng to remove Sun Chen at the Laba Festival. The news leaked, but Sun Chen still showed up at the festival, only to be seized by the troops of Zhang Bu and Ding Feng. Sun Chen begged for mercy, offering to be exiled to Jiao Province and become a slave, but Sun Xiu refused, stating that Sun Chen had not given the option to Lu Ju and Teng Yin. Sun Chen was therefore executed along with some family members. Sun Xiu was so ashamed of Sun Chen and Sun Jun that he had them both banished from the Sun family and referred to them as Gu Chen and Gu Jun.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Sun Chen first appears in chapter 111, where he was described as a cruel and violent man who had put many officials to death when he became Prime Minister. He was asked to send reinforcements to Zhuge Dan in Shouchun and agreed. In the next chapter, he ordered Zhu Yi to attack the Wei forces at Shouchun, threatening him with death penalty. When Zhu Yi was defeated and returned, Sun Chen became angry and executed him before returning to Jianye. Lastly, in chapter 113, he ordered the execution of the families of the officers who had defected to Wei. He then uncovered Sun Liang's plot to overthrow him and dethroned him, putting the conspirators and their families to death. When Huan Yi objected Sun Chen's harsh words about Sun Liang, Sun Chen drew a sword and killed him. He then put Sun Xiu on the throne and was confirmed as Prime Minister. Similar to actual history, Sun Xiu would then plot with Zhang Bu and Ding Feng to remove Sun Chen and had him seized and executed at a banquet.