There were two reasons for Lu Wan's betrayal: he was afraid that Empress Lu would kill him and he believed the slander from his subordinates.

1. Afraid that Empress Lu would kill him

The relationship between Lu Wan and Liu Bang was very good, and it went beyond the relationship between a minister and the emperor. Liu Bang really regarded Lu Wan as his brother. Not only did he reward him with treasures, he also thought of ways to make Lu Wan King of Yan. The reason why Lu Wan gained Liu Bang's love was that the two grew up together, and Lu Wan accompanied Liu Bang from the trough to the peak of life.

Liu Bang ignored all opinions and made Lu Wan King of Yan, because in Liu Bang's eyes, Lu Wan was his most trustworthy person. But Liu Bang never expected that Lu Wan would collude with the Huns to rebel. At that time, Liu Bang had repeatedly reported that Lu Wan had returned to Beijing for questioning, but Lu Wan never dared to go back. The reason for this was that Liu Bang was weak and the power of the country was in the hands of Empress Lu. If Lu Wan returns to the palace to resume her life, she is likely to be brutally murdered by Empress Lu, and there is a precedent for this. Lu Wan had a good relationship with Liu Bang, but Empress Lu would definitely eradicate him, as well as other kings and heroes with different surnames, for the sake of future foundation, so he chose to betray Liu Bang to save himself.

2. Lu Wan listened to the slanderous words of his subordinates

Lu Wan actually did not want to rebel. He still had deep feelings for Liu Bang. At that time, there were rebels colluding with the Huns to rebel, and Lu Wan was ordered to suppress the rebels. When he learned that the rebels intended to use the power of the Xiongnu to rebel, he sent Zhang Sheng to envoy the Xiongnu to prevent the rebels from colluding with the Xiongnu. After Zhang Sheng arrived at the Xiongnu, he met the son of the former King of Yan, who persuaded Zhang Sheng to persuade Lu Wan to join forces with the Xiongnu and the rebels. Zhang Sheng agreed to the matter for his own selfish purposes.

After Zhang Sheng returned, he encouraged Lu Wan to join forces with the rebels. Zhang Sheng knew that Lu Wan was afraid of Empress Lu, so he said that if the rebels were gone, Lu Wan's King Yan would also lose its meaning, so Lu Wan He chose to betray Liu Bang for his own selfish desires. But things did not develop as Lu Wan predicted. The rebels were quickly suppressed by Liu Bang. Knowing that the matter was exposed, Lu Wan took her family to Beijing to confess. But before he could see Liu Bang, Liu Bang passed away. Lu Wan, who lost his protective umbrella, had no choice but to flee to the Huns with his family, and was named King of Donghu.

3. In summary

There are two reasons why Lu Wan betrayed Liu Bang. One was that she was afraid of Empress Lu and was afraid that Empress Lu would eradicate her, and the other was that she listened to her subordinates. calumny.