Life

Wang Lian was from Nanyang Commandery (南陽郡), which is around present-day Nanyang, Henan. He entered Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing) sometime between 194 and 214 in the late Eastern Han dynasty, when Liu Zhang was the Governor of Yi Province. He served as the Prefect (令) of Zitong County under Liu Zhang during this time.

Between 212 and 214, the warlord Liu Bei engaged Liu Zhang in a war for control of Yi Province. When Liu Bei's forces attacked Zitong County, Wang Lian ordered his troops to hide behind the city walls and close the gates, and refused to surrender to Liu Bei. Liu Bei admired Wang Lian for his loyalty towards Liu Zhang, so he called off the attack on Zitong County.

In 214, after Liu Bei successfully conquered Yi Province, he recruited most, if not all, of Liu Zhang's former subordinates to serve in his administration. During this time, he appointed Wang Lian as the Prefect of Shifang County and later reassigned him to be the Prefect of Guangdu County (廣都縣; northeast of present-day Shuangliu District, Chengdu, Sichuan). Wang Lian performed well in office and was later promoted to Colonel of the Salt Office (司鹽校尉) to oversee and regulate the production and trade of salt and iron. Under Wang Lian's leadership, the Salt Office gained a lot of revenue for Liu Bei's administration through profits and taxes. At the same time, Wang Lian also identified some of his subordinates with great potential, such as Lü Yi, Du Qi (杜祺) and Liu Gan, and promoted them or recommended them to serve in higher positions. He was later given additional appointments as the Administrator (太守) of Shu Commandery (蜀郡; centred around present-day Chengdu, Sichuan) and General of Revival.

In 223, after Liu Shan became the emperor of the Shu Han state, Wang Lian was appointed as a Colonel of the Garrison Cavalry (屯騎校尉) and as the Chief Clerk (長史) of Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor (丞相). He was also enfeoffed as the Marquis of Pingyang Village (平陽亭侯).

Sometime between 223 and 224, when rebellions broke out in the Nanzhong region of southern Shu, Zhuge Liang wanted to personally lead the Shu army on a campaign to quell the revolts and pacify the region. Wang Lian strongly objected and said that Zhuge Liang, given his important status, should not undertake the risk of going into the dangerous Nanzhong region. As Zhuge Liang was worried that none of the Shu generals was sufficiently competent for this task, he insisted on personally leading the campaign. However, Wang Lian's sincerity did make Zhuge Liang reconsider many times before he finalised his decision to go on the campaign in early 225.

Wang Lian died not long later, probably around 223. After his death, his son, Wang Shan (王山), inherited his marquis title and marquisate. Like his father, Wang Shan served as an official in Shu and the highest appointment he held was Administrator of Jiangyang Commandery (江陽郡; around present-day Neijiang, Sichuan).

生平

王連在劉璋當益州牧時就已入蜀，被任命為梓潼令。劉備與劉璋反目後，劉備向南朝成都進攻，王連緊閉城門，堅決不降，劉備亦不強行攻擊，繞道繼續進攻。劉備奪益州後任命王連為什邡令，所在都有治績。後來遷任司鹽校尉，在他管理下令到國家鹽鐵收入甚多，又提拔一些有才能的人士，像呂乂、杜祺、劉幹等人最終都當上大官。及後遷任蜀郡太守、興業將軍，繼續管理鹽鐵事務。建興元年（223年），拜屯騎校尉，領丞相長史，封平陽亭侯。當時雍闓在南中叛亂，南方諸郡響應，諸葛亮決定要親自領軍討伐。王連極力反對諸葛亮親身領軍，但諸葛亮十分堅決，還是決定親率軍隊征伐。此時王連逝世。

三國演義

諸葛亮南征時，王連反對諸葛亮南佔孟獲。

子女

• 王山，王連死後繼承平陽亭侯爵位，官至江陽太守。