Faced with the increasing power of the Wu State, Chao Cuo told Liu Qi that Emperor Gaozu would entrust the world, King Qi would enfeoff more than seventy cities, King Wu would entrust more than fifty cities, and King Chu would enfeoff forty cities. Half done. Because the king of Wu had lost his son, he claimed that he was ill and refused to go to court, so he should be punished by the law. Emperor Wen was generous and benevolent, and gave King Wu a cane. Liu Bi did not repent, and became more arrogant. He openly minted money from mountains, boiled seas into salt, and recruited desperadoes from all over the world. This was treason and evil. Now, if you cut down the vassal, he will rebel; if you don't cut it, he will rebel. If it is cut immediately, it will react early and it will be insufficiently prepared; if it is not cut and it is fully prepared, the disaster will be great. Chao Cuo's analysis was reasonable, and Liu Qi agreed to cut down the feudal vassal.
In the third year of Emperor Jing's reign (154 BC), Chao Cuo requested that Chu King Liu Wu commit adultery while he was in mourning for Empress Dowager Bo, and requested that he be executed. Liu Qi pardoned Liu Wu but cut off his Donghai County. Then Chao Cuo used the crime of slaying the Changshan County of Zhao Wang Liu Sui, and used the crime of selling the title of Jiaoxi King Liu Xun to squander Liu Xun's six counties. Liu Wu, Liu Sui and Liu Xian were not strong enough to challenge the imperial court, so they all set their sights on the strongest King of Wu, Liu Bi.
After the imperial court cut off the fiefdoms of Liu Wu, Liu Sui and Liu Xian, Liu Bi knew he was guilty and was worried about being cut off, so he prepared to raise troops to rebel. Liu Bi thought that except for the brave King of Jiaoxi, the princes and kings were not enough to make plans. Liu Bi ordered the official Ying Gao to lobby the King of Jiaoxi, saying that Liu Qi appointed treacherous ministers, listened to slander, changed laws, and exploited the princes. The more he worked, the more fierce he was. After eating the chaff, he must eat rice. The King of Wu and the King of Jiaoxi were both well-known princes, who were constantly under investigation and did not even have freedom of movement. The King of Wu has not seen the emperor for more than twenty years. He is worried about being suspected every day and has difficulty confessing. He is tired and anxious all day long. The King of Wu once heard that the King of Jiaoxi also made mistakes, and the court used the mistakes to gain land, but I'm afraid it was more than that. Ying Gao's remarks were reasonable. King Jiaoxi was afraid of being undermined and asked Ying Gao what to do.
Ying Gao replied: "We help each other when we are in trouble, we stay with each other when we are in love, we seek sympathy for each other, we move towards each other when we have desires, and we die when we are benefiting from each other. Now that you and the King of Wu are worried about the same thing, why don't you take this opportunity to sacrifice your life to do harm to the world?"
King Jiaoxi was very frightened and said he would rather die than dare to rebel.
Ying Gao said: "This is all because Chao Cuo, the imperial censor, concealed his loyalties and virtuous people, confused the emperor, and invaded the princes, which led to widespread resentment among the people and rebellion of the princes. Now that the comet is out and the locusts are rising, it is a good time to achieve great things. King Wu will follow you. Kill Chao Cuo internally, and secure the world externally. With the king's bravery, he will be invincible in the world. As long as you say a word, the King of Wu will immediately lead his troops to attack Hangu Pass, seize the grain of Xingyang Aocang, resist the imperial court, repair the houses, and wait for the king .If the king raises an army, then half of the world will be yours."
Ying Gao lobbied for huge profits, but it was not all nonsense. From the second year of Emperor Jing (155 BC) to the third year of Emperor Jing (154 BC), comets appeared twice. The first time was in the northeast, and the second one was in the northeast. Second time in the West. Ying Gao fulfilled his mission and persuaded King Liu Xing of Jiaoxi to raise troops. Liu Xuan was brave and invincible. If he was willing to send troops, Liu Bi would have a vanguard general.
Ying Gao told Liu Bi that Liu Xian agreed to raise troops. Liu Bi acted meticulously and pretended to be an envoy from Wu. He met Liu Xin in person and made an appointment. Liu Bi was very happy to see that Liu Xuan really wanted to raise an army and returned to his country to raise an army.
King Wu's courtiers advised him that the fiefdoms of the princely kingdoms were not satisfied with two-tenths of the imperial court, and rebellion would definitely worry the Queen Mother. Now it is so difficult to serve only one emperor. If there are two emperors, the disaster will be even greater. Liu Bi overruled the courtiers and sent envoys to meet with the kings of Qi, Sichuan, Jiaodong and Jinan to rebel, and these kings all agreed.
Liu Bi rebelled this time and made an appointment with six kings, namely: King Chu, King Zhao, King Jiaodong, King Sichuan, King Jinan and King Jiaoxi. The seven feudal kings rebelled together, which was known as the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" in history.
The seven kingdoms launched an attack in unison, with the banner: Qing Jun side, punish Chao Cuo. Of course, this is just an excuse. The real idea of Liu Bi and others is to seize the throne.
As an inheritor of Legalist thought, Chao Cuo took action and revised laws very radically, damaging the interests of vested interests in society. Chao Cuo's move was similar to Shang Yang's reform. Shang Yang had the support of an enterprising King of Qin; Chao Cuo had Liu Qi, who had not yet left the benevolent position, and his life rested in Liu Qi's hands.
The kings of the six kingdoms of Qi, Jibei, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Sichuan and Jinan were six brothers. Liu Heng took pity on Liu Fei's descendants who had no kings, and divided the big Qi kingdom into six small kingdoms to let Liu Fei's children They can all be kings. These kings are not very strong, but the king of Jiaoxi, Liu Xuan, is brave and can discuss important matters together. Therefore, the combined strength of these six countries is only as strong as the former Qi State.
Rebellions are always a bit unsatisfactory. Suddenly King Liu Lu of Qi quit. King Jibei's city wall was damaged and the military power was handed over to Lang Zhongling to repair it. Lang Zhongling hijacked the king and refused to send troops. The King of Qi did not rebel, but broke his promise, which greatly damaged the brotherhood. The King of Jiaoxi, the King of Jiaodong, the King of Sichuan and the King of Jinan joined forces, led by the brave Jiaoxi King Liu Xian, to attack Linyi, the capital of Qi. The matter between Liu Xuan's brothers was left to Liu Xuan to resolve. The Wu-Chu coalition did not interfere and marched straight west. The troops of the Wu-Chu Alliance are numerous and powerful, and they are unstoppable as they move forward. Inviting bandits as generals and forcing the people to join the army, the Wu-Chu coalition army was all a ragtag group of people with only a strong spirit, and their fierce power could not be sustained.
The combined forces of Wu and Chu were powerful, but they were doomed to defeat because Liu Bi did not use good words and strategies, and the Wu army was full of jealous people. Just after Liu Cong sent troops, General Tian Lubo asked for 50,000 people to go up the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, capture Huainan and Changsha, and enter Wuguan to open up a base for the army. However, the prince of Wu State obstructed him, fearing that Tian Lubo would support his troops and respect himself, and would not obey orders. Liu Bi didn't understand the situation, so he listened to his son's words and missed the opportunity.
General Huan believed that Wu had more infantry, which would help him defend the dangerous terrain; Liu Qi had more chariots and cavalry, which would help him fight on flat ground. He asked to lead the infantry to march directly to Luoyang and seize Aocang. Firstly, he would gain geography, and secondly, he would have military supplies. Even if he could not capture Guanzhong, he would still have half of the world. The veteran generals actually said that General Huan only knew how to play forward and did not understand the art of war. A thousand armies are easy to come by, but a general is hard to find. The inability to appoint generals was a prelude to Liu Bi's failure.
If he missed the first opportunity proposed by Tian Lubo, Liu Bi would lose his rear. Once the war started, Liu Bi's backyard would be on fire. If he missed the second opportunity proposed by General Huan, Liu Bi would lose half of the world.
Although the rebels were powerful, Liu Qi did not mess up his position. He divided his troops into four groups. He first appointed Zhou Yafu as Taiwei and led his troops to fight against the Wu-Chu coalition. He then ordered Li Ji to attack Zhao and intercept the Wu-Chu coalition in the rear. Then he ordered Luan Bu to save Qi, and finally sent Dou Ying to guard Xingyang and protect Chang'an. Although this transfer order is thoughtful, it is a bit difficult to invite Dou Ying to fight. Dou Ying originally strongly opposed the reduction of vassal status. He left angrily before, but later offended the Queen Mother because of Liu Wu's affairs and was dismissed from his official position.
But the enemy is now strong and there is no room for retreat. So Liu Qi immediately summoned Dou Ying and wanted to make him a general. But Dou Ying declined due to illness. Liu Qi said: "The world is in crisis now. As a relative of the royal family, how can I give in?" So he made Dou Ying a general and rewarded him with a thousand catties of gold. Dou Ying recommended Li Ji and Luan Bu. Liu Qi sent troops to four groups, and three of the generals existed because of Dou Ying, which shows Dou Ying's contribution to quelling the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.
Seeing that the world was reduced to soldiers and generals due to the reduction of vassals, and wars were raging, Chao Cuo's old father came from Yingchuan to see Chao Cuo and asked: "The emperor has just succeeded to the throne. You are using your political affairs to invade the princes and alienate your brothers and sisters. What a mess." Complaints are everywhere, what do you want to do?" Chao Cuo's old father was a sensible man. He asked Chao Cuo "what do you want to do?", intending to tell Chao Cuo that enough is enough, because as long as he lives, there will be no end to the reduction of vassalage.
"What you said is the truth. However, if you don't do this, the throne of the emperor will be threatened." Chao Cuo's answer was very simple, expressing only one sentence: I am willing to sacrifice my life for this.
"For the sake of the stability of the Liu family, our Chao family will be in trouble, and I will leave you." Soon, Chao Cuo's father drank medicine and died, leaving behind a sentence: I can't bear to see disaster happen to me. The sentence "I can't bear to see disaster happen" expresses his love for Chao Cuo and his feeling of helplessness and helplessness towards the rebellion.
Chao Cuo was determined to die for his country; his father was equally determined to die for his family. The same strong character expresses different emotions.
The Wu-Chu coalition forces were overwhelmingly powerful, so Chao Cuo suggested that they first cede Xu County and Tong County, which had not yet been captured by the Wu-Chu coalition forces, to the state of Wu; secondly, Liu Qi led the expedition in person, while Chao Cuo defended the city. Chao Cuo had a strong character and would never give in easily. He suggested ceding territory to the state of Wu, which shows how powerful the Wu-Chu coalition forces were, how powerful their offensive was, and how powerful they were.
Chao Cuo put forward these two suggestions, which are both feasible, but unreasonable. First of all, ceding territory to Wu State seriously violated the principle of reducing the vassal state. Admitting that it was wrong to reduce the vassal state was equivalent to slapping oneself, which was unwise. Secondly, letting the emperor go on an expedition while his ministers stayed behind was a sign of their disloyalty. No matter how much the monarch relies on his ministers, the ministers cannot make the monarch doubt his loyalty, otherwise disaster will be imminent. The Wu-Chu coalition attacked fiercely, and Chao Cuo proposed such a countermeasure, which was a big mistake.
One day, Liu Qi was discussing with Chao Cuo about arranging military rations, and Dou Ying brought Yuan Ang to see him.
It was rare for Chao Cuo to face two of his enemies at the same time in the same room. The first enemy was Dou Ying. Dou Ying opposed Chao Cuo's plan to cut down the feudal vassal, and the two had a grudge. The second place is Yuan An. The feud between Yuan An and Chao Cuo is similar to a feud. Where there is Chao Cuo, there will be no Yuan An. Where there is Yuan An, there will never be Chao Cuo. They are incompatible with each other. Meeting in the same room this time was against their habits, and one of them would die afterward.
Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet. Since Chao Cuo and Yuan An were incompatible, and Chao Cuo was the emperor's favorite, why did Yuan An come to see Liu Qi? In essence, Yuan An came not to see Liu Qi, but to kill Chao Cuo. Yuan Ang asked to see Liu Qi, just to borrow Liu Qi's king's sword to kill Chao Cuo and leave his body on the street. Chao Cuo wanted to kill Yuan An, and Yuan An also wanted to kill Chao Cuo. Yuan Ang was very smart. Seeing that the Seven Kingdoms wanted to kill Chao Cuo in the name of killing him, he immediately asked to see Liu Qi and asked to kill Chao Cuo to quell the rebellion. The allied forces of Wu and Chu are powerful, and Liu Qi is not the King of Qin Yingzheng, so he will not offend the world for Chao Cuo. As long as Liu Qi beheads Chao Cuo, no matter whether the Wu-Chu coalition retreats or not, Yuan Ang will be Liu Qi's favorite.
Because he was outspoken and outspoken and relied on by Liu Heng, Yuan Ang also offended many people, such as the clumsy Zhou Bo and the eunuch Zhao Tan, and he knew that it would be difficult to stay in Chang'an for a long time. The emperor appointed him as the captain of Longxi. After Yuan An took office, his politics were clear, his soldiers were benevolent, and his soldiers were grateful. Everyone fought bravely and were willing to die for him. Yuan An governed well, and the emperor transferred Yuan An to Wu to serve as prime minister.
King Wu Liu Bi was arrogant and arrogant, and everyone was afraid of him. Before leaving, his nephew Yuan Zhong said to Yuan Ang: "King Liu Bi of Wu is very arrogant. There are many traitors in Wu. If you want to govern, Liu Bi will kill you if he doesn't write a letter to sue you. The air in the south is humid, so you might as well eat and drink every day." Just for fun, tell the emperor that Liu Bi will not rebel, then you can protect yourself."
Sure enough, Yuan Ang followed this and received preferential treatment from Liu Bi. Yuan An and Chao Cuo were both wise, but Chao Cuo was upright and upright, knowing that Fang Zheng did not understand tact, but Yuan An was a very tactful person. If Chao Cuo was tactful and changeable, he would not risk the disapproval of the world and forcefully cut down the vassal clan on major matters, and he would not have any grudges with Dou Ying due to court disputes on minor matters. Yuan Ang was tactful and pretended to be confused in Wu State, but Liu Bi rebelled and did not cause any trouble for him.
After Liu Qi succeeded to the throne and Chao Cuo was promoted to the imperial censor, Chao Cuo said that Yuan An had accepted money from Wu King Liu Bi and demoted Yuan An to a commoner. Hearing that the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu were rebelling, Chao Cuo told the Prime Minister that Yuan Ang accepted Liu Bi's money and concealed Liu Bi's rebellion conspiracy, and he should be prosecuted. The Prime Minister felt that the rebellion had not yet become a reality, so he could not question Yuan Ang to avoid being shocked. The words of the Prime Minister clearly excused Yuan Ang. Chao Cuo wanted to punish Yuan An, but someone excused Yuan An; Yuan An wanted to punish Chao Cuo, but someone lent Yuan An a knife. It can be seen that Yuan An makes friends more easily than Chao Cuo, and Chao Cuo offends people more easily than Yuan An. The news that Chao Cuo wanted to interrogate Yuan An reached Yuan An's ears. Yuan An was very frightened and immediately went to see Dou Ying, saying that the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu would rebel, and asked to see Liu Qi.
Dou Ying brought Yuan Ang to see Liu Qi, and it happened that Liu Qizheng and Chao Cuo were discussing military rations.
"You were once the Prime Minister of Wu State. Do you know Tian Lubo's character? Now that the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu are rebelling, how do you think we should deal with it?" Liu Qi asked very reasonably. Tian Lubo was a general of Wu State. He was very talented, but he was not reused. For a living person, if he is not appointed, it is not much different from death.
Yuan An didn't even think about it, he just said don't worry. Liu Qi said that the state of Wu opened mountains to mint money and boiled salt near the sea. It was as rich as any other country. It recruited heroes from all over the world and built a strong army. They were ready, so how could they not worry. The allied forces of Wu and Chu were about to invade Chang'an, and Liu Qi's throne was about to be lost. How could he not worry. Facing a powerful enemy, everyone wants to preserve everything they have, and Liu Qi is no exception.
"The Kingdom of Wu has the advantages of copper mines and salt seas, but Liu Bi is not recruiting heroes, but scoundrels, criminals and desperadoes. These people will only cause chaos." Yuan Ang pointed out the opponent's weaknesses in one sentence , and pointed out his own advantages, which touched Chao Cuo's heart, so he immediately agreed. This was not only the first thing Chao Cuo said to Yuan Ang, but also a word of sincere agreement. It's a pity that these two enemies of life and death knew that the other was talented, but they didn't praise each other until they were dying. If Chao Cuo and Yuan An could join forces, the development of the Han Dynasty would be different.
Unlike Chao Cuo, who repeatedly violated the emperor's restricted areas, Yuan An hit the mark with his words, "heavy weights are treated as light", which immediately made Liu Qi look at him with admiration and asked Yuan An what a good plan he had. Yuan An risked his life to come here because of Liu Qi's words. When the opportunity to kill came, Yuan Ang asked Liu Qiping to retreat. Liu Qiyi retreated, leaving only Liu Qi, Yuan Ang and Chao Cuo.
"As a minister, you cannot know my strategy." As soon as Yuan Ang said this, Chao Cuo knew that disaster was not far away. Chao Cuo walked to the east chamber and knew that Yuan An's plan was not good for him, but the matter had reached this point and was irreversible. Chao Cuo didn't hate being tricked by Yuan An, but he hated that his ambitions were unrewarded. Faced with unrewarded ambitions, Jia Yi died in depression, while Chao Cuo was filled with hatred.
Yuan Ang told Liu Qi that the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu had spread a message to the world, saying that Emperor Gaozu divided the world among the Liu family's descendants, but Chao Cuo changed the laws and weakened the princes, causing the seven kingdoms to send troops. Their banner was: Qing Jun sideways, punish Chao Cuo. Only by killing Chao Cuo first and then returning the fiefdoms to the princes can the disaster of war be eliminated.
"Only by borrowing Chao Cuo's head can the disaster of war be eliminated!" Liu Qi was silent after hearing this. Chao Cuo followed Liu Qi all his life. He was admirable for his majestic talent and awe-inspiring righteousness. Major events are urgent. Since ancient times, only ministers have died for the king, and no king has died for his ministers; only ministers have worried about the king, and no king has worried for his ministers.
