The person who solved the witchcraft case of Gongsun He's family was Jiang Chong, and he was also a key figure in the whole witchcraft disaster.
Jiang Chong's real name is Jiang Qi, and he is from Handan, Zhao District. Ma Qian of the Taishi Company said in "The Biography of Huo Shi" that the land of Yan and Zhao was sparse and crowded, "husbands gathered together to play games, and sang tragic songs generously", and the women were famous for playing the harp, playing the harp, and wearing dancing shoes to "travel to charm the rich". "When they entered the harem, they were everywhere Princes". Jiang Qi's sister was also good at singing and dancing, so Jiang Qi presented her to the Prince of Zhao, Liu Dan, and became a guest of King Zhao Liu Pengzu, hanging out with Liu Dan all day long. Jiang Qi discovered that Liu Dan had defiled King Zhao's harem and had committed adultery with his compatriot sister.
As time went by, dissatisfaction gradually developed. Liu Dan suspected that Jiang Qi had told his father Liu Pengzu his secrets, so he sent people to catch him, but Jiang Qi ran away. Liu Dan was so frightened and angry that he killed Jiang Qi's father and brother. After Jiang Qi fled west to Chang'an, he changed his name to Jiang Chong, and then wrote to the court to report Liu Dan's incest and filthy behavior. He also said that he was friends with local treacherous people and was causing trouble. Emperor Wu was furious when he heard this and immediately sent troops to arrest Liu Dan and sentenced him to death.
At this time, King Zhao Liu Pengzu wrote a letter saying: "Jiang Chong is just a fugitive petty official. He is treacherous and capricious. This letter to anger the emperor is just to avenge personal grudges. Even if he is cooked, it will not be a pity. I am willing to choose The warriors of Zhao joined the army to fight against the Huns and risked their lives to be loyal on the battlefield to atone for the sins of the crown prince Liu Dan." After King Zhao's persuasion, Emperor Wu pardoned Liu Dan's death penalty, but he could no longer be the crown prince of Zhao.
After this incident, Jiang Chong attracted the attention of Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu thought that he was not afraid of power, so he recruited him. Jiang Chong was originally handsome, tall and strong. In order to meet Emperor Wu, he specially wore a high crown and feathers. Sure enough, Emperor Wu, who had a flamboyant and curious personality, was "astonished" by him and liked him very much. He also praised him and said that there are indeed many strange people in the land of Yanzhao.
Emperor Wu wanted to cultivate him, so he tested Jiang Chong on current affairs. Jiang Chong answered fluently, which made Emperor Wu feel even more happy. At this time, Jiang Chong made a very strange request, saying that he would send an envoy to the Huns. Emperor Wu asked what method should be used to deal with the Huns. Jiang Chong only dealt with Emperor Wu with a nonchalant "adaptation", which was very magnanimous like that of Sun Wuzi. Emperor Wu was very satisfied, so he worshiped Jiang Chong as his visitor and asked him to send an envoy to the Xiongnu.
The Xiongnu was not a paradise, but a bitter and cold land. Jiang Chong's mission to the Xiongnu may have been to seek a career for meritorious service. Zhao has been in contact with the Huns since ancient times - Zhao general Li Mu during the Warring States Period was famous for guarding the border and resisting the Huns for many years - Jiang Chong is from Zhao, does he have any other connection with the Huns? We don't know, we only know that when Jiang Chong went on a large-scale search for witchcraft, he was always accompanied by a "Hu Wu" Tan He. This "Hu Wu" Tan He was recommended by Jiang Chong to Emperor Wu. Jiang Chong boasted that this man could see the clouds and could tell where there was witchcraft. This Tan He is probably a Huns.
A year later, Jiang Chong returned from the Xiongnu with great honor. Emperor Wu worshiped him as the captain of Shuiheng, and soon promoted him to "Zhizhi Embroidered Clothes Envoy".
The mission of the "Embroidered Clothes Envoy" is to "supervise thieves and auxiliary thieves and prohibit excessive extravagance." "Sanfu" refers to the important areas of the capital, and "Dusanfu thieves" means arresting lawless elements and protecting the safety of the capital. The "luxury" in "over extravagance" means "luxury", and "over" means "over the limit", which means "excessive" and "beyond one's duty".
For example, as a minister, when traveling, he arranges a pomp and ceremony that only an emperor can have, and rides in a car that only an emperor can ride. This is "overstepping one's duty", that is, "exceeding the rules."
The imperial society seems to be very hierarchical, but in fact, as long as they have the favor of the emperor, many people will blatantly "go beyond the rules", and even this "go beyond the rules" is sponsored by the emperor. For example, when Emperor Jing doted on his younger brother Liang Wang Liu Wu, he gave him the emperor's banner, chariots and horses. Since they were given as rewards, could they be used for decoration? Therefore, whether it exceeds the limit depends on what the emperor thinks.
Jiang Chong, the "messenger of embroidered clothes", naturally also checked for thieves and banned extravagance. But from the back, all of his work was preparation for "searching for witchcraft". After taking office as the envoy, Jiang Chong's spiritual character of "not fearing power" continued to shine, which was very similar to his predecessors Zhidu and Zhang Tang.
Chidao was specially laid for the emperor and was only for the emperor's exclusive use. "The Book of Han" says: "The road is fifty paces wide, and there are trees three feet tall. It is thickly built outside, with golden spines hidden, and the trees are green pines." If you can gallop a horse on it, it will be a great joy in life. Many princes and nobles could not resist this temptation and wanted to run on this royal road "only for the emperor". So this became the place where Jiang Chong, the emissary of embroidered clothes who banned extravagance, stayed for a long time.
At this time, the eldest princess Liu Piao, who helped Emperor Wu ascend the throne, was still alive. One day, Liu Piao also drove onto Chidao. This was already a poor man with little power who only hung out with his friend Dong Yan all day long. Of course Jiang Chong would not take it seriously, so he reprimanded the eldest princess and collected her carriages and horses. Later, many aristocratic young people who grew up in luxury "accidentally" entered Chidao, and Jiang Chong naturally wanted to deal with them severely. So these people paid ransom to Emperor Wu, hoping to be given a lighter sentence. Due to the successive conquests of the Xiongnu, the national treasury at that time had been reduced to nine out of ten. These "ransoms" were a timely help to Emperor Wu. Of course, Emperor Wu would not regard those "extremely extravagant" aristocratic children as charcoal givers. The charcoal giver in his mind was Jiang Chong. As a result, Jiang Chong became more and more favored.
Jiang Chong became more and more "upright" and "unafraid of power", and therefore became more and more favored by Emperor Wu. Cause and effect, he became more "upright" and "fearless of power". At this time, he needs a strong opponent to highlight his "merit".
This opponent is Prince Liu Zhi. Liu Zheng's envoy also "accidentally entered" Chidao. Jiang Chong unceremoniously detained the carriage and horse. After Liu Ju heard the news, he immediately rushed to Jiang Chong and apologized to him, explaining: "It's not that I care about the carriages and horses, but I don't have enough restraint on the left and right, and my discipline is not strict. I hope you can hide it for me and prevent the emperor from knowing this. It's a matter of fact." The prince may not know that his gesture of showing weakness is really in line with the saying "to increase the ambition of others and destroy one's own prestige". Jiang Chong sneered, turned around and reported the matter to Emperor Wu.
"This is what a minister should be like." Emperor Wu was not stingy in his praise. In fact, this was Jiang Chong's way of protecting himself - he had done everything and simply made the matter a big deal. In this way, even if the prince had a grudge, he could only keep it in his stomach, because any confrontational action would be regarded as revenge by Emperor Wu.
Jiang Chong was a villain, but Prince Liu Ju was a kind and kind gentleman. Therefore, what Jiang Chong did was called "using the heart of a villain to judge the heart of a gentleman." People say "it is better to offend a gentleman than to offend a villain", but in fact not only can't you offend a villain, but you can't even be offended by a villain - he will be worried about your revenge, so he will usually continue to pester you until he eliminates you as a potential threat. .
Liu Yuxi has a poem "Bamboo Branch Ci":
Qutang is full of twelve beaches,
People say that the road has always been difficult.
Everlasting hatred, the heart is not as good as water,
Waiting for nothing to make waves.
What Liu Yuxi lamented was the sinister nature of the human heart.
Jiang Chong offended the future emperor and expected that he would not end well in the future, so he decided to strike preemptively.
One day when Emperor Wu was taking a nap, he dreamed of countless little wooden figures coming at him with wooden sticks to hit him all over his head and face. He wanted to hide but had nowhere to hide, and he couldn't wake up no matter how hard he tried to wake up. When I finally woke up, I was covered in cold sweat and even my clothes were soaked through. Since then, Emperor Wu's health has deteriorated day by day, and his memory has become worse and worse.
Jiang Chong took the opportunity to comment, saying that although Gongsun He's clan was exterminated, there were still people who were secretly using witchcraft to curse the emperor. He also found Hu Wu Tan, who was angry. Tan He looked up at the sky for a while and said, "There is poison in the palace. Unless this poison is eliminated, the emperor's health will not improve." Emperor Wu, who had not yet enjoyed enough power and wealth, could only nod. Jiang Chong then took the initiative to ask for help, saying that he would conduct a large-scale search for witchcraft. Emperor Wu approved the report and sent Han Shuo, the marquis of Dao, Zhang Gan, the censor, and Su Wen of Huangmen, who had falsely accused the prince, as Jiang Chong's assistants.
Jiang Chong's target was the prince, but he was very smart and did not go straight to the topic. Instead, he started with the concubines who were neglected in the palace. These people were left out by Emperor Wu, so they had resentment in their hearts, right? Sure enough, we made a lot of gains along the way and found many puppets. Some people shouted that they were wronged, but Jiang Chong sneered.
This time, he searched more confidently and finally found the residence of the queen and the prince. He had gone through so many twists and turns just to get here. Jiang Chong would not stop until he found something. So he dug three feet into the ground, and the originally magnificent palace suddenly became riddled with holes, with mud puddles all over the floor, and there was no room for beds. The puppets jumped out of the ground one by one in cooperation.
Liu Ju was stunned and Wei Zifu's face turned pale. At this moment, the prince was really scared, because he had no idea what was going on, but he could only suffer the disadvantage of being dumb. He wanted to go to Ganquan Palace to face the saint in person and wash away his unfair grievances, but Young Master Shi De persuaded him.
Shi De asked the prince how long it had been since he last saw the emperor. Liu Ju responded in astonishment and was speechless. Shi De said: "I'm afraid the emperor is no longer in Ganquan Palace. Even if he is still there, Jiang Chong and others are forcing us so urgently. How can we give us a chance to defend ourselves? Have you forgotten the old affairs of the Qin Dynasty Prince Fusu?" (Note) : After the death of Qin Shihuang, Hu Hai wanted to seize the throne, so he issued a false imperial edict to grant Fu Su, the former prince who guarded the border to death.)
The prince thought of his uncle and former prime minister Gongsun He, and then of his cousin Wei and his wife. So he became ruthless and sent someone pretending to be an envoy to arrest Jiang Chong. Jiang Chong's deputy Han Shuo refused to accept the edict, so the "envoy" chopped off his head. He also discussed with his mother, Queen Wei, to open the arsenal, distribute weapons to the guards, put the whole city under martial law, search for people suspected of witchcraft, and ordered all officials Jiang Chong to rebel. Jiang Chong, who had his hands and feet tied, knelt in front of Liu Zhi in embarrassment, without any of the arrogance he had before. Liu Zhi shouted: "Zhao Lu! The former rebellion was caused by the king and his son. It's not evil! It's my father and son who are rebelling again!" So he chopped Jiang Chong with his own hands, and gathered the witches around Jiang Chong into Shanglin Garden and burned them alive.
However, Su Wen survived by luck. He ran to Ganquan Palace and reported to Emperor Wu that the prince had committed rebellion by killing Jiang Chong. Emperor Wu didn't believe it. He thought that the prince was kind and honest. Jiang Chong must have pushed people too hard, and the prince behaved in such a violent way. So he ordered the messenger to summon the prince. This messenger was probably one of Su Wen's group. He didn't dare to meet the prince, so he ran back halfway and said categorically that the prince had indeed rebelled and wanted to kill me. Fortunately, I was back.
At this point, the father and son have lost their last chance to communicate. Emperor Wu's anger suddenly jumped up, "What is Liu Quyou doing!" The sick Emperor shouted.
It turned out that after Gongsun He's death, Emperor Wu appointed Liu Quyou, the son of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan, who was not well-known, to fill the position. "Hanshu" says this, "I don't know how he started," that is to say, he doesn't know what talents he has or what achievements he has made, so Ban Gu is a little confused about him being the prime minister.
In fact, Emperor Wu had already made it clear in the edict appointing Liu Quyou - "Divide the prime minister's long history into two palaces to wait for the choice from far away in the world." This shows that he was not the ideal candidate for prime minister in Emperor Wu's mind. Therefore, choosing Liu Quya was just a temporary expedient. Liu Quya was also very embarrassed, not to mention that the blood of his "predecessor" Prime Minister Gongsun He had not yet dried, so he did not dare to make his voice or express his opinions from beginning to end. Of course, maybe he had no opinions in the first place.
Liu Qumo was a man without any ideas. When he heard about the sudden change in the city, he was so frightened that he left Chang'an City overnight and even left the Prime Minister's seal and ribbon at home. He sent his subordinate officer Shi Qian to report to Emperor Wu, who said to Emperor Wu: "The Prime Minister wants to block the news and has not sent troops yet." Emperor Wu became even more angry: "Now, except for the dead, there is no one in the world who does not know about this. Why keep it a secret? The prime minister doesn’t have the magnanimity of Duke Zhou. Didn’t Duke Zhou kill his brothers Guan Shu and Cai Shu?” (Zhou Gong is the elder brother of Guan and Cai, and Liu Quya is Liu Shi’s cousin.)
So he issued an edict to Liu Quyou: "Capture and kill rebels, and there will be rewards and punishments. Use ox carts as oars, do not engage in close combat, and kill more soldiers! Close the city gate tightly, and do not let the rebels come out!" Walked out of Ganquan Palace. , personally went to Jianzhang Palace to supervise the battle. The troops of the third auxiliary were also recruited, and all officials with a price of less than 2,000 shi were placed under Liu Quyou's command.
Liu Ju had no way out at this time and could only go all the way to the end. He ordered all officials to say that the emperor was ill in Ganquan Palace and there had been no news for a long time. He was afraid that something bad had happened. Now Jiang Chong and other treacherous ministers wanted to cause chaos, and ordered young Fu Shide to Zhang Guang and his guests released all the prisoners in Chang'an City Prison and gave them weapons, preparing to fight the army outside the city.
At this moment, many people in the government and the public were at a loss and did not know what was going on. Therefore, whether in the city or outside the city, both sides were fighting for troops from all walks of life. Among the prisoners in Chang'an was Ruhou. Liu Zheng gave him the banner and asked him to mobilize the Xiongnu troops stationed in Changshui and Xuanqu (they had surrendered to the Han Dynasty many years ago and were placed in Changshui and other places. ). When the minister Ma Tong entered Chang'an and heard about this, he immediately arrested Ruhou and told the Xiongnu generals, "There is a fraud in the banquet. It was the prince's fault. Don't listen to the prince's command." So he arrested Ruhou. Cut. A yellow mark was added to the red talisman to distinguish it.
The prince came to the Northern Army camp, hoping to get support from the Northern Army. Although Ren An, the leader of the Northern Army, received the banner from the prince, he turned around and returned to the camp after receiving the banner, and has never left his home since then. The prince had no choice but to mobilize the masses in Chang'an City. The prince had a reputation for benevolence, so the people supported him one after another. A total of 40,000 Chang'an citizens fought with him. Inside and outside the city, arrows and stones were flying, and in a few days, tens of thousands of people died. At this time, the words of the prince's rebellion spread among the people. Many people refused to contribute to the prince anymore, and many people even began to support Liu Quyou's army.
Soon, the prince was defeated and fled to the south gate of Chang'an in panic. Guarding the south gate was the prime minister's subordinate Naoda Jin. Tian Ren was the son of Uncle Tian. He believed that Emperor Wu and Liu Zhi were father and son after all, and did not force the prince too much, so the prince was able to escape.
Liu Quyou wanted to kill Tian Ren. The imperial censor, Yu Shengzhi, advised that Sizhi was a high-ranking official with two thousand stones. If he wanted to kill him, he had to report it to Emperor Wu first. How could he make the decision without permission? The soft-eared Liu Quya released Tian Ren. Emperor Wu was so angry that he sent Bao Sheng to prison and asked the grammarian who was investigating the case to ask him: "Sizhitian Ren released the traitor privately, and the prime minister wanted to kill him. It is legal and legal, so why did he stop him!" Bao Sheng committed suicide in fear.
Once the chaos was over, Emperor Wu began to settle accounts. He first sent Zongzheng Liu Chang and Zhijinwu Liu Gan to collect Wei Zifu's seal ribbon. Wei Zifu had been with Emperor Wu for so many years and knew his methods and character, so he committed suicide with hatred. The next turn was Ren An, the envoy of the Northern Army and the guardian of the army, who did not help each other. Emperor Wu regarded him as sitting on the wall and watching the success or failure, and then attached to the winner, so he and Tian Ren were cut in half. Others, such as Shi De, Zhang Guang and other people and guests around the prince, were all executed without leaving a single one alive. The people who captured Shi De and others were all awarded marquis status for their merits.
