The resourcefulness and courage behind the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-22

This passage of the "Minutes of Reading History and Public Opinion" tells the historical events of rebellion in the seven kingdoms of Wu, Chu, and Zhao during the period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.

Jia Yi provided wisdom, and Zhou Yafu's brave battle successfully put down the rebellion. The article also described Jia Yi's strategy in detail, and Sima Qian also published his assessment of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.

During the reign of Emperor Jing, the seven kingdoms of Wu, Chu, Zhao, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Suchuan, and Jinan rose, Lai Jiayi conspired in the front, and Yafu Chen Li was in the back.

Shi Luo: At the beginning, Emperor Wen sealed the three sons of Liang, Dai and Huaiyang, when the princes of Wu, Chu, Qi and Zhao were strong, and the king of Liang recommended no heirs, and the Xiongnu in the north, Huaiyang was weak. Jia Yi asked: Raise Huaiyang in the south to benefit Huaiyang, and after the king of Liang was established, cut the two or three cities in the north of Huaiyang and the eastern county to benefit Liang;If you can't, you can migrate to Suiyang on behalf of the king. Liang starts in the river of Xinyun and the north, Xinyun, Huaiyang Bao Chen and the river of Qianzhi in the south, then the great princes have different intentions, and dare not plan, Liang is enough to fight Qi and Zhao, Huaiyang is enough to ban Wu and Chu, and His Majesty has no worries about Shandong. 」

During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, there was a rebellion in the seven kingdoms of Wu, Chu, Zhao, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Suchuan, and Jinan.

Because of Jia Yi's advice and Zhou Yafu's best efforts, although the situation was dangerous, the disaster was finally eliminated.

Shi Luo records: Initially, Emperor Wen of Han sealed his three sons in Liang, Dai, and Huaiyang, when Wu, Chu, Qi, Zhao and other vassal states were very strong, and the king of Liang had no sons, and the Dai State bordered the Xiongnu in the north, and the Huaiyang State was weak.

Jia Yi suggested: "Give the land of Huainan to Huaiyang, and then set up an heir for the king of Liang, and give the land of the two or three cities north of Huaiyang and the land of Dongjun to the Liang state;If it doesn't work, you can move the acting king to Suiyang as the capital.

Let the area of the Liang state extend from Xinyun to the Yellow River in the north, and extend south to the Yangtze River, including Xinhu and Huaiyang, so that the great princes with different intentions will be too frightened to have any plans, the Liang State is enough to defend against the Qi State and the Zhao State, and the Huaiyang State is enough to defend the Wu State and the Chu State, so Your Majesty will no longer have to worry about the affairs east of the Kunshan Mountain. ”

Emperor Wen then migrated Huaiyang Wang Wu as the king of Liang, the north boundary of Mount Tai, west to Gaoyang, more than 40 cities in the county. In the third year of Emperor Jing, the Seven Kingdoms rebelled, Liang Wangcheng guarded Suiyang, and the soldiers of Wu and Chu did not dare to cross to the west, leaving to besiege it. Han sent Li to attack Zhao, Luan Bu rescued Qi, Dou Yingtun Xingyang supervised Qi and Zhao Bing, and ordered Zhou Yafu to attack Wu and Chu. Yafu asked Liang to entrust him, and the northeast went to Changyi, the strong wall did not fight, so that the light cavalry out of Huai Sikou, after the Wu and Chu soldiers, plugged its salary, so Wu and Chu were defeated, and Qi and Zhao were flat.

[Translation]: Therefore, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty changed the title of Liu Wu, the king of Huaiyang, to the king of Liang, and reached Mount Tai in the north and Gaoyang in the west, and obtained the cities of more than 40 large counties.

In the third year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the Seven Kingdoms rebelled, and the King of Liang set up a city in Suiyang to defend, and the armies of Wu and Chu did not dare to cross to the west, but stayed to besiege Suiyang.

The Han Dynasty sent Li to attack Zhao, Luan Bu to rescue Qi, and Dou Ying to camp in Xingyang to monitor the armies of Qi and Zhao, while ordering Zhou Yafu to attack Wu and Chu.

Zhou Yafu asked to hand over the Liang State to him, and then he rushed to the northeast to Changyi, held the city without fighting, and sent light cavalry to attack from Huaisikou, cut off the back route of the Wu and Chu armies, and blocked their grain passages, so that the armies of Wu and Chu were defeated, and Qi and Zhao were also pacified.

At the beginning of King Wu, his minister Tian Lu Bojin said: The soldiers gathered in the west, and there was no other way to make meritorious contributions. The minister is willing to get 50,000 people, don't follow the river and Huai, collect Huainan and Changsha, enter Wuguan, and meet with the king, which is also strange. General Huan also said: Wu has many infantry, and the infantry is dangerous; Hando rode the car, and the car rode on the flat ground. May the king not go through the city, go straight, go west, according to the Luoyang arsenal, eat Ao Cangsu, block the danger of mountains and rivers to order the princes. Although there is no entry, the world has been decided. If Xu Xing left the city, the Han army rode to the outskirts of Liang and Chu, and the matter was defeated. King Wu did not obey, so that he was defeated.

When King Wu first sent out his troops, his courtier Tian Lubo said: "The army gathers and marches westward, and it is difficult to make any achievements without other peculiar methods." I am willing to lead 50,000 horses to march along the Yangtze River and Huai River, recover Huainan and Changsha, enter Wuguan, and rendezvous with the king, which is also a strange plan. ”

General Huan also said: ".Wu has many infantry, and the infantry is suitable for treacherous terrain; The Han Dynasty had many chariot cavalry, and the chariot cavalry was suitable for flat ground. I hope that the king will not stop when passing through the city, advance directly, quickly occupy the ** treasury in Luoyang to the west, eat the grain of Aocang, and use the dangers of mountains and rivers to deter the princes.

Even if you can't enter Guanzhong, the world is already stable. If you march slowly, stop and attack the city, and wait until the Han chariot cavalry arrives and rushes into the suburbs of Liang and Chu, the matter fails. ”

But King Wu did not follow their advice and failed.

If the lord and father say it, the princes will benefit from decay.

Sima Qian said: The Son of Heaven looked at the ancients, and then gave favors, so that the princes could push the younger brother of the country. Therefore, Qi is divided into seven, Zhao is divided into six, Liang is divided into five, "Huainan is divided into three", and the son of heaven is the king, and the prince is the marquis, and there is more than a hundred Yan. During the time of Wu and Chu, the princes before and after or to cut the land appropriately, it was Yan and Dai without northern counties, Wu, Huainan and Changsha without southern counties, and Qi, Zhao, Liang and Chu counties were famous in the Han Dynasty. The princes are slightly, the big country is only more than ten cities, and the small marquis is only dozens of miles, the upper is enough to pay tribute, and the lower is enough to support the sacrifices, and the feudal auxiliary Beijing division. And the Han County **ten, between the princes of the wrong shape, the dogs and teeth are close to each other, relying on its geographical advantages, strong roots, and weak branches and leaves. 」

[Translation]:After the implementation of the advice of the lord father's Yan (Tui En Order), the vassal states were even weaker. Sima Qian said: "The Son of Heaven observes the achievements of the ancients, takes measures that benefit the state, and then bestows favors on the princes, so that the princes can promote the favors and reward them to their children and give them food estates." Therefore, the state of Qi was divided into seven, the state of Zhao was divided into six, the state of Liang was divided into five, and Huainan was divided into three, and the concubine of the Son of Heaven was named king, and the son of the king was named marquis, and there were more than a hundred in total. In the two countries of Wu and Chu, the surrounding vassal states reduced their land due to crimes, so Yan and Dai did not have counties in the north, Wu, Huainan, and Changsha did not have counties in the south, and the counties of Qi, Zhao, Liang, and Chu and the famous mountains and seas were all included in the Han Dynasty.

The vassal states gradually became weaker, the large vassal states only had more than ten cities, and the small vassal states only had a few dozen miles of places, and the upper ones were only enough to worship tribute, and the lower ones were only enough to support sacrifices and defend the capital.

And the Han Dynasty has **ten, the shape of the staggered between the vassal states, like dog's teeth bite each other, grasp the geographical advantage of the pass, so as to strengthen the trunk, weaken the branches and leaves.

The Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms occurred in 154 BC in the early Western Han Dynasty, when the seven princes of the Liu clan centered on Liu Bi, the king of Wu, were dissatisfied with the imperial court's policy of cutting feudal domains and depriving the local princes of their powers, so they raised troops to resist.

Jia Yi did not directly participate in the process of quelling the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, but Jia Yi's wise advice played a certain role in helping. Before the outbreak of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, Jia Yi had proposed to weaken the power of the princes during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty.

It was Zhou Yafu who really put down the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, and his bravery fully demonstrated his military talent and shrewd strategy.

He played a key role in the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, and during the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, Zhou Yafu led his army to quell the rebellious coalition forces of the rebellious states such as Liu Bi, the king of Wu, and Liu Wu, the king of Chu.

Zhou Yafu's strategy was to penetrate from Xingyang to Changyi and Xiayi from Xingyang to cut off the back route of the coalition army when the coalition army was besieging Suiyang, and at the same time sent his troops to occupy Huaisikou and cut off the grain route of the coalition army.

Such a strategy allowed Zhou Yafu to put down this large-scale rebellion in just over three months.

From the perspective of Liu Bi, the king of Wu, we can also see that Liu Bi failed to follow the advice of Tian Lubo and General Huan, which led to his rapid defeat.

This reminds us that we should listen and consider different opinions when making decisions to avoid the limitations of a single perspective.

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