When the Western Zhou Dynasty was established at the beginning of the period, in order to consolidate the royal power and take into account the limitations of the productive forces at that time, the feudal system was adopted.
This system was very effective at first, not only expanding the territory of the Zhou dynasty, but also significantly increasing the power of the Zhou dynasty's family, as most of the feudal princes were surnamed Ji of the same clan.
However, with the passage of time, the blood relationship between the princes and Zhou ** became more and more distant, coupled with the decline of the power of the Zhou royal family itself, the loyalty of the princes to Zhou Tianzi gradually weakened, and finally they directly did not take Zhou Tianzi in their eyes.
Therefore, the successive campaigns of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period began.
During this period of strife, the Qin state rose rapidly, and finally swept away the six kingdoms in one fell swoop, achieving the first unification of China.
Qin Shi Huang witnessed the drawbacks of the feudal system, and decided to completely reform, abolish the feudal system, and implement the county system.
In fact, the rudiments of the county system appeared at the end of the Warring States period, and Qin Shi Huang's reforms can be said to have pushed it to perfection.
However, the county system did not guarantee the longevity of the Qin Dynasty, which collapsed after only two generations.
One of the main reasons was that Qin Shi Huang implemented the county system, but did not feudalize his descendants, resulting in Zhao Gao easily usurping the throne once Qin Shi Huang died.
With the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang finally unified the land of China.
Liu Bang faced the lessons of history and sighed: "This feudal system is harmful, and the county system is not satisfactory." ”
After careful consideration, he decided to adopt a compromise strategy and implement a county system, combining the advantages of both.
That is, their descendants still need to be rewarded, but the fields other than the fief are still under the direct jurisdiction of **.
Here, some people may wonder, this does not seem to be much different from the feudal system of the Western Zhou Dynasty?
Actually, there is a difference.
In the Western Zhou Dynasty, even the land directly under the jurisdiction of Zhou Tianzi was also rewarded. Moreover, at that time, many frontiers were desolate, and the princes could expand their territory if they were able.
As the land of Zhou Tianzi became less and less, the princes' territory expanded, and their power became stronger, which eventually affected the stability of the Zhou royal family.
In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the county system was implemented, although the princes and kings had greater autonomy in their respective territories, the land directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor was still owned by the emperor.
More critically, starting with Liu Bang, successive emperors continued to take measures to reduce the land of the princes. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and others all took this initiative.
Especially during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he implemented more drastic measures. Among them, the golden order, to put it simply, is when the financial situation is tight, but the rituals such as sacrifices are indispensable, as a member of the Liu clan, it is natural that it cannot be ignored.
This strategy is actually quite similar to the Tui En Order.
When the princes refused to pay tribute, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would denounce it as "disrespecting the ancestors and not being filial", and then deprive him of his title.
And for those princes and kings who paid tribute, the situation is not optimistic: if you pay it immediately, then they will always find a reason to reduce your fiefdom again; Those who hesitate will be accused of "not respecting their ancestors" and losing their titles.
Although Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was quite shrewd in his policies, his success also benefited from the foreshadowing of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.
Indeed, during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the policy of reducing the power of the princes led to discontent and rebellion among the princes. The driving force behind this policy is Chao Mistake.
Seeing the enormous power of the princes, Chao Cuo believed that this had threatened the authority of Emperor Jing of Han, so he proposed to reduce the power of the princes and kings. In fact, such a move had already begun during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, but it was carried out more cautiously.
The policies proposed by Chao Cuo directly touched the fundamental interests of the princes and kings, causing them to rebel in the name of "maintaining the innocence of the imperial court and getting rid of Chao Cuo".
In the face of the fierce resistance of the princes and kings, Emperor Jing of Han had to make the decision to sacrifice Chao in order to calm the situation. However, the princes did not withdraw their troops because of this. As a result, the two sides had to engage in a head-on conflict.
As a result, Emperor Jing of Han was victorious and succeeded in quelling the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.
The quelling of this rebellion greatly weakened the power and influence of the princes and kings, and created conditions for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to successfully implement the Tui'en Decree later.
This incident profoundly revealed that individual sacrifice does not stop the pace of war, and sacrificing pawns to protect the main forces does not always solve the problem The real solution lies in the contrast of forces.
In 155 BC, Emperor Liu Qi of the Han Dynasty implemented the "strategy of cutting feudal domains" proposed by Chao Cuo, aiming to reduce the territorial and political rights of the princes, with the aim of weakening the power of the princes and kings, and at the same time enhancing the authority of the kings.
In response to this situation, the local princes and kings showed a resolute attitude of resistance, especially the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" led by Wu and Chu broke out immediately. These princes and kings united to fight against **, and their slogan of struggle was "Kill Chao Cuo and purify the court".
When the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" broke out in the early days, its power was huge, and Emperor Jing of Han, at the suggestion of Chao Cuo's political rival Yuan An, decided to sacrifice Chao Cuo in the hope of getting the rebels to stop the war.
Therefore, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty sent chariots and horses to pick him up under the pretext of summoning Chao to Beijing to discuss state affairs. Chao Cuo was unaware of this at the time, and it was not until he reached the East City that he was beheaded by the sudden edict read. This act profoundly embodies the danger of "walking with a tiger by the emperor's side".
After Chao Cuo was executed, the rebels did not retreat, as expected. But under the leadership of the general Zhou Yafu, it took only three months for the Han army to quell the rebellion.
Emperor Jing of Han's decision to execute Chao Cuo was not only a glimmer of hope that it would directly lead to a truce of treason, but also to deprive the rebels of an excuse to resist, win the hearts and minds of the people, and at the same time appease those princes who did not participate in the rebellion, and through this move, strengthen the unity among the ministers within the imperial court to fight the rebellion together.
Chao Cuo, a well-known minister in the Western Han Dynasty, has been serving on the side since Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was the crown prince. After ascending the throne, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty first appointed him as the internal historian, then promoted to the imperial historian, and finally promoted to one of the three dukes, who was deeply trusted and favored by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.
Chao Cuo proposes a number of key strategies for governing the country. In terms of the strategy of confronting the Xiongnu, he advocated active defensive measures, proposed the relocation of the people's frontier, and opened a new model of tuntian and garrison. In addition, he also promoted the policy of "valuing agriculture and suppressing business" to stimulate agricultural development. Chao Cuo was also a political commentator with far-reaching influence, and his works were praised by Lu Xun as "outstanding documents of the Western Han Dynasty".
Chao Cuo had a tense relationship with many ministers within the imperial court, including Yuan An, Prime Minister Shen Tujia, clan relatives Dou Ying, and Taiwei Zhou Yafu, who led to his eventual death. In particular, his policy of cutting feudal domains made him form a clear opposition to the local princes and kings.
Although this famous minister was proficient in state affairs, he failed to properly handle his personal safety, and his spirit of wholeheartedly serving the country and the people is worthy of admiration and remembrance by future generations.