Preface
During the Western Han Dynasty, the word "cutting the domain" caused a shocking rumor and plunged the Han Dynasty into a crisis. However, just after Chao Cuo's father committed suicide, he was immediately beheaded and abandoned to his death.
The life of a wise man has fallen, is his death unjust or self-inflicted? Why did an emperor put his teacher to death? What kind of shocking story is this? Let us find out today.
1. Chao Wrong: A loyal and straightforward wise man
Chao Cuo has shown extraordinary wisdom since he was a child, and when he was young, he worshipped the Legalist master Zhang Hui as his teacher and devoted himself to studying Legalist thought. Under Zhang Hui's disciple, Chao Cuo learned the core concept of Legalism: attaching importance to practicality, paying attention to efficiency, and pursuing a stable and orderly society. Legalism has shaped a pragmatic and straightforward character.
Later, Chao Cuo was fortunate to follow the Confucian Confucian Fusheng and learn Confucian classics. Under the teaching of Fu Sheng, Chao Cuo comprehended the Confucian benevolence, righteousness and morality, and learned the concept of governing the country with virtue and governing the family with etiquette. Confucianism makes Chao Cuo's character more humanistic and generous and humble.
It is the combination of Confucianism and law that makes Chao Cuo a wise man who has both foresight and benevolence. He was upright and upright, never concealed his opinions, had the courage to speak out, and dared to put forward a proposal for "cutting down the feudal domain," with the intention of strengthening the centralization of power and curbing the expansion of local separatist forces.
However, Chao Cuo's bluntness also became his fatal wound. When he was an official in the court, he repeatedly offended the powerful, causing many people's suspicion and disgust. But Chao Cuo doesn't care, he only cares about the future and fate of the country, regards power as a floating cloud, and doesn't care about fame and fortune. It was this loyalty and sense of responsibility to the country that made him unremittingly call for the "reduction of feudal domains", which eventually led to the disaster of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion.
2. The Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms: Chao's erroneous suggestion set him on fire
The trigger for the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms was Chao Mistake's suggestion to "cut the feudal domain". As the most powerful member of the princes, Liu Bi, the king of Wu, had been dissatisfied with the imperial court for a long time. After he lost his beloved son, he held a grudge against Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, just waiting for a fuse to ignite the flames of war.
When Chao Cuo's suggestion was adopted by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, and the imperial court began to take action to reduce the fiefdoms of the princes and kings, Liu Bi finally couldn't hold it back, united with the princes and kings of the other six countries, and launched the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion that shocked the world, calling for "punishing Chao Cuo and clearing the king's side".
The reason why Liu Bi and others pointed the finger at Chao Cuo was because they knew very well that Chao Cuo was the initiator of the policy of "cutting down the feudal domain." As long as he gets rid of Chao Cuo, he can let Emperor Jing of Han stop and keep his power.
Therefore, the slogan of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms became "Punish Chao Wrong, Qing Jun Side", which was intended to get rid of the "culprit" of Chao Wrong and force Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty to give up "cutting the feudal domain". Faced with the grim situation of the rebellion, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty convened hundreds of civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures.
Chao Cuo boldly suggested that Emperor Jing personally drive the expedition and personally command the army to quell the rebellion in one fell swoop. However, this suggestion was dismissed as alarmist by Emperor Jing of Han, who believed that Chao Cuo was trying to seize his own power, thus creating a deeper suspicion of Chao Cuo.
3. Yuan An: An opportunist in a game of thrones
Just when Emperor Jing of Han was hesitant about Chao Cuo's suggestion, a man named Yuan Ang spoke. Yuan Ang once served as the prime minister of Wu and was loyal to Liu Bi, the king of Wu. He saw this opportunity and suggested that Emperor Jing of Han kill Chao Cuo in order to appease the anger of the princes and kings.
Yuan An's suggestion was undoubtedly for the benefit of the state of Wu. He knew that as long as he got rid of the "culprit" of Chao Cuo, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty would give up the policy of "cutting down the feudal domain" and thus retain the power of Wu. Therefore, he deliberately fanned the flames to convince Emperor Jing of Han that sacrificing Chao Wrong was the only way to stop the war.
Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was in a dilemma at that time. On the one hand, he did not want to abandon the policy of "cutting down the feudal domains", because it was related to the stability of the central power, and on the other hand, he had to think about how to quell the rebellion and keep his throne. Under the attack of this contradiction, Emperor Jing of Han finally chose to believe Yuan An's suggestion.
So, he ordered Chao Cuo to be secretly arrested, and when Chao Cuo was defenseless, he was beheaded in the city and punished the nine clans. Emperor Jing of Han was convinced that as long as the "excuses" of the princes and kings were removed, the rebellion would go out on its own. However, contrary to his wishes, Chao Cuo's death not only did not quell the war, but made the princes and kings even more rampant, thinking that the court had shown weakness.
Fourth, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty: a cruel means of maintaining power
Why did Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty kill his teacher, Chao Cuo? The reason behind this is precisely the distortion of human nature under the power game. As a generation of monarchs, Emperor Jing of Han knew that his dominance was at stake, and once he lost power, he would have nothing. Therefore, he was always on the lookout for threats from all sides, for fear that someone would get his hands on his throne.
When faced with the severe test of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, Emperor Jing of Han chose the most cruel method: sacrificing Chao Cuo to appease the anger of the princes and kings. He was convinced that as long as the "excuses" of the princes and kings were removed, the rebellion would go out of flames on its own, and his rule would be secured.
However, Emperor Jing of Han underestimated the ambitions of the princes and kings. Far from quelling the war, Chao Cuo's death emboldened the princes and kings, believing that the imperial court had shown weakness and that it was time to seize central power in one fell swoop. In the end, Emperor Jing of Han had to send an elite army, and after months of difficult battles, he was able to put down the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.
The reason why Emperor Han Jing made such a cruel decision is inseparable from his personal experience. Since he was a child, he has witnessed his father's difficult process of seizing the world, and knows how hard-won power is. Therefore, he cherishes the power in his hands and does not want to lose it easily. In his view, sacrificing Chao Wrong is only a small price, in exchange for the stability of his rule.
epilogue
A loyal and straightforward wise man finally paid the price with his life because of his integrity. And an emperor, in order to maintain his dominance, did not hesitate to sacrifice his teacher and used the most cruel means to get rid of the "threat".
In the process of pursuing power, have we ever lost the brilliance of our humanity? Have we ever done anything that hurts nature and reason? Let us draw lessons from this period of history, cherish the present, stay away from the temptation of power, and always maintain our innocence.
At the same time, we must also realize that in addition to his straightforwardness, the more important reason for Chao Cuo's misfortune lies in a major hidden danger in the early days of the establishment of the Han Dynasty: the power of the local vassal states was too strong to centralize power. It was this hidden danger that led to the outbreak of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, and also made Chao Cuo's proposal to "cut the feudal domain" a fuse.
We must be vigilant against the harm of this imbalance of power between the central and local governments, and call for the establishment of a truly centralized system to put an end to the occurrence of such civil strife once and for all. Only in this way can loyal ministers like Chao Cuo not sacrifice in vain, and the country can have long-term peace and stability.