In fact, Liu Bang was more than half a hundred years old when he was proclaimed emperor, and after becoming emperor, he successively deposed and killed Zang Di, Zhang Ao, Han Wangxin, Peng Yue, Han Xin, Yingbu and others.
In his later years, he became increasingly jealous of the heroes who fought with him in the world, especially those kings with different surnames. Not only that, he also became suspicious of Xiao He, forcing him to try to discredit himself as the suspicion of emperor, and in the end, he almost died. Not only that, before his death, Liu Bang also planned to kill Fan Huan, who was loyal to the Zhizhi, because he was also Lü's son-in-law, he was worried that he would help Lü Clan to rebel, and later, because of Chen Ping's protection and Liu Bang's death, he escaped the disaster.
Liu Bang was far-sighted, considering the hidden dangers brought by the king with a different surname, Liu Bang immediately solved this problem with iron blood, but he did not think of the threat brought by the king with the same surname to the imperial power, so it was also a bad move.
Finally, in this context, the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings" finally began after the Han Jing Emperor ascended the throne.
Since there were almost no kings with different surnames in the Han Dynasty at that time, the seven princes who participated in the rebellion were all liu surnamed clans. As a target targeted by various anti-kings, Emperor Jingdi of Han certainly could not sit still, so he sent the most elite central troops in his hands, as well as the general Zhou Yafu, to sweep away all anti-kings in one fell swoop and quell the rebellion.
Emperor Jing did not ascend the throne for a long time, but he immediately realized the drawbacks of the sub-feudal system, and he was worried that these kings with the same surname would pose a threat to centralized power, so he began to carry out a series of policies against the kings of the domain. Since ancient times, the kings of the clans who have been divided into various places have regarded "cutting the clan" as the most sensitive topic. As long as the emperor mentioned "cutting the domain", he would have ill intentions and plot rebellion.
Regarding the trigger for the "Rebellion of the Seven Kings", some people say that it stemmed from a "chess incident" that occurred in Weiyang Palace in the early years. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Xian, the eldest son of King Wu, came to the imperial city to accompany the crown prince Liu Qi. This Liu Qi was the later Emperor Jing of Han. One day, two children were playing chess in the palace, and the original two children were of similar ages, so there was no distinction between honor and inferiority between words, and Liu Xian did not regard Liu Qi as a prince at all, and he was disrespectful to him. Liu Qi was in the palace like the stars holding the moon, how could he have suffered such humiliation?
He was angry in his heart, and immediately picked up the chessboard and smashed it on the cousin's head, liu xian was hit by it, and fell to the ground and lost his breath. After the incident, Emperor Wen of Han sent Liu Xian's body back to the fiefdom where King Wu was located, and appeased him. Liu Hao died of his son, naturally he would not give up, he told Emperor Wen of Han that every piece of land under the whole world was the same as where the Liu family was buried, so he sent his son's body back to Chang'an. It can be seen from this that Liu Hao held a grudge against the imperial court, especially the crown prince Liu Qi, and after he ascended to the throne, he used the matter of cutting the domain to win over the princes and avenge his son.
However, the author feels that things are more complicated than this, and the "chess incident" is indeed the cause, but it is by no means the main cause. During Liu Bang's reign, there were already contradictions between the king of the domain and the central government, but these contradictions were intensified after Emperor Jing ascended the throne. During the Gaozu period, after the king of Huainan rebelled and Liu Bang quelled the rebellion, he felt that the southeast region was sparsely populated, and it was difficult for the power of the imperial court to reach these places. In order to stabilize the local situation, Liu Bang made Liu Hao the King of Wu and asked him to help him defend the area. Of course, along with Liu Hao, there were several other clan disciples.
During the reign of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Hui, the kinship between these feudal lords and emperors who were divided into various places was very close, so the king of the clan and the central government were able to guard the country and mountains with one heart. However, after Emperor Wen of Han ascended the throne, the kinship between the central government and the king of the clan was relatively weak, after all, since Liu Bang began, the Liu clan has been passed down for three generations, and the emperor and the king of the clan have changed from close relatives to distant relatives. It is conceivable that even if Liu Hao did not make trouble, when Liu Shi's Jiangshan continued to a certain time, and the kinship between the emperor and the king of the clan became unattainable, the king of the clan would also be in turmoil.
Emperor Jingdi of Han was very clever, and he foresaw this result and formulated a countermeasure, that is, to cut the domain.
The princes did not realize that the cutting of the domain came so quickly that the king of the domain, who could not accept this fact, had to twist into a rope and fight against the central government together. From the map, we can easily analyze the situation at that time. The rebellion was the Seven-Nation Alliance headed by the State of Wu, and the countries involved in the rebellion were Wu, Chu, Zhao, Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Jingchuan, and Jinan. As we mentioned earlier, there was a reason for Liu Hao, the king of Wu, who had committed disorder, and there was a vendetta between him and Liu Qi for killing his son, so it was necessary for him to start a war and raise troops to hate him.
However, compared with Liu Hao, the purpose of rebellion of other princes was relatively simple. It was purely because their own interests were threatened that they chose to side with King Wu. After the Han Jing Emperor ascended the throne, the imperial master Chao mistakenly submitted a copy of the chapter entitled "Cutting the Clan Strategy", the contents of which even if the author does not disclose it to everyone, I think everyone can guess eight or nine points, nothing more than to consolidate Han unification must weaken the power of the king of the clan Yunyun, everything is discussed around the centralization of power.
We know that this was the first time in the history of our country to cut the domain, and although Liu Bang had also suppressed the king with different surnames before that, the means used by Liu Bang at that time were more direct, not so much "cutting the domain" as "destroying the domain". It is precisely because this is the first time in ancient times that there are some deficiencies in this "Cutting Strategy", so that the princes, instead of responding, have to fight against the imperial court. It is true that even if this "Cutting The Strategy" is written in a frenzied manner, it is estimated that no king of the clan will be able to be cut with peace of mind.
After all, this was the land given by Gao Zu, and it was also the homeland where the Liu clan's branches grew for generations, and the emperor would let them hand over the land in their hands with a word, and which king of the clan would cooperate?
It can be said that from the moment the Han Dynasty was divided, the sub-feudal system has already determined the outbreak of this rebellion. Emperor Jingdi of Han accepted Chao's suggestion and decided to take back the fiefdoms of Zhao and Chu to the central government. Liu Hao, the king of Wu, looked at it, and was worried that he could not avenge the killing of his son to Liu Qi, and Liu Qi actually pushed himself to the cusp of the storm and became the target of everyone, is this not an opportunity given by god? Therefore, Liu Hao immediately gathered the difficult brothers who were about to be cut, and everyone gathered together in a total: the opposite!
Speaking of the situation at that time, in fact, similar to the Zhou Dynasty, although the princes of the Zhou Dynasty did not dare to directly confront tianzi, if tianzi dared to use a knife on the heads of all the princes, it is estimated that the result would be similar to the "rebellion of the seven kings". However, unlike Zhou Tianzi, emperor Jingdi of Han was in a period of strength, and it was fully capable of confronting it with troops equal to those of various princes. It is said that the other six kings involved in the rebellion also have no bottom in their hearts, and if there is no Liu Hao, the king of Wu, I am afraid that these clan kings will not dare to make a decision to make a rebellion.
After all, the gun shot out the head bird, who dares to guarantee that they will stand up and shake their arms, and the other princes will be able to respond in groups? If it backfires, the other princes choose to be silently cut, and they themselves become the targets of everyone, isn't it sad? Therefore, Liu Hao, the King of Wu, still had a certain courage, and he took a huge risk to become the "leader" of the Seven Kings, indicating that he had already done everything in order to avenge himself. If you want to rebel, you must prepare two things, one is the strength of the troops to confront the central army; the other is the pretext that can convince the people of the world, that is, the legitimacy of the rebellion.
As for the former, Liu Hao united with the Six Roads Domain, and the private soldiers of the Seven Kings were naturally a considerable number. Of course, it is not as exaggerated as Liu Hao's public claim of half a million, the ancients will always make the mistake of "claiming" when fighting with soldiers, and it is estimated that the total strength of the various anti-kings is about 200,000. If Liu Hao really had half a million troops in his hands, then the ending of the story might be rewritten, and the emperor after Liu Qi might really become Liu Hao. As for the pretext of rebellion, Liu Tao's fabricated excuse was "Qing Jun's side.".
Maybe even Liu Hao himself did not know that this excuse of his had become a "cliché" for anti-thieves in later generations, and the rebels after Liu Hao all carried the banner of "Qing Jun's side".
So, why didn't Liu Hao use the banner of "resisting the cutting of the clan" or "revenge for his son"?
Because, this prospect emperor Liu Qi had already made the reason for cutting the domain known to the world, and Liu Hao could not start from the legality of the cutting domain. If you use the banner of avenging your son, presumably the people of the whole world will feel that Liu Hao's pattern is too small, and he will be a thief for the sake of his son's life. Liu Hao pointed all the spearheads at the chaotic mistake that gave Liu Qi a bad idea, and poured all the dirty water such as "disaster and chaos on the gang" on this person's body, taking the opportunity to send troops.
Seven countries and 200,000 troops, when the central army was unprepared, were indeed victorious one after another, and it did not take long to reach the territory of Henan. At the beginning of the war, the Han Jing Emperor was impatient, seeing that the enemy was about to hit his own door, what should he do? Emperor Jingdi of Han was a wise man, and when he saw that the anti-thieves were playing the banner of "Qing Jun's side", he simply complied with the wishes of the anti-thieves and killed Chao Wrong, so as to erase the excuse that the anti-kings sent troops.
Emperor Jingdi of Han was very clever in this move, chao was already dead, and he immediately announced to the world that the anti-thieves withdrew their troops. However, at this point, how could Liu Hao give up? He simply ignored the holy decree issued by Emperor Jing of Han, and continued to attack with the rebels, intending to seize the throne. Up to this point, Liu Hao had fallen into the inferior class, why? Because the monarch's side has been cleared, if the rebels continue to march at this time, it is a pure rebellion.
In the face of justice and righteousness, Liu Hao has completely lost the initiative. The soldiers who followed the Seven Kings originally followed the Seven Kings into the capital to kill the courtiers, but today their identities have become anti-thieves, their nature has been completely different, and their morale has also fallen into a depression. As for the pacification of the Rebellion of the Seven Kings, I believe that you are familiar with the whole process, and I will not elaborate on it.
When the rebels reached the State of Liang, they were temporarily in a stalemate with the rebels due to the obstruction led by the King of Liang, which also gave the Han Jing Emperor time to transfer troops. Emperor Jingdi of Han immediately took out the bottom card, that is, the great general Dou Bao and the lieutenant Zhou Yafu, to fight a final decisive battle with the rebels. Zhou Yafu and Dou Bao were worthy of being famous generals of the Han Dynasty, and after they sent their troops, they did not directly confront the enemy, but chose to cut off their grain routes.
As a result, the rebels in the expedition lost their food and grass support and fell into absolute passivity. In the absence of grain and grass, the Han army only took three months to break through the various rebels one by one. At this point, the seven anti-kings have gone, either dead or fleeing. The initiator, Liu Tao, fled to Dongyue to seek refuge, which was already a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. In order to give the imperial court an explanation, the princes of Dongyue killed Liu Hao, the king of Wu.
The Rebellion of the Seven Kings has come to an end.
Resources:
[Book of Han," "The Strategy of Cutting the Domain," "The Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, and the Comparison of the Chaos of An Shi," "Outline of Chinese History"]