There is a Chinese idiom called "too much to be too late", which means that nothing can be done too hastily, otherwise the result will not only not be as expected, but will also make things worse. In fact, this principle applies to any matter, especially in the aspect of "showing loyalty", for example, there was a prince in the Han Dynasty who was eager to show loyalty, and as a result, he was abandoned by his father, and finally he was given death for rebellion. This prince who experienced legend was Liu Dan, the King of Yan Thorn.
Liu Dan was the third son of Emperor Wu of Han and the brother of Liu Xu the Prince of Guangling, and his biological mother was Li Ji. According to the historical records, Liu Dan was able to speak eloquently and had a wide range of interests, not only studying scriptures and miscellaneous sayings, but also liking activities such as ephemeris, numerology, advocating excellence, and shooting and hunting, and was extremely active in the upper literary and art circles. Not only that, Liu Dan also liked to recruit ranger warriors, and had great ambitions for meritorious achievements ("to argue for people, to learn scriptures, miscellaneous sayings, good ephemeris, numerology, advocacy, and hunting, to attract wanderers.") See Book of Han, vol. 63).
Liu Dan is versatile and extremely talented
Liu Dan was awarded the title of King of Guangling in the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (117 BC), and because at this time his half-brother Liu Occupied the throne as the eldest son of his concubine, Liu Dan knew very well that he had no chance of taking the throne, and naturally showed a posture of no desire and no demand, and honestly served as a prince for 30 years in the feudal state, until after the outbreak of the "Curse of the Witches", his heart was flooded with waves, re-stimulating his desire for the throne.
It is said that Emperor Wu of Han was ill in his later years, and during his long years of cultivation in the Palace of Ganquan, his suspicions gradually increased, and he was very afraid that someone would usurp his throne. At this time, the crown prince Liu Zhu, due to his long regency and leniency, had many rescues for the wronged, thus winning the support of both inside and outside the imperial court, and invisibly bringing pressure to the old emperor. During this extremely delicate period, Jiang Chong, a courtier who was at odds with the crown prince, repeatedly made rumors, claiming that someone in the palace had cursed the emperor.
Liu Zhu committed suicide in defeat in the "Scourge of witchcraft"
Emperor Wu was furious, so he sent Jiang Chong to search the harem and make sure to capture the "culprit" who cursed him. Jiang Chong quickly searched the Eastern Palace where Liu Zhao lived, and secretly instructed his men to plant stolen goods and frame them, claiming to dig up the Paulownia people for curses under the prince's garden. Because Emperor Wu of Han was living in the palace and could not hear from him, Liu Zhu, when it was difficult to explain his grievances, sent troops to kill Jiang Chong, and then engaged in a fierce battle with the army of Liu Quyi, the chancellor.
Liu fled in defeat and eventually committed suicide in Huxian County, and tens of thousands of royals, ministers, and civilians were killed by his involvement ("The people turned to falsely accuse witches, and the officials impeached themselves with a great rebellion, and tens of thousands of people sat before and after the dead." See Book of Han, vol. 45), shi zai zhenghe 2nd year (91 BC). With Liu Zhao's death, the position of crown prince was vacant, and who should fill it became a very urgent task in front of Emperor Wu.
As for who to choose to be the crown prince, Emperor Wu of Han was very confused
Due to the suicide of the eldest son Liu Zheng and the early death of the second son Liu Hong, there were four princes who were eligible to serve as crown princes at this time, namely Liu Dan the Prince of Yan, Liu Xu the Prince of Guangling, Liu Qi the Prince of Changyi, and Liu Fuling, the younger son. Since the four princes are all concubines, if we follow the principle of "brother to brother", it is reasonable for Liu Dan to be the crown prince, and the latter also thinks so.
Therefore, in the first year of the Later Yuan Dynasty (88 BC), when Liu Dan heard the news that Emperor Wu was seriously ill, he sent emissaries to Chang'an to petition and request that he be recalled to the Jingshi and Suwei palaces in case of extraordinary events. Liu Danman thought that his loyal words would please his father, but he did not expect that the latter was furious after seeing his performance, believing that he nominally wanted to defend Chang'an, but in fact he wanted to seize the throne, and his ambitions were so obvious that it was really rebellious.
Emperor Wu of Han angrily rebuked Liu Dan and severely punished him
Therefore, instead of agreeing to Liu Dan's request, Emperor Wu ordered the beheading of the envoys, and then he punished him for "hiding outlaws and violating Han laws" by cutting down three counties of the Yan state. Soon, Emperor Wu of Han officially made his youngest son Liu Fuling crown prince and entrusted him to the general Huo Guang. The following year, Emperor Wu of Han died and Liu Fuling took the throne, and Liu Dan's plot went bankrupt.
Prince Hewei was defeated, and King Huai of Qi, Dan took the throne as his first, and wrote to Su Wei. Anger up, imprisonment for it. After sitting in Zang's fugitive life, he cut the three counties of Liangxiang, Anci and Wen'an. Emperor Wu was an evil Dan, and later made his young son crown prince. See Book of Han, vol. 63.
However, Liu Dan was not content with the defeat, and soon after Emperor Han Zhao's ascension to the throne, he spread rumors among the people that he was not Emperor Wu's parent, and on the other hand, he conspired with his sister Princess Gaichang and the zuo general Shangguan Jie's father and son, intending to launch a mutiny to overthrow Emperor Zhao and replace him. However, before the conspiracy of Liu Dan and others was carried out, they were denounced, and Princess Gaichang, Shangguan Jie's father and son were all killed, and Liu Dan also ended up being given the fate of suicide in the first year of Yuan Feng (80 BC).
Liu Dan attempted to rebel and was ordered to die by Emperor Zhao of Han
For a long time, Dan's sister Princess Eyi Gaichang, the left general Shangguan Jie's father and son had a gap in the power struggle with Huo Guang, and everyone knew that Dan complained about Guang, that is, private communication with Yan... Ji and others conspired to kill Guang, depose the emperor, and establish the King of Yan as the Son of Heaven... Will cover the master of the house father Yancang know its plot, tell it, by is the discovery ... Dan de shu, with Fu Xi belonging to the chief medical worker, Xie Xiang 2,000 stones: "If you are not careful in your service, you will die." "That is, to hang oneself in silk." Ibid.