Zhou Yafu was the second son of Zhou Bo, and Zhou Bo was the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty, so Zhou Yafu's birth was very high. However, Zhou Yafu's own ability far exceeds his identity, but his identity after his fame has laid a certain foundation for him to make meritorious achievements, allowing him to walk less.
There was once a looking man who said to Zhou Yafu that he would be crowned marquis in the future, and that he would be the head of the government, but he would eventually starve to death. But Zhou Yafu did not believe it at all, because he still had an older brother, and his father's title was naturally inherited by his brother, and it would be passed on to his nephew in the future. As for starvation, it was even more empty, after all, the Zhou family had always been highly valued by the emperor, how could it be starved to death. However, Zhou Yafu did not know that the words of this person who looked at the face would really come true in the end.
In fact, looking at Zhou Yafu's life, the author believes that his greatest achievements are two. The first was to garrison Xiaoliu, which effectively blocked the Xiongnu invasion of the Central Plains. The second was to quell the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, a civil unrest that caused emperor Jingdu of Han a great headache, but under the command of Zhou Yafu, it was put down in three months.
Since Zhou Yafu had distinguished himself and was an indispensable general in the Western Han Dynasty, why did Emperor Jingdi of Han have an opinion on him? The author believes that this is related to the personalities of Zhou Yafu and The Han Jingdi.
Zhou Yafu is a typical warrior, who does not speak in circles, saying and doing anything straight. Emperor Jing of Han was also an emperor with his own ideas, and he could do whatever he liked, so he would have conflicts with his mother, Empress Dou. Therefore, the personalities of the two are very similar, and as soon as the two of them meet, it is the tip of the needle to Mai Mang. This can be seen in several things.
First, Emperor Jing of Han first favored Li Ji, so he made her son Liu Rong crown prince. However, later, Li Ji fell out of favor, and Emperor Jing of Han wanted to depose Liu Rong and make Liu Che crown prince. At that time, Zhou Yafu, as a chancellor, naturally had the qualifications to recommend the selection of a crown prince, and after knowing that Emperor Jing of Han wanted to abolish Chang Liyou, Zhou Yafu was the first to stand up against it.
Just now said that Emperor Jing of Han was also a person with an idea, he proposed to abolish the prince, in fact, he had already made a decision, ostensibly to consult with the group of ministers, but in fact it was to inform everyone. But Zhou Yafu thought that this was not good for the country, so in the case that everyone did not dare to speak out, only he stood up against it, which was disgusted by the Han Jing Emperor.
2. Empress Dowager Dou wanted Emperor Jing of Han to make Empress Dowager Wang's brother Wang Xin a marquis, but Emperor Jing of Han, citing the fact that during his father's reign, he did not make Empress Dou's nephew a marquis, saying that this was not in accordance with the etiquette system and needed to be consulted with the courtiers. Originally, the relationship between Empress Dou and Emperor Jingdi of Han was relatively tense, and Emperor Jingdi of Han also wanted to ease his relationship with his mother, so he hoped that the courtiers could support this matter.
However, Zhou Yafu stood up again, saying that Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, made a rule that non-Liu clans could not be crowned kings, and those without merit could not be crowned marquises, hoping that Emperor Jing of Han would not violate the precepts of his ancestors. Emperor Jing of Han was dumbfounded by these words, so the matter of sealing wang xin as a prince had to be abandoned.
This dismissal created several cascading effects. First of all, the relationship between Emperor Jingdi of Han and Empress Dou became more rigid, and secondly, Emperor Jingdi of Han remembered all this on Zhou Yafu's head, and finally caused Empress Dou to be dissatisfied with Zhou Yafu.
Third, when the Xiongnu generals submitted to the Han Dynasty, as soon as the Han Jing Emperor was happy, he wanted to make them hou, and Zhou Yafu thought that this was enough, and quickly stood up to stop it. Zhou Yafu believed that these people had betrayed their country and defected to the Han Dynasty, and although we could accept them, we could not let such people become princes of the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Jing of Han said everything, and at this time, he lost the majesty of the king, so he publicly criticized Zhou Yafu and immediately gave the Xiongnu general the title of Marquis. From here, it can be seen that Emperor Jing of Han was giving Zhou Yafu a downward spiral, asking him not to always disobey the emperor's wishes.
The two were so hard-hitting that in the end Zhou Yafu naturally couldn't touch the emperor, so he ended up starving to death. So why did the author say that zhou Yafu's death, he and the Han Jing emperor each had to bear half of the responsibility?
Because Zhou Yafu was a minister, although it was a loyal act to dare to enter the court, he ignored a problem, that is, the face of the emperor. When Wei Zheng risked death to enter the court, for a long time, Tang Taizong was somewhat disgusted with him, believing that he always let himself not come to the stage, and even told Empress Eldest Sun that one day he would execute Wei Zheng.
Even Tang Taizong was like this, not to mention the young and vigorous Han Jing Emperor. The more Zhou Yafu entered the court, it would only make Emperor Jingdi of Han feel that he was deliberately opposing him. We can also prove it by two examples.
First, the Han Jing Emperor set up a banquet in the palace to entertain Zhou Yafu, but deliberately did not give him chopsticks. Zhou Yafu thought that this was a deliberate humiliation by Emperor Jingdi of Han, so he was full of displeasure and asked the steward for chopsticks. Emperor Jingdi of Han also smiled and said, "Is this not enough for the king?" This means that Zhou Yafu was not satisfied with this, Zhou Yafu was very angry, but he had to kneel down to apologize to emperor Jing of Han.
As soon as Emperor Jingdi of Han said the word "up", Zhou Yafu stood up and then turned and left. Emperor Jingdi of Han looked at Zhou Yafu's departing back and said helplessly, "This troublemaker is not a young lord or a courtier?"
Both were at fault in this matter. Emperor Jing of Han was wrong that he should not have humiliated the ministers so much, and in front of his subordinates, Zhou Yafu was a famous person, and he was also a heavy minister of the Han Dynasty, so he must have been a little unhappy. And Zhou Yafu was wrong in being too arrogant and rude, even if he was not convinced in his heart, as a minister, he could not rush the emperor so much.
Second, when Emperor Jing of Han made the Xiongnu general Hou, Zhou Yafu said that he was sick and did not go to work, and Emperor Jing of Han knew that this was a gamble with him. That's why he arranged a banquet to see if Zhou Yafu's temper had changed. Supposedly, the emperor had already given him a step down, but Zhou Yafu did not appreciate it at all.
Zhou Yafu did not go to work at home all day, and when his son saw that his father was old, he privately purchased five hundred armors, thinking that he would use it as a funeral item for his father in the future. This was originally a piece of filial piety for the son, but to buy armor privately was a great sin of rebellion. Emperor Jingdi of Han and Zhou Yafu were already full of contradictions, and after this matter was denounced, Emperor Jingdi of Han jing decided that Zhou Yafu had ill intentions.
Finally, at the time of the interrogation, Zhou Yafu also had a good word, saying that it was a funeral object, without the slightest intention of doing anything wrong. This made Emperor Jing of Han angry and ignored him, and in the end Zhou Yafu could not bear the humiliation and died of hunger strike.
Zhou Yafu was wrong in this matter, he had no intention of rebellion, but he also connived at his son's private possession of armor. To say that Zhou Yafu, as a military general, naturally knew the great sin of buying armor without permission, but he not only did not stop his son, but also thought that he was filial piety. Even later, zhou Yafu's attitude was still tough.
Moreover, although the Han Jing Emperor was angry, he did not explicitly order him to be executed, as long as Zhou Yafu was willing to be soft, maybe one day when the emperor's anger subsided, he would let him go back to enjoy his old age in peace. However, Zhou Yafu still couldn't figure it out, and finally protested with a hunger strike, which ended in tragedy.
As for Emperor Jingdi's fault, he should not humiliate the chancellor like this. At that time, Zhou Yafu was all old, and if the Han Jing Emperor was not accustomed to him, he would put him back to the old age, and his eyes would be pure. But he couldn't swallow this breath, and he had to deal with an old minister, which eventually led to a generation of heroes being starved to death.
Therefore, zhou Yafu's death, he and the Han Jing emperor are both responsible, the blame is that both of them have a very strong temper, and neither of them will accept defeat. But no matter how strong Zhou Yafu was, he couldn't possibly fight the most powerful Han Jing Emperor.
(Reference to the Chronicle of History)