Han Gaozu's ancestor Liu Bang was once among the Rangers, but when Emperor Wu of Han arrived, he wanted to kill the Rangers, was this to deceive the master and destroy the ancestors? Of course not, the ranger group has its own stage of development and environment, by the time of Emperor Wu of Han, rangers have become the "strong" in the eyes of Emperor Wu of Han, becoming a factor of social turmoil, and not cracking down hard is not enough to consolidate his power politics.
Rangers belong to a marginalized group, and some folk people regard them as idols, but in the eyes of the authorities, they are social destabilizers. Therefore, cao zhi and Sima Qian both sang praises for the rangers, while official figures like Han Fei and Emperor Wu of Han said that they were "forbidden by force." Therefore, the Rangers group is very controversial.
During the Two Han Dynasties, because Confucianism had not yet had time to put spiritual shackles on the public, the entire social atmosphere presented a social concept of honor and righteousness. This was detrimental to the authoritarian imperial power, and where the official hand could not reach, the Rangers had the opportunity to take advantage of it.
By taking advantage of the void, they can build a powerful and invisible civil force, free from the central government and the clan's relatives. If the timing is right, they will also leap into a new ruling class, such as Zhang Liang, Ji Bu and others in the Three Masters of the Early Han Dynasty, who were underground masters who gathered crowds to run amok, befriended magnates, or avenged others.
Therefore, in the time of chaos, rangers are a very active group, and they have the opportunity to become officially valued figures. Sima Qian recorded several top rangers in the "Biography of rangers", such as the Ludi Zhu family and Luoyang Jumeng, which can be called the top rangers in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty.
The Zhu family and Han Gaozu Liu Bang lived in the same period, although he was born in the hometown of Confucius and Meng, the land of etiquette, but like Meng Tianjun among the four princes of the Warring States, whether it was a peddler or a rural hero, he made friends and even hid criminals at home. Of course, what is more important is that although there are mines in the family, they are low-key, never show off their wealth, but are willing to be charitable, how can such a person not be sought after?
Speaking of Ju Meng, on a par with the Zhu family, Sima Qian recorded one thing to show his prestige. In the third year of the Han Jing Emperor (154 BC), Wu, Chu and other princely states launched a huge rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Han Jing Emperor ordered Zhou Yafu to go to quell the rebellion.
When Zhou Yafu walked to the territory of Henan, he found that Ju Meng had come to greet him, and this military tycoon who had experienced two dynasties was actually happy and incoherent, saying that this Wu Chu rebellion, without Ju Meng, then they could not set off any huge waves. If you think about it, how can an important minister of the state regard a ranger as a key factor in determining the victory or defeat of the war, which makes the official situation unbearable? It can be seen from this that Ju Meng's reputation in the folk and how much influence he has.
But by the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he wanted to strengthen the centralization of power, consolidate the rule of the state, and attack the princes of the counties. For example, the "Tui En Order" he implemented, on the surface, was a favor, but in fact it was weakening the power of the princes. If the descendants of the princes were to be ennobled as princes, it would mean that many kingdoms would also be divided into several princely states. According to the Han system, the hou state was subordinate to the county, and the status was equivalent to that of the county. In this way, the kingdom was divided into princely states, the kingdom was reduced, the direct land of the imperial court was expanded, and the threat of the kingdom to the state was solved.
In addition, Emperor Wu of han also intensified his crackdown on local tyrants. During the seventy years of the early Han Dynasty, some landlords and powerful forces have developed greatly, and some of them have colluded with the princes and kings, and some have formed parties and gangs, forming a force that is difficult to deal with.
There is also a focus on cracking down on civilian cloth rangers, such as Ju Meng, Guo Xie and the like, these rangers "galloped in Lu Yan, exercised power in the state domain, and tried to fold the dukes." Obviously, it is very unfavorable to centralized rule, and it is also harmful to the progress of state policies and social stability. Therefore, the Rangers were also among the blows of Emperor Wu of Han.
The great ranger Guo Xie had bad luck and just crashed into the muzzle of the gun, and at the same time offended the Nine-Five-Year Dignity of Emperor Wu of Han, so his case was handled as an iron case, which can also be said to be a model for Emperor Wu of Han to attack the ranger's heroic strength.
The reason was that Emperor Wu of Han wanted to move the local forces to Maoling near Chang'an, and Guo Xie was also among them. He did not want to go, so he asked the general Wei Qing to intercede for him, saying that his family was weak and could not meet the conditions for migration. Wei Qing complied, but Emperor Wu of Han was not pleased.
If Guo Xieguo is really an ordinary person, with no official and no position, how can he ask Wei Qing to intercede for him, which actually shows that he is a local hegemon. How could Emperor Wudi of Han be swayed by these people, so he insisted on moving Guo Xie to Beijing.
Who knew that after Guo Xie arrived in Beijing, he did not know how to restrain, still did illegal things, and made friends with private parties, and Emperor Wu of Han did not let him go after all. However, this Guo Xie died unjustly.
He was originally a murderous outlaw who had been mixed up in the local area for more than ten years as the big brother of the underworld. When he reached the age of establishment, his temperament changed greatly, breeding a great chivalrous spirit, and he did a good deed of doing chivalry, helping the poor and helping others, so his reputation also grew, and more and more people came to defect to him, so his status in the jianghu was getting higher and higher.
To put it bluntly, he is like Jackie Chan Brando in the movie "The Godfather", solving disputes for people and handling disputes, so that people respect him more, and he has gradually become the first ranger of the Western Han Dynasty.
People are afraid of being famous pigs and afraid of being strong, and on the territory of Emperor Wudi of Han, there can only be one in the world, that is, Emperor Wudi of Han himself. It is said that after Guo Xie was moved to Maoling, Hao jie of the Guanzhong generation, whether he recognized him or not, came to visit him as soon as he heard that he was coming, hoping to make friends with him.
Isn't this punching Emperor Wu of Han in the face? How could he tolerate it, so he ordered Guo Xie to be severely attacked, first arresting guo Xie and imprisoning him on the pretext that Guo Xie's disciples had killed officials. Later, because Guo Xie's disciples ran and really killed another Confucian, Guo Xie could not escape the guilt, and finally the imperial court ordered that Guo Xie be exterminated, and a generation of heroes ended their lives.
In fact, judging from the Guo Xie incident, it was all the behavior manipulated by Emperor Wu of Han, that is, the act of dictatorship, which is also the reason why Sima Qian stood on the official opposite side when evaluating rangers.
In Sima Qian's eyes, the ranger has faith in his words, helps the poor and the poor, and is willing to be an unsung hero, which is in stark contrast to the official image. For example, The once-honored Marquis of Wei qihou was killed by Tian Qiao for no reason; Li Guang was forced to die by Wei Qing; and Li Guang's son was shot to death by Huo Fu in broad daylight. All these events illustrate the darkness of realpolitik. In contrast, the Rangers appear to be more honorable and righteous, which is also the reason why Sima Qian pursues rangers.
Si Yiqian's praise of the Rangers is also a criticism of the officialdom of the Han Dynasty, criticizing the upper class of the Han Dynasty as a mutual appearance, criticizing the autocratic rule of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the harsh punishment and cruel law of the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian was not a slander against Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, for example, in order to supply the years of war, the Han Dynasty implemented a series of policies aimed at plundering the people's wealth. Because of the economic decline, the people's lack of livelihood, and the instability of public order, the cool bureaucratic politics of brutal suppression of officials and people throughout the country was implemented, which was a serious problem at that time.
Emperor Wudi of Han had his own bitterness in attacking the Rangers, and Sima Qianli had a good reason to hold the Rangers, but his arms could not twist his thighs, and no one could stop Emperor Wu of Han from pursuing and killing the Rangers.