Li Cai was Li Guang's cousin, and both of them joined the army early. Unlike Li Guangnanfeng, Li Cai was ranked to 2,000 stones for his military merits during the reign of Emperor Jing. In the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, because he followed the right lord, he and Wei Qing sent an army to attack Shuofang and defeated the Xiongnu's Right Xian. Although only a few dozen Hun soldiers were captured, more than 15,000 Huns were also captured. Emperor Wu of Han was very happy when he received the news and made Li Cai the Marquis of Le'an.
Just when many people thought that Li Cai began to go to the highlight, what people never expected was that he actually abandoned the army and entered politics. Soon, Emperor Wu of Han promoted him to the rank of Imperial Grand Master, ranked third duke, silver seal green silk. Soon after, the eighty-year-old Gongsun Hong, the prime minister, died in office. Emperor Wu of Han promoted Li Cai to the rank of Chancellor. Li Cai held the position of chancellor for only four or five years, but during these four or five years, he helped Emperor Wu of Han rectify the administration of officials, change coins, and unify the prohibition of salt and iron private ownership, accumulating a lot of wealth for the imperial court.
Still
However, just as his life was reaching its peak, Li Cai's fate changed again. The history books record that Li Cai was questioned for privately occupying a vacant land next to the road in front of the Hanjing Emperor's mausoleum, and Li Cai was unwilling to be tried and chose to commit suicide.
So, did Li Cai really commit suicide because he encroached on the land of the Former Emperor's Mausoleum?
I. How serious is the encroachment on the land of the Ancestral Emperor's Mausoleum?
During the reign of Emperor Jing, an incident occurred about the encroachment on the land of the Zongmiao Temple. The protagonist is Liu Rong, the deposed prince. The history books record that Liu Rong built a palace on the land of the Zongmiao Temple without authorization, and was later accused, and Emperor Jing summoned him back to Chang'an, where he was strictly interrogated by Zhidu and finally forced to commit suicide.
The crown prince's encroachment on the land where the tomb of the Zongmiao Temple was not yet allowed to die, and the ordinary would receive a more severe punishment. Li Cai could not have been unaware of this, so according to the normal thinking of ordinary people, he did not dare to occupy the land where the former emperor was sleeping. In addition, as a chancellor and a fief, Li Cai did not need to encroach on the land of the Jingdi Mausoleum.
Second, is the Mausoleum of the First Emperor easy to be invaded?
Even if Li Cai wanted to encroach on the land where Emperor Jing's mausoleum was sleeping, could he easily encroach on it?
The Western Han Dynasty attached great importance to the management of the tombs of the Zongmiao Temple. Taking the Mao Mausoleum of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty as an example, there are more than 5,000 people cleaning every day, and there are also many officials and soldiers guarding it. So as long as you are close to the imperial tomb, you will be found, not to mention encroaching on its land. Moreover, it was Taichang who managed the tomb of the Zongmiao Temple, who ranked first among the Nine Qings and second only to the Three Dukes. Such a lord, who dares to move the land of Emperor Jing's mausoleum?
Why did Li Cai commit suicide?
Did Li Cai encroach on the land of the Jingdi Mausoleum? If there is no encroachment, why did Li Cai choose to commit suicide?
I think Li Cai's suicide may not be related to the encroachment on the Jingdi Cemetery. Although Li Cai was a chancellor, Emperor Wu did not believe him very much. The "Book of Han and Zhang Tang Biography" records: "Tang Every dynasty plays things, the language is used by the country, the sun is shining, and the son of heaven forgets to eat." The prime minister takes the throne, and everything in the world is decided." The meaning of this sentence is: "Every time Zhang Tang went to the court to play and talk about the wealth of the country, it was often until dusk, and Emperor Wu even forgot to eat." The chancellor is useless, and all major state affairs listen to Zhang Tang's opinions." Zhang Tang was indeed very powerful, and during the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han wanted to launch a final blow against the Xiongnu. However, the imperial court was empty in stock and could not meet the needs of counterattacking the Xiongnu. Zhang Tang requested the manufacture of platinum currency and five baht money, monopolized the production and trading of salt and iron, and crowded out the rich merchants. This trick literally put the profits of the rich merchants into the inventory of the imperial court.
Then again, Li Cai's chancellor was like a figment, and Emperor Wu naturally didn't pay much attention to him. When someone reported that Li Cai had encroached on the land of the Former Emperor's Mausoleum, Emperor Wu was not very attentive, but only sent a legal official to question Li Cai. Li Cai considered himself to be a chancellor of the dynasty and had a noble status, and now that he wanted to be judged by a petty official like a prisoner of the lower ranks, his heart was naturally very resistant. Li Cai eventually chose to commit suicide, perhaps to escape trial, but I think this is Li Cai's venting of his dissatisfaction with Emperor Wu.
In fact, this is a big thing, you say it is a small thing, it is also a small thing, there is a precedent for this. At that time, Chao mistakenly served as an envoy, because the envoy's palace needed to go around a large circle to the palace. In order to make it easier to get out, Chao Mistaken carved a wall door on the south wall. And this wall happens to be a wall of the emperor's mausoleum. When Shen Tujia found out, he immediately asked Emperor Jing to kill Chao. Emperor Jing was very dependent on Chao's mistakes at that time, and Emperor Jing said to Shen Tujia: "What he wore was not a real temple wall, but an outer wall, so he lived in it, and I made it wrong." Emperor Jing took the responsibility on himself and misplaced Chao.
Li Cai is dead, and there are not many records of him in the history books, but we can also get a glimpse of one or two when we read it carefully.