Zhou Yafu was a very famous general of the Han Dynasty, and he was a general with distinctive characteristics.
When he was the prime minister of the Han Jing Emperor, once the Han Jing Emperor invited him to dinner, and a large piece of uncut meat was placed on the table, and at the same time, he was not given chopsticks. Zhou Yafu didn't think much of it, so he asked the service staff next to him for chopsticks. But at this time, the Han Jing Emperor smiled and said, Is it not enough to give you such a large portion of things, you still want it!
Zhou Yafu knew that the emperor had deliberately done it, so he had to kneel down and apologize. However, before Emperor Han Jingdi could say a single word of "up", Zhou Yafu had already stood up and turned away. At that time, Emperor Jing of Han looked at the back of Zhou Yafu's departure and said coldly, How can such a person assist the crown prince?
(Portrait of Zhou Yafu)
After this happened, things took a sharp turn for the worse.
First, Zhou Yafu offered his resignation to Emperor Jingdi of Han. Emperor Jingdi of Han didn't even mean to keep it, and he directly agreed. Then, someone reported that Zhou Yafu wanted to rebel. So Emperor Jingdi of Han arrested Zhou Yafu again and put him in prison for interrogation.
Saying that Zhou Yafu rebelled, the actual situation is like this. At that time, Zhou Yafu's son saw that Zhou Yafu was old, so he bought five hundred sets of armor and prepared to burn it for him after Zhou Yafu died. After Zhou Yafu went to prison, he explained this matter to Ting Wei. Saying that this is a meditative vessel, it is impossible to take the meditative artifact to rebel. But Ting Wei obviously knew that Emperor Jingdi of Han did not want Zhou Yafu to live, so he said, you do not want to rebel when you are alive, but you want to rebel after death. This kind of talking logic made Zhou Yafu indignant, so he simply committed suicide.
So, when Emperor Jingdi of Han invited Zhou Yafu to dinner, why didn't he give Zhou Yafu chopsticks? Did the Han Jing Emperor give Zhou Yafu a mystery and let Zhou Yafu guess? Did Zhou Yafu guess it? Did Zhou Yafu guess that he would not fall into such a tragic situation?
To answer these questions, we have to start all over again.
Zhou Yafu was the son of the famous general Zhou Bo, and he became famous during the time of Emperor Wen of Han. Once, Emperor Wen of Han went to Zhou Yafu's military camp for a military parade. It is estimated that Emperor Wen of Han wanted to come to a surprise inspection, so he did not tell Zhou Yafu in advance that he was going. Therefore, after he went, the guards stood at the door and did not let Emperor Wen of Han enter. Emperor Wen of Han's entourage immediately became angry, saying that this was the emperor, how dare you not let him in! But the guard said that no one believed. In our barracks, we only listen to the orders of the commander-in-chief.
After this incident, Emperor Wen of Han praised Zhou Yafu, saying that famous generals in ancient and modern times were inferior to him.
(Portrait of Emperor Wen of Han)
However, during the Han Wendi period, he advocated recuperation, and Zhou Yafu had no opportunity to perform.
Later, Emperor Wen of Han's son Emperor Jing of Han became emperor. After Emperor Jing of Han became emperor, he was dissatisfied with the power of the local feudal kings and wanted to cut the clan. Then came the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms.". After the Outbreak of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, Emperor Jing of Han sent Zhou Yafu to lead troops to quell the rebellion. At that time, Emperor Jingdi's younger brother Liu Wu the Prince of Liang was surrounded by rebels. Liu Wu was in a hurry and asked the imperial court for help. So Emperor Jing of Han sent Zhou Yafu to save Liu Wu, but Zhou Yafu did not go. Empress Dowager Dou, emperor of HanJing's mother, intervened, and Zhou Yafu did not go either. He said that the imperial court had few troops, and if he went to save Liu Wu, he would fall into the trap of the rebels. The best way is to let Liu Wu die and resist. As long as he can withstand it and contain the rebel forces, this battle will certainly be won.
In the end, it was precisely because of Liu Wu's role that Zhou Yafu extinguished the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms".
After putting out the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms", Emperor Jingdi of Han transferred Zhou Yafu to the central government and made him prime minister.
However, after becoming prime minister, Zhou Yafu had several things that he had an unpleasant relationship with Emperor Jingdi of Han. First, Emperor Jing of Han wanted to replace the crown prince Liu Rong and make Liu Che the crown prince. However, Zhou Yafu disagreed, saying that Crown Prince Liu Rong was not wrong and could not be changed. Second, at the strong request of Empress Dowager Dou, Emperor Jingdi of Han decided to make his uncle a marquis. However, Zhou Yafu said that this uncle had no merit and could not be crowned marquis. Moreover, he also moved out of Liu Bang to talk about things, saying that this rule was set by Liu Bang. Third, five Huns surrendered, and Emperor Jing of Han wanted to make them marquises. However, Zhou Yafu said that such a person who surrendered did not even have the backbone, how could he be enfeoffed? ，
After this series of events, the Han Jing Emperor set up such a banquet, and then the things we mentioned earlier happened.
(Portrait of Emperor Jingdi of Han)
So, what kind of dumb puzzle is the Han Jing Emperor playing?
Obviously, the Han Jing Emperor wanted to give a rule for Zhou Yafu to implement. Meaning, I invite you to dinner, do not give chopsticks, then you grab with your hands, you have to adapt to my way. But Zhou Yafu was very arrogant, and he was unwilling to carry out the way that Emperor Jing of Han gave him, so in the end there was such an ending.
Speaking of which, Zhou Yafu adhered to principles all his life, did not engage in favoritism and fraud, and his personality was indeed very noble. However, he is obviously not suitable to be prime minister. His personality is too straight, he has no working methods, and he can't handle the relationship with direct leadership, so how can he handle things in the imperial court well?
Of course, I have to say that the Han Jing Emperor was really too cruel. Zhou Yafu has already resigned and returned home, so that he can spend his old age in peace, why must he be forced to die!
(References: "History", "Book of Han", etc.)