Chapter 12 Chapter IX The Reaction of the Feudal Regime in the Qin and Han Dynasties

210 years before the first emperor of Qin, Dong Xun died in the sand dunes (now Xingtai County, Hebei).His eldest son, named Fusu, had already been exiled and punished to Shangjun (now Suide County, Shaanxi Province) to serve as the supervisor of Mengtian's army.In the past, the political practice was that the prince did not leave the capital and did not engage in military affairs. If he did so, it meant that he was not proposed to be appointed.Therefore, Qin Shihuang's failure to support Su was predetermined. "Historical Records" said that Hu Hai, the youngest son of Qin Shihuang, favored the eunuch Zhao Gao. After the death of the first emperor, Zhao Gao campaigned Li Si for Hu Hai, forged an edict, killed Fusu and Meng Tian and established Hu Hai. This is not credible ("Historical Records Li Si "Biographies" contains all legends at that time, not facts. There are so many historical facts between Qin and Han Dynasties).Hu Hai was established as the second emperor.He killed a group of princes, and killed Meng Tian's brother, Meng Yi.In the end, even Li Si, who had worked so hard and was very qualified, was killed.As a result, the government of the Qin Dynasty lost its focus and could no longer control the world.In the emperor's family, there have always been many open and secret struggles, especially during the succession.This did not start in the Qin Dynasty, but after the unification of the world, the area under the jurisdiction of the imperial family became larger, and because of internal problems, it affected the overall situation, causing all the people to suffer from it, and the scope involved was even wider.Qin Shihuang died only twelve years after he wiped out the six kingdoms, and this disaster happened.

In the next year of Qin Shihuang's death, soldiers Chen Sheng and Wu Guang set up troops in Qi (now Su County, Anhui), and captured Chen in the north.Sheng Zi made himself king, named Zhang Chu.The troops were divided into four places, and the counties and counties killed more of them to obey the orders.After the six countries, they took the opportunity to join forces.Although the politics of the Qin Dynasty was chaotic, its military strength was still strong; most of the soldiers of the princes were mobs;First suppressed Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, and then killed the newly established King Wei.During the Warring States period, Xiang Liang, the son of Xiang Yan, the famous general of Chu State who supported Chu State and died in battle at the end, and his brother Xiang Ji, raised troops in Wu and led them across the river to the west (now Jiangnan in Jiangsu, which was called Jiangdong in ancient times. The so-called Jiangnan refers to present-day Hunan).Based on the lobbying of Fan Zeng, a Juchao man, the descendants of King Huai of Chu were established in Xuyi (Juchao, now Chao County, Anhui. Xuyi, now Xuyi County, Anhui), and they are still called King Chuhuai (with the posthumous posthumous name of their ancestors).Xiang Liang led his troops to the north, and his troops were very sharp. He won consecutive battles, and was later attacked and killed by Zhang Han.Zhang Han thought that there were not enough soldiers in Chu, so he besieged King Zhao in Julu (now Pingxiang County, Hebei) to the north.The north is strong and the south is weak, but the situation gradually changed after the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Since then, the northern army has always won with restraint, while the southern army has won with brute force.Especially the scholars of Wu and Yue, in "Hanshu·Geography", it is also said that they are "easy to use swords when dying lightly".After Xiang Liang died, King Huai of Chu sent Xiang Ji to the north to rescue Zhao, and Liu Bang, who raised troops in Pei, that is, Han Gaozu, entered the pass in the west (Pei, now Pei County, Jiangsu).Xiang Ji defeated the Qin soldiers in Julu.Han Gaozu also entered from Wuguan.At this time, Emperor II and Zhao Gao turned their faces again for some reason. Zhao Gao killed Emperor II and set up his brother Ying, who assassinated Gao. In the midst of the chaos, Han Gaozu's soldiers had arrived at Bashang (in today's Chang'an, Shaanxi Province) County East), Ziying had to surrender, and the Qin Dynasty perished.This happened in 206 BC.

It is said that Qin's destruction of the six kingdoms is innocent, and it is denounced as a strong tiger and wolf. After the destruction of Qin, since no one can claim respect, it is natural to divide them into feudal states.But who does the power of enfeoffment come from?People who read history thought it was Xiang Ji.This is wrong.Even though Xiang Ji has the right to control in fact, he must not be arbitrary in form, and in fact, it may not be completely controlled by Xiang Ji alone?After Xiang Ji broke Zhanghan, he also led troops west to pass.The ancestors of Han Gao have entered the pass, and will send generals to guard it.Xiang Yu was furious and broke him.He marched to Hongmen (in today's Lintong County, Shaanxi Province), and almost started a war with Gaozu.Fortunately, someone intervened to mediate, Han Gaozu went to see Xiang Ji himself, explained it, and the battle was not completed.At this time, the matter of enfeoffment was agreed.This matter is called "the king of princes" in the "Preface" of "Historical Records", which shows that the form depends on public discussion.Its titles are: (1) after the Six Kingdoms, (2) those who have contributed to the death of Qin Dynasty, (3) King Huai of Chu is honored as Emperor Yi with an empty name, and (4) the real power is in the man who is known as the Overlord of Western Chu Xiang Ji (Du Pengcheng, called its place Western Chu at that time; Jiangling was Southern Chu, and Wu was Eastern Chu).This is imitated after the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the emperor only had a false name, and the real power lay in the overlord.The method of enfeoffment, we read the "Historical Records", it cannot be said that it is unfair.People in the Han Dynasty said: When King Huai of Chu sent his generals to enter the pass, he made an appointment with him: the first to enter the pass was the king, so Han Gaozu became the king of Guanzhong, and Xiang Ji changed him to Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong as a breach of contract.Regardless of whether this statement is true or not, even if it is true, how can King Huai of Chu's order restrain people outside of Chu?That's not to mention it.The previous Wen Yejing said: people's thinking is always backward, and it is more trustworthy to observe between Qin and Han.Since the feudal regime could no longer be maintained, enfeoffment was established, and the rebellion started in the east.Because Xiang Ji was the overlord, he had the responsibility to conquer, so he sent troops to Qi.Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty took the opportunity to settle in Guanzhong.He went out of the pass again, joined forces with the princes, and broke through Pengcheng.Although Xiang Ji returned troops and defeated him, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty insisted on defending Xingyang and Chenggao (Xingyang, now Xingze County, Henan; Chenggao, now Sishui County, Henan), so Xiao He was able to guard Guanzhong and continue to provide soldiers and food.Send Han Xin to cross the river, establish Zhao and Dai in the north, and destroy Qi in the east.Peng Yue directly disrupted Xiang Ji's rear.In 202 BC, Xiang Ji was exhausted due to lack of soldiers, and was destroyed by the Han Dynasty.It has only been five years since the death of Qin Dynasty.

In fact, the world has become unified again.However, people at the time probably didn't think so.When Chu and Han were facing each other, there was a strategist named Kuai Che, who once advised Han Xin to divide the world into three parts.When Han Gaozu finally attacked Xiang Ji, he made an agreement with Han Xin and Peng Yue to join forces, but the soldiers of Xin and Yue were not good at it. Later, they agreed to give all the land of Qi to Han Xin and all the land of Liang to Peng Yue. This is not to entrust his ministers with the qualifications of the emperor, but to establish a covenant for the division of land with equal qualifications.Therefore, Han Gaozu's destruction of Chu, in terms of the actual situation, is not so much the Han's destruction of Chu, but rather the fact that many princes, that is, many newly rising armies, joined forces to destroy Chu. Han Gaozu was just the leader of the coalition army.After Chu was destroyed, the leader of the coalition army naturally had the qualifications to enjoy a more respected title, so they respected Han Gaozu as emperor.Although there is this title, in fact, it may not have the meaning of inheriting the power of the emperor of Qin Dynasty.After becoming the emperor, he could kill and depose the princes at will, which was unimaginable to the people at that time. This is why Han Xin and others were willing to honor Han Gaozu as emperor at that time.Otherwise, I'm afraid it won't be so easy.The kings with different surnames in the early Han Dynasty included Han Xin, king of Chu, Peng Yue, king of Liang, Zhang Ao, king of Zhao, Han Wangxin, Wang Yingbu of Huainan, Zang Tu, king of Yan, and Wu Rui, king of Changsha.These are all facts that existed before and had to be sealed, and were not set by the emperor's will.After Han Gaozu destroyed Chu, according to Lou Jing and Zhang Liangzhi, the western capital was Guanzhong. The reason at that time was that Guanzhong had a dangerous terrain, a large area, and rich resources, which were easy to defend and used to temporarily control the princes. It can be seen that he only wanted to Be the strongest among nations.But the trend of the situation, people will naturally do things that are not bound by thoughts.Within a few years, Han Xin and Peng Yue were all destroyed by the conspiracy of the Han Dynasty.Zhang Ao sees it as a crime.Han Wangxin, Yingbu and Zang Tu were all defeated.After Zang Tu, Lu Wan was appointed as the first confidant of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. He also died in the Xiongnu because of being slandered.When Han Gaozu died in 195 BC, there was only a small and remote Changsha Kingdom left.At this point in the world, it can really be regarded as the world with the surname Liu.The speed of its success can be said to be the same miracle as Han Gaozu's destruction of Chu.This is not what Han Gaozu could do, but the feudal regime has already declined by this time.

To rule the whole country with the power of a government, Qin Shihuang had the courage, or it can also be said that he had the public heart to abolish feudalism for the world, but Han Gaozu had nothing.Suspicious of different surnames, it is necessary to enshrine the same surname for self-support, so with the demise of the princes with different surnames, the kingdoms of the same surname were established one after another.Among them, King Fei of Qi, the eldest son of Emperor Gaozu, had a large land and a large number of people, and he lived in a beautiful place in the east, which was valued at that time (there were also King Chang of Huainan, King Jian of Yan, King Ruyi of Zhao, Wanghui of Liang, Wang Heng of Dai, Huai Friends of King Yang are all sons of Emperor Gao. Jiao of King Chu is brother of Emperor Gao. Bi Wang of Wu is brother of Emperor Gao).In a patriarchal society, those who are trusted are either the same surname or relatives.Han Xin, Peng Yue, etc., who were heroes in the early Han Dynasty, were particularly suspicious because of their large fiefdoms. The rest had no fiefdoms, or only small fiefdoms, how could they be "concentric with officials"?Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty conquered east and west, and was away for many years, but who was appointed by the central government?Fortunately, his Queen Lu is very capable.Her mother's family probably belonged to the so-called heroes at that time; her elder brothers Lu Ze and Lu Shizhi both followed Gaozu to lead the army; her brother-in-law Fan Kuai was especially outstanding among the heroes; power.Gao Zu was away for many years, and she was the one who controlled the affairs in the capital. You only need to see that Han Xin and Peng Yue died in her hands.So after the death of Gaozu, his heir Emperor Huidi, although cowardly, managed to be the emperor for seven years in peace.After the death of Emperor Hui, his heir, Emperor Shao, served for another four years.For some reason (Princess Lu Yuan, Empress Lu's daughter, married Zhang Ao, and Ao's daughter was the queen of Emperor Hui. "Historical Records" said that he had no children, pretended to be pregnant, took the son of a beautiful woman, killed his mother, and named him his son. Emperor Hui Collapse, standing, long, heard about it, uttered complaints, and was abolished by Empress Lu. This is not true. According to the "Han Shu", the establishment of Empress Zhang happened in October of the fourth year of Emperor Hui, at least the fourth year of Emperor Hui. In only seven years, the young emperor was no more than seven years old, and there is a reason to know and resent Empress Lu), who was deposed by Empress Lu and made his younger brother.Empress Lu came to the imperial court to proclaim the system.Another four years and died.When Empress Lu was alive, although several members of her mother's family were made kings, none of them came to the country.Empress Lu actually had no intention of overthrowing the Liu family and reusing the Lu family. She appointed several heroes from the early Han Dynasty. After all, this group of people was a bit scary. Lu Chan (Lu, the son of Shizhi; Chan, Zezi) of the Southern Army, "according to the Bingwei Palace", should not go out to send funerals, in case someone takes advantage of the situation in the capital to cause chaos.At this time, King Fei of Qi was dead, and Zixiang succeeded him as King of Qi.His younger brother Zhu Xuhouzhang was in the capital, and secretly sent someone to ask him to raise troops.The Han Dynasty sent Guan Ying, a hero, to beat him.Guan Ying went to Xingyang and made peace with the king of Qi, so the former enemies formed a stalemate.Prime Minister Chen Ping, Taiwei Zhou Bo and others sent people to campaign Lu Lu and hand over military power.Lu Lu hesitated, Zhou Bo used deceit to break into the northern army, mobilized soldiers, and opposed Lu's family.Kill Lu Lu, Lu Chan and the rest of the Lu family.So he conspired to say that none of Emperor Hui's sons were born to Emperor Hui, so he chose the longest son among Emperor Gao's surviving sons, and appointed Wang Heng as Emperor Wen.The members of King Qi are naturally not convinced.Emperor Wen used his wrists to divide the land, and named Zhu Xuhou the king of Chengyang, and Zhu Xuhou's younger brother, Dong Mohou Xingju, was the king of Jibei (Chengyang ruled Ju, now Juxian County, Shandong; Jibei ruled Lu, now Changqing County, Shandong).King Chengyang died soon after.The king of Jibei was punished for his rebellion.In the early Han Dynasty, the triangular struggle among the clan, relatives, and heroes did not come to an end.

He was a hero at that time, so he did not dare to overthrow the Liu family. It is indeed related to the fact that there were many feudal titles with the same surname in the Han Dynasty, so feudalism cannot be said to be useless for a while.However, after all the heroes with different surnames perish, the trouble is that they have the same surname again.To get rid of the indelible problem of princes with the same surname, it is nothing more than Jia Yi's saying that "many build princes but less power".This statement was already implemented when Emperor Wen was in power. King Xiang of Qi passed on his son, but he had no son after death. Emperor Wen divided his land into Qi, Jinbei, Jinan, Suichuan, Jiaoxi, and Jiaodong. The Six Kingdoms (Jinan ruled Dongping Mausoleum, now Licheng County, Shandong; Suichuan ruled Juju, now Shandong Shouguang County; Jiaoxi ruled Gaoyuan, now Shandong Huantai County; Jiaodong ruled Jimo, now Shandong Jimo County), established Qi Wangfei There are six concubines.The land of Huainan was also divided into three kingdoms.But Wu and Chu are still great powers, and King Bi of Wu is particularly rebellious.Chao Cuo urged Emperor Wen to bring the princes to justice, but Emperor Wen was a follower and failed to implement it thoroughly.In 157 BC, Emperor Wen died and Emperor Zijing was established.Chao Cuo became a doctor of imperial history, that is to say, he implemented what he advocated.In 154 BC, King Wu united Chu, Zhao, Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, Suichuan, and Jinan to rebel, and the momentum was very strong.Fortunately, the king of Wu did not know how to strategize, "gathering to the west, there is no other way", which was defeated by Zhou Yafu.So Emperor Jing reformed the system, and the princes and kings were not allowed to rule the people, but ordered the princes to rule the country.When Emperor Wu arrived, he used the strategy of mastering his father to let the princes get their land and entrust their children. In a peaceful way, he thoroughly implemented the phrase "all build princes but less power".The aftermath of the reactionary feudal regime has not been resolved until now.From the restoration of the Six Kingdoms in the first year of Qin II to the pacification of the chaos between Wu and Chu, there were a total of fifty-six years.