Chapter 5 Wen Jing Zhi Zhi

The Han Dynasty unified the whole country in 202 BC, enshrining heroes with different surnames as kings of seven kingdoms, and children of the same surname as kings of nine kingdoms.There are more than one hundred Hou countries.The feudal marquis only eats the city and ignores the civil affairs.The kingdom seems to be independent, "the palace and all the officials are the same as the capital".This is only a temporary method before the central power is stabilized, "if it is not filled by a false king, its situation will be uncertain".So once the emperor's career was determined, Liu Bang and Empress Lu used various methods to eliminate heroes with different surnames.Among them, only Wu Rui, the king of Changsha, died of illness four months after being sealed, which can be regarded as a good death.Others were captured or killed, or forced to flee to the Huns, all without good results.

And Empress Lu ruled with a female lead, with Lu Chan as the prime minister and Lu Lu as the general.The Lü clan had three kings, which aroused the jealousy of the ministers inside and outside the court, and led to "the chaos of Zhu Lv".It wasn't until the power of the Lu family was extinguished, and Emperor Wen Liu Heng was embraced to the throne, that the Han Dynasty's imperial career was considered stable.Emperor Wen reigned for 23 years, and his son Liu Qi was said to be Emperor Jing, who reigned for 16 years.During these 39 years, from 179 BC to 141 BC, the political situation of the Han Dynasty began to be formalized.According to the traditional posthumous posthumous law, "moral knowledge is called Wen", and "benefits from righteousness are called scenery".Both Wen and Jing are good titles.However, Liu Heng and Liu Qijian lightened the criminal law, cut taxes, were close to Confucian officials, sought virtue, issued edicts to blame themselves when the harvest was not good, and did not change much, and they only wanted to rest with the people.Its frugality and inaction have created the "Government of Wenjing" in Chinese history, which is the first time since the unification of China to be admired by historians.

But today we look at it from a long-term and long-distance standpoint, and this period of history needs to be given a new interpretation. Due to the needs of disaster relief, flood control and prevention of "captives", China completed the unification before the Christian era, and became a kind of precocious politically beyond the time.When Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, returned to Peixian County, Song Mingzhi claimed that "when the strong wind blows, the clouds fly, the Vega and the sea return to their hometown, and the warriors guard the four directions!" It can be seen that he has regarded personal achievements and national security as important things inadvertently. One.Entrepreneurship is difficult, and success is not easy.Therefore, he and Empress Lu always took the premise of consolidating the new dynasty, and even massacred heroes, by all means.From a personal standpoint, we cannot sympathize with them.Its cruelty and lack of kindness are at least contrary to the purpose of "While one is unjust and one innocent is killed, the whole world will not do it".But for the sake of public interest, we feel that due to the circumstances of the day, it is difficult for them to be responsible for the unification of the world alone. It is just like Machiavelli in the West said in "The Authoritarian Prince" after 1700, the grievances and personal grievances of the rulers different.Sima Qianji recorded that when Liu Bang heard that Empress Lu had executed Han Xin, his favorite hero, he was "happy and pitied", and Ban Gu also said, "Happy and sad".Such descriptions are consistent with the descriptions of Han Gaozu in other texts and should be based on facts.

At a time when paper had not yet appeared and documents were passed on wooden slips, China had already completed the unification of a vast area, which cannot be said to be a major achievement.But China will still have to pay a considerable price for this achievement in the next two thousand years.The growth of economic factors among different regions is the foundation of the special society and special culture of these regions, that is, the basis of decentralization.When such factors and their widespread implementation and relevant customary legal systems have not developed, there is no basis for a unified central government to be put on the bridle first, and the decentralization of powers in the future.Localities don't even have the ability to self-govern, let alone civil rights?Therefore, there is only the expansion and consolidation of imperial power.

The governance of Wenjing apparently benefited the people, but its governance did not follow the typical example of "enlightened autocracy".We also know that if you practice autocracy in a vast field, you must pretend to be enlightened.Because it wields absolute imperial power, it cannot find a better logic to support its own existence and actions other than "accepting the mandate of heaven" and "serving the people".Regardless of its authenticity, even if it does the best, it is at best "for the people" rather than "government by the people".

During the stage of Wenjing's rule, the most important change was the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" in 154 BC. Wu Wang Liu Bi was the nephew of Han Gaozu.His eldest son, Liu Xian, served the crown prince when he was Emperor Wen, and later Emperor Jing was drinking and playing games. The two had a dispute. Liu Xian was beaten to death by Emperor Jing. The royal family sent his body back to Wu for burial, but the King of Wu insisted on sending him back to Chang'an for burial. , it seemed that Emperor Wendi Jingdi was condemned morally, and he later said that he was ill and would not go to court.Therefore, this entanglement and homicide case can be regarded as a reason for Wu Chu's rebellion in private.

In fact, another reason is that the state of Wu is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, where copper is obtained by frying ore, and salt is obtained by boiling water. The king of Wu used this commercial wealth to reduce and replace the taxation of the people, so he won the hearts of the people.He also took in talents and accepted "heroes" from all over the world.According to the concept of the day, rebellion does not necessarily have to have evidence of intentional rebellion, as long as there is the ability to rebel, it can be counted.Therefore, Chao Cuo, the official censor (the emperor's confidential secretary-general), said: "If you cut it, you will reverse it, if you don't cut it, you will reverse it. If you cut it, it will be urgent, and the disaster will be small; if you don't cut it, it will be late, and the disaster will be great." It has pointed out a local politics. Economic and legal factors cannot be allowed to develop freely.

Sure enough, because of the cutting of the vassal, Wu Wang Liu Bi rebelled, and other Chu, Zhao, Jinan, Liuchuan, Jiaodong, and Jiaoxi also rebelled, in the name of Zhu Chaocuo.At first, Emperor Jing relied on Cuo as Tu Wu, an important minister of the previous dynasty, but at this time he was killed by Yuan An's plan.Chao Cuo was summoned by the emperor to discuss matters. He wore court clothes to pay homage to the court, but was deceived. He was beheaded by a car on the east market on the verge of encountering a crime of alienating the monarch and his ministers for treason.In this way, the seven kings lost the reason for calling soldiers.

The rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms was also due to the proper command of Zhou Yafu, the veteran general of the previous dynasty. Within three months, everything was peaceful.In another 11 years, Emperor Jing used Tiaohou Taiwei Zhou Yafu as "this Yangyang is not a minister of the young master", that is to say, he often has an unhappy and unconvinced attitude, and it is difficult to be a minister of the country under the successor emperor. Look, find out the details and put him in prison to die.At this time, the kingdoms of the children of the same surname in the Han Dynasty were either changed to prefectures or counties, or were divided into small kingdoms, and their bureaucrats were also dispatched by the court. In the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the remaining kingdoms were even more nameless, and the Han Dynasty had actually been restored. The Qin Dynasty had a comprehensive system of prefectures and counties.When Sima Qian wrote "Jingdi Ji", he paid attention to Liu Qi's dynasty as "a chance of safety and danger".Only when Ban Biao and Ban Gu father and son wrote "Hanshu" did they emphasize Emperor Wen's "forbearance" and Emperor Jing's "obedience".He also put forward the praise of "Zhou Yun Chengkang, Chinese Wenjing".

Under the Chinese bureaucratic system, the emperor is the supreme arbiter of all disputes and right and wrong, and even when dealing with technical issues, he must give a moral name.The solution of many things has to be determined quickly, so it is usually cruel and ungrateful.Among the emperors of the Han Dynasty, only Liu Xun, the seventh Emperor Xuan, knew the plot the most and was outspoken.When his crown prince saw that he was about to execute his ministers for a little disrespectful remark, he was about to execute them as an admonition. Emperor Xuan immediately said: "The Han family has its own system, which is originally mixed with the way of overlords, but it is purely a moral education!" And sighed: " Anyone who messes with my family must be the crown prince!"

These deeds let us know that historical data are not only "real people and facts", but often involve many plots that need to be reconsidered.When we read history, we must pay special attention to the difference between the ancient and modern environments, and the difference between our standpoint and the author's standpoint.