1
Liu Jia, king of Jing, was Gaozu's patrilateral cousin; nothing is known of his earliest career. In the first year of Han, after the pacification of the Three Qins, Liu Jia served as a general, secured Sai territory, and marched east against Xiang Yu. After his defeat at Chenggao, the King of Han withdrew north across the river and joined the forces of Zhang Er and Han Xin. They made camp at Xiuwu behind deep moats and high walls. He dispatched Liu Jia with twenty thousand foot soldiers and several hundred cavalry to hit Chu from the flank. Liu Jia crossed the Baima Ford into Chu lands and torched their depots, shattering their logistics so that King Xiang’s troops went hungry. When Chu forces moved against him, Liu Jia repeatedly avoided battle and held his ground in concert with Peng Yue.
2
Pursuing Xiang Yu as far as Guling, the King of Han ordered Liu Jia south across the Huai to invest Shouchun. When he came back he dispatched agents to sound out Zhou Yin, Chu’s grand marshal, in private. Zhou Yin rebelled against Chu, helped Liu Jia secure Jiujiang, joined with Ying Bu’s army, and the allied hosts met at Gaixia to destroy Xiang Yu. The King of Han then put Liu Jia in command of the Jiujiang forces. With Grand Commandant Lu Wan he struck southwest at Gong Wei, king of Linjiang. Gong Wei fell, and his domain was converted into Nan Commandery.
3
Liu Jia had earned great merit, yet Gaozu’s sons were young, his brothers few, and none of them fit to hold the frontier. Gaozu meant to plant Liu kinsmen as kings to steady the empire, and proclaimed: “General Liu Jia has distinguished himself; choose from among the younger generation of the house one worthy to receive a kingdom.” The ministers replied in one voice: “Make Liu Jia king of Jing with his seat east of the Huai.” In the sixth year of his reign Qing Bu, the tattooed king of Huainan, rose in revolt and drove east into Jing. Liu Jia engaged him but could not prevail. He retreated to Fuling, where Qing Bu’s troops cut him down.
4
Liu Ze, king of Yan, was Gaozu’s second cousin on the male line. In the third year of Gaozu’s reign Liu Ze was appointed gentleman of the palace. In the eleventh year he campaigned as a general against Wang Huang, one of Chen Xi’s officers, and received the marquisate of Yingling.
5
高后時，齊人田生游乏資，以畫奸澤。 澤大說之，用金二百斤為田生壽。 田生已得金，即歸齊。 二歲，澤使人謂田生曰：「弗與矣。」 田生如長安，不見澤，而假大宅，令其子求事呂后所幸大謁者張卿。 居數月，田生子請張卿臨，親脩具。 張卿往，見田生帷帳具置如列侯。 張卿驚。 酒酣，乃屏人說張卿曰：「臣觀諸侯邸第百餘，皆高帝一切功臣。 今呂氏雅故本推轂高帝就天下，功至大，又有親戚太后之重。 太后春秋長，諸呂弱，太后欲立呂產為呂王，王代。 呂后又重發之，恐大臣不聽。 今卿最幸，大臣所敬，何不風大臣以聞太后，太后必喜。 諸呂以王，萬戶侯亦卿之有。 太后心欲之，而卿為內臣，不急發，恐過及身矣。」 張卿大然之，乃風大臣語太后。 太后朝，因問大臣。 大臣請立呂產為呂王。 太后賜張卿千金，張卿以其半進田生。 田生弗受，因說之曰：「呂產王也，諸大臣未大服。 今營陵侯澤，諸劉長，為大將軍，獨此尚觖望。 今卿言太后，裂十餘縣王之，彼得王喜，於諸呂王益固矣。」 張卿入言之。 又太后女弟呂須女亦為營陵侯妻，故遂立營陵侯澤為琅邪王。 琅邪王與田生之國，急行毋留。 出關，太后果使人追之。 已出，即還。
Under Empress Dowager Lü, the Qi native Tian Sheng wandered the capital in want of money and approached Liu Ze with a subtle plan. Delighted, Liu Ze gave him two hundred catties of gold to toast his longevity. Tian Sheng pocketed the gold and went home to Qi. Two years later Liu Ze sent Tian Sheng word: “There will be no more gifts.” Tian Sheng traveled to Chang’an, never called on Liu Ze, rented a large house, and arranged for his son to enter service under Zhang Qing, the great usher in the empress dowager’s intimate circle. Months later the son invited Zhang Qing to dinner and oversaw every detail of the banquet himself. When Zhang Qing arrived he found hangings and service fit for a marquis of the first rank. Zhang Qing was taken aback. When they were deep in their cups, Tian Sheng sent the servants away and said, “I have walked the lanes of over a hundred noble houses. Every one belongs to the merit ministers whom Gaozu enfeoffed wholesale at the founding. The Lüs helped Gaozu win the realm from the outset; their merit is unmatched, and they are the empress dowager’s own kin besides. The empress dowager is old, her Lü nephews still young in power, and she means to raise Lü Chan as king of the Lü line with the territory of Dai. She dare not press it openly for fear the great ministers will balk. You enjoy her deepest trust and the ministers’ deference. Hint to the ministers that they should memorialize the throne—she will rejoice at it. When the Lü princes are enthroned, a ten-thousand-household marquisate will be yours as well. This is what she longs for, and you are her inside man. If you delay, misfortune may fall on you first.” Zhang Qing was convinced and privately coached the high ministers to approach the empress dowager. When she held court she put the question to them directly. They asked that Lü Chan be established as king of the Lü domain. She bestowed a thousand catties of gold on Zhang Qing, who forwarded half to Tian Sheng. Tian Sheng declined the gold and argued, “Lü Chan’s kingship will not yet win the full submission of the great ministers. Liu Ze, marquis of Yingling, is the senior member of the Liu clan and serves as grand general; he alone still feels slighted. Urge her to carve out a dozen counties and enfeoff him as king. Once he is satisfied, the Lü kingships will stand on firmer ground.” Zhang Qing carried the plea inward. The empress dowager’s younger sister Lü Xu had given her daughter in marriage to Marquis Liu Ze of Yingling, which is why Liu Ze was finally raised to king of Langye. The king of Langye and Tian Sheng galloped for their fief and did not linger. They cleared the barrier; she sent riders after them all the same. Once they had cleared the pass, the pursuers turned back.
6
澤王琅邪二年，而太后崩，澤乃曰：「帝少，諸呂用事，諸劉孤弱。」 引兵與齊王合謀西，欲誅諸呂。 至梁，聞漢灌將軍屯滎陽，澤還兵備西界，遂跳驅至長安。 代王亦從代至。 諸將相與琅邪王共立代王，是為孝文帝。 文帝元年，徙澤為燕王，而復以琅邪歸齊。 澤王燕二年，薨，諡曰敬王。 子康王嘉嗣，九年薨。 子定國嗣。 定國與父康王姬姦，生子男一人。 奪弟妻為姬。 與子女三人姦。 定國有所欲誅殺臣肥如令郢人，郢人等告定國。 定國使謁者以它法劾捕格殺郢人滅口。 至元朔中，郢人昆弟復上書具言定國事。 下公卿，皆議曰：「定國禽獸行，亂人倫，逆天道，當誅。」 上許之。 定國自殺，立四十二年，國除。 哀帝時繼絕世，乃封敬王澤玄孫之孫無終公士歸生為營陵侯，更始中為兵所殺。
In Liu Ze's second year as king of Langye, the empress dowager died. Ze said, "The emperor is young, the Lü clan controls affairs, and the Liu house is isolated and weak." He led his troops to join the King of Qi in plotting a westward march to execute the Lü. When he reached Liang, he heard that the Han general Guan Ying was encamped at Xingyang. Ze turned his troops back to guard the western border and then hurried on to Chang'an. The King of Dai also came from Dai. The generals and ministers together with the king of Langye enthroned the King of Dai, who became Emperor Wen of Han. In the first year of Emperor Wen, Ze was transferred to be king of Yan, and Langye was returned to Qi. In the second year of Ze's reign as king of Yan, he died; his posthumous title was King Jing. His son King Kang Jia succeeded him; after nine years he died. His son Dingguo succeeded. Dingguo committed incest with his father King Kang's concubine and had one male child. He seized his younger brother's wife as a concubine. He committed incest with three of his children. Dingguo wished to execute his minister Yingren, the magistrate of Feiru. Yingren and others reported Dingguo. Dingguo sent an usher to impeach and arrest Yingren on another charge and beat him to death to silence him. In the Yuanshuo era, Yingren's brothers again submitted a memorial detailing Dingguo's crimes. The matter was sent down to the dukes and ministers, and they all judged, "Dingguo behaves like a beast. He has thrown human relations into disorder and gone against the Way of Heaven; he should be executed." The emperor approved it. Dingguo killed himself. The state had stood forty-two years and was abolished. In Emperor Ai's time, the court continued the broken line by enfeoffing Guisheng of Wuzhong, a holder of the Gongshi rank and grandson of a great-great-grandson of King Jing Liu Ze, as marquis of Yingling. He was killed by soldiers during the Gengshi era.
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Liu Bi, king of Wu, was the son of Liu Zhong, the founder’s elder brother. The founder first made Liu Zhong king of Dai. The nomads struck Dai; Liu Zhong failed to defend it. He slipped away to Luoyang and gave himself up. The emperor spared him the full penalty and reduced him to marquis of Heyang. His son Liu Bi received the marquisate of Pei. When Qing Bu rose, Gaozu marched in person to crush the revolt. At twenty Liu Bi rode as a cavalry general in the host that broke Qing Bu. Liu Jia, king of Jing, had fallen to Qing Bu and had no successor. The throne feared the martial temper of Wu and Kuaiji and wanted a mature prince to hold them, yet the imperial sons were young. Liu Bi was therefore elevated from Pei to king of Wu with three commanderies and fifty-three towns. When the seal had been delivered Gaozu studied his face and said, “You have the look of a rebel.” He repented immediately, yet the appointment stood, so he patted Liu Bi’s back and said, “Within fifty years the southeast will rise in strife—will it be you? Still, the realm is one Liu clan; do not dare revolt!” Liu Bi kowtowed and said, “I would not dare.”
9
In the Xiaohui and Empress Gao years, with the realm just settled, each regional lord strove to win the goodwill of his subjects. Wu held the Yuzhang copper pits and drew runaways from every quarter to cast money illicitly; along the coast it boiled brine for salt. On that income it waived ordinary levies and the kingdom grew fabulously rich.
10
孝文時，吳太子入見，得侍皇太子飲博。 吳太子師傅皆楚人，輕悍，又素驕。 博爭道，不恭，皇太子引博局提吳太子，殺之。 於是遣其喪歸葬吳。 吳王慍曰：「天下一宗，死長安即葬長安，何必來葬！」 復遣喪之長安葬。 吳王由是怨望，稍失藩臣禮，稱疾不朝。 京師知其以子故，驗問實不病，諸吳使來，輒繫責治之。 吳王恐，所謀滋甚。 及後使人為秋請，上復責問吳使者。 使者曰：「察見淵中魚，不祥。 今吳王始詐疾，反覺，見責急，愈益閉，恐上誅之，計乃無聊。 唯上與更始。」 於是天子皆赦吳使者歸之，而賜吳王几杖，老，不朝。 吳得釋，其謀亦益解。 然其居國以銅鹽故，百姓無賦。 卒踐更，輒予平賈。 歲時存問茂材，賞賜閭里。 它郡國吏欲來捕亡人者，頌共禁不與。 如此者三十餘年，以故能使其眾。
In Emperor Wen’s reign the crown prince of Wu attended court and was allowed to drink and play liubo with the imperial heir. The Wu heir’s tutors were all men of Chu, rash and fierce, while the heir himself had long been arrogant. They quarreled over the rules; the Wu heir showed disrespect, and the crown prince seized the heavy board and struck him dead. The court had the body sent home to Wu for burial. The king of Wu growled, “All under heaven are one clan; if he died in Chang’an he should lie in Chang’an—why drag him back to Wu?” The remains were forwarded to Chang’an for interment. From then on Liu Bi harbored resentment, slackened the ritual due from a vassal, pleaded sickness, and stayed away from audience. The court understood the slight was about his son; investigations showed he was not ill, and Wu envoys were routinely seized and chastised. Fear drove him, and his plotting grew wilder. Later, when Wu sent an envoy for the autumn audience, the emperor again questioned and rebuked him. The messenger answered, “There is a saying: it is unlucky to see every fish in a clear pool. Our king feigned illness; when that was seen through and blame piled on, he withdrew further, fearing the axe and finding no way out. We beg you to grant him a new beginning.” The Son of Heaven pardoned the envoys and sent them back, then gave the king of Wu a folding stool and staff in token of old age, freeing him from court calls. With the pressure off, Wu relaxed, and the plot lost its edge. Within his borders copper and salt still paid the bills, so the commoners owed no land tax. When militia duty fell due, he paid them the fair market rate. At New Year and other seasons he looked in on promising men and scattered largesse through the neighborhoods. If officers from other commanderies came to seize fugitives, Wu authorities shielded them together and would not hand them over. He did this for over thirty years, and so won the hearts of his people.
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朝錯為太子家令，得幸皇太子，數從容言吳過可削。 數上書說之，文帝寬，不忍罰，以此吳王日益橫。 及景帝即位，錯為御史大夫，說上曰：「昔高帝初定天下，昆弟少，諸子弱，大封同姓，故孽子悼惠王王齊七十二城，庶弟元王王楚四十城，兄子王吳五十餘城。 封三庶孽，分天下半。 今吳王前有太子之隙，詐稱病不朝，於古法當誅。 文帝不忍，因賜几杖，德至厚也。 不改過自新，乃益驕恣，公即山鑄錢，煮海為鹽，誘天下亡人謀作亂逆。 今削之亦反，不削亦反。 削之，其反亟，禍小； 不削之，其反遲，禍大。」 三年冬，楚王來朝，錯因言楚王戊往年為薄太后服，私姦服舍，請誅之。 詔赦，削東海郡。 及前二年，趙王有罪，削其常山郡。 膠西王卬以賣爵事有姦，削其六縣。
Chao Cuo was serving as household steward to the crown prince and had won his favor. He repeatedly said in private that Wu's offenses gave grounds for reducing its territory. He submitted memorial after memorial urging this course, but Emperor Wen was lenient and could not bear to punish Wu. As a result, the King of Wu became more overbearing by the day. When Emperor Jing came to the throne, Chao Cuo became Imperial Counselor. He urged the emperor, "When Gaozu first settled the realm, he had few brothers and his sons were young, so he gave large fiefs to men of his own surname. Thus King Daohui, his son by a concubine, ruled Qi with seventy-two cities; King Yuan, his younger half-brother, ruled Chu with forty cities; and his nephew ruled Wu with more than fifty cities. These three junior or collateral branches received half the realm between them. Now the King of Wu already had a grievance over the crown prince, then falsely claimed illness and failed to attend court. Under the ancient laws, this deserved execution. Emperor Wen could not bear it and therefore granted him an armrest and staff—a kindness of the utmost depth. Instead of correcting his faults and making a new start, he became still more arrogant and unrestrained. He openly minted coins in the mountains, boiled seawater for salt, and lured fugitives from throughout the realm into plotting rebellion. If we reduce him now, he will rebel; if we do not reduce him, he will rebel too. If we reduce him, his rebellion will come quickly and the calamity will be small; if we do not reduce him, his rebellion will come late and the calamity will be great." In the winter of the third year, the King of Chu came to court. Chao Cuo then reported that in earlier years, while observing mourning for Empress Dowager Bo, the King of Chu, Wu, had had illicit relations in the mourning quarters, and he requested that Wu be executed. An edict pardoned him but stripped the Donghai commandery. In the year before last, the King of Zhao was found guilty and his Changshan commandery was stripped. The King of Jiaoxi, Ang, had improprieties in the sale of noble ranks; six counties were stripped from him.
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漢廷臣方議削吳，吳王恐削地無已，因欲發謀舉事。 念諸侯無足與計者，聞膠西王勇，好兵，諸侯皆畏憚之，於是乃使中大夫應高口說膠西王曰：「吳王不肖，有夙夜之憂，不敢自外，使使臣諭其愚心。」 王曰：「何以教之？」 高曰：「今者主上任用邪臣，聽信讒賊，變更律令，侵削諸侯，徵求滋多，誅罰良重，日以益甚。 語有之曰：「舐糠及米。」 吳與膠西，知名諸侯也，一時見察，不得安肆矣。 吳王身有內疾，不能朝請二十餘年，常患見疑，無以自白，脅肩絫足，猶懼不見釋。 竊聞大王以爵事有過，所聞諸侯削地，罪不至此，此恐不止削地而已。」 王曰：「有之，子將柰何？」 高曰：「同惡相助，同好相留，同情相求，同欲相趨，同利相死。 今吳王自以與大王同憂，願因時循理，棄軀以除患於天下，意亦可乎？」 膠西王瞿然駭曰：「寡人何敢如是？ 主上雖急，固有死耳，安得不事？」 高曰：「御史大夫朝錯熒惑天子，侵奪諸侯，蔽忠塞賢，朝廷疾怨，諸侯皆有背叛之意，人事極矣。 彗星出，蝗蟲起，此萬世一時，而愁勞，聖人所以起也。 吳王內以朝錯為誅，外從大王後車，方洋天下，所向者降，所指者下，莫敢不服。 大王誠幸而許之一言，則吳王率楚王略函谷關，守滎陽敖倉之粟，距漢兵，治次舍，須大王。 大王幸而臨之，則天下可并，兩主分割，不亦可乎？」 王曰：「善。」 歸報吳王，猶恐其不果，乃身自為使者，至膠西面約之。
As the Han court debated carving up Wu, the king dreaded endless reductions and meant to launch his plot. He found no other prince fit to conspire with, but heard that the king of Jiaoxi was brave and warlike and that the other lords all feared him. He therefore sent Palace Counsellor Ying Gao with an oral message: “The king of Wu, unworthy as he is, lies awake at night with worry; he dares not keep you at arm’s length and sends me to voice his humble heart.” The king said, “What would you teach me?” Ying Gao said, “The sovereign now trusts wicked ministers, heeds slanderers, alters laws and orders, gnaws at the kingdoms, heaps new demands, and punishes with growing severity—worse every day. There is a proverb: ‘Lick the chaff and you reach the grain.’ Wu and Jiaoxi are famous states; once we fall under close scrutiny we can never again live at ease. For more than twenty years the king of Wu has suffered from an internal ailment and been unable to attend court. He has always feared suspicion, with no way to clear his name; even as he shrinks and cringes, he still fears he will not be forgiven. I hear Your Majesty committed an offense in the sale of noble ranks. The territorial reductions imposed on the princes go beyond what their crimes warrant; I fear the court will not stop at taking land.” The king said, “That is true. What then?” “Those who hate the same foe help one another; those who love the same ends keep one another; those who feel the same seek one another; those who desire the same flock together; those who profit together die for one another. The king of Wu thinks he shares your danger and wishes to seize the hour in good order—to stake his life and wipe this evil from the realm. Would that suit you?” The king of Jiaoxi started, aghast: “How should I dare such a thing? The sovereign may drive me hard, but there is still only death at the end—how could I fail to serve him?” Ying Gao said, “Grandee Secretary Chao Cuo dazzles the Son of Heaven, strips the feudatories, blocks the loyal and worthy, so that the court boils with anger and every prince nurses rebellion. The crisis is complete. Comets appear and locusts swarm—a moment that comes once in ten thousand generations; when the realm is full of grief and toil, that is when a man of worth rises up. The king of Wu will move first against Chao Cuo under the banner of clearing the court; abroad he would march in your wake, sweeping the realm until every place you face surrenders and every host you point at falls—none would dare resist. If you will but nod once, the king of Wu will lead the king of Chu to seize Hangu Pass, guard the grain at Ao Granary by Xingyang, hold the Han armies at bay, pitch camp, and wait for you. If you then join him in person, the world may be shared and the two thrones split—would that not be well?” The king said, “Good.” Ying Gao reported back, but the king of Wu still feared that the king of Jiaoxi might waver, so he traveled there himself to seal the agreement face to face.
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Some of the king of Jiaoxi’s ministers heard the plan and urged him: “The princes' lands do not amount to even a fifth of Han; to rebel and bring grief to the queen dowager is no policy. We already serve one Son of Heaven and call it difficult; if you succeeded and two lords then fell out, disaster would only grow.” He would not heed them. He sent envoys to strike agreements with Qi, Zichuan, Jiaodong, and Jinan, and each kingdom pledged its support.
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The princes, newly shorn by edict, were shaken and for the most part hated Chao Cuo. When the rescript arrived stripping Wu of Kuaiji and Yuzhang, the king of Wu was the first to raise troops and execute every Han officer from two-thousand-picul rank downward. Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, Zichuan, Jinan, Chu, and Zhao rose as well, each sending armies toward the west. The king of Qi had second thoughts, abandoned the pact, and shut himself behind his walls. Jibei’s ramparts were still in ruins; his gentleman of the palace took him hostage, and no troops could be raised. The kings of Jiaoxi and Jiaodong led the host, and with Zichuan and Jinan jointly invested Linzi. King Zhao Sui likewise sent secret word to the Xiongnu to join forces.
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As the seven kingdoms rose, Liu Bi mustered his entire host and proclaimed: “I am sixty-two and will take the field myself. My youngest boy is fourteen; he too will stand in the front rank. Every man from his age down to my youngest son’s shall be called up.” They mustered over two hundred thousand fighting men. He sent south to Min and Eastern Yue, and those states likewise mobilized to march with him.
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孝景前三年正月甲子，初起兵於廣陵。 西涉淮，因并楚兵。 發使遺諸侯書曰：「吳王劉濞敬問膠西王、膠東王、菑川王、濟南王、趙王、楚王、淮南王、衡山王、廬江王、故長沙王子：幸教！ 以漢有賊臣錯，無功天下，侵奪諸侯之地，使吏劾繫訊治，以侵辱之為故，不以諸侯人君禮遇劉氏骨肉，絕先帝功臣，進任姦人，誑亂天下，欲危社稷。 陛下多病志逸，不能省察。 欲舉兵誅之，謹聞教。 敝國雖狹，地方三千里； 人民雖少，精兵可具五十萬。 寡人素事南越三十餘年，其王諸君皆不辭分其兵以隨寡人，又可得三十萬。 寡人雖不肖，願以身從諸王。 南越直長沙者，因王子定長沙以北，西走蜀、漢中。 告越、楚王、淮南三王，與寡人西面； 齊諸王與趙王定河間、河內，或入臨晉關，或與寡人會雒陽； 燕王、趙王故與胡王有約，燕王北定代、雲中，轉胡眾入蕭關，走長安，匡正天下，以安高廟。 願王勉之。 楚元王子、淮南三王或不沐洗十餘年，怨入骨髓，欲壹有所出久矣，寡人未得諸王之意，未敢聽。 今諸王苟能存亡繼絕，振弱伐暴，以安劉氏，社稷所願也。 吳國雖貧，寡人節衣食用，積金錢，脩兵革，聚糧食，夜以繼日，三十餘年矣。 凡皆為此，願諸王勉之。 能斬捕大將者，賜金五千斤，封萬戶； 列將，三千斤，封五千戶； 裨將，二千斤，封二千戶； 二千石，千斤，封千戶：皆為列侯。 其以軍若城邑降者，卒萬人，邑萬戶，如得大將； 人戶五千，如得列將； 人戶三千，如得裨將； 人戶千，如得二千石； 其小吏皆以差次受爵金。 它封賜皆倍軍法。 其有故爵邑者，更益勿因。 願諸王明以令士大夫，不敢欺也。 寡人金錢在天下者往往而有，非必取於吳，諸王日夜用之不能盡。 有當賜者告寡人，寡人且往遺之。 敬以聞。」
On jiǎzǐ in the first month of Xiaojing’s third year the rebellion opened at Guangling. He crossed the Huai westward and merged his columns with Chu’s host. His messengers carried a manifesto: “The king of Wu Liu Bi greets the kings of Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, Zichuan, Jinan, Zhao, Chu, Huainan, Hengshan, Lujiang, and the heir of old Changsha—may you instruct me! Han is ridden by the traitor Chao Cuo, a man without service to the empire who gnaws at princely fiefs, hounds nobles with indictments and chains, insults them by design, dishonors the Liu kin, casts aside Gaozu’s old ministers, elevates scoundrels, and would overturn the state. The Son of Heaven is sick in body and distracted in will; he cannot see through the plot. We mean to take up arms to put Cuo to the sword and await your orders. Wu is small, yet its territory runs three thousand li; its people are not numerous, yet half a million sharp soldiers can be armed. I have dealt with Southern Yue for thirty years; its rulers will gladly detach troops to march with me and add another three hundred thousand blades. Unworthy as I am, I will take the field at your side. Southern Yue lies directly opposite Changsha; with its support, the son of the former king can secure the country north of Changsha and advance west into Shu and Hanzhong. Tell Yue, the king of Chu, and the three Huainan kings to wheel west with me; let the Qi princes and the king of Zhao take Hejian and Henei—some to force Linjin Pass, others to meet me at Luoyang; Yan and Zhao long ago pledged the steppe lords: Yan shall pacify Dai and Yunzhong in the north, swing the nomad horse through Xiaoguan toward Chang’an, set the realm right, and guard Gaozu’s shrine. I urge every king to bend his utmost. Among the sons of King Yuan of Chu and the three kings of Huainan, some have gone more than ten years without washing or bathing. Resentment runs to their marrow, and they have long wanted one chance to vent it; I have not yet learned the princes’ intentions and have not dared heed them. If you can preserve those facing destruction, restore broken lines, aid the weak, and punish the violent so as to secure the Liu house, you will fulfill the desire of the state. Wu is poor, yet thirty years I have pinched my table and wardrobe, piled gold, forged arms, stored grain, and toiled from dusk to dawn. Everything I have done aims at this hour—again, I beg you to strive. Strike down an enemy commander-in-chief and you take five thousand catties of gold and a ten-thousand-household marquisate; a corps commander earns three thousand catties and five thousand households; a lieutenant-general earns two thousand catties and two thousand households; any two-thousand-picul officer brings a thousand catties and a thousand-household fief—all such men become full marquises. Surrender a host or a city: ten thousand soldiers and ten thousand households earn the reward for capturing a commander-in-chief; five thousand households earn a corps commander’s reward; three thousand households earn a lieutenant-general’s reward; one thousand households matches the reward for a two-thousand-picul captive; junior ranks receive titles and gold by graded steps. Every other bounty runs at twice the usual army scale. Men who already hold rank or fiefs will receive further rewards without limit from their existing holdings. Publish these terms plainly to your officers and men; I would not deceive them. My treasure lies everywhere under heaven, not only in Wu; spend it night and day—you cannot empty it. Name the worthy and I will ride to hand them their share. So I report, with respect.”
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News of the seven kingdoms’ revolt reached court; the emperor sent Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu of Tiaohou with thirty-six generals against Wu and Chu; he sent Li Ji, marquis of Quzhou, against Zhao and Luan Bu against Qi, while Grand General Dou Ying encamped at Xingyang to keep watch over the armies of Qi and Zhao.
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At first, when word of the Wu-Chu revolt arrived but troops had not yet marched, Dou Ying mentioned the former chancellor of Wu, Yuan Ang. Yuan Ang was summoned to audience, and the emperor asked him about the plans of Wu and Chu. Ang replied, "Wu and Chu have exchanged letters saying, 'The wicked minister Chao Cuo has arbitrarily punished the feudal lords and stripped away their lands.' That is why they have rebelled. Their stated aim is to march west together, execute Chao Cuo, restore their former territories, and then disband. The plan now is simply to execute Chao Cuo, send envoys to pardon the Seven States, and restore their former territories. Then the armies can all stand down without bloodying a blade." The emperor accepted his counsel and had Chao Cuo executed. The full account is given in Ang's biography. Yuan Ang was appointed Grand Master of Ceremonies, in charge of the ancestral temples, and sent as envoy to the King of Wu. The king's nephew, the Marquis of De, was made Director of the Imperial Clan to support the imperial relatives. When the envoy reached Wu, the Wu-Chu armies had already attacked the walls of Liang. Because the Director of the Imperial Clan was a royal relative, he entered first to see the king and instructed him to bow and receive the edict. When the King of Wu heard that Yuan Ang had arrived, he knew Ang intended to persuade him. He laughed and replied, "I have already become the Eastern Emperor. To whom else should I bow?" He refused to see Ang and kept him in the army camp, intending to coerce the envoy into becoming his general. Ang refused. The king had men surround and guard him, about to kill him. Ang fled by night to Liang and returned to report.
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Seven kingdoms in arms—I rode the relays here and hardly hoped to come through intact. I feared the rebels had already won Ju Meng over. Since he has not stirred, Xingyang is mine, and east of it we have little to fear.” In Huaiyang he put the question to Deng, once a client of his late father the Marquis of Jiang and now commandant of the district: “What counsel do you offer?” Deng said: “Wu and Chu are at the height of their fury; do not meet their spear-points. Chu’s men are light and cannot endure a long war. Better march northeast, dig in at Changyi, feed Liang to Wu, and let Wu spend its full fury there. Hold behind deep ditches and high walls, send skirmishers to choke the Huai–Si junction, and sever Wu’s grain lines. When Wu and Liang have worn each other out and the wagons are empty, strike with fresh strength—Wu must fall.” Zhou Yafu said, “Excellent.” He dug in south of Changyi and sent light troops to cut Wu’s supply lines.
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At the outbreak Liu Bi made his minister Tian Lubo grand general. Lubo argued: “A single mass marching west has no surprise in it; glory will be hard to win. Give me fifty thousand to run the Yangzi and Huai upstream, take Huainan and Changsha, burst through Wu Pass, and meet you—that is a second front.” The crown prince objected: “We march under the banner of rebellion; you cannot hand troops to another man or he may turn them on you—what then? Splitting the army invites endless risk—you would only hurt yourself.” The king refused Lubo’s plan.
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Young General Huan urged him: “Wu fields foot soldiers; foot soldiers love broken ground; Han fields chariots and horse; chariots and horse love the flat. Do not stop for cities that refuse to surrender. Race west to seize Luoyang’s arsenal, feed on Ao Granary, and use the mountain and river defenses to command the princes; even without entering the passes, the realm would already be yours. Linger to siege cities and Han’s cavalry will pour into Liang and Chu’s border—you are finished.” Liu Bi asked the greybeards; they sneered, “Boys can charge the van—what do they know of grand design?” So Huan’s advice was cast aside.
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The king held sole command. Before the Huai every client had become general, colonel, scout, or major—only Zhou Qiu was left out. Zhou Qiu of Xiapi was a fugitive in Wu and a disreputable wine-seller whom the king despised and would not employ. He requested an audience and said, “Because I lack ability, I have been given no place in the ranks. I do not ask for an army—only one imperial tally; I will repay you.” The king handed it over. Zhou Qiu took the staff and rode into Xiapi by night. Xiapi had heard of the revolt and barred its gates. At the post-house he summoned the magistrate into his room and had his men cut him down on a trumped-up charge. He summoned his brothers and the influential local officers he knew: “Wu’s rebel army is coming; it will massacre Xiapi in less than the time of a meal. Yield now and your families live; the able will win marquisates.” Word ran through the streets and the city opened. In one night he raised thirty thousand, reported to the king, and swept north taking towns. By Chengyang he had a hundred thousand and shattered the commandant’s corps. When he learned Liu Bi had fled, he saw no partner left for victory and wheeled back toward Xiapi. A back-boil killed him before he arrived.
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二月，吳王兵既破，敗走，於是天子制詔將軍：「蓋聞為善者天報以福，為非者天報以殃。 高皇帝親垂功德，建立諸侯，幽王、悼惠王絕無後，孝文皇帝哀憐加惠，王幽王子遂，悼惠王子卬等，令奉其先王宗廟，為漢藩國，德配天地，明並日月。 而吳王濞背德反義，誘受天下亡命罪人，亂天下幣，稱疾不朝二十餘年。 有司數請濞罪，孝文皇帝寬之，欲其改行為善。 今乃與楚王戊、趙王遂、膠西王卬、濟南王辟光、菑川王賢、膠東王雄渠約從謀反，為逆無道，起兵以危宗廟，賊殺大臣及漢使者，迫劫萬民，伐殺無罪，燒殘民家，掘其丘壟，甚為虐暴。 而卬等又重逆無道，燒宗廟，鹵御物，朕甚痛之。 朕素服避正殿，將軍其勸士大夫擊反虜。 擊反虜者，深入多殺為功，斬首捕虜比三百石以上皆殺，無有所置。 敢有議詔及不如詔者，皆要斬。」
In the second month Wu’s army was shattered; the emperor told his generals: “Heaven crowns virtue with fortune and strikes evil with woe. Gaozu established the kingdoms. When the lines of King You of Zhao and King Daohui of Qi had been cut off, Emperor Wen compassionately made You’s son Sui, Daohui’s son Ang, and others kings so that they could tend their forefathers’ shrines and serve as Han’s outer bulwarks. His virtue matched Heaven and Earth, and his brilliance equaled the sun and moon. Yet Liu Bi spurned virtue, drew in fugitives, disrupted the currency, and for more than twenty years pleaded illness and stayed away from court. Officials begged his head; Wendi spared him, hoping he would mend his ways. Now he has allied with Liu Wu of Chu, Liu Sui of Zhao, Liu Ang of Jiaoxi, Liu Piguang of Jinan, Liu Xian of Zichuan, and Liu Xiongqu of Jiaodong to plot rebellion. These lawless traitors menace the temples, murder ministers and envoys, coerce the people, kill the innocent, burn their homes, and dig open their graves. Their cruelty is monstrous. Ang’s crew have burned the shrines and plundered the palace stores—Our heart is torn. We wear mourning and quit the main hall—generals, drive your men at the traitors. Advance deep and kill many to earn merit; execute every captured rebel of three-hundred-picul rank or higher, sparing none. Debate the decree or disobey it—death by waist chop.”
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初，吳王之度淮，與楚王遂西敗棘壁，乘勝而前，銳甚。 梁孝王恐，遣將軍擊之，又敗梁兩軍，士卒皆還走。 梁數使使條侯求救，條侯不許。 又使使愬條侯於上，上使告條侯救梁，又守便宜不行。 梁使韓安國及楚死事相弟張羽為將軍，乃得頗敗吳兵。 吳兵欲西，梁城守，不敢西，即走條侯軍，會下邑。 欲戰，條侯壁，不肯戰。 吳糧絕，卒飢，數挑戰，遂夜奔條侯壁，驚東南。 條侯使備西北，果從西北。 不得入，吳大敗，士卒多飢死叛散。 於是吳王乃與其戲下壯士千人夜亡去，度淮走丹徒，保東越。 東越兵可萬餘人，使人收聚亡卒。 漢使人以利啗東越，東越即紿吳王，吳王出勞軍，使人鏦殺吳王，盛其頭，馳傳以聞。 吳王太子駒亡走閩越。 吳王之棄軍亡也，軍遂潰，往往稍降太尉條侯及梁軍。 楚王戊軍敗，自殺。
When Liu Bi crossed the Huai he and the king of Chu drove west, stormed the Han strongpoint at Ji, and swept on while their momentum was white-hot. King Xiao of Liang sent a general; Wu-Chu broke two Liang hosts and the men fled. Liang begged Zhou Yafu again and again; he refused. They complained to the throne; the emperor told him to relieve Liang, yet he clung to his plan and stayed put. Only when Liang made Han Anguo and Zhang Yu—the younger brother of Chu’s chancellor, who had died in service—generals could it begin to defeat Wu’s troops. Wu meant to drive west, but Liang held its cities and blocked the way. The rebels dared not push on, so they turned toward Zhou Yafu’s army and met it at Xiayi. They clamored for a fight; Zhou Yafu stayed behind his walls and refused. With supplies gone and the men starving, Wu repeatedly challenged Yafu to battle, then rushed his ramparts by night and feinted against the southeast. He had stacked his defense on the northwest; the feint failed and the real blow came there. They never breached the wall. Wu’s host collapsed; thousands starved or melted away. Liu Bi slipped away at night with a thousand picked warriors from under his banner, crossed the Huai, made for Dantu, and took refuge with Eastern Yue. Eastern Yue could field more than ten thousand men, and Liu Bi sent agents to gather the remnants of his army. Han bribed Eastern Yue, which then deceived Liu Bi. When he came out to address and reward the troops, assassins ran him through, packed up his head, and sent it by relay to the capital. Crown prince Ju fled into Minyue. Once the king bolted, his army unraveled; bands here and there gave themselves up to Zhou Yafu or to Liang. Liu Wu, king of Chu, was broken in the field and took his own life.
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三王之圍齊臨菑也，三月不能下。 漢兵至，膠西、膠東、菑川王各引兵歸國。 膠西王徒跣，席稿，飲水，謝太后。 王太子德曰：「漢兵還，臣觀之以罷，可襲，願收王餘兵擊之，不勝而逃入海，未晚也。」 王曰：「吾士卒皆已壞，不可用。」 不聽。 漢將弓高侯頹當遺王書曰：「奉詔誅不義，降者赦，除其罪，復故； 不降者滅之。 王何處？ 須以從事。」 王肉袒叩頭漢軍壁，謁曰：「臣卬奉法不謹，驚駭百姓，乃苦將軍遠道至于窮國，敢請葅醢之罪。」 弓高侯執金鼓見之，曰：「王苦軍事，願聞王發兵狀。」 王頓首膝行對曰：「今者，朝錯天子用事臣，變更高皇帝法令，侵奪諸侯地。 卬等以為不義，恐其敗亂天下，七國發兵，且以誅錯。 今聞錯已誅，卬等謹已罷兵歸。」 將軍曰：「王苟以錯為不善，何不以聞？ 及未有詔虎符，擅發兵擊義國。 以此觀之，意非徒欲誅錯也。」 乃出詔書為王讀之，曰：「王其自圖之。」 王曰：「如卬等死有餘罪。」 遂自殺。 太后、太子皆死。 膠東、菑川、濟南王皆伏誅。 酈將軍攻趙，十月而下之，趙王自殺。 濟北王以劫故，不誅。
The three kings besieged Linzi for three months and could not take it. Imperial columns approached; the kings of Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, and Zichuan peeled off and raced for home. Liu Ang shed shoes, sat on rough straw, drank nothing but water, and begged his mother’s pardon. Prince De urged: “The Han host is spent from the march; strike now with what is left. If we lose, we can still run to the sea.” The king answered, “My men are shattered—useless.” He refused. Han Tuidang, marquis of Gonggao, wrote: “The throne punishes treason; yield and you are forgiven, your guilt wiped away, and your former standing restored; refuse and you are wiped out. What will you do? Answer, and we shall proceed accordingly.” Ang stripped to the chest, kowtowed at the Han lines, and said, “I broke the law, frightened the people, and dragged you to this poor corner—I deserve dismemberment.” Han Tuidang received him holding the gong and drum of command and said, “You have suffered through this war; tell me how you came to raise troops.” On his knees Ang said, “Chao Cuo rules the court, rewrites Gaozu’s statutes, and gnaws at princely fiefs. We judged that wicked and feared he would wreck the realm; the seven kingdoms rose chiefly to kill Cuo. Word came that Cuo is dead; we have stood down and gone home.” The general answered, “If Cuo was vile, why not memorialize the throne? You had no rescript, no tally, yet you mobilized and struck loyal states. That was never only about Cuo.” He drew out the imperial order and read it: “Decide your own fate.” Ang said, “Men like me deserve more than one death.” He took his own life. His mother and heir died with him. Jiaodong, Zichuan, and Jinan were put to the sword. General Li took Zhao after a ten-month campaign, and the king of Zhao killed himself. The King of Jibei was spared because he had been coerced.
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The appraisal says: When Han had only just been settled and the realm was not yet united, policy called for even this distant kinsman to be made king and hold the region between the Yangzi and Huai. Liu Ze rose through Tian Sheng, whose stratagem spurred the Lü clan into action; his line nevertheless ruled as kings for three generations. When one crisis triggered the next, the danger was beyond reckoning. Wu hoarded salt and ore, bought the people with low taxes, and the seed of revolt was sown when his son died. Ancient law capped a fief at a hundred li and barred the gift of mountains and seas—precisely to stop such power. Chao Cuo thought for the realm’s long term and died for it. “Do not be the first to devise the stratagem, or you will bear its blame”—was that not Chao Cuo’s fate?