Chao Cuo is very concerned about the continuous intrusion and land annexation of the Huns, and has repeatedly written to advocate actively preparing for the Huns and taking measures to vigorously develop agriculture. He also analyzed the military system of the Western Han Dynasty and Xiongnu in detail, and then put forward the idea of moving the capital to enrich the people. He also suggested that businessmen contribute food to the frontier fortress, and then reward and compensate by paying homage and exempting punishment, which won the appreciation of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty and was later promoted to traditional Chinese medicine.
Then, he proposed to Emperor Wen that he would cut off the vassals and amend the laws, which were all important national issues that needed to be solved urgently at that time. After Jingdi ascended the throne, Chao Cuo was promoted to literature and history, and soon became a state official, which was highly valued by Jingdi. He still advocated cutting off the fiefs of princes with the same surname in order to consolidate centralization. He put forward in the article "The policy of reducing vassals": "Now cutting is also anti-cutting, and not cutting is also anti-cutting. Cutting it, it is urgent, and the disaster is small; If you don't cut it, it will be too late and disastrous. " It means that it is better to cut the princes early than late. Jingdi finally adopted his suggestion and wanted to cut off the fief of Wu Wang Liu Bi. At this time, Chao Cuo's father came from Yingchuan and advised him to be careful to avoid making enemies and getting burned. Chao Cuo is determined and unwilling to give in. In the third year of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, that is, in 154 BC, seven countries, including Wu and Chu, launched a large-scale rebellion under the pretext of "killing the Qing monarch of Chao Cuo", which is the rebellion of the seven countries of Wu and Chu in history.
The consorts Dou Ying and others have a deep contradiction with Chao Cuo. At this time, they saw the opportunity, so they suggested that Jingdi kill Chao Cuo to quell the rebellion. Jingdi listened to Dou Ying and beheaded Chao Cuo in East Chang 'an. His parents, wife and relatives, old and young, were also killed. After Chao Cuo's death, the rebellion between the Seven Kingdoms and Wu did not subside. Finally, Jingdi sent Zhou Yafu, a famous soldier, to fight, and soon put down the rebellion.
Chao Cuo cut land.
Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, like Emperor Wen, adopted a policy of recuperation and was determined to govern the country well. When Jingdi was a prince, there was a housekeeper named Cao CuO, who was quite talented. Everyone calls him a "brain trust". After Emperor Jing ascended the throne, he was promoted to an ancient bachelor.
the county system was implemented in the Han dynasty, but there were 22 vassal States at the same time. These princes are descendants of Emperor Gaozu, so-called Wang's surname is the same. At that time, the princes were very powerful and owned a lot of land, such as more than 7 cities in Qi, 5 cities in Wu and 4 cities in Chu. Some governors are not bound by the imperial court, especially the prince of Wu and Liu Bi, and they are even more arrogant. His country is sealed by the sea, where there are copper mines. He cooks salt and collects copper himself, and is as rich as Han Emperor. He never went to Chang 'an to see the emperor himself, which made Wu an independent kingdom.
Chao Cuo saw that this situation was not conducive to the consolidation of centralization, so he said to Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, "The King of Wu has never been in court, and it is high time to be convicted. The late Emperor was generous to him when he was alive, but he became more and more arrogant. He also privately opened Tongshan to cast money, cook sea and aquatic products, recruit soldiers and prepare for rebellion. It is better to cut off their fiefs as early as possible. "
Emperor Jing of Han still hesitated, saying, "OK? I'm afraid that cutting land will arouse their resistance.
Chao Cuo said, "The princes are determined to rebel, or they will rebel. Rebellion now, the disaster is still small; In the future, they will be strong, and if they are reversed, the disaster will be even greater. "
Han Jing felt that Chao Cuo's words were very reasonable, and he was determined to cut off the vassal fiefs. Most governors are either dissolute or lawless. It is not easy to grasp their sins as a reason to reduce fiefs! Before long, some were hacked to a county, and some were hacked to several counties.
Chao Cuo's father heard the news and drove him out of his hometown Yingchuan (now Yuxian County, Henan Province). He said to Chao Cuo, "As an ancient counselor, your position is high enough. Why don't you behave yourself and mind your own business? Think about it. C are all close relatives of the royal family. What do you care? You cut off their fief. Which one of them doesn't blame you and which one doesn't hate you? What on earth are you doing this for? "
Chao Cuo said, "If you don't do this, the emperor will not be able to exercise his power and the country will be in chaos."
His father sighed and said, "If you do this, the Liu family will be stable, but our Chao family will be in danger." I am old and don't want to see a catastrophe. "
Chao Cuo persuaded his father for some time. However, the old man did not understand Chao Cuo's intention and returned to his hometown in Yingchuan to commit suicide by taking poison.
Chao Cuo discussed cutting Wu's fief, but Wu did the opposite. He used the guise of "punishing treacherous court official Chao Cuo and saving the world of Liu". Incite other governors to rise up and rebel together.
in 154 BC, seven princes including Wu, Chu, Zhao, Jiaoxi, Jiaodong, Strichuan and Jinan rebelled. Historically, it was called the "Seven-Country Rebellion".
The rebels were so loud that Emperor Han Jing was a little scared. He remembered the last imperial edict of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, worshipped Zhou Yafu, who was good at running the army, as Qiu, and led 36 generals to crusade against the rebels.
At that time, there was a jealous man in the imperial court who said that the seven countries' invasion was entirely caused by Chao Cuo. He advised Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty to say, "As long as they agreed to the demands of the seven countries, they killed Chao Cuo, saved the princes from fighting, and restored the original fief, they would withdraw."
Hearing these words, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty said, "If they can really withdraw their troops, why should I be reluctant to part with Chao Cuo alone?"
Then, a group of ministers wrote to impeach Chao Cuo, saying that he was outrageous and should be beheaded. In order to keep the throne, Emperor Han Jingdi approved this piece of paper without conscience.
One day, the lieutenant came to Chao Cuo's house to convey the emperor's order and let him hold a court session. Chao Cuo completely in the dark, immediately put on the royal robe and followed the lieutenant to get on the bus and go.
When the horses and chariots passed through East Chang 'an, the lieutenant suddenly took out the imperial edict and told Chao Cuo to get off and listen. The lieutenant announced the order of Emperor Han Jing, and a group of soldiers gathered behind him and tied Chao Cuo up. Chao Cuo, who devoted himself to maintaining the Han family, was beheaded inexplicably.
Han Jing killed Chao Cuo and sent a letter to the seven countries demanding withdrawal. By this time, Wu has won several battles and won a lot of territory. As soon as he heard that he was going to worship the imperial edict of Emperor Hanjing, he sneered: "Now I am also the emperor, why should I worship?"
Deng Gong, an official of the Han army camp, went to Chang 'an to report the military situation to Jingdi. Han Jing asked him, "Did you know that Chao Cuo was dead when you came out of the barracks?
is Wu Chu willing to withdraw its troops? "
Deng Gong said," The prince of Wu has been preparing for rebellion for decades. This time, why did Mao Bing lend land to Chao Cuo? Your Majesty killed Chao Cuo by mistake, and I'm afraid no one will dare to persuade the court in the future. "
Emperor Jing realized that he had done something wrong, but it was too late to regret it. Thanks to Zhou Yafu's fighting ability. Instead of directly fighting the rebels in Wu Chu, he sent a team of light cavalry to copy their rear road and cut off the route for providing foodstuff for the rebels. Wu Chu two armies have no food, first chaos. Zhou Yafu launched an attack by elite soldiers and defeated Wu Chu's military forces.
Wu and Chu led the rebellion. When these two countries were defeated, the other five countries soon collapsed. In less than three months, the Han army put down the rebellion of the seven countries.
Han Jing put down the rebellion, although he still made the descendants of the seven countries inherit the throne, but after that, the governors could only collect land rent in their own feudal countries and could not interfere in local administration, which greatly weakened their power and consolidated the central political power in the Han Dynasty.
source: five thousand years in China (Cao)
Chao Cuo was a politician in the early Western Han Dynasty. He is proficient in Confucianism and law, and he is knowledgeable. Deeply valued and cherished by Emperor Wenjing. Three years before Emperor Jingdi ascended the throne, in order to realize his political ideal and consolidate the great cause of Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo wrote a letter to Emperor Jingdi, "The Policy of Cutting Feudal". For the long-term stability of the Han Dynasty, Han Jing listened to Chao Cuo's suggestion and began to "cut the vassal". But just as Chao Cuo's political ideal was about to come true, he was beheaded in the eastern city of Chang 'an. His unjust death and the early death of Jia Yi, a young politician in the era of Emperor Wen, became the two most famous political tragedies in the era of Wen and Jing! Chao Cuo died unjustly because he was accused by a court minister of rude disobedience. Although the charges drawn up by the court ministers for Chao Cuo are very heavy, they are not the real reason why Chao Cuo was killed. So what was the real reason for Chao Cuo's murder?
after the outbreak of the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion", this policy of the imperial court immediately aroused strong dissatisfaction among the governors. Liu Bi, the king of Wu, first decided to revolt. From Chao Cuo's point of view, he proposed the policy of reducing vassals because the prince of Wu would rebel. Because at that time, Wu was located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, a land of plenty. The prince of Wu made money by mining and made salt by boiling water, and he was as rich as an enemy. If this continues, it will inevitably become a hidden danger of the central government, so its power must be reduced. When Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty carried out the policy of reducing Chao Cuo's vassal, Liu Bi, the king of Wu, jumped out to rebel and reaffirmed Chao Cuo's policy of reducing vassal. Regarding the policy of reducing vassals, the ministers of the DPRK in the Wenjing era also proposed the policy of reducing vassals, but it was not adopted. Many people realize that the tail of the captaincy is too big to fall. The problem is that when Chao Cuo proposed to cut the vassal, it was almost opposed by the DPRK. Finally, when he proposed to kill Chao Cuo, the court almost shouted. Then what is this for?
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Strictly speaking, the Han Dynasty was the first unified dynasty in China, because the Qin Dynasty before it lasted for a short time, while the Han Dynasty was powerful, lasting and far-reaching. For example, we are Han people now and speak Chinese, which is marked by this dynasty. This dynasty lasted more than 4 years, and it is the longest dynasty in China history. Of course, due to Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty, this dynasty was divided into upper and lower parts, which were called pre-Han and post-Han in history, also known as the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty. So the 4 years of the Han Dynasty, it should be said, is the most wonderful in the Western Han Dynasty, and the 2 years of the Western Han Dynasty, the most wonderful is the period from Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang to Emperor Gaozu Liu Che. We can describe this history in four words, which is vigorous. In such an era of vigorous development, talents and heroes come forth in large numbers. Unfortunately, these heroes and romantic figures do not all have good historical endings. Some are ruined, some are ruined, some are ruined, some are ruined, ruined, and even dead. Chao Cuo, which we will talk about today, is one of them.
Chao Cuo's death was a major injustice in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty. It should be said that there are still many grievances in this dynasty of the Western Han Dynasty. For example, the deaths of Han Xin and Han Xin before Chao Cuo were wrongs, and the deaths of Dou Ying and Dou Ying after Chao Cuo were also wrongs. But in comparison, Chao Cuo died the most unjustly. Why? Chao Cuo died for his political ideal and ambition, which was realized only after his death. He died unjustly when he realized his political ideal, so he died unjustly. This injustice is not what we think of him now. At that time, some people said that he was unjust.
At that time, a man named Deng Gong told Emperor Han Jingdi that Chao Cuo's death was too unjust. Who is Deng Gong? At that time, Deng Gong's official position was called "Bow Servant Shooting", and his rank was called Rank Than Thousand Stones, so it was equivalent to today's deputy ministerial level.
During the Wu Chu Rebellion, Emperor Han Jing sent "servants to shoot" Deng Gong to fight in the front. When Deng Gong came back from the front to report the military situation to Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty asked him a question: I have killed this Chao Cuo. Should Wu Chu withdraw its troops? Why did Emperor Han Jingdi ask this question? If we have watched the TV series "Hanwu the Great", we should all know that the so-called Wu Chu Rebellion was that a kingdom named Wu and a State of Chu joined forces with five other kingdoms to form a seven-nation allied force, and they fought mightily against the capital. At that time, their slogan was "Punish Chao Cuo and lead a totally clean life". What is a pure heart? Is that there are little people around the emperor. If we want to deal with him, who is the villain? Chao Cuo. So Emperor Han Jing said: Since your slogan is "Jun Qing's side", saying that there are villains around me, and the villain is Chao Cuo, I killed Chao Cuo, should you withdraw? Deng Gong said, How can you retreat? The prince of Wu has rebelled for decades. The prince of Wu wanted to rebel, and he had been preparing for it for decades. He finally got a chance. You killed Chao Cuo and then retreated. It is out of the question. Deng Gong also said, on the contrary, I think everyone in the world will keep his mouth shut, so Emperor Han Jing asked him: Why? Deng Gong said, Your Majesty, think about it. Why did Chao Cuo die? Chao Cuo advocated reducing vassals, that is, strengthening centralization and consolidating the central government. This is the great cause of our Han dynasty, but his plan was unjustly killed as soon as it was implemented. Will anyone talk in the future? Is anyone telling the truth? Is there anyone else willing to give you advice? After listening to this, Han Jing remained indifferent for a long time, then sighed and said, I regret it, too.
So now it seems that Emperor Han Jing's regret is true. I guess it is to show that Han Jing killed Chao Cuo because he had to. We saw a scene in the TV series Hanwu the Great, in which Han Jingdi and Chao Cuo had a drink to say goodbye. I'm afraid this plot is not recorded in history. According to Records of Historical Records and Hanshu, when Chao Cuo was killed, he didn't know he was killed, and Chao Cuo was not the only one who was killed, but also his family, and the court minister made a formal report. Three people led the report, namely, the Prime Minister and Tino. This Europe is Europe, but according to ancient records. The three of them formally made a report to Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, and the charges drawn up were also very heavy.
who are these three people? We should know that the system implemented by the central government in the Han Dynasty was called "three public officials and nine officials". What do you mean by "three public officials and nine officials"? There are three prime ministers, nine ministers, and three publics: First, the first is the prime minister, which is equivalent to the current prime minister; The second is Qiu, equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces and the highest military officer; The third one, called the Imperial Doctor, is the deputy prime minister in charge of supervision, equivalent to the current deputy prime minister and minister of supervision. Well, now a prime minister, a minister of public security, a minister of justice, and three people jointly impeach Chao Cuo, which is very heavy and the charges raised are also very big. It is called: "The official dies and the son is a gift, which is a big violation." So the punishment proposed at that time was to halve Chao Cuo. Waist cutting is a very cruel punishment. It's tragic that future generations will move even if they don't die immediately. So this punishment was abolished until Yongzheng, because Yong Zhengdi killed a man and felt miserable after reading it. He wrote three words in blood-soaked handwriting, miserable, miserable, and this punishment was abolished. Chao Cuo was beheaded. In addition, his parents, wife and family members were not separated, and they were all beheaded, so the sentence was very heavy. At that time, when this report was typed, Emperor Han Jingdi immediately approved the word "gram".
Now, when we look at the history books, it is recorded as follows: "Make it possible", and the emperor gave instructions and agreed. And Chao Cuo's death, he did not know in advance. When Sima Qian gave Chao Cuo a biography, he used the following sentence: "He ordered the wrong clothes and went to cut the east market." . Literally, we seem to think that Emperor Han Jing gave Chao Cuo a face, so he went to the execution ground in royal robes. Actually, it is not. If we read Hanshu, we will find that it is clearly written in the biography of Hanshu Chao Cuo, which is called "setting up the city". Where do these four words come from? They are from Historical Records, and these four words are also written in them. But the problem is that Sima Qian didn't write it in Biography of Chao Cuo. Where did he write it? He wrote it in the Biography of Liu Bi, the King of Wu, and called it "Establishing the City". What does this mean? Cheating, that is to say, at that time, the three men made a report to Emperor Han Jing. After the approval of Emperor Han Jing, he immediately sent Captain Chen Jia, commander of the capital garrison and minister of public security, to find Chao Cuo in a carriage. That is to say, the emperor called you, and Chao Cuo thought it was a meeting. He put on his royal costume and got on the bus excitedly. As soon as he got on the bus, he cut his back immediately. We don't know now whether the verdict was read to Chao Cuo before Chao Cuo was killed, but one thing is certain, he was not given an argument.