Rise of the Seven Fates

When the empire was founded, Han Liu Bang created hereditary inheritances for his relatives, which occupied from a third to half of the country's territory. During the reign of Xiaoven-di, the rulers of these destinies appropriated great powers, becoming semi-independent principalities, setting their own laws, minting their own coins and collecting their own taxes. Many princes practically ignored imperial power in their inheritance, which already threatened the collapse of the empire into a number of kingdoms, as it was in the previous era of the Battle of the kingdoms . When in 157 BC e. Liu Qi ascended the imperial throne, the most powerful of these specific principalities was the Principality of Wu (the south of modern Jiangsu province, the north of Zhejiang , the south of Anhui province and the north of Jiangxi ), led by the nephew of Liu Bang Liu Pi. Even at the time when Liu Qi was the heir to the throne, Liu Xian, the heir to Liu Pi, was on an official visit to the capital of Chang'an . Liu Xian and Liu Pi sat down to play in any way , and during the dispute that arose, when Liu Xian insulted Liu Qi, he threw a blackboard at Liu Qi in response to him and accidentally killed him. This caused Liu Pi's hatred of the new emperor.

Imperial adviser Chao Tso convinced Liu Qi that he needed to reduce the size of his inheritance so that they did not constitute a big threat. Chao Tso agreed that when trying to cut back the possessions of Wu and other vassal principalities, they could really rebel. But he believed that if the principalities rebelled, then it would be better to do it sooner rather than later, when they would be more prepared.

Accepting the strategy proposed by Chao Tso, in 154 the emperor imposed the following punishments on the princes:

• from the principality of Chu (the north of the modern provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui ), the Donghai region stood out as a punishment for the fact that the ruling in Chu Lu Wu had a love affair with the Dowager Empress Bo
• from the principality of Zhao (the center and south of the modern province of Hebei ), Changshan region stood out as a punishment for some unspecified offense
• Six districts were allocated from the Principality of Jiaoxi (modern Weifang in Shandong Province ) for the fact that Prince Liu An squandered the funds allocated to protect the coast
• Huiji and Yuizhan provinces were allocated from the Principality of Wu as punishment for various misconduct of Prince Liu Pi

In response to the imperial decree, part of the princes revolted. Rise:

• Liu Pi, Prince Wu
• Liu Wu, Prince Chu
• Liu An, Prince Jiaoxi
• Liu Xionqui, Prince of Jiaodong (roughly modern Qingdao , Shandong Province)
• Liu Xian, Prince of Zichuan (roughly modern Weifang , Shandong Province)
• Liu Piguan, Prince of Jinan (roughly modern Jinan , Shandong Province)
• Liu Sui, Prince Zhao

The Origin of the Seven Princes

At first, two other principalities wanted to join the uprising - Qi (in the center of the modern Shandong province) and Jibei (northwest of the modern Shandong province), but for various reasons they did not. Prince Qi at the last moment went over to the side of the central government and decided to fight the rebellious princes, and Liu Zhi - Prince Jibei - was placed under house arrest by the head of his guard, who thus prevented his master from speaking unreasonably in his opinion. Three other princes were persuaded to join the uprising, but they did not: Liu An, Prince Huainani (approximately modern Luan of Anhui Province), Liu Tsi, Prince Lutszyana (modern Chaohu of Anhui Province), and Liu Bo, Prince Henshani (part of modern Luany Anhui Province). The princes also appealed for help to the independent states of Donghai (in the modern province of Zhejiang ) and Mingue (in the modern province of Fujian ), as well as to the northern Huns ; Donghai and Mingue sent troops, but the Huns, despite initial consent, did not.

As part of a propaganda campaign, the seven princes declared that Chao Tso allegedly wants to destroy the principalities in general, and that he must be executed to satisfy the princes' wrath.

The four principalities located around Qi decided to seize Qi and divide its possessions among themselves. Zhao's forces headed west, but stopped, waiting for the approach of the Wu and Chu troops, which were considered the main forces of the uprising. Liu Pi decided to first concentrate his forces and destroy the principality of Liang (east of the modern Henan province). Emperor Liu Wu, who reigned in Liang, initially suffered a number of defeats, and was forced to retreat to his capital Suyang (in the present-day Shangqi of Henan Province), which was besieged by the troops of Wu and Chu.

The emperor appointed Zhou Yafu to command the troops sent against the main forces of the rebels. Zhou Yafu sent Li Ji to attack Zhao, and Luan Bu to try to lift the siege of Suiyang. To coordinate the actions of Li Ji and Luan Boo, Dou Ying was placed over them, headquartered in Yinyang (modern Zhengzhou , Henan Province).

Soon, however, the emperor panicked, and on the advice of Yuan Ana , the enemy of Chao Tso, executed Chao Tso and his family to satisfy the demands of the rebel princes. Yuan An and Liu Tong (Liu Pi's nephew, who served as Minister for Imperial Affairs) to persuade Liu to persuade him to end the uprising. However, Liu Pi, whose demand for the execution of Chao Tso was just propaganda, did not do this, but instead imprisoned Yuan An and Liu Tong, telling them that his real goal was to become Emperor of the East (Yuan Anu soon managed to escape).

Zhou Yafu convinced the emperor that the right strategy would not be to attack directly the troops of Wu and Chu, but to bypass Liang, leaving the principality to defend himself, and cut off the supply lines of Wu and Chu. The emperor agreed, and Zhou Yafu left the capital for Yinyang, where the troops were concentrated. The princes sent the murderers to intercept Zhou Yafu, but he, warned, took a roundabout route, and got safe and sound.

Taking command of the troops, Zhou Yafu moved to Changyi (in modern Jining , Shandong Province) to cut off the supply lines of Wu and Chu. At this time, Liang was in great danger, and Liu Wu sent messenger after messenger to Zhou Yafu asking for help, which he ignored. Fearing for his brother, the emperor ordered Zhou Yafu to immediately go to Liang's help, but Zhou Yafu again refused, and instead sent cavalry to Chu and U's communications.

The strategy has proven effective. Unable to quickly defeat Liang, the principalities of Wu and Chu sent the generals Han Ango and Zhang Yu to the northeast to attack Zhou Yafu. Zhou Yafu did not go into the general battle, but instead focused on the defense of his camp. Unable to win a decisive victory over Zhou Yafu, the troops of Wu and Chu began to suffer from hunger and began to decline in number. Liu Pi fled to Donghai, but the ruler there killed him and began to seek peace with the Han empire. Chu prince Liu Wu committed suicide.

The troops of the four principalities besieged the capital of Qi, the city of Linzi (in modern Zibo , Shandong province). Liu Jianglui - Prince Qi - was thinking of surrendering, but in the end he held out until the troops of Luan Bu and Cao Qi arrived, who defeated the troops of the four principalities. However, after that it turned out that initially Liu Jiangliu planned to join the conspiracy. Failing to give a satisfactory explanation for his actions against the central government, the prince committed suicide. Nevertheless, the emperor forgave him posthumously and allowed his son Liu Shou to inherit the principality.

The rulers of the four rebellious principalities were not so fortunate. Han Tuidan wrote a letter to Liu An (Prince Jiaoxi), threatening to completely destroy his principality if he did not surrender. Liu An surrendered and was allowed to commit suicide. The remaining three princes were captured and executed. The possessions of these four principalities were confiscated by the central government.

Of the rebellious principalities, only Zhao remained surrendered. At first, Li Ji was not able to take the Zhaos capital of Handan , but when the Huns, realizing that Zhao was likely to be defeated, did not come to help, Zhao’s hopes collapsed. Luan Bu, returning from Qi, joined Li Ji, and, having destroyed the dam, they flooded the walls of Handan. Zhao Prince Liu Sui committed suicide.

Jibean prince Liu Zhi, who initially wanted to join the rebellion, did not share their fate. His official, Gunsun Ho, managed to convince the Liang prince Liu Wu that Liu Zhi was just going to join the rebellion, but in fact contributed to his defeat. After the intervention, Liu Wu, Liu Zhi was forgiven, and the principality of Zaichuan was even transferred to him.

The uprising was crushed in just three months. If it were crowned with success, the empire would actually disintegrate, turning into a confederation of principalities. But his defeat led to the fact that despite the preservation of the system of inheritance, the power of the princes and the size of their inheritance were significantly reduced.

• 西汉 七 国 之 乱 Rebellion of the Seven States, Western Han (Baidu Baike)