吳王濮封王與肖反之由
Liu Bi's Enfeoffment and the Seeds of Rebellion
吳王濞者,高帝兄劉仲之子也。高帝已定天下七年,立劉仲為代王。而匈奴攻代,劉仲不能堅守,棄國亡,間行走雒陽,自歸天子。天子為骨肉故,不忍致法,廢以為郃陽侯。高帝十一年秋,淮南王英布反,東並荊地,劫其國兵,西度淮,擊楚,高帝自將往誅之。劉仲子沛侯濞年二十,有氣力,以騎將從破布軍蘄西,會甀,布走。荊王劉賈為布所殺,無後。上患吳、會稽輕悍,無壯王以填之,諸子少,乃立濞於沛為吳王,王三郡五十三城。已拜受印,高帝召濞相之,謂曰:“若狀有反相。”心獨悔,業已拜,因拊其背,告曰:“漢後五十年東南有亂者,豈若邪?然天下同姓為一家也,慎無反!”濞頓首曰:“不敢。”
會孝惠、高后時,天下初定,郡國諸侯各務自拊循其民。吳有豫章郡銅山,濞則招致天下亡命者鑄錢,煮海水為鹽,以故無賦,國用富饒。
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。至吳,吳王慍曰:“天下同宗,死長安即葬長安,何必來葬為!”復遣喪之長安葬。吳王由此稍失籓臣之禮,稱病不朝。京師知其以子故稱病不朝,驗問實不病,諸吳使來,輒系責治之。吳王恐,為謀滋甚。及後使人為秋請,上復責問吳使者,使者對曰:“王實不病,漢系治使者數輩,以故遂稱病。且夫‘察見淵中魚,不祥’。今王始詐病,及覺,見責急,愈益閉,恐上誅之,計乃無聊。唯上棄之而與更始。”於是天子乃赦吳使者歸之,而賜吳王几杖,老,不朝。吳得釋其罪,謀亦益解。然其居國以銅鹽故,百姓無賦。卒踐更,輒與平賈。歲時存問茂材,賞賜閭里。佗郡國吏欲來捕亡人者,訟共禁弗予。如此者四十餘年,以故能使其眾。
晁錯為太子家令,得幸太子,數從容言吳過可削。數上書說孝文帝,文帝寬,不忍罰,以此吳日益橫。及孝景帝即位,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,故王孽子悼惠王王齊七十餘城,庶弟元王王楚四十餘城,兄子濞王吳五十餘城:封三庶孽,分天下半。今吳王前有太子之郄,詐稱病不朝,於古法當誅,文帝弗忍,因賜几杖。德至厚,當改過自新。乃益驕溢,即山鑄錢,煮海水為鹽,誘天下亡人,謀作亂。今削之亦反,不削之亦反。削之,其反亟,禍小;不削,反遲,禍大。”三年冬,楚王朝,晁錯因言楚王戊往年為薄太后服,私奸服舍,請誅之。詔赦,罰削東海郡。因削吳之豫章郡、會稽郡。及前二年趙王有罪,削其河間郡。膠西王卬以賣爵有奸,削其六縣。
Liu Bi, King of Wu, was the son of Liu Zhong, elder brother of the Grand Progenitor. When the Xiongnu attacked Dai, Liu Zhong abandoned his kingdom and fled. The Grand Progenitor, being kin, merely demoted him. In the eleventh year of Han, when Ying Bu of Huainan rebelled, the twenty-year-old Bi distinguished himself in the campaign. The Grand Progenitor, needing a strong king for the unruly Wu and Kuaiji region, enfeoffed Bi as King of Wu, ruling three commanderies and fifty-three cities. After the investiture, the Grand Progenitor studied Bi's physiognomy and said: "You have the face of a rebel." Regretting the appointment but unable to retract it, he patted Bi's back and warned: "Fifty years from now there will be a rebellion in the southeast — will it be you? Remember, all those surnamed Liu are one family. Never rebel!" Bi kowtowed and swore obedience.
Wu possessed copper mountains in Yuzhang; Bi recruited fugitives from across the empire to mint coins and boiled seawater for salt. With no need to tax his people, the kingdom grew enormously wealthy.
During Emperor Wen's reign, the Wu heir apparent visited the capital and quarreled with the imperial heir apparent over a board game. The imperial heir struck and killed the Wu heir with the game board. Bi was furious and from that point gradually abandoned the courtesies expected of a vassal, pleading illness to avoid court. For over forty years, his kingdom's wealth and generous governance won him the devoted loyalty of his people.
Notes
Liu Bi (劉濮, d. 154 BC) was King of Wu from 195 to 154 BC. His enormous wealth from copper mining and salt production, combined with his personal grievance over his son's death, made him the leader of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion of 154 BC.
The board-game murder is the pivotal incident. The killing of the Wu heir by the future Emperor Jing (when both were young men) created an irreconcilable grievance that festered for decades. The Grand Progenitor's prophecy about a rebellion fifty years hence adds a fatalistic dimension.
