淮南衡山列傳

Liu Chang, the Fierce King of Huainan, was Emperor Gaozu's youngest son. His mother had been a concubine of Zhao Wang Zhang Ao. In the eighth year of Gaozu's reign, the emperor passed through Zhao on his way from Dongyuan, and the King of Zhao presented a concubine to him. The Fierce King's mother found favor and became pregnant. King Ao did not dare bring her into his own palace, so he built separate quarters for her. When the plot of Guan Gao and others at Bairen was discovered, the king was arrested and investigated, and all the king's mother's relatives, brothers, and concubines were seized and imprisoned in Henei. The Fierce King's mother was likewise imprisoned. She told the officials: 'I received the emperor's favor and am carrying his child.' The officials reported this to the emperor, but the emperor was furious at the King of Zhao and paid no attention to the Fierce King's mother. Her brother Zhao Jian appealed through the Marquis of Biyang to Empress Lü, but Empress Lü was jealous and refused to intervene; the Marquis of Biyang did not press the case. When the Fierce King's mother had given birth, she was filled with resentment and killed herself. The officials brought the infant Fierce King before the emperor. The emperor felt regret and ordered Empress Lü to raise the child, burying the mother at Zhending. Zhending was where her family lived — it was her father's ancestral county.

In the eleventh year of Gaozu's reign, when the King of Huainan Qing Bu rebelled, Gaozu installed his son Chang as King of Huainan, ruling over Qing Bu's former territory of four commanderies. The emperor personally led troops to destroy Qing Bu, and the Fierce King thereupon assumed his throne. Having lost his mother early, the Fierce King had always attached himself to Empress Lü, and during the reigns of Emperor Hui and Empress Lü he was favored and unharmed. But he always harbored resentment against the Marquis of Biyang, though he dared not act. When Emperor Wen first took the throne, the King of Huainan considered himself the closest relative, grew arrogant and unruly, and repeatedly violated the law. The emperor, on account of their kinship, always pardoned him leniently. In the third year, the Fierce King came to court. He was extremely overbearing. He accompanied the emperor into the imperial park to hunt, rode in the emperor's carriage, and habitually addressed the emperor as 'Big Brother.' The Fierce King was physically powerful — strong enough to lift a bronze cauldron. He went to call on the Marquis of Biyang. When the marquis came out to receive him, the Fierce King drew an iron mace from his sleeve and struck him, then ordered his attendant Wei Jing to behead him. The Fierce King then galloped to the foot of the palace gate, bared his upper body, and apologized, saying: 'My mother should not have been implicated in the Zhao affair. At that time, the Marquis of Biyang had the influence to intervene with Empress Lü but did not — that is his first crime. Prince Ruyi of Zhao and his mother were innocent, yet Empress Lü killed them while the Marquis of Biyang did not object — that is his second crime. Empress Lü enfeoffed the Lü clan as kings, intending to endanger the Liu house, yet the Marquis of Biyang did not object — that is his third crime. Your servant has taken it upon himself to execute the treacherous minister, the Marquis of Biyang, on behalf of the realm, and to avenge his mother. He respectfully prostrates himself at the palace gate to accept punishment.' Emperor Wen was moved by his spirit and, on account of their kinship, did not prosecute him but pardoned the Fierce King.

Liu An, King of Huainan, was by nature fond of reading and playing the zither. He had no taste for falconry, hunting, or horse-racing, and sought to practice secret virtue and win the people's affection, spreading his reputation throughout the realm. He constantly brooded over the death of the Fierce King and harbored thoughts of rebellion, but had not found an opportunity. In the second year of the Jianyuan era, the King of Huainan came to court. He had long been on good terms with the Marquis of Wu'an, who was then Grand Commandant. The marquis met the king at Bashang and said to him: 'At present the emperor has no heir apparent. Your Majesty is a grandson of Emperor Gaozu, practices benevolence and righteousness, and is known throughout the realm. Should the imperial carriage one day depart this world, who but Your Majesty should be established?' The King of Huainan was overjoyed and lavished gold and treasures upon the Marquis of Wu'an. He secretly formed a network of retainers, cultivated the common people, and prepared for rebellion.

The king sat in the Eastern Palace and summoned Wu Bei to plot with him, saying: 'General, proceed.' Wu Bei replied mournfully: 'The emperor has generously pardoned Your Majesty, and yet Your Majesty returns to this talk of national ruin! I have heard that Wu Zixu remonstrated with the King of Wu; when the king would not listen, Wu Zixu said, "I can already see the deer roaming the terraces of Gusu." Now I too can see thorns growing in Your Majesty's palace and dew soaking my robes.' The king was furious. He imprisoned Wu Bei's parents and held Wu Bei for three months. Then he summoned him again and said: 'Will you join me now, General?' Wu Bei replied: 'No — I have merely come to lay out the strategic situation for Your Majesty.'

The Commandant of Justice received testimony from the king's grandson Jian implicating the Crown Prince Qian of Huainan. The emperor dispatched the Commandant of Justice's Inspector to simultaneously take up the post of Central Commandant of Huainan and arrest the Crown Prince. When news reached Huainan, the king conspired with the Crown Prince to summon the chancellor and the two-thousand-bushel officials, intending to kill them and mobilize troops. The chancellor was summoned and came; the Interior Secretary excused himself as being away; the Central Commandant said: 'I have received an imperial commission and cannot see the king.' The king realized that killing the chancellor alone while the Interior Secretary and Central Commandant did not come would serve no purpose, so he dismissed the chancellor. The king vacillated, unable to decide. The Crown Prince reflected that the charge against him was plotting to assassinate the Han Central Commandant, and that his co-conspirators were already dead, so the witnesses were silenced. He told the king: 'All the officials who might have been of use have already been arrested. There is no one left to carry out the undertaking. If Your Majesty raises troops at the wrong moment, I fear it will fail. I am willing to submit to arrest.' The king also secretly wished to abandon the plan, so he agreed. The Crown Prince then cut his own throat, but did not die. Wu Bei went voluntarily to the authorities and confessed the full conspiracy with the King of Huainan, providing all the evidence.

King Ci of Hengshan had three children by Queen Cheng Shu: his eldest son Shuang, who was Crown Prince; his second son Xiao; and a daughter Wucai. By his consort Xu Lai he had four more children, and by the beauty Lady Jue two more. The kings of Hengshan and Huainan were brothers who resented each other over matters of protocol and were privately estranged. When the King of Hengshan heard that the King of Huainan was preparing for rebellion, he too secretly gathered retainers to support the uprising, fearing he would otherwise be absorbed.

The Grand Historian says: The Odes say, 'The Rong and Di were struck down; Jing and Shu were punished.' How true these words are! Huainan and Hengshan were the emperor's own flesh and blood, with territories of a thousand li, ranked among the feudal lords. Yet instead of fulfilling their duty as vassal ministers to support the Son of Heaven, they clung to perverse and deviant schemes, plotting rebellion. Father and son both lost their kingdoms across two generations, each failing to die a natural death, becoming the laughingstock of the realm. This was not the kings' fault alone — the shallow customs of their region and the corrupting influence of their retainers brought it about. The people of Jing and Chu are impulsive, bold, reckless, and prone to disorder — this has been recorded since antiquity.