荊燕世家

King Jia of Jing, Liu Jia, was a member of the Liu clan, though it is unknown which branch he belonged to when the enterprise first began. In the first year of the King of Han, when he returned to pacify the Three Qin, Liu Jia served as a general, secured the Sai region, and followed the campaign eastward against Xiang Ji.

In the fourth year, when the King of Han suffered defeat at Chenggao, crossed north over the Yellow River, and joined the forces of Zhang Er and Han Xin, he encamped at Xiuwu with deep ditches and high ramparts. He dispatched Liu Jia with twenty thousand infantry and several hundred cavalry to cross the Baima Ford into Chu territory and burn their stores and supplies, destroying the logistical base that fed Xiang Yu's army. When Chu forces attacked Liu Jia, he would simply fortify his camp and refuse battle, operating in coordination with Peng Yue.

In the fifth year, the King of Han pursued Xiang Ji to Guling and sent Liu Jia south across the Huai River to besiege Shouchun. Returning from this, he sent agents to secretly recruit the Grand Marshal of Chu, Zhou Yin, who defected from Chu and assisted Liu Jia in taking the Nine Rivers region. They linked up with the forces of the Martial King Qing Bu, and all converged at Gaixia to jointly attack Xiang Ji. The King of Han then ordered Liu Jia to lead the Nine Rivers troops, together with Grand Commandant Lu Wan, to strike southwest against King Gong Wei of Linjiang. Gong Wei was killed, and Linjiang became the Nan commandery.

In the spring of the sixth year, the Emperor convened the lords at Chen, deposed Han Xin as King of Chu, imprisoned him, and divided his territory into two kingdoms. At that time, Gaozu's sons were young, his brothers were few and lacked ability, and he wished to install members of the Liu clan as kings to stabilize All-Under-Heaven. He therefore issued an edict: "General Liu Jia has rendered great service. Choose from among our sons and brothers those worthy to be made kings." The court ministers all said: "Install Liu Jia as King of Jing, ruling fifty-two cities east of the Huai; make Gaozu's younger brother Jiao King of Chu, ruling thirty-six cities west of the Huai." At the same time, he installed his son Fei as King of Qi. This was the beginning of enfeoffing Liu kinsmen as kings.

In the autumn of Gaozu's eleventh year, Qing Bu, King of Huainan, rebelled and struck east against Jing. King Jia engaged him in battle but was defeated, fled to Fuling, and was killed by Qing Bu's forces. Gaozu personally led the campaign that crushed Qing Bu. In the twelfth year, he installed Liu Bi, Marquis of Pei, as King of Wu, to rule the former Jing territories.

Liu Ze, King of Yan, was a distant kinsman of the Liu house. In the third year of Emperor Gaozu, Ze served as a Gentleman of the Palace. In the eleventh year, serving as a general in the campaign against Chen Xi, he captured Wang Huang and was made Marquis of Yingling.

During the reign of Empress Dowager Lü, a man of Qi named Tian Sheng was traveling without funds and approached the Marquis of Yingling with a scheme. Ze was greatly pleased and gave Tian Sheng a gift of two hundred catties of gold. Having obtained the gold, Tian Sheng immediately returned to Qi. Two years later, Ze sent a message to Tian Sheng: "You have given me nothing in return." Tian Sheng went to Chang'an but did not visit Ze. Instead he rented a grand mansion and had his son seek employment under Zhang Ziqing, the Grand Usher favored by Empress Lü. After several months, Tian Sheng's son invited Zhang Ziqing to a banquet, personally preparing the feast. Zhang Ziqing accepted. Tian Sheng laid out curtains, canopies, and vessels as lavishly as a marquis's establishment. Zhang Ziqing was astonished. When the wine flowed freely, Tian Sheng dismissed the attendants and addressed Zhang Ziqing privately: "I observe that the hundred-odd lords' mansions in the capital all belong to Emperor Gaozu's one-time meritorious subjects. Now the Lü house was originally instrumental in pushing Emperor Gaozu to win All-Under-Heaven — their merit is great indeed, and they have the weight of kinship with the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager is advanced in years and the Lü clan is still weak. She wishes to make Lü Chan a king, to rule Dai. But she hesitates to act, fearing the great ministers will not accept it. You, sir, are the most favored — respected by the great ministers. Why not hint to the ministers and let the Empress Dowager know of their assent? She will be delighted. Once the Lü clan are kings, a marquisate of ten thousand households will be yours as well. The Empress Dowager's heart desires this, and you, as her inner minister, must act quickly — otherwise disaster may overtake you." Zhang Ziqing fully agreed. He hinted to the ministers, who spoke to the Empress Dowager. At the next court session, the Empress Dowager raised the matter, and the ministers proposed making Lü Chan King of Lü. The Empress Dowager rewarded Zhang Ziqing with a thousand catties of gold, and Zhang Ziqing gave half to Tian Sheng. Tian Sheng refused it, and instead said: "Now that Lü Chan is king, the great ministers are not truly reconciled. The Marquis of Yingling, Liu Ze, is a Liu kinsman and Grand General — he alone still nurses resentment. If you speak to the Empress Dowager and give him a kingdom of ten-odd counties, he will be delighted and leave, and the Lü kings will be all the more secure." Zhang Ziqing conveyed this to the Empress Dowager, who agreed. Liu Ze, Marquis of Yingling, was thus made King of Langya. The new King of Langya departed for his domain together with Tian Sheng. Tian Sheng urged Ze to travel swiftly and not linger. Once they were past the passes, the Empress Dowager indeed sent men to stop him — but he had already gone through, so the pursuers turned back.

When the Empress Dowager died, the King of Langya, Ze, declared: "The emperor is young, the Lü clan controls the government, and the Liu house is isolated and weak." He led his troops to join the King of Qi in a western campaign to exterminate the Lü clan. Reaching Liang, he heard that the Han had dispatched General Guan Ying to garrison Xingyang. Ze redeployed his forces to guard his western border, then raced ahead to Chang'an. The King of Dai also arrived from Dai. The generals and ministers, together with the King of Langya, installed the King of Dai as Son of Heaven. The new emperor transferred Ze to be King of Yan, returning Langya to Qi and restoring its former territory.

Ze reigned as King of Yan for two years before he died, receiving the posthumous title King Jing. His son Jia succeeded, becoming King Kang.

By the time of his grandson Dingguo, depravity consumed the house. Dingguo had an affair with his father King Kang's concubine, by whom he fathered a son. He took his younger brother's wife as his own concubine. He had illicit relations with three of his own children. Dingguo wished to kill one of his subjects, the Magistrate of Feiru named Ying Ren. When Ying Ren and others reported Dingguo's crimes, Dingguo sent his chamberlain to frame and arrest Ying Ren on other charges, then had him beaten to death to silence him. In the first year of the Yuanshuo era, Ying Ren's brothers submitted a memorial detailing all of Dingguo's secret crimes, and the matter was exposed. The Emperor sent the case to the ministers for deliberation. All agreed: "Dingguo has behaved like a beast, violating human bonds and defying Heaven — he deserves death." The Emperor approved. Dingguo killed himself, and the kingdom was abolished and converted to a commandery.

The Grand Historian remarks: The reason Liu Jia became king was that the Han had just been established and All-Under-Heaven was not yet settled. Though Liu Jia was only a distant kinsman, he was made king by virtue of his strategic service, to fill the power vacuum between the Jiang and Huai rivers. Liu Ze's kingship was won by leveraging the Lü clan's ambitions against themselves — yet in the end, Liu Ze faced south and reigned for three generations. Events compounded upon events — is this not remarkable!

Liu Jia first followed the cause and led the pacification of the Three Qin. He crossed at Baima and besieged Shouchun. He welcomed Qing Bu's forces and drove a wedge to turn Zhou Yin. Rewarded for merit, he became Chu's neighbor. Yingling first received his title for the campaign against Chen Xi. Tian Sheng schemed his way to a gift of a thousand catties. By manipulating the Lü clan, he won both rank and domain. The fief was transferred and the line passed on — until destroyed by the case of Ying Ren.