Commentary on the Meritorious Crimes of the Thousand Autumns: A Brief Analysis of the Life Experiences and Merits and Demerits of the Famous Ministers of the Western Han Dynasty (1)

Written by Kang Youpeng

Stills of the master's father

Editor's note: After his retirement, Mr. Kang Youpeng, an old comrade-in-arms, focused on the study of Han history, and wrote a large number of articles on actual records and analysis published on the Internet, especially 13 articles on Liu Bang, Zhang Liang and other influential figures in the early Han Dynasty, which were warmly welcomed by readers. Recently, the author has conducted an in-depth study of the admonition of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the executor of the "Tui En Order", and wrote the article "Commentary on the Merits and Crimes of the Thousand Autumns - A Brief Analysis of the Life Experiences and Merits and Demerits of the Famous Ministers of the Western Han Dynasty" (a total of three parts, nearly 20,000 words), which was originally published by "Yunbutang", so stay tuned.

Commentary on the Merits and Crimes of the Thousand Autumns: A Brief Analysis of the Life Experiences and Merits and Demerits of the Famous Ministers of the Western Han Dynasty (1)

In the era of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, he had studied and studied for more than 40 years, but he had never met talented people and ran into walls everywhere, and he traveled west to Chang'an to find new opportunities. The general Wei Qing repeatedly failed to recommend Emperor Wu, and when he was destitute, the master father had no choice but to write directly to the emperor. Unexpectedly, "Morning play, dusk summons to see"!

It is unbelievable that the master father Yan was not only worshiped as Langzhong, but also promoted to four levels in a year, and became a middle doctor. After being appointed exceptionally, he repeatedly stated good policies for governing the country, all of which were adopted by Emperor Wu. In particular, the implementation of the "Tui En Order" fundamentally solved the problem of "princes and kings sitting on the throne", which plagued the long-term stability of the Western Han Dynasty.

However, it was this hero who proposed to be known as the "first yang conspiracy" in Chinese history, but was later executed and exterminated by Emperor Wu. What exactly happened? How to evaluate the historical status of the Lord's Father? What do you think of his merits and demerits? Let's take history as a basis and try to make an analysis.

1. Survive in a desperate situation, and win awards for macro theory.

Sima Qian's "Historical Records" listed the main father Yan and the Pingjin Marquis Sun Hong as a joint biography. According to historical records: "The master is the father, and the people are also in the house." Learn the art of long and short, and the late is to learn easy, spring and autumn, and hundred dialects. Traveling among all lives, you can't meet well. Qi Confucianism and Confucianism are not allowed to be Qi" ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Master Father Biography"). It can be seen that the master father who is full of wealth is not popular, and he runs into walls everywhere, and there is no way to enter the office!

At the beginning of the historical records, after introducing the master's father Yan Huaicai, he went on to write: "The family is poor, and there is no income from fake loans, but Beiyou Yan, Zhao, and Zhongshan are all unable to meet well, and they are very difficult for guests" ("Historical Records-Pingjin Marquis Biography of the Lord's Father"). In other words, the family of the main father was also very poor, and he could not borrow money from others. He had no choice but to go to northern Yan, Zhao and other places to study, but he was not appreciated and reused, and it was very difficult to be a guest for the prince.

(a)

At the time of desperation, the master father Yan, an old man who was close to the vicissitudes of Huajia, did not give up the pursuit of ideals, and decided to enter the rugged and steep Hangu Pass in the west to find new opportunities in Chang'an, the prosperous era. Shi Zai: "In the first year of Xiaowu Yuanguang, I thought that the princes were not enough tourists, but they entered the west to see General Wei. General Wei said a few words, but he was not called. Lack of resources, stay for a long time, the public guests are tired of it, it is the book. Morning play, dusk summons in. ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Master Father Biography") to the effect that in the first year of Emperor Wu Yuanguang (134 BC), the master father Yan thought that the vassal states were not worth studying, so he went west to Hangu Pass to meet the general Wei Qing. Wei Qing recommended to the emperor many times, but Emperor Wu refused to summon him. At this time, the money he had brought with him had been spent, and he had stayed in Chang'an for a long time, and the guests of the princes hated him.

Under embarrassment and helplessness, the master father Yan decided to make a last effort, so he went directly to Emperor Wu. However, to his great delight, he presented the recital in the morning and was summoned by the emperor in the evening. This opened the door to the "Nine Ques" for him to display his ambition and talent, and then to be appreciated by the emperor to achieve his life goal of soaring.

"Learn to become a literary and martial artist, and the goods are with the emperor's family." It is also embodied in the main father. He presented nine events to the emperor, eight of which involved laws and regulations, and one was against the conquest of the Xiongnu. Despite the length of the recital, Shi Qian still included this recital in the original text:

The master's father wrote with the eloquence of the vertical and horizontal family: "The minister heard that the lord was not evil, and the loyal minister did not dare to avoid the heavy punishment and gave direct advice. Today's ministers dare not hide their loyalty and avoid death in order to imitate foolish schemes, and His Majesty is fortunate to forgive and ignore it" ("Historical Records-Pingjin Marquis Father's Biography"). To the effect that I have heard that a wise monarch does not averse to deep advice and observes it extensively, and that loyal ministers do not dare to evade heavy punishment and speak out, so that the good policy of governing the country will not be lost, but the fame will be remembered for all generations. Now I dare not hide my faithfulness and avoid death, in order to state my foolish opinion, and I hope that Your Majesty will forgive me my sins, and examine my thoughts a little.

"Sima Fa said: 'Although the country is great, the warlike will perish; Although the world is peaceful, it will be dangerous to forget the war. 'The world is peaceful, the Son of Heaven is Dakai, the spring is full of autumn, the princes are in the spring and the autumn is in the army, so they don't forget to fight. And those who are angry are against morality, the soldiers are murderous weapons, and the stubbles of the contenders. When the ancients were angry, they would lay down and bleed, so the holy king did it again. The husband defeats the poor martial arts, and there is no one who does not regret it" ("Historical Records - The Biography of the Lord of Pingjin"). The master father Yan borrowed Sima Fa to say that the world has been pacified, the emperor played the "Da Kai" movement, and the hunting was held in the spring and autumn. Moreover, anger is a contrary to virtue, weapons are evil, and fighting is the worst discipline. In ancient times, when the king was angry, he would open the ring of killing, and the corpse would be bloody, so the holy king was very careful to be angry. There is nothing that those who win by force and war do not regret it in the end.

Furthermore, the master father Yan took the death of Qin as a mirror and stated: "The former Qin Emperor was the power of victory, encroached on the world, annexed the Warring States, and the sea was one, and the merit was three generations. Desperately victorious, wanting to attack the Huns, Li Si admonished: 'No. The Huns have no city to live, the guard of the accumulation, the migratory birds, and the rare and systematic. If the light soldiers go deep, the food will be cut off; Heel food to walk, heavy is not enough. It is not enough to gain the land, and it is not enough to defend it when its people cannot be served. If you win, you will kill it, and you will not be a parent. Bad China, happy Huns, not long-term strategy'" ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Father Biography"). It is to the effect that Emperor Qin annexed the Six Kingdoms by force and unified the world, and his achievements were comparable to those of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. But in order to win without knowing the truce, he actually wanted to attack the Huns. Prime Minister Li Si used the Xiongnu to live in a city without surplus wealth, like birds and beasts flying and migrating, and it was difficult to control and dissuade them. Lees argues that if light cavalry is sent deep, the army will be cut off; If you carry heavy military supplies, the transportation capacity is difficult to help. If you get the land of the Xiongnu, it will not be profitable; Prisoners of war are not allowed to serve them to defend the land; If you kill them, it will not be the work of the father of the people. This kind of thing that exhausts the national strength and makes the Huns happy is not a good policy!

Li Si painstakingly advised: "Emperor Qin didn't listen, so he sent Meng Tian's generals to attack Hu, open up thousands of miles, and take the river as the territory. The ground is solid and salty, and no grains are born. Then send the world Ding Nan to guard the North River. The rioters have been exposed for more than ten years, and the dead are innumerable, and they will never be able to cross the river and go north" ("Historical Records-Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). That is to say, Qin Shi Huang did not take Li Si's suggestion, so he sent the general Meng Tian to attack the Xiongnu and open up the Qianli River basin to reach the Yellow River as the boundary, but these saline-alkali lands do not grow grains. Later, the Qin Dynasty recruited adult men from all over the country to defend the Beihe, and the army fought hard in the wind and sand and sun for more than ten years, with countless dead, but it was never able to cross the Yellow River and march north.

The reason why Qin Shi Huang's conquest was fruitless was that "is it because there are not enough people and the military revolution is not prepared?" It's overwhelming. He also made the whole world smash the millet, starting from the counties of Huang, Xuan, Lang and Lang, and transferring them to the North River, with a rate of thirty pounds and one stone. Men's ploughing is not enough for food, and women's spinning is not enough for the curtain. The people are depressed, the widows, the old and the weak cannot support each other, the dead on the road look at each other, and the Qin is also the beginning of the world" ("Historical Records - Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). The general idea is that the Qin Emperor's conquest has not yet succeeded, not because of the lack of men and horses, but because the situation does not allow it! The Qin Dynasty also asked the people of the world to quickly transfer grain and grass, from Langxie County near the sea to Beihe, and transported 30 pieces of grain to get one stone. Men cannot meet the demand for food and salary, and women can hardly supply military supplies by spinning cloth and hemp. The people are exhausted, the widows, the old and the weak are not supported, and the corpses are connected by the roadside, which is probably the reason why the people of the world betrayed the Qin Dynasty!

Then, the master father Yan also listed the painful lesson of Emperor Han Gao to learn the painful lesson of the "Siege of Baideng", and adopted the policy of peace and proximity to stop the army. He said: "And the supreme emperor set the world, a little on the side, heard that the Xiongnu gathered outside the valley and wanted to attack it. Yu Shi Cheng admonished: 'No. The nature of the Huns, the beasts gather and the birds scatter, from which it is like a fighting shadow. Now with His Majesty's Shengde attacking the Huns, the ministers are in danger. Emperor Gao did not listen, so he went north to Daigu, and there was the 'siege of Pingcheng' (Liu Bang's army was besieged by 400,000 Xiongnu iron cavalry for seven days and nights). Emperor Gao repented so much that he made Liu Jing make a peace covenant, and then the world forgot about the war" ("Historical Records-Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin").

In the book, the master father borrowed "The Art of War" to conclude that it is not a good national policy to levy the Xiongnu to work and lose money. "The ancient art of war says: 'Raise a hundred thousand teachers, and spend thousands of dollars a day'. Fu Qin often amassed hundreds of thousands of violent soldiers, although he had the merit of overthrowing the army and killing the generals, it was enough to settle deep grievances, not enough to pay for the world. The husband goes to the treasury of the void, and the people are willing to go to foreign countries, and it is not finished" ("Historical Records-Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). That is to say, the Qin Dynasty often gathered hundreds of thousands of troops, although it achieved the merit of destroying the enemy and capturing Shan Yu, and also formed a deep hatred with the Xiongnu, but it was not enough to compensate for the resources consumed by the whole country. This kind of thing that empties the treasury and wears the people down, and makes the people happy, is not a perfect strategy and a good thing!

Then, the master father Yan proposed that the uncivilized Xiongnu should be cautious in order to raid the Xiongnu in the way of the ancient holy king, and advised Emperor Wu to be cautious in issuing an order for conquest: "The Huns are rare and controlled, not the same life." Theft and invasion, so for karma, nature is certain. Shang and Yu Xia Yin Zhou, Gufu Cheng Du, birds, beasts, and animals, are not human beings. The husband does not look at the unification of Yu Xia and Yin Zhou, but the loss of the modern world, the great worries of this minister, and the suffering of the people" ("Historical Records - The Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). It is to the effect that it is the nature of the Xiongnu to invade and plunder, and it is not a matter of one generation. From the Yu Shun, Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was regarded as a livestock breeding. Your Majesty, you have not learned from the experience of your predecessors, but you have followed the mistakes of the modern world, which is my greatest worry, and it is also the pain of the people.

He went on to write: "If the husband and soldier are long, they will be born, and if things are hard, they will be easy." It is to make the people on the border miserable and centrifuged, and the officials are suspicious of each other and go out of the market, so Wei Tuo and Zhang Han can become their own private interests. The reason why Fu Qinzheng is not good is that the power is divided between the two sons, and the effect of this gain and loss is also "Historical Records - The Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). In other words, if you fight for a long time, there will be chaos, and if you do things very hard, you will also change. Due to the fatigue and sorrow of the border people, there was a feeling of betraying the Qin Dynasty, the generals and officials were suspicious of each other, and colluded with foreigners, the bitter lesson of the self-reliance of the king of Nanyue and the rebellion of the Qin general Zhang Han is worth examining.

At the end, the master father Yan wrote: "Therefore, Zhou Shu said: 'Safety is in order, survival is in use'. His Majesty looked at it carefully, and was less thoughtful and thoughtful. To the effect that the master father quoted the Book of Zhou, he said: The security of the country depends on what decrees the king proves, and the survival of the country depends on what kind of people the king uses. I hope that Your Majesty will examine it carefully, pay a little attention to this, and think deeply about it.

(b)

According to historical records: "It was Xu Le, a Zhao person, and Yan An, a Qi person, who wrote a book about world affairs, each with one thing" ("Historical Records-Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). It is to the effect that at this time, Xu Le of Zhao and Yan An of Qi both wrote to the emperor to talk about major contemporary issues, and each of them said one thing.

Xu Le's book is also straight to the point. From the painful historical lesson of the fall of Qin, he went straight to the practical problems faced by the Han Dynasty: "The ministers heard that the trouble of the world lies in the collapse, not in the collapse, and the ancient and modern are the same. What is a landslide? The last days of Qin are also. Furthermore, it was discussed that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were civilians, the country of no thousand times, the reputation of the hopeless clan, the sage of Confucius and ink, and the wealth of Tao Zhu, but the world shook as soon as they breathed, causing the rapid collapse of the Qin Dynasty, which was once prosperous, which was "landslide"! Why? "From the people's hardship and the lord is not sympathetic, the lower grievances are not known, the customs have been chaotic and the government is not good, the reason why these three Chen Shi is also a resource" ("Historical Records - The Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). Xu Le pointed out sharply that although Chen Sheng himself has no high-quality resources available, he has the negative energy of the world. From the objective point of view of the people's feelings: the people are poor, complaining, and the customs are chaotic! From the perspective of the rulers of the Qin Dynasty: no sympathy, no knowledge, no government repair! In this regard, the insensitivity of the ruling group at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the vegetarian meal of the corpse, Chen Sheng just took advantage of the situation to succeed. Isn't it worth pondering?!

So, "What is disintegration?" Wu, Chu, Qi, and Zhao Zhibing are also. The Seven Kingdoms plotted for the great rebellion, known as the king of ten thousand times, with hundreds of thousands of armor, powerful enough to be strict within its borders, rich enough to persuade its people, but not to the west of the size of the land and as a fowl in the Central Plains" ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Lord Father Biography"). That is to say, the "disintegration" -- is really the rebellion of the "Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu." The reason why the rebels of the Seven Kingdoms, who were powerful and invincible, were able to be put down quickly was because "not the power was lighter than the puppet and the soldiers were weaker than Chen Shiye, when it was, the virtue of the first emperor was not declining, and the people of the land were happy, so the princes had no help from abroad" ("Historical Records - Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). It is to the effect that the rapid demise of the Seven Kingdoms was not that the power was lighter than that of the common people and that the military strength was weaker than that of Chen Sheng, but that Emperor Gao's favor had not yet declined, and the people could live and work in peace and contentment, so the princes could not receive foreign aid.

From this, it is concluded: "There is a tendency for the world to collapse, although the poor people in cloth clothes or the first evil are in danger of the sea, Chen Shi is also." The king of the three Jin may exist! Although there is no great rule in the world, there is no tendency for Chengneng to collapse, although there are strong soldiers of the country who cannot spin and become birds, Wu, Chu, Qi, and Zhao are also. These two bodies are clear about the safety and danger, and the Maven pays attention to and deeply observes" ("Historical Records - The Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). It is to the effect that if there is a tendency for the world to collapse, even if it is a poor commoner, as long as someone is the first to attack, it may cause the country to be in crisis, and Chen Sheng is an example. What's more, there are Han, Zhao, Wei and other kings of the dead country who follow him! Although the country has no great governance, if there is really no trend of collapse, although there are powerful countries and strong forces that rise up to rebel, they will not be captured soon, and the rebellion of the "Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu" is exactly like this. The two situations of "landslide" and "disintegration" are the foundation of the country's security, and I hope that the wise saints will pay more attention to them and investigate them deeply.

In the later part of the book, Xu Le put forward specific countermeasures to solve the problem (omitted) in view of the failure of the grain harvest in the Kanto region during the reign of Emperor Wu, the poor harvest of the people in the Kanto region, and the war along the border. Emperor Wu read it and accepted it gladly.

(c)

Since Lu Jia and Jia Yi summed up the lessons of the Qin Dynasty in the Western Han Dynasty, politicians and historians have discussed it a lot. The Qi people Yan An's Shangwu Emperor's book is also by reviewing history and criticizing the expansion strategy that continued after the unification of Qin.

Yan An said in the recital: "As for the king of Qin, he encroached on the world, annexed the Warring States, and was called the emperor, the government of the main sea, the city of bad princes, and the destruction of his soldiers. Yuan Yuan Li people were spared from the Warring States, and every tomorrow, everyone thought they were reborn. To make Qin (if) his punishment be relieved, the thin endowment, the provincial servitude, the noble benevolence and righteousness, the cheap rights, the upper is generous, the lower is wise, the customs are changed, and the sea is melted, then the world will be safe" ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Father Biography"). It is to the effect that after Qin Shi Huang annexed the Six Kingdoms and became emperor, he destroyed the capitals of the princes and cast bells with weapons to show that he would no longer use force. The people thought they had met the Lord and had been reborn. If the Qin Dynasty could have lenient punishment, light taxes, reduced forced labor, respected benevolence and righteousness, despised snobbery, advocated loyalty, despised wisdom and ingenuity, changed customs and customs, and educated the people, then the generations would be peaceful!

However, the Qin Emperor did not implement such a new policy: "Qin did not follow the old customs, and those who were wise and powerful advanced, and those who were honest and faithful retreated; The law is strict and the government is strict, and there are many people who are obsequious, and they are heard of their beauty every day, and they are wide-minded. want to wanton overseas..."("Historical Records - The Biography of the Lord and Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). It is to the effect that the Qin Dynasty still follows the old customs, and the clever and treacherous are reused, while the loyal and honest are rejected; The laws are harsh, the politics are severe, there are many sycophants, and all the court hears every day is the sound of praise, so that they are satisfied, want to get into the wrong, and want to be famous overseas!

The Qin Dynasty surpassed the territory of the Seven Heroes of the former Warring States and continued to advance in two directions, one north and one south. In the vast north, "it was to make Meng Tian [note: Qin general Meng Tian led an army of 300,000] to attack Hu in the north, open up land and enter the territory, garrison in the Beihe, and follow him. And in the barbaric Nanyi, "he also made Wei Tu Sui [Note: Qin General Tu Sui led an army of 500,000 troops to march south to Baiyue in five routes] to attack Baiyue in the south, so that Jian Lu [Note: According to legend, the main contribution of the Baiyue people to the Qin Dynasty in the Qin Dynasty was to build the Ling Canal) to dig a canal to transport grain, go deep into Yue, and the Yue people fled. It was protracted, there was a shortage of food, and the Yue people attacked it, and the Qin soldiers were defeated. Qin Nai envoy Wei Tuo [Note: Qin general Wei Tuo later served as the king of Nanyue] will die to conquer Yue" ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Father's Biography"). It is to the effect that the Qin Dynasty attacked from both sides in the north and south, and the great attrition weakened the national strength.

Therefore, Yan An believes that these measures were the root cause of the rapid demise of the Qin Dynasty: "When it was, the Qin disaster was built in Hu in the north, and hung in Yue in the south, and the army was useless, and then there was no way to retreat." After more than ten years, Ding Nan was transferred to A, Ding Nu was lost, and he was miserable, and he passed through the Dao Tree, and the dead looked at each other" ("Historical Records - Biography of the Father of the Marquis of Pingjin"). Roughly speaking, this situation finally broke out by the time of Qin II, a serious political crisis finally broke out, leading to the total collapse and eventual demise of the Qin Dynasty.

(iv)

According to historical records, when the lord's father waited for the "book of the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven summoned the three and said: 'Where are the princes and others?' What a night to meet! So he worshipped the Lord's father, Xu Le, and Yan An as Langzhong. See, on the sparse words, the edict to worship Yan as a confessor, moved to the middle doctor. One year old middle and four migrated to Yan" ("Historical Records - Pingjin Marquis Master Father Biography").

If you carefully investigate, the time of the master's father Yan Shangshu is the first year of Yuanguang (134 BC), and as early as the beginning of Emperor Wu's accession to the throne, that is, the third year of Jianyuan (138 BC), he sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, trying to contact the Dayue clan to jointly "exterminate Hu", and later because of Zhang Qian

Accidentally captured by the Huns, the plan fell through. In the second year of Yuanguang (133 BC), Emperor Wu concentrated 300,000 elite cavalry and sent five famous generals (including "Fei General" Li Guang) to ambush in the Shuozhou Valley, in an attempt to lure the military ministers to invade Mayi City, and then gather and annihilate them. However, due to the revelation of the "Ma Yi Scheme", the major secret military operation was a failure.

Imagine, judging from the content of the three people's recitals, especially the opposition to the conquest of the Xiongnu and the expansion of territory, it is obviously contrary to the holy will, but Emperor Wu actually issued "The duke and others are all safe? What a night to see each other's sigh! So all these people of insight were appointed, but their policies were not adopted. And the master father Yan, who took the lead, was promoted four levels in a row within a year, from the internal history, the confessor, and the middle lang, to the position of the middle doctor, and became one of the "ministers" trusted by Emperor Wu. What's the secret?

(To be continued)