In 202 BC, the former Sishui pavilion chief, Qin Shihuang's little fanboy, overlord of Western Chu brother Liu Bang finally won the Chu-Han War and unified the world. After Liu Bang conquered the world, he generously divided the clans into princes and kings. The whole world attacked the two kings who were not Liu's family, hoping that the Liu family's empire could last forever. However, the ideal is beautiful, but the reality is cruel. After Liu Bang's death, the princes and kings in various places continued to grow in size, posing a serious threat to the central government.
In 154 BC, the princes and kings headed by King Wu Liu Bi launched the Seven Kings Rebellion in the name of "Qingjun Side". When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was in power, he was also overwhelmed by these princes and kings. In order to strengthen the centralization of power, in 127 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the suggestion of master father Yan and promulgated the "Tianfa Order". The content of the order of favor is very simple, "After the death of the princes and kings in various places, in addition to the eldest son who can inherit the throne, other children can also divide part of the kingdom's land and become princes, under the jurisdiction of the county governor." After the order of favor, the princes and kings The fiefdoms became smaller and smaller, and they were no longer able to compete with the central government. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, only the family tree of Emperor Liu's family after King Jing of Zhongshan was left.
So, why did the "Tianfa Order" with such an obvious purpose leave the princes and kings everywhere helpless? First of all, a prerequisite for the effectiveness of the Tweeting Order is that the central government can still restrict the local government. If it is like Spring and Autumn and Warring States , the Zhou royal family has no say. If you promulgate it, others will not listen. In the Han Dynasty, the princes and kings still obeyed the central government's orders, and blatant disobedience to the central government's orders was tantamount to treason, which cannot be justified on the surface. Secondly, other children of the princes have also obtained the right to inherit, which provides an excuse for those children who did not have the right to inherit to fight for power. Just imagine if any princes and kings do not want to follow, I am afraid that his family will be in chaos first.
So, like in the case of separatist vassal towns in the late Tang Dynasty, can the order of grace be used? First of all, it must be made clear that in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Jiedushi in many places supported their own troops, which led to severe segregation of vassal towns. However, it must be clear that Jiedushi is only an official, not a prince. Officials should be appointed and removed by the emperor. The separatist rule of the vassal town itself is an act of violation of law and discipline, so in this case, there is no such thing as the implementation of the "Tianfa Order".
