223 Lü Lu and Lü Chan

A9.22|23|24

Zhuxu Marquis Liu Zhang was powerful, and Dongmu Marquis Xingju was his younger brother. They were all brothers of King Ai of Qi and lived in Chang'an. At that time, the Lü clan was in power and they wanted to cause trouble but were afraid of Emperor Gao's former ministers, Zhou Bo and Guan Ying, so they did not dare to act. Zhuxu Marquis' wife, Lü Lu's daughter, secretly knew their plan. Fearing that she would be executed, she secretly sent someone to inform her brother, the King of Qi, to send troops to the west to kill the Lü clan and establish the throne. Zhuxu Marquis wanted to cooperate with the ministers. The King of Qi wanted to send troops, but his prime minister did not listen. On Bingwu day of August, the King of Qi wanted to send someone to kill the prime minister, so the prime minister Zhao Ping rebelled and raised troops to besiege the King. The King killed his prime minister, sent troops to the east, swindled the King of Langye's troops, and led them west. The details are recorded in "The Biography of King Daohui of Qi".

The King of Qi then sent a letter to all the princes, saying, "Emperor Gaodi (Gaozu) pacified the world and made his sons and nephews kings. King Daohui was the king of Qi. After King Daohui died, Emperor Xiaohui ordered Liu Hou Zhang Liang to establish me as the King of Qi. After Emperor Xiaohui's death, Empress Gao took power. She was old and only listened to the Lü clan. She arbitrarily deposed the emperor and established a new one. She also killed the three kings of Zhao, and destroyed Liang, Zhao, and Yan, to make kings for the Lü clan, dividing Qi into four. The loyal ministers advised the emperor, but the emperor was confused and did not listen. Now Empress Gao has passed away, and the emperor is old and unable to rule the world and relies on the ministers and princes. However, the Lü clan has arbitrarily elevated themselves to high positions, gathered troops and exercised their power, kidnapped the loyal ministers of the princes, and forged the system to rule the world, which put the ancestral temple in grave danger. I will lead the army to punish those who are not worthy of being kings." When the Han court heard about it, Prime Minister Lü Chan and others sent Yingyin Marquis Guan Ying to lead troops to attack them. When Guan Ying arrived in Xingyang, he said, "The Lü clan has taken control of the army in Guanzhong and wants to endanger the Liu clan and establish themselves. Now that we have defeated Qi and reported back, this will help the Lü clan." So he stayed in Xingyang and sent messengers to inform the King of Qi and the princes to make peace and wait for the changes in the Lü clan and punish them altogether. When the King of Qi heard this, he returned his troops to the western border to wait for an agreement.

Lü Lu and Lü Chan wanted to start a rebellion in Guanzhong. But they were afraid of Zhou Bo Marquis Jiang and Zhu Xu, and also the troops of Qi and Chu. They were also afraid that Guan Ying would betray them. They wanted to wait for Guan Ying's troops to join forces with Qi before starting the rebellion, so they were hesitant. At that time, Tai the King of Jichuan, Wu the King of Huaiyang, Chao the King of Changshan, who was called the younger brother of the young emperor, and King of Lu Yuan the grandson of Empress Lü, were all young and had not yet entered the country, and lived in Chang'an. Lu the King of Zhao and Chan King of Liang each led troops to the Southern and Northern Armies, were all people of the Lü clan. None of the princes and ministers were sure that they could save their own lives.

朱虚侯刘章有气力，东牟侯兴居其弟也。皆齐哀王弟，居长安。当是时，诸吕用事擅权，欲为乱，畏高帝故大臣绛、灌等，未敢发。朱虚侯妇，吕禄女，阴知其谋。恐见诛，乃阴令人告其兄齐王，欲令发兵西，诛诸吕而立。朱虚侯欲从中与大臣为应。齐王欲发兵，其相弗听。八月丙午，齐王欲使人诛相，相召平乃反，举兵欲围王，王因杀其相，遂发兵东，诈夺琅邪王兵，并将之而西。语在齐王语中。

齐王乃遗诸侯王书曰：“高帝平定天下，王诸子弟，悼惠王王齐。悼惠王薨，孝惠帝使留侯良立臣为齐王。孝惠崩，高后用事，春秋高，听诸吕，擅废帝更立，又比杀三赵王，灭梁、赵、燕以王诸吕，分齐为四。忠臣进谏，上惑乱弗听。今高后崩，而帝春秋富，未能治天下，固恃大臣诸侯。而诸吕又擅自尊官，聚兵严威，劫列侯忠臣，矫制以令天下，宗庙所以危。寡人率兵入诛不当为王者。”汉闻之，相国吕产等乃遣颍阴侯灌婴将兵击之。灌婴至荥阳，乃谋曰：“诸吕权兵关中，欲危刘氏而自立。今我破齐还报，此益吕氏之资也。”乃留屯荥阳，使使谕齐王及诸侯，与连和，以待吕氏变，共诛之。齐王闻之，乃还兵西界待约。

吕禄、吕产欲发乱关中，内惮绛侯、朱虚等，外畏齐、楚兵，又恐灌婴畔之，欲待灌婴兵与齐合而发，犹豫未决。当是时，济川王太、淮阳王武、常山王朝名为少帝弟，及鲁元王吕后外孙，皆年少未之国，居长安。赵王禄、梁王产各将兵居南北军，皆吕氏之人。列侯群臣莫自坚其命。

222 The Mad Dog Bites

A9.17…21

Grand Tutor Lü Chan and Prime Minister Chen Ping said that Wuxin Marquis Lü Lu was the highest ranked marquis and requested to be made King of Zhao. The Queen Mother agreed and posthumously honored Lü Lu's father Kang Marquis as King Brightness of Zhao. In September, King Ling of Yan Jian died. He had a son by a beauty. The Queen Mother had him killed. There was no heir, so the kingdom was abolished. In October of the eighth year (180 BC), King Lü Su's son, Dongping Marquis Lü Tong, was made King of Yan, and Tong's brother Lü Zhuang was made Dongping Marquis.

In mid-March, Empress Lü held a purification ceremony. On her way back by Zhi Road Pavilion, she saw a black dog-like creature that bit her under the armpit and then suddenly disappeared. She asked someone to divine, who said it was the ghost of Liu Ruyi, the Prince of Zhao, who was haunting her. Empress Gao then fell ill because of the wound under her armpit.

Empress Gao's grandson, Prince Yan of Lu, was young and had lost his parents at an early age. He was alone and weak, so she appointed two sons of Zhang Ao's former concubine, Chi as Marquis of Xindu and Shou as Marquis of Lechang, to assist Prince Yan of Lu. She also appointed the great eunuch Zhang Shi as Marquis of Jianling and Lü Rong as Marquis of Zhuzi. All the eunuchs and ministers were made Marquis of Guannei, with fiefs of 500 households.

In the middle of July, Empress Dowager of Gaozu was seriously ill, so she ordered Lü Lu King of Zhao to be the general and command the northern army; Chan King of Lü was in charge of the southern army. Empress Dowager Lü warned Chan and Lu, saying, "Emperor Gao had already conquered the world, and he made an agreement with the ministers, saying, 'If anyone other than the Liu family is king, the whole world will attack him.' Now the Lü family has kings, and the ministers are not happy. If I die, the emperor is young, and the ministers may cause a change. You must guard the palace with soldiers, be careful not to send off the funeral, and don't be controlled by others." On the 30th day of July, Empress Dowager Gao died. In her will, she gave each prince a thousand gold coins, and all generals, ministers, marquises, and officials were given gold coins according to their ranks. She issued a general amnesty. Chan King of Lü was made the prime minister, and Lü Lu's daughter was made the empress.

Empress Dowager Gao was buried, and the left prime minister Shen Yiji was made the Emperor's Tutor.

太傅产、丞相平等言，武信侯吕禄上侯，位次第一，请立为赵王。太后许之，追尊禄父康侯为赵昭王。九月，燕灵王建薨，有美人子，太后使人杀之，无后，国除。八年十月，立吕肃王子东平侯吕通为燕王，封通弟吕庄为东平侯。

三月中，吕后祓，还过轵道，见物如苍犬，据高后掖，忽弗复见。卜之，云赵王如意为祟。高后遂病掖伤。

高后为外孙鲁元王偃年少，蚤失父母，孤弱，乃封张敖前姬两子，侈为新都侯，寿为乐昌侯，以辅鲁元王偃。及封中大谒者张释为建陵侯，吕荣为祝兹侯。诸中宦者令丞皆为关内侯，食邑五百户。

七月中，高后病甚，乃令赵王吕禄为上将军，军北军；吕王产居南军。吕太后诫产、禄曰：“高帝已定天下，与大臣约，曰‘非刘氏王者，天下共击之’。今吕氏王，大臣弗平。我即崩，帝年少，大臣恐为变。必据兵卫宫，慎毋送丧，毋为人所制。”辛巳，高后崩，遗诏赐诸侯王各千金，将相列侯郎吏皆以秩赐金。大赦天下。以吕王产为相国，以吕禄女为帝后。

高后已葬，以左丞相审食其为帝太傅。

221 King of Zhao Starved to Death

A9.11…16

In the seventh year (181 BC), in the first month, the Queen Mother summoned Liu You, the King of Zhao. He married the daughter of the Lü family as his queen, but he did not love her and favored another concubine. The daughter of the Lü family was jealous and left angrily. She spoke ill of him in front of the Queen Mother and framed him as saying, "How can the Lu family be crowned kings? After the Queen Mother dies, I will get rid of them."

The Queen Mother was very angry and summoned the King of Zhao for this reason. When the King of Zhao arrived, he was placed in the palace without being received. The Queen Mother ordered him to be guarded and not given food. Some of the King of Zhao's ministers secretly sent him food, but they were arrested and punished when they were discovered. The King of Zhao felt hungry, so he sang: "The Lu family is in power, the Liu family is in danger, they coerce the princes and force me to marry. The princess is jealous and accuses me of bad things, the jealous woman ruins the country, the emperor is not aware of it. There are no loyal ministers, why leave the fiefdom? I commit suicide in the wild, the heavens seek justice! Alas, I cannot regret it, I would rather kill myself early. The king starved to death, who can pity me! The Lu family is unreasonable, I ask the heavens for revenge." On Dingchou day, King You of Zhao died in prison and was buried in the common people's tomb in Chang'an according to common rites. 

On the Jichou day, there was a solar eclipse, and it was dark during the day. The Queen Mother disliked it and was unhappy, so she said to her attendants, "This is because of me."

In February, Hui, the King of Liang, was moved to be the King of Zhao. Chan, the King of Lü, was moved to be the King of Liang. The King of Liang did not go to his country but became the Grand Tutor of the Emperor. The Emperor's son, Tai, the Marquis of Pingchang, was made the King of Lü. Liang was renamed Lü and Lü was renamed Jichuan. The Queen Mother's younger sister, Lü Xu, had a daughter who was married to Liu Ze, the Marquis of Yingling. Ze was a general. The Queen Mother made Kings out of the Lü clan and feared that General Liu would make trouble after her death, so she made Liu Ze the King of Langye as an appeasement.

When King Hui of Liang moved to Zhao, he was unhappy. The Queen Mother made the daughter of Lü Chan the Queen of Zhao. The Queen's attendants were all from the Lü clan, and they abused their power and secretly watched over the King of Zhao, so the King of Zhao could not do what he wanted. The King had a favorite concubine, but the Queen had someone killed her by poison. The King then composed four poems and asked the musicians to sing them. The King was so sad that he committed suicide in June. When the Queen Mother heard about it, she considered him a King who abandoned the ancestral temple rituals for the sake of a woman and had his heritage abolished.

After Zhang Ao, Marquis of Xuanping, died, his son Yan was made King of Lu, and Ao was posthumously named King Yuan of Lu.

In autumn, the Queen Mother sent an envoy to inform the King of Dai that she wanted to move him to Zhao to be the King of Zhao. The King of Dai declined and said he was willing to guard the border at Dai.

七年正月，太后召赵王友。友以诸吕女为后，弗爱，爱他姬，诸吕女妒，怒去，谗之于太后，诬以罪过，曰：“吕氏安得王！太后百岁后，吾必击之”。太后怒，以故召赵王。赵王至，置邸不见，令卫围守之，弗与食。其群臣或窃馈，辄捕论之，赵王饿，乃歌曰：“诸吕用事兮刘氏危，迫胁王侯兮强授我妃。我妃既妒兮诬我以恶，谗女乱国兮上曾不寤。我无忠臣兮何故弃国？自决中野兮苍天举直！于嗟不可悔兮宁蚤自财。为王而饿死兮谁者怜之！吕氏绝理兮讬天报仇。”丁丑，赵王幽死，以民礼葬之长安民冢次。

己丑，日食，昼晦。太后恶之，心不乐，乃谓左右曰：“此为我也。”

二月，徙梁王恢为赵王。吕王产徙为梁王，梁王不之国，为帝太傅。立皇子平昌侯太为吕王。更名梁曰吕，吕曰济川。太后女弟吕媭有女为营陵侯刘泽妻，泽为大将军。太后王诸吕，恐即崩后刘将军为害，乃以刘泽为琅邪王，以慰其心。

梁王恢之徙王赵，心怀不乐。太后以吕产女为赵王后。王后从官皆诸吕，擅权，微伺赵王，赵王不得自恣。王有所爱姬，王后使人酖杀之。王乃为歌诗四章，令乐人歌之。王悲，六月即自杀。太后闻之，以为王用妇人弃宗庙礼，废其嗣。

宣平侯张敖卒，以子偃为鲁王，敖赐谥为鲁元王。

秋，太后使使告代王，欲徙王赵。代王谢，愿守代边。

220 The Emperor Deposed

A9.9|10

The Empress Dowager wanted to make someone from the Lu family king, so she first made the sons born to Emperor Xiaohui's concubine, Liu Qiang the King of Huaiyang, Liu Buyi the King of Changshan, Liu Shan the Marquis of Xiangcheng, Liu Chao the Marquis of Zhi, and Liu Wu the Marquis of Huguan. The Queen Mother whispered the ministers, so they requested to make Lü Tai Marquis Li the King of Lü, and the Queen Mother agreed. When Lü Shizhi, the Marquis Kang of Jiancheng, died, his son who should have succeeded him committed a crime and was deposed, so his younger brother Lü Lu was made Marquis of Huling to continue the bloodline of Marquis Kang. In the second year, King of Changshan died, and his brother Liu Shan, Marquis of Xiangcheng, was made the King of Changshan, and his name was changed to Liu Yi. In November, King Lü Tai died and was posthumously named King Su, and the crown prince Jiadai was made king. Three years passed without incident. In the fourth year, Lü Xu was made the Marquis of Linguang, Lü Ta the Marquis of Yu, Lü Gengshi the Marquis of Zuiqi, Lü Fen the Marquis of Lücheng, and five other princes and prime ministers were also named.

When the daughter of Marquis Xuanping was the Queen of Xiaohui, she had no children. She pretended that she was pregnant and took the son of a concubine and named him, killed his mother, and made the named child the crown prince. When Xiaohui died, the crown prince was made emperor. When the emperor was old, someone heard that his mother had died and that he was not the real empress's son, so he said, "How can the empress kill my mother and name me? I am not yet old, but when I grow up, I will cause trouble." The Empress Dowager heard about it and was worried that he would cause chaos, so she imprisoned him in the Eternal Alley, saying that the emperor was very ill and that no one was allowed to see him. The Empress Dowager said, "When the world is governed by the will of the people, it is governed by the heaven and tolerated by the earth. The ruler is happy to comfort the people, and the people are happy to serve the ruler. When the ruler is happy and harmonious, the world is governed. Now the emperor has been ill for a long time, and he is confused and chaotic. His being on the throne and worshiping the ancestral temple cannot continue. He cannot rule the world. He should be replaced." All the ministers bowed their heads and said, "The empress dowager has been deeply concerned about the people of the world and the ancestral temple is safe. All the ministers bow their heads and obey the order." The emperor was deposed and the empress dowager imprisoned and killed him. On the Bingchen day of May, Liu Yi, the king of Changshan, was made emperor and renamed Liu Hong. It was not called the first year because the Empress Dowagers still controlled the affairs of the world. Chao, the Marquis of Zhi, was made the king of Changshan. The position of Taiwei, the Grand Marshall, was established, and Zhou Bo, the Marquis of Jiang, was made the Taiwei. In the eighth month of the fifth year, the King of Huaiyang died, and his younger brother, Huguan Marquis Wu, was made the King of Huaiyang. In the tenth month of the sixth year, the Queen Mother said that Prince Lu Jia was arrogant and deposed him, and made King Su Tai's younger brother, Lu Chan, the King of Lu. In the summer, the prisoners of the whole country was pardoned. Xingju, the prince of King Daohui of Qi, was made the Marquis of Dongmu.

太后欲王吕氏，先立孝惠后宫子强为淮阳王，子不疑为常山王，子山为襄城侯，子朝为轵侯，子武为壶关侯。太后风大臣，大臣请立郦侯吕台为吕王，太后许之。建成康侯释之卒，嗣子有罪，废，立其弟吕禄为胡陵侯，续康侯后。二年，常山王薨，以其弟襄城侯山为常山王，更名义。十一月，吕王台薨，谥为肃王，太子嘉代立为王。三年，无事。四年，封吕媭为临光侯，吕他为俞侯，吕更始为赘其侯，吕忿为吕城侯，及诸侯丞相五人。

宣平侯女为孝惠皇后时，无子，详为有身，取美人子名之，杀其母，立所名子为太子。孝惠崩，太子立为帝。帝壮，或闻其母死，非真皇后子，乃出言曰：“后安能杀吾母而名我？我未壮，壮即为变。”太后闻而患之，恐其为乱，乃幽之永巷中，言帝病甚，左右莫得见。太后曰：“凡有天下治为万民命者，盖之如天，容之如地，上有欢心以安百姓，百姓欣然以事其上，欢欣交通而天下治。今皇帝病久不已，乃失惑惛乱，不能继嗣奉宗庙祭祀，不可属天下，其代之。”群臣皆顿首言：“皇太后为天下齐民计所以安宗庙社稷甚深，群臣顿首奉诏。”帝废位，太后幽杀之。五月丙辰，立常山王义为帝，更名曰弘。不称元年者，以太后制天下事也。以轵侯朝为常山王。置太尉官，绛侯勃为太尉。五年八月，淮阳王薨，以弟壶关侯武为淮阳王。六年十月，太后曰吕王嘉居处骄恣，废之，以肃王台弟吕产为吕王。夏，赦天下。封齐悼惠王子兴居为东牟侯。