Events Immediately Prior To The Rebellion
Emperor Jing already had an inimical relationship with his cousin-once-removed (the nephew of his grandfather Emperor Gao) Liu Pi (刘濞/劉濞), the prince of the wealthy Principality of Wu (modern southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, southern Anhui, and northern Jiangxi), which enjoyed, among other natural resources, abundant copper and salt supplies. While Emperor Jing was crown prince, Liu Pi's heir apparent Lu Xian (刘贤/劉賢) had been on an official visit to the capital Chang'an, and they competed in a liubo board game. During arguments over the game, Liu Xian offended then-Crown Prince Qi, and Prince Qi threw the liubo board at Liu Xian, resulting in his death. Liu Pi thus had great hatred for the new emperor.
Emperor Jing's key advisor Chao Cuo suggested, using as excuses offences that the princes had committed which had generally been ignored by Emperor Wen, that he cut down the sizes of the principalities to make them less threatening. Chao explicitly contemplated the possibility that Wu and other principalities might rebel, but justified the action by asserting that if they were going to rebel, it would be better to let them rebel earlier than later when they might be more prepared.
Under this theory, Emperor Jing, in 154 BC, ordered the following punishments for the princes:-
- Carving out the commandery of Donghai from the Principality of Chu (modern northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui), based on Liu Wu, the Prince of Chu, having sexual relations during the mourning period for Grand Empress Dowager Bo.
- Carving out the commandery of Changshan from the Principality of Zhao (modern central and southern Hebei), based on an unspecified offence.
- Carving out six counties from the Principality of Jiaoxi (roughly modern Weifang, Shandong), based on Liu Ang, the Prince of Jiaoxi, embezzling funds from the sales of titles intended for paying border patrol costs.
- Carving out the commanderies of Huiji and Yuzhang from the Principality of Wu, based on various offences by Liu Pi, the Prince of Wu.
Read more about this topic: Rebellion Of The Seven States
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