Han Anguo, originally from Cheng'an in Liangguo, later moved to Suiyang. When he was young, he studied under Zoutian Sheng, learning about Han Feizi and the eclectic schools of thought. Later, he became a high-ranking official under King Xiao of Liang. When the Wu and Chu states rebelled, King Xiao of Liang sent Han Anguo and Zhang Yu to lead troops to resist the Wu army in the east. Zhang Yu led the aggressive charges, while Han Anguo focused on a more defensive strategy, keeping the Wu army out of Liang. After the rebellion was quelled, both Han Anguo and Zhang Yu rose to fame.
Prince Xiaowang of Liang is the younger brother of Emperor Jing. Empress Dowager Dou was particularly fond of him, allowing him to request to serve as prime minister or a high-ranking official (two thousand stones) on his own. He treated the palace as his own personal playground, showing a slight disregard for imperial protocol. When the emperor heard about it, he was very unhappy. Knowing that the emperor was displeased, the Empress Dowager stormed out and dismissed the envoy from the Kingdom of Liang, investigating Prince Xiaowang's faults.
As the envoy of the Kingdom of Liang, Han Anguo, wept and said to the Grand Princess, "Prince Liang is filial to his parents and loyal to the emperor. Empress Dowager, why are you not considerate at all? During the rebellion of the seven states of Wu and Chu, the eastern states united against the west. Liang was in the most perilous position. Prince Liang considered the safety of the Empress Dowager and the emperor while the vassals were causing trouble everywhere. He wept repeatedly, even sending six of us to war on bended knee, repelling the Wu and Chu troops. The Wu and Chu forces dared not attack the west and were finally pacified. It was all thanks to Prince Liang! Now, the Empress Dowager is nitpicking over minor offenses against him.
Prince Liang's father and brothers are all emperors, and he has always witnessed major events since childhood. So when he travels, he uses the ceremonial guards reserved for the emperor and speaks more cautiously when entering the palace. His carriage flags are all bestowed by the emperor. He does this to keep a low profile, traveling around the country to demonstrate the imperial favor bestowed upon him, letting everyone know. Now that the envoy from the Kingdom of Liang has arrived, the Empress Dowager is investigating his responsibilities. Prince Liang is very afraid, distraught with worry and consumed by his longing for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, not knowing what to do. Given his filial piety and unwavering loyalty, why this lack of compassion from the Empress Dowager?"
The Grand Princess told Dowager Empress Dou everything that Han Anguo had said. Dowager Empress Dou was very pleased and said, "Tell these words to the Emperor." Dowager Empress Dou conveyed Han Anguo's report to the Emperor, and after hearing it, the Emperor felt reassured. He took off his hat and apologized to the Dowager Empress, saying, "It's shameful that we brothers couldn't sort this out ourselves and caused you such worry." The Emperor then received the envoys from the Kingdom of Liang and rewarded them with many gifts. After that, the relationship between Prince Xiaowang and the Emperor became even closer. Dowager Empress Dou and the Grand Princess also rewarded Han Anguo with gifts worth more than a thousand gold pieces. Han Anguo became famous because of this and secured his position in the Han court.
Later, Anguo was sentenced to prison for committing a crime and was humiliated by the jailer Tian Jia. Anguo asked him, "Can dead ashes be brought back to life?" Tian Jia replied, "If they could, I'd throw 'em in the river and drown 'em!" Not long after, the position of the Interior Minister of Liang became vacant, and the Han court sent envoys to appoint Anguo as the Governor of Liang, promoting him directly from a prisoner to a high-ranking official. Tian Jia was scared and ran away. Anguo said, "If Tian Jia does not take office, I will destroy his whole family!" Tian Jia then stripped to the waist and apologized to Anguo. Anguo smiled and said, "You can drown in the water! Are you guys qualified to govern the country together?" In the end, he chose to treat him kindly.
When the position of Interior Minister became vacant, Prince Xiaowang had just received a man from the Qi State named Gongsun Gui. Gongsun Gui urged Prince Xiaowang to try to become Crown Prince and wanted more territory. They feared opposition from the Han court's powerful ministers, so they secretly sent people to assassinate them. As a result, they even killed the former Prime Minister of Wu State, Yuan Ang. Emperor Jing later learned of Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng's conspiracy and sent people to arrest them, dead set on getting them.
The Han Dynasty sent ten detachments of troops to the Liang Kingdom for a nationwide search, but they found nothing after more than a month. Minister Anguo heard that Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng were hiding with King Xiao, so he went to see King Xiao and cried, saying, "When the master is shamed, the minister must die. Your Highness, without good ministers by your side, this is a mess. Now that we can't catch Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng, I beg your forgiveness; I must take my own life to atone for this!" King Xiao asked, "What's gone wrong?" Anguo cried and said, "Your Highness, compare your relationship with the Emperor to your relationships with the Empress Dowager, Emperor Gaozu, and Prince Linjiang. Which is closest?" King Xiao said, "They're not as close." Anguo continued, "The Empress Dowager and Prince Linjiang, father and son, yet Emperor Gaozu said, 'I conquered the world with my own sword,' so the Empress Dowager couldn't participate in politics and had to live in Lixiang. Prince Linjiang, who was originally the crown prince, was stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner because of a wrong word he said, and later committed suicide in the Imperial Guard because of a palace wall incident. Why? Because governing the world cannot violate justice for personal reasons. As the saying goes, 'Even your own father might be a tiger; even your own brother might be a wolf.' Now, Your Highness, you are a prince, but you believe the slander of evil advisors and violate court law. The Emperor's held back by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager weeps every day, begging you to change your ways, but you still haven't awakened. When the Empress Dowager's gone, who can you rely on?" Before Anguo finished speaking, King Xiao started crying and said, "I will hand over Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng now." Gongsun Gui and Yang Sheng then committed suicide. The envoy of the Han Dynasty returned and reported that everything's sorted out in Liang, all thanks to Anguo. Therefore, Emperor Jing and the Empress Dowager were even more grateful to Anguo. Later, King Xiao died, and King Gong succeeded him. Anguo got fired for breaking the law and went home.
During the Jianyuan period, the Marquis of Wu'an, Tian Fei, became the Grand Commandant/Minister of War of the Han Dynasty, wielding significant power, and all his relatives and noble associates benefited from his influence. Anguo presented Tian Fei with five million cash as a gift. Tian Fei spoke highly of Anguo to the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor had already heard that Anguo was a capable man, so he summoned him and appointed him as the Commandant of Beidi, later promoting him to Chief Imperial Censor. At that time, Minyue and Dongyue were at war, and Anguo and another general, Wang Hui, led troops to quell the rebellion. Before they reached the Yue territory, the King of Yue was killed, and the Yue surrendered, leading to the cessation of the Han army's advance. In the sixth year of Jianyuan, the Marquis of Wu'an became the Prime Minister, while Anguo became the Chief Imperial Censor.
The Xiongnu requested a peace agreement, so the Emperor convened his ministers to discuss. General Wang Hui was from Yan State and had long served on the border, making him very familiar with the situation of the Xiongnu. He suggested, "If the Han Dynasty makes peace with the Xiongnu, they will generally break the agreement in a few years. It's better not to agree with them and just go to war!" However, Anguo countered, "A long war is no picnic. The Xiongnu are like wild beasts, roaming everywhere, making them difficult to predict. Even if we occupy their land, it won't expand our territory much; even if we conquer their people, it won't strengthen our power significantly. From ancient times to the present, the Xiongnu have never been a nation to submit to others. The Han Dynasty running thousands of miles to fight for a small gain will only exhaust our troops, while the Xiongnu can wait for us to tire out. It's like a fully drawn bow that cannot pierce thin silk, or a powerful whirlwind that cannot move a light feather; it's not that we lack strength at the start, but our strength will wane in the end. Therefore, war is not cost-effective; it's better to make peace." Many ministers agreed with Anguo's opinion, so the Emperor granted the Xiongnu's request for peace.
In the second year, also known as the first year of Yuanguang, Nie Wengyi, a local magnate in Yanmen Mayi, suggested to General Wang Hui, "The Xiongnu have just concluded a peace agreement and feel relatively secure along the border. We can use a strategy to lure them." So Nie Wengyi was secretly sent to the Xiongnu to work as a double agent. He went to the Chanyu and said, "I can kill the county prefect of Mayi as well as other officials, and then present the city to you. All the city's riches will be yours." The Chanyu believed him and thought it was a good idea, so he agreed to Nie Wengyi. Nie Wengyi returned and pretended to have killed several convicts, hanging their heads on the city walls of Mayi to show the Chanyu's envoy as proof. He said, "The officials in Mayi are already dead; you can come quickly!" So the Chanyu led a powerful cavalry of over 100,000 through the border defenses and entered Wuzhou Pass.
At that time, the Han Dynasty had deployed over 300,000 troops hidden in the valleys near Mayi, ready to ambush the Xiongnu. In this army, Li Guang was the commander of the elite cavalry, Gongsun He was the commander of the light chariots, Wang Hui was the garrison commander, Li Xi was the materials officer, and Han Anguo was the guard commander, with the other generals following the guard commander's lead. The plan was to lure the Chanyu into Mayi, then unleash a massive counterattack. Wang Hui, Li Xi, and Li Guang also led troops from Daijun to raid the Xiongnu's supply routes.
As a result, the Chanyu really entered through the pass in the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty and reached Wuzhou Pass. Before reaching Mayi, they began looting, only seeing some livestock in the wild and no human figures. The Chanyu found it strange and attacked the Han army's beacon tower, capturing a military officer from Wuzhou. The Chanyu wanted to interrogate this officer, who said, "Tens of thousands of Han troops lay in ambush near Mayi!" Upon hearing this, the Chanyu hurriedly told his generals, "We nearly got played!" and immediately withdrew his troops. As they left the pass, he said, "I got really lucky to capture this officer!" He then bestowed the title of "Lord Protector" upon this officer.
Word came from beyond the Wall that the Chanyu had already withdrawn his troops. The Han army chased to the border, but when they realized they couldn't catch up, they turned back. Wang Hui and his 30,000 men heard that the Chanyu hadn't fought the Han army, so they speculated that if the Chanyu went to attack the supply line, they'd be facing the Chanyu's best troops, and the Han army would definitely suffer losses. So they pulled out, empty-handed.
The Emperor blew his top, saying that Wang Hui didn't attack the Chanyu's supply lines and just pulled out. Wang Hui said, "The plan was to lure the Chanyu into Mayi, fight him, then hit his supply lines. That's how we were supposed to win. But the Chanyu got wind of it and ran before we could even get him. With 30,000 men, we couldn't touch him. Going after him would've been suicide. I know that I will definitely be beheaded when I return, but at least I can save the lives of Your Majesty's 30,000 soldiers!" So Wang Hui got the death penalty.
The Ministry of Justice thought Wang Hui deserved to die. Wang Hui slipped Prime Minister Fen a thousand gold. Fen didn't dare tell the Emperor, so he went to the Empress Dowager and said, "Wang Hui came up with the Mayi plan. Killing him now just plays into the Xiongnu's hands." The Empress Dowager told the Emperor what Fen had said. The Emperor said, "It was Wang Hui's Mayi plan that got hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized. Even if they hadn't caught the Chanyu, hitting his supply lines would've given the troops something to show for it. If we don't kill Wang Hui, we'll look like fools!" Wang Hui killed himself.
An Guo was a far-sighted man, incredibly smart and talented for his time, but he was honest yet a bit greedy. The people he recommended were all talented officials, each better than him. While in Liang, he recommended the renowned Hu Sui, Zang Gu, and Zhi Ta, and everyone else admired him, but the Emperor saw them as key figures in the state. An Guo served as a high-ranking official for more than four years. After Prime Minister Tian Fen died, An Guo became acting Prime Minister, but his health was poor and he was often unwell. The emperor wanted to appoint An Guo as Prime Minister, but after observing his condition, it was found that he was indeed not well, so Xue Ze, the Marquis of Pingji, was appointed as Prime Minister. An Guo took sick leave for several months due to illness, and after his health improved, the emperor appointed him as a Commandant. Over a year later, he was transferred to serve as the Guard Commander.
General Wei Qing led the cavalry to fight against the Xiongnu, setting out from Shanggu and capturing Hulun City. General Li Guang was captured by the Xiongnu but later escaped; General Gongsun Ao lost many soldiers. They should have been executed, but got off with fines and demotion to commoners. The following year, the Xiongnu launched a full-scale invasion, killing the Liaoxi Prefect and breaking into Yanmen, resulting in the deaths of about several thousand people. General Wei Qing went to meet them, marching from Yanmen. Guard Commander An Guo served as the General of Supplies, stationed in Yuyang. An Guo captured some Xiongnu prisoners, who said that the Xiongnu had already left, so he suggested in a memorial that because it was harvest time, military action should be temporarily suspended. The army stood down for over a month, and the Xiongnu invaded Shanggu and Yuyang in force again. An Guo's 700-strong camp was defeated and forced to retreat. The Xiongnu took away over a thousand people, and many animals were lost. The emperor was very angry when he heard about it and sent for An Guo. An Guo was transferred eastward, to Right North Ping. At that time, prisoners reported that the Xiongnu were planning an eastern invasion.
An Guo initially served as the Chief Imperial Censor and Military Protector, but gradually got sidelined, with his position declining further. Meanwhile, the newly favored young generals like Wei Qing rose in status due to their accomplishments. An Guo became a non-entity and vanished from view. Later, his army was deceived by the Xiongnu, resulting in heavy losses, which left him feeling ashamed. Fortunately, he was allowed to retire and return home, but was reassigned to a more remote location in the east, where he remained unhappy. Several months later, he died of illness and suffered a fatal hemorrhage, passing away in the second year of Yuanshuo.
Historian Sima Qian said: I studied the law and the calendar with Hu Sui and witnessed Han Changru's loyalty. Hu Sui was a quiet, honest man of integrity. People say that the talents of the people of Liangguo are outstanding, and this is absolutely true! Hu Sui rose to the position of Grand Minister, and the Emperor had his eye on him as the next Prime Minister, but unfortunately, Hu Sui passed away. Otherwise, he was a truly dedicated and upright man!
