Emperor Gaozu had eight sons: Empress Lü gave birth to Emperor Xiaohui; Lady Cáo gave birth to Prince Qi Daohui Liu Fei; Lady Bó gave birth to Emperor Xiaowen; Lady Qí gave birth to Prince Zhao Yin Liu Ruyi; Lady Zhào gave birth to Prince Li of Huainan Liu Chang; other concubines gave birth to Prince Zhao You Liu You, Prince Zhao Gong Liu Hui, and Prince Yanling Liu Jian. The deeds of Prince Li of Huainan Liu Chang are recorded separately. Prince Qi Daohui Liu Fei was born to a concubine whom Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang married when he was still a commoner. Six years after Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor, he conferred the title of Prince of Qi on him and gave him over seventy cities. He ruled everyone in Qi. In the second year of Emperor Xiaohui, Liu Fei came to court. The Emperor and Liu Fei were drinking with the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor even put Liu Fei in the seat of honor, treating him like family. Empress Dowager Lü was very angry, so she had two cups of poisoned wine prepared in front of Liu Fei and asked him to offer a toast. When Liu Fei stood up, the Emperor also stood up, wanting to toast together. Empress Dowager Lü panicked and snatched the cups away. Liu Fei found it strange and dared not drink, so he pretended to be drunk and left. Later, he learned that it was poisoned wine and became afraid, thinking he couldn’t escape from Chang'an. A man named Neishi Shi said, "The Empress Dowager only loves the Emperor and Princess Lu Yuan. Now, Your Highness, you have over seventy cities, while the princess only has a few. If you give the Empress Dowager a county, she'll be happy to grant the princess a larger Tangmu Yi (a type of privileged fief)." So Liu Fei gave up Chengyang County to the Empress Dowager, who then honored the princess as Queen Dowager. Empress Dowager Lü was very pleased and agreed. Then there was a huge party at Liu Fei's place, and after they'd all had their fill, they sent him back to Qi. Thirteen years later, Prince Qi died, and his son Liu Xiang took over.
Prince Liu Ruyi, the King Zhao Yin, reigned for nine years. Four years later, after the death of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, Empress Dowager Lü summoned King Zhao to Chang'an and poisoned him. He left no sons, and that branch of the family died out.
King Zhao You reigned for eleven years and was titled King of Huaiyang. After the death of King Zhao Yin, in the first year of Emperor Xiaohui, Zhao You was relocated back to Zhao State and reigned as king for a total of fourteen years. King Zhao You married a woman from the Lü family as his queen, but he did not like her and instead favored other concubines. Enraged, Queen Lü ran to the Empress Dowager to complain, saying, "The king said, 'How dare the Lü family be queen? Once the old woman's gone, I'll wipe them out!'" The Empress Dowager, upon hearing this, became furious and summoned King Zhao. Once in Chang'an, King Zhao was confined to his residence, cut off from everyone, guarded by Wei soldiers who starved him. Some ministers who secretly tried to send him food were caught and punished. Starving, King Zhao began to sing a song: "The Lüs run the show, the Lius are done for; they bully the princes, forced me to wed that bitch. My jealous concubine framed me, spreading lies that poisoned the Emperor's ear. I've got no loyal men, so why am I dethroned? I'll kill myself in the wilds, and Heaven, grant me justice! Oh, what's the use of regret? I should've died sooner! A king starved to death—who'll mourn for me? The Lüs' crimes are mountains high, may Heaven avenge me!" And then, King Zhao died of starvation. He was given a pauper's burial in Chang'an.
After the death of the Empress Dowager, Emperor Xiao Wen ascended the throne and made Zhao Sui, the son of King Zhao You, the King of Zhao. Two years later, court officials suggested making the princes kings of the vassal states. Emperor Xiao Wen said, "King Zhao You starved to death, and I feel for him. I have already made his eldest son Zhao Sui the King of Zhao. Zhao Sui's younger brother, Bi Qiang, as well as the sons of Marquis Zhu of Daohui and Marquis Xingju of Dongmu, have all made contributions and can be appointed as kings." Therefore, Bi Qiang was appointed as the King in the Hejian region of Zhao, who became known as King Wen of Hejian. King Wen of Hejian reigned for thirteen years before his son, King Ai Fu, succeeded him. King Ai Fu reigned only a year before dying without an heir, thus ending the state of Hejian.
King Zhao Sui reigned for twenty-six years until the reign of Emperor Xiao Jing. Chao Cuo suggested reducing Zhao's Changshan Commandery, which infuriated the other vassal states. Wu and Chu rebelled, and King Zhao Sui joined their rebellion, planning a joint revolt. His Prime Minister Jian De and Minister Wang Han advised him against it, but he did not listen and had them killed. King Zhao Sui then led troops to attack the western border of the Han Dynasty, hoping for support from Wu, Chu, and the Xiongnu. The Han Dynasty sent Marquis Li Ji of Quzhou to attack him, and King Zhao Sui defended Handan for seven months. Wu and Chu were defeated, and upon hearing this, the Xiongnu refused to invade further. After Luan Bu pacified the state of Qi, he led troops to attack Zhao, flooding the city. The city fell, and King Zhao Sui killed himself, ending the state of Zhao. Emperor Jing sympathized with the Prime Minister and Minister of Zhao for sacrificing themselves for the country, so he made their sons marquises.
Zhao Hui was King of Liang for eleven years. Later, the King of Liang, Peng Yue, was killed, and Zhao Hui was then established as King of Liang. Sixteen years later, Zhao You died, and Empress Lü recalled Zhao Hui to be King of Zhao, but he was not happy about it. This was because Empress Lü married her daughter to Zhao Hui as the Queen, and the Queen, along with her entire Lu family retinue, ran the Zhao palace, constantly undermining him. Zhao Hui had a favorite concubine, who was ultimately poisoned to death by the Queen. So Zhao Hui wrote four poems about it and had them sung by his musicians. Driven to despair, Zhao Hui killed himself in June. When Empress Lü heard about this, she figured he'd offed himself over a woman and lacked the devotion to properly serve his ancestors, so she deposed his son from inheriting the throne.
Yan Ling Jian was King of Yan for eleven years. Yan King Lu Wan fled to the Xiongnu. The following year, Yan Ling Jian was established as King of Yan. Fifteen years later, Yan Ling Jian died. He had a son with a beautiful concubine, and Empress Lü had the boy killed, extinguishing the Yan line.
As for King Dao Hui of Qi—he had nine sons who became kings: his eldest son Xiang became King Ai of Qi, the second son Zhang became King Jing of Chengyang, Xingju became King Jibei, Jianglu became King Qi, Zhi became King Jibei, Biguang became King Jinan, Xian became King Zichuan, Yang became King Jiaoxi, and Xiongqu became King Jiaodong.
King Xiang of Qi ascended the throne in the sixth year of Emperor Xiaohui's reign. In the second year, Emperor Hui died, and Empress Lü seized power. In the first year, she appointed her nephew, Lü Tai (Marquis of Fu), as King Lü and gave him Qi's Jinan County as his fief. In the second year, King Ai of Qi's brother, Zhang, served as a guard in Chang'an, and Empress Lü appointed him as Marquis of Zhuxu and married him off to Lü Lu's daughter. Four years later, Zhang's brother, Xingju, was appointed as Marquis of Dongmou, and both brothers served as guards in Chang'an. In the seventh year of Empress Lü's reign, she separated Qi's Langye County and appointed Liu Ze (Marquis of Yingling) as King of Langye. That year, Prince You of Zhao also died in the palace. She deposed all three Zhao princes, while Empress Lü appointed three members of the Lü family as kings, who usurped power and ran the court into the ground.
At the age of twenty, Marquis of Zhuxu, Zhang Ao, was young and strong, feeling resentful that the Liu family hadn't given him a better position. Once, he went to serve wine to Empress Lü, who appointed him as the wine official. Zhang Ao volunteered, saying, "Madam, I come from a family of military generals. Can I run this banquet like a military operation?" Empress Lü agreed. Once the wine was flowing, Zhang Ao arranged for singing and dancing performances. After a while, he said, "Let me tell you about farming." Empress Lü's sons found it amusing and said, "All you know is your old man's farming. Like you'd know anything about farming if you were born a prince!" Zhang Ao replied, "I do know." Empress Lü became interested and asked him to explain the principles of farming. Zhang Ao said, "You gotta plow deep and plant carefully. Thin out the weak seedlings, get rid of the bad ones." Empress Lü listened quietly.
After a while, a member of the Lv family got drunk and sneaked off. Zhang Ao caught up with him, drew his sword and killed him. When he returned, he reported, "A drunk guy ran off, so I took care of him according to military law." Empress Lv's people freaked out. However, Empress Lv had already promised to let him handle things according to military law, so she couldn't punish him. The party broke up. Since then, the Lv family were terrified of Zhang Ao; even the court ministers listened to Marquis Zhu Xu. The Liu family's power grew as a result.
The following year, Empress Lv died. Prince Zhao, Lv Lu, became the supreme commander, and Prince Lv Chan became the Prime Minister. They both lived in Chang'an, amassing troops to scare the ministers and plotting a coup. Zhang Ao married Lv Lu's daughter. Knowing what the Lv family were up to, he secretly sent someone to inform his brother, Prince Qi, to attack from the west, while Marquis Zhu Xu and Dong Mou would work with the Chang'an ministers to wipe out the Lv family and then put Prince Qi on the throne.
Upon hearing this plan, Prince Qi secretly told his uncle Si Jun, Chief Secretary Zhu Wu, and Commandant Wei Bo about the plan to mobilize troops. Qi's Prime Minister, Shao Ping, heard about this and immediately led troops to the palace to protect Prince Qi. Wei Bo told Shao Ping, "The prince wants to raise an army, but he hasn't got the Han Dynasty's tiger seal. You're right to have him surrounded! Let me protect him!" Shao Ping believed his words and appointed Wei Bo as the general. But then Wei Bo turned around and surrounded the Prime Minister's mansion! Shao Ping sighed and said, "'A stitch in time saves nine,' or something like that." After speaking, he committed suicide.
King Qi acted swiftly, appointing Sijun as Chancellor, Wei Bo as General, and Zhu Wu as Chief Secretary, mustering the entire national army. He then sent Zhu Wu to tell King Langye: "The Lv clan's revolted, and your cousin's marching west to crush 'em. He's a bit green, never seen a battle, so he's putting everything in your capable hands. You're a veteran of the old Emperor Gaozu's army, right? He can't leave the front lines, so he sent me to fetch you to Linzi for a pow-wow, and bring your troops along to settle this Guanzhong mess." King Langye bought it hook, line, and sinker and hurried to see King Qi. King Qi and Wei Bo seized King Langye and then had Zhu Wu bring all the troops of Langye to Qi as well. King Langye Liu Ze was deceived and unable to return to his country, so he said to King Qi: "King Daohui of Qi is the Emperor's eldest son, making you his grandson and the rightful heir. The court's in a muddle, and as the senior Liu, everyone's waiting for your call. Holding me here won't solve anything; let me go to the capital and sort this out." King Qi thought it made sense, so he made lavish preparations to send King Langye off in style.
After the King of Langya left, the Qi Kingdom sent troops to attack Lǔ-controlled Jinan. Then the King of Qi wrote letters to the other kings, saying, "After Emperor Gaozu pacified the world, he enfeoffed the princes and relatives. After King Daohui's death, Emperor Hui sent Marquis Zhang Liang to appoint me as the King of Qi. After Emperor Hui died, Empress Lǔ seized power. She was old and listened to the slander of the Lǔ family, arbitrarily deposing the emperor, killing three Zhao kings, wiping out the kingdoms of Liang, Zhao, and Yan, enfeoffing these areas to the Lǔ family, and dividing the Qi Kingdom into four parts. She ignored the loyal ministers' advice. Now that Empress Lǔ has died, the young emperor is incapable of ruling and relies entirely on his ministers and the other kings. The Lǔ family has arbitrarily promoted officials, gathered troops, and intimidated everyone with displays of power, holding court officials hostage and using force to control the realm, threatening the very foundations of the Han. I'm attacking to remove the usurpers."
After the Han Dynasty heard about this, Prime Minister Lǔ Chǎn et al. sent General Yingyin Hou Guanying to lead the troops against the Qi Kingdom. Upon reaching Xīngyáng, Guānyīng strategized, saying, "The Lǔ family raised an army in Guanzhong, wanting to endanger the rule of the Liu family and make themselves emperor. If we defeat the Qi Kingdom now and report back, wouldn't that just empower the Lǔs?" So he left the army stationed in Yingyang, sent people to inform the King of Qi and the other kings to unite with them, waiting for the Lǔs to implode before striking. When the King of Qi heard this news, he stationed his troops on the western border, waiting for the agreed-upon signal.
Lu Lu and Lu Chan wanted to rebel, but Marquis Zhuxu Hou Zhang and Grand Commandant Bo, along with the Prime Minister and others, executed them together. Zhang was the first to kill Lu Chan, and then Grand Commandant Bo and the others killed all the Lǔ family members. The King of Langya hurried to Cháng'ān.
The ministers debated making King Qi emperor, but everyone said, "The Lü family of King Qi's mother is fierce and brutal, like a tiger in tiger's clothing. Thanks to the Lü family, the whole country almost went to pot. Now they want to proclaim King Qi as emperor; wouldn't that just put the Lü family back in power? The mother’s family of King Dai, the Bo family, are all honorable elders, and King Dai is the son of the founder, still alive and the oldest. Proclaiming him as emperor is in line with the order of succession and will keep the court happy." So the ministers planned to welcome King Dai and sent Marquis Zhu Xuhou Zhang to inform King Qi to withdraw his troops.
Guan Ying heard in Xingyang that Wei Bo had egged King Qi on to rebel. After the Lü family was executed, the army of Qi was also disbanded. Guan Ying sent someone to summon Wei Bo and gave him the third degree. Wei Bo said, "My house is on fire! I don't have time to be polite!" After speaking, he stepped back, his legs were shaking so bad he could barely speak. General Guan Ying carefully examined him and said with a smile, "They say Wei Bo's brave, but he's just a nobody. What's he gonna do?" So he let Wei Bo go. Wei Bo's father was skilled at playing the zither and had performed in front of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. When Wei Bo was young, he wanted to meet Prime Minister Cao Can, but his family was poor and he had no way to approach Cao Can. So every morning, he'd sweep the courtyard outside the Prime Minister's place. The manservant found it strange and observed him, then called him over. Wei Bo said, "I want to see the Prime Minister, but I have no connections, so I help you clean the courtyard in the hope of seeing him." So the manservant took Wei Bo to see Cao Can, who kept him by his side as a manservant. Later, because Wei Bo was efficient, Cao Can recommended him to King Dao Hui. King Dao Hui summoned him and appointed him as an official. Under King Dao Hui, he started appointing high-ranking officials.
After the death of King Hui, King Ai became king, and Wei Bo was more powerful than Qi's prime minister. After the withdrawal of the Qi King's army, the King of Dai became king, who was Emperor Xiao Wen of Han. In the first year of Emperor Xiao Wen's reign, the three counties of Chengyang, Langye, and Jinan—taken from Qi under Empress Dowager Gao—were given back to Qi, and the King of Langye got moved to Yan. At the same time, the fiefdoms of Zhu Xuhou and Dong Mouhou were increased by two thousand households each, and they were rewarded with one thousand catties of gold. That year, King Ai of Qi died, and his son, King Wen, became king. King Wen died after fourteen years on the throne, leaving no heir, so the kingdom of Qi was done for.
In the second year of Emperor Xiao Wen's reign, King Jing of Chengyang, along with Zhu Xuhou and Dong Mouhou, became kings, and he died two years later. His son, King Gong, took over and was moved to Huainan in the twelfth year of Emperor Xiao Wen's reign. Five years later, he returned to Chengyang. He ruled for 33 years before dying. His son, King Qing, then reigned for 26 years before he died. King Qing's son, King Jing, took over but only ruled for nine years before he died. His son, King Wu, succeeded him and passed on after 11 years. King Wu's son, King Shun, then ruled for 46 years before he died. His son, King Hui, took over and died after eight years. King Hui's son, King Jing, succeeded him but passed away after 24 years. His son, King Yun, became king and died after one year with no sons, and that was the end of Chengyang. Then Emperor Cheng made Yun's brother, Li, the new King of Chengyang, and during the reign of Wang Mang, the Chengyang Kingdom was ultimately destroyed.
King Xingju of Jibei initially helped in the enthronement of Emperor Wen at the Dai Mansion and, along with the ministers, supported Emperor Wen. He said, "I did not contribute much to the extermination of the Lu clan. Please allow me to enter the palace with the Grand Tutor Teng." So he got the kid emperor out and brought Emperor Wen in.
When the Lü clan was exterminated, Marquis Zhang of Zhuxu made the greatest contribution. The ministers all promised to grant the land of Zhao to Marquis Zhang of Zhuxu and the land of Liang to Marquis Xingju of Dongmou. However, after Emperor Wen ascended the throne, he heard that Marquis Zhang and Marquis Xingju had initially wanted to support the King of Qi, so he downgraded their rewards. Two years later, Emperor Wen divided the vassal states among his sons, granting the two counties of Qi to Zhang and Xingju as kings. Both Zhang and Xingju felt that they had lost their honors due to negligence and were very dissatisfied. More than a year later, Zhang died. Coincidentally, the Xiongnu launched a major invasion of the border. The Han Dynasty sent out many armies to fight, and Prime Minister Guan Ying led the army to resist. Emperor Wen personally went to Taiyuan to oversee the battle.
Seeing the emperor himself heading to battle against the Xiongnu, Xingju decided to rebel. When Emperor Wen heard about it, he immediately stopped the military action against the Xiongnu, returned to Chang'an, and sent General Chai from the Marquis of Jipu to suppress the rebellion. As a result, the King of Jibei was defeated and took his own life, and his kingdom was abolished.
Emperor Wen felt sorry for the King of Jibei, who'd rebelled and then killed himself. The following year, he ennobled the seven sons of King Dao Hui and some meritorious generals as marquises to show his consolation. By the fifteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, King Wen of Qi died without a son. At that time, the son of King Dao Hui, the Prince of Chengyang, was still alive. Emperor Wen felt sorry for the lack of successors of King Dao Hui and divided Qi into six small states, elevating the six sons of King Dao Hui, who had been ennobled as marquises, to kings:
- Yangxu Marquis Lu You became King Xiaowen of Qi
- An Du Marquis Zhiyou became King Zhi of Jibei
- Wucheng Marquis Xian became King Xian of Zichuan
- Baishi Marquis Quyu became King Xiongqu of Jiaodong
- Pingchang Marquis Yang became King Yang of Jiaoxi
- E Marquis Pei became King Piguang of Jinan
In the sixteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, these six kings were all officially crowned.
The year is 144 BC. The Han Empire is rocked by rebellion. During the third year of Emperor Jing of Han, seven states in Wu and Chu rebelled. The rebel lords of Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Yichuan, and Jinan all responded by sending troops to support Wu and Chu. These rebel lords tried to persuade the Qi kingdom to join the uprising, but King Xiaowang of Qi hesitated and kept the city gates closed, completely ignoring them. As a result, the combined rebel forces surrounded the Qi kingdom on all sides. King Qi quickly sent a special envoy to urgently inform the emperor.
The emperor then instructed this envoy to tell King Qi to hold on, as the Han army had already defeated Wu and Chu! When the envoy arrived in Qi, he saw that the city of Linzi was completely boxed in by the rebel armies, with no way to enter! The leaders of these rebel lords threatened the envoy, saying, "If you dare to go back and tell King Qi that the Han army has defeated Wu and Chu, and if Qi surrenders to us, we will massacre the city!" The envoy had no choice but to go along with it. When he arrived at the city gates and saw King Qi from afar, he shouted, "A million-strong Han army, led by Grand Commandant Zhou Yafu, has smashed Wu and Chu! They're on their way to save you! Hold fast, Your Majesty! Don't surrender!" Upon hearing this, the rebel leaders nearly had the envoy's hide!
The state of Qi was initially in a desperate situation, secretly plotting with several vassal states to surrender. However, when the envoy from the Han Dynasty returned, the ministers of Qi advised the king not to surrender. Then, the generals Luan Bu and Pingyang Hou of the Han army arrived in Qi and defeated the armies of the vassal kings, rescuing Qi. Later, Emperor Jing of Han learned about Qi's collusion with the vassal states and planned to send troops to attack Qi. King Xiao of Qi was so scared that he topped himself by drinking poison. The Kings of Jiaodong, Jiaoxi, Jinnan, and Zichuan were all executed, and their kingdoms were abolished; only the King of Jibei was spared.
After King Xiao of Qi killed himself, Emperor Jing of Han learned of the situation and believed that King Xiao was forced to rebel out of helplessness, so he didn't blame him. Emperor Jing ordered the son of King Xiao, Shou, to be crowned as king, known as King Yi of Qi. After ruling for twenty-three years, King Yi passed away, and his son, King Li Chang, succeeded him. King Yi's mother was Dowager Ji. Dowager Ji arranged for her sister to marry King Li Chang as the queen, but King Li Chang didn't like her. Dowager Ji wanted to elevate her family's status, so she had her eldest daughter, Princess Ji, enter the palace to manage the harem, keeping others away from King Li Chang in hopes that he would favor her sister. But King Li Chang ended up sleeping with his sister, Princess Ji.
There was a eunuch named Xu Jia who served in front of the Empress Dowager of the Han Dynasty. The Empress Dowager had a favorite daughter, Xiu Chengjun, who wasn't a Liu, but the Empress Dowager adored her. Xiu Chengjun had a daughter, and the Empress Dowager wanted to marry her off to one of the vassal kings of Qi. Xu Jia volunteered to go to Qi, promising to make sure the king would request to marry the princess. The Empress Dowager was thrilled and sent Xu Jia off to Qi.
There was a minister named Zhu Fu Yan at the time, who knew that Xu Jia went to the State of Qi for this marriage. So he took the opportunity to say to Xu Jia, "If it really happens, help me tell the King of Qi that my daughter wants to enter the palace as a royal consort." When Xu Jia arrived in the State of Qi, he spread it around. The Qi Queen Mother blew a gasket when she heard that, saying, "Our King of Qi already has a queen, and the royal family is large and prosperous. Why do we need more people? Xu Jia? He was just a poor Qi peasant who only got into the Han palace by becoming a eunuch. He has no accomplishments whatsoever! And he dares to interfere in our royal family's affairs?! What about that Zhu Fu Yan? How dare he try to send his daughter into the palace as a royal consort!" Xu Jia was dumbfounded and slunk back to the Queen Mother to report, saying, "The King of Qi is willing to marry the princess, but there are risks involved; it might end up like the King of Yan." King Yan got himself killed messing around with his sons and brothers. Xu Jia used the story of King Yan to scare the Queen Mother. Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother directly said, "Forget about this marriage!" This incident later reached the ears of the Emperor. As a result, Zhu Fu Yan and the State of Qi were now sworn enemies.
Zhu Fu Yan was riding high at the time and said to the emperor, "The population of Linzi City in the Qi State is one hundred thousand, raking in over a thousand gold a year in market taxes. The population is numerous, and the wealth exceeds that of Chang'an. Unless you were the emperor's brother or a favorite son, you didn't stand a chance of becoming King of Qi. Now, the relationship between the Qi King and the royal family is becoming more and more distant." Then he casually dropped the fact that there had been a rebellion in the Qi State during the time of Empress Lu, as well as how King Xiaowen of Qi almost participated in the rebellion during the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu. Now, he heard that the Qi King was sleeping with his own sister! So Emperor Wu appointed Zhu Fu Yan as the Prime Minister of Qi and sent him to investigate the matter. Zhu Fu Yan immediately launched a probe into the king's harem and found evidence that some eunuchs were helping the Qi King and his sister, Princess Weng, have an affair; all fingers pointed at the king. Terrified of arrest and execution, the young king poisoned himself.
At this point, Prince Zhao feared Zhu Fu Yan would go after other kingdoms, weakening the royal family's power. So he accused Zhu Fu Yan of bribery and a whole host of other crimes. The emperor then had Zhu Fu Yan arrested. Gongsun Hong said, "The king's death left a power vacuum and a lot of angry people. If we don't execute Zhu Fu Yan, the unrest will continue." So Zhu Fu Yan was executed. Five years later, King Li abolished the kingdom of Qi.
Prince Liu Zhi of Jibei was involved in the Wu-Chu Seven States Rebellion. However, he refused to send troops, so he was not killed; instead, he was relocated to Zichuan and made king there. Under Emperor Wu, the Kingdom of Qi was abolished. After King Daohui's death, only Chengyang and Zichuan remained. Zichuan bordered the former Kingdom of Qi. Emperor Wu was building King Daohui's mausoleum in the former Qi territory. He took land east of Linzi and allocated it to Zichuan, including the surrounding towns, which remain sites of sacrificial rites.
After being the king for thirty-five years, Liu Zhidang, who died, was known as King Yi of Zichuan. His son, Prince Jing Liu Jian, inherited the throne and ruled for twenty years before his death. Prince Jing's son, Prince Qing Liu Yi, inherited the throne and ruled for thirty-five years before his death. Prince Qing's son, Prince Si Liu Zhonggu, inherited the throne. During the Wufeng era, the governor of Qingzhou reported that Liu Zhonggu let his male favorites, eight sons, and other palace maids engage in debauchery. Sometimes Liu Zhonggu participated; other times, he let them hide during the day and engage in secret activities like beasts, watching personally. When children were born, Liu Zhonggu would say, "Get rid of the brats." This matter was reported to the prime minister and the censor, who wrote to the emperor, "Liu Zhonggu, a prince whose eight sons have been granted titles and stipends of 600 shi to ensure the continuation of his lineage, has engaged in this appalling behavior, bringing disgrace to the throne and violating all decency. We request his arrest." The emperor decreed, "He was stripped of four counties." Twenty-eight years later, Liu Zhonggu died. His son, Prince Kao Liu Shang, inherited the throne and ruled for five years before his death. Prince Kao's son, Prince Xiao Liu Heng, inherited the throne and ruled for thirty-one years before his death. Prince Xiao's son, Prince Huai Liu Jiao, inherited the throne and ruled for six years before his death. Prince Huai's son, Liu Yong, inherited the throne, and during the time of Wang Mang's usurpation, the state of Zichuan was destroyed.
During the reign of King Hui of Qi, Qi was the largest kingdom among the vassal states. The world had just been pacified, and the Han Dynasty had few imperial heirs. Having angered the state of Qin, it found itself isolated and without support. Therefore, the Han Dynasty widely enfeoffed its own relatives as vassal kings to consolidate its rule. At that time, these kingdoms could appoint and dismiss officials below the rank of Grand Master of Ceremonies, much like the central government of the Han, which only had the position of Prime Minister. After the suppression of the rebellion by the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, the Han Dynasty gradually weakened the power of the vassal states, installing numerous officials to monitor and control them. Eventually, the kingdoms could only enjoy their income from taxes and the land, and the less wealthy princes relied on ox carts for travel.
