Chao Cuo's tragic death, of course, was because he offended all the factions, and Liu Qi also had an unshirkable responsibility.

Liu Qi conceived very well, throwing out the mistakes, it is best to calm the anger of the princes and let them retreat; At worst, it can also block the excuse of the princes and kings to "clear the king's side" and expose the essence of their rebellion.

He ignored one point, when he was still the prince, Chao Cuo came to him, won his love, from a small housekeeper to the prince's family order, from the internal history to the imperial history doctor, intersected for twenty years, said to abandon it, and ended in such a bloody way.

Although the Son of Heaven is ruthless, and Liu Qi's performance, people are generally considered mean and unkind.

A few days later, Captain Deng Gong returned from the front line to report on the military situation.

Liu Qi asked him: "You came back from the front line, and now that Chao Cuo is dead, has Wu Chu retired from the army?" ”

Deng Gong pointed out the emperor's mistake and replied: "King Wu's rebellion has been prepared for decades, and his dissatisfaction with the reduction of his fief and his request to kill Chao Cuo is just an excuse. Now that I have killed Chao Cuo, I am afraid that people in the world will keep their mouths shut and will never dare to speak again. ”

Liu Qi hadn't woken up yet, and asked, "Why?" ”

"Chao Cuo was worried that the princely kingdoms would become stronger and stronger, and the imperial court would not be able to control them, so he suggested cutting their fiefs in order to strengthen the position of the central government." Deng Gong affirmed that Chao Cuo's original intention was good and beneficial to the country, but there was a problem in practice, and he continued: "The plan had just begun to be implemented, but he was beheaded and his whole family was killed. In doing so, he blocked the mouths of loyal ministers internally, but avenged the princes and kings externally. ”

The impact is extremely bad! There are examples of mistakes, who will dare to share worries for the emperor in the future, do difficult things, and deal with tricky things.

Liu Qiru woke up from a dream, he sighed and said to Deng Gong: "You are right, I also regret it." ”

But it's too late to regret it.

Deng Gong's words reminded Liu Qi in time and was appreciated by Liu Qi. Liu Qi promoted Deng Gong to lieutenant of Chengyang.

After sacrificing Chao Cuo and restoring the fiefdom, the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu still refused to withdraw their troops, and could only be solved by force.

In mid-February, the imperial court issued an edict clarifying the nature of the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, ordering severe punishment of officials who participated in the rebellion, and calling on soldiers to fight bravely against the enemy.

At the same time, the rebel forces of the three routes did not form a joint force and attacked Guanzhong together.

Guangling raised troops, and Liu Bi, the king of Wu, went into battle, and issued a mobilization order: "I am sixty-two years old this year, and I personally went to the battlefield, and my youngest son was only fourteen years old and also joined the army." Men over the age of 14 and under the age of 62 must come to serve as soldiers. ”

Liu Bi gathered more than 200,000 soldiers, and invited local armed forces to Minyue and Dongyue, crossed the Huai River to the north, united with the soldiers and horses of Liu Wu, the king of Chu, and attacked Liang.

The general Tian Lubo suggested to Liu Bi: "If the whole army attacks to the west, and there are no surprise troops, it will be difficult to win." It is best to divide the troops into two routes, and the minister is willing to take 50,000 horses and horses, along the Yangtze River and Huai River, go upstream, capture Huainan, enter Wuguan, and join the king in Guanzhong. ”

Wuguan is located in Hanzhong County, bordering Nanyang County, surrounded by mountains and rivers, the terrain is dangerous, it is the throat of Qin and Chu, and one of the four passes in Guanzhong. The four passes in Guanzhong are Hangu Pass in the east, Wuguan in the south, Dasan Pass in the west and Xiao Pass in the north. The areas in the four passes are collectively referred to as Guanzhong.

This strategy was resolutely opposed by the crown prince of Wu, who said to his father Liu Bi: "We are plotting a rebellion this time, not volunteers. What if we divide the military power, and others follow our example and rebel against us? Besides, dividing the troops into two ways will weaken the troops, which is harmful and unhelpful. ”

Liu Bi did not take Tian Lubo's suggestion. It can be said that if Liu Bi followed Tian Lubo's advice, the outcome of the war was very likely to be rewritten.

Sun Tzu once said, "Soldiers, with the right fit, with the odd victory." ”

Tian Lubo considered this marching route, and Zhou Yafu, the captain who led the army to quell the rebellion, also thought of it.