卷五十一·荆燕世家第二十一
卷五十一·荆燕世家第二十一
司马迁
荆王刘贾者，诸刘，不知其何属初起时。汉王元年，还定三秦，刘贾为将军，定塞地，从东击项籍。
汉四年，汉王之败成皋，北渡河，得张耳、韩信军，军脩武，深沟高垒，使刘贾将二万人，骑数百，渡白马津入楚地，烧其积聚，以破其业，无以给项王军食。已而楚兵击刘贾，贾辄壁不肯与战，而与彭越相保。
汉五年，汉王追项籍至固陵，使刘贾南渡淮围寿春。还至，使人间招楚大司马周殷。周殷反楚，佐刘贾举九江，迎武王黥布兵，皆会垓下，共击项籍。汉王因使刘贾将九江兵，与太尉卢绾西南击临江王共尉。共尉已死，以临江为南郡。
汉六年春，会诸侯于陈，废楚王信，囚之，分其地为二国。当是时也，高祖子幼，昆弟少，又不贤，欲王同姓以镇天下，乃诏曰：“将军刘贾有功，及择子弟可以为王者。”群臣皆曰：“立刘贾为荆王，王淮东五十二城；高祖弟交为楚王，王淮西三十六城。”因立子肥为齐王。始王昆弟刘氏也。
高祖十一年秋，淮南王黥布反，东击荆。荆王贾与战，不胜，走富陵，为布军所杀。高祖自击破布。十二年，立沛侯刘濞为吴王，王故荆地。
燕王刘泽者，诸刘远属也。高帝三年，泽为郎中。高帝十一年，泽以将军击陈狶，得王黄，为营陵侯。
高后时，齐人田生游乏资，以画干营陵侯泽。泽大说之，用金二百斤为田生寿。田生已得金，即归齐。二年，泽使人谓田生曰：“弗与矣。”田生如长安，不见泽，而假大宅，令其子求事吕后所幸大谒者张子卿。居数月，田生子请张卿临，亲脩具。张卿许往。田生盛帷帐共具，譬如列侯。张卿惊。酒酣，乃屏人说张卿曰：“臣观诸侯王邸弟百余，皆高祖一切功臣。今吕氏雅故本推毂高帝就天下，功至大，又亲戚太后之重。太后春秋长，诸吕弱，太后欲立吕产为王，王代。太后又重发之，恐大臣不听。今卿最幸，大臣所敬，何不风大臣以闻太后，太后必喜。诸吕已王，万户侯亦卿之有。太后心欲之，而卿为内臣，不急发，恐祸及身矣。”张卿大然之，乃风大臣语太后。太后朝，因问大臣。大臣请立吕产为吕王。太后赐张卿千斤金，张卿以其半与田生。田生弗受，因说之曰：“吕产王也，诸大臣未大服。今营陵侯泽，诸刘，为大将军，独此尚觖望。今卿言太后，列十余县王之，彼得王，喜去，诸吕王益固矣。”张卿入言，太后然之。乃以营陵侯刘泽为琅邪王。琅邪王乃与田生之国。田生劝泽急行，毋留。出关，太后果使人追止之，已出，即还。
及太后崩，琅邪王泽乃曰：“帝少，诸吕用事，刘氏孤弱。”乃引兵与齐王合谋西，欲诛诸吕。至梁，闻汉遣灌将军屯荥阳，泽还兵备西界，遂跳驱至长安。代王亦从代至。诸将相与琅邪王共立代王为天子。天子乃徙泽为燕王，乃复以琅邪予齐，复故地。
泽王燕二年，薨，谥为敬王。传子嘉，为康王。
至孙定国，与父康王姬奸，生子男一人。夺弟妻为姬。与子女三人奸。定国有所欲诛杀臣肥如令郢人，郢人等告定国，定国使谒者以他法劾捕格杀郢人以灭口。至元朔元年，郢人昆弟复上书具言定国阴事，以此发觉。诏下公卿，皆议曰：“定国禽兽行，乱人伦，逆天，当诛。”上许之。定国自杀，国除为郡。
太史公曰：荆王王也，由汉初定，天下未集，故刘贾虽属疏，然以策为王，填江淮之间。刘泽之王，权激吕氏，然刘泽卒南面称孤者三世。事发相重，岂不为伟乎！
Volume 51 · The Hereditary House of Jing and Yan, Twenty-first
司马迁
Liu Jia, King of Jing, was one of the several Liu, and it is not known to which branch he belonged at the time of the first rising. In the King of Han's first year, when he came back and settled the Three Qin, Liu Jia was a general and settled the land of Sai, and followed him eastward to strike at Xiang Ji.
In Han's fourth year, when the King of Han was defeated at Chenggao, he crossed the He northward and got the armies of Zhang Er and Han Xin, and encamped at Xiuwu with deep ditches and high ramparts; and he sent Liu Jia with twenty thousand men and several hundred horse to cross the Baima Ford into the land of Chu and burn their stores, so as to break their substance and leave them nothing to supply King Xiang's army with food. Afterwards the Chu troops struck at Liu Jia, and Jia always kept to his walls and would not fight them, but held out together with Peng Yue.
In Han's fifth year, when the King of Han pursued Xiang Ji as far as Guling, he sent Liu Jia south across the Huai to besiege Shouchun. Coming back, he sent men secretly to call over the Chu Grand Marshal Zhou Yin. Zhou Yin turned against Chu and helped Liu Jia to take Jiujiang, and they welcomed the troops of Qing Bu, King Wu, and all met at Gaixia and together struck at Xiang Ji. The King of Han accordingly sent Liu Jia with the Jiujiang troops, together with the Grand Commandant Lu Wan, to strike southwestward at Gong Wei, King of Linjiang. Gong Wei being dead, Linjiang was made the commandery of Nan.
In the spring of Han's sixth year he assembled the feudal lords at Chen, deposed Xin, King of Chu, and imprisoned him, and divided his land into two states. At this time Gaozu's sons were young and his brothers few, and moreover not worthy, and he wished to make those of the same surname kings so as to hold the empire down; and so he issued an edict: "The general Liu Jia has merit; let there be chosen also among the sons and younger brothers those who may be made kings." The body of ministers all said: "Let Liu Jia be set up as King of Jing, king over the fifty-two cities east of the Huai; and let Gaozu's younger brother Jiao be King of Chu, king over the thirty-six cities west of the Huai." And accordingly he set up his son Fei as King of Qi. This was the beginning of making the brothers of the Liu clan kings.
In the autumn of Gaozu's eleventh year Qing Bu, King of Huainan, rebelled and struck eastward at Jing. The King of Jing, Jia, fought with him and did not prevail, and ran to Fuling and was killed by Bu's troops. Gaozu himself struck at Bu and broke him. In the twelfth year he set up Liu Pi, Marquis of Pei, as King of Wu, king over the former land of Jing.
Liu Ze, King of Yan, was of a distant branch of the several Liu. In the Exalted Emperor's third year Ze was a Gentleman of the Interior. In the Exalted Emperor's eleventh year Ze as a general struck at Chen Xi and got Wang Huang, and became Marquis of Yingling.
In the Empress Dowager Gao's time, Tian Sheng, a man of Qi, being on his travels and short of funds, sought out Ze, Marquis of Yingling, with a scheme. Ze was greatly pleased with him and used two hundred catties of gold to drink Tian Sheng's health. Tian Sheng, having got the gold, went straight home to Qi. In the second year Ze sent a man to say to Tian Sheng: "There will be no more from me." Tian Sheng went to Chang'an, and did not see Ze, but rented a great mansion and had his son seek service with Zhang Ziqing, the Grand Usher whom the Empress Lü favoured. Some months later Tian Sheng's son invited Master Zhang to come, and prepared the provision himself. Master Zhang agreed to go. Tian Sheng set out curtains and hangings and the whole provision on the scale of a ranking marquis. Master Zhang was astonished. When the drinking was at its height, he screened off the others and said to Master Zhang: "Your servant has looked at the mansions of the feudal kings, a hundred and more, and all of them are of Gaozu's meritorious ministers of one time or another. Now the Lü clan of old were the ones who pushed the wheel-hub for the Exalted Emperor to get the empire; their merit is of the greatest, and they have besides the weight of being the Empress Dowager's kin. The Empress Dowager's years are long and the several Lü are weak, and the Empress Dowager wishes to set up Lü Chan as king, king in Dai. And the Empress Dowager thinks it too weighty a thing to broach, fearing the great ministers will not agree. Now you are the most favoured and are respected by the great ministers; why do you not hint to the great ministers to bring it to the Empress Dowager's hearing? The Empress Dowager will surely be glad. The several Lü being made kings, a marquisate of ten thousand households will be yours too. The Empress Dowager's heart desires it, and you are an inner subject; if you do not broach it quickly, I fear the disaster will reach your person." Master Zhang thought him quite right, and so hinted to the great ministers to speak to the Empress Dowager. At the Empress Dowager's court she accordingly asked the great ministers, and the great ministers asked that Lü Chan be set up as King of Lü. The Empress Dowager bestowed a thousand catties of gold on Master Zhang, and Master Zhang gave half of it to Tian Sheng. Tian Sheng would not take it, and accordingly urged him: "Lü Chan is king, and the several great ministers are not yet greatly submissive. Now Ze, Marquis of Yingling, one of the several Liu, is Grand General, and he alone still harbours discontent. If you now speak to the Empress Dowager and make him king over ten and more counties, then when he gets his kingship he will go away glad, and the kingship of the several Lü will be the firmer." Master Zhang went in and spoke, and the Empress Dowager thought him right. So she made Liu Ze, Marquis of Yingling, King of Langye. The King of Langye then went to his state with Tian Sheng. Tian Sheng urged Ze to go quickly and not linger. Once he was out of the Pass, the Empress Dowager did indeed send men after him to stop him; he was already out, and they turned back.
And when the Empress Dowager died, Ze, King of Langye, said: "The Emperor is young and the several Lü manage affairs, and the Liu clan is left weak and alone." So he led troops and plotted with the King of Qi to go west, meaning to put the several Lü to death. Reaching Liang, he heard that Han had sent General Guan to encamp at Xingyang, and Ze turned his troops back to provide for his western border, and then galloped straight to Chang'an. The King of Dai too came from Dai. The several generals and chancellors together with the King of Langye set up the King of Dai as Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven then moved Ze to be King of Yan, and gave Langye back to Qi, restoring its old lands.
Ze had been king in Yan two years when he died, with the posthumous title King Jing. It passed to his son Jia, who was King Kang.
Down to his grandson Dingguo, he had relations with a concubine of his father King Kang and begot one son by her. He took his younger brother's wife from him for a concubine, and had relations with three of his own daughters. Dingguo wished to put to death one of his subjects, Yingren, magistrate of Feiru; Yingren and others denounced Dingguo, and Dingguo had an Usher impeach and arrest Yingren on some other charge and beat him to death, so as to stop his mouth. Coming to the first year of Yuanshuo, Yingren's brothers again sent up a letter setting out in full Dingguo's hidden doings, and by this it came to light. The matter was sent down to the ministers and high officers, and all deliberated and said: "Dingguo's conduct is that of a beast; he has thrown the bonds of men into disorder and gone against Heaven; he ought to be put to death." His Majesty allowed it. Dingguo killed himself, and the state was abolished and made a commandery.
The Lord Grand Astrologer says: The King of Jing's kingship came about because the Han was but newly settled and the empire not yet gathered in; therefore Liu Jia, though of a distant branch, was by policy made king, to hold down the country between the Jiang and the Huai. Liu Ze's kingship was a matter of power working on the Lü clan; and yet Liu Ze in the end faced south and called himself the solitary one for three generations. That affairs should come out with such weight upon each other — is it not remarkable!