In the early Han Dynasty, why was the Changsha royal family not wiped out?

During the Chu-Han War at the end of Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang divided into eight different kings in order to capture soldiers and horses from all sides and help him fight for the world, namely Han Xin (King of Chu), Peng Yue (King of Liang), Yingbu (King of Huainan), Zhang Er (King of Zhao), Zang Cha (King of Yan), Lu Wan (King of Later Yan), Wu Rui (King of Changsha), and King Xin of Han. However, when Liu Bang succeeded in defeating Xiang Yu and established the Dahan Dynasty, he was afraid that his opponent, the heavily armed foreign king, would one day rebel and endanger the Liu family, so he began to plan to eradicate the power of the foreign princes in one fell swoop. Although Liu Bang's move has the reality of killing the rabbit but not the dog, it is actually a pragmatic move for the sake of stabilizing the country and peace in the world. Because the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system, emphasized centralization of power, implemented the system of prefectures and counties, and completely abolished the feudal system, it was the general trend. In order to show his determination, Liu Bang killed the white horse and made an alliance with his officials: "It's not Liu's, it's the king's, and everyone in the world must fight together." This is the famous "White Horse Alliance" in history.

Liu Bang was a pragmatist. He decided to act immediately and efficiently. Take Qi King Han Xin as an example. After the victory in the Battle of Gaixia, he was renamed King of Chu by Liu Bang. Although he was still a king, his military powers were largely stripped away. The following year, Han Xin was demoted to the title of Marquis of Huaiyin, and was later framed and killed by Empress Lu. Similarly, Wang Xi, Liang Pengyue, Huai Wang Nan Yingbu, Wang Zhao Zhang Ao (son of Zhang Er), Wang Yan Zangcha, Hou Wang Yan Luwan, and Han Wangxin were all killed or abandoned for various crimes. Only Wu Rui, the king of Changsha, did it from beginning to end and became the only surviving foreign king in the early Han Dynasty. Moreover, the hereditary king did not decline because of the Five Generations, until the Wu family had a unique heir. Without an heir, Changsha's intellectuals naturally disappeared from history. Eight different kings, seven of whom were killed or abandoned. Why did Liu Bang leave Changsha Wang Wu Rui alone? In this regard, the author made a brief analysis. If there are any errors or deficiencies, please leave a message to criticize and correct.

Wu Rui is a descendant of King Wu Fuchai. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Wu Rui was the first soldier in Daze Township, Guangwu, to respond to Chen Sheng's uprising, and he had high prestige among the people. Later, Wu Rui followed Xiang Yu against Qin and achieved outstanding achievements. During this period, Wu Rui met Yingbu, the leader of the Huainan rebels, and married his daughter. After Xiang Yu captured Xianyang, Wu Rui became the king of Hengshan, and his son-in-law Yingbu became the king of Jiujiang. Later, under the persuasion of his friend Zhang Liang, Wu Rui switched to Liu Bang and helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu and seize the world. Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor, and Wu Rui played an important role in the process of proclaiming himself king in Changsha. The reason why Wu Rui was able to avoid Liu Bang's killing of the foreign kings was mainly because he was the weakest and least threatening among the eight foreign kings. Wu Rui's Changsha is a good place now, but at that time, Changsha not only had a small land area and a small population, but was also very barren. More importantly, compared with other founding heroes who had heavy troops, Wu Rui's military strength was also the weakest. Therefore, Liu Bang is relatively reassured about Wu Rui. In addition to the above-mentioned objective reasons, what Wu Rui should be most grateful for is the one person who saved him - Zhang Liang, a member of the generation who made a living on this. It was Zhang Liang who introduced Wu Rui to Liu Bang. They have known each other for many years and have a deep relationship. Zhang Liang was proficient in the ways of Huang and Lao and did not value fame. Therefore, when the Han Dynasty was first established, he chose to retire and not be interested in politics. After Zhang Liang resigned and lived in seclusion, he lived in the home of his friend Wu Rui. He knew Liu Bang best, had a thorough understanding of the situation, and listened to Wu Rui one by one.

Wu Rui followed Zhang Liang’s advice and chose to keep a low profile to protect himself. He first took the initiative to give up most of his land to Liu Bang's children, and then assigned a large number of his elite soldiers to Wang Jing and Liu Jia (Liu Bang's cousin). Taking the initiative to reduce fiefdoms and hand over military power is to send a message to Liu Bang - I will return whatever you want to the Liu family, and I have no objections. Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, once commented on Wu Rui: "The king of Changsha bells, his order." Wu Rui's loyalty is not just an expedient when he is in danger, nor is it just Zhang Liang's strategy. He had already made his attitude clear when his son-in-law Yingbu rebelled. Wu Rui not only did not collude with Yingbu, but also tried to persuade Yingbu. Liu Bang saw everything Wu Rui did, and he saw Wu Rui's loyalty and sincerity. So when Wu Rui repeatedly asked to abolish his title and return to his hometown to retire, Liu Bang instead chose to let him go and let Wu Rui and his descendants continue to be the king of Changsha and enjoy happiness forever. As the saying goes, "Those who are close to Zhu are red and black." Wu Rui has a good friend Zhang Liang. Not only did he gain both fame and fortune, he also learned to be wise in protecting himself, and eventually became the only winner among the Eight Heavenly Kings of the early Han Dynasty.