公孙遂 / Gongsun Sui (Western Han)

Overview

公孙遂 / Gongsun Sui appears as the former Jinan administrator whom 汉武帝 sends to resolve the stalled campaign against 卫氏朝鲜, with authority to act according to circumstances.

Current Profile

After hearing 荀彘 accuse 杨仆 of missing coordinated attack dates and creating a dangerous separate channel with Joseon, Gongsun Sui accepts the accusation. He uses the imperial tally to summon Yang Pu into Xun Zhi’s camp, has him arrested, and combines the two armies. The campaign subsequently accelerates, but Han Wudi executes Gongsun Sui after receiving his report. His case therefore marks the difference between possessing broad discretion and having a specific consequential decision accepted by the sovereign.

Key Characteristics

• Former Jinan administrator sent as an imperial troubleshooter to a divided field command.
• Holder of broad situational authority rather than a narrowly specified arrest order.
• Decision-maker who accepts one commander’s account without a recorded adversarial review.
• User of the imperial tally to remove a serving general and merge armies.
• Official whose apparent operational success does not protect him from immediate imperial punishment.

Evidence

• Mission and authority: Hanji 366-2 says Han Wudi sends Gongsun Sui to correct the stalled campaign and allows situational action.
• Arrest and merger: Hanji 366-2 says he accepts Xun Zhi’s view, summons Yang Pu with the imperial tally, arrests him, and merges the forces.
• Punishment: Hanji 366-2 says the emperor kills Gongsun Sui after the report.

Qualifications

The source does not preserve a full investigation, defense, legal judgment, or explicit imperial explanation. The host’s claim that the execution redirects Yang Pu’s soldiers’ anger away from Han Wudi is an interpretation, not a recorded statement of motive. The page therefore does not treat Gongsun Sui as either an innocent scapegoat or a proven conspirator.

What Changed

• Established Gongsun Sui as a bounded case of emergency discretion followed by sovereign repudiation.

Relationships

• 汉武帝 - ruler who delegates situational authority and then orders Gongsun Sui’s death.
• 荀彘 - commander whose accusation Gongsun Sui accepts.
• 杨仆 - commander whom Gongsun Sui summons, arrests, and strips of field command.
• 临机边疆裁量 - concept for why broad authority does not eliminate review and accountability risk.
• 军令同步失灵 - operational failure Gongsun Sui is sent to resolve.