应高 / Ying Gao (Western Han)

Overview

应高 / Ying Gao appears in the current evidence as 吴王刘濞’s envoy to 胶西王刘昂 before the Rebellion of the Seven States. His significance lies in coalition construction: he converts separate royal offenses and punishments into a shared threat, then joins fear, slogan, operations, and reward in one recruitment pitch.

Current Profile

Hanji 231 part 2 says Liu Bi selects Liu Ang as a plausible ally and sends Ying Gao to Jiaoxi. Ying Gao attributes削藩 to Jingdi’s reliance on Chao Cuo, argues that strong kingdoms will be targeted in turn, recalls punishments already imposed on Liu Bi and Liu Ang, and treats royal fear as a collective survival problem.

He then moves from diagnosis to offer. “诛晁错” supplies public justification, while the proposed advance toward Hangu Pass, Xingyang, and Ao Granary, precautions against the imperial army, relay organization, and promised division of territory disclose a broader contest for power. Liu Ang agrees, and Ying Gao returns to report the exchange in full; Liu Bi’s later personal confirmation indicates that successful persuasion did not yet guarantee a stable alliance.

Key Characteristics

• Wu official entrusted with recruiting a major royal ally.
• Persuader who turns separate legal and territorial pressures into a common-threat narrative.
• Uses a memorable scarcity analogy to make future reduction feel sequential and inevitable.
• Couples the “诛晁错” slogan with concrete military objectives and logistical preparation.
• Offers postwar territorial division as a material incentive for Liu Ang.
• Successfully obtains agreement but cannot by himself remove Liu Bi’s concern about commitment reliability.

Evidence

Shared-threat framing:

• Hanji 231 part 2 gives Ying Gao’s argument that punishment and reduction will progress from weaker kingdoms toward stronger ones.

Operational and distributive offer:

• Hanji 231 part 2 attributes the slogan, route, strategic objectives, relay plan, and territorial promise to his pitch.

Outcome and limit:

• Hanji 231 part 2 says Liu Ang agrees and Ying Gao reports back, while Liu Bi still makes a personal confirmation visit.

Qualifications

This page rests on one compact popular-history source. Ying Gao’s office, name form, speeches, analogy, route, logistical details, territorial promise, report, and influence on Liu Ang require primary-source comparison. The evidence shows a successful recruitment episode, not Ying Gao’s wider biography or proof that every later coalition member accepted the same terms.

What Changed

• Established Ying Gao as the intermediary who turns royal fear into an actionable coalition offer.
• Distinguished the anti-Chao slogan from the broader military and distributive content of his mission.
• Preserved Liu Bi’s later confirmation visit as evidence that persuasion and durable commitment are different problems.

Relationships

• 吴王刘濞 - principal who sends Ying Gao and later checks the result personally.
• 胶西王刘昂 - target who accepts Ying Gao’s argument and offer.
• 晁错 - named public target used to legitimize the proposed rising.
• 七国之乱 - coalition whose formation Ying Gao helps initiate.