To abandon principles for profit; to forget righteousness at the sight of gain; to be mercenary.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
After the death of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Empress Lü usurped power, enfeoffing her relatives with titles and ranks, purging opponents, and executing meritorious officials. Not long after, Empress Lü also died. In her last will, she appointed her nephew Lü Chan as prime minister and Lü Lu to command the imperial guards of the capital.
The Lü family's ascendancy angered a group of meritorious officials. Grand Commandant Zhou Bo and Prime Minister Chen Ping secretly discussed countermeasures. They cleverly persuaded Li Ji, a key figure in the Lü faction, to convince Lü Lu to surrender military authority to Zhou Bo.
At this time, Grand General Guan Ying, in alliance with King Liu Xiang of Qi and other forces loyal to the Liu family, marched towards the capital to eliminate the Lü clan. Li Ji and Lü Lu were old acquaintances. Lü Lu, swayed by Li Ji's words, eventually handed the Northern Army over to Zhou Bo's command. Cao Zhu, son of the former prime minister Cao Shen, then cooperated with Marquis Zhuxu Liu Zhang to take control of the Southern Army and killed Lü Chan in Weiyang Palace.
Other high-ranking officials of the Lü family were also apprehended by Zhou Bo's men and executed. After the Lü clan's power was completely eradicated, Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, and other ministers enthroned Prince Liu Heng of Dai as emperor, who became Emperor Wen of Han.
In this struggle to eliminate the Lü clan, Li Ji also played a part, thus inheriting his father's title as Marquis of Quzhou. However, public opinion criticized him for betraying a friend. The 'Book of Han' recorded: 'Those who betray friends are said to see profit and forget righteousness.' The author Ban Gu believed that Li Ji did not belong to the category of 'seeing profit and forgetting righteousness'.