In 220 AD, after Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi's confidant Hua Xin led a joint letter to hundreds of civil and military officials, persuading Emperor Xian of Han to give up the throne to Cao Pi, the king of Wei. In order to save his life, Emperor Xian of Han had to hand over the emperor's jade seal to Cao Pi. Cao Pi pretended to excuse himself at first, but accepted it after three humble concessions. In October of the same year, Cao Pi ascended the altar and was called the emperor by Chan, and the founding name was Dawei, known as Cao Wei in history, changed to the beginning of the Huang Dynasty, and set the capital Luoyang.
After Cao Pi usurped the throne, why didn't he kill Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, weren't you afraid that he would rebel?
It is worth noting that after Cao Pi usurped the throne, he did not kill Liu Xie. So, the question is, why didn't Cao Pi kill Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, wasn't he afraid that he would rebel?
1. Gratitude: Cao Pi's "kindness" to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty
In this regard, in the author's opinion, the reasons are mainly divided into the following four points. As far as the first point is concerned, it is Cao Pi who thinks that he does not owe Emperor Han Xian anything, and that Emperor Han Xian should be grateful to Cao Cao's father and son. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Han Xian was already a puppet emperor, and in the war, Emperor Han Xian was almost starved to death.
In the autumn of the first year of Jian'an (196), Liu Xie returned to Luoyang under the escort of Yang Feng and Han Xianam. At that time, Cao Cao, the pastor of Yanzhou, sent troops to meet Liu Xie under the advice of Xun Yu, and soon led troops to Luoyang under the secret call of Dong Cheng.
Cao Pi's father, Cao Cao, did take advantage of Emperor Han Xian by coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, but it was precisely because of Cao Cao's help that Emperor Han Xian continued to enjoy the treatment of the emperor in form. What's more critical is that for Cao Wei's country, it was not fought by Emperor Han Xian, but by Cao Cao's years of war. Therefore, for Cao Pi, he thought that Emperor Han Xian would not resent him, let alone rebel.
2. Avoid external troubles: Cao Pi skillfully dealt with the rise of Shu Han.
As far as the second point is concerned, in the historical stage of the Three Kingdoms, the Shu Han established by Liu Bei has always been under the banner of reviving the Han dynasty. Therefore, if Cao Pi really killed Emperor Xian of Han, it would obviously provide Liu Bei and even Sun Quan with an excuse to crusade against him, that is, it would be easy to set up more enemies for himself. For example, in 220 AD, because it was rumored that Liu Xie was killed at that time, Liu Bei took the throne as a relative of the Han family, known as "Shu Han" in history, and posthumously called Liu Xie "Emperor Xiaoshu".
Correspondingly, after Cao Pi became emperor, he renamed Liu Xie as the Duke of Shanyang, allowing him to worship Han Zhengshuo and clothes in his fiefdom, and build a Han temple to worship Han. Cao Pi also left a kind word for Liu Xie at the same time: "The good things in the world, I can enjoy them with you." For Cao Pi, giving preferential treatment to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, the king of the fallen country, helped to eliminate the resistance of the Eastern Han forces. Especially at the beginning of the establishment of Cao Wei, Cao Pi needed the stability of the internal and external environment even more.
3. Family marriage: Cao Pi and Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty were bound by love.
As far as the third point is concerned, for Cao Pi and Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, there is actually a relationship between in-laws. In the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213), Cao Cao married his three biological daughters Cao Xian, Cao Jie and Cao Hua to Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
In the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214), the three Cao Jie sisters were all named nobles. In the same year, Fu Shou, the empress of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, was leaked in her early years, and Fu Shou was killed. In the twentieth year of Jian'an (215), Cao Cao asked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to establish Cao Jie as the queen. After Cao Pi ascended the throne, Emperor Xian of Han married his two daughters to the former.
Because of the existence of the marriage relationship, Cao Pi and Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty had a very close relationship in form. On this basis, Cao Pi gave preferential treatment to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and the latter naturally wanted to be a Shanyang Duke in peace, which has become a tacit understanding between the two.
Fourth, the strength is weakened: Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty has no power to rebel.
Finally, as far as the fourth point is concerned, the reason why Cao Pi did not kill Emperor Xian of Han was because the latter had lost the strength to rebel. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty not only had the idea of rebelling against Cao Cao, but also had a large number of supporters. However, after years of operation by Cao Cao and Cao Pi, especially the purge of forces loyal to the Han family, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty lacked the necessary strength even if he wanted to start an incident.
For example, in the fifth year of Jian'an (200 years), Liu Xie was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's monopoly of power, and was unwilling to be a puppet, so he secretly issued an edict and ordered Dong Guiren's father, Dong Cheng, a chariot general, to try to kill Cao Cao. Dong Chengsui conspired with General Liu Bei, Captain Changshui, General Wu Zilan, Wang Zifu, etc., but the matter was revealed, Dong Cheng and others were all killed by Cao Cao, and the pregnant Dong Guiren was also hanged. For example, in 218 AD, Shaofu Geng Ji and the imperial physician Ling Yoshimoto, Si Zhi Wei Huang, Jin Yi and others launched a rebellion, but the result also ended in failure.
After being named the Duke of Shanyang by Cao Pi, Liu Xie's fief was near the capital of Cao Wei, and Cao Pi's surveillance was naturally indispensable to every move. As for what many people say about defecting to Shu Han, under the conditions at that time, it was obviously very unfeasible. Further, for Liu Xie, who has been a puppet emperor for many years, the loss of the throne is likely to be a real relief, that is, he has finally gotten rid of his fearful life.
Cao Pi did not kill Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and behind this historical decision is complex and profound political wisdom. First of all, Cao Pi showed extraordinary political skill in dealing with power schemes, and he fully took into account the personal feelings of Emperor Xian of Han and the external political environment in order to stabilize Cao Wei's rule.
The reason why Cao Pi chose not to kill Emperor Xian of Han was first out of gratitude. He understood the hardships of Emperor Xian of Han during Cao Cao's reign, and although he was used as a puppet emperor, he still enjoyed the treatment of an emperor in form. By helping Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao guaranteed the latter's formal dignity and allowed him to retain his place on the stage of history. Cao Pi knew that for a former emperor, saving his life was already the greatest grace, and killing him would only cause unnecessary resistance, so choosing to keep the life of Emperor Han Xian was also a return for the previous "kindness" of Cao Cao's father and son.
Second, Cao Pi skillfully avoided external troubles in his political decision-making. For the Shu Han established by Liu Bei, he has always acted under the banner of reviving the Han family. Cao Pi understood that if he killed Emperor Xian of Han, it would give Liu Bei and Sun Quan a reason to attack Cao Wei, and it would be possible to unite against Cao Wei's rule. In order to avoid the trouble of external enemies, Cao Pi chose to give preferential treatment to Emperor Xian of Han to ensure that he had a certain position within the Cao Wei system in order to maintain relative stability over his rule.
In addition, there was a family marriage relationship between Cao Pi and Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. Through Cao Cao's move to marry his daughter to Emperor Xian of Han, the two families established a close kinship. This kind of family marriage not only enhanced the relationship between the two families in form, but also made Cao Pi show more consideration and care for Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, laying the foundation for the harmonious relationship between the two families.
Finally, Cao Pi's political decisions also took into account that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty had lost the strength to rebel. During the reign of Cao Cao and Cao Pi, the purge of Han loyalists greatly weakened the forces that would have been possible to resist. Emperor Xian of Han had lost enough supporters and power, and was confined to a fiefdom to pose no real threat. Therefore, Cao Pi's relaxation of restrictions on Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was also based on the judgment that the latter was no longer capable of rebelling.
In general, Cao Pi's political decision not to kill Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was based on a comprehensive consideration of many factors. He showed great wisdom in dealing with political relations and intrigues, and ensured his political position in troubled times by maintaining Cao Wei's internal and external stability. This decision also laid the foundation for Cao Wei's relatively long reign, reflecting Cao Pi's outstanding statesmanship.
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