In the chapters of history, usurpation of the throne occurs from time to time, and what is the mystery of the difference in reputation between Wei and Han and Jin and Wei? Why is there such a stark difference in reputation between these seemingly similar historical events? Was it because the usurper was more savvy, or was his dynasty better at governing?
The world is in turmoil, with red eyebrows and green forests rampant; The eunuchs are in power, and the traitors are dominant. This is exactly the portrayal of the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao Mengde was born in a famous family and was very intelligent, but he was also devastated by this troubled world. He vowed to cry out for the people who were thriving and suffering in the world, but there was no room for suffering. Until the heaven-sent opportunity, Cao Mengde was finally able to turn over.
When he first took charge of the government, Cao Mengde maneuvered between the powerful and powerful from all walks of life, and he was left and right. He is well versed in human feelings and is good at winning people's hearts. At the same time, he understood that in order to consolidate power, he had to rely on force. As a result, Cao Mengde traveled to the northern counties and conquered the Quartet in the name of the King of Wei. Competing for the world is a portrayal of the ideal prosperous era in his mind.
Cao Mengde knew that in order to break the existing pattern, he must first stabilize the north and make it a bridgehead to connect the world. However, the northern princes were numerous and mixed, and it was difficult to gain trust quickly. What's more, generations of famous clan forces such as Yuan Shao and Liu Biao are eyeing each other and are extremely sensitive to the Cao family's ambitions. It is already difficult to stabilize the north without bloodshed.
In order to break through the status quo, Cao Mengde managed to win over the resourceful strategists Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others into the shogunate, and incorporated the elite of military generals, including Lu Bu. With their planning and cooperation, Cao Mengde finally opened up the situation in the north and obtained the Kwantung Prefectures. Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Biao gathered the idea of expanding the north and turned to consolidate the land of Jiangdong; Yuan Shao, on the other hand, had his eye on the Cao clan and vowed to crusade against the sudden rise of the shogunate leader.
Just when the Yuan and Cao families were facing each other, the heroes rose together, each with a ghost. So the princes of the north and south coveted the Central Plains one after another. Cao Mengde is well aware of the situation and wants to fight quickly. He successively induced Sun Quan and Eastern Wu in the south to form a joint encirclement, forcing Yuan Shao to go north with all his strength to fight a decisive battle with Cao. The Battle of Guandu changed the pattern of the north in one fell swoop and established the hegemony of the Cao clan.
After the war, although the princes were vassals, the mountains were still standing in various places. The situation of confrontation between the North and the South has not been broken. What's more, the combined forces of Ma Chao and Han Sui in the northwest invaded Guanzhong, and the appeal of the Central Plains increased greatly; The extension of Gongsun Yuan's power in the northeast to the western Liaoning region also posed a potential threat to the Cao clan. Faced with internal and external troubles, Cao Mengde had to lead the army to fight again.
However, after years of hard work, he felt powerless. In the face of Cao Pi's ambition, Cao Mengde also felt that it was impossible to keep it. So he made the decision to let Xian pass the throne of Wei to his son Cao Pi.
He was transferred to the prime minister, integrated the government and government, and paved the way for Cao Pi's ascension to the throne. On the eve of Cao Pi's accession to the throne, the hidden danger in the southwest finally broke out. Zhang Lu and others rebelled, and Cao Mengde and Cao Pi had to be ordered to go to the conquest. In the end, under Cao Mengde's planning and Cao Pi's command, the rebellion was put down, and Cao's authority reached its peak.
After this battle, Cao Pi's ambition and mind have also been greatly improved. He finally mustered up the courage to depose the Han Emperor and establish himself as the Wei State. Cao Mengde was seriously ill at the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Wei. He left Cao Pi with "For the sake of the country, don't forget it; The heir needs to be cautious, and carefully choose the virtuous", and finally died young.
After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he had great ambitions and drastically implemented the "cultural governance" reform. He deposed Chinese characters and created his own writing, and for a time praise and doubts poured in; He forcibly promoted the even-share store Tian Li, and the chief official was not ashamed, which caused public resentment to boil. However, behind this eye-catching turmoil, the Cao regime has become increasingly powerful.
At the same time, Cao Pi also authorized the enlightened and promising Emperor Wei Ming to build a large number of buildings. Under the reign of Emperor Ming, the Wei state was stable and prosperous, with bumper agricultural harvests and unprecedented economic and cultural prosperity. Emperor Ming was wise and won the hearts of the people. He successively pacified the Guanzhong region and sent troops to destroy Gongsun Yuan, a separatist force in the north, so that the national strength of Wei reached its peak.
However, this also sowed the seeds of future conflict. Emperor Wei Ming's beloved son, Cao Rong, had a strong personality and was dissatisfied with his father's passing on the throne to his half-brother Cao Fang. In addition, Sima Yi, an important minister in power and the opposition, had already been eyeing him, which laid a hidden danger for the later coup.
Emperor Ming died, leaving behind the young Cao Fang and the minister Sima Yi. Sima Yi was well versed in the art of power and seized the opportunity to launch a coup d'état and seize power. He first secretly wooed the powerful and isolated Cao Shuang's faction; Later, in the name of "Qingjun side", he took the opportunity of Cao Shuang's outing to send troops in Luoyang.
In the "Battle of Jingyan", the sinister and cunning Sima Yi relied on force and scheming to take Cao Shuang lightly, and then killed the three clans. He also united with Cao Shuang's political enemies and came to power in the name of "Fengying the Son of Heaven" to control the young Emperor Wei. Suddenly, the Cao family gave up to others. The great power fell into the hands of Sima Yi, who rose up in the Jin Kingdom.
However, no matter how sinister the means, a successful usurpation of the throne always requires the support of real talent. Therefore, even the unscrupulous Sima Yi still tried his best to maintain the stability of the country after his reign in order to seek long-term peace and stability. He purged dissidents and stabilized the situation. and defeated the Northern Expedition of Sun Quan of Eastern Wu, so that Wei was still rich and powerful on the surface.
After Sima Yi's death, his son Sima Shi successively controlled two generations of Wei emperors. By the time of Sima Yan, he finally forced Cao Huanchan to give up the throne. The Western Jin Dynasty was formally established. However, the mediocre and incompetent Sima Yan led to the gradual decline of the government, the intensification of class contradictions, and the people's misery.
In particular, he passed on the throne to his son Sima Zhen, who was simply cowardly and could not govern. Dazai Jia Chong and other powerful ministers were in charge, and the edict was arbitrary, and the competition for the throne within the Sima clan also intensified to the extreme. In this chaotic turmoil, the Jin family finally broke out the "Eight Kings Rebellion" that affected the whole country, and the royal family killed each other and destroyed their lives.
The ethnic minorities in the north took advantage of the situation, and the Jin family was powerless to stop it. A generation of Cao Wei empires lost all their money and lost their foundation. History has finally defined Cao Pi and Sima Yi, two scheming figures who have worked hard but acted against their goals: Cao Pi passed on the foundation of the north to his descendants; Sima Yi and his descendants took the hard work of Cao Wei's predecessors and finally failed.
Throughout history, it is not difficult to find that those who seize power by force rarely end well. Li Shimin, the king of Cheng, created the prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty, which is undoubtedly an exception. So, how to judge the act of stealing power?
Perhaps we cannot expect every power-hungry figure to follow the right path, or make ideal expectations of their power tactics and statecraft. Although the law of the jungle cannot be avoided in the course of history, there is no lack of room for merit and demerit in the behavior of careerists vying for power and position.
However, if we stand on the high plane of morality and continuity, then conspiracy and murder of the king by force are undoubtedly indecisive. The use of military forces to seize power may be able to achieve temporary ambitions, but it will not be able to stabilize power for a long time, let alone build a long-lasting foundation; On the contrary, respecting orthodoxy and conforming to the will of the people will ensure the long-term stability of the imperial court.
The decision of history is clear. The rise and fall of Cao Wei and the Jin Dynasty has forever learned a lesson for future generations. Ambition can only be timely, only the right path is always new.