In December 239, by this time the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui was already terminally ill, and a list of ministers was published, and the Three Kingdoms Chronicle about this incident only said that Cao Yu was a great general, and the account was not very detailed, but the Han Jin Spring and Autumn Period had a lot of content about this passage and was selected by Pei Song as a commentary, which can be accepted. The Han Jin Chunqiu described it this way.
The emperor made Wang Yu of Yan a major general and made him an auxiliary official with the leading general Xiahou Xian, the Wuwei general Cao Shuang, the tun cavalry lieutenant Cao Zhao, and the Xiao cavalry general Qin Lang.
It can be seen from this that Cao Rui initially chose a structure headed by Cao Yu, the King of Yan, supplemented by Xiahou Xian, Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao, and Qin Lang. It can be seen that in addition to Cao Shuang, it is not that there is no one to choose, and according to Cao Rui's initial meaning, Cao Shuang is not the head of the auxiliary ministers.
The setting of this five-person combination is still very reasonable, first of all, Cao Yu, as the older and older in the clan (the second generation of the Cao family), still has a certain prestige. Of course, the main reason is that he and Cao Rui have a good personal relationship, after all, to entrust the lonely matter, or to find a most trusted person. Later, Cao Biao, the King of Chu in the Rebellion in Huainan, did not think about it at all, because Cao Biao had violated the imperial court's prohibition and Cao Rui had punished him. Therefore, in general, the preferred candidate for orphans is not personal ability, but personal relationships, prestige and identity, and so on.
Regarding Emperor Wei's favor to Cao Yu, the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms is recorded below.
Emperor Ming and Yu are the same, and often love differently. and ascended the throne, favoring the kings.
The four people who were scheduled to assist Cao Yu were also all clans, and Qin Lang was Cao Cao's adopted son, which could also be counted as half of the clan. It can be seen that Cao Rui's thinking is very different from his father's, and Cao Pi chose Cao Zhen Cao Xiu Chen Qun Sima Yi, this kind of combination of the clan and the family clan "two plus two" equally divided and balanced each other. When he arrived at Cao Rui, it was a pure clan room, because at this time he had realized that due to his early death, Cao Fang, who had succeeded to the throne, was too young, and the lord was suspicious of the country, and it was very likely that he would be controlled by the wolf-like minister. Although Cao Yu's ability is average, after all, he has status and prestige, and as the chief assistant minister, he can form a suppression of high-ranking officials with foreign surnames. And once the rights are given to the family clan, the Cao clan is in danger of falling. Let the clan assist the government, the worst result is only that Xiao Zong drove away the big sect, and the Cao clan Jiangshan will not change. Moreover, since the time of Cao Pi, the suppression of the clan began, and Cao Rui believed that after all these years, it was still effective, and even if Cao Yu had ill intentions, he could not get support.
Speaking of several other people, Xiahou Xian's information was too small to say. Speaking of Cao Zhao, the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms has such a record of him.
Zhao has the talent of the world, and is a regular attendant of the scattered horse and a lieutenant of the Tun Riding School.
It can be seen that this person has real ability, has been an adviser to the emperor, and has a good relationship with Cao Rui. Moreover, he was talented and dignified, and had served as an official position as an eighth lieutenant. I don't have to say anything about my resume. His selection is very much in line with Cao Rui's criteria for selection.
Speaking of Qin Lang, this man was Cao Cao's adopted son, and his mother was Cao Cao's side chamber. This person is still very talented, not to make up numbers. The records before the Tuogu are more described in the Zizhi Tongjian.
The emperor sent the general Qin Lang to the Middle Army, and Kebi Neng was able to go north of the curtain and release half mud to bring his people down. Budu Gen-ing is killed by Kebineng. It was to make the Shu protector Qin Lang supervise the pace of riding the second assistant Sima Yi Yu Zhuge Liang
First he defeated the Humble Leader Kobineng, and then he fought Zhuge Liang. This is a military talent, which is an advantage that several other orphan ministers do not have. After all, Qin Lang had fought against the first-class military master Zhuge Liang, and there were not many clans with such a military, and Cao Rui might cultivate him as the next Cao Zhen. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Qin Lang was very tragic, and he received a box lunch early after Zhuge Liang's plan. In fact, people lived very well, and almost became auxiliary ministers. His selection compensated for the shortcomings in military competence in the Auxiliary Ministers' Corps.
Finally speaking of Cao Shuang, in the public impression, anecdotes such as the horse love stack beans and not losing the rich man have become the black material of Cao Shuang's ten thousand years, so what kind of person is the real Cao Shuang? The Romance of the Three Kingdoms describes Cao Shuang's experiences in his early years as follows.
Shuang zi Zhaobo, less than the clan room is serious, Emperor Ming is in the East Palace, very dear. And on the throne, he was a scattered riding attendant, a lieutenant of the city gate, a regular attendant of the kasan riding, a general of the wuwei, and a special favor.
Cao Shuang was cautious and steady from an early age, and his relationship with Cao Rui was also very close, and the official position of General Wu Wei was not very prominent, but it was very important, because it was a close companion of Tianzi and was responsible for the safety and security of Tianzi. Xu Chu had been Cao Cao's Wuwei Zhonglang general before, which showed Cao Rui's trust in Cao Shuang. So was Cao Shuang chosen as an assistant only because he was favored by the Son of Heaven? Judging from his later performance, it is not all, and Cao Shuang himself still has some talent.
The first person to gain the trust of the Son of Heaven is by no means a generalist. Moreover, after Cao Shuang became the minister of Tuoguo, he did not immediately confront Sima Yi, but first lowered his voice for a long time to paralyze his opponents, but unfortunately Sima Yi was better than his acting skills. Three Kingdoms Chronicle said.
In the beginning, Shuang Yixuan was virtuous and high, and Heng Father did not dare to act exclusively.
Later, he also carried out a number of praises and killings against Sima Yi, first praising him to heaven and comparing him to Deng Yu, and then Ming Sheng secretly demoted him to Taifu, which actually weakened his power, or some skill. Therefore, Cao Rui's choice of Cao Shuang as an auxiliary minister cannot be wrong.
Let's sum up the list of five.
Cao Yu: Zong Mu, Cao Cao's son, high generation and prestige
Xiahou Xian: There are too few historical materials
Cao Zhao: Zongmu, Son of Cao Xiu. Talented and dignified, the emperor is close to the subject.
Cao Shuang: ZongMu, Cao Zhen's son. Cautious and steady, the emperor trusted him very much and had a certain political talent
Qin Lang: Half a clan room, Cao Cao's adopted son, military talent is very strong.
This large list is very thoughtful, taking care of both political and military affairs, and all of them are clans, which can suppress the family clan. And Qin Lang, who was the strongest militarily, was also a foreigner with a foreign surname, and did not dare to harbor ill intentions. Two of these people are Cao Rui's hardcores, and loyalty is not a problem. All in all, if this list is finally implemented, the Sima family has no chance at all. But at this time, an accident occurred.
Liu Fang sun zi these two people became the key roles in changing history, they had a bad relationship with the auxiliary chancellor, worried about being settled by the autumn queen, so they began to fool Cao Rui to change the orphan minister, Cao Rui at the time of death, mental and physical strength were not good, so he was at the mercy of these two people.
The world speaks a new language: release, capital for a long time, dedication, and inner unevenness. There was a chicken perch tree in the temple, and the two of them said to each other: "This is also a long time, how many can it be restored?" "Refers to the release and capitalization. To be free and to be afraid is to persuade the emperor to summon king Xuan.
In the end, when Cao Rui returned to the light, he seemed to understand, and changed his mind not to listen to Liu Fang's Sun Zi, but unfortunately he was forcibly ordered by these two people who grabbed his hand, in fact, there was no difference between it and the correction. As a result, Cao Yu was dismissed from his post after only four days as a general. Pei Songzhi's note is described as follows.
Liu Fang, the superintendent of zhongshu, and Sun Zijiu, were not good at Lang et al., fearing the harm of the future, and the shadow was between the shadows, and Yu was often on the emperor's side, so he did not have a word. Jia Shen, Emperor Qiwei, YuxiaDian Call Cao Zhao's discussion, did not return, and Emperor Shao was idle, but Cao Shuang was alone. Let go of knowledge, call for capital and conspiracy. Zi: "Don't move either." "Why not have it?" When he saw the emperor, he wept: "Your Majesty is weak, if there is any secret, who will be paid by the world?" Emperor Yue: "Qing does not smell the use of Yan Wangye?" "Your Majesty has forgotten the edict of the previous emperor, and the king of the clan is not allowed to assist the government." And His Majesty was ill, and Cao Zhao, Qin Lang, and others talked and played with the talented servants. The King of Yan supported the army to the south, and did not listen to the courtiers to enter, that is, Shu Diao and Zhao Gaoye. The current crown prince is young and weak, unable to govern, there are violent people on the outside, and there are people who are tired and resentful inside, and His Majesty is not far from worrying about survival, but the near family is old. Entrusting the inheritance of the ancestors, paying two or three mortals, sleeping for several days, the outer and inner barriers, the society is in danger, and I do not know, this minister and so on are sad. The emperor spoke out in anger, "Who can do it?" "Release, Capital, and Zi Nai lifted Shuang Daiyu, and Bai "Yizhao Sima Xuanwang made Xiang Shan", and the emperor obeyed it. Release, capital out, Cao Zhao, weeping, the emperor made Zhao' edict stop. Exit the house, release, capital and capital, repeat the words to stop the emperor, the emperor from his words. Let go: "It is advisable to be a hand commandment." The emperor said, "I'm sleepy, I can't." "Released as soon as he was released, he was forced by the emperor's hand, so he came out, saying in a big way: "There is an edict to exempt Yan Wang Yu and other officials, and they must not stop the province." So Yu, Zhao, Xian, Lang Xiang and Weeping returned to the first.
In the end, the auxiliary ministers became Cao Shuang and Sima Yi, and it may also be that Liu Fang Sun Zi considered not deleting all the candidates for the emperor, leaving Cao Shuang, who had a good relationship with him and was shallow in seniority, and he was also Cao Rui's most trusted person, so that everyone was happy and the emperor was more acceptable. That is to say, Cao Shuang was promoted from the bottom of the auxiliary ministers, but this was not Cao Rui's original intention.
Finally, some digressions, some people think that Sun Zi Liu Fang is Sima Yi's internal line, after all, this personnel change Sima Yi has become the biggest winner, so let's analyze whether this statement is credible.
Sun Zi Liu Fang, as the Superintendent of Zhongshu, was a senior secretary at the emperor's side.
Sun Zi's promotion trajectory is as follows: TaiSheng - Wang Yunxianju - Jia Kui Recommended Ju - Gong Cao - Ji Guan - Counselor Xiang Military - Secretary Lang - Shangshu Right Cheng - Zhongshu Ling
Liu Fang's promotion trajectory is as follows: Ju Xiaolian - main bookkeeping room - secretary Lang - Zhongshu Supervisor
These two people had little intersection with the Sima family, nor were they a family clan, Liu Fang was a relative of the Han Dynasty, but by his generation, he had also fallen. These two people basically still rely on their own ability to basically rise step by step.
Sima Yi did not have the power after the Gaopingling Rebellion during the Cao Pi and Cao Rui periods, and had always been relatively low-key, and it was said that he should not have drawn people to the emperor's side so easily, after all, Emperor Wei Ming was also a generation of heroes and had some precautions against Sima Yi.
In addition, when the final chancellor had been determined, Sima Yi had not yet returned from Liaodong, and even if he learned the news that Cao Rui was seriously ill, it would be difficult to arrange for Sun Zi Liu to intervene in such a short period of days, after all, it was only four days from the announcement of Cao Yu as a general to his dismissal, and he repeatedly sent messengers to convey orders. The Jin Shu says the following.
Emperor Da Yun, who traveled day and night in a chasing car, came more than four hundred miles from the White House and stayed overnight. Enter the kafu hall recliner and ascend the imperial bed. The emperor asked questions, and the Heavenly Son held the emperor's hand, and the king of Muqi said: "Things will be entrusted to each other in the future." Death is tolerable, and I endure death to wait for the king, to see each other, and to have nothing to hate. "With the great general Cao Shuang and receiving a testament to assist the young lord.
It can be seen from this that after Sima Yi hurried back, this matter was a foregone conclusion. So this should be a coincidence, Sun Zi Liu Fang made an adventure for his own future, and happened to give Sima Yi a chance, nothing more.
Conclusion: Cao Shuang has a certain ability, not waste firewood, and has a good relationship with the emperor and is deeply trusted. However, perhaps due to reasons such as age and seniority, he is not the first candidate, and the first candidate is Cao Yu. It was only the wrong yin and yang that he got this position, but what he didn't know was that falling pie in the sky was not necessarily a good thing, and it could also bring destruction.