Speaking of Sima Yi, it can be said that he is a well-known figure, because anyone who has watched "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" knows this person. Especially in the later confrontation with Zhuge Liang, it is more familiar to more people. Of course, in the novel, he is also a character who appears later, but it is such a "late" character who eventually becomes the core figure of the unification of the country.
But after Cao Pi's death, it was different.
After Cao Pi's death, his eldest son Cao Rui became emperor, Emperor Ming of Wei. Compared to Cao Pi, Sima Yi was more afraid of Cao Rui, why? In fact, it is not difficult to explain.
Before solving this problem, let's briefly introduce Cao Rui as a person.
Cao Rui (叡), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the eldest son of Emperor Cao Pi of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, and the second emperor of the State of Wei, known historically as Emperor Ming of Wei. In May of the seventh year of the Huang Dynasty, Cao Pi became seriously ill, so he made Cao Rui crown prince and later succeeded to the throne in Luoyang. Cao Rui was a more effective and capable emperor, and during his reign, he commanded Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, and others to successfully resist many attacks by the State of Wu and the State of Shu, and later advanced into the army and destroyed Gongsun Yuan in one fell swoop. Not only that, but he was also active in making laws. Compiled the Wei Law.
How could Sima Yi, an emperor who was very accomplished militarily, politically, and culturally, not be afraid? So, if we finally summarize it, we can draw the following two reasons.
First, Cao Rui was a very capable and thoughtful emperor. At a large level, Cao Rui actively developed the military, political, and cultural spheres of the state, which brought the State of Wei to its peak under his rule. Therefore, the historian Mr. Wang Zhongji's evaluation of him is: "The reign of Cao Rui was the heyday of the Wei Dynasty." Therefore, Sima Yi was naturally much more well-behaved in the face of such a thoughtful and capable emperor.
Second, Cao Rui is a monarch with a very strong subjective consciousness. On major national affairs, he has a clear judgment and will not follow Sima Yi's thoughts. Cao Rui controlled the military power and had the ability to think independently, so as long as Sima Yi made a slight movement, then what awaited him might be death. Therefore, the author believes that this is the fundamental reason why Sima Yi is afraid of Cao Rui. After all, "a companion is like a companion of a tiger", as long as your monarch is a person with independent thinking and military power, then you can only obey him. For all resistance is futile.
During Cao Rui's reign, he chose the best and the brightest, appointed Zhongliang, and lightly dispensed with taxes, which not only won the hearts and minds of the people, but also stabilized his own Jiangshan, but because in the later period, he built a large number of civil engineering and was arrogant and lascivious, which not only left a negative impression on the world, but also made the Wei state a little weaker, of course, this also created favorable conditions for the success of Sima Yi later.
Therefore, Lu Xun, the general of the State of Wu, once commented on him: "Choosing loyalty, leniency, grace, and thin endowment of provincial service to please the people's hearts, the suffering is deeper than when it is exercised." ”