In ancient Chinese society, the emperor was the supreme being, and many people began to fight for deceit in order to become emperors, and even family affection gradually began to appear indifferent. And Cao Pi, the founding son of the State of Wei, in order to inherit the right, he also desperately wanted to start eliminating opponents.
Cao Pi inherited the title of Cao Cao, which is somewhat coincidental. Cao Cao had a total of 25 heirs, and there were four candidates for heir apparent apparent to Cao Cao's vision, including the eldest sons Cao Ang, Cao Chong, Cao Pi, and Cao Zhi.
Originally, Cao Ang had the greatest chance, but in the second year of Jian'an (197), when he followed Cao Cao on the expedition to Zhang Xiu, he was killed by Zhang Xiu, who suddenly rebelled, and then, Cao Cao's second thought was Cao Chong, everyone knows the story of Cao Chong calling himself an elephant, and the history books record that when Cao Chong was five or six years old, he was "like an adult", and he was kind by nature, "Relying on the people who relied on You, dozens of people before and after". ”
However, Cao Chong also unfortunately died at the age of thirteen, Cao Pi was the son of Lady Bian, although Bian was also the wife of Cao Cao Ming, and his status was still much higher than that of Lady Liu who gave birth to Cao Ang and Lady Huan who gave birth to Cao Chong, but Cao Pi often had ambitions to inherit the throne.
Although Cao Cao did not like Cao Pi, but considering the relationship of age, he still let him inherit the throne, and Cao Cao often said to Cao Pi: "Cao Chong's death is my misfortune, but it is your great luck." This also made Cao Pi very insecure, because he knew that Cao Cao also had a very beloved son, Cao Zhi, who was also listed as a candidate, so he tried to get rid of him.
However, because Cao Zhi was young, coupled with the arrogance and other personalities that made Cao Cao unhappy, or Cao Pi eventually inherited the throne, and ousted Emperor Xian of Han and became the Son of Heaven, for this brother born to the same mother who competed with him, Cao Pi and him had no brotherly love at all, so he repeatedly wanted to find a reason to get rid of him, thanks to Lady Bian's protection, this is not a danger to his life.
In the first year of the Huang Dynasty (220), after Cao Pi ascended the throne, Xuan Cao Zhi went to the temple and ordered him to compose poems within seven steps, achieving the famous seven-step poem, "Boiling beans burn beans, beans cry in the kettle." Originally born from the same root, why is it too urgent to fry each other? Wrote Cao Zhi's helpless sigh for his brother's bitterness, in fact, in another poem, Cao Zhi's literary style is even better than the "Seven Steps Poem".
The Taiping Guangji records that once Cao Zhi and Cao Pi were on horseback, the two happened to see two cows in the distance dueling with each other, one of them was pushed into the well and fell to his death, Cao Pi immediately thought of an idea, he ordered Cao Zhi to use a poem to describe this scene within a hundred steps of the horse, but there could be no appearance of the words "cow", "well", "bucket", and "death", otherwise he would immediately ask for a chop.
"Emperor Wen of Wei tasted to travel with Chen Si wang zhi, and when he saw two oxen fighting between the walls, one bull was not as good as one, and he fell into a well and died. The edict decreed that the poem of the dead cow should not be the way of the ox, nor the cloud should be the well, nor shall it be said that it is a fight, nor that it shall be said to be dead, that it shall take a hundred steps, that it shall be made into forty words, that it shall not be completed, and that it shall be beheaded. ”
The difficulty of this poem can be said to be very high, in the face of such a crisis situation, Cao Zhi thought about it and made up the following "Dead Cow Poem":
Two flesh passes in unison, with transverse bones on the head;
When you reach the head of the fierce earth, you will rise abruptly.
Two enemies are not strong, one flesh lying in the earth cave;
It is not as good as the force, and the grand intention must not be leaked.
Endowed and unfinished. Cao Pi watched, dumbfounded, the whole text met the requirements, and the image of the two bulls competing was vividly portrayed. Cao Zhi's literary talent also impressed Cao Pi, and in the end, Cao Zhi finally escaped Cao Pi's calculations and was relegated to other places, although he had no real power, he still did not lose the courtesy of the prince, and drank with peace of mind.