In the first ten years (249), the Gaopingling Rebellion occurred, and Sima Yi, the prince of Fu, took advantage of cao Shuang's brothers to accompany Cao Fang to Gaopingling to launch a mutiny, closed the gates of Luoyang, and was ordered by Empress Guo to take over the soldiers and horses of Cao Xi, the leader of the army. Huan Fan was about to answer the order, but his son, Emperor Cao Shuang, urged Huan Fan to defect to Cao Shuang, and Huan Fan eventually changed his mind and wanted to go to GaopingLing. During the trip, all the subordinate officials of the Great Si Nong dissuaded Huan Fan, but Huan Fan did not listen, and at the Pyeongchang Gate, he falsely claimed that he had received an edict and successfully left the city. At that time, Dasi Nong Huan Fan took DaSi NongYin to look for Cao Shuang. When Sima Yi saw this, he said to Jiang Ji, "The wisdom tank is going to die." Jiang Ji said: "Cao Shuang is intrinsically alienated from Huan Fan, and the horse loves stack beans, and must not use Huan Fan's strategy." ”
After Huan Fan saw Cao Shuang's brothers, he persuaded them to take the emperor to Xuchang, and used the emperor as a call to ask for the support of the generals in the world to confront Sima Yi; and he also used the Great Sinong Yinshou to guarantee that there would be no shortage of grain. However, the Cao Shuang brothers could not make up their minds, and after one night, Cao Shuang was even more determined to depose the officials and surrender, thinking that by obediently handing over power, he could continue the life of a rich and luxurious marquis and preserve the family. Huan Fan cried when he saw this, "Cao Zidan (Cao Zhen) is a hero. But now these three sons are simply very stupid! "Then, the question is, after Sima Yi launched a mutiny, why did Cao Shuang tie his hands and capture it, but did not dare to let go?"
One
First of all, after Sima Yi launched the Gaopingling Rebellion, Cao Shuang, as a general of Cao Wei, was fully equipped to counterattack. On the one hand, as a general of Cao Wei, Cao Shuang could theoretically command the world's soldiers and horses. On the other hand, Cao Shuang was able to kidnap The Heavenly Son Cao Fang at that time, following the example of Cao Cao's abduction of Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han, so that the military generals throughout Cao Wei could support him. Moreover, Dasi Nong Huan Fan took Dasi Nongyin to find Cao Shuang, which meant that after Cao Shuang continued to resist, he did not have to worry about logistical problems such as grain and grass. All of this increased Cao Shuang's chances of letting go. However, the final result was that Cao Shuang rejected the suggestions of Huan Fan and other strategists, thus abandoning resistance and was eventually killed by Sima Yi.
In this regard, in the author's opinion, after Sima Yi launched the gaopingling change, the reason why Cao Shuang tied his hands and grabbed it, instead of letting go of a fight, or even counterattacking in adversity, was mainly divided into the following points. On the one hand, compared to Sima Yi, who has been tempered on the battlefield for decades, Cao Shuang seems to be a great general of Cao Wei, but in fact he is a flower in the greenhouse. In other words, Cao Shuang's life has been relatively smooth. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Shuang entered and left the court by virtue of his status as a clan and befriended the crown prince Cao Rui. Emperor Ming of Wei ascended the throne, and the starting staff was scattered to ride a waiter, and the lieutenant of the city gate was transferred to the city gate, and the general of the scattered horse was transferred to the general of Wu Wei. In the fifth year of Taihe (231), he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Shaoling.
Two
In the third year of the Jing Dynasty (239), when the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui was dying, he worshiped the general, the false Huang Yu, and Sima Yi as a chancellor. Compared with Sima Yi, Cao Shuang, as the son of Cao Wei's famous general Cao Zhen, was naturally Cao Wei's peaceful step and eventually became a great general under one person and above ten thousand people. Correspondingly, as far as Sima Yi was concerned, not only did the starting point be relatively low, but at the beginning of his career, Sima Yi was also suspected by Cao Cao, so he could only be cautious and cautious, such as walking on thin ice. After Sima Yi took power in the army, he encountered a relatively powerful opponent of Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty. All these things have tempered Sima Yi and forged the willpower of perseverance.
Therefore, before the Gaopingling Rebellion, Sima Yi seemed to be at a disadvantage, but he was able to seize the opportunity to launch a mutiny and take control of Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei. As far as the great general Cao Shuang was concerned, he was flustered and overwhelmed after the change. It is precisely because he knows Cao Shuang's personality characteristics very well, so even if he learns the news that Huan Fan has ventilated the news for Cao Shuang, Sima Yi did not mess up. On the other hand, for Cao Shuang's covetousness of glory and wealth, it was an important reason for him not to dare to take risks and continue to compete with Sima Yi. During the gaopingling rebellion, Sima Yi was afraid that Cao Shuang would fight back in a desperate situation, so he successively sent Xu Yun, Shangshu Chen Tai, and Cao Shuang's close lieutenant Yin Damu to induce Cao Shuang to give up his power, and promised Luo Shui that he would only surrender his military power and retain his title.
Three
At the same time, Jiang Ji also wrote to Cao Shuang, saying that Sima Yi only wanted to deprive their brothers of their military power, would not hurt them, and could keep them rich. For Sima Yi and Jiang Ji, both believed that Cao Shuang would ensure glory and wealth, so they would give up resistance. As a result, as Sima Yi and Jiang Ji expected, after receiving assurances from Jiang Ji and others, Cao Shuang chose to surrender his military power, thinking that this would allow him to continue to retain his knighthood and other treatment. However, for Sima Yi, he obviously understood the truth that cutting grass should be rooted, so he did not let Cao Shuang, who gave up his power, get the end of glory and wealth.
Before the change of Gaopingling, Cao Shuang drank and had fun with He Yan and others many times, and was extremely luxurious. His brother Cao Xi was very worried when he saw this, and he advised him many times, but Cao Shuang did not listen. He wrote three more articles, stating that excessive extravagance and extravagance would produce disasters, and the words were very earnest, and Cao Xi saw that Cao Shuang ignored the advice and had to weep. In this regard, in the author's opinion, before the change of Gao Pingling, Cao Shuang's greed for pleasure was already exposed. Even Cao Shuang's brother Cao Xi couldn't help but advise Cao Shuang. On this basis, it is precisely because of the long-term drinking and pleasure and luxury that Cao Shuang is reluctant to give it a go, that is, he is worried that he will lose such a life.
Four
Finally, in addition, in the author's opinion, the defeat in the Battle of Fashu caused Cao Shuang to lose his prestige among Cao Wei's generals, and he therefore considered himself not to be Sima Yi's opponent. In the first five years (244), Cao Shuang went west to Chang'an (northwest of present-day Xi'an), and together with the general Xiahou Xuan of Zhengxi and the military commander of Duyongliang, more than 100,000 troops attacked Hanzhong from Luogukou (in present-day Zhou to southwest Shaanxi). At that time, Cao Shuang ignored the advice of Sima Yi and others and insisted on launching a war against the Shu Han Dynasty. At that time, Wang Ping, the general of the Shu Han Dynasty, guarded Hanzhong with less than 30,000 soldiers. In April of the same year, the Wei army was blocked at Xingshi (present-day Baliguan Town, Yang County, Shaanxi Province), the supply was difficult, cattle, horses, mules, and donkeys were dying, and the soldiers were tired, while the Fu army led by Jiang Huan, who was then the Great Sima of Shu Han and the Assassin of Yizhou, rushed to Han in time for reinforcements, and the general Fei Yi then arrived from Chengdu to oversee the army.
Yang Wei, who joined the Wei army, thought that the situation was unfavorable and advised Cao Shuang to retreat quickly, and Sima Yi also wrote to Xiahou Xuan, pointing out that there was a danger of the entire army being destroyed. In May, Fei Yi knew that the Wei army would retreat, and led his army to detour to occupy Sanling and cut off its way back. Cao Shuang was intercepted, and the Overseers fought bitterly, suffering heavy casualties and fleeing back to Guanzhong. In this regard, in the view of many historians, because of the battle of Xingshi, Cao Shuang's prestige and influence plummeted, laying the groundwork for his eventual downfall in the power struggle with Sima Yi. After the Battle of Xingshi, Cao Wei's generals were naturally very dissatisfied with Cao Shuang. Because before this, Sima Yi had not dared to rush to attack Shu Han, that is, he was worried about losing troops and breaking the generals. Now, Cao Shuang had inflicted heavy casualties on Cao Wei's generals, and it was naturally difficult to continue to get the support of Cao Wei's generals. And this is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Cao Shuang did not dare to hold Emperor Cao Fang hostage and order the world's soldiers and horses to fight with Sima Yi. What do you think about that?