Since the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, it has entered a centralized system, and after the emergence of the emperor, the succession to the throne is also an eternal topic. The system of primogeniture, which was born in the Western Zhou Dynasty before the Qin Dynasty, provided a model for the succession of the throne in later dynasties. The primogeniture system is the most basic principle of the patriarchal system, that is, the throne and property must be inherited by the eldest son, the eldest son is the eldest son born of the wife (the wife), the throne of the Western Zhou Tianzi is inherited by the eldest son of the concubine, and the other sons are other sons, and they are divided into important strategic places in the country.
The throne inherited by the eldest son of the concubine ensured the status of the Zhou Dynasty for generations, and the concubine was a small emperor to the concubine's great emperor, and in his own fiefdom, the successor must also be the eldest son of the concubine. The purpose of the Western Zhou Dynasty's primogeniture system was to solve the inheritance and distribution of power and property, and to stabilize the ruling order of society.
But in fact, although in most cases the succession of the throne is based on the rules of the eldest son of the concubine, the father and the son, the brother and the brother, there is still no shortage of various fierce disputes for the throne. For example, the change of Xuanwumen in the Tang Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, the State of Wei also had a struggle for the position of successor after Cao Cao's death. That was the battle between Emperor Cao Pi of Wei and Cao Zhi, one of the seven sons of Jian'an. The last to fail was Cao Zhi. Why did Cao Zhi, who was only eight buckets tall, fight but Cao Pi?
First, let's look at the basic situation of Cao Cao's descendants.
Seeing this, some people may not be able to help but ask, since there is this primogeniture inheritance system, that is, according to this template, why are Cao Pi and Cao Zhi qualified to compete for the position of the ruler of Great Wei?
Let's first see who Cao Cao's first sons were and how they were arranged. A son, Cao Ang, was killed by Zhang Xiu when he was young, but was raised by Cao Cao's original Ding clan. The second son, Cao Shuo, was a young man. The third son, Cao Pi, forced Emperor Chan of Han to give up the throne in 220, for Emperor Wen of Wei. The fourth son, Cao Zhang, nicknamed Huang Su'er, was a brave general who had broken the Karasuma of Dai County. In 223, he was made king of the city.
The fifth son, Cao Zhi, was good at literature and once wrote "Roselle Endowment". Although he was favored by Cao Cao, he failed to compete with his brother Cao Pi for the throne, and from then on he was unable to exert his ambitions politically. In 225, he became the King of Chen. According to the ancient template of the primogeniture inheritance system, there is a concubine, no concubine, no long lixian, no virtuous love. When Cao Ang was alive, he alone occupied the love of Changxian, Cao Pi received a little favor, and the other sons did not get any favor. After Cao Ang's death, Cao Pi occupied the position of concubine, and Cao Zhi and Cao Chong shared the love of the virtuous, and the proportions were different. After Cao Chong's death, Cao Pi occupied Concubine Changxian and Cao Zhi occupied Love.
In fact, Cao Pi did not have any hope at first, but given that his vitality was more tenacious than that of his eldest brother Cao Ang and his seventh brother Cao Chong, he was qualified to compete for the successor. However, in the hearts of Cao Cao and many of Cao Wei's old ministers, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi would only choose the last backup option in the absence of Cao Ang and Cao Chong.
However, even in the last spare option, the two men are in stark contrast. At first, Cao Cao was very hopeful about Cao Zhi because Cao Zhi had written a TongqueTaifu. However, soon, Comrade Cao Zijian destroyed the scum of the high hopes that his father had placed on him.
Secondly, analyze Cao Zhi's intrusion into the forbidden area of the royal palace.
As the saying goes, wine is strong and courageous, not to mention Cao Zhi, a talent who is only eight buckets tall. In the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217), he took advantage of his father's absence, drank a few pots of wine and forgot about it, he rode his horse on the palace avenue, and opened the palace gate - Sima Gate, playing on the forbidden road that only the emperor could walk when the emperor held a ceremony, which was called a cheerful, and played until the Golden Gate, as for the decree issued by his father... What decree? People have long since drunk and forgotten.
Cao Cao was furious, and he could not cut off his own son, but only died the bus order in charge of the royal family's carriages and horses. Since then, the prohibition of the laws and regulations against the princes has been increased, but Cao Zhi has also gradually lost Cao Cao's trust and favor because of this incident. In October, Cao Cao made Cao Pi his son. From then on, Cao Zhi really couldn't afford to look at it, he began to drink to dispel his sorrows, and entered a sad life stage that was difficult to dispel.
In the end, Cao Zhi failed to take on the big responsibility.
In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Guan Erye's Northern Expedition to Xiangfan, Cao Cao's ultimate killer, Cao Ren, was trapped by Guan Yu, and Cao Cao remembered his fifth son Cao Zhi. Cao Cao made Cao Zhi the general of Nanzhong Lang (南中郎) and ordered him to lead his troops to rescue Cao Ren. After the order was issued, Cao Zhi was drinking and having fun, and he was drunk and could not lead the soldiers. Cao Cao was quite regretful, regretting that he had impulsively put out such a contrarian son on a whim, and never reused Cao Zijian again. Therefore, Comrade Cao Zijian successfully used his own riotous operation to crush his image in his father's heart and stomped on it a few times.
As the king of a country, you must have your own political, military, and employment capabilities. Cao Pi, whether it is strategy or state of mind, is stronger than Cao Zhi. As Chen Shou said: Chen Siwen is rich and brilliant, enough to pass through the back leaves, but he cannot resist the long defense, and eventually lead to a gap. I think this is also an important reason why Cao Zhidou is not Cao Pi.
What do you think of Cao Zhi Cao Pi?
Stay tuned and tell the story of the Three Kingdoms and learn about that little-known history.