Literature/History of the Four Seasons
In the chaotic world of the Three Kingdoms, some people have put forward the assumption that if Cao Zhen had not died early, there would not have been the Gaopingling Change in 249 AD, Sima Yi would not have elevated Emperor Cao Fang, and Sima Yan would not have replaced Wei with Jin. Is this really the case?
In the historical drama "Tiger Howling Dragon Yin", Cao Zhen is described as a large straw bag. Cao Zhen, as the governor of the capital, miscalculated step by step in the open and secret struggle with Sima Yi, and did not have a chance to win. So, is the historical Cao really like Liu Chan, a "unable to support Adou"? Of course not.
Stills: Cao Zhen
First, Cao Zhen, He Xuren
Cao Zhen (曹真), courtesy name Zidan,real name Qin Zhen (秦真), was the son of Qin Shao. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms records that Qin Shao was killed by Huang Huan when he was recruiting soldiers for Cao Cao, and Cao Cao, remembering Qin Shao's exploits, accepted his son as a righteous son and changed his name to Cao Zhen. Among Cao Cao's three adopted sons, Cao Zhen is the most famous one, and his fame is not lost to his own son.
According to historical records, Cao Zhen "lost his father at a young age, and was brave and brave", once shot a fierce tiger with one arrow, and it was precisely because of this incident that Cao Cao made him a general in the tiger and leopard riding, and when he participated in the crusade against the Yellow Turban Army of Lingqiu, he made great achievements in battle and was named the Marquis of Lingshouting. Cao Zhen was a second-generation general of Emperor Cao Weizong and was deeply valued by Emperor Cao Pi of Wei and Emperor Cao Rui of Wei Ming. There are 3 things that make Cao Zhen's position as the mainstay of the pillar that no one can shake.
First, Zhang Jin, a Zhangye man at that time, held Taishou hostage to rebel in Jiuquan, Cao Zhen marched on the crusade, and finally quelled the rebellion, and after returning to Luoyang, he was made a general of the Shangjun Army by Cao Pi, and was in charge of all Chinese and foreign militaries, at this time Cao Zhen had become one of the supreme commanders of the Wei army.
Second, during the Zhuhu rebellion, they formed a coalition army to raise troops in Hexi, and Cao Zhen, who was the general of Zhenxi at the time, led the army to fight with the coalition army, and finally won a complete victory. The Book of Wei records that in this battle, "more than 50,000 people were beheaded, and 100,000 mouths were obtained, 1.11 million sheep, and 80,000 cattle were obtained." It can be seen that Cao Zhen is unique.
Third, when Cao Pi divided his forces to conquer Sun Quan in the south, Cao Zhen first defeated the Wu general Sun Sheng, and then ordered Xiahou Shang to repel Zhuge Jin, who had come to reinforcements, seize Jiangling Zhongzhou, and completely besiege Jiangling City. Because Sun Quan re-sent the envoy Nagong, the Wei army retreated, and Cao Zhen was transformed into a general of the Chinese army and added to Shizhong.
After Cao Pi's death, Cao Zhen and the zhenjun general Chen Qun, the general Cao Xiu of zhengdong, and the general Sima Yi of the Fujun army assisted the government at the same time, and after Cao Rui took the throne, he was enfeoffed with Cao Zhen, whose status was second only to that of Sima Cao Xiu.
Stills: Sima Yi
Second, Cao Zhen did not die, and Sima Yi would eventually find it difficult to come out
Cao Zhen was very contentious all his life, not by taking the back door to get into position. Cao Zhen accompanied Cao Cao all the way to the battlefield and performed extraordinary. He has high qualifications and great merits, and he has broken the Qianghu alliance army and defeated Sun Sheng of Wu Guo, and his hard work and high merit are not to be mentioned. During the Cao Cao period, he was awarded the general of the Tiger and Leopard Horse, and during the Cao Pi period, he was also awarded the title of General of the Shangjun Army, and was given the important position of supervising various Chinese and foreign military forces, guarding the northwest border. At this time, Sima Yi, who was born as the main bookkeeper, had mediocre performance, so in many aspects, especially in the military aspect, there was no outstanding performance. In terms of comprehensive strength, Cao Zhen could easily crush Sima Yi.
When the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui was seriously ill, he entrusted the seven-year-old Cao Fang to the old ministers Sima Yi and Cao Shuang. Cao Shuang was a representative of the Cao Wei clan and managed the imperial government together with Sima Yi, the representative of the Mengmen clan. After all, Cao Shuang was a junior, and he was not the same as the cunning Sima Yi. Just imagine, if Cao Shuang's father Cao Zhen was alive, Cao Rui would not have chosen Cao Shuang as the minister of orphanage, but would have directly chosen Cao Zhen.
Stills: Cao Rui
At this time, if Cao Zhen was still alive, he would cooperate with Sima Yi sincerely to assist the little emperor and govern Cao Wei in an orderly manner. Cao Zhen did not need to deliberately suppress Sima Yi like Cao Shuang to improve his status and prestige. Because Cao Zhen's fame and status were originally above Sima Yi. Cao Zhen only needed to live in peace with Sima Yi and work together to realize Cao Wei's dream of rejuvenating the country.
If Cao Zhen had lived, Sima Yi would not have had a chance to launch the Gaopingling Rebellion. Even if Sima Yi had the courage to do so, he would still hit the stone with an egg, because he did not have the support of the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu, and even if he launched a mutiny, he was doomed to failure. Cao Zhen was a figure who could compete with Zhuge Liang, so the clever Sima Yi would not do such a stupid thing. During the first attack on Wei by Zhuge Liang, the Shu han chancellor, the Shu army quickly occupied the three counties of Nan'an, Tianshui, and Anding, and Cao Wei was shaken. At this time, Cao Zhen turned the tide and sent Zhang Hao to defeat Ma Chen and seize the military stronghold of the street pavilion, and he himself led his troops to defeat Zhao Yun in Xiegu, making an immortal contribution. In some film and television dramas, Luo Guanzhong placed the credit for Cao Zhen on Sima Yi's body in order to elevate Sima Yi, but Cao Zhen became an innocent "back pot man".
Stills: Sima Yi launches the GaopingLing Rebellion
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms": Dispatch zhen to oversee the armies of the army, send Zhang Gao to strike the general Ma Chen, and break it. Anding people Yang Tiao and other officials Baoyue Zhicheng, the real march to besiege the article said: "The great general has come, I wish to surrender my ears as soon as possible." "Then the three counties were tied up, and the three counties were equal."
Third, Cao Zhen, who was loyal to Cao Wei
Cao Cao and Cao Zhen were not related by blood, but Cao Zhen had always been loyal to Cao Wei and had no second thoughts. The two are not father and son like father and grandfather. Cao Was really loyal, and Cao Cao was very pleased.
In foreign conquests, Cao Cao mainly relied on Cao Zhen and Sima Yi. When Zhuge Liang first attacked Wei, Cao Cao sent Cao Zhen to personally take command, and Cao Zhen lived up to the expectations of the people and tried to turn the tide, and the Shu army was forced to retreat south. After the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui ascended the throne, He made Cao Zhen a major general and led an army to resist the attack of Zhuge Liang of the Shu state. In the two confrontations, Zhuge Liang did not return, you know, those who can fight with Zhuge Liang will naturally get Cao Cao's weight.
Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition
In addition, Cao Zhen also had plans to take the initiative to attack Shu Han, and began to implement them, and Sima Yi on the central line also cooperated with Cao Zhen's actions and marched from Shangyong to Hanzhong. However, due to the bad weather, the spark of this possible collision was extinguished in an instant. In the fifth year of Taihe (231 AD), Cao Zhen died of illness, with the courtesy name Yuan and worthy of the Taizu Temple Court.
Cao Zhen's monument
Fourth, the implications
Cao Zhen was a rising star of the Cao Wei clique during the Three Kingdoms period, young and promising, courageous and strategic, and effectively protected Cao Wei's Jiangshan Sheji. If Cao Zhen had not died early, there would have been no "carp leaping dragon gate" of the Sima family, and there would have been no later Sima Jin era, let alone the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" and the "Five Hu Chaos". Therefore, there is still a certain truth to the sentence that Cao Zhen will not die without Sima
Five nonsense
After Cao Zhen's death, the Cao Wei group underwent great changes.
Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei continued the Northern Expedition, and Cao Cao had to use Sima Yi to oppose it, but as Sima Yi's position of power continued to increase, Cao Cao also had to use Cao Shuang to balance Sima Yi.
However, Cao Shuang is not comparable to this Elder of the Three Dynasties and the scheming Sima Yi. In this way, after Cao Zhen's death, Sima Yi gradually became the core force of the Cao Wei clique, fighting against the Shu state externally and suppressing the imperial court internally, and was truly the first person under tianzi. Perhaps Cao Cao never dreamed that a hundred years later, the Cao Wei Foundation, which he had single-handedly founded, would be completely subverted by his foreign courtiers.