Since ancient times, when the powerful ministers usurped the throne, it was the powerful ministers who deceived the young lords and their own power was monstrous, which enabled them to successfully usurp the throne and change the dynasty.
Such a usurpation is actually very easy to understand, and it is nothing more than a game between the power of the courtiers and the forces of the little emperor. If the power of the little emperor is greater than that of the powerful ministers, then the powerful ministers will not dare to usurp the throne, and the otherwise the powerful ministers will have the intention of rebellion.
Therefore, in the middle and late Period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the frequent appearance of small emperors could last for more than 190 years, and Cao Wei only produced a small emperor and fell into power, there must be a deep-seated reason:
The reign of the First and Second Han Dynasties lasted for more than four hundred years, and Liu's idea of being emperor was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people
The two Han Dynasties were divided into the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the last year of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang, as a foreign relative, finally usurped Liu's Jiangshan and established a new dynasty, but was finally overthrown after only fifteen years on the throne.
Later, the process of Liu Xiu and others unifying the world proved the status of Liu In the minds of people at that time. Therefore, although the small emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty appeared frequently, the imperial power was still not sidelined.
The situation was different when Sima Yi usurped power to Cao Wei.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the last emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty were successively held hostage by Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others, and their power and prestige were reduced to the lowest point. More importantly, Cao Wei's Jiangshan was obtained from the hands of the Liu clan, and by the time of Cao Fang, three generations (counting Cao Cao is four generations), which not only had a shallow foundation, but also provided a template, or experience, for the Sima family to usurp the throne, improving the success rate of the Sima family's usurpation.
Second, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, a balance was reached between various forces, and at the time of Cao Wei, the Sima family was dominant
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was true that the little emperors frequently appeared, but this did not hinder the emperor's rule, because at that time, the main threat to the imperial power was the foreign forces and eunuch forces.
Let's start with foreign forces
The growth of foreign relatives has a time cost, and the first generation of foreign relatives must have been established with the emperor as the center.
For example, Lü Hou was the first foreign relative to mess with the government, but the emperor at that time was Lü Hou's relative, Liu Ying, the Emperor hui of Han. Even if Lü Hou wanted to support her own family, she could not harm her own children, unless she wanted to be Wu Zetian, but this was unlikely at the time.
And the people who first divided their own families in a big way were also after the death of Emperor Hui of Han. In fact, this can also be understood, his own child is originally the emperor, why should he hinder him from holding his own power?
The foreign forces in the Eastern Han Dynasty basically survived for only one generation. Emperor He of Han ascended the throne at a young age, Empress Dou came to the throne, and the Dou clan began to monopolize power. Subsequently, Han and The Emperor gradually became pro-government, and they joined forces with eunuchs to eliminate the Dou clan. Emperor An of Han also ascended the throne at a young age, and after taking the throne, he began to pro-government to eliminate the foreign forces at that time, the Tang clan.
Let's talk about the eunuch power
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor used to balance the power of foreign relatives by supporting eunuchs. However, although the eunuch forces may have power to the opposition and bring misfortune to the world, they will not frame the emperor.
Because of the peculiarities of the eunuch group, it meant that the only way for them to gain power was to gain the trust of the emperor. In other words, eunuchs and emperors were communities of interest. The most famous example is Wei Zhongxian of the Ming Dynasty.
The demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty was certainly related to the chaotic government of eunuchs, but it did not affect the authority of the emperor. As for the usurpation of the throne, that is even more nonsense.
The Sima family in the Cao Wei period was different. Remember that at the beginning, Sima Yi did not agree to be a shi, but Cao Cao forced him to do so, because Cao Cao at that time was in urgent need of the support of the family clan, and the Sima family was one of them. This also means that the Sima family has had a lot of influence from the beginning.
By the time of Cao Pi's death, Cao Pi had left four auxiliary ministers for his son Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, Chen Qun, and Cao Xiu. Two foreign ministers, two clans, the meaning is obvious, while maintaining the balance of power, while also allowing Emperor Wei Ming to smoothly receive power.
The same is true of Cao Fang here, and at the beginning the auxiliary ministers left by Emperor Wei Ming to Cao Fang were also balanced, one Cao Shuang and one Sima Yi. The change of Gaopingling occurred entirely because Cao Shuang was too self-righteous, so that the power began to be unbalanced, and those clans all sided with Sima Yi, which caused the usurpation of the Sima family later.
Conclusion
The key to whether the power was sidelined was not the age of the emperor, but whether the power of the court at that time was balanced.