As we all know, Cao Wei, which was established by Cao Cao, was eventually replaced by the Western Jin Dynasty established by Sima Yi's descendants. Looking back on this process, the change of Gaopingling was naturally an important beginning, and it was through this mutiny that Sima Yi usurped the power of Cao Wei. As far as the change of Gao Pingling is concerned, Cao Shuang's performance is really disappointing. In the first month of the first year of Jiaping (249), the Cao Wei emperor Cao Fang left Luoyang to pay homage to the Wei Ming Emperor Gao Pingling, and the general Cao Shuang, the leader of the zhong, Cao Xi, and the general of Wu Wei, cao Xun, all followed. Sima Yi took the opportunity to play Empress Guo and asked Cao Shuang's brothers to be deposed. At that time, Sima Shi was the central protector, leading troops to Tun Sima Men and controlling the capital Luoyang.
Sima Yi lined up, and after passing in front of Cao Shuang's gate, Cao Shuang's general Yan Shi ascended the tower and drew a crossbow to shoot Sima Yi, and Sun Qian pulled his arm to stop him: "The truth of the matter is not yet known. Three attempts to shoot arrows were stopped three times, and Sun Qian held Yan Shizhi's elbow so that he could not shoot. Dasi Nong Huan Fan went out of the city to throw Cao Shuang, Jiang Ji expressed concern, and Sima Yi said: "Fan Zezhiyi, donkey horses love stack beans, Shuang must not be able to use it." Sima Yi summoned Situ Gao Rou to perform the general's duties on a false holiday, and took charge of Cao Shuang's military camp, and said to him: "The king is Zhou Boyi." "Summoning the servant King Guan Xingzhong to lead the military and command the Cao Xi military camp." Sima Yi led the lieutenant Jiang Ji and other soldiers to greet Tianzi and stationed at the Luoshui Pontoon Bridge. He sent someone to explain Cao Shuang's crimes to the emperor.
At the time of Sima Yi's rebellion, although Cao Shuang lost control of the capital Luoyang, the emperor Cao Fang was in cao shuang's hands, and as a general, Cao Shuang was nominally in charge of the world's soldiers and horses. In the eyes of many people, Cao Shuang could completely blackmail tianzi like Cao Cao in that year to order the princes, so as to compete with Sima Yi. However, Cao Shuang gave up resistance, that is, he surrendered without a fight against Sima Yi.
One
In this regard, in the author's opinion, the reason why Cao Shuang gave up resistance is mainly divided into the following points. On the one hand, in the place of Gaopingling, Cao Shuang's direct control of soldiers and horses was relatively limited. Because it was to worship the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui, rather than leading the army to fight, this made it impossible for Cao Shuang to mobilize the masses and lead too many soldiers and horses. After receiving news of Sima Yi's rebellion, Cao Shuang had to recruit thousands of soldiers and horses from Tuntian around Pingling to defend himself and Cao Fang. During the Three Kingdoms period, tuntian soldiers were also part of the military strength of various countries. However, because these soldiers have been mainly engaged in farming for a long time, their combat effectiveness is relatively weak.
On this basis, Cao Shuang even recruited these soldiers, which undoubtedly exposed Cao Shuang's predicament at that time, that is, the soldiers and horses he directly controlled, not only could not counterattack Luoyang, but even it was more difficult to protect himself. Further, if Cao Shuang had 50,000 or 100,000 elite soldiers in his hands at this time, he would obviously not hesitate to go back and attack the capital Luoyang in order to compete with Sima Yi. However, Cao Shuang, who lacked elite soldiers in his hands, did not have the courage to fight back despite having Tianzi Cao Fang.
On the other hand, some people may ask, as a great general, why didn't Cao Shuang mobilize heavy troops to attack Sima Yi? In this regard, in the author's opinion, this is because Sima Yi, in the name of Empress Guo, ordered the closure of various gates, occupied the arsenal, and sent troops out of the city to control the pontoon bridge in Luoshui. Moreover, in Empress Guo's edict, Situ Gaorou was also allowed to act as an official of the general, thus occupying Cao Shuang's camp.
Two
In the context of Emperor Cao Fang's young age, Empress Guo gave orders on her behalf, which obviously had the advantage of justification. It is worth noting that Empress Guo should have agreed with Cao Shuang's position. However, because of Cao Shuang's actions, he eventually pushed Empress Guo to the opposite side. According to the Book of Jin and other historical records, in the eighth year of Cao Wei's reign (247), the general Cao Shuang adopted the strategy of He Yan, Deng Biao, and Ding Mi and put Empress Guo under house arrest at Yongning Palace, and Guo and Cao Fang wept relatively when they bid farewell, and Cao Shuang has since seized the power of Cao Wei.
After Empress Guo issued the edict, from a formal point of view, Sima Yi had abolished Cao Shuang's position as a general. Of course, this is also because Cao Shuang has lower prestige and less seniority among Cao Wei's generals. If Cao Shuang was replaced by his father Cao Zhen, he would not care about Empress Guo's edict at all. Because Cao Zhen's name is far more appealing than a paper edict. In the Gaopingling Rebellion, because of Sima Yi's soft and hard treatment, this prompted Cao Shuang to give up resistance. At that time, Huan Fan scolded Cao Shuang bitterly, what a hero Cao Really was, and he did not expect that his son Cao Shuang was so weak.
Three
For Cao Wei, because of the need to defend against the attacks of Shu Han and Eastern Wu, many elite soldiers were gathered in Yongliang, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou. In 249, although Cao Shuang's cousin Xiahou Xuan served as the governor of Yongliang, he nominally commanded a large army in the Yongliang region. However, in the fifth year of the reign (244), Deng Biao and Li Sheng, in order to make Cao Shuang establish a battle merit, proposed to conquer Shu Han, and Cao Shuang then went west to Chang'an, did not heed Sima Yi's advice, and appointed Xiahou Xuan as the general of Zhengxi, and the soldiers and horses of Yongzhou and Liangzhou were appointed, instead of leading 60,000 to 70,000 troops from Luogu into Shu, but because the transportation of Guanzhong and Qiang and Qi could not meet the needs of the march, the large army was short of materials and food.
Correspondingly, the Shu Han general Fei Yi led his troops to defend the mountains one step ahead, and Cao Shuang was unable to advance. Both Yang Wei and Xiahou Xuan persuaded him to withdraw, but Deng Biao urged him to continue the march, and argued with Yang Wei in front of Cao Shuang, who was in the army, and Yang Wei angrily said: "Deng Biao and Li Sheng will destroy the imperial court and should be beheaded." Cao Shuang was displeased, and had no choice but to withdraw his troops, but he had already been guarded by Fei Yishi's advanced troops to defend the rear road of the Wei army, and Cao Shuang was able to evacuate after a bitter battle, with many casualties, and the cattle and horses he brought to transport were almost exhausted, and Qiang, Hu and other places complained about him, and Guanzhong was also greatly wasted.
After this battle, both Xiahou Xuan and Cao Shuang were questioned among Yongliang's generals. Coupled with the fact that Sima Yi had long resisted Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition in the Yongliang region, and Guo Huai and other henchmen held official positions in the Yongliang region, this prompted Cao Shuang not to dare to run to the Yongliang region at all.
Four
Finally, Wang Chang, who was guarding Jingzhou and Yuzhou at that time, served as the general of Zhengnan, was recommended by Sima Yi to Emperor Wei Ming as early as 236 AD, that is, Wang Chang could also be included in Sima Yi's camp. Therefore, when Sima Yi rebelled, only Yangzhou stabbed Shi Zhuge and could take in Cao Shuang.
After the establishment of Cao Wei, Zhuge Was promoted to Yushi Zhongcheng (御史中丞) and Shangshu (尚書), and befriended Xiahou Xuan (夏侯玄), a squire of the Scattered Horsemen. Later, Emperor Ming of Wei was dismissed from office because he hated Xiahou Xuan and Zhuge Shi and others for selling their fame and reputation, and pursued flashiness. After emperor Ming of Wei's death, Cao Fang the Prince of Qi succeeded to the throne, and the general Cao Shuang took power, cao Shuang appointed Xiahou Xuan and others, and then reinstated Zhuge Shi and served as the yangzhou assassin, plus the general Zhaowu. Therefore, it is very obvious that Zhuge Sheng can be regarded as a military general in Cao Shuang's camp, and if Cao Shuang holds Tianzi hostage and comes to Yangzhou, he can obviously compete with Sima Yi.
However, after Sima Yi sent Jiang Ji and other old ministers to ensure that Cao Shuang would be able to enjoy the glory and wealth by abandoning resistance, this prompted Cao Shuang not to come to Yangzhou with Tianzi, but to return to Luoyang. From this point of view, Sima Yi saw through Cao Shuang's character weaknesses, which gave him the courage to launch a mutiny. After abandoning his resistance, Sima Yi broke his promise and killed Cao Shuang and his henchmen, completing the first step in usurping Cao Wei's power. Although Sima Yi died of illness in 251 CE, after Sima Yi, Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang and Sima Zhao killed Cao Fang, basically clearing the way for the Western Jin Dynasty to replace Cao Wei. Therefore, after Sima Yi ascended the throne, it eventually became the last step to replace Cao Wei, that is, to establish the Western Jin Dynasty.