In the fifth year of Ganlu (260 AD), on the sixth night of the first month of May, the Wei emperor Cao Xian led the servants Li Zhao, the Yellow Gate conscript Jiao Bo, and hundreds of guards and slaves in the palace shouted out of the palace and attacked Sima Zhao. They scared away the soldiers of Sima Zhao's younger brother Sima Ling, a lieutenant of the Tun Riding School, at the East Gate, and soon met the army of Jia Chong, the central protector. Cao Huan, worthy of being a descendant of Emperor Cao Cao of Wei, personally fought with a sword, but was assassinated by Cheng Ji, the younger brother of cheng qi. He was only 19 years old when he died.
Many people wondered why Cao Xian did not kill Sima Zhao when he saw him, but instead led hundreds of slave moths to put out the fire without measuring himself? Cao Xian led hundreds of slaves to death, the real reason is very helpless, the analysis is as follows.
First, Cao Xian himself was supported by the Sima family's Sima shi and had no real power for a long time.
Cao Xian was the grandson of Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, the son of Cao Lin the Prince of Donghai, and an authentic Cao Wei imperial family. Originally, the Cao Wei emperor and Cao Huan had no half-cent relationship, but only because Cao Fang failed to seize power and was deposed by Sima Shi, he was elected as the emperor's heir. If there were no powerful ministers, Cao Huan would be a lackey, and he regretted that Sima Shi and Sima Zhao were both powerful ministers and had already set up the Cao Wei royal family. Although Cao Xian was an emperor, he was not as powerful as a county commander, and he had no soldiers and no power under him, and everything had to depend on Sima Shi's face.
For example, in 254 AD, Cao Xian gave the great general Sima Shi special treatment of "entering the dynasty without tendency, playing things without name, and sword shoes to the temple", and in 256 AD, Sima Zhao was made the governor of Dadu, playing things without name, and fake Huang Yu. Cao Xian's situation at that time was not as good as that of Emperor Xian of Han, he was just a puppet, and there were no available people under him.
Second, Cao Xian had already been monitored by Sima Zhao's cronies, and there was no chance of success.
The privilege of "sword walking on the temple" means that you can wear a sword to the temple. Under normal circumstances, ministers of culture and military affairs must be unarmed when they meet the emperor, and only ministers who have made special contributions to the country can enjoy this treatment. For example, Xiao He, Liang Ji, Cao Zhen, Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao and others have all had this treatment. Although Sima Zhao twice resigned the privilege of "sword walking on the temple", the palace guards had long been replaced by people loyal to the Sima family, which was where Sima Zhao's confidence in resigning the privilege of "sword footing on the temple" lay.
If Cao Xian wanted to get rid of Sima Zhao when he met him, he would have to consult with someone, and he would have to find a warrior to do it. As long as Cao Xianliu leaked a little dissatisfaction with Sima Zhao, Sima Zhao would soon know. Just imagine, in such a situation as Cao Xian, can he still succeed? The reason why the Kangxi Dynasty was able to get rid of the powerful minister Aobai was based on the assistance of suo etu and other important ministers, and only then was it eradicated in one fell swoop.
Now, Cao Xian did not have a minister who could be trusted. For example, he summoned three ministers who might help him, namely Wang Shen of Shizhong, Wang Jing of Shangshu, and Wang Ye of Shanqi Changshi, and as a result, two of them informed Sima Zhao. The Zizhi Tongjian records the following:
Emperor Nai threw huang Su into his arms and said, "The decision is made! If you are afraid of death, you don't have to die evil! So he entered the White Empress. Shen and Ye rushed to tell Zhao, calling for the scriptures to be with them, but not following them.
Third, even if Cao Xian got lucky enough to kill Sima Zhao, it would not help.
Even if Cao Xian was lucky enough to get rid of it when Sima Zhao saw him, it would be difficult for him to clean up the mess. Because Sima Zhao represented the interests of the entire Sima family and the Shi clan, he was only a spokesman. Sima Shi rebelled against Huainan, was frightened to death, and another Sima Zhao came out. Even if Cao Xian got away with Sima Zhao when he saw him, he would come up with a new courtier, such as Sima Yan, the son of Sima Zhao.
At this time, it was still the Sima family that held great power, and they would retaliate against themselves and further suppress the Cao Wei sect. For example, Emperor Xiaozhuang of Northern Wei, Yuan Ziyou, used tactics to successfully booby-trap the powerful ministers Erzhu Rong and Yuan Tianmu. After he got rid of the powerful minister Erzhu Rong, he was retaliated against by the Erzhu family, and was soon captured by Erzhu Zhao, who went north and hanged him at the third-level Buddhist temple in Jinyang. As an emperor of a generation, Yuan Ziyou was captured by his subordinates, and was imprisoned like a dragged dog, and finally hanged.
Cao Xian's situation was not as good as that of Yuan Ziyou, who had no soldiers and no generals, and the Sima family was ironclad and supported by other warrior clans. If Cao Xian killed Sima Zhao when he saw him, the end could be as tragic as That of Yuan Ziyou.
Summary: Due to the above three concerns, Cao Xian made the decision to lead the slaves in a crusade against the powerful minister Sima Zhao after careful consideration. He was gambling that no one would dare to bear the heinous sin of killing the king. Unexpectedly, a fool who "only knew how to carry out the orders of his superiors" obeyed Jia Chong's orders and took action against Emperor Cao Xian, and he himself was executed as a scapegoat and was exterminated.
Cao Xian was a bloody Member of the Cao Clan, who was worthy of being a descendant of Cao Cao, and did not sit and wait for the abolition and be replaced like Emperor Xian of Han, but rose up to fight back, although he failed, he was also a good man. This is a helpless move, but as long as there is a glimmer of life, he will not take his life as a child.