Tear Stains Spring Rain Commented on the Two Jin Dynasties (II) Wei Ming Emperor Tuo's Lonely and Weak Cao Wei Imperial Family

(2) Emperor Ming of Wei's lonely and weakened Cao Wei imperial family

When Emperor Wei Ming was dying, the most frightening problem was a long-standing problem, that is, the power of the Cao Wei imperial family was getting weaker and weaker, and the power of the generally powerful family was getting bigger and bigger.

When Cao Cao was alive, the brothers and nephews of the Cao family were really talented. Cao Cao's brothers were Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, and Xiahou Huan; the sons and nephews were Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Xiu, Cao Chun, Cao Zhen, and Xiahou Shang. These members of the Cao clan all became one of the most important power holders of the empire with loyalty, or literary talent, or martial arts.

But all this has long been a thing of the past.

During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Xiahou Huan's son sat in Chang'an City, which was a high position of authority.

The problem was that Xiahou Huan's son had a high position of power and power, which only made people feel that there was no successor to the Cao clan. Because Xiahou Huan's son was called Xiahou Shu. And Xiahou Shu is synonymous with the second generation of incompetence.

During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, Wei Yan said to Zhuge Liang, "Give me five thousand elite soldiers, and I will be able to capture Chang'an City without a fight, because as far as xiahou Shu's incompetent second generation is concerned, I can scare him to death."

Wei Yan's words were naturally unashamed to the peak. The problem was that at that time, and in later generations, many people believed that Wei Yan was able to do this, but Zhuge Liang did not give Wei Yan a chance.

If Cao Zhang was still sitting in Chang'an City at that time, how dare Wei Yan make such a big statement? The point is, even if Wei Yan dared to put such a big word, I am afraid it would only be a joke, because you are really not afraid of the wind flashing your tongue.

Cao Zhang, the third uncle of Emperor Ming of Wei, was known for his bravery and martial prowess; later generations often compared Cao Zhang when praising someone for his bravery.

Wang Wei has a poem: When he was fifteen or twenty years old, he won the Huma ride on foot. Shoot the white-fronted tiger in the mountains, and ken count the yellow whiskers.

When Li Yuan praised Li Daozong, he said this: Former Wei Rencheng King Zhanglin was an enemy, and Daozong was brave and had the same as the other.

Cao Zhangjue worshiped the king of the city and grew a yellow beard. Therefore, when people say Cao Zhangshi, they are either called Huang Su'er or rencheng wang.

Cao Zhi was the fourth uncle of Emperor Ming of Wei, and he was known for his unique literary talent.

Later generations of great poet Xie Lingyun praised Cao Zhi and said: "There is only one stone in the world, and Cao Zijian has eight buckets alone..." ”

Because Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi were too good, when Cao Cao was alive, the Wei Emperor Cao Pi, facing the squeeze of these two younger brothers, had been living on thin ice.

Cao Zhi had been aggressively competing with Cao Pi for the position of crown prince, and at one point he almost succeeded.

As for Cao Zhang, it is even more exaggerated, hearing the news of Cao Cao's death, Cao Zhang actually led an army from Chang'an to Luoyang. The first sentence is, where is the Great Seal of the King of Wei? You know, at that time, Crown Prince Cao Pi was still in Yecheng. In this context, Jia Kui told him on behalf of everyone that the prince of the King of Wei was Cao Pi, you were just a marquis, and where the great seal of the King of Wei was, was not something you should ask. In short, if you have the courage to seize power by force, just let the horses come; if you don't have the courage, you will go wherever you cool down.

For similar reasons, after Emperor Cao Pi of Wei ascended the throne, he wanted to kill his younger brother Cao Zhi. So Cao Zhi tearfully composed a poem in seven steps: boiling beans and burning beans, beans crying in the kettle. Ben is born from the same root, and he is too anxious to fry.

Cao Pi felt this poem and finally released Cao Zhiyi. But Cao Zhi's concubines were not so lucky, because the adult men of their family were killed with them.

As for Cao Zhang, after Cao Pi ascended the throne, he died inexplicably. Some people said that he died of illness, and some people said that Cao Pi murdered him. How did he die? It became a historical mystery, but one thing is certain, Cao Pi wanted to kill him, and it was no secret.

For this historical reason, The Wei Emperor Cao Pi has always suppressed the imperial forces.

The royal kings were not allowed to go to the capital to meet the emperor, or even to interact with each other, and the central government sent officials to monitor their lives. More importantly, the emperor also set strict regulations on them, so the officials who monitored them reported their mistakes to the central government when they had nothing to do.

Theoretically, there was nothing wrong with Emperor Cao Pi of Wei doing so. Because the imperial family is huge, it will not only threaten the imperial power, but also lead to the tragedy of fratricide, which has countless historical lessons, so after Emperor Wei Ming came to power, he continued to suppress the imperial power.

But the result? When Emperor Wei Ming died, the Cao clan did not have a figure who could show his hand.

Other rich families, however, are brothers and nephews who occupy important central and local power departments, and the result of this development will naturally make it increasingly difficult for the Cao royal family to cope with the threats from other giants and powerful subjects.

When Cao Zhi was alive, he talked about similar hidden worries to Emperor Wei Ming.

The emperor's preoccupied vigilance against his relatives, forgetting the threat from outsiders, is in itself pathetic; because his relatives are not credible, outsiders are even more untrustworthy.

When Zhou Bo and Chen Ping invited Emperor Wen of Han to Chang'an, Emperor Huidi's son (Emperor Shao of Han) was still sitting on the throne.

As the son of Emperor Hui of Han, Emperor Shao of Han was also a legitimate emperor from any point of view. The problem was that Zhou Bo and Chen Ping felt that Emperor Shao of Han could not represent their interests, so they wanted to depose Emperor Shao of Han.

Of course, when Chen Ping and Zhou Bo did this, the reasons were very sufficient. Because according to them, Emperor Shao of Han, King Liang, King Huaiyang, and King Hengshan were not the biological flesh and blood of Emperor Hui of Han, they were all wild breeds that Lü Hou had found from outside.

You see, how easy is it for everyone to find a reason to depose the emperor?

In this context, The Dai Wang (later Emperor Wen of Han) wanted to become emperor of Chang'an, but was afraid of becoming a puppet of the Gongchen clique (Zhou Bo and Chen Ping). Because Zhou Bo and Chen Ping were bent on playing the meaning of the emperor's puppet, that is, passers-by knew it.

But Song Chang said to The Daiwang (later Emperor Wen of Han): You don't need to worry about this, now that the central government has your nephews (Marquis Zhu Xuanhou and Marquis Dongmu) in real power, and your uncles, brothers, and nephews (King Qi, King Chu, King Huainan, King Langya, etc.) in the local area control the vast area, how dare Zhou Bo and Chen Pingren regard you as a puppet?

Cao Zhi's point of view is very obvious, the emperor still has to rely on his relatives at critical times.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin state suppressed the clan forces, resulting in the monopoly of power by Liu Qing, and then the Jin state perished; the clan power of the Qi state weakened, resulting in the Tian clan usurping power.

Cao Zhi's view is very simple, if the clan power weakens, it will leave other giants with opportunities to take advantage of. The clan power is huge, which will naturally threaten the imperial power, but the clan power is weak, and the imperial power is even more dangerous.

Emperor Wei Ming refused Cao Zhi's suggestion, but this hidden worry did not disappear, on the contrary, it became more and more obvious.

In a sense, the Cao Wei Empire was thus brought to an end.

The former Emperor Wen of Han could wield great power, not by any means relying on the loyalty of his courtiers. Because of the loyalty of the courtiers, how much is a pound? No one knows.

No one has ever said that Emperor Wen of Han was a usurper, nor has anyone said that Zhou Bo Chen Ping was a traitor, and even if they were all positive. However, Emperor Shao of Han not only lost the throne, but also died with his three younger brothers.

In fact, this is also because the Liu royal family is so powerful, so Zhou Bo Chen Ping had the opportunity to depose the emperor, but did not have the opportunity to control Emperor Wen of Han. If the Liu clan is weak, don't say how great and how great Emperor Wen of Han is, he can only be a puppet. Emperor Xiandi of Han's cleverness and ability were recognized by the world, but when the imperial family declined, he could only be a puppet.

Now, Emperor Wei Ming felt that he would soon die, and now looked at his young son. Emperor Wei Ming suddenly remembered what the fourth uncle Cao Zhi had said before.

In the past, when Emperor Wei Mingdi saw Cao Zhi's words, he may have only felt that this uncle had been suppressed for too long, and he wanted to re-enter the political arena through such a statement. Now Emperor Wei Ming finally found that this statement was really too reasonable.

Thinking back to that year, Chun Yuyue said to Qin Shi Huang: "Now Your Majesty owns the whole world, but your sons and brothers have no real power, once there are suddenly chaotic ministers like Tian Chang and Liu Qing, who have no wings, how will they be saved?"

Qin Shi Huang believed that the imperial family was huge and was the source of turmoil in the world, so he refused Chun Yuyue's persuasion.

The result? The bones of the First Emperor were not cold, and his children (a total of 19) were all killed by Zhao Gao and Li Si in the name of Hu Hai, the second Qin Emperor.

The only surviving son of the First Emperor, Hu Hai of Qin, was also killed by Zhao Gao three years later.

Before his death, Qin II expressed his willingness to surrender the throne as long as he was a marquis of ten thousand households; when he found that this was a luxury, he said that he could only be a common man; but he finally discovered that this was also a luxury. As a result, only three years after Qin Shi Huang's death, all 20 of his children were killed by his most trusted courtiers during his lifetime.

Later, Han Gaozu divided the kings, and we always think that Han Gaozu turned back history.

The question is, if there were no powerful Kings of the Liu Clan, in the face of a powerful group of foreign relatives and heroes, would Liu Bang's descendants really be luckier than the descendants of the First Emperor? It's hard to say.

In this context, the assistant ministers that Emperor Wei ming initially chose were all members of the Cao clan.

They were Cao Yu the Prince of Yan (Cao Cao's son), the leading general Xiahou Xian (Xiahou Huan's grandson), the Wuwei general Cao Shuang (Cao Zhen's son), the Tun Riding Colonel Cao Zhao (Cao Xiu's son), and the Xiao cavalry general Qin Lang (Cao Cao's adopted son).

Emperor Wei Ming obviously wanted to strengthen the strength of the Cao clan through such an auxiliary political group; Emperor Wei Ming obviously also wanted to weaken the political power of the major giants through such an auxiliary political group.

But Emperor Wei Ming, who was already in critical condition, was obviously powerless to turn all this into reality.

Welcome to the next section Wei Ming Di Tuo's lonely imperial power is hopeless