Last time, we mentioned that in the second year of the Jing Dynasty (238 AD), on December 24, the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui appointed Cao Yu the Prince of Yan as a general, and formed a five-member clan group with the leading general Xiahou Xian, the Wuwei general Cao Shuang, the Tun Riding Colonel Cao Zhao, and the Xiao riding general Qin Lang to assist the crown prince Cao Fang. However, in just one day, within the court, from the undercurrent to the waves! Cao Rui, who was almost in a state of dying, suddenly issued an edict, dismissing Cao Yu from his post as a general, disbanding the five-member auxiliary political group, and replacing it with Cao Shuang and Sima Yi jointly assisting the government.
This brings us to two people— two notorious, but influential figures of great influence on history.
These two people, one named Liu Fang and the other named Sun Zi, were very capable, both had done local county orders, and both had been Cao Cao's military advisers, and they were deeply loved by Cao Cao. After the establishment of the State of Wei (not the Wei Dynasty), Liu Fang and Sun Zi both served as secretaries, and in the decades since, the two brothers and sons are like the two wicks in the sun and moon god lamp in front of the Buddha's seat, tightly intertwined, and they can either illuminate the Buddhist hall or burn the entire temple.
【Zixia during the day, Qingxia at night】
After Emperor Wen Cao Pi ascended the throne, he changed the secretary to Zhongshu, and appointed Liu Fang as the superintendent of Zhongshu and Sun Zi as Zhongshu Ling, and the two were in charge of secrets. Emperor Cao Rui of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, and the pair continued to be favored by the wick, and they were both appointed as attendants and Guanglu doctors. Cao Rui personally handled daily administrative affairs, repeatedly dispatched troops, and the central planning was controlled by them; whenever there was a major state event, the courtiers gathered to meet the matter, often let the two of them decide right and wrong, and act according to the plan. In 238, Sima Yi pacified Liaodong, and the two of them, with the merits of their staff officers, each made him the Marquis of BenXian County, Liu Fang the Marquis of Fangcheng, and Sun Zi the Marquis of Zhongdu.
Yi Zhilu said: These two brothers are very strong. We always say that a dynasty of heavenly sons and a courtier rarely encounters people like Liu Fang and Sun Zi, and the three generations of the Cao family have placed them in the core position of the center. To be able to become the confidant of the three generations of the Cao family, I have to say, what a "cow" word!
Jiang Ji, a defender of the Chinese Army, wrote to advise Cao Rui to the effect that:
If the power of the ministers is too great, the country is in danger; if the left and right are too close, the eyes and ears will be deceived. Now, the influence of Zhongshu is too great, although they are respectful and cautious, and dare not communicate with foreign countries, but as long as they have the name of "Zhongshu", they can confuse the government and the opposition, not to mention that they actually control the major affairs of the country and serve His Majesty all day. If they take advantage of His Majesty's weariness and negligence to gain power, and the ministers will intimidate them when they see that they are indeed able to influence the affairs of the state. Once this drawback is achieved, the style of the partisan will rise, and the praise and disgrace, the reward and punishment of merit and demerit will be affected, so that those who practice the right path will be blocked, and the horse ass spirit that is willing to meet will be able to become noble. Because His Majesty trusts them, they will not suspect it, and they will take advantage of this, and if they have a loophole, they will drill it, and if they have a benefit, they will do it. The king cannot do all the work alone, and the work must be shared by someone. However, it must not be entrusted to one or two people, unless they have the loyalty of Zhou Gong and the justice of Guan Zhong, otherwise, they will definitely play games to gain power and corrupt the country. In today's world, although there are not many talents, there are still people whose virtue can be competent in a state, whose wisdom can serve in a post, and who are loyal to their duties. The old minister hoped that they would share the worries of the country together, and not let the Holy Dynasty appear as a one-two evil official dictatorship!
Cao Rui did not accept.
[All the dynasties have had such a powerful figure with little reputation]
Yi Cilu said: Jiang Ji's Daoist book is simply to criticize Liu Fang and Sun Zi by name, and the implication is, Emperor, hurry up and change these two goods! However, Cao Rui thought that he could control these two wicks and did not adopt them. From another point of view, these two brothers were too important to Cao Rui, and they were loyal—at least Cao Rui felt that they were loyal.
We must not think that Liu Fang and Sun Zi are two complete villains who have risen to power by patting themselves on the back. In fact, these two brothers had insight, level, and ability, and had made outstanding contributions to the development and construction of Cao Wei, otherwise, it would be impossible to stay in the center of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui for twenty or thirty years.
Liu Fang and Sun Zi had always been favored and had been in charge of court secrets for a long time, and Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao had long been very resentful of them. There is a tree in the palace called the chicken perch tree, and it is said that the roosters that crow in the palace often fly to the tree to rest, hence the name. On this day, Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao passed under the tree, looked at the triumphant chirping chicken, and said with hatred that the chicken that can sing is only a chicken, and I see if you can still be a chicken for a few days! Obviously, they think that Liu Fang and Sun Zi are triumphant chirping chickens crouching in trees:
I yawn! After Lao Tzu came to power, the first thing he did was to break the necks of your chickens!
【There are also chicken perch trees outside the palace】
Not wanting this to be heard, a cigarette reported to Liu Fang and Sun Zi. The brothers were terrified in their hearts, so they planned to break up the relationship between Emperor Cao Rui of the Ming Dynasty and the five auxiliary political groups.
Cao Yu, the King of Yan, was obedient and gentle in temperament, and resolutely resigned from the matter of assisting the government.
Emperor Cao Rui of the Ming Dynasty summoned Liu Fang and Sun Zi to the head of the bed and asked, Did King Yan really insist on resigning?
Liu Fang and Sun Zi said that the King of Yan knew that he was not the material for assisting the government, so he did resign.
Cao Rui asked, then who can take on the heavy responsibility?
At that time, only Cao Shuang was present in the five-man regiment, and Liu Fang and Sun Zi recommended Cao Shuang and suggested that Sima Yi, the grand lieutenant, should be recalled to participate in the auxiliary government.
Cao Rui asked Cao Shuang, can you bear this burden?
Cao Shuang was nervous, his face was sweaty, and he didn't know how to answer.
Liu Fang secretly stepped on him and whispered, "The subject must serve the society with death"!
Therefore, Cao Rui followed the advice of Liu Fang and Sun Zi, planned to appoint Cao Shuang and Sima Yi, and sent someone to recruit Sima Yi.
Soon, Cao Rui changed his mind and issued an edict to retract the previous order.
Liu Fang and Sun Zi were anxious and went to see them again, and Cao Rui once again decided that Cao Shuang and Sima Yi would assist the government.
Liu Fang said, Emperor, you had better write the edict yourself.
Cao Rui said, I can't lift my hands, I can't write!
Liu Fang then climbed onto the bed, took Cao Rui's hand, wrote down the edict, and then immediately left the palace to announce:
The emperor issued an edict that Cao Yu, the King of Yan, was relieved of his official positions and not allowed to stay in the palace.
Cao Yu and the others burst into tears.
On December 27, Cao Shuang was appointed as a general, and Cao Rui felt that Cao Shuang's talent was insufficient, and appointed Shang Shu Sun Li as the general Changshi as Cao Shuang's assistant.
【Whose idea is this!】 Image】
Yi Zhilu said: In this paragraph, the main text of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Fang's Biography" and the "General Commentary" records are basically the same. However, there are doubts.
Saying that Cao Yu resolutely did not become a great general and refused to assist the government is a lie. Cao Rui summoned him to the dynasty, the purpose was to make him assist the government, if he refused, he should have returned to the palace a long time ago, not to mention, as early as the twenty-fourth day, Cao Yu had already served as a great general, and he also resigned an eggplant!
The reason why Liu Fang and Sun Zi recommended Sima Yi to assist the government should be long-standing.
Last time we said that Sima Yi pacified Liaodong, and the cadres under him each had a reward. There were only three people who were not of sima consortia: Yuqiu Jian, Liu Fang, and Sun Zi. As the deputy commander-in-chief of the conquest of Liaodong, Yuqiu Jian was awarded the title of Marquis of Anyi for military merit. Liu Fang and Sun Zi, on the other hand, used their merits as staff officers to each become knights and were given the title of county marquis. That is to say, the two brothers did not participate in the war, and they were in the rear area, but they were promoted to the rank of county marquis with the merits of the staff officer.
Liu Fang, Sun Zi, and Sima Yi all stopped cooking; Sima Yi assisted the government, and everyone was very happy.
Originally, Liu and Sun did not necessarily have to cooperate with Sima Yi, the key is that as the central and close ministers of the three generations of the Cao family, the auxiliary political team did not have them, which is enough, and as soon as the five-man regiment came to power, without the hands of the great general Cao Yu, Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao would break their necks! Therefore, the two brothers had a strong internal drive to conspire secretly with Sima Yi. They are the two "secret weapons" of Sima Yi that I mentioned last time.
However, Cao Rui had already set up the Auxiliary Government Five., We have reason to believe that when determining the auxiliary political team, Cao Rui must have discussed the candidates for the auxiliary government with Liu Fang and Sun Zi, and there is no reason to bypass Sima Yi and not talk about it. Then, Cao Rui did not have a reason to choose Sima Yi, liu and Sun of course knew very well, it was nothing more than That Sima Yi's merits were too great, and Cao Rui could not determine whether he was loyal enough, and so on. The breakthrough to persuade Cao Rui to take Cao Yu and replace him with Sima Yi is to prove that Sima Yi is more loyal than Cao Yu, or that Cao Yu is not as loyal as Sima Yi.
Then again, with Cao Rui's shrewdness and strength, how could you two be fooled and withdraw the five-person regiment! Therefore, the brothers and sons could only wait for the opportunity, and when Cao Rui was almost at the end of his death, his thoughts were already confused, and then they began to act.
According to Pei Songzhi's commentary on the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicle of the Ming Emperor, the Zhongshu Supervisor Liu Fang and Zhongshu Ling Sun Zijiu were so resentful of Qin Lang and others that they were afraid of being framed in the future, so they privately planned to sabotage the Five-Man Auxiliary Government Regiment. However, because Cao Yu often stayed by Cao Rui's side, there was no chance of provocation. On December 27, Cao Rui was so angry that he couldn't see it, so Cao Yu went out of the palace to discuss things with Cao Zhao, but he had not yet returned, and only Cao Shuang was alone in the palace. When Liu Fang learned of this situation, he immediately asked Sun Zi to act together. Sun Zi was a little stage-frightened, saying, "Okay?" Liu Fang said, the special two of us are about to be thrown into the cauldron and boiled, and we have to do it, and if we can't do it, we have to do it! Therefore, the brothers and sons went directly to Cao Rui's hospital bed and said with tears, Your Majesty is now dying, in case of any accident, who will entrust the world to?
Cao Rui said, Isn't it Liu Yu, the King of Yan? How could you not know?
Liu Fang said:
Has Your Majesty forgotten the edict of the First Emperor, and the king of the clan is not allowed to assist the government! Moreover, since His Majesty was ill, Cao Zhao, Qin Lang and others had flirted with the palace ladies and were unhappy. Cao Yu, the king of Yan, now supports the south side of the army, and does not let us come in to serve you at all (the original text is "The king of Yan supports the south side of the army, and does not listen to the courtiers to enter", which may be assigned soldiers to guard the south side of the palace, but the word "south" is quite taboo). Cao Yu, that is, Zhao Gao (this is too powerful, Qi Huangong was restricted by Shu Diao and others and starved to death in the Dune Palace; Erhu Hai was deceived by Zhao Gao in the deep palace and died in the world)! Nowadays, the crown prince is young and weak, with strong enemies on the outside (Shu and Wu) on the side, and there are people who are tired and resentful inside, and His Majesty does not consider the long-term fate of the country, but only appoints relatives to the past. Entrusting the inheritance of the ancestors to these goods, only a few days after being ill, they were already isolated from the inside and outside. Sheji was already in danger, and His Majesty did not know it, which made the courtiers extremely sad!
When Cao Rui heard these words, he was furious and said, "Then who can entrust the heavy responsibility?"
Liu Fang and Sun Zi said that Cao Shuang could.
Later, he also proposed that he should issue an edict and let sima Yi assist Cao Shuang.
Cao Rui agreed.
After Liu Fang and Sun Zi went out, Cao Zhao came in (release, capital out, Cao Zhao), hearing about this great change, Cao Zhao was really crying, crying while persuading Cao Rui to take back his life, Cao Rui then asked Cao Zhao to issue an edict to stop the previous discussion. Cao Zhao had just gone out to handle this matter, Liu Fang and Sun Zi rushed in again, and once again cried and advised, Cao Rui estimated that they were all dizzy at this time, and listened to the opinions of the two brothers. After all, Liu Fang is an old organ, unless cao rui issued a handwritten edict, Cao Rui said, I can take the pen! So, Liu Fang jumped on the bed, shook Cao Rui's hand, wrote down the edict, and immediately left the palace, announcing loudly:
The emperor decreed that Cao Yu, the King of Yan, should be relieved of official positions and not allowed to stay in the palace.
Therefore, Cao Yu, Cao Zhao, Xiahou Xian, and Qin Lang wept relatively and returned to the capital.
Yi Zhilu said: I personally believe that the record of "Han Jin Spring and Autumn" is probably closer to the truth of history.
This paragraph is interesting ha! The key to solving the case is here!
Cao Yu went out to discuss things with Cao Zhao, and as soon as he left, Liu Fang and Sun Zi knew, so who told them?
When Liu Fang and Sun Zi saw Emperor Cao Rui of the Ming Dynasty, they rebuked the King of Yan for "supporting the army to the south, and not listening to the ministers to enter, that is, Shu Diao and Zhao Gaoye!" "Since Cao Yu's guards won't let you into the temple, how did you two old people come in?"
Someone must have let them in.
Who is this "someone"?
Let's see that Cao Yu himself was a great general and chief assistant chancellor; it was Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao who wanted to break Liu Fang and Sun Zi's necks; it was Cao Zhao and Qin Lang who were accused of flirting with the palace women by Liu Fang and Sun Zi; Emperor Ming's breath was weak, and Cao Yu went out to consult with someone, looking for Cao Zhao.
However, what about Cao Shuang? Where did Cao Shuang go?
Cao Shuang was serving the emperor in the main hall!!!
What about everyone else?
None of them!!!
So, how did Liu Fang and Sun Zi know that the emperor was about to choke, how did they know that Cao Yu and the others were not around the emperor, and how did they enter the hall through the guards? I guess I don't need to say anything more, right?
Cao Shuang!
That is to say, Cao Shuang had already gone with Liu Fang and Sun Zi!
Liu Fang and Sun Zi were indeed laojianghu, and they divided the five-member group of auxiliary governments into three and prescribed the right medicine. For Cao Yu, they raised the edict of Emperor Wen Cao Pi, the king of the domain was not allowed to assist the government, and this edict was formulated to prevent the king of the domain from seizing power, and then said that Cao Yu had shown signs of "supporting the army to the south", which made Cao Rui feel bad?! To Cao Zhao, Qin Lang, and Xiahou Xian, they said that they flirted with the palace women, and their moral character was corrupt, and they were cloudy. For Cao Shuang, it was pulled to his side--there were no clan members in the auxiliary ministers, and Cao Rui did not do it. Therefore, he promised to let this "small ambition and talent" Cao Shuang be a great general, and as the first assistant, this attraction was too great, Cao Shuang was so cool, decided to turn to Sima Yi.
And where can Cao Yu and others think of this?
Pei Songzhi's commentary on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Liu Fang quotes the Shiyu that Cao Zhao's younger brother Cao Lu was the great general Sima And on the same day, Cao Zhao left the palace and met Cao Lu. Cao Lu was stunned and said:
The emperor is in danger, how come you all came out! Go back, hurry!
At that time, it was already evening, Liu Fang and Sun Zi ordered the palace gate, not allowing Cao Zhao and others to enter the palace, and deposing the King of Yan at the same time.
Cao Lu was Cao Zhao's younger brother and sima of the general Cao Yu, and what he meant was that Cao Yu and Cao Zhao, one of whom must be by the emperor's side, obviously, Cao Lu did not regard Cao Shuang as his own, in other words, Cao Shuang was a marginalized character in the five-man regiment, and became the crack that was broken by Liu Fang and Sun Zi.
Cao Shuang betrayed the Five-Man Regiment, and he was probably still a little ashamed in his heart. Therefore, when Emperor Ming asked, "Can you bear the heavy responsibility?", Cao Shuang sweated and gagged for a while. It is precisely because of this that at the beginning of Cao Shuang's reign, he still had considerable respect for Sima Yi and treated him with the courtesy of an elder. This relationship between Cao Shuang and Sima Yi may have directly led to the change of Gao Pingling, cao Shuang did not make any resistance at all, and was taken down by Sima Yi.
[Cao Shuang is the biggest winner of this coup]
To tell the truth, Cao Yu, the King of Yan, and others still lacked experience in the struggle, and did not expect the seriousness of the situation at all, thinking that the major matter had been decided and that they could lie on their backs.
At this time, Sima Yi's army had reached Ji County, and the emissaries of the Ming Emperor Cao Rui (the emissary's name was called Ward Off Evil) went to recruit them into the dynasty with a hand edict. Earlier, Cao Yu and others urged Cao Rui to say that the defense of Guanzhong was important, so don't let Sima Yi return to Beijing, and directly take the trail from Xuanguan to the west back to Chang'an. Sima Yi had already received the edict, and this time he received cao Rui's hand edict to let him enter beijing, and Sima Yi suspected that something had changed in the capital division and drove all the way into the dprk with a "chasing car". It is said that the garrison was four hundred miles away from Luoyang, and Sima Yi rushed back in one night.
Yi Zhilu said: You see, Cao Yu and others are also guarding against Sima Yi, worried that he will come back to seize the position, simply let Cao Rui order that Sima Yi not be allowed to enter the capital, which reflects from one side, saying that Cao Yu is humble and does not want to be a great general, which is pure nonsense. Chang'an was important, and Sima Yi returned to Luoyang to report for a few days! Sima Yi was no fool. I guess that after receiving the order to return directly to Chang'an, Sima Yi must have deliberately slowed down the march and thought about the next step of liaison and deployment. However, when he received the edict to ward off evil spirits, he "rushed to the palace overnight."
In 239, on the first day of the first lunar month, Sima Yi returned to The Jing Division and met with the Ming Emperor Cao Rui. Cao Rui took his hand and said:
I entrusted you with the aftermath, and you will assist the young lord with Cao Shuang. How can death be endured? I have to endure not to die, just waiting for you. I hope that you and Cao Shuang will work together to help the young lord well.
Sima Yi said, Doesn't Your Majesty remember that Emperor Xian also asked his old ministers to assist His Majesty in this way?
After that, Cao Rui summoned Cao Fang, the King of Qi, and Cao Qing, the King of Qin, to let them meet Sima Yi, and then pointed at Cao Fang and said to Sima Yi, It is him, you can see it carefully, don't make a mistake. He also asked Cao Fang to come forward and hug Sima Yi's neck.
Sima Yi prostrated his head and wept.
"Sima Gong, I trust you! 】
On the same day, Li CaoFang was made crown prince. Cao Rui died at the age of Chinese New Year's Eve 6 (one said thirty-four, one said thirty-five).
Crown Prince Cao Fang ascended the throne at the age of eight. Amnesty for the world. Empress Dowager Guo was made empress dowager, and cao shuang and Sima Yi were given the titles of cao shuang and sima yi shizhong, and were awarded the title of Fu Jie and Huang Yu (黄钺), and served as the governor of the Chinese and foreign military forces and recorded Shangshu.
Cao Shuang and Sima Yi each led three thousand troops and took turns to stay in the palace guards, Cao Shuang because Of Sima Yi's high age and high status, he served him as a father, and whenever there was something he had, he would visit and consult, and did not dare to act arbitrarily.
Yi Zhilu said: Let's analyze why Liu Fang and Sun Zi were able to persuade Cao Rui to let Sima Yi assist him.
First, Cao Rui has lost his normal judgment ability in a state of dying, and it is understandable that whoever is around him will listen to whomever he wants.
Second, Sima Yi never showed signs of disloyalty. In terms of administration and military affairs, Sima Yi was an unborn talent, and his prestige was unprecedented. If you do not consider the issue of rebellion or abuse of power, you are definitely the best candidate for auxiliary government. Cao Rui did not consider letting him assist the government at first, but only feared that he would be unfavorable to the Wei Dynasty, but it was not certain that he was not loyal enough, so it was possible to take back his life. Previously, Sima Yi not only did not show any disloyalty, but did many extremely "loyal" things. Regardless of the great feats of beating Meng Da, rejecting Zhuge and Ping Liaodong, the small things in ordinary days were not less done. In the third year of qinglong (235), Sima Yi guarded Chang'an and carried out a lot of economic construction, coinciding with the great famine in Kwantung, Sima Yi sent five million stones of corn to Luoyang to relieve the disaster. In 236 AD, another white deer was captured and presented to the Ming Emperor Cao Rui. Cao Rui was very pleased and said:
In that year, the Duke of Zhou assisted King Cheng of Zhou, and someone paid tribute to xiangrui of the white pheasant. Now, you shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding Guanzhong and offering the white deer, and your loyalty is not the same as that of The Duke of Zhou, can you govern the country and make the fortunes of the country prosperous and prosperous!
You see, Cao Rui said that Sima Yi had the loyalty of The Duke of Zhou.
For many years, Sima Yi had been cautious and careful, without any handle in the hands of others, which was the basis for Cao Rui to let him assist the government.
The third is about the ability and quality of the Yan King Cao Yu, and Cao Rui is not very satisfied. Without saying anything else, let's just say that when Cao Rui was dying, it was very inappropriate for Cao Yu to leave. Looking at Sima Yi, I felt that the situation was not right, and I drove four hundred miles into the palace overnight (of course, exaggerated), but I dare to pack a ticket, if there was a high-speed rail at that time, he must take the high-speed rail, if there is a rocket, he must take the rocket, and it will not delay for a second.
Some people may say that Cao Yu may have been waiting in the palace for several months, they are too tired, and it is understandable to go out occasionally.
Let's compare Wang Mang, the emperor of the Great New Dynasty. When Wang Mang's uncle and general Wang Feng was seriously ill, Wang Mang waited for several months, did not sleep a full night, did not take a bath, did not even change his clothes, and finally moved his uncle, and before he died, he recommended Wang Mang to the imperial court and gave him the first bucket of gold in politics.
Those who do great things, at the critical moment, should not be taken lightly! You can't think about work and be closer to home, and at the same time think about the annual salary of several hundred million, right? Cao Yu's opponent they wanted to guard against was Sima Yiyi, and they thought that Sima Yi was still hundreds of miles away, so they relaxed their vigilance, and at the threshold of history, they took it for granted that they were indeed not outstanding.
Fourth, there is also the joining of Cao Shuang. Without Cao Shuang, Liu Fang and Sun Zi's plan can be called an "impossible task"; with Cao Shuang's assistance, it becomes a "task that is likely to be completed".
Therefore, in the end, Cao Ruituo was alone with Sima Yi, and it cannot be said that he was completely confused, I guess, when he hesitated, he finally gambled, after all, until this moment, Sima Yi did not show any disobedience to the Cao Wei regime, he has always been loyal and commendable, there is no order from Yuan, even the torn cotton jacket will not be privately distributed to others, and the word "loyalty" is engraved on his body, just like him!
In addition, a few more words of Liu Fang and Sun Zi.
Most scholars in later generations believe that the fall of the Wei Dynasty began with the introduction of Sima Yi by Liu Fang and Sun Zi. Liu Fang and Sun Zi are down-to-earth villains and courtiers. I understand that people have to think for themselves, and whether they are loyal or not depends on the situation of their masters. If the master is strong, they are loyal; if the master is replaced, and the next master does not want to see them, then they will turn to those who can accept their loyalty. This is in line with both political logic and human nature.
If Cao Rui had known about it and seen Liu Fang and Sun Zi, he would have angrily rebuked liu fang, saying, Liu Fang, Shuo Te should have exiled you a long time ago! Sun Zi, you are really a grandson!
[Cao Rui: You two grandsons! 】
In addition, I have a little doubt, and I will say it for everyone to discuss.
December of the second year of the Jing Dynasty (238 AD) was a small month with only twenty-nine days. On the twenty-seventh day, the Ming Emperor Cao Rui sent someone to inform Sima Yi to return to Beijing, and on the morning of the first day of the first month of the third year of the Jing Dynasty, Sima Yi arrived at the head of Cao Rui's bed ("one night", when it was morning). That is to say, the emissary flew four hundred miles to inform Sima Yi, and Sima Yi flew four hundred miles back to the palace, which took more than two days to return to eight hundred miles. With the speed of the carriages and horses at that time, the condition of the road, the lighting of the road at night, and other constraints that had to be considered, I seriously doubted the authenticity of the historical records.
Personally, I am inclined to think that Sima Yi's large army may indeed be four hundred miles away from Luoyang, but he himself may have taken the lead in the vanguard and had already marched to a place a hundred miles away from Luoyang, waiting for news from Liu Fang and Sun Zi. As soon as the Messenger arrives, he will set off as soon as possible, so that it is logical.
【Picture from the network】