#历史开讲 #
Hold the Son of Heaven to order the princes
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out, and the Han dynasty declined. In the sixth year of Zhongping of the Eastern Han Dynasty (189), Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, deposed Emperor Shao, established Emperor Liu Xie, and later killed Empress Dowager and Emperor Shao, claiming to be Xiangguo and specializing in imperial politics. In order to oppose Dong Zhuo, the princes of various places rose up together, and a situation of division was formed. During this period, Cao Cao raised troops with 5,000 men and established his own base area, and later collected 300,000 elite troops from the Yellow Turban Army, gradually becoming stronger. However, among the princes involved in the struggle for hegemony, Cao Cao is not the most powerful, and he often says that he cannot protect himself, but in this adversity, Cao Cao has a very domineering attitude, he is good at recruiting talented people, vigorously developing tuntian production, whether it is short-term combat planning or long-term strategic ideas, he is very good at it! While the princes were busy vying for the title of emperor, Cao Cao quietly strengthened his power, and in the first year of Jian'an (196), he began to take a steady step towards his hegemony!
In the third year of the early Eastern Han Dynasty (192), Dong Zhuo was killed by Wang Yun and Lü Bu, and four years later, Emperor Xian returned to Luoyang, which had already been destroyed by Dong Zhuo into ruins. In August of the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao personally went to Luoyang to meet the Son of Heaven, and on the pretext of protecting the safety of the Son of Tian, he held Emperor Xian and moved the capital to Xuchang. Because of his meritorious escort, he paid tribute to Cao Cao as a general and made him the Marquis of Wuping, and from then on, Cao Cao began to preside over the imperial government internally, and externally "held the Son of Heaven to order the princes", gaining a unique political chip that was better than a million soldiers.
Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of Han, was the last emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty
In September of the third year of Jian'an (198), Cao Cao marched east to Xuzhou and defeated Lü Bu, who was his enemy.
In February ~ October of the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao won a complete victory, Yuan Shao abandoned the army and fled back to the north of the Yellow River, and died of illness two years later.
In the twelfth year of Jian'an (207), Cao Cao basically unified the north. In the years of war, Cao Cao's power soared, and his control over the imperial government became tighter and tighter, and Emperor Han Xian at this time was just a trump card for his command of the princes, becoming a real puppet emperor!
Why didn't Cao Cao, who held great power, dare to claim the title of emperor?
In fact, Cao Cao didn't want to be called emperor in his heart, but there was a lesson from the past, that is, Dong Zhuo. At that time, Dong Zhuo also had the heart of the emperor, and Situ Wang Yun took advantage of his psychology to set up a serial scheme and kill Dong Zhuo in the Zen platform. If there is a great chaos today, if Cao Cao dares to depose the emperor and claim the emperor, he will immediately become the opposite of the world, causing the princes to unite against him. But if you take the Son of Heaven to make the princes appear justified, even if they don't take the imperial throne, they actually have imperial power, which is easier to gain fame and benefits than to be called emperor, and can also ensure the safety of life!
Statue of Cao Cao, Emperor Wudi of Wei
Decades of hard work paved the way for Cao Wei, and Cao Pi eventually became an emperor
In May of the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214), Emperor Xian of Han made Cao Cao the Duke of Wei, added Jiuxi, and gave him 10 counties in Hedong and Wei Commandery in Jizhou.
In the twenty-first year of Jian'an (216), Cao Cao became the King of Wei and became increasingly powerful.
In the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217), Emperor Xian of Han issued an edict granting Cao the Jing Banner that only the Son of Heaven could use, and when Cao Cao went out, the pomp could be the same as that of the emperor. Formally, he is no different from the emperor!
Perhaps becoming emperor was a dream for Cao Cao, but he was never willing to realize it. After Cao Cao's death, his son Cao Pi finally deposed Emperor Xian of Han and changed the name of the state to Wei, calling him Emperor Wen of Wei and honoring Cao Cao as Emperor Wudi of Wei
Statue of Emperor Weiwen
At this time, the world had changed, and most of the princes and descendants had already submitted to Cao Wei, and the Wei dynasty was an inevitable result in the eyes of the people.
But without Cao Cao's decades of hard work to pave the way for many Han Chens to become Wei Chen, Cao Pi may not be able to sit on this emperor's throne!