Preface
Sima Yi is a controversial figure in Chinese history. This powerful minister from a scholarly family, with his extraordinary wisdom and means, rose in the turbulent turbulent times of the Three Kingdoms, and finally controlled the power of Cao Wei and became a generation of Ming monarchs.
However, it was this powerful strongman who made a strange will on his deathbed, asking future generations not to build a mausoleum for him, and not even to sweep the tomb and worship. What is the meaning behind this will?
Young talents, showing their edge
Sima Yi, whose name is Zhongda, is a native of Wen County, Hanoi. He was born in a scholarly family, his grandfather Sima Fang was a lieutenant, and his father Sima Lang also served as a minister of Taifu. It can be said that Sima Yi has been influenced by a wealthy family since he was a child, and has set a very high benchmark in knowledge and cultivation.
When he was 14 years old, Sima Yi's father died, and he was adopted by his uncle Sima Fu. Sima Fu was the secretary of Shang at that time and was quite prestigious in the court. Under the careful teaching of his uncle, Sima Yi's talent quickly blossomed, showing extraordinary wisdom and courage.
In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Sima Yi was called by Cao Cao and went to Xuchang. When he first arrived in Xuchang, Sima Yi won Cao Cao's appreciation with his profound knowledge and outstanding eloquence. Although he was only a mid-level officer at the time, Cao Cao had already seen the extraordinary potential of this young man.
In the first year of the early Huang dynasty (220), Cao Cao died and was succeeded by his son Cao Pi as Emperor Wen of Wei. Sima Yi took the opportunity to write to Cao Pi and put forward a number of good policies for governing the country, which was deeply appreciated by Cao Pi. After that, Sima Yi successively served as a loose cavalry attendant, a scholar, a servant and other important positions, and participated in the war against Eastern Wu and established military merits.
Power leans towards the opposition and rules with an iron fist
However, Sima Yi's career has not been smooth sailing. After Emperor Cao Rong of Wei Ming ascended the throne, Sima Yi was demoted to the title of Taishou of Liaodong for offending Cao Rong's henchman Deng Yang. During this period of degraded days, Sima Yi was not depressed, but actively governed Liaodong, developed tuntian, and trained the army, laying the foundation for his future rise.
In the fifth year of Taihe (231), Emperor Cao Rong of the Ming Dynasty recruited Sima Yi to return to the court, worshiped as the general of Wei, and was named the Marquis of the Township Pavilion, and then rose all the way. In the second year of Qinglong (234), Sima Yi was appointed as a general and became a powerful figure in the court.
In the eighth year of Zhengshi (247), Cao Rong was seriously ill, and before his death, he entrusted his young son Cao Fang to the generals Cao Shuang and Sima Yi. After Cao Rong died, Cao Fang succeeded to the throne as the king of Qi. Sima Yi and Cao Shuang were in charge of the government, and the contradiction between the two deepened day by day.
Sima Yi knew that Cao Shuang had the support of the royal family behind him, and he would be attacked if he rashly attacked. So, he adopted a roundabout strategy, on the one hand, waiting for an opportunity to move and secretly win people's hearts, and on the other hand, pretending to be seriously ill, so that Cao Shuang could relax his vigilance.
In the first month of the first year of Jiaping (249), Cao Shuang and the young emperor Cao Fang went to the Gaoping Mausoleum to worship, and Sima Yi saw that the time was ripe, launched a coup d'état, killed Cao Shuang, and controlled the power of the imperial court. After that, Sima Yi further purged dissidents, killed the elders of the Three Dynasties, Deng Yang, Li Sheng and others, and executed the three clans of Cao Shuang. At this point, Sima Yi completely controlled the Cao Wei regime, laying the foundation for his son Sima Zhao to seize the throne.
Iron-fisted rule, thunder means
After the coup d'état of Gao Pingling, Sima Yi completely took control of the Cao Wei court. In order to consolidate his power and root out dissidents, he adopted a series of iron-fisted policies.
The first thing to do is to kill political opponents and clear the way. Sima Yi knew that in order to consolidate his position, he must eliminate all the ministers who were at odds with him and had disagreements. So, after the Gao Pingling Incident, he immediately carried out a large-scale purge of Cao Shuang's henchmen.
Cao Shuang's henchmen Li Sheng, Ding Mi, Bi Rail, Sima Fu and others were executed one after another, and even the high-ranking officials of the Three Princes, who were good friends with Cao Shuang, were not spared. For a time, there was a river of blood in Luoyang City, and the number of people killed by Sima Yi was as high as thousands.
In addition to physical annihilation, Sima Yi also carried out a thorough ideological cleansing of the Cao Shuang Group. He ordered the burning of Cao Shuang's writings and articles, erasing Cao Shuang's influence in the imperial court and among the people.
At the same time, he also revised the history of the country, portraying Cao Shuang as a power-hungry and extravagant villain, and portraying himself as a loyal minister and good general who saved Cao Wei's regime from danger. Through these means, Sima Yi completely erased Cao Shuang's political legacy and cleared the way for his own governance.
In addition to purging political opponents, Sima Yi also focused on reforming the rule of officials and purging the government after he came to power. He believes that the reason why Cao Wei is declining has a lot to do with the corruption of officials and the lax implementation of discipline. To this end, he vigorously grasped the rule of officials, promoted honest and honest people, and severely punished those who took bribes and bent the law. Under his rectification, Cao Wei's officialdom atmosphere was completely new, and many corrupt officials and corrupt officials were duly punished.
At the same time, Sima Yi also focused on rectifying the rules and regulations of the imperial court. He revised the criteria for the selection and evaluation of officials, improved the supervision and impeachment mechanisms, and imposed strict restraints on the behavior of officials. In terms of finances, he cut redundant personnel, practiced strict economy, and put an end to extravagance and waste.
In the military aspect, he straightened out military discipline, reformed the military system, improved the remuneration of officers and men, and enhanced the combat effectiveness of the army. All these measures have significantly enhanced Cao Wei's political and military strength.
Ambition and expansion
During Sima Yi's reign, Cao Wei also broke out in a number of local rebellions, such as the Biqiujian Rebellion in 255 AD and the Wenqin Rebellion in 257 AD. In response to these rebellions, Sima Yi took a tough stance and sent troops to quell them by force. In the process of counterinsurgency, he behaved vigorously and resolutely, and did not tolerate the leaders and participants of the rebellion, and killed them all.
At the same time, he also took measures to reassure the people and restore production to stabilize social order in the rebel areas. Under Sima Yi's iron-fisted rule, Cao Wei's local rebellions were quickly put down and the stability of the regime was consolidated.
As an eloquent politician, Sima Yi was not content to just run Cao Wei's internal affairs. He also actively used troops abroad, expanded his territory, and tried to restore the heroic style of the Great Wei during the Cao Cao period. In 255 AD, Sima Yi personally led an army to attack Shu and captured some cities in Shu Han.
The following year, he sent the general Zhong Hui to attack Wu and regained a lot of lost territory. Although Sima Yi was unable to fully achieve his goal of unifying the Central Plains due to various reasons, during his reign, Cao Wei's national power increased significantly and his territory expanded.
Seeking a son for eternity, it is a last resort
Although Sima Yi succeeded in seizing power from Cao Wei in the Gaopingling coup, he knew that in order to completely control Cao Wei, he needed to further consolidate his position and pave the way for his descendants to seize the throne. As a result, this scheming politician planned a series of layouts in his later years.
First of all, Sima Yi focused on planning a political future for his children and grandchildren. He successively promoted his eldest son Sima Shi and second son Sima Zhao to important positions. Sima Shi was appointed as the general of Zhendong, led the Yanzhou Assassin History, and guarded Yanzhou; Sima Zhao was appointed as the general of Zhenxi, the leader of the Yongzhou Assassin History, and guarded Guanzhong.
Sima Yi arranged his two sons in the two major towns in the east and west, which could not only contain the imperial court, but also serve as horns for each other when necessary, which was his strategy of separation of powers and checks and balances.
In addition to promoting his son, Sima Yi also paved the way for his grandchildren. He successively promoted his grandson Sima Yan, Sima You and others to important positions such as serving in the middle and middle secretary, and let them participate in court politics.
Sima Yi hopes that through his own support, the power of the Sima family can be passed on from generation to generation. He once said to his son Sima Shi: "Our Sima family will be like the descendants of Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, the country will be forever, and it will not be easy for eternity." "
epilogue
Sima Yi planned all his life and eventually became a generation of powerful ministers. His path of power and scheming is not only the epitome of personal struggle, but also reflects the cruel reality of the troubled times of the Three Kingdoms.
In that era of heroes, Sima Yi relied on his wisdom and means to embark on a unique path to success, and also left a valuable historical reference for future generations.
And the peculiar will he made on his deathbed shows the other side of this old scheming man - he has already calculated everything for future generations, paving the way for them to seize the throne.
From this point of view, Sima Yi is not only a generation of Ming Jun, but also a prescient family and country planner. His life can be called the highest palace of the iron-fisted family of the Three Kingdoms.