Preface
In the great scroll of Chinese history, Cao Pi is a distinctive statesman and literary man, who has left an indelible mark on his leadership of the Cao Wei regime. However, his path to power has not been smooth sailing, and even hidden murder and conspiracy.
When he was 40 years old, a shocking event shocked the world: he killed his wife, insulted his brother, and then died violently.
All this, in Sima Yi's view, is because he is too short-sighted, but Cao Wei has been "pitted" by him for 23 years. So, how did Cao Pi step by step rise to the pinnacle of power, and what caused his violent demise?
1. Bumpy background
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Cao family became more and more prestigious. As Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Pi has been highly anticipated since he was a child. However, fate played a cruel joke on him.
Cao Pi, who was born in Qian County, moved west to Luoyang with his father when he was one year old. Although he was well-versed in poetry and scripture and was regarded as a "child prodigy", he was introverted and reticent, far from the heroic image that Cao Cao expected. In contrast, his elder brother Cao Ang was more in line with Cao Cao's expectations.
The ruthlessness of fate was exposed in the Battle of Wancheng in 197. In order to protect Cao Cao, Cao Ang and others were killed, while Cao Pi, who was only 10 years old, escaped in disarray. Since then, he has become a candidate for succession, but Cao Cao did not completely entrust him with the heavy responsibility, but preferred the talented Cao Chong.
It was not until 208 that the dispute between Cao Pi and his younger brother Cao Zhi in Xuchang City reached a fever pitch. After the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao returned, and saw Cao Zhi drinking and lewdness, so he established Cao Pi as the prince. The following year, Cao Pi quelled the Wei Rebellion and further consolidated the storage position.
It can be said that Cao Pi can become the prince, although his talent and learning are the main reasons. But if it weren't for the martyrdom of Cao Ang and others, Cao Chong's early death, and Cao Zhi's self-willingness, Cao Cao might not have handed over the heavy responsibility to him. The impermanence of fate doomed his life to be bumpy.
2. Iron-fisted rule
After succeeding to the throne, Cao Pi was first faced with how to stabilize the ruling foundation of the new dynasty. As a generation of heroes, he knows that power is not easy to come by, so he took a series of tough measures at the beginning of his succession.
Pingding Qingxu Hao clan is one of them. The Qingxu region has always been arrogant and domineering, and Zang Ba and others obeyed the orders of the Cao Wei court. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, Zang Ba and others not only left Luoyang without authorization, but also wantonly looted the people's property, which was simply an open provocation to the new dynasty.
However, Cao Pi did not rush to send troops to conscript, but first treated them with courtesy to ease the contradictions. When the time was ripe, he used the name of Wu to completely empty the power of Zang Ba and others, and completely eliminated the threat of the Qingxu Hao clan.
In addition, Cao Pi also abolished the Han Dynasty and established himself as the Wei State, demonstrating his ambition. He believes that the Han family is incompetent and incompetent, and is no longer qualified to continue to rule the world. This determination to settle for Wei marked the formal formation of the situation of the Three Kingdoms.
In order to consolidate the rule of the new dynasty, Cao Pi also implemented a series of new policies. He adopted the suggestions of Chen Qun and others, implemented the nine-grade Zhongzheng system, strictly distinguished the grades of civil and military officials, and stipulated the uniform system of officials at all levels, with a view to establishing a complete bureaucratic system.
In addition, he also deepened the tuntian system, encouraged farmers to cultivate their own land and self-sufficiency, and accumulated sufficient financial and material resources for the country. It can be said that Cao Pi's ruling methods seem to be tough and ruthless, but they are actually motivated by a high degree of political wisdom.
He knew very well that in order for a new dynasty to achieve long-term peace and stability, it must first get rid of internal troubles, stabilize its foundation, and then implement various reforms to expand its ruling base. It was this practice of establishing first and then acting that laid a solid foundation for Cao Wei's later development.
3. Evil deeds and atrocities
Although he made great achievements in political methods and cultural and martial arts, Cao Pi's personal conduct is deeply regrettable. He has a gloomy temperament, moody, cruel methods, and often does things that hurt nature and reason.
The most distressing thing is the incident in which he gave his wife Zhen Mi to death. Zhen Mi was originally Yuan Shao's wife, and Cao Pi had a relationship with her when he was young. Later, Zhen Mi was captured by Cao Cao and married Cao Pi. The two are very affectionate, and Zhen Mi even helped Cao Pi fight for the storage position in front of Cao Cao.
But soon after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, Xu framed Zhen Mi for having an affair, and Cao Pi sentenced Zhen Mi to death without verification, and stuffed her mouth with rice bran, which was extremely humiliating. A woman who once loved him deeply and gambled her life for him suffered misfortune in this way.
In addition to Zhen Mi, Cao Pi's humiliation of his younger brother Cao Zhi is also outrageous. Cao Zhi was talented and was once regarded as a successor by Cao Cao. However, after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he reduced Cao Zhi from the marquis of ten thousand households to the marquis of one hundred households, completely depriving him of his real power.
What's more, Cao Pi also deliberately flaunted his power in front of Cao Zhi, often ridiculing Cao Zhi for his incompetence. It is said that on one occasion, Cao Zhi made some suggestions at the court meeting, and Cao Pidang even rebuked him for "ignorance and nonsense", which was extremely humiliating. As a brother, Cao Pi's humiliation of Cao Zhi was simply outrageous.
In addition to relatives and friends, even the highly decorated generals could not escape the clutches of Cao Pi. Zhang Xiu and Yu Ban were both highly decorated generals under Cao Cao, and after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, they should have received preferential treatment. But Cao Pi harbored a grudge against them, and was often sarcastic.
In the end, Zhang Xiu committed suicide with hatred on the way to conquer Wu, and Yu Ban was also forced to commit suicide by Cao Pi's unreasonable humiliation. In addition, Cao Pi also interfered in the housework of Xiahou Shang's family, resulting in Xiahou Shang's unjust death. He also ordered people to carve the heroic deeds of Guan Yu and others in front of Cao Cao's mausoleum, in order to humiliate those who had resisted him.
It can be said that Cao Pi lacked basic respect and compassion for his relatives, friends, and meritorious ministers. His vicious acts and atrocities not only hurt innocent people, but also planted the root cause of Cao Wei's downfall.
Fourth, obsessed with five stones
During his reign, although Cao Pi made outstanding achievements in many fields such as politics, military affairs, and culture, his personal style of life was extremely bad, which eventually led to his untimely death.
As a quiet person by nature, Cao Pi does not like martial arts. In order to prolong his life, he firmly believed that the folk "Five Stone Powder" could cure illness and strengthen the body. Goshisan is made from five minerals, including stalactites, stone sulfur, white quartz, purple quartz, and red stone resin, and is said to be able to live forever.
However, Wushisan is actually a highly toxic poison, and you must continue to exercise and eat cold and hot drinks after taking it, otherwise you will die of poisoning. However, Cao Pi didn't know anything about it. During his reign of 6 years, he ate a large amount of Wushi San, and only in the third year of Huang Chu, he ate 23 catties of stone gall bladder offered by King Bao Jin, the king of Duwudu.
In June 226, 40-year-old Cao Pi suddenly became seriously ill and showed severe symptoms of poisoning. At that time, he said to his cronies, "There are two immortals on it, and they do not drink or eat. One pill with me, the glory has five colors. After taking the medicine for four or five days, the body grows wings. It can be seen that he has developed severe hallucinations and delirium.
In the early morning of the next day, Cao Pi looked up to the sky in Luoyang Palace and sighed, and died with hatred. Before his death, he entrusted his young son Cao Rui to Chen Qun, Cao Xiu, Sima Yi and others, and instructed them to fully assist Cao Rui, prevent the threat of Wu and Shu, and recreate the glory of Cao Wei.
It's a pity that Cao Pi's untimely death had a huge impact on Cao Wei. Cao Rui is only 7 years old, and his foundation is still shallow and he can't take charge on his own. In order to stabilize the situation, Chen Qun and others had to reuse Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen and other Cao Pi's old departments, and included Sima Yi, a person with a foreign surname, into the core decision-making level.
Since then, the Cao Wei dynasty has become increasingly ossified, and the imperial power has been constantly hollowed out. Cao Rui was placed under house arrest in Chang'an by Sima Yi and was eventually forced to surrender to the Sima clan, thus ending Cao Wei's rule. If Cao Pi had been more restrained and less obsessed with Wushisan, perhaps Cao Wei's reign would not have been so short-lived.
epilogue
The temptation of power often blinds people and makes them lose their way. Although Cao Pi has made great achievements in political methods and cultural and martial arts, his personal conduct is deeply regrettable. He not only killed his wife Zhen Mi, but also humiliated his brother Cao Zhi, and forced the highly meritorious Zhang Xiu and Yu Ban to commit suicide.
Just when he killed his wife and humiliated his brother and acted recklessly, a sudden illness took his life. He was obsessed with the highly toxic drug "Wushi San", which eventually led to his untimely death.
Cao Pi's violent death had a huge impact on the Cao Wei court and laid the groundwork for the later usurpation of the Sima clan. It can be said that Cao Pi was short-sighted, blindly pursued power, and neglected respect for relatives, friends, and meritorious ministers, and finally harmed Cao Wei's 23-year rule.
His life is a portrayal of a lost and depraved person. Let's learn from this, cherish the people in front of us, stay away from the temptation of power, and live a life of indifference to fame and fortune.