This article is the seventeenth article in the series of "Brief Reading of the History of Jin" of the Three Kingdoms.
The focus of this article: Countdown to Sima Zhao's life
After Cao Xian was assassinated by Cheng Ji under Jia Chong, Sima Zhao quickly whitewashed himself and disposed of the scapegoat. The Son of Heaven was dead, and the selection of the next puppet emperor of the State of Wei became a new problem. At this time, Sima Zhao was different from Sima Shi in that he no longer had to choose the Son of Heaven because of Empress Guo's influence, and he could act arbitrarily.
After discussion with his ministers, Sima Zhaoli made Cao Huang the Duke of Changdaoxiang (常道乡公) Emperor Cao Huang (曹璜), also known as Cao Huang (曹奂). In June, Cao Huan officially became emperor. When the new monarch ascended to the throne, Cao Huan gave Sima Zhao the title of Xiangguo, the Duke of Jin, the Addition of Ten Counties, and the Addition of Nine Xi, but Sima Zhao still resigned completely. Since then, the ministers of the "Knowing the Mandate of Heaven" have begun their own performances.
In August of the second year of Jing Yuan, Cao Huan arranged for the eunuch Gao Rou to grant Sima Zhao the seal of the State of Xiangguo, and Sikong Zheng Chong brought Maotu Jiuxi to Sima Zhao, all of which were resigned by Sima Zhao. In April of the third year of Jing Yuan, Su Shenguo paid tribute to some of the yaks, stone stones, bow armor, mink skins, etc., and Cao Huan sent all these tributes to Sima Zhao's mansion. In February of the fourth year of Jing yuan, Cao Huan once again bestowed Sima Zhao with a series of honors such as Xiangguo, the Duke of Jin, the Addition of Ten Counties, and jiajiuxi, and was resigned by Sima Zhao for the second time.
Behind Sima Zhao's many resignations, he may be waiting for the completion of a major event. In the summer of jingyuan's fourth year, Sima Zhao decided to attack Shu Han.
I. The Plan for Cutting Down Shu At the mobilization meeting, Sima Zhao issued a policy of setting the tone.
Sima Zhao said that since Shouchun was pacified, the whole country has been recuperating for six years, during which time we have trained our troops to forge armor precisely to fight against Wu and Shu. To attack the State of Wu, it was necessary to build warships and dredge land and water, which was extremely costly, and the preparation before the war required at least 100,000 people to prepare for more than 100 days. Coupled with the humidity of the south, there will definitely be diseases. Now it is time to attack Shu Han first. After conquering the Shu Han Dynasty, after accumulating three years and then going down the river from upstream, the army marched on land and water, so that it would definitely be like a bamboo.
Sima Zhao pointed out that according to statistics, there were 90,000 Shu Han combatants, and the total number of garrisons in Chengdu and other places required 40,000, so that the number of enemy troops engaged head-on was only 50,000. Nowadays, Jiang Wei is confined to the puzhong area, and he has no time to look east. We can point directly at Luo Valley, raid its weak defensive areas, and sneak into Hanzhong. If Jiang Wei stubbornly defended the outside and did not rescue Hanzhong, the enemy's morale would definitely plummet, and the enemy army would also be cut off by us.
Sima Zhao stressed that after we occupied Hanzhong, we could divide some soldiers to slaughter the city, and a small number of elites plundered the place, which would force the enemy to requisition the strength of the Sword Pavilion and make the Defenders of the Sword Pavilion even smaller.
Sima Zhao analyzed that Liu Chan was weak and weak, and as long as the border cities were conquered, its interior would inevitably shake, and he would not be far from extinction.
Two: the whole army attacks, and by the way, it is promoted to a knighthood
After Sima Zhao's layout, Deng Ai always expressed different opinions on Sima Zhao's specific actions, and Sima Zhao was afraid that Deng Ai would not march according to the requirements after he left the army, so he arranged for Shi Lu to come to Deng Ai's side and pass on instructions, and Deng Ai obeyed.
Sima Zhao mobilized a total of 180,000 soldiers and horses from all sides, and asked Deng Ai to attack Jiang Wei's Puzhong from Di Dao. The Yongzhou assassin Zhuge Xu set out from Qishan to Wujie in an attempt to cut off Jiang Wei's retreat. The Zhenxi general Zhong Hui led the former general Li Fu and Hu Lie, the defender of the Shu Dynasty, and others from Luogu to Hanzhong.
In August, the army officially set out from Luoyang, and before leaving, Sima Zhao launched a large-scale oath ceremony. During this period, another member of the State of Wei, Deng Dun, openly opposed the crusade against Shu Han and was beheaded by Sima Zhao.
In September, Sima Zhao temporarily arranged for Wang Yi to attack Jiang Wei's camp and gave Him and Yang a new combat mission. For the Zhong Hui part, Sima Zhao divided it into two teams, one part of which allowed Li Fu to go to Lecheng to drag Wang Han, and the other part to let Yi Kai attack Seoul and drag Jiang Bin. Zhong Hui then pointed directly at Yang'an, and Hu Lie also captured Guancheng as planned. After Jiang Wei learned of this, he withdrew his army to help, during which Wang Ji chased after Jiang Wei's mobile troops, but unfortunately Jiang Wei still smoothly retreated to the Sword Pavilion with Zhang Yiliaohua and others. Jiang Wei and Zhong would engage in a tug-of-war at the Sword Pavilion.
When the war situation was unclear, Sima Zhao, who was in Luoyang, received an edict from the Son of Heaven. Cao Huan expounded the greatness of the Sima family with extremely long content, quoting the scriptures, saying that it was to make Sima Zhao the Duke of Jin (because it happened to be the third time, so the history books may be recorded in full length).
Sima Zhao knew that the Duke of Sheng was almost gone, so he pretended to resign according to the etiquette law. Seeing that Sima Zhao had resigned, Zheng Chong led hundreds of officials to hurry to persuade him to advance, and after a large number of quotations, Sima Zhao accepted the position of Duke of Jin. From then on, a third duke with a different surname appeared in the State of Wei (Gongsun Yuan, Liu Xie and his descendants, Sima Zhao).
In November, Deng Ai successfully attacked Jiangyou and attacked Zhuge Zhan at Mianzhu, and Deng Ai also cut off Zhuge Zhan's head and sent it back to Luoyang. Deng Ai attacked Luo County, Liu Chan surrendered, and the Shu state perished.
According to the merits of Shu, Sima Zhao made Deng Ai a lieutenant and Zhong Hui was made a Situ. Just when the clock would be rebellious and slander Deng Ai, Sima Zhao was also ready to strike.
Three: Countdown to life
In the first month of the first year of Xianxi, Sima Zhao demanded that Deng Ai be arrested. Soon after, Sima Zhao personally invaded Chang'an. However, before Sima Zhao personally conquered Chang'an, considering that the princes of the Cao clan were all in Yecheng, for the sake of safety, Sima Zhao appointed Shantao Town to guard the city of Yicheng to prevent changes. Jia Chong was dispatched to supervise the march of various armies to Hanzhong.
Zhong saw Sima Zhao's behavior, combined with the family's interests and other comprehensive considerations, a formal rebellion in Shudi, but the rebellion was not long after it was put down by Wei Ou and Hu Lie.
It is said that when Zhong Hui first sent troops, Shao Ti, a subordinate of Western Cao, once expressed concern about Sima Zhao, saying: "Zhong Hui is not credible, and he should not be allowed to send troops." Sima Zhao replied with a smile: "Attacking Shu Han is actually very simple, but at that time many people said that they could not attack, only Zhong Hui and I had the same meaning." However, after the fall of the Shu Han Dynasty, the soldiers of the Central Plains returned to their hometowns, and the local people of the Shu Han Dynasty would be very afraid, even if Zhong Hui plotted against him, he would not be able to make any waves. ”
In March, Sima Zhao was crowned King of Jin, and in just five months, Sima Zhao was promoted from duke to prince. Since then, the second king of the Wei state with a different surname has appeared, and before that, there is Sun Quan. In May, Cao Yi posthumously made Sima Yi the King of Jin Xuan and Sima Shi the King of Jinjing.
In July, Sima Zhaoqi played Cao Wan's request that Sikong Xunxuan designate a new ceremonial law, that The Central Protector Jia Chong amended the law, that Shangshu servant Pei Xiu discussed the reorganization of the official system, and that Taibao Zheng Chong ruled. The state establishes a system of five-rank knighthood.
It seems that Sima Zhao has laid a good foundation, and is only one step away from the process of "three concessions" from becoming emperor.
Although the Shu Han Dynasty perished, Sima Zhao still wanted to strike at Eastern Wu. In October, Sima Zhaoqi played Cao Wan's request to the Wu people Xu Shao and Sun Yu to send envoys to Eastern Wu, inform Sun Hao of the cutting of Shu, and give Eastern Wu some ma jin and other items to show concern.
A few days later, Cao Huan made Sima Yan the Son of Jin. Successors have been chosen, and interest groups have new investment directions. At this point, Sima Zhao could rest assured.
Four: Afterword
Since February of the second year of Xianxi, Xiangrui has continued to occur at home and abroad. In May, Cao Huan ordered Sima Zhao to enjoy the Twelve Crowns, build the Tianzi Banner, go out of the police, ride in the Jingen car, drive six horses, prepare a five-hour auxiliary car, set up a head Yunhan, music and dance eight, set up a bell palace hanging, and sit on the King of Yan (Cao Yu's father Cao Yu). The princess who was enthroned sima zhao was the queen, the shizi was the prince, and the title of the queen's grandson was like the specification of the son of heaven.
Just like Cao Cao, the "New Heavenly Son" appeared alongside the "Old Heavenly Son".
In addition to the treatment, the Jin Dynasty set up Imperial Shi Dafu, Shi Zhong, Chang Shi, Shang Shu, Zhongling, and Wei General Officers. It was as if a new court had appeared.
But before Sima Zhao took the last step, he died of illness in August of the second year of Xianxi at the age of fifty-five. In September, Sima Zhao was buried in Chongyang Mausoleum with the posthumous title of "King Wen". After Sima Yan received Zen, he posthumously honored Sima Zhao as "Emperor Wen" and the temple name "Taizu".
Although Sima Zhao died suddenly, he laid a solid foundation for Sima Yan. Sima Yan said that the thorns on the emperor's road had long been pulled clean.
Text: Talking about the author of the Three Kingdoms XXY