Cao Hou scolded: "Ru and other thieves, Xitu is rich, and they are conspiring against each other!" My father's gong covered the huan area, and the world was shocked, but he did not dare to usurp the artifact. Now that my brother's heirs are few and far between, and he thinks of usurping the Han Dynasty, the Emperor will not be a servant! "I stopped talking and cried bitterly into the palace." The waiters on the left and right were all drooling. —— The Eightieth Time in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Cao Pi deposed emperor usurped Yan Yan and Liu Han Wang was on the throne and continued to be unified
The above passage is to show the scene when Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian of Han to give way, Emperor Xian of Han needless to say, he has long been reduced to a puppet of the Cao family, as early as cao Cao's time he has been repeatedly disrespected, and now Cao Pi directly wants to change the dynasty, he has no strength to resist at all, and the description of this in the novel is extremely miserable. However, the supporting role in the just quoted article is easy to overlook, which is "Empress Cao".
Of course, cao cao and cao pi are written in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as negative characters, but this "Empress Cao" is regarded as a loyal and righteous person. Who is Empress Cao? Her status was very special, she was the last empress of the Han Xiandi Emperor, the Empress Dowager Cao Jie of Xianmu, but she was also a member of the Cao family— she was Cao Cao's daughter and Cao Pi's sister.
This is undoubtedly a very awkward positioning. Needless to say, how Cao Jie became empress, think of the relationship between Cao Cao and Emperor Xian of Han. Because Emperor Xian's empress Dowager Fushou was killed by Cao Cao, in the first month of the twentieth year of Jian'an (215), under the pressure of Cao Cao and his subjects, Emperor Xian of Han changed Cao Jie to empress. But who was Cao Jie's heart for? Is it the father, or the husband? Moreover, what was her relationship with Emperor Xian of Han?
In ancient times, the status of women was much lower than that of men, and Cao Jie was undoubtedly sent out by her father as a political tool, although the history books did not describe in detail the relationship between her and Emperor Xiandi of Han, but considering the way she ascended to the throne, it was difficult for Emperor Xiandi of Han to have any good feelings for her.
However, when Cao Pi forced the palace and the Manchu Dynasty turned to Wei, Cao Jie still resolutely sided with her husband, and this plot of "Cao Hou throwing the seal" was not fabricated out of thin air in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as described in the Book of Later Han:
Wei was sent to ask for the seal, but he was angry. For generations like this, the messenger was called in, and the number of them was let go, and the seal was reached under xuan, and because of the weeping, he said: "Heaven is not Zuo'er!" "Neither left nor right can look up.
It's hard to know what's really going on in her mind. Is it to honor the feudal traditional value of "women marrying and accompanying husbands" at that time? Or is it sympathy for the emperor who has been with him for many years? Or is it adhering to the great righteousness and still having a strong sense of loyalty to the Han Dynasty?
In short, Empress Cao made one last revolt for Emperor Xian of Han, and due to her special status, she did not encounter any danger. Of course, there was a more important reason why she was not in danger— the tide was gone, and there was no threat to her resistance.
We may speculate that because Cao Jie's "position is correct", her relationship with Emperor Xian of Han should not be so bad. However, for the role of Cao Pi, Cao Jie could also stand in the united front with her husband Liu Xie and refute the exclusion; however, for his father Cao Cao, things were complicated. Out of filial piety, Cao Jie could not have any objection to his father, but from Liu Xie's standpoint, it was impossible to have any good feelings for Cao Cao, and was this thorn also between their husband and wife? It's hard to find out.
Emperor Xian of Han abdicated, fortunately, at that time, there were still strong classical political relics in the land of China, coupled with the strong appeal of the Han Empire in the hearts of the people of the time, Liu Xie did not encounter too many difficulties, he was named the Duke of Shanyang, "Yi ten thousand households, located on the princes and kings, playing things are not subjects, not worshiped, with the Heavenly Son car to serve the suburbs of heaven and earth, the Temple, ancestors, and La are like the Han system, the turbid deer city of Shanyang", Cao Pi also said "The treasures of the world, I share with Shanyang".
Cao Jie, of course, also became the Duchess of Shanyang.
Overall, the couple's life in the later fiefdom was good.
In the second year of Cao Wei Qinglong (234), in March Gengyin (April 21), Liu Xie died at the age of fifty-four, and after hearing the news, the Wei Emperor Cao Rui "sent mourning in plain clothes and sent envoys to guard the funeral with festivals... Posthumously Honoring the Emperor of Shanyang, giving the Seal... Che Qifu Zhang funeral rites, just like the Han system", and announced a general amnesty for the world. In August 30( 30 September), Liu Xie was buried in the Shanyang Kingdom, the Mausoleum of Zen, and the Garden Ofe. His courtesy name was Emperor Xiaoxian.
To some extent, Liu Xie was fortunate that after the fall of the country, there was still the majesty of the Son of Heaven, and there was also a heavenly son ceremony system after death.
However, Cao Jie can only begin to be widowed, at this time Cao Jie, only 38 years old (this is doubtful), but after this, Cao Jie witnessed another tragedy - her previous curse on the Wei Dynasty came true.
In 249 AD, the Gaopingling Rebellion occurred, the Cao Shuang clique was destroyed, and the Sima family controlled the real power of Cao Wei, just as the Cao family had previously controlled the real power of Liu Han.
karma.
By this time, Cao Jie's brother Cao Pi had already died, and Cao Wei's monarch was Cao Yi( 曹奂), her nephew. At this time, Cao Jie was already an old lady.
How would she feel? The Cao Wei regime that insulted her husband was indeed like her curse of the year, and there was no good end, but would she really feel happy about it? We don't know.
In the first year of jingyuan (260), Cao Jie, the last empress of the Han Empire, also died of illness, and was buried in the Chan Mausoleum of Liu Xie, the Emperor of Han Xian, and similarly, the etiquette of the car clothes she used followed the Han system.
Six years later, the Cao Wei regime collapsed.
Author: Yun Fan