We all know that Cui Yan and Cao Zhi are related because Cao Zhi married the daughter of Cui Yan's eldest brother. Later, Cao Zhi and Cao Pi quarreled endlessly in order to inherit his father's unification, and at this time Cao Cao was also in a state of hesitation, and later, Cao Zhi still failed to defeat Cao Pi, and his father was also disappointed in him. It is understood that during the period when the two were fighting for the right to inherit, the two sides also formed two forces, at that time, as Cao Cao's important minister and Cao Zhi's relative, Cui Yan chose to support Cao Pi, which made many people not understand, in fact, Cui Yan did this for the sake of the whole Cao Wei.
Let's first look at what kind of person Cui Yan is.
Cui Yan, born in the Cui clan of Qinghe, has a thick and simple personality, a handsome appearance, a slightly dull speech, and has liked to practice swords and advocate martial arts since childhood. Six years later, Cui Yan began to go to Zheng Xuan's door to study, unfortunately, not long after studying, the Yellow Turban Army broke through the North Sea, there was no way, Cui Yan's teacher Zheng Xuan had to stop teaching, forced to dismiss Cui Yan had to start the road back to his hometown, but at that time there were thieves everywhere, just by relying on Cui Yan's willpower, there was no way to compete with them, so he went around with them, and after four years, Cui Yan returned home safely.
▲ Cui Yan in film and television dramas
After Yuan Shao heard about Cui Yan's dealings with those thieves, he thought that this person must have something to do in the future, so he wanted him to serve himself, Cui Yan after following Yuan Shao, gave Some suggestions to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao agreed very much after listening to it, and also let Cui Yan be a riding lieutenant, and later because Yuan Shao did not listen to some of Cui Yan's opinions, he was defeated in the Battle of Guandu, and after Yuan Shao died, his two sons wanted to get Cui Yan's assistance, so they broke their heads and blood. Cui Yan did not want to offend either of them, so he simply pretended to be ill and resigned, but he did not want to be convicted of this, went to prison, and finally thanks to the rescue of Chen Lin and others, Cui Yan escaped the disaster.
In 205, Cao Cao broke the Yuan clan, and recruited Cui Yan, wanted to let Cui Yan serve him, Cui Yan after throwing himself into Cao Cao's command, others began to take on the responsibility of assisting Cao Pi, at that time Cao Pi's interest was not in the government, always liked to change some clothing vehicles, or chase prey, at this time Cui Yan began to write to advise Cao Pi, and also gave many examples, hoping that Cao Pi would not forget the state society, Cao Pi listened, ashamed, and promised Cui Yan that he would obey his teachings. He also burned his hunting weapons as a warning, and in addition, he told Cui Yan that if he made similar mistakes again, he hoped that Cui Yan would remind him in time. In 208, Cao Cao took the position of chancellor, and Cui Yan was also promoted to an official and set an example, and in 213, Cui Yan took the position of Shangshu, when Cao Cao was hesitating about the establishment of the crown prince, after all, Cao Zhi at that time was talented and very loving, which can be said to be on par with Cao Pi. At this time, Cui Yan was blunt, directly telling Cao Cao in the letter that Cao Pi was a benevolent and filial piety and intelligent, and had the ability to serve as a datong, and he could guarantee with his own life.
After Cao Cao received Cui Yan's letter, he praised Cui Yan, because it was reasonable to say that Cui Yan should recommend Cao Zhi, after all, Cao Zhi was the niece and son-in-law of Cui Yan's brother, and he also had a deeper relationship with Cui Yan, but Cui Yan did not favor Cao Zhi because of this relationship, which was what made Cao Cao very appreciative, and he thought that Cui Yan was selfless. Not only did Cao Cao praise Cui Yan as a person, but even the ministers of the COURT admired Cui Yan very much, and he once recommended Yang Xun to Cao Cao, saying that although this person was incompetent, he was not extravagant, and he had a great sense of justice, so Cao Cao requisitioned Yang Xun. In 216, Cao Cao became the King of Wei, and Yang Xun, who was recommended by Cui Yan, also praised Cao Cao's great achievements, which made the chancellor quite dissatisfied, thinking that Yang Xun was too fake, and also thought that the people recommended by Cui Yan were not as good as he said, and later, Cui Yan was arbitrarily planted, which made Cao Cao angry and ordered Cui Yan to be stabbed to death, even if there were many people who interceded for Cui Yan at that time, it was useless.
I believe that many people's understanding of Cao Zhi is derived from his seven-step poem, and then we will first look at this talented person. Among Cao Cao's many sons, Cao Zhi can also be regarded as an outstanding talent. When he was a teenager, other children were still relying on their parents, at that time Cao Zhi began to study the "Book of Poetry" that many people did not understand very well, perhaps Cao Cao's bloodline was too excellent, so many of his sons inherited his excellent bloodline, so for his son's excellence, Cao Cao was also very proud, but his favorite was his younger son Cao Chong, so during the time when Cao Chong was favored, Cao Zhi was not noticed by Cao Cao.
▲ Cao Zhi in the film and television drama
Cao Pi had a sharp mind, and if someone asked him, he would basically give the correct answer without hesitation and stunned everyone, which was something that Cao Cao only noticed later. Cao Zhi's outstanding talent made Cao Cao feel greatly shocked by this son, and he did not believe that this was Cao Zhi's style, and sometimes when he saw articles written by Cao Zhi, Cao Cao would inevitably show a surprised expression, thinking that he was looking for someone to write it. In the face of Cao Cao's doubts, Cao Zhi generally responded calmly, and also told his father that he could examine him at any time, so that he could see if Cao Zhi really had the ability to create literature. Cao Zhi and Cao Pi have a great contrast in personality, Cao Pi is more depressed, and Cao Zhi is more open-minded, straightforward, and honest, which makes Cao Cao begin to pay attention to Cao Zhi, and he likes him more and more, and has the idea of making him a prince.
After Cao Cao found someone to build the Tongquetai, he also brought his sons to the Tongquetai and let them compose poems, each son exerted his talents to make a poem, and when it was Cao Zhi's turn, he made the "Stage Endowment" that has been handed down to this day, which surprised everyone, and at this time, Cao Zhi's status in Cao Cao's mind was also rising. Later, Cao Cao asked Cao Zhi to stay in Yecheng, and before leaving, he also told Cao Zhi that he must work hard and not waste his time. As Cao Zhi's talent became more and more outstanding, Cao Cao began to hesitate on the matter of establishing a prince, and Cao Pi at this time was naturally very unhappy, because Cao Zhi had seriously threatened his inheritance, so he began to smear Cao Zhi in various ways. To say that Cao Cao was also a person with a very serious suspicious heart disease, Cao Pi's various complaints against Cao Zhi in front of him made Cao Cao also begin to wonder if he had misread Cao Zhi at that time, plus Sima Yi and others also supported Cao Pi, and later Cao Cao learned that Cao Zhi's character was not good, and he began to disappoint him. In fact, Cao Cao's real disappointment in Cao Zhi was because Cao Zhi drank alcohol and delayed the war, which made Cao Cao angry, but Cao Cao at that time did not know that Cao Zhi was framed.
After Cao Cao's death, Cao Zhi, who had once lost trust in Cao Cao, naturally lost the right to inherit, and it was Cao Pi who had been competing with him for Cao Cao's position. Not long after Cao Pi ascended the throne, he spent a long time trying to get Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate, and finally became emperor in the year he inherited his father's position. After hearing that Cao Pi was proclaimed emperor, Cao Zhi's heart was full of mixed feelings, so he dressed up with some people and lamented the sorrow of the Han Dynasty, and when Cao Pi heard about this, he was indignant and tried to cure Cao Zhi's sins.
▲ Cao Pi in film and television dramas
At that time, when Empress Bian learned of this incident, she did not want to see the brothers kill each other, so she stopped Cao Pi and asked Cao Pi to let Cao Zhi have a way to live. The filial piety cao pi knew that his mother's life was difficult to violate, so he did not kill Cao Zhi. Later the brothers met. Cao Pi also harassed Cao Zhi everywhere and asked him to compose poems, and Cao Zhi was so distressed that he was deeply disappointed in his brother and made a seven-step poem. After Cao Pi realized the meaning in the poem, his heart was also uncomfortable, and he began to feel guilty, so he did not harass Cao Zhi again. Due to Cao Pi's suppression everywhere, Cao Zhi's great ambitions could not be exerted, which made Cao Zhi feel uncomfortable in his heart. Fortunately, Cao Pi's imperial career was not long, after Cao Pi's death, his nephew Cao Rui took the throne, and Cao Zhi, who originally thought that he could show his ambitions, once again showed all kinds of overtures to Cao Rui, but did not want Cao Pi to turn a blind eye and still hit him. In the end, the 41-year-old Cao Zhi died of depression because he could not exert his ambitions for many years, could not die a good death.
As we all know, at that time, the brothers were fighting for the right to inherit, many people were on the side they wanted to support, remember that Cao Cao also talked to Cui Yan about this matter, cui Yan said to Cao Cao, Cao Pi is better than Cao Zhi, Cao Zhi's talent is also good, so if you really want to choose between the two, Cao Pi can still be better. Cui Yan's remarks shocked Cao Cao greatly, because Cao Zhi's wife was related to Cui Yan, so he was Cui Yan's niece and son-in-law, and it was reasonable to say that Cui Yan should be partial to Cao Zhi, but Cui Yan did not. It can be seen that Cui Yan is really a selfless person, so Cao Cao also attaches more importance to Cui Yan. But then again, why did Cui Yan support Cao Pi in succeeding Cao Cao? In fact, there is a certain reason.
At that time, Cui Yan advocated Confucianism, and we also know that the core of Confucianism is the Three Principles and Five Constants, so Cui Yan, who has always advocated Confucianism, will inevitably feel unhappy with some of Cao Zhi's behavior. In addition, Cao Cao was a strict person and originally did not like those who liked to talk about great truths, so the order of the elder and the young in Confucian thought could be achieved under Cao Cao's hands. Moreover, Cao Pi was originally older than Cao Zhi, so from this point of view, Cui Yan's support for Cao Pi was inevitable.
▲ Cao Cao in film and television dramas
In addition, in the chaotic world at that time, the high-ranking and powerful Cao Cao did not dare to be extravagant, but Cao Zhi was completely opposite to him, writing poetry and drinking all day, immersed in the life of a drunken gold fan, even if Cao Zhi was Cui Yan's niece and son-in-law, Cui Yan was really not accustomed to Cao Zhi's lack of progress, so there was no expectation for him. Originally, Cui Yan was a person with a heart for the world, so he thought that Cao Zhi, who did not seek progress, was not capable of inheriting the unification, and the hormones were reluctantly supported, and he was also a faint king. What's more, Cui Yan never wanted to favor Cao Zhi, because he had always put the State Society in the first place, and naturally would not disturb his original intention because Cao Zhi was related to him, and Cui Yan was a person who was already strict in doing things. Such a selfless Cui Yan is also one of the reasons why Cao Cao attaches great importance to him. In other words, if Cui Yan really sided with Cao Zhi because he was his relative, then Cao Cao might have disappointed him, after all, Cui Yan's favoritism toward Cao Zhi was to undermine Cao Wei's primogeniture system in disguise, which was also very unfavorable to himself.
In fact, Cui Yan's choice was still very wise. In fact, no matter from which point of view, Cao Zhi is invincible to Cao Pi, in terms of talent, Cao Pi does not lose Cao Zhi, and in fact, Cao Zhi is not the most outstanding among many sons, so it is reasonable that Cao Zhi cannot be the emperor. Then again, if Cao Pi really failed to become emperor at that time, then according to the succession system of the State of Wei, there would naturally be no incident with his son Cao Rui later, and if this was the case, what kind of ending would Cao Rui have?