Sima Yi, an old slippery head who had been pretending to be ill at home for three years, took advantage of Cao Shuang and Emperor Cao Fang, as well as a group of ministers of culture and martial arts, to decisively launch a coup d'état with his two sons, took control of Luoyang City, and sent troops to guard the Luoshui Pontoon Bridge, cutting off Cao Shuang's return journey. At the same time, he arranged for his own people to take over Cao Shuang and Cao Xi's military camps. And co-opted Empress Guo and a number of meritorious elders, and at the same time wrote to the emperor, stating that his purpose was only to be dissatisfied with Cao Shuang's behavior, stimulating emperor Cao Fang's antipathy to Cao Shuang's past behavior, indirectly provoking the relationship between the emperor and Cao Shuang, after a series of dazzling thunderbolt operations, and at the same time through deception and other means, finally let Cao Shuang tie his hands and win a comprehensive victory in the Coup d'état of Gaopingling.
At that time, Cao Shuang's friend Huan Fan, who was then the Grand Si Nong, ventured out of the city to meet with Cao Shuang, suggesting that Cao Shuang take Emperor Cao Fang hostage to Xuchang, and then rely on the identity of the emperor and the general to order the four sides to force the king. Huan Fan also told Cao Shuang that Xuchang had a complete arsenal that could provide sufficient weapons supplies, and that he was also a great si nong, and that he had an official seal on his body, and that he could requisition grain and grass from all directions for military use. With these conditions, it was enough to fight Sima Yi to the death. Unfortunately, Cao Shuang did not follow Huan Fan's advice in the end, and he credulously believed Sima Yi's promise not to kill, and with the illusion of being a "rich man", he fell into Sima Yi's body.
When later generations reviewed this period of history, they all regretted Cao Shuang's mediocrity, and many history lovers, when summarizing this history, analyzed various situations and finally came to the conclusion that if Cao Shuang followed Huan Fan's advice, then Sima Yi would have no chance of winning.
But I want to say "not quite".
Who is the emperor or the empress dowager?
Cao Shuang had the emperor in his hands and Sima Yi had the empress dowager in his hands, and during the two Han Dynasties, Wei, and Jin, it was the basic national policy to rule the country with filial piety, and the status of the empress dowager was much higher than that of the emperor. The empress dowager had the right and ability to depose the emperor. The emperor and his ministers did not dare to disobey the empress's orders. At that time, even the talented and ambitious Emperor Wudi of Han, Liu Che, did not dare to disobey Empress Wang's orders when he was not really in power. Before the Gaopingling incident, Cao Shuang moved Empress Guo to House Arrest in Yongning Palace, and it can be said that Empress Guo hated Cao Shuang thoroughly, which is why at the beginning of the coup, Empress Guo took the initiative to stand on Sima Yi's side. Sima Yi stated to the emperor that Cao Shuang's unauthorized authority, as well as a series of government decrees such as military transfers and personnel changes around the capital, were implemented with the consent of Empress Guo. The history books say that "the empress dowager is played, and the empress dowager is executed as if it were played."
Empress Guo was quite influential in the political arena at the end of Wei, and the later rebellions of Qiu Jian and Wen Qin were all under the guise of Empress Guo, and Zhong Hui's rebellion in Sichuan was also under the command of Empress Guo. At the time of the abolition of Cao Fang, Sima Shi also deposed Cao Fang under the pretext of Empress Guo, and at the same time, when Cao Fang was established as a new emperor, Sima Shi suggested that Cao Fang be the king of Pengcheng, and Empress Guo thought that if Cao Fang was established, it would be inappropriate for her generations, so she suggested that Cao Fang be established, and Sima Shi readily agreed. After Cao Huan was killed, Sima Zhao wanted to depose Cao Huan's title as emperor, and also in the name of Empress Guo, he deposed Cao Huan and buried him as a noble township prince.
Empress Guo was the down-to-earth Empress Cao Rui, the empress dowager who was righteous and obedient, while Cao Fang was "a palace secretary, and there is no one who knows its origin", an unidentified emperor and a righteous empress, compared with the two, the high judgment, it is obvious that Empress Guo is more authoritative than Cao Fang. Although Empress Guo was controlled by Sima Yi, like a puppet, Cao Fang was not controlled by Cao Shuang. As a puppet, Empress Guo was obviously much better than Cao Fang.
Therefore, if Cao Shuang held Cao Fang hostage and tried to command the world's soldiers and horses in the name of Cao Fang, then Sima Yi could easily issue an edict in the name of Empress Guo, deposing Cao Fang's position as emperor, and then choosing a mascot among the Cao Fangs to be established as emperor, I believe that many Cao clan relatives and ministers of culture and martial arts should not oppose. After all, there was already a large group of elderly ministers on Sima Yi's side.
Can Cao Shuang successfully travel to Xuchang?
Gaoping Mausoleum was the imperial mausoleum of The Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui, located in rudian village, Ruyang County Industrial Zone, Luoyang City, about 50 kilometers south of Luoyang. At the time of the Gaopingling coup, Cao Shuang and his party were located south of Yishui, and only a few thousand temporarily assembled Tun soldiers were used as guards to prevent the army in the direction of Luoyang City from crossing the Yishui River and attacking themselves. Tunbing is just a nice name, in fact, it is a peasant, during the Cao Wei period, the Tunbing around Luoyang City has not been in the war for a long time, and it is no different from the peasants, and the combat effectiveness will not be too strong. In addition, at that time, the arsenal was already occupied by Sima Yi, and the temporary equipment of the tun soldiers could never be sophisticated, probably all holding hoes.
From the coup d'état to the end when Cao Shuang laid down his weapons, after a day and a night, 50 kilometers away, the elite cavalry could arrive in half a day, in fact, Sima Yi had already sent an army to wait on the north bank of the Yishui River, and let lieutenant Yin Damu cross the river to persuade Cao Shuang, the reason why he did not directly attack was because he was afraid that the emperor was in Cao Shuang's hands and worried about the reputation of rebellion on his back. There was a pontoon bridge above Yishui, and if Sima Yi gave an order, he could make Cao Shuang disappear in an instant.
From Gaopingling to Xuchang, it is necessary to pass through Liang County, which is now Ruzhou, most of the area of Ruzhou belongs to the jurisdiction of Henan Yin at that time, and Henan Yin at that time was Wang Ji, this person and the Sima family have been secretly communicating, the relationship is extraordinary, otherwise Sima Shi would not have given him such an important position in the history of Jingzhou, so there is every reason to believe that Sima Yi must have passed through Wang Ji long ago, and can take Cao Shuang at any time, so Cao Shuang did not have the opportunity to go to Xuchang at all, the so-called "Feng Tianzi lucky Xuchang, move Wen Wen to recruit the world's soldiers" It's just Huan Fan's wishful thinking.
If you go to Xuchang, what is Cao Shuang's strength?
Huan Fan thought that as a great si nong, he could easily mobilize the grain and grass of the world by hanging the official seal of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Minister of Finance. It was also his wishful thinking. In the war years, grain was definitely hard currency, and in times of war and chaos, the emperor's words were not easy to make, so what is it that you are a big sinner? In addition, Empress Guo was in the hands of Sima Yi, and even such a big person as a great general, a leader in the forbidden army, and a general of the forbidden army's Wu Wei could be easily abolished, and it was not easy to abolish a small big Sinong? In addition, the Great Sinong Seal is not a national jade seal, and the office can build as much as it wants. Therefore, once the two sides exchanged troops, Huan Fan alone could not earn a grain of grain, and even if he could collect grain, it was because people supported Cao Shuang, and never because of the orders of Huan Fan of the Great Si Nong.
Looking at Cao Wei's military deployment at that time, Hu Zun commanded Qing, Yan, Xu, and Yang, Guo Huai town shou yongliang, Zhou Tai town shou xincheng, Shi Bao town shou Xuzhou, Wang Chang over jingzhou and Yuzhou, Deng Ai town shou Nan'an, Yi Qiu Jian and Wen Qin town shou Yangzhou, Wang Ling and Ling Hu yu town shou Yan zhou, among them, Hu Zun, Zhou Tai, Shi Bao, Wang Chang, and Deng Ai were all reported by Sima Yi and were absolutely on Sima Yi's side, and Qiu Jian, Wen Qin, Wang Ling, Ling Huyu, and later Zhuge Shi were opposed to Sima Yi. However, compared with the people promoted by Sima Yi, these few people did not have an advantage in either personal strength or the army they controlled. The cadres promoted by Sima Yi were all the most important military generals in Cao Wei and even in the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty, and although Qiu Jian, Zhuge Shi and others also had the title of famous generals, they still seemed to be weaker compared with other people. This is also the reason why these opposition forces were quickly eliminated in the three rebellions in Huainan.
Due to Cao Shuang's many years of dictatorship and nepotism, the elders and important ministers who had real talents and practical learning in the original dynasty were suppressed one after another, and a number of flashy and vain people were used, such as How Yan, Deng Biao, Ding Mi, Li Sheng, and others.
Therefore, Cao Shuang, as the commander-in-chief, could not be compared with Sima Yi, cao Shuang's generals could not be compared with the generals on Sima Shuang's side, and the civil servants around Cao Shuang could not be compared with the people around Sima Yi, so what was Cao Shuang's chance of winning?
Previously, in order to consolidate his power, Cao Shuang arranged for his close associate Li Sheng to be assassinated in Jingzhou. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, Jingzhou was definitely the world's largest town, and in addition to the large contribution of taxation, its strategic location was also extremely important. Jingzhou is located in the center of the world, it locks the throat of Sichuan Shu in the west, the gate of the east of the river, and the household of the Central Plains in the north, so in the Wei and Jin dynasties, all those who sat in Jingzhou had the strength to fight for the world, such as Liu Bei and Guan Yu in the early days, and later Tao Kan and Huan Wen, so the reason why Sima Yi hurriedly launched a coup in 249 AD, in addition to the rare opportunity for Cao Shuang and his party to pour out of the nest, more importantly, Cao Shuang's appointed close associate Li Sheng was about to go to Jingzhou to serve as an assassin. If Li Sheng arrived in Jingzhou and grasped the military and political power in Jingzhou, then it would be a great disadvantage for the Sima family. Therefore, when Li Sheng had not yet arrived, it was crucial to urgently launch a coup d'état and kill Cao Shuang's attempt.
On the night of the sixth day of the first lunar month in 249 AD, Cao Shuang meditated alone on the sword, and he rehearsed Huan Fan's suggestion countless times in his mind, until the next morning, he finally threw away the sword and said self-deprecatingly: "I am not a rich man." Although Cao Shuang could not be compared with his father Cao Zhen, but when Cao Zhen was competing with the super-first-class figures of the Three Kingdoms such as Hanzhong, Yongliang and Zhuge Liang, Cao Shuang also followed his father in front of the battle, and the reason why he was finally willing to tie his hands was because he also felt that according to Huan Fan's advice, there was really no chance of victory, although he did not believe that Sima Yi would let him go, but at least there was a little room for illusion, after all, the family was in Luoyang City, since there was no chance of victory in rebelling against Sima Fan. Why not surrender and fight for a little life for your family is really not good at least to die with your family.
Of course, Cao Shuang didn't really think he could live to be a rich man, it was just a self-deprecation of him.