Chapter 49 9. Sima Dai Wei

In 249 AD, Cao Fang appointed Sima Yi as the prime minister and named Anping County Duke, and Sima Yi became more and more powerful.Sima Yi fell ill and was unable to go to court. Every time he encountered a major event, Cao Fang would go to his mansion to seek advice in person. Taiwei Wang Ling who was stationed in Shouchun was very dissatisfied with seeing that the emperor was weak and the government was controlled by Sima Yi. He secretly planned to make Cao Biao, the king of Chu, the emperor.Regrettably, things came to light, and Sima Yi killed Wang Ling and his nine clans, and even the innocent King of Chu, Cao Biao, was also killed.

In 251 AD, Sima Yi died at the age of 72. His sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao assisted the government, and the government was still in the hands of the Sima family. Sima Shi and Sima Zhao were conferred the titles of Great General and Hussar General respectively. They were in charge of keeping secrets and important matters, and their power was undiminished compared with Sima Yi. At the same time, their ambition to usurp the throne became more and more obvious.At this time, Cao Fang was like Emperor Xian who was expelled by his ancestors, his power was declining, and he was like a puppet.Master Sima not only ignored him, but also planned to depose him. After Cao Fang heard the news, he was very scared and planned to fight a trapped beast.

In 254 A.D., Jiang Wei, the general of the Shu Kingdom, attacked Longxi. Sima Zhao returned to the capital from Xuchang, preparing to lead troops to resist Jiang Wei. According to the usual practice, Sima Zhao will bid farewell to the emperor before the troops leave.Cao Fang's cronies suggested that Cao Fang kill Sima Zhao on the spot while Sima Zhao was saying goodbye, and then lead his army to attack the general Sima Division. Cao Fang thought it was a good idea, so she drew up an edict and made preparations.On this day, Sima Zhao really came to the imperial court to bid farewell. Cao Fang was eating chestnuts, and Youren Yunwu and others sang "Green-headed chicken! Green-headed chicken!" Green-headed chicken refers to duck, and duck has the same pronunciation as "ya". This is to remind Cao Fang to attack Sima Zhao as soon as possible.However, Cao Fang, who had succumbed to Sima's father and brother for a long time, was habitually afraid of Sima Zhao and dared not do anything.Sima Zhao was as alert as his father. He soon noticed Cao Fang's intentions and withdrew immediately. Then he led troops into the city and worked with Sima Shi to abolish Cao Fang and replace him with Gaogui Township Duke Cao Mao.

Cao Mao is the grandson of Cao Pi, who was 12 years old at the time.Brother Sima took power by himself, but they used him as a display, but they didn't expect Cao Mao to be so smart.When Cao Mao was ordered to rush to Luoyang from other places, the officials greeted him at the south of the Xiye Gate and saluted. Cao Mao immediately got off the sedan chair and returned the salute to all the officials.Cao Mao replied: "I have not yet ascended the throne, but now I am also a minister." When he came to the gate of the palace, Cao Mao got out of the car and walked, but the official said that the emperor can enter the palace by car.Cao Mao replied: "I was recruited by the empress dowager, and I don't know why." When I walked into the hall, I met the empress dowager with a dignified and decent manner.Seeing this, the important officials of the imperial court felt very relieved.Only Master Sima regretted in his heart, he didn't expect this little emperor who was used as a puppet to be so mature and reasonable, it seemed that he was a bit difficult to deal with.

In the second year, Sima Shi passed away and handed over all power to his younger brother Sima Zhao.Sima Zhao's ambitions were greater than his elder brother's. He constantly eradicated dissidents and massacred members of the Cao family to pave the way for himself to replace the emperor.His words and deeds were seen by Cao Mao. Cao Mao was so annoyed that he wrote a "Poem of Qianlong", which satirizes Sima Zhao's domineering.After Sima Zhao knew about it, he had the heart to kill. Cao Mao was full of blood and realized that it would be better to have a hearty fight with Sima Zhao than to sit and wait for death.One day in April 260 A.D., Cao Mao could no longer restrain his anger, and said angrily to Wang Shen, Wang Jing, Wang Ye and other ministers: "Sima Zhao's heart is known to everyone! I can't just wait for him to humiliate and dethrone me. Let’s fight against him with you today.” The ministers believed that attacking rashly would be tantamount to throwing themselves into a trap, so they advised him not to be reckless, but to think long-term.However, Cao Mao could no longer wait any longer. He said sharply, "I've already made up my mind. Even if I lose my life, there's nothing to be afraid of. What's more, it's still unknown who will win the battle!"

Regardless of the objections of Queen Mother Guo and the others, Cao Mao immediately put on his armor, took his sword, got into the chariot, and led Li Zhao, Jiao Bo and more than 300 court servants, and went straight to Sima Zhao.Wang Chen and Wang Ye were afraid that they would be involved, so they hurried out of the palace and took a small path to report to Sima Zhao.Sima Zhao immediately asked his henchman Jia Chong to lead his troops to intercept Cao Mao. Jia Chong's army and Cao Mao's entourage encountered each other in the south gate of the palace, and Cao Mao's team was quickly dispersed by the powerful army.Cao Mao became anxious when he saw it, and immediately shouted: "I am the emperor, who dares to stop me!" He waved his sword, stepped forward and slashed.When Sima Zhao's soldiers saw the emperor going into battle naked, they were stunned for a while, so they had to dodge carefully, not daring to fight.Cheng Ji, the crown prince, ran to ask Jia Chong what to do. Jia Chong said: "Sima Gong has raised us for so long, isn't it for today? Why are you hesitating?" Encouraged, Cheng Ji stepped forward boldly, holding a long spear, stab Cao Mao in the chest.Cao Mao was pierced through the heart, blood spattered all over the palace wall behind him, and died on the spot.

When Sima Zhao heard the news, he rushed to the palace and cried to Cao Mao's body, "How will the people of the world think of me now?"All the court officials suggested killing Jia Chong, but Sima Zhao was reluctant to part with this confidant, so he decided to kill Cheng Ji. Sima Zhao ordered the arrest of Cheng Ji, the criminal who killed the king, and the execution of his nine clans.Officers and soldiers went to Cheng Ji's house to arrest Cheng Ji. Knowing that he was going to die, Cheng Ji ran to the roof and shouted: "It was the prime minister who ordered me to kill the emperor. I followed orders and it is not my fault." Cheng Ji thought he had killed the emperor. The emperor made great contributions, but he never expected to bring about the disaster of destroying his family.Sima Zhao wanted to preserve his reputation by killing, but he made the truth about the killing of the king known to the world.

After Cao Mao, Sima Zhao appointed Cao Huan as emperor. Cao Huan was the grandson of Cao Cao and the son of Cao Yu, king of Yan.This emperor is equally famous but has no power, but he no longer has the courage of Cao Mao.In the entire Cao Wei Group, no one dared to openly oppose Sima. Sima Zhao proclaimed himself King of Jin and made his son Sima Yan the crown prince.In 265 AD, Sima Zhao suffered a stroke and died.Sima Yan inherited the positions of Xiangguo and King Jin, and held the military and political power in one hand. The time to replace the emperor was fully ripe.Sima Yan changed the protagonist of the story of Cao Pi replacing the Han Dynasty, and repeated it again. He threatened Wei Emperor Cao Huan to abdicate.In 265 A.D., Cao Huan had to issue an edict saying: "King Jin has assisted the emperor for generations, and he has made great contributions. God wants me to give up the position of emperor to you. Please obey the destiny and don't refuse." , then seemingly reluctantly accepted Cao Huan's abdication.He held a ceremony to announce to the world that the name of the country was Jin, the capital was Luoyang, and the name of the year was changed to "Taishi".This is the Western Jin Dynasty in history, and Sima Yan is Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty.

Cao Mao inherited the literary and artistic accomplishments of the Cao family, and he was proficient in all kinds of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, such as "Zu Ershu Tu", "Robber Zhi Tu", "Yellow River Trend Map", "Xinfeng Chicken and Dog Picture", "Fangling Ziqian Lou Husband and Wife Picture" Many historical and factual paintings have been handed down to the world.Because of his outstanding personal ability, he regards the revival of the Cao family as his important task.However, Cao Mao ignored the reality at that time and acted on his own will. His behavior was not so much a fulfillment of the important task of reviving the Cao family, but a noble and tragic self-sacrifice burial for the demise of the Cao family.