Chapter 20 Chapter 16 The Third Century

The Eastern Han Dynasty finally came to an end. After the 1920s, China split into three countries: the Cao Wei Empire, the Shu Han Empire, and the Eastern Wu Empire.Known as the "Three Kingdoms Era", from 220 to 280, there were sixty-one years.During the Three Kingdoms period and the 30-year melee period, nearly one-tenth of the story materials of Chinese dramas were produced, becoming the most familiar era for Chinese people.A well-known historical novel - written by Luo Guanzhong, has been published far more than Sima Qian's "Historical Records", and it has spread the events of this era so that even children know it.If we want to understand this era, we should read that novel instead of reading official history books.However, one must be very careful. In the author's writing, Cao Cao is distorted as a villainous character, and Zhuge Liang is distorted as a wizard who can call wind and rain and can divination.

The Three Kingdoms era began at the beginning of this century and ended at the end of this century when the emerging Jin Dynasty reunified China. Battle of Chibi The unification of China by the Eastern Han government with Cao Cao as prime minister encountered fierce resistance.Of course, the warlords do not want the central government to restore power, they are very satisfied with the status quo of separatism. After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, he brought the states north of the Yellow River under the control of the central government.In 208, they attacked Liu Biao who was based in Xiangyang (Xiangfan, Hubei).It happened that Liu Biao died, and his son Liu Cong surrendered.Liu Bei, the leader of an exiled army who took refuge in Liu Biao, was stationed in Fancheng (a town across the Han River from Xiangyang) at that time, and hurriedly retreated south to join Liu Biao's other son Liu Qi in Xiakou (Wuhan, Hubei).The central government troops pursued southward, intending to wipe out Liu Bei and Sun Quan who occupied Jiangdong (the area east of Poyang Lake) in one fell swoop-Sun Ce was dead and was succeeded by his younger brother Sun Quan.At this time, the military strength of the two sides was extremely disparate. The government had 200,000 people (800,000 claimed to the outside world), Sun Quan's full mobilization was only 40,000 people, and the Liu Bei and Liu Qi coalition forces were only a pitiful 10,000 people.Liu Bei and Sun Quan formed an alliance to resist the government's offensive.Liu Bei stationed in Fankou (Fankou Town, northwest of Ezhou, Hubei), and Sun Quan sat in Chaisang (Jiujiang, Jiangxi). He sent his general Zhou Yu to lead the 30,000 people he could put into the battlefield to fight against the current.The government's 200,000 troops went down the river from Jiangling (Jiangling, Hubei). The two sides fought in Chibi (northwest of Puqi, Hubei), and the government army was defeated.The biggest impact of this battle was to determine the situation of division, and the central government was no longer able to gather such a large force.

——Cao Cao, the commander of the government army, was defeated by an absolute advantage. Let us examine the reasons for it: 1. An infectious disease is prevalent in the army, causing more than half of his soldiers to lose their combat effectiveness.2. Cao Cao's pride in thinking that the world has been determined and the serious negligence caused by pride.3. Bad luck, it was the severe winter of 208, and the west wind always blew, but during the battle, the east wind suddenly blew, which enabled Zhou Yu's army to attack with fire and burn Cao Cao's warships (the folklore is, all Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's think tank, built a platform to worship the heavens, and the heavens specially "lend" him this east wind that shouldn't have been there).

Liu Zhang, a warlord far away in Chengdu, was threatened by Zhang Lu, the leader of the Five Dou Rice Church in the north and the governor of Hanzhong (Shaanxi Hanzhong) (prefect), so he came up with a whimsical idea to invite Liu Bei, one of the protagonists who won the Battle of Chibi, to Resist Zhang Lu for him.This was luck that Liu Bei could never have dreamed of. In the early stages of the melee, he could not get a base area. He eagerly agreed.In 211, he led the army into Yizhou (Sichuan and Yunnan).After several symbolic battles with Zhang Lu, next year (212), he randomly found an excuse to break with Liu Zhang. In 214, he captured Chengdu (Chengdu, Sichuan), and Liu Jing surrendered.

In 220, Cao Cao passed away, and his son Cao Pi immediately seized power, driving Emperor Liu Xie from the throne, and the Eastern Han Dynasty fell in 196.Cao Pi called his empire the Wei Empire, and moved the capital from Xu County to Luoyang, which was gradually recovering from stability.When the news reached Chengdu next year (February 1), Liu Bei had always regarded himself as a descendant of the royal family surnamed Liu, so he claimed to inherit Liu Xie's throne and establish the Shuhan Empire.Next year (222), Sun Quan also announced the establishment of the Wu Empire in Wuchang (Ezhou, Hubei; later moved to Jianye·Nanjing, Jiangsu).

Thirty-one years of chaotic wars for the change of dynasty, from the last century (2) in 190, when Yuan Shao launched an army to attack Dong Zhuo in the east, to this century (3) in 220, with the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it came to an end. Two and Three Kingdoms era Although the three countries are independent, they have not stopped eliminating each other and pursuing unified concepts and military operations.They all hope to unify China by themselves, but no one has such power. Cao Pi, the founding emperor of the Cao Wei Empire, was an outstanding writer just like his father Cao Cao, but he lacked his father's political and military talents, so he could only maintain the situation left by his father and could not create new ones.He had attacked the Eastern Wu Empire several times, but he was unable to cross the Yangtze River, so that he said something neither knowledgeable nor promising: "My lord opened up the Yangtze River to divide the north and the south." After his death, his son Cao Rui succeeds to the throne, this bottleneck figure is worse than his father, as if his empire has unified the world and is impregnable, all he cares about every day is building palaces.After his death, his nephew Cao Fang was involved in a coup, and the power fell to the general Sima Yi.After Sima Yi's death, his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, came to power one after another, and the Cao Wei Empire came to an end.

Liu Bei, the founding emperor of the Shuhan Empire, declared war on the Eastern Wu Empire because his most trusted general Guan Yu was killed by the Eastern Wu Empire, and Jingzhou (Hubei and Hunan) was occupied by the Eastern Wu Empire.But in the battle of Yanhuting (Yanhuting Town, northwest of Zhijiang, Hubei), he was defeated by Lu Xun, a new young general of the Soochow Empire, and died in a fit of anger. His son Liu Chan succeeded to the throne.Liu Chan, nicknamed "A Dou", was an honest man who appointed Zhuge Liang as prime minister and handed over the whole country to him.The Shuhan Empire is the smallest and weakest of the three kingdoms. It has four counties in the south—Yuekou County (Xichang, Sichuan), Yongchang County (Baoshan, Yunnan), Yizhou County (Jinning, Yunnan), and Yanghe County (Fuquan, Guizhou). , accounting for half of the area of ​​the Shuhan Empire. After Liu Bei's death, all the barbarians rebelled together and surrendered to the Soochow Empire.Zhuge Liang first crusade against the four counties. He abandoned high pressure and completely adopted psychological warfare. He captured the barbarian leader Meng Huo alive six times, and let him go back to fight again six times.When he was captured again for the seventh time and was about to be released for the seventh time, Meng Huo was deeply moved and made a solemn oath: "From this life onwards, I will never betray China." During the empire, the four counties were not only stable as usual, but also contributed a lot of manpower and property.

Zhuge Liang launched five attacks on the Cao Wei Empire without any worries.But out of five military operations, four failed.The first time they set off in 227, they were defeated in the battle of Jieting (Zhuanglang, Gansu) next year (228). ——In this battle, General Wei Yan once suggested: surprise Chang'an from Ziwu Valley (one of the Qinling Canyons).But this kind of risky military action is beyond Zhuge Liang's prudent and steady character. He will not know that military action must take risks sometimes, but he dare not try it.After that, the Cao Wei Empire became alert and lost this opportunity forever.

The second time was still in 228. After Zhuge Liang failed at Jieting, he assembled his forces and attacked Chen Cang (Baoji, Shaanxi).For the third time in 229, the only time, the people of Wudu (Chengxian, Gansu) and Yinping (Wenxian, Gansu) under the Cao Wei Empire were all moved into the Shuhan Empire for reclamation. a big help.For the fourth time in 231, they attacked Shangbang (Tianshui, Gansu), but the food was exhausted and they were defeated.Zhuge Liang's biggest difficulty was the lack of grain transportation in the mountains, so he decided to switch to the reclamation policy.Therefore, during the fifth attack in 234, they entered Meiqian County (Mei County, Shaanxi Province) and cultivated land along the south bank of the Weishui River as a long-term plan.However, Zhuge Liang died in Wuzhangyuan, a suburb of Meiqian County.This was a fatal loss to the Shuhan Empire, which lacked talents. His military position was replaced by general Jiang Wei, but the eunuch Huang Hao held power beside Liu Chan, and Jiang Wei's ability was far inferior to Zhuge Liang. It was very difficult to maintain the endgame. There can be no more development than Zhuge Liang, and the Shuhan Empire has come to an end.

Sun Quan, the founding emperor of the Eastern Wu Empire, had been in power for the longest time. He was 71 years old when he died (252), and it had been 52 years since he succeeded his elder brother Sun Ce.Fifty-two years was a long time, which made him turn from wise to stupid, so the Soochow Empire has always been in chaos like a pile of straw.After many coups, the last emperor, Sun Hao, was also a standard king of subjugation.His happiest thing is to peel people's skin alive, and use an iron brush to scrub people's faces.One of his ministers had a stroke and couldn't speak, and he thought he was pretending, and set fire to his head and burned him till the sick man died.He once went out in winter, and the angry escort soldiers shouted loudly: "As soon as the enemy comes, we will rebel." He is a comparison with Liu Chan, Liu Chan is too incompetent, and Sun Hao is too capable.

Three political systems, nine grades, clear talk The political and cultural contributions of the Three Kingdoms, Shu Han and Soochow have no status.The Cao Wei Empire controlled the elite regions of China. During its short lifespan of forty-six years, there were three developments that were different from those of the previous generation and had a long-term impact on future generations. The First Political System In China, since the establishment of Jiuqing by the Qin Dynasty in the third century BC, this kind of government organization has been maintained for more than 500 years.This century (3) After the establishment of the Cao Wei Empire, there were major changes, and the government organization became the form listed in the following table: Under the Jiuqing system, "Shangshu Province", whose real name is "Shangshutai", is one of the units affiliated with the court supply (one of the Jiuqing's Shaofu), responsible for sending and receiving the emperor's documents.The chief is called "Shangshu Ling", which means the secretary-general.The clerk is called "Shangshu", that is, the secretary.During the Western Han and Eastern Han dynasties, in order to enhance work efficiency, the Shangshutai moved to the imperial palace and worked next to the emperor. It became independent from the palace supply (Shaofu), and because it was close to the magic wand of power, its status naturally became more and more important.After the founding of the Cao Wei Empire, it separated from the imperial palace and was renamed "Shangshu Province", which officially became the central administrative agency of the government, similar to the modern State Council.The Shangshu Province was divided into several "Cao"——"Cao", which was later renamed "Ministry", which is the origin of the "Ministry" of the modern central government in the 20th century. The situation of "Zhongshu Sheng" is exactly the same, and it is also one of the units under the Ministry of Palace Supply (Shaofu), but it is under its control.The most important thing is the general affairs of the emperor and the palace. This century (3) also officially became the central organization, responsible for policy planning, edict promulgation, and making suggestions to the emperor at any time.However, the original Jiuqing was squeezed aside. Because of his position and power, he was duplicated with the "Cao" (departments) of Shangshu Province, so instead he became a person and organization that overlapped with each other. , but remained until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the autocracy ended. The second ninth grade was the method of recommending talents by officials in the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Cao Wei Empire revised it and replaced it with full-time government officials.Intellectuals across the country (including mid-level and lower-level officials who have served) are evaluated into nine grades according to their talents and moral behaviors, called "Nine Grades".That is, up-up, up-middle, up-down; middle-up, middle-middle, middle-down; down-up, down-middle, down-down.After the rating, Xiao Zhongzheng reported to Da Zhongzheng, and Da Zhongzheng reported it to the prime minister after review.After being approved by the prime minister, it was sent to Shangshu Province as a standard for appointment, removal or promotion. This is an important way for intellectuals to enter the government in the third century of this century. The Jiupin Zhongzheng system was implemented for more than 300 years until the end of the sixth century.But the malpractice of Jiupin Zhongzheng became very serious soon, and the evaluation criteria were completely separated from "talent" and "moral behavior", and only "family status" was measured.If an intellectual is not a big landlord and his father has never been an official, even if he has a high academic ability and a high moral reputation, he will not be rated as top grade.The descendants of big landlords and officials, big and small (in fact, the two are often combined into one), even if they can't read a few words and have bad morals, they are still top grade.Scholar-bureaucrats with family backgrounds acted as Zhongzheng and Zhongzheng respectively, and they did not allow their interests to spill over.then.The same class of scholar-officials is divided into two; one is from aristocratic families, and the other is from poor families.Just at the end of this century (3), the ugly phenomenon of "the upper class has no poor family, and the lower class has no family" has appeared. The third talk about Cao Cao, the ancestor of the Wei Empire, was a practical politician. His employment criteria only required talent, but not private life.In this case, the adults who only talk about benevolence and morality are treated indifferently.After Sima Yi and his son came to power, a large number of scholar-bureaucrats who were loyal to the emperor or were suspected of being loyal to the emperor were killed.Even the fourth emperor, Cao Mao, was forced to attack the Sima family. He was also surrounded by the Sima family.So these intellectuals who have become officials, or have not yet become officials, invented the best way to avoid disasters, which is to completely break away from reality.The Lao-Zhuang philosophy of cleanliness and inaction is just right for this trend.So the scholar-bureaucrat talked for a long time, but no one knew what he was talking about, and it was first-class knowledge, because he didn't leave any grounds for people in power to arrest him.This kind of pure mouth art - chewing maggots, is called "clear talk", and has become the main content of life for scholar-bureaucrats.Under the impact of this trend, people called or claiming to be "celebrities" came into being. They did not dare to directly express dissatisfaction with the power, but they dared to express their dissatisfaction with the "ethics" and "famous religion" that supported the power. dissatisfied.Some celebrities drink too much, some pretend to be crazy, some are naked and don’t wear pants, and some celebrities not only refuse to accept the three-year mourning, but also don’t shed a tear when their father dies. After the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, the atmosphere of terror gradually eased, but the atmosphere of open talk did not go away.Its sequelae are very obvious. The scholar-bureaucrats regard everything related to real life as "vulgar affairs" and "vulgar affairs". It is an honor not to be involved in administrative affairs, local officials are proud not to be involved in the sufferings of the people, judges are proud not to be involved in litigation, and generals are proud not to be involved in military affairs.The result was unprecedented rot across the country. The Temporary Unification of the Four Jin Dynasties The Three Kingdoms era ended quickly. The first to perish was the Shuhan Empire.In 263, the Cao Wei Empire, which was under the power of Prime Minister Sima Zhao, sent General Zhong Hui to march south.Jiang Wei, a general of the Shu Han Dynasty, was guarding Jianmen Pass (north of Jiange, Sichuan), and the battle was stalemate.However, Deng Ai, another general of Cao Wei, went from Yinping County (Wenxian County, Gansu Province) to Wanshan, opened up a bird path, and went straight to Jiangyou (Jiangyou, Sichuan Province), an important town on the border of Shu and Han.This is a primitive mountainous area that no one has ever walked through. Except for poisonous snakes and beasts, there are no human footprints.The Deng Ai Corps dug a mountain to open a hole, and when they encountered a cliff, they wrapped themselves in felt and rolled down, twisting and circling, covering a distance of 150 kilometers (Wei Ting came out of Ziwu Valley to attack Chang'an, but it was so difficult).After occupying Jiangyou, it entered the Chengdu Plain.Emperor Liu Chan of the Shu Han Empire heard that the enemy army was not far from Chengdu, so he didn't think of resisting at all, nor did he think that Jiang Wei's army was still intact in front, so he couldn't wait to surrender.The Shuhan Empire was only established for forty-three years. The next to perish is the Cao Wei Empire.The Sima family's long-term ruling and long-term massacre made the emperor like an egg standing on a glass ball, and any small shock would fall to pieces.The second year (265) after conquering Shuhan.Prime Minister Sima Zhao died, and his son Sima Yan immediately gave orders to the last emperor, Cao Huan, to teach him to abdicate.The Cao Wei Empire was only established for forty-six years.Sima Yan called his regime the Jin Empire, and Luoyang was still the capital. ——Both Sima Yan and Cao Pi first laid the foundations with their father.Although they are the founding emperors on the surface, they are just playboys who enjoy their free time. They are more interested in wine and beauties than in the country and society. The last one to perish was the Eastern Wu Empire. Under the rule of the villainous emperor Sun Hao, everyone knew that it must perish. Only Sun Hao didn't know, and he was ambitious to destroy the emerging Jin Empire.A strange astrologer once made a divination for him: "In the year of Gengzi, Qinggai entered Luoyang." Gengzi, 280; Qinggai, the sun umbrella used by the emperor.Sun Hao jumped up happily, because it clearly pointed out that he could conquer his enemies that year.As a result, the Jin Empire captured Jianye (Nanjing, Jiangsu) in 280 and captured Sun Hao alive. Sure enough, he was sent to Luoyang together with his green cover.The Soochow Empire was established for fifty-nine years, the longest lifespan among the three countries. Since the 1980s, China has been under the rule of the Jin Empire—now, we call it the Jin Dynasty, and it is unified again. A new regime must have higher political capabilities than the old regime.However, the Jin Dynasty was an exception.Because in fact, when the regime was in the hands of Sima Yan, it had passed to the third generation, just like Cao Pi had passed to the second generation, and it just entered a dangerous bottleneck period.Sima Yan and Cao Pi are both playboys, but Cao Pi has a heroic father. Under the influence of his father, coupled with his own pure temperament of a cultural man, he can maintain a minimum level despite his depravity.Sima Yan, on the other hand, is a wine bag and meat bag through and through.The terrorist policy of the old father and the old grandfather either killed or drove the scholar-bureaucrats into negligence, leaving no politician or a slightly talented cadre to help him govern the country.In any new regime, the founding fathers are often the elite of a generation, honored by merit.Only the founding fathers of the Jin Dynasty were the most corrupt and shameless people in that era.They belong to the same kind of characters as Sima Yan. Apart from seeking their own enjoyment, they don't know that human beings have lofty ideals and lofty responsibilities.Prime Minister He once told his son: "The country has just started a business, so it should be full of vigor and vitality. Trifles. This is not a good phenomenon, you may be spared, and the grandchildren may not escape the disaster.” He Zeng finally had a considerable insight, he was aware of the crisis, but he was only aware of it, and he himself only had three meals a day The meal costs 10,000 yuan, and I still feel that there is no food to eat, so I can't eat chopsticks.And 10,000 yuan, the purchasing power at that time, was enough to feed a thousand people for a month, which was a terrible luxury.So in fact, He Zeng is also one of the most energetic members who only talks about "everyday chores" - wine and beauties.He cannot be an exception. If he is not corrupt and shameless, he will not be able to squeeze through the narrow gate of the ruling class.As for Emperor Sima Yan, there were more than 10,000 concubines in his palace, which made him worry every day, not knowing where to sleep, so he took a sheep cart, and wherever the sheep stopped, he would stay there. Because of this, the wise concubine Ji sprinkled salt juice on the bamboo leaves to attract the sheep to stop. What's even more unfortunate is that Sima Yan's legitimate son, Sima Zhong, the legal heir to the throne, is an idiot.Hearing the cry of the frogs, he asked: "Why are they called? For the public? For the private?" When he heard someone starve to death, he was shocked and said: "Why don't you eat meat?" In 290, Sima Yan passed away and Sima Zhong succeeded to the throne. .The huge empire ship is steered by an idiot emperor. The future of this empire can be determined without betting with anyone. The Rebellion of the Five and Eight Kings (Part 1) The next year (291) when Sima Zhong came to power, the Eight Kings Rebellion broke out. The Rebellion of the Eight Kings, from the killing of the first prince Sima Liang in 291 to the death of the eighth prince Sima Yue in sorrow in the next century (4) 311, lasted 21 years and ended the Jin Dynasty. The unified situation established has brought China into the era of great division.We use the table below to illustrate the relative position of these eight princes in the royal family. Sima Zhong's wife, Jananfeng, is a smart and talented woman.Her husband's idiocy was a frustrating blow to her, so she turned her interests to politics.She has her henchmen: the Qi family surnamed Jia and a large group of wagging systems.Politics can turn heads, so she was soon pleased that her husband was an idiot at her mercy.In her hands, Sima Zhong is not only a rubber stamp, but also the most valuable scribe. When Jananfeng finished writing the imperial edict, he ordered Sima Zhong to copy it on the imperial paper. This kind of personal writing with imperial pen has the highest legal force . Jananfeng's attempt to interfere in politics was initially thwarted by the chancellor (Taifu) Yang Jun, the father of Empress Dowager Yang and grandfather of the idiot Emperor Sima Zhong, who held military power.But Jananfeng has her way. In 291, the year after the idiot emperor came to power, she obtained the cooperation of her husband's younger brother, Prince Sima Wei, and issued an edict declaring that Yang Jun had rebelled, and ordered Sima Wei to send troops to seek the thief and kill Yang Jun. Lose.In this coup, in the city of Luoyang alone, thousands of people died in the massacre of the three clans.Yang Jun was replaced by Prince Sima Liang, Sima Zhong's uncle.When the grandfather was in power, Jananfeng, the nephew's daughter-in-law, intervened in the government and encountered difficulties again.So she did the same thing again, and three months after Yang Jun was killed, she still used Sima Wei to issue an edict declaring that Sima Liang had also conspired against him, ordering Sima Wei to send troops to seek the thief, and then kill Sima Liang. The method used to eradicate Sima Liang is the same as that used to eradicate Yang Jun - framing treason, but Sima Liang is the most respected elder in the royal family. Jananfeng found that it may cause a strong political storm, and there is no proper place to appease Sima Wei , So in an instant, she turned her face and ruthless, put all the responsibility on Sima Wei's head, and issued an edict declaring that Sima Wei was "coordinating the edict", that is, falsely preaching the imperial decree and killing the minister without authorization.Sima Wei, who was being played with on his fingers, was arrested in a hurry and tied to the execution ground. He took out from his arms the imperial edict written by the idiot Emperor Sima Zhong on the imperial blue paper, asking the prison and beheading officer to appeal for him. It didn't matter, the prison system he fell into couldn't be rescued by his innocent evidence, and the executioner had no choice but to weep with him at the same time. There was even more tragic bloodshed during the Eight Kings Rebellion, which was left to the next century. six east west world In 217 (Sun Quan's general Lu Su died of illness), the Roman Emperor Carrara was assassinated and civil war broke out. In fifty-four years (-270), there were thirty emperors, and only one died. The remaining twenty-nine people all died unexpectedly.Historians call the "Thirty Tyrants Era" (Thirty Tyrants Era is roughly the same time as China's Three Kingdoms Era. The Thirty Tyrants Era began in 217, and three years later, in 220, the Three Kingdoms Era began. Thirty The era of tyrants ended in 270, and ten years later in 280, the era of the Three Kingdoms also ended). In 284 (four years after the fall of the Soochow Empire), the Baekje Kingdom on the Korean Peninsula sent a minister, A Zhiqi, to Japan, and Emperor Ojin of Japan retained him as a teacher to the princes. In 285 (Murong Kang, the chief of the Xianbei tribe, attacked Liaoxi County in China), the Baekje Kingdom sent Dr. Wang Ren to Japan again, and brought books such as "Thousand Characters" and presented them to Emperor Yingshen, and Chinese characters were naturally introduced. Japan, and was adopted by Japan. In 286 (five years before the Rebellion of the Eight Kings), Emperor Diocletian of the Roman Empire, considering that the country was vast and could not be governed by one person, appointed General Maximian as Augustus, stationed in Milan, to govern the empire west.He himself was stationed in Asia Minor, ruling the eastern part of the empire.The two heads of state stood side by side, and the center of gravity moved eastward, which led to the split of the Roman Empire in the future.