Chapter 9 100 Cao Zhi's Poetry in Seven Steps

Sun Quan occupied Jingzhou and killed Guan Yu. Fearing Liu Bei's revenge, he sent an envoy to Cao Cao to send a letter, expressing his willingness to submit to Cao Cao, and urging Cao Cao to obey the destiny and proclaim himself emperor as soon as possible. When Cao Cao received the letter, he handed it to his confidants to read.He smiled and said, "Sun Quan, you want to roast me on the fire." Since Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty moved his capital to Xudu, the power of the imperial court and the military were all in the hands of Cao Cao.Isn't it easy for Cao Cao to abolish Emperor Xian of Han and proclaim himself emperor?However, he considered that although the Han Dynasty was in decline, it still had the name of orthodoxy, and he was afraid that some people would be dissatisfied when he became emperor.Therefore, he thought that Sun Quan's persuasion to proclaim himself emperor was to embarrass him deliberately.

He pondered for a while, and then said: "If there is a destiny, I will be King Wen of Zhou!" It means to let his son be the emperor. Not long after this incident, Cao Cao's old illness broke out, and it was useless to ask a doctor to take medicine, and finally died in Luoyang.This year, he was sixty-six years old. After Cao Cao's death, Prince Cao Pi succeeded him as King of Wei and Prime Minister, holding the power of the court.After Cao Pi came to the throne of Wei, someone reported that his younger brother Cao Zhi, Marquis of Linzi, often drank and cursed people, and detained the envoys he sent.Cao Pi immediately sent people to Linzi, arrested Cao Zhi and took him back to Yecheng for interrogation.

It turned out that Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were both descendants of Cao Cao's wife Bian (sound bian).Cao Cao is not only a politician and military strategist, but also a writer. The two brothers are also good at poetry and prose. In the history of literature, their father and son are collectively called "Three Caos".Cao Zhi was very smart since he was a child. When he was a teenager, he read a lot of books and could write excellent articles.Once, Cao Cao read Cao Zhi's article and was a little skeptical, so he asked Cao Zhi, "Did you ask someone to write this for you?"

Cao Zhi knelt down and said, "My son's words are written, and his pens are written. How can he ask someone to write for you. Father doesn't believe it, so you can have an interview." Cao Cao tried Cao Zhi several times, and felt that he was really talented, so he loved him very much. He wanted to make him the crown prince many times, but he couldn't decide because some ministers objected. Cao Pi was afraid that his position would be unstable, so he tried every means to please Cao Cao.Once, when Cao Cao went out to fight, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi both went to see him off.When parting, Cao Zhi read an article praising Cao Cao's merits on the spot, and everyone appreciated it very much.

Someone whispered in Cao Pi's ear: "Your Majesty is leaving, all you have to do is express your sadness." Sure enough, Cao Pi bid farewell to Cao Cao, wiping away his tears. Cao Cao was very moved and shed tears. This incident made Cao Cao feel that although Cao Pi was not as talented as Cao Zhi, he was honest and had feelings for him.Coupled with the fact that many of the attendants on the left and right spoke well for Cao Pi, Cao Cao's love for Cao Zhi gradually changed. Cao Zhi is a person who doesn't pay attention to details.Once, he was sitting in a chariot and horse in the palace, and he opened the outer door of the palace privately to go out.This incident violated the rules of the palace.

Cao Cao was very annoyed when he heard this, and executed the official in charge of the palace gate. Another time, Cao Cao sent Cao Zhi to lead the army.When Cao Pi got the news, he sent wine and food in advance, drank with Cao Zhi, and made Cao Zhi drunk.At this time, Cao Cao sent someone to find Cao Zhi, and urged him several times, but Cao Zhi still hadn't woken up.Cao Cao had no choice but to cancel the dispatch of Cao Zhi. After this, Cao Cao gave up the idea of ​​making Cao Zhi the prince. After Cao Pi became the king of Wei, he still hated Cao Zhi.This time, he seized the opportunity to arrest Cao Zhi and punish Cao Zhi to death.

His mother, Empress Dowager Bian, found out that she was very anxious, and hurriedly pleaded with Cao Zhi in front of Cao Pi, asking him to forgive Cao Zhi for the sake of his brothers. Cao Pi had to listen to his mother's words, and besides, it would be disrespectful for him to kill his brother for a trivial matter, so he only withdrew Cao Zhi's title of Marquis of Linzi and downgraded it to a lower title. It is said that after Cao Pi summoned Cao Zhi, in order to punish him, he asked him to compose a poem within seven steps.If it can be done, save him from death. Cao Zhi thought for a while, then took a step, took a step, read a sentence, and read a poem casually: "Cooking beans burns the bean sprouts (sound qi, bean stems), and the beans are weeping in the cauldron. They grow from the same root, and they grow from the same root. Why is it too hasty to cook?"

After hearing this, Cao Pi felt ashamed that he had pushed his younger brother too hard, so he spared Cao Zhi's death penalty. Cao Pi became the king of Wei, and he was not afraid of others' comments like his father.In the autumn of this year, his cronies jointly wrote a letter, urging Han Xiandi to abdicate to Wei Wang. Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty had been the nominal emperor for more than 30 years. After receiving a letter from the minister, he announced his abdication and changed his name to Shanyang Gong.Cao Pi's trusted ministers also held a grand abdication ceremony of "push the throne and surrender the country", indicating that the imperial power of the Han Dynasty was voluntarily surrendered by Emperor Xian.

In 220 AD, Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and established the Wei Dynasty, which was Emperor Wen of Wei.At this time, the Eastern Han Dynasty officially ended.