Chapter 44 2. "The Prince's Four Friends"

Now there is a saying that if a person wants to achieve great things, IQ is of course important, but EQ is more important.There is an important criterion for measuring the level of emotional intelligence, that is, how good is his social communication ability and how many friends he makes.If you look at Cao Pi from this angle, he is definitely a person with a high emotional intelligence. After the death of the elder brother Cao Ang, in addition to the few who died early, there were nearly 20 brothers behind Cao Pi.How Cao Pi got along with them is not clearly recorded in history books, but it is not too bad, and the closest relationship with Cao Pi is Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and Xiahou brothers.

Cao Zhen is Cao Cao's nephew and nephew. There is also a saying that his surname is Qin, and his father Qin Shao died supporting Cao Cao's cause.At that time, Cao Zhen was still young, so Cao Cao adopted him as his adopted son and let him live and study with Cao Pi, and the two formed a deep friendship.Cao Zhen later became the general of the tiger and leopard cavalry. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he appointed him as the general of the upper army, holding a heavy army. Cao Xiu is Cao Cao's nephew and nephew. He also joined the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry after he grew up. He fought bravely and made many military exploits. Before Cao Cao was alive, he was promoted to the leader of the army by virtue of his military exploits. This is a very important military position.After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he was awarded General Zhengdong, equivalent to the commander of the corps, commanding Zhang Liao and more than 20 armies to fight against Sun Wu.

Among Xiahouyuan and Xiahou's nephews and nephews, there are several who have unusual relationships with Cao Pi, mainly Xiahoushang, Xiahouwei, Xiahou and others. The relationship between Xiahou's family and Cao Pi is Xiahoushang.After Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, he appointed Xia Houshang as the general who conquered the South, and was in charge of the military affairs of the entire Jingzhou. His wife was also a girl from the Cao family, but it is not known who it is.After Xia Houshang was promoted to the Great General of Zhengnan, he doted on another concubine. Cao’s girl was left out in the cold. Cao Pi, who was already the emperor, sent someone to strangle this concubine. This was too bad, but it also showed that in Cao Pi’s eyes Shang has never been an outsider.

Xiahouwei is the fourth son of Xiahouyuan's family. He is full of chivalry. He is not a literati but likes scholars. He found Yanghu, a native of Taishan County, and thought that Yanghu was knowledgeable and good at talking, so he decided to marry a daughter of his second brother Xiahouba Married to Yang Hu as his wife, and later Yang Hu became a famous general of the generation.Xia Houwei had a good relationship with Cao Pi, but he also had a good relationship with Cao Zhi. It may be for this reason that he later only became the governor of the state and died at the age of forty-nine. Xiahou is Xiahou's son and Cao Pi's brother-in-law. According to historical records, Cao Pi and Xiahou are "good friends".After Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, Xiahou was also highly valued. He was appointed as General Anxi, in charge of military affairs in Guanzhong and the areas west of Guanzhong, and shouldered important responsibilities.But his talents are limited. "Wei Lue" said that he "has no martial arts in nature, but is good at governing life."After Cao Pi's son Cao Rui succeeded to the throne, he transferred the uncle back from Chang'an to take up a idle position.

Judging from the above records, Cao Pi's popularity is good.In addition, Cao Pi not only has a good relationship with the brothers Cao and Xiahou, but also has many confidants around him. The "Four Friends of the Prince" are their representatives. The term "Four Friends of the Prince" appeared in "Jin Shu Xuan Emperor Ji", which is Sima Yi's biography.It is said that before and after Cao Pi was established as the prince, he especially trusted and relied on four people, namely Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi and Zhu Shuo, named "Four Friends". Sima Yi has been introduced in detail earlier. He came from the Sima family in Wen County, Hanoi County. His father, Sima Fang, was the old leader of Cao Cao in Luoyang.Sima Yi's family also produced a large number of talents. His elder brother Sima Lang and third younger brother Sima Fu both served under Cao Cao.

According to the "Book of Jin", Sima Yi was a little reluctant to start working with Cao Cao.But he is definitely not a person who is indifferent to fame and fortune. He has a deep city and a strong self-motivation, and he is absolutely smart. Sima Yi observed this keenly. He felt that in order to truly enter the core of power, he must be patient and make long-term plans. Now there is a very popular phrase called "Hide your strengths and bide your time", which originally refers to Sima Yi. Later, Sima Yi took the initiative to approach Cao Pi, and loyally helped Cao Pi make suggestions, and was valued by Cao Pi.Chen Qun's background is similar to Sima Yi's. He was born in the Chen family of Yingchuan County, which is also a big family.Chen Qun's identity is a bit special. He was Liu Bei's subordinate, and after Liu Bei's defeat, he was discovered and appointed by Cao Cao as a prisoner.Chen Qun has served as a grassroots administrative official, and has also been in charge of personnel, judicial, and supervisory work. He has considerable talents. He is the one who proposed the famous "Nine Grades of Officials Law".

Before Cao Cao was alive, Sima Yi and Chen Qun were not members of the core group and had no military power, but they saw that Cao Pi would succeed in the future, so they clung to him wholeheartedly, won Cao Pi's trust, and paved the way for their future success. Wu Zhi’s situation has also been introduced earlier. He followed Cao Cao earlier. He probably joined Cao Ying when Cao Cao was the shepherd of Yanzhou, but his status has not been high. For a famous family, on the other hand, he has a bad temper, poor character, and his future is bleak. Wu Zhi is ten years older than Cao Pi. He is a person who likes to make friends with power. After hard work, he finally attracted Cao Pi's attention and became Cao Pi's think tank.When Cao Pi encountered difficulties and didn't know what to do, he often asked him for advice.

Among the four, Zhu Shuo's situation is the least known at present, only that he is from Peiguo, Cao Cao's hometown. He is thinner, has a quick temper, and has a good relationship with Cao Pi and others. There are Wu Zhi and Zhu Shuo in the "Nanpi Journey". There is an incident recorded in "Shiyu", which can illustrate the close contacts between Cao Pi, Wu Zhi, Cao Zhen, and Zhu Shuo.That was already after Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor. At that time, Wu Zhi held an important position in other places. When he returned to the capital to meet Cao Pi, Cao Pi specially ordered senior officials and generals in Beijing to gather at Wu Zhi's mansion. From this point, it can be seen Wu Zhi's weight in Cao Pi's mind.

During the banquet, Wu Zhi wanted to have more fun, so he asked artists to perform.Cao Zhen and Zhu Shuo were present at that time.One of these two was born obese and the other was born thin. Wu Zhi asked the artists to make fun of this (drunken wine, full of sexual desires. At the time, the general Cao Zhen was fat, and the leader in the middle was thin, and the quality was excellent, so that Say fat and thin).Seeing that he was being teased, Cao Zhen broke up with Wu Zhi at the wine table. Cao Hong, Wang Zhong and others came up to persuade him. Cao Zhen said in words: "Cao Zidan, you are just the meat on the table. I swallow you without a throat and chew you without teeth. How dare you be so arrogant (Ru Fei butchers some meat, Wu Zhi swallows it without shaking it.) Throat, mouth, if you don’t shake your teeth, how dare you be arrogant and evil)?”

Seeing that the commotion had reached such a level, Zhu Shuo, another party involved, stood up to smooth things over and said, "Your Majesty asked us to have a drink with you to have fun. Why do you do this?" He reprimanded Zhu Shuo and said, "Zhu Shuo, you dare to disappoint me (Zhu Shuo, dare to sit badly)?" Everyone saw that Wu Zhi was really impatient, and they all returned to their seats without saying a word. Zhu Shuo was impatient, and was scolded by Wu Zhi for no reason, and was so angry that he drew his sword and slashed at the ground. land). This kind of description is probably rarely seen in official history. Wu Zhi and Zhu Shuo were not very well-known in later generations, but they were definitely popular figures at that time because they had a close relationship with Cao Pi.

It is impossible for Cao Cao not to know about Cao Pi's association with these people. Cao Cao will not object to Cao Pi's association with Cao family and Xiahou family brothers, but Cao Cao has scruples about his association with Sima Yi and Chen Qun. This has to start with the relationship between Cao Cao and the scholar family.The Eastern Han Dynasty was an era in which the noble clans rose further, and the government and local governments were controlled by several noble clans.The reason why Liu Biao was able to establish a foothold in Jingzhou, the reason why Liu Yan was able to gain a foothold in Yizhou, and the reason why the Sun family was able to quickly open up the situation in Jiangdong were all supported by the local wealthy families. To a certain extent, Liu Biao, Liu Yan, and Sun Quan are all the spokespersons of the wealthy power. Cao Cao understood this very well, so he always paid attention to the cooperation with the rich and noble families in the process of establishing his foundation. This can be seen most clearly in his reliance on Xunshang.Rather than saying that he appreciates Xun's personal talent, it is better to say that he needs to establish a good cooperative relationship with the entire gentry group represented by Xun, Chen, and Zhong in Yingchuan County through Xun. Cao Cao himself is not a gentry. He was born in a family of eunuchs, and he has only been rich for three generations. The members of the core interest group centered on him, such as Cao Hong, Cao Ren, and the Xiahou brothers, are not gentry, but they are now hold the greatest power. As a result, a pair of contradictions emerged. In the past, it was often summarized as the contradiction between the gentry and the common people, that is, the contradiction between the old big landlord class and the new nouveau riche. No matter whether this division is reasonable or not, at least this kind of Contradictions exist. Cao Cao relied on the gentry class, but guarded against and restrained them. For example, after occupying Jizhou, he issued a decree to restrain the further annexation of the gentry.The deeper and deeper contradiction between him and Xun, on the surface, is the difference of certain political ideas, but the deep-seated problem is still the contradiction between two different classes. There is also an incident recorded in "Book of Jin Xuandi Ji", which talks about the origin of the allusion of "three horses in the same slot".Sima Yi has a strong sense of city and strategy, he is jealous inside and wide outside, and he is suspicious and flexible.Cao Cao has long been aware of his lofty ambitions, and heard that he has a "wolf look after him", so he wanted to find an opportunity to verify it. The so-called "wolf looks at the face" means that the head can look around without moving the body like a wolf.It is said that wolves are afraid of being attacked and often look back when walking. If a person, like a wolf, also has this behavior, looking back unconsciously while walking shows that he has sinister intentions. Once, Cao Cao asked Sima Yi to walk in front, and suddenly ordered him to turn back. At this time, Sima Yi could turn his neck to the back without turning his body around (face forward without moving), which made Cao Cao very suspicious. .Cao Cao had another dream, dreaming that three horses were eating in a trough, that is, "three horses in the same trough", and "trough" connected with "Cao".Cao Cao believes that the "horse" is the Sima family. Sima Yi and his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, are skilled in power and scheming, and Cao Cao is "very evil".Later, Cao Cao said to Cao Pi: "Sima Yi is not capable of being a minister, and he will definitely spoil your affairs in the future (he must pre-empt your family affairs)." The above incident is not a folk story, but is solemnly recorded in the "Book of Jin".Although Sima Yi and Chen Qun had outstanding talents, Cao Cao did not use them very much during his lifetime.Cao Pi has a fierce fight with such a person, can Cao Cao feel relieved to hand over power to him?