Chapter 25 4. Rumors spread everywhere
At the beginning of June, a rumor was born suddenly in the city of Ye in the state of Wei, and quickly spread throughout the whole state of Wei, and then crossed the border of the state of Wei, spreading like wildfire across Wu and Shu. Long mouths."Generally speaking, the wide spread of rumors is directly proportional to the top secret and importance of their contents.Just listen to the content of this rumor to know why it has such a big impact!Rumors say: Cao Rui is not the son of Wei Wendi Cao Pi at all, he is the evil seed born 27 years ago when his biological mother, Empress Dowager Zhen, had an affair with Dong'a King Cao Zhi in Yecheng.Now that Cao Rui is in power, he first forced to death the Queen Mother Guo who exposed the adultery between Queen Mother Zhen and Cao Zhi to the late Emperor more than ten days ago, and now he is killing those who helped the late Emperor defeat Cao Zhi in the struggle for the successor of the Wei State. The elders and ministers are ready to welcome back his biological father Dong'a Wang Cao Zhi to Beijing to lead the government.
As soon as the rumor spread to the court, it immediately caused an uproar.No wonder the Empress Dowager Guo died violently more than ten days ago, and the uncle Guo Biao was punished by the family. So it turned out to be such a thing!After hearing this rumor, all civil and military officials couldn't help but suddenly realized.After enlightenment, they were panicked again: In the court civil war that assisted the late emperor in winning the battle for establishing an heir, most of the officials in the court had contributed more or less. If the current emperor really came so One-handed "original sin" liquidation, so it's okay?Ever since, all the officials of the imperial court were in danger again.A few timid third-rank officials even quietly packed up their homes and prepared to go into exile.
After the rumors spread abroad, the Wu and Shu countries became even more excited.Especially Sun Quan, the lord of the state of Wu, had always adhered to the principle of "ruling across the river and not aggressing each other" with the state of Wei, but under the stimulation of this shocking rumor, he also had the urge to actively attack the state of Wei.With the keen eyesight of a statesman no less than Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei, and Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie of Han Dynasty, he realized that once such a rumor is confirmed, it will be enough to cause civil strife and even civil war in the mighty Wei.And the civil strife in Wei State is a great opportunity for Wu State to march into the Central Plains!Sun Quan, who was once intimidated by the great political and military talents of Wei Wudi Cao Cao and almost bowed his head, and was later bestowed the title of King Wu by Wei Wendi Cao Pi, finally jumped out of the shadow of shame and wanted to openly challenge the number one in the Three Kingdoms. No. 1 powerful country——Cao Wei challenged it!He immediately sent his confidant minister, Fuyi Zhonglang, to contact Zhang Wen to Shu, and prepared to cooperate with Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, who was fighting in Guanzhong, to launch a sniper attack on Wei from the east.All of a sudden, the state of Wei fell into an unprecedented crisis of internal and external difficulties!
When Cao Rui heard the rumors for the first time, he was angry and afraid: what made him angry was that the rumors were so vicious, and that his own biological mother and uncle were the protagonists of such a scandal that was despised by the world, it was simply a public insult to the royal family of Wei; The most important thing is that this rumor is false and true, and it is in line with the current background of the pursuit of Queen Mother Guo's one-party situation. It is true that the insider cannot send such a shocking blow.But after the anger and fear were over, Cao Rui raised his head, but looked around in a daze: Facing this big crisis, who can he turn to to help him resolve it?Are you looking for the Cao clan?They were all afraid that they would be involved in this vortex of rumors, and they all avoided it in fear. Who would dare to join in and add to the chaos?Are you looking for an important minister in the court?Hua Xin, Chen Qun and others, although they are loyal and can be learned from, but they are not stubborn.The world is so big, although there are many ministers, there are not many people who can stand up and repay their loyalty at critical moments!As a last resort, Cao Rui had to summon Sun Zi, Liu Fang, Sima Zhao and others to discuss countermeasures again.
Sima Zhao was the first to brave the risk of being hated by all his relatives and accomplices, selflessly and fearlessly broke the collective aphasia-like silence of the government and the opposition, pointing out sharply: This rumor must have been fabricated by the remnants of the Queen Mother Guo to launch a crazy counterattack Therefore, it is necessary to further pursue those traitors and thieves and the remnants of the Guo family, so as to "eliminate all evil and leave no future troubles".Liu Fang was the second to stand up and suggested: the decree must be promulgated in a timely manner throughout the country, those who dare to talk about the secrets of the royal family will abandon the market, and those who spread rumors will exterminate the family.Sun Zi finally spoke, suggesting that Cao Rui take the initiative to take practical actions to restore the bad influence of this rumor.And this actual action is to publicly denounce Cao Zhi, the king of Dong'a, and fight back this rumor by dealing a heavy blow to Cao Zhi.Isn't it rumored that Cao Rui is Cao Zhi's illegitimate son?According to common sense, a son would never embarrass his father if he was a close relative.And Cao Rui publicly denounced Cao Zhi to show the world that Cao Zhi was not Cao Rui's biological father!
Cao Rui accepted all the suggestions of Sun Zi, Liu Fang, and Sima Zhao without modification, accepted them as they were ordered, and implemented them immediately.As a result, the first imperial decree publicly released to the whole people in the history of the Wei State was posted all over the streets and alleys of major states and counties. According to the legacy of Emperor Zuwu, he was still arrogant, extravagant and dissipated, and he was punished by deducting his offerings for three years, cutting off three thousand households in the city, and facing the wall for three years, and he was not allowed to go to Beijing to face saints for life, and he was not allowed to associate with the clan kings again."
The harsh wording, harsh tone, and sharp writing style of this imperial decree are the most prominent and dazzling among all the edicts of the Wei family.With the public promulgation of this decree across the country, Cao Rui is tantamount to publicly pronouncing the life sentence of Dong'a King Cao Zhi, and it is also tantamount to a fatal blow to the rumor.At the same time, as Cao Zhi disappeared from the political arena of Wei State, the rumors gradually became silent, and the government and the people of Wei State also gradually returned to tranquility. It was—everything calmed down.However, the last ray of hope for the kings of the Cao clan to participate in and discuss state affairs and defend the imperial power was completely stifled by the ending of Dong'a Wang Cao Zhi being imprisoned for life.