Chapter 25 text
Two hundred and twenty-two AD, the second year of Wei Huangchu.Cao Zhi wrote an article on his way back to his fiefdom Juancheng from Ye.
In this article, Cao Zhi said that he met the legendary Fuxi's daughter Luoshen when he was passing through Luoshui.Like a young poet in mad love, he poured out all the best words imaginable on this woman.
This is the famous "Luo Shen Fu" in the history of Chinese literature.Among them, descriptions such as "flying like a frightened bird, graceful like a swimming dragon", "walking on the waves, and raising dust with socks" have become famous sentences through the ages.
Many people know that behind "Luo Shen Fu", there is still a well-known public case of Cao Wei's palace hidden.It is said that Cao Zhi has admiration for Cao Pi’s wife, Concubine Zhen. The Luoshen in "Luo Shen Fu" actually alludes to Concubine Zhen. Cao Zhi uses the description of Luoshen to release the hottest but long-repressed heart. emotions.
Li Shan in the Tang Dynasty wrote such a story in the notes after "Selected Works of Zhaoming": Cao Zhi was the one who wanted to marry Concubine Zhen at first, but Cao Pi took the lead, and Cao Zhi never forgot.After the death of Concubine Zhen, Cao Zhizhi went to see Cao Pi. Cao Pi showed him the jade belt pillow that Concubine Zhen had used. Cao Zhi cried a lot when he saw things and thought about others.In the evening, Cao Rui, the son of Empress Zhen, hosted a banquet for his uncle and simply gave him this pillow.Cao Zhi returned to Fengcheng with a pillow in his arms. When he passed by Luoshui, he dreamed that Concubine Zhen came to have a tryst with him. He wrote this article based on his feelings.
From a literary point of view, this is a touching story, but unfortunately, it cannot replace the real history after all.
There are many flaws in this story.Cao Pi in history was notoriously narrow-minded. He always wanted to get rid of his younger brother before he was quick. Everyone knows the story of turning into a poem in seven steps.Cao Zhi was imprisoned in the fief for most of his life by him, and finally died in depression.Other brothers such as Cao Zhang, Cao Gun, Cao Biao and others were in the same miserable situation.
Cao Pi's attitude of guarding against brothers is like guarding against thieves. Even Chen Shou couldn't stand it when he wrote Shishi. Most of them were no more than two hundred people. Zhi Zhi lived in the past, and everything was halved again. In eleven years, he moved to the capital three times. He often had no joy in collecting and drinking, and then fell ill."
If such a man knows that his younger brother covets his wife, it is rare to kill him without anger, how could he still give away his wife's belongings? ——What's more, the gift is not an ordinary thing, but an extremely ambiguous pillow.Later Li Shangyin ridiculed this allusion and wrote a poem: "Concubine Mi stays as a pillow for Wei Wangcai." It can be seen that pillows are easy to make people have bad associations.No matter how short-sighted Cao Pi is, he would not take the initiative to put a green hat on his head.
It can be seen from this that Li Shan's story has too much of what he takes for granted.
However, this story is not groundless.Anyone who has read "Luo Shen Fu" knows that there are sincere feelings and detailed descriptions in the Fu, which makes it hard to believe that Cao Zhi just praised an illusory fairy on a whim, rather than expressing love as a metaphor.
Cao Zhi's feelings for Concubine Zhen are not delirium.Although this feeling is not clearly recorded in history, it can be indirectly confirmed by historical data.And the opportunity for this confirmation is the original name of "Luo Shen Fu".
According to historical records, the original name of "Luo Shen Fu" was "Gan Juan Fu".Many researchers of past dynasties believed that Cao Zhi was enfeoffed as Marquis of Juancheng in the second year of Huangchu and promoted to King of Juancheng the following year, so he wrote this article to commemorate it.
This seems reasonable, but unfortunately it is not true.Among the Han Fu, it is not uncommon to use place names as titles, such as "Erjing Fu", "Liangdu Fu", "Shanglin Fu", etc., but there has never been any one based on "feeling + place name + Fu". format name.
Further analysis.Juancheng is located in the southwest of today's Shandong Province. During the Cao Wei Dynasty, it belonged to Jiyin County, Dagon Prefecture; while Luoshui was located in Luochuan, Shaanxi Province. The two places are very far apart.In an article called "Gan Juan Fu", Cao Zhi didn't mention Juancheng at all. Instead, he talked about his experience of crossing Luoshui, just like he only talked about Huangpu River in "Travel to Beijing". absurd.
Unless the meaning of the drunkard in "Gan Juan Fu" is not about drinking, don't feel something, the word Juan has another meaning.
Careful people may find it.In "Three Kingdoms", the name of this place is always directly written as "Juancheng". For example, "Cheng Yu Zhuan" records that "Zhang Miao and others rebelled against Lu Bu, and the counties and counties responded, but Juancheng, Fan, and Dong'a did not move."But when Fan Ye wrote "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", every time he mentioned Juancheng, he wrote "Zhencheng", and under it he specially marked "The name of the county belongs to Jiyin County, which is also Puzhou County today." Zhen 'This is 'juan', sound silk".
The character "Juan" has almost the same shape as "Zhen", from 垔 (yin). The word "Juan" was read as silk, while the word "Zhen" was not read as "Zhen" at that time. According to Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" records, the word "Zhen" was in Yanqie, and the pronunciation of "Juan" was basically the same. In "Historical Records", it can be written as "Jin Fa Ah, Zhen" ("Sima Rangju Biography"), and it can also be written as "Bin Sheng Ah, Juan Jian" ("Sun Bin Biography").It can be used as an example with "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", proving that the characters Zhen and Juan can be used interchangeably from the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Since Cao Zhi's ambition is not in Juancheng, and "Juan" is the same as "Zhen", then "Gan Juan Fu" is actually "Gan Zhen Fu".And what exactly does the word "Zhen" refer to, and who does it refer to?
In the first year of Huangchu, Concubine Zhen offended Cao Pi, so she fell out of favor; in the same year, Cao Zhi inexplicably wrote an "Ode to a Wife", which reads "Once it hurts, you see it as abandoned, and your heart is full of grief... Seeing abandonment, mourning the end of the king's giving", every sentence is hidden.At that time, Cao Zhi himself did not encounter any accidents, so what is the meaning of expressing this emotion suddenly?
In the second year of Huangchu, Concubine Zhen died in misery; in the same year, Guan Jun, Cao Zhi's supervisor, sent a memorial to Cao Pi, telling Cao Pi that "Zhi was drunk and slow, and robbed the envoy".So Cao Zhi was demoted to be the Marquis of Anxiang, and was driven far away to Juancheng the following year.What is it that can make Cao Zhi so confused that he gets drunk and makes trouble to the point that the "robbing messenger" loses his composure?
If these evidences are still speculative, then the following facts are certain: After Cao Pi and Concubine Zhen’s son Cao Rui came to the throne, they issued an edict to change "Gan Juan Fu" to "Luo Shen Fu".If it weren't for the fear of being ridiculed by the melon fields and Li Xia, which would damage his mother's reputation, I don't think Cao Rui would pay special attention to the name of an article.
It can be seen that the fact that Cao Zhi wrote a fu in memory of Concubine Zhen in the name of Luoshen can basically be settled, but it is not as exaggerated as Li Shan said.He used his talent to play a word game in which Juan and Zhen exchanged words.Maybe someone will ask at this time, you have gone around a lot, except to prove that Cao Zhi really has feelings for Queen Zhen, didn't you get nothing?
Not really, this is just the beginning.
After confirming that the Luoshen in "Luo Shen Fu" is the concubine Zhen, another huge contradiction slowly surfaced.
Cao Pi is literate and writes excellent articles. He is also known as the Three Caos in the history of literature with Cao Cao and Cao Zhi.Cao Rui can still see Cao Zhi's simple word game on the characters Zhen and Juan, let alone Cao Pi.As mentioned earlier, Cao Wei's restrictions on vassal kings are extremely strict, and the slightest move will be mercilessly attacked.Facing such a narrow-minded brother, Cao Zhi still dared to write such things. Could it be that he didn't want his head?
Facts are stranger than guesses. After "Gan Juan Fu" came out, there is no record in the history books that Cao Pi had any reaction to it.You know, in the previous year, it was obvious that Cao Zhi was only drunk, and those who supervised the country would report to Cao Pi. This time Cao Zhi blatantly molested his wife, but Cao Pi remained indifferent, which is really illogical.
When two historical sources contradict each other, either one of the historical sources is wrong, or there is a lack of a reasonable explanation between the two.
The records in "Three Kingdoms" are credible, and "Gan Juan Fu" is also true.Since there is no problem with both, it can only be an error in the interpretation method.In other words, surrounding "Gan Juan Fu", the relationship between Concubine Zhen, Cao Pi, and Cao Zhi is not as simple as a husband and wife plus a spiritual third party.
Briefly introduce the life of Concubine Zhen.She is from Wuji, Zhongshan, and her name is unknown. Later generations call her Zhen Mi because Luoshen is also called Concubine Mi in "Luo Shen Fu".Strictly speaking, this is wrong, but for the convenience of writing, let's call it so below.
Zhen Mi was born extremely beautiful, and married Yuan Xi, the son of Yuan Shao, the overlord of the Central Plains, when she was a teenager.After Yuan Shao's defeat, Cao Jun occupied Yecheng, Cao Pi broke into Yuan's mansion, took a fancy to Zhen Mi at a glance, and happily took him into the house.Zhen Mi gave birth to a son and a daughter for Cao Pi, namely Cao Rui and Princess Donghe.Later, Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor and favored the Guo family, while Zhen Mi was neglected due to her old age and complexion.When he died, his face was covered with hair, and his mouth was stuffed with chaff.Later, Cao Rui ascended the throne and killed the Guo family to avenge his mother.
On the surface, there is no entanglement between Zhen Mi and Cao Zhi. There is a ten-year age difference between the two. At most, it is the latter's adolescent longing for a mature woman.
Fortunately, Cao Zhi is a literati, and literati always like to speak and discuss.After searching repeatedly, I finally found a weak clue in a letter written by Cao Zhi to Cao Rui.This clue is very obscure, but when we pick it up from the dust of history, what it involves is a series of jaw-dropping truths.
Cao Zhi is an ambitious person, and he is very depressed about his situation of being under house arrest and doing nothing.It is said in the history books that he "often resents himself, holds a sharp weapon but does nothing, and asks for self-examination", which means that Cao Zhi feels that his talents have not been brought into play, and he writes to hope to do something for the court.
Cao Pi is hopeless, and his nephew Cao Rui may still have to discuss it.Therefore, in the second year after Cao Rui ascended the throne, Cao Zhi gave Cao Rui a lesson.In this article of his, Cao Zhi lashed out at Fang Qiu, impassioned, clamoring that he would kill himself to settle the disaster and repay the Lord with merit. It is really a good article with brilliant literary talents.Among them there is such a sentence:
This sentence is not easy to understand. There are four allusions in it. "The generals of the defeated army who went to the north are used by Qin and Lu to achieve their success." This is a reference to Meng Mingshi, a general of Qin, and Cao Zi, a general of Lu. These two men have been defeated many times, but they have always been trusted by their lords. shame. "The official who has stolen the horse is pardoned, and Chu and Zhao will help him." Among them, the story of horse stealing comes from Duke Mu of Qin.One of Qin Mugong's horses was stolen by bandits. Instead of being angry, he said that eating horse meat without drinking alcohol would hurt his health, so he gave these horse thieves a jar of wine.The bandits were very moved and saved Qin Mugong's life in the battle between Qin and Jin.Because Qin was used in the previous sentence, and the surname of Qin Jun is Zhao, so the intertextuality of Zhao characters is used here.
The above three allusions are all common in ancient books.What is really interesting is the fourth allusion: "Jueying".
The allusion of Jueying comes from King Zhuang of Chu.According to "Shuo Yuan" records, King Zhuang of Chu once hosted a banquet for his generals, and the dinner was pitch-black before the sunset.Someone took the opportunity to touch the concubine Ji of the King of Chu Zhuang, and the concubine tore off his crown tassel in a hurry, and told the King of Chu Zhuang that as long as the lamp was lit, anyone with no fringe on his head would be a harasser.King Zhuang of Chu ordered the generals to tear off all the crowns and tassels, and then light the torches.A few years later, King Zhuang of Chu commended a general who was extremely brave in killing the enemy. The general confessed that he was the one who died back then.
When a courtier writes a letter to the lord, allusions should not be used indiscriminately, otherwise it will be what Zhuge Liang said "incorrect allusion", which makes people suspect that you have bad thoughts about the lord's wife.The nature of Cao Zhi's feelings for Zhen Mi is the same as Jue Ying's, and they all harbor unruly feelings towards his lord's wife.Cao Rui knew this well, and personally changed the name of "Gan Juan Fu" to avoid gossip.Now Cao Zhi suddenly did not avoid suspicion, and threw out this allusion in an open manner, which was a bit of a demonstration to Cao Rui.
Immediately following this allusion, Cao Zhi wrote: "The minister feels that the late emperor died early, and the mighty king abandoned the world. Who is the minister alone, so that he can last for a long time!" This sentence is almost a naked threat: "My brother Cao Pi is dead, and Cao Zhang is also dead. I’m dead, who am I to survive until now.” The point is that the four words “who is the only minister” are correct, and they are clearly emphasizing to Cao Rui: I have a special reason to be able to live until now. of.And this reason, Cao Rui should be very clear.
Cao Zhi was afraid that his memorial would not be approved (the original text is "Although Zhi put on this form, he still doubts that it will not be used"), he did not forget to add a sentence at the end: "Woohoo! The words are useless, and those who want to let the gentlemen of the future know my intentions. "This sentence is a progressive relationship on the surface, but it is actually a disguised subjunctive voice.It is not "Even if my memorial is not adopted, people of later generations will know my intentions", but "if my memorial is not adopted, then future generations will know my intentions".
In this letter, Cao Zhi used the allusion of "Jueying" to remind Cao Rui: Something similar to "Jueying" happened between Zhen Mi and me.Compared with the threatening tone of the next two sentences, the so-called "Jueying" incident is probably not an affair between children, but a very secret matter that cannot be announced. This incident not only involves the deaths of Cao Pi and Cao Zhang, but also Moreover, it is Cao Zhi's life-saving talisman for so many years, and it is a big bomb enough to stir up Cao Wei's government and opposition.
That's why Cao Zhi finally came to make a condition to Cao Rui: If "the words are not used", then I will "make the next gentleman know my intention".
Cao Zhi deserves to be a generation of literary giants, and this letter is a rather skillful hint.In the eyes of anyone else, it is just a sincere and elegant article, and only Cao Rui can understand the meaning of the subtle words.
And how did Cao Rui answer?There is no record of Cao Rui's reply, but he soon issued an edict, moving Cao Zhi from Yongqiu to Dong'e.According to the description in Cao Zhi's own book, Yongqiu is "wet and less mulberry", while Dong'e is "the land is the richness of a state, and the mulberry is the first in the world".It can be seen that the relocation this time is an exceptional treatment.
Faced with the threat of a vassal king, instead of taking revenge, the emperor issued an edict to treat him leniently.If Cao Rui is not a saint, it can only show that he has a guilty conscience.In this way, it can also explain why after Cao Zhi wrote "Gan Zhen Fu", Cao Pi knew his feelings, but did not respond. He did not dare to respond, because he was as guilty as his son.
When Cao Zhi mentioned Zhen Mi's name, the two emperors kept it secret.It can be seen that there is by no means no intersection between Cao Zhi and Zhen Mi, and this intersection is the so-called "jueying" in the memorial.
There is no record of the contact between Cao Zhi and Zhen Mi in the history books, but it can be confirmed by their resumes.
At the end of the 21st year of Jian'an (AD 216), Cao Cao conquered Sun Quan. At that time, Mrs. Bian, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui, the two children of Empress Zhen, and Princess Dongxiang accompanied him.However, Empress Zhen stayed in Yecheng because of illness.At the same time, Cao Zhi was also staying in Yecheng.
Originally, it was nothing. You live in the prince's mansion where you live, and I live in my feudal prince's mansion. The two have nothing to do with each other.But before Cao Cao set out to fight, he said something strange to Cao Zhi: "I was 23 years old when I was the commander of Dunqiu. I still have no regrets in my heart when I think back to what I did at that time. You are thirteen, you have to cheer yourself up." (I used to be the order of Dunqiu, and I was twenty-three years old. Thinking about what I did at this time, I have no regrets today. Now you are also twenty-three years old, so don't force me!)
What did Cao Cao do at the age of twenty-three?He made a big five-color stick, paraded the streets, and beat anyone who violated the prohibition, regardless of background or background, to death.Obviously, Cao Cao wanted Cao Zhi to do the same.
This is strange.The environment Cao Cao was in at that time was the chaotic period at the end of the Han Dynasty, where tyranny was rampant, so it was only natural to do this.However, Yecheng, which has been in Jian'an for 21 years, has a relatively good law and order, so what can happen?
Unless Cao Cao told Cao Zhi to pay attention, it was not a security incident, but a political incident or even a rebellion.So Cao Cao took what he did in Dunqiu Lingren as an example, and encouraged Cao Zhi to be ruthless, and to make a move when it was time to do so.Cao Zhi's role at this time is equivalent to the top leader of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Security Bureau, ensuring the safety of Xudu, Ye and other important towns in the rear during the expedition of Cao Cao and Cao Pi.
And what is Zhen Mi doing at this time? "Wei Lue" recorded such a small incident: Cao Cao not only took his wife, Mrs. Bian, but also Zhen Mi's son and daughter during this Eastern Expedition.It was not until September of the following year that the army returned to Yecheng.After Mrs. Bian came back, she was surprised to see Zhen Mi radiant, and asked her that you should be very concerned about your son and daughter after being separated for so long, why is your radiant face even better than before?Zhen Mi replied: "With you taking care of them, why should I worry about it?" (My wife, what should I worry about!)
This mentality is very suspicious.The mother is worried when the son travels thousands of miles, and the children go out with the army. Even if there are reliable people to take care of them, the mother is at most "not worried".But the history books describe Zhen Mi's state at this time, the word used is "the color is more prosperous".Pay attention to the word "more", which shows that Zhen Mi's complexion is more radiant than when she parted with her children.In other words, since her parents-in-law, husband, and children left in the 21st year of Jian'an, Zhen Mi has not been worried, but has been very happy.
People are in good spirits on happy occasions, and their psychological state will be faithfully reflected in their physical state.Zhen Mi, who was supposed to be "not worried", became "very happy", which shows that Zhen Mi was not happy about her son and daughter going to war.So what was she happy about?
Before that, Mrs. Bian once went out with the army and got a minor illness. When Zhen Mi heard about it, she cried all night. Others told her that it was just a minor illness and she had recovered.When Mrs. Bian returned to Yecheng, Zhen Mi looked at her seat and burst into tears, saying that this time I can feel at ease, which moved Mrs. Bian to the core, and repeatedly praised her as a filial woman.
These two things are quite clever flattery, so clever that it is a little nasty and artificial, and it is a bit of Wang Mang's humility.Even Pei Songzhi questioned and said: "It's hard to judge the kindness of Empress Zhen's words and deeds." Therefore, these behaviors can't prove that Zhen Mi is a filial woman, but can only prove that she is wise and scheming.The more she tried to please Mrs. Bian, the more she proved that she was covering up something and plotting something.
In the first month of the spring of the 23rd year of Jian'an, Jingzhao Jinyi, Imperial Physician Ling Jiben, Shaofu Geng Ji, Sizhi Weihuang and others launched a rebellion in Xudu.Cao Cao's confidant king will die.The political center of an empire actually had a rebellion by close officials, and it happened when Liu Bei and Cao Cao fought in Hanzhong. It was related to the life and death of Cao Wei. This can no longer be explained by the negligence of the guards.
This kind of rebellion must have been brewing, preparing and organizing for a long time.So although it broke out in the 23rd year of Jian'an, it should have been planned earlier.
For example, the twenty-two years of Jian'an.
In that year, the Crown Princess of Ye City happened to be very happy because some inexplicable things were about to be completed.It is difficult to say that there is no causal connection between the two.
Then a general conclusion can be drawn: Zhen Mi is the driving force behind this rebellion.She arranged everything in the 22nd year of Jian'an, planted these rebellious fruits with her own hands, and then watched them germinate and bear fruit with great interest.
A rebellion of this scale happened between the elbows and armpits without the high-level officials being aware of it. Cao Zhi, the top person in charge of internal affairs and security, cannot escape the blame.Although Cao Zhi is greedy, he is not a mediocre person. He also has talents like Yang Xiu, Ding Yi, and Ding Yan brothers under his command, but why did this rebellion happen?
Recalling the "jueying" incident that Cao Zhi mentioned in his memorial to Cao Rui, this incident can just connect all these questions.
Zhen Mi is very aware of Cao Zhi's feelings for her, and is keenly aware that this feeling can be used - what is a more effective rebellion strategy than controlling the top person in charge of security affairs?
At that time in Yecheng, Cao Cao, Mrs. Bian and Cao Pi were not there, which provided an excellent environment for Zhen Mi.She only needs to use some tricks, and Cao Zhi, the passionate seed, will get into the trap recklessly.So the "jueying" incident happened. It's hard to say who killed whom, and we have no way of guessing what happened in the middle. What we see is only the result.As a result, Cao Zhi neglected his duties, and the law and order in Yecheng and Xudu became full of loopholes.Let Gibbon, Wei Xie and others take advantage of the loopholes calmly, causing catastrophe.
This conspiracy throughout the twenty-two years of Jian'an is the true face of the Jueying incident.But what we know now are only some facts that happened, and the things hidden behind these facts are still shrouded in a thick fog.Every conspiracy has its motivation and purpose.Zhen Mi is not a lunatic, so what is she planning to do?
To clarify this issue, we have to start with the consequences of the "Jueying" incident.
Cao Pi and Cao Zhi competed fiercely for the crown prince. Originally, Cao Cao was more inclined to Cao Zhi, and almost made him the prince several times, but Cao Zhi's non-practice inspection always made him hesitate.In the 21st year of Jian'an, Cao Cao had a premonition of the rebellion before going out, so he deliberately handed over the heavy responsibility of guarding the rear to Cao Zhi, which was his last test.If Cao Zhi passed smoothly, there would be little suspense about the crown prince.
But the rebellion of Gibbon and Wei Xi completely ruined Cao Zhi's career as prince.
Carefully inspecting this rebellion, we can see that there are two characteristics: first, the scale is very small, and the participants are no more than a thousand servants such as Gibbon and Wei Huang; second, the political influence is very large. , Cao Cao slaughtered half of the Han officials beside Han Xiandi.
The smaller the scale of the rebellion, the weaker its influence on the country; the greater the political influence, the greater the pressure on those responsible.This level of rebellion is like a bundle of dynamite with a carefully set explosion yield and direction. It is not enough to shake the country, but it is enough to trigger fatal criticism of certain characters.Cao Zhi, as the top person in charge of internal affairs and security, was completely devastated after this battle.
Then the figure who had been hiding behind the scenes slowly emerged.
Zhen Mi's husband - Cao Pi.At that extremely sensitive moment in the 22nd year of Jian'an, he was made the prince by Cao Cao.
He seemed to stay out of it all the time, but he was everywhere.If it is said that Zhen Mi planned this rebellion, then the biggest victim is Cao Zhi, and the biggest beneficiary is Cao Pi.This can't help but make people think that this rebellion was instigated by Cao Pi deliberately sending Zhen Mi to attack Cao Zhi?
This should have been a conjecture, but a small incident that happened in the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an made this conjecture a reality.
At that time, Cao Cao still had a little hope for Cao Zhi, so when Cao Ren was surrounded by Guan Yu, he gave Cao Zhi one last chance, appointed him as the general of Nan Zhonglang, and sent him to rescue Cao Ren.But who knew that Cao Zhi, who didn't know how to improve, got so drunk that he couldn't even take the general order.From then on, Cao Cao was completely disappointed with this unworthy son.
The above is based on the records of "Three Kingdoms". Readers will think that Cao Zhi is really confused.But "Wei Lue" gave a different statement: "Zhi is about to go, and the prince drinks it, forcing him to get drunk. Wang Zhaozhi, Zhi can't accept the king's order, so the king is angry."
"Force" is the old style of "force".It can be seen that Cao Zhi's gaffe was not out of intention, but was framed by Prince Cao Pi.Cao Pi deliberately made his brother drunk so as to miss the expedition.This drunkenness is not an isolated incident, but proves that Cao Pi has been watching Cao Zhi closely, never letting down his vigilance, and never letting go of any opportunity to play tricks—this of course also includes the one who ordered Zhen Mi to instigate A rebellion.
Cao Pi knew very well that the most effective candidate for dealing with Cao Zhi was Zhen Mi.For a powerful person like him, as long as Cao Zhi can be destroyed, it is not unacceptable to sacrifice a wife.He won't accept being cuckolded unless it's good for his superiors.
Cao Zhi is a person of the most affectionate nature, even if he found out the truth, he would never report on Zhen Mi, because that would put his loved one to death.Cao Pi counted on his younger brother's childish character, so he would use Zhen Mi to hurt him again and again without scruple—even I have a bolder guess, in the drink before the expedition, maybe Cao Pi was present If you only need to gently reveal that Zhen Mi is using you, Cao Zhi will be in a mess and drink away his worries.There is nothing more painful than a loved one hurting yourself.
And Cao Pi probably didn't have any qualms about Zhen Mi cuckolding him.This knot gradually swelled after he ascended the throne, and finally led to the dispute between Cao Pi and Zhen Mi, Zhen Mi's fall from favor and finally her death.A selfish man is always selfish.
The matter is very clear, Cao Pi is the root of all this, in order to obtain the crown prince, he did not hesitate to send Zhen Mi to seduce Cao Zhi, so as to attack his competitors.The evidence is overwhelming and it is certain.
But he wasn't the only one gaining.
In fact, there is another winner.
This person is the think tank next to Cao Pi. His surname is Guo. He has no name, but has an interesting word called Queen.We might as well call her Queen Guo.She is not a counselor, but a concubine of Cao Pi, who married Yu Jian'an for 21 years.
It is the 21st year of Jian'an!
The 21st year of Jian'an is really a wonderful year. Almost all the actors took to the stage to warm up in this year, and then started the official performance in the 22nd year of Jian'an.
Queen Guo is very different from other women. She showed outstanding talent as soon as she entered the door.Her meaning to Cao Pi is not as simple as a woman. It is enough to describe it in a sentence in the history books: "The future has wisdom, and there is always something to offer. Emperor Wen is appointed as the heir, and the future has plans." In just two sentences, The image of Zhuge, a middle school girl, jumped out.
Let us carefully chew on these two sentences. "Emperor Wen is appointed as heir, and there will be plans later", which means that Cao Pi seized the crown prince, and Queen Guo participated in the plan and played a very important role.
In the process of winning the crown prince, the most important thing is to attack Cao Zhi.The most severe blow to Cao Zhi was the Jueying incident.Therefore, it is very likely that the Jueying incident was the strategy of this "wise" Queen Guo who "contributed from time to time" to Cao Pi.
If you savor this incident carefully, you will find that this plan is insidious and delicate, and its success is entirely based on the mastery of people's hearts: Cao Zhi's admiration for Zhen Mi, Gibbon and others' loyalty to Han Emperor, and Cao Pi's love for the crown prince. ambition.Each state of mind has its own unique functions, and the chain of interests is linked one after another, and each link is linked to one another.Cao Zhi was ruled by Zhen Mi, Zhen Mi was ruled by Cao Pi, but Cao Pi was ruled by Queen Guo.
Therefore, when we uncovered the hijab of political conspiracy, we found that there was another veil of imperial struggle wrapped inside.Such a meticulous and delicate plan, probably only a woman who is naturally sensitive to emotions can have such a skill.
As Queen Guo, who has been in the family for less than a year, if she wants to overthrow Zhen Mi, who has been with Cao Pi for so many years, and gain favor, only by taking extraordinary measures can she achieve her goal.
So, at a certain time in the 21st year of Jian'an, Queen Guo offered this unique strategy to Cao Pi, and then Cao Pi gave Zhen Mi instructions.When Cao Pi left Yecheng with Queen Guo, Cao Zhi was pleasantly surprised to find that Zhen Mi, who he had been thinking about day and night, appeared in front of him.I can even imagine the smug smile on Queen Guo's lips when she left Yecheng.
"Zhen Mi, Zhen Mi, no matter whether you succeed or fail this time, you will no longer be favored by the king."
This is an unsolvable plot.Through this strategy, not only Cao Pi successfully attacked Cao Zhi, but Queen Guo also successfully attacked Zhen Mi.This is a strategy that kills three birds with one stone: Queen Guo consolidates her position in Cao Pi's heart; Cao Pi wins the crown prince; and her biggest rival Zhen Mi is forced to cuckold Cao Pi.Based on Queen Guo's understanding of Cao Pi, she knew that even if this man took the initiative to wear a green hat, he would still blame others for his crimes.
The truth was as she expected.After Cao Pi ascended the throne, he immediately ignored Zhen Mi and favored her alone.Zhen Mi was murdered by Queen Guo's slander, and when she died, she was covered in face and stuffed with chaff, which was extremely miserable.However, Queen Guo, with the support of Cao Pi against all odds, ascended to the throne of queen.
Now the outline of the whole incident seems to be clear, but our exploration is not over yet, because there is still a doubt to be clarified.
A wife may seduce another man for her husband, but she will not do so willingly, let alone in a good mood.Especially the person who asked him to recommend himself as a pillow is another concubine of his husband.
This can't explain her happy mood when she was doing these things in Jian'an for 22 years—I believe her excitement at that time came from the heart.
Could it be that Zhen Mi fell in love with Cao Zhi during his relationship with Cao Zhi?It's possible, but there isn't any evidence for it.
Could it be that Zhen Mi loves Cao Pi so much, so you are happy and so am I?This is also possible, but there is no evidence to prove it.
Regardless of Cao Zhi or Cao Pi, Zhen Mi has no special feelings for them in the history books.For a woman who survived that era, when she lost interest in love, there was only one thing left that could really make her happy.
her child.
Zhen Mi had only one son, Cao Rui, who later became Emperor Wei Ming.
In the 21st year of Jian'an, Cao Rui was just a child.Moreover, he was not in Yecheng, but went to the east with his grandparents, father and sister.What role did he play in these thrilling struggles in Yecheng?
At first, I guessed that maybe Cao Pi deliberately took Cao Rui away to force Zhen Mi to complete his plan.But this still couldn't explain Zhen Mi's happiness, no one would be so happy after their child was kidnapped.Later, a friend reminded me to go and see Cao Rui's history.I went to look it up and couldn't help but be amazed.
This discovery was so important that it was like a bolt of lightning that dispelled all doubts.I was wrong, Cao Rui is not a pawn in the layout of Yecheng, in fact he is the real core key!
Cao Rui died in the first month of the third year of Jingchu (AD 239) at the age of thirty-six.The ancients regarded birth as one year old, and then backwards, then Cao Rui should have been born in the ninth year of Jian'an.
What happened in the ninth year of Jian'an?
"Wei Lue" said: "Xi came out in Youzhou, and (Zhen) stayed with his aunt. When the city of Ye was broken... Emperor Wen entered Shaoshe, Gu Nai held (Zhen) and ordered him to look up, and Emperor Wen looked at it and saw that its color was extraordinary. , Praise it. So it's welcome."
Said: "When Taizu went down to Ye, Emperor Wen entered Yuan Shang's mansion first. A woman's face was smeared, and she shed tears and stood up as his wife Liu. Emperor Wen asked, and Liu replied, 'It's Xi's wife'. Gu wrapped her hair in a bun and wiped her face with a towel , The appearance is unmatched. After passing, Liu said, "I don't have to worry about death"! Then I saw that I was satisfied, and I was favored."
"Three Kingdoms" said: "As far as Jizhou is flat, Emperor Wen was accepted in Ye."
The three historical materials all record the same thing without a doubt: After Yecheng was captured by Cao Jun, Cao Pi took a fancy to Zhen Mi in Yuan Shao's mansion, and married him back home.
Let's take a look at the record in "The Biography of Cao Cao" again: "In August, Rong Ye, the elder brother of the judge, opened the army guarding the east gate of the city. He fought against the enemy and was defeated. He was matched with a live bird, beheaded, and Ye Ding."
Cao Jun conquered Yecheng in August of the ninth year of Jian'an; Cao Pi married Zhen Mi, Yuan Xi's wife, in the same month; Cao Rui was also born in this year.When these three passages of material are put together, a truth that has been neglected but extremely important emerges before us.
When Cao Pi first met Zhen Mi in Yecheng, she was at least six months pregnant.In other words, Cao Rui is not Cao Pi's biological son, his father is Yuan Xi.
This fact is a bit hard to accept, but the answer given by historical materials is certain.
Cao Pi must have known that Zhen Mi was pregnant a long time ago.But probably because Zhen Mi is so beautiful, Cao Pi couldn't bear it, so he just pretended to be a cheap father for a while.This is not a new thing in the Three Kingdoms era. After Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu, he took the wife of Qin Yilu, who was under Lu Bu's department, as his concubine. His name was Qin Lang, and he later became General Xiaoqi.
Cao Cao definitely didn't know about this matter. After beating Yecheng, he was busy conquering Yuan Tan, then expedition to Karasuma, and later he would conquer Gao Gan and Guan Chun. When he finished these things and returned to Yecheng, he was already At the end of the tenth year of Jian'an.What he saw was that his newly married daughter-in-law gave birth to a fat boy who was over a year old.
This is Cao Cao's first grandson, and he likes it very much. "Ming Emperor Ji" said that "Ming Emperor Taboo Rui, character Yuan Zhong, Emperor Wen's prince also. He was born and loved by Taizu, and he was always around."As for Cao Pi, he pretended to be confused and did not point out this misunderstanding.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di once hesitated whether to make his son Zhu Gaochi the prince, so he asked Xie Jin.Xie Jin replied with three words-"good grandson", which means that Zhu Gaochi has a good son Zhu Zhanji, so Zhu Di made up his mind.It can be seen that the eldest grandson is a key factor in establishing an heir, and can get a lot of bonus points.曹丕既然志在帝位，当然不会说破这位长孙的真实身份。
曹丕的打算是，反正自己还年轻，等到有了亲生儿子，把曹叡再替掉就是了。可惜的是，在随后的十几年里，曹丕就像是中了诅咒一样，生下的儿子几乎全部夭折。唯一健康活着的，只有这个流着袁氏血脉的小孩子。
曹操对曹叡的喜爱，日复一日地变多，甚至感慨说：“曹家要流传三代就要靠你了。”（吾基于尔三世矣）
为了掩饰谎言，必须要说更多的谎言来，当谎言的数量积累到一定程度时，曹丕已经无法回头。他已经不敢向父亲解释，这孩子不是曹家的，是袁家的，也没法解释为什么拖到现在才说出来。
更麻烦的是，曹植那时候也有了自己的儿子曹志。如果曹操知道了曹叡的身世，他在曹植和曹丕之间如何选择，没有任何悬念。
于是，就这么阴错阳差，曹叡以长孙的身份被抚养长大。知道他身世的人，都三缄其口。
知道这个真相之后，我们回过头来查阅资料，就会发现许多有趣的细节。
比如曹丕一辈子生了九个儿子（包括名义上的曹叡），除了曹叡以外，其他八个儿子里三个早夭，剩下个个体质孱弱不堪，除了曹霖以外没有能活过二十岁的，而曹霖和曹叡岁数相差至少有十五到二十岁。在夺嫡的斗争中，曹叡差不多可以说没有敌手。可就在形势如此明朗的情况下，曹丕对立嗣是什么态度呢？《魏略》载：“文帝……有意欲以他姬子京兆王为嗣，故久不拜太子。”
唯一的解释，只能是曹丕知道曹叡不是自己的种儿，所以才百般拖延，期待着自己的孩子快快长大。可惜天不遂人愿，还未能其他子嗣长大，曹丕先撒手人寰。一直到他临终前，还对曹霖念念不忘，最后选无可选，才勉强让曹叡上位。
史书将其归咎为甄宓被杀的缘故，现在我们知道了，曹丕只是不愿被鸠占鹊巢。
回到最初的话题来。在建安九年，甄宓带着袁熙的骨肉被曹丕娶走了，她的信念只剩下一个，那就是保护好这个孩子，好好抚养他长大。我们不知道她当时的心意，是出于对袁氏家族的责任，还是出于对袁熙个人的感情。也许单纯只是一个母亲出于本能要保护自己的孩子吧。
无论怎么样，曹叡是甄宓最重要的拥有，是她的生命。
幸运的是，阴错阳差之间，曹叡被当成曹家骨肉而受到宠爱。甄宓知道曹操非常喜欢曹叡，同时她也知道曹丕很不喜欢曹叡。曹操在世时，这一点无须担心；倘若曹操一死曹丕即位，这个孩子的处境可就危险了。
所以当曹丕受了郭女王的蛊惑，要求甄宓去实行“绝缨”的时候，甄宓应该是提出了一个条件。
这个条件很简单，就是让曹叡封爵。只要曹叡封了爵，诏告天下，就等于从法理上确保了他曹氏长孙的地位，也就堵死了曹丕以后不认账的可能。
曹丕急于扳倒曹植，于是便答应了甄宓的这个要求。于是从史书里我们可以看到，在吉本叛乱尘埃落定后的建安二十三年，十五岁的曹叡被封为武德侯，正式被纳入继承人序列，位列最高。
这样一来，我们就不难理解甄宓在建安二十二年的兴奋，那是源自于母亲对儿子深沉的爱。当甄宓做完曹丕交给她的任务以后，她知道，自己终于为流着袁氏血脉的儿子在曹家的家系中确保住了位置。她容光焕发，她意气昂扬，她就像史书里记载的那样，“颜色丰盈，更胜从前”。
当甄宓对着卞夫人脱口而出“自随夫人，我当何忧”时，前半句是马屁，后半句却正是她内心的真实写照。是啊，我还有什么好担忧的呢？
历史的车轮在向前转动着。曹操于建安二十五年去世。曹丕迫不及待地接过刘协的禅让，开创了曹魏一朝。当曹丕坐上龙椅，意气风发地朝下俯瞰时，他看到曹叡恭敬地站在群臣最前列。
这时候，他发现天子也是没办法随心所欲的，比如废掉武德侯。诏告天下说这孩子是袁家的种？这会让皇室沦为天下笑柄。曹丕这人极好面子，断然不肯这么干。
曹丕拿曹叡没辙，只能把这种郁闷迁怒于始作俑者甄宓。他拒绝将甄宓封为皇后，并且开始冷落她。而郭女王也不失时机地开始进谗言，现在的她不再惧怕甄宓，甄宓已经不再是威胁，她现在是嫉恨甄宓，因为甄宓有个儿子，虽无太子之名，却有太子之实，而郭女王自己却始终未给曹丕生下一男半女。
甄宓生命中的最后两年是凄凉的。《文帝甄皇后传》里只记载说“后愈失意，有怨言。帝大怒，二年六月，遣使赐死，葬于邺”。而《汉晋春秋》里的记载则更为惊心动魄：“初，甄后之诛，由郭后之宠，及殡，令被发覆面，以糠塞口。”
一代佳人，就这么死去了。她一死，曹丕立刻力排众议，把郭女王立为皇后。而甄宓，除了曹叡之外，唯一一个为她痛哭流涕，以致胁持使者要上京抗议的，就是在鄄城的曹植。
曹丕看到密报，心不自安，就把曹植贬为安乡侯，又转为鄄城侯。曹植这一次没有忍气吞声，而是做出了文人式的反击。
他写出了《感鄄赋》。
在《感鄄赋》里，曹植把那一次“绝缨”的经历，诗化成了他与洛水女神的邂逅，他把与甄宓在建安二十一年底到二十二年初在邺城的那段交往，全部浓缩在了洛水那一夜中。甄宓的容貌，甄宓的体态，甄宓的幽香，甄宓的一颦一笑，还有甄宓的辞别，都细致入微地描摹了出来。他不恨甄宓，尽管她欺骗了他，他却始终爱着她，如赋中所言：“恨人神之道殊兮，怨盛年之莫当。抗罗袂以掩涕兮，泪流襟之浪浪。”他恨的，是那个幕后的主使者，也就是他的哥哥。
曹植写完这一篇《感鄄赋》后，没有刻意隐藏，他相信很快就会有人偷偷抄录给曹丕，而且曹丕肯定会识破他在“鄄”和“甄”玩的小花样。This is his purpose.
果然，曹丕很快就从监国谒者那里拿到了抄稿，看完之后却没有愤怒，只有恐慌。他领会到了赋中的暗示，曹植已经猜到了建安二十二年“绝缨”事件与那一次叛乱的真相。
这一篇《感鄄赋》，是宣战书，也是告白书。曹植不是为自己，是要为甄宓讨回公道，他也可以借此痛快地抒发一次对甄宓的情怀——当着曹丕的面。
曹丕有点慌，如果曹植把那件密谋公之于众，对自己将是一个致命的打击。他退缩了，就像《魏书》里说的那样，他连忙开始“哀痛咨嗟，策赠皇后玺绶”，把死去的甄宓追封为皇后，还把曹叡交给郭后抚养，以示无私心。
对于曹植，他也大加安抚，原地升为鄄城王，以免他多嘴。所以我们读《曹植传》的时候，看到的是“贬爵安乡侯。其年改封鄄城侯。三年，立为鄄城王，邑二千五百户”。对于曹植为何从侯复升为王，史书里没有没任何交代，谁能想到这么一条简单记录后隐藏着兄弟为了一个女人的交锋。
这就回答了我们在文章开头就提出的疑问：为何曹丕看到调戏自己老婆的《感鄄赋》后，非但不怒，反而升了曹植的爵位呢？因为他害怕真相被揭穿。终文帝一朝，曹植得以保全性命，未像曹彰一样莫名暴卒，全赖这枚护身符。
曹丕在黄初七年去世，他一直到去世前夕才把曹叡立为太子。关于这次立嗣的经过，《魏末传》记下了一个精彩的故事：“帝常从文帝猎，见子母鹿。文帝射杀鹿母，使帝射鹿子，帝不从，曰：'陛下已杀其母，臣不忍复杀其子。'因涕泣。文帝即放弓箭，以此深奇之，而树立之意定。”
表面来看，这是一个父慈子孝、其乐融融的故事。但当我们了解到这对“父子”之间发生过什么之后，再来审视这个故事，就会发现其中所隐藏的凛凛寒意。
“陛下已杀其母，臣不忍复杀其子。”这短短的一句话，隐藏着多少锋芒和怨愤。
“陛下已杀其母。”杀谁的母？杀的是鹿母吗？不是，是人母！陛下你已经杀了我的母亲！
“臣不忍杀其子。”不忍杀谁的儿子？不是鹿子，而是人子，是陛下的儿子！
不得不佩服曹叡的睿智，他借着猎鹿所言的这一句隐喻，清楚地表明了自己的立场：陛下你杀了我的母亲，我却不忍杀陛下的儿子——注意，是不忍杀，不是不能杀，也不是不愿杀，是有条件的。
曹叡这一句貌似仁慈的话，彻底让曹丕乱了方寸。他“即放弓箭”不是因为感动，而是因为双手过于震惊而无法控弦。
从这句话里，曹丕已经猜到，甄宓在临终前，把建安二十二年的秘密和曹叡真正身世都告诉了自己的儿子。而此时此刻，甄宓的儿子借着猎鹿的话题，朝着自己发起了攻击。
曹丕当然可以杀掉曹叡，扶他真正的儿子曹霖即位，但曹叡一定会把自己的身世公之于众。届时且不说蜀汉和东吴会如何嘲笑，单是如何向曹氏宗族解释为什么会把袁家儿子养活这么多年，就足以让曹丕皇位的正统性垮台。曹家适合当皇帝的子嗣还有很多，何必再用这个撒谎精呢。
曹叡同归于尽的姿态，吓住了曹丕。
最终曹丕屈服了。他唯一活下来而且备受宠爱的儿子曹霖年纪尚小，如果曹叡抱定鱼死网破，那么毁灭的不只是曹叡自己，还有曹丕乃至整个魏国。
于是，这一对“父子”就在猎场里交换了彼此的筹码：我给你大魏皇位，而你给我曹氏家族的安全。
我们在史书里可以看到，这一次猎鹿之后，曹叡终于被立为太子。而据《曹氏家系》记载：“明帝即位，以先帝遗意，爱宠（曹）霖异于诸国。”这是曹叡兑现了他对曹丕的承诺，善待他唯一的后代。
甚至曹叡还有可能向曹丕承诺，等到他死后，会把帝位交还给曹氏。这也解释了为何曹叡之后，即皇帝位的，是曹彰的孙子曹芳。
曹丕死了，可曹叡的复仇才刚刚开始。曹叡登基之后，屡次向已经荣任太后的郭女王追问母亲死亡的真相，郭女王被逼急了，来了一句：“是你爹要杀的，不关我的事。你当儿子的，该去追究你那死爹，不能因为亲妈就杀后妈啊。”（先帝自杀，何以责问我？且汝为人子，可追雠死父，为前母枉杀后母邪？）曹叡大怒，逼杀郭女王，而且还把她的死法弄得和甄宓死状一样。
关于建安二十二年的真相，想必曹叡也从郭女王口中得到了确认。为了母亲的名节考虑，尤其是又涉及到自己身世，曹叡最后选择了继续隐瞒下去。至于自己叔叔那篇《感鄄赋》，曹叡怕被有心人读出端倪，遂下诏改为《洛神赋》。他本以为这么一改，将会无人知晓，却不知反而欲盖弥彰，让后世之人顺藤摸瓜推演出真相全貌。
太和二年（公元228年），曹植上书曹叡，如前文所分析的那样，他在奏章里隐晦地提及了当年的那些事情，隐隐有了要挟之意。曹叡和曹丕的反应一样，有些惊慌，连忙下诏把他从雍丘改封到东阿。
不过在这一篇奏章里，曹叡发现了一件事，他发现曹植知道的真相，只限于甄宓在建安二十二年和之后的那些阴谋。自己是袁熙儿子的事情，曹植从没觉察过。对于那一年的真相，曹植只知其然而不知其所以然。
曹叡至此方如释重负。绝缨之事，揭破之后只是丢脸，何况这么多年都过去了，曹氏已经坐牢了天下，没人会去认真追究；反倒是袁氏血统，揭破之后就是天崩地裂的大乱。曹植不知道后者，那是最好不过。
过了几年，羽翼丰满的曹叡不再对这位叔叔客气，一纸诏书把他又发配到了鸟不拉屎的陈地。曹植已没了要挟曹叡的把柄，就这么死在了封地，得号陈思王。
又过了几年，曹叡去世，无子，即位的是曹彰的孙子曹芳，魏国终于回到曹氏血统中来；又过了几年，曹芳被废，即位的是曹霖的儿子曹髦，皇位算回到了曹丕这一脉下。可惜这个时候，司马氏已然权势熏天，曹髦堂堂一代君王，竟被杀死在大道之中。到了曹奂这里，终于为司马氏所篡……
于是我们的演员们终于纷纷退场，只剩下《洛神赋》流传至今，叫人嗟叹不已，回味不休。千载之下，那些兵戈烟尘俱都散去，只剩下《洛神赋》和赋中那明眸善睐的传奇女子。世人惊羡于洛神的美貌与曹植的才气，只是不复有人了解这篇赋后所隐藏的那些故事与人性……