Chapter 30 (30) Controversy for Inheritance

In Cao Cao's later years, the issue of successors was brought up on the agenda, and the battle for the heir apparent among Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Pi and others was extremely fierce.For this reason, Cao Cao even resorted to extraordinary measures, and the three brothers also intrigue and show their abilities for the crown prince.So what is Cao Cao's criteria for choosing a successor?Who will be crowned prince?Please pay attention to it - the battle for the heirloom. In 208 A.D., after the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan gradually formed a three-point situation, and the Eastern Han Dynasty regime had existed in name only.In 213 A.D., Cao Cao was named Duke of Wei, and then King of Wei. At this time, Cao Cao was treated the same as the emperor, except that he did not have the name of the emperor.At this time, many officials persuaded Cao Cao to establish himself as emperor, but Cao Cao did not do so due to political considerations. He adopted an attitude of resignation, but the power he obtained must be passed on from generation to generation.

In this case, who will be the crown prince, that is, the heir of the foundation, has become a very important issue.Among Cao Cao's many sons, the most promising to inherit Cao Cao's rights are Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi and Cao Pi.Therefore, for the crown prince, they relied on their respective advantages to start a struggle for the crown prince.So, who will win in the end among Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi and Cao Pi?What kind of mystery lies behind this victory?Professor Yi Zhongtian from Xiamen University is a guest on "Hundreds of Lectures", and will give you a wonderful taste of the "Battle for Inheritance" of the Three Kingdoms.

In Cao Cao's later years, the issue of successors was on the agenda.Cao Cao wants to choose a person to inherit his power and position, who should he choose?According to incomplete statistics, Cao Cao had fifteen wives and twenty-five sons, which can still be found.Among the twenty-five sons, the eldest son Cao Ang was the most promising successor. However, he died in the war against Zhangxiu in the second year of Jian'an.Cao Cao also had a child he liked very much, Cao Chong, who was called Xiang, everyone knows; but he died of illness in the thirteenth year of Jian'an.At that time, Cao Cao was crying so hard that he was dying. At this time, Cao Pi stepped forward to comfort his father. Cao Cao said this sentence at that time: "This is my misfortune, but your Cao's luck." People are lucky, because you people have the hope of becoming a prince.

So, Cao Cao said "Ru Cao", or who do you people refer to?It is generally believed that it mainly refers to three people, that is, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi.Why these three people?Because first, these three people are the sons of Mrs. Bian.We know that Cao Cao's first wife is Mrs. Ding, and Mrs. Ding divorced Cao Cao later, so Cao Cao promoted Mrs. Bian as his wife.Then according to the traditional etiquette, the son of the main wife is the most qualified to be the successor, so all three of them are, this is the first point.The second point is that all three of them have the level, ability, and performance.Therefore, the so-called battle for the heirloom was mainly carried out among the three sons born to Mrs. Bian of Cao Cao.

So who did Cao Cao choose among these three sons?It is generally believed that Cao Zhang was the first to be excluded by Cao Cao.Why Cao Zhang?Because Cao Zhang seems not suitable to be a political leader.Cao Zhang is also very outstanding among Cao Cao's sons, and his appearance is quite special. His beard is yellow, and he is called Huang Xu'er. He is very brave. Every time Cao Cao sends him out to fight, he can return triumphantly.In the 23rd year of Jian'an, Cao Cao sent Cao Zhang to fight again, and Cao Cao told him: Zhang'er, you are a father and son at home, and a monarch and minister when you go out. I know, it's a good thing to do for yourself.So after Cao Zhang went out, he really fought bravely, took the lead, and returned in triumph.When he returned to Yecheng, Cao Zhang did two things. One was to reward his subordinates with great rewards. The second was to give all the credit to his subordinates when he reported his work after meeting Cao Cao.So who came up with the idea?Cao Pi came out, because when Cao Zhang came back, he met Cao Pi first, and Cao Pi said, you'd better not be greedy for credit, and you should attribute the credit to your subordinates.Well, some historians analyzed that Cao Pi was playing tricks, fearing that Cao Zhang's contributions would be too great and would be a threat to him.Unexpectedly, he helped Cao Zhang now. Cao Cao was very happy when Cao Zhang reported this.He stretched out his hand, grabbed Cao Zhang's beard and said, "My son with a yellow beard has made great progress."

But what problem does Cao Zhang have?Brave but not resourceful, do not like to read.This man does not study, for this reason Cao Cao taught him that all the children of our Cao family should study. Now that you are a general, how can you do without reading at all?Then make a book list and say what you read and what you read.Cao Zhang said, promise.After he came out, he told his buddies, oh, what did father say?A man should be like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, fighting on the battlefield and making achievements. How can he get a few broken books at home to read and get a Ph.D.!To be clear, the doctorate at this time is not the doctorate we are today. The doctorate in the Han Dynasty was an official position, and the current doctorate is a degree.

Another time Cao Cao asked his sons, what are your ambitions?Cao Zhang said: "It's good to be a general", saying that I just want to be a general.Cao Cao said, so what if you become a general?Cao Zhang said, what is it like to be a general, to be firm and persistent, not to be afraid in the face of danger, to lead the way, and to be rewarded and punished clearly.Cao Cao said, well, well, then you will be a general. The record in "Three Kingdoms·Cao Zhang Biography" is: "Taizu laughed a lot", laughed.In my opinion, the idea of ​​making Cao Zhang the reserve was just laughed off.

According to historical records, Cao Zhang has a fierce personality and is good at fighting. He once swept the Quartet for Cao Cao and made contributions to the Han horse.But because Cao Zhang just wanted to be a general, he was screened out first.Because Cao Cao's first criterion for choosing a successor is to find someone who is good at politics.So how did Cao Cao choose between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi? From the analysis of Mr. Yi Zhongtian just now, it can be seen that Cao Cao knows that the successor he wants to choose is a politician, not a military strategist. As a general, Cao Zhang has no problem recruiting the Quartet. I was very worried, so Cao Cao's prince candidates were narrowed down to Cao Zhi and Cao Pi.Between the two, many people think that Cao Cao chose Cao Zhi first.So, why did Cao Cao choose Cao Zhi?

Two reasons, the first is that Cao Zhi is talented.Cao Zhi is indeed talented. Cao Zhi was very good at writing articles and Fu when he was a child.It is said that one day, when Cao Zhi was very young, Cao Cao read Cao Zhi's article, and asked Cao Zhi, this article is so beautifully written, did someone write it for you?Cao Zhi immediately knelt down and said, speech is poetry, writing is writing, and the article must be written by oneself, why should someone else write it?Then don't believe that my father can test me, I will write it on the spot.Really talented.Cao Cao also really likes Cao Zhi very much, there is no problem with this.But I think that precisely because Cao Cao likes Cao Zhi, it proves that Cao Zhi cannot be selected as the prince. How do you say this?

We need to figure out the principle of the ancients' establishment of reserves.Because we know that the ancient political system was the hereditary system of the monarch, and the monarch was to be hereditary, passed on to his son or brother.So who to choose?There are four options, called: Li Di, Li Chang, Li Xian, Li Ai.What does that mean?It is the ancient kings, or similar to the kings and monarchs, such as Cao Cao. Their marriage system is monogamy and multiple concubines, so only the wife is the main wife and can match the husband.Therefore, the son born to the wife is called the concubine, and the son born to the concubine is called the concubine. When choosing a successor, you must first choose from among the sons of the wife. This is called "establishing a son".So if there are many legitimate sons, all of whom are born to the main wife, who should you choose?Choose the oldest one, which is called "Li Chang".Even if you don't have a son, they are all sons, and you have to grow up.This is called setting up sons as heirs, or setting up sons as elders instead of virtues. It just depends on who is the best.Then if you can’t abide by these two principles, take a step back, and “Lixian” is also acceptable, because you choose the most capable person, which is good for everyone, and the public opinion or other people can still accept it. .The most unacceptable thing is "li love", that is, you can have a son whoever you like. This is the most unacceptable.Thinking that the prince Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, originally wanted to be the son of Mrs. Qi, Zhao Wang Ruyi, was opposed by the Manchu Dynasty. In the end, Liu Ying, who was born to Empress Lu, was established. Even Liu Bang, who is as awesome as Liu Bang, couldn't hold back this thing.So you are suspected of Li Ai when Cao Zhi is established.Of course, some people have said that Cao Cao doesn't play cards according to common sense, right, and he can't explain clearly.Yes, that's right, but Cao Cao hasn't made it clear enough to go against this principle. This is the first point.

The second point, some people say that Cao Cao established Cao Zhi, not for love, but for virtue, because Cao Zhi is talented.But we also need to analyze, Cao Zhi is talented, what kind of talent?Literary talent.Well-written articles, well-written poems, and well-written prose don’t mean that the country is governed well, right? Electing the crown prince is not the election of the chairman of the Writers’ Association, right?If Wei Guo chooses the chairman of the Writers Association, I think Cao Zhi deserves it.Yes, when Cao Zhi was 23 years old, Cao Cao had a conversation with him, saying, son, when I was 23 years old, I became the commander of Dunqiu, and I have never regretted what I did at that time. Now I leave you to guard Yecheng, you have to take care of yourself.We don’t know whether Cao Zhi is good for himself, but it seems that his performance is good, because the last sentence of "Three Kingdoms·Cao Zhi Biography" is: "The number of princes is counted", that is, he was almost appointed prince several times, which shows that He's still doing well.But it should be said that there are no outstanding performances, because if there are outstanding performances, there must be records in the history books, and it cannot hide this matter.And logically speaking, it is unlikely to have outstanding performance, because Cao Cao is here, Cao Cao is too strong, and his son has almost no chance to outstanding performance.this is a problem. Another question is, if Cao Zhi performed very well, why did he get worse in the end?The "Three Kingdoms" records in this place use the Spring and Autumn style of writing, and the language is vague and vague, giving people the feeling that they are hiding something.Its words are very simple. It says that Cao Zhi's performance is just the opposite of Cao Pi's. What is Cao Zhi's performance? "Be self-willed, not self-motivated", that is, Cao Zhi is very willful, does not discipline himself, does not restrain himself.What is Cao Pi's performance? "Using tricks to defend oneself, pretending to be hypocritical" means that Cao Pi is very scheming, using various tactics to deal with interpersonal relationships, hiding himself, not revealing his true face, and acting with his tail between his legs.As a result, Cao Cao liked Cao Pi more and more, and disliked Cao Zhi less and less.Then this may be the reason, and from here we can also see the difference in the personalities of these two people, right? So from our point of view, from the point of view of ordinary people, if you are asked to choose, I guess many people will choose Cao Zhi.Because Cao Zhi is cute, frank, and honest; and Cao Pi doesn't know what kind of idea is hidden in his heart. People like Cao Pi who use tricks and pretend to be pretentious are not only unlovable, but also a little scary, because you do it. Not sure what he was thinking.But the problem is that Cao Cao is not choosing "who is the cutest person" now, what he wants to choose is "who is the most reliable person".What is reliable?Politically reliable, what does politically reliable mean?Guarantee that his Cao Wei regime will be passed on from generation to generation.And his Cao Wei regime is not stable at this time, right? There are still two enemies over there, one Sun Quan and one Liu Bei, and the court is also making noise. He can't choose a willful person or an honest person at this time , A man of temperament, he has to choose a scheming person to ensure that his family business will be passed on. Cao Cao chose a successor, first of all, to choose someone who is engaged in politics, and secondly, he needs to be politically reliable.Because only by choosing a politically reliable person can Cao Cao's family business be passed on.Cao Zhi is undoubtedly talented, but in the end he missed the crown prince due to character reasons.In 217 AD, Cao Pi was finally officially established as the prince, so how did Mr. Yi Zhongtian analyze Cao Pi's election? I think there are four reasons why Cao Pi was finally elected.The first reason, as I just said, is scheming. The second reason is both civil and military.Everyone knows that Cao Zhi is talented, but they don't know that Cao Pi is also talented, and he is all-round in civil and military affairs.If we read the biographies of these three people in "Three Kingdoms", you will find that Cao Zhang's talent is mainly in military affairs, and he is a military talent; Cao Zhi's talent is mainly in literature, which is a literary talent; and Cao Pi has both.From a literary point of view, Cao Pi is one of the "Three Caos" in the Jian'an era, Cao Cao, Cao Zhi, and Cao Pi, the three major poets.Although his poems are relatively poorer than Cao Cao and Cao Zhi's, he is the first person in China to write seven-character poems. In addition, he has literary theory. Cao Pi's "Classic Thesis" is indelible in the history of Chinese literature. In one stroke, he is still a literary theorist.Moreover, his martial arts are very good. He has been riding horses and archery since he was a child, and his kung fu is quite good.One day he was discussing swordsmanship with a general named Deng Zhan. Deng Zhan said, you are right, Cao Pi said, let’s compete, and grabbed a piece of sugarcane. —— At that time, sugarcane had just been introduced into China. , It’s still something that nobles can eat——grab a sugarcane and throw it over, and then grab another one by yourself.It's all over, so this is also the reason. The third reason is that Cao Pi is the eldest son.As I have said before, the eldest son is also the legitimate son, so his status is very high.At that time, Cao Cao asked the civil and military officials for their opinions. We talked about Cui Yan in the last episode, but he publicly replied that there is no dispute about establishing a family to grow up. Others also wrote to Cao Cao saying that this principle cannot be broken.The most interesting thing is Jia Xu. Cao Cao went to ask Jia Xu for advice, and said, look, which of these two sons should I choose? ... Cao Cao said I asked you, why didn't you speak?He said I was thinking about something, thinking about something.Cao Cao said, what are you thinking?Jia Xu said, I was thinking about Yuan Shao and Liu Biao.What does that mean?It was Yuan Shao and Liu Biao who made a mistake together. When choosing a successor, they did not establish the eldest son, but the youngest son. In the end, they lost, and Cao Cao immediately understood.That's the third reason. Through the analysis of Mr. Yi Zhongtian, it can be seen that Cao Pi, as the eldest son, coupled with all-round talents in civil and military affairs, has an inherent advantage in the battle for prince, but these are not enough to shake Cao Zhi's position in Cao Cao's mind.Later, in Cao Pi's secret contest with Cao Zhi, there were two key figures who made great contributions to Cao Pi's election as the prince. So who are these two people?How did they help Cao Pi? Mr. Yi Zhongtian mentioned just now that Cao Pi's election as the prince has inherent advantages, but we know that Cao Zhi is also very talented, and he is deeply favored by Cao Cao, so the competition between the two is evenly matched.Therefore, Cao Zhi and Cao Pi are carefully accepting Cao Cao's various tests.At this critical moment, two crucial figures in Cao Pi's camp made great contributions to Cao Pi's election as the prince. So who are these two people?How did they support Cao Pi? The fourth reason, expert advice.Both Cao Pi and Cao Zhi had their own think tanks in the struggle to seize the heir. On Cao Zhi’s side, there were mainly three people, one named Ding Yi, the second named Ding Zhen, and the third named Yang Xiu; Cao Pi’s side, one, It's called Wu Zhi.But now it seems that as we say, three ugly cobblers are worth Zhuge Liang. Cao Zhi's three ugly cobblers, Ding Yi, Ding Zhen, and Yang Xiu, not only can't match Zhuge Liang, he can't even match Wu Zhi.How can Wu Zhi help Cao Pi?I set two rules for him, the first one is called losing sincerity, which means you have to express your sincerity to your father; the second is called suspicion, you have to make your father doubt them. Once Cao Cao made an expedition, and everyone went outside the city to see him off. This Cao Zhi came out to read the article. It is estimated that he had written a very beautiful, eulogizing, and expressing his reluctance and gorgeous literary talent the night before. Articles, recitations.This recitation, the article was written beautifully, everyone thought it was good, and Cao Cao himself was very proud of the article.As a result, Cao Zhi felt comfortable, and Cao Cao felt comfortable, but Cao Pi was uncomfortable and didn't know what to do, because he couldn't write about Cao Zhi.At this time, Wu Zhi whispered in his ear: "The king should go, it's okay to have a runny nose." Just cry.Isn't the father going to go on an expedition? Isn't the expedition risky? Aren't you reluctant?cry.Cao Pi immediately understood, slap, fell to the ground, hugged his head and cried bitterly, crying bitterly, crying so much that Cao Cao also shed tears, and everyone shed tears, crying together, crying loudly.After crying, I forgot all the beautiful articles written by Cao Zhi.Who remembers those gorgeous rhetoric you said?So I say Wu Zhi, the simple "quality", his "quality", he is worthy of being called Wu Zhi, he uses it as the simplest, the lowest cost, the most straightforward, and the most convenient and quick way, won.So, after we broke up, everyone commented, oh, it seems that the filial piety of the general with five senses is commendable!He is really filial, he is really a filial son.As for that person, he was a bit of a showman, a bit of a show-off, and everyone couldn't figure out whether he was reluctant to part with his father, or took the opportunity to show off his knowledge.So I have said again and again that the most valuable things in the world are often the most simple things, the most simple, simple and uncomplicated, and nothing in the world can compete with it for beauty. Another thing is that because Wu Zhi often colludes with Cao Pi, he can't openly communicate with him, so Cao Pi got a bamboo cage, put him in a car and transported him to the mansion.This matter was discovered by Yang Xiu, and Yang Xiu immediately reported it to Cao Cao, because Cao Cao forbade his son to communicate with these officials, because he was afraid of forming a party for personal gain.But it's too late to check.This matter was known by Cao Pi, and Cao Pi asked Wu Zhi what to do about it.Wu Zhi said it was very easy to handle, so and so, ah.The second time, a few days later, Cao Pi brought another bamboo cage. Yang Xiu saw it and immediately reported it to Cao Cao.So Cao Cao became suspicious, are you making false accusations?Do not believe Cao Zhi. You see, this is Wu Zhi's gang, and Wu Zhi has two things in mind: First, although Cao Cao values ​​talent, he values ​​love even more, so don't write beautiful articles, you cry.Second, Cao Cao is suspicious.He saw these two items correctly, and Cao Pi won.As for those three cobblers, they came up with bad ideas.As I said in the last episode, Yang Xiu often guesses what questions Cao Cao asks and writes the answers in advance. He also teaches Cao Zhi this trick and writes the answers. Cao Cao writes a note, Cao Zhi Just hand in the answer, and want to leave a good impression on Cao Cao of Cao Zhi's quick thinking.Who knew that Yang Xiu didn't grasp the rhythm, as soon as the letter from Cao Cao's side was delivered, he handed over the answer immediately.Cao Cao took a look and said, no matter how smart my son is, he is not so fast.As a result, his secrets were revealed, and he hated Cao Zhi ever since. But in comparison, among the people who helped Cao Pi, Jia Xu was the most important.At that time, Cao Pi also asked Jia Xu, what should I do?Jia Xu said very calmly: "May the general restore morality, practice the career of a simple scholar, work hard day and night, and not violate the Tao, that's all." Those things that a scholar should do, diligent and tireless, don't violate the filial piety that a son should do, that's enough, you don't have to do anything.This is called Gao. On the surface, Jia Xu seems to be speaking in an official tone, and what he speaks is all official, big, and cliché, but it is fundamental.What is it at all?be human.I have repeatedly emphasized that no matter what you do, you are an official, a business, or an academic. In the final analysis, you are a human being. If you look at these successful people in the Three Kingdoms era, they are all successful human beings without exception.You just need to stick to your duty and be a good person, don't play tricks, don't play those clever tricks, that's what Jia Xu actually meant.Cao Pi followed Jia Xu's instruction, and finally won the love of his father and made him the prince. Relying on Jia Xu's guidance and Wu Zhi's help, Cao Pi finally satisfied Cao Cao, won the position of prince as he wished, and became the successor of the Cao Wei regime.So can Cao Pi live up to Cao Cao's good intentions and make Cao Cao's foundation evergreen? It is said that after Cao Pi was established as the prince, he couldn't help himself and hugged a Yilang named Xinpi. How happy are you!The fox tail is still sticking out. On the contrary, there are two amazing women at this time, acting very rational, calm, and low-key.One is Mrs. Bian, Cao Pi’s mother. As we said before, the people under my command wanted Mrs. Bian to treat me. Mrs. Bian said very calmly, I am satisfied that I didn’t teach my son badly. How dare I celebrate?There was another woman named Xianying who was Simpi's daughter. After Xinpi returned home, she told Xianying about it. Xianying sighed and said, "Oh, how could the prince do this!"What is a prince?The prince is the person who succeeds the king in governing the country.What does it mean to take over as king?It means that the king is dead, so you should feel sad to succeed the king.What does it mean to govern a country?It means that you have a heavy burden to carry, so you should feel daunted.After a person is established as a prince, his expression should be grief and fear, but our current prince of Wei is so ecstatic. I don't think Wei's national fortune will last long.Amazing woman. Moreover, unfortunately, Xianying's words were hit.Cao Pi took over the throne of Cao Cao's King Wei in 220 A.D., and in that year he forced Han Xiandi to take the throne and became emperor himself. This is Emperor Wei Wendi.He then died in 226 AD, only remaining emperor for six years.Forty-five years after Cao Pi's death, the state of Wei fell.It was indeed a short-lived dynasty. Of course, the root cause of Wei Guo's short life is not that Cao Pi got carried away with complacency at that time. If this is the reason, it can only be regarded as a secondary reason.So the fundamental reason is the system, what is it?That is, Cao Pi implemented the "nine-rank Zhongzheng system" before proclaiming himself emperor.The Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System is very complicated to say, but let me simply say, simplify it a bit, what do you mean?That is to say, those who are officials have been officials for generations.That is, if you are an official, your son will also be an official, and your grandson will also be an official. As long as your ancestors were officials, you will always be an official; but it is difficult for people who have never been an official to become an official , this is called Jiupin Zhongzheng System.So Cao Pi's implementation of the "nine-rank system of integrity" is the opposite of his father Cao Cao's personnel policy of "only talents" implemented. Why did he do this?He is winning the support of the gentry.Well, at that time, the gentry clan had formed in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Families like Yuan Shao and Yang Xiu had been officials for generations. It was a political force.In order to win the support of these political forces, Cao Pi implemented the Jiupin Zhongzheng System. In the end, whose power will fall into his hands?It fell into the hands of a Sima family who had been a noble family for generations.This is called success is Xiao He, and failure is Xiao He, so in the final analysis, it is still a matter of system when it comes to rise and fall.But we don't have time now to dwell on these things.Now we have to go back and take a look at Sun Quan and Liu Bei. During the Battle of Chibi, Sun and Liu formed an alliance to defeat Cao Cao. So what happened after the war?Can Sun Quan and Liu Bei continue to form a solid alliance after the war?After the Battle of Chibi, what did Sun Quan and Liu Bei do?Please see the next episode - take advantage of the gap.