China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 25

After Cao Shuang became a general, he gathered a group of very knowledgeable people. Among them, five people were most trusted by Cao Shuang. These five people were Bi Gui, He Yan, Deng An, Li Sheng, and Ding Mi. Sima Yi was very unconvinced when the power was handed over to him.He Yan said: "The power of the country should be controlled by the people in the Cao clan. How can Sima Yi have the final say! If Sima Yi wants to rebel, how can you control him?" Cao Shuang thought it made sense, and asked He Yan what should be done. Well, He Yan said: "You can designate Sima Yi as the grand tutor and let him be the highest rank, but he has no real power. Take the military power and put it in your own hands, so as to ensure safety."

Cao Shuang told the queen mother that Sima Yi had made great contributions and had a high reputation, so he should be a tutor, and that managing the army should be done by young people. Both the emperor and the queen mother agreed.As a result, Sima Yi was named Taifu and surrendered his military power.Cao Shuang took the opportunity to arrange his younger brothers Cao Xi, Cao Xun, and Cao Yan as generals in charge of the army.From then on, the military and political power in the imperial court fell to Cao Shuang and his brothers.A few years later, the Cao Shuang brothers became more and more powerful.Sima Yi had been saying for many years that he was sick and that he did not participate in state affairs, so Cao Shuang lived a dissolute life more at ease, building palaces privately and playing around.The things sent to the emperor in various places were selected by Cao Shuang before being sent to the emperor.Cao Shuang especially likes to go hunting and often does not return to the city for many days.Sinong Huanfan was worried, and advised Cao Shuang not to go out often, but to stay in the capital to prevent changes in the capital, but Cao Shuang refused to listen.

In the first month of 248 AD, brothers Cao Shuang and Emperor Cao Fang went to pay homage to Gaoping Mausoleum (Cao Rui's tomb). After sweeping the tomb, Cao Shuang took a group of his cronies outside to hunt and play.Sima Yi immediately acted, and sent his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, to send troops to guard the city gates around Luoyang, captured Brother Cao Shuang's barracks in the capital, and sent his cronies to manage the army.Sima Yi opened the arsenal again, armed his army, and defended the Luoshui Bridge.Then, Sima Yi entered the palace and gave a letter to Queen Mother Guo, saying that the general Cao Shuang appointed a villain and ignored state affairs, and he should take away the military power of Brother Cao Shuang to avoid trouble in the future.Empress Dowager Guo didn't like Cao Shuang in the first place, so she immediately agreed to Sima Yi's request, and issued an imperial edict in the name of the Queen Mother.

Sima Yi also sent servants Xu Yun and Shangshu Chen Tai to tell Cao Shuang that as long as Cao Shuang surrendered his military power, he would not hurt his brother's life.After Xu Yun and Chen Tai left, Sima Yi recruited Yin Damu, the lieutenant of the palace, and asked Yin Damu to persuade Cao Shuang again, promise not to hurt the lives of Cao Shuang's brothers and family members, and swear by Luoshui River.At the same time, he presented a seal to Emperor Cao Fang, saying that Cao Shuang appointed a large number of villains to control the military power of the court, and everyone was dissatisfied. Brother Cao Shuang's power, and the queen mother has agreed to my approach, and so on.

Cao Shuang was hunting, and heard several reports in succession that Grand Tutor Sima Yi had launched a mutiny in the city and wanted to seize the military power of his brothers. At that time, he was frightened like a wooden man.Huan Fan, who escaped from the city, advised Cao Shuang to make a decisive decision, issue an imperial edict, and raise troops to fight against Sima Gu.But Cao Shuang was greedy for life and afraid of death, so he finally surrendered his military power, returned to the city with the emperor, and surrendered to Sima Yi.

As soon as Cao Shuang returned to the city, Sima Yi took four of his brothers into custody and charged them with a major crime of plotting rebellion. He arrested the four brothers, their relatives, and their cronies, and sentenced them to beheaded.This is the famous "Gaoping Mausoleum Change" that occurred in the last years of Wei State.

●Sima Zhao killed Emperor Wei
Shortly after the "Gaopingling Incident", Sima Yi died, and his sons Sima Shi and Sima Zhao came to power one after another.When Sima Zhao became prime minister, he became more domineering and continued to kill people in Cao's group.He also abolished Cao Fang, and welcomed Cao Rui's cousin, 14-year-old Cao Mao, into Luoyang as emperor.

Cao Mao was very dissatisfied with being a little puppet emperor. Whenever he thought of the great achievements of his ancestors and Sima Zhao being so domineering, he felt very sad.He felt the folklore of the yellow dragon appearing in the well, so he took up the pen and wrote "Poem of Qianlong" to express his worries and indignation.The general idea of ​​the poem is: Poor Huanglong is trapped in the well and cannot go to the sea to writhe freely.The loach and eel dared to bully him, and shook his head and tail in front of Huanglong to show off.Poor Huanglong!You are in the same situation as me!This poem spread to Sima Zhao's ears. He strode into the palace with a sword and asked the emperor, "Is the eel and loach in the "Poetry of Qianlong" you wrote?" Cao Mao lowered his head, Don't say yes, don't say no.Sima Zhao smiled coldly, turned around and left.Cao Mao no longer wanted to be the suffocating emperor, so he summoned three ministers and said, "Rather than just sit and wait to die, I might as well lead my troops to fight with him!" Just write the imperial edict, throw it on the ground, and report to the queen mother by yourself.Two ministers turned their faces and ran to report to Sima Zhao.

Cao Mao led his troops to attack Sima Zhao, but before he could make a move, he was killed by the murderer Cheng Ji ordered by Sima Zhao.When Sima Zhao heard that the emperor was dead, he deliberately pretended to be very surprised and sad. He first ordered Cao Mao's body to be buried, and then under the pressure of public opinion, he wiped out the Chengji clan.Soldier was sent to arrest Cheng Ji, but Cheng Ji was naturally unconvinced, so he climbed onto the roof shirtless and shouted, "It was Sima Zhao who asked me to kill the emperor." At this moment, Sima Zhao's conspiracy was shaken off. Out.Everyone can see his ambition, which is the so-called "Sima Zhao's heart is known to all passersby".

After Cao Mao's death, Sima Zhao made Cao Cao's grandson Cao Huan the post-emperor, and changed the title to Jingyuan first year.So far, the major steps of Sima Zhao's usurpation activities have been completed, the Cao Wei regime exists in name only, and the situation of the three kingdoms is about to end.

●Sun Jun specializes in Wu Dynasty politics
Before his death, Sun Quan, the great emperor of Wu, recalled Zhuge Ke from Wuchang, appointed him as the prince and Taibao, and ordered all officials to take charge of all affairs in the court, and set up guards and built mansions for Zhuge Ke.

Zhuge Ke is the son of Wu Xunchen Zhuge Jin and the nephew of Zhuge Liang. He has outstanding talents, but he is self-willed.At the beginning of Sun Liang's accession to the throne, Zhuge Ke was in power, and he wanted to make great contributions. He did a lot to benefit the government, abolished the school officials in charge of corrections, pardoned fugitives, and exempted customs duties, so he was very popular.

Zhuge Ke wanted to build up his military prestige, and he wanted to establish his military prestige. In 252 AD, he sent more than [-] troops to attack Wei in spite of his persuasion, and the people were in an uproar.Later, Zhuge Ke led his troops to attack Wei Xincheng (now Fangxian County, Hubei Province). It was hot summer and the plague was prevalent. More than half of the Wu army died of illness and were disabled, so public resentment gradually arose.Zhuge Ke returned to the capital, not only did not self-examine his mistakes, but turned his anger on the generals and officials, which disappointed the government and the people, and the people complained even more.

In 253 A.D., Sun Jun, Wu's clan and servant, used public grievances to vent his personal grievances, and planned to kill Zhuge Ke, Yi and the three tribes.Sun Jun took the post of prime minister, general, and governor of Chinese and foreign military forces, and abolished the post of royal doctor who was easy to compete with the prime minister for power, and took over the government in his own hands.

●A Dou who is "unforgettable to leave"
Liu Chan's nickname is A Dou, and he is a stupid and incompetent person.After the fall of the Shu Han, Liu Chan remained in Shu.Sima Zhao felt that it would not be appropriate for the queen master to stay in Chengdu, so he sent his confidant Jia Chong to take Liu Chan to Luoyang.The officials with relatively low status who accompanied him to Luoyang were both Zheng Zheng and Liu Tong.Liu Chan is ignorant and doesn't know how to deal with people, so he relies on correct guidance for every move.

After arriving in Luoyang, Sima Zhao named Liu Chan the Duke of Anle in the name of Emperor Wei Yuan, and also made his descendants and more than 50 ministers of the original Shu Han Marquis.Sima Zhao did this for nothing more than to win over people's hearts and stabilize his rule over the Shuhan area.But in Liu Chan's view, it was a great grace.

Once, Sima Zhao held a banquet, and invited Liu Chan and the former ministers of the Shu Han to participate.When the banquet was in full swing, Sima Zhao said: "Mr. An Le, you have been away from Shu for a long time, so today I specially arranged a dance with local characteristics of Shu, so that you can enjoy it aftertaste!" The subordinates around Liu Chan were very sad, but Liu Chan was the only one who watched with enthusiasm, and still talked and laughed freely, just like in his own palace.After the banquet, Sima Zhao said to Jia Chong: "Liu Chan has no heart. Even if Zhuge Liang lives to this day, he may not be able to keep the Shu Han alive, let alone Jiang Wei!" Zhao asked Liu Chan: "Do you still want to go back to your hometown in Xishu?" Liu Chan replied: "There are songs, dances, and good wine here. How can I be willing to go back to Xishu!"

Sima Zhao felt that there was no great danger for Liu Chan to stay by his side, so he didn't kill him.In this way, Liu Chan spent the rest of his life peacefully in Luoyang.

●Sima Yan replaced Wei Jianjin
Sima Zhao held the power of the court, but he didn't want to be the emperor himself. He wanted to follow Cao Cao's example of making his son Cao Pi the emperor and leave the throne to his son Sima Yan.Later, Sima Yan succeeded his father in charge of the state of Wei.In 265 AD, Sima Yan forced Wei Emperor Cao Mian to abdicate the throne in Luoyang and established the Jin Dynasty.

After Sima Yan sat on the throne of the emperor, he did not start to live a high and extravagant life, but judged the situation to consolidate his throne.He knew that his father Sima Zhao and grandfather Sima Yi's brutal killing of the Cao family made people wary of him, and that the Eastern Wu in the south had not yet been unified, and this was his heart disease.In order to destroy Eastern Wu and unify the world, Sima Yan adopted the policy of governing the country with benevolence and righteousness: rewarding a son of Anle Gong Liu Chan as the captain-in-law to appease people's hearts.He also issued a special edict, allowing Cao Huan, who was originally the emperor and is now the king of Chenliu, to continue to use the emperor's ceremonial guard to enter and exit, and he does not need to be a minister when writing letters to him.The main purpose of doing this is to stabilize the hearts of the people in the world, including the area under his own rule and the former territory of Shu in the southwest.

In order to develop the economy and enhance the country's strength, Sima Yan issued a special edict, taking "government by doing nothing" as the policy of governing the country.At that time, he issued five edicts to the local prefectures and states: one is to straighten the body; the other is to work hard for the common people; The fifth is to streamline the organization and eliminate redundant staff.

After the destruction of Wu, in order to develop production faster, Sima Yan promulgated the land occupation system and abolished the land settlement system implemented by Cao Cao.Each man can occupy 70 mu of land, and each woman can occupy 30 mu of land.The implementation of the land occupation system greatly promoted the economic development of the Western Jin Dynasty. This can be seen from the number of households. The number of households in the year when Wu was destroyed was 240 million, and it soared to 371 million two years later.

●Jin division destroyed Wu and became unified

When the Western Jin Dynasty was established, Soochow, the only surviving of the Three Kingdoms, had already declined.Sun Hao, the last emperor of Eastern Wu, was very cruel. He overhauled the palace, indulged in pleasure, and suppressed the people with inhumane punishments such as skinning and gouging eyes. Everyone hated him to the bone.

In 279 AD, some ministers of the Jin Dynasty believed that the time was ripe and persuaded Emperor Wu of Jin to eliminate Soochow.Emperor Wu of Jin decided to send 20 troops, divided into 5 routes along the north bank of the Yangtze River, to attack the Wu army at the same time.After the Jin army invaded the Wu territory, they won successive victories, and their military power was greatly boosted.Sun Hao, the Lord of Wu, was in a panic when he heard the report. He sent General Zhang Xiang to lead a navy of 1 people to resist.And when Zhang Xiang's soldiers saw that the river was full of warships of the Jin army, and countless flags were flying in the wind, covering the sky and the sun, Wu soldiers were so frightened that they raised the flags early.

Sun Hao, the Lord of Wu, knew that Wu Jun was not capable of fighting, so he was shocked and didn't know what to do.At this time, Tao Jun, the general of the navy, said to Sun Hao: "The ships of the navy I lead are all small. If Your Majesty gives me 2 sailors and large ships, I will have a plan to defeat the Jin army." General, use all the Imperial Forest Army and ask him to command the water army to meet the enemy.The next day, Tao Jun led the water army on the river, when suddenly a north wind picked up, and the sky was dark, and the flags on the warships were blown down into the river.Tao Jun's naval army was distracted for a while, and fled in all directions, and the Jin army went straight to Jianye.

The Jin State Navy led by Wang Jun encountered almost no resistance, and it went smoothly to Jianye.The 100-mile river near Jianye was full of warships of the Jin army. Wang Jun led 8 sailors ashore, Zhang Xiang called to open the city gate, and entered Jianye city with a breathtaking momentum.

When Sun Hao heard that Jin soldiers had entered the city, he was so frightened that he had no master. After being reminded by Zhongshu Ling Hu Chong, he also imitated Liu Chan, the empress of the Shu Han Dynasty. He took off his shirt and had his hands tied behind his back. He surrendered in front of Jun's barracks.In this way, the period of separation of the Three Kingdoms that began with Cao Pi proclaiming the emperor (220 AD) came to an end, and the whole country entered an era of unification again.

##No.14 The Dynasties of Flowing Water

Janan wind flies up the branches
In 265 AD, Sima Yan became emperor and established the Jin Dynasty.After that, they encountered troubles in the selection of the crown prince.

At that time, Empress Yang gave birth to three sons, the eldest named Sima Gui, who died of illness at the age of two, the second Sima Zhong, and the third Sima Dong, who had to choose between these two children for the crown prince.According to common sense, the older Sima Zhong should be selected as the prince, but this son is very weak in intelligence. He is seven or eight years old and can't even teach a single word. Sima Yan doesn't want him to be the prince, fearing that he won't be able to govern the country when he grows up .But Empress Yang liked Sima Zhong very much, and murmured in front of Sima Yan all day long that she wanted Sima Zhong to be the prince, and said that the princes should be arranged according to age.Mrs. Zhao, whom Sima Yan loved, spoke to Empress Yang in front of Sima Yan, saying that although Sima Zhong is a little confused now, he is still a child, and he may be a late bloomer when he grows up in the future!Sima Yan couldn't stand the persuasion of these two people every day, and Empress Yang's brother Yang Jun and others also spoke for Sima Zhong. In this way, Sima Zhong was officially established as the prince in 267 AD.

A few years later, the prince was already twelve or thirteen years old, and according to the royal rules, he should choose the princess, which was another big event.The prince is the future emperor, and the prince and concubine are of course the future queen, so the ministers are very concerned about this matter.

Chariot General Jia Chong was a hero of the Jin Dynasty. He was the one who helped Sima Zhao kill Cao Mao.He happened to have two daughters at home waiting to be married, who were about the same age as the prince. The eldest daughter was named Jia Nanfeng, and the youngest daughter was named Jia Wu.Both daughters are not beautiful, and Jananfeng is particularly ugly. If there is a fair competition, it is impossible for anyone to be selected as the crown princess.After discussing with his wife Guo Huai, Jia Chong decided to go through the back door and try.

Jia Chong's wife, Guo Huai, bribed the servants in the palace, sent many gifts to Empress Yang, and bragged desperately in front of Empress Yang how talented and good-behaved Jia Chong's daughter was, but she was not good-looking.Empress Yang was moved by people's words, so she came to persuade Sima Yan again, saying that Jia Chong was a hero of the country, and his daughter Jia Nanfeng was virtuous and talented, so she should be chosen as the crown princess. one pile.Sima Yan couldn't stand the queen's persuasion, and was a little tempted.Once, at a banquet with the ministers, Sima Yan talked about choosing a concubine for the prince again. The servant Xun Xu praised Jia Chong's daughter again, and the words were hypnotic. Let your daughter be the princess!" The matter was settled like this.

In 290 A.D., Sima Yan died of illness, and the crown prince Sima Zhong came to the throne as emperor. This was Emperor Hui of Jin.

●The Rebellion of the Eight Kings and the Decline of the Jin Dynasty
Jian Nanfeng killed Sima Tong, and Zhao Wang Sima Lun seized the handle, and sent the captain of the Forbidden Army and Qi Wang Sima Tong to lead troops into the palace to arrest Jian Nanfeng.When Jananfeng saw King Qi leading troops into the palace, he was taken aback, yelled and made a fuss, and hoped that Emperor Hui would come to rescue her, but to no avail, King Zhao arrested her and killed her.

Since then, King Zhao has taken control of the political power and has even greater ambitions.In 301 AD, King Zhao simply put Emperor Hui of Jin under house arrest and called himself emperor.As soon as King Zhao ascended the throne, he conferred all his fellow officials, regardless of whether they were academicians, generals, attendants, or soldiers, into official positions, large or small.

When princes and kings from all over the country heard that King Zhao had become emperor, they all wanted to seize the throne.In this way, one fight after another was launched between them.Participating in this scuffle were King Sima Lun of Zhao, Sima Tong of Qi, Sima Ying of Chengdu, Sima Shun of Hejian, Sima Yi of Changsha, Sima Yue of Donghai, Sima Liang of Runan and Sima Liang of Chu who had been killed. Wang Simawei, a total of eight princes and kings, was called the "Eight Kings Rebellion" in history.

The Rebellion of the Eight Kings lasted for 16 years. In 306 AD, seven of the eight kings died, and the last king of the East China Sea, Sima Yue, poisoned Emperor Hui of Jin to death. Sima, the younger brother of Emperor Hui, was established. Chi, this is Emperor Huai of Jin Dynasty.

During the Eight Kings Rebellion, the death toll across the country reached 10, and many cities and towns were burned down, causing even more serious damage to the underdeveloped social economy in the early Western Jin Dynasty.At the same time, rare locust plagues and plagues broke out in the Kanto region, which exhausted the power of the Western Jin ruling group, and hidden class and ethnic conflicts quickly intensified and broke out.

●Liu Yuan called Emperor Jianhan
Liu Yuan, styled Yuanhai, was a native of the Huns in Xinxing (in today's Shanxi).In 304 A.D., Liu Yuan rebelled against Jin and claimed to be the Great Chanyu.In October of the same year, Liu Yuan declared to the public: "In the old Han Dynasty, there were all the leaders in the world, and they were gracious to the people. My nephew of the Han family became brothers. It's okay for a brother to die and a younger brother!" Therefore, the name of Jianguo was In the Han Dynasty, Liu Yuan was the king of the Han Dynasty, and he respected Liu Chan of the Shu Han Dynasty as Emperor Xiaohuai and Jianyuan Yuanxi.After Liu Yuan became Wang Jianhan, his power continued to grow.Shile's rebellion was defeated, and he led thousands of Hu tribes and 2000 Wuhuan tribes to surrender to Liu Yuan. In this way, an anti-Jin force composed of Xiongnu, Xianbei, clan, Qiang and other ethnic groups was formed, and Liu Yuan's intention to proclaim himself emperor gradually became obvious.In order to prepare for the establishment of the empire, Liu Yuan sent troops around and frequently invaded Jin.

In the winter of 308 AD, Liu Yuan officially proclaimed himself emperor.In the first month of 309 A.D., Liu Yuan officially moved his capital to Pingyang (now facing Fenxi, Shanxi) according to Xuan Yuxiu's suggestion.

●The Rebellion of Yongjia and the Fall of Luoyang
(End of this chapter)