Today, the author takes you back to this period of history and tries to analyze the reasons.
One. The background of the struggle for heirs
Cao Cao gave birth to 25 sons. At first, he thought that there were only four capable successors, namely, Cao Ang, Cao Chong, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. Of the four sons, Cao Cao valued Cao Ang, the eldest son, and Cao Chong, the youngest son. Later, Cao Ang, the eldest son, died, and Cao Cao wanted to transfer Cao Chong.
Cao Chong is a child prodigy. When he was five or six years old, his intelligence was "like an adult". The story of "the image of Cao Chong" must be a household name. Moreover, he is kind and kind by nature, and often tries to forgive those who make mistakes carelessly. "Dozens of people rely on it for help." So Cao Chong was deeply loved by Cao Cao. Unfortunately, Cao Chong fell ill and died at the age of thirteen.
After Cao Chong's death, Cao Cao once said to Cao Pi: Your brother's death is unfortunate for me, but it is great luck for you. Cao Pi later told people: If Cao Chong were still alive, I would never establish a prince. It shows that Cao Chong's death is the turning point of Cao Pi's successful struggle for the successor.
2. Repeatedly tossing and turning, narrowly defeating Cao Zhi
After the death of Cao Ang and Cao Chong, in fact, only Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were qualified as heirs, and then there was a dispute between them.
Cao Zhi's cleverness and literary talent are better than that of Cao Pi, and he is deeply loved by Cao Cao. His thoughts began to tilt towards Cao Zhi, and the famous Seven Steps Poetry is Cao Zhi's masterpiece, which fully shows that he is an expert in poetry and a great writer.
At that time, due to Cao Cao's indecision on the issue of heirs, over time, his subordinates gradually divided into groups that supported their two sons, including Jia Xu, Cui Yan, Sima Yi, Chen Qun and others who supported Cao Pi. There are rockett, Ding Gang, Yang Xiu, Jia Kui and others who support Cao Zhi.
Among them, Yang Xiu was born in the Eastern Han Dynasty "Hongnong Shi Yang". He is a very clever man. As the main work of Cao Cao, he is very well informed. So under his guidance, Cao Zhi gradually occupied an advantage in this battle, and he could become a prince several times.
Cao Pi is not to be outdone in this competition. With the help of Sima Yi, Wu Zhi and other ministers, he criticized Cao Zhi's willful behavior, usually neglecting self-control, and some misconduct such as drunkenness and trespassing on Sima Gate, which prompted Cao Cao to give up Cao Zhi and make Cao Pi Prince Wang Wei. In this way, Cao Pi tossed and turned, and finally narrowly defeated Cao Zhi in the dispute of inheritance.
3. He usurped the Han Dynasty and became the first emperor of Cao Wei.
Because of Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi naturally inherited his father Wang Wei and the position of Prime Minister, and then formed his own government team and concentrated his power in his own group. In 220 A.D., after refusing to proclaim himself emperor to the Han Dynasty for three times, he officially stepped onto the historical stage as an emperor, becoming the founding emperor of Cao Wei and the real terminator of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
During his short seven-year ruling career, Cao Pi paid equal attention to internal governance, consolidated power while centralizing power, formulated laws to cut off vassals and crack down on dissidents, and prohibited consorts and eunuchs from interfering in state affairs. He recuperated with people's livelihood, and his policies tended to benefit the people and revive Confucianism, aiming at educating the people, restoring social life order and promoting social, economic and cultural development. He also adopted the advice of Chen Qun, a senior official in the official department, and formulated and implemented the Nine-product System, which later became the main official selection system in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Foreign xelloss big break Han Shu, recovered three counties. It also organized three expropriations of Wu Dong, pacified the separatist forces in Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and finally completed the unification of the northern region. And pacify the border invasion, repel Xianbei, make friends with Xiongnu, Bian, Qiang and other foreign nationalities, and restore the organizational system and trade in the western regions.
In addition, Cao Pi has made great achievements in poetry, ci poetry and literature. He is good at five-character poems, and is called "Jian 'an Three Caos" with his father Cao Cao and his younger brother Cao Zhi. He also organized "Seven Scholars of Jian 'an" to create "Jian 'an Literature", which broke through the shackles of "exclusive respect for Confucianism" and formed a self-contained theory of Cao Jiaxue.
In a word, Cao Pi gave full play to his intelligence and good opportunities, ventured to seize the position of Prince, usurped the Han Dynasty, became the founding emperor of Cao Wei, ended the decadent and backward Eastern Han Dynasty, promoted the historical trend, and founded Jian 'an literature, which made great contributions to the political, economic and cultural development of the Chinese nation, especially to the later cultural development.
His experience shows that success depends on his own efforts first, and good opportunities can increase the possibility of realization. We should seriously study scientific and cultural knowledge, accumulate our own intelligence, wait for development opportunities, and strive to make greater contributions to the motherland and the people.