webnovelfull Chapter 529 The Lower Limit of the Sima Family
Chapter 529 The Lower Limit of the Sima Family
Upon hearing that Zhuge Liang had died at Wuzhang Plains, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei collapsed onto their heels as if all their strength had been drained away.
With even Zhuge Liang dead, what hope is there for restoring the Han Dynasty?
Guan Xing said, "After the Prime Minister's death, Shu Han ceased its military campaigns and focused on recuperation, observing the changing fortunes of Wei and Wu."
Zhuge Liang asked again, "Then how did Sima Yi usurp the throne?"
Guan Xing said, "Of course you have to blame yourself, Prime Minister. Your continuous northern expeditions forced Cao Wei to send troops to defend. However, at that time, Cao Wei was also losing many veteran generals, and there were not many generals who could stand alone. The only one who could deal with you was Sima Yi. As a result, Sima Yi gained military power and gradually established his prestige in the process of guarding against you."
"However, the most fundamental reason is that Cao Pi and his son died too young. Cao Pi only reigned for less than six years and died while the emperor was still alive. When the prime minister launched his first northern expedition, Cao Pi had already been dead for almost two years."
"After Cao Pi's death, his son Cao Rui succeeded him. Cao Rui was also a wise ruler, with far superior political skills than his father. Even Cao Cao had to admit that he was an expert. During his reign, Cao Rui repeatedly withstood the Prime Minister's Northern Expeditions and the rebellion of Eastern Wu, suppressing Sima Yi to the point that he dared not utter a sound. However, he died younger than his father, at the age of thirty-six."
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang were speechless; they didn't know what to say.
Guan Xing continued, "More importantly, Cao Rui had no sons and no descendants. Before his death, he could only temporarily bring in Cao Zhang's grandson, Cao Fang, to succeed him, and appointed General Cao Shuang and Grand Commandant Sima Yi to assist in governing. At that time, Cao Fang was only eight years old and could not do anything. In addition, he was not Cao Rui's biological son, so his legitimacy was somewhat illegitimate. It would be a miracle if he could suppress the regents."
"After Cao Fang ascended the throne, the two regents, Cao Shuang and Sima Yi, began to fight amongst themselves. In the early stages, Cao Shuang suppressed Sima Yi, but Sima Yi was too cunning. On the surface, he pretended to be sick and admit defeat, but in secret, he had his son Sima Shi secretly raise three thousand elite soldiers. In the tenth year of Zhengshi, which is 249 AD, he launched a coup and seized control of Luoyang City while Cao Shuang was taking Emperor Cao Fang to visit the mausoleum of Gaoping.
"Although Luoyang was controlled by Sima Yi, the emperor was still in Cao Shuang's hands. If Cao Shuang had accepted Huan Fan's advice and taken the emperor to Xuchang to order reinforcements, the outcome would have been uncertain. However, Cao Shuang, that fool, actually surrendered. He surrendered after Sima Yi pointed to the Luo River and swore to treat him well. Then Sima Yi openly broke the oath made by the Luo River and killed Cao Shuang's entire family."
Upon hearing this, Liu Bei slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily, "Sima Yi is hateful! He has openly broken his oath and will drag the reputation of the entire Han Dynasty into the abyss. His crime will last for a thousand years and he deserves to be executed."
Guan Xing said, "Yes, Sima Yi died after the Gaopingling Incident, and his son Sima Shi succeeded him. Not long after, he deposed Cao Fang and installed Cao Mao, the grandson of Cao Pi, as emperor."
"How to describe Cao Mao? At the time, he was praised for his talent and martial prowess, saying that he was comparable to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was Cao Zhi's posthumous title, and Cao Zhi was the Prince of Chensi. Cao Cao was the Taizu."
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang all exclaimed in surprise, "His literary skills are superior to Cao Zhi's, and his martial skills are superior to Cao Cao's. This is too high an evaluation. He is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and in both areas he is at the top."
Guan Xing said, "If Cao Mao had been able to seize power, he would have become a wise ruler like Emperor Cao Rui of Wei. Unfortunately, power was in the hands of others and there was no way to reverse the situation. But as I just said, Cao Mao was as martial as Emperor Taizu, so he would not sit idly by and wait for death. Moreover, Sima Shi was a short-lived man who died without having any descendants. He died after suppressing the three rebellions in Huainan caused by the Gaopingling Incident. Furthermore, because his adopted son from his younger brother Sima Zhao was too young, he had no choice but to hand over power to his younger brother Sima Zhao."
"Sima Zhao was merely a mediocre talent, far inferior in ability to his father and brothers. Faced with Sima Zhao's relentless pressure, Cao Mao, shouting the bold words, 'Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone. I cannot sit idly by and suffer humiliation. Today, I will lead you all out to punish him!' He then led dozens of eunuchs and guards out of the palace and charged toward Sima Zhao's residence. Upon hearing this, all the officials in the capital were terrified and dared not step forward. Only a reckless man named Cheng Ji, incited by Jia Kui's son Jia Chong, not only led troops to block the way but also stabbed Cao Mao to death in front of all the officials in the city."
Liu Bei immediately flew into a rage, exclaiming incredulously, "What the hell? They killed the emperor, and in front of all the court officials and the entire city's inhabitants?"
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang all stared wide-eyed, their heads buzzing with disbelief, just like Liu Bei's.
Although they were dissatisfied with Cao Wei's usurpation of the Han throne, since the usurpation had already occurred and Shu Han's Northern Expedition had failed, the Cao family was now the legitimate emperors. No matter how unwilling they were to admit it, they had to grit their teeth and accept it.
But now what are you saying? That idiot, whose name is something, actually stabbed the emperor to death in front of everyone?
That's the emperor, you think he's just an ordinary person?
Even when Dong Zhuo committed such atrocities, he didn't dare to openly kill the emperor. Instead, he first deposed Emperor Liu Bian, demoted him to the Prince of Hongnong, and then secretly murdered him. This is the normal procedure for killing an emperor.
As a result, you, Sima Zhao, killed the emperor in the street. You did something that even Dong Zhuo dared not do. Are you looking for death?
Liu Bei asked through gritted teeth, "And then what?"
Guan Xing said, "In order to quell public anger, Sima Zhao exterminated Cheng Ji's entire clan and installed Cao Cao's grandson Cao Huan as emperor. Then he began his campaign against Shu."
Upon hearing about the campaign against Shu, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhuge Liang were filled with anxiety once again.
Guan Xing said, "After preparations were complete, Sima Zhao ordered Zhong Yao's son, Zhong Hui, to attack Shu. Jiang Wei led his army to fight to the death and successfully blocked Zhong Hui's army at Jiange. Originally, Sima Zhao did not intend to destroy Shu. He planned to take Hanzhong, gain some military merit to make up for the impact of killing Cao Mao, and then withdraw. However, he ended up with Deng Ai, a military genius but a political idiot."
"Deng Ai led a detachment to secretly cross Yinping and approach Jiangyou. The Jiangyou garrison commander surrendered directly. Upon learning the news, the imperial court immediately sent troops to resist. Zhuge Zhan, the son of the prime minister, led Zhang Zun, the grandson of his third uncle, Huang Chong, the son of Huang Quan, Li Qiu, the nephew of Li Hui, and others to Mianzhu to resist, but due to a flawed strategy, they all died in battle."
"After this battle, the gates to Chengdu were open to Deng Ai. In addition, the gentry of Yizhou had no will to fight and surrendered en masse. His Majesty, also known as A Dou, had no choice but to open the city gates and surrender in order to avoid the war in Bashu."
Liu Bei slammed his fist on the table again and said, "This rebellious son is truly useless. Wait a minute, Cao Wei has already had four or five emperors, and A Dou is still on the throne!"
How many years passed between my death in Baidi City and Zhong Hui's conquest of Shu?
Wait a minute, I've never heard of Zhong Yao having a son named Zhong Hui. Could it be that Zhong Hui hasn't been born yet?
In other words, Zhong Hui was born after his death, yet this child led troops to conquer Shu, while his rebellious son was still sitting on the throne.
This son is quite long-lived.
Guan Xing touched his nose and chuckled, "A Dou lived to the age of sixty-four. Even Sima Zhao didn't outlive him. This was after suffering the major blow of the fall of his country, and after constantly fighting wits and courage with Sima Zhao in Luoyang. If his country hadn't fallen, I would believe he lived to be eighty."
Liu Bei: "..."
Is A Dou in such good health?
Should I be happy or disappointed?
Guan Xing continued, "After His Majesty surrendered, Jiang Wei naturally surrendered as well. But before surrendering, he secretly wrote a letter to His Majesty, in which he wished His Majesty to endure a few days of humiliation, as he wished to restore the state from peril and restore the sun and moon from darkness. He then instigated Zhong Hui to betray Cao Wei and prepare to reclaim Ba and Shu and rebuild the Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, Zhong Hui did not heed Jiang Wei's good advice, which led to the failure of the plan, and he was killed along with Jiang Wei."
"After the Prime Minister's death, Jiang Wei inherited his will and launched nine campaigns against the Central Plains. After His Majesty surrendered, Jiang Wei risked his reputation by plotting to kill three virtuous men, including Zhong Hui, Deng Ai, and himself. If it weren't for Huan Wen, who, more than a hundred years later, accidentally found Jiang Wei's letter to His Majesty while campaigning against Ba and Shu, Jiang Wei would probably have been forever nailed to the pillar of historical shame for his infamy of surrendering and then rebelling."
"Therefore, other dynasties all marked their demise with the abdication or assassination of the emperor, but Shu Han was unique in that it marked its demise with the death of Jiang Wei. When Jiang Wei died, Shu Han also perished."