Chapter 185 Wei Guozhu Stone's Grievance Before the Soul
In front of Cao Cao's coffin, the crown prince of Wei, Cao Pi, fell to the ground and cried bitterly.
Seeing Cao Pi's grief-stricken appearance, all the ministers in the palace were moved by Cao Pi's filial piety.
At this time, Jia Kui, an admonishing official who was also the minister in charge of mourning, walked up to Cao Pi and said to Cao Pi: "The death of the late king is a tragedy for the people of Wei."
"The prince is shouldering the important responsibilities of the country, and the king has just passed away. People's hearts are bound to be shaken."
"The prince should temporarily put aside his grief, take over the important task of governing the country, and appease people's hearts. Only then will the king have a spirit in heaven, and he will no longer be hindered by anything."
But in the face of Jia Kui's advice, Cao Pi still looked sad and helpless.
Although Jia Kui could understand Cao Pi's sadness when his father passed away suddenly, this was not the time to just cry.
Jia Kui took advantage of his status as a mourning minister to take the royal seal of the King of Wei, and then he came to Cao Pi holding the royal seal of the King of Wei.
The King of Wei's seal represents the power and identity of the King of Wei. Before and after coming to Cao Pi, Jia Kui personally handed the seal of the King of Wei into his hands.
Then Jia Kui helped Cao Pi up and asked him to face the crying ministers in the palace.
Jia Kui couldn't bear the sadness in his heart. He supported Cao Pi and said to the ministers: "Unfortunately, the late king passed away, but the prince is here. The state has the deputy crown prince. According to the etiquette system, when the late king dies, the prince should succeed him. The princes have not come yet."
Meet the new king."
After speaking, Jia Kui took the lead in kneeling down to worship Cao Pi.
Jia Kui has always been very prestigious in the Wei state, and he was also the minister personally appointed by Cao Cao to preside over the funeral before his death.
Therefore, under his leadership, all the ministers in the palace and Cao Cao's family members and heirs knelt down to Cao Pi and paid homage to the emperor.
"I will pay my respects to the new king."
Amid waves of kneeling, Cao Piling, the crown prince of Wei State, succeeded to the throne and officially became the new king of Wei State.
Cao Pi looked at the hundreds of ministers who were kneeling before him and saw them bowing at his feet. While he was sad in his heart, he also felt a sense of excitement in taking charge of power.
Is this what supreme power feels like?
Cao Pi had been the prince of Wei for many years, so it was not that he had never held power.
In last year's "Wei Xi Conspiracy Case", Cao Pi, who was responsible for staying in Yecheng, used his power to launch a large-scale purge of Yecheng, involving thousands of people.
It's just that he was the prince of Wei before, and the power in his hands came from Cao Cao, which was not stable and very limited.
But from today on, he has become the new King of Wei and the de facto master of the six states in the world.
From then on, every word he said was a royal order that tens of millions of living beings must abide by.
Everything he does will have a huge impact on the vast land of China.
This kind of unbridled and supreme power filled Cao Pi's heart with excitement and expectation for the future.
It's just that Cao Pi was very scheming. He knew that now was not the time to exercise his power as King of Wei at will. His position as King of Wei was not yet stable.
Immediately after the ministers paid homage to the new king of Wei, Cao Pi, a minister came out to admonish Cao Pi:
"Nowadays, Liu Bei and Sun Quan are watching us externally, and there are people with ulterior motives inside who are ready to take action, and the late king passed away suddenly.
I think it is better to conceal the news of the death of the late king for the time being, and not announce the funeral secretly, until the situation is stabilized, and then announce the news of the death of the late king."
The people who came to pay homage and give advice were Chen Qun and Chen Changwen, who were then ministers of the state of Wei.
Chen Qun was a native of Xuchang County, Yingchuan County. He was the grandson of Chen Shi, the chief of Taiqiu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the son of Chen Ji of Dahonglu.
Chen Qun was born in the Chen family of Yingchuan, a well-known family. In his early years, he was appointed as a special agent in Yuzhou by Liu Bei.
When Cao Cao took control of Xuzhou, he was appointed as Sikong Xi Cao's vassal, and later transferred to participate in the military affairs of the prime minister.
When Cao Cao granted the title of Duke of Wei, he served as the censor Zhongcheng of the Wei state, and was granted the title of Marquis of Changwuting, and later he was transferred to the title of Shizhong.
Chen Qun had outstanding political talents. Cao Cao thought highly of him when he was still alive, and Chen Qun has always been loyal and dedicated to his duties.
He has held various political positions at home and abroad and has rich experience in government affairs. He has made outstanding contributions to the construction of Wei's ritual system and political system.
The most important thing is that he is one of Cao Pi's "Four Friends of the Prince", a standard princeling and a confidant of Cao Pi.
After Chen Qun came forward to make suggestions, many ministers supported him because of his prestige among the Wei people and the merits of his suggestions.
Cao Pi, who had just succeeded as King of Wei, had a look of approval on his face after hearing Chen Qun's suggestions.
However, Chen Qun's suggestion was opposed by Jia Kui.
Jia Kui said to Cao Pi: "It has been said since ancient times that if the name is not correct, the words will not be correct."
"Now that the king has passed away, it is reasonable and legal for the king to succeed to the throne as the prince. What is there to hide?"
"Besides, there are so many ministers in the hall today, how can we keep the mourning secret and not announce it?"
"The king's top priority is to send the news of the late king's death to the Emperor of Xudu, so that the emperor can formally enthrone the king to succeed the king of Wei and the position of prime minister."
"The second is to send envoys everywhere to announce the death of the late king and the news of the king's succession, so that officials from all over the country can come to the funeral and pay homage to the new king."
It stands to reason that this is the most important part of the transfer of power in the past dynasties.
Although Cao Cao was the de facto master of the six states in the world, he was still nominally the King of Wei and Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, when Cao Pi succeeded the throne of Wei, he had to obtain the imperial edict from the Emperor of Han in terms of procedure and name.
Furthermore, the news of Cao Cao's death cannot be concealed. Once spread, it will inevitably cause panic among people.
To ignore the secrets at this time and not to announce the mourning is simply to hide one's ears and steal the news, which may lead to greater turmoil.
Cao Pi's previous identity as the Crown Prince of Wei has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and people all over the world are ready for Cao Pi to inherit the throne one day.
In this case, it would be better to directly announce the news of Cao Cao's death, and let officials from all over the country except the leading generals come to attend the funeral and formally determine the title of the leader. This is the best way to appease people's hearts.
Chen Qun and Jia Kui's completely different suggestions made Cao Pi, who had just become the king of Wei, hesitant.
Both of them made sense. Although Cao Pi was more emotionally biased towards Chen Qun, Jia Kui was the mourning minister personally designated by Cao Cao, so his words could not be ignored by Cao Pi.
After careful consideration, Cao Pi finally decided to adopt Jia Kui's advice.
Perhaps now his identity is only recognized by the ministers in Ye City.
But Yecheng is the center of power of the Wei State, and the ministers in Yecheng are all senior officials of the Wei State.
Once they admit their identity, everyone under Cao Cao's rule will naturally recognize his identity soon.
The most important thing is that most of the leading generals in various places at this time are Cao Cao and Xiahou clan members, and they must support him.
With their support and suppression, no major turmoil will occur in various places due to the death of the late king.
Cao Pi was able to be established as the crown prince by Cao Cao. Maybe his strategic vision was not as outstanding as Cao Cao's, but his own intelligence was not bad.
After making a decision in his heart, Cao Pi said to Jia Kui: "Jia Qing was entrusted with the important task of mourning by the late king. Now that the late king has passed away, he is so sad that he cannot restrain himself, and he is afraid that he will not be able to see things in a short time.
During this period of time, I also hope that Jia Qing will take charge of internal and external affairs and stabilize the state of Wei."
After Cao Pi gave the order, Jia Kui immediately knelt down to Cao Pi and said, "I will fight to the death to stabilize the state of Wei."
After kneeling down to worship Cao Pi, Jia Kui stood up and looked at the ministers in the hall, and issued orders one after another.
Jia Kui first ordered Xu Chu, the general of the military guard, to lead the imperial army to guard the entire palace, hoping to ensure the safety of everyone in the palace during Cao Cao's funeral.
Jia Kui then ordered Cao Xiu, the commander of the central army, to take command of part of the central army in Ye City and distribute heavy troops to guard the gates of Ye City.
He also asked him to send Chinese troops to patrol the alleys of the city in Ye to prevent minor disturbances during the funeral.
Jia Kui was originally the minister appointed by Cao Cao to preside over the funeral before his death, and had the power to preside over everything during Cao Cao's funeral.
Now Jia Kui was officially appointed by the new king Cao Pi, so after his order was issued, Xu Chu and Cao Xiu wiped the tears from their faces, immediately got up and arranged defense according to Jia Kui's instructions.
Not long after Xu Chu and Cao Xiu left, there was suddenly a sound of clashing armors of soldiers running outside the hall.
The windows of the main hall also reflected the figures of many majestic warriors.
When the ministers in the main hall saw this scene, their hearts trembled.
Although the previous king passed away, Wei still has its pillars.
After Xu Chu and Cao Xiu took the order and left, Jia Kui turned around and bowed to Cao Pi: "The late king had great prestige in the army. Once the news of the late king's death spreads, the army in Yecheng will inevitably be restless."
"I also ask the king to lead hundreds of officials and ministers to ride in the king's car and lead the imperial army to inspect the camps and stabilize the morale of the army."
Jia Kui knew very well that Yecheng was the center of power of the Wei State. As long as Yecheng was not in chaos, documents sent from Yecheng to various places would not be blocked.
Under such circumstances, even if all parts of the world knew the news of Cao Cao's death, it would not cause major turmoil.
When people's hearts are in a state of flux, the most fearful thing is to have bad government orders.
If you want to ensure that Yecheng is not in chaos, you must ensure that the army in Yecheng is not in chaos.
Those armies are the elite of Wei State. As long as they can obey the new king Cao Pi, then Cao Pi's position in the palace of Yecheng will be secure.
Although Jia Kui's suggestion made Cao Pi a little hesitant, he finally agreed: "Yes."
After getting Cao Pi's permission, Jia Kui was overjoyed. The new king may not have the literary skills and military strategy of the previous king, but his decisiveness still has the style of the previous king.
Jia Kui immediately ordered people to bring mourning clothes for Cao Pi to put on, and then he ordered all the ministers in the hall to put on mourning clothes.
Because Cao Cao had previously felt that his time was short, he had ordered people to prepare mourning clothes and other utensils.
After completing this step, Jia Kui asked his deputy Sima Yi to stay in the main hall and be responsible for arranging the mourning hall and arranging all matters related to the appearance of the deceased king's body.
Facing Jia Kui's instructions, Sima Yi bowed down and accepted the order.
Jia Kui himself accompanied Cao Pi and led the civil and military officials towards the outside of the hall.
Under the steps outside the main hall, parked is the six-horse golden root chariot that Cao Cao rode in when he was still alive.
Seeing the king's carriage that represented royal power, a trace of desire flashed in Cao Pi's eyes.
But in front of the officials, he concealed it very well.
When Cao Pi and the civil and military officials descended the steps and came to the six-horse golden root chariot, Jia Kui personally helped Cao Pi onto the six-horse golden root chariot.
Then he ordered all the civil and military officials to follow Wang Jia and march toward the military camp in the city.
When the charioteer on the king's chariot waved his whip and whipped it on the six horses in front of him, perhaps the horses were psychic. They seemed to feel that what they were carrying today was no longer the scornful King of Wei before.
.
So they let out a mournful cry one after another, and then moved towards the palace gate with their horse hooves.
Yecheng is the capital of the Wei Kingdom. If you want to impose martial law on such a royal capital filled with noble families, you can't do it without a suitable reason.
Cao Xiu followed Jia Kui's instructions and did not conceal the news of Cao Cao's death and Cao Pi's succession. He also used this reason to impose martial law on Yecheng.
When the news of Cao Cao's death gradually spread to the military camp, because most of the sergeants in Yecheng were hard at work, without the suppression of Cao Cao's prestige, some small-scale riots began to spread in the military camp.
At this moment, a majestic six-horse king's chariot began to drive into the military camp. The king's chariot was guarded by hundreds of ministers and thousands of tiger and leopard cavalry.
When the soldiers in the military camp saw the familiar king arriving, representing the majesty of King Wei, their uneasiness gradually calmed down.
Although Cao Cao died, his power was still there, and Cao Pi stayed in Yecheng for many years, so he also had prestige in Yecheng.
Maybe the lower-level soldiers would be uneasy, but most of the generals in Yecheng's army were close confidants left by Cao Cao.
Under the prestige of the King of Wei and the suppression of military officers at all levels, those small-scale turmoils were quelled in time and did not trigger large-scale turmoil in the end.
After Cao Cao's body was sorted, it was placed in the coffin.
Cao Cao's coffin was hidden in the depths of the hall, covered by numerous spiritual curtains.
The incense left by Cao Cao during his lifetime is burning in the incense burner in the main hall, emitting fragrance.
In the huge hall, many spiritual candles were burning slowly, bringing a small amount of light into the dark hall.
It was late at night, and in the dark and deep hall, Cao Pi was kneeling in front of Cao Cao's memorial tablet in mourning clothes.
After Cao Pi came back from the military camp, he came to the main hall.
He dismissed all the guards in the hall, and he had some private words that he wanted to tell his dead father.
"Father, I still remember that when I was a child, I followed your teachings and learned extensively. I read poems and essays at a very young age.
At that time, you personally taught me how to learn archery. Under your guidance, I could shoot archery at the age of six, ride a horse at the age of eight, and follow you in battles at the age of ten."
"Although you were very strict at that time and focused on your eldest brother, I was very happy during that time.
Because whenever I achieve something in my studies, you always touch my head and praise me."
"But it changed later. After my eldest brother died in Wancheng, you no longer praised me and became more and more harsh on me.
Could it be that my father thought that I should be the one who died in Wancheng, not my eldest brother?"
"In order to attract your attention, I have constantly improved myself, but for more than 20 years, I have never received the praise I have wanted."
"When the eldest brother was here, your eyes were all on him. After the eldest brother died, there was Cang Shu again.
Cang Shu is dead, and you place all your hopes on Zijian.
Am I really that bad that I can't get your approval?"
At the end, Cao Pi's words were full of confusion and sadness.
In the moments before Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi was hiding his true self.
After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi dared to truly express his thoughts.
In Cao Pi's heart, it was not that he did not respect and love his father.
Cao Cao has always been like the pine trees on the high mountains, the one he has been chasing all his life.
But later, under Cao Cao's deliberate suppression, his respect and love for Cao Cao turned into fear.
But what Cao Pi didn't know was that at the moment before Cao Cao died, he imagined that he would reach out and touch his head like he did when he was a child.
But it is a pity that an action he has been pursuing for more than 20 years was finally destroyed by his fear.
The father does not know the son, and the son does not know the father. Whose fault is it?
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!