Chapter 186 Cao Pi’s ambition to become emperor
In his heart, Cao Pi was resentful of Cao Cao's injustice to him in the past, because according to the ancient etiquette system, the establishment of an heir means that there is a direct descendant, and there is no direct descendant.
Since Cao Cao's original wife, Mrs. Ding, reconciled with Cao Cao, Mrs. Bian was supported by Cao Cao as his first wife.
In this case, Cao Pi himself was the de facto eldest son of Cao Cao.
However, Cao Cao did not make him his heir because of his status as the direct eldest son. Instead, he hesitated for a long time and had the idea of making Cao Chong and Cao Zhi his heir.
Let’s not talk about Cao Pi’s own ambition to become Cao Cao’s successor. If his younger brother is allowed to ascend the throne, will he let his eldest brother go when his younger brother succeeds to the throne in the future?
Cao Pi didn't think he could use himself to save others.
Therefore, in order to seize Cao Cao's successor position and save his own life, Cao Pi could only fall into an endless battle for the right to inherit.
In that battle for the heir, because of Cao Cao's intentional favoritism, even though his own ability was not bad, the hardships and dangers inside made him physically and mentally exhausted.
Although he won in the end, it also consumed him so much that his gray hair appeared early.
Perhaps Cao Cao believed in the law of heir selection that respected the strong, but this law made Cao Pi full of resentment towards Cao Cao.
After expressing the confusion and resentment that he had not dared to express in his heart before, Cao Pi finally felt happy for a moment.
But just after he felt happy, the sadness in his heart began to take over.
No matter what, Cao Cao was his father, and Cao Pi was not a piece of stone. His father's departure filled his heart with sorrow.
Starting today, he became the King of Wei with huge power, but since then he has also lost his father who has always protected him from wind and rain.
It's just that Cao Pi was an ambitious man. No matter whether he was resentful or sad tonight, he was also full of expectations for his future.
He is only thirty-four years old this year, the youngest among the three great princes in the world today. He also has millions of soldiers and countless famous ministers and generals left to him by Cao Cao.
Destiny must be his in the end!
Cao Pi knelt in front of Cao Cao's memorial tablet and continued: "Since my father thinks that I am not as good as my eldest brother and Cang Shu, my son must make some achievements."
"A son must prove to his father and the world that my father's choice of me was the most correct choice!"
When Cao Pi said this, the confusion and sadness in his tone had all dissipated, and his tone at this moment was full of complacency.
Cao Pi raised his head and looked at the memorial tablet of Cao Cao in front of him. Under the flickering candlelight in the main hall, Cao Pi's originally miserable face had a look of determination.
Then Cao Pi stood up and offered a stick of incense to his father.
The incense was lit, and a misty smoke began to rise from in front of Cao Pi. Looking at the gradually rising smoke, Cao Pi thought about what he would do after he succeeded to the throne.
The top priority is to stabilize people's hearts and smoothly inherit Cao Cao's ownership position during his lifetime.
But this point, with all the Cao Cao, the Xiahou clan, and the many talents left by Cao Cao, it is not difficult.
The question is, what should he do next?
While Cao Pi was thinking, the voice of a waiter outside the palace came, saying that it was the bastard Sima Yi who wanted to see him.
After hearing Sima Yi's request for an audience, Cao Pi's face showed joy, and he immediately ordered Sima Yi to come in.
As the tall palace door was slowly pushed open, Sima Yi's figure in plain clothes appeared outside the hall.
At this time, the palace door has not yet been closed. Under the outside moonlight, Sima Yi standing at the door of the palace seems to be in the boundary between light and darkness, and his face is blurred.
Under the illumination of the moonlight, his shadow stretched far and wide on the floor of the temple.
Cao Pi did not notice this somewhat strange scene. As the palace door closed again, most of Sima Yi's figure standing at the door was hidden in the darkness.
The sound of the palace door opening made Cao Pi look towards the palace door. When he looked, he could only vaguely see a figure in the darkness.
He knew that the man was his confidant Sima Yi, and Cao Pi waved Sima Yi to come forward.
At Cao Pi's call, Sima Yi respectfully came to Cao Cao's tomb. After performing a great ceremony at Cao Cao's tomb, he saluted to Cao Pi.
Sima Yi's face of knowing etiquette and observing etiquette fell into Cao Pi's eyes, which made him extremely satisfied.
He likes ministers who are respectful and polite.
Looking at Sima Yi's face, Cao Pi couldn't help but recall what Cao Cao had warned him: "Sima Yi is not a human minister, so he will interfere with your family affairs."
At that time, Cao Cao saw that Sima Yi looked like a hawk and looked at the wolf, and he had a dream about three horses in the same trough, so he felt disgusted with Sima Yi and said this to him.
However, after Cao Pi heard what Cao Cao warned him, because he had always been friendly with Sima Yi and believed in his character, he often defended him in front of Cao Cao.
Without Cao Pi's protection, Sima Yi might not be able to survive until now.
How could such a respectful minister interfere in my family affairs in the future? My father is really too worried.
As for the reason why Cao Pi firmly defended Sima Yi, it was not only because he had a friendly relationship with Sima Yi, but also because Sima Yi was his confidant and advisor.
During the battle to seize the throne, four ministers were his staunch supporters. These four ministers were Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, and Zhu Shuo.
These four ministers gave him great help in the original battle for the heir. Without the help of these four people, he might not have sat on the throne of Wei Crown Prince.
Among the four ministers, apart from Wu Zhi, it was Sima Yi who helped him the most.
Although Cao Pi was not generous, he was always grateful to those who helped him.
After Cao Pi paid homage to Sima Yi, he led Sima Yi to the inner hall.
This main hall was originally Cao Cao's office and residence, so the layout of this main hall is very broad. Even in the inner hall, there is no less space than the outer hall.
After arriving in the inner hall, Cao Pi sat down on the throne, and then he asked Sima Yi to sit not far in front of him.
After Sima Yi sat down, Cao Pi asked Sima Yi: "Zhongda came to look for an orphan late at night. Does he have anything important to do?"
Facing Cao Pi's question, Sima Yi cupped his hands and replied: "I am here to relieve the king's worries."
Hearing what Sima Yi said, Cao Pi had a look of surprise on his face, and he asked Sima Yi: "What are you worried about?"
"The king is a man with great ambitions, and what he is worried about is of course the peace of the world."
Sima Yi's answer made the look of surprise on Cao Pi's face disappear, replaced by a look of sigh.
He praised Sima Yi: "Zhongda really knows Gu's heart."
Cao Pi's praise made Sima Yi look even more humble.
When Cao Cao was alive, in order not to reveal his intelligence too much, he did not talk about many things even if he knew how to solve them.
But now that Cao Cao is gone, he no longer needs to hide his intelligence.
Having been with Cao Pi for many years, he already had a thorough understanding of Cao Pi's character.
Although Cao Pi had the suspicion inherited from Cao Cao, most of it was towards those who had been against him.
As for those who have always supported him, Cao Pi has never been stingy about his trust.
Compared with Cao Cao's heroic guessing, Cao Pi lacked a lot of sharpness.
Since Sima Yi chose to become an official in the first place, he naturally wanted to achieve great achievements. His restraint in the past was for his future success.
As long as he can continue to show his abilities and let Cao Pi truly realize that he is the one who can assist him in pacifying the world, then his status and official position will surely rise.
Of course, it cannot be said that Sima Yi has other thoughts now. At present, he is still in the mindset of wanting to assist Mingjun in establishing some achievements.
Seeing that Sima Yi could guess his inner ambition at a glance, Cao Pi had a smile on his face.
In the question that Cao Cao asked him before his death today, if he answered according to his true thoughts, he would definitely answer: choose the weak and destroy them.
Even before he inherited the throne, he had a heart to bring peace to the world, let alone now.
Cao Pi looked at Sima Yi and asked, "What do you think Zhongda should do next?"
Cao Pi and Sima Yi have been good friends for many years, and they have experienced adversity together.
Therefore, Cao Pi still trusted Sima Yi, and there was no need for him to hide his thoughts in front of his confidants.
Facing Cao Pi's inquiry, Sima Yi already had something in mind.
He said to Cao Pi: "I think that after the situation is stabilized, the king should ask the emperor to change his position."
Cao Pi couldn't help but be a little puzzled when he heard Sima Yi suggesting that the first thing he should do after stabilizing the situation was this.
"Why?"
The current era name of the Han Dynasty is Jian'an, which has been used for twenty-five years.
People all over the world were already accustomed to the reign name of Jian'an. Sima Yi suddenly suggested that he change the reign name, which made Cao Pi confused for a while.
Under Cao Pi's doubtful gaze, Sima Yi said: "The Jian'an reign began in the year when the late king welcomed the emperor. The Jian'an reign has lasted for twenty-five years. These twenty-five years have been the stage for the late king to assist the government and expand his business.
."
"Because of this, whenever people mention the Jian'an reign, they will think of the late king."
"To inherit the great cause of our great king, we first need the prestige of the late king to protect us, but we cannot live under the protection of the late king for a long time."
“From ancient times to the present, whenever a new king succeeds to the throne, the Yuan Dynasty must be changed to show that the world is about to usher in a new atmosphere.
The reign name not only symbolizes reform and innovation, but also often represents the political needs of the new king."
"Although the king is not the emperor today, he can still show the world the fact that the king passed away and the king succeeded to the throne by petitioning the emperor to change his reign. In this way, he can subtly influence the people of the world."
"Moreover, the matter of changing the Yuan Dynasty is a big deal. The Jian'an reign name has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Once the Yuan is changed, it is inevitable that some senior officials of the Han Dynasty will come out to oppose it."
"Everyone knows that changing the Yuan Dynasty is the king's intention, so those old officials of the Han Dynasty who came out to oppose it are the ones who are dissatisfied with the king.
At that time, the king can punish them, firstly, to establish prestige, secondly, to eliminate hidden dangers, and thirdly, to continue to weaken the power of the ministers who support the Han Dynasty."
After Sima Yi finished speaking, Cao Pi already had a look of excitement on his face.
When he was dealing with the "Wei Zhi conspiracy case" last year, the main reason why thousands of people were arrested was that he was using that conspiracy case to eliminate the power of those who supported the Han Dynasty.
Under his purge, the forces supporting the Han Dynasty inside and outside Yecheng have suffered heavy losses and are no longer a cause for concern.
However, Yecheng has almost been cleaned up. As Xudu, the base camp for supporting the Han Dynasty, there are still some "supporting Han faction" left.
For the ambition in his heart, Cao Pi felt that Sima Yi's suggestion was very feasible.
Sima Yi's first suggestion had already moved Cao Pi, which made Cao Pi have greater expectations for Sima Yi's arrival tonight.
Cao Pi said to Sima Yi: "Does Zhongda have any good ideas?"
Sima Yi looked at the expression on Cao Pi's face. He knew that his suggestion had already won Cao Pi's approval. Under such circumstances, of course he had to continue to make suggestions.
And his next suggestion will definitely make Cao Pi even more tempted.
Sima Yi said to Cao Pi: "Does your Majesty have any intention of proclaiming himself emperor?"
Since there were only two people in the inner hall, Sima Yi's voice was not loud.
But when his voice reached Cao Pi's ears, it made Wei King Cao Pi's body tremble a little.
It was as if he heard the most beautiful music in the world.
After hearing Sima Yi's words, Cao Pi immediately said to Sima Yi: "Zhongda be careful what you say!"
It's just that although Cao Pi asked Sima Yi to be careful what he said, judging from the excitement on his face, he wanted Sima Yi to continue talking.
The Supreme of Kyushu, the Son of Heaven, from whom the Conquest of Ritual Music came. Faced with such titles, how could Cao Pi not be tempted?
At the end, he saw that there was no one around, and Sima Yi was his confidant, so he said to Sima Yi: "Proclaiming yourself emperor is a huge matter and cannot be done rashly."
Cao Pi's answer proved that he definitely had the intention of becoming emperor in his heart.
In fact, not only Cao Pi, but also Cao Cao had similar thoughts when he was alive.
Historically, after Cao Cao and Sun Quan joined forces to defeat Guan Yu, Sun Quan proclaimed himself a vassal to Cao Cao. Chen Qun and Huan Jie took advantage of this opportunity to write letters requesting Cao Cao to proclaim himself emperor.
Although Cao Cao finally rejected the proposal and said the widely circulated saying, "If fate were to be with me, I would be King Wen of Zhou."
But if Cao Cao really had no intention of proclaiming himself emperor, why would he say such a thing?
If they were really loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, shouldn't Chen Qun and Huan Jie be imprisoned?
And the most important thing is that at that time, Chen Qun and Huan Jie, as famous people in the world, used a public letter to persuade Cao Cao to proclaim himself emperor.
This is enough to show that at that time, there had long been suggestions within the Wei State to persuade Cao Cao to proclaim himself emperor, and Cao Cao maintained an ambiguous attitude toward these remarks.
Otherwise, both in public and private matters, Chen Qun and Huan Jie would not have dared to take the lead in publicly writing to Cao Cao to persuade him to proclaim himself emperor, at the risk of ruining their family's reputation.
Although due to changes in contemporary history, Cao Cao's famous saying has not had the opportunity to be uttered.
However, the internal talk of Cao Cao proclaiming himself emperor has been circulating for a long time in Wei State, and this has not changed.
Cao Pi also knew about this, and because of his knowledge, he did not dare to act rashly.
But since Sima Yi dared to take the initiative to propose this suggestion, he must be sure of convincing Cao Pi.
good night everybody.
Is there anyone out there who can make a map of the current power? I tried to make one, but it doesn’t look good.
Can anyone help me?
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!