Chapter 211 Hidden dangers breed, Boren’s ambition
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the first year of Yankang in the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiechan, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, came to Cao Pi, the king of Wei.
King Cao Pi of Wei ascended the Zen altar at Fanyang Pavilion and accepted the jade seal, which marked him as emperor.
After the abdication ceremony, Cao Pi immediately led his army and hundreds of civil and military officials into Xudu.
In the palace of Xudu, Cao Pi issued an edict to the Three Dukes in front of hundreds of civil and military officials:
“Since the beginning of ancient times, there was a king, who would be benevolent and graceful, but the people would obey the teachings and use punishment to build houses.
Today, in line with the emperor's wishes, I regard the first year of Yankang as the first year of Huangchu, and propose to correct the Shuo, change the color of clothes, use different emblems, measure the same rules, inherit the soil, and grant amnesty to the world.
All wrongdoings from death to death will be forgiven."
This was the first edict issued by Cao Pi after he ascended the throne and became the emperor. The three princes of the Wei Dynasty who inherited Cao Pi's edict were Situ Huaxin, Sikong Wanglang, and Taiwei Jia Xu.
Because when Wei was still a kingdom, all official positions in the kingdom were modeled on those of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, after Cao Pi ascended the throne, he directly skipped the step of adding officials and nobles to the imperial confederation.
After issuing this edict, Cao Pi issued three more edicts in succession.
One of the edicts was to honor the imperial ancestor Cao Song, Taiwang Taizu, as Taihuang Emperor, and to test the martial king Cao Cao as Wu Emperor, with the temple name Taizu.
Another edict was to consecrate Liu Xie as Duke of Shanyang to ten thousand households in Shanyang County, Hanoi County.
Cao Pi allowed him to worship Han Zhengshuo in his fiefdom and build a Han ancestral temple to worship Han Dynasty.
Moreover, Duke Shanyang was above all the princes and kings, so Liu Xie did not have to be a minister when reporting to the emperor, and he did not have to do so when accepting the emperor's edict.
At this time, Liu Xie had returned from Gaomiao. After performing sacrifices at Gaomiao, Liu Xie had officially lost his status as emperor and was standing among the ministers of the Wei Dynasty as a minister.
Listening to Cao Pi's reward to him, no matter what Liu Xie thought in his heart, he finally showed fear on his face and accepted the "gift" from Cao Pi, the emperor of Cao Wei.
Cao Pi was sitting in Liu Xie's exclusive seat in the past. Looking at Liu Xie, the previously aloof Han Emperor, who was fearfully and respectfully accepting his reward, Cao Pi felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction in his heart.
In this mood, Cao Pi said politely to Liu Xie in the main hall: "You and I can enjoy the good things in the world together."
As soon as Cao Pi said these words, Liu Xie didn't take them seriously at all.
Now he just wants to go to Shanyang County to take care of his old age as soon as possible, and no longer wants to pay attention to any disturbances in the world.
After Cao Pi said these words to Liu Xie, he issued the last edict of the day.
Cao Pi changed Luoyang to Luoyang and officially announced in front of the officials that the Cao Wei court had moved its capital to Luoyang.
After Cao Pi's edict was issued, all the civil and military officials in the hall paid their respects to Cao Pi.
Then, under the auspices of the Three Dukes of the Wei Dynasty, they left the main hall one after another and went to arrange the relocation of the capital and announce today's abdication of the Han Emperor to the world.
When the ministers left one after another, Cao Pi ordered four ministers to stay. These four ministers were Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, and Zhu Shuo.
When Cao Pi was still the prince, these four ministers were collectively called Cao Pi's "four friends of the prince".
They played a large role in Cao Pi's battle for the throne. They were Cao Pi's confidants and confidants.
With only these four ministers left in the hall, Cao Pi no longer had to hide his true feelings.
Cao Pi looked at the four old friends standing in the hall and said: "I know today about the affairs of Shun and Yu."
There was unconcealable joy in Cao Pi's words and tone.
After hearing Cao Pi's words, the four ministers in the main hall also showed joy on their faces.
As the saying goes, climb the dragon and attach the phoenix.
The four of them followed Cao Pi in the first place because they saw Cao Pi's potential and wanted to help Cao Pi ascend to the top of the world. They would also become extremely popular ministers because of their efforts in supporting Cao Pi.
Cao Pi's success today is inseparable from the four of them who served as prime ministers at the time. Similarly, after Cao Pi became emperor, the four of them were equally honored by Cao Pi's glory.
Now that Cao Pi has become the emperor according to their vision, the day when the four of them will become prosperous is not far away.
But among the four ministers, only Sima Yi remained rational despite the joy.
Sima Yi bowed to Cao Pi on the throne and said:
"Your Majesty, soon the news of your Majesty's acceptance of Zen and his enthronement will spread throughout the world.
At this time, Your Majesty should strengthen the military defense on all borders to prevent Liu Bei and Sun Quan from moving in the south."
Sima Yi's advice made Cao Pi wake up from his joy.
Yes, the South still has two serious problems that he has not eliminated.
Although Sun Quan has nothing to worry about for the time being, Liu Bei, the most powerful man in the south, should take more precautions.
Cao Pi looked at Sima Yi and asked Sima Yi: "What do you suggest Zhongda?"
Under Cao Pi's inquiry, Sima Yi replied: "Today, the matter of accepting Zen has been completed, and your Majesty will move the capital to Luoyang in the near future. At this time, your Majesty should send General Zhenxi to Guanzhong as soon as possible to supervise the military affairs of Yong and Liang."
"Most of Liu Bei's elites live in Shu. If they want to invade, Yong and Liang are the most important places."
"If Yongliang is not stable, Guanzhong will be uneasy. If Guanzhong is uneasy, Luoyang will be in danger.
At this time, General Zhenxi, Commander-in-Chief of Yongliang, has urgent matters regarding the military affairs of Yongliang."
After listening to Sima Yi's advice, Cao Pi was convinced.
Originally, it was an expedient measure for him to keep Cao Zhen by his side.
Now that the Zen ceremony has been successfully completed and internal worries have been relieved, he will now have to consider external worries.
It's just that Cao Zhen is not only the general of Zhenxi, but also the leader of the central army. If Cao Zhen goes to Yongliang to take up his post, someone will take over as the leader of the central army.
But after a while, Cao Pi came up with a candidate to lead the army.
Cao Pi looked at Zhu Shuo in the main hall and said to him: "After Zidan goes to Yongliang, Qing will take over the position of leading the army."
When Cao Pi's appointment was announced, Chen Qun, Wu Zhi, and Sima Yi were all shocked.
Even Zhu Shuo himself had a huge look of joy on his face.
Zhu Shuo was a native of Pei State. He became a member of Cao Pi's staff in the late Jian'an period and became one of Cao Pi's important think tanks.
However, although Zhu Shuo was very resourceful, he was impatient, so his reputation among his colleagues was not good.
The impatient Zhu Shuo hurriedly bowed to Cao Pi and thanked him, as if he was afraid that Cao Pi would regret it.
Why was Zhu Shuo so surprised, and why were Sima Yi and the other three so surprised when they heard that Zhu Shuo had assumed the position of leader?
This is because of the special nature of the position of leader.
The position of leader was first created by Cao Cao.
When Cao Cao was Prime Minister, in the twelfth year of Jian'an, he set up a central military commander in his Prime Minister's Mansion, headed by his trusted general Shi Huan, to command the personal guards and the imperial army.
Later, Cao Cao set up the post of Central Guards, which was held by Han Hao, who shared the duties of the Imperial Guards with the Central Guards.
The central leader is like a senior general, who can open a mansion and have a chief historian and a commander under him.
With the passage of time, the responsibilities of the central commander have become more and more important, including the power to preside over the selection of military attaches and supervise and control military generals.
Up to now, the Central Leading Army has developed into a direct battalion, responsible for commanding the Central Guards, the five captains, and the supreme commander of the Wuwei, Zhonglian, Xiaoqi, Zhonglian, guerrilla and other forbidden forces.
For example, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are under the control of the Central Leading Army.
While the power of the Central Leader continued to grow, Cao Cao was worried about this, so later the position of Central Leader was mostly held by close relatives of the clan.
But now Cao Pi chose to hand over such an important position to Zhu Shuo.
And the most important thing is that Cao Pi broke the unspoken rule that the position of central leader was mostly held by clan members and gave this position to Zhu Shuo, who was born in a noble family!
This kind of political signal is really intriguing.
It is impossible for Cao Pi not to know the importance of the position of the central leader, and it is also impossible for him not to know that Cao Cao often has good intentions in letting the clan serve as the central leader.
But in Cao Pi's view, Zhu Shuo was his confidant, and it goes without saying that he was loyal to him.
Moreover, if he blindly favors the clan and does not send a good political signal to the gentry, it will not be conducive to stabilizing his rule, so he made this arrangement.
Seeing Zhu Shuo excitedly bowing down to express his gratitude, a smile appeared on Cao Pi's face: "I have great trust in you, you must work hard and don't let me down."
Faced with Cao Pi's warning, Zhu Shuo of course hurriedly agreed.
Cao Pi had a very contradictory personality. Sometimes he was generous and sometimes he was stingy.
But he has a remarkable character trait, that is, as long as someone has helped him, he will spare no effort to believe in him and reuse him.
For example, Jia Xu helped Cao Pi seize the throne.
Therefore, after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne of Wei King, he immediately appointed Jia Xu as Taiwei and became one of the three princes.
You must know that the most important condition for being a third official is that your reputation must not be stained.
But let’s not talk about whether Jia Xu’s reputation is stained or not. Because of the advice he gave back then, his reputation in the world is simply bad.
Jia Xu's reputation was even worse than that of the "meaty" minister Cheng Yu, but even so, Cao Pi still defied all opinions and forced him to be the third prince.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Cao Pi broke the unspoken rules and promoted Zhu Shuo to be the leader of the Central Military Commission.
But what Cao Pi probably didn't expect was that his actions today would have a very bad impact in the future.
The Central Leading Army and the Central Protecting Army are the leaders of Cao Wei's Central Army, and Cao Wei's Central Army is the most elite part of Cao Wei's army, and it is also the imperial army guarding the center.
Today, Cao Pi broke the unspoken rule that non-clan members cannot serve as military leaders, which will undoubtedly set an example for subsequent kings.
Historically, one of the important reasons why Sima Yi was able to counterattack and control Luoyang despite losing all military power was that the central leaders and guards at that time had been held by nobles for many years.
For example, Jiang Ji and Sima Shi.
In history, it was the Chinese army that Cao Cao created to defend Cao Wei that drove Cao Wei into a state of eternal destruction.
This result is really full of irony.
Whoever created the figurines has no descendants?
Cao Pi must have forgotten the warning that Cao Cao gave before his death.
After Cao Pi appointed Zhu Shuo to lead the army, Wu Zhi, who was in the main hall, suddenly reminded Cao Pi: "The military affairs in the northwest are important, but your majesty cannot neglect the military affairs in Jingzhou."
Wu Zhi, courtesy name Jizhong, was born in Dingtao and was a famous writer in the world.
In order to develop his strength, Cao Cao recruited talents in Juancheng, and Wu Zhi responded.
Because of his talent and knowledge, he was appreciated by Cao Pi and became Cao Pi's best friend.
Among the "Four Friends of the Prince" at that time, Wu Zhi was the closest to Cao Pi in terms of relationship.
In terms of helping Cao Pi make plans to win the crown prince's position, Wu Zhi also contributed the most.
In this case, Cao Pi actually trusted Wu Zhi more than the other three friends.
Upon hearing Wu Zhi's reminder, a solemn look appeared on Cao Pi's face.
The land of Yongliang is mostly plains, and there are not many cavalry in Liu Bei's army.
Even though Liu Bei's army launched a large-scale northern expedition to Yongliang, occupying the geographical advantage and Cao Zhen's military strategy, Cao Pi actually didn't have much to worry about.
However, Jingzhou has many mountains, forests and rivers, which is conducive for Liu Bei's army to take advantage of its infantry and naval forces.
The most important thing is that there are two people in Jingzhou that Cao Pi is afraid of:
One is Guan Yu who is stationed in Xiangyang, and the other is Mi Yang who is stationed in Xicheng.
This pair of sons-in-law are both famous generals in the world. If Liu Bei launches a large-scale Northern Expedition in the future, it is impossible for these pair of sons-in-law to fail to take action.
The combined force of Mi Yang and Guan Yu was so intimidating that Cao Pi couldn't sleep peacefully just thinking about it.
Cao Pi looked at Wu Zhi and asked him, "What is Ji Zhong's countermeasure?"
Seeing Cao Pi asking himself, Wu Zhi felt a smile in his heart.
Compared with Liu Chan's "four friends of the prince" who were very close, Cao Pi's four friends were actually not united internally.
For example, Wu Zhi did not deal with Chen Qun and Zhu Shuo.
The reason why Wu Zhi suddenly reminded Cao Pi about Jingzhou's defense was that he was really worried about Mi Yang and Guan Yu. Another reason was that he didn't want Zhu Shuo to be too proud.
If the leader Zhu Shuo did it, he would naturally do it too.
Wu Zhi paid his respects to Cao Pi and replied: "General Chariot and Cavalry is a famous general in the world, but he is unable to handle the military affairs of Dong Duyi, Jing and Yang alone."
"Your Majesty, why don't you send Boren to lead the army to assist General Chariot and Cavalry in garrisoning Jingzhou? In this way, even if Mi Yang and Guan Yu join forces to invade in the future, the southern military will have no worries since General Chariot and Cavalry and Boren are here."
The Boren mentioned by Wu Zhi refers to Xiahou Shang, and Xiahou Shang has a very close relationship with Cao Pi.
After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he immediately named Xiahou Shang the Marquis of Pinglingting and made him a regular servant of Sanqi.
When Wu Zhi suggested that Cao Pi send Xiahou Shang to the south to assist Cao Ren, a look of thoughtfulness immediately appeared on Cao Pi's face.
After Cao Cao returned to Yecheng at the beginning of this year, he mentioned to him his meeting with Liu Bei.
According to Cao Cao, he and Liu Bei both brought their two nephews to the meeting.
Liu Bei brought Mi Yang and Guan Ping, while Cao Cao brought Cao Zhen and Xiahou Shang.
After Cao Cao mentioned this to him, he solemnly warned him to be careful of Mi Yang.
He also reminded him that both Cao Zhen and Xiahou Shang had military strategies, which could be put to great use if they were properly cultivated.
Cao Cao's reminder is still vivid in Cao Pi's mind.
Now Wu Zhi reminded him to be careful about the combined efforts of Mi Yang and Guan Yu, and Cao Pi couldn't help but pay attention to it.
As Wu Zhi said, if Mi Yang and Guan Yu join forces to attack Nanyang in the future, then Cao Ren will be unable to do anything at all.
Under such circumstances, it is necessary to send another general to assist Cao Ren.
At present, Xia Houshang is indeed a very suitable candidate.
So Cao Pi said to Wu Zhiyan: "Good!"
…
Soon after, Xia Houshang received an edict from Cao Pi. Cao Pi appointed him as the general to conquer the south, granted him the title of Marquis of Pingling Township, led the governor of Jingzhou, and assisted Cao Ren in garrisoning Nanyang.
After receiving this edict from Cao Pi, while Xiahou Shang thanked the emperor's envoy, ambition began to emerge in his heart.
Everyone in the world knows that Mi Yang is good at fighting, but they don't know my name, Boren.
But now, the opportunity has come!
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!