On April 6, the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, Yecheng, Wei County, Wei State.
Wei State is still nominally a vassal state under the Han Dynasty and a county in Jizhou.
But in fact it has replaced Jizhou, because its territory covers more than ten counties, including Hebei, Bingzhou and even Guanzhong.
Therefore, the name Jizhou is close to being in name only, and few people call it that anymore.
But when the clappers were ringing during the meal, two guests came to a restaurant in Xing'anli Street, Nancheng City, Yecheng.
There was no one around at this time in the morning. The two of them were sitting by the window on the second floor. One of them sighed casually: "Jizhou has changed so much that it is unrecognizable."
"yes."
Another person responded.
The waiter who took the order smiled and said: "The accents of the two guests are from Xuzhou."
The man wondered: "How did you know?"
The other man smiled and said: "You are really stupid. The shopkeeper here serves businessmen who travel all over the country. He has heard everything, so it is not surprising to hear our accent."
"Yes, yes."
The man slapped his forehead and said with a smile: "Look at my brain."
While pouring tea for the two of them, the waiter said cheerfully: "It's not unusual to guess that the two guests are from Xuzhou, but I also know that the guests have not been to Jizhou for ten years."
"oh?"
The man was surprised and said: "You even know this?"
The other person also looked at him curiously.
The waiter smiled and said: "No one calls Jizhou anymore, they all call it Wei."
The man's face changed slightly.
The person next to me quickly said: "The last time I came to Jizhou was indeed more than ten years ago. Business is not easy to do these days."
"That's true."
The waiter asked: "What do the two guests want to order?"
The two of them ordered some food.
After the waiter left, the previous one frowned and said, "It seems you should be more careful."
"Just be careful with your words and actions."
One person looked out the window. This restaurant was at the back door of the residence of the crown prince Zhu Shuo, and he could see the Zhu Shuo family's residence.
The food was soon put on the table, and the two of them ate slowly, looking through the window from time to time and staring closely at the back door of Zhu's house.
About two-quarters of an hour later, the back door of the prince's concubine's house opened, and a servant came out and went straight into the restaurant.
The sound of "kick, kick, kick" coming up the stairs was heard.
The two men stood up and looked. When the servant came closer, they asked, "Where are the guests coming from?"
"Come to the Wei River."
"Where to go?"
"Go into the Mian (Han) River."
"sit."
The two of them bowed to the slave, and the slave bowed in return.
The three people sat down, and one of them asked the servant in a low voice: "Is this restaurant safe? Why did you choose this place?"
The servant grinned: "This restaurant belongs to me."
The two of them were in awe.
They exchanged names with each other and the slave was named Xu Yin, a native of Hejian.
The other two people are named Zhou Ai and Li Mu. One is from Beihai, Xuzhou, and the other is from Xiapi, Xuzhou.
Last month, one of the spies placed by Shen Chen in Yecheng died of illness. The other spy was over fifty, missed his family, and wanted to retire and return to his hometown, so the superiors transferred two people from Xuzhou.
Because the spies he arranged were organized into groups, each group had three people responsible for intelligence collection, transfer, and delivery.
So this time it’s time for the three-person team to meet.
Naturally, there are more than just this group of people in such a large city of Ye, but in order to prevent someone from rebelling and being exposed and implicating the entire organization, each group does not know the identity of the other.
When the superiors sent people there, they would only tell them the time, place and password for the connection. This was the first time the three of them had met.
Currently, only two members of the entire espionage organization are known to them, namely the supreme commander Zhou Buyi and his deputy Cai Du.
Even Shen Chen didn't know, because he only needed information. As for the specific management of affairs, he left full power to Zhou Buyi, who was currently in Nanyang.
After the three people sat down, Zhou Ai said: "I will be in charge of the transfer. I plan to open a shop in Yecheng to do business. Li Mu will do the transfer. How about you just be a merchant from other places? On weekdays, We should also try to meet as little as possible in restaurants. Xu Yin can give me the news when he goes to my shop to buy things."
"That's okay."
Li Mu nodded. Like Zhou Ai, he thought that this time it was just a simple meeting, recognizing each other first, and then starting work according to the plan.
Unexpectedly, Xu Yin directly dropped a bombshell.
"Don't be in a hurry to stay in Yecheng. You must go back as soon as possible or pass on the news."
"What news?"
"Cao Pi may usurp the throne."
He said so.
Both of their expressions changed drastically, this was huge news.
Zhou Ai said hurriedly: "Is this news true?"
"It should be true that Zhu Shuo is preparing for this."
Xu Yindao: "I overheard him and Chang Lin discussing the matter of persuading him to join the day before yesterday. Wu Zhi is in Chaoge now. In the past two months, some of the emperor's closest officials in Chaoge have been transferred away with excuses."
"If it's just to persuade people to come in without any substance, then that's not necessarily the case. If you spread false news and ruin the governor's affairs, that would be terrible."
Li Mu thought about it and said, "Can you confirm this news? For example, could you overhear that Zhu Shuo said that Cao Pi agreed?"
"yes."
Zhou Ai also said: "If Zhu Shuo just recruits some people to persuade Cao Pi to join, but Cao Pi does not agree immediately, if we send the news back, it is very likely that the king will change his plan to attack Wu. By then, Cao Pi will not be proclaimed emperor but will attack Wei." Wouldn’t that ruin the great king’s plan to unify the south?”
Xu Yin thought for a while and said: "Then you stay in Yecheng as planned first, and I will inquire about the situation carefully. I hope other groups can also find out the information. If it can be confirmed, that would be great. .”
"Um."
Li Mu nodded and said, "This is the safest."
Immediately, the three of them took action.
What the three of them didn't know was that while they were spying on the secret, other groups also heard the news.
Because Cao Pi really had the idea of usurping the throne, Chen Qun, Sima Yi, Zhu Shuo, Wu Zhi and others took action one after another. Some of Cao Pi's closest confidants did not do things carefully, and spies found out some clues.
Nowadays, Cao Wei Group is not very peaceful and internally unstable.
But after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he sent General Cao Chun to protect the country, General Cao Zhen to suppress the west, Cao Xiu, the general to conquer the south, and Xia Houshang, the general to conquer the south.
After several months of suppression, most of the rebellions have been suppressed. The turmoil caused by the Battle of Jingzhou has gradually stabilized and the situation has been brought under control.
At this time, in the palace of the King of Wei in Yecheng, Cao Pi, wearing the robe of the princes with nine chapters and nine charms, was sitting on the throne.
In addition to Sima Yi, Chen Qun, and Zhu Shuo, the third of the Four Friends, there are also Hua Xin, He Kui, Chang Lin, Liu Ruo, and others.
There are not many people, but they are all Cao Pi's confidants.
Moreover, in Chaoge, Wu Zhi, who was the commander of Chaoge, helped him watch over Liu Xie, so it was absolutely foolproof.
Cao Pi looked around and said solemnly: "Everyone, are you sure you can handle this matter without causing another rebellion?"
Sima Yi said: "Don't worry, King Wei. I have said before that this matter has many benefits and it is the right thing to do."
"Hmm."
Cao Pi stroked his beard and said, "It's really a shame for me, the great Marquis of Wei and Wu."
Zhu Shuo smiled and said: "It is a blessing for the Marquis of Wu to be loyal to the King of Wei. Liu Bei is now preparing to attack Wu, and we are unable to rush to help. Taking this opportunity, the King of Wei ascends the great treasure to stabilize the country."
"I am afraid that after ascending to the throne, instead of bringing stability to the four sides, it will actually lead to rebellion by those traitors who harbor the Han Dynasty."
Cao Pi frowned.
Chen Qun cupped his hands and said, "Wouldn't this be better?"
"oh?"
Cao Pi wondered: "Why?"
Chen Qun laughed and said: "Liu Bei is conquering Wu, and civil strife breaks out among us. He fights Sun Quan, and we quell the civil strife. It's a good thing that we all do our own thing and don't interfere with each other."
"That doesn't make sense."
Cao Pi pondered, touched his beard and nodded.
The usurpation of the throne was instigated by Sima Yi, Chen Qun, Zhu Shuo and others.
They think now is a good time to usurp the throne.
The reason is simple.
First, although Cao Wei is newly defeated, it has a strong foundation, insufficient offense, and sufficient defense. Liu Bei cannot break in at the moment.
Second, Cao Cao had just died, and people's hearts were floating. If Cao Pi could proclaim himself emperor, it would give those who were loyal to Cao Wei a reassurance and prevent them from having other ideas.
Third, after proclaiming himself emperor, Cao Pi could justifiably make the entire north the territory of Wei, and all his subordinates would become Wei ministers. This not only gave the Wei ministers peace of mind, but also completely eliminated the thoughts of those who harbored the Han Dynasty.
Fourth, Liu Bei is now busy preparing to attack Sun Quan and will definitely have no time to look north.
When the time comes, no one can stop Cao Pi from proclaiming himself emperor. Even if there is a rebellion because of the matter of proclaiming emperor, that would be better, as it can eliminate internal troubles.
As the saying goes, you can only see who is swimming without underpants after the tide recedes. At that time, it will be clear who is the loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty and who still cherishes the Han Dynasty. When Liu Bei is unable to visit the north, these so-called Han Dynasty relics will be eradicated.
The people are all ignorant. Whoever becomes the emperor makes no difference to the people at the bottom, because their personal power cannot shake the Wei Dynasty without leadership.
Only those aristocratic families who harbor the Han Dynasty are threats.
They have an organization, fields, property, armor, population, and clan soldiers. Once they unite, they may threaten Cao Wei's rule.
Therefore, when Liu Bei conquered Wu and Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, he could lure these people out. When Liu Bei was unable to come to his aid, Cao Pi could eliminate these people and further stabilize the Wei Dynasty.
Even if Liu Bei eliminates Jiangdong by then, Cao Pi has successfully proclaimed himself emperor, quelled all civil strife, and consolidated the situation. Then the North and South will be in opposition, and the world will be divided into two parts. With the foundation and national strength of the North, the South will definitely not be a rival in the future.
So it is indeed a good opportunity to become emperor now.
On the contrary, it would be bad if Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor before he conquered Wu, or after he finished conquering Wu.
When Liu Bei gets the news, he will definitely make an expedition to the north.
By colluding with those who harbor Han Dynasty intentions, Cao Wei may fall into internal and external troubles.
Therefore, Cao Pi's advisers all believed that they should seize this opportunity.
Thinking of this, Cao Pi made up his mind and said: "That's it, but Sun Quan has sent a letter asking for reinforcements in the past few days. What should I do?"
Sima Yi thought for a while and said: "The King of Wei can release the news to the outside world, saying that he will lead his army to march south, and he will rush to help Huainan."
"Rush to the aid of Huainan?"
Cao Pi was confused and said: "Don't you mean to use Sun Quan to delay the throne for me? What's more, if we go to the south, how can the Wei State sustain a war with the current situation?"
Sima Yi smiled and said: "It's not really a southern expedition, but it is a southern expedition to confuse Liu Bei on the surface, but in fact it stabilizes people's hearts and builds momentum for his ascension to the throne. When Liu Bei learned that King Wei had the intention to aid Sun Quan, he would definitely step up his steps to attack Jiangdong. That is Wei
When the king becomes emperor."
"Hmm"
Cao Pi nodded and said: "That's wonderful. Then I will write to Sun Quan immediately and tell him about my upcoming southern expedition to make him feel at ease."
Chen Qun said: "The enthronement of the throne requires the emperor to meditate as a matter of course. The king of Wei can send people to worship the emperor and let the emperor meditate to the king of Wei. In this way, Yao and Shun can be regarded as good. Only then can people's hearts be settled."
"The imperial seal should also be taken back."
Sima Yi added.
So Cao Pi said to Hua Xin: "Prime Minister, I will leave this matter to you."
After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne of Wei, his duties in Wei changed.
The previous Prime Minister was Zhong Yao, but Zhong Yao had to stay in Guanzhong and could not return to Yecheng, so he was changed to Taiwei.
Then he moved Dong Zhao as the censor, Xing Zhen as Taichang, and Cheng Yu as the Weiwei.
All other officials, big and small, were also promoted. For example, Sima Yi joined the army and was promoted to Prime Minister Chang Shi, Chen Qun was also promoted from a servant to a minister, etc.
The Prime Minister, the Taiwei, and the Yushi Dafu are currently the three Dukes of Cao Wei.
However, it does not mean that the higher the official position, the greater the power.
In fact, the main power of Cao Wei is currently in the hands of Cao Pi, and the people around him are the ones who share the power.
For example, Sima Yi, the chief minister, Zhu Shuo, the minister, Wu Zhi, the imperial edict, Chen Qun, the minister's servant, Huanjie, the minister's servant, Xing Yong, the minister's servant, Liu Ye, the minister, Wei Xi, admonished the official Li Yi, and the prime minister.
Changshi Jiang Ji, Yeling Jia Kui and so on.
Especially the four friends Sima Yi, Zhu Shuo, Wu Zhi and Chen Qun.
After Cao Pi became emperor, Wu Zhi was just a lieutenant general, guarding Hebei according to Cao Pi's orders.
Once he returned to Luoyang to report his duties to Cao Pi. Cao Pi ordered Cao Zhen, Cao Hong, Wang Zhong and other senior generals of Cao Wei to hold a banquet at Wu Zhi's mansion.
As a result, at the banquet, Wu Zhi, a mere lieutenant general, humiliated Cao Zhen, who was already the supreme commander of Cao Wei's army, and even pointed at Cao Zhen's nose and cursed loudly, which shows the arrogance of the four friends.
Therefore, sometimes the size of the official position does not mean the size of the power. Those who are close to Cao Pi are the ones who are truly in power.
Although Hua Xin is the prime minister, it does not mean that he is Cao Pi's most trusted confidant.
Because forcing Liu Xie to abdicate the throne, and also have to snatch the imperial seal, it can be said to be a complete chore.
Regardless of whether he does a good job or not, his reputation will definitely be ruined in the history books.
Just like the imperial censor Xi Liu who forced Liu Xie to make Cao Cao the Duke of Wei, framed Kong Rong, and arrested Empress Fu, he was bound to be despised by the world.
But since the errand has been entrusted to you, it won’t work if you don’t do it.
Hua Xin had no choice but to respond with a grimace: "Wei."
Cao Pi then nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, let's do it like this. Everyone disperses and acts according to the plan."
"only!"
Everyone should give it a thumbs up.
After they left, Cao Pi couldn't restrain his mood and stood up from the table excitedly.
Who is unhappy about becoming emperor?
What's more, Cao Pi has been the crown prince with Cao Cao for many years. Although one person is inferior to ten thousand people, there is always a nominal boss above his head, which is always annoying.
Now that he finally has the opportunity to ascend the throne and become the emperor, seize the country and become the master of the world, how can he not be happy?
"My dear Lord Wu."
Cao Pi walked slowly to the door with his hands behind his back, looked at the southern sky with deep eyes, and said with a smile: "Please help me hold Liu Bei down. If you are not dead when I ascend the throne, I will make you King of Wu."
, please don’t disappoint me.”
Friends who have watched the film know that I picked up a stray cat. The breed is Lihua, which is also commonly known as a native cat or a Chinese garden cat. It is almost 2 years old. It has not been neutered. It barks every day and is very noisy.
It really affects my character. I was hesitant to give it to it before because I thought it would be too pitiful to die without even giving birth to cubs. However, the civet cat is not a breed cat. There are only a few people raising it, so it is practical to breed it.
It's difficult, I can't let it go out to find a stray cat by myself. If it gets lost, I won't be able to find it back, so I decided to kill it tomorrow. From now on, I can write with peace of mind.