novelSusiti Chapter 97 Sima Zhao is not emperor
Chapter 97 Sima Zhao is not emperor
Chapter 97 Sima Zhao is not emperor (Second update, please vote)
Luoyang.
In recent years, Henan has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests.
After the Lunar New Year this year, there were several heavy snowfalls. As the saying goes, "A timely snow promises a bumper harvest," indicating that this year will be another year of favorable weather.
Even if Heaven favored Luoyang, it would never again possess the magnificent grandeur of a capital city during the Middle Han Dynasty.
Dong Zhuo ravaged Luoyang, forcibly relocated the people to Chang'an, and burned down most of Luoyang.
Even with decades of support from Cao Wei, which designated Luoyang as one of the "Five Capitals," Luoyang was no longer the same Luoyang.
However, because Cao Wei established five capitals, Luoyang's city walls were extremely magnificent, and the palaces within the city also displayed the grandeur of the Wei Dynasty.
Furthermore, the recent arrival of Cao Wei's Grand General Sima Zhao in Luoyang, accompanied by numerous officials, has added to the city's vibrancy.
After Sima Yi launched the Incident at Gaoping Tombs and seized real power in Cao Wei, the Sima family's power was consolidated through succession, from father to son and brother to brother. By the time of Sima Zhao, three generations had passed, and their power was extremely stable.
Although Sima Zhao was nominally a Grand General, he was in fact an emperor.
The General's Mansion in Luoyang was extremely magnificent and heavily guarded, comparable to the imperial palace.
morning.
The gates of the General's Mansion were wide open, and officials came and went in droves, while carriages parked outside the gates came and went in an endless stream.
However, many people did not see Sima Zhao, because Sima Zhao did not come out of the inner quarters to sit in his residence today.
I heard that Sima Zhao had been drinking heavily last night and was in a bad mood when he woke up this morning. The servants, guards, and officials of the General's mansion dared not disturb him.
General Sima Zhao's chief clerk, Shi Zuan, did not want to risk trouble, but it was a very important matter, and relying on his position as chief clerk, he tried to force his way in, but was stopped by Sima Zhao's guards.
The guards dared not disrespect Shi Zuan, and with a smile asked him to wait a moment while they went to inform Sima Zhao.
"The General has a heart ailment." Shi Zuan held the bamboo slips, looked up at the direction of the inner courtyard, and thought to himself.
For someone to serve closely with a leader, talent isn't the primary factor; loyalty is paramount. He was thirty-two years old this year, and his father and he had served three generations of the Sima family. As a registrar, his talent was insufficient, yet he still became a registrar.
He was Sima Zhao's confidant.
Of course he knew what Sima Zhao's illness was.
Starting with Sima Yi, the Sima family, spanning three generations, gradually seized real power from Cao Wei, eventually becoming the behemoth it is today.
Sima Yi's generation was unable to usurp the throne for two reasons: firstly, Sima Yi was too old to accomplish this in his lifetime; secondly, their power base was still weak.
Just as Cao Cao usurped the Han Dynasty, the Sima family planned to do the same. First, consolidate their power, then accumulate military merits and prestige; first establish a kingdom, then receive the Nine Bestowments, then declare themselves king, and finally seize the throne.
After Sima Yi's death, Sima Shi, with his ability, prestige, and military achievements, could have usurped the throne. However, Sima Shi also died.
After Sima Zhao ascended the throne, he had to follow the same path as Sima Shi and start all over again. He used the suppression of Zhuge Dan's rebellion in Huainan to accumulate military merits and prepare for his plot to usurp the throne.
However, Cao Mao, the Duke of Gaogui, refused to submit and personally went out of the palace to attack Sima Zhao, where he was killed by Cheng Ji, a general under Sima Zhao.
The emperor's blood was used to curse Sima Zhao.
A strong army and powerful horses are not enough to make someone an emperor.
One must win people over with virtue to have a fig leaf to cover one's shame.
Back then, Cao Cao even claimed he had no intention of usurping the throne, yet Cao Pi seized it immediately after his death. Without the foundation laid by Cao Cao, how could Cao Pi not have usurped it? Given Cao Cao's wisdom, wouldn't he have known his son would inevitably usurp the throne? If he had no intention of usurping, he should have returned power to the emperor.
Cao Cao did not declare himself emperor for several reasons. For example, he was of average appearance and short stature.
Sima Zhao was the same.
How can a general kill the emperor and then force the new emperor to abdicate?
Despite Sima Zhao's repeated attempts to smear Gao Guixiang Gong, portraying him as a licentious and tyrannical emperor, he could not convince the public.
Unless Sima Zhao achieves even greater feats, such as destroying a country, he cannot become emperor.
Sima Zhao's weakness lies here. But conquering a state is difficult. Just how difficult? Cao Cao already provides a cautionary tale.
The Battle of Red Cliffs and the Battle of Hanzhong.
Cao Zhen and his son Cao Shuang's campaigns against Shu both ended in failure.
The Sima family, spanning three generations, spent most of their time suppressing internal rebellions, almost completely abandoning any thought of marching south.
Guanzhong and Liangzhou have always been on the defensive.
How difficult!
How difficult!
However... if Sima Zhao succeeds in conquering Shu or Wu, he will become emperor. His confidants will then be able to rise even higher, enjoying wealth and honor.
Thinking of this, Shi Zuan felt his mouth go dry, his blood rush to his head, and his body become burning hot.
The inner quarters.
Sima Zhao knelt on his seat, flanked by his trusted attendants.
He was over fifty years old. Although he was not averse to women, he had no interest in them. Therefore, most of the people who served him on a daily basis were male servants.
"This vast empire, Cao Cao sat on it, Cao Pi sat on it, but I couldn't sit on it. I'm truly unwilling to accept it." Sima Zhao looked listless, his heart filled with resentment.
Cheng Ji was truly "loyal and devoted," hanging his own head on his belt and stabbing Cao Mao to death with a spear in the street.
But he didn't need to do that at all; he could have captured Cao Mao alive, controlled Cao Mao, and so on...
However, Cheng Ji killed Cao Mao.
This caused everything to spiral out of control, making everything impossible to salvage.
After Cao Mao's death and funeral procession, the people all said, "This is the emperor we killed the other day." They all wept bitterly.
This also caused him to miss out on the throne.
Why did Cheng Ji do this? He must have wanted to show his loyalty, to use the emperor's head to demonstrate how loyal he was.
Cheng Ji was a speculator.
If time could be turned back, Sima Zhao would want to kill Cheng Ji again.
One wrong move, and the whole game is lost. How regrettable that is, especially when it wasn't even his own move.
Sima Zhao, who had been listless, became agitated at this thought, his veins bulging, his fists clenched, unable to contain his emotions.
The male attendants on either side were constantly observing Sima Zhao's changing expression. Seeing this, they all kept their eyes down, not daring to breathe, wishing they were outside the room instead of there.
Sima Gong is angry....
Sima Zhao, being a general in his fifties, possessed strong self-control and quickly regained his composure. Once calm, his fighting spirit soared.
There is only one way now: either attack Wu or attack Shu.
The Kingdom of Wu is stronger and more difficult to deal with. The Kingdom of Shu is currently ruled by a foolish ruler, and the people are suffering greatly.
Their national strength was already weak. They're easier to deal with. Even if we don't destroy them, just occupying Hanzhong would be a tremendous victory.
He could then persuade the emperor to issue an edict granting him the title of Duke of Jin, bestow upon him the Nine Bestowments, and then the title of King of Jin. This is similar to the story of Cao Cao.
"I intend to conquer Shu." Sima Zhao suddenly stood up, gripping the sword at his waist tightly. He uttered only four words, yet they were filled with murderous intent.
When the emperor is angry, millions will bleed.
It's time to resort to force.