novelAbuy Chapter 1489 Cao Mao
Chapter 1489 Cao Mao
Chapter 1489 Cao Mao
Just as Liu Chen, the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, was leading his troops to the border of Qingzhou, Cao Mao, the self-proclaimed emperor of the Wei Dynasty, was also facing the first crisis of his life.
Pengcheng, West Warm Pavilion.
The afternoon sun shone through the window screens, casting shadows on the blue bricks inside the hall.
Cao Mao was copying a scroll of "Jijiuzhang". He was still young and looked rather thin as he sat behind a large lacquered table.
The pen tip moved carefully across the hemp paper, but the wrist strength was still weak, and the ink marks were sometimes faint.
Suddenly, a commotion could be faintly heard outside the palace, like distant thunder rolling over the palace walls.
Cao Mao paused, his pen still, and listened intently.
The sounds were a mix of cries, hoofbeats, and a certain... burnt smell, carried by the south wind into the deep palace.
"Who is making the noise outside?"
Cao Mao put down his pen, his voice still carrying the clear, childlike quality of a child, but he tried his best to project the majesty of an emperor.
A young eunuch scrambled into the hall, his face deathly pale: "Your Majesty...it's...it's from the north..."
"How is the North City?"
"The Taicang warehouse in the north of the city is on fire!"
The eunuch prostrated himself on the ground, trembling: "This servant heard from the Tiger Guard at the gate that it was the General... the General ordered it to be burned."
"And...and many more carriages and horses from powerful clans were being escorted by soldiers towards the north gate, their cries and wails shaking the heavens..."
Cao Mao suddenly stood up, strode to the palace gate, and pushed aside the eunuchs who were blocking his way.
In the distance, towards the north of the city, a dark blue column of smoke was billowing up, turning the afternoon sky a murky gray-yellow.
The smell of burning carried on the wind grew stronger, making people increasingly anxious.
"Sima Zhao—!"
Cao Mao's angry shouts sounded like harmless childish cries at this moment.
"He's just a subject! A mere subject! Who gave him the right to set fire to my capital? Who gave him the right to drive away my people?!"
"Investigate! Find out for me! What exactly is Sima Zhao doing? Where are those driven-out officials and commoners going?"
Two hours later, Cao Mao's trusted eunuch hurriedly returned to the palace.
He changed into coarse cloth clothes, his face still covered in the dust of the market.
"Your Majesty..." The young eunuch knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, "This servant...this servant has found out."
Cao Mao sat on the throne, his feet barely touching the ground, but he straightened his back: "Speak!"
"The common people are saying that two years ago... the Grand General sent a secret envoy to Chang'an to make some kind of 'two-year agreement' with the Han Kingdom..."
The eunuch swallowed hard. "He said that if Han agrees not to attack Wei for two years, Wei will... have to hand over the two provinces of Qing and Xu to Han."
"Now that the deadline has arrived, the Han Kingdom has sent an envoy surnamed Pang to urge them on. The General has set fire to Qing and Xu to relocate people, intending to vacate the area for the Han Kingdom..."
"Furthermore... the General is forcibly relocating powerful clans from various prefectures to Liaodong, killing those who refuse."
The eunuch's voice trailed off, "The people are saying that the General is... he's going to move the capital like Dong Zhuo, turning Pengcheng into a second Luoyang..."
"boom!"
Cao Mao slammed his fist on the table.
"What a Sima Zhao... what a 'two-year agreement'..."
Cao Mao felt a surge of humiliation and anger well up inside him:
"He treated the territory of the Great Wei as his Sima family's private property, giving it away or burning it at will..."
"What does he take me, the emperor, for? A clay or wooden sculpture?"
He suddenly jumped down from the throne:
"Issue an imperial edict! Summon the Grand General to the palace immediately for a meeting! Order him to immediately stop burning the land and relocating the people, and everyone must return to Pengcheng! Not an inch of land or a grain of food in Qingxu shall be moved!"
The eunuch prostrated himself: "Your Majesty... I'm afraid the Grand General will not obey the imperial edict..."
These words silenced Cao Mao.
Even the young emperor's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation.
Like the instinctive fear a small animal feels when it encounters its natural enemy.
He knew who Sima Zhao was, and he knew that the imperial seal in his hand was probably not as valuable as a military tally from the General's Mansion.
But the boy's passionate anger quickly overwhelmed his fear.
"He disobeys the imperial edict?" Cao Mao mustered his courage and raised his head:
"Then I will personally go to the General's mansion and ask him! I will ask this 'Duke of Zhou' how he did 'Wang Mang's deeds'!"
His voice trembled slightly as he said this.
"I am the emperor," Cao Mao said softly, as if telling himself, "the emperor of the Great Wei."
"Prepare the carriage," Cao Mao suddenly raised his voice, "I wish to go to the General's residence in person."
"Ask Sima Zhao face to face whether he still regards me as the emperor, and whether he still regards the Great Wei dynasty!"
The young eunuch hesitated for a moment.
Unexpectedly, Cao Mao kicked him and shouted, "Go now! Are you going to disobey the imperial decree too?"
The eunuch had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to make the preparations.
Before long, Cao Mao's black palanquin appeared in the alleyway paved with bluestone, with four eunuchs carrying the palanquin at a brisk pace.
Cao Mao sat upright in the carriage, his hands gripping the carved railings on both sides tightly.
Through the white gauze curtains hanging in front of the carriage, he stared intently at the palace gates that were getting closer and closer.
"Hurry!" Cao Mao's voice came from the carriage. "Today I must ask Sima Zhao face to face whether he still has any regard for the proper relationship between ruler and subject!"
The eunuchs carrying the palanquin dared not slacken their pace and quickened their steps.
The palace walls on both sides of Yongxiang Lane are so high that they cut a narrow slit in the sky.
Just as the imperial carriage was about to turn out of the Yongxiang Lane and onto the wide imperial road leading to the Sima Gate, a hurried shout suddenly came from ahead:
"Your Majesty - stay! Your Majesty -!"
Three figures staggered out from the side corridor.
The leader was none other than Wang Shen, the Chamberlain, who was running so fast that his official hat was askew and the beads of sweat on his forehead shone brightly in the sunlight.
Minister Wang Jing followed behind him, and after running a few steps, he almost fell.
Finally, supported by Wang Ye, a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, the three of them stumbled and blocked the carriage.
"Stop...stop the carriage!"
Wang Jing, panting heavily, actually knelt down in the middle of the imperial path.
Wang Shen and Wang Ye also hurriedly knelt down, the three of them standing in a line, completely blocking the way.
The eunuchs carrying the palanquin were so startled that they immediately stopped, and the palanquin came to a sudden halt.
Cao Mao leaned forward in the carriage and nearly hit the front railing.
He threw back the curtain, his still somewhat immature face contorted with rage: "Minister Wang! What are you doing?!"
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty must not leave the palace!"
Wang Jing lowered his voice, not daring to raise it, and even his voice carried a hint of fear:
"Outside the palace, the situation outside the palace is still unclear. Your Majesty is of inestimable value; how can you lightly venture into such an uncertain place?"
Attendant Wang Shen raised his head; sweat from running was streaming down his cheeks.
"Your Majesty is wise. According to regulations, when the emperor leaves the palace, the Tiger Guards must clear the way and the Imperial Guards must enforce martial law."
"Today, all the guards are on duty. If Your Majesty goes out lightly, I fear that the ceremony will not be properly observed and will damage the majesty of the emperor."
He put it tactfully, but his meaning was clear.
The palace guards were all Sima Zhao's men, so there was no one to guarantee the emperor's safety when he left the palace.
Cao Mao stood up from the carriage, his body appearing empty inside the wide black court robe.
He pointed to the billowing, dark blue smoke rising in the direction of the northern city, his voice trembling with excitement:
"Then tell me! What should I do?!"
"Sitting here, watching... watching Taicang catch fire, watching the people migrate north, watching the people of Qing and Xu suffer?"
"And then what? When... when should I also go on a 'northern hunt' to that bitterly cold land?"
He ultimately didn't dare to directly utter the name "Sima Zhao".
The group fell silent.
Which emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty—except for Emperor Wen—did not make an eastern tour?
Moreover, the inspection tour went all the way from Luoyang to Pengcheng.
If forced to do so, going north to Liaodong... is not an incomprehensible thing.
"Speak!" Cao Mao roared at the three men prostrate on the ground, "Speak up!"
The three of them secretly lowered their heads and looked at each other. In the end, Wang Ye crawled forward on his knees, his lips trembling slightly.
"Your Majesty may issue an edict! According to... according to etiquette, if Your Majesty has any inquiries, you should... you should summon your officials to the palace for an audience. This is... this is an established precedent set by our ancestors."
"Issue an edict?" Cao Mao laughed in anger, his eyes full of mockery. "Attendant Wang, what do you think an edict can summon?"
"Can it summon loyal ministers and generals, or... jackals and tigers?"
He spoke the last four words very softly, but all three people present heard them clearly.
Wang Ye's chubby face instantly drained of all color.
"Your Majesty!" Wang Jing suddenly raised his voice, but then immediately lowered it again:
"It is precisely because the Grand General may not obey the imperial edict that His Majesty cannot go in person!"
“If His Majesty is in the palace, even if he has a thousand disloyal thoughts, he still needs to maintain the proper etiquette between ruler and subject on the surface.”
"If His Majesty were to personally visit his residence, and he refused to see him, or... or showed the slightest negligence, then the Emperor's dignity would be completely lost, and there would be no room for maneuver!"
When the words "Great General" were mentioned, Wang Jing only dared to gloss over them, and didn't even dare to say them clearly.
Cao Mao stood there, stunned.
He stood on the imperial carriage, looking down at the three ministers kneeling on the imperial road.
Although he couldn't see their facial expressions, he knew that these three trusted ministers were genuinely afraid.
He feared Sima Zhao, feared that disaster would befall him, and feared that when the crumbling Wei dynasty completely collapsed, he would be crushed into dust.
After a long while, Cao Mao slowly sat back in the carriage.
A plain white gauze curtain hung down, separating him from the kneeling officials, and also from the world outside the palace gates that he was powerless to fight against.
“Your Majesty…” Wang Jing’s voice came from outside the carriage, extremely low:
"Your Majesty is indignant. But a small act of impatience could ruin a great plan. There are many eyes and ears in the palace. If Your Majesty acts rashly, we fear that the plan will be exposed before it even begins."
"Perhaps...perhaps we should first issue an edict to test the waters, observe their reaction, and then devise a plan."
Cao Mao closed his eyes.
A breeze swept through the carriage in the alley, and the white gauze curtains gently brushed against his cheeks.
At that moment, he felt utterly alone and powerless.
This cold palace, and these kneeling, trembling subjects, were, to him, prisons that confined him.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, his voice as calm as a still pool: "Return to the palace."
The eunuchs carrying the palanquin felt as if they had been granted a pardon and immediately changed direction.
The imperial carriage slowly turned back into the depths of Yongxiang, past the bronze door knockers of Sima Gate, past the billowing smoke from the northern city wall, and past the three old ministers still kneeling on the imperial road...
Little by little, they were left behind.
Wang Jing and Wang Ye, supporting each other, stood up unsteadily, watching the departing carriage with a mixture of sorrow and joy.
Wang Shen wiped the sweat from his forehead; the undergarment beneath his official robe was already soaked with cold sweat.
When the imperial carriage returned to the West Warm Pavilion, the setting sun was slowly sinking into the palace walls.
Cao Mao sat in front of the lacquered table, looking at the white jade seal with a dragon-shaped knob on it.
It was so heavy that he needed both hands to hold it steady.
"Bring me the imperial edict," he said.
Wang Jing quickly ground the ink.
Cao Mao picked up his pen, his wrist steady.
The handwriting is neat and tidy, and every stroke exudes a seriousness beyond his years.
"The Emperor decreed: Sima Zhao, the Grand General, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of the Capital and the Capital, shall immediately enter the palace for a discussion. I wish to hear about the affairs of Qing and Xu in person."
After finishing writing, Cao Mao stared at the last two words, "personally heard," for a long time before gently putting down his pen.
"Use the imperial seal."
When the jade seal was pressed down, it produced a dull, muffled sound.
-
The imperial edict was delivered to the General's residence as quickly as possible.
Sima Zhao unfolded the imperial edict that had been tremblingly delivered by the young eunuch.
The silk manuscript is made of the finest material in the palace, but the handwriting, though neat, is slightly weak, like a willow branch sprouting in early spring, soft but lacking strength.
"I wish to hear about the affairs of Qing and Xu in person..." Sima Zhao suddenly laughed as he read this.
Zhong Hui, who was standing to the side, asked, "Why is the General laughing?"
"Your Majesty is young and impetuous."
Sima Zhao casually placed the imperial edict on the table, picked up the silk scroll of the newly drafted "Ode to the Auspicious Omens of Longjing in Liaodong," and compared the two.
On one side was the immature imperial edict, and on the other was the seasoned auspicious text.
He turned to his confidant and asked, "What was His Majesty's expression like when he sent someone?"
The confidant bowed and said, "According to the palace guards... His Majesty once intended to go to the General's mansion in person, but was stopped by Wang Shen, Wang Jing, and Wang Ye."
Sima Zhao nodded, a hint of cold indifference, almost pity, flashing in his eyes.
He picked up his pen and wrote eight characters in the blank space of the edict:
"The affairs of state are numerous and pressing; I will go to court later."
"Send it back to the palace like this."
Sima Zhao returned the imperial edict:
“Tell His Majesty: The matter of Qing and Xu concerns the fate of the nation and cannot be discussed in person. I will go to the palace to report in detail in three days.”
He then presented the "Ode to the Auspicious Omens of Longjing Well in Liaodong," saying, "I will also give this to Your Majesty."
The trusted aide hesitated: "General, if His Majesty presses for an answer..."
He won't ask any further questions.
Sima Zhao looked at the darkening sky outside the hall and said, "All he can do is... sulk in the palace."
He paused, then said to Zhong Hui, "Shiji, expedite the relocation of people."
"Also, the 'Ode to the Auspicious Omens of Liaodong Longjing' can be distributed now."
"Tell Xiangping to tell the story of the 'Double Yellow Dragons Appearing at the Well' as vividly and in as much detail as possible."
Zhong Hui's face showed understanding: "General, are you trying to use the Mandate of Heaven to decide on the relocation of the capital?"
"It's not about moving the capital."
Sima Zhao rose, walked to the iron armor hanging in the hall, and ran his fingers over the cold armor plates:
"It's about moving the capital. Pengcheng is a place of constant warfare, with Han to the north and Wu to the south. It won't be safe sooner or later."
"Although Liaodong is cold, it has the natural defenses of mountains and sea, and with the Xianbei as its allies, it is enough to establish a country."
He paused, then added, "As for whether His Majesty is willing to go... that's not up to him."
Jia Chong said in a low voice, "His Majesty has a fiery temper, I'm afraid..."
"Fierce and resolute?" Sima Zhao turned around and smiled contemptuously. "Gonglu, remember this: the strong are easily broken, and the resolute are easily burned."
"If His Majesty is sensible, I will guarantee him a life of wealth and honor; if he is not sensible..."
He didn't continue speaking, but simply patted the iron armor lightly, causing the armor plates to clash.
-
In the palace.
Cao Mao stared intently at the eight characters: “The affairs of state are numerous and arduous; I will come to pay my respects later.”
These eight characters, written next to the edict he personally wrote, wantonly insulted his dignity as emperor.
"When you come to pay your respects later..." Cao Mao murmured repeatedly, "He's even too lazy to be perfunctory with me anymore."
Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Shen, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Wang Jing, and Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang Ye stood with their heads bowed below.
Wang Jing stepped forward, his face full of worry:
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Since the General has replied in this way, it means... it means that his mind is made up."
"The palace guards are all his former subordinates, and the Pengcheng garrison is entirely under his command. If Your Majesty insists on pursuing this matter, I fear... I fear it may cause unforeseen complications."
"An unexpected turn of events?" Cao Mao looked up, his eyes already brimming with tears.
"Minister Wang, are you afraid of me... afraid that I will be like the deposed Emperor (Cao Fang), and be overthrown from the throne by Sima Zhao?"
Wang Jing knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"Your Majesty, I... that is exactly what I meant! Your Majesty is wise. The matter of deposing the emperor is only three years old. The lesson of the past is still fresh in our minds."
"At that time, the late Grand Tutor (Sima Yi) was deposed and installed on the grounds of 'being muddleheaded and immoral,' and no one in the court dared to speak out."
"The current general's power surpasses that of his father. Your Majesty... Your Majesty is young, and his future is yet to come."
"There's plenty of time in the future?" Cao Mao suddenly laughed bitterly. "Minister Wang, do you think Sima Zhao will give me 'sometimes'?"
His gaze fell on another scroll of silk next to the imperial edict.
This was sent back along with the imperial edict, supposedly a memorial from the Grand General.
Cao Mao reached out and picked it up, then untied the silk ribbon.
The moment the silk scroll was unfurled, a neat and ornate title in clerical script caught his eye:
Ode to the Auspicious Omens of Longjing in Liaodong.
He read on: —
...Strange phenomena suddenly appeared at the old well in Xiangping.
Two yellow dragons appeared, each over three zhang long, with scales as shiny as gold and long whiskers that reached the ground. They circled for three days, their roars like thunder, before soaring into the sky and disappearing.
The elders all saw this and said: This is Heaven's favor upon Liaodong; it should become the residence of an emperor...
-
When he read the phrase "It should be the residence of an emperor," he could no longer contain himself and threw the silk scroll at the feet of the three men.
A trembling finger pointed at the memorial on the ground:
"Sima Zhao... sent back my edict along with this scroll!"
"He wants me to go to Liaodong, to Liaodong!"
"You tell me, what is the point of having plenty of time in the future?"
Wang Ye advised in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, you can be patient for now, and wait until you are older..."
"When I'm older?" Cao Mao interrupted him. "When I'm older, Sima Zhao will have already 'moved' me to Xiangping!"
"When I grow older, people will only remember that there was a 'Wei Emperor' in Liaodong. Who will remember that the Great Wei was the center of the world?"
"I'm not going, I won't go!"
Wang Shen, Wang Ye, and Wang Jing all lay prostrate on the ground, silent.
"You may all leave..." Cao Mao looked at the three men with a disappointed expression, then slumped to the ground. "I... want to be alone for a while."
The three bowed and withdrew.
-
In June of the sixteenth year of the Yanxi era, Sima Zhao wrote back to Emperor Cao Mao of Wei, refusing his summons to court, citing the situation in Qing and Xu. He also attached a volume of "Ode to the Auspicious Omens of Longjing in Liaodong".
Mao received the book and couldn't sleep at night.
That night, Mao sat alone in the West Warm Pavilion, displaying the auspicious omen scroll and rereading it.
Upon seeing phrases such as "two yellow dragons appear in the well" and "the emperor's residence," he suddenly threw the scroll to the ground, looked up at the sky, and laughed, his laughter filled with sorrow.
Then he took a piece of plain silk, ground thick ink, and wrote "The Hidden Dragon" with great effort. The text reads:
Alas, the dragon is trapped, unable to cross the abyss.
It cannot fly above the Milky Way, nor can it be seen below the fields.
It dwells at the bottom of the well, while loaches and eels dance in front of it.
Hiding teeth and concealing claws, alas, so too am I!
After finishing writing, the emperor tapped the two characters "鳅鳝" (loach and eel) again with his finger and said:
"Sima Zhao considers the wells of Liaodong to be the 'dragon's abode,' what does he regard me as?"
"That so-called 'Yellow Dragon' is nothing but a loach and eel in the mud! I would rather have its scales crushed in Pengcheng than move the cauldron to a false well!"
One of the eunuchs who witnessed this secretly reported it to Sima Zhao.
Zhao received the secret report and summoned Jia Chong and Zhong Hui to show it to them.
Unrolling the scroll of poems, upon reading the line "Loaches and eels dance before him," his expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in alarm, "The metaphor of 'loaches and eels' is a direct attack on the Great General..."
Zhong Hui carefully examined the poem manuscript, then suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, saying:
"'Living at the bottom of a well,' Your Majesty compares yourself to a trapped dragon, but you do not know that a dragon at the bottom of a well is a prisoner. This poem is not a declaration of war, but a lament."
Zhao did not reply, but took out the poetry scroll to examine it himself.
His gaze swept over phrases like "cannot cross the abyss" and "hidden teeth and claws," and his expression changed drastically.
Upon reaching the five words "Alas, I am the same," he suddenly threw the scroll to the ground:
"He insults us by calling us 'loach' and compares himself to a 'trapped dragon.' Does he consider us sycophants and himself a true dragon?"
Chong prostrated himself to beg for forgiveness, and Zhao Xu said: "The child uttered such words that pierced the heart... These are not the words of a child, but rather the words of an enemy bestowed by Heaven."
He then decreed: "From this day forward, the number of guards at the palace gates shall be tripled. All the food and drink that the emperor eats and drinks, the documents he reads, and the attendants who are close to him shall be personally inspected by the Tiger-General Cheng Ji."
"The Grand Astrologer is hereby ordered to proclaim to the world immediately: The auspicious signs at Longjing in Liaodong are indeed in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven. The relevant officials are hereby ordered to prepare for the relocation of the capital, and the journey must commence within three months."
After saying this, Zhao looked at the scroll of poems on the ground and sneered, "Since they mocked me with the 'bottom of a well,' I will fill up all the wells under heaven and see where the dragon dwells."
One historian remarked, "This young man is quite good."
Cao Mao was intelligent from a young age, but he was born into a usurper's court and lived during a time when powerful ministers seized power.
To compose a poem about a loach trapped in a dragon at such a young age is like a young phoenix opening its beak at a fierce eagle; though its ambition is sharp, its danger is all the more imminent.
Sima Zhao was already wary of his sharp and assertive nature, and upon seeing this poem, his hatred for him intensified.
Poetry can pierce to the bone, but it can also bring disaster. How tragic!
However, considering the historical context of the three restorations of the Han dynasty, this was in fact a sign of usurpation, internal strife, and self-inflicted destruction.
Emperor Guangwu once said, "The Mandate of Heaven is not constant; only virtue can assist it."
Looking at the predicament of Cao Mao and the tyranny of Sima Zhao, are they not proof of the decline of virtue and the end of the dynasty?