How long has Cao Rui reigned? Cao Rui reigned
After the formation of the Three Kingdoms, many people will pay attention to Liu Chan's incompetence and Zhuge Liang's dedication, and at most pay attention to the sinister and vicious Cao Pi. In fact, Cao Pi was not the protagonist of the Three Kingdoms. The emperor who established the regime of Cao Wei died after only six years in power. What really played a crucial role was his son Cao Rui, who reigned for a total of 13 years. In the later stage of his reign, he had the strength to destroy Wu Shu, but due to his own ability problems, the success was almost complete. After his death, due to improper personnel arrangements, he handed over the country in disguise to Sima Yi.
In the early stage of Cao Rui's succession, the Cao Wei regime reached its peak
In 220 AD, Cao Pi, who had inherited the throne of King Wei, forced Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty to give up his throne, and then he established the regime of Cao Wei. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this character has been repeatedly vilified. In fact, he is the founder of the dominant Cao Wei regime. During the reign of Cao Pi, his attitude has always been to see no rabbits and no eagles. Except for the opportunity of Wu and Shu to expose themselves, Cao Pi will not take the initiative to attack opponents. Due to the destruction of long-term war, the Central Plains has always been sparsely populated. At that time, the total population of Wei State was only 4.70 million, which was less than one-tenth of the period of Emperor Wu of Han. In order to restore national strength, Cao Pi's attitude was to recuperate. He proposed a plan to stop fighting for 10 years and focus on production work, but due to the harassment of Wu and Shu countries, this plan was ultimately lost. During the reign of Cao Pi, people's livelihood in the Central Plains did recover to a certain extent. But this life was too thin, and the emperor died after only 6 years.
If Cao Pi hadn't died young, the unification of the three kingdoms would not have fallen into the hands of Sima Yan, an incompetent person. After Cao Pi's death, his young son Cao Rui succeeded him. At that time, Cao Rui was in his early 20s, which was a good age to show his ambitions. In the early days of his succession, he continued Cao Pi's policy of restoring people's livelihood. It was in the early stage of Cao Rui's ascension to the throne that the power of Cao Wei's regime reached its peak. However, after some achievements, the emperor got a little carried away. He began to build a lot of construction and build luxurious palaces, which was something that could not have been imagined during Cao Pi's period. From this incident, two points can be seen. First, after more than 10 years of development, Cao Wei's foundation has indeed thickened a lot and he has been able to build large-scale projects. Second, Cao Rui's ability is far inferior to that of Cao Cao and Cao Pi. He belongs to a master who maintains success.
Second, knowing people and being good at their responsibilities has achieved an overwhelming advantage in the military
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition is well known, but many people do not know that Zhuge Liang's opponent is not Sima Yi. In the first year of Cao Rui's ascension to the throne, Zhuge Liang wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that Cao Wei had just changed his master to test the level of the new master. Zhuge Liang led the Northern Expedition, and for a while, the Guanzhong area shook. At this time, Cao Rui ordered the general Cao Zhen to lead the army to face the battle, and he himself was in charge of Chang'an. In order to coordinate Zhuge Liang's actions, Sun Quan also sent the famous general Lu Xun to attack the Jianghuai area. In the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Sima Yi is said to be the main opponent of Zhuge Liang, but this is just a novel. In real history, Sima Yi has been in charge of the fierce battle with the Soochow in the Jianghuai area, and the severely demonized Cao Zhen is Zhuge Liang's opponent. In the end, Cao Rui proved to Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun that although he was not as capable as his grandfather and father, he was not easy to bully.
In the later period of Cao Rui's reign, the talents of the three countries had seriously withered. Especially in the Shu Han Dynasty, at this time Zhuge Liang had passed away, and the Shu Han regime basically relied on Jiang Wan and Jiang Wei to support it. What's more, the internal stability of the Shu Han Dynasty was not stable, and Jiang Wei, as an outsider, needed to cultivate his own forces. The Soochow regime was not much stronger than the Shu Han, and Sun Quan in his later years was already very dizzy. If there was an emperor of great talent in the Central Plains, the unification of the three kingdoms would be completed within 10 years. It's a pity that Cao Rui is not such a person. He also began to enjoy life and indulge in wine. It seems that everything in Wei is his credit. In fact, this is the foundation laid by Cao Cao and Cao Pi, and Cao Rui just sat back and enjoyed it. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was very similar in this regard. He was known as a perfect old man, and the so-called Qianlong prosperous age was repeatedly boasted It is under such circumstances that Cao Rui's physical condition is getting worse and worse.
III. What is pushed is not human, so that in the end power falls by the wayside
In the later years of Cao Rui's reign, Cao Rui, who was already in very bad health, received the Japanese ambassadors to pay tribute, but now the shameless Japan does not admit this. Cao Rui was only 36 years old when he died, and his father died a year earlier. During his serious illness, he left two orphan ministers for his son Cao Fang, one Cao Shuang and the other Sima Yi. This was a serious mistake by Cao Rui, who forgot the conflict between Zhuge Liang and Li Yan. After Cao Rui's death, Sima Yi began to take action. Against the inexperienced Cao Shuang, the cunning Sima Yi won in one move. After that, although the Cao Wei clan repeatedly rebelled, Sima Yi finally succeeded in pacifying them. Cao Fang became a puppet in the hands of Sima Yi, and this situation is simply a replica of Cao Cao and Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty. Cao Rui harmed his son because he did not investigate for a while, and also handed over the wealth accumulated by the entire family for decades to Sima Yi.
