Cao Cao is considered a “hero in a time of chaos” but still loses to 1 person, who is that?

In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the world was in turmoil, Cao Cao emerged as one of the most powerful forces. As a wise man with many schemes and at the same time knowing how to seize opportunities, Cao Cao used the guise of “supporting the emperor to command the vassals” to defeat the vassals in turn, consolidating his power to fulfill his ambitions. unify the world.

It can be said that Cao Cao is a controversial politician in both historical and historical history. “The ruler of the world is powerful, the world is chaotic” (meaning that the servant is good at governing and the villain is in the time of chaos) is none other than Cao Cao. This is the opinion of many people.

However, those who have read the Three Kingdoms Chi and the Three Kingdoms interpret the meaning, perhaps even discovered that there is a person who is even more devious than Cao Cao.

That is Sima Italy.

Sima Yi was born into the famous Sima family in the Eastern Han Dynasty when there were many generations of mandarins. Cao Cao’s background was initially much lower and less famous than Sima Yi. Cao Tung (Cao Cao’s father) is the adopted son of Cao Teng, one of the most powerful eunuchs in the Eastern Han court.

At the age of 20, after passing the Hieu Liem exam, Cao Cao was recommended by the Kinh Trieu Doan, Tu Ma Phong, the father of Sima Yi, to hold the position of Northern Commandant in the capital Luoyang. Therefore, Cao Cao naturally appreciates the Sima family.

Sima Fang had 8 sons, each of whom had a letter ending in the word Dat, so they were collectively known as Sima Bat Dat. Of the eight sons of Sima Fang, Sima Yi (the second son) is the most prominent.

Sima Yi is not only erudite and talented, but also good at maneuvers. In his youth, he was soon famous all over the world.

Although Cao Cao is ruthless with his enemies, he is a person who values ​​talent. Realizing the talent of Sima Yi, Cao Cao had an invitation to recruit. However, due to the profound influence of Confucianism, Sima Yi initially did not tolerate the act of controlling the court, using the son of heaven to command Cao Cao’s vassals.

In order to reject Cao Cao, Sima Yi fabricated a lie on the pretext that he was ill. Cao Cao at that time was putting all his strength into fighting Yuan Shao, preparing for the decisive battle, so he temporarily did not put pressure on Sima Yi.

In 208, after defeating Yuan Shao’s forces and at the same time mastering the vast North, Cao Cao became Prime Minister, so he ordered Sima Yi to join the government and said that if he escaped, he should be arrested. .

Fearing that something bad would happen, Sima Yi finally accepted to serve under Cao Cao.

Cao Cao is always on guard against Sima Yi

Although he appointed Sima Yi to the corresponding position, Cao Cao did not fully trust him. Cao Cao is famous for being suspicious, so he is always on guard against Sima Yi.

Faced with Cao Cao’s suspicions, Sima Yi has always been loyal, motionless, cautious, and patiently waiting for the right opportunity, for the future of the Sima family.

Cao Cao knows how to look at people, even though he knows that Sima Yi is talented, he has repeatedly reminded his son Cao Phi to be more careful with Sima Yi.

After Cao Cao died in 220 AD, Cao Phi succeeded and became the King of Wei, then Emperor Wei Wen. Sima Yi soon became Cao Phi’s effective assistant when he was one of the people who helped Cao Phi ascend to the throne.

Thanks to Cao Phi’s shrewdness and trust, Sima Yi quickly rose to prominence, having real power and responsibility at times like the Prime Minister.

Before his death in 226, Cao Phi entrusted his successor, Cao Due, to Sima Yi, Cao Chan, and Tran Quan. Therefore, when Cao Rui ascended the throne, he trusted Sima Yi very much and even gave him the title of General of the Cavalry of the Earth, taking control of the army in Yuzhou and Jingzhou.

After that, Sima Yi also participated in the war against Shu Han for a long time.

Tolerating and hiding forbearance during the three generations of the Cao family, it was not until Cao Phuong ascended the throne that Sima Y really revealed his ambition to compete for the throne for the Sima clan.

Sima Yi revealed his ambition to seize power

The climax was in 249, when the Wei emperor Cao Phuong and Cao Sang (a powerful god under the Wei emperor Cao Phuong) were outside Luoyang to visit Cao Due’s mausoleum, with the help of some anti-government officials. Cao Sang and the order from Empress Dowager Quach, Sima Yi ordered to close all the gates of Luoyang, and at the same time sent a notice to Cao Phuong, accusing Cao Sang of corrupting the court…

In the end, Cao Sang chose to surrender to Sima Yi because he thought he would keep all his positions. However, later Sima Yi ordered the execution of Cao Shuang, who was also on the side, their relative.

Cao Binh’s transformation was a spectacular overthrow of Sima Yi that made the Wei emperor only exist in theory. This overthrow helped Sima Yi gain the most powerful position in the court, creating an important foundation for his grandson Sima Yan to usurp the Wei house, establish the Jin dynasty, unify the world and end During the Three Kingdoms period, there were many changes.

Later people evaluated Cao Cao as “a villain”, but compared to Sima Yi, it was probably still far behind. Sima Yi is too cautious, hiding, hiding, and gradually gaining trust from doubts, then gradually grasping power little by little. Who would have thought that, in his life, he endured 4 generations of the Cao family, but at the age of 70, Sima Yi carried out a spectacular coup d’etat. The transformation of Cao Binh was the opportunity that Sima Y had been waiting for all her life and finally succeeded to create the premise for the Sima family’s dream of claiming the throne.