In the history of the Three Kingdoms period, there was a character named Cao Shuang. He was the general and prime minister of the Wei state, and once held power. However, in his rivalry with another important figure, Sima Yi, he was defeated for a seemingly absurd reason.
The story takes place in 239 AD, when Emperor Ming of Wei died and Cao Ei ascended the throne as emperor. Cao Rong was still young and could not handle national affairs, so Cao Shuang and another minister, Li Feng, jointly assisted the government. At this time, the young emperor was very dependent on the two great generals and did not have his own opinions. This provided an opportunity for the powerful ministers to usurp the throne.
However, another politician at the time, Sima Yi, was not such a person. He was a thoughtful and resourceful politician who had been secretly gathering strength for a long time to seize power. He had a deep affection for the young emperor and knew the importance of power. But instead of taking it outright, he chose to wait for the moment.
It wasn't until 249 BC, after the death of Cao Cao's second son, Cao Zhang, that Sima Yi saw an opportunity. He believes that if he can kill Cao Shuang, then he will be able to successfully take power. So, on this day, he staged a coup d'état.
However, in the course of this coup, many unbelievable things happened. The most famous of these is the "Luoshui Alliance". Sima Yi once swore to Cao Shuang: "If I have a different heart, let the gods sink me into the Luoshui of Luoyang." Then he invited some friends close to him to be his witnesses.
At the time, everyone thought it was a ridiculous oath. They all knew that no one would be stupid enough to do something like this, even if the spell really existed. However, Cao Shuang didn't think so. He seemed to be moved by Sima Yi's words, and he actually believed it and let go of the doubts in his heart.
As a result, as the prophecy says, Sima Yi later did stage a coup d'état and succeeded in killing Cao Shuang and his henchmen. This incident made many people wonder if Sima Yi had really made that oath. But in any case, Cao Shuang was fooled and deceived to the end by this seemingly absurd story.
Overall, the "Luoshui Alliance" was a very dramatic event. It shows us the weakness in human nature: some people may be easily deceived by the words of others, and may even put their lives on the words of others. It also reminds us to be vigilant in our lives and not to easily trust other people's words, especially those that sound outrageous.