"Sima Zhao's heart, known to passers-by" is a widely circulated idiom, meaning: Sima Zhao's ambitions are already very obvious. However, few people know that this idiom actually came from the great-grandson of Cao Cao, the emperor of Weiwu, that is, the fourth emperor of the State of Wei.
Sima Zhao was the second son of the powerful chancellor Sima Yi, and he had become an important figure in the imperial court since Cao Shuang of the Cao clan was killed by Sima Yi. In the first year of the Reign (254), Sima Zhao's brother Sima Shi deposed Emperor Cao Fang and installed Cao Fang, who was only thirteen years old, as emperor. Cao Xian was still young, and the major affairs of the state could only be listened to by the two brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao.
After the death of his brother Sima Shi, Sima Zhao took sole control of the imperial government in the name of a great general and trampled the Cao royal family under his feet. Seeing that Sima Zhao's power was getting bigger and bigger every day, many ministers in the imperial court sided with the Sima family. They continued to write letters to Emperor Cao of Wei, advocating Sima Zhao's merits. The Wei emperor Cao Xian had no choice but to issue an edict in the third year of Ganlu (258) and crown Sima Zhao as the Duke of Jin as a sign of commendation.
However, Sima Zhao insisted on not accepting it, and resigned a total of nine times before and after, and this matter was put to rest. In the fifth year of Ganlu (260), the ministers were even more urgent about sealing Sima Zhao as the Duke of Jin. Although Cao Xian's qi was full of smoke, he still issued a holy will according to the requirements of the group of courtiers. Sima Zhao thought that everything was under control and did not value the false name of the Duke of Jin at all. He once again retorted, saying that he had no desire for power.
Sima Zhao's mischievous attitude completely angered Cao Xian, who was only nineteen years old at the time, the age of Fang Gang. Unlike those emperors who were obscure and obscure, the young and vigorous Cao Xian was bent on killing Sima Zhao in order to consolidate his imperial power. One night, he summoned Shang Shu Wang Jing, Wang Shen of summoning servants, and Wang Ye of The Scattered Horse Changshi to the court, and then, angrily, said, "Sima Zhao's heart is well known to passers-by." If this continues, it will be abolished by Sima Zhao. Today, Shuo plans to kill Sima Zhao with you! ”
Wang Jing had always been a supporter of Cao Xian, and when he heard this, he was shocked and hurriedly dissuaded: "During the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Zhaogong, the ruler of the State of Lu, was dissatisfied with Ji's stubbornness and angrily attacked the Ji clan. The result? After the defeat, Zhaogong first fled to the State of Qi and then to the State of Jin, and was ridiculed by the people of the world. Although His Majesty was very dissatisfied with Sima Zhao, he had already turned power to the opposition before His Majesty took the throne, and now it is even more difficult to shake. Your Majesty, if you think about it, do you really have the strength to destroy Sima Zhao? If you are angry, it is not to cure the disease but to make it more serious. ”
Nineteen-year-old Cao Xian did not consider the consequences at all, he ignored Wang Jing's words, and said indifferently: "How about doing this?" To die is to die, and not necessarily to die. After saying this, he went directly into the palace to warn the empress dowager, leaving only Wang Jing, Wang Shen, and Wang Ye who were stuck in the same place. However, Wang Shen and Wang Ye had already colluded with Sima Zhao, and after Cao Xian left, the two prepared to report the matter to Sima Zhao, and planned to take Wang Jing along. However, Wang Jing scoffed at wang and Shen's behavior and refused to report with them.
The situation was urgent, and Wang Shen and Wang Ye ignored Wang Jing and hurried to meet Sima Zhao to explain the matter. After Sima Zhao heard this, he immediately ordered the defender Jia Chong to lead people to block it. Jia Chong had just walked out of the gate when he met the murderous Cao Fu. Cao Xian held the sword in his hand and ordered the guards to let go, otherwise he would go on a killing spree. Although Cao Xian was a puppet, he was the nominal emperor after all. Jia Chong's guards were worried about hurting the emperor, so they retreated step by step.
Crown Prince Chengji was Sima Zhao's confidant, and he was also a mangy man with well-developed limbs and a simple mind. Seeing that Cao Xian was getting closer and closer to Sima Zhao's palace, he hurriedly asked Jia Chong, "The situation is critical, how can it be good?" Jia Chong said loudly, "Sima Gong has raised you for so many years, and it is precisely because he wants you to stand up today." That's it, what else is there to ask! Jia Chong originally wanted Cheng Ji to block Cao Xian, but unexpectedly, the brave and unscrupulous Cheng Ji actually stabbed Cao Ji directly to death. After Cao Xian's death, Sima Zhao was terrified.
As we all know, Cheng Ji is his subordinate, Cheng Ji Jun, that is no different from his own Executioner. Although Sima Zhao was the de facto supreme leader, he could not bear the name of this emperor. Once this matter is not handled well, then there will be great chaos in the world, and there will be countless people rebelling against Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao knew the seriousness of the matter, and he invited his confidant Chen Tai to a secluded place, and then sincerely asked, "Now, what should I do?" Chen Tai said, "Only by killing Jia Chong can I apologize to the people of the world." ”
Jia Chong followed Sima Zhao for many years, and Sima Zhao could not bear to kill him, so he asked Chen Tai again, "Sir, can you think of a way to take a step back?" Chen Tai shook his head and said, "I can only go one step further, I can't take another step back." After Sima Zhaosi thought about it, he still couldn't bear to kill Jia Chong. In the end, he attributed all the blame to Cheng Ji. Cheng Ji knew that he would not be able to escape death, so he ran to the roof and scolded Sima Zhao. Sima Zhao's guards shot arrows at the roof, and Cheng Ji had no way to hide, so he was shot alive.
Sima Zhao wanted to stabilize the situation, so he explained to Empress Guo that he was worried about the safety of the empress, so he used his guards to stop Cao Xian. Moreover, Chengji's behavior has nothing to do with himself. Empress Guo had no real power in her hands, so she had to let Sima Zhao speak of black as white. In order to calm the anger of the people, Sima Zhao also stripped Cao Xi of his title of emperor, no longer calling him emperor, but "noble township prince". In this way, it is not the emperor who dies, but the noble village prince. However, Sima Zhao's tricks could only deceive himself, but he could not deceive the people of the world.
When Cao Xian was buried, the people of the past gathered together, looked at Cao Xian's body, and said sadly: "This is the Son of Heaven who was killed a few days ago." After saying that, everyone couldn't bear to look at it anymore, and they covered their faces and cried incessantly. After burying Cao Xian, Sima Zhao did not dare to establish himself as emperor. He continued to take cao as the orthodox and made cao yi, who was only fourteen years old, emperor. Compared with Cao Xian, Cao Huan is more like a puppet. At that time, the ministers in the imperial court were only Sima Zhao's leaders, and few of them listened to Cao Wan's orders.
In the second year of Xianxi (265), Sima Zhao died of illness. After his son Sima Yan dealt with his father's affairs, he immediately forced Cao Yan to ascend the throne himself as emperor, that is, Emperor Wu of Jin. After Cao Huan abdicated the throne, Emperor Wu of Jin made him the Prince of Chen Liu and sent him to the fiefdom to spend the rest of his life. In the first year of Tai'an (302), Cao Yi died in the fiefdom at the age of fifty-eight.
Resources:
[The Book of Jin, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, and the Chronicle of the Three Young Emperors cite the Spring and Autumn of the Han Dynasty]