At this time, a soldier suddenly reported that Hua Xin had come from Xuchang. Everyone was very surprised when they heard it. Soon Hua Xin arrived. Everyone asked him what he meant by coming. Hua Xin said: "The King of Wei has passed away, and the world is shocked. , why not invite the crown prince to inherit the throne earlier?"
Everyone said: "Because we didn't get the prince's order, we were just discussing to make the prince king according to Queen Bian's will."
Hua Xin said: "I have already gone to the palace and obtained the edict from Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty."
After hearing this, everyone came forward to congratulate. Hua Xin took out the edict from his arms and read it. It turned out that Hua Xin drafted this edict in order to please the new King of Wei, and went to the palace to threaten Emperor Xian. Emperor Xian had no choice but to obey, so he issued the edict. The edict conferred upon Cao Pi the title of King of Wei, Prime Minister, and led the shepherd of Jizhou. Cao Pi ascended the throne and began his life as the King of Wei.
While everyone was having a banquet, it was suddenly reported that Cao Zhang, the Marquis of Yanling, had personally arrived from Chang'an with an army of 100,000. Cao Pi was very surprised and asked the officials: "My little brother with a yellow beard usually likes martial arts and has a strong temperament." , now he comes from afar with his troops and horses, he must be here to compete with me for the throne, what should I do?"
Suddenly a man came out from the bottom of the steps and said, "I would like to see Marquis Yanling and give him some advice."
Everyone responded one after another: "If you are not a doctor, there is no way to eliminate this disaster!" That person was Jia Kui, the doctor who advised him.
Cao Pi was very happy and ordered Jia Kui to go. He followed the order and went out of the city to meet Cao Zhang. Cao Zhang asked, "Where is the seal and ribbon of the late king?"
Jia Kui said seriously: "There is an eldest son in the family and a prince in the country. The seal and ribbon of the late king are not something that a prince should ask about."
Cao Zhang was speechless, and entered the city with Jia Kui. When they arrived in front of the palace gate, Jia Kui asked tentatively: "Are you coming here to attend a funeral, or to compete for the throne?"
Cao Zhang said: "I'm here for the funeral. I hope I don't have any other ideas."
Jia Kui said: "Since there is nothing different, why do you bring soldiers and horses into the city?"
Cao Zhanghui thought of it, and immediately dismissed the soldiers on the left and right, entered alone, and paid homage to Cao Pi. The two brothers hugged each other and burst into tears.
Cao Zhang handed over all his troops and horses to Cao Pi. Cao Pi asked Cao Zhang to return to his original place to guard. Cao Zhang paid his respects and left.
So Cao Pi took the throne in An'an, and reorganized the 25th year of An'an into the first year of Yankang. He made Jia Xu the Taiwei, Hua Xin the Prime Minister, and Wang Lang the Imperial Censor. All the bureaucrats, big and small, were rewarded.
Cao Cao was later granted the title of King Wu and was buried in Gaoling, Ye County. Yu Jin was put in charge of the management of the mausoleum. When he arrived after being ordered to do so, he only saw on the white wall of the mausoleum a picture of Guan Yu flooding the seven armies and capturing Yu Jin. In the painting, Guan Yu seems to be sitting up, Pang De is angry and unyielding, and Yu Jin is kneeling on the ground, begging Guan Yu to let him go.
It turns out that these were all deliberately arranged by Cao Pi, because after Yu Jin was defeated and captured, he could not die. Since he surrendered to the enemy and had the nerve to come back, he despised him as a person in his heart, so he had someone draw such a picture in advance. Let him watch on purpose.
After Yu Jin saw this portrait, he was very ashamed and angry. He became ill from anger and died of illness soon after.
The overall situation was decided. Hua Xin reported to Cao Pi: "The Marquis of Yanling has delivered his troops and horses and returned to his fief. However, Hou Zhi of Linzi and Marquis Xiong of Xiaohuai did not come to the funeral. They should be punished."
Cao Pi followed this suggestion and immediately sent two envoys to their fiefdom to question the crime. Within a day, Xiao Huai's envoy reported that Cao Xiong had committed suicide because he was afraid of being punished.
Cao Pi was very angry after hearing this. He did not expect that he would challenge him just after he took the throne, so he sent Xu Chu with more than 3,000 Tiger Guards to quickly come to Linzi to capture Cao Zhi and others. Xu Chu was ordered to go and arrived with his troops and horses. The guarding generals stopped him. Xu Chu killed him on the spot and rushed into the city. No one dared to stop him. Xu Chu quickly arrived at the palace. I saw Cao Zhi, Ding Yi, Ding Gong and others all drunk and lying on the ground.
The soldiers sent by Xu Chu were tied up and put on cars. All the officials of the government, big and small, were taken to Ye County to await Cao Pi's instructions.
Cao Pi directly ordered that Ding Yi, Ding Gong and others be executed. Ding Yi was called Zhengli and Ding Chou was saluted. The people of Peijun were all famous local literati. After they were executed, everyone else felt very sorry.
Cao Pi's mother, Bian, was very sad when she heard that Cao Xiong had committed suicide. She also heard that Cao Zhi had been captured and other party members Ding Yi had been killed. She was very surprised and hurriedly left the palace gate and summoned Cao Pi to see him.
When Cao Pi saw his mother coming out, he hurriedly came out to see her. Bian cried and said to Cao Pi: "Your brother Cao Zhi likes to drink and is very arrogant in his life. He is very indulgent because he thinks he has some talents. You can read him as his brother." Emotions, leave his life behind, I can only rest in peace under the Nine Springs."
Cao Pi said: "I also love his talent very much. How could I harm him? Now I am just preparing to help him get rid of his temper. Mother, don't worry."
After receiving the answer, Bian returned to the palace. Cao Pi left the side hall and summoned Cao Zhi to meet him. Hua Xin asked, "Did the Queen Mother just now advise Her Highness not to kill Cao Zhi?"
Cao Pi nodded and said, "That's right."
Hua Xin said: "Cao Zhi has some talent and ambition. After all, he is not a thing in the pond. If he is not eliminated early, he will definitely become a trouble in the future."
Cao Pi said: "You can't disobey mother's orders!"
Hua Xin said: "People say that Cao Zhi can speak well. I have never believed it. The Lord can call him in and let him show his talent. If he can't, then kill him. If he can, then demote him. He can eliminate the world's literati. mouth."
Cao Pi followed this suggestion, and Cao Zhi entered the meeting, his expression full of fear.
Cao Pi said: "Although you and I are brothers, we are also monarchs and ministers. How dare you despise etiquette just because of your talents? When my father was still here, you often used articles to reflect your talents. I deeply suspect that it was because of others. Ghostwriter, I now require you to recite a poem within seven steps. If you can, then you can be exempted from death. If not, I will definitely punish you and will never tolerate it!"
Cao Zhi bowed and said, "I hope I can get a topic."
At that time, there was an ink painting hanging in the hall, which showed two cows standing on the earth wall. One cow fell into the well and died. Cao Pi pointed at the painting and said: "Let this painting be used as the title. Two cows are not allowed to fight against the wall in the poem." Below, the words "A cow fell into a well and died."
Cao Zhi took seven steps and the poem was completed. Cao Pi and the ministers were all surprised. Cao Pi said again: "It's done in seven steps. I think there's still some hesitation. Can you compose a poem in response?"
Cao Zhi said: "I hope I can get the title."
Cao Pi said: "You and I are brothers. If you use this as the title, you are not allowed to have the word "brother" in the article."
Without thinking, Cao Zhi immediately composed a poem. The content is: Boil the beans and burn the beans, and the beans weep in the cauldron. They are born from the same roots, so there is no need to rush into each other!
