Cao Zhang is the most adept at fighting among all Cao Cao's sons. If you put aside the style of a military commander who fights alone in the novel, Cao Zhang should be an excellent tactical commander. However, he had no intention of taking the throne, so he was excluded from the candidate circle of successors by Cao Cao early. So if Cao Cao dies, will Cao Zhang have a chance to seize the throne?
Cao Zhang does not like reading, but only likes to gallop on the battlefield. This may be another kind of wisdom. For Cao Cao, a great writer, it would be outrageous if his son did not read some books. Both were born to Mrs. Bian. Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were both knowledgeable and well-spoken. These two people are as famous as Cao Cao and are called the Three Caos. Their attainments in the history of literature are quite high. But Cao Zhang was a different kind. Mrs. Bian gave birth to four sons. Except for the one who died young, they were Cao Pi, Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang.
Cao Zhang is completely different from his two brothers in that he does not like reading at all. But Cao Zhang was also a military genius on the battlefield, which puzzled Cao Cao. This kid actually has great wisdom and can command thousands of troops to gallop on the battlefield. Can't he just calm down and read two books? So Cao Cao asked Cao Zhang tentatively, why don't you like reading? Cao Zhang replied to Cao Cao, a real man should gallop on the battlefield and wrap his body in horse leather. How can he study at home?
Ren Chengwei Wang Zhang, courtesy name Ziwen. Shao is good at shooting and guarding, has extraordinary physical strength, can handle fierce beasts, and does not avoid danger. Several conquests were made, and the will was generous. Taizu tried to suppress it and said: "You don't want to study and admire the holy way, but you are interested in riding a horse and fencing. What is the use of this person?" He read "Poems" and "Books" in class, and said to the left and right: "My husband once served as Wei and Huo. He rode a hundred thousand horses through the desert, drove away the soldiers and Di, and made great achievements in building trumpets. How can he be a doctor?" ? Taizu asked the disciples what they liked, and asked each of them to express his ambition. Zhang said: "It's good to be a general". Taizu said: "What can I do?" ?The answer is: ?Be strong and sharp, ignore the difficulties, and be the first soldier; reward must be done, and punishment must be faithful. ? Taizu laughed.
"Three Kingdoms" Cao Cao's face suddenly changed. He thought that Cao Zhang was not enlightened. How could the wisdom in the book be underestimated? Especially for those who govern the country, reading is even more important. From history books, you can refer to how some past emperors ruled the world. This is what Cao Cao wants his sons to understand. The meaning of Cao Zhang's statement is actually very clear. I don't care about your position as the heir apparent. I'll leave it to your other two sons to fight for. So Cao Zhang was not a fool. He understood what Cao Cao meant when he said this, so he also used it to express his attitude.
A hundred thousand troops are approaching the city. If Cao Zhang wants to seize the throne, it is actually just a matter of words. After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi naturally inherited the throne. He is the prince, and he has defeated Cao Zhi before and gained Cao Cao's recognition. So Cao Zhang had no reason to seize the throne. If Cao Zhang wants to seize the throne, it is actually not impossible. First of all, his status is reasonable. He is the son of Cao Cao and the son of Mrs. Bian, so he is also the legitimate son.
In addition, he has an army of one hundred thousand, enough to march all over the royal city. Many literary works do exaggerate this period of history, saying that Cao Zhang led an army of 100,000 to approach the royal city. The purpose was actually to get Cao Pi to hand over the throne. If Cao Zhang really did this, he first needed to make some preparations, which was to bribe the guards along the way. Because mobilizing an army of 100,000 troops is not a small-scale operation, if Cao Zhang fails to complete the procedures, he can only bribe the generals guarding the route to achieve a certain relationship of interest. When Taizu arrived in Luoyang, he fell ill and sent a post to Zhaozhang. Before he arrived, Taizu died. Emperor Wen ascended the throne and settled in the country with the princes.
The imperial edict said: "The way of the former kings, Yongxun kisses each other, establishes mother and brother, establishes the country and inherits the family, so it can protect a large number of vassals and resist insults and hardships." Zhangqian was ordered to conduct the Northern Expedition, and he made great achievements in clearing Shuo's territory. Five thousand new towns were added, and the first ten thousand households were merged. ?---"Three Kingdoms" At this time, he came straight to the royal city. Cao Pi only had a few thousand imperial troops in his hands, and he was no match for Cao Zhang in the war, so the throne would inevitably be seized by Cao Zhang.
But did Cao Zhang do this?
No, because he knew that even if he seized the throne, he would not be able to govern the country well. Cao Pi was both civil and military and was deeply loved by Cao Cao. There was a reason for him to become the heir. Besides, Cao Zhang was unwilling to go against his father's last wish. He would rather recognize Cao Pi as the King of Wei than betray Cao Cao, because everything he had was given by Cao Cao.
Cao Pi was ungrateful and Cao Zhang met a miserable end. After Cao Pi ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, he treated his brothers superficially well, and all of them were given royal titles. In particular, his biggest political enemy Cao Zhi was spared by Cao Pi and was named King of Dong'a. Although Cao Zhang was promoted to King of Rencheng, it is worth noting that Cao Zhang lost his military power. Such a brother who commanded 100,000 troops may become a constraint on Cao Pi's rule at any time. In name, he was promoted to an official position, but in fact, he was deprived of Cao Zhang's military power.
Cao Zhang, who has lost his military power, is like a lion trapped in a zoo. No matter how ferocious he is, he cannot display his abilities. So he drank and had fun at home all day long, and soon his health was ruined. You have to know that he is a fierce general who has been through life and death, how could he possibly damage his body so easily? Moreover, when he died, he was only 34 years old. He did not live as long as Cao Pi, let alone compared with Cao Zhi. It can be seen that the death of Huang Xuer and Cao Zhang was actually unusual. Because the place where he died is also relatively sensitive, it was in Cao Pi's palace.
In the fourth year of Huangchu's reign, Cao Zhang went to the palace to pay an audience, but he died in the palace. Emperor Wen of Wei refused to appoint Xiao Zhuang as the king of the city. Because he played Go and ate jujube in Queen Mother Bian's Pavilion. Emperor Wen put poison into the pedicles of jujubes: he selected the edible ones and put them in. Wang Fu realized that, so he mixed them in. Since he was poisoned, the Queen Mother asked for water to save him. The emperor ordered the left and right people to destroy the bottles and jars. The Queen Mother went to the well in bed, unable to draw water. After a while, she died. When she wanted to harm Dong'a again, the Queen Mother said: "You have already killed me in Rencheng, and you are not allowed to kill me in Dong'a again."
"Shishuoxinyu" Many people began to doubt, because Cao Zhang was young and the place where he died was too sensitive. Was it Cao Pi? In fact, ancient people made speculations about this. It is said that when Cao Pi was playing chess with Cao Zhang, because Cao Zhang was more fascinated, Cao Pi took the opportunity to ask the maids to bring dates. As a result, Cao Zhang was poisoned and died after eating the dates. It turned out that Cao Pi had poisoned the dates because he was afraid of the bravery of his eldest brother Cao Zhang. Of course, the authenticity of this story cannot be tested, and it does not make sense.
After all, Cao Zhang had no military power at the time and was under constant surveillance by Cao Pi. He had no chance to rebel. Cao Pi's mother was still alive, and he did not dare to kill his brother for no reason. However, it can be seen from this that after Cao Pi ascended the throne, the lives of his brothers were actually not stable. On the one hand, they have lost their power and lack the ability to protect themselves. On the other hand, I am under surveillance and it is inconvenient to travel.
Summary: If Cao Zhang rebels, the old Cao family may be in chaos in advance. If Cao Zhang rebels, he does have a chance to succeed. As long as he kills Cao Cao's other sons, it will be logical for him to become the heir. This is the same as Li Shimin's rebellion later. Li Yuan had no reason not to recognize Li Shimin's legitimacy. After all, he was also his son. But after Cao Zhang rebelled, was he qualified for the position of emperor? This matter is suspicious, because Cao Cao has not deliberately cultivated his son's ability to govern the country, so he knows nothing about it.
He likes to fight. After becoming an emperor, he will inevitably go militarily and invade Shuhan and Soochow. The result is very likely to consume all the strength of Cao Wei's regime. As an emperor, Cao Pi is still much better than Cao Zhang. Cao Zhang did realize this problem, so for the sake of the foundation of the old Cao family, it was impossible for Cao Zhang to rebel.
Reference materials: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Shishuoxinyu".