Thousand-year-old family: its rise began with Shang Yang’s reforms

Chapter 405 God is watching

It was the end of the 34th year of Zhengtong, and Sima Yi finally sat on the supreme position as he wished and became the emperor.

The first decree he issued after becoming the Son of Heaven was to change the country's name, the era name, and to lavishly reward his officials.

Sima Yi changed the country's name to "Jin", inheriting the name of one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. The meaning is very clear. He wanted to take advantage of the national fortune of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and then achieve his own unification.

Then the reign was changed to "Tai Shi"

This reign title was totally unworthy of its name. After all, "An Tai" had never begun and the world was still in a state of division.

But no one dared to refute Sima Yi's words. After all, even Cao Cao did not dare to take this step back then, but let his son take this step.

What for?
Isn't it because you are afraid of the gossip of people all over the world?

But Sima Yi was not afraid.

Or he doesn't care.

Because not only did he want to usurp the throne, he also wanted to do something even more shameful.

Weiyang Palace
Sima Yi sat there with a gloomy look on his face. The imperial physician came last night and said that his body could no longer hold on. It was as if he had let out a breath of air, which had exhausted the "lamp oil" in his body.

Simply put, what he had thought and wished for in his heart had been accomplished.

The completion of this task made the muscle in his heart relax, and this relaxation caused his body to collapse like a mountain.

Sima Yi was not overly worried about his impending death. He knew the condition of his own body very well. The only reason he had been able to survive all these years was because of the desire in his heart - the desire to usurp the throne.

Now that his wish has come true, he doesn't care about death anymore.

However, there was one thing he wanted to do before he died.

Only by doing this can he feel truly at ease.

He wanted to kill all members of the Cao clan, he wanted to kill Cao Mao!
"call--"

Sima Yi sighed deeply, then looked at Sima Zhao in front of him and said, "Zhao'er, if I leave, the Jin Dynasty will be handed over to you. You should know the danger of the Cao family."

"I want to kill them all, what do you think?"

Kill them all?
Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment, but then he reacted in his heart.

The oath we made back then was just an oath. How could we hold back when dealing with the Cao clan?

If I really hold back, what will happen if something happens in the future?
Are we going to give up this world?
But he still hesitated: "Father, you swore an oath on the bank of Luo River that Sima would not harm anyone in Cao family. Now you have broken your promise. I am afraid you will be cursed for eternity."

Sima Yi just sneered: "Infamy? Is infamy as important as power?"

There was a gloomy look in his eyes: "I'll leave this matter to you."

Sima Yi looked at the hesitant Sima Zhao and said directly: "After completing this matter, I will abdicate to you, and you will be the new emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty!"

He said with emotion: "You should have heard from the Imperial Physician that I only have one or two months left to live. If I fail to fulfill my wish, I will not be able to rest in peace even if I die."

Sima Yi covered his chest and said, "Recently, I have dreamed every night that in the future, the Cao clan will join forces to beg the Chen clan and take the world back again."

"I am afraid in my heart!"

His eyes were full of tears, and Sima Zhao's eyes instantly turned red: "Father, I understand!"

"Your son will definitely complete your request!"

After Sima Zhao left, Sima Yi's expression instantly returned to normal. He just frowned and whispered: "This way, we can wash away the bad reputation."

There was coldness in his eyes.

"Tell the rest of the people what I told the boss."

The eunuch beside him had a respectful look on his face.

How could Sima Yi have people from Sima Zhao around him? How could he have people from the other princes around him?
He has been gloomy and calculating all his life, how could he possibly be making things easier for others?

The serious illness was true, but the life expectancy of only one or two months was false.

After examining him, the imperial physician said that he had about five years to live.

What does an aging emperor fear the most? The powerful ministers in the court? Or the generals of other countries approaching the border?
No, neither.

An emperor who is getting older and in poor health is most afraid of his sons, those young, strong, energetic and ambitious sons who want to take the position under him, and most importantly, those sons in "nominal" title!
Having tasted the taste of power, no one in the world can give up the temptation of power.

Under this temptation, everything else is no longer a problem.

What family affection, what father and son.

It's just a stepping stone on the road to success.

"Cough-cough-"

A series of coughs made Sima Yi's body feel a little uncomfortable. He closed his eyes. The maid behind him was quietly massaging his shoulders and smoothing his back to help him breathe more smoothly.

God knows what you did.

The first year of Taishi.

The Jin Emperor Sima Yi issued an edict, announcing that his eldest son "Sima Zhao" would be the crown prince and temporarily take charge of the military and political power. However, because of his serious illness, he had to recuperate in the Weiyang Palace.

The emperor could only recuperate in the palace during the first year of his reign, or even just one month after his accession to the throne, which made many people feel inexplicably surprised.

At this age, you still want to fight for it, leaving a bad name behind, only to sit on the throne for a month?
When Sima Zhao ascended the throne of crown prince, he issued a series of edicts. Most of these edicts were issued in the name of the emperor, but everyone knew that the emperor was currently recuperating from an illness and the crown prince was acting as regent. These edicts were all written by the crown prince.

The contents of the imperial edicts during this period were also very simple, and the target persons were all members of the Cao clan.

Among them, he conferred the title of "Gaogui Xianggong" on Cao Mao, which was a slightly sarcastic title, but Cao Mao did not show any anger, but accepted the title calmly.

He also wrote a letter to the emperor stating that he was a subject of the State of Jin and would be loyal to the State of Jin.

In the summer of the first year of Chengtai, Sima Zhao once again issued an edict to summon Gaogui Xianggong, that is, Cao Mao, and invited him to come to the capital, and expressed that he missed Cao Mao so much that it could not be expressed in words.

Cao Mao also replied with a memorial, stating that he also missed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Jin Dynasty, and was therefore willing to go.

Afterwards, he came to Langya City alone.

In the autumn of the first year of Taishi, Sima Zhao issued another edict, saying that he had dreamed of an immortal at night, who said that if the Mandate of Heaven of the Great Jin Dynasty wanted to continue, the emperor who had abdicated to the Great Jin Dynasty that year must stay in Langya City to suppress the destiny of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Cao Mao wrote a letter stating that he was a minister of the Jin Dynasty, so it was his responsibility to stay in Langya City.

People gradually understood something from Sima Zhao's edict and Cao Mao's response. Sima Zhao wanted to use this method to anger Cao Mao - so what was the purpose of angering Cao Mao?

Everyone had guessed it, even Cao Shuang, the less intelligent one among the Cao family, had guessed it, and advised Cao Mao not to go.

Cao Mao just looked at Cao Shuang and said, "He wants to kill me legitimately, but I won't give him the chance."

"If I disobey his order, won't he have a legitimate reason to kill me? Even if it means breaking the promise we made, no one will care." "Emperor Guangwu swore an oath by the Luo River, and Wang Mang stayed in the court and worked hard for the Han Dynasty. He never made any mistakes in his life. Emperor Guangwu also kept his promise and no longer cared about killing his father and brother."

"There are many secrets in the palace that you don't know. Wang Mang not only killed the emperor at the time and the previous emperor, he also killed Emperor Guangwu's younger brother. This is unknown to everyone. I also learned about it from a secret book."

Cao Mao said with emotion: "I'm afraid Wang Mang back then was just like me today, so trembling with fear."

He smiled and looked at Cao Shuang: "But Wang Mang back then must have been more worried than I am, because he had more things to worry about."

"Don't worry about me, I'm going."

Duke Gaogui's carriage slowly moved towards Langya City, leaving behind the silent backs of Cao Shuang and Cao Zhen. They didn't know what to say or what to do.

The moment they handed over their military power, the moment they responded to the call and returned to Langya City, they fell into Sima Yi's trap and became lambs to be slaughtered.

The first year of Taishi, late autumn.

Duke Gaogui drove his carriage to Langya City. Many noble families, ministers, and dignitaries in Langya City looked at this young man with admiration in their eyes.

He knew clearly that the noblest person in Langya City wanted to kill him, but he still drove his carriage here. How could this not be considered a gentleman's demeanor?

No one can say that Cao Mao did not have the style of Emperor Wu of Wei.

Sima Zhao personally came to the city gate to greet Cao Mao, with a humble and respectful look on his face, not looking like a prince at all.

The first year of Taishi, winter.

This year has passed slowly.

Ever since Duke Gaogui entered Langya City, he has suffered all kinds of humiliation. For example, the emperor's grandchildren kept going to Duke Gaogui to insult him, but Duke Gaogui didn't care about it at all, and even felt like he was "waiting for it".

Sima Zhao became more and more anxious. He could no longer hide his intention to kill Cao family members and Cao Mao.

A proverb gradually spread among the people.

"Sima Zhao's intentions are known to everyone"

From then on, Sima Zhao's name was truly passed down through the ages, but what he left behind was not a good reputation, but an eternal infamy.

Sima Yi gradually became unable to bear it anymore, so he summoned Sima Zhao again and told him that the imperial physician had checked his body in the past few days.

If he did not see Cao Mao die in Langya City, he would die with regrets.

It didn't matter to Sima Zhao that Sima Yi died with his eyes open, but now he still needed Sima Yi to pass the throne to him legitimately, so he could only accept it.

He looked at his father and made a promise: "I have already discussed with the Crown Prince's attendant Cheng Ji and I to kill Cao Mao in the palace tomorrow!"

"Father, don't worry!"

Sima Yi then felt relieved.

The first year of Taishi, winter.

This was the first and last year of the reign title Taishi.

When people in the city were hiding in their homes to avoid the cold, earth-shaking news came out.

Crown Prince Sima Zhao wants to kill the former Emperor of Wei, the current Duke of Gaogui!

This news is circulating in the streets and alleys, it is no longer a secret.

Everyone was at a loss.

How is this going?

Outside the palace, Cao Mao drove the chariot with a determined look in his eyes. He raised the sword in his hand and looked at the magnificent palace with anger on his face.

"In the past, I abdicated to the Sima family, and the Sima family swore by the Luo River that they would not harm the Cao family!"

"And now, the Sima family has such evil ambitions that they are trying to ambush and kill me in the palace!"

He shouted angrily: "Don't you think Sima is afraid of heaven's punishment?"

"Please ask Sima Yi and Sima Zhao to come out and answer!"

More and more people were around Duke Gaogui. Some of the old ministers of Cao Wei who had acted as guarantors in the past stood beside him. Next to Cao Mao, the person driving his chariot was Cheng Ji, the attendant of the Crown Prince of Jin.

He held a sword in his hand and had an indignant look on his face.

He also shouted loudly: "The emperor of Jin State has violated his oath and betrayed human ethics! Cheng Ji does not want to be associated with him!"

More and more ministers and even aristocratic families stood beside Cao Mao. They looked at the palace, waiting for someone in the palace to come out and give them an answer.

If we can betray and kill Cao Mao today, we can kill them all tomorrow.

Half an hour later, when everyone's anger reached its peak, two people walked out under the protection of many eunuchs and palace guards.

One is Sima Yi and the other is Sima Zhao.

Sima Yi looked at Cao Mao with a face full of guilt. He cupped his hands and looked at everyone, saying softly, "I am recuperating in the deep palace, and all the affairs of the court are in the charge of this wicked son. Only after this incident did I know that this wicked son was actually going to attack you."

"I'll leave this evil boy to you to deal with."

At this moment, Cheng Ji's counterattack made all the arrangements of Sima Yi and others invalid, and the two of them could only delay time as much as possible.

This was something they had already discussed.

While they were delaying time, Sima Yan had already arrived with a large army from the capital. Even if blood was splattered on the streets today, Cao Mao must die, and that Cheng Ji must also die!
Contrary to Sima Yi and Sima Zhao's expectations, Cao Mao did not show anger, but got off the carriage, turned around and looked up at the sky.

He bowed slightly.

"Heaven and the Luo River are my witnesses. The Sima family has gone back on their word and violated their oath."

"Please punish me, God!"

God’s punishment?

Sima Zhao and Sima Yi both lowered their heads with mocking smiles in their eyes.

They don't believe this.

However, the next moment, countless thunders gathered in the sky and dark clouds covered the sky.

Before either of them could react, a bright light rose from somewhere, and then thunder suddenly fell!

God knows what you did.

Causal loop.

(End of this chapter)