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Cao Fang became the adopted son of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, because his son died young, and was made King of Qi in the third year of Qinglong in Cao Wei.

In the third year of Jingchu of Cao Wei, Cao Fang became the crown prince and ascended the throne as emperor on the same day, assisted by General Cao Shuang and Grand Marshal Sima Yi. In the following years, there were no major military conflicts between Cao Wei and Shu and Wu, and the country was relatively stable. However, in the eighth year of Zhengshi, Cao Shuang gradually took control of the government, and Cao Fang began to get close to villains.

In the tenth year of Zhengshi, when Cao Fang was offering sacrifices at Gaoping Mausoleum, Sima Yi launched a coup and took control of the government. From then on, the power of the Cao Wei royal family fell into the hands of others.

In the sixth year of Jiaping in Cao Wei, Cao Fang abdicated and became King of Qi under the planning of Sima Shi, the son of Sima Yi. After the establishment of Western Jin Dynasty, he was changed to Duke of Shaoling County.

"In the tenth year of Jin Taishi, Cao Fang died at the age of forty-three and was posthumously named Duke Li."

"The policies implemented by Cao Fang showed a greater understanding of the sufferings of the people and promoted Confucianism and rituals, which won him some praise. However, his incompetence and his closeness to villains and his indulgence in women in the later period of his administration were also criticized by later generations."

"Cao Fang, courtesy name Lanqing, became the adopted son of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, because all his descendants died young. His biological father is in doubt, and one theory is that he is the son of Cao Kai, Prince of Rencheng."

"In the third year of Qinglong in Cao Wei, Cao Fang was made King of Qi."

"On the first day of the first lunar month in the third year of the Jingchu reign of the Cao Wei Dynasty, Emperor Ming of Wei was seriously ill, so he appointed Cao Fang as the crown prince, ordered the Grand Commandant Sima Yi and the General Cao Shuang to assist in the administration, and asked them to assist Cao Fang wholeheartedly."

"On the same day, Emperor Ming of Wei died, and Cao Fang succeeded to the throne. He issued an edict to encourage ministers to stabilize the country and issued a general amnesty. In July of the same year, Cao Fang began to rule the country himself. The following year, Cao Fang began to study Confucian classics."

"In the first month of the fourth year of the Zhengshi reign of the Cao Wei Dynasty, Cao Fang held a ceremony to crown his wife ahead of schedule, and in April he made Zhen his empress, issuing a general amnesty."

"In the following years, Cao Wei did not have many victories or defeats with Wu and Shu, and many northern ethnic minorities came to submit to the state, while hostile tribes were defeated by troops sent by Cao Fang, and Cao Wei was relatively stable."

"In the eighth year of Zhengshi, Cao Shuang, the general who was originally ordered to assist Cao Fang, began to monopolize power and promote his cronies. Sima Yi, who was also ordered to assist in the administration, was unable to stop him, so he claimed to be ill and did not attend court."

"Cao Fang began to get close to a group of villains and had fun and feasting with them in the garden. Shangshu He Yan and Sanqi Changshi Jianyi Doctor Kong Yi successively wrote letters to persuade him, but Cao Fang did not listen."

"Sima Yi, who had claimed to be ill earlier, did not give up his fight for power and had been secretly sending people to raise assassins and accumulate strength."

"On the sixth day of the first lunar month in the tenth year of the Zhengshi reign, officials including Cao Fang and Cao Shuang went to pay homage to Cao Rui's tomb, Gaoping Mausoleum. Sima Yi took the opportunity to launch a coup, sending troops to control most of the central government agencies, and wrote to the Queen Mother to dismiss Cao Shuang and his followers. Cao Shuang then surrendered his military power and his three clans were exterminated. This is known in history as the Gaoping Mausoleum Incident."

"Since then, Sima Yi eliminated the power of the Cao clan headed by Cao Shuang in the court and took control of the government of Cao Wei. The central power of Cao Wei was no longer in the hands of Cao Fang."

"In April of the third year of the Jiaping reign of the Cao Wei Dynasty, Taiwei Wang Ling planned to raise an army against Sima Yi's dictatorship under the pretext of supporting Cao Biao, the Prince of Chu, hoping to seize central power from the Sima family."

"Soon after, Cao Fang learned that the Grand Commandant Wang Ling was about to rebel, and ordered Sima Yi to lead his army to defeat him. Eventually, Wang Ling committed suicide, and Cao Biao was sentenced to death."

"In July of the same year, Sima Yi died, but his son Sima Shi took over and continued to control the government. In the fifth year of Jiaping, he further consolidated his position by defeating the army of Zhuge Ke, the Grand Tutor of Wu. Cao Fang still failed to regain the central power, so he was unable to do anything during this period."

"In February of the sixth year of Jiaping, Zhongshu Ling Li Feng and Empress Zhang's father, Guanglu Dafu Zhang Ji, conspired to abolish Sima Shi's position as regent and planned to make Xiahou Xuan the general."

"When Sima Shi found out, he devised a plan to get rid of them and exterminated their three clans. Cao Fang was therefore forced to depose Empress Zhang and appoint Wang as empress instead."

"In July of the same year, Sima Zhao, the General of Andong and the brother of Sima Shi, led his troops into the capital, preparing to attack Shu. At this time, Cao Fang's close associates advised him to kill Sima Zhao when Sima Zhao left, and then send troops to defeat Sima Shi. They had already written an edict in advance, but Cao Fang did not execute it."

"Sima Shi had already conspired to depose Cao Fang and establish a new emperor, and Sima Zhao's entry into the capital facilitated the implementation of his plan."

"Then Sima Shi and others reported to the Empress Dowager, deposing Cao Fang on the grounds that he was old and ignored state affairs and was obsessed with women, and instead enthroned Cao Mao, the Duke of Gaogui, as the emperor."

"So Cao Fang abdicated and became the King of Qi, his status was reduced to that of a vassal king, and he built the Palace of the King of Qi in Chongmen, Henei County and lived there."

"After that, the power of the Sima family in Cao Wei grew stronger and stronger. Finally, in the first year of the Jin Dynasty, Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan accepted the abdication of Emperor Yuan of Wei and established the Jin Dynasty. At this time, Cao Fang was renamed the Duke of Shaoling County."

Li Bai: Sima Shi's dethronement of Cao Fang was not a failure. At that time, Cao Fang resisted twice but both ended in failure. The conflict between the two sides had been completely intensified.

Although Sima Shi's actions caused controversy, they also solved the problem and paved the way for Sima Zhao to establish himself as the emperor in place of Wei.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei had always held the upper hand since the Battle of Guandu. It was strong in the north and always threatened Shu and Wu.

However, the strongest Wei among the three kingdoms was not the final winner. Cao Wei had many wise rulers, including Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui. Compared with Shu and Wu, their strength was far superior.

However, in the late Cao Wei period, after Cao Rui's death, the situation in the court changed. The young Cao Fang succeeded to the throne, but he had no power in his hands, and the emperor was in name only.

Cao Fang cannot be blamed. After all, he came to power at the age of eight, and he couldn't hold on to the power. Not to mention that his opponents were Cao Shuang, Sima Yi, and Sima Shi. With these people around, even if he was the emperor, he could only be manipulated like a puppet.

Moreover, the two emperors Cao Pi and Cao Rui tried their best to suppress the Cao Wei clan. As a result, the ministers dared not speak up, and there was no one in the clan to use. Even if Cao Fang wanted to do something, he was powerless. At this point, the Cao Wei regime was already in name only.

When someone declines, someone else will naturally become stronger, and it was the Sima family that replaced the Cao family's authority. Originally, the power was in the hands of Cao Shuang. Although he was also a powerful official, he was still a member of the Cao family.

However, Sima Yi directly eliminated Cao Shuang and the loyal officials of Cao Wei who followed Cao Shuang in the Gaopingling Incident. Not only did he take power into his pocket, but he also cleared a number of obstacles, providing a foundation for the subsequent usurpation of power. During Sima Yi's time, Sima Shi inherited his father's will and continued to consolidate the power of the Sima family and weaken the Cao family. Unlike Sima Yi, Sima Shi was more ruthless and vicious, and the former loyal officials were all involved in the Gaopingling Incident. Therefore, when Sima Shi was in power, none of the officials dared to speak out.

As the emperor, Cao Fang was naturally unwilling to be controlled by others, so he also tried to take back power, but his attempts all ended in failure. There was no way. Although Cao Fang was the emperor, the power was in the hands of Sima Shi, and Cao Fang's every move was under the surveillance of Sima Shi. Being inferior to the enemy and being monitored by the enemy, such a confrontation was obviously doomed to fail.

"In the tenth year of Taishi, Cao Fang died at the age of forty-three and was posthumously named Duke Li."

"Cao Fang's administration was based on leniency. When he first ascended the throne, he followed the will of Emperor Ming of Wei and allowed the elderly servants in the palace to return home, and temporarily suspended the construction of palaces in the country."

"In July of the first year of the Zhengshi reign, because the people were inadequately fed and clothed while the imperial palace was extremely extravagant, Cao Fang issued an edict to promote frugality and provided a lot of gold and silver for military expenses."

"In the second year of Zhengshi, because there was no rain for a long time, Cao Fang thought it was a warning from the sky, so he issued an edict ordering relevant officials from all regions to redress unjust, false and wrong cases, and encouraged officials from all regions to actively offer suggestions and advice."

"In August of the seventh year of the Zhengshi reign, in response to the phenomenon that some local officials sold their elderly servants in the market, Cao Fang ordered the release of the elderly servants as civilians and ordered relevant officials to help those who were unable to support themselves."

"In the same month, Cao Fang was on his way to offer sacrifices when he saw that the newly repaired road had been soaked by rain, so the relevant officials sent civilians to repair it. The supervisors were very harsh on the civilians, so Cao Fang issued an edict to stop it."

"In addition, Cao Fang also attached importance to the status of the meritorious officials. In July of the fourth year of Zhengshi, he issued an edict to offer sacrifices to 20 deceased meritorious officials of the previous dynasty in the Taizu Temple to show his recognition of their contributions."

"Cao Fang studied Confucian classics since he was young, often quoted them in his imperial edicts, attached great importance to sacrificial activities and promoted traditional Confucian values ​​at the right time."

"Cao Fang sent people to offer sacrifices to Confucius and Yan Yuan many times, and also offered sacrifices to the ancestors of Cao Wei and some meritorious officials twice."

"At that time, Cao Fang also focused on promoting loyalty to the emperor among the people. In the sixth year of Jiaping, Cao Fang heard that two messengers, Liu Zheng and Zheng Xiang, were captured by the Wu army but still remained loyal to Wei and refused to surrender to Wu. He exempted the two from military service and made them marquises in recognition of their loyalty to Cao Wei, thereby strengthening the people's loyalty to the country."

"During his reign, Cao Fang launched relatively few large-scale foreign campaigns. Of the two enemy states, Wu and Shu, his campaigns against Wu were more frequent and larger in scale."

"In February of the fifth year of the Zhengshi reign, General Cao Shuang applied to lead his army to attack the Kingdom of Shu, and Cao Fang agreed, but the expedition did not achieve any significant results."

"The battle against Wu was concentrated from the second year of Jiaping to the fifth year of Jiaping. During this period, the Wei army and the Wu army had large-scale battles every year. The Wei army won many victories at the beginning, but in the fourth year of Jiaping, when Cao Fang sent troops to attack Wu in three directions, he was defeated by Wu's general Zhuge Ke. After that, the two sides gradually fell into a stalemate."

"In terms of the war against small northern states and tribes, in February of the seventh year of the Zhengshi reign, Cao Fang ordered the governor of Youzhou, Guanqiu Jian, to attack the Goguryeo Kingdom in Liaodong. In May, he sent troops to attack the northern minority tribes of Ye and Mo. Both times he achieved great victories, which basically stabilized the northern part of Cao Wei."

"Although Cao Fang was at war with Wu and Shu during his reign, other surrounding powers often came to surrender and pay tribute."

"In December of the fourth year of the Zhengshi reign, the Queen of Wa, Bi Mihu, sent envoys to pay tribute."

"In September of the fifth year of the Zhengshi reign, the northern Xianbei tribes moved south to submit to the Wei Kingdom. Cao Fang established Changli County for them to live and settle. At the same time, after defeating Goguryeo and Yemok, dozens of tribes including Hana Xi surrendered to Cao Wei."

"It is believed that when Emperor Ming of Wei appointed his successor, he did not use virtue as the standard, so Cao Fang became emperor even though he did not have great talent, so it was reasonable for him to be deposed from the throne."

"But Lu Bi of the Qing Dynasty believed that Cao Fang had been on the throne for many years, and when Sima Shi abolished his position, he asked the empress dowager to use her private life as an excuse, so the accusation against Cao Fang should be a false accusation."

"Liang Zhangju of the Qing Dynasty believed that Cao Fang was a monarch who could implement good laws and policies because he was able to understand the suffering of the people, postpone corvée labor, restore slaves to civilian status, and attach importance to Confucian ethics."

"At the same time, Cao Fang's personal conduct is controversial. The "Three Kingdoms" written in the Western Jin Dynasty recorded that after he became an adult, he was close to villains and indulged in pleasure. When the empress dowager issued an edict to abolish his throne, she also mentioned that he did not personally handle state affairs, but indulged in women and indulged in play all day long, and even did things that corrupted human ethics, so he was deposed from the throne."

"Not long after, in the second year of the Zhengyuan reign of the Cao Wei Dynasty, General Guanqiu Jian, the General of the Eastern Front, and Wen Qin, the former General of the Yangzhou Governor, raised an army to attack Sima Shi because they were against Sima Shi's monopoly of power. In the proclamation they issued, they said that Cao Fang was smart and wise."

"There is nothing wrong with his moral character, and it is mentioned that Sima Yi also believes that Cao Fang is capable of taking on the important task of being the emperor."

In Cao Fang's view, he was the heir of the Ming Emperor and should not be controlled by others. Therefore, as he grew older, he became more and more eager to break free from control and take back power.

Su Shi: So, in 254 AD, the Minister of the Central Secretariat Li Feng and the Grand Master of Imperial Household Zhang Ji contacted Xiahou Xuan, wanting to depose Sima Shi and appoint Xiahou Xuan as the general.

If the ministers did not have enough power, they would contact the emperor. This was the first time Cao Fang cooperated with the ministers.

As a backer behind the scenes, Cao Fang had been pushing this matter forward. Li Feng also worked hard to eradicate the power of the Sima family. But unfortunately, the plan was exposed, and Li Feng, Xiahou Xuan and others were killed by Sima Shi, and their three clans were exterminated.

As mentioned before, Sima Shi was even more ruthless, and his ruthlessness can be seen here. When they were young, Sima Shi, He Yan, and Xiahou Xuan were all famous and had a very close relationship. However, He Yan was killed in the Gaopingling Incident. Xiahou Xuan was killed in the Li Feng Incident.

In the former case, it was Sima Yi who did it, and Sima Shi did not plead for mercy; in the latter case, it was Sima Shi who did it, and he did not take into account past relationships. He abandoned all personal feelings and only cared about the interests of the Sima family. Sima Shi was a pure political machine. For him, everything was for the interests of the Sima family.

Sima Shi inherited Sima Yi's wisdom and, most importantly, prudence. Although Cao Fang was behind the scenes, Sima Shi knew that Li Feng must have someone backing him up if he dared to do this. If he couldn't find someone in the court, then it could only be the emperor.

Therefore, after this incident, Sima Shi also became more vigilant and no longer regarded Cao Fang as a puppet, but an opponent. Cao Fang was already at a disadvantage, and it was only because of Sima Shi's carelessness that he had the opportunity to attack. Now that Sima Shi has noticed him, how can he turn the tables?

Despite this, Cao Fang did not intend to give up. In the same year, Jiang Wei led his troops to attack Longyou. According to the rules, General Sima Zhao of the Andong Army should lead his troops to meet the enemy. (End of this chapter)