Chapter 825 People's Hearts Are in Chaos 2
At this time, the State of Wei was in an extremely terrifying political atmosphere.
Why does this atmosphere only appear in Wei State at present? This is not a coincidence. Since Cao Shuang, Wei State has entered this extreme political atmosphere, and it reached its climax during Sima Yi's wave.
Just because there aren't many people openly opposing Cao Chengsi at the moment doesn't mean he has truly won the hearts of the people. In invisible corners, there are still countless people watching Cao Chengsi's flaws.
The emperor was young, which was not conducive to political struggles, and many people were waiting for the emperor to grow up a little.
At that time, countless people would stand on the emperor's side to defeat Cao Chengsi. This has been the political logic since the Later Han Dynasty.
But most people don’t realize that times have changed and this is no longer the same era as before. However, Cao Chengsi realized this, and his madness is unimaginable to others.
No one could have imagined that just a slight movement of the Queen Mother would make him think of regicide.
This kind of madness would not happen even if Sima Yi was released.
…
In the imperial palace, the majestic and magnificent palace was still as solemn as before, but the people running back and forth in the palace appeared panicked and anxious.
On the bed in the palace, the little emperor was lying with a sallow complexion. The empress dowager was holding his little hand while shedding tears. A group of imperial doctors were kneeling beside the bed, all of them looked panicked.
Another imperial physician knelt there, shaking his head, helpless.
The child's body is too fragile. Even a good pediatrician is hard to come by even in modern times, let alone in this era. When the Luo family was dying, they left the Medical Saint as the head of the family for this reason.
The Queen Mother was completely desperate. She had counted on her son for everything, but now she saw the emperor was about to die. She said in hatred, "Execute all the eunuchs and maids who are watching over the emperor. If they can't even take care of the emperor, what's the point of living?
If you can cure the emperor, I will make you a marquis. If you cannot, you will all die."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the imperial doctors knelt on the ground, kowtowed like pounding garlic, and prayed to the Empress Dowager to spare their lives.
The Queen Mother's brother hurried into the palace and whispered something in her ear. The Queen Mother's face became even angrier when she heard it. She gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "Cao Chengsi, I will never live with you."
As soon as she said this, the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall immediately lowered their heads, their faces filled with panic.
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the palace maid screaming in shock. She looked over and saw that the emperor's chest had stopped moving. He had died. She was extremely sad and cried loudly, "My son."
She was so sad that she couldn't get up for a while. It was unknown how long it took for her to recover from her grief. She first asked her brother to execute all the people in the palace, and then took her brother's hand and said, "To avenge the emperor, call Cao Chengsi into the palace and hack him to death. Only then can I eliminate the hatred in my heart. Kill Cao Chengsi and we can establish a new emperor. Otherwise, he will definitely ascend the throne. His bloodline is almost the latest."
The Queen Mother's brother had already had this in mind, so he nodded and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, I will definitely get this done and make Cao Chengsi, the traitor who murdered the king, pay with his blood. A traitor like him who deserves to be recorded in history must not live in the world at large."
The relatively peaceful city of Chang'an was shocked by the sudden death of the emperor. The empress dowager issued an edict in the palace, asking all officials to enter the palace to mourn for the emperor. This was a normal operation, and most people went straight into the palace without thinking too much.
But Cao Chengsi didn't think so. He knew that the emperor was bound to die and the news of the emperor's death was true. But as a man who was good at playing tricks, he didn't like to put himself in danger. Seeing that he was only one step away from the throne, he didn't want any accidents to happen.
But he couldn't not go into the palace. The emperor was dead, and as a minister, if he didn't go into the palace, wouldn't that tell everyone that he was involved in this matter? Although Cao Chengsi was extremely shameless, he wanted to get the best possible reputation, and things like regicide naturally had nothing to do with him.
He thought about it for a long time in his mansion. He first ordered people to tighten the palace restrictions and replace his most elite soldiers. Then he put on armor under his lining and took guards with him. He had to protect himself.
When they arrived at the palace, everyone else was wearing official uniforms, but Cao Chengsi was like this, which naturally attracted everyone's attention. Someone immediately asked, "General, why are you bringing guards into the palace?"
Cao Chengsi replied coldly, "The Queen Mother's relatives had just entered the palace when His Majesty suddenly died. I think there must be something fishy going on. Among the Cao royal family of Wei, I have a close bloodline, high prestige, and strong abilities. I am worried that someone may be dissatisfied with me. Is there any problem with that?"
Cao Chengsi spoke directly to the point, leaving the other ministers speechless. He knew that instead of trying to hide the truth, he should just speak directly and made no secret of his ambition for the throne. As a descendant of Emperor Wu, it would be a lie to himself if he said that he had no desire for the throne at this point in time.
With this excuse, he had a reason to bring a few guards into the palace. If someone didn't want to, then he wouldn't enter the palace, and no one would be able to blame him at that time.
Under the guidance of the guards, the group quickly entered the front of the palace, which was hung with white silk cloth. There was a solemn and sad atmosphere, and all the ministers walked forward with white cloth tied around their waists.
Cao Chengsi was sure that the emperor was really dead, and he couldn't suppress his joy. He looked around and saw that his death squad also appeared here, and he gradually felt relieved.
The group walked into the palace. The emperor's coffin was already ready. Cao Chengsi had just stepped into the palace when he suddenly felt something was wrong. The empress dowager had never called his name from beginning to end.
This was quite unreasonable. He was someone the Queen Mother had always trusted. He was also the most powerful official present. The Queen Mother should not ignore him in any case.
With the help of the light from outside the palace, he saw that the empress dowager had a tense face, but her eyes were wandering from time to time. Something was wrong, very wrong.
This queen mother has no good intentions!
Cao Chengsi judged others by himself. If there was an archer hiding on the roof or behind the coffin at this time, and he kowtowed in front of the coffin, he would immediately ascend to heaven.
Thinking of this, Cao Chengsi kept walking and asked loudly: "Empress Dowager, what are those black shadows on the roof beam, behind the coffin, and in the corner?"
The queen mother, who was already extremely nervous, could no longer hold back after his deception. Thinking that Cao Chengsi had discovered her plan, she screamed, "Kill Cao Chengsi, the traitor who murdered the king!"
This sound.
It was like a cold wind from the Far North, blowing across the icy ice field and then blowing in the imperial palace at this moment. Everyone was stunned where they were, thinking they had heard it wrong. They only had time to turn around and look at the empress dowager.
Cao Chengsi felt as if his soul was shattered, and had no idea where he had revealed his weakness. He saw several majestic figures suddenly standing up behind the coffin. Cao Chengsi instinctively left the hall, and heard the sound of an arrow nailed to the ground, with the feathers at the tail of the arrow even trembling slightly.
A breath of death rushed directly to the top of his head.
This sudden change shocked everyone. Such a big thing happened right in the emperor's mourning hall.
The Queen Mother wanted to attack the general with her murderous intentions revealed in no uncertain terms. If Cao Chengsi had not been prepared, he would have been a dead body lying on the ground.
And what did the Queen Mother just say?
Regicide?
The emperor's death was caused by the general?
This may sound absurd, but now as a first-rank official, I think it is very possible. After Cao Chengsi eliminated other regents, his actions were definitely not that of a loyal minister.
Seeing Cao Chengsi evading, the Queen Mother was anxious and angry, and shouted angrily: "What are you all watching for? Cao Chengsi was killed. The emperor was killed by him. Are you all going to watch the regicide get away with it?"
Cao Chengsi hid behind the guards and argued loudly: "Queen Dowager, who is slandering me? I definitely didn't kill the emperor. I am a loyal servant of the country. How can you slander me like this?"
But the Queen Mother did not give Cao Chengsi a chance to speak. Cao Chengsi knew that it was useless to simply quibble at this point. He immediately shouted with a fierce look in his eyes: "Queen Mother, you have been deceived by the traitor. I have no choice but to offend you. If there is a chance in the future, I will apologize again.
Go up, kill all these treacherous people who deceived the Queen Mother, and restore order to the world."
A fight actually broke out in the most sacred place in the Wei Kingdom. Arrows were flying in the air and screams were heard. Those court officials were in a miserable state. They were not wearing armor. Neither the Queen Mother nor Cao Chengsi thought of holding back to prevent hurting them. Dozens of people were shot to death by stray arrows in an instant. Their deaths were extremely unjust.
The rest of the people either ran towards the hall or fled to the sides, vowing to stay away from this place of trouble.
Cao Chengsi had more men and gradually gained the upper hand. The empress dowager's face looked even uglier. She had thought that today was foolproof, but she had not expected that Cao Chengsi's power had reached this point.
He was not even a match for Cao Chengsi in the palace. Cao Chengsi hid in the army and felt relieved when he saw the situation gradually leaning towards his side. But what he was worried about now was whether to kill the queen mother and the court officials. If he killed the queen mother, all the court officials would have to die.
Since he came to power step by step, many of those who resisted him have been killed. He is not afraid of killing them now, but if he really kills them all, he doesn't know who will rule the huge Wei State for him. The most important thing is, if he kills these people, the crime of regicide will really be pinned on him.
As the number of soldiers under the Queen Mother's command gradually decreased, the Queen Mother woke up from her anger, her face became paler and she began to feel afraid.
Among the officials who had been hiding, there were still some relatively upright officials who had not been killed before. They could not help but stand up and said, "General, it is wrong to start a war in the palace without authorization. Do you want to kill the Queen Mother in front of the whole world?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Chengsi immediately said in a loud voice: "This prince is a loyal and good man of the country. What I did now was forced by the Queen Mother. If the Queen Mother is willing to lay down her weapons and hand over the treacherous people who bewitched her, this prince absolutely does not want to see blood."
Someone else stood up and said, "General, the Queen Mother accused you of regicide. When this happened, you should step out and confront the Queen Mother to clear yourself of the blame and clear your name instead of doing these rebellious things here."
On the surface, these people were trying to reconcile the conflict, but in fact they were on the side of the Queen Mother. However, under the tyranny of Cao Chengsi, they did not dare to say it directly. Those who dared to say it in the court had already been dealt with by Cao Chengsi.
The Luo family has influenced the world for more than a thousand years, and naturally cultivated many scholars, but they could not withstand the killing of Cao Chengsi. The weapon of criticism is not as good as the criticism of the weapon. They cursed Cao Chengsi, but in the end they were killed by Cao Chengsi.
In other words, this butcher knife has been wielded in the Wei State for many, many years, and it is not just Cao Chengsi who is wielding it.
The Queen Mother was still hesitating about what to do. The soldiers under Cao Chengsi had already rushed into the hall. Only a few dozen people were left around the Queen Mother. Cao Chengsi also entered the hall and said loudly: "Queen Mother, I want to talk to you and resolve the misunderstanding between us. I really don't want such a tragic thing to happen in my Wei Kingdom."
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, especially with corpses falling around her, the bright red blood and the impending death made her fear reach its peak, and she had no choice but to agree to Cao Chengsi's request.
Cao Chengsi naturally would not let other ministers hear his conversation with the Queen Mother. He first looked to the corner, then exchanged a glance with the people around him, made a gesture of wiping his neck, and then walked to the side with the Queen Mother under the protection of several assassins.
The historian in the corner felt a shadow coming, hid the paper in his arms, opened his mouth to say something, but saw the soldier stabbed his body with a sword. Blood soaked the words recorded in his arms, and the ink marks that had not yet dried mixed with the blood, making it impossible to recognize the original appearance.
The soldiers pulled the papers out of their arms. They did not recognize the words on them, so they tore them into pieces and threw the blood-stained words around.
The Wei State's historian opened his eyes wide, staring at the flying papers, his eyes full of pain, "Supreme Su Wang, sacred Luoshen, when will the Luo family return to the world? The sacred history has been trampled upon, I hate it!
The glorious history has been covered in dust."
An incident that happened in this corner did not attract Cao Chengsi's attention. In the past many years, this was not the first time he had done such things. There was no longer that group of troublesome Luos in the world.
Die well.
This was the truest thought in Cao Chengsi's heart. He really hated the Luo family. They talked about morality every day. Even the emperor had to be restricted. This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak. A strong man like him should stand at the top of the world, and others should worship and submit to him.
Cao Chengsi and the Queen Mother walked to a corner. Facing Cao Chengsi who had completely gained the upper hand, the Queen Mother didn't know what to talk to him about. She just asked with a frosty face: "Cao Chengsi, is this what you have always wanted?
I am so blind that I believed you. I feel so sorry for my ancestors for having come to this point."
Cao Chengsi sneered, "Queen Mother, those are my ancestors. You are a person of a different surname. What nonsense are you talking about? It's really funny."
The Queen Mother trembled slightly and said in a cold voice: "Cao Chengsi, are you here to humiliate me? Then let's die together and see if the crime of killing the Queen Mother can make you die in the curse of thousands of people."
Cao Chengsi smiled softly and said, "Queen Mother, you don't need to scare me. If you really have the courage to commit suicide, you wouldn't be talking nonsense with me now. In fact, you just don't dare to do these things, so you are standing here.
Death is indeed the most frightening thing in the world.
If you don't want to die, I can prevent you from dying and give you wealth and glory. It's that simple.
Besides, shouldn't you thank me for the life you have now?
Among Cao Mao’s concubines, you are not the favored one. If you hadn’t been the crown prince, would you have your current status?
Not to mention becoming the empress dowager and living a life of luxury.
A woman who has lost her husband and son, who is only thirty years old and cannot remarry, what will the rest of her life be like?
As long as you support me in becoming the emperor and take back those words about regicide, I will let you live in the palace and provide you with all the supplies that the queen mother provides. This can be said to be an extremely generous treatment. "
The Queen Mother's figure was shaking constantly. Cao Chengsi looked at her and couldn't help but smile. He believed that the Queen Mother would agree.
He knew the Queen Mother quite well. In fact, he was surprised that she dared to go to war with him today. However, it is difficult to change one's nature. The Queen Mother's cowardly nature would definitely make her succumb.
…
Cao Chengsi ascended the throne in front of his surviving ministers, but he was perhaps the most illegitimate emperor at the time of his ascension, an emperor who came to power through a military coup. Regardless of whether he killed the emperor or not, countless rumors were enough to make him a laughing stock, and in history books, he would not be recorded as the heir to the throne.
In addition, the history books of the Three Kingdoms would definitely record it in great detail and include all kinds of speculations. Although we don't know what exactly happened in the Wei Kingdom, we can make it up.
Cao Chengsi's attempt to cover up his crimes was only making them more obvious, and the people of Wei could not be convinced. The officials did not dare to speak, but the scholars did. Although the gentry had entered the stage of aristocratic families, no matter what stage it was, there were always those passionate scholars.
In the previous few incidents, the reason why there were few people in the society who opposed Cao Chengsi was because Cao Chengsi did things relatively cleanly and cleared himself of all charges. However, no matter how he handled this matter, he could not handle it cleanly.
The ugly face was completely exposed, and those righteous scholars exploded, criticizing Cao Chengsi in the streets and academies of Chang'an.
Cao Chengsi, who had just become the emperor, sat on the throne, his face full of pride. He felt that he had reached the peak of his life. His long-cherished wish for so many years was finally fulfilled at this moment. He actually felt like he had no regrets in death.
He quickly calmed down. He wanted to become not only the emperor of Wei, but also the emperor of the whole world. Then he learned the news coming from the streets of Chang'an and became furious.
An edict came from the imperial palace. This was Cao Chengsi’s first edict, but it was not an edict of amnesty, but an edict of killing.
“I have heard that since ancient times, subjects have always spoken respectfully to their kings, so that the kings can treat their subjects with kindness.
But what do I see now?
Is it possible for anyone to tolerate the subjects criticizing their king using such harsh and sarcastic words?
I want to be a benevolent emperor, but many people are unwilling to do so, and they force me to become angry.
I want to tell the subjects of Wei here that I cannot tolerate the words of those corrupt scholars who are spreading rumors and slandering my character.
I know that some people use Mencius' words to criticize me, I know that some people use Mozi's words to accuse me, and I know that some people use the words of the two sages Luo and Confucius to warn me.
Using the words of so-called saints to slander my wisdom is something that even heaven cannot tolerate. This is the sorrow of the saints.
The only way is to use the most severe punishment to warn these people, and in this way, inform everyone. "
Along with this imperial edict, countless officials came out of the palace and government offices and arrested the scholars who were discussing the matter in the streets.
There are many scholars in the world today. In the pre-Han period, there were already over ten thousand scholars in the Imperial Academy. In almost every country, there were a large number of scholars gathered in the capital. Wei was no exception. These scholars could be caught in the thousands.
This scene almost instantly reminds people of the burning of books and burying of scholars during the Qin Dynasty, or it can be said that the burning of books and burying of scholars were a small matter compared to this incident, because there were not so many Confucian scholars in the Qin Dynasty.
Under the curse of countless people, these scholars were arrested and then died in prison. Someone died in prison almost every day because Cao Chengsi insisted that there must be someone behind it.
His idea was not wrong, but it was impossible to find the real mastermind, just like those ministers who once opposed him. Among them, there were many upright ministers who spoke out because of the morality in their hearts.
There are countless scholars in this world, how could there not be some people with a sense of justice?
The Luo family had been gone for dozens or even hundreds of years. Such a long period of time is enough for a country or dynasty to change very quickly, but it would not produce many changes in an academic thought.
Academic thought changes slowly.
After Luo left, the whole society was in decline, but academia had not yet declined, so many out-of-date people appeared, and these people were still stuck in the previous era.
All the ministers who faced Cao Chengsi directly have died, and now it is the turn of those Wei scholars who once could not see Cao Chengsi.
Those scholars who came from Mencius, those last remaining Huang-Lao students, those Mohist students who have almost never expressed their opinions in the political arena, and many upright Confucian scholars.
In this round of storm, he was almost the first to bear the brunt and directly faced Cao Chengsi.
The confrontation between the two sides is like a collision of two eras.
There had been emperors like Cao Chengsi, but they were all quickly driven off the stage, such as Emperor Li of Han. Even Emperor Ling of Han, who implemented the Party and Factions Persecution, did not dare to kill scholars on a large scale. He only killed a few hundred scholars in total.
And those people are on the list.
But Cao Chengsi was not like that. He killed people according to their schools of thought. Anyone who studied Mencius and other classics and participated in a rally in Chang'an City would be killed.
"The Kingdom of Wei will not last long."
"Having done something so outrageous that both humans and gods would despair, the State of Wei will be destroyed."
"My tyrant, my tyrant, I want to watch you die."
Countless curses rang out in Chang'an City, and even the listeners felt sad.
But the city of Chang'an did not fall into chaos, because Cao Chengsi strictly controlled the streets and alleys, so that these wailings could be heard in prison.
"Pull out their tongues, knock out their teeth, cut off their hands and feet. This is the price of cursing an emperor.
No matter what happens, I will face it head-on, even if it is a storm, you rebellious people will never shake my determination. "
Cao Chengsi gave the order coldly, declaring his strong will to the entire Chang'an City. No words could shake his strong heart.
This unrepentant attitude made people feel frightened, and flatterers soon surrounded Cao Chengsi. There are always some people in this world who have straight backbones, and Cao Chengsi chose to break them all.
He had read a lot of history, and those emperors always let go of those ministers who dared to give advice, so those ministers became famous, and the emperor became a negative example. He would never let anyone become famous through him. He would let those so-called advisers die in misery. When those people died, no one would oppose him anymore.
There was a faint smell of blood in the air in Chang'an City. Corpses wrapped in straw mats were carried out of the prison one after another. Blood could be faintly seen dripping from the carts. All the corpses were thrown into a mass grave twenty miles outside of Chang'an City.
There are jackals and wild rats there all day long, and these corpses will eventually become a pile of bones that have been eaten up.
One after another, the people of Chang'an City went from shock to numbness. No one knew how many people died in prison, and not many people knew their names.
No matter what he was like in life, he was just wrapped in a straw mat and had no place to be buried after his death.
Will anyone regret it?
There will definitely be one.
There is great terror between life and death, which ordinary people dare not tread into.
But is there anyone who doesn’t regret it?
Even if I were to do it again, would it still be the same?
Yes.
There is such a group of people in this world. They have light in their hearts, but they cannot illuminate the heavy darkness alone.
But when these people come together, they spread light throughout the world.
Before these people died, many of them missed the Luo family, the family that had always led the light-holders of the world forward for the past 1,400 years.
Come back.
————
Cao Chengsi secretly ordered eunuchs to poison the Emperor of Wei, and also raped the Queen Mother, killing dozens of court officials in order to seize the throne. He was truly a traitor and a villain, hated by both humans and gods. - "The Remains of the State of Wei (by the historian of Yan)"
————
Cao Chengsi secretly communicated with the imperial concubines. When the Emperor of Wei was seriously ill, Chengsi gave him medicine, which caused the Emperor to collapse. Chengsi forced the Empress Dowager to surrender and killed more than a hundred loyal and upright people. The people of Wei all covered their faces and wept. - "Records of the Palace Coup in the Chou Year of Wei (Records of Liang Wang Xianzhi)"
————
Chengsi was sinister and fierce, quite like his ancestor. When Wei Wu threatened the Han Dynasty, Chengsi murdered the Wei Emperor and massacred people in Chang'an, killing and wounding tens of thousands. He truly inherited the virtues of his ancestors. - "Biography of Wei Traitors (Records of the Later Han Dynasty)"
(End of this chapter)
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