On the other hand, Shu only occupies Yizhou, plus Hanzhong County. Except Chengdu, which is regarded as an elite area, other places have become barren. Wu is similar. The peak of economic development in Jiangdong and even Jiangnan was in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Due to the chaos in the Central Plains, a large number of people moved south, which made the Eastern Jin Dynasty resist the attack of the northern Hu people and lasted for a hundred years. However, during the period of tripartite confrontation, the population and strength of Wu were not as good as that of Wei, even when Shu was just established.
However, it happened that Wei was the most powerful, but it was the "earliest" to perish! Although Si Mazhao died shortly after the destruction of Shu, his son Sima Yan usurped the throne and established the State of Jin, replacing Cao Wei. But as early as against Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi had already stolen the power of Wei, and the emperor of Wei had been a mouse since Wei Mingdi Cao Rui, the grandson of Cao Cao and the son of Cao Pi. Of course, their ability is problematic, but it is still a curse left by Cao Pi, which accelerated the demise of Wei.
This root is still the bitter fruit of Wei's implementation of the official election law.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were three forces in the Han Dynasty, consorts, eunuchs and gentry, although gentry were always at a disadvantage in front of consorts and eunuchs who relied on imperial power to gain power. But the so-called iron soldiers, compared with the consorts and eunuchs who are constantly updated by every emperor and every courtier, occupied the place, controlled the local financial and economic power, built private docks and castles, raised public servants, annexed land, controlled the selection of local officials, and formed a complicated political force. This structure usually does not see any harm, but once the central authority is shaken, these local clans will become shaken dynasties.
Cao Cao was born in a local aristocratic family and knew the harm of this force. In order to counter the strength of the gentry, he put forward the political proposition of meritocracy, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the gentry. However, since Cao Cao has gone from a gate to a warlord, although the local aristocratic families have strength, they still hold their noses and work under Cao Cao in the face of swords and shadows, but only put the goal of peaceful evolution on Cao Cao's heirs.
Many people know the struggle between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. On the surface, many people think that it is only a dispute about Wei's heirs, but in fact it is a struggle between two routes.
Cao Pi has always followed Cao Cao's route, but there are many aristocratic families behind Cao Zhi, who want to fight for Cao Wei's rights by influencing Cao Zhi. The representatives are Yang Xiu and Cui Yan. Yang Xiu, the son of Yang Biao, the head of Hongnongyang family, has been by Cao Zhi's side for a long time. He is brilliant, young and promising, and even Cao Cao appreciates him. It's just that Yang Xiu is a little expert in death, challenging Cao Cao's endurance limit again and again, and there are many familiar little allusions, such as crisp bite, chicken ribs and so on. Yang Xiu couldn't stop running all the way on his way to death, and he was tragically killed.
When Cui Yan was killed by Cao Cao, many people thought it was an open injustice. Kong Rong was killed, and many people dare not speak out for Kong Rong. After all, Kong Rong has been at the front with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao has long held a grudge.
Cui Yan is a moral model recognized by the world, a senior minister with outstanding ability and Cao Cao's organization minister. If he was not a trustworthy minister, he wouldn't do the job. So when Cui Yan was arrested and committed suicide, many people didn't understand what Cui Yan had done to Cao Cao.
Some people think that when Cao Cao asked the ministers of the DPRK which son to designate as his successor, the ministers all replied in private letters. Only Cui Yan made a selfless public statement in support of his eldest son Xelloss. So people think that Cui Yan was killed because he violated Cao Cao's taboo.
But we know the reason from Cui Yan's native place. Cui Yan was born in Qinghe County, a famous Cui Shi in Qinghe during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he was also a first-class family and a well-deserved giant gate valve. In addition, they also rely on the branch of their relative Buring Cui Shi, which is unparalleled in Hebei. In addition, Cui Yan served as the organization minister all the year round, and one's close partisans and students spread all over the world. How could Cao Cao let such a key area assist his son? What's more, Cui Yan's niece married Cao Zhi, and Cao Cao estimated that Cui Yan was going to make a separate bet for political speculation. Xelloss got Cui Yan, and Cao Zhi got Cui Yan, which is in danger of becoming a consort.
So even knowing that Cui Yan was capable and a moral model, Cao Cao killed Cui Yan.
Unfortunately, what Cao Cao didn't know was that after his death, in order to gain the support of a noble family, Xelloss immediately adopted the nine-grade official method proposed by Chen Qun, who was born in Yingchuan family, and moved closer to the cremation in an all-round way, abandoning the political proposition of meritocracy.
Generations of aristocratic families, who were guaranteed the right to be officials, immediately abandoned the slogan of "loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, and vowed to protect the gentleman" and instead supported "one of their own" Cao Pi to establish a foundation as emperor and replace the Han Dynasty.
Xelloss benefited, and the emperor became addicted and died. When his son became emperor, the expansion of the aristocratic family could not be restrained. Fortunately, at this moment, the imperial clan represented by Xiahou Shi and Cao Shi of Cao Wei is still very strong, and the relieving can still resist the scene. However, after Cao Fang, the grandson of Xelloss, succeeded to the throne, his exploits were exhausted, leaving only a big straw bag, with Cao Shuang as the general and Sima Yi * * * as the assistant government. As we all know, Cao Shuang is Sima Yi's opponent. From then on, the Wei regime was controlled by the Sima family.
The Sima family originated in Hedong, and it is also a local aristocratic family. Sima Yi has seven brothers, known as Sima Ba Da, all of whom are capable talents. Coupled with other branches of Sima's talents, a person's close protege may be more exaggerated than the original Runa Yuan's, and it will become a natural thing to replace Cao Wei.
In fact, even if Sima Yi is not in power, it is only a matter of time before Wei is replaced by another big family. From the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, the relocation of the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the confrontation between the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the rapid renewal of the dynasty is rare in the history of China, because the rights caused by the Zhengzhi system of Jiupin were dominated by large families, and the foundation of imperial power was unstable.
In view of this, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty actively promoted the imperial examination system after seizing his grandson in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, hoping to restore the power of selecting officials to the central government. After the strengthening of the implementation of the Tang Dynasty and the ravages of the five dynasties warlords, the aristocratic families began to decline. In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system was fully mature, and the landlords in cloth clothes stepped onto the historical stage. The intellectual rights were no longer monopolized by the aristocratic families, and the aristocratic families gradually disappeared.
Therefore, Wei's demise is self-inflicted. It is only a matter of time before the Sima family replaces Cao Wei by peaceful evolution after they release the beast of official hereditary system, but the result will not change.