User:Lds/Sandbox/Three Kingdoms miscellaneous information

Wang Fen's plot to overthrow Emperor Ling

 * Create an article for Wang Fen (王芬).

Cao Cao's battles with the Heishan Bandits

 * Merge into Heishan Bandits?

Qingzhou Army

 * Create an article for the Qingzhou Army? Some information here could be incorporated into Bao Xin and Liu Dai.

Cao Cao receiving Emperor Xian

 * Can be incorporated into Emperor Xian of Han.

Tuntian policy

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Sun Quan's assessment of Cao Rui
On one occasion, Sun Quan told Zhuge Jin: ""Recently, I received a memorial from Boyan and learnt that Cao Pi is dead. The people living in the north have long suffered from tyranny and cruelty. When they see our flags and banners, the (Cao Wei) regime should collapse, yet they are now more peaceful than before. I also heard that their new ruler promotes talents, governs with benevolence and mercy, and reduces taxation and corvée, so as to win the hearts of the people. The threat they pose to us now is far greater than that during (Cao) Cao's time.

I disagree with this view though. (Cao) Cao's warmongering behaviour is only a minor flaw compared to his cruelty in causing families to get separated by war. However, he is unique and special in the ways he manages his talents. (Cao Pi) is a far cry from (Cao) Cao in this regard. As of now, (Cao) Rui is inferior to (Cao) Pi in the same way (Cao) Pi is inferior to (Cao) Cao. The reason why (Cao Rui) is so willing to be benevolent and merciful is because he fears that his people, who have long suffered under his father's rule, will take advantage of his father's death to rise up against him and overthrow the regime. This is why he needs to lower himself and show some acts of kindness to win the people's hearts, as well as to stabilise his regime. How is that a sign that the (Cao Wei) regime is becoming more powerful and prosperous?

I heard that he entrusts his government to people like Chen Changwen and Cao Zidan. These people are either frail scholars or imperial clan members. How could they possess the talents and abilities to conquer and rule an empire? When there is a lack of centralised control, the regime will become chaotic and disorganised. That was the case with Zhang Er and Chen Yu in the past – they wanted peace but had no choice to be fight each other because of power dynamics. This is the always the case with power struggles. People like (Chen) Changwen performed their duties faithfully in the past only because (Cao) Cao kept them under control; they feared (Cao) Cao so they did their best under him and did not dare to cause trouble. By the time (Cao) Pi succeeded his father, he was already quite old. He followed in (Cao) Cao's footsteps by using favours and acts of kindness to win their hearts. That was why he was still able to make them feel grateful and loyal towards him.

As of now, (Cao) Rui is young and weak; he can only serve as their pawn. People like them will use this opportunity to curry favour, and form or join factions to safeguard and advance their own interests. In such a fractious regime, corruption and petty squabbling will happen and eventually degenerate into factional struggles, while the ruler can only look on helplessly. In the long term, will such a regime not collapse? I know that this will happen because throughout history, there has never been any regime ruled by four or five people which did not end up turning into power struggles among the different factions. The strong will definitely oppress the weak, while the weak will definitely turn to external powers for support. This is the path leading to the downfall of a regime.

Ziyu, you just need to pay closer attention to what is happening. Although Boyan is normally good at analysing situations from a long term perspective, I am afraid he isn't that good with this particular situation."

The fifth-century historian Pei Songzhi disagreed with Sun Quan's assessment of Cao Rui, and argued that Cao Rui was a wise and capable ruler of his time. He noted that this speech by Sun Quan to Zhuge Jin is not corroborated in other historical records despite its relative importance as a lesson for rulers to learn from. He also pointed out that Sun Quan's prediction of the Cao Wei state's downfall ultimately did not come true as the Cao Wei state continued to exist after Cao Rui's death and into Cao Fang's reign.