The Sima Clan Throws Wei Into Chaos

Wei had conquered Shu.

But victory did not restore the Cao family.

The empire still carried the name Wei. The emperor was still a Cao. Yet real power belonged to the Sima clan.

That contradiction made the court unstable.

Sima Shi Inherits Power

After Sima Yi died, power passed to his son Sima Shi.

Sima Shi was disciplined, severe, and politically sharp. He understood that the Cao emperor could not be allowed to become independent.

The emperor Cao Fang was no longer a small child.

As he grew older, the question became more dangerous.

Would he accept Sima control forever?

Some around him wanted to remove Sima Shi. Plans formed inside the palace, but they were discovered.

Sima Shi acted first.

Cao Fang was deposed.

The official reason used court language and moral accusation. The political meaning was simpler: an emperor who might resist could not remain.

Cao Mao Comes to the Throne

Sima Shi placed Cao Mao on the throne.

Cao Mao was young, intelligent, and from the Cao clan. He understood the classics and had a reputation for talent.

That made him useful as an emperor.

It also made him dangerous.

Sima Shi controlled the court, but he did not live long. During the suppression of Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin's rebellion, his health worsened. Soon afterward, he died.

Power passed to his brother Sima Zhao.

The Cao emperor changed.

The Sima master changed.

The basic problem stayed the same.

Rebellions Against Sima Rule

Not everyone accepted the Sima takeover.

Some Wei generals and officials still claimed loyalty to the Cao house. Others feared what would happen if one powerful clan replaced the dynasty from within.

Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin rebelled in Shouchun.

Their revolt was defeated.

Later, Zhuge Dan also rose in rebellion, drawing support from Wu. He too was crushed.

These rebellions showed that Sima power was not uncontested.

They also strengthened it.

Each failed uprising allowed the Sima clan to remove opponents, reorganize command, and prove that resistance was costly.

The Emperor Understands

Cao Mao was not blind.

He knew he was emperor in name, not in power.

Sima Zhao controlled appointments, troops, and policy. The court treated him as the man whose wishes mattered.

For a ruler raised on imperial dignity, this was unbearable.

But Cao Mao had almost no room to move.

If he waited, he might become a puppet forever. If he acted, he might die.

He chose action.

That decision would turn the hidden truth of Wei politics into a public crisis.

Wei Before the Break

By this point, the Sima clan had already crossed most of the distance to usurpation.

They had removed one emperor, defeated loyalist rebellions, and controlled the military heart of the state.

But as long as a Cao emperor sat on the throne, a final step remained.

Sima Zhao did not yet need to call himself emperor.

The court already obeyed him.

But Cao Mao's anger made the arrangement harder to maintain.

Next, the young emperor takes a desperate sword against Sima Zhao, and a famous saying is born.