The Gāopíng Coup as Generational Warfare
How the Old fought the Middle Aged for Control of Wèi
On February 5th, 249, the Wèi regent Cáo Shuǎng led the teenaged Emperor Cáo Fāng and most of the Imperial Court on a formal state visit to Gāopíng, the tomb of the previous Emperor Cáo Ruì. While he was away, the senior minister Sīmǎ Yì led private troops to suddenly seize control of the capital city. Several other senior ministers of Wèi in the capital were called upon by Sīmǎ Yì to join him, and most of these (with one famous exception) decided to throw in and give public support to Sīmǎ Yì’s petition to impeach and dismiss Cáo Shuǎng from office. Persuaded that he would only be dismissed and permitted to retire, Cáo Shuǎng agreed to surrender, whereupon he and his associates were all arrested and executed with their clans a few days later on February 9th. Thereafter control of Wèi was held by the Sīmǎ clan and their faction.1
The Qīng dynasty era scholar Wáng Màohóng 王懋竑 (1668 - 1741) wrote a comment on the senior ministers of Wèi who had decided to side with Sīmǎ Yì, particularly Jiǎng Jì, who died of illness soon after the coup:
Jiǎng Jì, Gāo Róu, Sūn Lǐ, Wáng Guàn, were all Wèi’s chief ministers, upset by Cáo Shuǎng’s monopolization of power and so assisted Sīmǎ Yì to execute Shuǎng. [Cáo] Shuǎng was executed, [Sīmǎ] Yì monopolized power, and so usurpation and regicide took form. [Jiǎng] Jì probably deeply regretted it, and therefore fell ill and died.
蔣濟、高柔、孫禮、王觀,皆魏之大臣,激於曹爽專政而輔司馬懿以誅爽。爽誅,懿專政,而篡弒之形成矣。濟蓋深悔之,故發病而沒。
The Sān Guó zhì is structured to group Jiǎng Jì among the “strategists” in SGZ 14, while Gāo Róu, Sūn Lǐ, and Wáng Guàn are together in SGZ 24, which appears to be a “senior ministers who reached the Three Excellencies level” grouping.
But one other thing to note as a common detail of these four, a detail shared by Sīmǎ Yì himself, is that these were all old men in their sixties and seventies.
The Old Men
Though we are only able to calculate a precise birth year for Gāo Róu (174, so he was 75 at Gāopíng in 249)2 and Sīmǎ Yì (179, so he was 70 at Gāopíng in 249),3 it is still possible to get a rough estimate on their ages based on the record of their careers.
For Jiǎng Jì, the earliest record with a precise year is 208, when Jiǎng Jì was involved in the defenses against Sūn Quán's attack on Héféi that year, though he had also served in the local government prior to this.4 Assuming that like most men he could only have entered government service after becoming a legal adult at 20 (traditional reckoning), he was probably in his late 20s to early 30s in 208, which would translate to his late 60s to early 70s at the time of the Gāopíng Coup in 249 and at his death later that same year.
For Sūn Lǐ, we are told that he was recruited to Cáo Cāo’s staff sometime after Cáo Cáo had pacified Yōu province, when Cáo Cāo was still Excellency of Works.5 Cáo Cāo was Excellency of Works from 196 to 208 and led the northern campaigns that pacified Yōu province around 206-207. Assuming then that Sūn Lǐ was in his 20s at the time of this recruitment in 207, he would have been in his 60s at the time of the Gāopíng Coup in 249, though he could also have been in his 30s or later at the time of his recruitment to Cáo Cāo’s staff and therefore in his 70s or later. Sūn Lǐ died in late 250 or early 251, perhaps also suggesting an advanced age at the time of the Gāopíng Incident.
For Wáng Guàn, we are told that he was recruited to Cáo Cāo’s staff sometime around when Cáo Cāo was Chancellor.6 Cáo Cāo was Chancellor from 208 to 220. Here we have someone who could have perhaps been on the younger side, possibly in his 20s in the 210s and then in his 50s at the time of the Gāopíng Coup in 249, but he could also have been later to have started an official career or held minor positions prior to catching Cáo Cāo's attention and so possibly in his 30s when he joined Cáo Cāo's staff and in his 60s at Gāopíng. Wáng Guàn died in 260, possibly of natural causes, but given a certain other incident that happened in 260 there is the possibility of a less natural cause of death,7 which makes an age at death estimation slightly more difficult.
The Middle Aged
We similarly lack an exact birth year for Cáo Shuǎng, but we can make estimates based on the ages of his contemporaries, his family, and the timing of his career. Shuǎng was personally close with Cáo Ruì (born around 206)8 and almost certainly around the same age, and we are also told that Shuǎng was an elder cousin of Xiàhóu Xuán, who was born in 209.9 Based on this, we can estimate that Shuǎng was in his early to mid 40s at the time of his execution in 249.
It is a bit more difficult to guess the ages of most other associates of Cáo Shuǎng, given how little information on them has survived due to their downfall, but rough estimates are of course still possible.
Hé Yàn, the leading intellectual figure among Cáo Shuǎng’s associates, is recorded as having been adopted by Cáo Cāo when his mother became a concubine of Cáo Cāo’s during the time Cáo Cāo was Excellency of Works, which sets bounds on the adoption to between 196 to 208. We are also told that this was around the same time as when Qín Lǎng was adopted when Lǎng’s mother also became a concubine of Cáo Cāo’s.10 Qín Lǎng's mother probably became a concubine of Cáo Cāo's around or after 198 (she had been the wife of a subordinate officer of Lǚ Bù, who was destroyed by Cáo Cāo in 198), suggesting Hé Yàn and Qín Lǎng were both born in the 190s, and perhaps somewhere around 10 years older than Cáo Ruì, Cáo Shuǎng, and Xiàhóu Xuán, born in the 200s. Hé Yàn therefore may have been in his 50s in 249.11
Dèng Yáng first held government positions during the reign of Cáo Ruì (226-239).12 Assuming he was in his 20s-30s at the time of his first position, he was likely born in the 190s-200s, and in his 40s-50s in 249.
Dīng Mì first gained a government position during Tàihé (227-233), reportedly in part due to being the son of a Dīng Fěi who had been a personal friend and advisor to Cáo Cāo.13 Assuming he was in his 20s-30s when he first gained that government position, his birth year would probably be in the 190s-200s, so he was probably in his 40s-50s in 249.
Bǐ Guì's father had held positions during the time of Cáo Cāo (196-220) and Bǐ Guì himself first held a government position in the mid 220s,14 so assuming he was in his 20s-30s at that first appointment, his birth year was probably in the 190s-200s, and his age the 40s-50s in 249.
Lǐ Shèng’s father had previously served the warlord Zhāng Lǔ, who surrendered to Cáo Cāo in 215. Lǐ Shèng himself was a close friend and associate of Cáo Shuǎng and Xiàhóu Xuán15 and therefore very likely around the same age, perhaps in his 40s in 249.
The Generational Defector
Among the list of senior ministers executed together with Cáo Shuǎng is one other figure who is something of an outlier: Huán Fàn.
From the surviving records of Huán Fàn, his first known government appointment occurred in the late 210s, entering Cáo Cāo's staff.16 Assuming that he was, like most men, in his 20s-30s when he first held government service, he was probably born in the 180s-190s and so in his 50s to 60s at the time of the Gāopíng coup. Though Cáo Shuǎng had reportedly treated Huán Fàn well, it is also said that they were not very close, and when Sīmǎ Yì raised troops in his coup, Sīmǎ Yì called on Huán Fàn to join the coup, appointing him to act as Central Manager of the Army.17 This was a very critical position in the coup, for that post held command over the military forces of the capital and was formally occupied by Cáo Shuǎng’s very own younger brother Cáo Xī.
So Sīmǎ Yì seems to have expected quite strongly that Huán Fàn should decide to side with him against Cáo Shuǎng, which perhaps makes sense given the strong possibility he was closer in age to the cohort that had joined with Sīmǎ Yì (60s-70s) than the cohort of the officials surrounding Cáo Shuǎng (40s-50s). By one account Huán Fàn initially did wish to side with Sīmǎ Yì, but was then persuaded by the argument of his son (who was probably in his 30s-40s) that loyalty to the person of the Emperor must be treated as the highest priority, and so decided to instead to escape the city and join with Cáo Shuǎng and the Emperor.18 This decision ultimately proved disastrous, for after Cáo Shuǎng's surrender, a furious Sīmǎ Yì had Huán Fàn condemned as a co-conspirator of Cáo Shuǎng, so that Huán Fàn and his clan were included in the exterminations.19
With Huán Fàn’s defection, it was instead Wáng Guàn who was appointed to act as the opposing claimant to the Central Manager of the Army post to take over command of the troops in the capital away from Cáo Shuǎng's brother Cáo Xī.20
Aftermath
Aside from the main outlier of Huán Fàn, the coup seems to have been a case of a generational warfare where the old killed the middle aged. However, perhaps in part due to their own great age at the time of the coup, most of these leaders of the victorious faction did not live very long after to enjoy the results of their efforts.
The first to die was Jiǎng Jì. He had evidently believed Sīmǎ Yì's assurances and declared intentions, and personally wrote a letter to Cáo Shuǎng to reassure Shuǎng and encourage his surrender. When Sīmǎ Yì instead ordered Cáo Shuǎng's death, Jiǎng Jì protested unsuccessfully. After Shuǎng's death, Jiǎng Jì again protested the situation by attempting to refuse to accept his share of the rewards bestowed to the high officials who had joined Sīmǎ Yì, but this too was not permitted. Within a few months, Jiǎng Jì, reportedly due to illness aggravated by his resentment and anger that his word to Shuǎng had been broken, died on May 18th, 249.21
Sūn Lǐ died next, at the end of 250 or beginning of 251.22 Sīmǎ Yì died next on September 7th, 251.23
Wáng Guàn and Gāo Róu both lived a fair bit longer. Wáng Guàn died near the end of 260.24 Gāo Róu died in the autumn of 263, aged 90 in traditional reckoning.25
However, there is some evidence to suggest that these two officials may not have necessarily enjoyed all aspects of the new situation under the Sīmǎ regime, despite the honored positions they received both immediately after the coup and in the ten years that followed. In 260, at the regicide of Gāoguì and the ascension of the next Emperor Cáo Huàn, Wáng Guàn was given the customary promotions and fief increases distributed upon the ascension of a new Emperor, but sought to refuse them. His refusal was not accepted, and he was duly sent his new seals and ribbons of office. A few days after they were sent, Guàn sent the seals and ribbons right back and took a carriage to return to his home town, dying soon afterward at home.26 Perhaps his sudden resignation was only a coincidence, and perhaps he only coincidentally died of natural causes soon after, but the timing is still rather suspicious, especially given a certain other account of another minister who died around that time, Chén Tài.27
As for Gāo Róu, though he held what were officially the highest ranks in the Imperial bureaucracy as a member of the Three Excellencies for those ten years, one might suspect that he may have been in a "kicked upstairs" situation where he was isolated from the actual levers of power. At the founding of Wèi, the Emperor Cáo Pī had sought to centralize power through himself, using alternative chains of command to bypass the offices of the Three Excellencies and leave them without a strong voice in government affairs. Gāo Róu, at that time a member of the Nine Ministers level, had himself submitted a criticism of this situation. Though we are told Cáo Pī had praised and accepted Gāo Róu's petition, immediately afterward we are then told an anecdote of an incident where Cáo Pī used his own centralized command chains to bypass Gāo Róu's office and enforce an execution decision that Gāo Róu had attempted to block.28 Gāo Róu had in fact already entered the Three Excellencies level in 245,29 during Cáo Shuǎng's regency, receiving another promotion within the Three Excellencies level in 248 (that is, even before the 249 coup), and one final time in 256.30 Also in 256, the Emperor Cáo Fāng was deposed at the order of Sīmǎ Yì's son Shī, and Gāo Róu as the ranking member of the Three Excellencies was tasked with leading the corresponding ceremonies.31
Aside from these nominal promotions, the participation in the removal of Cáo Fāng in 256, and the customary fief increase he received to celebrate the ascension of Cáo Huàn in 260, there is no extant record of any other major political activities by Gāo Róu after his participation in the coup of 249. If Gāo Róu's rewards for siding with Sīmǎ Yì extended beyond these aforementioned ceremonial roles into the more material affairs of the offices run by Yì's sons Shī and Zhāo, we no longer have much record of it. Indeed, it may even be possible that Gāo Róu’s participation in the 249 coup was mostly for ceremonial purposes, to lend further appearances of legitimacy to the coup by having a formal member of the Three Excellencies sign off on it: during the coup, Sīmǎ Yì made a point to compare Gāo Róu to Zhōu Bó,32 the Western Hàn era Three Excellencies level senior statesman who had played a leading role in the 180 BC coup that destroyed the Lǚ clan.
Thus, as later scholars like Wáng Màohóng commented, it could be said that the senior ministers of Wèi, enraged by Cáo Shuǎng’s monopolization of power to the exclusion of the senior ministers, sided with Sīmǎ Yì in 249, so that Sīmǎ Yì and his sons Shī and Zhāo could monopolize power to the exclusion of the senior ministers.
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》嘉平元年春正月甲午,車駕謁高平陵。太傅司馬宣王奏免大將軍曹爽、爽弟中領軍羲、武衞將軍訓、散騎常侍彥官,以侯就第。戊戌,有司奏収黃門張當付廷尉,考實其辭,爽與謀不軌。又尚書丁謐、鄧颺、何晏、司隷校尉畢軌、荊州刺史李勝、大司農桓範皆與爽通姦謀,夷三族。語在爽傳。
For a more complete narrative of the Gāopíng Coup in 249 see also the biography of Cáo Shuǎng in SGZ 9.
Calculated by the record of his age as 90 (in traditional reckoning, 89 in modern reckoning) at death in the Jǐngyuán Fourth Year (263 AD in modern reckoning).
《三國志.魏書二十四.高柔傳》景元四年,年九十薨,謚曰元侯。
Calculated by the record of his age of 73 (traditional reckoning, 72 in modern) at death in 251.
《晉書.卷一.宣帝紀》秋八月戊寅,崩於京師,時年七十三。
《三國志.魏書十四.蔣濟傳》仕郡計吏、州別駕。建安十三年,孫權率衆圍合肥。時大軍征荊州,遇疾疫,唯遣將軍張喜單將千騎,過領汝南兵以解圍,頗復疾疫。濟乃密白刺史偽得喜書,云步騎四萬已到雩婁,遣主簿迎喜。
《三國志.魏書二十四.孫禮傳》孫禮字德達,涿郡容城人也。太祖平幽州,召為司空軍謀掾。
《三國志.魏書二十四.王觀傳》太祖召為丞相文學掾,出為高唐、陽泉、酇、任令,所在稱治。
The incident in 260 is discussed in a previous article:
The received record in SGZ 3 identifies Cáo Ruì as “thirty-six” at the time of his death in 239, corresponding to a birth year of 204, but this is likely a transcription error or calculation error. An alternative method of calculation based on a record of his age at enfeoffment in SGZ 2 suggests a birth year of 206.
Calculating from his reported age at death (46 in traditional reckoning).
《三國志.魏書九.夏侯尚傳》玄格量弘濟,臨斬東巿,顏色不變,舉動自若,時年四十六。
《三國志注.魏書九.夏侯尚傳》魏書曰:玄素貴,以爽故廢黜,居常怏怏不得意。中書令李豐與玄及后父光祿大夫張緝陰謀為亂,緝與豐同郡,傾巧人也,以東莞太守召,為后家,亦不得意,故皆同謀。初,豐自以身處機密,息韜又以列侯給事中,尚齊長公主,有內外之重,心不自安。密謂韜曰:「玄旣為海內重人,加以當大任,年時方壯而永見廢,又親曹爽外弟,於大將軍有嫌。吾得玄書,深以為憂。緝有才用,棄兵馬大郡,還坐家巷。各不得志,欲使汝以密計告之。」
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》魏略曰:太祖為司空時,納晏母并收養晏,其時秦宜祿兒阿蘇亦隨母在公家,並見寵如公子。蘇即朗也。
There are alternative arguments that he could have been born in the 200s and therefore in his 40s, based on several anecdotes involving Hé Yàn being adopted into the Wèi “Palace,” which would imply an adoption after the formal establishment of the Wèi Ducal fief in 213, but I have elected to favor the Wèi lüè account, on the grounds that the anecdotes using the “Palace” argument could easily be using the term “Palace” anachronistically. Note for example the references in the historiography to Cáo Pī’s household as “East Palace” anachronistically to describe events before his formal installment as Heir-Apparent in 217.
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》魏略曰:鄧颺字玄茂,鄧禹後也。少得士名於京師。明帝時為尚書郎,除洛陽令,坐事免,拜中郎,又入兼中書郎。初,颺與李勝等為浮華友,及在中書,浮華事發,被斥出,遂不復用。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》魏略曰:丁謐,字彥靖。父斐,字文侯。初,斐隨太祖,太祖以斐鄉里,特饒愛之。斐性好貨,數請求犯法,輒得原宥。為典軍校尉,總攝內外,每所陳說,多見從之。建安末,從太祖征吳。斐隨行,自以家牛羸困,乃私易官牛,為人所白,被收送獄,奪官。其後太祖問斐曰:「文侯,印綬所在?」斐亦知見戲,對曰:「以易餅耳。」太祖笑,顧謂左右曰:「東曹毛掾數白此家,欲令我重治,我非不知此人不清,良有以也。我之有斐,譬如人家有盜狗而善捕鼠,盜雖有小損,而完我囊貯。」遂復斐官,聽用如初。後數歲,病亡。謐少不肯交游,但博觀書傳。為人沈毅,頗有才略。太和中,常住鄴,借人空屋,居其中。而諸王亦欲借之,不知謐已得,直開門入。謐望見王,交脚卧而不起,而呼其奴客曰:「此何等人?促呵使去。」王怒其無禮,還具上言。明帝收謐,繫鄴獄,以其功臣子,原出。後帝聞其有父風,召拜度支郎中。曹爽宿與相親,時爽為武衞將軍,數為帝稱其可大用。會帝崩,爽輔政,乃拔謐為散騎常侍,遂轉尚書。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》畢軌,字昭先。父字子禮,建安中為典農校尉。軌以才能,少有名聲。明帝在東宮時,軌在文學中。黃初末,出為長史。明帝即位,入為黃門郎,子尚公主,居處殷富。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》李勝字公昭。父休字子朗,有智略。張魯前為鎮北將軍,休為司馬,家南鄭。時漢中有甘露降,子朗見張魯精兵數萬人,有四塞之固,遂建言赤氣乆衰,黃家當興,欲魯舉號,魯不聽。會魯破,太祖以其勸魯內附,賜爵關內侯,署散官騎從,詣鄴。至黃初中,仕歷上黨、鉅鹿二郡太守,後以年老還,拜議郎。勝少游京師,雅有才智,與曹爽善。明帝禁浮華,而人白勝堂有四䆫八達,各有主名。用是被收,以其所連引者多,故得原,禁錮數歲。帝崩,曹爽輔政,勝為洛陽令。夏侯玄為征西將軍,以勝為長史。玄亦宿與勝厚。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》桓範字元則,世為冠族。建安末,入丞相府。延康中,為羽林左監。以有文學,與王象等典集皇覽。明帝時為中領軍尚書,遷征虜將軍、東中郎將,使持節都督青、徐諸軍事,治下邳。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》于時曹爽輔政,以範鄉里老宿,於九卿中特敬之,然不甚親也。及宣王起兵,閉城門,以範為曉事,乃指召之,欲使領中領軍。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》範欲應召,而其子諫之,以車駕在外,不如南出。範疑有頃,兒又促之。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》範知爽首免而己必坐唱義也。範乃曰:「老子今茲坐卿兄弟族矣!」爽等既免,帝還宮,遂令範隨從。到洛水浮橋北,望見宣王,下車叩頭而無言。宣王呼範姓曰:「桓大夫何為爾邪!」車駕入宮,有詔範還復位。範詣闕拜章謝,待報。會司蕃詣鴻臚自首,具說範前臨出所道。宣王乃忿然曰:「誣人以反,於法何應?」主者曰:「科律,反受其罪。」乃收範於闕下。時人持範甚急,範謂部官曰:「徐之,我亦義士耳。」遂送廷尉。
《三國志.魏書二十四.王觀傳》司馬宣王誅爽,使觀行中領軍,據爽弟羲營,賜爵關內侯,復為尚書,加駙馬都尉。
《三國志注.魏書九.曹爽傳》干寶晉紀曰:蔣濟以曹真之勳力,不宜絕祀,故以熈為後。濟又病其言之失信於爽,發病卒。
《三國志注.魏書十四.蔣濟傳》世語曰:初,濟隨司馬宣王屯洛水浮橋,濟書與曹爽,言宣王旨「惟免官而已」,爽遂誅滅。濟病其言之失信,發病卒。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》夏四月乙丑,改年。丙子,太尉蔣濟薨。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》二年夏五月,以征西將軍郭淮為車騎將軍。冬十月,以特進孫資為驃騎將軍。十一月,司空孫禮薨。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》戊寅,太傅司馬宣王薨,以衞將軍司馬景王為撫軍大將軍,錄尚書事。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》癸亥,以尚書右僕射王觀為司空,冬十月,觀薨。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》秋九月,太尉高柔薨。
《三國志.魏書二十四.王觀傳》常道鄉公即位,進封陽鄉侯,增邑千戶,并前二千五百戶。遷司空,固辭,不許,遣使即第拜授。就官數日,上送印綬,輒自輿歸里舍。薨于家,遺令藏足容棺,不設明器,不封不樹。謚曰肅侯。
There is one extant story that Chén Tài returned home to commit suicide in 260 in response to the regicide of the Duke of Gāoguì village. This story is quite notable since Chén Tài had been a very close personal friend to Sīmǎ Zhāo.
《漢晉春秋》曰:「曹髦之薨,司馬昭聞之,自投於地曰:『天下謂我何?』於是召百官議其事。昭垂涕問陳泰曰:『何以居我?』泰曰:「公光輔數世,功蓋天下,謂當並跡古人,垂美於後,一旦有殺君之事,不亦惜乎!速斬賈充,猶可以自明也。』昭曰:『公閭不可得殺也,卿更思餘計。』泰厲聲曰:『意唯有進於此耳,餘無足委者也。』歸而自殺。」
《三國志.魏書二十四.高柔傳》魏初,三公無事,又希與朝政。柔上疏曰:「天地以四時成功,元首以輔弼興治;成湯杖阿衡之佐,文、武憑旦、望之力,逮至漢初,蕭、曹之儔並以元勳代作心膂,此皆明王聖主任臣於上,賢相良輔股肱於下也。今公輔之臣,皆國之棟梁,民所具瞻,而置之三事,不使知政,遂各偃息養高,鮮有進納,誠非朝廷崇用大臣之義,大臣獻可替否之謂也。古者刑政有疑,輒議於槐棘之下。自今之後,朝有疑議及刑獄大事,宜數以咨訪三公。三公朝朔望之日,又可特延入,講論得失,博盡事情,庶有裨起天聽,弘益大化。」帝嘉納焉。帝以宿嫌,欲枉法誅治書執法鮑勛,而柔固執不從詔命。帝怒甚,遂召柔詣臺;遣使者承指至廷尉考竟勛,勛死乃遣柔還寺。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》八月丁卯,以太常高柔為司空。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》四月,以司空高柔為司徒。
《三國志.魏書四.高貴鄉公紀》九月,以司徒高柔為太尉。
《三國志.魏書四.齊王紀》甲戌,太后令曰:「皇帝芳春秋已長,不親萬機,耽淫內寵,沈漫女德,日延倡優,縱其醜謔;迎六宮家人留止內房,毀人倫之叙,亂男女之節;恭孝日虧,悖慠滋甚,不可以承天緒,奉宗廟。使兼太尉高柔奉策,用一元大武告于宗廟,遣芳歸藩于齊,以避皇位。」
《三國志注.魏書四.齊王紀》司徒萬歲亭侯臣柔
《三國志注.魏書四.齊王紀》帝本以齊王踐祚,宜歸藩于齊。使司徒臣柔持節,與有司以太牢告祀宗廟。
《三國志.魏書二十四.高柔傳》太傅司馬宣王奏免曹爽,皇太后詔召柔假節行大將軍事,據爽營。太傅謂柔曰:「君為周勃矣。」
The Gāopíng Coup as Generational Warfare
Thank you !!! I've just found about the Three Kingdoms Era and I am loving it !!! I am happy to have found this place (and your articles) to learn more about this period. The Romance of The Three Kingdoms is good but not as good as the real History of the events :D