Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 586 Rebellion
"Boda! Don't try to persuade me! I have decided to be the Duke of Anwei!" Cao Pi followed Bai Tu's instructions and returned to the mansion before opening another "secret letter" containing intelligence about Yecheng.
Then I got excited...
After Sima Lang read it, there was no drastic change in his expression, but his face also looked a little lonely - after all, Cao Pi was abandoned, which also meant that he was "abandoned".
Well, the Sima family is indeed a lot less important to the Wei State now. After all, Sima Yi is still with Marquis Zheng!
If Cao Pi follows the route planned by Cao Cao, the best outcome for him would be to become Prince Anle, and Sima Lang... would be Prince Anle's lackey.
At this time, Sima Lang's perspective would have to change a little - after all , he was now tied to Cao Pi, first as Cao Pi's subject, and then as a subject of the Wei State.
If Cao Pi is the heir of Wei, he has to serve as an envoy and make suggestions for Wei. However, there is a conflict of interest between Cao Pi and Wei... Then he still has to consider Cao Pi and himself first!
"Don't worry, sir. Lang is naturally on your side. However, the title of 'Duke Anwei' still needs some consideration." Sima Lang pondered for a while.
"Should I just call him 'Duke of Wei'?" Cao Pi's tone was a little uneasy, but at the same time he seemed to feel a sense of "excitement".
Sima Lang looked at Cao Pi speechlessly, then said: "No, my opinion is that you'd better ask the King of Chu to change your title to 'Marquis of An Wei'."
"Marquis? An Du is already safe, what's the difference between Marquis and Duke?" Cao Pi failed to respond to Sima Lang's signal for a moment.
I just feel that no matter whether he is a duke or a marquis, isn't he just going to embarrass his father?
"If the State of Chu just wants to borrow the prince's name to raise a banner during the Northern Expedition, then there won't be much difference. But if... they really want to borrow the prince's 'person' as well, then there will be a huge difference!" Sima Lang said immediately.
"Can you still lend me your 'people'?" Cao Pi was stunned when he heard that.
Even Cao Pi could see the intention of the Chu State.
At this time, naming Cao Pi "Duke of An Wei" was not only a provocation and declaration of all-out war, but more importantly, it provided a "relatively legitimate" reason to recruit the Wei ministers and generals to surrender.
Of course, if you use this directly to persuade people to surrender, you are just blinded by greed and they will not pay any attention to you.
However, imagine that when an isolated city is being defended, the gap between the enemy and us is too great, or even when the enemy has been defeated and captured, or has been forced to surrender, with the title of "Duke of An Wei" as a stepping stone, it will naturally be easier for the enemy to "climb" to the side of the Chu State, and the posture does not have to be too ugly.
Even Guan Yu said, "I surrendered to Han but not to Cao." Sometimes this step is very important!
This is the effect on the Chu State, but Sima Lang is more concerned about the effect on Cao Pi...
The first are the visible and tangible official positions and fiefs.
This courtesy has surpassed Zhang Lu, Gongsun Kang, and even Liu Cong!
You should know that during the Han Dynasty, dukes were generally not granted titles. If anyone other than a royal family member was granted the title of king, there were restrictions due to the White Horse Alliance. The duke, who was between marquis and king, was also idle for a long time, and the highest title he could only be granted was Marquis Che.
Before Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, in order to show his uniqueness, he conferred himself the title of "Duke of Anhan". Historically, Cao Cao was also first conferred the title of Duke of Wei.
He could have been directly conferred the title of "Duke of Anwei". Given Sima Lang's understanding of the King of Chu and the Chu system, unless Cao Pi himself committed suicide, he would not have been killed because of the title of "Duke of Anwei".
However, it is difficult to achieve success...
This is the same as returning to Wei and becoming a Prince Anle. The upper limit is the same, and at most the lower limit is a little higher.
After all... to be the Prince Anle of Wei, the prerequisite is that Wei has destroyed Chu, or at least has a great advantage over Chu, and after Cao Zhi has succeeded to the throne, it is possible that Cao Pi will be invited back.
However, Sima Lang, who had been in Jinling for a long time, did not have much confidence in this.
However, no matter how powerful the Chu State became, Cao Pi was locked in the honorary title.
More importantly, both "Duke of Anwei" and "Marquis of Anwei" have another way of being used.
That means sending it directly to the north...
Whether in Youbeiping or Liaodong, as long as the Chu State could use its naval advantage to knock down a piece of Wei territory and directly release the "Duke of An Wei" there, it would be a trump card that would directly shake the morale of the army and the people in the north - or the hearts of the gentry.
At this time, for Cao Pi, there was a big difference between "Duke of Anwei" and "Marquis of Anwei".
It is directly related to whether Cao Pi is just a mascot in the north or has some autonomy...
If it is "Duke of Anwei", then he can only be a mascot. After all, there is not a single duke in the State of Chu now, and his nominal status is too honorable.
If it was "Marquis of An Wei", then there would still be some chance...
Sima Lang gave this analysis to Cao Pi and suggested: "If the King of Chu really has this intention in the future, you must remember to call yourself 'Chu An Wei Hou' in front of others and behind their backs!"
"Brother-in-law... can you really just take over a piece of northern Wei land and make it my base?" Cao Pi's eyes sparkled.
"No, it's to let you nominally preside over the northern base of Chu!" Sima Lang frowned and corrected seriously.
Sima Lang always felt that Cao Pi's sensitivity had dropped sharply in recent years, and he spoke without thinking...
Of course, Cao Pi didn’t really have any big plans, but after getting the intelligence from Yecheng, he was now extremely irritable… and rebellious!
Cao Pi felt very happy at the thought of going to the north and showing off in front of his father and his stinky brother.
"Okay! Let's do as you say!" Cao Pi accepted Sima Lang's proposal without much hesitation.
The next day, Cao Pi first went to Xiahou Juan to cry and complain, but when he found out that Xiahou Juan had no objection, he went to meet his brother-in-law, the King of Chu, and applied to be changed to the title of "Marquis of An Wei". He also specifically stated that if necessary, he could leave for the north at any time.
There is no need to worry that Cao Pi will take the opportunity to escape back to Yecheng...
Now that Cao Zhi has been established as the crown prince, he, the eldest son, is the most unwelcome person in Yecheng.
"Sima Lang actually thought of this step, not bad." Bai Tu praised Sima Lang.
"Brother-in-law...you are so capable..." Cao Pi's rebellious fire burned fiercely.
"Maybe not. Maybe we need to have a broader vision." Bai Tu said something that Cao Pi didn't quite understand.
If one has a broader vision, when the conflict first occurred, Jia Xu's plan was to land in Youbeiping and fight all the way to Yecheng "after everything was ready", thus temporarily forcing Cao Wei to move its capital!
But at this time Cao Pi hesitated for a moment, and specifically said: "Brother-in-law... Can you rest assured if I go back like this? Otherwise, Wan'er can go faster, so that I can leave my wife and children in Jinling..."
"You wish..."
Bai Tu ignored his unreasonable request - after all, she was a widow. Although she had been a widow for several years, she had not moved out of the Lu family. She would have to move out after a period of time and then go to the Xu family to propose marriage normally.
