Co-regent and kinsman of the imperial house. Held the court through his brothers and favourites, pushed Sima Yi aside, and rode out of the city on the morning that mattered. Surrendered on a promise of safety; executed with his faction ten days later.
Even so, I can still be a wealthy marquis.Cao Shuang before surrendering, 249; Wei shu, in Pei Songzhi's commentary to Sanguozhi, Wei shu 9
Appears in
Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 2Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 3Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 5Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 7Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 9Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 10Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 11Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 12Three Kingdoms 10 · panel 13
Relations
- Sima Yi co-regents, then rivals — Pushed Sima Yi aside to the empty seat of Grand Tutor; in 249 Sima Yi rose and broke him.
- Cao Fang regent & boy emperor — Held the court in the boy emperor's name from 239.
- Jiang Ji the promise & the broken — Jiang Ji's oath secured his surrender; ten days later he was executed.
Myth vs record
The story you may know
He kept his life as a wealthy marquis after surrendering, as Sima Yi's oath had promised.
What the sources say
The oath was the instrument of the surrender, not its terms: within ten days Cao Shuang and his faction were charged with great treason and executed, with all three branches of their kin.