Prince. By degrees the snpreme power passed into his hands; and the Emperor Hsien Ti, who had relinquished one by one all Imperiil prerogatiyes, became a mere poppet in his hands. The BmpresB ^ ^ Fa Hon , who from the ranks of her own family endeaTonred to form a party against him, was treated with the ntmost ssTeritf. This unhappy lady was cast into a dnngeon, and upon her death, which occurred soon afterwards, Ts'ao Ts'ao's own daughter wss proclaimed Empress. At his death he was succeeded by his son ^ P^ei, who became the first Emperor of the dynasty of Wei, and ruled over that portion of the empire now known as Shantung. Ts^ao Ts^ao is popularly r^arded as the type of a bold bad Bfinister, and of a cunning unscrupulous rebel. His large armies are proverbial, and at one time he is said to have had so many as a million of men under arms. As an instance of the discipline which prevailed in his camp, it is said that he once condemned himself to death for having allowed his horse to shy into a field of grain, in accordance with his own severe regulations against any injury to standing crops. However in lieu of losing his head, he was persuaded to satisfy his sense of justice by cutting off his hair. At least one generous act is recorded of him. When he dealt the final blow to Yflan Shao, he seized all his rival's papers, plans, etc., including a list of many of his own officers who were in correspondence with the onemy. This list he burnt. Many marvellous stories are told of this wonderful man, to be found chiefiy in the History of the Wo.i Dynasty and in the tft Ift 7^ ^. In the fatal illness which preceded his death , Ts^ao Ts'ao is said to have called in the famous physician Hua T^o, who declared that his august patient was suffering from wind in the brain, which he proposed to get rid of by opening the skull under an anaesthetic. But Ts'ao Ts'ao saw in this suggestion the treacherous desigpi of some enemy. Be imprisoned the unfortunate doctor, who died in gaol within ten
