The Sick Fox Emerges from Its Den in Luoyang

The Luo River runs cold, and the old fox awakens. Sima Yi spent ten years coughing blood in bed and pretending to be ill. Even Cao Shuang laughed and said, “The old man is about to die. He's no threat.” But who could have guessed that when General Cao took the emperor hunting at Gaoping Mausoleum, the Grand Tutor, who could barely keep his shoes on, would stand beside Empress Dowager Guo atop the city wall and point his sword toward the Cao residence: “Seal the gates, seize the military tallies, and have the heads of Cao's followers piled up at Sima Gate within three days!” Would Cao Shuang's arrogance doom the state of Wei, or had Sima Yi's patience already turned the whole board upside down?