At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the vassal regime fought for the Central Plains, that is, the Eastern Han Dynasty not only lost control over the grazing and secretariat of the states, but also gave the nomadic people in the north the opportunity to rebel. As a result, the southern Xiongnu, who had originally surrendered to the Han Dynasty, took the opportunity to rebel, was captured by Xiongnu Zuo, and gave birth to two children. After Cao Cao unified the northern Central Plains, he chose to spend a lot of money to redeem Cai Wenji. So, the question is, what is the real purpose of Cao Cao's spending a lot of money to redeem Cai Wenji?
one
First of all, Cai Wenji is well-read and proficient in temperament. He married Wei Zhongdao in Hedong County in his early years. For Wei Zhongdao, he is a descendant of the Wei Qing family. However, due to the early death of Wei Zhongdao, the two had no children, and Cai Yan (Cai Wenji) returned home, that is, Cai Wenji returned to Chenliu County from Hedong County. Around the second year of Xingping (195), the southern Xiongnu, originally belonging to the Eastern Han Dynasty, took the opportunity to rebel and plunder.
A.D. 195 years ago, Dong Zhuo first entered Luoyang to abolish the Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, then Wang Yun and Lu Bu got rid of Dong Zhuo, and then Li Jue and other soldiers created chaos in Chang 'an. This undoubtedly created favorable conditions for the rebellion of the southern Xiongnu, that is, not only the Eastern Han Dynasty did not have the strength to suppress the southern Xiongnu, but even the princes such as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao did not have the energy to deal with it. In this context, South Xiongnu took the opportunity to send troops to the Central Plains, and Cai Wenji, a talented woman, was unfortunately taken away by Xiongnu Zuo.
two
After being kidnapped by the Southern Xiongnu Zuo, he lived in the location of the Southern Xiongnu for twelve years and gave birth to two children. For Cai Wenji, being away from home for more than ten years is obviously very sad and sentimental. Therefore, in the eleventh year of Jian 'an (207), Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and other forces, unified the northern Central Plains, and spent a lot of money to redeem Cai Yan from the southern Xiongnu. For Cao Cao, the reason why he chose to redeem Cai Wenji with a large sum of money is not complicated, mainly because Cao Cao and Cai Wenji's father Cai Yong have a good relationship.
Cai Yong refused to be recruited by the imperial court in his early years, and was later recruited as a Stuart. Dong Zhuo came to power and called Cai Yong as a drink offering. So at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Yong knew Cao Cao very early. More importantly, Cao Cao has always loved literature and calligraphy, while Cai Yong is proficient in temperament and brilliant. He is good at calligraphy, seal script and official script besides being familiar with Confucian classics. Based on this, Cao Cao and Cai Yong appreciated each other and had many exchanges in the fields of literature and calligraphy, which undoubtedly deepened their friendship.
three
In A.D. 192, after Dong Zhuo was killed, Cai Yong was imprisoned for sighing in Wang Yun's seat, and soon died in prison at the age of 60. For Cao Cao, the death of his old friend Cai Yong is undoubtedly a very sad thing. After Cai Yong's death, Cai Wenji was kidnapped by the Southern Xiongnu, which made Cao Cao feel that he should do something for his old friend.
Of course, in the second year of Xingping (195) and for a long time after that, Cao Cao faced the competition from many governors such as Lu Bu, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and he had no ability or energy to help Cai Wenji. During this period, Cao Cao first met Liu Xie, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and then held the Emperor to make the governors, gradually defeating many governors such as Lu Bu, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. In the 11th year of Jian 'an (207), Cao Cao basically unified the northern Central Plains. So at this time, Cao Cao not only had the money to redeem Cai Wenji, but also had the strength to make the southern Xiongnu fearsome.
four
Finally, in other words, the reason why the Southern Xiongnu returned to Cai Wenji was because it was greedy for the money given by Cao Cao. However, if it relies on its powerful strength, the Southern Xiongnu will not necessarily be returned to Cai Wenji. After redeeming Cai Wenji from the Southern Xiongnu, Cao Cao married Cai Wenji to Dong Si. Dong Si was a reclamation captain of Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period, that is, one of Cao Cao's men. Later, for some unknown reason, Cai Wenji's husband, Dongsi, committed a crime and died. After learning this, Cai Yan (Cai Wenji) pleaded with Cao Cao personally as his wife. Is this recorded in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Peng Shou walked, kowtowed and confessed, and every word was clear and clear. The purpose is very sour and sad, and everything has changed. ? In this context, Cao Cao finally agreed to pardon Dong Si's capital crime.
In addition, in order to get Cao Cao's forgiveness for Dong Si, Cai Yan (Cai Wenji) also wrote down the contents of his own ancient books and gave them to Cao Cao without any mistakes. In this regard, in my opinion, this should also be one of the reasons why Cao Cao redeemed Cai Wenji, that is, Cao Cao, who likes literature, knew that there were many ancient books in Cai Wenji's home, so he asked Cai Wenji to write down the contents of the ancient books he had written down and give them to himself. After this incident, there is no relevant record about Cai Wenji and her husband, Dong Si, in both the History of the Later Han Dynasty and the History of the Three Kingdoms. That is to say, what is the final outcome of the two people is naturally unknown.