At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao had many talents under his command. As far as military generals are concerned, there are five good generals such as Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Zhang He, Zhang Liao, and Le Jin, as well as generals from the Cao Wei clan such as Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Cao Zhen, Cao Ren, and Cao Xiu. As far as civil servants and counselors are concerned, there are Sima Yi, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, Chen Qun and others. Among them, Zhong Yao, who is about to be discussed in this article, is also a counselor under Cao Cao, but in terms of reputation, Zhong Yao is obviously inferior to Sima Yi, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu and others. Of course, in the official history, Zhong Yao made great military exploits for Cao Wei.
Zhong Yao (151-230), whose courtesy name was Yuanchang, was born in Changshe County, Yingchuan County, Yuzhou (now Changge City, Henan Province). During the Three Kingdoms period, he was an important official of Wei State and a famous calligrapher. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhong Yao assisted Liu Xiedong, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, in returning to Luoyang. After taking refuge with Cao Cao, Zhong Yao once guarded Guanzhong and intimidated generals such as Ma Teng and Han Sui. Cao Cao was granted the title of King of Wei, and Zhong Yao was appointed as the Dali Qing of Wei State and moved to the Prime Minister State. After the establishment of Cao Wei, he successively held the positions of Tingweiqing, Taiwei, Taifu, etc., and was conferred the title of Marquis of Dingling County, ranking among the three Dukes. In the fourth year of Taihe (230), Zhong Yao passed away and his posthumous title was "Cheng". In the fourth year of Zhengshi (243), he was entitled to the temple court of Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei. In addition, Zhong Yao's son Zhong Hui led his army to participate in the battle of Wei to destroy Shu, and became one of the heroes who destroyed Shu Han.
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Specifically, according to historical records such as "Three Kingdoms", Zhong Yao had an extraordinary appearance and extraordinary intelligence when he was a child. Later, Zhong Yao was promoted to Xiaolian and served as Shangshu Lang and Yangling County Magistrate. He resigned due to illness. He was also recruited by the three prefectures and served as Tingweizheng and Huangmen's minister. At that time, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was in Chang'an, and the generals Li Jue, Guo Si and others usurped power, blocking the connection between Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty and other regions. In the third year of Chuping (192), Cao Cao, the pastor of Yanzhou, sent an envoy to Chang'an to submit a letter. Li Jue, Guo Si and others thought: "Kuandong wants to establish itself as emperor. Although Cao Cao sent an envoy now, it was not out of his true intention." So they discussed detaining the envoy and refused to accept Cao Cao's sincerity. Zhong Yao advised Li Jue, Guo Si and others: "Today's heroes are rising together, each pretending to be the emperor's order to separate one side. Only Cao Yanzhou has the royal family in mind. If he refuses his loyalty, this will not be in line with future wishes." "Guo Si and others rewarded Zhong Yao generously for his words, and from then on Cao Cao was able to send envoys to get in touch with Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
Cao Cao had heard counselor Xun Yu praise Zhong Yao many times before, and also heard that he persuaded Li Jue and Guo Si to help him, so he was full of desire for him. In the second year of Xingping (195), Li Jue coerced Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and Zhong Yao and Shangshu Lang Han Bin planned to escape. In the same year, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty escaped from Chang'an and successfully returned eastward, in which Zhong Yao played a certain role. In August of the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao ushered in Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. In the year of 1911, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty granted Cao Cao the title of Sili Xiaowei and recorded the affairs of the Shangshu. Gengshen moved the capital to Xu County. In November of Bingxu, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty granted Cao Cao the title of Sikong, and made him a military commander on horseback and on horseback.
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In this regard, in the author's opinion, Cao Cao's rise during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty was inseparable from the coercion of the emperor to control the princes. The counselor Zhong Yao played an important role in Cao Cao's ability to obtain Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, after taking refuge with Cao Cao, Zhong Yao was worshiped as Yushi Zhongcheng, moved to Shizhong, Shangshu Pushe, and was granted the title of Marquis of Dongwu Ting based on his previous merits. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, generals such as Ma Teng and Han Sui separatized Guanzhong. Cao Cao was very worried about this. On the recommendation of Xun Yu, in the fourth year of Jian'an (199), he ordered Zhong Yao to lead the Sili Xiaowei as a servant and supervise Guanzhong. The armies entrusted rear affairs to him, especially granting him the power to adapt to circumstances. As we all know, in 199 AD, the two great princes Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were already at war with each other.
For Cao Cao, he needs to focus his main energy on dealing with the powerful Yuan Shao. Therefore, the princes in Guanzhong could only rely on Zhong Yao as a counselor to intimidate them. After Zhong Yao arrived in Chang'an, he wrote to Ma Teng, Han Sui and others, stating the pros and cons for them. Ma Teng and Han Sui both sent a son to the court as a hostage. From this, it is very obvious that although Zhong Yao was not a world-famous military general, by analyzing the pros and cons, Zhong Yao successfully persuaded Ma Teng and Han Sui and forced them to surrender to the Eastern Han Dynasty court during the Battle of Guandu. At least he didn't help Yuan Shao deal with Cao Cao. Judging from the situation at the time, once Ma Teng and Han Sui attacked Xuchang, Cao Cao would be in danger of being attacked from both sides.
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In the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Cao Cao had a stalemate with Yuan Shao in Guandu, and Zhong Yao sent two thousand horses for military use. Cao Cao said in a letter to Zhong Yao: "The horses were sent to meet the urgent needs of the army. The Guanyou area was pacified, and the court had no worries. It was all due to his own merits. Back then, Xiao He guarded Guanzhong and had enough food and grass, so that the army won. , It's only equal to your contribution." In Cao Cao's mind, Zhong Yao has been compared with Xiao He in the Western Han Dynasty. Xun Yu, who recommended Zhong Yao, was previously compared to Zhang Liang by Cao Cao. In the 16th year of Jian'an (211), Cao Cao conquered Ma Chao, Han Sui and others in Guanzhong. Because Zhong Yao had enriched the population and could use it to ensure supply, Cao Cao appointed him as a former military advisor. In the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213), the State of Wei was established, with Zhong Yao appointed as Dali and promoted to Prime Minister. In this regard, in the author's opinion, after the deaths of Cao Cao's early advisers such as Xun Yu and Xun You, Zhong Yao's status in Cao Wei continued to rise.
In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Zhong Yao was implicated in Wei Zhi's rebellion and was dismissed from office. In the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an (220), after Cao Cao died, Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, and Zhong Yao was appointed Dali again. In the same year, Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, was promoted to Zhong Yao Tingwei, and was granted the title of Gao Xianghou. In the third year of Huangchu (222), Zhong Yao replaced Jia Xu as Taiwei and was granted the title of Marquis of Pingyang Township. At that time, Situ Huaxin and Sikong Wanglang were both famous ministers under Cao Cao. During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, Taiwei, Sikong, and Situ were collectively called the Three Dukes. It is worth noting that Cao Pi said to others after he retired from the court: "These three ministers will probably be unsustainable for future generations!"
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Finally, in the seventh year of Huang Chu's reign, (226 years), after the death of Cao Pi, Emperor Wei Ming Cao Rui ascended the throne, Zhong Yao was promoted to the title of Marquis of Dingling, and 500 households were added to the city. Together with the previous 1,800 households, he was moved to Taifu. For the post of Taifu, it was undoubtedly the highest-status official position at that time. For example, when the emperor Cao Fang was in power, Sima Yi was promoted to the official position of Taifu. As for Zhong Yao, he obviously served as Taifu before Sima Yi, which means that Zhong Yao's qualifications and status in Cao Wei are naturally higher than Sima Yi. In the fourth year of Taihe (230), Zhong Yao passed away at the age of eighty. Cao Rui went to express his condolences in plain clothes and was given the posthumous title "Cheng". In the fourth year of Zhengshi (243), Zhong Yao was able to enjoy Cao Cao's temple. After Zhong Yao's death, his son Zhong Hui became a famous general in the later period of Cao Wei.
Zhong Hui (225-March 3, 264), courtesy name Shiji, was born in Changshe, Yingchuan (now Changge City, Henan Province). During the Three Kingdoms period, he was a general and calligrapher of Wei State, the youngest son of Taifu Zhongyao, and the younger brother of Zhong Yu, the governor of Qingzhou. During the Jingyuan period, Zhong Hui supported Sima Zhao's plan to conquer Shu. He paid homage to General Zhenxi, Jiejie, and the governor of Guanzhong and took charge of the affairs of the expedition to Shu. In the fourth year of Jingyuan (263), in the battle to destroy Shu, Wei cooperated with Deng Ai to divide his troops and advance, eventually destroying the Shu Han. He worshiped Situ and was granted the title of County Marquis. Although the Shu Han was directly destroyed by Deng Ai's army, in the battle of Wei to destroy Shu, Zhong Hui, Zhong Yao's son, restrained the main force of the Shu Han, making Jiang Wei unable to support Chengdu. He can also be called the hero of the destruction of Shu. What do you think about this?