"There was chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, and Xiong Hao rose together. Yuan Shao was eyeing four states and was powerful and invincible. Mao strategized, castigated the magic of Shen and Shang, used the unique tactics of Han and Bai, and granted official materials, each for his own devices, melodramatic, and forgot the old evils. In the end, he was able to conquer the imperial court machine and become a flood maker, but it was only slightly better. I can be described as an extraordinary person and a peerless hero. " ("The History of the Three Kingdoms, Emperor Wudi Ji" Chen Shou)
For more than 30 years, Mao Yujun never gave up his books. The book talks about the art of war and thinks about classics at night. Climbing to the top must be given, and the strings of new poems make a movement. (Wang Shen, Shu Wei)
Ancient and modern reviews
Sun Quan commented on Cao Cao: "It's a pity to kill only small things. It' s cool to alienate people' s flesh and blood, and emperors and princes have been rare since ancient times. "
Zhong Rong: "Cao Gong is old and straight, and there are sad sentences." -"Poetry"
Emperor Taizong said to Cao Cao: "In times of crisis, we should control changes and expect the enemy to set up strange tricks. Once we make them smart, we will have more than enough talents. "
Yuan Zhen commented on Cao Cao: "Cao Cao hid and usurped chaos from now on" —— Dong Escape
Wang Anshi praised Cao Cao: "Castle Peak is the wave that enters Zhangzhou, and Tongquetai is the nine mountains in west eight. Insects return to the empty ridge, and Kirin is buried for several spring and autumn years. The world knows who it is, and its strength rests here. There's no need to leave things on the ground. Wang Wei will divide his clothes. "
Liu Zhiji commented on Cao Cao: "The most heinous crime is the disaster of Wang Mang." -"Stone Exploration"
Lu Xun said: "Cao Cao is at least a hero."
Mao Zedong said, "It has been over a thousand years. Wei Wu waved his whip, and the Jieshi was left in the east. "
Yi Zhongtian's "Taste the Three Kingdoms": "Cao Cao's will" burn incense and sell shoes, miss his concubine and wife "reflects Cao Cao's atmosphere and conceit, so I don't talk about state affairs, grandiose words, only small things. What do you think of me? What if you call me a villain? I'm Cao Cao, and I don't care what you say about me. I am such a person. "
Historian Fan Wenlan said of Cao Cao: "He was a hero who set things right, so he was tragic and heroic in literature.
Later generations praised poetry.
Yezhongge
Ye, Ye Cheng, when you get water, there will be different people from now on.
Xiongmou affair and literary mind, brother and father.
Heroes don't often have breasts. Do you follow people's eyes?
The culprit is not two people, but the legacy is the legacy.
The article is powerful and energetic, how can it become a group?
The cross-flow platform is too far away, and the gas and physical potential are low.
Anyou people don't do evil, small ones don't bully big ones.
The overlord became a son and daughter, but there was nothing he could do.
Knowing that reconciliation is useless, sharing incense is not merciful.
Oh!
Everything the ancients did was meticulous, lonely and luxurious.
Scholars talk lightly about the people in the tomb, and the people in the tomb laugh bookish!
The Seven Laws lamented that silver moon's Yu Yi at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was ambitious and attached great importance to all things in heaven. I don't know how many tigers and wolves are sarcastic, lamenting benevolence and righteousness!
Seven laws praise Cao Meng Gong's virtue.
One third of the world, the Kanto Rightists take the lead.
After several years of reclamation, CoCo Lee was saved, and Guandu defeated the arrogant army in World War I.
Look at the sea through the ages and sing short songs on a long way.
A thousand years of hegemony will last forever, and only heroes can compete with you.
Political achievements
It is unfair to describe Cao Cao as a usurper in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, consorts and eunuchs took turns to take power, and the atmosphere in the ruling and opposition parties was filthy. Stepping into the Jian 'an era, the Eastern Han court was hopeless. In this regard, Sima Guang once commented in "Zi Tongzhi Jian": "At the beginning of Jian 'an, it was everywhere; "Without an inch of land and a nation, this is not the style of China people." In the troubled times when Dong Zhuo was good at abolishing legislation, Ada made his own robes, Huainan Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor and carved his seal, and Yuan Shao wanted to set up another private emperor, Cao Cao always maintained his respect for the imperial court.
As early as five years in Zhong Ping, there was a plot to overthrow Emperor Han Ling and set up a new Lord. At that time, Cao Cao, who negotiated, was rejected by him. When the Allies marched eastward to Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao took the lead in making progress compared with other people's wait-and-see concerns. In the second year of Chuping, Han Fu, Yuan Shao and others wanted to make Liu Yu, a shepherd in Youzhou, emperor, but Cao Cao refused again, and made it clear: "You are in the north, I am in the west." You can listen to the shepherds in the northern Youzhou. I am still loyal to the western emperors. When Li Jue and others brought trouble to Chang 'an, and Xian Di and his party fled for their lives in a mess, there were indifferent people, fish in troubled waters, and people who fell when they were down. Cao Cao was one of the few people who took the initiative to meet Xian Di. In December of the 24th year of Jian 'an, after Wu and Wei cooperated to kill Guan Yu, Sun Quan advised him to be a vassal, but Cao Cao wouldn't listen: "This boy wants to set me on fire!" Although there are cautious tactics of Cao Cao in this series of words and deeds, it cannot be denied objectively that this is a respect for the imperial court.
As for Cao Cao's killing of Dong Cheng (originally a subordinate of Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu, according to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the birth standard should be "fish escaping through the net"), Wan Fu and other royalty, after all, he started with the former Cao Cao and fought back, so can he be expected to die happily? Besides, the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty was in the hands of consorts and eunuchs, and Cao Cao, who witnessed the chaos in the world, knew it. When Dong Cheng killed Wan Fu, Cao Cao also stipulated that no one in his own "harem" should interfere in the affairs of state, even his son Cao Zhang and others were "father and son at home, and his subjects were his subjects". The talented Cao Zhi is a bohemian who once "opened the Sima Gate" without authorization, and his coachman was immediately executed (Cao Zhi fell out of favor largely because of violating the law and discipline. Cao Pi may have a wicked heart, but Cao Zhi doesn't take being a thief seriously at all. Cao Zhi's wife, dressed luxuriantly, violated her order to advocate frugality, even though her daughter-in-law beheaded her. Looking back, Cao Cao was not a usurper of the Han Dynasty.
Few people deny Cao Cao's military and literary talents, but his achievements are slightly controversial. Compared with military achievements, his achievements are even worse. Looking back at the history before the Three Kingdoms, during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the population of China once reached more than 50 million, but by the time of the Three Kingdoms, it had dropped to more than 7 million, even worse than during the Warring States Period, when people were beheaded frequently four or five hundred years ago (there were still more than 10 million). It is impossible to kill so many people, but it is not difficult to starve to death. The root cause is nothing more than natural and man-made disasters. Since Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, droughts, floods, plagues, riots and rebellions of ethnic minorities have continued, and the population and households have been greatly reduced. According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, there was a great disaster: "In the spring and March of the ninth year, Li Si and Yuzhou starved to death and even destroyed their households." According to this estimate, about three or four million people starved to death in these two places this year alone; During the period of Emperor Ling of Han Dynasty, "In the first month of Jianning three years, women in Hanoi ate husbands, while men in Henan ate wives", "In February of Guanghe five years, there was a great epidemic." , "light and six years of summer, drought". Other small-scale natural disasters, ethnic minority rebellions or invasions are numerous. Coupled with the Yellow Scarf Uprising in 184 and the subsequent warlord scuffle, the production was completely destroyed. In such troubled times, it is an urgent and primary task to restore normal production order and let the people have plenty of food and clothing.
Among the princes of the Three Kingdoms in the late Han Dynasty, there were many military talents and few internal affairs. Political and economic success or failure will naturally be reflected in the military (on the other hand, it is by no means easy). Most people suffer from it and eventually get stuck in the "rice", and even have no chance to prove whether they are "smart women". The way to resume production is to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and Cao Cao has done well in both aspects.
The implementation of the reclamation system is actually to ensure reproduction by means of state investment, and the work efficiency is of course higher than that of ordinary yeomen. Therefore, this policy achieved immediate results, and in a short time, it turned this place into a thriving place where "agricultural officers and soldiers, chickens and dogs speak, and buildings belong to each other". It is not too much to call it a great pioneering work. After Cao Cao captured Yecheng, in view of the heavy poll tax at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he changed to household rules and charged landlords (including yeomen and landlords) four liters of land rent per mu, and each household paid two silks and two kilograms of cotton. "He must not be good at making money." Vigorously stop the indiscriminate apportionment of farmers, which is a headache for Mao Dengjiang even after 2000. This policy has greatly reduced the burden on farmers and won unanimous support.
When Cao Cao was alive, he vigorously built water conservancy facilities and achieved fruitful results. For example, the seven gates and three weirs built in Shucheng, Zhou Yu's hometown, can still irrigate 20,000 hectares of fertile land every day until Song Renzong in the Northern Song Dynasty. The seriousness of these "small things" not mentioned in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be reflected in the following examples: First, Cao Cao fought two wars in Hanzhong, first defeating Zhang Lu, and then losing to Liu Bei, but due to the recovery of northern vitality, he successfully moved out of Hanzhong Wudu and other places (although he was tempted, he was never intimidated). According to a family of four, this is more than 500 thousand. Think about the fact that when Shu Han surrendered, there were only 280,000 households with 940,000 people, and you will understand what kind of drastic measures Liu Bei took! After all, soldiers and civilians are the foundation of the war of resistance. Second, in May of the 19th year of Jian 'an, Lv Meng reminded Sun Quan that Cao Cao was cultivating land in Anhui (i.e. Lujiang), and if he waited for them to harvest, it would be tantamount to adding wings to the tiger. Therefore, Wu Dong took advantage of the rainy season water army to come and go freely. Sun Quan personally went out to levy such a tiny place in Anhui City. After Monroe and Gan Ning went into battle, they captured the prefect alive and moved tens of thousands of people back to Wu. According to statistics, Sun Ce and Sun Quan called Zhou Yu's hometown, Huainan Shucheng, four times, but without exception, they all returned from looting. Therefore, there is such a funny thing in Zhou Yu's hometown: Cao Wei desperately builds buildings, and Sun Wu desperately destroys and kills people.
After Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui were unruly in their personal lives, but they basically followed these policies. Later, Cao Zhen, Zhang He and Sima Yi were able to repeatedly bring down Zhuge Liang without tactical mistakes in Qishan and other places because they had "deep internal forces" and sufficient material support. Accordingly, Wu Shu's construction in this area is also very lacking. Because of its superior natural conditions, Sichuan already has such a masterpiece as Dujiangyan. It is understandable that there is no need to gild the lily and waste money. Wu Dong was a complete failure: Wu Dong built a lake field and a Pulitang in Danyang twice. In the third year (the first year of Wei Jingyuan), when Yong 'an was first built, countless manpower and material resources were invested. However, due to the failure to carry out construction in dry season, the pier foundation was flooded due to strong winds and waves. As a result, "the soldiers died, or the thieves died, and the people complained." The second reconstruction failed. No wonder later generations want to open canals and build reservoirs in Jiangnan. Although Jiangnan is known as the land of plenty, the agricultural level in the Three Kingdoms period was quite low. Even things that have long been common sense in the north, such as Niu Geng, have not been popularized, and there is no water conservancy construction such as reservoirs and ponds that can be irrigated with water. Its production efficiency can be imagined. In this case, even if there are millions of soldiers, they will starve. How do they compete for hegemony?
If Cao Wei left a rich legacy to future generations, then Shu Han is the capital preservation, and Soochow is the debt. At the same time, Cao Cao also pays great attention to throttling and sets an example. According to historical records, Cao Cao was "elegant and frugal, but not gorgeous, and the harem dress was not gorgeous, and he did not adopt royal shoes, but made up for it with curtains and screens, and took wormwood with warmth, without feuds." To put it simply, clothes are not gaudy, shoes are not carved or embroidered, curtains and screens are patched, and beds and bedding are "tattered". With Cao Cao's vigorous correction, the extravagance since the Eastern Han Dynasty was reversed, and the people in the world were honest, diligent and self-disciplined. Even high-ranking officials and dignitaries dare not be extravagant, and there are even strange things that someone deliberately wears shabby clothes to please Cao Cao. In the 14th year of Jian 'an, Cao Cao, in turn, had to order the correction of this strange unhealthy trend. Cao Cao's will also reflects his consistent frugal style: "The world is not yet stable, and there is no future." They were all taken away after the funeral. Garrison personnel are not allowed to leave the station. There is a division, and each rate is the location. There is nothing hidden in the clothes. "In contrast, Liu Bei and Sun Quan are at a loss in their later years. Introduction to the biography of the Three Kingdoms: "Liu Bei is called the king of Hanzhong, so he built a pavilion, covering more than 400 areas from Chengdu to Baishuiguan." What he did later became a negative textbook for Chen Qun to persuade Cao Rui to abandon extravagance and attack the palace: "Yesterday, Liu Bei went from Chengdu to Baishui, making more biographies, wasting the labor of the people, and Mao knows his tiredness. Later, in the battle of Yiling, Liu Bei's performance was even worse. Sun Quan was even more "crazy", even when he was not old, he was a little confused, so that Zhang Zhao mocked Zhou Wang's "wine pool and meat forest". Later, Sun Quan abolished the stupidity of the prince, which made the princes fall apart and become a laughing stock. Admittedly, Cao Cao is not perfect. His slaughter in Xuzhou and so on should be condemned. But his success is by no means accidental, worthy of Chen Shou's evaluation of him as "an extraordinary person, an unparalleled outstanding person".