Thinking about it is like facing an enemy, and my heart is like crossing a bridge.
Zhang Xiu was one of the heroes in the late Han Dynasty and the culprit who killed Cao Ang and Dian Wei.
Records about Zhang Xiu's "unexpected death" have been published in books since the Three Kingdoms period. Yu Huan, a doctor in the state of Wei, clearly pointed out in his privately written "Wei Lue" that Zhang Xiu was forced to commit suicide.
Whether Zhang Xiu’s death really came from Cao Pi’s coercion remains to be discussed; but Zhang Xiu’s “not ending in the right way” is undeniable.
If we look at the time and age, Zhang Xiu's death is more likely to be Cao Cao's hidden execution.
Zhang Xiu’s murder of Cao Ang was naturally impossible for Cao Cao to tolerate. But the treatment of Zhang Xiu is inseparable from the limitations of the times. Because Zhang Xiu surrendered for the second time just before the Battle of Guandu (199).
When Cao Cao was surrounded by enemies from both sides, he did not dare to publicly sanction Zhang Xiu, lest the heroes from all over the world would be chilled. Therefore, the plan to kill Zhang Xiu was delayed until the same year when he "attacked the Yuan family and unified Hebei" (207).
Zhang Xiu’s execution is an ironclad case and does not have much explanatory value; this article mainly explores the whole story of Zhang Xiu’s death and the rise and fall of his family from the perspectives and clues of other relevant figures.
Hu Cheer is a clue to the Wancheng Incident.
When Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao for the first time in the second year of Jian'an (197), he received a cold reception. Not only was his aunt Zou (Zhang Ji's widow) raped by Cao Cao, but the powerful men around him were also bribed by Cao Cao in an attempt to assassinate Zhang Xiu.
The powerful man bribed by Cao Cao is the famous "Hu Che'er".
It should be noted that "Hu Che'er" is not a personal name, but a transliteration of "洴Hu Chi'er", which refers to the guards of ethnic minorities. Also written as Hu Chi'er, Zhi Hu Chi'er, etc.
Zhang Xiu was born in Wuwei, Liangzhou (now Wuwei, Gansu), and was rarely well-known. Following his uncle Zhang Ji, he became an official of Dong Zhuo.
The Liangzhou Group has been among the Qiang for a long time and has been exposed to Hu Feng. There is a considerable proportion of ethnic minority warriors in the army. The fashionable scholar Zheng Tai once publicly declared that Dong Zhuo had "Yi Cong from Huangzhong" and "Eight Types of Western Qiang" under his command, and he was the most brave in the world.
Therefore, Hu warriors like Hu Chi'er are not uncommon among Dong Zhuo's group. And because the Hu people are brave, they are often used as the coach's personal bodyguards.
The problem is that the barbarian guards are uneducated and have no skills. They are purely mercenaries bought by money. Its nature is very similar to the "Wei Boya Army" and "Xuzhou Silver Sword Army" in the late Tang Dynasty. Whoever pays the highest price will work for him.
Dong Zhuo’s son-in-law Niu Fu was killed by Hu Chier who was next to him.
In the third year of Chuping (192), Dong Zhuo was killed, and Niu Fu led the troops as Zhuo's son-in-law. There was a commotion in the camp, and Niu Fu was frightened. He tried to escape with his gold, silver and jewelry, but was killed by Hu Chier on the way, and all his belongings were looted.
It can be seen that Hu Chi'er's "coveting treasure and killing his master" is extremely common among the Liangzhou Group. The death of Niu Fu (192) is still vivid in his mind. Cao Cao definitely did it intentionally to bribe Hu Chier (197) who was next to Zhang Xiu, and it immediately aroused Zhang Xiu's fear and vigilance. That night he rebelled.
In other words, when Cao Cao first recruited Zhang Xiu to surrender, he had a secret plan to kill Zhang Xiu. As for the humiliation of Zhang Ji's widow, it was a secondary reason for the rebellion.
In the end, Zhang Xiu did not die, but Cao Cao's bodyguard Dian Wei was accidentally killed. The news came so quickly that it was shocking.
Jia Xu’s story can explain the fundamental reason why “Cao Cao wanted to kill Zhang Xiu”.
Jia Xu was born in Wuwei, Liangzhou, in the same county as Zhang Xiu. After Dong Zhuo's death, he briefly attached himself to Duan Xuan, and then defected to Nanyang. Zhang Xiu was very respectful in his etiquette and was regarded as his teacher.
Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu had many armed conflicts, with both sides winning and losing. After a pursuit battle of "defeat first and win later", Jia Xu once revealed the secret to victory:
Zhang Xiu is good at using troops, but he is no match for Cao Cao; Cao Cao's generals are good at using troops, but are no match for Zhang Xiu.
Considering that at that time (197-199), Cao Cao had already gathered powerful generals from the Cao family of the Xia lords, as well as Yu Jin, Xu Huang, and Le Jin among the "Five Sons", his combat effectiveness was not bad. .
But in Jia Xu's eyes, Zhang Xiu's talent in commanding troops far surpassed that of the Xiahou brothers, Cao Ren brothers, Wuzi and others.
You must know that Jia Xu once followed the Liangzhou Group to "rebellion in Chang'an" (192-195). He was a man who had seen the world and had old friends with Lu Bu and others. Zhang Xiu's military ability was highly praised by Jia Xu, which shows that he was a top-notch general at that time.
The problem is that Cao Cao does not trust Zhang Xiu. Therefore, the stronger Zhang Xiu is, the greater the threat to Cao Cao. This can also explain why Cao Cao tried to kill Zhang Xiu when he first saw him.
Jia Xu has repeatedly achieved special honors in Cao Ying, but he often "keeps himself in fear and closes the door." I'm sure this is related to the death of Zhang Xiu in the twelfth year of Jian'an (207).
The evidence is that in the following year (208), when Cao Cao wanted to go south to Jingyang and unite the whole country, he encountered fierce opposition from Jia Xu. I am afraid that Jia Xu was worried that once the world was unified and all the birds were gone, he would follow his old advice and leave with embroidery, so he tried his best to hinder Cao Cao's southern expedition.
Jia Xu is a shameless and wise man who will sell the life of the world and the future of his country for the sake of wealth and wealth. The Li Guo Rebellion (192) was caused by Jia Xu.
It is difficult to imagine that such a person would be willing to "keep the door closed and not interact with the powerful." The reasonable explanation is that Zhang Xiu's "accidental death" frightened Jia Xu so much that he surrendered and stopped doing anything.
Zhang Quan is Zhang Xiu's heir, and Cao Jun is Zhang Xiu's son-in-law. Both of them are close relatives of Zhang Xiu.
It is worth noting that Cao Jun and Zhang Quan both died in the 24th year of Jian'an (219), which was the year before Cao Cao died of illness.
(1) Zhang Quan
The cause of Zhang Quan's death was "Sitting in Wei Xi's Rebellion", that is, the "Wei Xi's Rebellion" that was implicated in Ye County. Cao Cao was in Luoyang at that time, and the person in charge of the case was actually Cao Pi.
The records of Wei Xi's Rebellion (219) are seriously lacking and there are many doubts. It is generally regarded as Cao Cao's "purge of counterrevolutionaries and purges" within the camp before his death. As Zhang Xiu's heir, it is a reasonable conjecture that Zhang Quan was killed "with an excuse to avoid future troubles."
(2) Cao Jun
Cao Jun is Zhang Xiu’s son-in-law and Cao Cao’s biological son.
The problem is that although Cao Jun is Cao Cao's biological son, his status is quite low, and he was given to his uncle as his heir. Therefore, among the scholars of Wei and Wu, Cao Jun was a rare "stopping duke". Most of his brothers from the same father (Cao Cao had 25 sons) were princes.
Although the reason why Cao Jun was alienated by his biological father is not clearly stated in the book, it is most likely related to his marriage. As Zhang Xiu's son-in-law and Zhang Quan's brother-in-law, Cao Jun's identity was too sensitive and dazzling when (father-in-law) Zhang Xiu was secretly executed.
It is hard to believe that Cao Jun and Zhang Quan died in the same year (219), and both died on the eve of Cao Cao's death (220). It was a pure coincidence.
Zhang Xiu’s name, posthumous title and time of death are side evidence of his concealment.
(1) Bianzi
There is a special feature in "Zhang Xiu Zhuan", that is, the Biaozi is missing. In fact, judging from its distinguished status as "a general in power and a city with two thousand households", this is very abnormal.
It should be noted that of the seven biographers in "Book of Wei", only Zhang Xiu's name is missing. Even if we look at the entire "Three Kingdoms", there are only a few biographers whose names are not correct. The typical person is Liu Feng.
Liu Feng's title of "Liu Bei's adopted heir and deputy army general" is exactly the same as Zhang Xiu's.
If you consider the similar fate of the two, it is not difficult to see that the files of their deeds were severely destroyed at that time purely for political reasons.
(2) Time of death
Zhang Xiu’s political treatment and time of death are even more interesting.
Judging from the chaos and chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, the population dropped sharply, and the Central Plains had a tragic situation of "not even one out of ten". Zhang Xiu had 2,000 households in the town, far more than the Cao family of the Xia lords. In fact, before the Battle of Chibi, " The general who has the most food in Cao camp.
In contrast, in the same year (207) when he expedition to Wuwan and defeated the two Yuans (Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang), Zhang Xiu died suddenly. This node is undoubtedly a metaphor for "the bird is gone and the bow is hidden, the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked".
Although there is no record of Zhang Xiu's birth year, judging from the records of the Bianzhang Han Sui Rebellion (Zhang Xiu's rise to fame) and his relationship with Zhang Ji's descendants (distant nephews), it seems that he should have been in his prime when he died.
Zhang Xiu came out of the land around him, weathered the wind and rain, and spent half his life in the army. He should be quite strong. He is obviously different from a weak scribe like Guo Jia (who also died in the conquest of Karasuma).
If we take into account the record that after Zhang Xiu's death (207), his former official Jia Xu tried his best to obstruct Cao Cao's southern expedition (208), and then closed his door to defend himself; it is not difficult to see that Zhang Xiu was hidden Punishment was a well-known thing at that time.
(3) Posthumous title metaphor
Zhang Xiu’s posthumous title is very interesting, it is "ding".
According to the posthumous method, "complementing the past mistakes" is called Ding. This undoubtedly shows that Cao Cao's characterization of Zhang Xiu is a "sinner who is trying to make up for his mistakes."
What’s even more interesting is that Zhang Xiu’s son-in-law, Cao Jun, had a posthumous nickname of “An”, which means “good harmony without disputes”. Cao Kang, Zhang Xiu's grandson and Cao Jun's son, had the same posthumous title as his grandfather, also "Ding". It is unknown whether this is intentional.
What is more noteworthy is that Cao Wan, the son of his son-in-law Cao Jun, was adopted as an heir to Cao Ang.
In other words, Cao Ang was killed by Zhang Xiu, but "Feng Ang, the latter" was Zhang Xiu's grandson.
Zhang Xiu’s death was an iron case in the Three Kingdoms. Almost all the clues about the characters and the recorded calligraphy point to the tragic fact that he was concealed and executed.
Through case analysis and writing twists and turns of many related characters, this article strives to restore the whole story of Zhang Xiu’s death. Among them, Jia Xu, Zhang Quan, Cao Jun, Cao Kang and even Hu Chi'er are all strong evidence of the "hidden execution".
Although Zhang Xiu did die unexpectedly, I think it had nothing to do with Cao Pi.
It should be noted that when Zhang Xiu died (207), Cao Pi was still "in white" and did not become an official until four years later (211). This itself conflicts with the time record of Yu Tsuan's "Five sense generals".
Moreover, Cao Pi was established as a common son because Zhang Xiu attacked and killed Cao Ang. In other words, Zhang Xiu was Cao Cao's great enemy, but he was Cao Pi's great benefactor. Although Cao Pi put on a face of "deep brotherhood" in "Dian Lun", in fact it was just a show for the world to see.
Reading "The Biography of Cao Ang", we can see that his posthumous treatment was quite poor, his adopted heirs also had little status, and even the time to "posthumously be crowned king" was deliberately delayed. Not to mention that Cao Pi actually adopted Zhang Xiu's grandson (Cao Wan) as Cao Ang's son, which was extremely sinister.
This shows how hypocritical Cao Pi's so-called "brother in the family is filial and honest."
Zhang Xiu was so talented that he was called "not as good as all the generals in Cao's camp" by the well-informed Jia Xu, so he was naturally feared by Cao Cao. After forging a blood feud (197), he was destined to end tragically.
Although Zhang Xiu chose the sensitive time of the "Evil Fight between Yuan and Cao" (199) to surrender and temporarily saved his life, he was eventually executed in the same year when Cao Cao defeated the two Yuans (207).
Even the marriage that was forged for "safety reasons" became the trigger for Cao Jun to fall out of favor (become a successor) and even die. In the end, his heir and son-in-law perished together on the eve of Cao Cao's death.
A hero takes a dangerous path, and wealth is like a flower branch. Looking at what happened to Zhang Xiu, we know that fate is inevitable.