(a) Heroes and adulterers
Cao Cao, whose name is Meng De, is a lucky man, with the small print of Asuan. He is from Pei County (now Bozhou City, Anhui Province). His father Cao Song is the adopted son of eunuch Cao Teng, so Cao Cao's background is not good.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor was young, weak and incompetent, and consorts and eunuchs fought against each other and took control of state affairs alternately. In the Han Dynasty, the country was in decline, the society was in turmoil, and peasant uprisings were frequent. All the heavily armed governors were ready to move, waiting for an opportunity to enter Luoyang and compete for the country of the big man in the name of "carrying Han". Conflicts between various classes are rapidly intensifying, and war is imminent.
The so-called hero in troubled times, Cao Cao is the hero who rose in such a turbulent feudal society background. Cao Cao was an outstanding politician, strategist and poet, and the founder of the Northern Wei regime. Politically, he was polite to the corporal and supported the emperor to make the princes; Militarily, he is resourceful and ingenious; In poetry creation, he is bold and unconstrained, and his literary talent is outstanding. Such an all-rounder is reviled by the world. The reason is the saying of "treacherous men in troubled times" in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Is it the appearance of a white face on the stage of drama? Or promote the feudal "orthodoxy" of Liu and Cao? Sun Sheng's Theory of Similarities and Differences says: Mao (that is, Cao Cao) asked (Xu Shao, a character critic at that time): "What kind of person am I?" Zi did not answer, but asked, Confucius said, "Zi can rule the world and traitors in troubled times." There are two reasons for this sentence. First, Cao Cao is a traitor who manages the country and disturbs society; Secondly, Cao Cao is a capable minister of governing the world and a traitor in troubled times. So, can't Cao Cao just be a traitor? But Mr. Lu Xun commented on Cao Cao and said, "Cao Cao is a very natural person, at least a hero." Although I am not a client of Cao Cao, I always admire him anyway. " Perhaps it is a little comfort for Cao Cao to hear such an evaluation. Obviously, not everyone despises Cao Cao. Of course, I should also be a big fan of Cao Cao.
When I was a child, I watched the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series with a childlike innocence. Cao Cao's treacherous face has already left a mark on my mind. Reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms now brings hatred to Cao Cao, but I don't have any experience. The image of Cao Cao is getting higher and higher, and I began to like and worship Cao Cao. I didn't know what a hero is, and I didn't know how much the world misunderstood him!
(B) Cao Cao's heroic view
Romance of the Three Kingdoms No.21Back to Cao Cao's Heroism. Liu Bei also lived in Xuchang at that time. One day, Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to lie prone and drink to discuss the heroes of the world. Liu Bei listed the dominant feudal warlords at that time, such as Yuan Shu in Huainan, Yuan Shao in Hebei, Liu Biao in Jingzhou and Sun Ce in Jiangdong, but they were all denied by Cao Cao. So Liu Bei asked who could do it. I didn't expect Cao Cao to point to Liu Bei and then point to himself and say. Hearing this, Liu Bei was so scared that the spoon fell to the ground.
Cao Cao said: "A hero's ambition lies in his chest, and his goodness lies in his belly. He has the opportunity to hide the universe, and he has the ambition of the sun and the moon." In other words, anyone who can be called a hero has a broad mind to control the universe, lofty aspirations and great talent to win thousands of miles. These three preparations are all heroes. Obviously, Cao Cao has his own unique standards to measure heroes. Cao Cao pays more attention to personal inner quality, and the soldiers are not good, and the battle of wits is far better than the battle. However, listing them as the only heroes except himself at that time shows that he has a pair of discerning eyes. He knew that Liu Bei was ambitious, not a thing in the pool, and that he would not live long, and concluded that Liu Bei was also a hero. But he may have been tempted at that time and didn't take the opportunity to get rid of Liu Bei.
(3) Boiling wine on heroes
1, young Mende, bohemian.
Cao Cao was born in a very powerful bureaucratic family at that time, and his father, Cao Song, was an official for Qiu when Emperor Ling was in the Han Dynasty. At that time, he was already a senior official in the imperial court. Therefore, Cao Cao had no worries about food and clothing since he was a child. Like many officials' children, he crossed the street all day, flying eagles and running dogs, idling about and doing nothing. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Mao was not very alert and had political skills, while he was dissolute and died in a proper career. Cao Cao was also criticized for this. So once, Cao Cao met his uncle on the road and pretended to have a stroke. His uncle panicked and ran to find his father, but when his father arrived, he saw that he was as good as before. From then on, his uncle spoke ill of Cao Cao, and his father didn't believe him. Without the restraint of his uncle, Cao Cao is even more unscrupulous. It can be seen that Cao Cao was a very scheming man when he was a teenager, and he was able to put his father and uncle together.
Another time, it was even more outrageous. Cao Cao and a group of friends stole other people's brides, including Yuan Shao, who was born in a famous family. While everyone was drinking, Cao Cao shouted, "There is a thief!" All the guests ran out to catch the thief. He rushed into the bridal chamber, stole the bride and ran out. Yuan Shao was a little confused and plunged into the bushes. The bush caught his clothes and he couldn't run away, so he asked Cao Cao for help. But when Cao Cao pointed the finger at Yuan Shao, everyone took Yuan Shao as a thief. Yuan Shao was in a hurry and jumped out of the bushes. From this little farce, we can easily find that Cao still has a bad feeling about it.
2. Strictly enforce the law and run the army well.
Cao Cao became a dutiful son at the age of 20, which is a proud career. "Biography of Cao Zang" said: Taizu first entered the imperial guard, repaired four gates, and made more than ten colored sticks around the county gate. Anyone who violates the ban will be clubbed to death if he does not avoid the strongmen. In the next few months, Emperor Ling fell in love with Xiao Huangmen's uncle Jian Shuo and killed him. The capital followed suit, and he dared not commit a crime.
At that time, in that dark society, Cao Cao was bent on being a good official and strictly enforcing the law, but he was pushed out everywhere and met with many obstacles. Later, Cao Cao became a negotiator. He dared to remonstrate several times because he saw that eunuchs were exclusively engaged in government affairs, but he was never accepted by the spirit emperor. Cao Cao was disappointed with this and stopped giving a speech. Later, Cao Cao served as several officials, and he always adhered to his principle of being an official. On him, he punished all the people without mercy according to law. Cao Cao, a newcomer to politics, was upright and strict in law enforcement. He tried to rectify the bureaucracy by law and change the decadent officialdom atmosphere at that time, thus saving the precarious Eastern Han regime. However, his actions touched the vital interests of many powerful people, and the rulers were afraid of their power, so Cao Cao's political ideas were doomed to failure.
In 189, Emperor Han Ling died and Bian succeeded to the throne. In order to punish eunuchs, General He Jin led Dong Zhuo into the imperial court. Dong Zhuo abolished the young emperor and established Xian Di, which led to chaos in the capital. Cao Cao failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo in the name of offering a sword, fled to his hometown, recruited soldiers and started his military career.
In the summer and April of the third year of Jian 'an, Cao Cao led his troops south, passing through the wheat fields and reaching Zhang Xiu. At that time, the wheat was ripe, and farmers were afraid to cut the wheat when they saw the arrival of the army. So Cao Cao came out of the list and said to An Min, "I am instructed by heaven to send troops against the enemy and kill people. Today, when the wheat is ripe, I will start my army. Anyone who crosses the wheat field but tramples on it will be beheaded. Military law is very strict. They all dismounted and handed the wheat by hand, not daring to trample on it. " Just then, a bird flew up from the field, and Cao Cao's horse eye was born, jumping into the wheat field and destroying a large area of wheat field. Cao Cao asked the marching master book to put forward his own crime of practicing wheat. The master book said, "How can the Prime Minister discuss the crime?" Cao Cao said, "I made my own military law, and I violated it myself. How can I convince the public if I don't punish it? " Immediately, he drew his sword and tried to commit suicide. Everyone stopped him at once. Counselor Guo Jia said: "The ancient book Spring and Autumn Annals says that law does not apply to respect. How can the prime minister commit suicide when he commands the army? " Cao Cao pondered for a long time. The last sword cut off his hair and sent someone to tell the three armed forces. This is the story of "cutting hair instead of hair".
Of course, Cao Cao would never lose his life for a written pledge to fulfill a military order, so many people say that Cao Cao's practice is cunning and hypocritical. Actually, it is not. Imagine that a person who wants to lead an army of hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands needs an effective strategy to run the army in addition to personal courage. We should not only consider people's feelings, win a good public opinion environment, but also be serious about military discipline and convince soldiers. This needs to be superb. Cao Cao did it. Although Cao Cao violated the military law and cut off his hair to replace his head, to some extent, he did not act in accordance with the law, but he still achieved the effect of "the three armed forces were horrified and obeyed military orders", which shows that Cao Cao's means of running the army are high. If Cao Cao had really acted in accordance with the law and cut himself, it would certainly lead to unimaginable consequences. When Cao Cao dies, the huge Cao Shi military group will be leaderless, divided, divided. The separatist forces in different places will flock. The melee will aggravate social unrest and make people more miserable. During this period, Cao Cao was the key figure who played a role in maintaining the relative stability of society and restraining other feudal warlords from falling into a melee situation because of their ambitions. Therefore, Cao Cao's practice of "cutting his hair and rushing to the front" to win over the morale of the army is a smart move worthy of recognition. It is also true that Cao Cao's excellent character of strict law enforcement and good army management has run through his campaign career for decades.
3. Cherish talents and be open-minded.
Since ancient times, anyone who can achieve great things is a person who can accommodate, love and use talents. As the old saying goes, tolerance is great. In the troubled times when the governors rose up and were besieged on all sides, Cao Cao was able to grow rapidly from a small local warlord with only 5 thousand troops at the beginning. After decades of crusade, except Yuan Shu, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, all of them have been unified.
In Chapter 25 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei was defeated, defected to Yuan Shao, and his brothers were separated. Guan Yu was trapped by Cao Bing on a dirt mountain and had no choice. Cao Cao has long admired Guan Gong's SHEN WOO. When he fought Dong Zhuo, he saw that Guan Gong was a rare general, and he wanted to keep it for himself, but he didn't have a chance. Now Guan Gong has been defeated by himself, which is a godsend opportunity. So he knew that Guan Gong was a rare general. However, there are three additional conditions. This may be an unprecedented way of surrender. How can a defeated soldier have the conditions to surrender? The most unbearable thing is the third article: "If you know where Liu Huangshu is going, it is easy to resign in Wan Li." In this way, isn't it just that Cao Cao keeps tigers as a menace and then releases them to the mountains?
Cao Cao could have beheaded Guan Yu with one knife to avoid future trouble, but he could not bear to be separated from him. He knew that Guan Yu was a rare wizard, and it would be a pity to kill him. So he agreed to three conditions put forward by Guan Yu. Back in Xuchang, Cao Cao invited Guan Yu with a small banquet for three days and a big banquet for five days, not to mention money and beauty, but Guan Yu was not moved at all. In the end, Cao Cao even treated the red hare that traveled thousands of miles every day generously.
Guan Yu killed two generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou under Yuan Shao, but in the process of defecting to Cao Cao, he learned that Liu Bei was backward, so he left Cao Cao without hesitation and defected to Liu Bei. Cao manipulated thousands of people, did not impose obstacles, and personally saw him off. This is by no means something that ordinary people can do. If Cao Cao is a petty man, how can Guan Yu leave alive! What's more, when Guan Yu left, he also staged a "good play" of "bearded riding a thousand miles alone, waiting for the five customs to cut six will be in Hanshou". He killed all the guards and generals of Cao Cao and left.
If others suffered such losses, they would immediately arise and kill him, but Cao Cao privately recalled Xia Houdun, who had killed Guan Yu, and let Guan Yu go with a generosity that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. For example, Chen Lin under Yuan Shao's account wrote an article against Cao Cao. He wrote a thousand words, eloquently denounced Cao Cao, and recounted his crimes, which made Cao Cao lose face from his ancestors. Later, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and captured Chen Lin. But because Cao Cao appreciated Chen Lin's talent, he couldn't bear to kill him and let him go for his own use. Because Cao Cao loves talent, he often ignores personal gains and losses. As long as it is a talent he recognizes, he will try his best to fight for it, but he will not be reluctant to get it. He would rather have one more opponent than do something like "life is worse than death".
Cao Cao's love and generosity are also reflected in his poems. In July 2007, Cao Cao led a great army to attack Wuwan in the north, passing through Jieshi, and wrote the poem "Watching the Sea": "Jieshi is in the east to watch the sea. What is water and what are mountains and islands? There are many trees and lush grass. With a large number of scenery with broad artistic conception, it depicts a magnificent picture, depicting the sea blown in and out by the sun and the moon, including thousands of scenes, which fully embodies Cao Cao's broad-minded attitude and covers the universe, which is really beyond human power.
In the winter of 208 A.D., Cao Cao sent millions of troops south, intending to destroy Nanxiong and unify China. On the eve of the war, Cao Cao gave a banquet on the warship. Seeing the picturesque scenery of Nanping Mountain, he looked east at Chaisang border, west at Xiakou River, south at Fanshan Mountain and north at Wulin. Suddenly, he heard that the reputation of crows was flying south, and he was quite emotional. So he stood on the upper reaches of the river and crossed it. Sadness and joy are mixed. "I am full of pride, but I have been thinking of you." "When will it be as clear as the moon? I cannot stop worrying about it. " "The mountain is never too high, and the water is never too deep. Duke Zhou vomited, and the world returned to the heart. " This is the true feelings of Cao Cao's thirst for talent.
Cao Cao loves it. Who can compare with it? As the saying goes, the prime minister can punt in his stomach. In my opinion, Cao Cao's tolerance and mind are probably much bigger than that of the Prime Minister. As a feudal warlord in troubled times, it is necessary to cherish talents and be broad-minded if you want to dominate the world and complete the great cause of reunification. It was Cao who practiced one of the principles with practical actions that made many talents willing to surrender to him, make suggestions for him and risk their lives.
4. Choose people on their merits.
"There is Bole in the world, and then there is a swift horse; There are often swift horses, and Bole is rare. " Here, "Maxima" refers to talents, and "Bole" refers to people who are good at meeting people and employing people. During the special division of the Three Kingdoms, China was full of heroes and talents. What is lacking is Bole, which is good at tapping talents, and Cao Cao is the most important in Bole.
Cao Cao knew the importance of talents, so he was eager for talents and tried his best to recruit talents. Moreover, he also has his own advantages in employing people, because he always adheres to the principle of employing people on merit. Guo Jia said in the exposition of "Cao Cao wins ten times and Yuan Shao loses ten times": "Wide outside, jealous inside, many relatives; This sentence is not flattering, but it can hit the nail on the head and point out the essential difference between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in employing people.
In order to select talents, Cao Cao issued a talent-seeking order in the spring of 2 10 A.D., and put forward the strategy of "promoting only talents", which broke the standard of selecting officials according to their family status. In the order, Cao Cao summed up the historical experience and thought that there was no one who had been the founding emperor and the king of Zhongxing since ancient times but had talents to govern the world with him. In view of this, Cao Cao hoped that ministers would help him dig out those who were born in poverty and buried. Later, in AD 2 14 and AD 2 17, Cao Cao issued a demand for talents twice, repeatedly emphasizing his employment system.
After some efforts, Cao Cao concentrated a large number of talents. At that time, there were countless talents who defected to Cao Cao's door, forming a grand occasion of fierce generals like clouds and counselors like rain. Among Cao Cao's talents, he was promoted from veteran to general, such as Yu Jin, Le Jin and Dian Wei. Zhang Liao, Huang Xu, Zhang He, Chen Lin, Jia Xu and others were appointed from the local surrendered talents; Li Dian, thomas lee, Xu Qi and Cang Ba were appointed. From local strongmen; Promote Xun, Xun You, Wang Lang, etc. From a small official in the Eastern Han Dynasty; Guo Jia, Ye Liu and so on. They are all hired from ordinary talents. These talents are the pillars of the Cao family building and have made great contributions to the Cao family.
Cao Cao chooses people regardless of fame and fortune, honor and disgrace, as long as he has the ability to govern the country and use troops. Cao Cao has a unique vision and superb art in appointing talents. Cao Cao recruited wise men in Yanzhou. At that time, there were two uncles, Xun or Xun You, who came to vote for Cao Cao, Xun or Yuan Shao. Cao Cao was happy to discuss world affairs with him and said, "Take my ovaries!" So he was appointed as marching Sima Xun You, a national celebrity and a former assistant minister of Huangmen. Later, he abandoned his official position and retired. Cao Cao appointed him as a marching professor. They also recommended several famous sages to Cao Cao, who used them one by one. At the same time, many military commanders took refuge in Cao Cao. Cao Cao first observed his appearance and physique, then let them show his martial arts on the spot, and then hired him. On his way to Xuchang, Cao Cao was stopped by Huang Xu. Cao Cao saw Huang Xu's prestige, so he hired him.
In the battle of Guandu, Xu You defected to Cao Cao overnight because Yuan Shao was unable to use his strategy. At that time, Yuan Shao's 700,000 troops were in Guandu and wanted to fight to the death with Cao Cao, but Cao Cao had only 70,000 troops and was short of food and grass. When he heard that Xu You was coming, he was so happy that he ran out to meet him without shoes. After several attempts, Cao Cao was convinced that Xu You really surrendered, so he boldly adopted the strategy of Xu You and achieved great victory. Even under extremely unfavorable circumstances, he can still keep a clear head and use people appropriately. Compared with Yuan Shao, it's nothing. Later generations have a poem lamenting that Yuan Shao said, "Advice when least heeded is the most hateful thing. Yuan Shao alone has no plan and wants to just defend Jizhou." It can be seen that there are many counselors under Yuan Shao, but they can't make good use of them. Even if there are millions of mentors, it is in vain. And Cao Cao,
Those who can control talents can win the world, and those who can make talents willing to serve themselves can consolidate the world. Cao Cao's employment policy of appointing people on merit is not comparable to that of Yuan Shao and others. Yuan Shao's theory of "relying on the great river in the south, resisting the Yan state in the north and fighting for the world in the south" is far from Cao Cao's theory of "ruling the world with wisdom", which is also the reason why Cao Sheng was defeated.
5, hold the emperor to princes
People say that Cao Cao is insidious and cunning, and he is a traitor who usurps Liu's world. It is largely influenced by the popular novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. One is Xu Shao's classic comment: Zi can rule the world, and traitors in troubled times. Cao Cao laughed after hearing this. So people used this sentence, plus the image of Cao Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and initially sentenced him to be a traitor. Secondly, according to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo in the name of offering a knife, then fled Luoyang and returned to his hometown ... On the way, he killed the Lv Boshe family by mistake, leaving a sentence at last: "I would rather teach me to be negative to the whole world than to teach the whole world to be negative to me." ; The third is Cao Cao's most ruthless political means: holding the emperor to make the princes.
In fact, when we analyze Cao Cao's practice based on the historical background at that time, it is not difficult to find that it is conservative and brilliant.
When the Eastern Han regime spread to Xian Di, it existed in name only and was completely reduced to a puppet regime. Before Xian Di ascended the throne, he and Shaodi suffered from warlord regime and were displaced from place to place. At that time, there was a nursery rhyme that said, "The emperor is not an emperor, and the king of Faye Wong rode away from Beimang." That is a true portrayal of the little emperor's life. 189, Dong Zhuo, a warlord of Xiliang, was born. Then give orders in the name of the son of heaven and do whatever you want. Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo was so cruel that he was soon sold by his adopted son Lu Bu. It can be seen that Cao Cao did not initiate this move.
In 20 1 year, Xian Di was rebelled by Li Jue and returned to Luoyang. When he saw the palace burned down and the market deserted, only ruins and short walls were left in the former capital, which was full of depression. So he decided to take refuge in Shandong. When Cao Cao heard about it, he immediately went to meet the enemy and moved the emperor to Xuchang at the suggestion of all his advisers. Since then, the imperial power has returned to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao used the name of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty to give orders to other separatist forces, or surrendered or let them attack each other, and then took advantage of himself. For example, Cao Cao issued an imperial edict to let Liu Bei crusade against Yuan Shu. Although Liu Bei knew it was a trick, out of loyalty to the Liu family, he dared not violate the imperial edict, so he sent troops to crusade, leaving Zhang Fei guarding the city, which led to the fall of Xuzhou and Liu Bei's homelessness. He had to rely on Lu Bu.
Cao Cao only wants to better accomplish his great cause of reunification. He knows all about the wishful thinking of the rulers in those places. Everyone tried to show their loyalty and organized a military alliance to wage war under the banner of restoring the Han Dynasty. Cao Cao's "relying on the emperor to make the princes" can not only contain those who covet the throne, but also justify his great cause of reunification. It was only because of Cao Cao's death that his son Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor.
However, why did Cao call himself "usurping the Han Dynasty" and Liu called himself "continuing orthodoxy"? Is it really that Liu's incompetence will end up with the people all over the world, instead of letting talented and virtuous people govern the country and let the people live and work in peace and contentment? Since ancient times, the position of emperor has been occupied by capable people. If Cao Cao was a traitor in the Han Dynasty, what was it that Shang Tang destroyed Jie, attacked Zhou and Liu Bang destroyed Qin? Are they also treacherous court officials? Unfortunately, history always talks about heroes by success or failure. If Cao Cao Can ended the warlord melee, unified China and created a peaceful and prosperous world in his lifetime, he must be a wise monarch worshipped by all. Unfortunately, history is a foregone conclusion, and Cao Cao's manipulation has a thousand grievances. Who can tell the truth?
Chen Shou commented on Cao Cao in "The History of the Three Kingdoms": "At the end of the Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the heroes rose together, while Yuan Shao looked at four States and was invincible. Mao Yuan put forward a plan, lashed out at the magic of application and trading in the universe, and Bai Han's ingenious plan was officially awarded, each for his own sake, and he was melodramatic and arbitrary. In the end, he could always resist it. An unparalleled hero. " In just 89 words, Cao Cao's image in history has been fully revealed. I think this should be a more objective and reasonable evaluation. After all, in that turbulent era when wars were raging and warlords were fighting, as a feudal ruling warlord, he could be a hero of my life, with lofty ideals, cherish talents, know how to make good use of people, be both civil and military, be sympathetic to people's livelihood, ride to China and pacify the north with a whip. His historical contributions are indelible.