Cao Cao is a controversial figure in the history of China. People of all ages have called him a "traitor" and even vilified him as a "white-faced traitor" on the stage. It was probably in the 196s that Guo Moruo, a great writer, came forward to "reverse his conviction" and speak "justice" for Cao Cao. Mao Zedong's old man's house also appreciated Cao Cao, who left the words "Wei Wu wields a whip".
who is Cao Cao? It seems that he is a character with complicated personality.
Cao Cao has a sense of justice. When he was appointed as a captain of Luoyang North at the age of 2, all those who violated the rules were dealt with according to law, even if the middle-ranking attendants and relatives of the powerful court violated the rules. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo was extremely tyrannical and poisoned the people, and everyone was afraid of him. However, Cao Cao tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo with seven precious knives alone, but he failed because of a temporary incident. Later, he called the 18th Route Governors' League to crusade against Dong Zhuo, which showed his fierce spirit. But he also has an evil side. His attempted assassination of Dong Zhuo was captured by zhongmou county county magistrate Chen Gong. Chen Gong longed for his loyalty, abandoned his official and fled with him to Lv Boshe's home in Chenggao. Lv Boshe is the sworn brother of Cao Cao's father. When he saw his righteous nephew coming to vote, he quickly arranged for his family to slaughter pigs and rode on a donkey to buy wine. Cao Cao was a frightened bird. When he heard the sound of sharpening a knife behind the hall, he suspected that the Lv family was going to murder him. He even drew his sword and broke into the back hall to kill eight people, only to find that the sharpener was going to kill a pig to entertain him. In order to silence him, he made a mistake again, then killed Lv Boshe, who bought wine, and shouted, "I would rather lose the world than the world!"
Cao Cao gave lectures. He had great respect for Guan Yu, who had a reputation for loyalty and loyalty at that time. When Guan Yu temporarily went elsewhere, he tried his best to keep Guan Yu. However, Guan Yu learned that Liu Bei was determined to return to his old master. His subordinates thought that letting Guan Yu go was tantamount to letting the tiger go back to the mountain, and suggested chasing him and killing him. Cao Cao praised Guan Yu for "not forgetting the old master, coming and understanding, a true husband!" I want my men to "be effective." After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, Ju Shou and Shen Pei, Yuan Shao's advisers, were unwilling to betray their Lord after being captured, so Cao Cao pitied his loyalty and gave them a heavy burial. Cao Cao beheaded Yuan Tan after his crushing defeat, and ordered "those who dare to cry will be beheaded". Yuan Tan's subordinate, Wang Xiu, risked his life to cry at Yuan Tan's head. Feeling grateful for Wang Xiu's righteous act, Cao Cao ordered Yuan Tan to be buried, worshipped Wang Xiu as a guest of honor, and made him the commander in chief. However, for those who forget the righteousness, Cao Cao is very contemptuous. Lu Bu's Song Xian and Wei Xu, and Liu Biao's Cai Mao and Zhang Yun betrayed their old masters to take refuge in Cao Cao, and Cao Cao used the tactic of "impeded people" to eradicate them. Miao Ze betrayed his brother-in-law for long-term possession of a woman, and Yang Song betrayed his master Zhang Lu for greed and bribery. When he took refuge in Cao Cao, Cao Cao repeatedly condemned them and beheaded them. But Cao Cao also has his side of playing with justice. Wang Li, his grain officer, is meticulous and loyal. When confronted with Yuan Shu, the army was short of food, and all the sergeants complained. When Cao Cao saw the scene, he came to "borrow his head to calm the public's anger" and falsely called Wang Li "a small welcome and stealing rations" and beheaded him to stabilize the army. He adored Xu Shu's talent, but deceived Xu Shu to Xudu by deception, causing Xu's mother to hang herself.
Cao Cao pays attention to "only talent is an example". He attaches great importance to those who have real skills, regardless of their origins and whether they have been opposites in the past, as long as they take refuge in him. Dian Wei and Xu Chu both worked as bandits, but Cao Cao saw that they were bold and strong in martial arts, and they were all used as bodyguards. Chen Lin, Yuan Shao's clerk, once wrote an article for Yuan Shao asking for Cao's speech, and he was so scolded that Cao Cao, who was lying in bed with head wind pain, broke out in a cold sweat. After Yuan Shao's defeat, Chen Lin was captured by Cao Cao, who was persuaded to kill him. Cao Cao pitied his talents, not only pardoned him, but also named him "engaged". Lu Bu, the general of Zhang Liao, once called Cao Cao a "traitor" to his face. Cao Cao saw that he was brave and loyal, and also accepted him as a general and gave him a title as a Hou. But Cao Cao also has a crony side. His clan generals have little skill, and he has granted military power and entrusted them with important tasks. As a result, Coss lost Fancheng, defeated Xinye, abandoned Nanjun and lost Xiangyang; Cao Hong was driven out of Tongguan by Ma Chao; Xia Houyuan was beheaded by Huang Zhong in Dingjun Mountain. The disastrous failure of cronyism seriously hindered the process of Cao Cao's unification of China.
Cao Cao values feelings. Dian Wei, his brave general, died to protect him. He personally set up a memorial to weep, returned to Xudu and made a memorial to him, and adopted Dian Wei's youngest son to the government. In the second year, he led his troops to pass by the place where Dian Wei died, and he personally lit incense and burst into tears to mourn the death of Dian Wei. Guo Jia, the counselor, followed him to the Western Expedition to Wu Huan, offering many ingenious ideas. Unfortunately, he died halfway. Cao Cao cried "Heaven lost me" and offered a grand sacrifice, and adopted Guo Jia's son to the government. When Chibi was defeated, he thought of Guo Jia and cried, "Alas! It hurts! Pity! " But Cao Cao also has a ruthless side. Counselor Gou or once made three strategic decisions for him, namely, "taking root to control the world", "relying on the emperor to make the princes" and "sticking to Guandu for change", which made Cao Cao compare him with Zhang Liang, the founding hero of the Han Dynasty. But later, Cao Cao wanted to be promoted to "Duke Wei", or put forward different opinions, but he took covert measures to put him to death. Gou or Gou You's nephew suffered the same fate. Yang Xiu, the chief book of the March, played a little trick and became a ghost under his sword.
Cao Cao knew how to be compassionate to the common people during his campaign. On his journey, he saw the sight of "white bones exposed in the wild, thousands of miles without crowing, and a hundred relics left by the people", and he couldn't help but sigh that "thinking is breaking people's intestines". When he was in Zhang Xiu, he saw that the wheat was ripe all the way, so he ordered the three armed forces to chop anyone who trampled on the wheat field. Unexpectedly, a bird flew out of the wheat field to disturb his mount and jumped into the wheat field. He also "cut his hair first"; When he conquered Yuan Shao, he also ordered the three armed forces to "kill chickens and dogs in the countryside, such as murder", which shocked all the three armed forces. When we fought in Yuan Tan, we saw that the people panicked, and we also mobilized them to hide in the mountains as soon as possible to avoid the disaster of soldiers' chaos. But Cao Cao also has the side of killing innocent people indiscriminately because of his feelings. More than 4 members of his father's family were beheaded by the yellow turban insurrectionary clique. He mistook Tao Qian, the satrap of Xuzhou, and ordered the Xuzhou people to be slaughtered. Wherever the army went, it killed people and dug graves, causing widespread indignation and resentment.
Cao Cao's most outstanding advantage is that he has great talent and general ideas. Politically, he "relied on the emperor to make the princes", and strategically he was good at concentrating limited forces to break the princes one by one. In the battle, he often takes the lead and personally supervises the war. "Puyang meets Lu Bu, Wancheng meets Zhang Xiu, Chibi meets Zhou Lang, Huarong meets Guan Yu, and Tongguan meets Ma Chao". When he arrived at Xiegu, he was shot by Wei Yan and broke two front teeth, which can be described as a few narrow escapes. Knowing yourself and yourself, he analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of various warlords when he was talking about heroes. He was quick-witted, and when he assassinated Dong Zhuo, he saw that the general trend was not good, so he quickly changed his mind and said, "I want to offer a treasure knife"; When holding a sword to slay Zhang Liao, I heard that Zhang Liao was a loyal man, so I quickly threw away my sword and said, "Haha, I'm joking with you!" He is brilliant, and his poems are passionate and unrestrained, which have been passed down through the ages. He is sometimes extraordinarily tolerant. After Guandu defeated Yuan Shao, someone gave him a list of Cao Ying's generals and Yuan Shao's secret communication, suggesting that "check the names one by one and kill them". He said without even looking, "When Yuan Shao was strong, I felt I couldn't protect myself, let alone others?" He was ordered to burn the list of "collaborators" and let bygones be bygones.
It's really hard to judge a character like Cao Cao. Xu Shao, a famous contemporary of Cao Cao, once commented to his face that Cao Cao was a "capable minister of managing the world and a treacherous man in troubled times". Luo Guanzhong, the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, described Cao Cao as a traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty, but it also objectively reflected Cao Cao's heroic qualities. Later generations have a song "Ye Zhong Song", which says that Cao Cao is "the chief culprits are not two people, but he is a legacy", which means that he has made meritorious deeds and had a smell. But throughout Cao Cao's life, it should be said that the heroic spirit in him is more than the evil spirit. First, politically speaking, Cao Cao was an outstanding politician and strategist, who played an important role in unifying the northern part of China during the melee between warlords at the end of the Han Dynasty. Secondly, from the organizational line, although Cao Cao has a crony side, his "meritocracy" is recognized in ancient and modern times, otherwise, he will not gather a large number of outstanding talents; Thirdly, in terms of personal quality, Cao Cao's talent is comprehensive, and he is outstanding in politics, military affairs, economy (wasteland system) and literature (poet). Fourth, in terms of ideological style, although his treachery and egoism are outstanding, the politician's natural and unrestrained demeanor is also reflected quite incisively and vividly, including his egoistic view that "I would rather be negative to the whole world than to the whole world", which he will openly express in public, unlike some people who want to be bitches and build archways. In short, Cao Cao is by no means a "sage", but he is a vivid historical figure with flesh and blood. History will continue to judge him from different angles.