Evaluation of Cao Cao
(1) Cao Cao’s positive role in unifying the north.
As mentioned before, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, due to political darkness, social production was severely damaged and people could not live, and the vigorous Yellow Turban Uprising finally broke out. However, under the historical conditions at that time, it was impossible for the peasant uprising to achieve final victory. What followed was the disintegration of the Eastern Han Dynasty and warlord melee. In the melee, not only Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and other Liangzhou warlords slaughtered people and looted property everywhere, but also the Eastern generals under the banner of King Qin also "plundered". As a result, the desolate scene of "people eating each other and causing depression in the state" generally appeared. In addition to the reactionary rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty that should be blamed for this situation, the warlords who suppressed peasant uprisings and destroyed social production were naturally the unforgivable culprits. But relatively speaking, there are still differences between the various warlords. Take Cao Cao as an example. Although he suppressed peasant uprisings and killed innocent people indiscriminately, judging from his political, military, and economic performance, he was still better than the warlords he eliminated. For example, he promoted farming, built water conservancy projects, and implemented the official sale system of salt and iron, which played a positive role in social and economic recovery and economic rectification. These will be introduced when talking about the economy.
As soon as Cao Cao started his official career, he tried to use stricter laws to change the situation where powerful men were rampant. But because the source of the disaster was in the center, Cao was unable to carry out his own intentions. Only after he took control of the political power did he have to fully implement the policy of rule of law to restrain the powerful. He said: "Husband's punishment is the life of the people"; "To bring order to chaos, punishment is the first priority." He appointed local officials such as Wang Xiu, Sima Zhi, Yang Pei, Lu Qian, Man Chong, and Jia Kui to restrain the lawless and powerful. If we compare the governance techniques implemented by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in Jizhou, we can see two different situations: "At the end of the Han Dynasty, the government failed to be lenient, and Shao used lenient to compensate for lenient, so he did not take care of it." Under Yuan Shao's permissive policy, "the powerful and powerful were allowed to indulge in tyranny and annexation by relatives, while the common people were poor and weak. They rented out their wealth on behalf of others and showed off their wealth, but they were not able to fulfill their orders." In this way, it is natural that "the common people will be close to each other and the armor and soldiers will be strong." Therefore, although Yuan Shao had a larger territory, more troops, and more food, he was ultimately defeated by Cao Cao. After conquering Jizhou, he immediately "emphasized the method of annexation by powerful powers", thus achieving an effect that "pleased the people". We only need to look at "Three Kingdoms Wei Zhi" to see that under Cao Cao's rule, the political outlook and social atmosphere from the central to the local governments were different from before. There were few ministers in the DPRK who were seeking personal gain; local officials and powerful men who acted with impunity were also restrained to a certain extent. Sima Guang's statement that cao "turns chaos into order" is not unfounded. Moreover, he does not value false reputations when employing people. The officials he selects must "understand legal principles" and be able to implement the rule of law. Cao also advocated integrity. He appointed Cui Yan and Mao Jie to be in charge of the election. "The people he appointed were all upright people. Although they were famous at that time, those who did not act according to their own standards would never get ahead. We must lead people with frugality, so this is the reason." All men in the world must be upright and upright, and although they value their favored ministers, they dare not overdo it.” As a result, the social atmosphere improved.
Complementing the implementation of the rule of law policy is Cao's striving to concentrate power on himself and not allowing his subordinates to form cliques. He ordered: "In this Qing Dynasty, you must be loyal to the country and serve the king. Although your private relationship is better than others, it will still be useless if you use thousands of silks, thousands of stones and grains." In order to monitor the officials, Cao set up "school affairs". This matter was opposed by the ministers, who believed that it was "not the order of the superiors and the subordinates." Cao Cao explained this: "If you want to be able to do all kinds of things and make wise men and gentlemen do it, you can't do it." The so-called "virtuous gentleman" mainly refers to ministers from aristocratic families. They have been officials for many generations, have great reputation and influence. On the one hand, Cao Cao had to win over them and make them occupy a superior position without giving them real power; on the other hand, they also used school officials from humble backgrounds to check their actions. As for whether this is necessary? We can answer with the words of Sun Quan in the future. Sun Quan said: "In the past, the disciples of Chang Wen (Chen Qun's character) were able to guard their good deeds by holding their heads in place. They feared that they would become strict, so they devoted themselves wholeheartedly and did not dare to do anything wrong." Sun Quan also followed Cao's example and set up the post of school secretary. It can be seen that under the circumstances at that time, it was not unreasonable to set up a school secretary to monitor the actions of ministers to prevent the recurrence of cliques and cliques among ministers in the late Han Dynasty and Yuan Shao's group. Judging from the internal structure of Cao Wei's regime, there are the most ministers from aristocratic families, and the potential dangers are also greater. For the sake of himself and his descendants, Cao Cao set up a school to monitor the ministers. Although it was a bit harsh and power-minded, it would be difficult to subdue them otherwise. History says: "Gong Cao was strict in nature, and he often added a staff to his official duties." Cao also ordered the generals' families to live in Ye to prevent them from rebelling and fleeing. This was a reflection of the estrangement and contradiction between Cao and his subordinates.
In general, under the rule of Cao Cao, the politics of the Yellow River Basin became clear to a certain extent, the economy gradually recovered, class oppression was slightly alleviated, and the social atmosphere improved. Therefore, we say that the unification of the north and some of the corresponding measures will still have a positive effect.
(2) Cao Cao is an outstanding military strategist.
First of all, Cao Cao is good at controlling generals; for example, in the 19th year of Jian'an (214), Cao Cao attacked Sun Quan eastward and retreated, leaving three generals Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and Li Dian and the guard Xue Ti to guard Hefei. The following year, before Cao Yu sent his army to attack Zhang Lu in the west, he sent someone to send a teaching order to Xue Ti. The cover said: "Thieves will be punished when they arrive." Soon, Sun Quan personally led an army of 100,000 to attack Hefei. Xue Ti and others sent a letter to ask for advice, saying: "If Sun Quan arrives, Generals Zhang and Li will go out to fight, General Le will guard, and the defending troops will not be able to fight." At this time, the total number of Hefei garrison troops was only over 7,000. The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. The generals will be confused as to whether it is a good idea to divide our forces to fight.
Zhang Liao said: "The Duke is out on an expedition, and I am trying to rescue him. He will definitely defeat me. I will use my instructions to counterattack him and break his momentum, so as to calm the hearts of the people, and then we can defend. The chance of success or failure lies here." After a battle, you have no doubts!" ??Li Dian immediately agreed upon hearing this. So Liao and Pawn Night recruited 800 people who dared to follow, and killed cattle to reward them. At dawn the next day, Liao, armed with a halberd, climbed into the formation first, killed dozens of people, beheaded two generals, shouted his name, and rushed straight to Sun Quan's command. Seeing the ferocious force coming from Liao, Quan was greatly frightened, and his left and right were also at a loss, so he had no choice but to climb the high tomb and defend himself with his long halberd. Liao called Quan to fight, but Quan did not dare to move. Seeing that Liao's generals had few soldiers, they gathered a large number of people to surround Liao. Liao repeatedly broke through the encirclement, and all the powerful men and horses were invincible. No one dared to take the lead. From the early fighting to the middle of the day, the Wu people lost their strength. Liao and others then returned to repair the garrison, and everyone felt at ease. After this battle, Quan's army suddenly lost its vigor and defended Hefei for more than ten days before withdrawing. After the masses have gone, Quan and several generals will still stay in Xiaoyao Jinbei. When Zhang Liao saw him from high up, he led his troops to capture Quan. He fought Gan Ning, Lu Meng, Ling Tong and others to the death. Quan Shi fled on his horse, but was almost captured alive. Historians praised Cao Cao's teachings quite a lot. Hu Sansheng believed that Cao Cao used "Liao and Dian to be brave and sharp to make them fight; he was happy to advance and prudent to make them defend." Sun Sheng believed that Cao Cao's original intention was to combine bravery and timidity. ". I think: Zhang Liao is extremely brave in battle, and Le Jin is also famous for his "heroic spirit". He is often the first to get into the battle, and "breaks through with strong force, and can't fall without any obstacles." It would be inappropriate to describe Le Jin as a "timid" person or a person who can only be "prudent". Cao Cao's original intention was that when Sun Quan came, he would rely on his large number of troops, and the defenders of Hefei were few, so he would be arrogant and underestimated the enemy. They can take advantage of this to launch a sudden attack that is as fast as lightning. That is, as Zhang Liao said, "If it is not combined, it will lose its prosperity", that's all. It is important to cover up troops quickly and cover up their unpreparedness. It is extremely clever to know how to predict the enemy.
Since Sun Quan often invaded Hefei, some governors of Cao Wei states close to Hefei also led troops to garrison here. In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219), Cao ordered Pei Qian, the governor of Yanzhou who was garrisoned in Hefei, and others to prepare for the march. Because there was no military atmosphere in Hefei at this time, Pei Qian and others did not act quickly. Wen Hui, the governor of Yangzhou, secretly said to Pei Qian: "This must be Xiangyang's urgent need to go there. Therefore, those who are not in a hurry do not want to alarm the people at a distance. In a day or two, there will be a secret letter urging you to advance, and Zhang Liao and others will He will be summoned. Liao and others will know the king's intention quickly, and the later summons will come first. You will be responsible for it!" So Pei Qian quickly prepared for a quick march. Sure enough, I soon received the order to march quickly. Then Zhang Liao and others also received the edict. It shows that Cao has strict restraints on the generals, and there is no room for heeding orders or slow actions.
It can be seen from the above that Cao Cao is good at using generals and has strict requirements for them, but he can get their support. Even Sun Quan said that Cao Zhi was "a rare imperial general since ancient times." It proves that Cao is good at guarding generals.
Cao Cao is also rich in strategy and resourcefulness, and can often cope with it in terms of strategy and tactics. In battle, Cao Cao can often make improvised decisions based on the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and is ever-changing. As mentioned before. In a series of battles against the poisonous peasant army, Lu Bu, Zhang Xiu, Yuan Shao, Ma Chao, Han Sui, etc., Cao Cao often used false pretenses to attack the west, avoid the real situation, ambush, outflank, raid, alienate, rob food, attack each other to save one, and abandon things. Lure the enemy and other methods to trick the enemy to win and turn weakness into strength. In terms of strategy, Cao Cao can concentrate the wisdom of his subordinates, choose what is good, and rarely make mistakes. For example, when Cao Cao and Lü Bu were fighting over Yanzhou, Tao Qian, the herdsman of Xuzhou, died of illness. Cao Cao wanted to take the opportunity to attack Xuzhou and then attack Lü Bu. Xun Yu dissuaded him. Cao Nai changed his mind and defeated Lu Bu with all his strength, pacifying Yanzhou. Then Xuzhou also surrendered. In the sixth year of Jian'an (201), that is, the year after the battle of Guandu, Cao Cao was unable to control Hebei due to lack of food. He wanted to attack Liu Biao because of Shaoxin. Xun Yu said: "Now that Shao has been defeated and its people are disloyal, it is better to take advantage of its difficulties and make a decision; and turn its back on Yan and Yu, and march far away from Jiang and Han. If Shao collects the remaining embers and takes the emptiness to get out of the rear, then the official business will be done. ". Cao followed it and finally pacified Jizhou.
It can be seen from the above that Xun Yu repeatedly corrected Cao Cao's misconceptions in strategic decision-making, thus playing a key role in Cao's success or failure. Other advisers such as Xun You and Guo Jia also had similar achievements and were praised by Cao Cao. This proves that Cao attaches great importance to strategic deployment and carefully discusses it with his colleagues in advance. His ability to adopt the correct strategies of others shows that his judgment is very strong.