Chapter 30 Five, let’s talk about Cao Cao

Cao Cao is not only lonely, but also wronged.He can't do many things that others can do.For example, Lai Min and Peng Yi are Kong Rong and Mi Heng of Shu.However, Zhuge Liang killed Peng Yi, and no one criticized him; Cao Cao didn't kill Mi Heng, but he would bear the eternal infamy.Is it fair?Make sense? It doesn't make sense, but there are reasons. One of the reasons is that Cao Cao was in the Central Plains, and in the Central Plains, the gentry gathered to attract worldwide attention, and there were great movements in the situation.Shu Han is the opposite.So the same thing would cause an uproar in Cao Wei, but only a little bit in Shu Han.

What's more, the nobles are also full of hostility towards Cao Cao. Hostility is unfathomable.As we all know, the gentry was already the main force of the ruling group at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.There are two ways for them to become the ruling class: one is peaceful transition, and the other is armed struggle.However, Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing made the former method no longer possible; the Battle of Guandu made the latter method come to naught.Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao, aren't they their number one enemies? In contrast, Cao Cao is even more hateful. Indeed, Dong Zhuo actually respected and even feared the gentry. His problem was that he was rude, barbaric and uneducated.Cao Cao despised the nobles in his bones.Even when his foothold was not stable, he blatantly killed Bian Rang, a famous scholar who was proud of his talent and spoke out.

Yanzhou Mu changed from Cao Cao to Lu Bu, and because of this. In fact, Cao Cao acted as the agent of Yanzhou Mu, and Chen Gong made great efforts.However, after Bian Rang was killed, Chen Gong rebelled against Cao to the end.He would even rather help the brave and foolhardy Lu Bu, and would rather die than surrender after being defeated and captured. Cao Cao couldn't bear it, so he called Chen Gong's words and said: Gongtai, it doesn't matter if you die, what about your mother, what about your wife and children! Chen Gong did not hesitate.He sighed and said: Those who rule the world with filial piety will not harm other people's relatives, and those who govern the world with benevolence will never leave behind people. Whether the old mother, wife and children live or die depends entirely on you, Ming Gong.After finishing speaking, he walked towards the execution ground with his head held high.

Cao Cao saw Chen Gong off with tears, and his promise to support his family was fulfilled, but the established route did not change.On the contrary, perhaps it was at that moment that Cao Cao strengthened his belief in the establishment of the "Fajia Han regime", although he did not have a timetable or a roadmap. However, the impact is huge. In fact, it is Cao Cao who is constantly proving to the world that only warlords who are not from the gentry can seize power, and only by setting aside the "Confucian gentry line" represented by Yuan Shao can they succeed.This is why Liu Bei and Sun Quan were able to win in the "post-Yuan Shao period", and it was Cao Cao who took the lead and set an example.

This is why the world became the Three Kingdoms. It's a pity that Cao Cao's thinking is wrong.Because history has proved that for the imperial system, the most suitable ruling class is the common people landlords, but the most suitable ideology is not Legalism.Therefore, the political line after the Sui and Tang Dynasties was neither Yuan Shao's "gentry Confucianism" nor Cao Cao's "common legalism", but "common Confucianism", or the combination of common landlords and Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. However, this can only be achieved after three hundred and sixty-nine years of trial and error in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.The gentry regime represented by the Jin Dynasty also had a historical necessity.Cao Cao was ahead and made mistakes, how could he be undefeated?

The hostility of the gentry and landlord class is not difficult to understand, because Cao Cao blocked their way and delayed their time.They will definitely pour their anger on Cao Cao and "demonize" him with deep-seated hatred. What's more, Cao Cao himself gave others a handle. Cao Cao's biggest mistake was to create conditions for Cao Pi to proclaim himself emperor.Let's imagine, what would happen if Cao Cao didn't call himself king of Wei, didn't even designate the Duke of Wei, and didn't build the state of Wei, even if the Cao family was prime minister for generations?

I'm afraid it will become Zhuge Liang. In fact, there are many similarities between Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao.They were all prime ministers who founded the mansion, they were all named county marquises, and they all also served as state shepherds.If the positions and titles of the two are juxtaposed, they are simply "twins"—— Cao Cao: Marquis of Wuping, prime minister, leader of Jizhou Mu. Zhuge: Marquis of Wuxiang, prime minister, leader of Yizhou Mu. Cao Cao had more, only the prince of Wei Wang. Therefore, as Marx predicted: if the royal robes finally fall on Louis Bonaparte, who imitated his uncle Napoleon's coup d'état, Napoleon's bronze statue will be pushed down from the top of the Vendome column.Similarly, when Cao Pi puts the imperial robe on his body, Cao Cao can only wait to be painted with a big white face.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang also stepped onto the altar. It is undeniable that Zhuge Liang has too much shining spirit.His heart is concerned with the world, he is concerned about the country and the people, he is devoted to his work, he is honest and dedicated to public affairs, he is modest and prudent, and he sets an example.But Zhuge Liang became a god, but not entirely because of these.The main reason is that society needs typical models.The ruler of the empire needs a loyal minister, ordinary people need an upright official, and literati and officials need a representative.This is the same reason that Cao Cao turned into a ghost.Because society not only needs positive models, but also negative models.

In fact, Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang, as historical figures, are just the front and back waves of the Yangtze River; Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang, as literary images and folk images, are the positive and negative sides of the same coin.This coin is humanity, half angel, half devil.Since Zhuge Liang was regarded as an angel, Cao Cao had no choice but to be a devil; since Zhuge Liang was a back wave, Cao Cao had no choice but to die on the beach. However, the long river of history does not care about the waves, it will only move forward along its own riverbed.Therefore, when Su Dongpo stood on the bank of the Yangtze River and thought about the situation in Chibi, what he saw was such a picture: the young and handsome Zhou Yu was newly married, Yaner Xiaoqiao was married for the first time, and he was leading the fleet westward in casual clothes.At Lufan's pointing place, chatting and laughing were lively, and Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of troops were wiped out.

Of course, this is also a historical opinion and spiritual outlook, but it is not from the Three Kingdoms, but from the Wei and Jin Dynasties.That's right, Zhou Yu in Su Dongpo's works is more like a celebrity in the Wei and Jin Dynasties than a general of the Three Kingdoms.Although Zhou Yu knows music very well, just like Cao Cao is a poet; and even though Wei Jin is not far from the Three Kingdoms. However, the Three Kingdoms are the Three Kingdoms, and Wei and Jin are Wei and Jin.Their zeitgeist is different, and their demeanor, bearing, charm and style are also different. So, what kind of demeanor will the Wei and Jin Dynasties be like?