Chapter 31 third chapter

The mystery of Cao Cao's evaluation is mainly manifested in his indescribable words.He is a rather complicated character, and his words and deeds are often different depending on the perspective of the evaluator, and his views and opinions are diametrically opposed.As far as the real Cao Cao in history is concerned, he is not the incarnation of a certain idea, but a complex character with multiple personalities, both good and evil. That is to say, he is neither a god nor a ghost, but a rich and complete man with flesh and blood. people.If we understand Cao Cao's "perfect man" image from this perspective, it will be more accurate and appropriate.

As a child, he liked to play a little prank, and played this "trick" on his uncle.According to legend, Cao Cao's uncle has always been disgusted with his unrestrained behavior, and often went to his father to complain, and every time he complained, he would inevitably be reprimanded and scolded by his father.Cao Cao hated and feared this, and then turned his head to think of a way to punish his uncle.One day, when he saw his uncle approaching from a distance, he made a grin on purpose, distorting his small face so that it looked out of shape.His uncle asked him in surprise: "What's the matter with you?" Cao Cao replied that he had a stroke suddenly.The uncle was so frightened that he hurried to tell his father Cao Song.Cao Song became anxious when he heard that, so he hurriedly called Cao Cao to have a look, but he didn't find anything unusual, so he said, "Uncle said just now that you had a stroke, why did you recover so quickly?" Cao Cao said, "I played well, How could he have a stroke? It must be because my uncle doesn’t like me, so he deliberately falsely accused me and cursed me.” Cao Song listened to his son’s words.After that, his uncle came to report Cao Cao's fault again, but Cao Song refused to believe it.As a result, Cao Cao became even more dissolute.

Although the legend is not true, even if it is true, it is still a child's mischief, and there is no need to "go online", but those who oppose and vilify Cao Cao always use it as evidence to prove Cao Cao's treachery and life. All come, can not be changed. Another legend of Cao Cao's ungratefulness is even more well-known.It is said that Cao Cao refused to join forces with Dong Zhuo, so he led a few cavalrymen who changed their names and surnames to escape from Luoyang, and took a small road to the east to his hometown Qiao County.When passing through Chenggao when leaving Hulao Pass, he stayed at the house of his former friend Lu Boshe, and suddenly heard the sound of sharpening knives and the human language of "bound and killed, how about it", Cao Cao thought it was a friend and family member He hunted and killed himself for asking for a reward, so he started first. After killing eight innocent people with a knife, he found a fat pig tied up in the kitchen.After the suspected manslaughter, the group had no choice but to continue fleeing.In the end, he met Lu Boshe himself who was returning home after buying wine and fruits. Cao Cao took the opportunity to chop his friend under the donkey again and again with his sword.He justified his brutality by saying: "When Boshe came home, he saw that he had killed many people. Would he be willing to give up? If he leads the crowd to chase after him, he will be in trouble." Great injustice!" Cao Cao replied, "I would rather teach me to betray the world than to teach the world to betray me."

The above story was written by Luo Guanzhong and appeared in the fourth chapter, which fully explained Cao Cao's suspicious, unrighteous, cruel and selfish, and unreasonable tiger-wolf heart and despicable ugliness.In particular, the "famous saying" "Ning teach me to bear the world, don't teach the world to bear me" has become a motto and life creed believed by the later independent husbands and thieves, which has played a very bad role and influence in history. . However, this story is just Luo Guanzhong's "romance".Similar records can also be found in "Wei Shu", "Shi Yu" and "Miscellaneous Notes".

According to the "Book of Wei" written by Wang Shen, Cao Cao defected to Lu Boshe when his friend was away.When his son and several companions saw Cao Cao's strong horse and precious property, they felt unrighteous and couldn't help robbing.Cao Cao found out that in order to get back the property, he killed these people with his own hands.It can be seen from this that Cao Cao's murder was of the nature of self-defense, and there is not much criticism. The book "Shi Yu" issued by Guo was later than "Wei Shu", but the content is quite different: when Cao Cao arrived at Lu Boshe's house, Boshe was not there, and his five sons warmly entertained Cao Cao.Cao Cao suspected that his master had harmed him, so he killed eight people and fled while it was dark.This record is obviously that Cao Cao made a mistake and killed innocent people by mistake.

The "Miscellaneous Notes" written by Sun Sheng, which was later than "Shiyu", added a misunderstanding detail to "Shiyu", that is, the sound of food utensils colliding was mistaken for the sound of weapons colliding.Cao Cao thought that Lu Boshe's son was going to "strike" him, so he "pre-emptively" killed him in the dark and fled. , the content recorded by the author has not changed much. After adding some details, Cao Cao's murder has become more "reasonable and reasonable".With the addition of this sum, Cao Cao's image has undergone a fundamental change.

Cao Cao's mistaken killing of Lu Boshe's family on the way to escape will never be groundless, it seems that it really happened.But whether it was Lu Boshe's son alone, his son's accomplices and his family members, or whether Lu Boshe himself was killed, the records are inconsistent.From "Book of Wei" to "Words of the World" to "Miscellaneous Notes", as the descendants' evaluation of Cao Cao became lower and lower and the facial makeup gradually became finalized, more and more stories were added, and the number of people killed was also changed. Friends turned into family members, and then there was Lu Boshe himself in the middle, and gradually added the "finishing touch" as needed, the slander that "passed down through the ages".

As far as the fact that Cao Cao accidentally killed Lu Boshe's family is concerned, objectively speaking, it is understandable for Cao Cao to have some kind of mistake and hallucination under the condition of high nervousness.However, later generations have different narration and evaluation angles. After adding some details and words, the praise and criticism will also be distinct.From the evolution of this story alone, we can imagine how many seemingly "reasonable" untrue words were added to Cao Cao by later generations of literati and folk artists. There is also a widely circulated story of "cutting hair instead of punishment".Once, Cao Cao led his army through a wheat field, and he once ordered: "Soldiers are not defeated by wheat, and those who commit crimes die." Go slowly.Unexpectedly, the horse under Cao Cao's seat was suddenly frightened, and suddenly rushed into the wheat field, trampling down a large piece of wheat.Cao Cao himself violated the military order, so he immediately called the master and demanded punishment.The chief book said: "According to the meaning of "Spring and Autumn", punishment is not imposed on respect, and the commander can be exempted from punishment." Cao Cao said: "How can I lead my subordinates if I violate the laws and regulations? It's just that I, as the commander of an army, cannot commit suicide. Then let me punish myself!" So he raised his sword and cut off a strand of his hair, and threw it on the ground as a death penalty.In this regard, some people think that Cao Cao is strict in governing the army and self-discipline, which is commendable and commendable; The farce of "cutting hair instead of punishment" is despicable and ridiculous.The same story, with different analysis angles and different attitudes towards the protagonist, can draw different and sometimes even diametrically opposite understandings and interpretations.

This article has no intention of "reversing the case" for Cao Cao, but to guide readers how to strip off the colorful "cloak" that the descendants put on Cao Cao little by little, try to reproduce a real Cao Cao, and restore his true colors . Of course, the reason why Cao Cao can accommodate a thick "coat" and smear some thick "white powder" on his face is necessarily related to his own moral integrity, that is to say, his indiscreet words and deeds The morality and demerits provide a convincing basis and foundation for the "romance" of later generations.For example, lying and deceiving others, flying eagles and lackeys, not doing business properly, ulterior motives, insidious suspicions, unscrupulous means to achieve a certain goal, etc.He is unrestrained, bohemian, doing his own way, saying what he wants, doing what he wants, not caring about others' comments and comments, and often doing things that violate Confucian ethics, which is naturally not tolerated by feudal morality.

However, when Cao Cao was promoted as Xiaolian at the age of 20 and embarked on the road of politics, he seemed to have changed his mind and began to be an official and a man in a well-behaved manner.In order to change the humiliated eunuch's family background and achieve the goal of getting ahead, in terms of Cao Cao's wisdom, he must be able to see the hypocrisy of the officialdom at a glance. Therefore, it is very necessary to even make some gestures.Yes, he needs to establish a good image, be well received by the family, and gain the political capital to become an official.Even so, he didn't change himself too much, and always maintained a rare authenticity of life.He broke with the eunuch clique and sent out volunteer soldiers to attack Dong Zhuo for the first time, showing an impassioned and heroic spirit.And this is precisely the surging youthful blood flowing in his veins that is driving him to gain fame and forge ahead boldly.

Cao Cao's welcoming and dedicating the emperor to Xuchang was not only the "proud work" of his success in life, but also the beginning of people's evaluation of him "going downhill". Therefore, he was often criticized by later generations and earned the reputation of a "treacherous official" . What Cao Cao is most praised by later generations is his reuse of talents.In order to win over and unite truly useful talents by his side so as to achieve the goal of "using them for me", Cao Cao disregarded previous suspicions, did not avoid relatives and enmities, and promoted only talents. "He does not use the traditional Confucian morality to measure the gains and losses of talents. Even if he is "unkind" and "unfilial", as long as he has "the art of governing the country and using soldiers", he will boldly use and reuse them, and humbly listen to and adopt their good suggestions. .These correct and enlightened "talent policies" also made Cao Cao's fierce generals gather enthusiastic advisers, which is also the foundation for him to conquer the heroes and build a country. Cao Cao put talent first in his selection, which is quite different from the traditional standard of virtue and integrity. It is simply a large-scale subversion of Chinese Confucianism. As far as Cao Cao's concept of talent itself is concerned, there are indeed many attacks and denigrations.Starting from maintaining his own rule, he hopes that all the talents he uses are slaves who "use what I have".His eunuch family background has left a deep imprint on his heart. His "Godfather" was once castrated and turned into a man who is not a man. A heavy "black pot".Eunuchs have no political status in Confucian classic teachings, and Cao Cao suffered from it since he was a child, so he regarded "only talents" as the primary condition above all other standards, and "reduced talents without sticking to one pattern."At the same time, the "castration consciousness" has been accumulated in the depths of his subconscious since he was a child. If he doesn't pay attention, he will vent this nameless anger on the talents of the world: the emperor castrated his grandfather physically, and he used his mind to castrate his grandfather. revenge.He can't tolerate the slightest resistance, and he hopes that all people will behave and obey him.Invisibly and unknowingly, he emasculates the best and most outstanding precious talents in the Central Plains, making them alienated and perverted, without masculinity, spirit of rebellion, and independent consciousness, and some are just "fake men" who are feminine and obedient. You Heng is proud of his talent, likes to praise and criticize people at will, and humiliates Cao Cao by taking off his clothes and beating drums in public. Cao Cao fears that he will not tolerate the infamy, so he is sent to Nanyang, and he is expelled from the country in a disguised form. Rong was rebellious and rebellious, and opposed Cao Cao's monopoly. Cao Cao used tricks to frame him and executed him for plotting rebellion and treason. He was tortured to death alive, and as a result, a generation of famous doctors lost their skills. When Cao Cao had a headache and his son Cao Chong was seriously ill, it was too late to regret; Cui Yan was thought to want to overthrow Cao Cao's regime just because he wrote a sentence in a letter to his friend that "there will be a change" and ordered him to commit suicide; He and his family hunt together... In addition to killing talents, Cao Cao would kill other people without blinking an eye.In order to prevent plots, he killed his servants on the grounds that he should not approach at will when he was sleeping; He launched a bloody revenge in Xuzhou; during the Battle of Guandu, he killed 80,000 soldiers at a time... Cao Cao killed people at every turn, and he killed too many people. To describe it with "killing like hemp" Not too much. However, he is also very tolerant.Liu Bei defected to Cao Cao twice, and his purpose could be seen at a glance, but it was just "to shelter temporarily from the tiger's den". The counselors persuaded him more than once to get rid of Liu Bei to avoid future troubles, but Cao Cao refused; The courtesy was very generous, and after learning the news that he was about to flee, he still generously rewarded him. Even if Guan Yu's fleeing generals asked to pursue him, Cao Cao refused to listen.If Cao Cao can really take the opportunity to kill Liu Bei and Guan Yu, I am afraid there will be no subsequent Chibi defeat and the situation of the Three Kingdoms standing on three feet; Cao Cao fought Zhang Xiu many times, and was defeated by him several times. The love general Wei Dian died at the hands of Zhang Xiu, but Cao Cao finally accepted his surrender magnanimously regardless of personal grievances, and entrusted him with a heavy responsibility; Yuan Shao's crusade against Cao Cao and calling him a "superior eunuch and ugly" came from literati In the hands of Chen Lin, facing such a vicious attack, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, Chen Lin asked to surrender. He burned all the letters he secretly exchanged with Yuan Shao, and never pursued them... Cao Cao is really a complex person, frankness and deceit, generosity and jealousy, suspicion and trust, frivolity and prestige, these opposite factors are all in one.Just like his life experience, he himself is also an unclear figure.The multi-faceted and complex nature of his personality also leaves room for compatibility and plasticity for future generations to comment on him positively and negatively.