Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Extraordinary People, Superheroes

"A capable minister in governing the world, a traitor in troubled times", Cao Cao is not the only one with such aptitude.But this comment is closely related to him personally, like a brand name, so it's not something that can be cleared up in a few words.From a comprehensive observation of his life, political achievements, personal talents, political morality, and personal conduct are seriously in conflict. The heroes of the Three Kingdoms competed, and no one could match Cao Cao. It is clear at a glance from the aftermath.Cao Cao himself did not proclaim himself emperor when he was born, but as the modern historian Jian Bozan described, he wore the yellow robe as a shirt inside, named under one person, and was actually the emperor of ninety-five years.The name of Emperor Wu of Wei is the honorary title given by Cao Pi in November of the first year of Huangchu (220) after he replaced the Han Dynasty.In the first and subsequent dynasties, the founding emperors had to honor their ancestors, and there were many people who were honored with the title of emperor. Only Cao Cao was able to use the honorary title of Wei Wudi, and even Mao Zedong, the founding leader of China today, also wrote words Reminiscing about "Wei Wu brandishing his whip" shows that his political achievements are unparalleled.Cao Cao is also an outstanding military strategist, ranking first in the world in terms of military theory and military practice.The thirteen chapters of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" written by Sun Wu, a famous military strategist in the late Spring and Autumn Period, have been enriched by later generations in the Warring States Period, Qin and Han Dynasties, and in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, it has reached 82 chapters.

Cao Cao sorted out and integrated them, reorganized them into thirteen chapters, and wrote notes and prefaces for them, which have become an important content of "Sun Tzu Shijia Zhu" (edited by Song Renji Tianbao).In his life, he commanded nearly 50 battles, large and small, with many victories and few defeats, and the classic battles shine through in history.The three major battles that determined the situation of the Three Kingdoms, apart from the Battle of Yiling behind him, the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of Chibi were the protagonists he sang.Although it failed to quell the separatist regimes and establish a unified empire, after all, it unified the vast area in the north and opened the way for the Western Jin Dynasty to unify the world. Wenzhiwugong led the Three Kingdoms generation, not much inferior to Tang Zong and Song Zu.In terms of literary talents, not only the Qin Emperor and Han Wu, but also the emperors of all dynasties have no one to look forward to.In the history of Chinese literature, there were "Three Cao" father and son (Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi) before, and "Three Su" father and son (Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe) later, which is a beautiful story.Cao Cao's personal poetic achievements may not be as good as those of his two sons, and it is not easy to make a vertical comparison with the "Three Sus". .In China, the prosperity of literature has always been inseparable from the attention of the highest authority, and it should be Cao Cao who set the precedent since the Qin and Han Dynasties.

In the fields of calligraphy, music, and Go, Cao Cao's level is also quite good, and he can be called versatile.The operas of later generations painted him with white powder and added a pair of triangular eyes, which really both ugly and dwarfed him. Cao Cao, styled Mengde and nicknamed Aman, was born in Qiao County (now Bozhou, Anhui) in Peiguo at the end of the Han Dynasty, and was born in the first year of Yongshou (155) of Emperor Huan.His father Cao Song was the adopted son of the eunuch Cao Teng.Cao Teng experienced the four emperors of Shun, Chong, Zhi, and Huan. At the time of Emperor Ling, he served Da Changqiu in Zhongchang, and he was granted the title of Marquis of Feiting. All rely on his recommendation to become the highest official minister.Cao Song was originally the son of the Xiahou family. In his family, he was the uncle of Cao Cao's later general Xiahou Dun, and his surname was changed to Cao through adoption.He entered the officialdom as the adopted son of Cao Teng. At first he was the school lieutenant of Sili, and when Emperor Ling was promoted to the post of Da Si Nong and Da Honglu, he spent 100 million yuan to buy an official, and replaced Cui Lie as Taiwei.Eunuchs are generally looked down upon by bureaucrats and literati, but Cao Teng's style is different from most eunuchs, and Cao Song is among the "Three Dukes". The Cao family has a special status and considerable influence.Cao Cao grew up in such a family of emerging big bureaucrats and big landlords who were attached to the power of eunuchs. From an early age, he developed the habit of being vigilant, powerful, dissolute, unruly, and not bound by etiquette.Seeing that he was addicted to flying eagles and running dogs, his uncle was worried that he would not be able to honor the Cao family and strive to be famous, so he reminded Cao Song many times to pay attention.Cao Cao hated his uncle's complaints. Once he met his uncle on the road, he deliberately pretended to have a bad wind.His uncle went to tell Cao Song, Cao Song urgently called Cao Cao to come and see him, but Cao Cao kept his face as usual.Cao Song asked: "Uncle said that you had a stroke, is it almost (healed)?" Cao Cao said: "At first (originally) you didn't have a stroke, but you fell in love with your uncle, so I saw (false accusation) ears!" From then on, Cao Song no longer believed his uncle. If Cao Cao got the trick, he would act even more recklessly.Such a character and career, in today's terms, is simply a delinquent boy from a wealthy family.However, the son of the eunuch's grandson, Jia Gongqing, was also a "son of high-ranking officials" with a naturally noble "blood" and a prosperous official career in the society at that time. Cao Cao logically "raised filial piety as a man" when he was 20 years old. In today's Beijing Beicheng District Public Security Bureau).Soon after, he "moved to Dunqiu Ling and recruited Yilang" and became a government official at the county level at that time.

However, this is only one side. Cao Cao has another side, which is decisive for him to become an outstanding statesman, military strategist and writer.One is that he has read a lot of books and is very good at the art of war. He copied the art of war of various schools and called it "Jian Yao".Later, he knew how to fight and was able to annotate "Sun Tzu's Art of War", which directly benefited from this kind of erudition and mastery.The second is that he studied martial arts diligently, was extremely talented in martial arts, and reached an incomparably superb state.According to the records in "Miscellaneous Languages ​​of Similarities and Differences", when he was young, Cao Cao once entered the house of Zhang Rang, the regular servant of the Central Committee, and after being discovered by Zhang Rang, "he danced with a halberd in the court and came out over the wall."Later, during his military career, he personally risked arrows and stones many times, and when he was in danger, he was able to face danger without fear and turn danger into safety, all of which were based on this.Both of these show that although Cao Cao is a "high-ranking son" with many bad habits, he is different from those flamboyant, fragile and unsteady playboys. He does have real talents and skills.From it to the third, once Cao Cao became an official, he dared to put his true talents and abilities to use.As soon as he took office as Luoyang Northern Captain, he hung more than a dozen five-color sticks on the left and right sides of the yamen, clearly declaring that anyone who violated the prohibition would be beaten to death with five-color sticks, including the powerful and powerful.The eunuch Jian Shuo's uncle didn't believe that Cao Cao really dared to do this. He violated the prohibition of walking at night, but he was killed by a stick.In addition, there are still four, according to the atmosphere in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the evaluation of celebrities is very important, and Cao Cao also pays attention to interacting with celebrities.Many celebrities still looked down on Cao Cao, but only Liang Guoqiaoxuan and Nanyang He Yong appreciated him. Qiaoxuan even said to him in person: "The world will be in chaos, and the world will not be able to save it. The one who can make peace is in the king's hands?" Said "willing to trust his wife".Then he was introduced to another famous scholar, Xu Shao.Xu Shao had to evaluate some people on the first day of each month, which was called "Yue Dan Ping" at that time, and whoever got Xu Shao's appreciation would increase his prestige.Cao Cao asked Xu Shao, "What kind of man am I?" Xu Shao didn't answer, and then said, "Your son is a capable minister who governs the world, and a traitor in troubled times." Cao Cao laughed when he heard this.This smile shows that Cao Cao approves,

His whole life also proves that Xu Shao does have the ability to know people. "A capable minister who governs the world, and a traitor in a troubled world" is easy to say but difficult to do.In the fifteenth year of Jian'an (210), Cao Cao had already wiped out Lu Bu, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao and other local separatist warlords, and basically pacified the northern region. He issued a "Langxian Ziming Benzhi Order".He was fifty-five years old that year, and he had gone through thirty-five years of life from being a filial piety to being a prime minister. He divided these thirty-five years into three stages, and briefly reviewed them to show his ambition.The first stage is the youth period, and the ambition is "to be a county guard, so as to be a political teacher".For this reason, he made friends with celebrities, "established reputation", and did some things to "remove the residual and filthy, and elect with peace of mind" in the positions of Luoyang Beiwei and Jinan Xiangren.Because of this, he was "outraged by the powerful", reported illness and resigned to the government, "built a Buddhist house fifty miles east of Qiao, wanted to study in autumn and summer, and shot and hunted in winter and spring", and "covered himself in muddy water", which was quite unsatisfactory.In the second stage, starting from serving as a lieutenant of the Dianjun, from young to strong, "I want to make contributions to the country's thieves." Tomb of Marquis Cao".Therefore, he joined the coalition army to challenge Dong, and recruited only a few thousand soldiers twice, reflecting his "limited ambition".In the third stage, starting from the third year of Chuping (192) when he led Yanzhou Mu and defeated the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, he experienced a series of victories in eliminating Eryuan, annexing Jingzhou, and "suiping the world". This was his most glorious middle age.In his own words, "As a prime minister, the expectations of the ministers are extremely high, and the expectations are too high."If we add the last ten years of his life, when he called himself "King Wen of Zhou" and left the last process of replacing Liu's Han family to his second son Cao Pi, his political resume and self-identification will truly and clearly show Out.He did not deny that, "If I say this alone today, it would be arrogant", in fact, I want to speak clearly so that others can no longer chew on the tongue.In the more than two thousand years following the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were not too few feudal politicians who were accomplished and powerful, and there were also countless extraordinary figures who were not afraid of rumors and self-disclosure, but in my impression, there is no second person who can He is so open-minded and has nothing to hide.Only in this way, even what he said afterwards, "Assuming that there is no orphan in the country, I don't know how many people will be the emperor and how many people will be the king", he is compelling with irrefutable true power.

Of course, this "Rangxian Self-Menting Benzhi Order" has its practical relevance, that is, some people are talking behind his back that he "has the ambition of not being inferior".Whether Cao Cao at that time had intended to replace the Han Dynasty and stand on his own is hard to say.On the one hand, "people see loneliness and strength, but they don't believe in the destiny of nature", the suspicion that Dong Zhuo is the second is not groundless.On the other hand, no matter how much he played with Emperor Xian Liu Xie, Cao Cao did not take the step of usurping after all. ", he also believes that "it is my son who wants to burn me to the fire", and that things that have not happened in history should not be imposed on others.His final attitude was, "If the fate is my destiny, I will be King Wen of Zhou".So, nearly ten years earlier than this statement, Cao Cao denied that he "has the ambition to be inferior", which may not be hypocrisy.All political careerists are not born, but gradually gather and expand with the growth of strength and power, and Cao Cao should be viewed in the same way.He cited Qi Huan and Jin Wen's "the military is powerful, and they can still serve the Zhou family", Le Yi and Meng Tian did not dare to betray even though they were wronged, Zhou Gong's "Jin Teng" collection of books to show his heart, etc., showed that I should also "take the big things from the small" and "see the letter" to others.There is no historical data to prove that Cao Cao's words are purely self-whitening, not his "heavy essentials".Consistent with this, he also made it clear that he would never surrender his military power and retreat to the Marquis.Why?He put it bluntly: "I am sincerely afraid that I have left the army, and that it will be a disaster for others." In today's words, he is well aware of the political iron rule that "power grows out of the barrel of a gun", and he will never just "enjoy false fame and cause real disasters." ", "for the sake of his children and grandchildren", and "for the sake of the country's danger", he must firmly grasp the "gun barrel" and rely on military strength to remain invincible.He was willing to let the 20,000 households in the three counties of Yangxia, Zhe, and Ku that were granted back to him, and only leave the 10,000 households in the Wuping county "to share the slander." We will never back down from this bottom line.

Putting Cao Cao in the general pattern of troubled times before the establishment of the Three Kingdoms Separation, and considering it from a political perspective, we should frankly admit that his words and deeds are not only correct, but also quite commendable.Compared with the hypocritical politicians who wanted to be whores and set up memorial archways in the past, there is a real difference between honesty and triviality. Cao Cao also has the common faults that politicians cannot avoid. In "Rangxian Self-clarification of Ben Zhi Ling", he also said some high-sounding formulas and insincere lies.He gave a general description of his past achievements, saying that he "followed the country's majesty and spirit, conquered with a battle axe, pushed the weak to overcome the strong, dealt with the small but the big, acted according to the intention, did not violate the plan, and worried about what was going on." realistically.However, it is too groundless to say that "to bring peace to the world and not disgrace the master's order can be said to be God's help to the Han Dynasty, not human power."The little emperor of the Han Dynasty has long been nothing more than a puppet. He is playing in the hands of Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao. How can there be any "obligation" that requires him to "not humiliate"?The "heaven" of the Han Dynasty has long been "dead", so what "heaven" is still "helping the Han Dynasty"?If "heaven" is interpreted as an objective condition or a political opportunity, it will indeed help Cao Cao.One of the most critical political opportunities was that in the first year of Jian'an (196), Emperor Xiandi Liu Xie fled back to his former capital Luoyang under the escort of Dong Cheng, Yang Feng, Xu Huang and others, and needed to seek assistance from a person with military strength.When he fled to Hedong, Jushou, Yuan Shao's counselor, made a suggestion: "It is appropriate to welcome Dajia, secure the palace in Yedu, take the emperor and order the princes, and the beasts and horses to make trouble." Yuan Shao listened to Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong and others. People think that "Qin loses its deer, and the first to win is king", and now is a good time to show self-improvement. Those who are not good at calculation” missed this golden opportunity.Yuan Shao missed it, but Cao Cao caught it. He sent a letter to Yang Feng through his friend Yilang Dong Zhao, expressing his willingness to "communicate with each other, and help each other".

Yang Feng made a sacrifice to the emperor. In June of that year, Cao Cao was made General Jiande, and soon he was moved to General Zhendong, and he succeeded his father as Marquis Feiting.Dong Cheng also wooed Cao Cao. In July of the same year, he secretly summoned Cao Cao to "go to Luoyang and defend the capital".In September, Cao Cao moved Emperor Xian to Xu County, took Xu (later changed to Xuchang) as his capital, changed Yuan Jian'an, and himself was appointed a general, Jin Jue Wupinghou, which opened the prelude to taking over the government.But "heaven" such as opportunity is only an objective factor. Fundamentally speaking, it depends on subjective factors, not "non-human resources."Subjective factors include not only Cao Cao's personal talent, literary and military strategy, but also the talent gathering of Cao Cao Group, "each because of its weapon", appropriate strategy and appropriate policy.Leaving aside the froth of clichés and falsehoods, and clarifying the original history, it really is as Chen Shou commented on him, "The one who always controls the emperor's machine and overcomes the great industry, only his clear strategy is the best."

All this can be traced back to the third year of Chuping (192), when Cao Cao replaced Liu Dai as the shepherd of Yanzhou.Yanzhou, established in the Eastern Han Dynasty, governed the eight prefectures of Chenliu, Dongjun, Rencheng, Taishan, Jibei, Shanyang, Jiyin, and Dongping. It was ruled in Changyi (now northwest of Jinxiang County, Shandong). base area.Mao Jie, a famous scholar, accepted the enlistment and took up the post of Zhizhong. He suggested: Today, the world is disintegrated, the ruler of the country has moved, the people have lost their jobs, starved and exiled, the public has no reserves for the years, and the people have no ambition to stabilize, so it is difficult to last.Today, although Yuan Shao and Liu Biao are strong scholars and people, they have no worries about going far, and they have not established a foundation.Husbands and soldiers, the righteous win, and the guards gain wealth.It is advisable to serve the Son of Heaven with orders not to be ministers, cultivate crops, and accumulate military funds, so that the career of overlord can be accomplished.

Cao Cao respected his words.Since then, the two major political strategies of "following the emperor's orders and not ministers, and cultivating and planting to accumulate military resources" have become Cao Cao's unswerving "long-distance concerns". The general line and general policy of "the industry".As early as the end of that year, through Dong Zhao, he "sent courtesy" to Li Jue and Guo Fan who controlled Chang'an, expressing that "the royal family is in his heart".Four years later, Tian finally fulfilled his wish and offered the emperor back to the east. He immediately adopted the advice of counselor Xun Yu, "serve the Lord to follow the people's expectations", "serve the lord to obey the heroes", and staged a performance of rushing to Luoyang, catering to the emperor, and changing the capital. The historical drama series of Xuxian County and Jianyuan Jian'an seized the political initiative to issue orders under the guise of the emperor, which was beyond the reach of Yuan Shao and his ilk.At the beginning of the establishment of the capital of Xu County, he issued the "Order to Set up the Land", emphasizing that: "The art of the husband to establish the country is to strengthen the army and have enough food. Qin people are eager to farm and take care of the world, and Xiaowu uses the land to settle the Western Regions. This is a good way of the previous generation. Also." Following the example of Emperor Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he vigorously implemented the garrison system, appointed Zaozhi as the captain of the garrison, and Ren Jun as the general of the Dian army, responsible for handling the garrison affairs.Tuntian is divided into two types: civilian and military. The former began in the first year of Jian'an (196), and the latter began in the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213).Mintun organizes a large number of refugees and the remaining Yellow Turbans caused by successive years of wars in the form of military organization. Every fifty or sixty people is a village, which is directly managed by Sima in the village.The Tuntian people are called Tuntian Ke, and they share 60% of the harvest with official oxen, and 50% of the harvest with private oxen.The livelihood problem of the refugees was solved, which played a positive role in the restoration and development of production in the Central Plains. The Cao Cao Group also gained the great benefits of "enough military use, destroying the rebels, and conquering the world".Later, it was deduced to Juntun, which was mainly placed in the frontiers of Wu and Shu. Farming and guarding" also made the Cao Cao Group's frontier army rations abundant and convenient to supply.Compared with "Yuan Shaozhi was in Hebei, the soldiers ate mulberry, Yuan Shu took it from Jianghuai and gave it to the catfish, the people ate each other, and the state was depressed", the balance of victory naturally leaned towards Cao Cao.

Cao Cao valued things as much as people, and Guangyan thought it was his own use.As early as when the Allied Forces were discussing Dong, Yuan Shao asked him: "If things don't work out, how can we rely on them?" He clearly said, "I let the intelligence of the world, use the way to control it, and I can do anything."The main generals who relied on at first, in addition to the brothers Cao Ren and Cao Hong, and the brothers Xiahoudun and Xiahouyuan from the distant ancestors of the same hometown, also recruited Li Dian, Dianwei, Lu Qian, Xu Yu and other strong generals from the armed forces of powerful landlords. Among the soldiers, Yu Jin, Le Jin and other brave generals were promoted.In subsequent expeditions, Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Zang Ba, Zhang He, Wen Pin, Pang De and many other generals were recruited from the hostile camp.The think tank under the tent is particularly remarkable. From the return of Xun Yu in the second year of Chuping (191), Cheng Yu was appointed as the Sima of the army the next year, and Liu Ye and Jia Xu joined in the fourth year of Jian'an (199). Together with Xun You, Zhong Yao, Dong Zhao, and Guo Jia, a total of eight people formed the core of Cao Cao's think tank.In addition, Mao Jie, Hua Xin, Wang Lang, Jiang Ji, He Kui, Xu Yi, Zhao Yan, Yuan Huan, Liang Mao, Sima Lang and other wise men also joined the Cao Cao Group at this stage.It was extended to the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213) when Cao Cao was granted the title of Wei Gong and set up a dukedom. There were more than 80 wise men who worked for Cao Cao Group, not only Yuan Shao Group and Liu Biao Group, but also Liu Bei Group and Sun Quan Group. Not to each other.On the eve of the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao had achieved two-thirds of the world's land and two-thirds of the world's talents.The reason why he was able to do this is that he implemented the employment policy of "government of peace and morality, and rewards for functions", and insisted on "brightness and humbleness, and talent promotion".He has issued the "Order of Seeking Talents" three times, publicly stating that not only "people of the highest virtue" who are "placed among the people" must be used, but also "people who bear the name of humiliation, laugh at others, or be unkind and unfilial but have the strategy of governing the country and using soldiers." "The able man.Even Chen Lin, who was under Yuan Shao's account and wrote a scolding for three generations of Cao Cao's ancestors for Yuan Shao, Cao Cao also "loved his talent and did not blame him", so he set him up as a sacrificial wine for Sikong, making him one of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an". one. Wang Can, another important figure of the "Seven Sons of Jian'an", once praised Cao Cao: "On the day when the Duke of the Ming Dynasty established Jizhou, he would repair his armor and soldiers as soon as he got off the chariot, and take in his heroes and use them to run rampant in the world. And Pingjiang Han, attracting his talents Put it in the ranks, so that the hearts of the people in the sea will be restored, and they will look forward to governance. Combining civil and martial arts, a hero can do his best, and this is the act of the three kings." Although these words are suspected of flattery, they are not too much to evaluate Cao Cao. With the advantages of "following the emperor's orders and not ministers, cultivating and planting to accumulate military resources", and with the assistance of many talents, by the fifth year of Jian'an (200), Cao Cao had eliminated Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, surrendered Zhang Xiu, and drove away the army. Liu Bei occupied a large area south of the Yellow River and became the only important force to contend with Yuan Shao north of the Yellow River.And Yuan Shao has also eliminated Gongsun Zan, occupied the four prefectures of Qing, Ji, You, and Bing, and dreamed of being an emperor.Comparing the two, Yuan Shao in Hebei has a large population, a large number of soldiers and sufficient food, and he has the upper hand in terms of military situation.Cao Cao understood very well that Yuan Shao would "advance to attack Xu", and asked Yu Xun Yu and Guo Jia about it a year before.Xun Yu and Guo Jia analyzed and compared Yuan Shao's five shortcomings and Cao Cao's five strengths, which strengthened Cao Cao's determination to fight.He encouraged his subordinates to say: "I know that Shaozhi is a man with great ambition but little wisdom, fierce but timid, restraint but little prestige, many soldiers but unclear divisions, arrogant generals but inconsistent government orders, although the land is vast, the food is Feng is good enough to serve me." In the first year, troops were set up in Guandu (northwest of Zhongmu, Henan), and they wanted to "choke their throats and prevent them from entering".From February to October in the fifth year of Jian'an, the battle between Yuan and Cao Guandu lasted for nine months, and the basic progress was as expected by Cao Cao.The first stage unfolded between February and June. Cao Jun took the initiative to shrink and retreat, looking for opportunities to wipe out the enemy during the movement.Yan Liang, the vanguard of the Yuan Army, and Liu Bei's troops crossed the river in February and besieged Baima (to the east of Huaxian County, Henan); in April, Cao Jun pretended to be in Yanjin (north of Yanjin, Henan), and Cao Cao personally led Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, Guan Yu and other Qingqi to attack Baima , Guan Yu beheaded Yan Liang.Afterwards Yuan Jun general Wen Chou and Liu Bei pursued Cao Jun, and Wen Chou was beheaded in Baima Mountain.In June, Yu Jin and Le Jin crossed the Yellow River to the west to attack Yuan Jun's rear, burned his fort and gathered more than 20 villages.The second stage unfolded between July and September. The two sides faced each other in the Guandu area, and each had a victory or defeat.During this period, Cao Cao planned to withdraw from the army, but after listening to Xun Yu's theory of "using odds" and Jia Xu's theory of "decision", he managed to stabilize his position.The stalemate lasted until October, entering the third stage of the decisive battle, and Yuan Shao still had the possibility of winning.But he refused to adopt the reasonable construction of counselors Ju Shou and Xu You, and once again lost a great opportunity.Xu You turned to Cao Cao and persuaded Cao Cao to attack Wuchao and burn down Yuan Jun's grain camp. Cao Cao immediately acted according to his plan and achieved great success.Yuan's army was shaken, generals Zhang Yun and Gao Lan surrendered to Cao Cao, Cao's counterattack took advantage of the momentum, and wiped out more than 70,000 Yuan's main force in one fell swoop.After Yuan Shao's disastrous defeat, he fled back to Hebei with only more than 800 people in a hurry.His sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought each other and were defeated by Cao Cao.Cao Cao killed Yuan Tan in the tenth year of Jian'an (205), killed Gao Gan in the eleventh year (206), and made an expedition to Wuhuan, the three counties in the twelfth year (207), forcing Liaodong Gongsun Kang to kill Yuan Shao's other two sons, Yuan Shang and Yuan Shao. Xi, completely wiped out the remnants of the Yuan family, and completely annexed the four prefectures of Qing, Ji, You, and Bing, thus declaring that the north was basically covered under his banner.The largest country among the three countries has since established the basic structure, and the battle of Guandu has a decisive effect on it. In this battle, Cao Cao and his think tank adopted flexible strategies and tactics such as luring the enemy to go deep, attacking the enemy later, attacking the east and attacking the west, and moving to wipe out the enemy. A colorful movement in military history. In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao's bloodthirsty and cruel nature was fully displayed.After Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan's father and son were defeated, they only took more than 800 people across the Yellow River and fled to their old nest.Cao Jun couldn't catch up, so he collected all his luggage, books and treasures.Cao Cao ordered the death of all the remaining Yuan troops who surrendered, amounting to more than 70,000 people.This brutal act of murder and surrender is similar to that of King Zhou Nan in the fifty-fifth year (before 260) when Qin general Bai Qikeng killed 400,000 soldiers in Zhao State, and in the first year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (before 206) Chu Ren Xiang Yukeng killed Qin's army. There are more than 200,000 dead, although there are differences in the number of people, they are in the same line in regard to human life as ants, and there is no difference.Compared with his predecessors, Cao Cao not only practiced, but also appealed to the laws and regulations.About as early as the fourth year of Chuping (193) when Tao Qian was conquered, he ordered the army: "Those who surrender after the siege will not be forgiven." At that time, Cao Cao occupied Yanzhou, and his father Cao Song had previously taken refuge in Langya. Cao Song welcomes Yanzhou.Cao Song was very rich in wealth, and there were more than 100 heavy vehicles accompanying him. Mu Taoqian of Xuzhou sent Captain Zhang Kai to escort him with 200 horsemen.Little did he know that Zhang Kai forgot his righteousness when he saw profit, killed people and robbed money on the way, and then fled for his life to Huainan.Cao Cao turned his anger on Tao Qian and raised his troops to avenge his father. From the fourth year of Chuping to the first year of Xingping (194), he smashed the five cities of Pengcheng, Fuyang, Quli, Suiling, and Xiaqiu, "slaughtering them all" and "slaughtering them all". Whoever kills hundreds of thousands of men and women, leaves no chickens and dogs, and if Surabaya does not flow, there will be no trace of the five counties and cities” ("Book of the Later Han·Tao Qian Biography").Tao Qian died of grief and entrusted Liu Bei with the position of state shepherd before his death.Tao Qian's troops stationed Cao Bao and Liu Bei in Tandong, and Cao Cao led the army to defeat them, "too many were killed."In the third year of Jian'an (198), he conquered Lu Bu eastward, and did the same, sending troops to "slay Pengcheng".Afterwards, Cao Ren and Tu Wan surrendered in the ban on killing and conquering Guanzhong Longyou Tu Xingguo, Fanghan, and Hechi in the west, all in accordance with Cao Cao's decree that "those who surrender after encirclement will not be pardoned".It wasn't until the 16th year of Jian'an (211) that when Cao Cao went west to conquer Ma Chao, Tian Yin, Su Bo and others rebelled in Hejian. Resist: "Those who punish the surrender mean that during the time of disturbance, the world will rise up, so those who surround and then surrender will not be forgiven, in order to demonstrate to the world, to open their way to benefit, so that they will not be surrounded. Today, it is slightly determined, and in the state domain Among them, this thief who must surrender will be killed without any fear, and it is not the intention of surrendering the day before yesterday, and the minister thinks that he cannot be punished." Cao Pi conveyed it to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao accepted it. This decree, which had been in effect for 19 years, came to an end.No matter how outstanding Cao Cao was in political and military achievements, how he promoted the eradication of separatist regimes and tended to unification, trampling on human conscience and killing innocent people indiscriminately is a big stain that cannot be avoided and cannot be forgiven.How to view and treat human life, especially the life of innocent people, no matter in the past, present or future, is definitely not a trivial matter, and no amount of merit can cover up the crime of tyranny. Eight years after the Battle of Guandu, that is, in the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208), Cao Cao led his army south and east to compete for Jingzhou and push Soochow, triggering the Battle of Chibi.In the spring and February of the previous year, Cao Cao promulgated the Ding You Order, saying: "I rebelled and suppressed the riots. In the nineteenth year, all the conquests will be conquered. Is it my credit? It is the power of wise men and officials. Although the world has not yet been determined, I will do it. Decide it together with the sages and bureaucrats." So he awarded the meritorious officials, rewarded the orphans of the fallen soldiers, and artificially excavated Xuanwu Lake in Yecheng to train sailors, mobilizing and preparing for the pacification of Jiangnan politically and militarily.In July of that year, Cao Cao adopted Xun Yu's strategy of "showing Wan and Ye and advancing lightly to conceal his surprise", and personally led an army of 300,000 to attack Jingzhou. Liu Cong, Liu Biao's second son, surrendered.At that time, Liu Bei, who was attached to Liu Biao, retreated from Xinye (now Henan) to Fancheng (now Xiangfan, Hubei), and fled to Nanjun (now Jiangling, Hubei). He had to lead the remnant of his troops east to Jiangxia (northwest of Wuchang, Hubei) to join Liu Biao's eldest son, Liu Qi, who was stationed in Fankou (now Ezhou, Hubei).When Cao Cao incorporated the Jingzhou navy, he sent a letter to Sun Quan, threatening that "there are now 800,000 sailors, and Fang and the general will hunt in Wu", intending to force Sun Quan, who was 26 years old at the time, to follow in Liu Cong's footsteps. But Sun Quan was worthy of Sun Jian's son. He rejected the suggestion of Zhang Zhao and others to fear the enemy and surrender, and adopted the strategy of Lu Su and Liu Bei to "govern Cao Cao with one heart and one mind".Zhou Yu, a famous general of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, also met with Sun Quan, and urged Chen Cao's army to be less than 300,000 despite its claim to be 800,000. 50,000 elite soldiers will be self-sufficient", which further strengthened Sun Quan's determination to unite Liu against Cao.It happened that Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to Wu to express his intention to unite against Cao Cao, and a united front was quickly formed. Sun Quan "immediately sent 30,000 sailors including Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Lu Su to follow Liang to the First Lord, and to reject Cao Gong." He joined Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei with about 2,000 men in Jiangxia.Zhou Yu marched westward and encountered a part of Cao Jun. "On the first day of the first day of the new year, the army was at a disadvantage and led to Jiangbei."Beginning in October, Zhou Yu's navy was camped in Chibi (now Puqi, Hubei), and Cao Cao's navy was concentrated in Wulin (now Honghu County, Hubei), forming a confrontation.There are many people in the north of Cao's army, and they are not familiar with water warfare, so they connected the warships to reduce the turbulence, but this provided Wu Jun with an opportunity.In December, Wu general Huang Gai feigned surrender. Taking advantage of Cao's unpreparedness, he launched a fire attack. The fire spread from the water village to the land camp, and Cao's army was in chaos.Zhou Yu took advantage of the momentum to attack aggressively, and Cao Cao led the remnants of the defeated generals and fled to Jiangling (now Hubei) via Huarong (now northeast of Jianli, Hubei).Zhou Yu joined Liu Bei, advancing by land and water, and pursued them all the way to Nanjun.Cao Cao left Cao Ren and Xu Huang to guard Jiangling, Le Jin to guard Xiangyang, and he returned to the north.At this point, the Battle of Chibi, which is more familiar to Chinese people than the Battle of Guandu, came to an end, and Cao Cao's ambition of "Xiding" the world by going south and east to achieve unification also suffered a serious setback. In terms of the scale, duration, and number of casualties of the battle, the Battle of Chibi was far inferior to the Battle of Guandu, but it was far above it in terms of historical records.The most intuitive point is that the less wins the more, and the weak wins the strong. Cao Cao's side has changed from the winner of the Battle of Guandu to the loser of the Battle of Chibi.The reason why such a change of victory and defeat occurred, according to Zhou Yu's analysis when meeting Sun Quan at the beginning, is mainly because there are four "troubles in using troops" and "everything is done recklessly."Zhou Yu pointed out that the "troubles of using troops" are: ①The northern land has not yet been pacified, and Cao Cao still has Ma Chao, Han Sui and other future troubles in Kansai; , the advantage of numbers hides the disadvantage of combat power; ③"Driving Chinese soldiers to travel between rivers and lakes", the front line is too long, and the supply cannot keep up;Later, the ups and downs of the combat situation were all verified one by one, indicating that Cao Cao's defeat had accumulated many internal and external factors before the war.But the decisive internal factors are not these four, but Cao Cao's own strategic mistakes.As Wang Fuzhi, a famous scholar in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, summed up in "Du Tong Jian Lun", in the previous conquests, Cao Cao coerced the emperor and crushed the enemies on all sides. The key to victory was to be good at using the heroes to kill each other. unity. But this time, only Sun Quan and Liu Bei were left as rivals. If they were allowed to seek war on their own, they would either collapse internally or be destroyed by Cao Cao, but Cao Cao let them unite and compete with him. What Wang Fuzhi said is well-founded.Sun Quan was already preparing to fight for Jingzhou, while Liu Bei was like a bereaved dog, lacking a foothold. If Cao Cao took advantage of the inherent conflicts between them about Jingzhou, they would first divide and disintegrate, and then break down one by one. The goal of pacifying Jiangnan may not be doomed not reachable.However, before Liu Bei was eliminated, he was busy threatening Sun Quan, objectively promoting the alliance between Sun and Liu, and bringing himself the root of defeat.Just as Zhuge Liang expected, "If Cao's army is defeated, it must return to the north. If this is the case, Jing and Wu will be strong, and a tripod will be formed." The Battle of Chibi became a decisive battle to establish the separation of the three kingdoms.Reflecting on it from the perspective of future generations, the reason why Cao Cao made such strategic mistakes stemmed from his arrogance and arrogance after he basically unified the north, and he was too eager to make achievements.Being arrogant and conceited blindly underestimates the enemy, and eager to achieve success leads to impetuosity and aggressiveness. As a result, he was punished.For Cao Cao personally, this is undoubtedly a major setback in his political career, and it should also be regarded as a major irreparable loss for the development of the unified nation-state of China. Not long after the Battle of Chibi ended, Cao Cao wrote another letter to Sun Quan, blatantly saying that "the Battle of Chibi was due to illness, and the lonely burning ship retreated by itself, which made Zhou Yu get this false name."At that time, there was indeed a serious epidemic in Cao Cao's army, and he decided to withdraw from the army after a defeat, but it was self-deprecating after all to say that he "burned the boat and retreated."On the other hand, this letter also reveals a bit of news, that is, the Cao Cao Group did not lose its vitality because of the defeat of Chibi;On the eastern front, starting from July in the 14th year of Jian'an (209), he sent a navy to Huainan, appointed Zhang Liao, Le Jin, and Li Dian to guard Hefei (now Anhui), and farmed in Goupi and Qiapi.During the eight years from the seventeenth year of Jian'an (212) to the twenty-fourth year (219), Cao and Sun fought six times in the areas of Hefei, Lujiang (southwest of Mount Lu, Anhui today), and Ruxukou (now Wuwei, Anhui). Fang achieved a record of five wins and one loss.On the southern front, when Cao Cao retreated from Chibi, he sent his younger brother Cao Ren to guard Xiangyang and Fancheng.Of the seven counties under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou under Liu Biao, Cao Cao occupied Nanyang County and the northern part of Nanjun, and Sun Quan occupied Jiangxia County and the southern part of Nanjun. In fact, it was occupied by Liu Bei, forming a three-point confrontation. Cao Cao put the main breakthrough on the western front, and in the 16th year of Jian'an (211), he sent Zhong Yao and Xia Houyuan to lead the army to crusade against Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.When Cao Jun entered Hanzhong, he must pass through Guanzhong. Ma Chao, Han Sui and others in Guanzhong rebelled.In July of that year, Cao Cao came to Tongguan to fight on the front line.至九月，曹操取得了渭南大捷，关中大部分地区都归到了他的旗帜下。战事几经反复，到建安十九年（214）十月，曹军夏侯渊、张郃等部已经荡平河西地区，韩遂兵败被部下所杀，马超逃到益州投降了刘备。建安二十年（215）曹操亲率大军征讨汉中张鲁，七月抵达阳平关（今陕西勉县西北），十一月张鲁归降。曹军张郃乘胜攻击到三巴，在岩渠（今四川渠县东北）被蜀将张飞击退。这之前的七月间，时任丞相主薄的司马懿曾进言曹操，不失时机地进兵益州，消灭刘备集团。曹操说：“人苦未足，既得陇，复望蜀邪？”没有采纳这个建议。已得陇而不望蜀，表明了他重视刘备这一个敌手，不愿意重蹈昔日轻敌冒进的覆辙，是否因而错失了灭刘良机，很难说。不过从战略成果上看，荡平河西和占据汉中，曹操又一次品尝了胜利。到建安二十四年（219），盘踞河西四郡（敦煌、酒泉、张掖、武威）的地方割据势力都向曹操送“质”归附，终于实现了当时中国北方地区的浑然一统，较之四分五裂是个明显改观。 曹操于建安十三年（208）六月担任丞相，十八年（213）五月受封魏公，二十一年（216）晋爵魏王，二十五年（220）正月病逝于洛阳，终年六十六岁。临终留下遗令：“天下尚未安定，未得遵古也。 葬毕皆除服，其将兵屯戍者皆不得离屯部，有司各率乃职。敛以时服，无藏金玉珍宝。”明确宣示要丧事从简，体现出他一以贯之的“雅性节俭，不好华丽”。据裴注所引《魏书》记载，他为公为王以后，后宫里一直坚持实行宫人衣不锦绣，侍御履不二采，帷帐屏风坏了就补纳再用，茵蓐之物备取温而已，无有缘饰。历次征战中，攻城拔邑掠得的靡丽之物，悉数赏赐给有功人员，功绩宜赏的不吝千金，无功望施的分毫不给，各地进献的财宝也与群下共享之。 他认为“送终之制，袭称之数，繁而无益，俗又过之”，预先备制了终亡衣服，合计不过“四箧而已”。又据《傅子》和《曹瞒传》说，汉末王公“以幅巾为雅”，袁绍之徒“皆著缣巾”，而曹操则“以天下凶荒，资财乏匮”，不赶这个排场，别出心裁地仿照古代男子田猎战伐所戴的一种叫做“皮弁”的戎装便帽，减少其四角，另外创制出一种称为“帢”的简易便帽。日常接待宾客，他就只戴帢帽，每每在“戏弄言诵，尽无所隐”之际，欢悦大笑而忘乎其形，将头俯到了杯盘碗盏当中，让肴膳汤汁沾污了帢帽巾帻。从日常聚会到生老病死，曹操都这样“简易随时”，既反映出他这一个政治家对于尚俭特别重视和身体力行，决不是刻意作秀，又折射出他这一个政治家还是个性情中人，决不因地位显赫而掩抑自己通脱、佻易的个人天性。 综观曹操的一生行状，他的多重性格组合显示为优劣交相错构，正反对比强烈。他讲情义，但又翻脸不认人，自我标榜为“宁我负人，毋人负我”。前者表现在不忘桥玄赏识之恩，建安七年（202）遣使以太牢祭祀桥玄，为死难将士亲戚之后授田给牛，置学设教，对毕谌、魏种等一度背叛者原情宽宥，量才重用，对刘备、关羽都放过一马，杀陈宫前许诺照应其家室老小等事情上。后者则见于误杀吕伯奢全家，非但不悔，反而说出那样天理难容的话。以后他的权势越来越大了，以“我”划线，凶残好杀的邪恶本质也越来越宣泄出来，无论是政敌、异己，还是不再顺心顺眼者，剥夺生命从来都不心慈手软。建安五年（200）杀董承，董承之女为献帝贵人，时有身孕，他也逼索诛杀不贷。当时伏后看不过，给其父伏完写信“言曹操残逼之状，令密图之”，到建安十九年（214）此事泄露出来，曹操又杀伏后及其所生二皇子，并且株连杀死其兄弟、宗族一百余人，惊得献帝也对臣下哀叹“我亦不知命在何时”。荀彧曾是他的智囊核心之一，仅止由于对他加九锡不满，就被他逼死。孔融、杨修、崔琰、边让等人的言论触犯了他，同样招致了杀身、灭族之祸。至于为报父仇而屠城，发展为明令屠城、杀降，虽然前有古人，后有来者，三国时期也不限于他与董卓，但就杀人之多、历时之久而言，曹操堪称三国时期屠夫之冠。 百代以下回头看曹操嗜杀成性，固然可以说，历朝历代各式各样以“我”为中心，不择手段地诛杀政敌、诛杀异己、诛杀不再顺心顺眼者，甚至于滥杀无辜的政治权势者其实无不奉行“宁我负人，毋人负我”的法则，只不过曹操既敢行之也敢言之罢了，也不能因之而无视和小视曹操这些恶行劣迹。更何况，曹操的杀人，还在持法峻刻的前提下，与他个人特有的诈伪奸险结合起来，有时还具某种欺骗性。所谓割发代首，即是一个显例。借仓官人头以“厌众”，假棒杀宠姬以警众，也是两出骗人把戏。后世贪渎滥污的权贵显宦，多会以妻妾、小蜜、秘书、下属作掩罪的代用品，如果不是无师自通，就是从曹操这里取得了诈伪“真经”。曹操之所以在后世的戏曲舞台上和民众心目中成为一个大伪的不二典型，除了政治上“托名汉相，其实汉贼”之外，更加深长的文化根须，正在这些行状当中。 历史地评价曹操其人，同评价古今中外一切政治家一样，有必要区分其历史作用和个人品行。这二者密切关联，互相渗透，只讲其一不讲其二是不行的。但二者毕竟不是同一层级上的两个范畴，作为政治家，其在历史进退上所起的推进作用或阻退作用是第一位的，在发挥作用的过程中所示现的道德品质无论优劣高下，都只能是第二位的，这个第一、第二既不能颠倒次序，也不能混淆性质。对政治家作历史评价，不管个人好恶如何，都必须把第一位的放在第一位，把第二位的放在第二位，才可能做到八九不离十。据此考察陈寿所评： 汉末，天下大乱，雄豪并起，而袁绍虎视四州，强盛莫敌。太祖运筹演谋，鞭挞宇内，揽申、商之法术，该韩、白之奇策，官方授材，各因其器，矫情任算，不念旧恶，终能总御皇机，克成洪业者，惟其明略最优也。抑可谓非常之人，超世之杰矣。 应该承认，对曹操的污行劣迹虽有所隐讳，但认定他在三国群雄中的“明略最优”，堪称“非常之人，超世之杰”，既是到位的，也是中肯的。现代中国的文化巨人鲁迅，对于中国历史上显赫一时的风云人物评价可谓苛严，但他断然肯定“曹操至少是一个英雄”，无疑正是着眼于曹操置身于三国乱世所表现出来的雄才大略和文治武功，而不是连他的污行劣迹都一并包容了。政治功业、个人才干与政治道德、个人品行严重悖反，聚集一身，古往今来他决非独自一人，然而的确是极具代表性。评价这种人，适宜各算各，不必强行作“七三开”或“六四开”。