Chapter 6 Sixth, the genius boy

Now, let's talk about Cao Cao's family affairs. In the first year of Jian'an (196), Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xu County, realizing the most important turning point in his career.After having a relatively stable base, he brought his family members to Xu County. Cao Cao's first wife, Ding, was of unknown age and had no children; later married Liu, and gave birth to his eldest son, Cao Ang, who was nineteen years old; Cao Cao's third wife, also his favorite woman, Bian, was five years old. , thirty-seven years old this year; according to historical records, Cao Cao had at least one wife surnamed Huan and one wife surnamed Sun at this time.

Cao Cao's eldest daughter was also born of the Liu family. She was later named the eldest princess of Qinghe, and later married Xiahou's son Xiahou. The Bian family gave birth to four sons successively, namely Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi and Cao Xiong in order of elder and younger.In the first year of Jian'an, Cao Pi was ten years old, Cao Zhi was five years old, Cao Zhang's age is unknown, between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi, Cao Xiong may not have been born yet. In addition to the four sons Cao Ang, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, and Cao Zhi, Mrs. Sun also gave birth to a son named Cao Biao for Cao Cao in the second year of improvisation last year (195); this year, Mrs. Huan gave birth to another son for Cao Cao. Son, named Cao Chong.

Cao Cao had twenty-five sons throughout his life, and the number of daughters is unknown. In addition to the eldest daughter, Princess Qinghe, there are Princess Anyang, Princess Jinxiang, Princess Gaocheng, Cao Xian, Cao Jie, Cao Hua, etc. who can be tested.Princess Anyang later married Xun Yun, the eldest son of Xun, and the three sisters Cao Xian, Cao Jie, and Cao Hua married Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, at the same time nineteen years later. Cao Cao's family is very prosperous now, with not only a large number of sons and daughters, but also some outstanding ones among them.Among them, not only writers like Cao Pi and Cao Zhi emerged in the future, but also genius prodigies like Cao Chong, and military talents like Cao Zhang who could lead troops to fight.

This is related to Cao Cao's emphasis on their education.In Cao Pi’s memoirs, we can see that Cao Cao understood the truth that “education should start with babies” and began to provide various education to his children when they were four or five years old. Not only traditional Confucianism and literature education, but also He also paid special attention to practical military sports such as horseback riding, archery, and martial arts. Especially for the boys of the Cao family, he trained even more strictly. The eldest son Cao Ang was assigned to the field army for actual combat training when he was a teenager.

In Cao Cao's mind, the descendants of the Cao family should be capable of both literary and military skills, and all of them should become elites. In history, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, Cao Chong and other brothers are the most famous. In addition, among Cao Cao's sons, there is another person who is not inferior in the slightest, and his achievements are even more remarkable. He came to Cao Cao in the early years of Jian'an He Yan from home. He Yan's surname is not Cao, because he is not Cao Cao's own son, but an adopted son. He Yan's father was named He Xian, and his deeds were unknown, but He Xian's father, He Jin, was extraordinary.He Yan is the grandson of the late General He Jin.

Seven years ago, He Jin, as a foreign relative, tried to get rid of the eunuch, but was killed by the eunuch instead, ending an era.When He Jin was killed, He Jin's younger brother He Miao was also killed. Although there is no record of the extermination of the He family, the fact that this Nanyang butcher-born family collapsed in an instant cannot be concealed. Although the emperor at that time was He Jin's nephew Liu Bian, in the ensuing political struggle, Dong Zhuo supported Liu Xie to come to power, abolished Liu Bian, and killed Liu Bian's mother, Empress Dowager He. When the queen mother was killed, the He clan was in danger.Therefore, some people infer that He Yan's father, He Xian, probably died at this time. He may not have seen his son when he died. He Yan may be He Xian's posthumous son. The first year of Ping (190 years).

The tree fell and the grandson was scattered. After He Xian's death, his wife Yin did not know where to live, but it can be inferred that in the early years of Jian'an, after Cao Cao became Sikong, she came to Xu County for some reason. At this time, she officially accepted her as his wife. According to the standard address, Cao Cao's official wife is only the Ding family, and everyone else should be called concubine.How Yin entered the Cao family is also unknown. The only thing that can be confirmed is that she did not come alone, and she brought her six or seven-year-old son He Yan with her.

After He Yan arrived at Cao's house, everyone found that this child was very lovable, especially Cao Cao, who loved him so much that he even surpassed his own sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi brothers.There are two main reasons why He Yan is likable. One is that he is cute, and the other is that he is very smart.It is said that He Yan is a handsome man (Mei Ziyi), and he must have been a handsome boy when he was a child.Cao Cao himself is not good enough. Affected by his genes, the brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi are probably relatively average in appearance. Cao Zhang was born with yellow hair and was called "Yellow Beard" by Cao Cao.In this environment, the handsome young man He Yan must be more dazzling.

In addition, He Yan showed extraordinary talents at a very young age. In "Taiping Yulan", he quoted a book called "He Yan's Farewell Biography", saying that when Cao Cao encountered unsolved problems when he was reading military books, he tried to ask He Yan , at such a young age, He Yan was able to analyze clearly and logically (scatter doubts, and all doubts will be cleared up). Cao Cao liked this child so much that he wanted He Yan to change his surname to Cao.Unexpectedly, He Yan didn't do it at all. He drew a circle on the ground, and he stayed in it and refused to come out. Everyone asked him why, and He Yan replied: "This is the house of the He family (this is also He's cottage) When Cao Cao found out, he stopped mentioning the change of surname.

The surname has not been changed, but Cao Cao still likes He Yan.What they eat, use, and wear are all the same as those of Cao Pi brothers. The book "Wei Lue" says that Cao Pi felt very uncomfortable seeing this situation (he hated it). Every time he saw He Yan, he didn't call his name, but Call him a "fake". During Cao Cao's lifetime, He Yan was always favored. Later, Cao Cao married his daughter Princess Jinxiang to He Yan. He Yan was Cao Cao's adopted son and Cao Cao's son-in-law. He Yan's mother-in-law, Princess Jinxiang's mother's surname is Du, and her experience is very similar to that of He Yan's mother Yin. Mrs. Du's ex-husband was a general under Lu Bu, named Qin Yilu, and Du remarried Cao Cao after being captured.In addition to Princess Jinxiang, Mrs. Du also has a son named Qin Lang, who is the son of Qin Yilu. Like He Yan, Qin Lang also came to Cao's house with his mother and became Cao Cao's adopted son.Du's remarriage experience is full of drama, which will be mentioned later.

As He Yan grew up, he became more and more white. This white is neither Li Bai's white nor Bai Juyi's white. He is really white, very white, super white. He looks like a powder, so everyone nicknamed him "Fen Nian Lang Jun".Cao Pi's eldest son, Cao Rui, was born in the ninth year of Jian'an (204), and he should be fourteen or five years younger than He Yan. After Cao Rui became emperor, He Yan should be almost forty years old. He didn't quite believe this uncle (or uncle, Jinxiang The princess is Cao Rui's aunt) would be so white, he suspected that He Yan had put on powder, so he thought of a way to personally verify the authenticity of "Fen Mian Lang Jun". One day, Cao Rui invited Uncle He to treat him to a meal. He specially ate hot pot (meat shredded soup cakes).Cao Rui observed carefully at the side, and found that Uncle He's face had no trace of powder application, and said a little disappointed, "It seems that he is really a powder-faced gentleman!" Why is He Yan so white?There are probably two reasons: one is that the genes of the He family are like this, otherwise can his aunt He Queen be favored by Lingdi Liu Hong?Another reason is that He Yan has insisted on taking medicine for many years, and this whiteness is a kind of drug reaction. The medicine He Yan takes is called "Five Stones Powder", which is made from five kinds of stones as main raw materials. The method of concocting them together to prepare medicines has been lost.After He Yan took it, the effect is estimated to be good. Huang Fumi, a great medical scientist and inventor of acupuncture at the same time, once said that it was He Yan who started taking this medicine. After taking it, his mind became brighter and his physical strength became stronger. Mr. Lu Xun, who has a long history of research on the history of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, once said that "Wu Shi San" is a kind of poison, and it was He Yan who started it.He Yan was rich, and when he ate, everyone followed suit.Mr. Lu Xun gave He Yan a "title": Patriarch who takes medicine. Can eating these things really strengthen your body and prolong your life?It's really not clear, but there should be some immediate effects, otherwise so many people wouldn't follow suit.Taking this drug may be the same as taking a stimulant, and some people even think it is similar to taking drugs. He Yan has been taking medicine for many years, his complexion has a lot to do with this, it is actually a kind of sickness. He Yan's fame is not entirely due to his pale face, nor is it entirely due to his ability to take medicine. Mr. Lu Xun also gave He Yan another "title": Xuan Tan's Patriarch, and He Yan's fame comes from here. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, a new school of philosophy emerged: Metaphysics.He Yan is one of the most recognized representatives of metaphysics, along with Wang Bi, Xia Houxuan, Zhong Hui, Xun Can and others.Wang Bi was the grandson of Wang Can, Xia Houxuan was the grandson of Xia Houyuan, Zhong Hui was the son of Zhong You, and Xun Can was the son of Xun.These few have a common identity: the children of high-ranking cadres. Their parents and grandparents were throwing their heads and blood in the front, and they had nothing to do in the rear, so they often held parties, and it was boring to eat and drink too much, so they decided to decide on a topic every time for everyone to debate, a bit like College Debate.The topics they debate often make people feel superficial and mysterious, such as whether the sage is sentient or not, whether there is matter or not, whether there is no sorrow or joy, and the relationship between words and meanings, etc., are all mysterious and mysterious things.After a lot of debates, the influence has become bigger and bigger, and finally the debate has become famous. Talking Xuan gradually became a new trend, and gradually evolved into a new social trend in the late Wei and early Jin Dynasties. At that time, petty bourgeoisie usually had good eloquence, which was practiced in debates. We will talk about He Yan later.In Xu County in the early years of Jian'an, with He Yan living in Cao's house, there were more and more sons and daughters of Cao Cao, and Cao's house became more lively.