Kong Rong's path to death: Why did he end up being beheaded by Cao Cao?

Kong Rong stills

In June 208 (the thirteenth year of Jian'an), Cao Cao made himself chancellor. In August, Cao Cao killed Kong Rong. Kong Rong was a famous scholar at that time, not only the twentieth grandson of Confucius, but also a key position, and ren would be a master craftsman, equivalent to the current minister of construction. Then, why did Cao Cao brave the world and bear the notoriety of killing famous people in Dajin? The so-called frozen three feet, not a day of cold, Kong Rong offended Cao Cao not overnight, Cao Cao has been hiding for many years.

In the second year of Jian'an (197 CE), Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, and Cao Cao wanted to kill Yang Biao, the eunuch, because Yang Biao was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's dictatorship, Cao Cao wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of him, and Yang Shu's wife was Yuan Shu's daughter, so Cao Cao sent Yang to prison. When Kong Rong heard about it, he didn't even have time to put on his imperial clothes, so he immediately went to see Cao Cao and said to Cao Cao: "Yang Gong IV Qingde is admired at home and abroad." Zhou Shu said that the father and son brothers were not involved in each other's crimes, not to mention that because of the Yuan family, they were blamed on Yang Gong. The I Ching says, "The house of accumulating virtue and doing good, and the grace extends to the children and grandchildren," is just a deceptive word."

Cao Cao's official Tang Sai replied, "This is the meaning of the state." Kong Rong asked rhetorically, "If King Zhou Cheng is allowed to kill Zhao Gong, can Zhou Gong say that he doesn't know?" The reason why the people of the world now admire Ming Gong is because you are wise and benevolent, assist the Han Dynasty, recommend righteous gentlemen, repel treacherous and evil villains, and make the four parties harmonious. Now you want to kill innocent people, so that no one will respect you anymore! I Kong Rong is still a man in Lu Guo, and tomorrow I will whisk my sleeves away and will not come to the dynasty again." At that time, Cao Cao's time in power was not long, his wings were not yet abundant, and he still had to buy people's hearts, and he did not dare to make too many mistakes, so he did not kill Yang Biao, but he inevitably had a heart for Kong Rong.

However, Kong Rong did not know how to restrain and often found an opportunity to satirize and ridicule Cao Cao, which should be the reason why Kong Rong was loyal to the Han Dynasty and dissatisfied with Cao Cao's blackmail of tianzi to order the princes. In the ninth year of Jian'an (204 AD), Cao Cao attacked the city of Yicheng, and Cao Pi took Yuan Xi's wife Zhen shi as his wife. Kong Rongsui wrote to Cao Cao saying, "The King of Wu cut down the silk and gave himself the Duke of Zhou", and Cao Cao, because Kong Rong was erudite and talented, thought that this was a beautiful talk, so he asked where his canon was. Kong Rong replied, "In this way, take it for granted." Cao Cao knew that Kong Rong had ridiculed his father and son for attacking Yuan Shao only to rob people of money and wives and daughters, and he could not help but be angry, but Kong Rong thought that he was just joking with Cao Cao.

Due to the frequent wars and chaos at that time, Cao Cao ordered a ban on alcohol on the grounds that the King of Shang was drunk and destroyed the country in order to save food. Kong Rong loves to drink, so he sang the stage drama and wrote the "Book of Prohibition of Alcohol in the Nancao Gong Table": There is a wine flag star in the sky, there is Jiuquan County underground, people have a large number of wine virtues, and Di Yao drinks Qianzhong wine so it is called a saint. ...... Moreover, both Xia Jie and the King of Shang were destroyed by female sex, and it should be ordered that marriage be prohibited." Cao Cao was naturally very unhappy, but Kong Rong was famous in the world and was a minister of the imperial court, and Cao Cao could not help him for a while, but he already held a grudge against him.

If Kong Rong only said some strange things, although he was mean and ugly, Cao Cao might be able to endure it for political reasons, but Kong Rong almost always had to oppose Cao Cao, and even vainly discussed Cao Cao's major policies and decision-making arrangements, which Cao Cao absolutely could not tolerate.

For example, during the Battle of Guandu, Kong Rong spread the theory of Yuan Shao's invincibility at the imperial court, and he said to Xun Yu: Yuan Shao's territory is vast and his troops are powerful; Tian Feng and Xu You are both men with outstanding wisdom and scheming, and they are all ministers who are loyal to their duties and handle political affairs; Yan Liang and Wen Ugly are brave enough to crown the three armies and command soldiers and horses for them: It is really difficult to defeat him!"

Xun Yu immediately refuted it: "Although there are many soldiers, the law is not neat. Tian Fenggang committed the crime, and Xu You was greedy but not cured. The trial is special and unscrupulous, and the two people are used for their own purposes, and if the family violates its laws, it will not be able to indulge, and if it is not indulgent, it will be changed. Yan Liang, Wen Ugly, a husband's brave ear, can fight a war and birds also. (Although Yuan Shao had many soldiers, he did not govern the army strictly; Tian Feng's temperament was too strong, and he was often guilty of the following crimes, which was difficult for Yuan Shao to tolerate; Xu You was greedy and had no one to restrain him, and there would inevitably be accidents in the future; although the trial was loyal, he was short-sighted and self-conscious; Feng Ji was decisive in handling things, but he was unwilling to listen to different opinions; if Xu You was in charge of major affairs in the rear, if Xu You violated the law, these two people would certainly not forgive Xu You, and if they did not forgive him, he would rebel.) Yan Liang and Wen Ugly are even brave and unscrupulous people who can be captured in one battle" (see Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Biography of Xun Yu).

Later, when Cao Cao conquered Wuhuan, Kong Rong jumped out against it, saying, "There is turmoil in Uchiha, but the great general wastes his troops to pacify the overseas regions that are themselves depressed." In the past, Su Zhen, who was farther away than Wu Huan, did not pay tribute to Yu Ya, and Ding Zero also stole Su Wu's cattle and sheep, so it was better to clean it up together." More seriously, Kong Rong once wrote to the imperial court, proposing that "it is advisable to approve the system of the ancient king, within a thousand miles, not to feudal princes should follow the ancient system, and the capital should not be crowned within a thousand miles." (It should follow the ancient system, and there should be no marquis within thousands of miles of the capital.) (Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Kong Rong Biography".

Kong Rong's move really meant to revitalize the imperial power of the Han Dynasty and weaken the power of the princes, and Cao Cao naturally could not remain indifferent. He can only let the emperor be a puppet, how can he let the emperor hold real power? Cao Cao believed that Kong Rong's move was aimed at himself, and his purpose was to release himself as a marquis thousands of miles away. In addition, Kong Rong and Liu Beisu had a friendship, and Cao Cao was going to use jingzhou to fight, so he decided to kill Kong Rong first to avoid any trouble.

In June of the thirteenth year of Jian'an (208 AD), Cao Cao reformed the official system, restored the chancellor and yushi dafu, and made Xi Xi the imperial historian, equivalent to today's minister of supervision. Xi Xusu and Kong Rong were at odds, and Cao Cao appointed himself as the Imperial Grand Master who held the power of life and death, which was naturally tacit.

Xi Wei searched for evidence of Kong Rong's crime with great efficiency, and asked the military conspiracy to sacrifice wine Lu Zhi to write the exposé materials: When Kong Rong was in the North Sea, when he saw that the royal family was uneasy, he summoned the disciples to misbehave, and said: "After my great sage, I was destroyed by Song. If there is a world, why must the surname be Liu?" Kong Rong was in jiuqing, did not abide by the etiquette of the imperial court, and did not wear a headdress to run around the court. He also touted each other with You Heng, who was not yet out of service, and You Heng said that Kong Rong was "Zhongni does not die". Kong Rong replied, "Yan Hui regenerates."

Among them, the most serious one is to preach that "those who have the world, why should they wear a golden sword". The golden knife is the word Liu, which means that why only those with the surname Liu can sit in the world? This is the ironclad evidence of rebellion, and of course the sin deserves death. On The 26th day of September 208 in the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Kong Rong was killed by Cao Cao on charges of "recruiting disciples", "attempting to commit misconduct", "slandering the imperial court", and "disobeying the imperial court", and connecting his entire family.

Kong Rong was fifty-six years old when he died, and his wife and children were killed together. Kong Rong was clever when he was young, but when he was about to die, he was confused for a while, and even begged the officials who came to execute him to save his two young sons. On the contrary, two six- and seven-year-old children were calm and calm, calmly playing against each other, they knew that they would undoubtedly die, and said in a word: "Ann has a nest destroyed and the egg is not broken!" 」

Because Kong Rong's reputation was very high, Cao Cao was afraid that the people of the world would not be convinced, so he made Kong Rong's guilt known to the world: "Although Kong Rong has already submitted to the law, the people of the world, because they advocate false names and do not verify them, are used by Kong Rong to make up false words at will, and they deceive the world and do not perceive his behavior that is unworthy of customs and customs. The people of the prefecture said that after Pingyuan You Heng accepted Kong Rong's remarks, he spread it everywhere, saying that what kind of relatives did fathers and sons have? In its original intention, it is only a by-product of lust; what love is there between a son and a mother? It's like something that's stuck in a coffin, dumped out and separated.

He also said that in the event of a famine, if his father was not good, he would rather give food to others to eat. Kong Rong violated the Heavenly Dao and corrupted ethics, not only should he be killed, but he was killed too late. Therefore, he specially displayed this matter and declared that the generals of the various armies would be subordinate to the school, so that everyone would know." (Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Biography of Cui Yan", Pei Songzhi's notes on "Wei's Spring and Autumn")

This is a typical punishment of crime by words, a product of authoritarian politics. Whether Kong Rong really has the above remarks, only God knows. This proclamation is said to have been said by You Heng. After You Heng heard Kong Rong say these words, he spread them everywhere and corrupted the world. But You are dead, and there is no proof of death. Cao Cao concluded that Kong Rong said it, and that is what Kong Rong said, and it cannot be argued.

Even if Kong Rong really said such a thing, he was just a shocked and deadly statement, pretending to be shocking and vulgar, and even if his remarks were improper, they could only be criticized and condemned at most, and could not be punished at all. However, Kong Rong's era did not have the concept of modern human rights, and even "slander" was guilty, let alone declared. Cao Cao himself said that "meritocracy is the only move", and it does not matter whether it is a thief who receives gold or is not benevolent or filial, how can he kill someone with the crime of filial piety? Didn't Cao Cao's move go against his word and renege on himself?

Moreover, Kong Rong's remarks of filial piety alone would be cut all over the door, and Cao Cao's edict told the world that there were people who were not benevolent or filial, and those who had talent and no morality should be appointed as officials. In his article "After the Writing of four treatises on the Beginning and Completion of the Four Treatises on the Beginning of the Novelty and Literature of the Shushi Dynasty", the historian Chen Yinke profoundly analyzed the far-reaching influence of Cao Cao's move and the motives behind it: In the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the scholars and masters in the foreign court came from the Confucian Hao family, such as the Yuan clan of Runan, the Yang family of Hongnong, and they were all rich families who believed in Confucianism.

They all value benevolence and filial piety, still respect etiquette, and take self-cultivation, family unity, governance of the country, and peace of the world as the foundation of their lives, and dare not exceed these moral categories. Cao Cao's "Three Orders" clearly declare to the world that those who have virtue may not be talented, and those who are talented may bear the stigma of being unkind, filial piety, and greed, while Cao Cao does not use morality as the basis for recruiting talents. Cao Cao's criterion for talent is talent, not morality. Cao Cao's "Three Orders" declared the golden rule that the Confucian Hao clan had followed since the Han Dynasty, and the system of conscripting and electing soldiers was completely bankrupt.

Cao Cao came from a family of eunuchs, and according to the confucian classic teachings, it was difficult to obtain political status. If we do not completely destroy the classical teachings of Confucianism, it will be difficult to gain a foothold, let alone compete with the Confucian elites such as Yuan Shao. Therefore, Cao Cao's "Three Orders" can be regarded as a manifesto of the major policies of the Cao Wei imperial family.

Of course, no one dared to question Cao Cao. As Mr. Lu Xun said, "If we ask him, I'm afraid he'll kill us too!" (See Lu Xun's "Wei Jin Demeanor and the Relationship between Articles and Medicine and Wine")

Historian Guo Moruo published an article in the People's Daily on March 23, 1959, entitled "Overturning the Case for Cao Cao", defending his killing: "Of course, Cao Cao killed people, not only fighting to kill people, but also killing people who contradicted his laws. People like to accuse him of killing Kong Rong (one of the seven sons of Jian'an). Kong Rong is a descendant of Confucius, and this gentleman's temperament and opinions are actually quite obedient. For example, Cao Cao forbade alcohol, and Kong Rong wanted to laugh at him, saying, "If you destroy the country with Israel, you can't help but get married now."

In Guo's view, not only should he be killed for violating Cao Cao's "decrees", but also for his temperament and his opinion of obedience. This is the understanding of the famous Chinese historians of the twentieth century, and if Kong Rong had been born after 1700, his fate would not have been much better. "Under the nest, there are finished eggs" actually came from the mouth of an 8-year-old child facing the plant, which is amazing.