Cao Cao has always attached great importance to the issue of talent.
During the joint army's crusade against Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao, Cao Cao said: "I am the intellect of the world, and I can do everything with the Tao", which shows Cao Cao's attention and understanding of the talent problem.
Qing Wang Fuzhi said in the "Reading through the Commentary" that "(Cao Cao) is ultimately strong and seizes the Han Dynasty, lives in the land of four wars, and has the wisdom and strength, and there is no river and mountain to be arrogant and arrogant." The fundamental reason why Cao Cao was able to go from weak to strong, and eventually Cao Pi also captured Hanjiangshan, was that he relied on his own talents and the talents of all the members of the group under him to fight together. If it were not for the wisdom and ability of people and the dangers of rivers and mountains, there would have been a tragic encounter of Yuan Shao's rapid defeat.
When Cao Cao first started, he received favorable support from the family, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu of the Cao clan did not come far away.
In the beginning, Cao Cao only had a small base area, the soldiers were small, and Cao Cao was born in a family of eunuchs who were despised by the world; in order to fully discover and make use of talents, Cao Cao broke the concept of the door at that time while discovering talents in his own ranks, promoting and reusing literati warriors from the lower strata of society, winning the support of the small and medium-sized landlord class, and making the best use of the enemy talents who surrendered. Although at that time, chen gong was dissatisfied with Cao Cao's killing of Bian Rang and colluded with Lü Bu's rebellion, it did not make Cao Cao abandon the policy of "meritocracy". In 196, Cao Cao welcomed the Han Emperor and became the spokesman of the Eastern Han government, and with an unparalleled political advantage, the scholars had to serve Cao Cao, whether they came for Cao Cao or to restore the Han Dynasty. In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao promulgated the "Order of Seeking Talents", which was ordered again in nineteen years, and promulgated for the third time in twenty-two years, which is the famous Three Orders for Seeking Talents. Cao Cao's "meritocracy" against the "virtue" and traditional ideas of birth that have been pursued since the two Han Dynasties had great significance for the social thought of the time, and some contemporary scholars have pointed out that "it marks a great reform in political, social, moral and ideological development".
Later, in order to ascend the throne, Cao Pi was forced to compromise with the Shijia clan, adopted the nine-pin system, relied on the power of the Shijia clan to maintain his rule, and vigorously suppressed the Cao brothers, and finally the powerful figures of the Cao and Xiahou families, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Xiahou Shang, had to hand over the power to the Sima family representing the Shi family.
The chaos at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty created a nationwide flow of talents, talents from the family clan wanted to regain the lost political and economic privileges, and talents from the middle and lower social classes hoped to show their talents and change their status. Cao Cao was surrounded by the Eastern Han government headed by Emperor Han, in fact, this is the dialectical unity of the two sides of the Cao Wei regime, whether the scholars are subjectively Xiang Han or Xiang Cao, objectively can not be separated, and the interpretation says that Guan Yu's "surrendering Han does not descend Cao" is just a self-deception. Zhao Yi, a Qing Dynasty man, said of Xun Wen's weak abandonment of Yuan Shao and his defection to Cao Cao, saying, "Among the yu ji ministers, if you can't cut the crowd and use the Kuang Han room, you have to return to the heart and do your best for it, so you are Han Ye." Zhao's statement pointedly pointed out the fact that many scholars had to serve Cao Cao at that time. Cao Cao has the reputation and status of "orthodoxy", but also has the correct policy of meritocracy, with the unparalleled superiority of other warlords, he opened the door to power for the middle and lower classes of the society, but also paid attention to the selection of the family clan, avoiding the one-sided nature of talent, so his talent camp is not only numerous, but also of high quality.
Among Cao Cao's talents, he promoted generals such as Ban, Lejin, and Dianwei from veterans, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang Tai, Chen Lin, Jia Xu, and others from those who surrendered from the enemy, Li Dian, Li Tong, Xu Chu, and ZangBa from among the local heroes, Xun Wenruo, Xun You, and Wang Lang from among the small officials in the Eastern Han Government, and Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Liu Ye from ordinary scholars. These talents are the pillars of the Cao Family Mansion and have made great contributions to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's meritocracy is to cite talents who are beneficial to himself, and the virtues he does not value are not basic virtues such as loyalty, but the "Three Principles and Six Disciplines" preached by Han Confucianism. The main power of the regime, the army, has always been in the hands of the core generals of the Cao family and the Xiahou family, so it is impossible for the generals with foreign surnames Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang Tai, Yu Ban, Le Jin, Li Dian and others to be fully exerted. And Cao Cao has always been unyielding to his political enemies, even Xun Wenruo, who has made great contributions to himself, so Cao Cao has always been criticized by later generations.