Cao Cao was a well-known tyrant in Chinese history, and in his 60s, he also faced the problem of choosing an heir, when he mainly chose two objects, one was Cao Pi and the other was Cao Zhi.
So why did he choose Cao Pi? Mainly because Cao Pi's personality is more calm and introverted, he is also more attentive to political affairs. On the other hand, Cao Zhi, although he was as dashing and talented as he was, the loose personality in his bones determined that he was not suitable to be the monarch of the State of Wei.
At present, the people of all countries in the world live a unified and stable life, and the Chinese people are no exception, so national reunification has been a very important issue since ancient times, and only the people who are stable and unified in the country can live and work in peace and contentment. However, in the slow history of China, there are several periods in which several countries have established themselves.
Among them, the more well-known ones are the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Because Chinese history is a compulsory subject in the compulsory education period, most people will have some understanding of the various dynasties in Chinese history, and at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three kingdoms were divided into Wei, Shu, and Wu, and the corresponding three monarchs were Cao Cao, Liu Bang, and Sun Quan.
The reason why the three of them can stand side by side in such a chaotic world shows that each of them has their own talents and strategies, but it must be the most legendary and eye-catching among them. He was born into a family of eunuchs when he was young, and his father served as a high-ranking official in the imperial court during the Eastern Han Dynasty.
He grew up in such a family, so that he had a deep understanding of power and the way of officials from a young age, so he knew when he was young that the most important aspect of being an emperor was military ability, and on the other hand, the control of human nature. Later, after Cao Cao grew up, there was a period of time when he walked the rivers and lakes and practiced chivalry and righteousness.
At this time, he saw the scene of life of people from all walks of life, and later began his career at the age of 19. From his youth, he was very interested in both martial arts and military strategy, on the one hand, he learned martial arts to strengthen his body, on the other hand, he read a lot of books, especially related to military strategy.
These experiences in his early years, as well as his hobbies and habits, were of great help to him in his career and to establish Wei in the future. Since he was a child, he lived in a family of officials and eunuchs, and when he was young, he traveled through the rivers and lakes, so Cao Cao wanted to be a good official and serve the people and the country. When he first encountered the rampage of the powerful, he would punish them mercilessly.
This caused dissatisfaction among many powerful people, especially at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the eunuch Cao Cao and several other like-minded ministers joined in advising the emperor, but they were not accepted, but Cao Cao's official position was often affected, and he was demoted and promoted and demoted. Until the end, Dong Zhuo, a traitorous minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty, colluded with Empress He and overthrew the rule of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Cao Cao and like-minded people formed a rebel army to fight, and later established the state of Wei. In subsequent histories, people often evaluate Cao Cao as a traitor, but during Cao Cao's reign, he did a series of work conducive to the development of people's livelihood. For example, when he was in power, he punished some powerful people so that they did not dare to bully the people at will.
In addition, when he was electing officials, he did not consider his family background and only valued ability, so this gave many talents from cold backgrounds the opportunity. He was very strict with the troops, strictly disciplined, and never allowed the soldiers in the army to oppress the people. Even the army cannot destroy the farmland of the common people during the march.
Moreover, Cao Cao was not only very good at marching and fighting strategies, he was also a literati, especially writing many poems, some of which have even been passed down to the present, such as the well-known "Turtle Although Shou". In short, there are many kinds of powerful characters in China's history, but it has to be said that Cao Cao is also one of the best in this.
The establishment of the Three Kingdoms lasted for a long time, so it involved the change of imperial power in the three countries, and in the State of Wei, Cao Cao's heirs were mainly concentrated in two people, one was Cao Pi and the other was Cao Zhi. In fact, as the monarch of the State of Wei, Cao Cao certainly had many wives in his life, but only a few can be traced back in history.
According to historical records, Cao Cao had more than 20 sons, but because the most favored woman was Lady Bian, and Cao Zhi was the son of Lady Bian, Cao Cao was also more interested in Cao Pi and Cao Zhi when choosing an heir. Originally, Cao Cao's most preferred heir was Cao Zhi, because Cao Zhi was polite by nature.
And like Cao Cao, he was very talented in literature. Therefore, Cao Cao always wanted to cultivate him, and every time he went out to fight, he would take Cao Zhi with him, and wanted to pass on some of his military strategies and talents to Cao Zhi. On the other hand, every time Cao Cao went out to fight, he would leave Cao Pi in The country and manage the domestic affairs.
But in fact, Cao Pi is Cao Zhi's older brother, in the traditional culture of ancient China, there is a tradition of standing up for a long time and not standing young, Cao Cao pays more attention to ability than tradition, so he has not established Cao Pi as a prince. In the long run, the two brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi began to compete for imperial power, but the two could only compete secretly due to Cao Cao's reign.
Although Cao Pi often stayed in China unlike Cao Zhi, who could follow Cao Cao everywhere to fight, there was an advantage that Cao Pi could spend more time with the ministers of the imperial court. On the one hand, Cao Pi was more aware of the political affairs of the State of Wei, and on the other hand, he also attracted many ministers in the imperial court, and these would become his future and competition for the throne.
On the other hand, although Cao Zhi followed Cao Cao around in battle, Cao Zhi's nature was more inclined to the literati, and he had a loose energy in his bones and liked to drink. In fact, these two points determine that he is not very suitable to become the monarch of a country.
And Cao Cao, as everyone says, he is a traitor, so his insight into human nature is very strong. Although he liked Cao Zhi very much, he understood better than anyone that Cao Pi was actually more suitable as a monarch, so after his death, he left the position of monarch of the State of Wei to Cao Pi.
There are also similar passages in many film and television dramas, after the death of the former emperor, the new emperor will mutilate his brothers and siblings to ensure the stability of the imperial power, although Cao Pi gave Cao Zhi a cold treatment, but did not take his life.
Society is progressing, and the characteristics of those periods in Chinese history are different from those of modern society, so many people like to read history and study history, because for modern people, it is a strange and attractive field. In which field there are Cao Cao, who is a great talent and adulterer, there is also Cao Zhi, who loves to drink and write poetry, and Cao Pi, who is calm and careful.