Just as the so-called "mu xiu in the forest, the wind will destroy it", this is the eternal truth, Cao Chong is a typical example, he is one of Cao Cao's most intelligent sons, from a young age to show outstanding wisdom, the most familiar is the story of his elephant.
However, he died suddenly in the year when he was 12 years old, and although it is not explicitly written in the history books about this matter, from cao chong's death, Cao Cao said to Cao Pi, "This is my misfortune, and Ru's happiness is also", the implication is that Cao Chong died I am very sad, but it is a great blessing for you, because he is not dead, you cannot inherit my position, which frightens Cao Pi's face. In fact, this is Cao Cao's hint to Cao Pi in a roundabout way, and he knows that he killed Cao Chong.
Since Cao Cao knew that the death of his favorite Cao Chong was caused by Cao Pi, why did he not say it explicitly?
The reason is that these sons of Cao Cao, Cao Zhi is a casual disciple who likes to dance and ink every day, while Cao Zhang, who is strong in martial arts and good at leading soldiers to fight, is a big old man, only Cao Pi, although not prominent in any aspect, but knows a little bit about each aspect. That is to say, Cao Chong was the best heir in Cao Cao's heart, but after his death, except for Cao Pi, no son had the ability to inherit the throne.
Why did Cao Pi want to kill Cao Chong? In fact, according to what the author said above, the answer is obvious, Cao Chong is alive, the throne cannot be Cao Pi's, he killed his own brother, it is nothing more than to become an emperor. On the other hand, Cao Chong is really too smart, once he grows up, even if he does not become an emperor, it will be a big hidden danger, after all, the imperial family is no better than the ordinary people's family, and the power struggle is far more than family affection.
Moreover, Cao Chong was not only smart, he was also very benevolent, when he was not yet ten years old, the name of benevolence spread throughout Xuchang, as long as someone came to the door to ask for help, and there were enough reasons, he would spare no effort to help, one day, an official in charge of logistics, he found that the saddle of Cao Cao's horse was bitten by a rat, which was a crime to kill the head, and frightened him.
In order to avoid the disaster of killing, this petty officer pinned his hopes on Cao Chong, he explained the reason to Cao Chong, but cao Chong readily agreed, and patted his chest and said to him: "Guarantee no problem"! After returning to his room, Cao Chong deliberately made a few holes in his clothes, and the next day, he wore these torn clothes to meet Cao Cao, and he pretended to be surprised and asked Cao Cao: "How did the clothes get bitten by rats, is this bad luck?" Cao Cao replied, "Superstition is just that, you don't have to take it to heart."
After another three days, the petty officer came to cao cao at cao's request, but cao cao not only did not get angry after listening to it, but instead said to him: "Even the underwear that my son wears on his body can be bitten by rats, let alone this saddle." With a wave of his hand, he told the petty officer to leave, and did not pursue the matter further.
It can be seen from this that Cao Chong is so smart and benevolent, and Cao Pi is not competitive at all compared to him. In 220, Cao Pi succeeded to the throne as his dream emperor, and he began to deal with the other sons of cao. He often embarrassed Cao Zhang in political matters, because Cao Zhang held Cao Pi's most feared military power and could threaten his throne at any time, in order to secure his position, Cao Pi directly eliminated Cao Zhang.
For the treatment of Cao Zhi, everyone should be more familiar with it. Because he did not pose any threat to Cao Pi, Cao Zhi was a pure literati who did not understand political affairs and had no power of his own. Cao Pi, in front of the Hundred Officials of Literature and Military Affairs, asked him to take seven steps into poetry, and if he could make it, he would be spared the death penalty, and as a result, Cao Zhizheng made it, and also implied in the poem: The two of us are brothers, there is no need to kill them all.
For Cao Pi, family affection did not seem to play any agreed role, and the princes who grew up with him did not have very good results, but there was only one, that is, Cao Cao's youngest son Cao Gan, and Cao Pi was exceptionally good to him.
When Cao Gan was only three years old, his father Cao Cao died, and his brother Cao Pi inherited the throne in this year, but according to age, Cao Pi had no problem being Cao Gan's father. Cao Cao knew Cao Pi's nature, so before he died, he also told Cao Pi that he must be kind to Cao Gan. Of course, if you are also kind, for Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang, Cao Cao also said to Cao Pi, so why is Cao Pi only so good to Cao Gan?
In the final analysis, it lies in Cao Gan's own wisdom, when he was five years old, he knew that as he grew older, his brother Cao Pi would have a wary mentality against himself, so he called Cao Pi "Awong" in his daily life, in ancient times, "Awong" meant "father", but Cao Pi was his brother! Every time Cao Gan called Cao Pi Awong, Cao Pi would correct him, and then think that when Cao Gan was only three years old, Cao Cao died, and he could not help but feel pity, that is, in his heart, he really regarded the little brother in front of him as his son.
Cao Gan did not call Cao Pi as Awong at the beginning, but suddenly changed his voice, obviously with certain intentions, and it was precisely with this act of weakness that he exchanged Cao Pi's trust in himself, thus saving his life. In 226 AD, Cao Pi was only six years emperor before he died, at that time Cao Gan was only nine years old, still a small child, before his death, Cao Pi specifically instructed Emperor Wei Ming to take good care of Cao Gan. Later, Cao Gan grew up and made a big mistake, and Emperor Wei Ming did not pursue him, all thanks to Cao Pi's instructions before his death.
Cao Chong is smart, but he does not know how to restrain his own sharp edge, Cao Gan is equally smart, he knows what Tao Guang yang obscure, so Cao Chong died of power struggle before he grew up, but Cao Gan was able to survive well in that chaotic world, which is the difference between small wisdom and great wisdom.