We all know that when the money is scattered, it can be recovered, and the land can be regained, but since the talent is lost, it is difficult to recover it.
The Three Kingdoms era was an era of individual masters, and it was difficult for all dynasties to match. Therefore, those who want to chase after the Central Plains and dominate the world must strive for talents as a basis. At this time, the situation can be described as "the one who gets the talent wins the world".
Liu Bei stills
Liu Bei was well versed in this way, so that he could start as an unfounded deer chaser, win people all the way, and eventually establish the Shu state. On the other hand, those who were once brilliant, such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, Liu Biao, etc., are all people who do not make good use of talents. It is precisely for this reason that they have successively embarked on the road of defeat and death, and have been ruthlessly eliminated by the torrent of history.
Therefore, the good use of talents is not only closely related to the rise and fall of the country, but also one of the criteria for the evaluation of future generations when the coffin is timed. Wasn't Liu Bei a model who eventually won the good name of later generations because of Corporal Li Xian?
Cao Cao's side has formed a talent "snowball effect"
Those who know how to attract talents and are good at making talents use for themselves are not only Liu Bei, but Also Cao Cao is one of the leaders.
Cao Cao and Yuan Shao sought to win the world, and their vision and strategy were different. Yuan Shao wanted to occupy a superior geographical location and take "geographical advantages" as the basis; while Cao Cao saw that he had to rely on talents, because the prosperity of talents was the basis for career success.
After Cao Cao captured Jingzhou, he wrote a letter to Xun Yu, in which he said: "I don't like Jingzhou, I am happy to be different." In Cao Cao's view, getting the entire rich Jingzhou was not worth rejoicing, and getting Kuyue was the biggest gain. It can be seen how much Cao Cao values talents.
Cao Cao stills
Careers are all people-oriented, in other words, careers are actually "human karma". No matter how big the territory is, no one is going to operate it, and everything is in vain. With talents, it means that you can get Longwangshu and create a magnificent future.
In Cao Cao's view, as long as talents have the skills to govern the country and use soldiers, even if they are not benevolent and filial, they must all be accepted, so people will have such an impression: Liu Bei's strategists are the most refined, Sun Quan's strategists are the most clumsy, and Cao Cao's advisers are the most.
Many of the talents in Cao Cao's camp were surrendered by the enemy camp. Cao Cao's main strategists Guo Jia and Xun Yu came from Yuan Shao's account, and Xun Yu came to cast a "snowball effect" of talents.
Cao Cao obtained the leader of the shi clan Xun Yu, he gained the initial advantage, the "talent snowball" will roll bigger and bigger, and the advantage of talent gathering will become more and more obvious.
Sure enough, Cheng Yu, Xun You, and Guo Jia were all recommended by Xun Yu, Cheng Yu recommended Guo Jia, Guo Jia recommended Liu Ye, Liu Ye recommended Man Yu, Lü Qian, Man Pet, and Lü Qian jointly recommended Mao Jie; Zhang Liao and Zhang Gao were from Lü Bu and Yuan Shao's camps, respectively; and Pang De and Chen Lin were all captured.
Chen Lin was originally Yuan Shao's secretary, who had written a text for Yuan Shao to fight against Cao Cao, and Cao Cao was horrified to see Chen Lin's text, but still smiled and praised Chen Lin's literary style. Later, Yuan Shao's army was defeated, Chen Lin was captured, and Cao Cao was ordered to do so because of his pity. It can be said that these two people are "a smile and a vendetta".
Why did Cao Cao, who attached so much importance to talent, let Guan Yu leave?
Guan Yu suffered a military defeat and was separated from Liu Bei. He asked Cao Cao to surrender for three things, and Cao Cao did everything at his request, a small feast on three days, a big feast on five days, and even the most delicate place Cao Cao did it - using yarn brocade as a bag and hair protector. It can be said that Cao Cao was treating Guan Yu with "meticulous care and thoughtful etiquette".
How Nai Guan Yu had his heart set on Liu Bei, and as soon as he learned of his brother's whereabouts, he hung the "Marquis seal of Han Shouting" on the hall, did not resign, and also passed five levels and beheaded six generals. In the author's opinion, there are three main reasons why Cao Cao did not kill Guan Yu and let him leave.
Guan Yu stills
First of all, Cao Cao did not kill Guan Yu in order to set an example. Guan Yu itself is a "living teaching material", and Cao Cao showed his subordinates: People should be based on loyalty and righteousness, and loyal and righteous people are not only respected by their own people, but even the enemy will fear the three points. And Cao Cao's implication is: You must be loyal to me, and you must not have two hearts.
Secondly, Cao Cao gave the favor to the end, which is the so-called "human feelings leave a line, and they will see each other in the future." Cao Cao felt that the world was unpredictable, and in the future, if Guan Yu shouldered a heavy responsibility, when the two armies were opposed, if he fell into trouble, it would only help but be harmless. We all know that Guan Yu is a loyal and righteous man, he serves righteousness for others, knows how to repay the favor, and more or less reads Cao Cao's love and righteousness. If there were any accidents in the future, Guan Yu might also submit to Cao Cao.
Finally, Cao Cao wanted to occupy the moral high ground. The "Three Covenants" of Guan Yu's surrender are well known to everyone in Cao Ying, and if Guan Yu is killed, wouldn't it be dishonest? If he did not kill Guan Yu and let him go, Cao Cao would win the reputation of trustworthiness. Cao Cao had a big heart and a desire to swallow heaven and earth, and he was bent on unifying all of China, so this was an opportunity to establish a good image of himself.
It was precisely because of these three points that Cao Cao was not only not angry, but also respected Guan Yu's loyalty. Cao Cao abandoned Guan Yu and sent guan Yu away with courtesy, allowing Guan Yu to leave. As Fei Songzhi said: "Cao Gongzhi knows that Yu does not stay and praises Qizhi, and does not send chase to achieve his righteousness, and he does not have the degree of kingship, who can do this."