Cao Cao forced Xun Yu to die, so why did he dare to leave Xun Yu's nephew Xun You by his side?
Xun Yu ( 荀彧 ; born in 163 ) , died in 212 . Regarding the cause of Xun Yu's death, although the details are disputed, the general reason has been publicly discussed, that is, he opposed Cao Cao's claim to be the Duke of Wei, jia Jiuxi, and was forced by Cao Cao to commit suicide and die.
How powerful Xun Yucai is, and how much merit he has, there is also a public opinion. It is said that he is the talent of Wang Zuo, Cao Cao dominates the north, and Xun Yu is the first hero. In the Xun Yu family, not only xun yu was powerful, but he also had a nephew Xun You who was also a rare talent in the world, and he was also under Cao Cao' command, and Cao Cao attached great importance to Xun You. Uncles and nephews work together as a master, which is rare in the Three Kingdoms.
Xun You, born in 157 and died in 214, was 7 years older than his uncle Xun Yu. Both were from Yingchuan, and it seemed that Xun Yu was much younger than Xun You's father. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms states that Xun You died of grief because he opposed Cao Cao's claim to the title of King of Wei, and that he died of a normal illness. Xun Yu only died 2 years later than Xun Yu, perhaps Luo Guanzhong felt that the time of Xun Yu's death was suspicious, perhaps implicated in Xun Yu's death, and Mr. Luo also had a lot of appreciation for Xun Yu, loved Wu and Wu, so he wrote Xun Yu in this way.
Chen Shou, the author of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, said that Xun You was "an exhaustive strategy, and after the change of power, it was not inferior to Zhang Liang and Chen Ping." Even if Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi could not get such a high evaluation, it seems that Xun Youzhi's talent is not inferior to Xun Yu, Sima Yi, and so on. Even Cao Cao said, "Gongda, very human, I have to deal with it, the world should be worried!" He also said: "The military master Xun You, since the beginning of the zhaochen, has not followed the requisition, and has defeated the enemy before and after, and all of them have conspired against each other." ”
Xun Yu was a little different from Xun Yu, who was a prominent military talent, an excellent military master, and often accompanied Cao Cao on expeditions to the four directions; while Xun Yu was a talented man who was good at governing the country and often stayed in the rear. The two uncles and nephews were Cao Cao's right and left arms, and it can be said that without Xun Yu and Xun You, there would be no Cao's imperial cause.
After Cao Cao forced Xun Yu to die, why didn't he kill Xun You? The greater Xun You's talent, once the threat of anti-water to Cao Cao is greater, why not cut the grass and remove the roots, and are not afraid of Xun You avenging his uncle? It should be known that Cao Cao killed Kong Rong, but even Kong Rong's son was killed together; and after Cao Cao killed Cui Yan, he also cleaned up Cao Yan's daughter, that is, Cao Zhi's wife, not long after, all because they were afraid that they would be dissatisfied because their father was killed, and take advantage of the opportunity to plot. I think Cao Cao didn't kill Xun Yu because:
First, Xun You was too old, older than Xun Yu. Although Xun You was Xun Yu's nephew, he was not a son after all. Xun You's age was already a dying man, and Cao Cao had nothing to worry about. Just like killing Yang Xiu and leaving Yang Biao, Yang Biao is old and can't afford to make waves. Cao Cao calculated that Xun You might die in front of him, so killing Xun You again was superfluous.
Second, Cao Cao once said: Lonely and Xun Gongda have traveled around for more than twenty years, and there is no one to blame. This Xun You is gentle and frugal, exquisite in all aspects, and it seems that there is really no excuse to kill Xun You. Xun You would not give Cao Cao any handle. It is really rare for Xun You to be able to be so perfect as a person.
It was precisely for this reason that Xun You rarely confronted Cao Cao, even when Cao Cao wanted to make a mistake, he was still on the spot and did not strengthen the obstruction. For example, during the Battle of Chibi, Xun You saw that the warships were connected by iron chains and would be attacked by fire, and when he told Cao Cao, Cao Cao did not listen, and Xun You did not listen when he saw him, and did not stop him much.
In addition, when Cao Cao first attacked Zhang Xiu, Xun You said to Cao Cao: "Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao are united, but Zhang Xiu's grain and grass are supplied by Liu Biao, and over time, Liu Biao's strength cannot be supported, and it will inevitably split with Zhang Xiu." It is better to slow down the army and wait for it to change; if you attack urgently, Liu Biao will desperately fight to the rescue. Cao Cao did not listen to the advice, and Xun You did not advise him a second time. Sure enough, Cao Cao returned with a great defeat and lost his troops.
It is precisely because Xun You is low-key, cautious, less troublesome, does not show off his former merits, is an old and good man, the literature and art works of later generations found that he has nothing to write, so in the folk reputation is not Xun Yuda, it seems that he has no talent, in fact, he is a big bell silent, the elephant is invisible, the wisdom is foolish. Cao Cao praised him: "Gongda is foolish and internally wise, externally cowardly and internally courageous, externally weak and internally strong; he does not show off his own strengths and does not exaggerate his own merits; his inner wisdom can be attained by others, but his external foolishness cannot be achieved by others." ”
Xun You died and died naturally, but even if Cao Cao did not kill Xun You, according to my opinion, the saying in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is not empty, and after Xun Yu died, he must have been afraid of being affected by the strain, and he was worried. Moreover, in Cao Cao's view, Xun You and Xun Yu were uncles and nephews, and this kinship was a potential danger against Cao Cao. If Xun You hadn't died before Cao Cao died, it wouldn't be easy to say. But after Xun You's death, Cao Cao shed tears every time he talked about him.