Speaking of Cao Cao, the northern overlord of the Three Kingdoms era. Many readers' impressions of him are mostly stuck in his style of adultery after middle age. But what is less known is that Cao Cao in his youth was also quite bold. In the face of eunuchs misleading the country, he had the courage to point it out; in the face of corrupt officials and corrupt officials; Cao Cao also dared to be the first. In the Eastern Han Dynasty at that time, although Cao Cao held a humble position, he was recognized by many people.
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms, "(Cao Cao) moved to Jinan Xiang, the state had more than ten counties, and the chief official Doa attached himself to the noble relatives, and the stolen goods were dirty, so he played eight; the prohibition of obscenity, the escape of adultery, and the solemnity of the county boundaries." For a long time, he was also the Taishou of Dong County; no, he called the disease and returned to the township. "When Cao Cao was in charge of the state of Jinan, he vigorously rectified the corruption and obscenity, although it was quite effective, but it also made him ostracized by many courtiers. When Cao Cao claimed to have returned home from illness, many people felt that he was trying to avoid persecution by eunuchs, which was why he had to stay away from the situation.
In this regard, Pei Songzhi once quoted the Book of Wei and supported this view: "So the power of the courtiers is exclusive, and the noble relatives are arbitrary. Taizu cannot violate the law. Counting the dry, afraid of family disasters, he begged for a stay guard. Pray to Lang, often curse the disease, and return to the countryside; outside the city of the house, learn to read and pass on in the spring and summer, and hunt in autumn and winter to entertain themselves. But it is worth pondering that this experience not only did not let Cao Cao sink, but made his own fame louder than before.
Moreover, Cao Cao's grandfather, Cao Teng, was also a well-known eunuch in the court. Even if Cao Cao had assassinated the eunuch leader Zhang Rang, the latter also looked at Cao Teng's face and did not think too much about Cao Cao. Therefore, in the author's opinion, Cao Cao's act of returning to his hometown due to illness was not to avoid the exclusion of eunuchs, but for some political purpose of his. Speaking of this, we have to mention a set of packaging routes tailored by Cao Cao for himself.
Perhaps readers will wonder, Cao Cao's family is well-off, his father was also ranked as the third duke, why does he have to pack himself? The answer is simple, because the reputation of "castration and ugliness" is really ugly. Careful readers will find that although Cao Cao is a eunuch, few people use this to ridicule him. This is the great convenience brought about by Cao Cao's self-packaging plan.
Although Cao Cao was "debauched and did not rule the industry" when he was young, he had his own set of plans and principles for his actions. Lu Bi's "Collection of Romances of the Three Kingdoms" once quoted the "Biography of a Young Child": "(Cao Cao) was young and wise, ten years old, often bathed in the water of Tan County, and there were Jiao Forces, fighting from the water, and Jiao Nai retreated. When Cao Cao was ten years old, he was able to personally fight off crocodiles, and this courage and calmness can also be seen. When Cao Cao first entered the court, he relied on his courage to do two things, completely clearing the "notoriety" after his eunuchs.
The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Chronicle of Emperor Wu quotes the Book of Wei as saying: "First the great general Dou Wu and Taifu Chen Fan plotted to castrate the officials, but they were killed. Taizu Shangshu Chen Wu and other upright and righteous framed, adulterous and evil Ying dynasty, good people blocked, his words are very serious; The Spirit Emperor cannot use it. After Dou Wu and Chen Fan were framed by the eunuchs, the young and vigorous Cao Cao seized the opportunity to stand up. He denounced the eunuchs for chaos in government, and also advocated overturning the case for the party group, which caused a sensation in the entire court for a time.
Although emperor Han Ling did not take this hot-blooded young man seriously, Cao Cao was famous for his speech. In addition, all the cliques that were enemies of the eunuchs also looked at Cao Cao with disdain and no longer regarded him as the so-called "eunuch widow". Soon after, in order to completely break away from the eunuch clique, Cao Cao also assassinated the eunuch leader Zhang Rang, and finally retreated. When Cao Cao was serving as a lieutenant in northern Luoyang, he also personally killed the uncle of the eunuch Jian Shuo, who was favored by Emperor Ling. Isn't this the same as Li Bingqiang, one of the representatives of the party clique, killing Zhang Shuo, Zhang Rang's brother?
Returning to the record at the beginning of this article, Cao Cao bravely "forbade obscenity" when he was in Jinan. This practice of his is not out of thin air. In Ying Shao's "Customs and Customs", the ninth "Chengyang Jingwang Ancestral", such a phenomenon was mentioned: Since the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the evil and evil things in Jinan and other places have been common, and by the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it has been prevalent for more than three hundred years. "Wei Le'an Taifu Chen Fan and Jinan Xiang Cao Cao banned everything, and solemnly cleaned up the government. After Chen and Cao, they were a little more like the same. It can be seen that Cao Cao and Chen Fan, the representative of the party group, also have something in common in terms of politics and ideology.
After Cao Cao first entered the court, he used a series of means to show the world his attitude of completely separating himself from the castration party clique. And this clever political means also allowed Cao Cao to completely get rid of the notoriety of "castration and ugliness" and was enthusiastically accepted by the party group. Even if there are people who look at Cao Cao unfavorably, it is naturally difficult to use this handle to attack Cao Cao.
In this way, Cao Cao was successfully favored by various forces. His fame also began to be in Luoyang City, and it became louder. After entering Taixue, Cao Cao had fellowship with Yuan Shao, Zhang Mi, and others. Even Cai Mao, the son of the famous scholar Cai Xie, the prestigious former eunuch Qiao Xuan, and the famous scholar He Hao also valued Cao Cao. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms quotes the Book of Wei as saying: "Taiwei Qiaoxuan, the world's name is known to people, see taizu and different, it is said: 'I have seen many famous people in the world, and there are no kings!'" Junshan is self-sustaining. My old age! May the wife be a curse. 'By being famous. Judging from Qiao Xuan's willingness to entrust his family to Cao Cao, this is undoubtedly a great trust and encouragement for him.
Another famous scholar, He Yong, also issued a very high evaluation of Cao Cao that "the Han family will perish, and it will be possible to settle the world". After receiving praise from these celebrities, Cao Cao eventually became famous in the Central Plains. Many people began to set their eyes on this bloody young man. During this time, Cao Cao was not idle. After he entered the Taixue School, he worked hard to study the martial arts of various families, laying a solid foundation for his future rise. Soon after, at Qiao Xuan's suggestion, Cao Cao approached the famous critic Xu Shao and began the second phase of his packaging plan.
Reference books: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Customs and Customs, Collected Interpretations of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms