During the Three Kingdoms period, many famous generals and strategists emerged, but due to the publication of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in order to increase the dramatic conflict and increase the charm of the protagonists, some stories will be zhang guan li dai, and some people will be greatly weakened. Under Cao Cao, there was a soldier who was actually heroic and invincible, but there were not many traces left in the book, and people even thought that if he did not die early, Sima Yi could not usurp the throne.
The Cao family is most famous for the Cao family, who are not only talented in military politics, but also quite accomplished in literature, and Cao Cao had twenty-five sons in his lifetime, basically no name, but his adopted son was a general, this person named Cao Zhen, who was adopted by Cao Cao as an adopted son when he was young.
The question of why Cao Zhen was Cao Cao's adopted son is actually related to his father. According to historical records, Cao Zhen's father was a general under Cao Cao, in 195 AD, Cao Cao and people fought in Yuzhou, but did not expect that he was careless for a while, when he went out, he was hunted down and killed, and he was about to die, Cao Zhen's father pretended to be Cao Cao, attracting the attention of the pursuers, resulting in Cao Zhen losing his father at a very young age. In order to express his gratitude, Cao Cao adopted Cao Zhen as his adopted son.
After Cao Zhen entered the Cao family, he and Cao Pi and others also had a very pleasant life, and even had a life-saving grace for Cao Pi. Once they went hunting together, a tiger looked at them and even chased after Cao Pi, almost biting him, and Cao Zhen took out a bow and arrow at this time and shot the tiger to death, so Cao Pi was safe.
Since he became an adult, Cao Zhen has shown his bravery, and in 218 and 219, for two consecutive years, he successively served as a partial general and a guard of the Shu army, participated in the Battle of Hanzhong, and made great contributions to the Cao clan. In 220, Cao Pi took the throne and appointed Cao Zhen as the general of Zhenxi, and after that, he rose all the way up and became the supreme commander of the army, which shows that he is an indispensable talent in Cao's army.
The highlight of Cao Zhen's life was when he prejudged Zhuge Liang's motives and made Zhuge Liang return without success. It was 228, Zhuge Liang led the Northern Expedition, all the way to the ground, the three capitals of the Cao clan surrendered, and the then Cao Emperor personally went to Chang'an and sent Cao Zhen to deal with Zhuge Liang. Cao Zhen defeated Ma Chen, defeated Zhao Yun and others at the same time, and finally took back the three counties.
After the battle, Cao Zhen also predicted Zhuge Liang's next move and made some arrangements at the same time. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang did come to Chen Cang in the spring of the following year, and because he had already made preparations, Zhuge Liang could only return in defeat.
Cao Zhen, as a minister left by Cao Cao to his children, assisted Cao Pi, Cao Rui and others, and had a great influence on the prosperity of the Cao clan, and he even confronted Sima Yi many times, but he did not live long, and after his death in 231, he passed his title to his son, and later directly surrendered to Sima Yi, causing the rise of the Sima family.
Due to the adaptation of the novel, many people have not noticed Cao Zhen, but he is indeed one of the top pillars of the Cao family, and if he does not die, with his prestige and talent, he can also ensure that the Sima Yi family does not rebel, causing the Cao regime to collapse in just a few decades. However, things have already happened, and those of us who watch can only feel a few words of admiration for his loyalty.