When it comes to Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period, the world has always had mixed praise for him. Those who praised him, saying that he was a generation of tyrants who made great contributions to ending the chaotic world at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty; Those who belittle him say that he is a thief of the courtiers, a thief of the country, and a son of heaven to order the princes. When Zhuge Liang, the chancellor of the Shu Han Dynasty, went out on a campaign, he also openly scolded Cao Cao as a cao thief. But is Cao Cao really a "Han thief"? In fact, he has already expressed his ambition in the "Shu Zhi Ling".
"Shu Zhi Ling" is an autobiographical article by Cao Cao expressing his thoughts and experiences to the outside world, in which Cao Cao gives two examples when he writes about other people's misunderstanding of him and society's incomprehension of him. The first person, he said, was Le Yi in the Warring States period. He said: "When Le Yi fled from the Yan Kingdom to the Zhao Kingdom, and the King of Zhao planned to plot against the Yan Kingdom, Le Yi wept. He said to King Zhao, 'King Zhao, King Judas.' If the subject is convicted, exiled to another country, even if he dies, he cannot bear to murder any ordinary person in the Zhao kingdom. Now how can he bear to murder the descendants of the Yan King?'
The second person Cao Cao said was the Qin general Meng Tian . He said that when Hu Hai killed Meng Tian, Meng Tian once said: "Since my ancestors and descendants, I have accumulated faith in Qin III; There are more than 300,000 generals in jinchen, and their strength is enough to betray them, but those who know that they will die and keep righteousness do not dare to insult the teachings of their ancestors to forget the previous king. "Whenever I read these two people's books, I can't help but weep. Why did Cao Cao have such a great feeling about Meng Tian and Le Yi? In fact, Cao Cao borrowed the scenery to make love.
Meng Tian was born as a general, and his grandfather Meng Xiao defected from the State of Qi to Qin during the reign of King Zhao of Qin, and led an attack on Han and Zhao, and became an official to "Shangqing". His father, Meng Wu, was also a military general of the Qin state, and had teamed up with the Qin general Wang Qi to destroy the Chu state. Under the influence of his family environment, Meng Tian was determined to charge into the battlefield from an early age and serve the country. In 221 BC, he was made a general by Qin Shi Huang and attacked the State of Qi. After that, he was ordered to lead an army of 300,000 men to attack the Xiongnu in the north, retake Henan (around present-day Yikezhao League, hetao, Inner Mongolia), and set up thirty-four counties from Yuzhong (north of present-day Yijinholo Banner in Inner Mongolia) to Yinshan.
After driving the Xiongnu back to their hometown, Meng Tian was ordered to supervise the construction of the Great Wall of Ten Thousand Miles, linking the Great Wall of Yuan Yan, Zhao, and Qin into one, and effectively curbing the Xiongnu's southward advance. He was the earliest developer in northwest China, and was known as the "First Warrior of China" because of his mighty Xiongnu. And his younger brother Meng Yi was also a confidant of Qin Shi Huang, an official and Shangqing, and he accompanied Qin Shi Huang in a carriage when he went out. The Meng clan was loyal to the Qin state, but they were to be given death. Therefore, Meng Tian said: "I now command more than 300,000 troops, and its strength is enough to betray the Qin Dynasty." And I know that I will undoubtedly die, but I still stick to my loyalty, precisely because I dare not insult the ancestors and forget the teachings of the kings!"
At that time, Cao Cao also faced the same dilemma, he held Emperor Xian of Han in his hands, and everyone thought that he had bad intentions and wanted to blackmail tianzi to make the princes become emperors himself. In the face of the doubts of the people of the world, he was distressed, so he wrote this "Shu Zhi Ling" to express his heart to Emperor Xian of Han and the people of the world. But because everyone didn't understand him, he wanted to cry when he thought of Mengtian's words.