According to records, Cao Cao had 25 sons and 7 daughters, most of whom were talented, and the most well-known were the later Wei Wen Emperor Cao Pi, the seven-step poetry talent cao Zhi, and the youngest son Cao Chong, who was brilliant from childhood. Among the many sons, Cao Cao's most beloved son was also Cao Chong, but Cao Chong died of illness before he became an adult.
Born in 196 AD, Cao Chong was born to Cao Cao and his concubine Lady Huan, and Cao Chong showed superhuman wisdom from an early age, as can be seen from the story of "Cao Chong is called an elephant". Cao Cao has praised Cao Chong's cleverness many times in front of his courtiers, which has the meaning of letting his son inherit his father's business, and below, we will see how smart Cao Chong really is through a story.
Once, Cao Cao led an army against Liu Bei, and Ma Teng took the opportunity to attack Xuchang, where only a few thousand weak veterans remained. Cao Cao was furious when he received the news, and immediately led an army of 100,000 people back to Xuchang, and said that he would rush back within three days, and let the Wenwu hundred officials meet them at the south city gate.
So Cao Cao's sons all went to the South City Gate, and when they waited until the third day, they finally saw Cao Cao's figure, but the enemy had already sent people to ambush outside the South City Gate and prepare to assassinate Cao Cao. Cao Pi immediately led the soldiers to escort the people, but found that it was only Cao Cao's stand-in.
It turned out that Cao Cao had long known that the enemy would have an ambush, and the words he released were only for bluffing, and he had already entered Xuchang from the West Gate, and the only one who was waiting for him at the West Gate was Cao Chong's son. Cao Cao was a little surprised, so he asked Cao Chong, "I said I came back from the South Gate, why are you waiting at the West Gate?" ”
Cao Chong replied, "Father has released the news to return from the South Gate, then there will definitely be assassins ambushing the South Gate, which is not conducive to Father's return to the city." Moreover, the west gate was the least guarded, and if the enemy army succeeded in attacking the city, it must use the west gate as a breakthrough point, and my father could check the situation by the way when he returned from here. ”
At this time, Cao Cao's other sons rushed to hear the news and were slightly relieved to see that their father was safe and sound. Cao Cao was in a good mood, so he came up with a question to test his sons: "If there is an assassin in the city now, how should we arrest him?" Cao Cao's other sons thought about it and gave the answer, thinking that door-to-door searching was the best way, although time-consuming, but guaranteed.
Cao Cao smiled and looked at his most intelligent son, Cao Chong, who looked up and said, "Open the city gate and let the assassins return, and when he returns, he will bring the news of his father's return to the city to Ma Teng, so that Ma Teng will not dare to act rashly, but xu Chang will be safe." Cao Cao laughed after listening to it, and took Cao Chong's hand with satisfaction and walked towards the main hall.
From this short story, we can see that Cao Chong is really smart, but Sima Yi once said that true wisdom is great wisdom and foolishness, and people who are too smart cannot live for too long. And Cao Chong has always shown his wisdom and talent, although he has been loved by Cao Cao, but he is also easily hated by others.
According to historical records, Cao Chong was bitten by a poisonous snake at the age of 13 and died after that. But whether he was accidentally injured by a poisonous snake or was secretly calculated, no one knows. It's just that Cao Chong is too sharp, brilliant in the small story above, and at the same time letting his brothers lose face, it is likely that the brothers will hold a grudge.
Moreover, Cao Cao admired Cao Chong's talent and repeatedly praised Cao Chong in front of his courtiers, which was equivalent to pushing Cao Chong to the cusp of the storm, and for other ambitious sons, Cao Chong was their first enemy. And even if Cao Chong is not bitten to death by a poisonous snake, he may face a terrible open struggle in the future, and with Cao Chong's way of doing things, he may not be able to retreat from the political whirlpool.